Autumn

You want to write a book…

now what? I tried for about five years to get my book into being, and while it’s not yet published, it is going through the third editing stage. An unpublished book is still a book.

The inside of your head probably looks a little something like this: character, storyline, thought provoking idea….how do I get all of that on paper in a way that flows into a complete book?

I had so many times when just the thought of sitting down, and putting everything into words from my brain was too overwhelming. So, I instead, would spend my time watching TV, or reading someone elses book.

Wanna know the secret? Just start. I know, I know, that sounds way too simple. But believe me when I tell you that that is the exact step you have to take if you ever want to be able and say the sentence: “I wrote a book.” Just start.

Now, this is why it’s that simple: because you’re the only one reading it right now.

Do you really think the very first time J.K. Rowling sat down to write Harry Potter, it was the novel in it’s perfect entirety? No, she (probably) wrote out character names, small phrases, and certain events she wanted her characters to go through. They don’t have to connect from the start, that will happen naturally as your story grows into a living imaginative reality.

Seriously, jot down the very first sentence that comes to your head, and then sit on that for a few days. It doesn’t have to be the most perfectly grammatical sentence you have ever put together. It can be as simple as “Holden saw himself in the pond and felt sick”, it’s not the prettiest sentence, and means absolutely nothing to anyone else at the moment, but whenever I read it, there are clear routes I want to wander down, and that will develop into the story I am trying to percolate.

My advise. Just start. One word at a time. One sentence at a time. Soon, you will be structuring chapters, and blending transitions together.

Until then,

Autumn McGuire

The Life for Food

Or food for life….

I think it’s about time we all realize the importance of cooking in our society. It’s a primal need that I feel we all must master, or at the least, learn the basics.

Where does this start? Well, if you’re already a teen/adult, there are always YouTube videos to help you learn the little things. Don’t worry it’s not too late.
Teaching our kids to get in the kitchen and learn something that they will use, literally, every single day of their lives. That’s a no brainer in my opinion. They don’t have to like it, heck they don’t even have to be that good at it, but teaching them the basics, at the least, will set them up for adulthood.

Most kids want so badly to be treated like an adult. So why not use that to your advantage and let me get involved. Allowing them the option to pick a meal a week and help you cook, will start expanding their taste palate and their knowledge.

Will they be eating on Ramen and Kraft Mac & Cheese when they leave the nest? Probably. It’s cheap. But they will have the knowledge to either put a different twist on those college staples, or the capacity to create something homemade. Either way is a win win.

Until then,

R.L. Reau

Thought Thursday…

Good morning hoodrats! It’s a beautiful morning and all is right with the world.

Have you ever noticed the excitement winter air holds in the mornings? There’s spark. Whether it’s the lack of humidity or an actual holiday buzz about town, I find it quite invigorating.

I’m currently sitting at the head of my dining room table, window to my left revealing the frost on the pane. Kitten below my feet. Music coming through my speakers, currently being interrupted from work texts. Though life has a way to interrupt us, I find myself quite happy where I’m literally sitting today. Why? Because I’ve been finding time lately to do things fulfilling. Things that don’t just make me monetarily happy on the outside, but things that have the affect of being able to sit back, audibly sigh with content and feel proud of the person I am.

Let’s have a discussion: What are you doing today to fulfill a need in yourself?

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy- hold the lemon, insert the chili.

So tell me, you’ve got to make dinner and you’re under a time crunch. What do you make? Chili? Hell no! Well, you do now. I call this my Quick Chili. It comes together in thirty minutes tops.

1 Lbs. Ground Turkey (or beef)
1 can tomato paste
2 cans red kidney beans
3-4 Tbls. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (just trust me)
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt.

Brown meat over medium high heat, then simply add in the rest of the ingredients, stirring well until combined. Keep over heat until hot, then serve with cheese, Fritos and sour cream!

I have a more gourmet chili that requires a little more effort, I’ll share that some other time.

Get off the couch and get to cooking, life is happening one bite at a time.

Until then,
Autumn

Change the Sightline

The key to happiness is not found with another, with a place or with an object.

I’m not ignorant enough to claim that I have found the key to happiness, but I can talk about the times when I feel the happiest.

I recently heard someone talking and they said, “Quit focusing on what you are bad at and trying to become good at it, instead focus on what you are good at and try to be the best.” That’s a simple thought, something I could have come up with myself, but the meaning behind it held a door open to me that I had not been seeing before.

That led me to ask myself so many questions about what I am good at, what makes me happy, when do I feel the most fulfilled, when do I not feel happy, why?

I realized that I had been cashing in my points to happiness in the wrong areas. I had been looking to my significant other, I had been looking to my job, I had been looking to me friends. I changed my sightline, and that changed my life. I gave into the things that make me happy. Solo piano music, writing, incorporating song lyrics or move quotes into everyday banter. I started researching topics that interested in me, I became good at knowing myself, and in that I have found freedom to be happy.

It’s easy to point the finger to a location or an object somewhere in the distance and say that as soon as I get that I will be happy, I will be set. The truth is, if you are not happy in yourself now, you will never find it anywhere else. Take time to get to know yourself. Let others influence you to be better. Let the world challenge you. But never lose who you are.

Holy Cookies Batman

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, get ready to eat a shit ton of some sweets.

Best damn Chocolate Chip Cookies for your eating pleasure. Just whip up the batch and bill me your diabetic healthcare bill. Please don’t actually do that.

Pro tip: Always read the whole recipe before going out on your next adventure.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour 
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter 
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed, brown sugar 
1 tsp. vanilla extract 
2 Tbls. molasses 
2 large eggs 
1 cup, nestle tollhouse semi sweet chocolate chips 
1 cup nestle semi sweet mini morsels 
1 cup chopped pecans 

In small mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients until well blended. 

In stand mixer add in butter, vanilla, molasses and sugars until well combined. Add in eggs one at a time. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients until the dough comes together. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.

If you have any questions or alterations, in the words of Mumford & Sons; “Lend me your ears and I’ll change what you eat” – or just comment on here, twitter or IG and I’ll try it out! If mine are better I will rub it in.

Get off the couch and get to cooking. L

ife is happening one meal at a time.

Until then,
Autumn

Unhappiness.

Unhappiness like a parasite you didn’t know you had. It slowly eats away at the core of who are you until you wake up one day and realize you’re hungry. But for what? You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know there is a yearning in your gut that you can’t seem to get rid of. It’s when you realize your own unhappiness, and trust me it takes a while to see it, but when you do, you have a choice, and what you do with that choice will define the sequence your life takes from that day on.

I talk like a wise one, like someone far older than my appearance shows. And while I am still yet young it’s as if I have lived a thousand lifetimes, a billions breathes reverberating through my lungs and into the air. I felt this way the moment you read my words, the moment our journeys crossed and you became apart of me.