Scraps and Snippets ~ Pinterest/Blog Inspired Pasta Meal in One Pot ~ Delicious

I saw this idea on Pinterest and pinned it. How easy and promising, right? But for some reason I didn't quite wrap my mind around it. I was picturing soggy pasta and not so much taste. Then I saw this recipe that was for a smaller portion size and I thought I needed to just do it. I had mushrooms that needed to be diced and cooked, and already diced onions, and everything else except fresh basil. 

I used vegetable broth and added about a cup of diced mushrooms and about two teaspoons of dried basil. I did have to simmer it longer so next time I might either decrease the liquid a bit or plan to simmer it longer. I simmered for twenty minutes instead of ten and it was not mushy or over-done. Win, win. I also will probably use half vegetable broth and half water instead of all vegetable broth next time. Delicious. And definitely easy. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Dronage...

I warned you that you'd be seeing him.  I love grumpy cat.

Over the weekend I accomplished quite a bit, none of it cleaning. We had a mini-conference at church that was cleansing. Best word for it.

I went to a book signing that ended up being a book reading for Isa's new book. Fun. She's so dry and so sarcastic. Needless to say her reading of her prologue with a side of extra sarcasm was hilarious. 

deadly butter chicken...yep that's why I'm Vegan.

Also, after I purchased Isa Does It and was carrying it around waiting for the signing to start I found a few contrast books. Isa Does It has some recipes that I will be trying. Expect a review sometime. Maybe not November because I will be writing instead of making meals for anyone. Not true. But. There will not be many memorable meals. Just sayin. Isa brought cookies from the book. Rosemary Chocolate Chip...yes. For reals. Very satisfying and bizarrely good. 


Then, my mom, daughter and I threw a costume party. Interesting turn of events as in last minute headaches, lateness issues, cars not starting. I had a great visit with my folks, enjoyed hanging with a few peeps, making pumpkin crafts and ate some good food. 

Sunday, instead of cleaning...do you see a common theme here? I refamiliarized myself with Out of the Frying Pan, KC, Fern, Zula and Flynn. And then I wrote a couple of scenes to really get a head start on the whole commitment to finishing this dang thing. Oddly. I'm really enjoying writing the scenes. Maybe I just needed a long break from writing. And I don't think writing is like violin....like if you don't touch it for years and years you don't remember a thing. Instead, I think the shorter writing and the reading I've been doing actually have been honing my skills a little. So far what I'm writing doesn't make me hurl. But, the month hasn't even begun. And I have thousands and thousands of words to write. So we'll see. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Announcing a Plan for November

So. Remember that novel I've been working on forever? You may not. It's been, oh, 18 months since I touched it. The last time I did I had promised Michelle, co-author, that I'd work every day in April of 2012 on the book. 

And I did. 

She has wondered a few times when the next focused energy might occur. 

In my "wisdom" I suggested that November, the month of novel writing all over the world, i.e. NaNoWriMo, might be the perfect month to do just that. 

And guess what. I promised. And bizarrely, November is just around the corner. 

I will be writing Fern and Flynn and solving a murder this next month. I will be bouncing off of Zula scenes and creating a bit of romance, too. Expect random. Who knows what kind of bits you'll get during NaNoWriMo. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Update...Living Room in Process Photos...

Recycled at least twice by me coffee table with my peacock feather/paisley abstract top....

Grand dog sitting for the month of October....

Ditto that.....

Weird effects...not sure why this pic turned out like this. But this is one mostly finished section of wall. The gold is an accurate shade pretty much...it is not the yellow it looks like below. Yikes. The long wall will have a canvas with the words from Matthew about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field and that if we seek God we don't have to worry about the daily needs we have. 

My repainted super cheap white cabinet that the TV and DVD sit upon and in. It's got a need for a touch up. And I hate that the doors next to it look so yellow. YIKES. They are a rich shade of gold and the trim around it is going to be the turquoise of the TV cabinet and table top. The accent colors are all the colors on the table top and in a peacock feather. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Laugh...My Style of Funny

So you know that it's involving someone getting hurt. :  ). Is this for reals? I'm not sure, but the longer it goes the realer it seems and the funnier it gets. So. Whatever it is, it got me through Hump Day with a smile. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ I Need Me a Hedgehog...

My aunts always gave me the best books for holidays. Unique and beautifully illustrated with quirky stories with enchanting characters. I suppose those books gave me the need for depth, beauty and humor in my definition of a good book. One of my favorite gifts was Miss Jaster's Garden. The 1972 version must have been the one I received and I couldn't remember the title until I just did the search. I adored the story of the poor little sprouted hedgehog and I loved the video of Kayak. Now. I want a hedgehog of my own. Sigh. I'm going to have to get a copy of the book so I can relive the best parts.  

Serials and Scenarios ~ Rene Gutteridge's Greetings from the Flipside

I don't have a review because I just got the book on Saturday. It looks great. I'll post a review soon!

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Greetings from the Flipside B&H Books (October 15, 2013) by Rene Gutteridge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rene is the author of seventeen novels. She also has extensive experience writing comedy sketches, and worked for five years as the director of drama for a church. She has a degree specializing in Screenwriting, for which she earned the Excellence in Mass Communication Award, and graduated magna cum laude.

She is married to Sean, a musician and worship leader, and has two children. They reside in Oklahoma, where Rene writes full time and enjoys instructing in college classrooms and writers conferences.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hope Landon has been rewriting other people's greeting cards since she was six years old -- there's always a funnier caption. She's all set to chase those creative dreams with her musician fiance in New York City until he leaves Hope at the altar, deciding he must not really love this girl if he can't write a song for her. That may give her something to write about . . .

Hope disappears alone on what was supposed to be the couple's month long honeymoon. Upon returning she learns of her funeral -- everyone in her life concluded Hope must have killed herself after being jilted. Needing a fresh start more than ever, she heads for the Big Apple only to discover it's not that easy to rent a place when you've been declared dead.

Taking shelter at the YWCA, Hope soon lands a job at a Christian inspirational greeting card company as an assistant to Jake, a guy who shut down his organization's humor department. She has lost her faith in love; he needs to find something or someone that will make him laugh.

Is there anything in the cards for these two? Find out in the truly original Greetings from the Flipside by authors Rene Gutteridge (Boo) and Cheryl McKay (screenplay for The Ultimate Gift).

If you would like to read the first chapter of >Greetings from the Flipside, go HERE.