#17 pedicure

I went for pedicures with some friends this weekend. My toe nails are all pretty now!

BTW- if you are looking for a good and inexpensive pedicure you should check out Super Star Nails on Anderson Ln. The place is nothing fancy but they do a great pedicure at a great price.

#94 in progress & 98 done

WOOHOO! We paid off DH’s car yesterday. It was actually a personal loan we took out a few years ago to pay off DH’s car loan (his interest was crazy high) and some additional money for things around the house.

IT IS GONE! It feels so good!

Overall it was only about 10% of our total debt (not including house and my car, I figure I will always have a car loan ), but still something. We also have a plan now that the money for the monthly payments is freed up to have one of our credit cards paid off in about 2 months. YAY!

I have more to update but I am too tired now. Off to watch Top Chef.

3 more books down! #19

No, I did not read all three since I posted my last book. Two of these books I read before<em> Love in the Time of Cholera, </em>but never blogged about them. The third I finished last night. I have realized I need to post baout the books as soon as I finish them or I loose track.

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

After Love in the Time of Cholera I needed something light and funny. So if you know the premise of this book you might be thinking a murder mystery is not light and funny reading. Given the subject matter, murder, rape, dysfunctional family, it does not seem like it would be a funny and light read, but it was at least for me. I did really enjoy this book. It will not rank up with one of my all time favorites, but it was definitely entertaining. I was taken in by the story from the first line and did not want to put it down.

<strong>From Publishers Weekly
</strong>Arlene Fleet, the refreshingly imperfect heroine of Jackson’s frank, appealing debut, launches her story with a list of the title’s deities: “high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.” The first god, also a date rapist by the name of Jim Beverly, she left dead in her hometown of Possett, Ala., but the last she embraces wholeheartedly when high school graduation allows her to flee the South, the murder and her slutty reputation for a new life in Chicago. Upon leaving home, Arlene makes a bargain with God, promising to forgo sex, lies and a return home if he keeps Jim’s body hidden. After nine years in Chicago as a truth-telling celibate, an unexpected visitor from home (in search of Jim Beverly) leads her to believe that God is slipping on his end of the deal. As Arlene heads for the Deep South with her African-American boyfriend, Burr, in tow, her secrets unfold in unsurprising but satisfying flashbacks. Jackson brings levity to familiar themes with a spirited take on the clichés of redneck Southern living: the Wal-Mart culture, the subtle and overt racism and the indignant religion. The novel concludes with a final, dramatic disclosure, though the payoff isn’t the plot twist but rather Jackson’s genuine affection for the people and places of Dixie.

I really enjoyed this book. It is about a now sucessful woman, despite her upbringing, that grew up in a very dysfunctional family. It starts off with a story of her being badly burned while she was cooking herself lunch, (because her mom thought kids should be independent) and spending weeks in ICU when she was only 4. It tells of her, what most would call neglectful, parents exploits while dragging their 4 kids along with them all over the country. The author easily could have told a poor me sob story, and deservingly so, but does not. Her stories of growing up, as crazy and shocking as they are, are told in a very matter of fact way. I found myself often yelling at the parents in this book. You would think it would be depressing and hard to take but the story of the kids, especially Jeanette is actually inspiring. It is amazing what people are able to overcome, maybe those kind of hardships make us stronger. What does kill you makes you stronger, right?

<strong>Amazon.com
</strong>Jeannette Walls’s father always called her “Mountain Goat” and there’s perhaps no more apt nickname for a girl who navigated a sheer and towering cliff of childhood both daily and stoically. In <i>The Glass Castle</i>, Walls chronicles her upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents–Rose Mary, her frustrated-artist mother, and Rex, her brilliant, alcoholic father. To call the elder Walls’s childrearing style laissez faire would be putting it mildly. As Rose Mary and Rex, motivated by whims and paranoia, uprooted their kids time and again, the youngsters (Walls, her brother and two sisters) were left largely to their own devices. But while Rex and Rose Mary firmly believed children learned best from their own mistakes, they themselves never seemed to do so, repeating the same disastrous patterns that eventually landed them on the streets. Walls describes in fascinating detail what it was to be a child in this family, from the embarrassing (wearing shoes held together with safety pins; using markers to color her skin in an effort to camouflage holes in her pants) to the horrific (being told, after a creepy uncle pleasured himself in close proximity, that sexual assault is a crime of perception; and being pimped by her father at a bar). Though Walls has well earned the right to complain, at no point does she play the victim. In fact, Walls’ removed, nonjudgmental stance is initially startling, since many of the circumstances she describes could be categorized as abusive (and unquestioningly neglectful). But on the contrary, Walls respects her parents’ knack for making hardships feel like adventures, and her love for them–despite their overwhelming self-absorption–resonates from cover to cover.

I did not care for this book. I read this one right after <em>I Know this Much is True. </em>I felt I need to read something light, funny and to be honest after the 900+ pages SHORT! I thought this would be a funny short book about how you do not have to be super mom in order to be a good mom. It was short, thank goodness or I never would have finished it. I did not find it funny at all though. It did speak to the point of not having to be super mom and have all the latest toys etc to be a great mom, but I felt in a very judgmental way. I felt like the author was saying you are a bad mom if your kid does have a lot of toys or if you do baby proof your house, or god forbid you are a stay at home mom. I thought the author had some really good points but did not like the judgmental tone I felt while reading this book.

<strong>From Publishers Weekly
</strong>A welcome relief from the flood of how-to-mother-perfectly tomes, Mead-Ferro’s short and sweet book is a reminder not to take parenthood so seriously. The author, who in addition to being the mother of two young children also has a demanding career as an advertising copywriter, has drawn valuable lessons in “making do” from her grandmother, who “had none of the proper equipment by today’s standards” yet “never described motherhood as a hardship.” Mead-Ferro doesn’t care for creating clever scrapbooks, accessorizing the nursery or trying to impart baby genius status to her three-year-old. Rather, she teaches her children that “making do” with their imagination is as good a route to inspiring creativity as any educational toy. She believes in letting her kids learn that the physical world is a complicated place; it’s better than smothering, isolating and “child-proofing” the world for them, she says. Rejecting the mentality that results in pre-school admission anxiety attacks and overly competitive soccer leagues for six-year-olds, Mead-Ferro both soothes and inspires as she prompts parents, and mothers in particular, to trust their own instincts rather than that of the “experts.” Let the kids get messy, she says, and let them figure some things out for themselves. While Mead-Ferro’s not at all sheepish about labeling this approach similar to that of a “slacker,” readers will come away with the feeling that the author is in fact a wise veteran who has experienced many of the conflicting messages women face today, and who nevertheless comes up smiling.

Books #19

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

While I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it, I also wouldn’t say I liked it nor would I recommend it to anyone. I appreciated Marquez’s writing, but did not care for the story itself. I was interested in the story and characters from the beginning of the book, it was not one of those books that takes forever to get into. My problem was I was no longer interested in the story or the characters after I was about half way into the book. I was actually often quite annoyed by Florentino’s character and only mildly interested in Fermina. This book just did not keep my attention. I found myself struggling to finish the last 100 pages because I no longer cared about the story. 

 From Library Journal
While delivering a message to her father, Florentino Ariza spots the barely pubescent Fermina Daza and immediately falls in love. What follows is the story of a passion that extends over 50 years, as Fermina is courted solely by letter, decisively rejects her suitor when he first speaks, and then joins the urbane Dr. Juvenal Urbino, much above her station, in a marriage initially loveless but ultimately remarkable in its strength. Florentino remains faithful in his fashion; paralleling the tale of the marriage is that of his numerous liaisons, all ultimately without the depth of love he again declares at Urbino’s death. In substance and style not as fantastical, as mythologizing, as the previous works, this is a compelling exploration of the myths we make of love.

YUM!- #46

I normally post all of my new recipes for the month in one post together at the end of the month.  While I did hit my goal of 3 new recipes (I think I actually made 4) this month I decide this recipe deserved a post of its own.  I love reading food blogs, and lately have gotten most of my new recipes from them (sorry Allrecipes).  I wish I had time to read more because I know there are a lot of good ones out there.  Anyways, I caught on to Elly Says Opa!  a while back and love her blog and recipes.  While some have been better than others, I have not made a single bad thing of hers yet.  The latest recipe of hers that I made was Pork Milanese.  She made it with Pecorino Orzo, I thought I had orzo but realized I didn’t so in a last ditch effort we ended up having it with cous cous because that is what I had.  Hey it worked.

Pork Tenderloin Milanese 

courtesy of Elly from elly says opa!

1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb.
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

This works best if the tenderloin is very cold. Sticking it in the freezer for 10 minutes will help.

Combine the breadcrumbs and the grated cheese in a shallow bowl.

Slice the pork tenderloin into medallions that are approximately 1/2″ thick. Pound the medallions until they are about half as thick with a mallet or heavy-bottomed pan or object. Season with salt and pepper.

Dip the thin slices first into the beaten eggs and then into the breadcrumbs/cheese, coating all pieces.

Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and heat until hot.

Add breaded pork tenderloin to the hot oil and pan-fry until pork is done. This should only take about a minute or two per side since the pork is so thin. Set aside and keep warm.

Tomato Topping
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small onion,  diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Balsamic vinegar (about 3 Tbsp maybe?)
Basil (fresh is best but dried works)
Salt and pepper

In the same pan you cooked the tenderloin, add the onions to saute until translucent (add more oil if necessary). Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar.

Stir in tomatoes and basil, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer (for as long as you want, really). Spoon over the pork tenderloin milanese

It was SOOOO good!  Seriously!  DH and I both could not get enough of this.  Even better it was fairly simple to make! I know it will definitely become a regular for us, I think DH might start asking for it weekly.  If you try it I promise you will not be disappointed (unless you are crazy and do not like pork or something).

 I wish I had taken pictures.  I have tried taking pictures of my food a few times before but they have all sucked though. 

#19 Reading

I Know this Much is True by Wally Lamb

I am going to start by saying I suck at book reviews. I knew I was not that great and then I read Polly’s reviews on her site, if you haven’t read them you should she writes fabulous reviews. So I am going to stick with what I thought of the book and post the review from the web. I know that is cheating, but oh well.

I read Lamb’s first novel She’s Come Undone years ago. I remember really enjoying his writing so when I saw this book at Half Price I picked it up. I set it aside for a while thinking reading something so big, it is 900+ pages, was going to be somewhat of a daunting task even if it was good. I am so glad I finally picked it up. I really enjoyed this book. Lamb is a wonderful storyteller and I was captured by this story from page one. Lamb starts the novel with a very disturbing scene, and then goes back to tell of the event that lead up to it happening. The book is about a brother of a twin that is schizophrenic. It looks back at their life as kids living in a dysfunctional house. The story is how one brother deals with the guilt of being the “healthy” one.

from Publisher Weekly

This much is true for sure: Lamb’s second novel (after the bestselling, Oprah-selected She’s Come Undone) is a hefty read. Some may be daunted by its length, its seemingly obsessive inclusion of background details and its many digressions. The topics it unflinchingly exploresAmental illness, dysfunctional families, domestic abuseAare rendered with unsparing candor. But thanks to well-sustained dramatic tension, funky gallows humor and some shocking surprises, this sinuous story of one family’s dark secrets and recurring patterns of behavior largely succeeds in its ambitious reach. The narrative explores the theme of sibling responsibility, depicting the moral and emotional conundrum of an identical twin whose love for his afflicted brother is mixed with resentment, bitterness and guilt. Narrator Dominick Birdsey, once a high-school history teacher and now, at 40, a housepainter in upstate Connecticut, relates the process that led to his twin Thomas’s schizophrenic paranoia and the resulting chaos in both their lives. The book opens with a horrific scene in which Thomas slices off his right hand, declaring it a sacrifice demanded by God. Flashbacks illuminate the boys’ difficult childhoods: illegitimate, they never knew their father; diffident, gentle Thomas was verbally and physically abused by their bullying stepfather, who also terrorized their ineffectual mother. Scenes from the pivotal summer of 1969, when Dominick betrayed Thomas and others in crucial ways, are juxtaposed with his current life: his frustrating relationship with his scatterbrained live-in, Joy; his enduring love for his ex-wife, Dessa; his memories of their baby’s death and of his mother’s sad and terrified existence. All of this unfolds against his urgent need to release Thomas from a mental institution and the psychiatric sessions that finally force Dominick to acknowledge his own self-destructive impulses. Lamb takes major risks in spreading his narrative over more than 900 pages. Long stretches are filled with the raunchy, foul-mouthed humor of teenaged Dominick and his friends. Yet the details of working-class life, particularly the prevalence of self-righteous male machismo and domestic brutality, ring absolutely true. Though the inclusion of a diary written by the twins’ Sicilian immigrant grandfather may seem an unnecessary digression at first, its revelations add depth and texture to the narrative. Lastly, what seems a minor subplot turns out to hold the key to many secrets. In tracing Dominick’s helplessness against the abuse of power on many levels, Lamb creates a nuanced picture of a flawed but decent man. And the questions that suspensefully permeate the novelAthe identity of the twins’ father; the mystery of the inscription on their grandfather’s tomb; the likelihood of Dominick’s reconciliation with his ex-wifeAcontribute to a fully developed and triumphantly resolved exploration of one man’s suffering and redemption.

#34 Classic Movies

There are many clssic movies that I have never seen, even some of the big ones, Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and many more.  People are always surprised when I tell them I have never seen them, and I feel like I miss something when references are made to these movies.  DH is a huge fan of classic movies so it is something I have always said I would do with him.  I have watched some classic movies since being with him, but when going through the latest AFI’s 100 greatest movies list I realized there were very few movies made before 1980 that I had seen.   So here is my list of 20, atcually I think I ended up with a few more, classic movie that I will watch before the end of my 1001 days.

Movies

Casa Blanca

Gone with the Wind

The Philadelphia Story

Sunset Blvd

On the Waterfront

King Kong

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Bonnie and Clyde

A Streetcar Named Desire

The Maltese Falcon

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Roman Holiday

Bringing Up Baby

12 Angry Men

Lawrence of Arabia

Some Like it Hot

The Grapes of Wrath

Dr Zhivago

Rear Window

The Manchurian Candidate

 These are more movies on AFI’s list that I have never seen.  I refuse to call them “classics” because they were made after I was born and I am NOT that old! 

Chinatown

Raging Bull

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Taxi Driver

Big Girl Bed

First let me apologize for any strange things or typos contained in this post.  I messed up my back, AGAIN, today.  So right now I am hopped up on vicodin, oh how I love thee, lying in bed.  I figured drugged and in minor pain, what a great time to update my blog!

 #75 &76

So, I can not take credit for #76 actually “papa” bought Abby a big girl bed a few months ago.  It sat in the million pieces in its orginal packaging for quite a while.  One day I went into get Abby from her nap and she had one leg completely over the crib.  I told W that we were building her bed right then.  So, Abby has now been in her big girl bed for a few weeks.  She does really well most nights.  We did have a few nights in the beginning where she would get out of bed, but usually she just falls right to sleep.

Here is Abby in her big girl bed, doesn’t she look tiny.  Now I just need to redecorate her room.

Tagged!

I was tagged by a fellow 101 Nestie. I am suppose to list 6 random and interesting things about myself and then tag others. Not sure my things are interesting, but here it goes.

1. I am a constant fidgeter. I have to always be moving a part of my body, except for when I sleep ofcourse (well I think). I am always either tapping my foot, playing with my necklace (one of my faves), or tapping my fingers or messing with something, anything really. I drives my DH crazy!

2. I have been on 5 of the 7 continents. One of my before I die goals is to make it to the other two, Australia and Antartica. I have been really close to Antartica, southern tip of South America but not there. Not sure how I could pull off going to Antartica (not like AA flies there, I don’t think anyway) but it is still a goal. I do not think I would make it long there though, I am a wimp when it comes to the cold.

3. I have not seen my natural hair color since I was 16. :0

4. I have lived in 3 countries (Us, Italy, and Germany) but only 2 states (Florida and Texas).

5. I have never been stung by a bee or broken a bone. Not so interesting but as I have found unusual for someone in their 30s.

6. I was once a in studio guest on a radio dating show called “The Meet Market.” (no that is not how I met DH) The craziest part about it was I was terribly shy back then, still am somewhat. I have no idea how I worked up the nerve to have 4 hours of radio time(ok, so it was not the entire 4 hours they did play some music and talk about a few other things ) devoted to getting me a date and answering some very personal questions. It is something I am strangely proud of though as tacky as it is.

Now I have to tag others which is hard since I think most of the Nesties have been tagged. Sorry if I tag you and you have already been tagged.

I tag:

Ashley

NDK

lrb

lyndseylou

Updates

Wow, it has been awhile. Even though I have not blogged on my 101 in a while, I have been doing fairly well with keeping up with it. So here are some updates.

#10- sending b-day cards

Ok, I am so not good at this. I had high aspirations and really wanted to do it but I think I am going to have to come to terms with reality and change it. I am going to make it a little more realistic, but still a challenge, for me. I will send b-day cards to family and OOT friends. I have already had 3 friends b-days pass since starting the 101 and I did not get a card in the mail to any of them. I did see them all in person near their b-day though and wish them a happy b-day. Oh, I know I will send e-cards to in town friends, I think I can manage that. Sorry for the rambling, I just thought of that.

Anyway, I did get one b-day card in the mail and actually on time. My nieces b-day was Friday and I actually got a card in the mail to her on Tuesday, yay me.

#11 Abby 1st year scrapbook

I made a start on this. I attended the Nesties’ Scrapbook GTG a few weeks ago. Wow did I feel out of my league, those girls can scrapbook and were working on some incredible looking things. I doubt mine will be as nice, but I am doing it. I am actually hosting the next one this month and I am hoping to get a lot more done on Abby’s book.

#29 Abby’s Blog

My goal was to post at least once a month on Abby’s blog. So far I have posted 10 times in 4 months. YAY! If I keep doing so well I might up it to twice a month just to keep me on my toes.

#46 new recipes

I have been doing really well with trying new recipes. I have tried at least 3 every month since starting my 101 list. I did not post about my recipes for December and now I can not remember which ones I tried and to be honest I am too lazy to go back and figure it out. Here are the new ones for January. I really want to start taking pics and actually blog about the recipes, but I am too tired tonight so I am lucky to just get them posted.

French Onion Chicken

This one is now definitely in our rotation. Both DH and I loved it and it was fairly simple to make.

Gordon Ramsey’s Shepherd’s Pie

We did enjoy this. It was much more work and a lot more time consuming than my normal shepherd’s pie. I have not decided if it is worth it, but I did love the flavors of the meat in this one. Next time I make shepherd’s pie I think I will attempt a combination of the two ecipes (his and mine). *note, I did not have ground lamb so I substituted for ground beef.

Italian Wedding Soup

This has quickly become one of our favorites. I have pretty much made it weekly since I first tried it in early January. I do not remember where (somewhere online) I got the original recipe so I can not give credit. (sorry!, I used to not be very good at keeping track of thise things because I never blogged about them)

Italian Wedding Soup

For the meatballs:

• 1lb lean ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Pepper to your taste
• 2 Tbs water

Soup:

• 1 small onion diced
• 3 carrots chopped
• 2 large celery stalks chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme (I actually only had fresh rosemary so I used that and I used dried thyme)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbs. olive oil (you can use only olive oil if you prefer instead of butter and olive oil, just use 3 Tbs)
• tsp. of each: oregano, basil, parsley flakes
• 1 cup of fresh chopped spinach
• 1 cup white mushroom chopped
• Salt
• Fresh gound pepper
• 10 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup small pasta

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add all meat ball ingredients and mix with hands until just combined. Do not over mix! Roll into little meatballs and put on cooling rack set over a baking sheet so the fat can drip away from the meat. Cook for 10-12 minutes.While meatballs are cooking heat oil and butter in a large pot over med. heat. Saute onions, celery, mushrooms, carrots, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook until onions are soft and add garlic. Saute a few minutes and then add broth, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and add spinach and pasta. Take meatballs out of oven add them to the pot and let simmer about 10 minutes.(or until pasta is cooked) Serve with a little grated parmesan and crusty bread.