Glutton For Punishment

I’m a glutton for punishment.

It took me months to finally get this blog up and running, and on Sunday I managed to make my first post. I have to admit, it was exciting. Now I have to keep the momentum going and post, as promised, once a week, on Wednesdays.

Damn, is it Wednesday already?

My horoscope was apropos last time, and on a fluke I checked the paper. Too funny.

PISCES  Keep your life simple. Avoid exaggeration or taking on too much. Put your creative ideas to work for you. Exploring a new interest or investing in a talent or skill you want to exploit will give you a new outlook on life.

I’ve been scouring my cookbooks, looking for something spectacular to make for the family dinner on Good Friday. I have a reputation to uphold, as the family baker and dessert maker.

I’ve had my fan favourites over the years. For awhile, everyone wanted the New York style cheesecake with raspberry sauce. Of late, it’s been a layered ice cream cake. This one works because you can change it around for some variety.

The original cake was vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, more ice cream, then my caramel/peanut butter sauce, then more ice cream. It was a big hit because the peanut butter sauce is sooooooooo good.

I change it up, as this has become the adult version of birthday cake for my kids. I use their favourite ice cream flavours, and the sauce of their choice.

This week I have to do something extra. My brother and his wife are coming down from the city and I want to send a care package of goodies home with them. In thanks, for the 10 kilogram bag of flour they gave me last November. I have finally reached the bottom of the bag.

This is a major achievement, you have no idea how much flour is in 10 kilograms. I don’t make bread, which uses a lot of flour, so 1 ¼ cups of flour I use for cookies, makes for a lot of cookies.

We have a good system, my kids and I. I bake, give them containers full of cookies for the grandkids, and they give me back the containers…empty. I get the enjoyment of baking, of spoiling my family; and they get lunch and after school snacks.

The tried and true recipe is oatmeal chocolate chip. This week I’ll add peanut butter cookies, so I have a variety for everyone.

But, I’m still plagued with what to make for dessert on Friday.

This is not exactly following the advice of my horoscope, ‘Keep your life simple.’ But, it’s family, and a holiday.

Back to the blog.

I apologize for this week’s content; my mind is on measuring, mixing and baking, not on writing. I’m allowed, as Sunday to Wednesday was a short week.

I’m going to try something different for the month of April, by participating in the Blogging from A-Z Challenge.

For the month of April, a new post is written every day except Sunday. With Sundays as a day to blog off, there should be 26 posts. The challenge is to blog thematically from A-Z.

This exercise should prove interesting, and make or break my blogging experience. I’m really ignoring my horoscope, I may be taking on too much, but then, it is such fun exploring a new interest.

A is for apple. B is for banana. I’m sure I’ll be able to come up with something a little more creative.

Better Late Than Never

I’m late.

No, not the kind of late that makes you think of the pitter patter of little feet. It’s more of an “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date” white rabbit kind of late.

Or maybe I’m early.

My plan, carefully thought out but uninitiated, was to begin my blogging experience by posting something every Wednesday, hence the name Midweek Musings. Not an auspicious beginning as it’s Sunday and I have nothing prepared.

A blog.

It sounded like such an interesting challenge a few months ago, but that was then, and this is now and I’m running out of excuses. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I spent an afternoon with my friend, Carol R Ward, an experienced writer and blogger, {you can find her at www.randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.ca} and she walked me through the setup for my blog.

The setup has sat, for days now, with those intimidating words ‘No Post’ staring back at me.

How to begin?

The pressure to come up with something identifiable, intriguing, {I’d settle for interesting at this point} is great. I suddenly find myself afraid, unsure if the format I’d planned was the right way to go, questioning whether I really wanted to do this.

Fear, what a disturbing emotion, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, even fear of success comes to mind at this moment.

Procrastinating, I reach for the dictionary on my desk and look up the word fear.

Fear n 1. An unpleasant emotion caused by the nearness of danger or the expectation of pain.

Okay, I’m not in any danger, but my fear is causing such stress I feel I will soon develop a full blown headache. There, an unpleasant emotion and the expectation of pain.

Let’s forget the noun ‘fear’ and think of the verb.

Fear v 1. To feel fear of, to be afraid,

                                    or

            2. To have an uneasy feeling.

That’s more like it. I have an uneasy feeling about this blog. I fear that if I put my work out in cyberspace, I could face having it rejected by the world. I have to admit my usual realm of rejection is quite a bit smaller.

Enough. Enough of this writer’s angst, this lack of self confidence, and this fear of rejection. Interesting, when I looked up the meaning of fear, I found another word that was more encouraging.

Feasible adj. 1. Able to be done, possible.

Feasible. I said it out loud and liked how it sounded. I’ve been planning to do a blog and it’s…feasible.

For someone who writes as much as I do, and I’ve been called prolific, I’m having difficulty getting this blog started.

It was a delaying tactic, I know, but I picked up the paper, scanned it and found my horoscope.

PISCES [Feb. 19-March 20] Networking will bring good results. Engage in functions that will allow you to promote a concept you have been developing. Update your image or indulge in self-development projects that will boost your confidence. Love and romance should end your day.

Well, talk about timing.

So, about this blog. It was unrealistic of me to think I could do the set up and jump into blogging with confidence and ease. It’s a learning process. Like my writing, it will get better with time.

I plan to write some creative non fiction inspired by my curious nature, my opinions and observations, some poetry, and maybe some fiction, excerpts from a novel, or a short story.

The blog will be a veritable Heinz 57, a little bit of everything.

I hope it’s entertaining.