I just felt I should add a bit of random imagery.
This is my secret weapon – Rhubarb Custard Pie.
mmmmmmmm
This is the only thing remaining in my sad, sad garden.
Bonus points if you can even tell what it is.
I think my writing brain looks like that now.
And this beauty is my favorite plate. It makes me smile.
That is all.
In the interest of full disclosure, I want to point out that all the photos in today’s post were taken by my brother, Kevin.- http://www.kmillerphoto.com/ Thanks Kev 😉
I think everyone should try photography. Not that I think that everyone should become “A Photographer”. That’s not what I’m saying – it doesn’t even have to be photography specifically.
There is something that changes in you when you look at your surroundings with the intent to frame it, capture it, or reproduce it in some form.
I have always “taken pictures” of events and occasions without much thought other than to preserve the memory of the moment. When I changed the way I wanted to take pictures I noticed a change in my behavior.
Even when I wasn’t carrying my camera I was looking around and seeing a difference.
I could look at something I had seen a million times and be awestruck by its beauty. It became easier to appreciate my surroundings. Beauty became not only “things that are new and exotic”, but also “things that are familiar and comfortable.”
As a writer I believe it will become an important asset. To write you must be able to capture a story and describe it. Relaying that beauty is a skill I am still working on developing. You have to see the beauty of something and share it with others. In sharing, it is good to keep in mind that there are different types of beauty. Beauty doesn’t have to be shiny and happy. 
There is a sense of poetry on the profound or even the tragic.
I find that a nice, blue sky is . . . boring.
I like clouds.
I think clouds are beautiful and add dimension and depth to a picture. Much in the same way, a story without challenges or dimension is boring.
As a human being I find that being able to appreciate the beauty around me makes me happier.
I can enjoy the breathtaking moments along the journey
rather than just waiting for the view at the summit.
Now, I know what you are thinking.
“What’s to debate? Brownies are the food of the gods!”
This my friends, is the debate: edges or center?
My husband is a definite edge man. He likes them ‘cake style’ and well done;Â chewy not gooey.
Me, I like them gooey. I like chocolate lava cake with fudgy gushiness. He doesn’t.
So, the goal is to find the perfect balance. And, I think we have it.
Cake mix cookies. They have the taste of brownies (or whatever flavor you want) and the chewy of cookie.
Take any cake mix you would like
add 1/4 c. veggie oil
1/4 c. – 1/2 c. water
1 egg
Mix well and add whatever mix-ins you want (chips, nuts etc.)
Bake like cookies (350 degrees – 12 minutes)
The above cookies used Betty Crocker’s Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix and Reece’s Peanut butter chips.
Enjoy while solving all the world’s problems!
I love to bake.
I hate cleaning and laundry with the undying fire of a thousand suns. . .
but I love baking.
I lived in Italy for almost a year and a half and fell in love with the breads. Especially Ciabatta. It is my new goal to lean how to bake it. It takes some planning because you use a biga – a starter – so you can’t just throw the recipe together. The above picture is my second attempt.
The first was frightening. Luckily I have family willing to sacrifice and eat the trial versions.
It still isn’t quite right. The crust is better (yum), but the interior needs to be more open and airy.
I will be trying again!
There are only two reasons one should drive a car this color:
you run a large cosmetic company,
or you invented Pepto-Bismol.
*sigh* This was my favorite drink: Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Not the ‘Part II’ version, the original.
That is all.
Here we enter the journey: my travels along the road of becoming a published author. I have never taken any creative writing courses. My degrees are in the sciences (zoology, specifically). But, I have stories in my head. Stories I want to sing from the rooftops. So adventure with me as I learn, not only the craft of writing, but the mysteries of the publishing world.
I have been quite lax at writing lately, but I have a very good reason for that. You see, I am no longer human. I shift between foaming-at-the-mouth zombie and nauseated grizzly bear. I just don’t think I do ‘pregnant’ very gracefully. At this point I also have the flu. So, I figured I should write when me brain reappears, but perhaps it would be more entertaining in zombie/bear mode.
There's Magic in Story, 