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When I'm not here, you may find me wandering the pages below. (If I'm a regular visitor to your site and I've left your link off or mislinked to you, please let me know! And likewise, if you've blogrolled me, please check that my link is updated: thisroamanticlife.blogspot.com. The extra (a) makes all the difference!)

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Body: in sickness and in health

I won't lie; this body and I have had our issues with each other for many years. Body image -- sure. Physical and mental overextension -- comes with being a Type A kind of girl. I still struggle with these things, so they show up from time to time in my writing.

More recently, illness, pure but not simple, has added itself to the mix in a multi-system sort of way. And the challenges in figuring out exactly what's gone wrong are many. As problems have revealed themselves in the last few years, beginning with reactive hypoglycemia in late 2008, I've documented them here, partly to gain a little clarity on managing complex conditions but mostly to give voice to vulnerabilities I feel but don't normally share with anyone face to face. Better out than in, they say, right? (Oh yes, humor is one way I deal.)

The links below cover the different angles I've examined (and from which I've been examined) within that experience.

Travel: neither here nor there

When the person you're married to lives two time zones away, you log a fair number of frequent flier miles. And if you blog about commuter relationships, you log quite a few posts en route too.

Since we're no longer in separate places, I blog less often from airports. But we do travel -- together now! -- which is much more fun to write about. So in addition to thoughts on our years of commuting, the links below cover the places we've been as a pair and, in some cases, the adventures that have happened on the way.

Writing: the long and short of it

Why do I do it? Good question. Maybe it's not so much that I like to write but that I have to write, even when the words refuse to stick to the page. Believe me, I've tried doing other things like majoring in biochemistry (freshman fall, many semesters ago). Within a year, I'd switched to English with a concentration in creative writing and wasn't looking back.

After graduating, I taught English for a few years and then worked as an editor, which I still do freelance. In 2007, I applied and got into an MFA program at a place I like to call Little U. on the Prairie. I finished my degree in 2011 and have been balancing tutoring and writing on my own ever since.

The following links cover the writing I've done about writing: process, content, obstacles, you name it. It's not always pretty. But some part of me loves it, even when it's hard. And this is the result.

Heart: family and friends

I'd have a hard time explaining who I am without being able to talk about the family I grew up in as well as the people I've met beyond its bounds. But even with such context, it's not easy! In the simplest terms, I'm a first-generation Asian-American who has spent most of this life caught between cultures. That, of course, doesn't even begin to describe what I mean to, but there's my first stab at the heart of it all.

That's what this group of posts is reserved for -- heart. The essential parts of my life whose influences I carry with me, for better or worse. The links below cover what I've written as I've learned how these forces work within me, for me, against me, in spite of me. They anchor me even as they change me, and they keep life interesting.

Recommended reading

What do I do when there's too much on my mind and my words won't stick to the page? I escape into someone else's thoughts. Below is a collection of books and articles that have been sources of information, inspiration, and occasional insight for my own work.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Don't spill the beans ...


... because that's exactly what's in these brownies.

I got the recipe from this blog a long time ago but hadn't had the chance to give it a try. So last week, D and I pulled out the baking pans (which sadly don't get a lot of use around here unless they're holding meat-based dishes) and went to work.

The result was delicious! Moist, melt-into-fudgy-heaven delicious. With minimal impact on my blood sugar readings. And I say was because there are no more brownies left. Which means it's time to make another batch.

We've actually been testing several recipes over the last few weeks to include in a cookbook we're planning to give D's mother for Christmas. She always asks us what she should make for us when we visit, but because we've got these pesky dietary restrictions, it's not always easy to come up with a request she has a recipe for. Since this year has given us plenty of experience in creating new recipes and modifying old ones so that we can still eat real food (and have it taste good), it seemed like a good idea to pass our hard-won knowledge on.

In other news, the primer is up in the pink bedroom, all except for a thin stripe we left unpainted just below the ceiling. Because now it's time to put in the crown molding! Nope, we've never installed it before, and I have no woodworking skills whatsoever, but I can take direction pretty well. So as long as D tells me what he needs me to do, I'm there. Well, okay, me and a stepstool.
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3 comments:

Good Enough Woman said...

Hooray for your brownie discovery!

And I love what crown molding does for a room. But I'm glad my husband puts it up.

November 16, 2009 at 9:47 PM
French Fancy... said...

Those brownies look absolutely delicious. I've said it before but it is worth repeating - your will power is really admirable. I wish I could stay on a healthy eating regime - it's not that I eat such bad food but I need to work on portion control.

November 17, 2009 at 9:23 AM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

GEW -- it's definitely not going to be an easy part of the project. I think the installation won't be too bad, but cutting the pieces is turning out to be an exercise in 3D logic that I don't have the right kind of brains for. That's where D comes in :)

FF -- portion control is TOUGH. I eat lots of small meals instead of three big ones. That's been working well. When your next nosh is only three hours away, it's easier to have smaller servings.

November 17, 2009 at 12:29 PM

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Don't spill the beans ...


... because that's exactly what's in these brownies.

I got the recipe from this blog a long time ago but hadn't had the chance to give it a try. So last week, D and I pulled out the baking pans (which sadly don't get a lot of use around here unless they're holding meat-based dishes) and went to work.

The result was delicious! Moist, melt-into-fudgy-heaven delicious. With minimal impact on my blood sugar readings. And I say was because there are no more brownies left. Which means it's time to make another batch.

We've actually been testing several recipes over the last few weeks to include in a cookbook we're planning to give D's mother for Christmas. She always asks us what she should make for us when we visit, but because we've got these pesky dietary restrictions, it's not always easy to come up with a request she has a recipe for. Since this year has given us plenty of experience in creating new recipes and modifying old ones so that we can still eat real food (and have it taste good), it seemed like a good idea to pass our hard-won knowledge on.

In other news, the primer is up in the pink bedroom, all except for a thin stripe we left unpainted just below the ceiling. Because now it's time to put in the crown molding! Nope, we've never installed it before, and I have no woodworking skills whatsoever, but I can take direction pretty well. So as long as D tells me what he needs me to do, I'm there. Well, okay, me and a stepstool.
Posted by This Ro(a)mantic Life at 4:46 PM
Labels: , , , ,

3 comments:

Good Enough Woman said...

Hooray for your brownie discovery!

And I love what crown molding does for a room. But I'm glad my husband puts it up.

November 16, 2009 at 9:47 PM
French Fancy... said...

Those brownies look absolutely delicious. I've said it before but it is worth repeating - your will power is really admirable. I wish I could stay on a healthy eating regime - it's not that I eat such bad food but I need to work on portion control.

November 17, 2009 at 9:23 AM
This Ro(a)mantic Life said...

GEW -- it's definitely not going to be an easy part of the project. I think the installation won't be too bad, but cutting the pieces is turning out to be an exercise in 3D logic that I don't have the right kind of brains for. That's where D comes in :)

FF -- portion control is TOUGH. I eat lots of small meals instead of three big ones. That's been working well. When your next nosh is only three hours away, it's easier to have smaller servings.

November 17, 2009 at 12:29 PM

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