The Curtain and Pen

Nebraska Copywriting Services for Small Business

Blog

By

Time to Grow

Growth.

That’s why I started this blog in the first place. After about 6 months of new motherhood, I felt like I was in a rut…like I was losing my previous place in the world, and that I needed to find a new one. Blogging opened up a new channel in which I could express myself, as well as preserve a piece of that former Lauren before she drifted off into obscurity.

As I say that, I realize it sounds like I regret my current place in life; I don’t. I think that every person who decides to open a new chapter in their life feels a sense of quiet mourning for the version of themselves that is getting left behind. For me, getting married (and even more so, having a baby) was absolutely a new chapter. I was faced with the experience of having to say goodbye to the Lauren I had cultivated in college…which is when I really feel I came into my own. Being around people who liked the same things, didn’t care what kind of clothing I was able to afford, and were accepting of whatever I wanted to be allowed me to grow into the confident person I was destined to become. I had finally reached a point where I was comfortable with almost everything.

And then came Paul.

The second I saw him walk into that room, I felt something happening. I didn’t know what, exactly, but things were changing. I was feeling a pull toward somebody like I’d never felt before, and it was fairly obvious that my universe was about to get knocked out of its routine orbits.

And, soon after that, I was saying another goodbye to a version of myself.

The thing about “goodbye” is that it almost always leads to a new “hello.” And that hello is usually a good one…whether you realize it at the time or not. I knew that saying hello to a married life was going to be a good thing…I just didn’t know how good.

What all of this boils down to is that I’m feeling a hello/goodbye coming soon to my blog. I’ve been feeling stagnant. A quiet, nagging feeling of discontent has lately been getting louder…I’ll catch myself wishing I were more like other bloggers…wishing I could do it better.

This tells me it’s time for a reevaluation. Over the next couple of months, I’m giving myself a new purpose…which I think is the key I’ve been missing. I’ve been floating by, trying to keep my head above water, without giving myself much by way of creative goals. This blog needs some active attention, and I’m going to do some soul-searching and revamping. Who knows, you may not even notice the changes…but I will, and that’s what counts.

I’ve been feeling the itch to return to some of the creative things I used to love… I mentioned awhile back that I wanted to start writing a novel. My brain’s started on it, but my fingers haven’t gathered up the courage yet to start typing. Those fingers have, however, started drawing again. I used to be pretty good at it…back in junior high. So, a couple days ago, after about an hour and a half of sketching and erasing, I had cranked out something small but decent, and I’ve decided to call it a success.

My request of you guys is this; please bear with me. I might not be so frequent in posting, but hopefully it will be because I’m busily working on a project that will help me get on schedule in the long run. Also, if you’ve got comments, complaints, requests…please let me know.

Both the current and future versions of me would greatly benefit from them.

By

DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte

Today’s a day of positive thoughts, productivity, and a warm beverage recipe to prepare you guys for the upcoming Winter.

Now, call me a wannabe-yuppie, but I love me some Starbucks. I don’t care who knows it.

So, of course, my fellow Starbucks lovers understand the unbridled excitement that overcomes them when Fall rolls around… all thanks to the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte. As it’s now November, you may think that talking about this seems a little tired… I, however, say, “Nay! Now is the perfect time to talk about Pumpkin Spice Lattes!” Why?

Because by November, your wallets are probably a little tired of forking out the dough to support your pumpkin habit.

A few weeks ago, I set out to try a Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe I found (with much better photo quality than mine) on Pinterest. My in-laws were in town, and since I always clean them out of their cappuccino mix and whipped cream, I thought I’d let them be the guinea pigs.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe, but I did change a few things. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Strongly brewed coffee, or espresso if you’ve got the machine.
Milk (in whatever form you like: 2%, Almond, Soy, whatevs)
Unsweetened pumpkin puree
2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
Honey

I’ll warn you, when it comes to things like this, I tend to just throw it together…I needed to make 3 lattes, so I needed more than what the actual recipe called for. I’ll try to be as accurate as I can…

Now, when I set out to make this, I realized that I didn’t have any pumpkin pie spice… After a few moments of irrational grumbling, I then realized that I can make it myself. Here’s what I used:

1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
¼ tsp. Ground Ginger
¼ tsp. Ground Cloves

betterpumpkinspice

Find yourself a cute little container and fill it up with your tasty blend of spices…then measure out about 2 teaspoons for your lattes.

Throw about 2 cups of milk, ½ a cup of pumpkin, your spices and vanilla, and a good squeeze of honey into your blender…blitz it till it’s nice and smooth. If you want to use a sweetener other than honey, by all means do it. I thought the honey went well with the cinnamon, and made the drink feel even warmer than it already was.

blender

Now toss your pumpkin milk into a saucepan and heat it on LOW until it’s the temperature you’re looking for. If you heat it too quickly, it will curdle and make you want to throw up a bit… It takes a little longer, but LOW is the way to go. You could also microwave it, but we don’t have a microwave…so, you’re on your own there.

pumpkin milk

I filled up a couple mugs halfway, then filled the rest up with my coffee.

beforewhip

And then, of course, I topped it with a healthy amount of whipped cream, and a little sprinkle of the pumpkin pie spice.

lattescomic

Overall, I’d say it was a success! Paul’s parents were happy with it, I was happy with it, and I was able to make 3 lattes for cheaper than 1 would cost from Starbucks. I might even say it tastes just as good as the real thing…but we all know that walking in to Starbucks, unwrapping your scarf, taking a big whiff, and wrapping your hands around that cardboard sleeve is pretty hard to beat.

By

Disney, Disrespect, and My Appreciation of Curious George’s Appropriate Banana Usage

Today, there will be ranting. And raving.

I’m not sure what inspired me this chilly Friday (when I wrote this) morning, but when I sat down to blog, I started thinking about Charlie growing up…and how I wish I could convince him that the only things to watch on TV are the good things…the old things, like Fraggle Rock and Curious George and Eureka’s Castle. This, of course, brought my mind to the bad things that live on the TV screen. You’d think I’d be worried about the shoot-em-up shows…the Power Rangers beating the crap out of each other… But, no. When it comes to terrible TV for kids, I have one thing to say:

Shame on you, Disney.

You guys remember Disney, right? The company that brought us Sleeping Beauty andCinderella? Singing mice helping heroines get dressed in the morning? Pretty ladies singing beautifully to woodland creatures in the trees? A 13-year-old girl doing nothing but eating a banana on her trendy new internet show?

Waaaaaiiiiit a minute. What? I’m sorry, I thought we were talking about Disney…the beloved Children’s media company…not MTV….because, where I grew up, when we were 13, people joked about bananas because they resembled penises. Yes. I said it. Penises. Now, granted, I went to school in Elwood, NE, but I’m pretty sure the banana/penis correlation is fairly universal. Now, this wasn’t like Curious George eating a banana for sustenance…this was a girl, dressed far older than her age, looking at the camera, giggling, and eating a banana. You can’t tell me the writers, who have jumped through enough hoops and stepped on enough people to land jobs at Disney, don’t possess the faculties to realize that they are slapping an innuendo for oral sex on their super-popular, tween-oriented TV show.

I realize that this may make me sound like a prude, crabby geezer…but I know what kind of theatre I’ve done in college, and I know that sexuality can have its place in entertainment if it’s done appropriately, and I don’t think it’s ever done appropriately on the Disney Channel. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be honest with our kids about sex, but for cripes sake, 4-year-olds watch that channel. If that makes me a prude, crabby geezer, then so be it.

Now, the sexual innuendo’s a pretty easy target. There isn’t much more I can say about it that wouldn’t be beating a dead (aroused) horse. Let’s talk about disrespect. Have you ever watched The Suite Life On Deck? No, seriously, if you’ve ever watched an episode of that and not been completely horrified…then…well, jeesh.

Those kids treat the adults on deck like idiots. The feeling I get from the kid-to-adult relationship is that of the relationship between between kid-and-emotional bully. The kids verbally push the adults around, and the adults kow-tow to them, praying that they’ll simply leave them alone. The kicker of this (and the difference from a bullying situation), however, is that the adults are asking for it. The writers use the adults as a springboard for the kids’ shenanigans. They are written as nothing more than blind, ignorant buffoons, who are a boring necessity, lest Disney let a bunch of 12-year-olds run around on a cruise ship by themselves.

I could go on about this for days…but then you guys would get sick of me. So I won’t. I’ll just sit here and hope that Charlie never finds out about the Disney Channel…and that the parents of his future friends are reading this blog.

Am I the only one who’s noticed this? Are there other Disney shows I need to watch out for?

UPDATE: I realized, a little too late, I think, that I was offensive in a way I did not intend:  The town of Elwood, NE is a great place… I just know what kind of jokes my fellow EHS members made, and that’s what I’m basing my comment on…  I’m really sorry if I offended any fabulous Elwood residents.  Also, apparently iCarly is a Nickelodeon show… so research fail for me.

By

Ah, Calories.

That’s a picture of me in college…pretending to be Pocahontas…looking super skinny. Which reminds me…

The Bonks are counting calories.

A few things always come up when you talk about counting calories. First, you hear, “Oh, come on! You’re not fat!” And then you see the Look. The look that says, “Okay, there, Lauren. Counting calories? Don’t you think you’re being a little neurotic about things? Are you okay?”

So let me just knock those right out of here.
First of all, no, we’re not fat. Are we getting a little squishy? Maybe. What I do know is that I’ve been suffering from a serious lack of energy and motivation for months (or 26 years) now, and a large chunk of that is due to the way I eat. I get stressed out because I can’t get everything done, and would much rather sit on the couch and watch Doctor Who all day. Now, I realize that this is a normal feeling…but I’m pretty sure it’s amplified by my crappy eating and lack of exercise.

Secondly, yeah, okay, so counting calories is a little neurotic in the first stages. After doing it for a while, however, it becomes less of a task and more of a general practice. The point is not to track everything to the millionth of a calorie…the point is awareness. It’s just like budgeting; as soon as you start to keep track of what you spend/eat, you automatically start to do less of it…without a lot of pain or effort. Paul and I need a lot of structure to keep ourselves motivated…and paying close attention to our calorie intake is going to be necessary at first if we’re going to stick to it.

As far as the “Are you okay?” portion of the Look… Yes. I’m okay. I’m not obsessed about my weight. It’s not a constant burden on my shoulders. You know what’s a constant burden on my shoulders? Having enough energy to properly and attentively raise a child.

This will be good for us, and ultimately good for Charlie.

The truth is, in all my years of being aware of my weight, the only thing (other than the getting-pregnant-and-exclusively-breastfeeding diet…but that’s not something Paul can do with me…) that has ever actually caused me to lose pounds and get healthy is calorie counting coupled with exercise.

That’s all there is to it.

So, wish us luck. Having Paul doing this with me will be great. We’re pretty good at motivating each other when we’re doing the same thing.

Do you guys have any awesome calorie counting resources or advice for us? Anything you’ve got would be appreciated!