March Book Tally

I'm not going to say it a slow month.  I say that every month. I read as much as I could as fast as I could. Although this month I started to get mad at myself for not reading faster. I had so much to read and felt like I had very little time to. honest truth was that I read 3 awesome books that made it hard for anything else this month to compete. If reading ain't fun, I'm not going to want to do and then it becomes like work, right?

The Help by Katherine Stockett
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
The Secret Currency of Love by Hilary Black
The Selected Writings of The Marquis de Sade (abandoned)
So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore (abandoned)

So 6 books this month. It was a good month for my Fill In the Gaps List. I read 3 off it which brings my total this far to 17!
This month brought my first abandoned book. The Selected Writings of The Marquis De Sade shortened some of his stories and paraphrased entire passages. Not what I was hoping for. I'll read the other 2 and see if they are the complete stories.
I also abandoned So Long Insecurity. It wasn't working for me.
I'll post reviews of A Local Habitation and The Secret Currency of Love later this week or next week.
Total this far this is: 20!

Chop, Chop

On Thursday I made an appointment at my favorite salon to get my cut and color. When I go to get my hair cut, I don't take pictures, just a vague idea of what I want. And this time, I decided not to be boring but to be bold and daring. And this is bold and daring for me when cutting my hair:

Ignore the stupid half smile. I cut off about 6 inches without really meaning to. I said shoulder length and the girl decided that meant that my hair should hardly touch my shoulders. And I can hear you, what about the color? Well I decided to just cover my grays but she added a violet gloss which you can only see in certain light. I do love that. I don't know if I love my new cut yet. It doesn't really matter since it will grow up in a matter of months!

If I were...

If I were a month, I’d be September.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Saturday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be evening.

If I were a planet, I’d be Earth.

If I were a sea animal, I'd be a tuna.

If I were a direction, I’d be North.

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a lounge chair.

If I were a liquid, I’d be coffee.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be a garnet.

If I were a tree, I’d be a willow.

If I were a tool, I’d be shovel.

If I were a flower, I’d be a iris.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a cool Spring breeze.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a harp.

If I were a color, I’d be blue.

If I were an emotion, I’d be content.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a tomato.

If I were an element, I’d be earth.

If I were a car, I'd be a Honda.

If I were a food, I’d be fried rice.

If I were a place, I’d be Issaquah, WA.

If I were a material, I’d be linen.

If I were a scent, I’d be watermelon.

If I were an animal, I'd be a dog.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a wink.

If I were a song, I’d be 'Barracuda' by Heart .

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be Converse Chuck Taylors.

The One Where I Go To A Food Event With No Appetite and Take No Pictures

On Monday, Ashley and I went to Foodportunity. Foodportunity is a chance for people who are passionate about food to meet and network with each other. And because Ashley was on the ball, she was able to get us tickets.
All day Monday, I had been feeling ill. I hadn't eaten anything substantial all day long (soup, a piece of bread). When I don't eat I know something's wrong. I didn't feel bad, just no appetite. I didn't dare cancel cause as Ashley said this isn't something we can do anytime we want. For the record Ashley was feeling ick as well so we were the pair.
I had a list of the things I had to try. Appetite or not I was going to get me some Alaskan Silk Pie and see what Hama Hama was all about. I got to try 2 pieces of pie at Alaskan Silk Pie (banana rum and a chocolate mousse). Yum! I'll be attempting to find their store (without a sign nonetheless) soon. I think Shauna twittered about Hama Hama but I didn't catch the whole discussion so I wanted to check them out. Yeah Hama Hama sells oysters. Me, not feeling too hot and oysters. Sure what the heck. At least they were smoked oysters. And they were delicious. If I had been feeling better I would have had more. I'll be getting some of those once I feel 100%.
While I was looking for Ashley (we got separated a couple of times) I met Marilyn who makes nut butter. She was an adorable sweetheart. And her Spicy Hot Pecan was fantastic. I tried truffle oil at La Buona Tavola (who have $5 wine tastings and sample tables everyday! Sounds like date night to me!). The nice man with La Buona Tavola was very sweet and let me taste whatever I wanted (truffle honey, truffle butter, truffle cream). Fantastic I tell you.
I got to meet the lovely Keren Brown who organizes these events. She was sweet and pleased to me (who babbled like she was meeting a rockstar. Keren is a rockstar of my Twitter page :).  I wish I would have been feeling 100% so I could have met more people.
Now why didn't I take pictures? Cause I was lugging my laptop. I came straight from work. I couldn't keep my laptop bag from choking me and not hitting people and take pictures. I was feeling my limits that day!
So lucky to live in a place with a vibrant food community where I can participate!

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

I've been interested in the Marquis de Sade since seeing Quills. I put Justine on my Fill In The Gaps challenge. The library did not have Justine listed as a separate book, so I choose a few of his books instead. Although Justine is contained in the book on the right (The Selected Writings of The Marquis De Sade). I also choose The Gothic Tales of the Marquis de Sade and Philosophy in the Boudoir, all translated into English. While I can read some French, I'm more comfortable reading it in English. 
I also finished North of Beautiful and posted a review on the FITG blog. I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. There were a couple of scenes that made it worth reading.
What about you? What did you get this week?

Easy Crockpot Beef Roast

This is the easiest, tastiest crockpot roast beef ever! I have made it numerous times, once for a potluck! I usually serve it with mashed potatoes but it's so versatile it will go with anything. The leftovers make yummy sandwiches! It's become my go to beef crockpot recipe!

Unshelved

At the comic con, there were plenty of tshirt booths. I saw lots of the same ones over and over again but I found one booth with some cool book related ones. Unshelved is actually a webcomic but they sell cool tshirts too.
This one is great for a library freak like me:

This one made me laugh out loud:

And this was the back:

And this one was just cool:

Sadly they didn't have one in my size. I plan on buying at least one soon.

Thoughts on Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

From goodreads: Logan Witherspoon recently discovered that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. But things start to look up when a new student breezes through the halls of his small-town high school. Sage Hendricks befriends Logan at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. Sage has been homeschooled for a number of years and her parents have forbidden her to date anyone, but she won’t tell Logan why. One day, Logan acts on his growing feelings for Sage. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she’s actually a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage and disowns her. But once Logan comes to terms with what happened, he reaches out to Sage in an attempt to understand her situation. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be.

I'm so glad Staci read this and reviewed it on her blog! I might have missed this incredible story. First off I'm a sucker for good love story and that's what this was at it's core. A guy, Logan, meets a girl, Sage. He's heartbroken from his recent breakup but Sage intrigues him. She's different than other girls. Logan and Sage become friends but both have feelings for each other. Once Sage reveals her secret, Logan struggles to be her friend, pushing her away at times.
While I felt that the emotion and the story of Logan and Sage was true, the writing was a little rushed and just a little predictable. Maybe I felt that way because I know this story goes on every day in small towns, big cities, and suburbs around the world. Sage is not unusual. Recently I met a woman who is transgendered. I cannot imagine how hard life is for her and her partner. This woman's family do not accept her for who she is and still refer to her by her male name. She meets people who don't understand who she is and make life (even going to the restroom) harder for her. But her partner who loves her also faces ridicule and misunderstandings all the time. No matter the problems Tai and I have, nothing is as difficult for them. I know it's difficult to accept people's differences. If you meet someone who is different than your expectations, then try to accept them as they are or gracefully move out of their life. Life is hard enough without additional negativity.
It's hard for me to write about this book without my personal experiences coloring it. As a book, I hated putting it down. It made long for young love, first love all over again. I was so happy for Sage and Logan. I highly recommend this book. I cannot recommend it enough.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

 I saw So Long, Insecurity on My Friend Amy's blog. I've been battling insecurity for years. Perhaps this will give me to tools to feel more secure. My book pile is smaller. I have 3 unread books waiting for me. I think that's the smallest pile since I started book blogging.
I finished The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo and my review is on The Fill In The Gaps blog. I finished Almost Perfect as well and a review will be posted this week.
What did you get?

Baked Salmon with Mayo

Tai and I decided to have salmon for dinner on Sunday. I was going to prepare it my usual way, but Tai suggested I try Jeff's way with the mayo. I know, ew, salmon and mayo. But trust me it's yummy. But I've never made it Jeff's way. Sadly Jeff has moved away to San Francisco and left us bereft.* So I did some internet digging and found this recipe.

I love the "crust" on top. I followed the recipe but left out the peppers since I didn't have any. The mayo lends a sweet taste to the salmon. I would make this again. It might become my go to salmon recipe.
*Yes, I could have asked Jeff for the recipe. I pinged him but got no response. So I had to wing it.

Upping My Geek Cred

On Sunday, I went to my first comic con. Yes, this was entirely my idea. I'd love to go to the ComicCon in San Diego but it's not going to happen this year. Someday I'll make it. So I dragged my loving husband to the Emerald City Comic Con.
I'm going to be honest with you. I was pretty nervous about going. I'm not really a geek. Sure I have some Magic cards and I read graphic novels, but I don't know every cast member of Star Trek. I was convinced someone was going to ask me something I didn't know and I would feel bad. So we went through the entire comic con without me stopping once. When we reached the end, I said let's go. Tai knew I hadn't seen anything and insisted we go through it again. I expressed my fear and Tai reassured me that people wanted to answer questions and be helpful. So back through we went. And this time I enjoyed myself.
As we were walking we discovered we missed an entire row. This row was where it was for us. We rounded the corner and I saw a table covered with my favorite graphic novel, Strangers In Paradise. I thought it might be a store selling them but no, the artist, Terry Moore was sitting there, drawing. I talked to the woman next to him. She told me about his new graphic novel, Echo.

I bought the first book and Terry signed it. I had goosebumps!
Now that we were having fun. We stopped at the free swag table and got a couple of free graphic novels.

Dragon's Lair and Burn. I like the cover art on Burn.
I also spotted Kirby Krackle which I heard about on notmartha. Tai and I gave the CD a listen and decided to buy an album.

Then Tai noticed The Art of Dave Correia and stopped and talked to the artist. Dave Correia did the graphics for the Little Deivants Scion car ads:

Tai liked so much of his stuff but decided on a couple of his books.

I think we'll probably buy some of his art later.
These caught my eye:

A comic book about 2 dogs who are also demons, Out For Souls & Cookies. It's set in Seattle which I love. It's too cute.
I enjoyed the comic con. I can't wait for next year.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

 Another two this week. I read about The Secret Currency Of Love on MSN. And A Local Habitation is the next in the October Daye series.
I finished The Help. Wow, what an amazing book! My review is on The Fill In The Gaps blog.
What did you get this week?

Pretty Skirts

I love skirts but I'm so picky about what I want. If I could find a skirt like this one, I would wear it once a week! But I like a skirt with some fluff and swish to it. Like these:

Skirts by honeylin on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Women's apparel, accessories, and footwear from J. Jill
Plus Size Nassau Long Riding Skirt at Avenue.com and JessicaLondon.com, $50
Tummy Slimmer Gored Skirt - Skirts - CJ Banks, $30
Knit Waist Eyelet Hem Skirt, Plus Size, Women's, $27

I might head to the store this weekend and see if one of these wants to come home with me.

Music Makes The Movie

Over the weekend we were playing Rock Band and I sang Under Pressure. Later I was telling Tai that Under Pressure always reminds me of Grosse Pointe Blank.

 It got me thinking what other songs remind me movies? Like Bohemian Rhapsody from Wayne's World (yes, I have a thing for Queen).

Or Don't You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club:

or Lust For Life from Trainspotting:

Or Tiny Dancer from Almost Famous:

Or Benny & The Jets from 27 Dresses (I actually learned the lyrics after seeing this movie):

What are your favorite movie songs?

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

 

Oh, I'm in trouble. I put both of these on my library queue months ago. Both lists were over 1000 people. I assumed that one would come and a few months later the other one would come. I never expected them to arrive at the same time. No one bother me for the next 3 weeks. I'll be reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Help. I cannot reloot these!

What did you get this week?

Linky Love

Lately in my quest to be more healthy (eat better and move more), I've found some incredibly helpful blogs. I thought I'd share them with you since I find them so fabulous!

FitHacks-A no nonsense look how to improve your workout. I like how they don't push fads and in fact debunk myths.
Get Sassy Fit-These local babes know how to pump you up. There tips range from good music for workouts to pointers on how to get the most out of your workout.
Weightless-Excellent straightforward information about eating disorders and tips on how to have a healthy body image.
Peanut Butter Fingers & Food, Fitness, Fashion-both these lovely ladies love BodyPump and eating yummy treats.

Do you have a favorite healthy blog?

February Book Tally

February was an ok month on books. I'm going to blame it on it being a short month.

Thank You For Smoking By Christopher Buckley
When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris
Home Safe by Elizabeth Burg
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Under The Blood Red Moon by Mina Hepsen
Eve: A novel of the first woman by Elissa Elliot

Just 6 this month. Brings the total for the year to 14. I read another 2 books off my Fill In The Gaps challenge. I'm on my way to my goal for that list.