Book Review: 13 Little Blue Envelopes

This is a story about Ginny and the adventure she leads through Europe on the dime of her deceased runaway aunt. Ginny is a shy and closed off girl who is nervous all the time. She has a hard time talking to people. Most of the time she doesn't know what to do with herself.

Aunt Peg passed away suddenly from a brain tumor but not before she wrote 13 letters to Ginny with instructions to fly to London and when she gets there she can open the next letter. As she goes through the letters she is sent all over Europe, from London to Rome to Denmark and more.

While I didn't really feel invested in the story I felt a need to finish the book to see what would happen. It wasn't really a great story and I really had to force myself to get through it. To me the character development was minimal and the whole thing felt rushed to get through. There is a sequel to the book but I'm not sure if I'm interested enough to take it on. I got this book for free through Amazon on Kindle so it cost me nothing but time. If the sequel is free I'll probably read it.

Homemade Bagels

They may not be pretty but they taste yummy! This is my first time trying out making bagels and I think that they turned out pretty good. Now I just need some cream cheese!

What's for Dinner?-Chicken Tortilla Soup

I love when I get a chance to try something new. I went looking on allrecipes.com today for something new for my family to have for dinner tonight, but I had some specifics for whatever I chose.

1. I didn't want to go to the grocery store today, so it had to be ingredients that I already had in the house.

2. I wanted it to be something that I could put together in the crock pot because I was feeling kind of lazy.

3. It had to be something that my kids would actually try to eat.

After searching for awhile I found this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup that I had everything in my house for except for the green chilis, so I just omitted them because Michael is very sensitive when it comes to any kind of food that puts any amount of spice into dinner, so it wasn't a total loss to not have to worry about it. When getting it ready to go into the crock pot the only thing that I had to do to prepare it was chop an onion. This was great.

At the end, Michael and I liked it better than Sidda and MJ did, but they are very picky. I think that this recipe is a keeper.

Netflix

I recommend Netflix to everyone. Everyone should have it if they like to watch movies and tv shows. It doesn't always have the most recent episodes on the instant view but it does have entire seasons of shows for you to watch.

It's also cheap. We have the one DVD at a time plus unlimited instant view and pay $10 a month. This to me is totally worth it. Especially since it helps me completely monitor what my kids are watching instead of them watching random tv channels. My favorite part though is that there is no commercials to suck my children in. Neither Sidda nor MJ knows what is popular when it comes to toys or cereals or anything else. If we are at someone else's house and they happen to be watching television and a commercial comes on they are confused. They really don't know what they are and I am happy about that.

I have discovered new shows that I've loved through watching through Netflix and have tried out shows that I would never have watched in other circumstances. Mainly British TV, which I love.

If you do not have netflix, get it, it's so worth it. And they let you do a free trial to test it out which it awesome!

Deuteronomy

I have finished reading Deuteronomy! I am on my way to completing one of my 2011 goals! I feel so accomplished.

Deuteronomy is like a letter from Moses to the Israelites. It's a summary of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers along with a review of God's covenant. It's a constant reminder to the Israelites to follow God's commandments and to not turn away.

The book ends with Moses blessing the tribes of Israel and handing the reins of leadership to Joshua son of Nun. Shortly after Moses climbs Mount Nebo to view the promise land that he is not able to enter and then passes away.

As I read through Deuteronomy I felt like I had read a lot of it before since quite a bit of it was a summary but there were times that I found myself laughing out loud at some of the stupid things the Israelites did to cause certain laws to be in place. There were times in my reading when I needed to stop and ask Michael for an explanation of things that I read. There were moments of confusion and frustration and moments of enjoyment in reading this history. I'm glad that I sat down and took the time to read it. I'm excited about moving on to Joshua.

Found a Peanut

This morning I was in the kitchen doing a puzzle with MJ and I was singing Found a Peanut. I hear Michael asking me from the living living room if I was just making up a song as I went.

Well Michael, here is Found a Peanut proof that I didn't make it up. It was a song I used to sing with my grandpa when I was little.

2011 Goals

I need to spend more time in my devotional life. I used to be so good at finding time everyday but it has slipped away from me. I need to make changes in order to give myself time to do the things that I think are important. I need to set goals for this year and complete them. I guess it doesn't have to do with just my devotional life but with me in general.

My Goals for the rest of 2011

1. Finish reading the whole Bible before this year ends.

-I am currently on Deuteronomy. This is achievable as long as I stay motivated. I'll try to keep a weekly post to keep me on track and accountable in my reading

2. Get up before everyone else and exercise for 20-30 minutes to get my energy up for the day.

-I used to do this every morning. I used to do this every morning. I would get up exercise, shower and be dressed before anyone else would roll out of bed. This no longer happens. I've been having a hard time even getting out of bed in the mornings. This will change. I will start setting an alarm instead of waiting on MJ to wake me up.

3. Read 75 books in 2011

-So far I've read 28. Also with this goal I want to branch out into different kinds of books, books that I wouldn't normally choose so I can find new interests and new authors that I might enjoy. I'm open to almost anything. Any recommendations would be awesome. This is a link to my goodreads site that shows the books I've been reading lately Goodreads.

4. Have an official family night

-We are together most nights but we're all usually doing something different. I want once a week to "officially" do something together. Something that we can all share in and something that can continue for years. Whether it's watching a movie, playing games, riding bikes, or all cooking dinner together, I just want the four of us to do it together.

5. I want to sew more

-I've been learning how to make clothes and quilts. I've been doing this in and off for a couple of years now and I would like to do it more consistently. By Christmas I want to make quilts for both Sidda and MJ and one for Michael and myself. I also want to make at least three summer dresses for Sidda and some close for MJ and possibly tackle Halloween costumes this year.

My hope is that on January 1, 2012 I will be able to look back on this post and know that I did all the things I set out to do.

Phineas and Ferb

Phineas and Ferb is probably one of the best cartoons on TV right now. It’s great for both kids and adults. I can sit and watch it with my five and two year old and laugh right along side with them. It’s not a stupid funny show but creative and awesome!

The show is about a pair of super smart brothers who are trying to find things to do each day of the summer. The don’t just hang out in the back yard paddling pool but instead somehow create a beach. The build rollercoasters, rockets, time machines and so much else. Their older sister Candace spends all her time trying to tell their mom what their doing but fails everytime. Each episode features at least one song, sometimes more that are just awesome.

This is my favorite song:

It's just plainly awesome! And there is more where that comes from. If you want to enjoy an easy cartoon that the whole family can watch I recommend this.

What's For Dinner?- Maryland Fried Chicken

The hardest part of any day is deciding what is for dinner. Any where you look for advice says to plan out your menu about a week in advance that way you can make sure you have all the ingredients you need to prepare your meals. I try this on a regular basis. I plan out our meals and there is a definite pattern to the way our meals go each week. Every Wednesday we have sandwiches for dinner because I have to bring the food to church so we can all eat before Mpact Girls and Royal Rangers begins. On Tuesday or Thursday I tend to do a crock pot meal to try to keep things easy. My favorite day for dinner is Fridays because that is when the whole family meets at my mothers house to all spend time together and I don't have to figure out what to eat, that's left up to my mom.

Last night for dinner we had Maryland Fried chicken. It's a saltine coated chicken breast seared in oil and then simmered in milk to make the chicken tender. We also had fettuccine with a roasted garlic sauce along with corn. This meal was a hit with the kids and my husband. If my kids are willing to eat dinner without a fight I call it a win!

Book Reviews: I am Number Four

Last night I finished reading the book I am Number 4 by Pittacus Lore.

The story is about John Smith (at least that is his name this time around). John has just moved to Paradise, Ohio from Florida. He's the new kid in school again. John's goal is to blend in as well as possible. He doesn't want to be noticed. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself. John has a secret that he doesn't want known because if people discover what he is he will have to run again because they could find him.

John is an alien from the planet Lorien. Lorien is very similar to earth. It's just twenty-five thousand years older and more advanced than earth currently is. After his planet was destroyed he came to earth ten years ago in attempt to save his species from extinction. When he came, there were nine of them. He is number 4.

I found the book fast paced and easy to read. It sucked me in enough to keep me turning pages when I knew that I had other things I should be doing (mainly sleeping). John is learning to develop newly discovered powers while dealing with new friendships, falling in love, and trying to keep himself safe. It was well worth the read. Thank you Pastor Vic for recommending it to me.

Glee

I know that I am way behind when it comes to TV watching. I hardly watch TV if it’s not on Netflix or a DVD. We don’t even have cable because we never watched it. Because of these things I am behind on the awesomeness that is Glee.

I’ve heard people talk about it. I’ve heard that it was good but recently I saw that it was on Netflix and I figured, why not? I gave it a chance. I’ve now watched the entire first season in a matter of a few days, because I couldn’t get enough. I can’t wait for season two to finish up and then come out of DVD so I watch it.

Oh yeah, and keep this under-wraps, but Michael likes Glee too. He watched every episode with me and he probably won’t admit it, but loved it as much as I did.

I think the actors, dancers, singers, all of them are extremely talented and have done a wonderful job in doing their part of this show. The writers are awesome in what they come up with and its all very enjoyable.

This is by far the best scene in the whole show!

Movie Reviews: Limitless

Last night I saw Limitless. I'll just begin by saying that it was disappointing. I expected a lot more out of this movie than what it was. I sat in the theater bored and waiting for the exciting part to really come.

Limitless is about Eddie who is a writer who is struggling to write his book. He meets up with an old friend who gives him a pill that helps clear his mind, makes him smarter, and he is able to complete his book in four days.

After completing his book, he is looking for a new project so he takes on the stock market and makes a killing. And then this is basically what the rest of the movie is about. It's his whirlwind through parties, and work and trying to make the pills work for him.

This movie is a constant stream of tunnel vision that seems to last forever and never seems to have any real tangible awesomeness to his new clear, smart mind. I never felt connected to any of the characters making me care what actually happens to them. The whole movie felt disconnected to reality.

The idea of a pill to make you a better you is an appealing idea. The concept of the story is great put they just didn't pull it off. It makes me wonder if the book that it's based on would be worth reading to see if it is able to really draw you in.

Overall, I say don't waste your time on this movie.