Flank Steak with Mushrooms

Tai and I decided to try to finish what was in our pantry before we buy more food. Our freezer and shelves is filled to the gills. Seattle Restaurant Week starts in 3 weeks. We decided that to save money so we could have some amazing meals, we'd eat our meals from our pantry til Restaurant Week starts.
I pulled out some flank steak but didn't have any ideas for what to make. A quick internet search pulled up Flank Steak With Mushrooms which was perfect since I had bunch of mushrooms in the fridge.

I didn't grill the steak, just broiled instead. We both really liked it. It was pretty delicious. I wish I had another flank steak. I made a pilaf blend which neither of us were crazy about. But the steak recipe is a keeper.

Thoughts on The Language of Trees by Ilie Ruby

Shellie of Layers of Thought suggested The Language of Trees to me a few months ago. I'm really glad she did. The writing is beautiful. Ruby really draws you in a paints the most gorgeous picture of this town. The story was ok-love lost, then found again. I did like the characters, but I felt they paled in comparison to the beauty of the surroundings.

The willows here grow to enduring heights of one hundred feet, their narrow leaves and long branches bent towards the ground, never forgetting their home. (pg.14)

The rain clouds ebb and flow across it, causing the sky to change from dark to light and back. At this time if year the weather is fickle, sunlight interrupted by  light rain, which dissipates into fog. (p. 58)

Who wouldn't want to visit there? It sounds magical. 

 I enjoyed reading The Language of Trees. It was a lyrical escape. Beautifully written. I look forward to Ruby's next book. 

Other thoughts on The Language of Trees: Devourer of Books, Chaotic Compendium, and Library Queue.

Baked French Toast

I bought 2 loaves of French bread the other day and miraculously only one got eaten. If you know me that's a real miracle. I've spoke of my love for French bread before and sometimes two loaves will get eaten in a day or two especially if I have some yummy cheese laying around. But one whole loaf was still around over the weekend. On Saturday, I decided we'd have french toast on Sunday and got to work on getting a recipe. I did some digging and found this recipe which I used as a base. I've added my modifications.


Ingredients

10 slices of bread (I could only fit 4 slices in one pan. I used 2 pans and had 8 slices total)
3 large eggs (I used 8)
1 2/3 cups almond milk (I used 2 cups of lactose free milk and 1 1/2 cup of soy cream)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (Used 2 tsp)
1/2 tsp orange extract (Used 3 tsps)

butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish.

use random slices of bread, slicing in half where necessary, squeeze slices slightly to fit if necessary. lay into buttered pan, in two layers.

Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and extracts until combined well, then pour evenly over bread. Chill, covered with foil, until bread has absorbed all of custard, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day, depending on bread.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Bring mixture to room temperature, flip slices, and sprinkle bread with turbinado sugar.

Bake, uncovered, in middle of oven until bread is puffed and top is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately with genuine maple sugar.

I followed the rest of recipe and got this:

There was a lot of extra custard even after I left it overnight. It baked up nicely and tasted delicious. It was very orange-y so if you aren't a fan of orange, I'd skip and use either a little more vanilla or maybe even maple extract. I can't wait to make this again. It would be terrific for a bunch or if you had overnight guests.

A Tale of Two Pizzas

Tai and I recently tried 2 new to us pizza places. First we tried Brooklyn Bros Pizzeria.

I loved this sign.

We ordered the Bowery:

It was delicious! Tai wanted dessert (a cannoli):

Yummy!
A little closer to home, we tried Mod Pizza. I liked that their pizzas are only $5.88 for a 10" pizza with as many toppings are you want. Below are pictures from my first meal there. I've been there numerous times since.
This one has mushrooms, artichokes, olives and green peppers.

I also got a salad which came with garlic knots. Yum-o!

I'll be frequenting both restaurants again. Have any great pizza lately?

BBAW-Future Treasures

We’ve been visiting each other and getting to know each other better…now is your chance to share what you enjoyed about BBAW and also what your blogging goals are for the next year!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other bloggers. That's my favorite thing. Blogging sometimes can sometimes be a solitary venture-one person talking about books. I'm not fond of talking in a vacuum. That's why I join BBAW, readathons, and read alongs. To participate with others and share.
My goals for the upcoming year are to continue to share about what I read and  to participate in the blogging community. I love being here and I'm honored that you spend a few minutes of your day with me. Here's to another fantastic year!

BBAW-Forgotten Treasure

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction.  This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

I have 2 books to share. The first one is the one I blogged about yesterday-Almost Perfect. If you like an amazing love story with two wonderful and vulnerable people, then this is the book for you. I lost myself in their story. Logan meets Sage and is instantly drawn to her. Sage likes Logan but she can't let him close. Her secret could drive him away forever. You know when you meet someone and you want to know everything about them but then that one thing, the dealbreaker. But can you move past the dealbreaker and stay with the person? About half the book deals with Sage's secret, her dealbreaker. Can Logan move past that to be with Sage or is it a dealbreaker?

When my coworker lent me Sweeping Up Glass, I wasn't sure if I would like it. I don't usually read mysteries, but this book isn't a real mystery in the typical sense. Sure there's an element of what's going to happen but it's a story about life. Again the characters here stayed with me long after I finished the book. Like life, you never knew what was going to happen in Olivia's life. It was a ride but one with a comfortable blanket, surrounded by good people. I was surprised how many people had read it but I still hope that more people read it.

BBAW-Unexpected Treasure

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger.  What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, then you know I blame Staci for a lot of the books I read and put on my tbr pile. I can't help it. She reads so many fantastic books! Earlier this year she reviewed Almost Perfect, a teen romance featuring a transgendered girl. Her review was so moving that I immediately requested Almost Perfect from the library. Staci didn't lead me astray. Almost Perfect is one of my favorites of the year despite that I don't read a lot of LGBTQ books. I give it my highest recommendation. I And I have Staci to thank for sharing it!
Click here if you want to read my thoughts on Almost Perfect.

BBAW-Interview with Danielle of There's A Book

 

One of my favorite things about BBAW is the chance to meet new-to-me bloggers. And this year's interview swap is no different. I had the honor of interviewing Danielle of There's A Book.  She interviewed me so check out my responses on her blog!

Tell us a little a bit about yourself.
Well, I'm a stay at home mom of two wonderful little kiddos I call the Turkeybird and Littlebug. I'm also married to a fabulous husband (recently practicing attorney, yay!) who tolerates every bit of my book obsession with grace, except for when he's fighting over a book with me. Besides that, I love to read (obviously), write, play the flute and am very active in my church. I started my blog almost a year ago with the intention of sharing books for children of all ages in an effort to help parents find books that match their own children's tastes. It's been a labor of love and I can't wait for many more years of blogging.

I have a hard time posting on one blog so I'm in awe that you contribute to 2 blogs (There's A Book and Chick Lit Reviews) Is it hard posting on 2 blogs?Yes, and no. I have wonderful co-bloggers (Leah & Chloe) at Chick Lit Reviews who do the majority of the posting. My features generally run on Saturday's and talk about "American" Chick Lit. It's been great because I have an outlet to discuss something outside the realm of children's literature at least once a week. What is becoming increasingly difficult about it is the time to read, but honestly I think we all have that problem in some form! Too many books, too little time!

 

A lot of book bloggers have a book that turned them into book bloggers. A book they wanted to share & talk about with others. What helped start you blogging?
My reasons for starting my site had more to do with my children than anything actually. When my son was born he loved to read and it was hard to keep up with all the books. It was also extremely difficult to find the "right" books. I would visit bookstores and the library and be baffled at what to choose because he was very particular. Now, with his sister it's also quite difficult as she has very different taste in books than her brother. So, I knew I couldn't be alone in my dilemma and decided I wanted to help. Thus, started me on my book blogging journey.

 

What do you find to be the best part of book blogging?

By far, the association with other book bloggers! Second to that would be the association with authors. Both of these were completely unexpected, but I've met some of the best people while book blogging and I can't wait to meet more.

What’s the hardest part of book blogging?
For me, time. Obviously my plate is a little full with two little ones, but I make time by staying up late and squeezing things in during naps. I make it work because I love it.

 

What types of books do you avoid if any?
I'm definitely not a fan of Erotica type books as that's just not the type of book I read. The other would be self-published books, they generally don't work so well in the Children's book market.

 

What book do you love that other people seem to dislike?
This is a tough question! Umm...probably the Twilight series. Recently there has been a lot of speaking out against the series, but in all honesty I love it. I have every book signed and reread them on occasion. I feel like no matter whether you like the writing or books, Meyer started something in the book world that can't be denied and I'm very happy she did.

 

What book did you dislike that others love? 
Pretty much any Classic novel. I'm just not a huge fan unfortunately. My least favorite would be Wuthering Heights. I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters, it was too negative and confusing for me.

Advice for newer book bloggers?
Do it because you love it, not because you want books. Books will come, but the love will wain once the stacks become overwhelming. It's important to remember why you got into blogging. Because books rock and the community does as well!

Thank you Danielle for answering all my questions. Check out Danielle at There's A Book and Chick Lit Reviews and on twitter @The1stdaughter. 

BBAW-First Treasure

We invite you to share with us about a great new book blog you’ve discovered since BBAW last year!  If you are new to BBAW or book blogging, share with us the very first book blog you discovered.  Tell us why this blog rocks your socks off and why you keep going back for more.

things mean a lot

Nymeth isn't a new blogger. I see her everywhere. I can't tell you why I waited so long to join the following. I enjoyed participating in  her Middlemarch readalong. She made reading such a huge a little more fun. I love her reviews. I sad she's going to be blogging less but totally understand why. Grad school will keep a person busy.
Do you read things mean a lot?

Thoughts on Broken: A Love Story by Lisa Jones

I choose to read Broken after reading Bibliophile by The Sea's review. I liked the idea that the interviewee of a memoir could change the life of the interviewer. And it had been sometime since I read a memoir I decided to check Broken out.
Jones goes to visit Stan Addison for a magazine article. Stan, a quadriplegic, breaks horses and his methods are world renowned. Stan is also a healer/medicine man. Jones has lots of everyday problems-a boyfriend who won't get married, father issues, insecurities. While at Stan's on assignment she discovers a peace and calm she doesn't feel anywhere else. So for four years she travels between her home in Colorado to Stan's home in Wyoming to learn about life, love, and finding her center.
I loved the journey everyone was on in this book. All trying to find peace-within themselves and with others. It was a beautiful, honest story. It left me with a sense of hope for the futures of those in the book as well as for all of us.
Other who read Broken and shared their thoughts: Reading Extravaganza, Circles of Light, and Minding Spot.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marge 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!

 After reading My Books. My Life's review of My Name is Memory, I immediately added it to my library queue. It had been on my to read list but her review pushed me to read it sooner than later. I've been getting more and more books but not reading them as fast as I like. I hoped I don't start relooting again. After I get through this glut of books, I'm going back to being good and only requesting more books when I'm done with my current loot.
What did you get this week?

Getting My Geek On At PAX

For years I've been waiting to go to PAX, a festival about games (tabletop, card, and video games). Every year I miss the opportunity to buy tickets. This year my friends were on top of things and got us tickets for PAX. So Saturday morning we got in this line to check out what was coming out in everything games:

There were probably 1000 people in line when we got there at 9:15am (doors opened at 10am). Once they opened the doors we rushed in. I was excited to wander around the Expo Hall and see what was there.

I'm excited for the Tron movie coming out. And they had the new Tron game. I didn't wait in line to play the game but from what I saw it looked pretty cool.

I was excited to see the Delorean from Back to the Future. It was there to promote their new game.

Patrick thought this bike was pretty cool.
I bought one game-The Last Night on Earth-a tabletop game. The guy who was demoing the game was part of the company and worked on this game. He had a lot of enthusiasm for the game and it made me excited for the game. Besides it sounded like a lot of fun for a game night.
There was a lot I missed at PAX since I was there for a short period of time. I can't wait for next year and do it all over again!

Thoughts on Middlemarch by George Eliot

Yea! Finally done with Middlemarch. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it. It was a long book and it took me almost a month to read. I summarized my thoughts halfway last week but I thought I would talk a little about the characters and why I liked or didn't like them.
Dorothea-Probably my favorite character in the book. Dorothea longs for a life different that she has. She longs to be poor (or maybe just not as rich). She wants to learn more and not be constrained by what's right for women to learn. Dorothea speaks her mind overall and, in my mind, is the most steady of the characters.
Mr Casaubon-I liked Mr Casaubon at the beginning. Over time, I pitied him. Here's this older gentleman, doing ok in life. He meets this young woman who wants to be his companion and assist him with his writings. After marrying Dorothea, it seemed like he didn't know what to do with her. Honestly I think he probably would have been better off with a secretary than a wife.
Mr Brooks-This man's speech patterns annoyed the crap out of me. Overall nice man, just never looked forward to him speaking.
Celia-Not as much substance as Dorothea. But she served as a nice opposite to Dorothea. Celia was happy to get married, have babies, and do as expected by the rest of society.
Rosamond-Similar to Celia. She was a good opposite to Dorothea as well. I did want to write her off but she proved helpful at the end. After she marries Mr Lydgate, Rosy has to learn that life sometimes isn't as easy as it was when you live with your folks.
Fred & Mary-Probably my favorite couple. I loved the evolution of "them". I was excited by their happy ending in the Finale. I also liked her mother and father. Could have read a book about the Garths on their own happily.
Will-My favorite male character. In the beginning he seemed like a shyster but redeemed himself in my eyes by refusing Mr Bulstrode's money and attempting to leave Dorothea to live her life without his interference.
Overall I enjoyed Middlemarch. Especially the last half. Once I understood what was going on and what Eliot was trying to do (the life of a town's inhabitants and how they affect each other), I relaxed and enjoyed Middlemarch. It's a beautiful story of love, family, honor, trust, patience, and society.
Other's who have read and shared their feelings on Middlemarch: Things Mean A Lot, Vishy's Blog, and  Bookstove.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marge 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!

Don't you love it when books you've been waiting on become available? It's like Christmas. Problem is they tend to come in clumps. What can you do?
Starting on the upper left is Bayou which I read about on The Bookgirl of Mur-y-Castell. It sounded like such a great graphic novel. I wanted to read it immediately. Next (top right) is Feed. I've been excited about this book for a while. Then The Language of Trees which was recommended by Shellie at Layers of Thought. Lastly Dime Store Magic, the next in Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series.
Are you on Goodreads? Friend me!
What did you get this week?

August Book Tally

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan
Moose by Stephanie Klein
Middlemarch by George Eliot

It was a poor month tally wise. Only 3 this month :( 50 for the yearly total. Middlemarch was my only Fill In The Gap book, bringing that total to 25. I'm glad to get that chunkster out of the way.

Fighting Negative Talk

Back in February when I was feeling low, a lot of you mentioned you felt similarly. Since then I found a lot of great ideas and tips to help combat negative self image. I thought I'd share what I found and hope it helps some of you as well.

10 Ways To Stop Fat Talk For Good-Weightless is a great blog with lots of great information about eating disorders and negative body image.
Body Image & Self-Acceptance-Another great post from Weightless.
Happily Overcoming Depression- The Art of Wise Living is a great blog with a wonderful message about positive life goals.
The Fat Girl's Guide to Being Irresistible-Even To Yourself-The Fat Girl's Guide talks about all sort of topics relating to living life, happy in your skin.
Women's Magazine: Body Shame and Subtle Messages-One reason that I stopped reading women's magazines.
What We Can Control-Sally has such a positive message and I love how she talks about body image and celebrating all body types.
Boost Your Body with a Mantra-Going from negative thoughts to more healthy positive thoughts.

And I have 2 songs that also help me get through anything:
This Too Shall Pass-Ok Go

The Middle-Jimmy Eat World


Do you have any tips that work for you?

Thoughts on Middlemarch (Halfway)

 I wrote a midway post so I could participate in Nymeth's Middlemarch readalong. A post containing my full thoughts on the book will be up next week or the week after.

If I had one word to describe Middlemarch it would be dense. Each page is packed with information that advances the plot. It’s actually caused me to notice why I have trouble with classics. I cannot skim which I do frequently with contemporary books. Yes, I admit I skim books. I usually read the beginning, first 50-80 pages. If nothing really catches me then I skim/read the rest of the book. With Middlemarch there is no room to skim. I have to give it 110% of my attention something that’s so hard for me to do. If I’m not totally engrossed in a book, then look shiny thing!

Around page 200, I considered throwing in the towel. But so many people talked about how they liked the book and since it’s on my Fill In The Gaps Challenge and I wasn’t hating the book, I had to find a way to keep reading. After reading the information in Wikipedia, I felt that I would really enjoy the rest of the book. I’m about ½ and really enjoying it now.

I really like Dorothea. She’s a smart women in an age where smart women weren’t listened to. She’s not content to be left out of the conversation. Dorothea wants to learn more in order to contribute. Here’s another reason I almost quit reading. After the first bit, Dorothea drops out of the story for a few 100 pages. And the other characters weren’t as interesting. Ok, I was interested in Mary and Fred. Mary is another headstrong woman. She’s doing her own thing, making her own “bread” (money). Fred’s a nice guy but not interested in a job. Fred likes to party and gamble. Fred loves Mary but Mary won’t marry him unless he finds an occupation (and not the clergy). I enjoyed their banter. They seemed like the most real couple to me.

I’ll hold the rest of my observations til I finish the rest. Cross your fingers that I can finish it this weekend.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marge 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!

 Just one for me this week. Clementine, the second in the Clockwork Century series. I enjoyed the first one-Boneshaker-and have high hopes for this new one.
I'm still reading Middlemarch. I'll have a midbook post later this week. My book stats for this month will suck!
What did you get this week?

My Favorite Food Posts

I love food. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to grocery shop. If it involves food, I'll be there. Here are some of my favorite food posts of the last 3 years.

Yummy Cheese-Ashley, Marta and I went to the Art Restaurant to try their all you can eat cheese bar. I highly recommend this if you are ever in the Seattle area.
Baked Lemon Chicken-This is one of my favorite chicken dishes. I love the yummy lemon sauce.
The Time I Made Risotto-I'm so proud I made risotto once. Sadly I haven't attempted to make it again!
La Carta De Oaxaca-For ladies' night out we tried this fantastic restaurant in Ballard. I have since taken Tai there. He loved it and I see us venturing back there again.
Cabbage Mint Salad-A Tai favorite. I make this all the time.
Jennifer's Easter Soup-I'm looking forward to Easter to eat this again!
Sukiyaki-Tai had wanted me to learn how to make this traditional Japanese dish and I complied. I love to make it on chilly winter nights.
Churrascaria-The first and only time Tai and I have made it to a churrascaria. Someday we'll go to another one.
John McCain's Ribs-my go to rib recipe. I love them!
Dairy-free Quiche and Cheesecake-I attempt to make dairy free options for Tai when I can. I enjoy attempting to recreate his favorite dishes.

I'm hoping that this fall/winter I'll have more time to cook and maybe take a cooking class or two. Plus I'll be trying some more fantastic Seattle area restaurants and sharing my thoughts on them.

3

Happy blog anniversary to me! Three years ago I started this little blog. I started the blog when I was planning our wedding. Since then I've started blogging about books, food, travel, and life in a suburb of Seattle.
This week I'm going to recap some of my old favorite posts. But I thought I'd do a little recap in case you haven't been here for the whole story.

This is me and Tai. We met in 2006 on match.com. Yes I met my husband on the internet. I "winked" at him, we started emailing and met about a week later. I was smitten from the beginning.
Tai asked me to marry him on Memorial Day 2007 and we got married at Tolt MacDonald Campground in Carnation on July 19, 2008. Since then we've had our share of ups and downs, but we're still going strong. Our most recent happy news is that Tai now has a permanent job (He'd been a contract employee for a year). Yea!
I enjoy reading, Zumba, watching movies, and cooking. I cook less now that our workout schedule has increased and we drink protein shakes after our workouts. We love spending time at home watching tv shows and movies as well as being with our friends. Tai is an avid gamer (both tabletop games and video games) and a voracious reader. Tai plays volleyball and does Krav Maga.
Thank you all for being out there in Internetland and joining me in this adventure. I wouldn't do this without all of you :)

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marge 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!

 Just one for me this week. I picked up Broken: A Love Story after reading Bibliophile By The Sea's review. I kept it on my tbr list until I had "space" to add it to my library loot. I'm looking forward to reading it.
I'm slogging through Middlemarch. It's not that I don't like it. It's not a book for short reading sessions. I need longer reading sessions (an hour or more). I'm considering reading something else to give myself a little break.
What did you get this week?

I'm Going To Be Whiny For A Minute

I want this:

image found here

and this:

image found here

and this:

image found here

Instead I have this:

 image found here

Happy Monday. Hope you're week goes well.

Faith 21

I wrote about Faith 21(Forever 21's plus size shop) a while ago. I considered ordering some items but I kept hearing that the clothes ran small. I decided to wait and see if they brought any clothing to my local store. The one in Northgate does have a fairly decent selection but when I was in Portland I bought a couple of things from Faith 21.

This lace top. I love lace and have been wanting an all lace top. Looking forward to wearing it soon.

Ignore the post workout hair and the fact I still have my gym pants on! I guess the consider this a dress. It's a little short for me so I think I'll wear it with slim jeans.

Untitled by honeylin on Polyvore.com

 These are some other shirts I'm drooling over. Overall I was pretty happy with their clothes. I usually wear a 20-22 top and I bought both tops in 3x. The dress is plenty comfy and the tank is a little roomy (might have been able to buy a smaller size). Have you tried Faith 21? What do you think of their clothes?

Moose By Stephanie Klein

 Thanks to Books On The Brain for introducing me to Moose by Stephanie Klein. Klein reminded me a lot of myself growing up. Insecure about her body, she struggled to lose weight. Unlike my parents, hers hindered to process, telling her that people would stop making fun of her if she was thin. News flash insecurity makes people tease others about fat, pimples, body hair, and height. My father told me that if I wasn't happy I should seek ways to change my attitude, not my body size. Fat, thin, tall or short, you are the same person. Anyhoo.
Klein recounts her summers at fat camp and melds them into one long story full of rejection, love, friendship, and bulimia. I loved her descriptions of the other campers and what they might be doing years later.

"Marguerite Bennetts from Maryland, sat on a top bunk...picking her braces...I imagine her now as a social worker who insists on using a rubber ball, instead of a chair, to strengthen her core."

Or Tara who probably became " a tanorexic, a women who always asks for booth with the newest bulbs".

 Klein is honest and real. After all of her descriptions of fat camp, I expected her to be like and I lost 1000 pounds, I love carrot sticks and exercise for 4 hours a day and I love it! You know like most fat transformation books, but no. I won't ruin the ending but Klein's a real woman with real every day problems-troubled relationships, pregnancy, the fear of being too fat. I highly recommend to anyone who's struggled with their weight or has young girls in their life who may be struggling with their weight. This is a book that will make you think about your own journey and struggles along the way.
Other reviews can be found at Reading Thru The Night, Books On The Brain, Chick Loves Lit, The Book Zombie, and Book Binge.

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

I picked up The Strain for Tai a few weeks ago. When he was done, he handed it to me and said "Read this". He doesn't say that often so I read it. Yeah I couldn't put the book down. It was like reading a movie. The action is fast paced and the characters feel generic (old man, doctor/skeptic, teen son) but are likable.
The Strain is the first in a trilogy about a virus that's infecting New York. A plane lands at JFK, all but 4 passengers are dead. The four that survive are sick but recover quickly. We don't learn a whole lot about these four (a lawyer/mom, a rock star, a veteran, and a computer programmer). I think we learn the most about Ansel, the computer programmer. His wife has some severe mental illnesses that make it hard for her to leave the home. She relies on Ansel to deal with the outside world so when he becomes "ill" she can't handle it.
Dr. Eph is a divorced dad, trying to maintain some sort of custody of his son, Zack. Dr. Eph is the CDC doctor in Manhattan and called to figure out why people died on the plane and why 4 people survived. Abraham Setrakian is a Holocaust survivor who's seen this virus before. He's been searching the globe for the creature responsible for the virus. Vasiliy Fet is an exterminator who's concerned about the growing rat problem in New York. There's an imbalance in the ecosystem causing the rats to flood the streets during the day. This team (plus Nora, Dr Eph's colleague and sometimes lover) takes to investigating and irradiating New York of the vampires (yes, the virus turns people into vampires). 
Now before you go thinking this is another vampire book and decided to not read it, let tell you this isn't like those other vampire novels. No one (well, one person) is sympathetic to the vampires. They don't sparkle, have southern accents or look good with their shirts off*. The vampires are hunters, looking for world domination. No living peacefully with the humans. No vegetarian vampires here. These vamps are definitely blood sucking fiends!
I really enjoyed The Strain. It was a terrific, high paced romp. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy. Highly recommended (unless you have a weak stomach or are prone to nightmares, then you may want to avoid).
Others who posted their thoughts on The Strain: A Book Blog. Period, Chaotic Compendiums, Devourer of Books, and Olduvai Reads.
*You know I'm not a hater. I love those books!

My I Don't Have Cancer Story

Carly's post the other day about how she doesn't have cancer made me think about a funny story about how I don't have cancer.
This happened a few years ago. I went in for my normal pap. It came back abnormal. I went back about 6 months later and it was abnormal again. My GP asked me to see a gynecologist for "a more complete exam". I called the lady parts doc for an appointment and was told the first appointment was in 3 months. I figured that it wasn't serious and I shouldn't worry. I waited (patiently) for 3 months and went to my appointment.
Once inside the gynie's office, the nurse asked me some routine questions (if I had abnormal paps regularly, if I had spotting or other problems). The abnormal pap was the strangest thing so the nurse told me the doc would right in.
About 2 seconds later, the lady parts doc comes racing and loudly says "You don't have cancer! I don't see why you had to keep calling in a panic for an earlier appointment." Huh? I never called during that 3 months to request an earlier appointment. And I never thought I had cancer until she mentioned it. Another woman had a similar problem and the doc confused me with her. Nice, glad to see you read the charts. And thanks for scaring the crap out of me. I love being naked and scared!
We started the exam and that's when she tells me she's going to numb my cervix so she can take a sample.

Me: Hm, what does that mean? 

Lady Parts Doc: Oh I'm going snip a bit of your cervix off. 

Me: Wha-Oh shit that fucking hurt! 

A word to the wise, don't let anyone take bits of your cervix. It ain't fun. Doc tells me the results will be ready in about a week and leaves.
I went home and waited (slightly freaked out that I could have cancer). The results came back negative and I've never had an abnormal pap since. I still remember with terror though the cervix snipping. Haunts my dreams, man.

Beautiful Blogger Award

The lovely Lisa gave me this award-the Beautiful Blogger award! To accept the award, I am supposed to tell you ten things about me. So, here are 10 things about me!

1. I've lived within 20 miles of the house I grew up in for the last 11 years.

2. I went to college in a tiny town in Ohio.

3. Going away to college was the furthest I'd ever been from home with my parents in my life.

4. I have a half brother who is 16 years older than me.

5. I have an overactive imagination and get scared easily by scary books and movies.

6. I have a tendency to multi-task much to the dismay of my husband. I constantly watch tv, while surfing the internet or make dinner with a book in hand. This drives him batty.

7. I have a hard time sitting still. I have to be really engrossed in what I'm doing to not thinking about a million other things I could be doing.

8. Working in a library would be my dream job. I'm looking for opportunities to make that happen!

9. I'm a pretty sound sleeper. Once I'm out you could have a party and I would be none the wiser!

10. I haven't been cooking a whole lot lately. We both have shakes 3 nights a week. Thursday I usually grab something while running Tai to volleyball. Fridays and the weekends we are on the run, meeting friends or being completely lazy. I miss cooking but don't want to change my schedule.

Must Have Shoes-The Basics

When I go shopping, I'm always looking for black shoes and brown shoes. It doesn't matter if I just bought a pair. If I have 2 pairs I love, I will always buy additional black and brown shoes. I wear black or brown shoes just about daily. They go with 90% of my outfits. And I wear through shoes like no tomorrow.
A lot of times I'll have extra shoes in boxes waiting for my current shoes to bite the dust. Prevents me from having nothing to wear one Tuesday morning.
Here are some cute black shoes:

Black Shoes by honeylin featuring Old Navy shoes

And here are some cute brown ones:

Brown Shoes by honeylin featuring Old Navy shoes

What about you? What are your must have shoes?

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

I choose to read Silver Phoenix after reading about it on My Friend Amy's blog. I was hoping that by reading and reviewing this book, I would be able to give it some more press and inspire others to read it and perhaps buy it.
Silver Phoenix is the story of Ai Ling, a 17 year old woman. To escape a bad marriage match and find her father, Ai Ling goes on a journey and learns more about herself and her special abilities. There's plenty of romance, intrigue, mystical powers, and friendship. I liked Ai Ling. She felt ordinary but she's not. She had to learn to trust herself and push beyond society's norms for women. I really enjoyed the story. I'm looking forward to continuing the series. Recommended.
Other reviews can be found at: The Book Smugglers, Mindful Musings, and The Ya Ya Yas.

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marge 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 was almost of books (well I always own something to read on my own shelves, but I was down to my last 2 library books) so I picked a few more books from the library. First we have Middlemarch by George Elliot. It's on my FITG list and Nymeth is having a Middlemarch read along this month so I decided it was a perfect time to read it. Next is Moose by Stephanie Klein which I read about Books On The Brain. The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery is also for my FITG list.
What did you get this week?

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Wow, I now know a lot about Salt. I remember seeing Salt: A World History back when it came out. I don't read a lot of nonfiction but I love history and I love food. When I find a book that combines both, sign me up!
Alton Brown (my favorite Food Channel personality) talks about salt and why people cook with it.

Once I saw this episode of Good Eats, the more varied in my salt collection (seen here). It's easy to see why I wanted to read Salt. I love salt but I didn't know much about this important element. I learned how salt is harvested, used as a currency and how it shaped cultures around the world. I know now more about salt than I ever thought I would. Salt also talks about 2 of my favorite condiments and how they rely on salt-soy sauce and Tabasco.
Kurlansky really walks you through the world and it's need for salt. Not only in food form but as a commodity to trade with other countries. The book is never dull as it shifts from Asia to Europe to Africa to North America. Telling stories we've heard before, uncovering facts and teaching me about history through one item-salt. Fascinating! Recommended for foodies and history buffs.
Others who read Salt: A World History and shared their thoughts: Lal's Niche, Ex Libris, My American Essentials, and David's Irreverent Book Reviews.

July Book Tally

Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall This Year I Will...by MJ Ryan The Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer Boneshaker by Cherie Priest Six Characters In Search Of An Author by Luigi Pirandello Dry by Augusten Burroughs Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon The Newlywed Kitchen by Lorna Yee Nine books this month. Best month ever! Brings my yearly total to 47. I'm pretty close to beating my last year's number (52). I read two books (Dry and Six Characters in Search of An Author) off my Fill In The Gaps list which brings the list to 14 this year (24 total). I'll have reviews of Salt and Silver Phoenix up this week.