Peppermint Ph.D.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2012-01-25T21:24:00.000-06:00

It seems strange to be posting an organizing post this week when I am so NOT organized right now.

Look at how far behind I am in posting for heaven's sake!

I'm not going to beat myself up though...but for this week's wanna be post, I'll touch on the aspects of my life that need organizing the most.

Financial

January is generally a long month for state employees money-wise since we are paid on the last work day of each month. That means that we're paid for January when we leave for Christmas holidays, and of course the challenge is always not to spend January's budget money before the month even begins. I usually have a very difficult time with this one, but since I used only cash and we cut back for Christmas, I'm ok right now. I don't have any extra, mind you...and I've had to say no, no, no, no, way more times than I would like to. But, barring some kind of unforseen big need over the next few days, it looks like I'll make it to February :)

Ireland

The firstborn and I have made our final payments on our Ireland trip!! I have officially allowed myself to get excited now!! There's still much planning to do and we've still got to get our passports...we actually need to do that sooner rather than later. I will have to be careful with my budget until then so that I will have some spending money with me, and pack wisely for cold, wet weather and only 1 suitcase! (Yikes)

Menus

I've struggled a little with my menus since Christmas. The firstborn and I have discussed ways of creating our weekly menu...from framed chalkboards to chalkboard paint used on the side of the pantry. We didn't make any final decisions though. I also think I can help myself by making a list of old standbys to eat once a month (pot roast, hamburgers, sloppy joes, etc.) I can fill those into a monthly calendar and add in new recipes in the blanks left. The Head of My Household doesn't mind new recipes, but he's definitely a more staples kind of guy.

Posting

Media Mondays - I watched the season finale of Dexter season 4 and started Season 5. I'm exhausted. I think it's weird too that I even like this show...although I appreciate Dexter's hyper Robin Hood way of dealing with criminals. And, what makes the show even more successful is Dexter's struggle with his inner demons, his "Dark Passenger" as he calls it. Dexter would give anything to finally be rid of him...but he can't. Dexter's inability to comprehend/react to/know what to do with his feelings about Rita's death blew me away...I cried almost the entire episode. My firstborn, who is also Dexter fan, said she might skip that episode :/

Top Ten Tuesdays - this week's list and last week's list didn't just pop out to me...last week's theme challenged us to come up with 10 books to suggest to someone who doesn't read that particular genre. Since I'm not a specific genre reader, no matter how hard I tried, I kept coming up with 5-6 at the most for each genre...and I'm weird so I can't post an incomplete list. Yes, I take medication for my weirdness ;)

This past week's list was open...anything you want to make a list about...

I had no earthly idea what to make a list about.

Isn't it funny how when you have freedom, you don't know what to do with it sometimes??

Or, is that just another of my weird qualities?

Books

I'm about 50 pages away from finishing Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel...a whopper chunkster that I started as a ReadAlong and am going to finish almost 2 months after everybody else. I'm loving it and can't wait for the sequel early next year I believe. It has fueled my love of the monarchy, British history, and now Spanish and French history. Oy.

I downloaded Wolf Hall on my Nook though, and I loved the book so much that I have to have an actual copy to go on my keeper shelves...which means I'll buy the book twice...Oy again...not sure how that fits into my budget.

I'm also reading one chapter per week of A People's History of the United States with Jenners and Fizzy Jill. After two chapters I'm completely disillusioned and even ashamed by the American history that was NOT taught to me. Some of the facts about Christopher Columbus and his "discoveries," and slavery in America I was already aware of...but there are so many other facts...information from ships logs, letters by people who actually lived during those times, and other artifacts that show that the truth is much more barbaric than what we've all accepted as the story of America. I'm struggling a little with it, and it will be impossible for me to work through it all in one post. But, that's ok.

Snapshots

For the next several months, most of my photography will focus on Show Choir. The competition season is upon us, and each weekend I will take 1000's of pics. I'll then spend hours on my laptop culling the photos and saving the very best...which I then send to the children's parents.

I love every minute of it.

We'll have some end of the year projects which will be easy to put together as long as I keep up after each competition. If I let the photos snowball...well, you can probably imagine. We have 14 seniors this year (including one who belongs to me), and I'll have to keep their folders organized in order to put their final collages and CD's together effortlessly.

Classes

My Comp I and Comp II classes are in full swing, and it's finally beginning to feel like there's a master plan for the semester. I've never been able to do the same thing over and over each semester. I'm easily distracted and easily bored, so I can give you lots of academic reasons why it's good to switch classroom assignments and teaching methods around, but really it's all about me ;)

All 4 of my Comp II classes are working on research right now...their final papers will be due right before Spring Break. Once we return after Spring Break, 3 of the classes will read Cold Mountain and the smaller hybrid Comp II class will read The Book Thief.

My 2 Comp I classes are busily writing their first essays for me, a Personal Literacy Narrative. If I can juggle due dates a little more than I did last semester, my goal is not to end up the semester with stacks of papers to grade.

I say that every semester though.

Have I already said Oy?

Whew!

Monday at the Movies - Elizabeth The Golden Age

2012-01-16T12:13:00.000-06:00

Last night I finally got around to watching the sequel to Elizabeth

I was NOT disappointed.

The Golden Age picks up well into Elizabeth's reign...at the point of the Spanish Inquisition.

King Philip of Spain, Elizabeth's former brother-in-law (married to Elizabeth's half sister Queen Mary I until her death), is at the helm of the most powerful country in Europe. He wants control of the seas as well, but Elizabeth's pirates and merchant ships keep getting in his way. Philip gets royally (pun intended) irritated when warnings to Elizabeth (the bastard queen, as he calls her) are swatted away.

After the Spanish Ambassador warns Elizabeth about his King's serious intentions, Queen Elizabeth makes no bones about how little she cares for Philip and/the needs/wants of Spain.

Elizabeth: Go back to your rathole! Tell Philip I fear neither him, nor his priests, nor his armies. Tell him if he wants to shake his little fist at us, we're ready to give him such a bite he'll wish he'd kept his hands in his pockets!

Spanish Ambassador: You see a leaf fall, and you think you know which way the wind blows. Well, there is a wind coming, Madame, that will sweep away your pride.

Elizabeth: I, too, can command the wind, sir! I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare when you dare to try me!

Philip decides to remove Elizabeth as queen of England and replace her with his own daughter, Isabella. First, he must remove Catholic Mary Stuart, the next in line to the English throne, and he tricks Elizabeth into "removing" Mary Stuart herself with a bungled assassination attempt and letters from Mary Stuart condoning the assassination of Elizabeth. Mary Stuart is convicted of high treason and executed.

Philip declares a holy war with England.

Bad move, Phil.

King Philip prepares an armada and sets out to destroy Elizabeth. She, in turn, prepares to destroy Philip.

As angry as she can get, Elizabeth also is human...she is frightened, she is unsure, she is a woman who falls in love with a man she cannot have. She is England. Period. She accepts her responsibility but mourns the loss of a normal life as well at times. However, it is these times of emotion that she becomes even stronger. Elizabeth embraces the joint desire of her subjects to save England...and together, against formidable odds, they do just that.

In the film "Elizabeth The Golden Age" there are many, many scenes where Cate Blanchett's performance gives me chill bumps. Two that stand out above others are her outburst at the Spanish ambassador quoted above and her speech to the English troops in the field in preparation for the Spanish ships to land on England's coast.

Obviously there are some dramatic licenses taken...both here and in Elizabeth's dealings with the Spanish ambassador. It is accurate that Elizabeth's dealings with the ambassador were unfriendly at best...and harsh words were spoken. However, I haven't been able to find a documented version of that conversation so far.

However, the text of the actual speech Elizabeth made on the battlefield (The Speech to the troops at Tilbury) can be found here.

and is more accurately portrayed in this BBC clip

I think what these dramatic licenses do for history is portray the emotion...the fire inside one of the most powerful women/monarchs ever...her love for her country, her willingness to give England her whole self and die for her country alongside her people if necessary. If a little dramatic license can stir up interest in world history, I see nothing wrong with that.

Another intriguing historically accurate fact is that in the midst of the battle at sea an unexpected storm comes up. The storm impedes the Spanish ships progress even further and forces them to drop anchor in the dangerous waters...giving the English troops an unexpected advantage, which became integral to their victory. As close as they were, the Spanish ships never were able to reach the coast of England.

I find it ironic that Philip attacked England with the "armies of Christ," and a storm (figuratively sent by Christ himself) defeated him.

Please see this movie. The visuals themselves, the costumes, the scenery, the acting, the action, and the emotion, are worth it even if you aren't a Tudor addict like me.

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and her fox

2012-01-14T19:08:00.002-06:00

Our cable and internet have been off since last night, but finally it looks like we might be back in business. I'm not holding my breath though :(

Anyhoo, I wanted to share this series of photos with my Snapshot Saturday friends just in case we lose the connection again. During Christmas I participate in a couple of book blogger Secret Santa swaps, and my very first Christmas gift this year was actually from one of those Secret Santas. We all like to say how much we enjoy giving more than receiving but I think we all can tell by the looks of this package that I enjoyed the "gettin" pretty much just as well :)

On the right lower side of this photo you'll notice a rust colored something with a tail...conveniently located right next to the book Love at First Bark.

That "rust colored something with a tail" turned out to be a fox...for LAYLA!!!!

Layla LOVES Secret Santa now and especially Sandy Nawrot over at You Gotta Read This.

Layla's fox has "squeakies" on both ends...she will sit for hours just squeaking it...

If one of us accidentally steps on her fox, she comes running to find out who's playing with her toys...she's not upset; she just wants to play too :)

Layla loves her fox so much that on a recent trip to PetSmart she picked up another one out of the bin!! We talked her into getting a raccoon instead ;)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce over @ At Home with Books

Book Review - Kitchen Counter Cooking School

2012-01-12T00:05:00.002-06:00

Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn

Viking, 2011

Net Galley Review Copy

Why? I've read so many good reviews of this one, and it seemed right up my alley with the back to basics in cooking and eating more naturally

What Now? I have purchased the hardback version of this book and into the glass shelves it will go...right next to Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Golden Lines

For most people, the only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell attitude. Julia Child

By failing to understand what's involved in certain kinds of basic food preparation, American consumers have been duped. p. 24

We all have different sensory thresholds and different taste memories. Ultimately it's about finding out what we like, and trusting our own palates. That's all that matters. p. 77

So who says you can't cook? Not every meal has to be from scratch, nor does everything you consume have to be organic, locally sourced and pasture raised. Try to find a comfortable place somewhere between Tuna Helper and Top Chef. If you burn, scorch, drop, boil over, overcook, undercook, underseason, or otherwise put a meal together that is less than a success, in the end it doesn't matter. It's just one meal. You'll make another tomorrow. p. 167

A friend of mine majored in chemistry in college and later went to work for a major food company. To this day he refuses to eat ultraprocessed foods. One reason is that the method to approve food additives requires that individual ingredients be tested and weighed in isolation, and as a result no one has any idea how they all interact together.

"When it comes to food additives, we're the mice," he said. p. 200

Box of yellow cake mix : Sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour (flour niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), vegetable oil shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean oil propylene glycol mono - and diesters of fats, mono - and diglycerides), leavening (sodium bicarbonate, dicalcium phosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate), contains 2% or less of: wheat starch, salt dextrose, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cellulose gum, artificial flavors, xanthum gum, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, colored with yellow 5 lake, red 40 lake.

vs.

Cake mix from scratch: unbleached flour, sugar, milk, eggs, unsalted butter, vanilla, baking powder.

"Planning menus is the greatest skill that we've collectively lost," she said. "That, and what to do with leftovers." p. 212

Smart shoppers plan meals and use thorough lists. p. 221

The key thing is to think of food as money. You wouldn't toss a five dollar bill in the garbage, would you? If you throw a head of lettuce and some dead cucumbers in the trash, it's exactly the same thing. It adds up.

Summary

Ten ladies allow Kathleen Flinn to come into their homes, look into their pantries and refrigerators and share a everyday meal with them in order to help them learn about the basics of real cooking and the benefits of eating fresh rather than relying on packaged, processed food. Those same ten ladies then take part in a free experimental cooking school with Kathleen and friends over the course of several weeks. The ladies learned not just the basics of cooking but how to trust themselves, be more independent and fearless in the kitchen, and how to feed their families nutritious, palate pleasing food.

What I Liked

Realistic: Even though Kathleen is a professionally trained chef, she is able to look into the real world of real people, take their individual issues into consideration and make some recommendations that make sense for each particular person. She also cuts the ladies some slack when they decide which recommendations to choose and which ones to let go of.

Even Kathleen herself didn't call herself a baker...until she found No Knead Artisan Bread. After she and husband Mike taught the ladies the basics, most of them, in the end, continued with this practice and some even said they seldom bought store bought bread anymore. I'm scared to death of bread dough...now, I might just have hope.

There are a variety of issues embedded in the cooking lessons: social consciousness, finances, self sustainability, sustainability of the Earth, self-esteem, marriage, travel, friendship, the fast food industry, marketing, frugality, and health, just to name a few.

Within each chapter, as each lesson was taught, I also felt like I was experiencing the lesson. Then, at the end of each chapter the "recipes" for the lessons are shared in standard recipe format. I highlighted steps or comments throughout the lesson itself that I might want to revisit as I experiment with the recipes.

The chapters on waste and food planning...here's where Kathleen's cruise that interrupted the lessons came in handy...Kathleen visited the ship's kitchens and talked with the chef about how he managed large amounts of food served in the middle of the ocean...planning menus, buying smart and using foods in rotation without waste are key when you're feeding hundreds of people daily and can't run to the grocery store for more butter.

The Chapter called "What's in the box?" brought home to me what I know about processed food...the amount of "stuff" we blindly put into our bodies everyday. We've been convinced that the processed version is better, cuts down on time, and is cheaper. But if we plan, buy smart and use time wisely, processed foods really aren't that much of a bargain...and they are very likely doing more harm than good in the long run.

Vegetarianism - one of the women participating in the experiment was a vegetarian, so the lesson on beef was understandably hard for her and she left early that night. Kathleen respected her wishes and did not try to "change her mind" about the food she was comfortable eating. Kathleen stressed and encouraged all the students to know where their food comes from, and if you choose to eat meat, try to find better options than the over-processed meat factories that seem to be producing most of the meat Americans eat these days.

What I Didn't Like

There were a couple of times where I felt like Flinn almost got off track...At one point during the cooking school she was offered a job on a cruise ship and for various reasons (which I completely understood) she took the job and had to reschedule 2 weeks worth of lessons...That's certainly realistic, but then Flinn shifted the book from the cooking classes to the cruise and then brought us back to the school when she came back. Another chapter described her Red Velvet Dinners...a money making cooking school that she organized - again, I understood why she needed to host these dinners for paying customers; the chapter just seemed to change the sequence of the lessons.

It wasn't that I didn't "like" these two distractions; I actually felt like these were other stories to develop and tell...in another book maybe?

Overall Recommendations

If you are a home cook who wants to go back to the basics of cooking or wants to cut back on the amount of fast-food/processed food your family eats, this book is so for you. You might as well buy it though because you'll want to write in it, bookmark it and keep it handy for everyday use.

**Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School from the publisher via Net Galley by my request. All opinions are my own.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2012-01-11T11:21:00.001-06:00

My schedule finally returns to normal today (whatever that means). You'd think after almost a month off that I'd be ready to go back. But, I'm not. :p

I have no menu. I have no plan. I have clipped no coupons. I've lost my Blackberry, and I have no idea where my school calendar is. Does that give you any indication how laid back this holiday season has been for me??

I'm really organized right?

Yeesh.

Since I don't get to choose not to go to work today, here are a few things I've rounded up to look forward to:

1. My Comp II classes are reading Cold Mountain and The Book Thief. This is an experiment I started last semester with Cold Mountain, and I loved it. You can read more about my first Cold Mountain class here and here.

2. My colleagues. I share my day with a variety of people, but mostly with 3 other instructors, Missie, David and Murray. I've missed our daily banter, jokes, rants, and overall friendship. It will be good to see them again.

3. My students. I've often said that my very favorite part of my job is being in the classroom with my students. And, it is. While I do get frustrated and impatient with them sometimes and have very high expectations for them, they make my day worthwhile. I am at my best in the classroom working with my students.

4. Schedules - As much as I have loved the last month of relaxed style, I do look forward to a return to a little more structure. With the holidays comes a lot of impromptu planning, trips, shopping, parties, performances, etc. I either go with the flow or I go crazy. Starting today we'll have more set weekly and daily activities that will repeat themselves week after week.

5. My firstborn and I are getting that much closer to our trip to Ireland in March!!!

Wahoo!!

6. I've updated some things on my blog and am loving some of the new features (I can reply directly to comments now!!!). Thanks to Chaotic Compendiums for introducing Disqus to me!! And, I've finally learned how to read the blogs I follow through Google Reader (yes, I'm slow) thanks to Lena Sledge's Blog. It takes me about half the time to read them as it did when I had to individually click on each blog in my Easily Distracted section :) Yay me!!!!

7. I have a plan for making meal planning even easier for me. I love making new things, but the Head of My Household likes more consistent suppers. Turns out I do actually make some things that he enjoys. I'm planning a monthly schedule of my tried and true recipes that I'll make once a month. The other spaces will be for new things...My firstborn and I are also working on creating a menu that will hang in the kitchen so nobody will ask me "What's for supper?" anymore. Does that bother anybody else but me?

We've also instituted a new meal time...6-6:30. We've tried it for a couple of weeks, and it seems to work well..If supper's ready at 6, then whoever's ready to eat can eat. 6 pm works well since most activity meetings and such begin at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Last semester we would wait until after those meetings to eat and ended up starving by the time we arrived home, and then supper wasn't ready for another hour.

That was no fun.

8. This semester I purposely asked that I not be assigned a class during our college's Wesley lunchtime each Wednesday. I have wanted so badly to get involved, but for the past two semesters have had a class scheduled during the same exact time and wasn't able to participate. Our pastor and the on campus instructor who lead our Wesley group of college students are both dynamic fellas and seem to have a really good program going!

Bring it on, Spring 2012!

Can't wait!

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would/Could Write Another Book

2012-01-10T13:51:00.000-06:00

This week's theme at The Broke and the Bookish threw me at first...

I don't read many first time authors...not on purpose anyway...I'm sure I've read plenty but just didn't know I was reading a first time author while I was reading. So, for this week's list I actually browsed my glass bookshelves in my antique secretary (where the special books live out their lives) to see which authors I hadn't heard much from lately. Some of these authors are dead, so we won't be seeing anything else from them, and that made me sad. But, some of them are alive and well...as far as I know anyway. I've done some searching to see if those authors who are still with us have plans to publish something new...but I didn't find anything.
Please let me know if you know something I don't :)

Here's my list:

1. Stieg Larsson

I haven't read the last book in the Girl Who trilogy because I know when I do, the story is over. I just found Lisabeth Salander; I'm not ready to lose her yet. I am not interested in someone else continuing Larsson's storyline...I've not seen that done well (Alexandra Ripley's Scarlett), even when the author uses notes, etc from the writer himself/herself (see the note on Cold Sassy Tree below).

2. Olive Ann Burns

I loved Cold Sassy Tree...it was one of those books that just made me feel at home and stayed with me for a long time. According to Burns editor, she wanted the unfinished manuscript of Leaving Cold Sassy published after her death. The first part of Leaving Cold Sassy is Burns writing and I loved it...but the point where Burns writing stops just left me feeling lost. It was as if the story just stopped, as if Burns died right then. I would have rather not read any of it than to begin reading and end up falling off a cliff.

3. Willie Morris

Besides all of the other wonderful things Morris wrote, most folks are familiar with My Dog Skip, whether through the movie, reading the book, or both. Less readers, however, are familiar with his homage to a cat named Spit McGee. Spit McGee found Morris (dog lover), and Morris became a cat lover...or a Spit McGee lover anyway. Spit McGee outlived Morris and lived out his final days in leisure. The photo below is the actual Spit McGee resting at home several years ago before his death. I wish Spit McGee had found Morris early in his life so we would have more feline tales from Morris to treasure.

4. Lilian Jackson Braun

Ms. Braun began writing her Cat Who series in 1966 and continued well into her 90's. Her books were heartwarming little mysteries that all featured two Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum Yum :) One could expect a tightly knit plot, some tension and even a little edge from Ms. Braun. She will be missed.

5. Mary Ann Shaffer - 2008

Shaffer became stranded on the Guernsey Islands in 1976, learned its fascinating history, wrote her only book, The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society, and died right before its publication in 2008. Imagine what she would've, could've done had she been with us a little longer :(

6. Rita Mae Brown - Sister Jane novels

I love Brown's Sneaky Pie novels, and she churns those out on a regular basis. For some reason she doesn't publish as many of the Sister Jane Arnold's foxhunting mysteries set in Crozet, Virginia. The last one was published in 2009, and I'm ready for the next one!

7. John Grisham

Before you spew your coffee, let me explain myself...I'm exhausted with everyday Grisham...I don't even read his mystery/lawyer stuff anymore...I reached a point where I couldn't remember what happened in which story :( But, he has only written one like The Painted House...only 1. Please, please, please Grisham, slow down, dig down deep inside yourself and write another like The Painted House. Please.

8. Elizabeth Kostova

Kostova grabbed my attention with The Historian (2009) and Swan Thieves (2010)...but hasn't published anything since then. I know her stories require a ton of research, so I'm going to try and give her a little more time...if I just knew for sure she was working on something, I could relax a little. Oy.

9. Harper Lee

I suspect Lee will make many lists today for a variety of reasons. To Kill a Mockingbird touched me as much as most readers, but most importantly, it touched my reluctant reader. She read, studied, re-read, bought the movie, re-read and studied it some more. I didn't dare say much since that's usually the perfect way to get her to stop reading. I recommended several after that to my middle daughter, but none of them stuck. Lee touched something in my middle daughter that no author has before or since...why oh why couldn't she have written more????

10. Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle touched my heart in so many ways...and the audiobook, narrated by Walls herself, made me hyperventilate a time or two. Half Broke Horses (2010) came pretty quickly after The Glass Castle, but we've not had anything since. Please Jeannette, give us more!

I'm a little sad after this list. I miss some of these writers...almost like losing a family member...yet the idea that books and their authors touch our lives is reinforced again by the melancholy I feel now.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for these other authors...

The Vampire Diaries - Movie Monday is now Media Monday :)

2012-01-09T11:04:00.000-06:00

My Christmas gift to the Head of My Household this year was CABLE. When our local Cable company switched to Digital, instead of getting all those pesky little boxes, the husband waited out the system, thinking the Cable company would never completely remove the non-digital signal.

Well, he was wrong.
They did.

For a while he tried to act like it didn't bother him...but there are only so many football games a sports fanatic can be expected to miss...only so much ESPN withdrawal a fella can stomach...
It was a perfect gift, especially since he's such a hard fella to buy gifts for.

I had the new Cable hooked up a week or so before Christmas so he could enjoy all the bowl games, etc. over the holidays, and he's been in heaven.
My children have enjoyed their father's Christmas gift as well. I have seen more ICarly, Spongebob Squarepants and Big Time Rush than I ever thought possible :/

Myself, I don't really watch TV.
If I watch a tv show, it's on DVD or instant download from the network site, Amazon or NetFlix.
I have a hard enough time keeping up with my schedule, the husband's schedule and my girls' schedule without adding a tv schedule to it. So, I just don't watch it.
My friend Missie says I need that DVR thingie...but I would just forget to set it...or I'd record too many shows and forget I'd recorded them.
Oy.
Now, just because I don't watch TV on a regular basis doesn't mean I don't enjoy a TV show or so...
One of my current guilty pleasures right now is the CW show "The Vampire Diaries."

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know...
More vampires.

I stumbled on the pilot over two years ago.

Good guy Vegetarian Vampire Stephan returns to his home in Mystic Falls because of a young woman (Elena) who reminds him of a woman/vampire he once loved (Katherine).

Bad guy, not Vegetarian, Vampire Damon, who is also Stephan's brother, also returns to Mystic Falls simply to make Stephan's life miserable. Damon also loved Katherine...at the same time as Stephan...and it wasn't pretty when Katherine finally chose Stephan. Since then, these two have been at each other's throats for hundreds of years...and of course, they both fall in love with Elena this time around.

I knew I'd never keep up with the series so I just kinda put it on the backburner...until a month ago...browsing NetFlix, I found the complete Season 1 and 2 of The Vampire Diaries on Instant Play...WAHOO!!

Over the last several weeks I've caught up on Season 1

and Season 2

and then couldn't stand it and switched to the CW website where I watched several full episodes of Season 3 for free and then caught up with the rest on Amazon Instant Videos.

I love this fun, fast paced, action packed, non-thinking series...vampires, witches, werewolves, vampire hunters, "Originals" who can't be killed, humans who choose to be "turned" and those who don't get to choose...all in the middle of high school drama...which really doesn't seem like high school to me.

As a matter of fact, I forget frequently that these characters (the humans anyway) are supposed to only be 16 and 17 years old. And, of course the love triangle of Stephan, Elena and Damon.
Um, did I mention the music?? Holy Smokes! What a playlist this stuff would make!!

There's also a lot of history (what do you call pretend early American history?), and Nina Dobrev who plays Elena is something else switching roles back and forth between Elena and Katherine, especially in Season 2 when "Katherine" returns. And, to add even more interest in the series, two of the show's stars are actually together as a couple off screen as well.
Isn't that cute??

My videos ran out in the middle of Season 3 with Episode 9, so as a new Cable consumer I decided I would also enjoy my husband's Christmas gift and planned to watch Episode 10 last Thursday night.

Guess what?

At 7:34 p.m. I realized it was 7:34 and I had missed most of the show :(

Good grief.

I told you so.

You see, I need TV shows on my schedule...not the network's.

If only it worked that way.

Amazon had the video streaming (for $1.99) by the next day though, and CW had it streaming for free a day or so after that.

Thank Goodness!

Now, I'm waiting on Episode 11!!

Book Review - A Southern Plate and My First Giveaway :)

2012-01-08T00:05:00.001-06:00

Southern Plate by Christy Jordan

Why? I heard about Christy in the blogosphere and read her blog for a while. I read review after review hailing her cookbook, and she sounded like the next Paula Deen or Ree Drummond...both ladies I respect and admire.

What Now? I'll be giving this one away...just not for me. But, instead of donating it to the library, I decided that since so many other people like this cookbook, I would give them mine. :)

Golden Lines

Almost every memory I have of our dinner table growing up includes my mother, father, sister, brother, and at least one of two "extras." No matter how tight our grocery budget or schedule was, Mama always found time and managed to feed more people.

I guess in the end, the kids will not likely remember how the cake looked, but they will remember that you made it for them. And whether it's made from scratch or made from a mix, whether it's chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry, I think when all kids grow up they will agree, their mama made the best cake.

What I Liked

The meals are simple; there are no fancy schmancy ingredients to search out, etc.

Family - like myself, family seems important to Christy...she writes snippets all through the book about her family, where these recipes came from, etc.

Even though I don't think of Christmas as a "season," as Jordan says "it is often said," I did think that this section of recipes was the best. Sugared pecans, chocolate pie, coconut cake, peanut brittle, fudge, Chex mix, divinity, and hot chocolate are all recipes I grew up on as well.

What I Didn't Like

Photographs - There are nowhere near enough pictures in this cookbook for me. I am a very visual person and I need photos, lots of them...and not just photos of the finished product. Show me what the recipe looks like at least a few times in the midst of progress so that I'll know whether or not I'm on the right track. There's not even a photo of every recipe in here. I was very disappointed...but I blamed this on myself...I very seldom blindly order a cookbook without holding it in my hot little hands and flipping through it first. If I had taken the time to do that, I would have never bought A Southern Plate.

Southernness - I am a Southerner...all the way to my bone marrow. Since the day I bought this cookbook, I have tried and tried to find something in this cookbook that appealed to me. I even looked up Christy's Chicken & Dumplings recipe the other day when I was experimenting (she uses cream of chicken soup in her recipe). I have purposely put off writing this review so that I could find something in here I actually wanted to make...that sounded a little different than all the other cookbooks, pages out of magazines, etc. that I own. I couldn't find a thing. And, I'm truly sorry.

I don't mean this mean at all...I promise...but there were times when I felt Christy attributed certain aspects of homelife and cooking to Southern homes or specific regions in the South...for example, in her explanation of White Barbeque sauce Jordan indicates that most folks outside of North Alabama have never heard of it...even other Southerners. I know a whole lot of Southerners, from MS, LA, AL, FL, and even the Carolinas who would argue this point...I promise I'm not trying to be picky...I just felt Jordan tried to force some of the Southernness sometimes. Does that make any sense at all??
Another place where I felt this push was in the story where Jordan told how she'd gotten in trouble for not waving at a passerby farmer when she was first learning to drive and had received a harsh scolding from her grandfather. Huh? While the story is true for Jordan, she attributes this same attitude or set of rules to all Southerners...and that's simply not true. Nor does it mean when I (or anyone else) travel to Oakland or San Francisco, CA (or anywhere else for that matter) on business that I am not met with the same kind of friendliness. I've found that most folks within the states I've visited will carry on a polite conversation when one is started...those who don't are not comfortable bc of their personality rather than where they were brought up.
I could cite you many more examples where I felt Jordan overgeneralizes about Southerners and/or nonSoutherners. There was even one quote from pg. 89 that really actually upset me:

Despite the trend of celebrity chefs in the food world presenting us with fancy dishes with names most Southerners can't even pronounce, at the end of the day what we really want to come home to is the simple food we grew up on.

If this quote had been written by a non-Southerner, I would've actually been angry and taken it as an insult...I don't know what to think about this kind of statement being made by a Southerner...and a really nice one at that...does she just not realize what she just said? Who was her editor? and Why did he/she not point out these kinds of possible problematic issues to her?
I honestly think the generalizations were my greatest vice with this cookbook. Enough that they turned me off from everything and anything else I might have found positive in this cookbook.
And, I can thank my PhD for my tendency to over analyze even a friendly little cookbook...it's a disease I tell you.

Organization - just a personal preference of mine, but I don't like cookbooks organized by seasons...unless within those seasons the recipes are also organized by which type of recipe...appetizer, breads, meat, etc. I just get lost otherwise.

Fruit salad made with a can of fruit cocktail? My mama made traditional ambrosia...and we were NOT upper or even middle class citizens when I was growing up. There are other recipes as well which surprised me with packaged/processed ingredients and shortcuts....that's just not the way I remember it. Again, had Jordan told this story from her own home's perspective and her individual family's rather than generalizing her experiences to all Southerners, I might have been able to look at the recipes differently. As it is, however, I can't.

My Overall Response

I wanted to like this cookbook so much. I almost feel mean saying that I didn't. But, I didn't. A friend of mine returned from Savannah, Georgia after visiting there and eating at Paula Deen's restaurant. When I asked her about the restaurant experience, my friend said that it wasn't that big of a deal. The food served there was no different than what my friend's grandmother prepares for Sunday lunch. It was good, my friend said, but nothing special. I think that may be another reason why I wasn't over the moon about this cookbook.

Maybe also, instead of marketing this cookbook as a Southern cookbook and instead marketing it as a North Alabama cookbook, I might not have had so many problems with the over-generalizations...I don't know...you'd have to ask other North Alabamians about that.

Giveaway

On Jan. 2, 2010 I posted my first blog posting. Somehow this year I missed my blogiversity...so I thought it only fitting to jump right into the land of the Giveaway in order to share my love of books and my love of blogging. Even though I might not like something or think it's quite as special as others do, I'm a firm believer that as readers (and individuals) we find our own literature that speaks to us...no matter what the genre. Instead of letting Southern Plate sit on my shelf un-used, I want to offer it to someone else who might find pleasure in the recipes Christy Jordan has worked so hard on and lived her life through.

I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way. If you'd like to have my autographed copy of Christy Jordan's Southern Plate, just let me know in the comments section below. One week from today, Sunday, Jan. 15, my girls and I will put all the entries in a mixing bowl and pull one. I'll announce the winner in my Monday, January 16th post :)

Saturday Snapshot - Nurse Layla

2012-01-07T13:12:00.000-06:00

This morning began like any other Saturday morning...sleeping a little later, waking up one at a time, adding family members to our king sized bed :)

After breakfast, however, the youngest just kinda collapsed on the couch.

Since she moves at about 115 mph all of the time it seems, I knew something was up.

Layla also knew something was up and became very concerned.

Can you see her worried German Shepherd eyes?

Sure enough the youngest was running a temp...which has climbed throughout the morning. Oy.

Layla need to touch the youngest and volunteered to keep her feet warm.

These are certainly not the best photos...taken with my Blackberry so as not to disturb a much needed nap for the youngest...but they're good enough for me.

How can anyone not love dogs?

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home with Books.

Weekend Cooking - Chicken & Dumplings

2012-01-06T13:29:00.003-06:00

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Candace at Beth Fish Reads

My great-grandmother Grand Liddie was known for her chicken & dumplings. I vividly remember a bubbling pot on top of the stove and the smell throughout the house of the chicken and broth that cooked for hours. I also remember her in her apron standing over a table with flour spread on the surface, flattening out the homemade dumplings, cutting them and dropping them into the boiling broth. Any time we went anywhere, Grand Liddie took chicken & dumplings; she was expected to.

To my knowledge Grand Liddie never wrote her recipe down; she just made it. When she died, her recipe died with her. Because Grand Liddie's chicken & dumplings are the ones I first tasted and ate all through my childhood, they are what I think chicken & dumplings are supposed to taste like. Imagine my horror to find out through the years that everyone doesn't make their chicken & dumplings like Grand Liddie. Biscuit dumplings? Dropped dumplings? veggies added? Even cream of chicken soup?? WHAT?

The chicken & dumplings served at Cracker Barrel are probably the closest to my Grand Liddie's (except their dumplings are too mushy sometimes...and from time to time the broth suspiciously tastes like it was made from a boullion cube) Simple, chicken, flour dumplings, broth, seasoned with salt and pepper. How hard could that be?

Every time I see a new recipe for chicken & dumplings, I read it and think it through...if it has any of the above alternate ingredients, I just turn the page. I had begun to think maybe I remembered the experience of watching and eating chicken & dumplings wrong...why were there so many recipes/variations of what I remembered so simply?

Then, something happened.

I've been reading Kitchen Counter Cooking School over the last couple of days, and I can't put it down. Each chapter gets me more and more excited about returning to the foundations of cooking...do you know that I don't even know how to cut up a chicken?? Do you also know that only in the last couple of years since I've been growing my own tomatoes have I realized how simple it is to make a tomato sauce from tomatoes instead of a jar??

After reading the chapter on chicken, I thought to myself...maybe Grand Liddie's chicken & dumplings IS as easy as I remember it...easy in the sense of traditional, back to basics, foundational cooking.

So, I went to my fridge, found some chicken breasts and decided I was gonna give it a try. (I still don't know how to cut up a chicken...I'll save that lesson for another day.)
I put 6-7 breasts in a pot of water...the water just covering the top of the breasts, brought the water to a boil and then turned it down to a simmer and placed a clear lid over the top of the pot. I left the pot on the stove for a couple of hours so the breasts would get tender and the broth would have time to make. I wasn't really sure how great the broth would be with just chicken breasts, but I was determined to give it a shot. I also added some salt and pepper for flavor; taste, taste, taste is another lesson I'm learning from The Kitchen Counter Cooking School.
I checked on the breasts frequently through the clear lid and was encouraged by the yellowy tint the broth began to make.
I'm sure I let my broth/chicken cook longer than necessary, but I wanted those breasts to be tender. I removed them from the pot when I could easily chop them up with a spatula and of course after a taste test.
I tasted the broth, seasoned as I felt needed, and then returned the pot of broth to a boil.

I decided that homemade dumplings would be a lesson for another day as well, so one by one, I dropped Mary B's Open Kettle dumplings (3 ingredients, flour, water and palm oil) into the boiling broth, making sure to stir around and space out the dumplings so they wouldn't stick together. Once I had as many dumplings as I wanted, I again, turned down the heat, covered the pot and cooked for 30 minutes.
When the timer went off, I examined the dumplings and tasted (yet again) a small snippet from one to see if the consistency was close. It was...I was looking for "close" consistency because I'm also learning from Kitchen Counter Cooking School that if you wait for the pasta to be completely done, it will be overcooked by the time you add the rest of the ingredients and it simmers even more or simply continues to cook from its own heat.

I shredded the chicken breasts with my hands, adjusted the heat for a slow simmer, covered the pot again and set the timer for 15 minutes.

When the timer went off, I was nervous. I'm learning from Kitchen Counter Cooking School that cooking takes practice, trial and error, knowing your own tastes and thick skin sometimes when things don't turn out exactly as you imagine they will. More importantly, cooking is more than following a recipe exactly as it is written; cooking is about making a recipe your own. Just because I don't like all those other chicken & dumpling recipes doesn't mean they're wrong and my Grand Liddie was right (even though I think she was ;).

I took the lid off, and my chicken and dumplings actually smelled like chicken and dumplings.
Holy Smokes.
I ladled up a bowl for the youngest and the firstborn (they were the only ones home at the time) and waited for their reactions. The firstborn gave me a thumbs up almost immediately, so I decided to fix myself a bowl as well.

If you think I'm silly for gushing so much about chicken and dumplings already, you're going to really think I'm a goober when I tell you that with that first spoonful, I've never been so proud of myself. Albeit, my chicken and dumplings are not Grand Liddie style yet, but they were pretty dang close.
The broth tasted like chicken, real chicken, was seasoned to perfection (salt and pepper), the chicken was tender enough, and the dumplings were a perfect (to me) softness but not at all mushy...they still had pull to them and didn't become globs of mush.

The youngest ate 2 bowls.
2 bowls!!!!!!

One of the best parts of this experience is that for the last two days I've thought intensely about my Grand Liddie..about her small home where we welcomed, warmed and fed. The smells, the sights, the sounds have been in my brain and have made me feel at home. The kind of home where family matters, the cook is as happy as those eating his/her food, and unconditional love is felt deeply.

Yes, I'm a goober...I don't even care.
:)

**My full review of Kitchen Counter Cooking School should be up in a couple of days...I'm still savoring...literally and figuratively :)
I did receive my copy of Kitchen Counter Cooking School from the publisher free of charge through Net Galley at my request. All opinions are my own.
***I don't know the people at Mary B's and they don't know me...I wanted the simplest version of dumplings with no additives, and this is the brand I chose.

Book Review - Love at First Bark

2012-01-05T08:23:00.000-06:00

Love at First Bark by Julie Klam

Riverhead Books, 2011

Why? I love dogs, had this one on my WishList, and my sweet Secret Santa Sandy sent it to me :)

It's even signed by the author :)

What Now? into the glass case it goes, for keeps

Golden Lines

Somehow I housebroke Beatrice with no problem in a very short period of time right before I went on bed rest for my pregnancy. It's like I told her, "You go to the bathroom outside, not inside." And she answered, "Got it." Whereas Wisteria and Fiorello were told, shown, taken outside with paper towels with their pee on them to show them where it went. I did a puppet show, and a PowerPoint demonstration and they still didn't get it. They'd go out for long walks and come back inside and pee on the rug.

As soon as we entered the lobby, we saw a woman at the admitting desk dumping the six puppies her unneutered female had had--she had done this before, with this dog's first litter. She looked at me with sad eyes asking if I would like to adopt them, and I just said, "No, thank you." Not two inches from where she sat was a poster advertising low-cost and free spaying and neutering. Her laziness had resulted in the birth of at least twelve unwanted dogs, and I was not sympathetic to her.

So many stories of heroic dogs. I had my own store of them. And that really was the point. I had always felt that any dog I took care of would've done the same for me if it could, and in fact by rescuing them they filled my heart in such a way that I was rescued right back.

More often than not, what animals require our protection from is not hurricanes or fires, but abuse at the hands of other people.

***the quotes above are taken from an uncorrected proof and may have been revised in the final copy***

Summary

Within three chapters, "Morris the Pit Bull, Couples Therapist," "My Darling Clementine," and "There is a Dog House in New Orleans," Julie Klam illustrates with words how "saving a dog can sometimes help you save yourself." Julie, her husband Paul and daughter Violet live in a NYC apartment with 4 of their own dogs, foster others, and try to live a life of gratitude and respect for dogs and other animals who share our Earth, no matter how sick, crippled, etc. they are.

What I Liked

The chapter organization - even though I wish there was more, I liked how each chapter focused its storyline on particular experiences Julie has had with specific animals. Those focus animals are in no way the only animals mentioned in those chapters, but they are the lead character if you will. Since these chapters are snippets/pieces of Julie's life, the focus dog helps to keep things rolling since the chapters are not in sequential order (which dog came first, etc).

Julie's sense of humor - I laughed out loud in several places...Julie writes like she's having an enjoyable conversation with me...her quirkiness and ability to laugh at even experiences with a dog that had an inability to control her own poo keeps the real life of dog rescue at the forefront of the conversation, not the romanticized SuperWoman notion.

Julie's family involvement - Julie's husband Paul was a normal husband...5 dogs in a NYC apartment! No way! But, he believed in Julie and he believed in the animals. They worked things out, not always perfectly but they worked it out. They spent their first time away from the home together since their honeymoon in New Orleans helping a rescue group capture a puppy with a jar stuck on his head...and they were changed by the experience as individuals and as a couple.

It's ok to make mistakes - Julie had two dogs who she couldn't housetrain and had to send them to Kanine Kamp instead, and Julie had a difficult time being "the pack leader." If you love dogs, you know what NEEDS to be done...but it's not always what you WANT to do. When my Layla looks at me with those beautiful German Shepherd brown eyes, I have a hard time not melting and giving in myself.

the Network of rescuers - I didn't really realize how rescue of this scale worked...it was very interesting to learn how a rescuer with a potential rescue dog sends out a message via Twitter, FB and other social media outlets to reach other rescuers in particular groups...and then other rescuers send the message on to their contacts and so on down the line...kinda like a phone tree alert. I think Julie mentioned it at one point, but when she and Paul were sending out messages after finding Morris the Pit Bull, the process resembled the Twilight Bark from Disney's 101 Dalmations :) How fitting is that?

Rescue is serious business - I needed this reminder that you can be involved in animal rescue and not keep every animal you find. That doesn't mean it's not difficult at times to let one go, but it's the reality as sad as it may seem. Sometimes I am scared to become involved bc of this very issue, but with Julie's story I learned how we can all work together to find, rescue, rehabilitate and match dogs with perfect homes for them.

What I Didn't Like

I wanted the book to be longer...only 3 chapters left me craving more...and googled the websites of the blogs, SPCA groups, rescue groups and people Julie worked with just to continue the experience of reading this book.

I enjoy the conversational tone of Julie's book but I'm easily distracted so every now and then her offshoot stories would get in my way...I didn't really "dislike" this because I could easily get back on track...but I can see where this might be a bigger problem with a longer book.

Overall Recommendation

If you are an animal lover...and especially a dog lover, and feel that we owe something to these wonderful creatures, many who are roaming the streets homeless, you need to read this book.

Julie's descriptions of city living and urban rescue and the chapter on New Orleans after Katrina are geographically and culturally interesting as well as dog rescue interesting.

Julie has another book as well, You Had Me at Woof, which I have already added to my WishList :)

2012 Reading Challenges Sign Up Post

2012-01-04T09:01:00.002-06:00

I like reading challenges.

I really do.

But, not for the same reasons a lot of other readers like them.

I like challenges because they help prioritize my reading; for me, a reading challenge is a commitment to read a certain kind of book(s) with others. If something happens and I don't get the books read, then I haven't hurt anyone nor does it cost me anything...except the enjoyment I would have received from the process.

Challenges add pressure...but not so much that reading becomes a chore.

I chose my reading challenges for 2012 because I either already read that category of books and enjoy them or because the category is one that I'd like to read but need someone to hold my hand and read them with me (War and Peace, anyone?)

I also don't read 100's of books a year, so I don't feel I'm in any kind of reading rut; I just simply want to read more of the books I want to read.

As reading challenges began popping up after Thanksgiving, I opened up a post and began copying and pasting URL's for ones I was interested in. I made my final decisions yesterday; there are a bunch of them, but I'm ok with that because the worst thing that could happen would be that I would read more this year than 2011 and 2010. That would be a good thing.

For each of the reading challenges below, I've provided a tidbit about each one with my specific goals, but please visit the blog site via the links provided for more information.

November's Autumn is hosting the Classics Challenge. From January 2012-December 2012 we will read 7 classics. What I like about this one is that you actually post every 4th of the month to check in on your progress as well as talk to the other bloggers...it doesn't matter where you are in your progress; you just have to check in. I like checking in :)

Since I'm supposed to make a list for this one, I will...intentionally, the classics listed here are ones that are already sitting on my shelves or ones I've already committed to read along with others.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

3. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

4. Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

6. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

7. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Yes, I was an English major and somehow, someway finished my education without having ever read the above titles.

Boo.

I surprised myself with Ebooks last year so signing up for this challenge was an automatic decision. Workaday Reads is the new host this year. Since I read 16-17 Ebooks without blinking last year, I'm going to go ahead and sign up for the CD level - that's 25 Ebooks. Workaday Reads will have a post at the beginning of each month for participants to link their monthly reviews. Monthly reviews will count as a chance on a monthly giveaway with another giveaway at the end of the year for those who meet their goal. How cool is that? I'm in.

I'm a regular reader at Beth Fish Reads and a participator in Candace's memes Weekend Cooking as well as Wordless Wednesday from time to time. I've wanted to jump into the What's in a Name challenge both of my previous blogging years, but for some reason was a little nervous. Since I'm from the South and we got grit, by damn I ain't nervous no more.

This challenge uses categories for the books we'll be reading over the course of 2012...here they are:

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title: Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
A book with a creepy crawly in the title: Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
A book with a type of house in the title: The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title: Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, Devlin Diary
A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title: Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, Year of Magical Thinking

Candace has already posted the 7 pages with Mr. Linky for everyone's posts as they finish each category and the last post for the end of the challenge post...creativity is allowed, thank goodness...although 4 of the labels above feature examples using titles of books I have on my TBR...I hope that's not cheating ;) I'd like to see Little Bee, Ape House, Sarah's Key, and Year of Magical Thinking jump right off my TBR pile this year! I'll keep working on #1 and #2.

Ellie over at Musings of a Bookshop Girl has started a new challenge called Mixing it Up. She lists 16 different categories of books and challenges us to read at least one book from each category this year...the number of categories you choose becomes your reading goal. From Ellie's list of categories, I chose Young Adult, Classics, Biography, Cookery, History, Modern Fiction, Crime & Mystery, and Travel, which are all categories I read already. That puts me into the Cupcake mix level with 5-8 categories to tap. My "Pie in the Sky" self wanted to sign up for all 16, but my realistic self knew that was a death sentence.

My TBR shelves are embarrassing...especially some of the older books I've never gotten around to reading. So, here I go...committing to reading 12 of those books right off the shelf. Roof Beam Reader hosts this one each year. The rules for this one are a little more strict than the one I participated in last year, so I'll have to be on my p's and q's. That's a little scary. I do have to make a list...and I do have to stick to it. Yikes. All books have to be at least 1 year old.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

3. Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier

4. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

5. School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

6. Books by Larry McMurtry

7. Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

8. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy

9. Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette

10. Louisa May Alcott by Harriet Reisen

11. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

12. My Life in France by Julia Child

Did you notice how I overlapped these with my Classics, Foodies and Memoirs? I did that on purpose :) That's not cheating. Whew!

Have I mentioned lately about how I LOVE ReadAlongs?? For whopper books, or particularly dense ones, I need a hand to hold and someone to bounce ideas off of...Kate's Library is hosting a ReadAlong of Les Miserables this year and I am soo in.

Sweet Jillian from A Room of One's Own extended her War and Peace 2011 ReadAlong into 2012, thanks be to God. I got a little behind on this one and it was just impossible to catch back up. I have a new schedule now though and have already written the sections into my calendar between now and Summer when this one finishes. New sign ups are allowed if you're interested.

Jenners @ Life with Books and Jill @ Fizzy Thoughts decided to read A People's History of the United States between now and Summer. This book is an alternate history of the U.S. from what we all learned in school...a history of the U.S. from the perspective of all those who've been traditionally left out of history.

I'm looking forward to this casual ReadAlong; I've read various reviews of the book already and am intrigued by the controversial policital conversations Zinn's book will produce.

That's fun stuff.

Teresa's Reading Corner is hosting the AudioBook Challenge again this year; I totally bombed this one last year and am signing up to redeem myself. It turns out I'm a narrator snob. Oy.

I'm signing up for the lowest level, the Flirting level, and am committing to listening to 6 AudioBooks this year. Teresa also hosts monthly check ins...I really think I do better with check-ins...remember, the whole "hold my hand" thing? Yeah, yeah. I really don't want to dislike AudioBooks...there's so much potential in my life for Audio...I'm hoping these ladies will open my ears to some great choices :)

Why Buy the Cow is a brand new challenge by The UnReader. For this challenge we have to read legally downloaded free books from the web. If for some strange reason you are not aware that Amazon puts free ebooks up regularly (sometimes only for short period of time), now you know. How can you not take advantage of FREE??
I'm signing up for the Why Buy the Cow challenge at the Coupon Clipper level, 12 books.

Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf created a Witches challenge this year...she might as well have sent me an engraved invitation because I've been a Witch person all of my life...some of my students would probably tell you I AM a witch ;) (That was a joke, people...my students would use the B word instead **SNARK ALERT**). Oh well, if the broom fits...

Anyhoo...

I'm committing to 5 books Witchy books...I'm an Initiate at this level. I don't have to create a list but Melissa created one with books to look into and 5 of those jumped right out at me. These are the 5 I'm interested in right now:

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (no, I haven't seen the movie)

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

The Heretics Daughter by Kathleen Kent

Margot at Joyfully Retired is hosting this wonderful challenge again this year. I can't tell you how many "foodie" books I have on my TBR shelf that fit this challenge...I also can't tell you why I didn't read any of them for this challenge last year??? You tell me and we'll both know. I think I thought this challenge would be easy so I concentrated on others...happens to the best of us, I guess. For 2012 I will do better. I'm signing up for the Pastry Chef level...that's 4-8 books; I'm not letting myself cop-out on this one with the lowest level, so I will be pushing myself (in a nice way)

I'M GOING TO IRELAND THIS MARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My firstborn and I will be traveling together with her soccer team...her coach is from Ireland, so she set up an educational tour for the girls (and parents who wanted to go).

What better way to prepare myself for this trip than to read about Ireland?

Books and Movies hosts this challenge. I'm signing up for 4 books, Shamrock Level, and am really interested in everyone else's ideas of books from a variety of categories since this is new genre for me.

Did I mention I'm going to Ireland in March????????????????????????????????

Memorable Memoirs is another challenge for which I have a stack of books already on my TBR shelves to read. I bombed this one last year as well...I'm just a goofus, I guess. I have no other excuse. Due to my lax attitude toward this challenge last year, I'm not allowing myself to commit to the bottom level. I will be signing up at the Autobiographer level and reading 5-9 memoirs in 2012!

WAHOO!! More books off my TBR shelf!!!

I forgot about the Back to Classics challenge last year along with the Foodie and Memoir challenges, but got lucky enough to fulfill all categories except 2 with the books I had read anyway. Here are the categories:

19th Century Classic

20th Century Classic

Re-read a Classic

Classic Play

Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction

Classic Romance

Classic Translated

Classic Award Winner

Classic Set Somewhere You're Unlikely to Visit

I won't accidentally fulfill this one so I'll have to pay more attention...story of my life ;)

The Victorian Challenge is a new one for me, but if I am successful with Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist and my bio of Louisa May Alcott, I will have successfully completed this challenge as well. So, why not? The goal is to read, listen, watch 2-6 audiobooks, videos, books, poetry, etc, etc, etc. from the Victorian era or during the years Victoria was Queen of England.

I love Historical Fiction that is truly historical...the author has obviously researched his/her subject(s) and has based the story on actual events...I don't care for the bodice ripping so-called historical fiction. I wanted to sign up for the Historical Fiction challenge last year but happened upon it too late to work it into my plans. As a challenge ingenue, I was also very nervous about signing up for too much. I'm going to start out at Daring and Curious, 5 books during 2012. I really should sign up for the Struggling with my Addiction level and 10 books, but that might be a little much to expect. I can always go up a level later if I see 5 books is too easy :)

My friend Natalie @ Coffee and a Book Chick is co-hosting a Stephen King project this year. I was a classic King fan a long time ago...by the time he made it to IT, he lost me. I'm willing to give him another chance...there are a few classics I missed out on and I do want to give his new one a try, so I'm signing up for A Lil Bit of King, 3 books. We'll have a site just for this project where we'll all come together monthly and post our progress. I would love to read more, but if it turns out King and I just don't get along anymore and I don't like his new stuff, I'm not going to keep reading.
So there.

Jamie's Eclectic Bookshelf is hosting this particular YA Challenge. I've made it no secret that I had a hard time with YA in 2011...I need to end that...right now. My firstborn is picking out the best of the best from her shelves, and I WILL enjoy YA again.

I WILL.

LAST ONE! ARE YOU AWAKE??

I'm a Southerner...and I only read one book for the Southern Literature challenge last year. Huh??

I'm signing up for the Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya Hear? Level which is 4 books....I ought to be ashamed of myself if I can't do at least that much.

There you have it...my reading life for 2012 :)
Yes, I know it's a lot...so what? Good books make life better :):)
Time to get reading!

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading in 2012

2012-01-03T12:47:00.000-06:00

Of all the Broke and Bookish Top Ten Tuesday lists, this week's is the most dangerous for me. By the end of the day, I bet I will have added at least 100 books to my WishList :/ I started not to participate today bc I really really don't need any more books on my list...BUT I couldn't stand it; I had to peek at the upcoming releases on Amazon, Publisher's Weekly, etc.

That was all it took.

Of the hundreds of new releases for 2012 I tried to focus on the ones I have marked as auto-ship. I don't even have to order these; they'll be sent to me automatically...that's how sure I am that I need them.

Good grief.

1. The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice (Feb. 14, 2012)

I was an early Anne Rice fan...but she lost me after Taltos...that, my friends, was a weird book. I'm excited that maybe this new subject matter will bring back the original Rice of the vampire series!
Fingers crossed!

2. 11th Hour by James Patterson (May 7, 2012)

This is Patterson's last chance...I was completely disgusted by the stupidity of the 10th book in this series. I said then that I would give him one more chance...and here it is.

3. Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton (June 5, 2012)

No book cover image is available for the newest Anita Blake, so Laurell is standing in :) Can't wait for this one...should have enough twists and turns in it to keep my head spinning...also will have my favorite vampire hottie, Jean Claude...yum yum ;)

4. Pioneer Woman Cookbook by Ree Drummond (March 13, 2012)

Love her or hate her...the woman can cook. I've found a couple of recipes that I didn't care for, but on the whole, most of her recipes work for me. I've probably used her first cookbook more than any other I own, so I'm looking forward to more of the same.

5. DeadLocked by Charlaine Harris (May 1, 2012)

I originally heard a rumor that this would be the last Sookie Stackhouse book, but this morning I read an interview with Harris herself who said that Deadlocked is the next to last book. She already knows how it will end, and the final Sookie will be released in May of 2013. I hope we have less fairies in this one...they confuse me for some reason...I think I just can't keep up with all the extra characters.

6. Bringing Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Fall 2012)

I'm still slowly digesting Wolf Hall, but I know I want this one. This whopper is going to be 600 pages so no telling how long it will take me...but I still can't wait!!

7. Home by Toni Morrison (May 8, 2012)

I've read most of Morrison's work, so this is a no-brainer for me. A no-brainer that I would buy it, not a no-brainer to read...but that's how I like em. :)

8. More Room in a Broken Heart by Stephen Davis (Jan. 10, 2012)

I like memoirs...and especially those of classic celebrities...those who've been around as long as I can remember and really have rich stories and experiences to talk about...not that namby pamby stuff in a Miley Cyrus "memoir" (is it even possible for 20 year olds to write "memoirs"?) I have nothing against Miley Cyrus and I'm just using her as an example. Surely she hasn't written a book??

9. The Rope by Nevada Barr (Jan 17, 2012)

I'm scoping out other series since I feel sure I'll be dropping a couple of my die hard series this year...Evanovich and Patterson each have one more chance...that's it. I can't waste precious reading time on stupid stuff. I know that sounds mean, but I just can't.
I read one of Nevada Barr's a couple of years ago (Deep South) and really liked it, but I'm kinda anal about starting a series at the beginning, so I wouldn't allow myself to keep reading until I backed up to #1 :/ I'm giving myself permission to read The Rope when it's released :)
That is...if I don't have a panic attack first.

10. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen (May 1, 2012)

I like Quindlen. I haven't read everything she's written, but one of my favorites is Blessings. The audio of her small book about her dog (Good Dog. Stay.) is my first audio of 2012 as well. Again, I'm fond of life stories written by folks who've actually experienced some life and have spent time analyzing where they are, where they've been and what's next.

There you have it my friends. My must haves of 2012 (so far). I'm not keeping track of how many books I'm adding to my WishList from other Top Ten Tuesday posts...I hope Amazon doesn't have a limit
;)

2011 Challenge Wrap Up

2012-01-02T15:00:00.000-06:00

Time for Ye Old Final Challenge post of the year.
:)

Even though I did not successfully complete all of the challenges I signed up for, I am still ok with my overall progress on challenges in 2011.
My first year of challenges (2010), I didn't do so well, so I decided to look at challenges a little differently in 2011. In 2011, I signed up for challenges in categories of which I already enjoy reading books, and for the most part, I only signed up for the minimum number of books for each challenge. Some might find that lacking as a "challenge," but keep in mind that I don't read 100's of books each year. I'm totally impressed with those who do (Wowie Wow Wow as Junie B. Jones would say), but I'm just not there yet.
When I finished my Ph.D, I promised myself I would return to the world of reading for pleasure; it has taken me a while to get back in that groove; old academic habits die hard, it seems. In 2010 I only read and reviewed 22 books :( But, in 2011, I read and reviewed 35 (or 37)...I kept reading after I counted...and never recounted.
(Please remember, I have never pretended to be a math major ;)

Anyhoo, even though those numbers are small, I'm proud of them. It means progress. It means that in 2011, books were even more a part of my life than they were in 2010. And, that, in a nutshell, is my overall goal right now.
I do have some ideas for 2012, with some gently placed pressures to move myself on forward even more...but that's tomorrow's post :)

Here are the 2011 Challenges and my results; I reviewed most of them so those reviews are linked:

The Reading from My Shelves Challenge was held by Diane @ Bibliophile by the Sea

I have a very difficult time letting books go...I surround myself with books in every room of our house, so I knew this challenge would be difficult for me, but surprisingly, after I let go of the first couple of books, it became a little easier to let go...especially of books I was not so fond of. I still won't be able to let go of books I love, but that's ok too.
I didn't meet my goal of giving away 12 books, but I gave away 11!! That's pretty dang good for me.
I'll be signing up for this challenge again this year.

1. Seven Up by Janet Evanovich - left this one on an airplane after I finished

2. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich - left this one on an airplane after I finished

3. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich - left this one on an airplane after I finished

4. March by Geraldine Brooks - gave this one to the library (after I bought the hardback for keeps ;)

5. Affinity by Sarah Waters (this one was easy to give away)

6. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich - donated to the library

7. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich - passed this one along to my stepmother

8. Bossypants by Tina Fey - donated to the library

9. The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart - donated to the library

10. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich - ~~threw in the garbage can~~ donated to the library

11. The Tenth Anniversary by James Patterson - donated to the library

12.

The 2011 YA Reading Challenge was held at Jamie 's Bookshelf

I signed up to read 12 YA books this year, thinking that would be easy. I've always loved YA and even taught a YA Lit class for a couple of years at the local university.

Unfortunately, I hit a big bag of concrete this year with YA and only read 5 :p

I can't even really tell you why. I'm still mulling over ideas.

I've put my firstborn in charge of getting me out of my YA funk in 2012. She's in charge of my YA reading list this year, with the best of the best, one at a time, starting immediately.

Her bedroom is a YA library, so it shouldn't be a problem :)

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Sea by Heidi Kling
3. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
4. The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Back to the Classics Challenge was hosted at Sarah Reads Too Much...I honestly almost forgot about this one and had to fill in the blanks near the end of the year as I looked back over what I had read. I could have easily filled in the two categories that were left out if I had just been paying attention.

A Banned Book - I didn't purposely read a banned book...and for this I am upset with myself. I WILL fix this oversight IMMEDIATELY!

A book with a Wartime Setting (can be any war) - March by Geraldine Brooks

A Pulitzer Prize (Fiction) Winner or Runner Up: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

A Children's/Young Adult Classic - Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

19th Century Classic - House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

20th Century Classic - Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

A book you think should be considered a 21st Century Classic: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Re-Read a book from your High School/College Classes: Whoopsee...forgot this category too...I don't re-read very often, but it would be very interesting to read a book from high school through an adult lens. Will do better on this as well next year.

Margot at Joyfully Retired hosted The Foodie Reading Challenge

I have a stack of these books on my shelf as well...and only read 1?? I'm not sure why. I think I just kept passing them up for something else...doh!

1. The United States of Arugula/ by David Kamp

The Audiobook Challenge was hosted at Teresa's Reading Corner

I signed up to read 3 and only read 1. I've found that I am an incredibly picky audio listener/reader. For example, a less than perfect fit in narrator can absolutely ruin even the best book for me. I don't seem to be able to separate the book from the narrator.

I'm not an overly critical person, so I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out why this would be. The only thing I can come up with is that with audiobooks, someone else is choosing the voice through which I hear the book...even when the narrator is the author, I still can find fault with him/her if the voice doesn't match the one I have in mind. How ridiculous/selfish/egocentric is that? I do think audiobooks for me slide over into the movies made from books category though. I'm a hard sell...I can't help it. I'm 43 and that ain't gonna change...nor am I gonna worry about it. I will, however, keep looking for the best of the best in audiobooks :)

1. South of Broad by Pat Conroy

The Ebook Challenge was hosted over at The Ladybug Reads

I stunned myself with this challenge. Last Christmas was the e-reader Christmas at our house. I had slowly kept up with everyone else's progress/opinions on ebooks, not willing to put down my paper copies just yet. But, I didn't want to miss out on something cool either...so I signed up the least amount of books (6). And, then I read 16!!!!!!!

My e-readers (Kindle, Nook Color, Ipad and apps on my laptop and Blackberry) will never take the place of books I can hold in my hand. BUT, I love reading e-style sometimes. On airplanes, on trains, at night in the dark, when my eyes are tired, etc. (I've found that even when my head hurts and my eyes are blurry, my Kindle is the softest read...and even seems to have a calming effect for me...I have no scientific research to support this, so don't go getting all excited ;)

Let me also mention again that I'm 43; my eyesight is slowly deteriorating and I don't enjoy wearing those reader glasses...they tend to make my eyes more tired than they were to begin with. With my e-readers, I can adjust the light, font, etc. to whatever feels best for me...I'm all over that.

Yay e-readers!!!

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

2. Four to Score by Janet Evanovich

3. Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

4. High Five by Janet Evanovich

5. Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

6. Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

7. To the Nines by Janet Evanovich

8. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich

9. Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
10. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
11. House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
12. A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield
13. This Fine Life by Eve Marie Everson
14. Faking It by Elisa Lorello
15. A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry and Gary Chapman
16. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Memorable Memoirs Challenge was hosted at Betty and Boo's Chronicles. As surprised as I was at myself for embracing e-readers, I surprised myself even more by only reading 1 memoir this year. As long as I can remember, I have loved this genre...I can remember vividly scanning the middle school library for bios of my favorite historical characters, Sacagawea, Pocahontas, Molly Pitcher, etc. One of my favorite memoirs of all times is Lauren Bacall's By Myself, and I read that in high school...before I had even heard of Lauren Bacall. Brooke Shields Down Came the Rain had me sobbing right along with her because I too experienced true post partum depression after my youngest was born (not to Brooke's extent, thankfully); the timing of this publication was inpeccable for me...and yes, I think Tom Cruise is an asshole.
So why the heck did I only read ONE memoir in 2011 when I have a stack of them on my TBR shelf??? I have no idea, but that won't happen again in 2012...as God is my witness...;)

1. Bossypants/Tina Fey

The Southern Literature Challenge was hosted at The Introverted Reader.

My name is Peppermint; I'm a Southerner born and bred, tried and true...and in 2011 I only read two books that took place in the South. I didn't fail this challenge though because I only signed up to read 1.
I'm so ashamed.

1. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
2. South of Broad by Pat Conroy

And there you have it...2011 in Challenges!
Moving on to 2012 tomorrow :):)

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012!!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.001-06:00

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and Abbey

2011-12-31T00:01:00.002-06:00

Our largest furry family member meets our smallest family member on Christmas morning. Layla is hard to miss, but please look closely for Abbey (I've zoomed a couple of extras in case you miss her)...she's the teeny one with the big round black eyes staring into the face of the giant ;)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home with Books

Book Review - Explosive Eighteen

2011-12-30T00:01:00.001-06:00

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

2011, Bantam Books

Why? I've read all the Stephanie Plum series and have eagerly awaited 18's publication since I closed the pages of 17

What Now? Glad I didn't purchase a hardback of this one :( After I write my review I'm anxious to see what other Evanovich fans have to say about this

Golden Lines:

"Did you report the found driver's license to the police?"

"Yes. I told Morelli."

"Then I'm sure he's there with a cadaver dog. He's an idiot, but he's a good cop."

"Why is he an idiot?"

"He lets me get close to you."

Lula swung through the coffee shop door and came over to us. "Is that a gun?"

"Oh for Crissake, who's this?" Brenda asked.

"I'm Lula. Who the heck are you?"

"This is a private conversation," Brenda said.

"Yeah, but I want to take a look at your little peashooter. It's kinda cute."

"It's a gun," Brenda said.

Lula pulled her Glock out of her bag and aimed it at Brenda. "Bitch, this is a gun. It could put a hole in you big enough to drive a truck through."

"Honestly," Brenda said, "this is just so boring." And she huffed off to her car and drove away.

"She was kinda snippy, being I just wanted to see her gun," Lula said.

Summary

Returning from a ruined trip to Hawaii, Stephanie finds herself in the middle of a crime mess...just from sitting by the wrong person on the airplane. The man sitting on the airplane accidentally slips a photo into her messenger bag that a lot of people want...and want bad enough to hunt Stephanie down. Stephanie is trailed by fake FBI men, real FBI men, the hairdresser sister of a mobster and a foreign killer. She's dodging dangerous people at every move. At the same time, Stephanie's dodging (unsuccessfully) both Ranger and Morelli after the events in Hawaii and doesn't seem any closer to making a choice.

What I Liked

Stephanie and Lula - I definitely giggled out loud at more than one place...these two are nuts.

I can't think of anything else. :(

What I Didn't Like

Why the heck did Lula keep saying WHAM? There were more than enough Food Network mentions so I'm assuming Lula's new saying is a spin-off from Emeril Lagasse?

Stephanie's trip to Hawaii was a major cliffhanger at the end of Book 17. In Explosive Eighteen it was glossed over like it was nothing. The one paragraph that finally explained what happened on the trip when Stephanie explained to her mother, Lula and Grandma Mazur could have been developed into the storyline that occurred before this one. Unless Evanovich is dragging it all out even more, I honestly have no idea what she's thinking by not hashing this out.

***SPOILER ALERT***

I am no prude, but in all the other books, Stephanie is either with Morrelli or Ranger...not both...and she's usually committed to one of them, not neither of them. This was a major change of events for Evanovich, and I just can't imagine where she's headed with it.

Evanovich also suggest twice in different places that Stephanie might have been lax in her family planning while in Hawaii. What is that all about?? You've got to be kidding me??? If Evanovich does that, I'm done. For a LOT of reasons.

***SPOILER OVER***

The minor character names in this book were the worst...Razzle Dazzle, Tootie Raguzzi, Lancer Lancelot, Buggy, Magpie, Sly Slasher, Lahonka, ...??? Huh??

Even the bad guys were jokes this time...the scariest character was Razzle Dazzle...and no, that's not a typo. How can someone be scary with a name like Razzle Dazzle?? Even more important, how can someone be scary when he talks like this"
"You will be stopping moving," he said. "You are understanding?"
Oy.

All of a sudden, Stephanie is a martial arts expert?? I know she works well with rage, but she's so tough now that even the cops are amazed at her actions on surveillance video?? Huh?

Morelli's interactions with Stephanie after Evanovich's Hawaii explanation are not consistent with his traditional expectations of Stephanie and of where their relationship is or is not going.

Ranger - I've always been a Morrelli girl, and I have never disliked Ranger, but at this point, I'm beginning to. If he cares so much for Stephanie, knows he's not interested in a "relationship" and knows Stephanie would be safer, happier with Morrelli, then why doesn't Ranger just step back. In this book it almost seems like Ranger's using Stephanie. For example, what happens in a closet where Stephanie and Ranger are hiding is unnecessary. I had to re-read that page just to make sure it really happened...and still wasn't sure until a few pages later when Stephanie mentions the event and left no doubt in my mind. Unless, of course, something else happened in Hawaii to make Ranger think he and Stephanie are together?? Unfortunately, I guess we'll never know.

Grrrrrr!

Overall Recommendation:

At first I thought only die hard Stephanie fans would like this, but I'm wondering if only those who haven't read any of the other books would really be the ones to read this? And, I'm not even sure they would see the series for the wild ride it has been until now. This is the worst Stephanie Plum yet; I'm so disappointed. And, I'm not even sorry about giving it a negative review.
I'm sad.

A Marriage Carol - Book Review

2011-12-29T08:35:00.001-06:00

A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry and Gary Chapman

Moody Press, 2011

Why? My first Net Galley review...I love the original A Christmas Carol and this sounded like an interesting retelling of the story.

What now? No need to purchase a hard copy of this one

Golden Lines

When I looked up we were nearing a curve, and through the haze and blowing snow I noticed two headlights bearing down on us like our oncoming future. I couldn't scream, couldn't speak, just threw out a hand and pointed.

Instinct. His foot to the pedal. Steering wheel one way, then the other. Fishtailing. A truck's air horn. Jacob reached out for me.

Spinning.

Weightless.

Out of control.

A snow globe shaken and dropped.

Summary:

Marlee and Jacob Ebeneezer are on their way to their lawyer's office in a snowstorm to sign their divorce papers on Christmas Eve. An accident carries Marlee and Jacob through the past, present and possible futures of their lives depending on their impending divorce.

What I Liked:

I'm a fan of A Christmas Carol and enjoy watching and reading the many different ways the story can be told. I was intrigued by the synopsis I read on Net Galley and downloaded it because of that alone. I'd never heard of the book before then.

The description of the snow, the couple driving and snarking with each other on the way to the lawyer's office was the most vivid scene to me. I think any couple has moments like these.

The little twist at the end when Marlee meets the old man's wife...I didn't see this coming and it was a pleasant surprise since I had already decided I wasn't crazy about this version.

The images of Marlee and Jacob's early life together and how their relationship changed over time. For anyone who is in a later stage of their marriage, these scenes will be true to heart. The early, lovey dovey years, the hectic years when the kids are babies, and the growing years as the kids begin to make their own way and you find yourselves looking back toward each other again hit close to home for me.

Like the original A Christmas Carol, the book is very short. This was very important to me once I started skimming. I'm one of those people who has a hard time putting a book away once I've started reading it. The knowledge that the story was a quick one was enough to keep me going.

What I Didn't Like:

As good of a message this is, the story itself is too predictable for me to "like." The story is a faith based story, but the authors almost hit the reader over the head with religious tropes. I am a Christian, but I think some readers, who may really need to hear the overall message of this book, could be turned off by the preaching early on. Even I skimmed through a lot of it.

I thought Marlee was too calm for a woman whose husband/soon to be ex-husband was out lost in the snowstorm after the accident. Even though they were on their way to be divorced, I didn't see her sitting around "waiting" on what to do next. If someone is lost in a snowstorm, seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

Marlee was the only one who actually experienced the Christmas scenes from the past, present and future. From the synopsis, I expected them to go through that together. I was actually looking forward to that. Marriage takes two...and in any situation where a marriage is splitting apart, it is usually not a one-sided ordeal (except, of course, in extreme cases). In this story Marlee seemed to be the one who wanted the divorce...all bc of an old flame from high school who drank a lot of Coors? Again, too obvious and a ridiculous example. When Marlee saw her future with the high school dude demanding for her to bring him another beer, I had visions of the movie The Urban Cowboy where Debra Winger's character is living with the ex-convict after leaving John Travolta. She comes in from the grocery story and throws a pack of cigarettes at him; he takes her by the hair and makes her pick the carton of cigarettes up. I actually rolled my eyes when I read this part of the story. The obvious made the story feel on purpose and rushed and cheesy.

Um, the melting snow as the visual for the scenes from the past, present and future was pretty silly and "magical" to me...unbelievable. Good grief.

Marlee was worried that she might have gotten into a car with a serial killer, but she wasn't all that worried about being alone with an older many she's just met in his home during the night of a snowstorm. Huh? Again, completely unrealistic.

Overall Response:

This book was just ok to me...I do realize that it may very well be a wake-up call for some couples. Can this book stop a divorce...probably not. But, maybe, especially around the holidays, it might remind a husband and/or wife of all that they have together. Maybe. I also couldn't help but wondering what a great story this could have been had some of the simpler issues been worked out and even developed into a much richer storyline. If the authors don't have time to develop a story worth reading, what's the point?

Recommendation:

This little book might be a helpful gift for a couple in trouble who have a lot more together than they do apart...and just need a reminder.

I don't review negatively much, and I always feel bad when I do...just because I didn't like this story doesn't mean someone else won't.

FTC Disclosure: An e-copy of A Marriage Carol was sent to me free of charge from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2011-12-28T00:01:00.001-06:00

This is the time of year that everybody begins thinking about resolutions...things they want to do better...getting more organized, staying on a schedule, fixing things that need to be fixed. I get a little nervous this time each year...as always there are issues that need to be dealt with, but I'm almost scared that if I make a resolution out of them, I'm setting myself up to fail. As much as I like and need a certain amount of structure, I feel pinned in by too much structure. Please don't worry if you don't understand because I know how nutty I sound.

We won't be back to a normal schedule around here for 2 more weeks, so I'm going to try and concentrate on continuing the organizing things that have worked well for me as well as add on a couple more...Here they are:

1. Keep plugging away at weekly menus. I'd love to break out into a monthly format, but I'm just not sure our lives right now would lend themselves to that much structure. I'm also a freak about fresh as possible food, so I'd rather not buy fresh veggies and meats too early if I can help it. I've also challenged my creative firstborn to make me one of these:

With this little snazzy contraption, all members of my family would know what we're having for supper and I wouldn't have to answer that question 5 different times (at least).

We also need a better schedule for eating. We end up eating too late because of the various schedules...I need to pick a time, complete the process by then, eat, and then latecomers can eat when they get home.

2. Follow my budget. We have no credit card debt from Christmas. I am stunned. I cannot remember another year where we haven't needed several months after Christmas to pay for Christmas. It feels a lot better than I thought it would.

3. Exercise. I'm 43. I've always been concerned about my health, but I've officially reached a point where I have no choice but to be concerned. I have a health concern that isn't a big one, but it could be if I don't get control of it now. Part of that problem is that I've put on almost 20 pounds since Summer. I'm not fat by any means, but my metabolism has left the building. I actually weighed more at the doctor's office last week than I weighed when I gave birth to my middle child...GULP. Gwyneth is about 5 years younger than me, but I think her sentiment says it all:

4. Housecleaning. I don't have house help...and really don't want it. As messy as my house is right now, I'm particular about the way I like things done. Especially if I'm going to pay someone, I'd like them to do it my way. That rarely happens. I've seen a couple of bloggers who swear by the 15-20 minute per day routine or even a calendar of the bigger jobs...I'm thinking about that. I don't have an entire day to clean. I don't want an entire day to clean. There's got to be a better way.

http://organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html

5. And, finally, at work, I've got to figure out a way to keep papers from piling up on me. The first thing I've done is try to make the assignments themselves a little more interesting...in the hopes that my students' papers might be a little more creative...we'll see. I'll probably have to add more structure here than I really want...but I get paid for grading those papers :P

That's where I am right now...still in the thinking stages really...we still have Christmas at both grandparents to go so I probably won't make any headway at least until those two trips are complete.

Till then, any advice?

Monday at the Movies - Cold Mountain

2011-12-26T00:01:00.001-06:00

Cold Mountain

December, 2003

First and foremost, let me say that I am one of those people who very seldom likes a movie as much as a book. And, I've adopted a self-imposed edict that a movie may not be watched (by me) unless I've read the book first. I know I'm weird...but, that's just the way it is. It is important to know this about me though before you take my review to heart.

It's probably important to read my review of the book first as well...you can find it here.

Trailer

What I liked:

The scenery - nature, the environment, place to place was a hugely important aspect of this novel, so I was very glad to see the movie makers took the time to make sure nature was at the forefront of the movie as well.

Graphic scenes - please don't get me wrong...I didn't like the graphic scenes...but this is war...there should be graphic scenes...anything less than graphic softens history for each generation removed from the actual events. As graphic and hard to watch as some of the scenes in the movie, I felt the book descriptions were even more so. Again, those scenes were not intended for shock effect...but a true depiction of the circumstances.

Attitudes - when the men hear that war has been declared, they begin jumping around hooting and hollering about going to war...as if they're going to wrestle a few rounds with the fellas down the street. Young and old drop everything, leave everyone and go to fight...they truly think they'll be back quickly...and most of them never return at all. I think these scenes are important because as bad as things were, ever are, or ever could be again, the tragedies of the Civil War were not seen as such from the beginning. What is war? How can you guess if you never been there? How can you guess even if you have been there? The men and women who went to Vietnam never expected the horrors and atrocities they suffered there either nor how they would be treated when they returned. The men of the North and South never expected such lawlessness as what they left behind...how women and children and helpless families were taken advantage of...and the examples could go on and on.

War should never be taken lightly...with only fist pumping and going over to kick someone's a#$$. Is there really ever a "winner"?

Ruby/Renee Zellweger - almost a flawless portrayal I think...hardcore, a spade a spade, realistic to the bone, hard-worker, smart, country, and independent. The following is a perfect introduction to the character Ruby:

Jude Law as Inman - at first I wasn't sure...and I wasn't completely comfortable with his accent, but his acting overshadowed that for me...and that's really saying something. His plight...a young honorable farmer, off to war, attracted to Ada, a war he doesn't believe in even from the beginning, the violence, wanting to go home, his perseverance, his inability to walk away from someone else in need, standing up for what's right while at the same time trying to be loyal...Inman is probably the most complicated person in this novel/movie, and Jude

Law nailed it.

The end - a very important part of this story is the way it ends. The final scene was not my favorite in the movie and was much more meaningful and emotional in the book. However, the actual ending "event" was done very well...even if you know what is going to happen (and I did), I felt the anticipation as Inman tracked down the fleeing member of the guard...I even caught myself hoping that the inevitable somehow might not happen. That's pretty good movie-making, folks.

What I didn't like:

Nicole Kidman as Ada - I was a little nervous about the Nicole Kidman thing from the very beginning. She just didn't fit my brain's image of Ada as I read the book. While I felt she gave Ada her best shot, there were moments, especially at the end in the snow, when she looked like she had just put on blush and lip gloss. That bothered me...I also couldn't help but wonder about her harsh portrayal of a woman with progressive ideas. In the book Ada is much more believable...I'm not sure I'm really explaining this well...and maybe my doubts were about Kidman rather than her portrayal of Ada. Kidman's best scene was the one where she is under the house hiding and the rooster attacks her. Kidman looks like a crazed woman who literally has reached a point of nothing else to lose. Perfect.

Changes to the story - As expected there were certainly some smaller scenes that were left out...and a few minor changes to the story or characters...and while I notice those, I can deal with them. However, there was a major shift for Sally Swanger's character. That I did not understand at all...living with Ada and Ruby after the brutal slaughter of her family...no voice...Did I miss something? With that big of a change, I felt there should be some outstanding reason, some other part of the story developed...but there wasn't.

Romance as a bigger theme - The movie was made much more into a love story than the book. In the book Inman and Ada hardly knew each other when he left. Their "love" grew from an idea of wanting what they had before the war took it all away. The movie portrayed them somehow as the love of each other's lives from the very beginning, and I just didn't see it that way when I read the book.

My Overall Response

I liked this movie enough to buy a copy and keep it in our DVD library. It was not as good as the book, but what movie ever is? I enjoyed looking for clips to share for this post which makes me think I will definitely watch it again.

Merry Chistmas!!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000-06:00

Hoping for warmth and peace for all of you this Christmas...whatever brings that to you.

For me, it will be twinkling lights, family, church, hugs, kisses, opening a few well thought out gifts with a surprise or two, squeals of delight, and content animals.

Merry Christmas!!!

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and Lizzie

2011-12-24T10:55:00.001-06:00

I'm sharing two photos today...one of Layla helping us bake cookies...her job was to clean up all the powdered sugar that fell on the floor...not only did she create the job herself, but she also took it very seriously.

The next photo is our Christmas miracle ;)

Layla and Lizzie seem to finally be settling into a "sisterly" relationship. I caught them playing together without any snarls or yips yesterday, and after a couple of tries was able to get this photo of them "hugging."

I didn't have time to adjust my settings, hence the flash in Layla's eyes, but I still think it's a keeper :)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home with Books.

Merry Christmas to all!!

The Children of Henry VIII - Book Review

2011-12-22T18:00:00.000-06:00

The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

Ballantine, 1996

Why? I'm obsessed with the Tudors

What now? into the glass case of keepers it goes

Golden Lines

Edward VI, meanwhile, was growing up fast and excelled at riding, running and shooting, despite increasing short-sightedness. Consistently striving to emulate Henry VIII, he was becoming more and more like his father. Hands on hips, he would imitate Henry's straddling pose, and emit 'thunderous oaths' in his high, imperious voice. By calculated displays of wrath and coldness, he sought to make men fear him as they had his father. By now a fanatical Protestant, he was fond of lecturing those around him in the articles of his faith, a role which sat oddly with his youth. His councillors and courtiers were already in awe of him. 'He will be the wonder and terror of the world if he lives,' declared Bishop Hopper that year.

The watching lords and ladies waited politely for their new queen to compose herself, believing that she wept for the late King, since between sobs she had muttered something about 'so noble a prince.' After a while Jane calmed herself and rose to her feet, bracing herself to make a stand against what she knew to be tyranny.
'The crown is not my right,' she stated flatly, 'and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir.'

Mary was, indeed, a political innocent, incapable of subtlety or the ability to dissemble. Unlike the other Tudor monarchs, who made a virtue of expediency, she ruled according to the dictates of her conscience, which sometimes made her a formidable person to deal with, for she could be ruthless in carrying out what she believed to be her duty. But, if her conscience did not point the way, then she suffered agonies of indecision; if it did, she never lacked the courage of her convictions. An objective point of view was beyond her; she was single-minded to a fault. The quality she admired most in anyone was goodness, which was a quality she herself could boast.

As far as religion was concerned, Elizabeth kept her own counsel. We know very little of what she was taught as a child, only that she came under the influence of the Cambridge reformers who tutored her and her brother, and of her Protestant stepmother, Katherine Parr. Although she herself came to embrace their views, circumstances often dictated that she had to be discreet, so she learned a certain pragmatism with regard to religion. As a result, she was never a bigot or a fanatic. She was not even very pious. As an adult, she commissioned a private prayer in which she gave thanks to God for having 'from my earliest days kept me back from the deep abysses of natural ignorance and damnable superstition, that I might enjoy the great sun of righteousness which brings with its rays life and salvation, while leaving so many kings, princes and princesses in ignorance under the power of Satan'. On another occasion she displayed an unusually enlightened view for her time when she declared: 'There is only one faith and one Jesus Christ; the rest is a dispute about trifles.'

Summary

The Tudor reign is probably one of the most recognized time periods in British history due to King Henry marrying 6 wives, one of whom was Anne Boleyn, the woman for whom Henry broke away from the Catholic Church and began the Reformation Movement.

Edward, Mary and Elizabeth were the three legitimate children of King Henry VIII and heirs to the English throne. Henry divorced his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, mother to the Princess Mary, executed Anne Boleyn, mother of the Princess Elizabeth, and lost Prince Edward's mother, Jane Seymour, in her childbed before marrying 3 more times. His relationship with each of his daughters was strained due heavily to his failed relationships with their mothers. Prince Edward, on the other hand, was treated as a King from birth because he was a male heir and because his mother survived her marriage. The children's relationships with one another were also complicated. Mary and Elizabeth were brought up in different faiths, Mary in the Catholic faith and Elizabeth as a Protestant. This issue alone caused strife between them all their lives. Edward was also partial to the Protestant faith, but as a young King was very much led by his uncles and others of his council. Each reigned as sovereign with Elizabeth ruling as the last of the Tudors. Weir presents the children of Henry VIII as children first, their interactions or lack of interaction with each other and their father. Only Princess Mary was lucky enough to have a few years with her own mother before she was sent away. King Henry's children, their individual lives greatly influenced by the religious and political climate during their lifetimes, and the favor of their father as well as the people of England shaped each of them into the person they would become and the kind of sovereign they were to England.

What I Liked

Information on King Edward - because he died so young I've not read much about him...He was young, and his reign was short and controlled by his handlers, so I can see why he might be considered less important than the others...however, Edward was a Protestant. If he had not ruled before Mary, things could have been very different.

Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth - what an absolutely tough cookie this one was...not only tough but smart...she made mistakes but she learned from them...she didn't get caught up in ridiculous stuff and called her own shots. I knew this about her as Queen but from Weir's research it becomes apparent that those personality characteristics were hers from the beginning. I like to think she got the best of both her mother and father...the anger and power from her father and her cunning from her mother.

Historical documentation - while I love a good piece of historical fiction, I especially appreciate a work like this one that presents history in a narrative form. By the time I got to Mary's reign, I couldn't put the book down...even though I knew what was going to happen next. Weir pulls the reader in so that he/she feels like these are regular people somehow. Weir weaves in comments of documents that still exist, those that don't, lands and castles and who they belong to then and now...but in such a way that it feels part of the story.

The Bibliography - I'm a geek. I know it. I just love a good bibliography. Weir provides the reader with access to the documents she studied, previous books read, and lots and lots of primary research. Her story is based on artifacts and information that is known, not assumed. I spent an hour just scouring the Bib.

Jane Grey - Jane Grey's story REALLY gets swept under the rug in history, but Weir doesn't shy away from it. Jane Grey's story may be one of the saddest, in fact, being a pawn of the greedy adults around her and then paying the ultimate price for crimes that were not her own.

Queen Mary - I don't like Mary, never have. But, Weir gives more of a glimpse into who Mary was and why she was. There's a lot of information on Mary, and it seems Weir is very careful in the chapters focusing on Mary as queen to produce evidence rather than accepted rumor or stories that have survived centuries but aren't based on fact. I don't like Mary any better now that I've read the book, but Mary's life was much more complicated than just her nickname, Bloody Mary, implies.

What I Didn't Like

Mary - in all fairness as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I've never been a Mary fan...so this dislike really has nothing to do with the book really...just my personal opinion. Weir does present Mary in such a light that the reader does get a lot of inside information on WHY Mary acted as she did. But, that info is presented in an objective manner...the reader gets to decide for herself. I have always believed Mary was ill suited to the monarchy...while she had many positive attributes and a strong personality, she was too emotional and too sentimental. She was, of course, the only child of a loveless marriage, watched her father put her mother away, and then never was able to see her own mother again. Those events alone would render a person psychologically unbalanced; unfortunately, the psychologically unbalanced don't always make good leaders. I believe Mary was a religious fanatic...she held hard to her catholic faith because it represented something stable to her....something she never experienced anywhere or anytime else. She truly believed she was chosen by God to be the one who healed England's religious dissention. Because of this fanaticism she earned the title Bloody Mary...she reminds me of what we know of terrorists today.

An overwhelming amount of information - it's not that I didn't like the amount of information....but...if a person is not into this kind of history or doesn't have at least a little background in Tudor history, he/she could easily get lost. This isn't a read for the faint of heart or for someone who's looking for a skimmed over romanticized view of King Henry's children's lives.

Not enough Elizabeth - Elizabeth has her own books later of course so I'm sure that's why Weir chose to cut off this story at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, but she's my favorite so I would have liked to see more of her.

Overall Response

Weir may be one of the most talented historical writers in the world. So much so that I added her newest book on Mary Boleyn to my Amazon auto ship before it was published; I don't do that often. Her ability to weave facts into a captivating narrative is incredible. Most books chocked with factual information are dry and read like a textbook...not these.

Recommendations

Anyone who is interested in British history, the British monarchy, the history of the relationship between church and state, King Edward, Queen Mary, or Queen Elizabeth should read this book...NOW.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2011-12-21T22:36:00.000-06:00

There are times in life when even organization seems chaotic...Christmas is one of those times.

However, I refuse to let the human made Christmas hustle and bustle break my spirit...even when I venture out like my middle child and I did tonight...even when a car honked at me from behind for no reason...even when there are children screaming in Target, Books A Million and even in Toys R Us.

Does that seem weird to anyone else?

And, yes, there really were screaming (and I mean screaming) children in all 3 of those stores.

I've cooked meals each night, and my girls and I have baked cookies. We've watched Christmas movies and Christmas specials together and sipped hot cider and hot chocolate. My youngest even got her ears pierced with her two big sisters holding her hands so she wouldn't be scared. A full house is the best Christmas I could ever receive. I mean that.

I have a few small items left to purchase to help out my mother-in-law, but I, my dear friends, am done shopping...except for a small pick-up on Saturday at PetSmart. Yes, Virginia, we are getting a hamster And, yes, I am aware that we have enough animals already.

What's your point?

Tomorrow I also do have to go to the post office and put some items in the mail that should have been sent a week or so ago (ahem, cough, cough). More about that later.

But, the best shopping news of all is that I stayed within my budget...I knew exactly how much I had to spend...and that was all I spent.

I have NEVER stayed within my budget at Christmas.
I'm a little nervous that I might have forgotten somebody...Yikes!

We've enjoyed a week of home cooked meals so far; we had PW's Dr. Pepper pork last night, will have PW's spaghetti and meatballs tomorrow night and Parmesan Crusted Tilapia Friday night. We'll begin our traditional Christmas meals on Saturday night after Christmas Eve church services at our local Chinese restaurant...(cue the FaRaRaRaRa song from "A Christmas Story"). Please watch this movie. Please.

On Christmas morning my family and I will enjoy a breakfast casserole recipe from an old friend of mine and PW's cinnamon rolls. We will have a light Christmas lunch with a Honey Butter Pork Tenderloin and sides for our Christmas dinner that night.

These are definitely wonderful times :) and I am blessed beyond measure.

Anyhoo, even though I'm a little late with the mail, this Wednesday post at 10:35 p.m., and my house is a mess (wrapping paper, cookie baking paraphernalia, and laundry...always laundry), it makes me happy.

Fa ra ra ra ra - ra ra ra ra!

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

2011-12-20T10:20:00.001-06:00

It's no secret this is my favorite meme...I love participating as much as I love reading everyone else's lists.

But, this week's Top 10 is my favorite list of the entire year...it's not the easiest, considering I have almost 600 books on my Amazon WishList :/ but it's still fun!

Dear Santa,

I know that I really don't need any more books...but you know how wonderful they make me feel :) I had a difficult time narrowing my list of 600 to 10 but I did it!!! What do you think about these selections??

1. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

I haven't read anything by Eugenides and plan to take care of that problem asap! I've heard so many good things about this novel since even before it was officially released.

2. Nighwoods by Charles Frazier

I just finished reading Cold Mountain with my students and loved it. I loved the story steeped in history and description. I'm determined to read all of Frazier's novels...lucky for me he has a new one :)

3. The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason

I've been a fan of Bobbie Ann Mason ever since I read her YA classic In Country. I can't say enough about her writing and can't wait to dig into this one.

4. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

I'm all over anything that has to do with my home state Mississippi...Ward's new book is the talk of Indie bookstores all over our state so I MUST have this one.

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This is my peer pressure selection on the list. Just by reading the synopsis, this is not a book I would usually pick up...but blogger after blogger, whose opinions I trust have given Morgenstern rave reviews. I can't stand not having an opinion, so what else can a gal do??

6. Joan Didion's Blue Nights

I know this one will be sad...I meant to read Didion's first novel after her husband's death...how in the world has this resilient woman lived through now the loss of her child. Writing. That's all I can figure.

7. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Review after review has Jobs pegged as a complete total jerk...but at the same time...a genius. I've always heard there's a fine line between genius and insanity...Jobs may very well be an iconic example of that very premise.

8. Hemingway's Boat by Paul Hendrickson

Another genius...alcoholic...sometimes happy, sometimes distraught...but a writer whose novels have withstood generation after generation. A must have.

9. Catherine the Great by Robert Massie

I am constantly reminded that to be a feminist today is NOTHING compared to what women like Catherine the Great, Elizabeth I, etc. had to deal with during their lifetimes. To be GREAT during times where women were expected to be anything but...is just astonishing.

10. Food Rules by Michael Pollan

The more I read by Pollan and others like him, the easier it is for me to make healthier choices for my family and my life.

Dear Santa, I usually follow the rules of this meme, but I realized after I'd made my list that there's a book that I desperately need that's not on the list. I tried very hard to remove one of the original 10 and replace it with this one...but then I decided to let you do that ;)

11. Honorable Mention - can't believe I forgot this one...of all books to forget :/

Rin Tin Tin by Susan Orlean

I'm sure I don't have to explain this one :):)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies @ The Broke and the Bookish.

Weekend Cooking - Family Fun's Cookies for Christmas and Chocolate Crinkles

2011-12-18T14:32:00.001-06:00

When my two older daughters were very young, one of my favorite magazines each month was Family Fun...I liked the format, the ideas, the stories, the pictures, and especially the family oriented (kid oriented) recipes. In 1998, the magazine published a small hardback book with recipes for Christmas cookies, and I had to have a copy. That was the year my girls and I started our Christmas cookie bake marathon :) Of course, then I was the one doing most of the baking, and they decorated whenever possible. Each year we pull out the little book and pick what we want to make. We don't try to make a bunch of batches in one day...we plan a recipe a day...for as long as we choose. So far, we've made Reindeer cookies, The Gingerbread Clan, our own version of Gingerbread houses, Penny Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Crinkles, Thumbprint Cookies, Snowballs & Crescent Moons, & Peanut Butter Sealed with a Kiss. This year the girls have requested that we add Celebration Sticks and Chocolate Pretzels to our repertoire.

We vary our choices each year but Reindeer Cookies, Penny Snickerdoodles, Thumbprint Cookies and Crescent Moons make the list every. single. year.

Last year I couldn't find the little book, and I was so disappointed. It's not that the book itself is that important to me; it's the memories that book brings back each year. Fortunately, about March, I found the book! It was on the shelf amongst my other cookbooks. It's such a slim volume that I guess I just scanned right past it. I was also sure I had packed the book away in the Christmas boxes so I looked there most of all. Whew!!

We've made our Reindeer cookies, Penny Snickerdoodles, and Chocolate Crinkles so far this year. For this week's Weekend Cooking, I decided to share our Chocolate Crinkles :)

For this recipe the dough must be made at least 2 hours before you want to cook. We made the dough last night and actually made the cookies this afternoon after church. In the above picture, my youngest is rolling the dough into balls. The dough is that hunk of chocolate stuff on the right.

Here she's rolling the dough balls into powdered sugar.

And here my middle child decided to help as well.

If you don't like chocolate or you don't like powdered sugar all over your kitchen counter, this is probably not the cookie recipe for you. ;)

I don't freak out over stuff like that though.

Even Layla enjoyed cleaning up the powdered sugar that fell to the floor :):)

You don't flatten these cookie dough balls...they flatten themselves as they cook, forming the crinkly look you see in this photo. Obviously that's why these are called Chocolate Crinkles.

These cookies are a fluffy chocolaty cross between a double chocolate chip cookie and a brownie...melt in your mouth goodness.

Here's the recipe:

3/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 6-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/4 cups)

confectioners' sugar for dusting (about 3/4 cup)

In a large bowl, mix the melted butter with the cocoa powder and sugar until well combined. In a medium-size bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Pour the confectioners' sugar on a plate or in a shallow bowl; then roll each ball in the sugar.

Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between them (they will flatten and spread). Bake for 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set. Lay the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for about 5 minutes; dust with more confectioners' sugar if desired. Transfer the cookies to racks to cool thoroughly. Makes 25-35 cookies.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Candace @ Beth Fish Reads.

Snapshot Saturday - Baking

2011-12-17T14:29:00.000-06:00

These aren't the best pictures in the world but they signify the beginning of a very special event at our house each year...Let the baking begin!!

I first made these reindeer cookies the year my firstborn was in kindergarten. My oldest is a freshman in college now, and she and her sisters pretty much can do these by themselves. I just hang around to pay for the ingredients, snap a few pictures, and of course, sample the snacks :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce @ At Home with Books.

It's Official!! Christmas vacation is finally here!!

2011-12-16T19:46:00.003-06:00

At the end of every semester it seems like there are more tasks to complete than I can ever possibly accomplish...and they all have to be accomplished yesterday.

On top of all the normal end of the semester hoopla and the beginnings of the holiday season, my presence was requested in KY this past week. In fact, I've actually been to 3 states other than the one I live in over the last several days. While everyone else gets to turn in their grades and enjoy the short days of exam week, I got to work all day the days I was gone and grade final essays at night via our online grading platform. I stayed up last night grading as well and was on another roll when my alarm clock went off this morning. Grades were due at noon today.

I graded a little while and then went to wake up my youngest who was planning on enjoying her class Christmas party today. She was very tired and cranky as usual, but when I started tickling her I realized she was actually on the warm side.

Remember how last Christmas she had the flu?

Remember how bronchitis almost did me in a few weeks ago?

Did I mention that the Head of my Household has been battling the same crud now...and as you know men are always sicker than anyone ever has been in the entire history of the world :/

I tucked the youngest back in, showered and got myself ready for a morning of grading at my kitchen table...surely I could get an hour or two extension on my grades.

Yeah, right.

About 10 a.m. I received a very kind message from my boss..."You will be able to have your grades in by noon, won't you? I would really help us out a lot."

Ahem.

I bit the rest of my nails and cringed...and then I started grading like a mad woman...I won't go into any detail about that fast grading...just suffice it to say that if I had any questions, my students received the benefit of my doubt.

Most importantly, I TURNED MY GRADES IN ON TIME!!

And, I wasn't the last one :):):)

I was the very last teacher on campus to turn in grades once, only once. We have to actually turn in a hard copy of our grades after entering them into the computer system. I walked into the administration building to a greeting of applause because now that I was turning in my grades, they could all go home. :(

NEVER AGAIN!

I've missed my blog...I've missed reading other blogs...I'm a little behind on my Read Along, but at least only a little since there's no way to grade electronically on an airplane.

The tree is lit, cookies are baking, and tomorrow is Saturday.

Ahhhhh.....feels very nice.

Virtual Advent Tour - Thursday, Dec. 8

2011-12-07T20:11:00.001-06:00

The Thanksgiving and Christmas season has always meant family and tradition to me. From the ornaments we hang on our tree to the cookies we bake, there's usually a sentimental reason behind everything we do. For last year's Virtual Advent Tour I shared some examples of the types of ornaments that are on our tree here. As I thought about what I might share this year, I decided to share our newest tradition inspired by our new addiction to Pinterest :)

Requested by my oldest daughter, we decided to wrap up all of our Christmas movies and books. They are all under the tree, and for each day of advent, we choose one of each, one book and one movie. No peeking is allowed, and so far we have been happily surprised at our selections. My youngest, of course, has enjoyed the children's books the most; she's been able to persuade a different family member to read to her each night. We have all enjoyed the movies though, and many nights we end up enjoying them all together, so I decided for this year that I would share with you what we have watched so far :)

On Nov. 30 my youngest unwrapped the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on VHS (remember those?)

I have memories of this one from my own childhood...back in the days of catching it the one time each year that it was broadcast on television :)
I used to feel so sorry for the little dog Max...especially when the grinch made him drag all that stuff up the mountain.
Yes, I've been an animal lover all my life.
And, the song...who could forget that catchy song??

We all enjoyed this one.

On Dec. 1 the youngest picked out "A Christmas Carol" with George C. Scott.

I've seen many versions of this classic tale and usually enjoy them all. Last year I actually read Dickens for the very first time and loved it even more (of course). The youngest, however, was not impressed...round about the video below she announced, "Christmas movies aren't sposed to be scary, Mama!" and left the room disgusted. Needless to say, the big kids and I enjoyed this one more than anyone.

On Dec. 2 the youngest picked out an old, old, old VHS tape that belonged to her big sisters when they were just little whippersnappers. My girls loved Spot and I did too...he was just a peaceful little creature...mostly minding his business.

If you'll fast forward this video to 4:30, you'll see the famous reindeer dance...both my older girls sang the song right along with the video...they are 17 and 18 and still remember :)

On Dec. 3 the youngest picked out the original claymation version of "The Little Drummer Boy." This one also brings back lots of memories for me.

This one doesn't come on as often as the others, and we'll soon have to replace this old VHS because we fought the tracking all the way through it. I am always devastated by the injuries to the animals in this one...and it can still be a little intense I think. No one spoke a word during this one.

On Dec. 4 I squealed when my youngest picked one of the two Little House on the Prairie Christmas movies that we own. "The Christmas they Never Forgot" finds the Ingalls family all together again in the little house as a snowstorm sets in and strands them together overnight. The adults sit up and tell stories of the Christmas each of them never forgot...

Yes, I'm a goober Little House on the Prairie fan ;)

On Dec. 5 after a couple of false starts with older VHS tapes that have finally given up, the youngest found "The Santa Clause 2" with Tim Allen.

This one is a more contemporary holiday movie obviously and the older girls really liked this trilogy...I like this one because Santa Clause finds Mrs. Santa Clause :) Tim Allen is a hoot.

On Dec. 6 the youngest picked another classic..."A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Now who could ever forget the sad little Christmas tree, Lucy's obnoxiousness, the whole gang singing together at the end and of course Linus reciting the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke. We actually watched this one twice :):)

On Dec. 7 my oldest brought home a new Christmas movie, and we all agreed to watch this one instead of choosing one from under the tree. We knew we didn't have quite enough movies for the all 25 days of advent and were going to try and pick up a few in the discount bins along the way. We all needed a good laugh, and boy did we get one.

This one is about family...it is not for the faint of heart...there is some language and off color humor...but it is hilarious...and SOOOOO true about family holidays.

Every single one of us sat in the living room and howled our way through this one.

And there you have it...our newest tradition so far. I can tell you that we've loved this idea, and it has brought us together in the same room of our house during this busy time of the season for 30 minutes -2 hours each night...and that's what memories are made of.
:)

Warm and wonderful holiday wishes for all of your in the blogging world this year!

Cold Mountain with My Students - The Final Discussion

2011-12-06T09:03:00.000-06:00

I was about 5 minutes late for our final discussion of Cold Mountain, and by the time I arrived, my students had already discussed the book and come to a consensus that they didn't like it.

I wasn't surprised.

I asked them if they had to come up with one reason why they didn't like this book, what would it be.

Every single one of them said their #1 problem with the book was the end.

Their #2 problem with the book is the long descriptive paragraphs about everything, especially the mountain terrain, the foliage, the sky, the stars, etc.

The rest of our discussion was focused on these two complaints.

**It will be difficult for me to discuss the end without spoilers, but I'm gonna give it my best shot.**

My class is comprised of 12 traditional aged college students, and only 2 of them are male; the bottom line is they wanted a fairy tale ending. They were mad at Frazier for putting Inman through all that he went through for essentially what they saw as nothing.

And, when I say mad, I mean mad.

I stayed out of the discussion for about 30 minutes and just let them trash the author. Then, I asked them to discuss what they knew about the Civil War. That didn't take very long. We discussed together aspects of the Civil War embedded in the novel such as faulty expectations, what it really means to "win" a war, lives lost, those left behind, life afterwards, etc.

Together from this discussion we concluded:

War is not a football game with obvious winners and losers.

War hurts everybody.

No one was the same after the war that was supposed to last a few months lasted years and years. Families were destroyed, lands lost, fortunes wasted, and the United States was changed forever.

We discussed details covered in the novel that substantiate these concepts.

The climate of our classroom was very different at that point...

Could it be possible that Frazier was illustrating those very points with his ending? Would it have made any sense at all for Inman and Ada to walk off in the sunset in the end?

Nope.

Does it mean that their immediate response to the novel was wrong?

Heavens no.

We all begin with a personal response. What I try to get my students to do is push past that personal response and dig into the text. Step outside their comfort zone and really analyze what's happening...based on the TEXT, not just their emotions. It takes a lot of practice to read a text this way.

Most of them have never been in the mountains of North Carolina...I have. Frazier's descriptions are spot-on. Here to me was an example of how prior knowledge affects the way a person reads a text. No matter how pretty the words are, if you've never seen what's being described, or even if you've seen it but not really "looked at it," the description won't mean anything to the reader except as a bunch of words that get in your way.

Our students in America don't read enough. And, when they do read, it's in an English classroom, and much of the time there, American students are reading (or SparkNoting) age old classics that they hate (Wuthering Heights) or beautiful classics that they are nowhere near ready to really comprehend due to a lack of life experience (The Awakening). Imagine what we could do with texts like Frazier's in a history classroom...or science classroom...along with the English classroom? What about in a political science or government class? The possibilities are endless for promoting engaging discussion with real life examples instead of just reading the chapters of a textbook and answering the questions in the back, with a multiple choice test of facts rounding out the experience.

For our last class meeting tomorrow, we will be discussing the movie as compared/contrasted to the book. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wolf Hall ReadAlong Parts 1 and 2

2011-12-04T20:50:00.002-06:00

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Henry Holt and Company, 2010

On my Nook

Part I Golden Lines

"If you cannot find him a son," he says, "you must find him a piece of scripture. To ease his mind."

The cardinal appears to be looking for it, on his desk. "Well, Deuteronomy. Which positively recommends that a man should marry his deceased brother's wife. As he did." The cardinal sighs. "But he doesn't like Deuteronomy."

Useless to say, why not? Useless to suggest that, if Deuteronomy orders you to marry your brother's relict, and Leviticus says don't, or you will not breed, you should try to live with the contradiction, and accept that the question of which takes priority was thrashed out in Rome, for a fat fee, by leading prelates, twenty years ago when the dispensations were issued, and delivered under papal seal.

"I don't see why he takes Leviticus to heart. He has a daughter living."

"But I think it is generally understood, in the scriptures, that 'children' means 'sons.'"

Part II Golden Lines

"Men say," Liz reaches for her scissors, "'I can't endure it when women cry' - just as people say, 'I can't endure this wet weather.' As if it were nothing to do with the men at all, the crying. Just one of those things that happen."

"I've never made you cry, have I?"

"Only with laughter," she says.

Conversation fades into an easy silence; she is embroidering her own thoughts, he is plotting what to do with his money. He is supporting two young scholars, not belonging to the family, through Cambridge University; the gift blesses the giver. I could increase those endowments, he thinks, and - "I suppose I should make a will," he says.

She reaches out for his hand, "Tom, don't die."

"Good God, no, I'm not proposing it."

My Impression of the Story so Far

I'm a Tudor England fanatic, so I was drawn to this readalong without question...and it hasn't disappointed me yet.

The story, unlike many others set in this time period, is told from Thomas Cromwell's point of view and is more about Cromwell than Henry VIII. I love this aspect of it simply for that reason...it's another perspective, another side to the story, another look at history to see how it all came together. This is not a story, however, that can be skimmed. I've had to pay very close attention to names, dates, the provided family tree, etc. to understand all the connections between people, families and events.

Wolf Hall is specifically about Thomas Cromwell himself...his early life, his dysfunctional childhood with an alcoholic father, his decision to leave home at 15 rather than be killed by his father and how he supported himself for the next part of his life. Thomas was incredibly smart, a fighter, picked up on things easily, and specifically was a whiz with numbers. He came home eventually, a made man and became a trusted, vital part of the business end of Cardinal Wolsey. Cardinal Wolsey was, for a time, King Henry VIII's most influential adviser. The tide turns for Wolsey when King Henry decides he wants a divorce from Wife #1 Catherine of Aragon in order to marry Anne Boleyn, and he's willing to break England away from the Roman Catholic Church in order to get what he wants. King Henry essentially tells Wolsey to get his divorce...or else. Cromwell then has to stand by and watch his mentor fall from grace because of the impossible whims of the King.

Thomas Cromwell was a good man. The love he showed his family and others who needed him are things I didn't know before this novel. He was a fighter and a survivor and seemed to have it all at one point. Unfortunately each year all London families fought the sweating sickness, and many were lost quickly...Cromwell's household doesn't escape death either. Thomas was able to overcome his traumatic childhood in order to have a happy, stable family...only to lose it again. This is where I believe Cromwell begins to cut himself off emotionally from everyone and everything...that Cromwell is the one most well known during the Tudor era...or the one that is legendary. I'm looking forward to more of this author's in depth look into the life of Thomas Cromwell during the Reformation.

This ReadALong is a joint endeavor of Natalie @ Coffee and a Book Chick and Nicole @ Linus's Blanket

Saturday Snapshot - The Ducks

2011-12-03T09:18:00.000-06:00

I'm in bed today...turns out I don't have a virus...I have bronchitis, a sinus infection and my blood pressure is too high.

I guess I'm sick! :p

Days like today I really really appreciate my trusty laptop...I found this picture this morning...I had forgotten all about it :)

The Head of My Household took this photo...he had my camera to take pictures of a hawk that visits our lake sometimes and randomly snapped a few of our youngest.

I love how the sunlight is shining behind her hair and even her arms...I'll probably frame this one...if I ever get out of this bed! I'm a very grumpy patient!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce @ At Home with Books.

Misery

2011-12-02T00:15:00.001-06:00

I got a flu shot.

I promise.

Turns out whatever this other virus is has the flu beaten by a longshot.

I'm headed to the clinic nurse at school tomorrow and am going to give her instructions to knock me out.

If I happen to post goofy posts this weekend, you'll know why...oh, wait, why would that be any different than usual?

Bossypants - Book Review

2011-12-01T00:05:00.001-06:00

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Little Brown and Company, 2011

Why? A co-worker talked me into it...I also had read about it and heard it was funny, and I'm always game for lighthearted funny :)

What Now? will donate this one to the library or give it away

Golden Lines

I've never understood why every character being "hot" was necessary for enjoying a TV show. It's the same reason I don't get Hooters. Why do we need to enjoy chicken wings and boobies at the same time? Yes, they are a natural and beautiful part of the human experience. And so are boobies. By why at the same time?

On September 3, 2008, then governor Palin accepted the vice presidential nomination. Around this same time, Oprah formally agreed to be on 30 Rock, and it was determined that my daughter's third-birthday party would have a Peter Pan theme. Each of these events was equally important in my life.

Of course the final ingredient for a perfect Christmas vacation is a good Buffer. A Buffer is a neutral party who keeps the conversation light. Everyone needs a Buffer. You don't think Mary and Joseph were psyched to see the Little Drummer Boy?

Of course I'm not supposed to admit that there is triannual torrential sobbing in my office, because it's bad for the feminine cause. It makes it harder for women to be taken seriously in the workplace. It makes it harder for other working moms to justify their choice. But I have friends who stay home with their kids and they also have a triannual sob, so I think we should call it even. I think we should be kind to one another about it. I think we should agree to blame the children.

The Mother's Prayer for Its Daughter...

...And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister,

Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends,

For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

Summary

What the heck is this book about?
Bossypants is about Tina Fey, the real person (woman), and her navigation of a sometimes not so real career in show business. Fey begins with her childhood, adolescence, and her family but quickly shifts to her early days in community theatre, "Saturday Night Live," producing, directing, writing and improv, "30 Rock" and then her return to SNL due to her remarkable resemblance to VP candidate Sarah Palin.
What Fey talks mostly about though is how she chooses to live her life as a working mother in the land of glamorous people and still somehow remain sane and most importantly true to herself.
The best way she does just that is to call the shots how they are...there's no hem-hawing around with Fey.

What I Liked

The Humor.

Duh.

Even though this book won't go down on my list of lifetime favorites (heck, I'm not even going to keep the book), there were times when I laughed out loud. Fey is funny; there is no doubt about that. She's hardheaded, she's bossy, she has an opinion and she's not afraid to use it, and she's just as conflicted as every other mother/working mother in the world,

The feminist tone - I actually think this is why my co-worker suggested the book for me. Fey definitely fights the good fight in a male dominated workplace...sure, a lot of actors are women, but successful producers and writers, not so much. And, even when women do find a seat at the roundtable, they are still pressured to look good and give up their careers to have babies...because hey, isn't that what a woman's life is really all about?

Discussion of family - Fey's parents, her husband and of course her daughter are obviously important to her. In today's Hollywood, we don't always get to see that and even when we think we're finally getting to see a real person in Hollywood, they implode and we smack ourselves on the head, "Doh! Duped again!!"
Heck, I'm so naive I thought Demi and Ashton would stay together forever :p
Fey seems solid...and that's refreshing.

What I Didn't Like

Ok, I'm not a prude...but there was a little bit of language that made me cringe...comments like somebody "sucking a bag of *&%$#"
Ahem.
There were definitely times when colorful language was called for...like when producers complained about a certain show because "there was nobody on that show they wanted to f&%$."
Fey promises us that producers really do say those kinds of things so we'll see exactly the kind of people she sometimes has to deal with and the same ole perception of women as sex objects more than anything else.

O.K.
But, even I was caught off guard more than a few times.

I felt left out of much of the conversation about SNL and "30 Rock," and this was the deal breaker for me. It's probably THE reason I won't keep the book. I was a SNL fan up until about 1987. My friends and I used to come in from Saturday night outings in time to watch SNL at someone's house...that's how much we liked it...but I had long since quit watching the show by the time Tina Fey and Amy Poehler became regulars, and Tina Fey only showed up on my radar during the Sarah Palin years. Heck, by the time she and Amy Poehler were in "Baby Mama," I had no idea who either of them were. I never watched "30 Rock," and don't know one thing at all about it...except from the discussions in this book. At times I felt like I was in an Anatomy &; Physiology class before I had finished Bio I. I needed a foundation to enjoy these parts of the book...a foundation I'm unsure I could ever really gain after the fact.

My Overall Response

I "liked" this book, and I'm glad I read it. I did have to push myself in the end because I just wanted it done, but mostly because the feeling left out of the SNL/30 Rock conversation began to get a little old. If Fey writes anything else in the future...especially about life in general, I'll read it in a heartbeat...besides her obvious Hollywood connections, I think she really has a lot to say about life, parenting, the people we interact with everyday, leadership, women's issues, etc.

Recommendation

If you are a fan of "Saturday Night Live," especially the Tina Fey era or a fan of "30 Rock," I can't even imagine how you would NOT like this book. However, I actually am not sure I would recommend Bossypants if you've not watched these shows in the past though and/or are not a Tina Fey fan already. There's just too much detailed information her about the cast, jokes, skits, actors, and even actual scripts.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2011-11-30T00:05:00.001-06:00

We've finally finished the last of the leftovers and tomorrow is payday...that means I have to accept that November is over (sniff, sniff) and December is here. My children are nagging about getting the tree down, starting to bake cookies, etc. but I always like to linger in Thanksgiving. The reason for the need to linger is that December sometimes drives me bonkers. I know that sounds mean, but remember, I need things as calm and as structured (but not OCD) as possible. December is ANYTHING but calm...and STRUCTURE??? You gotta be kidding me?? Over the years December has just become too much for me...so I hide from it and try to pretend it's not there. Maybe I could get some of those blinder thingies horses wear?

Anyhoo, I'm in desperate need of groceries, have not organized my coupons, have to trips to plan for, have got some work stuff getting in my way of having our regular weeknight meals, and on top of everything else I"M SICK. Dangit, I'm already feeling overwhelmed! December has creeped in on my November!!! I usually wait to go to the doctor until I'm dying. I'm not there yet, but it's getting close. You know you need some meds when you have to stop chewing so you can get some air through your mouth :(

Going to the doctor also costs money...

That is NOT in the budget!!!!!!

That's not why I'm not going so don't get all panicky and tell me about how I need to take care of myself. My mother already did that today.

Hi, Mom :)

I just need December to just take it easy.

I'm a little anxious about the budget bc December is a rough one. We've decided we will not charge not one item this Christmas.

Gulp.

I don't have a credit card.

See here for reasons why.

But, it's nice sometimes during the holidays to just clickety click online with my husband's card :D

But, guess what he did last month??

He chopped that thing up.

There is no safety net in place for December, and I'm a little nervous...I will have to be extra careful with my spending to make sure I don't run out...literally.

But, see, here's what makes me even crazier than budgeting...

I'm anxious and freaked out over what should be one of the most wonderful times of the year. I wonder if I can take back Christmas the way I have committed to Thanksgiving?

It's worth a try.

Top Ten Tuesday - TBR Selections for Winter

2011-11-29T05:41:00.000-06:00

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is top ten books for Winter off your TBR shelves. My first thought was, "Didn't we just do a TBR list?" But, as I browsed my TBR shelves, I realized that when I'm looking for something to read, I do have a very specific mindset, and one of the things that affects my book choice is what's happening outside...there are beach reads, scary stuff, gardening and outside stories, amongst a host of others that I probably read more at certain times of the year than others. So, as I scanned my shelves I thought about what I would want to read on a cold, wet day just like the one we're having today.

Winter is messy in Mississippi. If we have snow, we don't have that fluffy stuff everybody else gets; we have wet slushy stuff that makes a complete mess. Don't get me wrong; we enjoy it just the same, but we Mississippi folks don't have a clue what to do when the roads get slushy or icy; our electricity goes off, and we get stranded at home. I guess because we're so used to being hot, it's pretty difficult for us to switch to such an extreme temperature. Of course, I keep saying "WE"; it could be just ME ;)

Anyhoo, Winter is time to stay indoors in Mississippi, wrapped in a blanket and snuggled up by the fire.

All that said because Winter reading to me is cozy reading...similar to Fall reading but not necessarily spooky...Winter to me is cold, drafty castles or older houses and characters keeping warm whilst I do the very same thing. Winter to me is Classics...but don't laugh because I haven't read these. Yes, I'm an English major...but I was an American Lit fan, so when given a choice, I skipped over these titles in favor of early colonial American texts. I really haven't had time till now to think about going back and reading some of these.

The following top ten list includes books by non-American authors and are all actually already sitting on my TBR shelves just waiting patiently. Where do I start?? Any advice?? Warnings?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Can you believe I actually own this beautiful annotated edition and haven't read it?

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I know absolutely nothing about this one...except that lots of people say I should read it...ok, ok.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

My oldest daughter raves about this one...and chastises me every time she realizes I still haven't read it.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

My middle daughter hated, and I mean hated this one. She begged me for the movie and Spark Notes for it in order to pass the test. I wouldn't give in to either.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

I read A Christmas Carol last year during the holidays and was so deeply involved in the descriptions of Old London that I didn't want the story to end. I wonder if this Dickens will be as detailed?

Emma by Jane Austen

I actually saw this movie when it was made with Gwenyth Paltrow...don't snicker. I was and still am somewhat of a Paltrow fan.

Howard's End by E.M. Forrester

I've seen a snippet or two of this movie with Anthony Hopkins...but not enough to really know what was happening.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

I've read A Room of One's Own, The Hours and seen the movie "The Hours." But, I've never read the Woolf novel that inspired Cunningham to write The Hours. Time to remedy that :)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I know this one is about a garden and a couple of kids...that's it.

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

I'm breaking the law on this one...I've seen the movie...and cried and cried and cried at the end. But, that was back when my older girls were little so I think I can enjoy the read just as much...if not more.

**I might have read these last two, but if I did, it was so long ago that I won't remember anything anyway :) Besides that, I'd like to read them with an adult lens now.

Till next week...

Thankfully Reading Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-11-28T06:14:00.000-06:00

I've never participated in a ReadAThon before because I just couldn't imagine somehow being able to just read, read and read without much interruption. The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually a pretty low key weekend for me anyway though because I've spent the prior couple of weeks at least preparing for Thanksgiving. So, I thought, why not?? Rainy, cold weather and a smidgen of the crud myself even added to my stay in bed or in the recliner and read mode. And, nobody, not one soul questioned it :):):)

I finished 3 books this weekend: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, Bossypants by Tina Fey and The Children of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I took reading breaks in between them to go ahead and start the reviews while things were fresh on my mind. I did a few dishes, kept the laundry going, graded just a few papers, and caught up on my blog reading, but other than those little breaks here and there over the last 3 days, I just read...just gloriously read.

Cold Mountain was my current read, so I finished it first, and I will still going be discussing it with my students this upcoming Wednesday. I did finish my review for this one and posted it Friday.

Bossypants was one I kept picking up and putting back down. I was ready to be done with it though. Tina Fey is funny as all get out, but I think I would have liked this one more had I been an SNL fan during her tenure or a 30 Rock watcher.

Last but not least, The Children of Henry VIII was one I wasn't rushing through...so much information to digest in this one...but I'm definitely now ready to move on to the next Weir historical narrative...good good stuff.

I'll have to work on some projects tomorrow and grade more than a few papers, but it was worth it!!

Ready for the next ReadAThon!

Weekend Cooking - The Annual Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-27T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm a pretty traditional person when it comes to Thanksgiving. When I was first married, my mom would travel to our home in Tennessee and help me prepare the meal. Then, one year she couldn't make it at the last minute, and I was on my own. We had many phone conversations that year and the next, but after that, I was A-ok. I absolutely LOVE preparing this meal.

To stay organized and to make sure I enjoy the process rather than getting overwhelmed, I started taking notes on my recipe cards and kept one card just with the menu and important reminders for the dishes that I only make once a year. I enjoy looking back over my cards each year and seeing the little notes I make to myself. So far this process has worked for me because I still enjoy Thanksgiving just as much as everyone else.

For this week's Weekend Cooking installment it only seems natural to include my Thanksgiving menu here with the comments I would add as reminders for next year.

Turkey - Turkey freaks me out. Yes, I know; I'm silly. But, it really does. I save it for last so that it doesn't touch anything else. (I told you it freaks me out). I've always used my mom's recipe for my turkey, but it's hit and miss...I'm also scared to death that I'm going to undercook the thing, and everybody will leave vomiting, so I usually overcook it. It's certainly still edible, but it ain't memorable by any stretch of the imagination. I know, I know, use the dang meat thermometer...I have one...but I always forget until I pull Mr. Gobble out of the oven and slap myself on the head. I've wanted to try brining for several years, but I live in rural MS...the freshest turkeys I'm going to find around here are the ones running around in the woods behind my house. And, I'm so not going there...the already dead ones freak me out enough. So, frozen Butterball is my best bet, which means brining still hasn't happened. However, this year I found an incredibly simple recipe over at Lisa's Buttery Books called Turkey with Rosemary ...oh. my. gracious. The flavor of this turkey was mouth watering...of course, if you don't like rosemary, you won't like this, but even my brother-in-law who is a discerning eater commented in the middle of the meal..."I can't believe the flavor in this meat!"

You do have to stick your hands all down in the turkey to rub the butter mixture between the skin and the meat...and that was tough for me...but the taste is worth the trouble.

Brown Sugar Spiral Sliced Ham - I let the Honey Baked Ham folks do their magic on this each year...I've tried to make my own exactly twice...it's just not even close to the same.

Cornbread Dressing - this is my mom's recipe...it's one I just know how to do and really can't give you amounts, etc. It has cornbread, onion, celery, boiled chicken, chicken broth, eggs, salt and pepper. I always make too much and freeze a pan for Easter. I did not add enough salt this year (I'm always scared of putting too much), so I need to be a little more generous next year. I also was unsure of the number of folks coming, so I cooked the extra pan too...I didn't need it, but that's ok due to the salt issue.

Sweet Potato Casserole - I found this recipe in a Kentucky cookbook many many moons ago...I don't even own the cookbook anymore; I just have my recipe card...I don't do the marshmallow vs. brown sugar pecan topping debate...I use both :) One of my nephews kept fly by pinching the melted marshmallows before I could get the dang thing on the table this year. And, several of the kids asked about this casserole as they walked through my front door. (Can you see my smile from ear to ear?). Several years ago at my middle daughter's request, we were going around the table taking turns telling something we were thankful for while the marshmallows browned...in the middle of the prayer we smelled smoke; sure enough, I had caught the marshmallows on fire. We scraped them off and ate the casserole anyway :)

Green Peas - from the can...LeSeur baby peas are best...boiled with just a little butter

Mashed Potatoes - the real kind...boil potatoes, drain, add butter, salt, pepper and milk. Whip with hand mixer. The kids like to make a "bird's nest" with their potatoes and put their little green peas on top.

Corn Casserole - this is my mother-in-law's specialty...it's the very easy Jiffy recipe, but I cook it to death. We decided a couple of years ago that it was best if this became her Thanksgiving task from now on.

Roasted Asparagus - I love asparagus, and I try to add some veggies to my menu that are not casseroled to death. My mother-in-law used to make an asparagus casserole because my father-in-law liked it so much. I kept up the recipe for the first couple of years after we lost him...but nobody else eats it, and it just seemed so much sadder to have to scrape all that down the drain after the meal. This year I decided to branch out and roast some fresh asparagus. This is such a simple process, and it only takes about 10 minutes...found this on PW's website. Roasted asparagus has also earned itself a spot on our traditional Thanksgiving menu. I think Pops would have approved :)

Green Bean Bundles - Most of our family won't eat the traditional green bean casserole...I tried several different variations and then finally just started heating up green beans from the can. I'm not sure what my people have against green beans. The Green Bean Bundle recipe was a new recipe last year, and it was delicious, so it has become a staple. 3-4 green beans wrapped in bacon and cooked with brown sugar, butter, garlic powder and onion salt. Yum!!! There are 80,000 versions of this recipe on the Internet...some using fresh beans and very few using canned. I used canned this year, but fresh would be a good tweak to make although it would add some cooking time.

Yellow Squash Casserole - this was a new recipe as well...also from Lisa @ Buttery Books. A lot of my family is reluctant to eat squash, but the ones who tried this casserole were blown away by it...the buttery goodness brings out the taste of the squash and doesn't overpower it...This one's a keeper too and will be on the menu next year. Even better as leftovers :)

Pumpkin Pie - my youngest will eat pumpkin pie with her fingers...I've tried several recipes since she likes it so much, but I never get the filling correct...it's edible but not very pretty and tends to be more like pudding than pie towards the middle. This year on Pinterest (what else?), I found a recipe and video on The Joy of Baking website...I decided to give pumpkin pie one more shot...and it WORKED!! My little one actually cut herself a piece of pie and held it in her hands while she ate it!! SUCCESS!!

Butterfinger Pie - my middle daughter's specialty - Butterfinger bars, cool whip, ice cream and a graham cracker crust. There's never anything left of this recipe. The first year she asked to make this I almost didn't let her because I didn't think it really fit the Thanksgiving menu. I'm so glad now that I did. It's so special for her to have her own contribution to the day...one that is most welcome!!

Pumpkin Trifle - this is the only recipe from this year's menu that won't make it to next year. I make this recipe several times each fall and take it to potlucks at church...always to rave reviews. Nobody but my mother-in-law touched it at Thanksgiving. Ain't goin to all that trouble to throw all that stuff away. I will replace this dessert next year with my old standard Bourbon Bread Pudding. As we were sitting around eating dessert, my brother-in-law asked my husband, "Did she not make bread pudding?" Husband said, "Did you not make bread pudding?" Oy.

Yeast Rolls - I use Rhodes frozen bread dough to make these...I spray my muffin pans really well early in the morning of Thanksgiving and fill each space with 2 dough rolls. By 30 minutes before lunch the dough has thawed and risen to fluffy puffy heights. 10 minutes in the oven and I never have any of these leftover...no matter how many I make. Easy Peasy.

Till next year :)

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Candace @ Beth F Reads

**After all the blog controversy this past week I feel compelled to say that none of the companies or name brands mentioned in this post know me, care about me or have compensated me in any way for reviewing their products.
Amen.

Snapshot Saturday - Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

I might have mentioned a time or two that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. I actually enjoy the entire 9 days off...the days leading up to the big meal and the quiet days after.

My oldest daughter is in charge of decorating our mantle

We clean house from top to bottom since we host the annual family celebration

Even Layla gets in on the action ;)

My youngest is in charge of decorating the piano

And my middle daughter is famous for her Butterfinger Pies

No idea where she gets the taking pictures of your food idea :/

Our new recipe for last year was one called Green Bean Bundles...it was a hit so the recipe automatically earned its place on this year's menu...my youngest helped wrap the beans in bacon and spear each roll with toothpicks

She's a "Wicked" good cook by the way ;)

Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce over @ At Home with Books.

Cold Mountain - Book Review

2011-11-25T09:38:00.001-06:00

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

Vintage, 1997

Why? Cold Mountain has been on my TBR too long...I needed a contemporary classic for my revamped Comp II class and I was ready to see the movie.

What now? This one will join the other keepers in the glass secretary

Golden Lines

Ada sat a minute and examined her portion. The front teeth were yellow and long. She was not accustomed to eating things with the teeth still in them. Stobrod watched her and said, That head'll twist right off, if it's bothering you.

That's just pain, she said. It goes eventually. And when it's gone, there's no lasting memory. Not the worst of it, anyway. It fades. Our minds aren't made to hold on to the particulars of pain the way we do bliss. It's a gift God gives us, a sign of His care for us.

The woman looked as if she thought Inman spoke the greatest foolishness she had ever heard. She pointed her pipe stem at him and said, You listen. Marrying a woman for her beauty makes no more sense than eating a bird for its singing. But it's a common mistake nonetheless.

Don't act so proud about it, Ruby said. In her view that's where the answer to this issue might lie. Every little dogwood can't grow up right where it falls under the big dogwood. Being rooted, they use the birds to move themselves around to more likely ground. Birds eat berries, and the seeds come through whole and unmarred, ready to grow where dropped, already dressed with manure. It was Ruby's opinion that if a person puzzled all this out over time, she might also find a lesson somewhere in it, for much of creation worked by such method and to such ends.

Such little mechanical portraits as Ada now held in her hand were not rare. She had seen any number of them. Nearly every family in the settlement with a son or husband off fighting had one, even if only cased in tin. Displayed on mantel or table with the Bible, a taper, sprigs of galax, so that the effect was altarlike. In sixty-one, any soldier with a dollar and seventy-five cents could have his aspect recorded in the form of ambrotype, tintype, calotype, or daguerreotype. In those early days of war, Ada had found most of the ones she had seen comic. Later she found them depressing in their depictions of men now dead. One after the other, they had sat bristling with weaponry before the portraitist for the long exposure. They held pistols crossed at their breasts or bayoneted rifles at their sides. Shiny new bowie knives brandished for the camera. Forage caps set at swank angles on their heads. Farm boys more bright in their moods than on hog-killing days. Their costumes were various. Men wore every kind of thing to fight in, from clothes you might put on for plowing to actual uniforms, to garbs of such immense ridiculousness that even in peacetime someone might take a shot at you for wearing them.

Summary

The story of Ada, Inman and Ruby takes place in the middle of the Civil War. Soldiers have been fighting long enough and violent enough to begin feeling as if they've had enough. Their dreams of fighting the good fight and destroying the Federals in a quick championed war have literally been shot to hell. Many of them simply walk away, only to be hunted by bands of horsemen who either return them to the war or shoot them for being traitors. Inman is one of these soldiers.

Four years before the story begins, Inman left home and Ada. She is all he can think of as he crosses miles and miles of woods and water, hiding in caves, dodging the Federal horsemen and subsisting on only what he can scrounge up, buy or steal, and/or the goodness of strangers.

Ada herself left her home in Charleston to follow her minister father to Cold Mountain so that he could preach his progressive beliefs. Her mother having died in childbirth, Ada has only her father to depend upon and to teach her how to live. When Ada's father Monroe dies, Ada with only her Charleston societal knowhow, is left to fend for herself in the unforgiving mountains. Having no one and nowhere to turn, Ada decides to somehow climb out of her grief and find a way to live.

Ruby is the holder of Ada's light.

Ruby has grown up in Cold Mountain without her mother as well and a drunk for a father. She learned from a very early age how to fend for herself and how to make ends meet. She approaches Ada after one of the mountain people mentions that Ada might need some help. Ruby offers Ada help in return for a fair trade and equal treatment. Ada and Ruby begin an unlikely reciprocal friendship that will stand the test of time.

What I Liked

Ruby was my favorite character. She was so nonsensical and realistic about EVERYTHING. Almost as if she still viewed the world as a child...as intelligent as she was, she had no room nor any patience for "silly stuff." She learned to set her mind to nature and to work within the natural order of things rather than against them. She didn't see her intelligence as anything special though...it was just a part of life.

I loved Frazier's detail and descriptions. While this kind of description may get in some people's way, I can see the mountains, feel the crunch of the leaves under my feet, "hear" snow falling, feel the warmth of a hot fire and also the freezing cold of a dark Winter night. The reader is a part of the character's journeys; Frazier takes you with them and you feel as if you are walking through the woods in line...how in the world they could keep up with where they were in those woods is beyond me...but Frazier has them point out markers and look to the skies and read the natural signs for times and seasonal changes.

The humor...embedded among the hardships, sadness, stomach turning scenes is a natural and sometimes sarcastic humor. I say "natural" because none of the characters are trying to be funny...they are simply "calling a spade a spade" which is so ridiculous at times that it's funny. I think the humor helps the reader get through the story and all it's sadness, but also I think humor probably was how these folks actually made it through every single day of their immensely hard lives.

What I Didn't Like

If I say I didn't care all that much for Inman, is anybody going to get mad at me?? I found it a little unrealistic that these two people realized just how much they loved each other over the four years Inman was gone...when they really hardly knew each other when he left? I'm not saying that I don't think they belonged together; I'm just saying that it was more of a practical arrangement...one that probably would have worked well...but I didn't see them "falling in love" romantically before Inman left.

Stodbrod...what father leaves his toddler behind to fend for herself??? I don't even care if he kept himself drunk to lessen the pain of losing his wife; he had a child from that wife to take care of...and he chose not to.

Monroe...another weak male father character...this one chooses to grieve for his wife in a different way...by holding onto the life they would have had and not letting his daughter grow up. Even with signs of critical illness, he did nothing to prepare his daughter for the world ahead of her.

Although there is a good bit of dialogue in this novel, there are no quotation marks. There were times when I had to back up and re-read to make sure what I was reading was what someone said. I'm interested to find out if there was some particular reason Frazier chose not to use quotation marks or if it is just a quirk of his.

My Overall Response

I'm so glad I read this...I had so many people tell me I wouldn't like the ending...but I did. Actually, it's a hard ending to say I "liked"....but it made sense to me. Obviously I won't say anything here to spoil it for anyone, but frankly a happily ever after ending would not have made any sense at all for this novel. The entire novel is about life during the Civil War and its hardships. As I type the word "hardships," it doesn't even seem to cover it. This ain't Cinderella, people.

I enjoyed reading this book along with my students...and I'll continue choosing contemporary classic novels for next semester's classes. We have one more discussion next Wednesday, but I finished the book last night...I couldn't stand it...I had to get to the end. Links for Discussion #1 and Discussion #2 can be found here and here.

Recommendations

Anyone who enjoys the Civil War time period and/or books that deal with a more realistic rather than romantic notion of the war will like this one...the details are so vivid that there were times I grimaced or closed my eyes as if I could shut out the visions in my mind.

Anyone who enjoys the North Carolina mountains, the natural surroundings, survival stories and/or stories of starting over, and people with grit will also like this one.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

2011-11-23T21:30:00.002-06:00

One of the biggest helps to my budget is my mom.

My mom has taken my girls shopping for as many years as I can remember...for Back to School clothes, Winter clothes for Christmas, Easter dresses, and beach clothes. I have not had to worry about figuring out how in the world to work their clothes into my budget for a long time. I get to focus my budget on their activity uniforms, costumes etc and a few special needs here and there. We don't usually get to see my mom at Thanksgiving because we host the Smith Thanksgiving in our home. My mom usually hosts a smaller Thanksgiving at her own home. This year she decided to take the entire Thanksgiving week off of work, which we also have since we're a family of educators and students. She called and said, "Let's go shopping!"
Holy Smokes!!

We did have to be extra organized to take this impromptu shopping trip.

I told my girls the dressing and sweet potato casserole had to be made and frozen and our house had to be completely clean before we could go.

You should have seen them racing around our house like chickens with their heads cut off.

They got the house done though...and thoroughly enjoyed their shopping rewards.

My youngest lives in Toms...they are a little more expensive but for each sale, a needy child also gets a pair of shoes. We don't mind paying a little more for causes like this.

None of us likes to shop on the Friday after Thanksgiving; in fact, there are some people still alive in this world because I stay home on Black Friday ;)
We found some pretty good deals anyway...and the stores were pretty quiet on Monday especially.
My girls are set for winter now, and I am relieved.

I haven't done much weeknight cooking this past week...in preparation for Thanksgiving...but I've tried to stay organized with the "meal of the year" :)

Thanksgiving falls during the last full week of November and that's traditionally my toughest week budget wise...I had to really watch my pennies to make sure I didn't run short. I had one more grocery store trip to make today and was down to the last $100. I made it by the skin of my teeth...but I did make it. The Head of My Household picked up our ham and extra turkey breast from Honey Baked Ham...I wouldn't have had enough in my budget for those traditional purchases but he had a little extra in his :)

I'm counting on leftovers for the last couple of days of the month until payday next week.

Whew!

Our Menu for tomorrow:

Turkey with Rosemary
Old-fashioned Cornbread Dressing (my mom's recipe)
Cranberry sauce (the jellied kind with the rings imprinted)
Jiffy Cornbread Casserole (my mother-in-law brings)
Sweet Potato Casserole (a combination of the best I've found over the years...pecan and brown sugar topping WITH marshmallows as well)
Green Bean Bundles
Yellow Squash Casserole
Baby Green Peas
Mashed Potatoes
Oven Roasted Asparagus
Rolls

Pumpkin Trifle
Pumpkin Pie (the youngest's favorite)
Butterfinger Pie (my middle daughter's specialty)

I won't be posting tomorrow. I will be enjoying one of the most wonderful days of the year with my family. I hope and pray that all my fellow bloggers out there will be able to do the same.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Top Ten Authors I'd Love to Have at My Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-22T00:00:00.001-06:00

For their weekly meme, the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish challenged us all to come up with 10 authors we'd be delighted to have at our Thanksgiving dinner tables. I almost didn't participate this week because at first I thought I would have to come up with 10 authors who could sit down and eat/enjoy the traditional family Thanksgiving at my house with the already varied personalities/individuals who are a part of my family...but then, I thought, "What would be the harm in having these authors to a special Thanksgiving celebration...just me and them?" Then, all I would have to worry about would be my personality and theirs...my brain started clicking then...

Thanksgiving is about Family to me. Traditions. Food. and, of course Thankfulness, so I would be very particular about the authors I would include at my table for those very reasons...I would need those with a sense of humor, life stories to tell, a comfortably happy personality, a love of life and, of course, cooking skills...I was over half-way finished with this week's list before I realized that all my authors were women. Each has a very strong personality, sense of self and seems to have her priorities in order...can't imagine why I'd want them all at my table ;)

Jan Karon (The Mitford series)- Karon's traditional graciousness, faith and etiquette would be welcomed...some of the guests on my lists probably would have a tendency to get out of hand ;) and I could see Karon keeping us straight :) as well as making sure our elbows weren't on the table.

Paula Deen - Deen is on here because I know she's not afraid of butter, she been through tough times, pulled herself up by her bootstraps and learned the hard way how to be self-sufficient. She would remind us to be thankful for our families and would keep us laughing.

Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum series) - Evanovich would be there because of her humor...her one liners that I'm sure she can belt out...and of course her love of big dogs. I can see her wanting to spend time talking with and about my Layla.

Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman books and blog and children's book about Charlie the Basset Hound) - Drummond would take pictures of everything and even give me some tips on how to take better pictures of my dishes. I think she and Paula Deen would be a riot together as well.

Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa cookbooks) - I think Garten and Drummond would actually get along very well...Garten might be put off by Drummond singing Ethel Merman tunes at first, but I think Drummond could bring Garten out of her shell a little ;)

Gesine Bullock-Prado - Prado would bring the fancy desserts...no one would be allowed to ask her about her sister (Sandra Bullock), and I would hope so much that she would make us something...one of her specialty items that we could only get if we traveled to Vermont to her little hometown bakery. She has her own "finding herself" story...one that involves walking away from what everyone else saw as a powerful Hollywood life any woman would kill to have back to a life of obscurity and family values and food.

Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) - I don't know if Gilbert can cook...but I know she's had lots of life experiences...and I know she can eat...her travels through Italy are a testament to that. I'd like to talk with her more surrounded by a group of real women...we could talk about our own stories of finding ourselves...and our journeys to those places.

Barbara Park (Junie B. Jones series) - Jones would be there to keep me laughing. Period. When a writer can make a 7 year old and her mother laugh so hard that they are holding their stomachs as they read aloud at night, she has a place at my table anytime/anywhere!

Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle) - If anyone knows the value of family, it's this author...my definition of dysfunctional family changed after reading Walls work, and her ability to overcome, somehow understand, and then surpass the demons of her childhood absolutely astonish me. Walls could teach us all a thing or two about unconditional love without losing yourself in the process.

Geraldine Brooks (Caleb's Crossing) - When we decide to get serious, Brooks could tell us some background on Colonial America, and give us and even firmer foundation on which we base the tradition of Thanksgiving...where and how it first began and how our traditions have evolved over the years.

I'm thankful that these authors have in some way or another become a part of my life...through their works, their lives, ideals, perseverance and dang hard work, they are examples for all of us.

Peppermint Ph.D.

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Monday at the Movies - Elizabeth The Golden Age

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and her fox

Book Review - Kitchen Counter Cooking School

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would/Could Write Another Book

The Vampire Diaries - Movie Monday is now Media Monday :)

Book Review - A Southern Plate and My First Giveaway :)

Saturday Snapshot - Nurse Layla

Weekend Cooking - Chicken & Dumplings

Book Review - Love at First Bark

2012 Reading Challenges Sign Up Post

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading in 2012

2011 Challenge Wrap Up

Happy New Year! Welcome 2012!!

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and Abbey

Book Review - Explosive Eighteen

A Marriage Carol - Book Review

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Top 10 Favorite Books I Read in 2011

Monday at the Movies - Cold Mountain

Merry Chistmas!!

Snapshot Saturday - Layla and Lizzie

The Children of Henry VIII - Book Review

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

Weekend Cooking - Family Fun's Cookies for Christmas and Chocolate Crinkles

Snapshot Saturday - Baking

It's Official!! Christmas vacation is finally here!!

Virtual Advent Tour - Thursday, Dec. 8

Cold Mountain with My Students - The Final Discussion

Wolf Hall ReadAlong Parts 1 and 2

Saturday Snapshot - The Ducks

Misery

Bossypants - Book Review

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Top Ten Tuesday - TBR Selections for Winter

Thankfully Reading Weekend Wrap-Up

Weekend Cooking - The Annual Thanksgiving Feast

Snapshot Saturday - Thanksgiving

Cold Mountain - Book Review

Wanna Be More Organized Wednesday

Top Ten Authors I'd Love to Have at My Thanksgiving Feast