Book Review: Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

My mom handed this book off to read. I liked it, definitely didn't love it. It was written about a young couple at the turn of the 20th century, much like what the author envisioned of the relationship between his grandparents at that time. I personally have a hard time reading primitive writing. It was written as if Julie, the main character, were writing it. I tend to keep re-reading the same sentence a couple times thinking that I missed something. I thought it was kind of repetitive and a little anti-climatic.

I have succumbed now to reading the ever popular Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I now see what the fuss is about. Not that the book is a great literary masterpiece but it is very addicting. I'm not sure why. It is very easy reading (since it is written for the pre-teen/teen crowd) and strangely compelling. I think I will like it. Also, I will see the movie after I read it because I heard the special effects are kind of cool and I want to see what it is like. I don't see what the big deal about Rob Pattison is though. I don't find him very appealling. Now if they would have gone with their first pick (he was too old at 25 to fill the role of a teen and doesn't look like a teenager (that is for sure!!)) of Henry Cavill, I would have been in line drooling. Henry Cavill plays Charlie on The Tudors and even my husband thinks the man is too good looking. Click here for some Henry eye candy... :)

Some of my favorite combinations

These things are just very appealing to me and maybe they are to you too. We'll see...

* The color chocolate brown & any pastel (really with any color...)
* Blue jeans & a white T-shirt (I wear this way too often...)
* Lay's Kettle Cooked Original Potato Chips & Claussen Kosher Dill Pickles- I love it when the pickle juice gets into the chip. So yummy. My little one has also taken a shine to this combo. He 'dips' his chips into the pickle!
* Pretzels and M&M's
* Chocolate & peanut butter
* A medium-rare filet mignon & a really good glass of Cabernet
* Aged sharp cheddar cheese & my mouth (my favorite is Hook's 12 year but it is too expensive to buy for everyday)
* A Vienna hot dog (or corned beef) & Plochman's yellow mustard
* George & Brad & Matt (I love the Ocean movies)
* Blue cheese & a medium rare hand-patted hamburger
* Peanut butter & honey & strawberries
* Turquoise & red & lime
* Mixing LoWeR & uPpeR caSe LetteRs in eveRyday handwRiting
* The scents of grapefruit & lemongrass together (Dove makes a nice bodywash with these two)

I am sure there are more that I love but just haven't thought of yet.

Pretty Vegas Song Game

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Paperweight (Joshua Radin & Schuyler Fisk)
WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Miniature Disasters (KT Tunstall)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Warning Sign (Coldplay)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Forever My Friend (Ray LaMontagne)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Lucky Bastard (Colin Hay)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Madly (Tristan Prettyman)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Quinn the Eskimo (Bob Dylan)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Don’t Fade On Me (Tom Petty)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Upside Down (Jack Johnson)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Riot Radio (2005) (The Dead 60s)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Saboteur (Amon Tobin)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
My Generation (The Who)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Are You the One? (The Presets)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson)
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
You Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate)
HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Daughter (Pearl Jam) (Good thing I don't have a daughter...)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Best of You (Foo Fighters)
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Breakin’ Up (Rilo Kiley)
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Old News (Dr. Dog)
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Free (G. Love)
DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
You Should Never Have Opened That Door (The Ramones)
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
New Age Girl (Deadeye Dick)
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Colorful (Rocco DeLuca)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Pretty Vegas (INXS)

Isn't it funny how some of these actually fit as a response?!? :)

Nicole Googles Nicole...

Ok, here's how it works...go to Google and type your first name and then the rest of the question. Type the first thing that corresponds. These can get a little wild!

1. Google ''[your name] needs'':
Nicole needs a boob job. (Really…)
2. Google ''[your name] looks'':
Nicole looks good in my shirt- and out of it! (apparently I don’t NEED that boob job if I look good out of a shirt…)
3. Google ''[your name] likes'':
Nicole likes guys that look like they have no blood in em. (WTF??!?!?)
4. Google ''[your name] says'':
Nicole says, "Her heart was never in it with Brody.” (I assume they are talking about Brody Jenner and his model of the moment…)
5.Google "[your name] wants":
Nicole wants bigger boobs. (Again with the boobs!)
6. Google ''[your name] does'':
Nicole does the mom thing. (Yes I do.)
7. Google ''[your name] hates'':
Nicole hates her boobs. (I seriously think there is something wrong with this particular Nicole…)
8. Google ''[your name] can'':
Nicole can't stop. (although farther down there was ‘Nicole can’t flash her crotch.’)
9. Google ''[your name] goes'':
Nicole goes to prison. (Does it have something to do with the boobs and crotch flashing?)
10. Google ''[your name] is'':
Nicole is having a baby! (I’m not.)
11. Google ''[your name] loves'':
Nicole loves her Jamba Juice! (Believe it or not, I have never been to a Jamba Juice. I’m not really into that whole thing. Plus, there isn’t one for probably 100 miles…)

My conclusion is that I think Nicole Richie hates her boobs.

Let her eat chocolate!

I gave up sweets for Lent. It was easier then I anticipated. I didn't even eat granola bars or graham crackers. The only things I allowed my self were Honey Nut Chex cereal in the morning and honey roasted peanuts. If I was really craving something sweet I would eat some pineapple or yogurt (which I think has just as much sugar in it as some sweets). Well, yesterday I ate enough chocolate to make up for the 40 days that I didn't eat any. We went to brunch in the morning and I only had a graham cracker & strawberry dipped in the chocolate fountain after that when we got home... I didn't even eat dinner since I had eaten too much junk. Bad me. I am happy that I can eat it again though since I made my little pretzel yummies and am really looking forward to digging in!

On that note, let me please recommend a fantastic book that came out in paperback (with this great new cover) today by one of my favorite authors (and Facebook friend!), Sarah Addison Allen's The Sugar Queen. Read it. It is great!!

Weekly Culinary Adventures

What have I made lately... nothing outstanding that I have to get the recipe on here pronto. If you have been reading this blog you know that one of my goals this year was to make a new recipe once a week. At first I had a bad streak and then I had a few good ones in a row and the past 5 have been average. I made one 6 weeks ago that was really good and I am trying to figure out if I can do a pdf on a blog so I don't have to type it all out. So this is what I have made since the last culinary post:

Sage Crusted Pork Tenderloin with an Apple-Shallot Sauce from Cuisine at Home magazine (Dec 2008): This was excellent and it's the recipe I want to share. Even though I overcooked it, it was still great!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta from Art Smith's Back to the Table: This is where everything went south. It was good not great. I think I used too much basil and it wasn't oily enough. It was pasty. Plus, AJ helped me make it- fun project for him but it may have been overprocessed too (see above).

Baked Ziti from the New Good Housekeeping Cookbook: When we were in Gainesville, FL in February, we ate at a place called Francesca's. Their Baked Ziti was so delish that I was craving it when we got home. Made this recipe- good not great. I look forward to Francesca's next time we are in G-ville!!

Mexican Chicken Mole from Cooking Light: This smelled fantastic in the beginning. Mmmmm! The way the tomatoes and chocolate aromas melded together... The shocking thing about this recipe was that it was made completely in the microwave. There, I believe, was my problem. I halved the recipe and the sauce burned because the length of time I had to cook the chicken stayed the same but the sauce cooking time would have had to been cut down. The chicken was still good just not the sauce. Such a shame because if I had 5 other people I had to cook for then this probably would have been fab.

Three Cheese Chicken & Penne Florentine from Cooking Light: This was good so here is the recipe. It was a nice casserole with good flavor. Add garlic though!

Easy Enchilada Casserole from the little Ortega Cookbook that you get in line at the supermarket: Not as good as I expected. I would much rather make regular enchiladas. There is a great recipe for Easy Chicken Enchiladas in that same cookbook as well as one of my all time favorites Tortilla Lasagna. I included the recipes for those instead for you! :)

Now I am up to date on recipes. I don't know what I am going to make yet this week!

How I know I live with a toddler (part 5)...

* I eat like a 5 year old 5 of the 7 days of the week. My diet consists of grilled cheese, mac & cheese (he doesn't even like this so why am I making it?), peanut butter & jelly and pizza.

* All the 'sticky' child locks that are supposed to last (they are $8 a piece!) have all failed (they have only been on the cabinets for less then 6 mos- c'mon!) from the constant tugging and I have had to resort to screwing them in. The screws almost went through the front of the cabinet door...

* There is always a tissue in one of the loads of laundry per week. Picking out tissue from all over your clothes is a pain in the junk trunk.

* Speaking of laundry... when it is folded neatly and in piles on the couch or in the basket it somehow always ends up not folded on the floor or the socks are pulled apart (that's fun) all over the living room.

* An entire box of cereal has been dumped out onto the kitchen floor and I have scooped it back up and eaten it. Good thing my floor was semi-clean.

* I have tried to give a time out in a shopping cart. No, it didn't work.

* The other day he unrolled an entire roll (yes, it was a new roll) of toilet paper and threw it in the garbage. At least we have moved on from the toilets...

* Yes, he is dumping the yellow dye out intentionally in the above picture. And, yes, it was a mess. But it could have been worse.