1. Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
Yes, another Christopher Moore book. I'm addicted. I really wanted to read his newer book, "Fool" but it cost over $20 for the eBook at Barnes & Noble....total rip off....so I got this one instead.
I really like this book because it was just fun. It was def one of his more sci-fi books but the aquatic themes kept me really interested. Since Ryry is so obsessed with all the animal in the ocean this book felt familiar. The book was fun but I still love Lamb the most. I think I'm tired of Christopher Moore for a while now though.
2. The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder: A Novel
This book, by Rebecca Wells, the author of the Ya-ya series, was so sweet and cute. I know this sounds majorly dorky but it really made me want to be a better person. To just be kind and sweet and gentle to the people around me. I know that this isn't realistic, but Calla Lily just seemed so understanding and forgiving. I wish I could be more like her.
I read the Ya-Ya series so long ago and loved it. This book seemed calmer then that series. It was just calming to read.
I even tried to act more like Calla Lily after reading it. I know this is going to sound so unbelievably dumb, but one day I was at McDonalds and all the customers were angry and mean. The people behind the counters were definitely frazzled and kept messing everything up. People were slamming things down in their frustration while waiting for their simple orders, and everythign seemed to be spiraling worse and worse for the workers. I tried to be more like Calla Lily and when I got to place my order, instead of showing how mad I was for having to wait so long, I tried to just smile and talk slowly. First answering thier mandatory "Hi How are you?" and asking it in return, and then actually listening to what he said. I placed my order and threw in tons of smiles. I smiled while I waited for the order. And said thank you nicely when I (finally) got it. The guy behind the counter still seemed a little flustered because there were still some angry/frustrated customers but I like to think I helped a little. Or at the very least didn't add to his chaos. But its pretty pathetic that I had to actively say to myself, BE NICE, BE LIKE CALLA LILY. I wish I was just more like her to begin with.
So, I guess the point is, I recommend this book if you. Its not all rosey, but it will def leave you feeling good.
3. The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, #1) by James Patterson
I read this book for two reasons: 1. It was a free eBook download from B&N, 2. Mandi loves this writer.
I was so excited to tell her that I was finally reading one of his books. Unfortunately her response was along the lines of, yeah I read that but those books are certainly not the reason why I like the author. The book was fun to read but I didn't download any of the rest of the books in the series. I would read them if they offered them for free though. Its just a quick cute read.
4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Unfortunately for me, I had seen the movie before I read the book. I loved the movie and loved the book. But unless I am remembering something wrong, the movie seems pretty accurate. This is a case where I didn't feel that the book was better than the movie. So if you have a long list of books to read.....just rent this one on Netflix.
That being said, I love his style of writing so I am currently reading his other novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns". So I guess the book, in a way, better than the movie.
I made this soup last night for my sicky husband, who refuses to eat chicken noodle soup. (and I refuse to NOT serve chicken soup when someone is sick!)
I altered this recipe a little, and was very happy. I can't wait to make it again and add a few more alterations.
Ingredients:
Drizzle of olive oil (I used the Lime Infused Olive Oil I have from Napa)
Small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon of minced garlic (I used it from a jar)
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
6 turns of pepper grinder
1 quart of low sodium chicken broth
1 can (13+ oz) of Reduced Fat Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
5 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 pound of thinly sliced chicken breast, cut into strips
1 small can of bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1/2 pound of long thin pasta
Hot Pepper Seeds and Suracha Sauce (to taste)
Directions:
0. Start water boiling to for pasta.
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes
2. Add ginger, garlic, pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, soy sauce, lime juice, and bamboo shoots.
3. While soup is coming to a boil, cook pasta until done. Drain and keep hot.
4. When soup reaches a boil add chicken. Cook until done.
5. Serve in large bowls. Place pasta in bowl. Ladle soup on top.
6. Add pepper seeds and suracha sauce to tase!
I love Coconut Chicken Soup so much! But its usually so rich that if I eat it at dinner it gives me an upset stomach. This one didn't at all. Plus with the pasta it made it a whole meal! And it was pretty cheap to make. Next time I make this soup, which is going to be soon, I'll add those little mushrooms and possibly some shrimp? I think some other green veggie could be good in it too but I haven't figured out which. Also I'll add the cilantro from the original recipe on top before serving.
(Sorry - No pics! Too worried about nursing Ryry back to health!)
Go forth and fill your libraries with media.
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being so amazing and patient. You are the reason I love Vox.
I was just told that the Amazon Conduit will be fixed by tomorrow. I will post here as soon as I get word that it's back up and running.
I know this has been frustrating and I am sorry there wasn't more I could do to make it less so. I really appreciate your patience though.
Cheers,
after we left kentucky, we had a killer driving day. we drove through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa in one day. it took us about 13 hours to do. we ended up passing through a time zone which was kind of discombobulating on top of the long drive! we got a motel room that night and ate at this gross diner and fell exhausted into bed.
So I started this boot camp class on Monday with my friend Teresa. Its at this boxing gym called Trinity Boxing Club NYC and its lead by this army guy who used to be a Green Beret. Its pretty serious. (More info - click here!)Its a month long course of 3 workouts a week. The first and last class are fitness tests. I'm posting my starting scores (pretty pathetic but whatever...the point is to improve) and I'm really excited to see my final scores.
Pushups - 2 (!!)
Sit ups - 37
2 mi Run - 20:24
I had my second class this morning and I don't think I'll be able to move my arms until about next Monday....if I'm lucky! The people in the class are all nice and the instructor is very encouraging (not at all scary). We just do normal things that any one could do, you don't need any equipment.
Today's Workout Included (but I may have forgotten some):
3 sets of 2mins of doing full sit ups (all the way up to your knees......not "crunches")
3 sets of 2mins of doing push ups
4 sets of 30 seconds of kicking both legs up together (partner pushes them down) and not touching the floor
4 sets of 30 seconds of flutter kicks
Countless squat thrusts and other excercises that are similar (don't know the names)
So at the end I should be able to keep doing these exercises. Can't wait to see how he tortures us on Friday!
Who are you dying to see in concert?
Bad news. As many of you have probably noticed, the Amazon Conduit was not fixed in the last week's release. Unfortunately, there was an undetected bug that is preventing the conduit from working.
We are working on this bug fix and hope to have the Conduit back up and running this week.
I will keep you posted.
Thank you for being so patient.
after saying good bye to will's dad in west virginia, we finally started our road trip into new territory! we camped in charleston, west virginia for one night but i forgot to take pictures (it was a very pretty - on top of this mountain, completed surrounded by trees but way too many noisy bugs!).
the next day, we drove through kentucky and stopped at the Natural Bridge State Park in Slade!
will and i embarked on our journey to california on september 8th, 2009. we left hartford, connecticut and drove first to D.C. to visit will's mom. we stayed there until september 12th then headed to wardensville, west virginia to see will's dad before we traveled westward!
...stayed tuned for more pictures from our road trip - i have soooo much more!
