Things I learned over the holidays...

1. That I really did need new boots

2. Time management is really important

3. That not every recipe is written correctly

4. That while my husband may not have cried much over his father's death, he sure is angry about it.

5. That I can't fix that and it sucks

6. Sometimes a change of scene makes it seem okay and that might not be the best way to deal with things.

7. Even five year olds feel grief deeply

8. Extra cherries and staying in your pj's don't fix it for the whole day

9. Supportive family members are the best family members

10. Divorce really does take a long time even though life goes on during it.

11. Facebook can be good for some people

12. While enjoying others children, it really is ok to cry

13. A clean house really does make us feel better

14. An not so pretty trinket box really can be a great gift when a five year old picks the same thing out for her Nana.

15. That my feet probably won't be warm again until April

Book Challenge Final Update

1. Aloha: Four inspiring novellas
2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
3. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
4. Love Afloat: Four inspiring novellas
5. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
6. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
7. Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
8. Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen
9. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
10. To Live Until We Say Goodbye by Elisabeth Kubler Ross
11. Singing Songs by Meg Tilly
12 Invasion by Robin Cook
13. Owning Jolene by Shelby Hearon
14. Rough Draft by James Hall
15. A Town Called Ruby Prairie by Annette Smith
16. A New Day At Tanglewood by Annette Smith
17. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
18. The South Beach Heart Health Program
19. Charlotte Leaves the Light On by Annette Smith
20. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
21. Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp by Stephanie Klein
22. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
23. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
24. Deadly Dance by MC Beaton
25. Bitter End by Christine Kline
26. The Care and Feeding of Unmarried Men by Christie Ridgway
27. Plain Jane by Fern Micheals
28. Inappropriate Men by Stacy Ballis
29. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
30. Black Flames by David Pearlman
31. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot (read this earlier this year but didn't record it anywhere.
32. The Trophy Wife by Diana Diamond
33. Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
34. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
35. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
36. The Great Christmas Bowl by Susan May Warren
37. Delivering Dr. Amelia by Dan Shapiro
38. Ask Again Later by Jill Davis


My favorites of the year: 8, 21, 27, 37, and the Queen of Babble Series

Not worth it really: 11,13,14,and 30

I met my goal of 35 books so I am happy about that and I finally started on Harry Potter so there are a few children who are happy about that as well.


This is for Dragondreamer's Lair Book Challenge

Merry Christmas...

May your day be full of Peace and a bit of Joy regardless if this is your holiday or not!

Why oh why...

Do crazy people pregnancy announcements always come on the day that AF decides to start... EARLY?

Top Chef: Las Vegas...

Aww! My guy didn't win... but I am glad that the competition is over. Seriously, this season was not all that thrilling even though they tried with the big rolling atmosphere of Las Vegas. I wasn't happy with the winner but alas it is usually the cocky one that wins.

Not watching Chef Academy, never finished watching this season of Hell's Kitchen. Hmm... maybe I am just losing my attraction to the competition cooking shows.

Links and Things...

Looking for some inspiration for cooking veggies? Here is a nice site that I came across the other day. There is a breakdown for WW and Low Carb veggie options. I tried one recipe from here already and I liked it... DH, sadly did not but that is because it was Carrots and Pomagrantes.

Remodeling your house? Check out this green remodeling resource for some great info on how to ReGreen.

Curious about why the New York State's Attorney was so upset about the Appraisal ordering process? Here is a good example of bad mortgage brokering These types of orders don't really exist now that the new rules were passed effective May 1st.

And now for a total humbug... a church is being sued for reaching out to the needy?

Sometime imitation is not a good thing... how sad.

Weighty matters

Well, I have tried to challenge my husband to lose weight. Our tenth wedding anniversary is next year in July. I am seeing some small successes lately and actually think that if I put more effort into it that I could see my wedding weight or close to it by then. I have PCOS with IR and that makes losing weight much more difficult but I am being diligent about taking my Metformin. I am going back up to 1500mg now so we shall see what happens.

I have been blogging about daily weightloss stuff over here mostly just food journals and stuff but it helps to be more accountable. So if you are looking for weightloss info... that is where you will find it.

Joining in a recipe exchange...

Just joining in a quick recipe exchange that is being hosted over here

Easy Dump Cake

My husband loves this stuff and it is super simple to make.

* 1 yellow cake mix
* 1 small can of crushed pineapple
* 1 can of cherry pie mix
* 1 stick of butter or margarine~melted

In a 9x13 pan, empty the cherry pie filling and the crushed pineapple. Stir together. In a separate bowl empty your cake mix and then slowly add the melted butter in batches. Mix the butter in so that the cake mix form crumbles but not a liquid. Pour the crumbles over the pie filling. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the crumbles are golden brown. Serve with your choice of whipped topping.
You can also mix up the flavor of cake mix and pie filling. We like spice cake with apples, chocolate with cherry, and blueberry with yellow.

Enjoy.