NotesFromtheVoices

I will admit yesterday at this time (12:30), I was just coming back inside from "skating" on the ice in my driveway and making a snowperson on my back deck. Taking a picture of the snow! For the first time in 10 years, I had a SNOW DAY!! A snow day is very rare for a reporter but I had one because I live 30 minutes, 20 miles and in another state from the  newspaper where I now work. It was an amazing day. I woke up after sleeping in until 10 a.m. I made some chili using ground chicken. Then I bundled up and went outside to fulfill a promise to my son. He didn't get any snow in South Carolina. I promised him I wouldn't squander my snow day by spending it on the couch watching tv. So I played by myself by “skating” on my frozen solid driveaway.  My sad looking snow person! Then I made a snowperson using objects from around the house. The chili was good! Once inside, I had a bowl of my chili, which turned out pretty good a...

I can be honest and say that I am pretty much a part-time recluse. I work and I go home. I am perfectly content to be home reading, watching tv and crafting. To be social, I will hang out with my best friend at her house on the Lake.  I decided in 2014 that I would make a sincere effort to get outside of the house at least once a month. I figure I should start small. Last week was  my socializing for the month of January. On Saturday night, I volunteered to be the reporter/photographer at the Kellie Pickler concert.  I got all dressed up and off to my first country music concert I went. I had a good time. I had conversations with folks around as a reporter and just as a person. I danced to Pickler’s music and took some pretty awesome photos. I actually stayed out to 11:30 p.m. Normally, I stay up late around the house but outside the house, I am in by 9 p.m. After getting a few hours of sleep, I got up early on Sund...

I came to a realization while talking to my best friend over the weekend. For weeks, I have struggled with ED and some body image issues. It was a combination of a lot of change in my life and being without insurance and medications. I realized while talking to her that there has been a shift in my relationship with food and cooking. I have been choosing to eat as priority over other things in my life. In the past everything else came first. If there was a story to write, I would write it and then go find lunch. If someone needed something, I would do it before eating. Cooking has always been a part of my life. My grandmother taught me to cook when I was 10 years old. Before I was 12, I knew how to bake a whole chicken (and kill it before hand),  make dumplings, red beans and rice and buttermilk biscuits. Well, three out of four because my biscuits can double as weapons.  When my ED developed fully, my love of cooking was the first thing to go. As a child,...

Here are some of the many thoughts that have ran through my head during the last few days. I like to be warm. This is why I chose to live in North Carolina. Winter is winter and summer is summer. But the last few days have been rough. On Tuesday, it was 20 degrees outside. I am 40 years old and can’t remember the last time it was so cold. Things are back to normal at 37 degrees. There is a big difference between 37 and 20. I have been the last few things being warm and nesting inside my apartment. Downtown Abbey has returned. I was so happy that I could barely contain myself. It is in my top five of must watch shows. The computers at my job are bit antiquated but I am able to listen to iheartradio. Thanks to the site, I have discovered a lot of songs I wouldn't have heard. I am doing a phone interview with Kellie Pickler in the morning. I have a massive amount of writing pens. I went through them and filled a bag full of them. Now, I am going to...