Sneak Peek!!

Today I give you a rough draft of sorts. I've been writing a novel and a children's book  for a while now and I'm ready to put a part out there and receive some feedback! 

So without further ado, enjoy an excerpt from my currently untitled Great American Novel:

    So allow me to introduce myself: name's Zelda, more specifically Zelda Rubylyn Ziggler. I am 100% a native Floridian and proud of it. You will come across folks in your life who do not always consider Florida as a real part of the South. Well that is a wrong assumption.

     Look: Florida is full of transplants, we are a transient state by nature due to all the tourists who came on vacation and decided to reclaim the Sunshine State as their home. We have wild creatures living among new apartments and golf courses. We have become a state to reinvent yourself in. We have become the butt of jokes with every weird and crazy news story. Florida is it's own bird, through and through. As you can see I have a very grand old South name despite my 5'4" waif frame. My momma was a Georgia debutante and my daddy is a born and bred Florida boy still in charge of our family business, which was of course citrus. 

     The Ziggler's citrus plantations have been a boom crop for centuries now. Started in the rich untapped soils of St. Petersburg, then moved into Central Florida and now branched out towards the Everglades. That's how I ended up living here in Hialeah near "oh-so glamorous" Miami. I'm not trying to get ahead of myself quite yet, but y'all need a bit of background before diving headfirst into this.

That's it for today! Let me know what you think and if you'd like to read more!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

PS: Copyright 2016 Meghan R. Rose. All intellectual property belongs to me. All likeness to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. 

Is It Too Early for Halloween? Or Nah?

After all the Summertime celebrations have ended and all thoughts turn towards fall and back to school and Halloween....can I just say I am so ready. Both for the cooler temperatures and mostly decorating my house and figuring out this years costume(s). Last year I made a large head-dress with antlers

 and kind of skimped out on my actual dress. This year there is a kind of plan in our neighborhood for a group costume, I don't know if we are still holding each other to this but if not, and really even if......I think I might finally make my mermaid dreams a reality and show my true form this year. It all came from a post about how shell crowns are the new flower crowns and just...OMG

You can look at all the rest of the beauty on Chelsea Shiels' instagram: @chelseasflowercrowns.

So now I am super inspired to try my hand at making my own, and luckily Florida has many shells to choose from to help in this endeavor. Also my favorite part of Halloween is making parts of my costume, as well as make-uping my face.  I am about to pin all the things and watch all the tutorials.

We are not doing any inside party this year, all will be on the outside/front of the house, I'm sure my man has something planned to make a big impact, and don't worry friends, it'll be documented properly this year!

Can't wait to get started!

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

Summer Blues

July 4th came and went. It was a great time with lots of friendships and smiles. Now we are back to regular neighbor hangs and nothing big really happening until the fall. I will definitely be updating more during September/October as we will be throwing 2 parties. The first is a baby fiesta for my dear sweet neighbors and their upcoming baby girl, and the second is a combined effort block party for Halloween! I am so excited for both and looking forward to making all kinds of decorations and foods :)

Now we come to the hottest time during the summer in Florida. My car always registers in the 100's when I get into it after work from sitting on the black tar parking lot all day. If you're wearing shorts, you've got the thigh/butt burns from a leather seat permanently until about late October.

This is also the time for a bit of a summer blues since there isn't anything going on, it's pretty similar to the winter blues in January after all the holiday season is over. It's the best time I think for a bit of an exercise kick. Get those endorphin's flowing! I believe we are getting a work group together to have a check in so that we'll actually work out, but I do know that I'll pick up on my running this week, I need to get active for my own self health.

Wish me luck, y'all!

Keep on, keepin' on!

M.

What Is Happening

        This blog isn't a place normally for politics or current events but I can't sit here and stay silent. This world has gone mad. We are ripping each other down daily for opinions that before social media we would have sat and listened to with an open mind. It's a lot easier to be an asshole behind a computer screen than face to face.
     
        Now nowhere is safe. School, church, theme parks, a damn nightclub! Every time I leave my house I feel like I need to be on extra high alert. Scoping out everyone and making sure I have an exit plan. That's insane and that's the world  we have built for ourselves. A girl was killed signing autographs for fans. Numerous human beings were massacred while dancing and drinking and loving life. Another girl was murdered because she broke up with her boyfriend! No one is safe and no one is taking the blame. Pointing fingers in a circle until we implode onto ourselves.

         So now the conversation about gun control comes back up. No, we shouldn't completely do away with guns. Yes, there needs to be a review of the laws. In other countries there are laws requiring classes every year, there are laws requiring a longer wait/processing time. There are so many factors of legislation to look into, none of which abolish guns completely. If you do that then it becomes a very active black market situation and then you are worse than when you began.

         We need less hate in this world. More TOLERANCE. More LOVE. More RESPECT for your fellow human beings. We are all on this planet for such a short time. We need to stop all this negative bullshit and violence and get back as one. Peace is missing, and has been for a very long time.


Keep on, Keepin' on,

M.

Stream Of Consciousness

I'm sitting here typing and listening to podcasts and thinking about my future life. Age is utterly just a number and in the generation that I am in, we have always been told to be anything. Do anything. Barbie held every job from a baker to a scientist to a teacher to an Olympic gymnast AND ice skater and up to president and then she was even an astronaut. When I look at all the paths friends of mine have taken I wonder is that what you wanted to do? Did you take the job to be successful and secure your adulthood? Did you take the job that was your passion whether or not it would offer a good path? Why did you change your path? I wonder if because we were given SO many options if that's not exactly the reasons that so many 20-30 somethings are not as driven. We have a laissez-faire attitude about life OR we are over confidently passionate about politics or money or issues. We post inspirational quotes and still drink ourselves stupid because our lives aren't the glossy 8X10 we post on Facebook. We think that because some of our heroes from our childhoods didn't start their careers til late 30s or 40s or even 50s that we still have time. I am guilty of this. I am in the same boat thinking that I'll do it tomorrow. And then next week seems better. And then I end up staying on the same path, same dreams put on the back burner when honestly if I just went and did what I want to do, plus still keep my responsibilities and work hard that I'd be living my dream. I feel that maybe in the back of my head that I will go for something and that it will fail and that's why I stay safe in my bubble. Then I put out a little feeler and I get glowing positive response and I feel so happy and so proud and I think to myself, Meghan honestly just get yourself on this path and DO IT. Take your cue from Nike and JUST DO IT. Do the small things, wake up and write in this blog. Wake up and go for a run. Come home from work and actually cook dinner and then take 15 minutes for yourself and learn a language. Write in a notebook and start your novel, start your book series. Decorate your office so you WANT to be in there. Listen to your man, listen to your friends, listen to strangers that have stumbled upon this very blog and liked it. Stop worrying so much about the negative and letting it hold you back.

If you take anything from this, know that this space is something that I put into the world and I definitely pour my heart into and show glimpses of my flaws along with fun things like smoothies and antler head-dresses.

Today I wrote and listened to the rain. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'll have a new journal and I'll put some new stories into the universe.

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.

PS Thanks friends <3 :)

Homemade Tortilla Chips & Guac!

Recipe corner!!!

It's Memorial Day weekend y'all and the true kick off to summer BBQ's and parties. What better time then now to share my best guacamole recipe with you and also the tale of how I made my own tortilla chips, which was a slight fail but still a tasty one!

 I made enough guacamole for one person, maybe two people, you can double or triple this recipe easily to tailor to your needs.

INGREDIENTS:

2 ripe avocados
Tomato, diced....I only had cherry tomatoes on hand so I used a handful and quartered them.
One clove of garlic, smashed and diced.
A quarter of a white onion....you can use any onion or amount you'd like, it is purely for taste and crunch.
Salt & Pepper, generously
Cumin, also generously
Chili powder, you guessed it...generously :)
A shot or two of lime juice

Mix well together and let sit while making your chips so that it can ~meld~

I started taking photos after I had cut my tortillas, but basically you take either flour or corn tortilla rounds and using a knife, or like I have a pizza cutter, cut equally into 4 pie pieces. I had larger tortillas so I ended up cutting my pie pieces into smaller triangles and some rectangles....no one's perfect haha. Then you take your soon to be chips and you drizzle oil (any sort, I used olive oil but I may use coconut next time based on the final product) on them and then mix the chips around to coat them. Next I lay them out onto a foiled baking sheet and sprinkled cumin, salt and chili powder on top of them.

Preheat your oven to 400 and  put those chips in for....OK so the original recipe I used said to put the chips in for 5 minutes and keep an eye on them. I ended up leaving these chips in for about 10-12 minutes before I thought they had reached proper golden brown color and desired crispness. I don't know if my oven is a bit wonky, or I used the wrong oil or what but my chips were less chip like and more pita chip like. Which isn't bad but when you are expecting one thing and you get another it's a little off I guess. Either way, keep an eye on your chips! And test your guacamole during this waiting game ;)

Finished chip shot! These weren't as crispy as I had hoped, but next time I may switch out flour for corn tortillas and olive oil for coconut and update the progress. The guacamole was excellent and I would 20 out of 10 make it again, plus it was 100% my own mixing :)

Have a Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

Keep on, Keepin' on!

M.

MAY Be I Ought To Make A Schedule Hahahaha

So with my cracked tooth fiasco I ended up needing it pulled out....which was seriously the worst thing to ever happen to me at that moment. I am no fan of dentists in the first place but this was too much. The unfortunate misstep I took in lowering our dental insurance cause me to have this tooth pulled without laughing gas/sedative. Just shots of Novocaine and a yank!! *cue all my cries forever* Moral of the story, actually read your health insurance packets when you get them so that when you to have an unexpected need for it.

Flash forward to the weekend and our friend's(and neighbors) awesome wedding! So much friendship, so much love, such a wonderful time. My man and I made lifelong friends from an epic week of partying and hanging out. We now have more homes in different countries to visit, which is amazing! Travelling is definitely something that has been on the backburner for far too long.

Another flash forward into this, the end of May and it took me all month to finish writing this blog post. So pretty much this title that was originally a pun is now really what I'm going to be doing as soon as I publish this. Woooo organization!!! I've had a full Kale-Bleuberry-Cherry smoothie, I AM READY hahahaha

Keep on, keepin' on,

M.