What's in my ear holes this week? #HitParade and #Keepit!

If you haven't taken advantage of the amazing world of podcasts, you need to start listening now! There literally hundreds of amazing podcasts on any subject you can possibly imagine.  Have a hobby?  Have an interest?  Want to catch up on World History or listen to a fictional tale?  All is yours in the land of podcast.  But wait there's more! Almost all are offered free to you the listener, so put a podcast your ear holes today!

One of my new favorite podcasts is Hit Parade from Slate. You don't have to be well versed in popular  music to find it fascinating.  One recent episode discusses how the Billboard Top 100 changed a few years ago to include You Tube music video plays vs. just purchases of music. Most interesting was learning that if someone makes a parody or fan video and uses the original song audio; that fan video or parody counts toward the original song's number of plays.  So when a song goes viral with a dance, like the Harlem Shake, and thousands of people film themselves dancing--the original song gets the credit.

You can listen to the latest episode HERE (or at iTunes, Stitcher, etc.)

Do you like pop culture?  Ira, Kara and Louis give a weekly review of the biggest happenings in pop culture and call people on the absurdity of it all. They shade those who deserve it and point out whats good.  And they laugh, a lot.  It's infectious.  I look forward to Keep It hitting my feed each week.

You can find the latest Keep It HERE (or at iTunes, Stitcher, etc.)

Gardening at Night

Not really but it is the song title of a good REM song that was released 26 years ago.




Me and the Man have been gardening by day.  Last weekend it was cloudy and the temps didn't get above 55,  and this weekend we are in the 90s!  Look, one thing Chicago weather  can be counted on for is its unpredictability.  This however is beyond the typical fluctuations.

 I hope my plants aren't too upset about being planted in this heat.  Some people think you can communicate with plants, I don't see any harm in talking to them so if you seem me mumbling in the garden , I'm just trying to raise happy plants. I haven't had a backyard garden in eight years, so I want generous plants that provide us with tasty yields of cherry tomatoes, squash, and orange heirloom peppers.

On writing, I am closing in on a scene that will take place in a local library.  I need to go visit the library so I can refresh myself with the layout and general vibe. However, I don't see myself making it over there until next Friday at the soonest.  What I have decided is the best course of action for me is to keep writing daily and not wait until I actually go  the library. I can add in details and switch things around as necessary after my visit. Otherwise, I'll use my upcoming library field trip as an excuse to skip writing for the next week. I'm quickly learning writing is much easier if I write something, anything daily, versus saving up until that magic moment when I have "extra time".  I know myself well enough to understand that I am incredibly good at finding other things I *must* do instead of writing!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

Writer in progress

Since I last wrote, after 4 years of renting, we bought a townhome. It's so wonderful to have a place of our own, that I'm happy to see that mortgage payment leave our account each month! We *finally* timed a real estate purchase properly! Plus, our townhome is the very rare kind that has our own small fenced backyard and there is no association! No fees and we can landscape as we want!

Tomorrow the Man and I are headed out to purchase our garden seedlings and get my raised bed started!  I'm planning on Fresh tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, parsley, basil, and thyme.  It's the little things.  I'm so grateful to be able to raise fresh produce in our backyard.

On the reading front, I, not too long, ago reviewed a lovely book for Project Fandom and you can see the review here.  If you are looking for a captivating story to read this summer, this is an excellent choice!

The school year is wrapping up and our oldest GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. We are very lucky to live in-district for our local community college so Mr. P is able to continue his education, close to home and get those required classed completed at the lowest cost possible.  At work, I see tuition bills for schools from coast to coast and the average cost of a year at a 4-year college/university is more than I make in a year.  Now it is true I don't make a ton of money but should college cost  $30, 40 grand a year? It makes it unaffordable for most people to attend, or they suck it up and take out loans they are still paying back in their 50s.

Alright, I'm off my soapbox.  Now back to me.  I've been working on my book. It has no title, but I have the series name already picked out.  I call it "Creating Cakes: Book 1."  My plan moving forward is to post with some consistency on this blog and share how the writing is going. Also, I plan to do a bit of crowdsourcing for some of my editorial decisions. 

I hope you will stay tuned and provide your two cents as I write.  Here is my first bit of crowdsourcing, my first chapter is in decent shape.  If I had it here to read, would you be interested in reading it if there was a $1.00 fee for the chapter and that fee offered future VIP perks?  Comment below and let me know!

The Grad enjoying the best present ever, Hamilton Tickets!