February Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

So, last month Barrie asked if anyone was interested in an ARC of Lisa Gardner's upcoming book (out next week, by the way) Catch Me. As a fan of her work, I said I was interested and I did get a copy.

Amazon and B&N aren't allowing reviews on it yet so I'll be starting with my "less formal" review here.

Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant - aka Charlie - is the lone survivor of her childhood friends. The other two are dead . . . murdered. One on January 21st a year ago. The other on January 21st the year before that. So, with January 21st just a few days away, Charlie believes her number is about to come up and is doing what she can to prevent it. She's spent the last year honing her skills at self defense and alerts the local police of what she believes will happen so that if she doesn't prevent the murder, at least they might be invested - having met her - and will do everything they can to solve the murders.

Detective D.D. Warren has just gone back to work after having her first child and is somewhat sleep deprived and working on a case where someone is killing known pedophiles when she meets Charlie outside of a crime scene. Charlie pleads her case with D.D. but the more D.D. digs into Charlie's past, the more she wonders whether Charlie is victim or perpetrator. And why was she outside of a crime scene? Could she be involved in these murders as well? All she knows is that January 21st is fast approaching and if she doesn't come up with some answers soon, it's not going to be pretty.

I liked this book a lot. It drew me in and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and how it would all resolve itself. This is one of a series of books with D.D. Warren as the "lead" player in the story and even though I haven't read the other books, I didn't feel like I was coming in late to the story. Definitely a stand alone book, which is a big plus.

On the negative side though, I figured out the "who" and "why" fairly early on - and I almost never do that (oh I guess, but I'm very rarely right) so that was kind of disappointing to me because I, oddly enough, enjoy the "OMG I did NOT see that coming!" aspect of reading a "whodunit" book.

Another thing that was a little unsettling was the POV of the characters. The story was told from the point of view of three characters - D.D. (third person deep POV), Jesse (third person POV) and Charlie (first person POV). In the beginning, before I really got deep into the story, I was a little confused with the POV transitions because I tend to read deep POV the same as first person POV so I was getting confused with whose POV I was reading. Once I figured that out, it was okay but then it kind of bugged me that Charlie would be the one getting first person POV, considering she's basically a guest starring role in D.D.'s story. I just kept thinking about how it would be like reading Stephanie Plum's story with Stephanie's perspective being third person and one of her skips being told in first person. It was just a little weird to me.

Having said that, I did like the book. I would recommend it. AND, I will check out the books in the series that came before it (as well as those that come later. Overall, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. :-)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts Take Two

Since I have a donut pan, I've really wanted to make some good donuts. My first attempt was a creation of my own (by the way, when I mentioned in that post that I was listing the original recipe - I meant MY original recipe, not the "tried and true" one I had based mine on). It wasn't a total bust but definitely needed tweaking.

I wanted to make donuts today but I really wanted to use a recipe that I knew would be good - no need of tweaking. So I searched the internet.

Here's the thing about the internet, apparently I'm not a good searcher. For one thing I don't have a lot of patience because my computer is a thousand years old and slow as molasses. I like quick/good results. If I don't get that, I tend to give up easily on searches.

That said, I did go to a number of sites looking for a good vegan donut recipe - despite my slow response time on my computer. But I wasn't happy with any of the results I found, and I'll tell you why.

All the recipes required a frosting for the donuts and I don't want a frosted donut! And even if I was willing to go the extra way to make the frosted donuts, the frosting recipes are all too similar to the frosting recipe for the cinnamon buns I made a week or two ago - which was a disaster. They call for huge amounts of powdered sugar and very small amounts of liquid to mix with it. What I ended up with was a large amount of wasted (because you can't re-use it) powdered sugar and about three drops of frosting (which, for the record, was actually good). So I'm not looking to repeat that on a donut recipe.

So I decided to give the chocolate peanut butter donut recipe I was working on another shot. Here's what I used and did:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1tablespoon flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raw sugar (meant to half this but remembered too late)
3/4 cup soy milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (didn't actually measure this)
1/4 - 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (again, didn't actually measure this out)

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


• Mix flour, baking powder, flaxseed, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl.


• Combine milk, peanut butter and chocolate chips in a sauce pan and heat until chocolate chips melt and peanut butter "melt".


• Mix the chocolate/peanut butter mixture with the dry ingredients


• Pour into donut pan and bake for 12-15 minutes (I started with 12 minutes and put it on for 2 more - probably could've gone for 15 minutes and removed)

I'd halved most of the ingredients from last time because I'd had the "muffin top" donuts. This time they came out looking like donuts. They were more moist this time around but I still feel like the recipe needs more tweaking.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for a good vegan donut recipe that doesn't require a frosting. If anyone out there knows of one, please share! (Note: I can pretty much veganize a recipe so if I have to look outside vegan recipes to find one, that would work too!)

Stuff

I don't want to say that I'm not blogging much lately but I had to make four tries at my password before I guessed the right one. In my defense, someone hacked my google account last summer and it always takes me a couple of tries to get the "new" password right. *sigh*

Anyway, I recently bought a donut pan and decided to create my own kind of donut. It was based on a tried an true recipe but the final result was one of my own making. I was going for a chocolate peanut butter donut because that sounded good in my head. I wrote down the ingredients in case they came out okay, or if they came out good enough that I'd want to "enhance" them at a later date (which was the case, by the way). I haven't played with it since but here's the original recipe:

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking sode
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut butter
1-1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup raw sugar

I forgot to write down the temperature and how long I baked them but looking at the base recipe, I would say 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

When I decided to make the donuts I thought I would melt the peanut butter and chocolate but didn't feel like wasting the time it would take so I just combined everything into a bowl, mixed it up, poured it into the sprayed pan and popped them in the oven.

Next time I will melt the peanut butter and chocolate and will use more of both. But I guess the point is, I will make them again.

In other cooking news, I made Mushroom Turnovers the other day. You'd have to understand that I'm kind of afraid of mushrooms to understand the importance of this act. For a year or so now I'll periodically buy mushrooms because I want to try them (mostly because of their vitamin D content) but I seem to end up throwing them out a few weeks later as the science project begins in my refrigerator. But this time I cooked them. And ate them! The recipe doesn't say anything about chopping up the sliced white mushrooms but I did chop them into as small of pieces as I could get them into because I didn't think I'd be able to even try the turnovers otherwise. Turns out, they're not that bad. I had a mushroom turnover this afternoon for lunch and I actually forgot about the mushroom content. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but I'm telling you, it was history making! :)

I watched Friends with Benefits with Justin Timberlake today. I liked it much more than I thought I would. Some might wonder why I'd get the movie if I was anticipating not liking it. I can't answer that because I honestly don't remember adding it to my Netflix queue and I apparently bumped it up the ranks after doing so. But the point is, I did like it - a lot.

Ditto for I Don't Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker, with the exception of I watched it yesterday. I don't know what I expected from these movies but they were light and fun . . . a good thing.

Did you know that the Game Show Network is airing past seasons of Dancing With The Stars? They started yesterday and they started with season 4 - the season Apolo Anton Ohno won. I've watched every episode of the show that has aired and when the "stars" came out, there was one I didn't remember. Her professional partner was also a one season wonder. They were the "Ken and Barbie" couple. The only thing that came back to me after watching the show was that they stayed too long at the party!

Speaking of staying too long at the party, did you hear that Emily Maynard (the one Brad gave the final rose to in his second run on The Bachelor) is going to be the next Bachelorette? I haven't watched the series from the beginning. In face, I saw the very last episode of Brad's first run and started watching then. I skipped Brad's repeat and believe I'll be doing the same for Emily. I have to think the franchise is not doing well if this is what it's coming down to!

January Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's that time again . . . time to talk books.

This month I will be discussing/reviewing Rob Lowe's biography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. There's just something about Rob Lowe that draws me in. I saw some of his interviews when he was promoting this book and I did my dead-level best to fight the urge to buy this book. Why, I have no idea. But, obviously I broke down and bought (and read it!).

There are a lot of things I want to say about this book but I'm going to start with some writer things.

For example, the opening line of the book is: "I had always had an affinity for him, an admiration for his easy grace, his natural charisma, despite the fact that for the better part of a decade my then girlfriend kept a picture of him running shirtless through Central Park on her refrigerator door." I re-read that sentence several times trying to figure out if Rob was telling the story or if someone was telling a story about Rob. I skimmed a couple of pages until I found a name - any name - in the story to tell me who was "talking". Of course it was Rob telling the story about his girlfriend with someone else's picture on the refrigerator, but it kind of threw me with the first sentence.

Then, for a while, the story was told in a way that, well let me back up a minute. When I read books - autobiographies or not - I see the story play out in my mind like a movie. I can envision what's happening. When I was reading this book, the first quarter or third of it, what I was seeing in my mind was clips of his life narrated by the E! True Hollywood narrator. Rob was telling stories about his life but the way he was doing it was such that the stories didn't seem about him. He seemed really removed or detached from the stories. At least it seemed that way to me. It was actually quite comical to me . . . in my head (you know, hearing the narrator and all).

That all said, I couldn't put the book down. It's really the story of his career. There's very little of his personal life in this book. Personally I would've liked to have more of his personal life in the book but what he wrote was also very telling about the sort of person he is.

For example, he tells stories of things that happened to him during the filming of movies and TV shows. Some of the things done to him were not good but he never really calls anyone out on those things. He didn't take this opportunity to trash anyone or throw them under the bus.

On the other hand, he did take advantage of this opportunity to say some really nice things about a couple of people. For instance, he mentions Jodie Foster in the book on several occasions. It's pretty clear that he considers her a good friend and thinks very highly of her and apparently she's been there for him when he really needed someone in his corner. He also took a moment to tell how Thomas C Howell (Ponyboy in The Outsiders, and who is referred to as Tommy Howell in the book . . . took me a while to figure out who he was talking about) helped him out in a filming situation. It came across as a great kindness on "Tommy's" part. Rob didn't have to tell these stories - no one would've ever known the difference. That he did tell them says a lot, to me anyway.

The further in the book I got, the easier the writing seemed to come to him. There were stories that made me laugh out loud. I just really enjoyed the book and feel comfortable recommending it to anyone that might enjoy an autobiography and/or who is a fan of Rob's.

Now, one last thing on the book before I go . . . I had never seen Footloose before. With the re-make, I decided I needed to see the original and it had finally come in after weeks of it being on a "very long wait" list in my Netflix queue. So, as it was sitting on my entertainment center waiting for me to watch it, I read how Rob had auditioned for the role that went to Kevin Bacon. And as I watched the movie (after I finished the book), I couldn't help but see Rob in the part. In a weird way, it added to the experience of reading Rob's book. :)

So, again, good book. :)

December Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's that time again. Time to pick through the books we've read this month and decide which one we're going to recommend.

This month I'm reviewing/recommending another book by Kim Gruenenfelder, There's Cake in My Future. It's a story about friendship and life and changes, all things that can draw an audience but what I really liked about this book is the way the story was told.

Here's the back blurb:

Listening to her friends' latests travails in love, parenting and careers, superstitious bride-to-be Nic believes she has the perfect recipe for everyone's happiness: a bridal shower "cake pull" in which each ribboned silver charm planted in the cake will bring its recipient the magical assistance she needs to change her destiny. Mel, still ringless after dating the same man for six years, should get the engagement ring charm. The red hot chili pepper would be perfect for Seema, who is in love with her best male friend, Scott, but can't seem to make their relationship more than platonic. And recently laid-off journalist Nic wants the shovel, which symbolizes hard work, to help her get her career back on track. Nic does everything she can to control who gets which silver keepsake - as well as the future it represents. But when the charmed cake is mysteriously shifted from the place settings Nic arranged around it, no one gets the charm she chose for them. And when the other party guests' fortunes begin coming true, Mel, Seema and Nic can't help but wonder . . . is the cake trying to tell them something?

As I said, the base of the story is friendship but situations around the charms brings a lot of comedy to the story. Nic is the most upset with the charm she got. Seema tries to convince her that there's nothing to the charms and she has nothing to worry about, all the while she's freaking out over the charm she got because goodness knows it's the LAST charm she'd choose for herself. Meanwhile, while Mel doesn't give a lot of credit to the cake pull charms, she's doing everything in her power to make hers come true (which is hysterical!).

The story is told in first person perspective from the viewpoint of each of the main characters (Nic, Mel and Seema) in alternating chapters, so you're able to really get to know the characters. It's basically a story about love, friendship and the life that happens while you're busy making other plans (who can't relate to that?).

I highly recommend this book and was excited to see that it has a follow up book coming out next year. I'll try to vary my author reviews but if it's as good as this one, chances are you'll be seeing another review of a Kim Gruenenfelder book. :)

October Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's time for this month's book review meeting, hosted by Barrie Summy. :)

Last month I reviewed a book that had been recommended to me by amazon.com. This month I'm reviewing a book that was reviewed a few months ago as part of these book reviews hosted by Barrie. (You can see the review here.)

I don't recall what the review said (I'm going to go back and read it after I write this one but I didn't want to be influenced in what I say here so . . . ) but it obviously got my attention because this was one of two books that I've purchased as a result of reading the reviews posted monthly (I still haven't read the other book yet . . . someday).

Anyway, I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and started reading. The first paragraph got my attention "Some girls have journals. I talk to my poster." Hmmm, sounds like there's a story there, if you ask me. :)

But the story itself is about Alice and her journey to find love. She has a pre-dating Ally-McBeal-sniffs-Billy-Thomas's-butt-when-they-were-eight type of relationship with Jewel (aka Julian - I mention this because I wanted to associate the name of Jewel with a female and that's not the case here). Jewel is her best friend in the world and she's his best friend in the world. They do everything together and nobody understands Alice better than Jewel. But when Simon (the second most popular boy in the school) asks her out, it changes the dynamic of her relationship with Jewel.

Alice doesn't want to hurt Jewel but she wants to explore this relationship with Simon. I think the end result is pretty obvious by page 2 (no, it's not the poster!) but I won't disclose it here, just in case it's not but I'll just say that I found the story resolution satisfying. :)

I'll also say this, I kept looking for the bad guy in the story and there wasn't one. I found the characters to be likeable. I really enjoyed this book.

So, thanks to Beth Yarnall for writing a review that made me want to read this book. It was worth it! :)

September Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

I'm jumping in a little early to post my review this month because the next few days are going to be crazy busy and I really wanted to participate.

That said, the book I'll be reviewing this month is Misery Loves Cabernet by Kim Gruenenfelder. It was referred to me by amazon. Based on purchases and recommendations I've made, they thought I would like this book.

Gotta say, the title is what first caught my attention - I love it. But, I didn't want to purchase it just because it had a catchy title so I jumped down to the reviews. I don't typically read reviews that give away the story and this wasn't an exception but what I discovered was that an overwhelming majority of the reviewers loved the book. The only concern I had was that it appeared to be part of a series, and not the first one. If I know a book is part of a series, my preference is to read them in order. So, I checked into the first book. It didn't seem bad but it didn't intrigue me as much as Cabernet did. Kind of broke my own rule when I started with the second book.

Anyway, I really liked this book a lot. It's about a woman making it on her own. She's got quirky and interesting people in her life and ridiculously funny things happen to her. I've said before that the heroine may not know who the hero is but that I want it to be clear to the reader because if it's not clear to me, I don't enjoy the story as much.

Well, this book makes an exception to that theory because I had no idea who the hero was supposed to be but I didn't care. I was enjoying the journey Charlie (the heroine) was on and I was looking forward to seeing where it took her.

And I loved the characters in the book. In particular, I loved Drew - Charlie's boss. She's his assistant. He's like a little boy that doesn't know about "boundaries". Honestly, I was rooting for him to be the hero because they kind of complemented each other. She'd probably want to kill him in a year or two but the book doesn't take it that far so they would've been fine. ;)

Now, I've said I loved the book but there was something that bothered me from early on. Cabernet is what I'm going to call an independent book. I don't mean stand alone as in one of a series of books that continues the story but it stands on its own. I mean independent as in - in my opinion - the beginning and ending of the book don't allow for a satisfying story before or after the story in this book. To me, this book opened in the exact right place and had a satisfying ending. Thing is, what I know about the first book, it also had a satisfying ending. Had I read it first (and assuming it is as good as this one) I probably would've snatched this one up in a heartbeat, thinking it would be a continuation of the satisfying ending. Of course, that's making assumptions on my part but I just can't see myself reading the first book now without being annoyed by it. The same would go for a book that would follow this one. Sad too because I really did love this book.

So, bottom line is, I loved this book. Definitely will read other books by this author . . . just not necessarily ones that follow this same character's story. :)

Happy National Dog's Day

It's funny because I'd planned to blog today about my dog, Harley. Then I discovered that it was National Dog's Day so I figured I'd better blog about all my boys. I figured I'd tell you how they came to be my dogs.

First there's Max. I like to joke that he came with the house but the truth of the matter is that he was born roughly a week before I moved in and it was a few weeks before I even met him.

He came from a big litter of puppies, all of which would crawl under the fence into my back yard (oh yeah, his "birth owner" lives behind me). All but one of them would climb on me and scratch me, with one sitting back looking at me as if to say "I'm good. I'll still be here when you get a minute. No rush." All but one would wiggle and squirm when I'd pick them up and snuggle them up on my shoulder. The one would rest calmly on my shoulder as if to say "this is the nicest place I've ever been." This went on for weeks.

Of course "the one" is Max. Well, one day the dogs were all in my back yard and I'd actually brought Max into the house with me then noticed that his "birth owner" was at the back fence looking for the last dog that hadn't come home when he got there. I went out with Max and was apologizing for having his dog and asked if I could buy him from him. He gave him to me. And I never looked back. :)

Next came Brewsky. When I moved into my house I had a doberman, Cleo. Max adored Cleo so when she died in 2004, he took it pretty hard. Cleo's death also coincided with a job change (that included longer hours) so Max's life changed dramatically in a very short time. I quickly realized that I needed to change things and pick up the slack and become the "other dog" in Max's life. I started walking him in the morning before work, coming home at lunch and playing with him and then walking him two or three times in the evening just so he was getting exercise. But even with all that, he wasn't handling things well. Then one day this adorable little dog followed us home from a walk. I let him in the front door (okay I had to force him through the first time, after that he knew it was okay) and he played with Max for a while. This became kind of routine that this dog would follow us home several times a week. When he didn't meet up with us Max was visibly sad about it. Over time I kind of figured out who the owner was so I approached them to see what we could do about coordinating play dates with the dogs (yes, play dates!). Long story short, they were looking to get rid of him because he kept getting loose and they ended up giving him to me. I wasn't looking to get another dog at the time but he was what Max needed at the time and now I can't imagine my life without him.

That leaves us with Harley. For several days before I met him I'd come home and the house smelled like wet dog to me. I have a doggy door and at the time I had a kiddie pool for the dogs in the back yard but I couldn't smell the wet dog smell on them so I wasn't sure what was going on. Plus, Max seemed really tired for several days - to the extent I was thinking of taking him to the vet to see what was wrong with him.

Anyway, I always talk to my dogs when I'm leaving the house, even if it's just to say (like I did this morning when I left to go to the grocery store) "I'll be back shortly." Well, on the day I first met Harley, I had a massage scheduled for after work so I told Max and Brewsky that I'd be late that night because I had a massage after work but I wouldn't be too late. Then I got to work and had a voicemail message that the massage needed to be rescheduled. So I came home at my regular time. When I came into the house I was greeted by Max, Brewsky . . . and Harley. He was IN my house! Turns out there was a fence post down and he'd wiggled his way through it and followed the other dogs into the house through the doggy door. (I apparently took them by surprise because they thought I'd be home later and I've since amended my "discussions" with them to include "no friends can come in the house!" hehehe)

For a while he'd camp out on my front porch and follow me in the house to play with Max and Brewsky for a while and then I'd put him back out again. Once I saw him follow two girls with a dog down a cul de sac street so when he wasn't on my porch one day, I went down that street to talk to his owner. I was concerned that he was always loose but I wanted to have play dates with my other dogs. Long story short, this family was feeding Harley but didn't consider him their dog. She said that his real owner had thrown him out and they were considering calling animal control on him. I told her if she did that, they'd destroy him and I said I'd see what I could do about finding him a home because I already had two dogs and that's the limit in the subdivision.

He's been my dog since I walked away from their house with him. I worried for months that it'd be found out that I had more dogs than allowed but it's been almost five years ago so I think I'm okay. :)

Happy National Dog's Day!

Little Women

A while back Turner Classic Movies ran two versions of Little Women. Then a couple of weeks later, the third version was run on another station (unfortunately with commercials!). I set my DVR to record them all and today I finally sat down and watched them all . . . back-to-back-to-back. I watched them in the order they were filmed.

I started with the 1933 version starring Katharine Hepburn. I'll start by saying, I enjoyed the movie. I also love Katharine Hepburn. That said, I didn't much care for the way Jo was portrayed. At least for the first 30 minutes or so of the movie. Katharine Hepburn has a husky voice to begin with and the character of Jo is a tomboy but, for whatever reason, that combination wasn't working for me.

After a while though, it seemed like the "butch-ness" of the character was toned down. Jo was still a tomboy and Katharine still had the husky voice but it seemed to fit better. Maybe I just got used to it. Whatever the case, it wasn't grating on my nerves anymore.

Bottom line, I enjoyed the movie.

Next I watched the 1949 version, starring June Allyson. According to my DVR listing, it starred June Allyson and Peter Lawford. When I started playing the movie the opening credits showed that Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh were also in the movie. As I was watching it, I realized that the March's maid was played by the same person who played the cranky neighbor / Little Ricky babysitter from I Love Lucy, Mrs. Trumbell! I guess what I'm saying is that I was surprised at the number of actors I was familiar with in this version of the movie.

That said, I had the same problem with June Allyson's portrayal of Jo as I did Katharine Hepburn's. Her voice is husky and the tomboy-ishness of Jo was overplayed, in my opinion. I think what it is is that they didn't come across as feminine at all to me - and that bugged me. The difference with this version is it didn't seem to go away during the course of the movie.

Despite that, I did enjoy this version as well. There were other distractions too though. For example, this was before Elizabeth Taylor developed her classic good looks - at least in my opinion. But the character of Amy (which is the part she played) was very vain. Kind of funny / ironic, if you ask me. Oh and Janet Leigh. Very understated. I thought she did a great job as Meg. I had to keep reminding myself that it was Janet Leigh.

Then last (but not least), I watched the 1994 version, starring Winona Ryder. I think it's very possible that I liked this one best because it was the first version I ever saw of it.

But then again, I didn't have the distractions about it that I had with the others. From Winona's portrayal of Jo I got that she was a tomboy but she also was very feminine. No "butch-ness" about it.

You add to that that there was more humor in this version of the movie. Overall, the characters were more relatable in this version than in the other two versions. At least in my opinion.

They all three were good movies that I can in good conscious recommend but when it comes down to it, this one was my favorite of the three.

In a related side-bar, I also learned today that there were two silent film versions made based on the book. I don't know if there are copies out there to be had but I think it would be real interesting to see what they did with those. What do you think? Would you watch a silent film version of Little Women? Inquiring minds want to know.

July Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

I originally told Barrie that I was going to review My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody. I love the concept of this book - letting someone else make your decisions for you. It's well written and a lot of fun. And, if you've never seen Jessica's book trailers, you really should check them out because I don't think anyone does a book trailer better than Jessica - and her books live up to the trailer. So, that's my mini recommendation on that book (and Jessica's books in general).

But like the first sentence of this post suggests, I changed my mind about what I wanted to review. That's what happens when you read several good books in a month, and in particular, what happens when you read a great book AFTER you say what you're going to review. :)

That all said, I want to discuss Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby. For starters, I'm a huge fan of Amanda's. Her debut book You Had Me at Halo is still among my top three favorite books of all times. So I was excited when Fairy Bad Day came out.

Here's the back blurb:

My life seriously couldn't get any worse

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under my nose by Curtis Green. Sure, he's really cute, but that doesn't give him an excuse.

On top of all that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you're thinking--how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won't STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately . . . it's Curtis.

It's going to be a Fairy Bad Day.

It's smart and funny. I loved it. I will say though, that it started slow for me. I was a couple of chapters in and kind of worried that I wasn't going to like it because it really hadn't grabbed me yet. Next thing I knew, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it. :)

June Book Review

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Okay, I'm having computer issues this morning so I'll have to add the picture of the book later today but I wanted to go ahead and get the party started!

This month I'm reviewing Eileen Cook's Fourth Grade Fairy. I should probably mention that Eileen is one of my "auto-buy" authors. I don't care what she's writing, I want to read it. And so far I've never been let down. Fourth Grade Fairy was no exception.

Willow is born into a family of fairies. Due to some bad history with humans, the fairies are not allowed to be friends with the humans anymore. Unfortunately, Willow wants this more than anything. In fairy school everyone is already partnered up with a best friend. While she has friends, she doesn't have a best friend and because of the number of fairies in school, having that special friend doesn't look likely. So, she wants to attend human school because there are so many more people there and the chances of finding a best friend are greater.

For her tenth birthday her grandmother gives her the gift of attending the human school (where she is the principal) for two weeks. Her parents agree to it, provided she doesn't get her special power (fairies typically get their special powers on their tenth birthday) while there. So, when she gets her power, she decides to hide it from the family until she's secured a best friend (after all, how hard can that be?). Of course there are complications along the way. (Life is what happens when you're busy making plans, after all. Right? :) )

One of the things I love about Ms Cook's books is that she taps into the "every man/woman" vulnerabilities so well. She paints a picture that is so vivid that it's very easy to visualize. Which is why when she paints her characters into impossibly funny situations, I find myself laughing hysterically. And this book was no different. I completely loved it. I loved the characters (this is another one where an animal stole my heart - Winston, I'm talking to you!!!). It was well written and fun. I highly recommend it.

May Book Review

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

A month or so ago I purchased I So Don't Do Mysteries by Barrie Summy. Afterwards I wondered if it was the first in the series. I emailed Barrie and asked her, then had the thought of what happens if I don't like it and she asks me what I thought of it. You know, since she knew I had it.

Fortunately I didn't have to worry about that because I thoroughly enjoyed the book. While I'm quite sure I'm outside of the targeted age demographic, I kind of classified it like I would movies made in the 50s and before. There were elements of sophistication, innocence and humor that make it suitable for readers of all ages.

There were a couple of passages that I completely got wrapped up in. I don't want to be too specific because they could be considered spoilers. But in one scene Sherry's talking up a storm and I'm kind of thinking it might be a mistake so I might have started yelling at her, you know, so she wouldn't do the wrong thing because yelling at a book in a character can change what they do, right? But seriously I'm saying "Nononononononono! Stop talking. Stop talking. Stop talking. WHY did you say that???"

She didn't listen to me. But I guess that's typical for a kid that age. :)

I also got pretty attached to some of the secondary characters. In particular, the wren. I've heard actors say in interviews that it's a mistake to work with children and animals and Sherry might want to look out because the wren is a definite scene stealer, in my opinion.

Now, without saying the outcome of it (and hoping this isn't too much of a spoiler), the wren gets sick and it's not known if he's going to make it or not. The not knowing was hard for me because, let's face it the next book in the series isn't I So Don't Do Mysteries Either (the adventures of Sherry's friend/family/wren). We know Sherry is coming back, and therefore will find a way out of whatever she gets herself into. But all other characters are expendable and fair game. You never know who's going to be in the next book so you just hope your favorites make it through too.

That said, in the end I needn't have worried about telling Barrie I'd bought this book because I really liked this book. I liked everything about it - the storyline, the characters . . . everything. :)

Sparky

I love this story! It's about a deaf dog named Sparky. I'd read about him in People magazine this week and what this article doesn't say is that the breeders were thisclose to putting him to sleep because he's deaf. They figured he was no good to anyone and that no one would want him.

Then, he was adopted by a family that decided his "handicap" was to much to handle so they deposited him at a shelter.

From there he went to a prison in Licking Missouri (you can't make this stuff up!), where he was taught sign language.

Now he happily resides at a school for the deaf where the students love him and are teaching him more sign language. How cool is that?

Did I mention that I love this story? ;)

Happy Easter!

Good Stuff

It used to bother me when I didn't have all the ingredients for a recipe because I thought its success was based on making it exactly as the recipe called for. Now that doesn't bother me as much because I figure if the dish turns out bad, I can always make it again, following the recipe. If it's still bad, well, I don't make it again. :)

Anyway, the other day I decided to make Roasted Cauliflower and Rice Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. There were four ingredients that I didn't have.

1. white wine vinegar (I substituted brown rice vinegar)

2. ripe tomato (I substituted cherry tomatoes)

3. & 4. red bell pepper and celery (I substituted with steamed asparagus)

It still was delicious! I took a picture of it but blogger isn't cooperating with me posting it.

Oh, but a funny thing about it. The ingredients call for navy or other white beans. And then they aren't mentioned again . . . so they didn't get included in the dish. They weren't missed. Maybe I'll include them next time. :)

Last night I used the left over rice to make Rice Waffles with Vegetable Melange from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. I've had this several times and really like it. My nephew was over and he was having it for the first time. He scraped the vegetables off of the waffle (after piling them on himself) and ate them first. Then he went in search of my maple syrup. He said he liked it all but prefers the waffles with syrup. (Again, I have a picture I can't post. *sigh*)

Today for lunch I wanted something fast and easy so I went for the Chickpea-Tomato Wraps from 1,000 Vegan Recipes. This was one of those situations where I ultimately found out that just because it doesn't look good doesn't mean it doesn't taste good. It called for sun-dried tomatoes. I've never eaten those before but I did happen to have some on hand. I didn't take a picture because I fully expected to not like it because the tomatoes, when cut up, made me think of meat that has been chewed and spit out. But the wraps were surprisingly good despite that. This was another recipe where you had to mash the beans and that was the hardest part of the preparation.

So there you go, three dishes and three winners! :)

Vegan Quesadillas

One of my new year's goals was to blog more. So far I'm not doing so good on that one. So, in an effort to jumpstart that goal, I've decided to do some blogging on foods I've discovered since becoming a vegan. I haven't totally worked out how I'll do it - whether or not I'll only discuss new recipes or if I'll discuss some I've already tried and liked. Most likely it'll be a little bit of both, seeing as how I've made roughly 100 new recipes in the last year and it'd be a shame not to discuss some of them. :)

Anyway, to today's new discovery . . . Refried Beans and Salsa Quesadillas.

Quesadillas was one of the few Mexican food dishes that I liked but I haven't had any since I became a vegan. Then a few weeks ago I bought a new cookbook (1000 Vegan Recipes by Robin Robertson) and it had several recipes for vegan quesadillas. The Refried Beans and Salsa Quesadillas looked to be the least complicated with the least amount of ingredients and the least amount of cooking steps so it's the one I picked.

I should mention that I somehow missed the "Refried" portion of the recipe name, not that it really matters since "refried" beans aren't a listed ingredient.

Anyway, I did a mental check of the list of ingredients and the only item I wasn't sure of was the salsa. There's a recipe for homemade salsa but I didn't have all the ingredients and it would be more work so I was going with store-bought salsa. I looked everywhere and didn't find it. So it was on my list when I went to the grocery store today. Since the list was in my head, it was the one thing I forgot to pick up at the store so I decided to make up my own recipe for salsa and I was digging through my pantry when I found a bottle of salsa in the back. I figured I was good. Right?

I have so many variations of beans in my pantry it's not funny. But do I have the pinto beans that the recipe calls for? Uh, no! So I substituted red kidney beans (because I had multiple cans of it) for the pinto beans.

Bottom line, I loved this dish. It was fast. It was easy (the hardest thing was mashing the beans!). It was delicious. Pinto beans might give it a different taste or texture (maybe?) but I can't imagine liking it any better than I did.

I give it two spoons up!

April Book Review

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

Without going into a lot of detail, the past year has been such that I haven't done a lot of reading. That said, I decided to go a different way this month on the book review. My theme for this month is "Regardless of what life throws her, a girl's gotta eat" so I'm going to talk cookbooks. Over the years I've gotten a number of cookbooks but it wasn't until last year that I actually started using cookbooks to make meals from. There are a number of great ones out there but the one I'm going to talk about today is Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.

I chose this one because of some special features it has that I've not seen in other cookbooks. For example, it tells you how long it will take to make each dish. Most cookbooks have the instructions, telling you how long each step takes but this book takes the math lesson out of the kitchen. ;)

Aside from that, the book also has icons with each recipe to help you know what to expect from this recipe. The icons include:

• A shopping cart indicating that the ingredients for the recipe can be found at any grocery store.



• 45 - indicating that the recipe takes 45 minutes or less to make



• F - indicating that the recipe is fat free (or at least lower fat)



• S - indicating the recipe is soy free



• G - indicating the recipe is gluten free

It was a while back but within a 24 hour time frame I learned of three people I knew of having an allergy to gluten. Every time I make one of the recipes indicating they're gluten free, I think of those people. Several of these recipes are staples in my diet! In any event, I like knowing what I'm getting into when I make a recipe and this book gives me more information than any other cookbook I've used. And the end result is pretty tasty too! I've made quite a few of the dishes and so far I haven't found one that I didn't like. Yes this is a vegan cookbook but I don't think it should be dismissed out of hand by meat-loving folks. It has a whole section of side-dishes that could nicely complement any main dish - meat or vegan. In my opinion, it's just a great cookbook that would be a great addition to anyone's library of cookbooks. :) I refer to it quite frequently when planning my menus and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys cooking.

Experimenting

Before I decided to become a vegan, I was not what one would call an adventurous eater. I was the person who looked at the menu for 30 minutes before I would order the same thing I ordered every single time I went to that particular restaurant. I'd break out in a cold sweat if someone suggested we try somewhere new. But since becoming a vegan, I've tried things I never thought I'd try - tofu being a big one. Now, however, if I know a dish is vegan, I find it exciting to try something new. And when I like something I've had at a restaurant, I go online to find a recipe for it. I've even found vegan substitutes for some of my pre-vegan favorite dishes. Anyway, I recently bought yet another vegan cookbook. It had several sample recipes available that actually sold the book to me. One of those recipes is Green Tea Rice and Lemon Snow Peas with Tofu. You make green tea and then cook the rice in it. Who thought of that because it never would've occurred to me. This morning I made the Dawn's Early Couscous for breakfast. I've had couscous before but it didn't really strike me as a morning food. But, it was a quick and easy recipe so I decided to go for it. Worst thing that would happen would be I'd toss it out and have to eat homemade granola cereal, right? Anyway, to make this dish, you boil three cups of apple juice and then add the couscous (and a few other ingredients) and there you go. It was good. If I hadn't made the dish myself I wouldn't have believed couscous was involved (mind you I like couscous - I just didn't see it as a breakfast food). But again, I have to wonder, what made someone decide to boil apple juice (instead of water) for the couscous? How do you know what and how much of something to try to make a good recipe? I realize that these recipes were all tried and tested before they were published in the cookbooks but I just find myself wondering how someone came up with some of the combinations. P.S. I also made the Chocolate-Macadamian Cheezcake Truffles (recipe on amazon). All I can say is, YUM!!! :)

In Loving Memory

Sunday night I received a call telling me that my Uncle Bro had passed away earlier that day. He was 90 and not in the best of health and he had a heart attack.

Although I hadn't communicated with him in several years, it tore my heart out to hear of his passing. I've always thought of him as the rock and back-bone of my family.

A good part of his life was dedicated to military service and as such, he was a strict disciplinarian but he didn't have a mean-spirited bone in his body. He was very loving and I never, for a moment, doubted his love for me. I never once doubted that he would be there for me if I needed him.

There are two memories I have of him that pretty much sum up the kind of man he was. The first was from when I was 12 or 13 years old. Me and my sisters were visiting my grandmother and Uncle Bro and Aunt Marion (his wife) came to visit. My grandmother lived on a 99 acre ranch and lived in a 2 bedroom house (with one bathroom) so when my aunt and uncle showed up, they got the guest bedroom and me and my sisters got to sleep on blankets in the living room. One morning my uncle came into the living room and barked at us to get up. I grumbled, "Five more minutes." and he left the room. Five minutes later he came back into the room said our five minutes was up and he jerked the blanket out from under us. Not only did that get us up, from then on, we got up the first time he told us to. :)

The other one was from 14 or 15 years ago. He and my aunt were renewing their vows for their 50th wedding anniversary (if I remember correctly, they actually did it closer to their 51st wedding anniversary). I flew up to be there (there being West Virginia) for the event and when they were exchanging their vows, my uncle got choked up and right before he "kissed his bride" he told my aunt how much he loved her, and then everyone else got choked up. It was very emotional and I was so glad I was able to make it.

His funeral is tomorrow in a town outside of Dallas and because of the ridiculous-extremely-out-of-the-ordinary cold weather we're having (accompanied by rain and icy roads), I won't be able to make it and it makes me sick.

To Uncle Bro - you will be missed.

8/26/20 - 2/6/11

Magical Bathrooms

The other day I was in the ladies' room at work and a co-worker started talking about the water pressure of the toilets. The truth is, it's kind of hit or miss in there. One time the pressure will be great and everything goes down easily. Another time you can hold the handle for what seems like five minutes and nothing but water goes down.

Meanwhile, there are signs posted all over the bathroom and stalls saying to hold the handle down until EVERYTHING (including paper) goes down.

Which brings us to my co-worker's comments. She was telling me that she flushes with her foot because the handle has germs and she can't balance herself well on one foot. Then she told me she'd had this conversation with my boss and that my boss agreed.

It got me to thinking. Does the toilet handle have some magical properties whereby touching it removes all the germs you may have had on your hand?

For the sake of argument, let's say it does. So, all those people who use their hands to flush the toilet have had their hands magically sanitized before they touch the stall lock. But what about those people who use their feet to flush the toilet? Their hands weren't magically sanitized so their germs would be on the stall lock, wouldn't they? Perhaps they somehow use their feet to unlock the stall too, I don't know. I didn't ask.

Then you have the water faucet and the door handle. We can pretend these things all have magical properties but the reality is, they don't.

When I go to the ladies' room in a public place, I flush with my hand. I open the stall with my hand. I turn on the water faucet, with my hand. But once soap and water has touched my hands, I don't touch anything else in the bathroom. I turn off the water with a paper towel and I use the paper towels I dried my hands off with to open the bathroom door with. I dispose of those paper towels outside the bathroom.

My co-worker, however, flushes with her foot (thanks for the extra germs, by the way), opens the door in an undetermined manner, uses her bare hand to turn on the water faucet and uses her bare hand to open the bathroom door. It could just be me but for some reason, that just seems backwards.

The Lost Year

Being the last post of the year, this is where I would reflect on the past year. For me 2010 will go down as, as the blog title suggests, the lost year.

I spent the year learning things about a virus called Epstein Barr virus. I say I spent the year doing this because when I was diagnosed as having it, no one thought it warranted an explanation and my google searches didn't offer up much more help. And since I also had mono, that's what the doctors focused on - so I did too. Only it seemed to be dragging on for so long and no one seemed to understand why. That is until I went to see a new doctor. Roughly six months into my illness, she was the first one to tell me that what I was experiencing was consistent with the Epstein Barr virus - which I still had (and still have). However, she offered no solutions for relief.

A few months later I went to yet another doctor who did offer relief in the way of drugs. Personally I'm not a fan of taking anything that I don't absolutely have to and since this virus is temporary (although I've discovered that "temporary" can be up to two years), I was reluctant to go this route. But I did. And I'm pleased to say that this is the first week I've actually felt good for more than one or two days in a row for a good nine months - and I even went to the gym yesterday . . . the first time since April 21 (I asked).

So, my top take-aways from this year are:

1. If your doctor tells you that you have something but doesn't fully explain the possibilities of the illness, get a new doctor - even if you've gone to the same one for 15 years.

2. If you ask explicit questions about your illness and your doctor won't answer the questions to your satisfaction, see #1.

3. The friend who offers to go to the doctor with you so you can get answers is a better friend than the one who can only focus on when the last time you saw each other and how long it takes for symptoms to appear.

To sum up, 2010 basically sucked for me but I did learn some valuable things - like who my real friends are. And you know what? That's never a bad thing!

Recipes

A few weeks ago I met my nephew and his girlfriend for lunch. His girlfriend was his high school sweetheart. They went together through most of high school and broke up. I met her once back then but I had heard great things about her and liked her upon meeting her. I don't know the story of how they got back together but I think it's great that they're back together.

Anyway, we met at a restaurant that has a vegan friendly dish and, because I've quit eating meat and dairy since I last dined with my nephew, we talked about food and cooking (his girlfriend is studying to be a chef . . . how cool is that???). I told them how much I was cooking now and my nephew said, "This from a woman who used to think cooking meant opening a Lean Cuisine tv dinner and popping it in the microwave was cooking!" His girlfriend gave me a look that said, "Are you going to let him get by with talking about you like that?" To which I hung my head with a look that said, "I have to because it's true." (It's amazing what you can convey without actual words, isn't it?)

But, since I've been eating vegan style, I have cooked more different dishes this year than all the dishes I cooked last year, combined. Seriously, I'm cooking all the time now. And as such, I've found some interesting dishes and some interesting mistakes in recipes. I'm going to post two actual recipes and see how many people can spot the mistakes.

So here goes:

Winter Adzuki Fried Rice

3 cups cooked brown rice and adzuki beans
1 sheet nori, toasted and torn into small pieces
2 tablespoon tan sesame seeds, roasted
1/4 cup onions, diced
1/4 cup squash or pumpkin, diced
1/2 cup scallion or leeks, finely chopped
2 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 to 3 tablespoon water
tamari soy sauce

Directions:

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet. Add the onions and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Place the squash or pumpkin and rice on top of the onions. Add several drops of water and several drops of soy sauce. Cover and reduce the flame to low. Steam the rice and vegetables until hot. Remove the cover, and place the scallions or leeks on top of the rice. Add several more drops of soy sauce. Cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes until the scallions or leeks are tender and bright green. Remove the cover, mix in the sesame seeds, and place in a serving dish.

Serves: 4

This next recipe comes from Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero (I love this book, by the way! Great recipes - great comfort food recipes. I use it ALL the time!).

Lower-Fat Banana Bread

2 large or 3 small very ripe bananas
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (or grated fresh)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas really, really well. Add the sugar, applesauce, oil and molasses, and whisk briskly to incorporate.

Sift in the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Use a wooden spoon to mix until the wet and dry ingredients are just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, if using.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and back for 45 to 50 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and a knife inserted through the center should come out clean. (If you're using the chips then of course some chocolate will come out on the knife.)

Remove from the oven and invert onto a cooling rack; flip the bread right side up and let cool.

(Note: It is also noted that this recipe can also be used to make muffins. prepare the same way as above but cook in muffin tin for 18 minutes. This is how I make this recipe. Made it last night, as a matter of fact.)

So, what are the mistakes? Have you ever tried a recipe that had glaring errors? Please share! :)

November Book Review

Click icon for more book review blogs@Barrie Summy

Sorry to be late to the party but life has a way of messing with your plans, you know? Anyway, it's that time and I have a book I want to talk about!

This month's book is Sophie Kinsella's Mini Shopaholic. I'll give you fair warning and say there may be what some consider spoilers in this review. It's also possible that everything I'll say could be on the back cover because Sophie Kinsella is an auto-buy author for me and I have no idea what's on the back cover. :)

That said, I loved this book. It's part of a series and, with the exception of the Shopaholic and Sister, I've loved every installment.

As the title suggests, the title character (Becky Brandon - nee Bloomwood) has a bit of a shopping problem. She can be talked into buying anything (mind you, she's the one giving herself the sales pitch) and then justifies the purchase (again, to herself).

In this installment of the series, Becky is still married to Luke and they have a toddler, Minnie. Through a series of events, Becky decides she wants to have a surprise party for Luke. Her plan is to have a big blow out party, but she's determined to do it all on her own and to do it for minimal costs. Of course nothing goes as she plans and the ensuing mayhem is hysterical. I did some of the reading during lunch at work and I was thankful that my boss had gone out to lunch because I was laughing so hard and it would've been embarrassing to explain - and she would have heard and commented on my laughing!

There was only one issue I had with the story. Becky enlists the aid of Luke's secretary, Bonnie, to help her contact and invite the right people (and keep it all quiet). They meet for lunch and Becky tells Bonnie they should be friends and help each other out - and then proceeds to insist Bonnie address issues like what soap gel he uses with Luke. It just seemed a bit over the top (but then it was all worked together in a believable way later in the story).

Other than that, it was classic Kinsella. I give it two thumbs up and I think it was 4.8 stars (out of 5). Lots of fun and lots of laughing. :)

To Whom It May Concern

Last night and this morning I had a couple of ideas that I want to share and pass on. I think they're good ideas and I think people should listen. So here goes:

To the producers of Dancing with the Stars - I've watched your show from the beginning . . . season one. The only episode I've ever missed was the one that aired the day my new dog (at the time - I've had him several years now) chewed through the cable line and I had no antenna. In my defense though, I DID watch it online the next day. I only say this to point out my dedication to the show over the years so that you know what I say is out of love and intended as constructive criticism.

That said, let me get to the point . . . stop wasting my time. I've long ago accepted that elimination night is roughly 20 minutes of commercials, 35 minutes of crap no one cares about and 5 minutes dedicated to announcing who is going home. I quit watching it live so that I can fast forward through all the useless stuff and get right to the point of Tuesday night's show.

I've also stopped watching competition night live. This season I started watching How I Met Your Mother first, then jumping over to DWTS so that I can fast forward through commercials and the timing works out such that we end at the same time. BUT, these last two weeks, when I've switched over to DWTS, competition night hadn't even started yet! The last two weeks the first thirty minutes or so were wasted on showing us useless stuff that had nothing to do with the competition. Don't get me wrong, I loved watching the Top Ten Favorites last night but that's usually useless stuff that's aired on elimination nights. What gives with that? If you don't have enough competition to fill the night, cut down how much time you allow for it. Give another show a shot at the wasted air time.

But I said I wanted to offer some constructive criticism, and I do. So here it is, let's cut out elimination night. I know that sounds like I'm eliminating something kind of vital to the competition but hear me out. In season one you only aired one night a week. Go back to that but put a spin on it. Here's what I propose . . .

On week one, everyone dances for judges scores and viewer votes as usual. The following week, the first five minutes are dedicated to announcing the bottom two dancers, who have prepared a new dance for the week. They have a dance off for scores and the it's the judges scores that week that send a dancer packing. The scores for the saved dancer carry over and are combined with viewers' votes that week and the show continues in that way. That way only one night a week is dedicated to the show and it kind of kicks up the tension each week.

Just promise you'll think about it, okay?

But there's something else. You need to get some published authors on the show (publishing agents/editors you need to get on board with this too!). If you did, you'd get viewers that you might not otherwise get because I can tell you from experience, writers (romance writers in particular) are very supportive of one another. (To the publishing agents out there, get cracking on this because not only would your authors get free marketing, they'd get paid, which means you'd get a cut!)

I even have a few suggestions to help you out with this. I think Mary Higgins Clark would make a great partner for Tony Dovolani. Or how about Julia Quinn with Derek Hough? Jill Shalvis with Max-with-the-unspellable-last-name (I'd love to see how he did in the wilderness when she does her nature walks and hears wild animals. Or how he reacts to spiders. I bet he'd scream like a girl! heehee). You could even partner up Stephen King with Kym Johnson.

So there you go. I've given you a few suggestions to start with, what you do with it is up to you. But the bottom line (and forgive me for repeating myself) is, you need to stop wasting my time with useless crap that adds no value whatsoever to the show!

There now, I feel better. :-)

Freebies revisited

As human beings we mature and evolve. Over time our interests change. And as such, I think it's time I revisit my "freebie" list.

It was roughly five years ago that I made this post wherein I listed the top five people on my "to do" list.

Let's review (in no particular order), shall we?

Gary Sinise. Okay, I have to say that I was shocked to see his name on my list. Seriously, how did that happen? No offense to Mr. Sinise but I can't imagine him ever being my type. Maybe it was late one night at a bar. It was last call and I was drunk enough to find him appealing enough to go home with. Otherwise, I have no explanation for this entry. (Seriously Mr. Sinise, it's not you - it's me.)

Nicholas Cage. Unlike Mr. Sinise, I remember the strong pull of Mr. Cage. Unfortunately, like the song, I've lost that loving feeling. I recently watched a movie of his - one that I really like - and he did nothing for me.

Josh Duhamel. I heard him on a radio interview not long after I posted the original freebies list and well, let's just say it completely changed my opinion of him. To this day I can't see him without remembering his comment and it colors my opinion of him, his work and everything about him. So, Mr. Duhamel I say this - it IS you, NOT me.

Michael E Knight. Like the others I've mentioned before, our "relationship" has evolved. We've moved on to that place where we're best buddies. I can't imagine him not being in my life but I no longer want to "do" him. But, we're very, very happy. ;-)

Leonardo DiCaprio. I have to say that I wasn't sure where I stood with him until I saw his picture pulling the link for this post. Let me just say, he still has it!

So, that's the old list. Here's the new, updated list (in no particular order):

Leonardo DiCaprio - see comment above.

Nathan Fillion - Do I need to qualify this? If so, please report to the nearest ER because you may be lacking a pulse!

Gilles Marini - I saw the Sex and the City movie the day it came out but I had no idea who he was when he was announced as a celebrity from SATC on Dancing with the Stars. But, he totally won me over. Totally. And now that he's on Brothers and Sisters every week. . . *sigh*

Neil Patrick Harris - Yes, I know he's in a committed relationship but for these purposes that's never a consideration, right? And yes, I know he plays for the other team but that doesn't really factor in to his appeal. (As Barney would say - Challenge Accepted! ;-) ) He's just so adorable. He's definitely high on my list! (By the way, this is the post I was referring to when I said I'd have an upcoming post about NPH.)

So, there is my list. I know it's only four instead of the usual five but as we mature we get older and four is enough for me now.

What about you? Who's on your list? Please share!

Premiere Week

I remember a time when the summer only offered re-runs. I think it was the early 90s and the original 90210 that first offered first run shows during the summer. And now that I think about it, that may be what started the decline of the "Summer Blockbuster Movies". People didn't have to go out to see something fresh.

Anyway, I like having options during the summer but it's always been a little weird to think of a "season" of shows to be 8 to 12 episodes. Way back when shows offered 39 new episodes every season. I think it's at 26 now. I wish I could work somewhere, only work 26 weeks a year and make the salaries they do, but I digress.

But that all said, I'm glad that my regular shows are starting back up again. And last night was the kick off.

Let's start with Dancing with the Stars. I really didn't want to watch it this season. It's on two nights a week and that's more than I really wanted to devote to one show this season (although I guess it makes it good that it's only on 10 to 12 weeks, right?).

From the moment they announced the celebrities I started a campaign to vote off Bristol Palin. Seriously, what makes her a celebrity? She's the daughter of a vice presidential candidate who is also a teenage mother who promotes teen abstinence. Maybe it stands up in Hollywood but if it were made into a movie, I wouldn't watch it.

Anyway, I decided she'd be my first vote off, and that was my downfall. Because I felt so strongly about it, I had to watch the first episode. And now I'm hooked. *sigh* As for Bristol, she wasn't as bad as I thought she'd be but I didn't think she was nearly as good as the judges thought she'd be. Before the show started I really wanted to root for Margaret Cho but goodness she was bad. I believe that her "wardrobe malfunction" was deliberate but I totally would've said it was a glitch because, it was bad. Really bad. Bad enough that I think I would be okay if she went home tonight. I'd rather it be Bristol or the Situation (seriously dude, no one cares that you only had five days to practice - that was your choice and no one cares!). In fact, I think they should have a double elimination tonight and get rid of both of them. Yeah, that would definitely work for me.

And then there was Castle. I love that show! I didn't realize how much I'd missed it until I watched it last night. In fact, if they wanted to do away with DWTS all together and have Castle on for three hours on Monday nights, I'd be good with that.

On my DVR I have the season premiere's of How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men. I haven't watched them yet but I know they're there, waiting for me.

Later this week there's Private Practice, Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters to look forward to. I have my DVR set to record the premiere of Cougar Town, even though it's not on my list of shows to watch . . . I want to see the reunion of Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox so I'm only recording/watching the one episode.

At the moment that's all I can think of on my "must watch" list for the new fall season. How about you? What's on your list?

Challenge Accepted

Have you ever seen that show How I Met Your Mother? I ask because my blog title is kind of a take off on something from that show. For those who haven't seen the show, Neil Patrick Harris (who will be the subject of a upcoming blog post) plays Barney Stinson. Barney has quite a few catch phrases, one of which is "Challenge Accepted." This is usually followed by his friends saying, "But, um Barney, we didn't challenge you." But he doesn't let that deter him from his mission.

Same thing applies here.

What does that have to do with today's blog post? Well, this morning I was doing my usual blog hopping and came across this post. Truth told, I probably saw it yesterday but this morning I went in to read the comments. The post is about interesting recipes. One of them was for an avocado pound cake. Personally I'm not your biggest avocado fan but all the commentors were interested in the avocado pound cake.

So that's the "challenge" I "accepted". To make the avocado pound cake. And then report on it. This post is my report.

Let me start by saying, I made a couple of substitutions because I don't eat meat or dairy anymore. So for the buttermilk I substituted soy milk, and for the eggs I used EnerG Egg Replacements. I also cut the recipe in half because 1) I only have one 9 x 4 (actually I think it's a 9 x 5 but that's beside the point) pan; and 2) I don't need to have two 9 x 4 (aka 9 x 5) pound cakes available to me, if you know what I mean.

(Not pictured: avocado . . . because the idea to take pictures didn't come to me until after the fact and I only bought the one avocado.)

So anyway, I set about preparing it per the directions. I only have one mixer and it is stationary (as opposed to hand held) and it started locking up when I mixed the butter and sugar together and I had to keep stopping it, scraping down the sides and manually turning the bowl (which, under normal circumstances turns on its own). It worked better the more wet ingredients that went into the mix. By the time I was mixing the last ingredients, the mixer was working as it's supposed to.

The recipe says to bake for 40 - 45 minutes and then notes that they put the timer on for 30 minutes and then checked it every 10 minutes thereafter until a knife came out clean. I just set my timer for 45 minutes and let it bake. I actually took it out when there was one minute left and the knife came out covered in batter so I set the timer for five more minutes. The next test came out mostly clean . . . clean enough for me to take it out of the oven.


Obviously these last two photos were taken after I'd removed the cake from the pan (I did take a picture of it while it was still in the pan but it adds no value so I left it out). When I pulled it out of the oven it looked great but by the time I went and got my camera, the middle had fallen a bit. But there you go.

I tasted it a few minutes later and well, not sure where to start here. My first thought was that it tasted a lot like the cornmeal. My second thought was that I may not have cut that portion of the recipe in half. I'm pretty sure I did but there's always the possibility that an ingredient may get full recipe portions when I am making a half recipe.

The outside of the cake is crusty and the inside is moist. There are parts that tasted like a normal cake but enough of what I sampled tasted like cornmeal to make me not really be able to rave about it (I did more than one sampling - just be fair). As I said, I'm pretty sure I used the correct portion of the cornmeal though because I DID pull out the 1/4 cup measuring cup and the cornmeal is the only ingredient I would've used that for.

So, bottom line, it's not terrible but I'm not likely to make it again. If I do, I will likely substitute blended tofu for the eggs because my tofu cake (really called Vanilla Yogurt Pound Cake but because it has tofu in it, it will forever be the tofu cake to me) uses blended tofu and I think it's the substitute for eggs in the recipe because there is no mention of eggs or egg substitute in the recipe and I have a couple of recipes where tofu is used in place of eggs ("egg" salad sandwiches - which are great by the way and on the meal plan for this week - and scrambled tofu to name two).

Thanks to Alyssa Goodnight for the "challenge" and if anyone else decides to try out this recipe, let me know what you think - whether you agree or disagree. :-)

Snakes on a Plane

I woke up this morning and was laying in bed listening to the news as I woke up. The news story opened with "What would you do if you were at the airport conveyor belt, picking up your luggage and snakes were coming out of it?"

My first thought was, I would abandon the luggage and leave behind any clothes or souvenirs it contained because I so don't do snakes. *shudder*

The reporter went on to say the luggage in question was owned by a someone who smuggles exotic animals . . . this wasn't his first offense.

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking that I'd abandon my luggage if it was on the conveyor belt with the offending suitcase, unless and until, I could be assured a stray snake didn't somehow worm its way into my luggage. *shudder* I really don't like snakes.

I googled the story, which you can read here. But I'm curious, how would you react if you were at the conveyor belt waiting for your luggage and a suitcase exploded and snakes were all over the place? Gotta say, it's weirding me out just thinking about it.

Did I mention, I don't like snakes?

Favorite Moments

I never once watched Everybody Loves Raymond when it was on prime time television but I've seen it in its syndicated life. I doubt I've seen all the episodes but it's a funny show. Some of my favorite episodes include the one where Debra and Ray leave their luggage on the stair landing, or the episode where they remember how they met. But one episode that makes me laugh until tears are streaming down my face - every time I watch it - is the one where Robert deliberately munks up his wedding invitation because Ray and Frank convince him Amy really wants to do the invitations and he's taking that away from her if he does them himself.

Are you an Everybody Loves Raymond fan? Do you have a favorite? Share please! :o)

And now, a clip from the wedding invitation episode. Enjoy! :o)

August Book Review

Click icon for more book review blogs@Barrie Summy

My book selection this month is the result of what I'll call the two-bite rule. Growing up my mother didn't want to hear us say we didn't like a food dish unless we'd taken at least two bites of it first. You're probably wondering what that has to do with books but I'll explain.

I first heard of author Georgette Heyer a couple of years ago. She came up on a board discussion and everyone just loved her books. She was being compared to Jane Austen (who I love) and, for some reason, I got the impression she was from that time - and I love reading books that we would call historicals now, but were actually contemporary novels when they were written. So, I went and ordered one of her books to read. I was less than impressed.

Then a while later, her name came up again and I decided to apply the two-bite rule and pick up another of her books. That book is the book I'm reviewing this month - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer.

I loved this book! The story background is that Sophy's uncle has gotten his family into a financial predicament and the son has to step up and take responsibility for the family. He's very strict and inflexible and considers his word law.

Enter cousin Sophy. She comes for a short stay with the family and stands it on its ear.

Sophy has the uncanny ability to assess a situation and know how to set it to rights. Her methods, however, are unconventional for a woman of the time and it causes upset to her family - her rigid cousin in particular.

The thing I liked about the characterization of Sophy is that she's strong without being off-putting or offensive. She communicates with those around her in a way that would make someone she told to go to hell to look forward to their upcoming travel there. She's the kind of person that could sell an Eskimo ice - and not in a slimy salesman kind of way. She's very fun and likeable. She has a way of getting people to do the things they need to do while making it seem like their idea. I liked everything about her and everything about this book.

Well, there was one issue I had with the book, and that was the ending. Spoiler alert! Throughout the book I got the idea that Sophy was going to end up with her stuffy cousin - that he was going to come around and they would fall in love. Now, technically that is what happened, HOWEVER, it happened in the last few lines of the book. I didn't really see them fall in love or feel the "lifelong" commitment happen. The way it was done almost felt like an afterthought or a "oh crap, my editor says I can only have one more page and I have to wrap up this part too" kind of thing. Last month I reviewed a book that pulled a book I had a major issue with and fixed it with one scene so I know this one "flaw" with The Grand Sophy could have been handled better. However, the result was the same - they ended together and the rest of the book was fabulous. Fabulous characters, fabulous story, fabulous writing. Just plain fabulous.

So, it goes to show that there's merit to the two-bite rule. My first "bite" of Georgette Heyer wasn't all that great but the second "bite" was good - very good. I'll definitely be checking out more of her books. :o)