Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer
A Collection of Articles, Adventures and Commentary
I’m not a musician. I might be more than a little tone-deaf. And a consistent sense of rhythm is something that escapes me on a daily basis.
My taste in music is best described as an eclectic mix, often featuring dad-joke-levels of corniness and sugary pop. It’s very Billboard, but there are some random tracks here and there to keep things interesting.
That said, despite all of the above, there is one musical superpower I have. You ready?
Photo Credit: Anita George
The last time I put one of these Lists of LOLs together was in college.
It’s the day that acts as an annual reminder to count your blessings, connect with your family and friends and to truly be grateful for all of the wonderful things in your life.
It also happens to be a celebration of food. And why not? Food sustains us and brings our families and friends together. It’s a mode of artistic expression for some and emotionally-charged for us all with every memory each recipe evokes.
Thanksgiving is less than a week away and foodies, party planning enthusiasts and pretty much anyone who has spent more than two hours on foodgawker is super excited.
I’m super excited.
And to kick off the celebration I’m posting my Hobbies Cookbook. As I’ve mentioned in my post on peach wontons , I have a bucket list of hobbies. It’s an ever-expanding list of activities I want to at least try out once. And one of those activities involved me cooking my way through a cookbook.
As I couldn’t find a cookbook that really interested me, I decided to make use of the most interesting collection of recipes I know: the internet. More specifically, I utilized the obscene amount of recipes I’d already accumulated in my Chrome bookmarks list.
And so with 100 recipes, I’ve put together my own collection, the Hobbies Cookbook. What follows are the 100 dishes I intend to cook, complete with links to the recipes and the blogs where I found them:
Now you can follow along with me as I try out each recipe. Feel free to comment on my blog with any questions and let me know what you think of the recipes, any changes you’d make to them, or even your own culinary anecdotes. Tell me your stories, I’d love to hear them!
Also, if you like what you’re reading, don’t forget to hit that “Follow” button on my site, so you can get automatic updates on my posts. Thanks!
One look at the laundry list of social media platforms I’m involved with and someone could conclude following:
Anita intends to saturate the internet with her presence.
This is true. Journalism school (and my PR friends) have taught me well. I am all for some good ol’ fashioned branding. I am all about networking, reaching my target audiences and letting people know that I’m here and I’ve got important things to say–or tweet– and the skills to tell my stories well.
The list is getting long: Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, WordPress, LinkedIn, Google+ and now… Tumblr.
But this particular social media platform holds a different meaning for me. In stark contrast to all of the other SM sites, I use Tumblr purely for the LOLs, pardon the netspeak. Tumblr makes me happy. It’s like this pretty online scrapbook that contains everything I like, love, laugh at, admire and aspire to be that I can share with my friends.
Plus, I think it combines the best of all the aforementioned SM sites (except LinkedIn). Tumblr mixes the brevity of Twitter, the friendships of FB and Google+, the curiosity of StumbleUpon and the pleasing aesthetics of WordPress.
And it’s all mine. For me, Tumblr isn’t about my career. It’s about my happiness and appreciation for the small and giant, awe-inspiring things in life on display for myself and my friends. It’s not about branding or my portfolio.
(Which is why I have not included a link to my Tumblr page in this post. If you’re a good friend of mine, however and want to follow me on Tumblr, let me know and I’ll send you a link.)
Lately, I’ve been wanting to expand my horizons beyond what I do for a living. I love what I do. I love journalism, but I don’t want my career to define me. I’ve recently realized I’m more than my career, I have lots of facets.
And I can’t wait to discover every fabulous one.
Anita M. George: Journalist, Writer 