Day Thirty: Obviously Meryl Streep Will Play Me!

Yesterday I was watching that classic blogger comedy Julie & Julia while making myself some dinner. I am admittedly not a great cook by any means - I have good intentions and no patience - but my heart is in the right place and I have a relative zeal for experimenting. Last night I threw some chicken, corn, spinach and a bit of cheese and pepper into my favorite Le Creuset pot (a beautiful gift from my mom) and let it cook for a while (no specific time...see? I have no culinary discipline!). Then I hollowed out a giant tomato, scooped the mixture in, and threw it in the oven. All I knew was that all those things taste delicious and I freaking love roasted tomatoes. End result...pretty damn good.

Cooking is pretty fun. If I cook for you, it means I adore you and trust you. Because not all my experiments turn out great, I need you to have a good sense of humor about it, and know that you'll still like me when we have to throw dinner away and go out for Mexican instead. Years ago I almost set fire to my kitchen trying to make a former boyfriend pancakes...we had a good laugh about it. He got it. I tried to show some affection...and I nearly set the damn house on fire. You win some, you lose some. In this instance though, it is the willingness to try and have some fun that counts.

Also, if you can save up for a LeCreuset (they are admittedly quite pricey) it will change your life and delight you every time you use it. Mine is the perfect size and my favorite color - "ocean." It looks like this:

I had forgotten that Julie & Julia was yet another example of Meryl Streep being awesome. Her take on Julia Child was SPOT ON. What an amazing life that woman had. I was also fascinated by the rocky rise of Amy Adams character (Julie) and her blog. The blog was her life. It was her focus, her outlet, it saved her sanity and nearly wrecked her marriage. Whoever thought that an online journal could do that for someone. I think TNA has worked very similarly for me. It's put me back on the right track of writing (something) every day. It's put me back in touch with old friends, a wonderful and unexpected development. It's kept me connected to friends far away. So obviously, in the forthcoming movie (following my book deal and articles in the NY Times....bwahahah) Meryl Streep will play future me looking back fondly on these wild days. I don't know who will play current me but she will be bold and brilliant and sassy and cool, and there will be that great moment where I look into the eyes of my handsome, supportive husband (is Eddie Redmayne available for the part? Onscreen and off?) and say "I'm going to be a writer!"

And then he says "You ARE a writer!"

Cut. Print. Cue Meryl's bazillionth Oscar nomination. You're welcome, Hollywood.

I suppose I could play current me. That's always a thought. Although I don't want this turning into some kind of egomaniacal Waterworld-esque vanity project disaster where I insist we digitally re-touch every frame so my thighs look slimmer. Even though that would be so great.