A new look

Hello out there!

Obviously, I have a new look here . . . I've decided to give the blog another whirl. It's true I got insanely busy last fall, as well as slightly discouraged, and so quit blogging. However, as it is summer again, and I have nothing but time on my hands (considering that the loser temp agency I signed up with for the summer never has any jobs for me), I've decided to take another crack at it. In the spirit of a fresh start, we therefore have a new look. I may also decide to rename the blog, but as I haven't yet come up with anything fresh or particularly witty, that may or may not happen.

The reason I may rename things here is because the focus of the blog may change. I haven't decided that either (don't you just want me to be your personal life coach? I'm so great at making decisions!). While I love cooking/baking still, and of course am still gluten-free, I don't necessarily have time to experiment and post recipes during the school year (see the crickets that have taken up residence here since last November if you have questions about this). I am, however, still in school, attempting to get my master's in literature, which will become infinitely more difficult this year considering that we have comprehensive exams and a giant, fancy-pants essay due in the spring. I am also trying to lose weight (see my last post), and am still trying to get a novel published.

All of this to say, there are a lot of things I could write about here. It could be a food blog, a school-themed blog, a weight loss blog, or a writing blog. Or a combination of any or all of those topics. So I haven't yet decided what exactly it is I want to write about here now that we're starting over. Which means that I can't decide yet what I want the new title to be (if there is a new title at all).

For now, I'm thinking a lot about writing and reading, because I'm working on a new book and am doing a lot of reading for said comprehensive exams (also a lot of procrastination reading, aka books I wanted to read during the school year but couldn't because I was too busy and am now reading them instead of studying). I sent out my completed YA novel to about 8,000 agents over Christmas (okay, 15), and although I got one nibble, no one actually bit. This was, needless to say, very disheartening, and I hit the ice cream and potato chips pretty hard. However, like I said, I'm working on something new, and a friend and I have started a writing group (she is also trying to get published). I'm also doing a lot of baking, but it isn't particularly inventive because I found a fantastic new GF flour that works in just about any recipe just like regular flour. So I just sub it in and don't usually have to tinker with anything else. While this is nice for me, it would make pretty boring reading for all of you, as you could easily sub or swap for yourself. If you're curious, the flour is made by Whole Foods and is called 365 Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour (I tried to find it online but couldn't. If you go to Whole Foods and go to the aisle with the baking mixes, it's there, in a yellow box).

So that's that. I will try to actually make, instead of just list, some decisions soon, and we'll see what happens! Let me know if you have any thoughts/ideas/suggestions . . . I'd love to hear them!

Til next time!