Chiller TV

Last month I was surfing my way through del.icio.us and discovered the website for the Chiller television network. I was intrigued by the schedule which included old episodes of Night Gallery and airings of old (sometimes cheesy, but still fun) horror flicks. I tagged the site immediately, lamenting the fact that there existed yet another really cool network (like the Independent Film Channel) that my local cable provider did not provide.

Today the cable was out for a little while they upgraded the system. I'd known that when it returned the line-up would be renumbered for some channels, but I didn't know that a handful of new channels were going to be added, as well. Imagine my delight to find Chiller TV among them!

I've been watching it on and off pretty much all day. I started with some Night Gallery, a show I am familiar with but haven't seen in years; I caught some Tales from the Crypt; and I was introduced to Tales from the Darkside and Night Visions, two old series that I'd never seen before.

This is going to be so much fun . . .

It's National Pie Day

The American Pie Council created National Pie Day to celebrate a slice of American heritage and promote the enjoyment and sharing of pie. So, feel free to indulge in a piece of your particular favorite variety today.

If you happen to be lucky enough to live near a Bakers Square, you can celebrate with a free slice, no other purchase necessary. Find the required coupon here: Celebrate Pie.

If you're in more of a DIY mood, look for a tempting recipe at one of these sites:

All Recipes - Dessert Pies

Pie Recipes

VeryBestBaking.com

Enjoy it!

Spicy, Sweet & Sour

Did that title get your attention? It's the first part of the dinner I made last night and it was really good!

I found the recipe at UncleBens.com. The recipe is not specific about the size of pineapple can, so I used 1/2 of a 20 oz. can. I also used two 10 oz cans of ready-to-eat chicken in place of the 2 cups of cooked chicken called for in the recipe.

It was pretty spicy - it has onion, garlic, red peppers AND hot sauce in it, after all - but not overly so. The raisins and pineapple provided a nice balance to all the heat.

If I had been thinking like a true Project365-er, I might have taken a photo of the finished product before we ate it, but alas I did not. I'll try to remember to have the camera ready the next time I'm feeling adventurous in the kitchen.

Book Review: Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

I've finished reading my first book of 2008 and it was probably the best thing I could have chosen to start off the year. In Writer Mama, author Christina Katz provides a realistic outline for working writing time into even the most hectic of schedules and provides aspiring writers with a plan for developing their skills and marketing their work.

The book itself is constructed of short, information packed chapters and interesting side bars that are conducive to reading in the short periods of time that are like gold to a busy mother.

Katz's tone makes her reader feel as though the two of you are sitting down for coffee together and are chatting about the writing life. Her enthusiasm for writing drips off the page and inspires you to run out and get started as soon as you can.

Since reading the book, I've re-enrolled in a writing course I began years ago and am eagerly awaiting my materials so I can see where my renewed enthusiasm and resolve finally take me. I can't wait until I have my first "writing success story" to share on the Writer Mama Blog!

PhotoBlog

I registered for a PhotoBlog account yesterday so I'd have a place to keep track of my Project365 photos this year. Compared to some of the really incredible work being posted by other members, my pics look pretty amateurish, but I'm hoping to be able to track some improvement over the course of 2008.

If anyone else has a PhotoBlog, post a link in the comments so I can check out your work!

Happy New Year!

I've been meaning to get back to this Blog for a while now and the beginning of a brand new year seems like the perfect time to start. So let's kick things off with some chat about resolutions. The topic is a bit cliche for an early January post, but this is how I'm going to kick start my renewed and more prolific Blogging adventure.

Here are some of the things I'm going to work on in 2008:

Reading More
I have a LOT of books and I love to read, but sadly, I don't always find the time to do as much of it as I'd like. Last year I had the idea that I would try to read 50 books in a year. That didn't quite work, so this year I'm relieving some of that pressure by just committing to reading at least a little bit every single day. Some days it may be only a page, others it will be entire chapters, I hope. But no matter what, reading will be happening.

Writing Every Day
This is going to be the year that I seriously begin pursuing the life I am meant to be living. I know in my heart that that life centers around writing. 2008 will see the beginning of a new lifestyle for me, one in which I begin to make a living doing what I truly love. In order to accomplish this, I need to develop some good habits, hone my skills and carve time out of my already ridiculous schedule to make my dreams come true. I'll start with writing something - anything - each and every day.

Organizing My Entire Life
This may seem overly ambitious, but that's why I am giving myself the entire year to complete it. I want to live in a completely organized and efficient house, where everything is dust free, neatly stored or aesthetically displayed. I am starting this one tomorrow, and I'm tackling my Study first since it is currently a mass of empty post-holiday boxes, discarded wrappings and piles of 2007's junk mail. I also want to be more organized online, and I am in already in the process of streamlining my files and folders and transferring my massive list of Favorites to the wonderfully fun, useful and addicting Del.icio.us site.

Revisiting My Scrapbooking Hobby
I can't recall finishing a single layout in 2007, and that is just inexcusable. Even before I discovered the incredibly satisfying hobby of scrapbooking I always loved taking pictures and putting together photo albums. Now I have, in a corner of my Study that I can almost see over the tower of boxes and trash, a huge stash of largely untouched scrapbook supplies and tons of great pictures that no one ever sees. This year a lot of those materials will be transformed into finished pages, layouts and albums.

Related to this resolution is the development (pun intended, I think) of my photography skills. I stumbled upon Project365 today and was fascinated by the idea. Taking a photograph a day is a simple but brilliant idea and I'm looking froward to seeing what comes of this a year from now.

Learning Spanish
Despite three years of high school German and four semesters of French in college, I can only speak English. I think becoming conversant in at least one language other than your native tongue is a noble pursuit, and this year I have decided to give Spanish a try. I've found several promising online sources to make use of, including an interesting podcast course called Coffee Break Spanish.

Losing Weight
When I originally made this resolution I had a number of pounds in mind to lose and ideas about which diet plan I might want to start this time, but I have since decided to try this Secret style and just "put it out to the universe" that I will gradually, naturally and effortlessly be losing weight this year. Seriously. After struggling with thyroid issues and failing at "dieting", I have decided to stop counting calories, stop worrying about food, start falling back in love with my body - whatever it looks like - and just see if thinking less about food issues might actually make weight loss happen a little more. Even if it doesn't work, I plan to be a lot less stressed about the whole thing, which may work to my metabolic advantage as well.

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So, there you have it - my outline for a fun, more productive and less stressful year. ¡Deséeme la suerte!