Month: January 2022

I’m Live!

Holy moly. As soon as I launched this site I thought, “What are you doing crazy lady?!?!?”

I feel so naked, like all the world is judging me. And let’s get real, that’s what people do. I’m sure those that know me are poking fun or rolling their eyes. Well, poke and roll all you want.

It’s like my coffee cups says…Whatever. You would know this if it wasn’t backwards.

Fun Facts

According to growthbadger.com:

  • There are 600 million blogs in the world.
  • There are 5,750 blog posts published every minute.
  • “How to start a blog” is googled 53,000 times per month.

Because of these fun facts, it is highly recommended that you tell everyone you know about your blog. You should also promote it on your social media, send out fliers, yell it from the rooftops and also at strangers in the grocery store. I have only told my husband who refers to it as cat with a blog which is a reference to an old show my kids liked called Dog with a Blog. Now I’m just rambling. The point is, I haven’t told anyone because I’m nervous and excited (or nervited as my daughter would say) and I just want to see what happens.

So, livingthefreakingdream.com is live. Hopefully someone finds it in the sea of blogs. Wish me luck.

Here we go…

This is a blog for normal people written by an amateur writer who enjoys laughing at herself and sometimes others. If you’re bored and want to read something that doesn’t discuss religion or politics and doesn’t encourage you to constantly feel #grateful, then maybe this is the space for you.

This blog will probably not inspire you to do much of anything. But that’s okay. Not all of us can save the world. This blog is simply an outlet for the eternal internal conversations in my head.

So, Welcome to Living The Freaking Dream.

When I first decided to start a blog, I googled— How do I start a blog? This was after I googled— Popular Blogs, Successful Blogs, Blogs for Women, and Rich Bloggers.

I’m not trying to get rich but I was curious.

Once I found Scott Chow’s, The Blog Starter, I knew I had what I needed to get started.

My first task was coming up with a name.

Ooooo, I came up with some doozies.

  1. Wannabe— This was taken.
  2. Poseur— Also taken. Too bad because I had a whole post for this one.
  3. Chasing Earthworms— I was feeling poetic that day. No surprise that this name was available.
  4. Hornets and Hamstrings— Also available. I felt very clever and metaphoric (Is this a word?) when I came up with this one. Hornets were supposed to symbolize the things that chase me away from my dreams while my tight hamstrings hindered my stride. Wow. I really thought I was on to something. I even imagined myself telling the story to Hoda Kotb after I emerged as a superstar blogger. Maybe this will be the title of my first book. Or…maybe not.

Once I realized that Entomologists may be the only people that find my blog, I decided to take a different route.

Living the Freaking Dream is supposed to be light and sarcastic. Personally, I’m feeling crushed by the heaviness of the world and I miss laughing without being reminded of how many people are suffering. I miss gossiping with my old friends without being judged by them. I’m tired of always trying to say the right things to the right people. I’m tired of pretending that everyday is magical. Sometimes life is boring and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Sometimes my husband’s whistling makes me want to rip his lips from his face and sometimes I want to list my teen children on Craig’s List. But, I’m living the dream and even though I don’t always feel #grateful, I do feel hopeful. Hopeful that there are at least a few people like me out there.

Who’s with me?

Anyone?

It’s cool. I can wait……

What am I Cooking?

Well, I’m not sure what’s for dinner today.

Currently, I do not have a kitchen. It has been gutted in preparation for a remodel. So, I have my trusty Instant Pot, indoor grill, crockpot and small convection oven to get the job done. It’s week 2 and I have to say, it’s going pretty well. Ask me again in a few weeks. I may be 10 pounds heavier with a Big Mac in my hand.

So, this week, I am trying Instant Pot spaghetti from one of my favorite cooking sites, The Salty Marshmallow. I will let you know if this is a hit with the family or a miss. I have super picky children but my husband will eat anything I give him and say, “sure is good” in the most sing song-y, sarcastically sweet tone you’ve ever heard.

One big hit last week was an Instant Pot Braised Spiced Beef from another one of my favorites, Skinny Taste.

This beef was so tender and full of flavor and just the right amount of heat. I had mine with rice, cheese, jalapeños, and tortilla chips. I had it in a tortilla with pepper jack cheese for lunch the next day. It would also be good on a toasted bun or on your car bumper. It’s honestly, that good.

I really, really hate it when people review recipes but then totally change the list of ingredients. But, I must admit I changed a couple minor things.

First, I used crushed tomatoes and not diced because my kids hate chunks of tomato. Next, I did not use a cinnamon stick because I didn’t have one and I thought it might be weird. I’m sure it’s delicious with, but I chose without.

Next time I will top with avocado and sautéed onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Yes, there will definitely be a next time.

Tell me what you’re cooking this week. Please.

Update

The Instant Pot spaghetti was a success! I was convinced that the noodles would be a gooey mess but they were actually perfect. I had a few technical difficulties, like tripping the circuit because I had my Instant Pot on along with the mini convection oven for breadsticks and the microwave for peas. (The outlets in my temporary kitchen aren’t used to so much action). I also splattered sauce all over the wall and myself as I was trying to press the uncooked noodles into the sauce. Other than that, it was smooth sailing. There was plenty of tasty sauce but not too liquid-y as some of the comments had warned. I took the advice of fanning out my noodles so that they wouldn’t clump and it worked perfectly. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you Salty Marshmallow!

What am I Reading Today?

I am currently reading Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough.

I’m about halfway into this novel and it is not what I expected. I’m a little, dare I say, shocked at the direction this story took but I’m hooked and I can’t put it down. I have no idea what is going to happen next and for me, that is the definition of a good book. More to come after I finish…..

Update

I just finished Dead to Her and I loved this twisty storyline. This book took every direction possible and every character was a little nuts and/or really unlikable. I don’t think I’ve ever read something where I wasn’t rooting for a character. I realize that seems like a dig but it isn’t meant to be. I think Sarah Pinborough is brilliant for developing these characters so well but not allowing one to stand out as the victim. I felt completely satisfied with the ending. I highly recommend this book but be aware, there are some areas that made me blush and feel a little like a prude. So, maybe don’t recommend this one to grandma.

What am I Listening to Today?

I love to hold an actual book but I also have come to love listening to books. I started this after my playlist bored me on runs. I needed a better distraction so I tried a book. At first, it was a little weird to stay engaged and if I don’t like the narrator’s voice, I have a hard time liking the story but over the years, I have found voices I

recognize and I look for books with these actors. It’s really an amazing talent to be able to change the tone of your voice for various characters without the listener (me) even noticing.

Some of my favorites are Richard Armitage who narrates The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris; Finty Williams who narrates Three Sisters also by Heather Morris; Julia Whelan who narrates The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah; Blair Brown who narrates City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert; Patti Murin who narrates The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult; and Nancy Peterson who narrates The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards. And one of my all time favorites is Saskia Maarleveld who narrates The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. These are just to name a few and are just a handful of examples of their work.

So to answer the question….

I am currently listening to The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable and narrated by Eleanor Caudill. It’s two stories in two different time periods. One in the 1940’s and one in the present. I’m more interested in the present story than the past story but I’m only a few hours in and I’ve been distracted with freezing cold temperatures during my jogs/walks and constant commotion in my house because of a kitchen remodel. I will keep you posted on this one.

I recently finished The Wicked Sister by Karen Dionne, narrated by Kristen Sieh and Andi Arndt, and it was a really good, really dark, thriller. I also like Dionne’s The Marsh King’s Daughter, narrated by Emily Rankin. Both take place in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and both will keep you guessing while gripping the edge of your seat.

Let me know if you’ve read/listened to these books or any others you can’t put down.

I’m always looking for recommendations!

Update

I had exactly 23 minutes left and my time ran out. This is what happens when you get audio books through your local library. I love my Libby app and I love and support my local library. I do not love when I don’t pay attention to how much time I have left to finish my book. Because someone else was waiting for this title, I have to go back into the hold line and wait again for my turn. OR, I go in search of a hard copy which is what I will do. If I didn’t love this book, I would bother but I do love this one. It took a minute for me to connect but once I did, I was fully invested. Wannabe writers like me will love this story about writers—especially writers with dried up creative juices.