Tag Archives: books

Resolutely

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2012 was a good year, but sadly that was in spite of my resolutions, not because of them.  This was a year of good food, good time, good friends.  A year of learning and professional growth.  A year I got to spend with my favorite man and my favorite dog.  It just wasn’t a year of goal achieving.

Let’s look at how I did.  {I reordered my resolutions from least to most successful}

#1 – Work out a minimum of three times per week.

Fail.  Wow, what a fail.  I have no excuses and little in the way of explanations.  I have to do better in 2013 because otherwise my freaking heart is going to stop.

#3 – Put the time and effort into my school work that I can be proud of each week.

Ish.  I did pretty well this semester, but not A’s across the board and I certainly could have done that.  This was my first semester in Dietetics with an outside job and with that addition I am proud of my performance compared with other semesters.  I definitely should have worked less so that I could study more, but in the end we needed the money more than I needed slightly higher test scores.

#4 – Continue working on being a positive person.

Mostly Win.  We went through a lot of bad(ish) stuff this year and it really helped me to appreciate all of the good in my life.  This is an arena where you can always do better, but I think I made steps in the right direction.

#2 – Continue to read at least one book a month, for a minimum total of 30 books this year.

Total Win!  Check out my list –

January

Death Du Jour – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Deadly Decisions  – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Fatal Voyage – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Grave Secrets – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Bare Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Monday Mourning – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Cross Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Break No Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Bones to Ashes – Kath Reichs  (f)

February

206 Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Firefly Lane – Kristin Hannah  (f)

Spider Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

March

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins  (f)

April

Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins  (f)

The Surgeon – Tess Gerritsen  (f)

May

Kitchen Counter Cooking School – Kathleen Flinn  (m)

Flash and Bones – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Postmortem – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

Body of Evidence – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

All That Remains – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

How to Eat a Small Country – Amy Finley  (m)

Mocking Jay  – Suzanne Collins  (f)

Cruel and Unusual – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

June

The Body Farm – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

From Potter’s Field – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie – Wendy McClure  (m)

Service Included – Phoebe Damrosch  (m)

Ice Cold – Tess Gerritsen  (f)

July

The Heart and the Fist – Eric Greitens  (m)

The Silent Girl – Tess Gerritsen  (f)

Cause of Death – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Unnatural Exposure – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Point of Origin – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Sellevision – Augusten Burroughs  (f)

Black Notice – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

The Last Precinct – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Blow Fly – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

August

Trace – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Predator – Patrica Cornwell  (f)

Book of the Dead – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

September

October

Talking with my Mouth Full – Gail Simmons  (m)

November

Those Who Save Us – Jenna Blum  (f)

Bones Are Forever – Kathy Reichs  (f)

Scarpetta – Patricia Cornwall  (f)

The Scarpetta Factor – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

December

Port Mortuary – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

Red Mist  – Patricia Cornwell  (f)

I missed September but read 47 books in total.  Go me!  This is a something I hope to continue.

I’ve decided not to make an resolutions tonight.  2013 is going to be a big year with lots of challenges already – graduation! moving! getting a big girl job! passing the rd exam! thinking about having a baby! adjusting to Adam’s residency schedule!  Instead, I think I’m going to focus on my birthday list.

Are you making any resolutions this year?  How did you do on your 2012 resolutions?

A Cook Book Giveaway

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It’s the day before Thanksgiving.

<– did that sentence make anyone start to sweat?

It’s too late for me to help you with this holiday, but I’ve got a giveaway that might make you feel better the rest of the year.

Holiday Slow Cooker; Delicious Recipes for a Year of Hassle-Free Celebrations

When I got an e-mail asking if I’d like to try a copy of this cookbook (holidays? crock pot recipes? easy? yep, that sounds like me!) I made sure to ask if I could get a copy for you guys too.  Hopefully this will make one of your Christmas dinner plans a little less sweaty!

The recipes are all clearly worded and simple to execute,

and I liked that many of them were accompanied by a picture.

Some of the things I swooned over? Liberty Brownie Squares for New Years Day, Lobster Bisque and Rocky Road Pudding Cake for Valentine’s Day, and Beer Baked Beans for Father’s Day.  Yum!

I’m giving away 1 copy of this book to a reader picked at random from the comments.  Comment entries close at noon on Friday, November 23rd.  All you have to do to enter is answer this question –

Have you ever hosted Thanksgiving Dinner?

Bowls, Bites, Beans, And Books By Burroughs

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Hello, Sunday Monday!  Since I worked on Saturday and was off today, this was technically my Sunday.  Today I ate lots of good things and yesterday I cooked lots of good things.  Yesterday’s kitchen-time included coffee concentrate, dog treats, popcorn, and frozen peanut butter hot chocolate (most of those are being blogged later this week which is why I didn’t blog yesterday; whew!).

The coffee concentrate actually wasn’t very good, though the drink I made with it today was tasty.

Cold coffee instead of iced because I used the ice trays for the frozen dog treats.  In with my weak concentrate was skim milk, 2 Tbsp chocolate milk, and 1 Tbsp fat-free sweetened condensed milk.  With all of those tasty milks it kind of didn’t matter that the coffee wasn’t strong enough.

Breakfast was a two bowl affair.

A big bunch of green grapes.

And 5 oz of plain low-fat yogurt with 1.5 Tbsp Jif Chocolate Hazelnut Spread and a big sprinkle of cinnamon.

The chocolate hazelnut spread is basically a problem; I’ve eaten half a jar with a spoon in the past week!

Adam talked me into pizza for lunch.

Buffalo chicken,

blue cheese,

baby carrots.

I asked Zetti’s to cut my slice because I planned on only eating half, but as you can see that dream died before I even made it home.

Since I didn’t have to work, I filled my day with super important things like grocery shopping and laying on the couch to read an entire book.  It was an important book.

Sellevision is Augusten Burroughs‘ first novel and since I’m obsessed with his memoirs it’s been on my “to read” list for years.  I loved it.  I’m so awed by Burroughs that I have a hard time describing why he’s so amazing.  So instead of trying to recap the book for you on my own, I’m going to share an excerpt from one of his memoirs, Possible Side Effects.  (Things you need to know – Burroughs was an alcoholic.  In the chapter this excerpt is from he writes about drinking, not taking care of himself, wanting to write but not knowing how to begin, and getting locked out and having the locksmith think he was robbed because his apartment was such a mess.)

Instead of folding all the debris in the room into huge plastic trash bags, instead of giving myself a clean slate, I just sat down.  And I wrote:

“You exposed your penis on national television, Max.  What am I supposed to do?”

The line came to me automatically.  I didn’t look for it.  It was simply there.  So was the line that followed: “I didn’t expose it, Howard.  It just sort of … peeked out.”

A show host on a  home shopping channel being confronted by his boss, after the host’s penis slipped out from beneath his robe on the air, in front of millions of viewers.  Sooner or later, this was bound to happen, wasn’t it?  On live television.

Silly.  It made me laugh.  I hadn’t laughed for a year.  I kept writing.

I wrote until seven that evening.  Then I drank.  But I never reached my Place.  Instead, I thought about what I’d written during the day.  I went to bed.

The next day, I wrote more.  I started drinking later in the evening and I drank less.

By the third day, I wrote until midnight and I didn’t drink anything at all except lime seltzer water.

By the seventh day I had written a book.  At least, I thought it might be a book.  It contained one hundred and fifty pages and they were in order.  That’s more than a monkey could do.

I called it Sellevision.

I did not drink.

Love, love, love!

Transitioning now from books to beans… Adam loved our dinner.

I tried to update my recipe for vegan black bean burgers and ended up with a new, better recipe.

Cilantro Lime Black Bean Burgers, serves 4

  • 29 oz can low-sodium black beans
  • juice and zest from 1 lime
  • 1 Tbsp minced cilantro
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 3 heaping Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp evoo
  1. In a large bowl, mash beans with a fork.  You don’t want to eliminate all of the whole beans (the texture will be better if you don’t!), just get things “mushy” enough that patties can be formed.
  2. Stir lime juice and zest, cilantro, chia seeds, and flour into beans.  Form bean mixture into 8 patties.
  3. Heat evoo in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, cook bean burgers for two minutes on each side.

I served our burgers on big, fluffy buns, with a slice of tomato and pepperjack cheese.

And tomorrow I’m going to try something really fun with the leftovers!

Have you read any of Augusten Burroughs’ work?

Fifty Shades of Loves Of Late

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Yesterday I complained about money, today let’s talk about some of the things I’m loving lately.

Here are some of my past loves.

#1 – The dog

I’m sure at this point in the vacation I’ve said “I miss the dog” no less than 536,354,993,005 times!  Not gonna lie, it’s possible that I cried when we dropped him off for boarding.

#2 – “The New Adventures of Old Christine”

I realize that this show has already been aired and canceled, but I just discovered it.  Lifetime has four episodes online at a time and they are worth checking out.  Elaine (she’ll always be Elaine!) has such great comedic timing.

#3 – This video of grandmas discussing Fifty Shades of Grey.  Warning – dirty.  Dirty, dirty, dirty.

I’ve never actually read the book, but I skimmed it and that was enough.  More than enough.  A friend and I read through it in a book store a few weeks ago and after five minutes we both felt like we needed a shower (it’s worth noting here that I’m a super fast reader and can actually cover a lot of literary ground in five minutes).

Nevermind the concerning relationship dynamic between the main characters and the fact modern women’s obsession with it is basically setting feminism back to before we got the vote.  Nevermind the stilted writing, grammatical errors, overall lack of editing, and weird repetition of the word “blushed.”  Nevermind the fact that the main character said “my behind” repeatedly during what would have been a wild sex scene (then the term “fur glove” was used a few pages later and interestingly it was not a euphemism for vagina).  My main issue with the book is that the poor wording leads to a sexy time scene that described acts that were physically impossible.

But the video is hilarious.

Did you read Fifty Shades of Grey?  What’d you think??

Double Day, Double Shower, Double Shot

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The two-days-in-one post is because I passed out – on the couch, fully dressed – before I could blog last night.

Backing up to yesterday afternoon… I decided to eat a snack at home before I went on my errands.  A mini bag of popcorn; I believe it was butter flavored because it didn’t taste like kettle corn but I got a big pack with both and the bags aren’t labeled and it drives me crazy.

I started a book while I munched and that meant that errands never happened because once you pick up the last book of the HungerGames trilogy you don’t put it down until it’s done.  <– true story  After love-love-loving the first book I was actually pretty disappointed by the ending of the series.  I don’t want to give anything away here, but I would love to discuss it more in the comments.  I personally was very surprised by some of the choices the author made toward the end.

People who read the Hunger Games trilogy – what did you think of the last book????

While I read I also took alternating bites of a Honeycrisp apple and the last of the Cookie Butter (~1 Tbsp?).

So good.  I prefer the original Biscoff spread to the TJ’s stuff but I was sad to see it go since I won’t be able to purchase it again for a long time.

Dinner was supposed to be quick and easy.

I made an attempt at mozzarella sticks by cutting up string cheese, dipping the pieces in egg white and panko, and baking at 400*.

Nothing like the original (which I actually don’t really care for) but tasty in their own way.

The main dinner component was supposed to be soup.  I served Adam and myself each 2 servings of Imagine’s Organic Creamy Brocoli Soup.

Not a fan.  I want to mention that Adam liked it and ate his whole bowl.  I took two bites and the 2nd bite was only because I really hate to waste food.  When I bought it I thought the texture was going to be thick.  Thin soups, outside of broth with stuff in it, totally set off my gag reflex.

I ended up going to Mezza for take-out for dinner.

It was frustrating to waste the money but my meal was quite tasty.

I got the Chicken Shawarma.

Grilled chicken on a grilled pita with garlic spread, cole slaw, tomatoes, pickles, and tahini sauce.  It was great, especially the cole slaw and pickles, but I’d ask for it without garlic sauce next time because my breath was ridiculous.

My sandwich came with a side of fries.

I ate them all but really I should have skipped them; I already ate cheese sticks!  Then I passed out on the couch.

Today started with a run.  I did ten sets of 1:30 running and 3:30 walking for 50 minutes and 3.9 miles.  Then I took shower #1.

I didn’t have time between my workout and my first errand to make food which sucked because once I left the house I was gone for hours.  I had an appointment to get the oil changed on Adam’s car and then I had to go to the tailor and the Sprint store (Monday’s errands).

I dropped off the car and spent the 40-minute wait taking a great walk.

I made a pit stop for coffee and then kept moving.  A Vietnamese latte from Sweetness_7 Cafe.

After the tailor (I need to learn how to hem my own pants!) I headed back to the Sprint store.  I had to leave my phone with them for another hour but I think that it is finally officially fixed.

While I waited for my phone I grabbed lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger.

I felt a little strange all by myself but I had a book in my purse to keep me company.

I ordered a turkey burger with cole slaw, pickles, onions, and jalopeños.

It was a good combination of toppings, if I do say so myself!  I moved the bun to the side right away but other than that I ate every last bite.

Shot of espresso #2 (not literally but just go with it) was consumed when the husband got home and we shared a frozen coffee.  I blended up a packet of Starbucks Caramel Via, a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder, 2 cups of skim milk, ~2 Tbsp English Toffee syrup, and lots of ice.

So darn good.  We split it but both kept yanking the cup back from one another.  The English Toffee syrup is something I’ve been trying to get Adam to taste for forever (like the wakame) and he loved it!

Shower #2 was due to workout #2; the husband and I headed to the tennis courts.  I’m pretty good at serving and pretty terrible volleying but he’s hoping to get me to playing shape by the end of the summer.  Right now it’s an extra good workout with all of the running for lost balls.  We “played” for one hour.

We were very hungry for dinner and thankfully it ended up being delicious.

Pretty too!  When I make an especially beautiful plate of food I’m so sad not to have the photography skills to properly capture it.

Roasted zucchini.

~ 2/3 cup cooked brown rice.

An egg.

But not just any egg.

A soft-boiled egg!  (Thanks for the recipe, Jenna!)

And then I smothered the whole bowl in Sriracha.

The end.

Plus two small cookies from Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe for dessert.

A thumbprint and a fig cookie.  I brought Adam home a box from the event last Thursday and apparently he won’t eat the fig ones so they’re mine.

Whew, that was a long post!

Cinco De Mayo Surprise

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I had big Cinco de Mayo themed plans for today but unfortunately they fell through.  It was a good day regardless, just not themed.  <–  I love a good theme, I sort of can’t believe I didn’t rush a sorority in college

Friday was good in a “day-off” sort of way.  Thursday night was ridiculous; I woke up a little bit before 4am and never went back to sleep.  I tossed and turned, got up to pee, got up to get a drink; nothing worked.  Which is how I ended up eating blondies and watching “Private Practice” at 6am.  I knew I would be cranky and unproductive so instead of trying to fight it I spent my day eating Indian food, watching dramatic tv, starting the latest Kathy Reichs book, and going to see “The Avengers.”  Sidenote – “Avengers” was great, I am thrilled that I got to see two Joss Whedon pieces in the same month!

I spent this morning finishing up Flash and Bones in bed (loved it!).  My mood threatened another day off but I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and face the world.  I set out on errands and ultimately finished most of next week’s to-do’s as well!  I was out later than expected and ended up grabbing lunch at Moe’s.

A Moo Moo Mr. Cow (kids’ burrito) with rice, black beans, grilled veggies, corn salsa, and pickled jalapeños.

I didn’t eat 90% of my chips and queso but they were nice to have after particularly spicy bites of burrito.

I had a blondie when I got home.

Adam came home from his shift at the hospital this afternoon with his black dress shoes completely spent so we headed off to the outlet mall.  It was crazy and crowded but we rewarded ourselves for our efforts with Ben and Jerry’s.

I got a small cup of Schweddy Balls and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Mmmmn!

During our travels I also had these Jalapeño Cheddar Combos.

Our evening plans included a surprise party for our friend Ethan.

The event was held at Torro, a local tapas place.  They brought us bread with oil and vinegar upon arrival.

And Adam and I split the Tempura Shrimp – “skewers with napa salad, miso dressing, and sweet Korean chili dipping sauce.”

This dish was great!  I ate two with sauce, plus all of the cabbage.

Of course there was cake.

I had half of that small piece, I’m in more of a savory than sweet mood.

We’ve had tapas before, so we were aware that one plate wouldn’t be enough for two people but there was an issue and we never got our 2nd plate.  No big deal though, the boys all came back here for an impromptu poker game so I’m cuddling up with some chips and dip.

Did you drink any margaritas today?

Epic Meal Time

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I’m not talking about the Epic Meal Time, though those guys are awesome.

Muscles Glasses is a hottie.

I’m talking about yesterday’s meals.  They were literally epic (you’ll see).

Breakfast was more nonexistent than epic, because I stayed in bed reading a book until the last possible minute.  When I was utterly distraught over finishing Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan series my mom bought me the first book in several murder mystery lines.  Yesterday I was finishing up Tess Gerritsen’s The Surgeon.  It wasn’t terrible – I loved the way she switched point of view with each chapter from a different character’s perception – but I don’t plan on reading any more of hers.  I actually have the latest TB book now but I’m making myself wait to savor it.

I had to be out of bed and out the door at a specific time because my friend Hillary and I were presenting our research on Ginkgo Biloba at a poster presentation.

Last major assignment of the semester, done!

After I changed out of my suit Adam and I went to lunch.  We took a nice walk down Elmwood (a little over a mile) to Nickle City Cheese & Mercantile, an adorable new cheese shop.

The space looks great and they carry all sorts of cool lines that I’ve read about and wanted to try.

Adam and I got lunch and had a picnic outside.

We had a Sprecher Cherry Cola,

Mac and cheese with gouda,

and a grilled cheese of pimento cheese on pumpernickel with red onion.

Everything was great, but the pimento cheese didn’t have as much flavor as I was hoping for.  We definitely plan on going back for fancy cheese.

On the walk home we stopped at the neighborhood candy store for mint M&M’s.

They are one of my favorites but I was feeling pretty satisfied from lunch so I only ate half of them.

The rest of our afternoon was spent running the rest of our weekend errands.  Many took us to the mall.

Our final errand was at Cold Stone (legit!) where Adam and I split a kid’s chocolate frozen yogurt with butterfinger.

I like that Cold Stone has an option with less than 200 calories per small serving but this tasted a little “empty” somehow.

For dinner we went on a fancy date night!  We had an amazing Groupon for Epic Restaurant and Lounge.

They brought us bread with oil to start.

And Adam ordered the Filet Sliders – with house-made sea salt and vinegar potato chips and smoked gouda fondue as an appetizer.

I ate a few chips dipped in the fondue and it was awesome.

Per usual, we did some sharing with dinner.  I got the Grilled Rock Lobster Tail  – with lemon and asparagus barley risotto drizzled with a garlic shallot butter and brocoli rabe.

He got the Cedar Plank Salmon – maple candied carrots, fresh arugula, smoked gouda mashed potatoes.

Gahhhh!  Everything was sooooo good!  Adam’s favorite bite was the lobster tail and my favorites were the broccoli rabe and the fatty end of Adam’s salmon.  It was a great meal and a great time.

We extended the fun with Monkey Bread for dessert.

Oh, and we ordered a bottle of Prosecco with our meal.

Which is why you’re getting this post in the morning 😉

I Have To Grudgingly Admit

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… I love, love, loved The Hunger Games!  We are reading it for book club and I’d been resisting, but I got in bed with it last night at 11 and couldn’t stop reading until I was done!  My late night meant I missed my run this morning but it was still totally worth it.  I need to get my hands on the next two books asap.

Breakfast was a bowl of cereal (a mix) with vanilla almond milk.

Plus a pear.

We ran around all afternoon, including a trip to the mecca.

Squeee!  I didn’t buy even a tenth of what I wanted but still came away with a few goodies, including this Zico Chocolate Coconut Water.

I wasn’t sure what to expect but I think this might be my new favorite thing.  The taste sort of reminded me of a chocolate egg cream.  I hope this becomes available in Buffalo soon!

Our meals for the day were eaten at chains, but both were good.  Lunch came from Panera Bread.

I got a soup and salad combo.  A half serving of brocoli cheddar soup.

And a half Thai chopped chicken salad.

With an apple as my side.

And part of a cookie to finish.

I made it through the drive back to the house but then my late night hit me hard and I ended up taking an afternoon nap.  I’m still feeling pretty tired and my mom and I have another 7-hour drive home tomorrow so I’ve got to get to bed early tonight (as in the minute I publish this post!).

Dinner was at Red Lobster.

I started with a side salad with balsamic vinegar on the side,

and of course a cheddar biscuit.

The salad was watery so I ignored it in favor of the biscuit which was delicious (of course!).

I did another combination for my main meal.

The stuffed flounder – which wasn’t as good as my meal last night at Outback,

and coconut shrimp – which came with tasty piña colada sauce.

I wasn’t expecting to get such a platter of food!  I managed half of the fish and 4 of the shrimp, plus all of my side of cole slaw.

All that’s left to eat is sugar plums!