Skip to main content

Alphasmart, take one

Captain’s Log, Stardate 10.10.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson.
My Monday book giveaway is Thanks for the Mammogram! AND Reconstructing Natalie, both by Laura Jensen Walker.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on the blog posts above. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for The Wedding Caper and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Pick my title! I’m still holding a poll for the title of my book! Go to this blog post to cast your vote!

My Alphasmart, how I love thee! Let me count the ways...
(Okay, so I wrote this a few months ago when I was being silly)

** Sitting in bed with a bedside lamp, taking advantage of the middle of the night brainstorm.

** Out in the backyard on a picnic blanket, while the dog runs and chases squirrels across the back fence.

** In front of the TV, taking notes while SportsCenter is playing (Those guys have the neatest metaphors! They’re more hip than the high school kids in my church youth group.)

** Typing all my comments as I read an entry for judging in a contest. Especially useful as a safeguard in case the entry gets lost in the mail.

** The lack of a mouse makes me keep writing even when I misspell a word, because it’s too much of a pain in the petootie to go back with those darn arrow keys to change “tath” to “that.” This total lack of left brain work keeps me in the right brain creative zone.

** Taking notes as I read a book, remembering plot events and my impressions as I read so that I can write a terrific, in-depth review.

** Writing in the car—on the passenger side, NOT while driving, in case any of you doofuses were going to make cracks about my stellar car handling—without getting a headache since the screen is too small to see anyway and I never correct my typos because there’s no mouse.

TMI:

Writing: Neck deep in revisions. I’ve finally figured out how to organize my plan of attack so that I’m not too overwhelmed. Please continue to pray for me. I’ll be going over to Dineen’s house today so we can both work.

Diet: I’m not doing too badly. I dropped a pound as of yesterday morning. Of course, I’m still two pounds up from my bad eating the entire month of September.

I also exercised for an hour yesterday, and managed to control my portions throughout the day.

I discovered how to pop popcorn on the stovetop. It’s very easy, very fast, and even though you use a little oil, it’s not too much AND I can use olive oil. And it tastes hecka better than air-popped—crispier and lighter. And since there’s a little oil, the salt actually sticks to the popcorn better than if it’s air-popped. I also like the taste of the olive oil.

And the biggest plus? It curbs my craving for potato chips.

Comments

Just Nancy said…
I love my poor AlphaSmart that died recently. I'm debating on whether to send it to be fixed or figure out if I can afford a Neo.
PatriciaW said…
Forgot about stove popped popcorn. Mom used to do it. Have to try it. Two bags of chips (grocery store size bags) in last 5 days.
Trish Ryan said…
Oooo...anything that helps with the chip cravings is a beautiful thing! And you're right, stove topped popcorn tastes better than air popped!

Popular Posts

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...

Insecurities in writing

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.31.2005 Happy Halloween! I'm filching--er, giving away candy at the front door to all these kids. (The Butterfinger Crisp bars are GOOD.) I just emailed Dee about something that's been bugging me--as I do the rewrites for my suspense, I'm feeling insecure. I got great feedback from Wendy and those authors' scoresheets, so I know what I'd like to do, but I'm having a hard time feeling confident that I can do it. Please, no fuzzy-wuzzy cyber-hugs or anything like that. This isn't something I need encouragement about. I need to sharpen my focus, sift through all I've learned from books, articles, and workshops. Most of all, I need to pray. I know my insecurity often comes from Satan. I give in too easily. I was even expecting it, ever since the ACFW conference . I can't shake it. It's like flapping your hand to get gunk off your fingers, but it's too sticky to let loose. I need t...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...