Weekend Warrior # 36

Weekend Warrior

I was so busy this past weekend that I am writing this on Monday after work.  It was totally another Hulk Smash weekend win for me!  Super busy, unable to attend everything I wanted to do and lots of fun!

I had company Friday night.    As they are not fans of Halloween, I spent the evening with them instead of attending my friend’s annual Birthday Halloween Bash. I am a fan of Halloween, and I made up for that Saturday.  My company was more rarely able to visit with me, so I spent a quiet night at home, entertaining.  We made supper and shared a bottle of wine.  It was nice.

Saturday.  Oh my goodness, Saturday was a little messed up and a lot of fun!  My time management skills were a little off.  My guests had a 5 AM wake up call, and I went back to bed after they hit the road.  I slept in as long as I could and got up to run errands.  I needed to buy ingredients for the One-Eyed Deviled Eggs I was making for the parties.  I made regular deviled eggs, sprinkled some smoked paprika on top, and then garnished them with a slice of pimento stuffed green olive and red pepper pieces.  They were supposed to look like One-Eyed Devil…ed Eggs.  I will share a pic, and you can tell me how I did.  I thought I did a good job.

One-Eyed Deviled Eggs

There was a NaNoWriMo kick-off event that I just could not swing.  I had two other parties on Saturday, so I had to pick the ones I needed to go to.  For social obligatory reasons.  As I will be mostly an author/hermit for the month of November, writing my NaNo book.  I will have NaNoWriMo friend time in November.  As it should be.

I went to the first party late.  It took more time than expected to make almost 2 dozen One Eyed Deviled Eggs.  Then I had to get into costume and do my makeup.  I will let the cat out of the bag, now.  I am dressing up as a Leopard this year.  I have a nice leopard print two-piece outfit, that can be worn anytime, and in fact, I wear it as an outfit or separately off and on.  Paired with other clothes, of course.  The top goes with jeans or dressier pants, and the skirt can be worn with usually a black solid dressy top.  For Haloween, I am wearing the outfit.  I did not manage to find or make a tail, so I am just not going to talk about it.  That is what I will say if I am asked, “I don’t want to talk about it.”  It should make it awkward if someone pushes the issue, and I am planning to make it that way.  Like there was a terrible accident, and I don’t want to talk about it.  I do, however, have my own cat toy. 😉  Just for fun!

I use a product by Lise Watier called Magnifix that is a makeup fixative spray.  It is made with white tea, it is also paraben and alcohol-free.  I was told to get it for my wedding, and it is a wonderful spray to have.  I spray it on after finishing my makeup and use the cool air low setting of my hair dryer to dry my face after spraying it on.  It does a wonderful job of keeping my makeup on, except for my lips, and well, there isn’t a lipstick I have tried that doesn’t wear off over time.  I am getting brave enough to look into some lip staining products.

The second party was with colleagues that are friends.  By then Roy & I were hungry, so we showed up with One-Eyed Deviled Eggs and pizza to share.  Roy didn’t stay long after the pizza was gone, but he came back for me at the end of the party.  It was fun to hang out with friends from work outside of work. 🙂 I had a great time.  I learned that Tequila doesn’t make my clothes fall off and that I have a stop signal when drinking it.  I was drinking it for the first time as the only alcohol for the evening.  My last drink didn’t taste good anymore, so I sadly dumped it down the sink before leaving.  I switched to water at that point in the evening.  I was tired yesterday, but no headache as I had managed enough water to chase.  It is important for a Diabetic to snack when drinking, and for everyone to rehydrate when drinking.  And check with your doctor first if you are on any medications before having drinks, just to be sure that there are no side effects.  Better safe than sorry.

It’s time to let the cat out of the bag.  I am facing Halloween 2017 as a Leopard.  I went online for makeup ideas and then bought the supplies.  The first run was a blast!  I will be in the same costume tomorrow.  I may change it up a bit, but the foundation of it will be the same.  Time to settle in for the night. I am going to have to be up early to recreate the same kind of look for the day tomorrow.

Happy Halloween!

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Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 35

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Homepage for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 35

Another week, another story.  Here I sit, planning a million and one things in my life all at once.  I have chicken breasts cooking with greek dressing as a marinade.  I have 3lb of ground beef to cook.  2lb for spaghetti sauce, and 1lb for Big Mac Salad.  I will use my spaghetti squash and zucchini when I eat my spaghetti.  Roy will have pasta.  He isn’t following the plan with me, but I must get myself back on track.  So I am planning meals again.

I am not making it to Zumba as much as I would like to be able to.  Transportation is my biggest issue causing me to miss it.  And a stomach bug this week did NOT help.  I am feeling better tonight and starting to look forward.  The weekend is busy, and having food prepped will help me be ready.

Big Mac Salad is something I love to make and eat.

BigMac Salad for Lunch

BigMac Salad for Two

It is really an easy recipe and can be found all over Pinterest.  I cook the ground beef, then add onion soup mix.  I use iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar, thousand island dressing, dill pickle relish, and to give it the BigMac without the bun garnish, I sprinkle sesame seeds on top.  When you want a BigMac, and you are trying to eat healthier, this is a great way to do it.

The idea is not mine, and like I said, there are many versions online, including the THM Trim Mac Salad which is found in the THM cookbook.  There are recipes that are completely from scratch for the dressing, but I prefer to just use the Kraft Thousand Island dressing.  It does the job.  They even have BigMac sauce for sale now in grocery stores now, if you are a hardcore BigMac fan.

The other thing I like to have made for the burger cravings is Cheeseburger pie.  That is a THM recipe that I make frequently.

Cheeseburger Pie

Cheeseburger Pie

You can find a recipe for Cheeseburger Pie at this link: Cheeseburger Pie Recipe

I am not the creator of either recipe, but I can recommend them both as delicious. I like to add tomatoes and dill pickles after it is cooked.  The recipe link shows it being served over lettuce.  I have yet to try it like that. ( I usually eat it straight up.) I also add ketchup and mustard. One time I made my own THM ketchup.  I would like to make it again sometime.  I am working on finding time to cook again, as I am not happy with the way things are now.

I will make cheeseburger pie another night, as I am going to do what I have to do and compromise.  So I am making spaghetti sauce and going to have it on my vegetables.  I am going to keep moving forward on my plan because I need to get going in the right direction again.

If you try the recipes, let me know what you think!

Treasure Seeker Tuesday #3

Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price

Here we are at story number three.  Three cheers to you and me for sticking with this new category.  Let’s take a little walk down a winding trail together and look a little closer at the significance of the number three.

I am the oldest of three girls in my family.  We now live in three different provinces.  We chose three different paths for education and careers.  But the source of our connection remains the same.  Our family is important to all of us, and we come together in times of need, and for reminiscing while making new memories.  Time spent together is now a rare thing, and it is something I treasure dearly.

Bling | Blog | Books
Three areas of focus for my new website adventure.  I wanted to keep some of my creativity outside of writing as a way to have a link to my other talents.  Creativity is my passion, and I am always working on many projects at the same time. This is nothing new for me.  I pick things up and put them down.  Sometimes I get to a certain threshold and can no longer set the project aside.  It could be a deadline, or just knowing that I am on a roll and near completion of my project.  At this point, the world outside of my creative bubble does not exist.  I become very focused and push myself to finish whatever I am working on.  Then I proudly share what I have made.  Sometimes it is for sale. Other times it is a gift.  Very rarely is it something for myself.

Trilogy

I have a goal as an author to write a fantasy trilogy.  My favourite thing to read.  There is a beginning, a middle and an end to them.  Sometimes they expand into a new trilogy or a series instead of only trilogies. Since I am a devoted reader of the fantasy trilogy genre, it makes perfect sense that I want to write my own.  I have started writing book one.  There are more than three characters in this trilogy, although the main characters may end up being numbered in a group of three.  They will all have a part to add to the stories, and I am happy to be finally making progress in that area.

Nature

Sun, sand and the ocean.  Another trilogy of sorts that plays a huge role in my life.  My favourite place in the world is on a beach so it would make sense that I am centering my trilogy in a place where the beach is easy to find.  I have spent hours upon hours just walking beaches.  It is something that I love to do, and can never grow tired of.  The ocean is something I will always be drawn back to for inspiration, clearing my mind, and a sense of peacefulness.

Common Thread

All of these things are important to me in following my dreams.  My family, my goals, my favourite place to be, they are all a part of what I will use to help me write.  You will see them appear in my books, blog, and maybe in my jewellery too.  Inspiration can strike at any time, and I am telling my stories and creating treasures in my journey.  Thank you for reading, and for walking with me.

#TreasureSeekerTuesday

Weekend Warrior #35

Weekend Warrior

I spent a bit of time cat sitting this weekend.  That happens sometimes.  I like cats, and there may be a time when we need help from our friends, so I make sure I am available.
I watched some movies on Netflix with the cats.  Movies my husband has not expressed an interest to see.  I watched the Gaga movie Five Foot Two.  I enjoyed it.  It gave the fan a look from the outside into her creative process, showing her as a person that has issues like everyone else.  It also gave insight into the thought process behind her last album, Joanne.  Wow.  I didn’t know what that song was written about.  I had an idea, but the documentary really explained a lot about the title song.  There is so much more to her heart than I knew.
I also watched Hidden Figures.  That was a really good movie.  It made me mad sometimes, about the way things used to be.  I am glad that things are different, now, but I don’t think that they are better.  People are people, and we need to work on being nicer to each other.  Me too.

I watched the documentary Long Time Running too.  As a Tragically Hip fan, I was sad to hear the news last week that their frontman, Gord Downie, died after fighting his battle with cancer.  It followed the band and a bit of his solo project in the last year.  They had a concert that was aired commercial-free last year, and any show they were in since, whether it was on CBC or CTV has been aired the same way.  The last concert of their last tour was broadcast across the country in its entirety pretty much everywhere.  I watched it on a big screen with several hundred strangers and a few friends.  It didn’t matter, we all sang, watched and cried together.  I am glad I made a point of doing that, as I never got to see them play live.  This was as close as I was ever going to get, and it was such a memorable evening.

I have reflected about the musicians that have died in the last few years.  I don’t know of any that took a fatal illness and fought it head on to raise awareness for both the illness and a cause close to their heart.  Gord has made Canadians stop and think about many things this past year.  He had the support of his medical team, his band, his family, and his fans through it all.  What a legacy to leave behind.
Last night another Gord Downie hour took up my attention.  It was the concert of his mission, The Secret Path.  It is not my story to tell, but it made me sad to watch it last night.  It wasn’t that it was being aired after he passed away, but the raw artistry displayed in telling the story along with the animation and song moved me to tears.  It was not a story with a happy ending, and it has me wondering what I can do to make things better.  I cannot fix the past mistakes made in Canada, but I can try to help and heal.  Someone said to just reach out and be a friend.  I think it is an excellent place to start.

Around all of this, I had a really busy Saturday.  I had 2 separate events.The first one was the annual Boston Terrier Rescue Canada Recycling for Rescue Event.  I showed up and helped separate some cigarette packages for recycling.  I helped hang a poster and went on a coffee run.  I donated to get a BBQ lunch.  My husband also enjoyed lunch and had cashed in some bottles a neighbour donated for the rescue.  I got someone to tell him about a dog that needs a home through the rescue, but he said no.  We have to be in agreeance when we get a dog, it has to work for both of us, and for the dog.  So no dog for me yet.

I then jumped in my car after bringing him home and getting my laptop.  I went to the first NaNoWriMo Meet & Greet of the season.  I had a little too much caffeine in me, and I chatted everyone’s ears off.  I hope I didn’t scare anyone off.  😉 I was a little bubbly, and if I am saying I was talking a lot, I was.  I think it went well.  We all answered questions when asked, and I think it was a success.

I was so busy I am feeling like I am forgetting something.  I had to scrub my BTRC t-shirt in between events as it decided to be a magnet for coffee and mustard.  Then I found out there were puppy paw prints on it too.  LOL.  There were dogs a the event, and they were friendly.  I really don’t know how I got all that done in a weekend, but I fit it all in.  I am feeling rather tired still, so I am hoping to have a chance to rest up around the other project I am working on.

I KNEW I WAS FORGETTING SOMETHING!  I am hard at work on the website.  I want to launch it on November 1st.  The blog has moved, and I will be adding this to the other location and the other stories up until November 1st will be in both locations.  Then I will be working on the website for the blogging and other new adventures from then on.  Don’t worry, it won’t be hard to find, and I am going to share the links when it is ready for the launch.  I am finally pushing forward with this project, and I am getting excited about it.  It was a super busy weekend, with ups and downs, full of challenges and progress.  Next weekend is busy with Halloween parties, and if we are lucky I will have some pictures for the story next weekend.  Until then, sorry it was a little late, but I was definitely a winner this past weekend!  How was your weekend?

 

 

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 34

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Homepage for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 34

They say that the core muscles are where your strength comes from.  Mine hurt today.  I had an awesome Zumba class yesterday.  I didn’t feel like I worked out that hard, but I felt it last night when I was getting ready for bed.  I am getting ready to start pushing myself in the writing game.  This means I need to be active, or I will be a blob of goo in December.

I am not kidding.  I have fallen way off track this fall, and I am working on getting my head back in the game.  I need to put together a plan.  I have been talking about this for a while.  Thinking, not doing.  Sometimes it is because I have other things that take priority.  It happens to everyone.  This or that becomes a priority.

The next thing you know, there are so many things that are a priority, you get left behind.  I think that is what I am fighting with myself about right now.  The importance of me.

I still have not checked in with the scale.  I won’t do it until I am feeling brave.  That won’t be until I am making strides in the right direction.  I need to start wanting to track my progress.  I can’t do that to myself right now.  I don’t want to know how badly I have let things slide. I do want to pick myself back up and start wondering again.

I had some lows this week.  That is a sign that I am turning a corner.  When I am noticing that I need to lower my insulin doses again, it means that things are starting to work in my body.  I have found that I am not able to go with a Zero carb diet.  That is why I am positive that THM is the best option for me.  I am getting there.

Writing about it helps.  I am trying to inspire myself with my words.  I have accomplished so much two weeks ago and nothing of significance this week.  Except for the change in my blood sugars and getting myself to Zumba.  That means this weekend I have some work to do.   If I am going to be successful next month with my writing goals, I need to get serious about planning EVERYTHING out.

Time to make some lists.  Time to make some changes.  Time to make progress.  Last but not least, time to make ME important enough to be a priority in my own life.

#TrustYourGutThursday

 

Treasure Seeker Tuesday #2

Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price

Hi.  I am so glad that you took a few minutes out of your busy day to read my blog.  I am humbled and honoured every single time I get feedback and new statistics.  Every time you take time to read one of my stories, you impact my dreams. You reinforce my beliefs to follow my dreams and make them into a reality.  I am discovering my purpose here on this Earth.  I am so glad that I am making it happen, and I am just as happy that you are sharing my journey with me.

I have always had a creative spark within.  It was not enough.  I have worked on cross stitches, embroidery, drawing, painting, beadwork, knitting and crocheting,  and now I have rediscovered my love for writing.  I didn’t work on my writing very much since high school.  When I was in English classes, it turned me off writing as a career.  I had to read books I never would have chosen to read, then I was forced to find hidden meanings that were a stretch for me to believe.  I like things to be at face value.  I also like to be funny, punny and clever.  Dissection belongs in science class, not in English class.

After high school, I chose a path to science.  I started a pre-vet program.  I never made it to vet school.  I did finish my Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, with an Animal Science Degree.  It was an honours degree.  It took me longer than the average four years to complete it, but that makes me all the more proud to hang it on my wall.

I met my husband while studying for that degree.  We met through a group of mutual friends.  When we decided to start dating, things clicked.  We are happily married, and that is something that I can wish for all of you to find. Love.  It is an adventure that we all need to grab onto and hold tight when it happens.

If you are not in that kind of relationship at the moment, please do not despair.  It is not your time yet.  Things happen for a reason, and I truly believe that.  Your story is not yet finished, and it is up to you to get up every day and see where it takes you.

I did not find a job with my Bachelor of Science.  I went back to school and trained to be a Pharmacy Technician, who currently earns her living by working in a call center.  Is this the career path I would have chosen for myself ? No.  Would I jump at the chance to go back into the world of pharmacy? Absolutely.  I enjoyed using the scientific side of my mind.  It was a satisfying career choice.  But it was not the reason I ended up taking that course.

I believe that I was sent in that direction for another reason.  I learned how to mix IV medications and prepare chemotherapy drugs in a sterile hood.  My familiarity with working with needles helped me to adapt to having to learn how to give myself insulin.  Sometimes you need to figure out what led you to the path you are on, so you can decide if you want to keep on that journey, or find a new branch and follow another trail.

No matter what path you are on, it is up to you to learn what you can while you are there. When you have finished learning all that you can, if you are not still inspired to continue learning, it is time to try something different.  Even if it scares you.  When you do this you are pushing boundaries, and that is when the magic happens.

Now I am going to plant some seeds.  Something to think about for the week,  to help you on your own journey.  What choices did you make to lead you to where you are today?  If it was difficult, it was to make you stronger.  How did it do that?   If it was easy, why was that easy for you? What things do you love doing so much that you lose track of time when you are working on them?  Those are the things you need to investigate further, to see where they will take you.  Maybe when you do, you will find that you surprise yourself like I do when I am writing.

One last thought.  When you find yourself going two steps forward, and three or even five steps back, go with it.  Dance within the ebbs and flows of life.  Join me, and together we will make our own paths in this world.  One step at a time.

#TreasureSeekerTuesday

Weekend Warrior # 34

Weekend Warrior

As another weekend comes to a close, I am going to spend a few moments with a quick summary for you.  I had the Lobster and Gouda Grilled Cheese with the crock of Lobster Poutine in good company at Claudine’s Eatery Friday evening.  We had family visiting this past weekend, and it was very nice to spend time together.

Saturday started slowly with a visit to Sweet Belgian Desire for a late brunch.  I had the Omelet Florentine with a side Greek salad and coffee.  It was delicious and on plan.  We then ran a few errands, and I bought a stability ball.  I will let you know how I make out with that purchase once it is assembled and I get a chance to try it out.

We then had a BBQ Saturday evening.  My guests were quite happily entertained with 2 back to back live stream concerts from home.  I also enjoyed watching them.  The Celtic Colours International Festival is well known for the music and concerts held yearly in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.  If you love traditional Cape Breton music and want to experience it firsthand, I highly recommend planning a trip to see some of the shows live.  If you can’t be there in person, like us, they pick one concert per night of the Festival and live stream it online.  They don’t reveal which one until the day of the broadcast.  It is available for 24 hours after the live stream is ended.  I started the Friday show and the Grand Finale was able to be watched also last night.  I am glad we found it, it was a pleasant way to spend time together.  I am able to use the tv and stereo for my computer, so it was a full-sized concert with surround sound that we watched from my living room.  It is nice to be able to watch events like that on my TV with excellent sound quality.

This morning started with coffee and tea at my kitchen table.  My family left for the next visit after that.  It wasn’t a rushed morning.  Roy and I watched a couple of TV shows together, and then we went to get a few groceries.  After this, I took a nap.  Sometimes, Sunday afternoon is meant for taking a nap.  Today was one of those days.  When I woke up, a friend had delivered some coffee K-cups for my Keurig.  I will gladly add them to my stash, and enjoy them.  We then went out to supper. I was craving Chinese food.  Since we were planning to go to Oromocto for Kingsman: The Golden Circle to see it in the early show, we chose to eat supper at Diamond House Chinese Restaurant, also in Oromocto.  We had combos and enjoyed the meal.  We had to hurry for the movie, it had just started when we got there.  We met up with our friends, chatted a bit in the parking lot after, and came home.

We ate out more than usual this weekend.  However, it was not an ordinary weekend.  I am going to be cooking tomorrow as I am not going to make it to Zumba, and I have things that need to be made.  I have leftover tossed salad saved in 2 mason jars to help start the week’s lunches off in the right direction.  I still have my picnic lunch ingredients too.  All was not lost in the planning this weekend.  I can also say that the cleaning is progressing nicely.  The dishes are being kept up and I still have a lot of organizing to do.  I made progress throughout the week like I needed to do.  The trick will be to start back at it right away this week.  Today, I needed to rest for the upcoming week.  And that is a wrap for this week.  I think I won again. 🙂

Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 33

Trust Your Gut is a series of stories about real people with weight issues, and complications arising from those issues.  It will explain what the person is facing, what their options are, what they have decided to do to take action, and why they chose the path they are on.  Each person’s story will be based on truth, so it won’t all be happy, but it will be real.  The goal of this series is to get people talking about options that are available for people who have weight issues, on either end of the scale.  If you would like to contribute to this series, there is a contact form linked on my Homepage for this blog.  I know there are people out there that want to help people like them; as I do.

 

The names here may or may not reflect the person’s real name.  If someone wants to remain unknown, we will choose a different name for that person’s story.  The goal is to help people, and anonymity is a valid personal choice for contributors.  I will use a person’s name only if they give permission to do so.

This week I am pleased to share another of my own stories.

Here is  Trust Your Gut: Tish’s Story; Part 33

Insulation.  Fat. I have it in abundance.  Someone might think that it would result in me being warm all of the time.  That is not true.

Circulation.  Normally, if you have normal circulation, all that warm lovely blood pumping in abundance in your veins keeps you from being cold.

Diabetes.  The chronic condition that I live with every day.  Making it difficult to do a lot of normal things, like staying warm.

What do I do to combat being cold?  Layers.  Yeah, that’s what the morbidly obese person needs to do to keep warm.  Put on layers.  Make yourself appear larger than you actually are.  Brilliant.

A friend told me that I should try wearing a scarf, especially when I started cutting my hair short.  I have one I wear a lot. It is the first scarf that I knit for myself.  It does help.

If I get up and move around, it helps.  Can’t do that at work.  So I layer up.  I do stand up from time to time and get breaks.  But sitting still for seven hours a day in a generally cold office means I have to take my own comfort control.

I have been cleaning.  I unburied the bathroom scale, and am scared to step on it.  I fear the worst.  It is taking me away from the computer and writing, a bit.  It is also a form of “I am not sitting down I am up and moving around so it counts as exercise.

I went back to Zumba.  I got 4800 steps last night.  That is good.

It has been a long two weeks, and I am up too late again, this time with very little inspiration.  So, I will keep on working on me, my house and my writing.

I think I have hit a metaphorical wall.  There is only one thing left to do.  Get back up and try again tomorrow.

Trust Your Gut.

 

 

Treasure Seeker Tuesday #1

The unedited Tuesday Treasure Seeker photo, which I took myself, at King’s Landing.  

Welcome to the first “Official” Treasure Seeker Tuesday!  I wrote it that way because there was a preview story a few weeks back when I was getting ready to launch this new category.  While I am still holding the reins and the keyboard, I thought it would be great to write about the Treasure Seekers (YOU!) and me.  We can start having adventures together while I am writing my books and working on this blog.

The first one involved thinking up a picture for this weekly category.  I am aiming to make it a weekly story, like Trust Your Gut Thursday, and Weekend Warrior.  I am hoping that it doesn’t become too much for me. Time will tell, as I am managing the blog commitments as best as I can so far, and the previous categories are still progressing. If I need to scale it back, it may be twice a month instead of every week, but we will see how it goes.

The struggle for finding the right picture for this category began with an online search for treasure, gems, treasure chest, maps, amongst other various thoughts and combinations.  While I was looking through many pictures and not finding what I wanted, I remembered that I had the picture I shared above.  It was taken at Kings Landing Historical Settlement a few years ago when I went for my first time.  It is quite the experience, to walk around, and see the farms and the people in costume playing the roles of people from our distant past.  We enjoyed our tour of some of the village and had a meal at The King’s Head Inn Restaurant before heading home.  It was the first time I tried Naughtea, which is a local honey mead made with green tea from Pollen Angels.  It is lovely.

Pollen Angels Naughtea

The King’s Head Inn Restaurant

Here are a few pics of my visit that day.

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Now you can see where the inspiration for this picture came from.  I think that Kings Landing Historical Settlement is a gem, waiting for people to visit and take in the experience.  Now on to the “official” Treasure Seeker Tuesday business at hand.

I wanted to make a picture that invited the Treasure Seeker inside, to invite us to look for what lies beyond what is apparent in the picture.  This group and category are meant to be about more than meets the eye.  Not just the flash of the bling, but also about what really matters to us as a Tribe.  So when it came down to deciding on this, I reached out to friends and the “Official” Treasure Seekers Group on social media.

I am learning so much as I work on this blog.  I am not the type of creative that needs courses to prove what I can do.  I jump in, and likely because of the way I approach my projects, I feel like yelling and pulling out my hair sometimes, but I figure things out. Usually the hard way, first.  I am neither a photographer nor an editor, but I do the best I can.  Sometimes, people guide me to where I need to find the tools I need to accomplish what I need to do.  Other times, people pitch in and lend a helping hand.

That is what is so great about my whole blogging adventure.  I have friends that I know personally, and friends from around the world that are willing to help me out when I am stuck on something.  It humbles me when people open their hearts and minds to help me figure things out.  It also amazes me when a friend has the very answer I am seeking.  I treasure you all. (See what I did there?  I couldn’t help myself)!

There were a lot of attempts by myself to get this done.  I am now going to insert a slideshow of my own photo editing journey, then I will share the work of two friends that pitched in to help, crediting their work and sharing their online links for you to check out what else they are working on.

Here is my progression:

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They are made with two different fonts.  I thought Great Vibes was a really pretty font.  I chose the other font, Lobster Two because it was a bolder font.  The Great Vibes was hard to read for some people, and the Lobster Two seemed to be easier for people to see on this pic.  I was then offered help.

Kirsty Allen, who hosted my first guest blog story, offered to give it a whirl.  You can find my introduction to that guest blog story here.  There is a link to the guest blog story at the end of my introduction story.  Kirsty is an author also.  You can find her blog, The Ramblings of a Madwoman with her writing and tips for other writers in this link.

Kirsty submitted two edited pictures for my review.

Kirsty Allen 1

Kirsty Allen 2

She used a different font, similar to the pretty Great Vibes I was working with, but it was even more elegant.  She also shared that she used, “…the wonders of Photoshop. Basically, I applied a filter in the second image, increased the contrast, and played around with the colour balance of the leaves to give them more of a blue saturation.”  I don’t understand what most of those terms mean, but I can see what they look like after she applied them.

Another friend, a former roommate Noa Price, also wanted to help.  She is living abroad now, and we were friends before and after we were roommates.  If she lived closer, I might be seeking her help out more often.  She is an artist, so she has a different background altogether.  She has studied her art in both New Brunswick, Canada, and also in Australia.  Her photo editing programs include adobe photoshop, but she shared that she prefers to use inkscape for illustrator and gimp for photoshop.  After a few trial runs, she sent her edited pictures for me to review.

Noa Price 1

Treasure Seeker Tuesday: Photo by Tish MacWebber; Photo Edited by Noa Price

Noa did some editing work on the original picture to fill in the hedge adjusted the colouring of it. In her words, “I changed it a bit leaving some of the path so people would “come in” and also made 70% opacity just behind the hedge so any text would be easily readable without losing the bush appearance. ”  You can see other examples of my friend Noa’s work at Noa Price’s Designs website.

After I carefully reviewed all of my options and considered the comments from social media gathered after this project, I made a final decision.  It was certainly a process, and as you can see, I am putting a lot of thought and effort into this picture, to get the correct one for this purpose.

This is the one I chose:

Noa Price 2

While I was working on this project, I played with different fonts.  Lobster Two seemed to be one I kept going back to.  Up to this point on my blog, I have used the font, Lora, with a tiny sprinkle of the font, Cabin Sketch.  I realized that Lobster Two really resembles my own personal handwriting style while working on this project, and I also really LOVE eating lobster.  It is my absolute favourite food on the planet, closely followed by chocolate and pizza.  So for me to see all of these things lining up, I have to go with my gut on this, and it is telling me that this will be the Treasure Seeker Tuesday picture moving forward.  Also, as I am building a new website, I think it is fair to expect a major font change on the new website.  At least until I find a chocolate or pizza font to mix in there. I hope that you agree with this picture as being the overall winner, and I look forward to writing in this category in the future.

If there are any topics or ideas that you would like to explore in a future Treasure Seeker Tuesday, please send me an e-mail or leave a comment below.  I can’t wait to see what we can discover together.

Weekend Warrior #33

Weekend Warrior

Happy Thanksgiving from Canada!  I am indeed going to stuff myself full to the brim of turkey dinner at a friend’s house today.  I am thankful that I don’t have to cook a turkey this weekend, as it is still warmer than seasonal temperatures here and I would absolutely melt.  I did see a turkey roasting pot at Walmart yesterday that looks like a crock pot for turkeys and claims to be self-basting while the turkey cooks.  If that works it might be something that goes on my wish list.  If you have tried this out, let me know if you like it.

I am cleaning this week.  I realized that I need to get into the cleaning again, before November.  I have been inspired to participate in NaNoWriMo after I decided not to do it this year.  I am going to write about cats and Susan, and the theme is superpowers, not superheroes like I thought, but I will make it work.  I have asked friends to send me cat stories for research.  I have an idea of what I want to write, and how, but was worried that I may not have enough information to write it all from the original idea.  I will use my own superpowers to win this year, I know it!

I have yet to complete the website setup.  I am working on it this month, but I now have more going on than I did before.  Since I started this blog in November last year, it seems fitting to make my move a year later.  I wanted to test my writing abilities before making this leap.  I think I can safely assume that it is not a passing fancy and that I am totally committed to keeping it going.  I am about to add my new third category this week, and I am really excited about it.  It is also going to have a few surprises, in terms of nerdy author geeky things.

Along with working on concepts and ideas for my NaNoWriMo novel, I have taken up the fantasy trilogy project.  I do not want to fall too far behind on it and am working on it every few days.  I am happy to say that a challenge I am in (are you surprised that I started another one? No?  I am in two right now, with one to catch up on when I finish these two) has fired up my writing for the book one of the trilogy.  I started a little bit of free writing and got some plot and character ideas going.  That was all I needed to pick it up again.  Who knew?  I didn’t.  I told you that I even surprise myself sometimes.

Weekends are supposed to be fun filled.  It was.  I also went to the Northside Market on Saturday, and am now as I write re-organizing furniture in my mind in the Master Bedroom/Craft Room.  I have made some progress, and want to finish it tomorrow so that I can move more craft supplies back out of the living room and into the neatly organized space in my Master Bedroom.  I hope to get this done because I am on a deadline.  I have to push through this week and work at work and clean at home so that I can really focus on the writing.  What do I need to finish before then?  After the cleaning is done, then I move on to website building, including an online store (exciting and terrifying at the same time) and moving the Blog to the website.  If I am going to get this all done before November, I need to be focused on progress and getting things finished.

By the end of the week, on Friday, I want to kick back and relax after a week of doing double duty.  Then I can implement the maintenance cleaning schedule and have a monthly and weekly chore list that keeps things from reversing into chaos again.  I know that chaos is a true sign of a creative mind and that it is not always a bad thing, but I am trying to change my ways for the better, and fight my way to be able to feel like I can spend more time creating and be happy about it.  Not feeling guilty and not doing anything because what I want to do can’t be done until I do what I need to do, which I don’t want to do, and then I fall into the nasty non-productive loop of living in chaos and getting nothing done at all.  I have a plan for tomorrow, and I have to set myself up to succeed before I give up on it all.  I know what I have to do, and it is up to me to do it.

What did you do this weekend?