Naughty Blogger

My goodness I have been a very naughty blogger. Between work, having a nightmare of a cold and remodeling in our house I have barely blogged. I have been trying new recipes. A couple of them were bombs that I won’t share but I do have a couple that made us very happy. I have a new one in my crockpot right now. I hope to share it if we like it. It does smell good. I have a new fascination with Moroccan food so we may see a trend that way soon.

I bought a new cookbook last week at the hospital book fair. Every time I see they are having another book fair I tell myself that I am not going to go. I never succeed and seldom leave there spending less than $100. This time I only spent $79.  I think I did good considering I bought two cookbooks for my son for Christmas and a crockpot cookbook for myself.

Remember the grilling cookbook that I bought myself a few months ago?

http://grace2882.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/new-cookbooks/

I loved this cookbook so much and since Stephen has a grill and a smoker grill I knew that he would too. I also bought him a cookbook that I gave my daughter about a year ago that she loves. It is a Taste of Home Cookbook.

This time I bought myself the Taste of Home Slow Cooker Classic Cookbook and found many options that are low carb or can be easily converted to low carb. I am excited to try them out.

Wow. When looking online for a picture of the book I found that this book retails for $47 online. I bought it for only $24.95. I may have to rethink these book sales. That was quite a deal. When I buy a cookbook I read it from front to back and put post-it flags on all of the recipes that I want to try. It makes it easier to find them when I am thinking of trying a new recipe. Once I try it and like it I put  them onto pretty pages and put them in my favorite recipe binder.

When Samantha was here for Thanksgiving we spent the day working on crafts and she put some recipes that she loves on pretty paper and decorated with rub-ons. Then we put them in sheet protectors. Before she married I put many of her favorite recipes in a binder so that she could make them for herself since she was moving so far away from home. Here are a few of the pages that she made for herself.

I think she did a great job. I hope she brings her book with her at Christmas to do more crafts. I miss her living so far away.  :::sigh::::

I will try to do better with blogging over the next couple of weeks. We are making progress with the remodeling and I can’t wait to share the finished project. I am very excited about my spice cabinet. I will tell you all about it along with pictures once it is stained and has the crown molding added. It is SWEEEEEET!!!!!

 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I am torn between giving my opinion on this book or not. I know that is being made into a movie and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to see it. My daughter recommended that I read it. The first five chapters really draw you in and you can barely put the book down. Then something strange happens.

Half way through the book things shift and it actually seems as if someone else is writing the book other than who wrote the first half. The book begins vaguely jumping around and jumping forward very quickly. It loses its momentum and has some tragic things occur.

If you are someone who hates to have a book ruined if you plan to read it then stop now. I am going to give spoilers. The book is about a 14-year-old girl who is raped and murdered on her way home from school. The girl is the one actually telling the story as it unfolds after her death.

She tells of seeing her family and friends mourn her death and how she tries to communicate with them to ease their pain. All of this was very heartwarming and I really appreciated this first half of the book told from her eyes.

Then the book gets weird. She has a friend from high school that can see her and feel her and she takes over this friend’s body. She goes back to her old high school sweetheart while in this friend’s body and he automatically realizes that it is Susie and not the friend. They have sex.

Now the fact that they are using the friend’s body to me is rape. She gets violated at the beginning of the book and then later she violates her friend’s body. This is something that I could not overlook or accept. From this point on I hated the book.  What was your opinion?

Little House in the Big Woods

A friend of mine recommended that I read a children’s book by Laura Ingalls Wilder and I am so glad that I did. The book went into such great detail of what it was like to live during that era and how difficult farm life was. Through it all her family had love and a closeness that you just don’t see very often.

While I was reading this book I was dreaming of the day when I will have a little granddaughter that will sit next to me while I read this book to her. I have quite a collection of children’s books for my future grandchildren to enjoy. I have tried reading to Caleb and he isn’t having it. He has too much to do to sit still to listen to a book being read. He is just like his father.

I want that little granddaughter that I can give her first copy of Little Women to. I want to share my love of books and reading with her. I want to sit on the couch together and read and then discuss the plots the way I do now with my daughter. I want to share the classics like Heidi, Tom Sawyer and Ribsy.

I want to share the newer books when she becomes a teenager like Dee Henderson’s the O’Malley Series.  I want to cry with her on the sad parts and discuss how something beautiful can come from so much tragedy.  At this time I don’t see a granddaughter in my near future. I put in a request for one with my daughter-in-law and she said they will try again in January of 2011. I guess I can wait until then. Until then I will read the classics all by myself and renew my love for these children novels.

More New Cookbooks

I bought two new cookbooks over the weekend while shopping with Donna and David. They are not low carb recipes but I found many recipes that are low carb or can be converted to low carb easily.

The first is the Favorite Brand Name Made Simple Chinese

I have really missed Chinese food since becoming a Diabetic. I am hoping to try these recipes in the next few weeks to meet that need.

The next book is Favorite Brand Name Made Simple Appetizers.

My son, Stephen is always asking for appetizers instead of a main entree for the meal. I hope that I can find several things in here to make him happy and keep me on track with my weight loss. I am almost to goal. My doctor said to only lose about 7 more pounds. I am sooooooooo close to goal I can taste it.

Wish me luck.

New Cookbooks

Yesterday at the book sale I bought two new cookbooks. They are not low carb cookbooks but they have a large number of recipes that I can make or alter to fit my Diabetic needs. I absolutely love trying new recipes. So far I have not put a recipe on my blog that I have not personally made and liked. I have tried many other recipes that were a disappointment and never made the blog.

One of my absolute favorite cookbooks is a grilling cookbook so when I found the Taste of Home Grilling Cookbook I had to get it. I am very excited to give the recipes a try. I am very blessed to have a husband and family members that don’t mind being my Guinea pig. My son has always been willing to try anything but my poor daughter-in-law is too polite to refuse but I can tell she is terrified at times. More times than not she has liked it. I always try it first.

This is the front of my new grilling book. Doesn’t that grilled onion look delicious?

The next cookbook is Taste of Home Guilt Free Cooking. Now I won’t be able to get as many recipes from this book because it tends to focus more on low fat than low carb but I can still get several and alter many to get a usable recipe. This is the front of that cookbook.

Last year at another hospital book sale I found a Taste of Home Appetizer cookbook that I deeply love. Over the weekend I pulled it out and put post-it notes (gift from Donna- Aren’t I spoiled?) on the recipes that I wanted to try. I had more than 30 that could easily be low carb. Now I need to have a party to try these recipes out. Hmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder who I could invite?

Can you tell that I am southern girl and love southern recipes? I never really thought of myself as southern but my son-in-law, the lovable geek Yankee keeps reminding me that I am.  He had better do some serious sucking up or when I see him next month I won’t be bringing him any cookies. He pretends that he is eating healthy but he has never seen a cookie that he didn’t like. It is our little secret but I have been collecting low carb cookie recipes and intend to trick him into eating them. bwahahaha

Hospital Book Sale

As I have mentioned before I work within a hospital. I absolutely love my job and go to work each day with a smile on my face knowing that it will be a good day and I will be able to help others.

Today, the hospital had a book sale as a fund raiser. The hospital volunteers hold the fund raiser and through their funds they provide a lot of extras for the residents, parents and children. It is truly amazing to see the dedication of this hard working volunteer staff.

I can’t seem to pass up one of their fund raisers. Today was no different. I managed to only spend $68 and one of the books is not mine. My sister had me pick one up for her. I have to share what books I got for my spectacular grandson Caleb.

The Bears in the Bed and the Great Big Storm is my favorite. The pictures are very bright and it shows that even the big bears can be scared by a storm but that there is really nothing to worry about.

The Dark Dark Night is also by the same illustrator but by a different author. The illustrations are just as bright and were able to draw you into the story. The story is full of animals that are all afraid of the dark and shadows. It was well written as well. I can’t wait to have Caleb on my lap reading him this story.

I also bought him a set of eight books that are written by Sally Morgan. The books are not illustrated but contain actual photos of various animals and tells information to educate children. I got him the following books.

• Giraffes (okay this one drew me in. I have a soft spot for Giraffes)
• Orangutans
• Alligators and Crocodiles
• Tortoises and Turtles
• Bees and Wasps
• Sharks
• Bears
• Eagles

I bought all eight books for less than $3.  If you want more information on these books you can see more here.

http://www.thereadingwarehouse.com/search.php?AUTHOR=true&s=240140

I will tell of my new cookbooks tomorrow.

How to Make a Serial Killer By Berry-Dee and Morris

I recently read this documentary and found it to be very interesting.  Each chapter highlights the life and childhood of several well known serial killers. My new co-worker loaned me this book after we discussed that we both watched documentaries that detailed why serial killers do what they do.

This book gives a scale at the end of each chapter and mathematically shows what the likely hood was of that person growing up into a serial killer. Jeffery Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy never stood a chance of having a normal life. The book is very graphic in what their crimes were so if you can’t handle hearing the details you may want to bypass this one. I found it to be interesting. Hopefully, we can learn from this book and begin to raise our children with love and acceptance. Wouldn’t the world be a better place?

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

 

Yes, it is time for another book review. I know it has been quite some time since my last review but I promise you that I have been reading. I managed to get half way through the book Wicked and then had to stop. It was horrible. I even threw the book in the trash. It belonged to my daughter and she said that she hated it so much that she didn’t want to share it with anyone else so to toss it.

After the trial of reading Wicked I picked up The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards and I loved it. My daughter didn’t enjoy this one. I, however, hated to put it down each night. I have set aside thirty minutes each night to read and it took me a little over a week to read this one.

The story is of a doctor who makes a decision that has horrible consequences for all of his family. On a snowy night his wife goes into labor. They are unable to get to the hospital but they do make it to his doctor’s office. He delivers his twins with the aid of his nurse and upon their delivery realizes that the daughter has Down’s syndrome.

This book takes place in 1964 and back during those days many families did not keep their children who were born with Down’s. He believed that he was sparing his wife the pain of watching a child with a possible life threatening illness and he had his nurse take the baby away before the wife awoke from her sedation. When his wife came to he told her that the daughter, Phoebe had died.

The book details the life of Phoebe, her birth parents, her twin brother and the nurse that decided to keep Phoebe and raise her alone. The doctor’s grief and guilt over what he has done destroys the family in the end. I highly recommend this book. The nurse Caroline shows amazing strength and love for Phoebe. It made me feel good to read Phoebe’s accomplishments even though it was sad to see the father’s destruction. It just goes to show that there are consequences for all of our actions. They often last a lifetime.

Play Dirty by Sandra Brown

Yes, it is another novel by Sandra Brown. This is another murder mystery and I do have to say that she did an amazing job with it again. The story is about a professional football player who has just been released from prison for throwing a game due to his gambling addictions.

On the day of his release he quickly realizes that one of the police detectives is out to get him. You really begin to feel the animosity and fear that he feels while being stalked. 

He is offered a job that is a bit unorthodox. He is asked by a very wealthy man to impregnate his wife due to the fact that he is unable after being in a very bad car accident. The only stipulation is that it can’t be done via invitrofertilization. He must actually be intimate with the wife.

Well, you know considering that this is a Sandra Brown novel that romance is bound to happen. He falls in love with the man’s wife and she with him. Then suddenly her husband is murdered and the police officer uses this to try to pin the murder on him so that he goes back to prison.

This is a very good book and kept my attention until the very end. You gotta love a bad boy.

The Man from Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

I have read most of Linda Lael Miller’s books and have yet to be disappointed. This book did not either. I loved it and it was a very short read for me.

The story is set back in horse and buggy days and concerns a Ranger posing as a school master in order to catch thieves and murderers. He happens to meet the local postmistress and falls in love. The problem is he is already betrothed to another woman and Maddie isn’t exactly ready to trust him. She knows that he is hiding a secret.

Maddie is also hiding a secret. The story involves train robbers, adultery, murders and of course romance. I don’t want to give away too much as to possibly ruin the book for you. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the second book of this series to arrive. I have already ordered it and it should come one day this week.

Until my next review. Happy reading!!!