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Autumn Bucket List

I have always been a summer person.  Give me a pair of shorts and some flops and I happy. Let me walk in the grass or along the beach with my bare feet and I’m in heaven.  But holy cow, this summer had me longing for a little frost on the pumpkins.

As I’ve been counting the days to the arrival of September and the official start of pumpkin scented candle burning – and having nothing better to do because it’s been too hot to be outside – I decided I needed an autumn bucket list.  Nothing like daydreaming about cooler temperatures.

autumn bucket list

Number 5 on my list is truly yummy!

All you need is a pot of water (low rolling boil) and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Remove the paper from the can and place in water (on side so it rolls).  Bring water to a slow, rolling boil. The can should always be completely submerged and you’ll need to roll the can about every 15 minutes or so to ensure the condensed milk caramelizes evenly. Add more water as needed.   Boil 3-3 1/2 hours.  Drain water.  Carefully remove the can and place in cold water.  Let cool before opening.  (Maybe an hour or so.  The can should be cool to the touch.)  It’s really important to not rush this process – patience is essential.  Nothing worse than being burned by hot, gooey caramel.  We serve with sliced granny smith apples.  Delicious!

Here’s wishing you a fabulous fall season!  And if you have a must do activity or recipe feel free to share in the comments.

-Deb

 

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Keeping Our Schools Safe

Prevention is worth a pound of cure.

My husband is a law enforcement officer as well as an active shooter instructor.  He’s been busy preparing for a class which will teach other law enforcement officers the “how to’s” when it comes to responding to school shootings. While it’s horrible to contemplate, we know these things can and do happen.

As a society, we put a lot of trust in the judgement of government officials, school administrators and faculty.  We expect them to make the correct decisions to ensure the safety of our children.

I suppose my husband’s upcoming class has been in the back of my mind…

door lockAfter checking the mailbox at my office, I locked and secured the backdoor.  That’s a picture – nothing fancy but effective.  Preventative measures don’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, they can be purchased at the local hardware store.  You’d just about have to be superman to yank this bad-boy out of the door.  And that got me wondering – why haven’t these been installed in classrooms across the nation?  I looked them up.  The ones I found were called door loop locks and they could be purchased for less than $15.00.

For less than $25.00, a Door Club could be purchased. This type of security system can prevent doors from being kicked in as it secures from the floor.

Either option is better than just a standard door lock.

There will always be people who, for whatever reason, decide to hurt others but we can make it harder for them to accomplish their twisted goals.  We have to become proactive. We need to think about alternative options for securing schools and what might work for our area. Take those ideas to school administrators.  We can’t depend on government types to solve every problem. Sometimes, they are part of the problem simply because they’ve developed a myopic view of the situation.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post.  Hope you have a great day.

-Deb

 

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DISTRACTIONS – THEY’RE EVERYWHERE

Like so many of you, I work a full-time job and squeeze in my writing here and there. I find it tremendously sad that the thing I enjoy most is the first thing that is sacrificed at the altar of not enough time.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels a bit brain-dead at the end of a work day. And to be honest, it’s not that my job is unduly stressful or that I work in an unpleasant environment. Hardly. I like busy days and I get along with my co-workers. But there is a certain frustration that lingers with me through out the work day. Story ideas are born. Characters stop by and introduce themselves and to be quite honest, distract me from my work. I might make a note or two, time allowing, and I usher them away. By the time five o’clock has rolled around, my eyes are tired from staring at a computer screen. And those characters – they are long gone…

A short drive home and I’m preparing dinner. I might go for a ride in the jeep just to unwind. And I might plan on getting a few words down only…

DISTRACTIONSDistractions.

Excuses.

Poor time management.

Whatever you want to call it – it robs many of us (writers) of valuable time. And it does so, so insidiously, we often fail to recognize it’s happening.

It starts out innocently enough. An internet search/fact check becomes a quick stop on Amazon… A look at a cute puppy video is followed by a notification of a friend’s Facebook update… A text message that leads to a phone call… A short break that turns into an hour in front of the television…

Before you know it, your best laid plans have failed and its time to go to bed and you didn’t make any headway on your latest WIP.

The frustration is real. So real in fact, that I decided I needed to be proactive.  Following the suggestions of many other writers, I made myself some rules.

  1. Turn off the cellphone.
  2. Turn off the television.
  3. Do not access the internet.
  4. Be committed.  Schedule writing time and stick to it.
  5. Go on DND (do not disturb) during scheduled writing time.

So this is the plan.

Got my fingers crossed that I’m disciplined enough to follow through.

 

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Quiet Time

Hello everyone!

If you follow my blog, you know that I go through periods where I’m posting every week and then it’s like I hit a brick wall and I don’t have much to say.  This is true in my personal life as well – I’m all about being with others – until I’m not…  The quieter you become the more you can hear.

I call it my quiet time.

It happens periodically.   Part of me needs my space, a break if you will.  And I retreat to that place within.  And I let the balm of solitude sooth my soul.

And after a while, my batteries recharge.

And the world calls to me…

And I’m ready to answer.

To be honest, I’m still feeling pretty quiet.  But I did want to let you know I’m thinking of you and I hope all is well in your lives.

-Deb