Tag: postaday2011

I Am My Own Worst Editor

~ JodiLea

. Paperwork Mountian

Progress is slow on the cookbook today.  I can’t write a recipe without tweaking another one, or formatting something. I keep telling myself, “just write, and edit later”.

I hate when I don’t heed my own good advice. These large piles of recipes surrounding me, sorted in some order that I forget when I leave my desk then return, are not getting smaller.  I know the reason for this, but I can’t help myself.  I catch myself reading sections that I have already written, then I need to change a word or two. I might need to add a note, or remove something dumb.

This editing when trying to write is bad enough. But the next day I discover I don’t like what I did the day before, so I re-edit what I wrote again. I need to write at this stage, and I’m just not getting to it. Grrrrr…

If you wonder if I would be a happier editor than a writer, I assure you I would not. Then I crack-up because my spelling and grammar are so atrocious that I stump spell check. And the grammar checker constantly nags at me. I write how I speak most of the time, between the California Valley Girl, Kansas Farmer, and the Hillbilly dialects, it is amazing that I write at all.

At least, I think I can. 😉

The Cookbook

~ JodiLea

Future Cookbook

It all started when my kids complained when I created a new meal (that they liked), and they requested it for dinner again, I couldn’t remember exactly what I had done the first time. It was rare when all 3 of them wanted the same meal, so I began to write things down.

“I’ll write a cookbook!”  I announce to my family.

My mission was to combine the recipes I had saved from newspapers, magazines, post-it’s, and stolen from friends and relatives. My recipe file box was so crammed, that I  got rid of the box and transferred the mess into file folders.

Now I can’t find a damned thing.

That was 19 years ago. My kids are in their 30’s and live elsewhere. One of them will call me from time to time, asking how to make such and such, and I think about the cobwebs and dust on my cookbook. Do I give up and buy a bigger recipe box? Or do I get off my butt and get ‘er done?

Opportunity to work on various writing projects came about when I moved into my mom’s house last summer. I moved in my recipe files and draft cookbook.  I now have access to mom’s recipe box – stuffed with recipes from her childhood. Old favorites both she and I forgotten about. Excited and motivated, I resurrected the project and began to experiment on my new victims.  I would finally finish my cookbook and pass it down to my kids and grand-kids.

How naïve of me. My time is not my own here – mom needs a lot of attention, as does my telecommute agreement with work. And then I discovered the joys of blogging. I need more spare time!

This  3-day weekend I will attempt to make progress on my little cookbook. I’ll keep you posted (pun intended). I may even pass along a recipe or two…

My Million Dollars

~ JodiLea

Money RollI have often pondered upon this topic [What would you do with a million dollars, tax-free] before today. In fact, hubby and I have pondered this together and came up with a plan of action. No kidding. There is a plan. Now if only we can remember to buy lotto tickets..

The Plan:

  1. Keep mum. We don’t even tell our kids because ex-spouses & other hostiles don’t need to know.
  2. Pay off the mortgage on our retirement home. Put our current house on the market and as soon as it sells, probably at a loss – good thing we have bucks,we move on to #3.
  3. Retire. Think of all the writing I can do without my day-job! Hubby will be in his huge shop puttering and I will have all kinds of time to write.
  4. Invest some of it. Not most of it because only God knows what the market is going to do. Our million maybe safer buried under the big rock.
  5. Help our children out. With paying off student loans, that kind of thing. Things they need. Need being the operative word here. They can work for the stuff they want. We had to.
  6. Spoil the granddaughters. Take them to Disneyland, Hawaii. Of course, I will have to take their parents too. In case I need to “give them back” when they are grumpy.

I realize that my approach to being rich sounds boring to most people. Too bad. I have had all the drama and excitement (a.k.a., stress) that I need in this lifetime.

So bring out my rocking chair, would you dear?