Review - Delicious Conversation

****Susanah, a 30-ish single gal, is forced to re-arrange her life's plan when the company she works for goes belly up. A new home (which needs a lot of work), a new business, and a new singles ward keeps her very busy as she tries to sort it all out.

*Warning: If you are contemplating going on a diet, you may want to hold off on this one for a while - all the talk of delectable food could be distracting! Ha ha!

I read a few harsh reviews of this before I picked it up, so I was a little hesitant, but personally, I thought it was delightfu.
It did drag a little for me at first, but it picked up a few chapters in.
I would consider it a "light" read, but it definitely has it's moments - (the description of the over thirties singles ward had me laughing out loud!)...and I love the idea of the "Chocolate Bar"!
The author has a fresh writing style, and an interesting sense of humor.
The situations the heroine encounters are quite unique (and some are just darn funny,) - not your usual stereo-typical scenarios (like the home demolition projects, and the 187 year old tortoise...)
It does end a bit predictably, but happily - so who cares, right?

(OK, maybe it was a little convenient that both "husband" choices were not only hunky, but rich, rich, rich)

A fun read, and I may just throw caution to the wind and try some of the yummy recipes too!
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Review - Fool Me Twice

*****Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black

First of all, I want to know how someone as nice a Stephanie (I'm assuming here) could contrive a plot as twisted as this! LOL!
Don't turn your back on anyone in this book - almost everyone has an evil agenda of some kind!
Seriously, so suspenseful - a real page turner!
There was a point where I wondered how the main character could ever come out of her predicament in one piece...
(But I'm not telling!)
Awesome, awesome book! Five stars.
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Summer Reading Thing 2008

Here we go again...
I love all these Summer Reading challenges, because hey - it's too hot to go outside, so what else am I going to do?
I'm going to use the same reading list as the other challenge - I hope that's ok - there's only so much one woman can do, after all...

****Austenland Shannon Hale
****First Day Allyson Braithwaite Condie
*****Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black
****All's Fair by Julie Coulter Bellon

I've already finished the first two, so I'm adding:
*****The Princess and the Hound Mette Ivie Harrison
and:
****Delicious Conversation Jennifer Stewart Griffith (it's about chocolate - it's got to be good, right?)

Summer Book Trek Review - "First Day"

*****Frist Day by Allyson Braithwaite Condie

Jobs. Missions. College. Love. In the sequel to Yearbook, the characters are in the middle of it all. Two and a half years after we left off, Andrea Beckett is a junior at Cornell University in New York. She's caught up in the whirlwind of finals, decisions about jobs . . . and decisions about love, too. Dave Sherman has returned home from his mission, and they will have to decide where their romance is going. In addition to everything else, Andrea just received the assignment to teach early-morning seminary to a group of eight high school students, who all have their own decisions to make and challenges to overcome. Meanwhile, Andrea's brother Ethan is serving a mission in Brazil. The language is new, the culture is different, and sometimes being Elder Beckett is harder than he expected.

I didn't realize when I started this book that it was a sequel, but I never felt lost or that I missed a lot by not reading the first book (Yearbook). This book totally stands on it's own.
It started out a little slow for me because of the switching back and forth between characters, but I soon got the rhythm of it and got into the story.
I really enjoyed this story about individual growth and making choices, and I absolutely loved how the author summed it all up at the end - but I won't spoil that for you...
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Summer Book Trek Review - "First Day"

First Day by Allyson Braithwaite Condie
This one started slow for me until I got used to it switching back and forth among the different characters.


I didn't realize that this was a sequel until I got checking around and read some other reviews of it. This book totally stands on it's own - I never felt that I was lost, or that I missed something somewhere, as often occurs in a sequel.

Blog Tour...

Jumping on the bandwagon for the "Farworld" blog tour...
I've been following J. Scott Savage's posts on "The Frog Blog," and he's been pretty excited about the release of this book for quite a while.
It's the first in a new young-adult series of fantasy novels, entitled the "Farworld" series.
There is a contest posted here to win an advance reader's copy not even available to the public yet! How cool is that?
Congratulations on the new series Scott, (to be released in Sept.) I hope it's a smash hit for you!

Summer Book Trek Review - Austenland

****Austenland by Shannon Hale
I received this book as a gift from my daughter who enjoys Jane Austin as much as I do.
It is a fun story of a young girl, (Jane) who is nearing that precarious age, which in Austin's time, would have crossed her over that borderline into "spinsterhood."

Her favorite aunt (who knows of her secret desire to meet a "Mr. Darcy") bequeaths her a fantasy trip to a theme park in England ("Austinland,") where she will be able to mix and mingle with characters like those of Jane Austin's time.

I could sympathize with the main character's feelings - how she felt awkward and embarrassed in this role, but at the same time was willing to immerse herself and give the fantasy her best try. (And every once in a while feels the need to sneak back into the "real" world.)
I don't want to give away any of the plot, but it ends well, and she learns along the way that fantasy isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
I enjoyed this book, and will look for others by this author.
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(Pat's) Summer Book Trek 2008

I found this on a friends' blog, and it sounded like a lot of fun, so I'm going to give it a try (since I'll be reading all summer anyway)


Here's my reading list for starters:

****Austenland Shannon Hale
****First Day Allyson Braithwaite Condie
*****Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black
****All's Fair by Julie Coulter Bellon

I've finished my first two, so I'm adding:
The *****Princess and the Hound Mette Ivie Harrison
and:
****Delicious Conversation Jennifer Stewart Griffith
OK, I'm an idiot. I thought I was buying "Book of a Thousand Days," but when I got home and looked it was "First Day," (the covers are so similar!) Luckily it's published by Deseret Book, so I'm thinking it still counts.....anyway, I'm adding that and bumping the other one further down the list. Middle-aged moments, gotta love 'em.

Summer Reads

Just a quickie this morning - I just finished reading the sequel to Stargirl, it's called (oddly enough) Love, Stargirl. If you want a quick, fun little read for the Summer,may I recommend these books! They are young adult fiction (but I think some of the best writing out there is in this category), The books are about a quirky but completely selfless young lady, who is just trying to fit into her new surroundings. It is just the cutest sweetest example of how one person's life can affect those around her.
I was so happy at the end where.....
...But then if you're going to read them, I'd better not finish that! ha ha!
(Sorry if that sounds like an episode of Reading Rainbow)

(I'll probably be talking a lot about books, since that's pretty much what I do these days - hope I don't get too boring...)

I've been messing with my music again - added some Summer themes, hope you like!

On Motherhood...

I wrote a silly commentary on my own experience in mothering this morning, but have since re-thought it.

I am so much better at sarcastic "tongue-in-cheek" (or foot-in-mouth) than I am at "heart-on-sleeve". But those type of comments are really un-worthy for mother's day.
The truth is that my mom is not here to be celebrated any more, and it still hurts to think about her.

My mom truly cherished her role as mother. One would have to to be willing to bring 10 souls into this world! At times I have wondered how she managed to learn this role so well, seeing as how she lost her own dear mother at the tender age of 12. It must have been very difficult.

Whenever I think of her, I see her doing things - sewing dresses, making bread, herding cub scouts, leading music in Primary - she was always busily "doing" and "caring" for all of us.
She was so much fun to be with, and had a way of making each and every one of us feel that we were her "favorite".
I know that I always felt that I had a special bond with her, because I had so many of the same interests, and I loved to go places - any place with her.
At an early age, I became her "designated partner" for funerals and weddings, because my dad was often too busy and not able to go with her.

She encouraged us to develop and use our talents - music, art, homemaking skills, etc. My sister and I were taught to sing parts at a very early age, and sang together at many church and family activities. (This was a mixed blessing, as I was chronically shy, and terrified of performing in front of crowds - and mom often made us matching outfits to wear, which was sometimes a little embarrassing.)

Later, as I entered the dreaded dating years, mom served as "buffer" between me, the rebellious teen, and my very strict father.
(I still owe her for that!)

I recently found a stack of letters that she wrote to me when I was away at college, and in almost every one, she had slipped me $5.00 here, and $10.00 there, so that I could have not only the things I needed, but a little fun too. After a year, I transferred to a college closer to home, and my journal has many entries where she had come and picked me up and taken me shopping or to lunch. She was always mindful of me.

I was so blessed to live near her after I was married and raising a family of my own - she was always there to help with each baby that was born. When I was expecting my second baby, she knew how badly I wanted a little girl - she was there at the hospital for the birth, and as soon as she learned that it indeed was a girl, she ran right home and whipped up a lacy pink quilt - and had it finished for me to bring her home in the next day!

She was such a sweet grandmother to the kids, and they loved to go and visit her because they knew that there would always be ice cream and chocolate cake!

Many years later, after my dad passed away, she was unbearably lonely and restless until my younger sister and her sons moved in with her. Mom had two little boys in the house to give her love to, and she was content again - being a mother - for the rest of her days.

No matter how many years I occupy this earth, I will never accomplish all the things that she did in her too short time here, nor will I ever be able to make up for all the thoughtless and inconsiderate things that children often put their parents through.

Thanks for allowing me to share -
Happy Mother's Day.

Pubbed again!

The special card issue of "Ready Set Create" is out, and I'm excited to say I have made it into another issue! ...actually, 5 of my cards are in this one!
What a fun thing to wake up to! :)

Winter's Reading list

Spring is finally here (?) so I'm moving my Winter reading list over to make room for my Spring one....(Besides, it was filling up the whole side over there - it's been a looooong winter!)

Winter Reading List
* "Counting Blessings" Kerry Blair
* "This Just In" Kerry Blair
* "Mummy's the Word" Kerry Blair
* "American Bloomsbury" Susan Cheever
* "Ghost of a Chance" Kerry Blair
* "Country Brides" Debbie Macombre
* "Tending Roses" Lisa Wingate
* "Life Artist" Ali Edwards
* "When Christmas Comes" Debbie Macombre
* "The Gift" Richard Paul Evans
* "Home to Holly Springs" Jan Karon
* "Cape Mayhem"
* "Dead Man's Float"...a Jersey Shore mystery
* The Memory Keeper's Daughter (CD)
* Finding Noel - Richard Paul Evans (CD)
* And Then Came Heaven - LaVyrle Spencer (CD)

If Only......

I've been working tonight - 7 hours just circling numbers in the phone book...
Everyone went to bed and my MP3 player has played through 2 batteries, so here I sit, alone in the silence circling....
At times like this, I give my imagination license to run free and unfettered - and my dears, tonight it ran completely amok.

This is where my thoughts led me tonight....

If only....I were a writer - I would begin by re-writing every fairy tale, and start liberating princesses!
Cinderella would no longer be held hostage by unattractive and evil tempered step-persons. She would make her escape by dark of night, and wander the kingdom until she was taken in by a kindly retired school marm. She would exchange cooking and light housekeeping for an education. After which, she would win a scholarship and attend the university where she would study by day, entertain at the karaoke hut by night, and volunteer at the local orphan's day camp on the weekends.
When Prince Charming strolls in and tries to pick her up - she will tell him to take his sorry Royal butt back to his throne and park it!
Cindy prefers the not-so-charming but much more sincere abacus nerd.
She will marry him, and when the Prince's kingdom is invaded by Huns and overthrown, she will be snug and secure in her million dollar compound with her doting mate and their slightly clumsy but genius children. (Heck, maybe she will even mastermind the overthrow and instate a democracy!) She will hold seminars during the summer empowering young maidens to take charge of their own happiness because as everyone knows, Princes are overrated anyway - they are big-eared mommas boys who cheat on their wives! Ha ha!

If only.....I were a painter - I would find a way to infuse music into my paints. Music is pure emotion pesonified - so when you looked at my work, you would not only be enthralled by my use of color and light, you would also be profoundly moved by it's rhythm, passion and love. You would leave my gallery emotionally spent, but ever so much the better person for it.

If only.....I were a dancer -
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I'm sorry - I've been hunched over my desk for 7 straight hours, my muscles are tense, cramped and aching - there's no way I can even imagine this one - this division of the arts that will have to do without me!

If only......I could do any other job besides circling phone books!

Good night - it's time to put my imagination to bed.

How to Deal....

I left this as a comment on someone else's blog a while back, but I dredged it up today, because I'm feeling the need to take my own advice. Life has been a bit of a struggle lately. So, here's some advice to me - apply it to yourself as you will...

Here are a few of the solutions that I apply, depending on where I'm at in life...
1. Wallow. Sometimes I just allow myself to feel dang stinking BAD! I cry, I stay in bed all day, I watch stupid stuff on tv...you get the drill. It purges all that yucky karma out of me, so that I can just get over it and move on. *NOTE, The moving on part is very important here, as people do not enjoy being around people who choose only to wallow - all the time. It's very annoying. (That is why wallowing is best done alone - it is not a group activity!)
2. Laugh. Sometimes, bad things happen, then more bad things happen, and on and on until it just begins to feel so ridiculous, that there is nothing else to do but laugh about it. Laughter then produces more laughter, which scientists have proven produces hormones which actually make you feel better, which then makes the problem seem smaller - after all, how can bad things happen to happy people?
3. Escape. Removing my self completely from an unhappy reality is often the only way I can cope. Read a book, re-arrange a room, take a weekend vacation...do something positive to change your situation (or at least your outlook!)
4.Talk. Talk to a trusted good friend, who knows you well enough to take what you say for what it's worth, feel your pain, comfort you, and then tuck your "secrets" deep inside and hold them there forever.
5.If all else fails, as the song says: "Search, Ponder, and Pray."
(I've had to use this one a lot over the last few years...maybe that's why my knees are so bad!?!)

Love is in the air....

It's been a slow weekend, and not much blogworthy to report, the highlight of our weekend was going to see the movie "27 Dresses" (cute movie!)... so I thought as it's the week of Valentine's, I would like to share some Valentine ideas/recipes/etc. this week.
The first one is this yummy looking "Baked Hot Chocolate" that I saw on "Good Things Utah" (a local morning show) I haven't tried it yet, but the lady who sampled it on the show said it tasted like liquid brownies! Mmmmmm!



Baked Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:

9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
3 ounces butter
4 whole eggs
1/4 cup sugar

Combine chocolate and butter in a mixing bowl and melt over a double boiler; combine eggs and sugar in a separate mixing bowl and warm over double boiler until warm to the touch; transfer egg mixture to mixer and whip until fluffy; fold whipped eggs into melted chocolate; divide evenly into 4 bake proof dishes and bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 20 minutes.

Chef: Kevin Donovan
Executive Chef - Log Haven
Original Recipe credited to Heidi Friedlander

For more information on Log Haven Nature, Nurture, Nourishment
Visit: www.log-haven.com

Puppy Ponderings...

What makes dogs think they are people?
Seriously.
If say, you brought a goat into the house and fed it and cared for it, would it jump up and wag it's tail whenever you came in the door? Would it protect and defend your home as if it were his own? Would he grovel at your feet and roll over for a belly rub?
I think not.
So then, what is it about dogs that make them think this is proper behavior?
The canine pictured above is our resident "pup" who goes by the name of Anthony.
After our last dog.....left home.....I made a decree that there would never be another dog in this house. I was tired of the mess and the smell, and the animal hair in the carpet, and all other things associated with having a pet, and I was done.
(This doggie had to be taken away because he did not do well around small children - and there were a lot in the neighborhood. He was always biting them, then the police would come - not good.)
The kids went over my head and brought this one home anyway. (Typical!)
For that reason and that reason alone, Anthony and I can never be friends.
(At least not while anyone is looking!)
He does however, think he's one of us, and as I am matriarch of the family, he tries to appease me.
There have been times that I've been "lonely" and "bored" enough to pay him a little attention. (wink wink) .....I do take him on walks with me, you know just for - "utilitarian purposes" - no one else will go with me, and a woman does need a little protection in this world after all...
Sometimes I like to "mess with his head" and play little "psych" games with him, (you know, like "who's there Anthony? - go get 'em!) ...but this only confuses him and he doesn't even get what I'm trying to get him to do (he's a lot like my husband in this way...) The dog I had as a kid would play this game with me - proving that not all dogs have the same mental capacity - but I digress....
I did manage to teach him several tricks (thanks to The Animal Planet) which he does very well - but he's not great at obedience otherwise...
One day, I was feeling unusually magnanimous, and I sat down on the floor next to him and patted my lap for him to come and sit with me.
He was stunned.
He looked around as if to say; "Who, me?...really?....are you sure?" Hilarious.
I did finally convince him that I was sincere, and he did come and sit on my lap for a bit, but he didn't stay long, and he went directly downstairs to his bed - possibly to wake up from such a bizarre dream!
One year, hubby decided we needed a new family picture, so he invited his niece to come over and do some for us. Anthony sat back and watched as we arranged everybody on the couch, and once everyone was in place, he trotted right up to the center of the group, turned around and smiled for the picture!
Cracked. me. up.
I could go on and on about his little quirks, like how he paces the floor and lets the kids know it's time to go to bed, or how he loves to go camping so much that he completely freaks out whenever hubby goes out and moves the trailer, and will even charge down the stairs and ram his head into the front door, but I don't want to be a bore...
E.B. White said that

"A really companionable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it with money, it just happens along."

For whatever reason, this dog has chosen us and made us his.
Period.

(I tease the kids that I would never waste my scrapbook supplies on him, but I never said I wouldn't blog...ha ha!)

Aftermath

Yesterday's storm was definitely one for the books. Heavy snow and high winds caused chaos across the state. It started here around 9 am and continued until around 4:30 pm.
Over 200 accidents occured across the state - the worst one was right at the front door of my little town. 12 deisel trucks, and over 20 cars were mashed and mangled together, closing the freeway for hours, and sending all that traffic up my street until late in the evening.
*** You may have to click on this link [# 1/28/08 - Extreme weather causes problems across Utah] on the extreme left to watch the video - it does run a commercial first, sorry...

Here in my back yard, the canopy that cover(ed) hubby's hot tub is now belly up against the shed. We had a swimming pool ladder standing next to the gazebo - and it is now on the roof of the shed! I would have liked to seen that, I can't figure out how that happened!


I was used to this type of storm where I grew up at the mouth of AF canyon, but I have never seen one like this here. It was one of those days I was very thankful to have nowhere I had to go.

Aauuggghhhh!!!!!

White out!!!
It's a blizzard out there, and I am not amused!
I was supposed to go meet hubby and go to SLC to a Jazz game tonight, but there is no way I am leaving this house with the snow coming at me in horizontal waves!
Chicken you say?
Lilly livered house hider?
You bet. That's me.
I'll be under the bed if you need me.

In other news, I just finished the book "Tending Roses." Such a heartwarming story - I really loved it, but it also stirred up a lot of emotions for me. The story relates to an aging grandmother, which reminded me a lot of what we went through with my mom. I wish her final days could have been more like this instead of the family turmoil we had.

I suppose by now, that the whole world has heard about the passing of Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley. We are so sad. He was more like a loving grandfather than the leader of a worldwide organization. I loved his sense of humor and his humility.
I will miss seeing his face and hearing his voice.

The best of both worlds

...is what I'm hoping for.
Hubby and I had a long talk the other night, about things I'm having a really hard time coping with. I told him how useless I feel not being able to go back to work because of current health issues, (and how afraid I am to try.) So, he went and found me some work I can do at home! It's going to be a little random - sometimes lots of work, sometimes not so much, and it's a tedious and boring job (as are many of them over there)...but it pays fairly well. I will have deadlines, but can work on my own schedule.
Not exactly my dream job, but for now it's a solution for something I've been needing.
Sometimes prayers are answered before they're even prayed.

This guy's been here!

My sister forwarded this to me the other day, and I had to laugh out loud - Jeff Foxworthy knows a lot about rednecks, but how did he get to know us Utahn's so well?
(Ha ha - yup, I know all these people!)

Enjoy!

FORGET REDNECKS; THIS IS WHAT JEFF FOXWORTHY HAD TO SAY ABOUT UTAHNS!

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September to May, you live in Utah .

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Utah .

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Utah

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Utah .

If 'vacation' means going anywhere south of Salt Lake City for the weekend, you live in Utah .

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Utah .

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Utah .

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Utah .

If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both unlocked, you live in Utah .

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Utah .

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Utah .

If the speed limit o! n the highway is 75 mph -- you're going 80, and everyone is still passing you, you live in Utah .

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Utah .

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Utah .

If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly' you live in Utah .

If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your friends, you live in Utah .