Lenten Aspirations

Helloooo!  Now that Lent has begun and I’m now comfortable with the change of pace, I thought that I’d share with you some my resolutions for this year, including some ideas to keep Christ in this holy season.  At the end of this post, I’ll also share one of my favorite meatless dishes—Japanese tamagoyaki. ^_^

Resolutions

Sacrifices

·         Limited use of Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and recreational internet in general

·         No Twitter, Tumblr, or Google+

·         Limit listening to any music, except classical/instrumental

·         No movies, except with the family

·         No video games

·         No Starbucks drinks

·         Avoid desserts and treats, except on Sunday

Things to do

·         1 hour of spiritual reading and/or meditation per day

·         attend Mass as often as possible

·         visits to the Blessed Sacrament

·         Stations of the Cross on Fridays

·         3-decade rosary on Saturdays

·         observe traditional fasting rule as much as possible

You can never do too much for Jesus!

In addition to the three books I listed in my February Favorites blog post, I’ve added three more to my Lenten reading repertoire: On Loving God by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, and The Ascent of Mt. Carmel by St. John of the Cross. 

Personally, I like to have several “open books” at once, that way I can choose one that suits my mood and/or situation at any particular moment.  I feel that this approach to spiritual reading benefits me most.

…And now, a recipe for you!

Tamagoyaki

This is a very traditional recipe.  You can swap out the vegetables for whatever you like: spinach, mushrooms, cheese—just make sure that it’s all chopped very finely.  (Photo courtesy of Pinterest).

 

3 eggs

1 ½ tblsp milk

1 tblsp minced onion

1 tblsp minced spring onion (green onion)

1 tblsp minced carrot

½ tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

Canola oil for pan

Beat eggs and milk by hand until thoroughly combined.  Fold in vegetables and seasonings.

Heat a 10-inch nonstick pan to medium-low.  When the pan is hot, brush canola oil over the entire surface.

Instead of trying to explain using my writerly means how to shape this omelet roll, I’ll direct you to this short, very informational video on how to do so.

As shown at the end of the video, let the omelette roll cool before slicing into ¾-inch thick pieces.  Serve with sriracha as a condiment, if desired.

Enjoy~!

I hope you all have a holy and blessed Lenten season!

2013 Writing Projects

Lately I’ve been trying to get back into my writing groove, and focus more of my time on writing my short stories and novels.  And since I have given up recreational internet for Lent, finding time for writing is becoming easier and easier!  Besides a few poems, I’ve written absolutely nothing since November, so I’m a bit rusty.  I think NaNoWriMo really burned me out!

This year, I’d like to try self-publishing.  I know a few people who have self-published their novels and have been quite successful.  I’d like to give it a try and see if I can get anything out of it.

For this project, I began with 3 ideas for novels: The Meadow Where the Ash Tree Grows, Emerentiana, and Winter Girl, but after reviewing some old ideas that I had a few years ago, the list of possibilities has grown.  I’m having a very difficult time deciding which I want to write!

Here’s a brief summary of the three aforementioned ideas.  Which would you be most likely to read?

The Meadow Where the Ash Tree Grows

An Otherkind spin-off.  An adventurous, head-strong young woman and her clairvoyant twin brother attempt to prevent a race of eerie, malicious creatures from entering the Earth plane through the Gate.

Emerentiana

An old-fashioned teenager who lives on an empty farm with her widowed mother deals with school life and forms a budding relationship with a kind, but mysterious stranger who walks by the farm regularly.

Winter Girl

Companion to Snow Globe Boy, also an Otherkind spin-off.  A deeply troubled, deaf girl attempts to commit suicide by drowning herself in Mira Lake. Instead, she finds herself in the land of Forsythe, where Snow Globe Boy rules with his queen, Lia.

 

Each is obviously meant to be very different in substance and style, and maybe that is why I’m having a difficult time deciding.  I’m interested to try each one of them.  Anyway, tell me what you think in the comments below, or e-mail me if you wish.  If one receives an overwhelming majority, I'll probably write that one.  But who knows.  Knowing me, I'll probably end up writing none of the above!

I also would like to enter more contests.  Sites like Figment often have great contests that feature published authors as judges and offer prizes such as publishing, signed books and other goodies.  I’d like to take advantage of these opportunities to get my name out there.  I attempted to enter a few contests last year, but out of several I only managed to get one entry done.  I need to stop being lazy and be a proper writer!

Who remembers The Legend of Zelda: Farore's Melody? You've known me a long time if you do.  That is the title of my very first Zelda fanfiction, which I began writing when I was ten years old.  I'm seriously considering returning to this project as an on-the-side, break-from-reality sort of thing.  It's fun to write fanfiction. To play around with characters, settings, and stories that you love and make them your own.  Last year I completed one short fanfiction titled Darker Days, which was a Naruto-based romance fic starring Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.  It turned out pretty well, but the lovey-dovey style of the writing irks me now whenever I read it. Hahaha.

Finally, I’m going to get back into reading, especially during the summer.  I’ve got a huge to-read stack sitting on my shelf.  As before, I will be posting my reviews to Goodreads, with a book-of-the-month feature here on my blog.  Maybe I’ll even beat my personal record of most read books in a year, which is 60.  I read sixty books during the summer of 2010.  Now I hardly ever read, and it’s really been bugging me.

I think it all comes down to managing my time wisely.  As I discussed a bit in my New Year’s journal at deviantART, I spent waaaayyyy to much time on the internet last year.  If I was doing something productive, that wouldn’t be problem.  I’m hoping that keeping my Lenten resolutions will help kick me out of that habit.

So that’s about it for today.  Writer buddies: what are your projects for this year?  And what have you all been up to lately?  Feel free to share in the comments below.

 

'Til the next post!