Teeny Pies

Wednesdays and Thursdays have become my new weekend, now that I’m officially employed, and while it’s occasionally a difficult schedule to get used to (particularly when a west wing marathon with aaron sounds way more fun than sleeping) I rather like having two random days to get things done. It’s an especially helpful schedule while I’m attempting to finish the last few bits of writing for the manuscript because there’s no pressure to go and do something cool or exciting when I should be writing. 

Speaking of writing… it’s HARD getting back into the swing of things. So far it’s been about 50% getting lost on the internet, 5% getting distracted by the book I’m currently reading, 4% napping, 1% snacking, and a very slow-going 40% writing. I knew and understood as early as undergrad that I was a stellar, #1 procrastinator (I’m so good I could probably compete) but it’s moments like these when I really have to struggle against my natural inclination to meander and just get the work done. The good news  is, it’s lovely, delightful, wonderful work that I thoroughly enjoy when I’m in the thick of it, I just may need to invest in some sort of seatbelt for my desk chair so I spend the afternoon writing instead of making “spur of the moment concentration popcorn” or building a miniature replica of wriggley field out of the empty egg cartons and butter boxes that threaten to overtake our recycling box on any given week. 

Other than my “it’ll keep till tomorrow” tendencies, life is good. The writing continues, the baking gets better and better and fingers crossed there will be a website in the works very soon. I’ve the afternoon to spend writing… right after I make myself a cup of tea and maybe watch the newest episode of new girl… 

(my cup of concentration tea)

after all that… I still managed to lose track of time. Let’s just say, as the weeks whiz past in a tumbled, tag-along fashion that I’ll post when I can. 

First things first, the manuscript has been accepted! WHOOOOOO. It’s funny because I didn’t realize just how scared I was that it might not be until I heard that it had. SO YES! I have a little extra writing to do before they can start on the first round of edits, but all in all it’s thrilling news and a weight that I didn’t even realize existed has been lifted. Let the celebrations commence. 

It was lovely to leave the book in the hands of someone else for a while and truly, I haven’t looked at it since I turned it in. With that nice long break from staring at the same thing day after day, I think it’ll feel great to get my hands on it again! 

Fruit pies are on the menu from here on out and I’m using the next few weeks to write (obviously) AND figure out how many teeny pies each of my recipes makes… they want their turn in the spotlight too. I’ve also been spending time creating works of art like this: 

pretty fancy, right? It was for a fancy lady’s birthday, and I’m pretty sure I nailed it. Horses drinking from a blueberry stream, I mean, it doesn’t really get any better than that.

I’VE BEEN SUCH AN ABSENT BLOGGER. I’m going to set myself up on a tidy little schedule again so the weeks will no longer get away from me like they have the past few. I’ve been getting used to my EARLY baker hours, and I have to say, the more often I wake up at 5am the less it feels like death. These are all steps in the right direction I say! 

Work is lovely, I’m still adjusting to the kitchen and weekends (where I will eventually be working all by myself) still scare the pants off of me, but the people that I work with are lovely and it’s very nice to continue with my baking life here in DC. 

Aaron and I spent the Monday after Easter at the White House! I know I know!! It was the coolest… especially since we’ve been watching a lot of West Wing lately, I almost expected to see Josh or CJ wandering around the grounds, pardoning easter rabbits or whatever people do when they work for the President. We also went to go see the cherry blossoms earlier this week, because the blossoms are finally peaking! It’s a good thing we live here, otherwise we may have missed them. As it was we took some goofy pictures and then went and got a free scoop of ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s. It’s been a pretty stellar couple of weeks as the weather gets more and more bikeable. 

I’ve a bit of sad news as well this week. Peter Workman, of Workman Publishing (the publishing house who took up teenypies) passed away this past Sunday and while I never did get the opportunity to meet him, my editor mentioned that he was the first to find my story.  It makes me sad to think I never met the wonderful man who championed my work without even knowing me; I like to think we might have been friends in pie. Here’s a lovely article about his legacy. 

I’ve no news about the manuscript and as anxious as I am to know what they think of it, I will say it’s awfully nice to have it in someone else’s hands for a while. This week I think I will make a pie for a Sunday picnic! Berries are slowly but surely making their way back into the stores… so perhaps a strawberry basil pie is in order!  

Friends in pie, with the completion of the first draft of the manuscript I find myself letiting the blog lag a bit. To be fair, I’m only making one pie a week these days and trying to settle into my new job, which is full of those ungodly baker hours, so I like to think that I’m just in a readjustment period. I don’t really mind the change of pace (and the distinct lack of pressure and panic inducing stress), but I can imagine that it’s not very exciting to read about. 

Not to worry, I’ve a few fantastical pie ideas percolating for the time being and fairly soon I’ll be ready to embark on the next part of the adventure… this is the part of the adventure where I figure out how to get my pies into the hands of the masses that will soon be clamoring for them. I’ve got about a year before the book comes out, so I’ll be endeavoring to take full advantage of that time to make something spectacular happen. 

For the moment, I will enjoy the pie lull because exciting things are coming soon. I sincerely hope you’ll stick around. 

I WROTE A WHOLE BOOK. 

I can’t quite believe it, but I actually wrote a whole book. I turned in the first official draft of the manuscript last friday (the day after Pi(e) Day… how appropriate) and was instantly filled with giddy relief and vast amounts of pride. I may have even given myself a little pat on the back, and I definitely did several a happy dance(s). 

I’ve spent the weekend celebrating with the spiciest, most wonderful, and delicious Thai food, hilarious games of dominoes paired with homemade pizza, and delightful, stocking-footed dancing with my darling mo. The time will come to start thinking about selling pie to the masses, but for the moment and the weekend I’m content to just be pleased with myself. 

The next few weeks the publishing house will read the manuscript, then send it back. I’ll make the edits they want and send it back. I’m assuming that will happen several times before we start thinking about layout and perhaps a pie photo shoot (EEEEE!) A few more things will happen, and then in March 2014 I will have a book of my own. 

(aaron suggested title: A Book About Pie)

There’s bound to be plenty of pie in the coming year, so I’ll continue to blog, but my posts may happen on Wednesday or Thursday of each week rather than Sunday, because I’ve just accepted a baking job (!) that involves rather early weekend hours… it’s been a big week in the life of this pie vagabond. Thanks for reading, and lots more to come. 

Happy Pi(e) Day from teenypies!

The first draft of the manuscript is DONE. I’m going to a Pi(e) Party tonight. LIFE IS GOOD.