Camping!

Just got back from a surprise camping trip with my family! It was extremely fun...we went up to Cherry Lake, which has amazing swimming holes, hiking trails, and bike paths. It's actually my favourite place to bike...with pretty good pavement, wonderfully challenging hills, and fantastic downhill rides. Unfortunately, I couldn't enjoy much of it, as the first day there I had a mountain biking accident and injured my left wrist. (most of this post is being typed one-handed...an interesting maneuver!) Since the ER is so busy on weekends, we are going tomorrow to have it X-rayed...so I don't know if it's actually fractured or just badly sprained. It's painful and swollen enough to be both, if you ask me. Oh, well. At least I can say that I injured it mountain biking and not doing something mundane, like falling down the stairs. ;) I will say this, however: I am never going to underestimate the wonder of our opposable thumbs! The simplest jobs are made ten times harder by the lack of one...it did give me some quality writing time though...there's nothing like writing up in the mountains surrounded by pine trees and brooks!

Wordplay and Characters :)

I hit the 30,000 word landmark this week! My novel is soaring as I find all these awesome websites and blogs for writing...the best being Wordplay. It's posted on the top right of my blog, and I would recommend it to any writer. There are articles, links and videos for wherever you are in your writing process.
I recently found a way to get to know your characters better: write them in a fight scene. Take two of your favourite characters, no matter where they are, and have them fight about an issue, no matter what it is. You find their flaws and sensitive spots pop up like weeds! A good example of this I found is in the movie Star Trek (the newest one with Chris Pine). There's a part where Kirk is goading Spock, trying to get him to admit he's "emotionally compromised". Kirk tries every approach, but Spock remains the stoic Vulcan, emotionally blank. Then Kirk insults Spock's mother...and Spock flips out. Find what makes your character 'flip out'. Is it an insult to their honor, or a suggestion that he's doing something wrong, or a slight against someone they love? You'll find out many traits that define your characters! I found out that my Main Character, Michael, is most angry when he's being called a liar, or when someone says he did something he actually didn't. If you need to get closer to your characters, make them fight. It worked for me! :)

TOFU!

Today, I took a step out of my taste bud's comfort zone and bought a tub of tofu on a whim. As soon as I got home and put it into the fridge, my reason came back to me. Why on earth did you buy tofu?! You don't even know how to cook it! And it looks like this block of weird, veggie-smelling cheese...you're going to eat that? My imagination, however, was undaunted by the protests of my reason (another fact that proves I am definitely not Vulcan. ;). I Googled "How to Cook Tofu", and learned as much about the subject as I could. Did you know that tofu can be used in virtually everything, from soups to stir-fries to puddings to cakes? I didn't..."This block of weird, veggie-smelling cheese does have some virtue after all! I wasn't completely crazy when I bought it...

After browsing through hundreds of recipes for dinners with tofu in them, I finally created my own that catered to my taste buds...and what I had in the fridge. :)

8 oz tofu (firm to extra firm)

2 tsp extra virgin oil

2 small diced onions

1 clove garlic, minced

1 stick celery, diced

1/2 small zucchini, diced

2 small onions, diced

2 tbs teriyaki sauce (I used Trader Joe's "Soyaki", a mix of soy sauce and teriyaki sauce)

Drain and rinse the tofu, patting it dry. Slice into eight 1/2 in slabs.

Heat the oil in a skillet, then add the tofu and cook in a single layer without stirring, until the bottoms are golden brown. (about 5 minutes) Gently stir , flip over, and continue cooking for about 6 minutes, or until all the sides are golden-brown. Add the veggies and terriaki sauce, stirring until the veggies are done. (I check to see whether the onions are translucent. That's usually a good sign that they're done) You can serve this on a bed of brown rice if you want to...I was too hungry to wait for the rice to cook, so I just ate it like it was :) The tofu acts as a flavor-absorber, so in this recipe it absorbed the garlic and the teriyaki sauce...and tasted fantastic. I would recommend it to any first-time tofu tryer! :) It makes about 2 servings.

Mischief Managed

July 15th was a bittersweet day. It was bitter because the last Harry Potter movie came out in theaters, ending a series that is both good and entertaining. It was sweet because, well...I, like millions of other Harry Potter fans, had been marking this day on my calender since November 19th, when we were left hanging from the ending of 7a. Being a loyal Harry Potter fan, to celebrate the last movie, I had a party :) {see image on left}

I spent half the day making Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and Butterbeer, while friends of mine brought Acid Pops and Cockroach Clusters. After the party, my friends and I (in Hogwart's uniforms, of course!) went to the downtown theater and stood in line for the midnight premiere. Some of my friends started a "Harry Potter Puppet Pals: the Mysterious Ticking Noise" skit (if you don't know what that is, look it up on YouTube. HILARIOUS!) Then, after finally getting into the theater and waiting for another hour, we finally watched the movie. A friend of mine neatly summed it up afterwards: OMG!. The movie was excellent; well-acted, well-directed, well-written. But it wasn't the visual effects which made the movie. It was the beautiful portrayal of the spiritual battle which is going on all around us. Good and evil were clearly shown in this movie, there was no blurring of the lines. Goodness, honour, truth, courage, virtue, and, above all, sacrifice were praised and valued as keys to win the battle. All in all, it was a beautiful, good end to a beautiful, good series. Mischief Managed.

Summer Nights :)

Ahh. Summer nights. I can't think of a happier time in my childhood...or in my present. I just finished playing Capture the Flag with dear friends and family. Although nearly getting my shoulder wrenched out as I tackled one player, and getting a footcramp from running in flip-flops, I had the time of my life. The silvery moon shone down on us like a prop from Shakespeare's "Midsummer's Night Dream". The wind was blowing quietly as we ran from hiding place to hiding place, dodging other players and hunting for the flag. I treasure days - or rather nights - like this more than any other days. It is these days that pave the path of Childhood Memories. It is experiences like these that I remember when it's cold and rainy and I'm sick of schoolwork. Summer nights. I will treasure them always.

Novel Update :)

The novel is coming along...about a third of the way through now. It feels so good to type out the words that have been stuck inside my head all these months :) Writers get cranky when they don't get the words out of their heads, and I have never felt better than now! For any of you writers out there, I have some recommendations for writer's block.
1) Change location. Words get stagnant when you get too stagnant...so if you've been stuck at the computer for too long, get outside and write on a notepad or something.
2) READ! Believe me, nothing inspires me more than reading the words of another writer. I see the fruits of their labour, and decide that just maybe my labour might yield the same fruits.
3) Pray. The words come from God anyway. Ask Him to free them up, and remind yourself, over and over again, that you're writing for Him. And there could be no more noble cause.
Also, I have recently discovered the amazing lectures of Peter Kreeft. You can download them for free off his website, and there are priceless jewels to be discovered in those downloads. For example, I was listening to his lecture on evil in Lord of the Rings, and it was full of gems on what makes books good. I was taking notes like crazy in the back of the car, integrating them into my plot bunnies and nebulous what-ifs :) I would recommend downloading them. Believe me, you will benefit, not only in your novel, but your soul.
So, I've hit the 25,000 word landmark. Onward!! :)

Pie :)

Just finished making a blueberry/cherry pie a few minutes ago. I don't think any summer is complete without making at least one pie! It was my first time actually working with my own home-made pie crust...and I must say it turned out very well for a first attempt. :) It was a bit finicky; I had to roll it out and roll it out and roll it out in order to get it just the way I wanted it...but in the end it turned out pretty well. I was surprised at the outcome also because this was my own pie-crust recipe :) I wanted something healthy but tasty...so I looked at ratios and ingredients, and came up with this:

1 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup whole-grain flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2/3 cup butter
8 tbs. cold water
1 tbs. brown sugar

Mix together flour and butter in an electric mixer, then add salt. and sugar. Add water one tablespoon at a time until the mixture looks like pie-crust consistency. You can use the pie-crust right away, or you can freeze it for later use.

A friend of mine recommends making a whole bunch of it, then freezing it so whenever the pie-making whim takes you, you can be ready right away with home-made pie crust. :)