Writer's Block

So friends? Do you know what writer's block is? Let me explain. Its the hours you spend sitting upside down on anything...literally anything...and let the blood flow to your head (fabled thought that blood in the head makes your brain work better or something like that.....well I can honestly say all I ever got were headaches) Or how about walking in circles chanting your characters names, trying for inspiration to strike. The music you have listened to the past seven months will not help now that you could probably compose something yourself, you have looked at everything on pinterest trying to find something that looks like your characters, you spend hours looking through movie synopsis's seeing if you can throw a few different things together and come up with something original (with the directors help :) of course) You edit, and re-edit and edit some more, almost to a point where your novel has taken a completely different course. You omit characters, you add characters...think think think!!! But still, saying you have "run into a brick wall" is just not strong enough a term. That was me for the month of January. So of course I voiced my problems to my good friend who suggested I write some shorts, small 10 or so page booklets. She sent me some photo's one of which happened to be an old military photograph. Well I chose that one and a few days later I have more then the minimum requirement of pages. So, because I have such a hard time thinking of things to write on my blog, I have decided to upload this little story in parts. I will start posting soon, and hope you look forward to it as much as I do. I also would appreciate your criticism and opinion. (gently said and clean of course.)
Signing off for now,
Molly D

A Dark Knight

I love costumes, and I love cosplay! And if there is one thing that kills me, it is a costume that looks like I pulled a plastic stretchy thing out of a party city bag. So this year, I decided to make a costume for Halloween that looked cool. That is how this little page started.

I might do some tutorials for little things later on but right now, the finished product. Now this project was a simple one but it felt like it took me forever to make. That was because this is my senior year in high school and its been killer.
So it consists of (and I cheated with a few things)
A pair of black smooth pants from kohls
A pair of cool looking leather boots I got last Christmas
a black pirate shirt I bought on amazon
A cape
a tunic
a belt
and of course...
WEAPONS!
PS. you might also need an awesome friend who owns a horse and a nice camera and loves to take pictures! These pictures were taken by Evelyn Ashby at "The Raven and the Writer." go take a look at her stuff here http://intothewesternwild.blogspot.com/

And with out further ado.....the pictures

Yes I know, I am pretty sure they did not have combo's back then, beg pardon, it was the only black bow we had and I was not about to paint our expensive one

   Yes they really let me ride the horse, she just forgot to give me the reins for that picture, (I can ride)

 

Sorry there are so many, haha you are just seeing a droplet compared to the amount we took. These are my absolute FAVS. Thank you Eve! (And Mal and Chester)

Festive Fun Foods Part II Chocolate Trolls

So here is the second holiday treat I promised. A recent Christmas tradition in our home, these little guys are Chocolate Trolls after the trolls from the movie Frozen. Disclaimer: they do not look like the trolls in the movie! My baby sister called them that and it has....stuck! But they are just as cute and yummy!
Anywhooo

*this is what they look like flattened*

What you need:
A frying pan
A wooden spoon
A cookie sheet or cutting board (anything that wont crack in the freezer)
1 Cup of chocolate chips
1 Cup of peanut butter (with nuts is always better!)
3 Cups of cereal (we use Kashi Go-Lean, it is the best!)
1 Cup of mini marshmallows

Take your chocolate and melt it in the frying pan. Make sure the heat is on low. Better to learn patience then burn your chocolate, and trust me, it burns fast!
Now add your peanut butter, mix till it looks like melted frosting. Now we add the cereal, stir it really well and remove from your burner. Give it a few seconds to cool down just a little bit, you don't want to liquefy you marshmallows, but you do want to be able to work with it, so make sure it is still warm.  Now that it looks like Rocky-Road ice cream, take a spoon and make little balls or hills on your cookie sheet. Now put them in your freezer, this part takes about fifteen minutes. When they are done you can put them in a Tupperware or baggies, but keep them in the freezer.
These little babies taste SO good frozen, they are nice, chewy and cold!
Enjoy!

Festive Fun Foods Part I Apple Butter

In lieu of the holiday season so fast approaching us, I though I would share with you two of my favorite holiday recipes that our family has used since I could remember.

For the first; a harvest delight: Cinnamon-Apple Butter. If I ever what to make my brother happy I say I will make him some.


What you need:
A large bowl (depending on how many apples you use, I used 20+ so I needed a big one)
A large Teflon pot (Dutch oven)
Wooden spoon
Mill or grinder (a blender or food processor will work too)
Cinnamon
Vinegar (any vinegar will do, but our family prefers apple cider vinegar)
Sugar
Nutmeg
And of Course.....Apples, I use ones that we would not necessarily eat i.e.. bruised, cut or just ugly/old looking.

So if you are using the mill you can simply cut your apples into quarters. If you are using a blender or  food processor then I highly suggest you peel and core your apples. You may now proceed to boil them in your large Teflon pot just as if you were making mashed potatoes.

When the apples are soft, and basically falling apart, is when you can take them off the oven. You now grind them through your mill, or food processor, blender, whatever!
It should look like applesauce, does it? If it does, great! If not, keep blending/grinding.
Now, you can put your sugar in it right now and have applesauce, but that's not what we are making so, continuing on...
I used roughly 20 apples, so if you are not planning on using that much, please do downsize.
I put my applesauce back in the pot.

Add the following:
2 Cups Sugar (you can use whatever kind, even sugar in the raw, cause it will just boil away anyway. I cannot vouch for splenda though, we have never used it.) I used organic.(also, if you are not a health nut like my mom you can use 4 cups of sugar, if you don't you will just have to boil the dickens out of it)
1 Table spoon cinnamon (who cares about the measurement! Pour that baby!!!)
2 Cups vinegar (now this is key, if you don't add it, you will have cinnamon applesauce, the vinegar adds a small sweet tang that we LOVE in our butter)
The smallest pinch of nutmeg (this is not an apple pie, we don't want to be overwhelmed with the scent) you can add other spices too!

Mix it together, then let boil on low till done, or at least that's what mom says, and because I never know when "done" is,  she says its roughly (depending on how much you made)  up to five hours, but sometimes all day! (depends on how much sugar you use)

Now you can it and enjoy!  You can also freeze it and have it all winter, spring, summer, fall and winter! (it lasts a loooooooooong time in the freezer) I can't say that it lasts in the fridge very long in our house, I don't know how long it would take to ferment because it is simply gone before the due date ever arrives.
 There you go, I hope you enjoy it, its always fun to make and just as fun to eat! It goes on EVERYTHING! seriously, you can put it on toast, bread of any sort, your meat! on sandwiches, in cookies! the possibilities are endless!

Part II Chocolate Trolls coming soon

Haters gonna Hate

I have been on YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook and Tumblr recently, and one thing I found in common with each of them. HATE! I am going to get on my soapbox right now, I hope I do not step on toes or hurt anyone's ideas.

Disclaimer, I am a conservative republican, I hope that doesn't change the way you look at my blog, we all have our preferences. The following has to do with how I was raised and is based off of my own beliefs.

 

"Haters gonna Hate"

Its a joke, its a meme, its all over the place. It is used very often and I am pretty sure we have all heard of it. What does it mean? It is pretty self explanatory. And for the most part, its good to know, so that you don't spend your time with blood boiling, trying to think of a good comeback for someone.

But the haters..... As a person who has been slammed on the internet, had their family made fun of, had their militaristic background spit on etc...I would like to know what they are thinking. I would like to know what goes through their heads, why they think like they do. Are they just some thirteen year old with a trash mouth? Were they harmed by someone in the military when they were younger?

"Sticks and stone may break my bones; but words will never heart me"

This one I am sure we have all heard. Its a lie, my grandpa and both parents were in the military for years, and I hear so many people who think that the military are just bloodthirsty war mongers who crave death.

Really? Really? My mom was a doctor, and my dad flew armored helicopters. My grandpa faced disease, frostbite, and death, right in the face. He tries not to cry when he remembers his buddy being blown to bits.  He will always thank and look on the Marines as his heroes. (Frozen Chosin: look it up)

My dad was one of the first TSA inspectors, who when the military gave the call, he answered and went to New York days after 9/11.

I remember crying for days thinking he would never come home.

He and his coworkers are all but spit on by people I KNOW!

I have been called an ignorant (fatherless child)  when I voiced my opinion on YouTube {which I may add was actually pretty sound and in a  particular field I am very familiar with}. Sadly that was when I learned not to enter arguments with clientele on YouTube. I have also been put down for wanting to join the military like my family.

 

WHY? Just saying 'haters gonna hate' does not take away the wounds and scars we have been awarded by our deeds to America.

Why?

Some one please tell me?

 

Thunder and Lightning

The Moon rose with a blood-red hue, not a sound was to be heard. Soundless lightning streaked across the sky; every once and a while a long white-hot finger stretched down to touch earth. The clouds finally rolled in to obscure the bloody moon. White tentacles  continued to silently fill the sky. A few minutes later the booming noise could finally be heard. A fat drop of rain kissed my nose, slowly followed my its brothers and sisters, each hitting the ground with a soft 'splat'. More soon followed their perishing siblings till they filled the night with their sound. And just as swiftly as they had come, they disappeared. More thunderous lightning sang its midnight song to the dieing moon. In a few hours, it was gone. The stars peeped out from their cloudy blankets to wink at the silent earth.

This really happened last night. It was so exciting, I felt as if I had been pulled right into Dracula or some vampire hunter novel. It was pretty thrilling.

ps. this is not photoshopped

The Thrill of the Hunt

I am sitting here watching the sun rise above the trees in front of my house. It is warm and inviting. I put my blanket and sweater aside and just soak up the sight and smell of the early morning. Dew is now gone, the birdsong is quieter too, and the red morning has grown. Silence is golden.

Ah words! Are they not beautiful?
Have you ever sat yourself down and thought how exciting they can be?
Words...they take the reader (just as they do the writer) to far off and amazing places.

"With a book you can be a princess, or a knight! And no one can tell you that you are too young to slay the dragon, because it is all done right here in the comfort and safety of your home." ~Marty Davis (Love Comes Softly)

The power of words truly do have a great affect on life, both positive and negative. With words one can build an army! The same can tear down a kingdom.

For me as a writer there is nothing I like better then to sit down at my laptop, with a cup of tea and by my open window (only on warm days....but sometimes I do it in the winter too) and write.
Currently I am working on three novels and multiple short stories, and I can not start to tell you how amazing it is to get that adrenaline rush as you and your character push on! As you guide him through a deadly assignment. As you and she shed tears over a loved one. As you and he spend his last moments together. As you and she stand over a gravestone remembering someone who has passed on.
Why is it the stereotypical 'adventures' get credit for doing fun things? I think that everyone is an adventurer at heart, and you don't have to propel down Mount Kilimanjaro to prove it! We writers are just the same....the only difference is that we can do it without moving a muscle, how cool is that?
We put people on the edge of their seat, we make them cry over fictional characters, we are the ones riding the horse, aiming the gun, letting the arrows fly; we are writers and we love nothing more than the thrill of the hunt.