Happy Saturday Everyone!

First off — my sincerest apologies for not blogging yesterday.   I worked all day and then went out for dinner, book shopping and general chatting with the one and only Janet.  After getting home (at a whopping 9:30 pm) I decided to unwind by reading a bit more of the Hunger Games, catch up on my weekly TV shows (which seem to be dwindling to an amount less than 5 finally.) and thought — I’m not coherent enough to write a blog post, so I’ll wait til the morning.

This morning I read the rest of the Hunger Games — which I started yesterday (less 20 pages.) This afternoon (not 20 minutes ago) I finished it.  I freaking loved that book.

About two and a half years ago now, I read the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and that’s around the time I started getting into reading.  I never knew that a book could make me feel so many emotions and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Some of my favorites as I’ve mentioned before are the Glass Castle (#1 book I recommend to ANYONE.), The Girl Who Played with Fire, Slumdog Millionaire, The Book of Negroes, My Horizontal Life, The Kite Runner, etc. etc.  I guess I like variety and violence.  That seems to be the two common threads.  Also kind of what I like in TV and Movies… Right, so I like watching violence, but couldn’t get into a fight if you paid me. Interesting how that works.  (Alright, maybe I’d fight Kim Kardashian. Maybe.)

Anyhow — as I sit here blogging, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next in Katniss’ world and I’m not sure I can wait the next 22 days for Christmas to get the BoxSet (it was my request in the Gift Exchange.) and I might need to borrow the book from Annie or J — whichever will be kind enough to lend it to me first .

Now more to the point of this post : my passion for writing.

As a blogger — I guess I can call myself that — I don’t spend a heck of a lot of time planning out my posts.  I tend to just write what I’m feeling at that exact moment.  Once in a while try to branch off of what I wrote in a previous post but generally speaking… I just write impulsively.  Sometimes during the day I get a good idea so I’ll type it into my notes in my phone so that I remember to write it later (this also fails once in a while cause I’ll write something but not read my notes for a week or so and then not remember where it’s from haha.)

But this won’t necessarily work for when I want to start writing books or movies or whatever it is I end up writing for the rest of my life.  I feel like the more books and TV/Film I take in, the more I realize what actually goes into writing characters, their stories and sharing them with the world.  I wonder if I’ll ever get to a point where I can create something captivating enough for hours of entertainment as opposed to my less than a thousand words daily blog posts? Hmhmhm! I guess that’s what every writer asks themselves haha, so I should feel like I’m in good company at the very least.

So with all of this in mind — I announce the start of a new leg to my around the world project — inspired by my amazing Sister, Maxine.  ♥

If I can’t write characters and stories right now, I can focus on what I’m good at.  Photo blogging and food. I’m not sure exactly when I plan to start the blog — whether I’ll wait til I start traveling or if I’ll get started before leaving — but it’s called “My Life is a Dinner Plate.”

Part of the goal of the project is to share my awesome food experiences with the internet (you know, like everyone else does.) but the main part is to get me to try new food.  I looked through my food photos on my phone and found that I’ve eaten about 15 variations of vermicelli pork or beef bowls since moving home.  That’s just ridiculous.  (I’ve had 3 this week alone.) When I was living in Van, it was a mission of mine to try as many new places as I could, yet when I’m here there’s limited options for one, but even then I end up backing myself into the same corner.

One of the better bowls I had eaten in a long time  –  but this one was in Van haha. 

Part of it is this constant fear of not liking what I’m about to eat and then having paid for it and still going home hungry.  Then I end up trying things that are within my comfort zone — and they disappoint me beyond all reason.  So it’s time to break free of this neverending circle of same food! Time to try Indian food outside of just Butter Chicken!!! Vietnamese food that isn’t just “grilled with lemongrass” and plenty of other wonderful delights from around the world.  (No chickens feet.)

Ham is possibly the meat I like the least.  I know it’s part of a pig – and I like bacon and pork chops and tenderloin and all that, but I just cannot deal with the saltiness in Ham.  Pineapples are easily the fruit I like the least.  The texture, the smell, the taste, the everything.  But guess what.  This was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.  

I mean realistically — preparing myself like this is only smart because when I start traveling I’m not going to have as many options as I do here and I’m going to have to try new things and deal with the consequences (Delhi Belly is a legit fear of mine).

The other side of this project is again, the writing.  I read posts that I’ve written months ago and feel that I’ve improved drastically in the flow of my writing, my increased use of words other than “awesome!” and sometimes even my grammar haha.  I guess practice makes perfect, and the more I write, the “readier” I’ll be when the around the world journey starts.  (Countdown is on. June it is.)

So as I set off on my new culinary adventure, does anyone have any suggestions of what cuisines I should sample next? Leave me a comment below

Well that’s all for today, I’m off to dollarama with my mama so we can get Christmas treats for her students — and I’m gonna buy a Christmas dress for the dog. Yeah. I do that.

Have a fabulous weekend y’all.

Peace&Love.

P.♥