Adventures in a Sunday

I haven’t gone more than 10 miles from my apartment today, but I feel like I’ve been around the world.  So for your amusement, my Sunday adventures.

 

(1) Submitting a manuscript to Preventing Chronic Disease, a peer-reviewed journal housed in the CDC.

 

Some time ago, I received an email (from a list-serve) that let us public health students know that this journal was accepting manuscripts from undergraduate and graduate students.  This may not seem like much, but for some of us un-published wannabes, it seemed like an easier opportunity for possible publication than one that would pit my paper against seasoned veterans.

So, I flagged the email in my inbox and let it sit for weeks and weeks.  Then, this weekend, I got serious about it.  I thought it would be a breeze…I mean, my paper was completed.  All I had to was upload, right?

Um….NOPE!

First, I had to chop over 2000 words from my paper, somehow cut 56 references down to 30, delete/condense one of my tables, and reformat the paper to meet this particular journal’s requirements.

Breeze meet hurricane.

The manuscript is submitted….hours and hours later.  While pressing the SUBMIT button, I had (and continue to have) no grand plans or even dreams for my paper to be published.  In fact, I would consider it the greatest success ever if it made it to the first review stage and wasn’t completely thrown out upon receipt.

This adventure was more about the experience.  Consider me schooled.

 

(2) One girl, a sewing machine, and a dream

A corner of my Runner

 

Having Sunday completely off, I set about to create my inaugural sewn piece.  As a part of my Christmas present, my mother included two pieces of fabric and a tutorial for creating a “E-Z” table runner.

With no way to measure, I just cut the fabric.  Ha.  Straight lines are for sissy’s.  I figured as long as the back and the front were the same size, it wouldn’t matter.

Then, after taking a moment or two (or ten) to remind myself about how to thread the sewing machine needle, I got started.  All seemed to go well, and I felt very proud of myself.  Shoot, I even sewed a border on  two of the ends.

But, really, could an adventure go on in my life without a few u-turns.

Of course, my lack of measurement caused issues….probably too complicated to explain here.  Then, I completely closed the runner blocking myself from turning it right-side out.  Oops….glad that sewing kit included a stitch-removal tool.  And then….gasp….top-stitching–a stitch that requires straight lines and precision.  Ha

In the end, I did end up with a half-way decent piece.  First adventure in sewing…acceptably successful.

 

(3) Coconut Soup Fail

My Goal

It seemed like an easy recipe and I even did the math to cut down the recipe to fewer servings so I wouldn’t have a gallon of it in the refrigerator.  And I went shopping in advance and bought specific ingredients to cut down on my usual shortcut and omissions.  Except for 2 minor omissions, I was actually going to follow the recipe.  Score.

I began preparing the soup while on the phone with my mother.  I can’t help it….multi-tasking just seems right.  But, fail.

First mistake:  Adding the coconut milk in before the other items had simmered for their adequate time (or simmered at all).

Second mistake: Adding fish sauce.  Ooooh, stinky.  Plus, it wasn’t on that recipe but on another I had read the day before.  I don’t know why I added it.  Probably because I bought it….oh I hate wasting money.

Third mistake: Tasting it.

Ha.

So in response to today’s adventures:

Grateful for being able to remove stitches and correct mistakes (in life and in sewing), for my garbage disposal which gladly ate the soup, for my evergreen candle trying desperately to mask the fish smell, and for Mondays and getting back to real life.