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Category: family life
Too Close for Comfort
So, yesterday’s shooting was way too close to home. I mean, that is the exact campus I’d planned to have teen #1 register at for the Fall. So am I being paranoid in deciding she’ll go to the Northern campus instead? I don’t think so but some might. I completely understand the argument that a shooting can happen anywhere at anytime, especially in Texas where a lot of the citizens own guns. However, I also believe in not tempting fate. More than one news report mentioned the violence “could have been” gang related. What that tells me is that campus has issues. Now I also understand the other campus might also. But I went to both campuses (many, many years ago) and to be honest they’re like two different worlds. So for now I’m going to have to insist my baby goes to the one I feel safer and more confident about. Otherwise, I just might have to attend classes with her.
Diabetic Challenge Number…
Tomorrow is Halloween, which has never been a problem before in my seventeen years of motherhood…until now. My youngest is a type one diabetic, and this will be our first Halloween since that diagnosis. She made it through Valentine’s Day as well as numerous birthdays over the past year. Tomorrow should be a piece of cake, right?
Luckily, we’ve learned a lot the past few months and I’ve always rationed out the candy anyway. I’m going to have to be a little stricter than before but that will just make the candy last longer. Of course, I’m not certain that’s a good thing.
Aside from that, another issue is my own candy-eating habit. I was diagnosed with diabetes this year too. That means I can’t stuff my face with everyone’s chocolates when their backs are turned. Damn it! Oh well, so long as I get some candy corn all will be right in my world.
Happy Halloween everyone!!
Baking with My Daughter
My oldest daughter is a high school culinary student who aspires to one day own her own restaurant in either New York or Paris (yeah, she dreams BIG). I do everything I can to encourage her mania by buying up whatever gadgets catch her fancy at William-Sonoma and taking her to events like the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show when they come to Houston. I also encourage her by cooking alongside her, trying out different recipes and ingredients. HEB is our very favorite grocery store because of their cooking station where we can sample new things to buy.
When it comes to baking, one of my favorite dishes to make (and eat!) is quiche. I LOVE pies. Basically any type of pie, with very few exceptions, makes me happy. So, what better way to start the day than with a breakfast pie? If you’re unfamiliar with quiche, that’s basically what it is, an egg based breakfast pie.
First, start with fresh ingredients. I LOVE vegetables, so I usually load my quiche with all of my favorites like mushrooms and bell pepper. It also makes a pretty pie if you use multi-colored veggies.
Second, have your pie crust ready. I normally use frozen deep-dish crusts. This time I made my daughter use her mad skills to make one from scratch, and it was YUMMY!
Third, load up your veggies and sprinkle with cheese. I use either shredded or crumbles cheese, depending on what I’ve got on-hand. Cutting chunks also works but if they’re too big you’ll have cheese pockets in your slices. (that’s okay if you really like cheese)
You can get creative with your veggie placement too, just be sure to add cheese all throughout the pie.
Fourth, add your eggs in. I usually scramble up about ten eggs to start and go from there. Depending on how much you’ve put in the shell, you may need more or less eggs. Of course, you can use egg whites or whatever egg substitute you might need.
Then bake! For my oven, I’ve found about 45 minutes at 450 degrees works best.
Like most baked goods, you’ll know it’s done when a toothpick poked through the center comes out clean. However, be wary of poking it through a cheese chunk, that might leave a residue.
And that’s it in a nutshell. Enjoy!
Four Months In – Life Update
It’s mid-April, which means it’s officially been four months since my youngest was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. My family has learned how to read nutrition labels, count carbohydrates, inject insulin and take blood glucose readings. It’s been quite an interesting four months and we’ve made it through with only a few bumps in the road.
Spring break came and went with our annual road trip up into the Hill Country. We bypassed the Blue Bell ice cream factory this year for a stop to see miniature ponies. Then we camped at Lake Summerville for a couple of days. It was great spending the week with my girls, even if I didn’t get much writing done.
Professionally it has been a good year so far. I had an erotic release from Ellora’s Cave in January and am currently revising another to submit soon. I joined other Texas Authors of Romance Fiction members at the Houston Indie Book Festival at the beginning of this month and had a great time. Plus, I began a new blog post of reviewing characters and then giving away their books to my readers. Response has been good. So, what’s next?
I recently found out that I am able to submit the sequel to They Call me Death elsewhere. I’m disappointed that my publisher rejected it, but it happens. I’ve already changed Emily’s story and don’t feel comfortable doing so again. I want her story to stay true to what I’ve envisioned. It’s currently under review from a friend of mine who’s opinion I trust in letting me know if I really should change it up. Hopefully I’ll have information about where/when it will be published in the next couple of months. I’ve also submitted a vampire novella to one of my publishers and hope to hear back on it by the end of the month. My current WIPs are: another book in my shifter world, Kotori’s story, tentatively named Shifting Perceptions; a contemporary erotic novella about a photographer; and the sequel to Resignation about home-wrecker Heather, tentatively titled Redemption.
Anything new in your world? Feel free to let me know 😉
Spring Break Planning
February is speeding on by and Spring Break is right around the corner. What does that mean for the Missy Jane family? ROAD TRIP! My lovely little ladies and I absolutely love jumping into George (my suburban) and hitting the road for however many miles we can mosey in a day or two. We head up highway 290, stopping in Chappell Hill for lunch (mmm, sausage…) then on to Brenham to tour the Bluebell ice cream factory. We can probably all guide the tours by now, but the free scoop of ice cream at the end makes the history talk worth it. If it’s just a day trip we head back (stopping at Chappell Hill again for dinner). If we have time then a walk through Washington-on-the-Brazos Sate Park is added to the agenda. We do this every year.
Right now I’m in the planning stages of our trip and trying to decide how much time to spend on the road. I’ll be on vacation from work and the temptation to just sit somewhere and read will be overwhelming. Why don’t I have auto-pilot in my SUV yet? Maybe I can convince my hubby to do all the driving this year…or not. Well, they don’t make audio books for nothing.
This year I think we might take a few days and stay overnight in the hill country. There are just too many photo opportunities for me to pass up while at least two of my four lovely daughters are still willing to pose. But, don’t worry my precious readers. While the girls are gallivanting through the wildflowers I’ll be daydreaming of the next shape-shifter, vampire or hot-bodied hero to write up when I return.
A Door has Shut, Where’s the Window?
This week has been interesting in many ways for me. More specifically, Tuesday of this week was bittersweet. My newest e-book, Educating Macey, was released from Ellora’s Cave and my youngest daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The rest of the week is kind of a blur now, but I know I spent a little bit of time at work, a whole lot of time at the Texas Children’s Hospital in downtown Houston, and not enough time with my other three daughters. I spent basically no time writing or reading for pleasure. I did read quite a bit, but it was the same thing over and over as I tried to understand what is and isn’t happening in my child’s pancreas.
My mother has diabetes as well as a co-worker and other people I know. I didn’t panic when our pediatrician said we needed to head to the ER because my daughter’s sugar level was way too high. I though, “Okay. Diabetes, I can handle. I know some basics and it’s something we can deal with.”
Hah! I was seriously fooling myself and didn’t even know it. It wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that I realized just how naive I was being. Type 1, also called Juvenile, diabetes is nothing like my mother’s diabetes. It’s a completely different ailment and I didn’t even know it. Once I started reading and panic began to build, I realized we were in for the long haul. This is something we will monitor for the rest of her life. She’s currently seven years old.
I think I’ve always done well about seeing the glass as half full in every obstacle that comes our way. On Tuesday one of the first things I said to my husband was, “All right, the whole family is now going on a diet.” I was ready. I was willing to change the menus, throw out the junk and be stricter on the eating habits of all four children. That’s not going to be enough. There has to be a schedule for meals and insulin injections. I had to learn to stick a needle in my child’s body…multiple times a day! Thank god she’s such a brave little thing because she’s handling this better than I am. As I was ready to completely lose it on Thursday evening, I happened to talk to an acquaintance who’s child has Lupus. That conversation reminded me that I’m not the only mother going through this. I’m not the first, nor will I be the last. I am one of many and it IS doable. A door has shut on one chapter of our lives, but the family is now ready to crash through a window and let the fresh air back in.
Author Missy Jane 