61. "Diary" by Chuck Palahniuk 261 pages
62. "Darkfever" by Karen Marie Moning 304 pages
63. "Dead Over Heels" by Charlaine Harris 205 pages
64. "From Dead to Worse" by Charlaine Harris 359 pages
65. "The Voice on the Radio" by Caroline B. Cooney 183 pages
66. "Dead until Dark" by Charlaine Harris 312 pages
67. "The Face on the Milk Carton" by Caroline B Cooney 184 pages
68. "Whatever Happened to Janie" by Caroline B Cooney 217 pages
69. "What Janie Found" by Caroline B Cooney 181 pages
70. "Witchlight" by L.J. Smith 227 pages
71. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini 367 pages
My reading slowed down a little towards the end of the month because I finally found a job out here. I discovered that two more books were written in "The Face On the Milk Carton" series that I loved growing up. I went back and read all of those. I finally finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns," which I liked a great deal, but not as much as "The Kite Runner." "Diary" was not the best of Palahniuk's books in my opinion. It was somehow lacking in luster to me. The rest of the books on this months list are vampire, werewolf, fairy, etc books.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
CONTEST!
My lovely friend Toushonta from Scentsational Soaps has had some great things happening for her lately. Her wonderful products are getting some much deserved attention. Her amazing body butters were given out in the VH1 Awards swag bags this year. Now Urban Latina Magazine is hosting a giveaway that features her products. To enter, please visit Toushonta's blog, Scentsational Moments.
Update
I didn't realize it's been so long since I last updated. I finally found a job in my new town. I'm working at a clinic. It's fast paced and I'm never bored. I'm getting used to my hours - which are not the same every day. I like my job, but for now it's keeping me on my toes.
School is also keeping me busy. I am breezing through my math class. I hate my art history 1 class. It's online and the professor isn't very clear on what she is looking for. I'll get through it.
I haven't had time for much else We took the girls to the fair last weekend. They loved looking at the animals and the rides. I fell in love with a floppy earred bunny, but came to my sense and realized it's too darn hot here to keep a bunny.
I will try to write something more substantial when the dust settles.
School is also keeping me busy. I am breezing through my math class. I hate my art history 1 class. It's online and the professor isn't very clear on what she is looking for. I'll get through it.
I haven't had time for much else We took the girls to the fair last weekend. They loved looking at the animals and the rides. I fell in love with a floppy earred bunny, but came to my sense and realized it's too darn hot here to keep a bunny.
I will try to write something more substantial when the dust settles.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
August Book Log
50. "R is for Richocet" by Sue Grafton 352 pages
51. "K is for Killer" by Sue Grafton 292 pages
52. "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham 226 pages
53. "Things Fall Apart" by Chunua Achebe 209 pages
54. "Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident" by Eoin Colfer 398 pages
55. "Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son" by Dean Koontz 469 pages
56. "Frankenstein: City of Night" by Dean Koontz 455 pages
57. "Get Shorty" by Elmore Leonard 292 pages
58. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson (audio book)
59. "Definately Dead" by Charlaine Harris 495 pages (large print)
60. "Blood Noir" by Laurell K. Hamilton 340 pages
I was so not impressed with "Blood Noir." I liked reading the Anita Blake series because Anita was tough as nails and had scruples. I didn't mind some sex in Hamilton's books, but this last one reads like a porn from the opening chapter to the very end. There is so much sex that there wasn't any room for Anita to be a bad ass. I was not impressed.
I liked the two Frankenstein books. Koontz was supposed to release the last one in 2006 but as yet there is still no sign of it. It's a shame because I would love to read it.
I have three more books to read and I'm finished with Sue Grafton's alphabet series. Well, until she writes the next one.
"The Hours," "Things Come Undone" and "Get Shorty" were all on the 1001 books to read before you die list. I didn't like "The Hours" as much as "A Home At the End of the World". "Things Come Undone" was almost painful to read towards the end. It seems to drag on in parts. I liked "Get Shorty," Elmore Leonard has an laid back writing style that is easy to read.
51. "K is for Killer" by Sue Grafton 292 pages
52. "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham 226 pages
53. "Things Fall Apart" by Chunua Achebe 209 pages
54. "Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident" by Eoin Colfer 398 pages
55. "Frankenstein: The Prodigal Son" by Dean Koontz 469 pages
56. "Frankenstein: City of Night" by Dean Koontz 455 pages
57. "Get Shorty" by Elmore Leonard 292 pages
58. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson (audio book)
59. "Definately Dead" by Charlaine Harris 495 pages (large print)
60. "Blood Noir" by Laurell K. Hamilton 340 pages
I was so not impressed with "Blood Noir." I liked reading the Anita Blake series because Anita was tough as nails and had scruples. I didn't mind some sex in Hamilton's books, but this last one reads like a porn from the opening chapter to the very end. There is so much sex that there wasn't any room for Anita to be a bad ass. I was not impressed.
I liked the two Frankenstein books. Koontz was supposed to release the last one in 2006 but as yet there is still no sign of it. It's a shame because I would love to read it.
I have three more books to read and I'm finished with Sue Grafton's alphabet series. Well, until she writes the next one.
"The Hours," "Things Come Undone" and "Get Shorty" were all on the 1001 books to read before you die list. I didn't like "The Hours" as much as "A Home At the End of the World". "Things Come Undone" was almost painful to read towards the end. It seems to drag on in parts. I liked "Get Shorty," Elmore Leonard has an laid back writing style that is easy to read.
Praying Mantis
Leaving the museum today, I found a praying mantis on my windshield. It was huge and bright green, and, well, it gives me the heebie jeebies. Upon arriving home I found another one above my door. Since I don’t know much about them other than that they are creepy and eat their mates, I decided to go on the internet and find out more about them.
I also found this amigurumi knitting pattern on etsy. Cute but creepy. She also sells patterns for owls, octopi, starfish and more. One of these days I will learn how to knit.
If you’re into jewelry, you can accessorize with praying mantis with this necklace by Artdawgs Jewelry.
Finally, check out this puppet from Kritters in the Mailbox. If your little one loved “Bugs Life” he will dig all the insect puppets they have available.
Most of my information comes from Nature's Best. Praying mantis come from the same family as grasshoppers, crickets, and cockroaches (Eww!). There are three main species of praying mantis in North America: European mantid, the Chinese mantid, and the Carolina mantid.
Praying mantises can grow as big as 6 inches long (eww!). They eat butterflies, moths, bees, flies, beetles and other mantises. They also occasionally eat frogs, lizards and small birds.
Praying mantises have two sets of wings but are not distance flyers. Only the males can fly as the females are too heavy with eggs.
Praying mantis females do often eat their partner’s after mating. Ick! If you are so inclined, you can see a video of that here.
Apparently people buy praying mantises to eat bugs in their garden. Some people even keep them as pets. I have even heard of people that let them run loose in their house. To each their own, but I would never be able to sleep if I knew one of those things was running around.
This oil painting by Romérita Prates depicts a scene I swear I’ve seen in my nightmares.
I also found this amigurumi knitting pattern on etsy. Cute but creepy. She also sells patterns for owls, octopi, starfish and more. One of these days I will learn how to knit.
If you’re into jewelry, you can accessorize with praying mantis with this necklace by Artdawgs Jewelry.
Finally, check out this puppet from Kritters in the Mailbox. If your little one loved “Bugs Life” he will dig all the insect puppets they have available.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
May - July Book Log
May
27. "The Darkest Evening of the Year" by Dean Koontz 562 pages
28. "Coyote Blue" by Christopher Moore 303 pages
29. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini 324 pages
30. "1st to Die" by James Patterson 432 pages
31. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov 320 pages
32. "The 5th Horseman" by James Patterson 410 pages
33. "The Hollow Skull" by Christopher Pike 210 pages
June
34. "Odd Hours" by Dean Koontz 352 pages
35. "At Risk" by Patricia Cornwell 212 pages
36. "The Optimist's Daughter" by Eudora Welty 180 pages
37. "The Orange Blossom Special" by Betsy Carter 296 pages
38. "The 6th Target" by James Patterson 326 pages
39. "All Together Dead" by Charlaine Harris 323 pages
July
40. "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen 212 pages
41. "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams 211 pages
42. "Belle De Jour: Diary of An Unlikely Call Girl" by Anonymous 291 pages
43. "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams 277 pages
44. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell 128 pages
45. "Blood Roses" by Francesca Lia Block 129 pages
46. "Jack and Jill" by James Patterson 466 pages
47. "No Place Like Home" by Mary Higgens Clark 472 pages
48. "The Pawn" by Steven James 427 pages
49. "M is For Malice" by Sue Grafton 300 pages
27. "The Darkest Evening of the Year" by Dean Koontz 562 pages
28. "Coyote Blue" by Christopher Moore 303 pages
29. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini 324 pages
30. "1st to Die" by James Patterson 432 pages
31. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov 320 pages
32. "The 5th Horseman" by James Patterson 410 pages
33. "The Hollow Skull" by Christopher Pike 210 pages
June
34. "Odd Hours" by Dean Koontz 352 pages
35. "At Risk" by Patricia Cornwell 212 pages
36. "The Optimist's Daughter" by Eudora Welty 180 pages
37. "The Orange Blossom Special" by Betsy Carter 296 pages
38. "The 6th Target" by James Patterson 326 pages
39. "All Together Dead" by Charlaine Harris 323 pages
July
40. "Flipped" by Wendelin Van Draanen 212 pages
41. "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams 211 pages
42. "Belle De Jour: Diary of An Unlikely Call Girl" by Anonymous 291 pages
43. "Mostly Harmless" by Douglas Adams 277 pages
44. "Animal Farm" by George Orwell 128 pages
45. "Blood Roses" by Francesca Lia Block 129 pages
46. "Jack and Jill" by James Patterson 466 pages
47. "No Place Like Home" by Mary Higgens Clark 472 pages
48. "The Pawn" by Steven James 427 pages
49. "M is For Malice" by Sue Grafton 300 pages
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Fajita Pizza
I thought I would share the recipe for this fun spin on traditional pizza. I don't remember where exactly this recipe came from but I've been making it now for about 15 years. Steve likes it, it doesn't cost a lot, and it's easy to make, thus we have been eating it quite a bit lately.
Ingredients:
*Pizza crust (I use the Kroger's pizza crust mix - just add water and oil. It usually takes two of these mixes to make one pizza for us)
*A Jar of your favorite brand of salsa.
*Shredded cheese (you can you which ever type you prefer. I usually use the pre-shredded "Mexican" mix).
*Chicken or Beef cut into strips (Or if you are a vegitarian like me, you can skip the meat, or use Morning Star substitutions)
*1 package of Fajita seasoning
*Onions
*Peppers (Green is ok, but I like my food to be colorful so I use a little red, green and yellow peppers)
Instructions:
1. Prepare pizza crust according to package.
2. Sautee meat in a skillet. Once the meat is mostly done add vegetables.
3. Once meat and vegetables are cooked, at fajita seasoning mix and follow directions on the back of package as far as the amount of water to add and time to simmer.
4. Meanwhile, press crust into pizza pan or baking sheet.
5. Spread salsa over the crust.
6. Once meat and vegies are ready spread them over the salsa.
7. Layer with cheese.
8. Bake according to crust package directions.
9. Serve
Ingredients:
*Pizza crust (I use the Kroger's pizza crust mix - just add water and oil. It usually takes two of these mixes to make one pizza for us)
*A Jar of your favorite brand of salsa.
*Shredded cheese (you can you which ever type you prefer. I usually use the pre-shredded "Mexican" mix).
*Chicken or Beef cut into strips (Or if you are a vegitarian like me, you can skip the meat, or use Morning Star substitutions)
*1 package of Fajita seasoning
*Onions
*Peppers (Green is ok, but I like my food to be colorful so I use a little red, green and yellow peppers)
Instructions:
1. Prepare pizza crust according to package.
2. Sautee meat in a skillet. Once the meat is mostly done add vegetables.
3. Once meat and vegetables are cooked, at fajita seasoning mix and follow directions on the back of package as far as the amount of water to add and time to simmer.
4. Meanwhile, press crust into pizza pan or baking sheet.
5. Spread salsa over the crust.
6. Once meat and vegies are ready spread them over the salsa.
7. Layer with cheese.
8. Bake according to crust package directions.
9. Serve
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The internet
The internet has been down and maybe works for five minutes a day. I have to go to Steve's mom's house to use it.
There isn't too much exciting news to report. I am still on the job hunt. I have an interview today with an attorney's office, and there is a medical receptionist position and bank teller job I'm hoping to hear from as well. The job market is slow here. I know I will find something soon, but the amount of time it's taking is a bit discouraging.
School starts for me the 25th and I'm looking forward to getting back into that routine. I miss classes, and I look forward to making new friends here.
Steve and I finally got to the new Batman movie. It was pretty dark, but I was happy with the end results. Of course being a Batman fan, and knowing what happens next for some of the characters, some of the plot twists were not a surprise to me.
Luna is adjusting well. She has found her hiding places and has warmed up to Steve.
More later when something more exciting happens. I'm working on the rest of my roadtrip blogs and will post next time I get the internet for longer than a few minutes.
There isn't too much exciting news to report. I am still on the job hunt. I have an interview today with an attorney's office, and there is a medical receptionist position and bank teller job I'm hoping to hear from as well. The job market is slow here. I know I will find something soon, but the amount of time it's taking is a bit discouraging.
School starts for me the 25th and I'm looking forward to getting back into that routine. I miss classes, and I look forward to making new friends here.
Steve and I finally got to the new Batman movie. It was pretty dark, but I was happy with the end results. Of course being a Batman fan, and knowing what happens next for some of the characters, some of the plot twists were not a surprise to me.
Luna is adjusting well. She has found her hiding places and has warmed up to Steve.
More later when something more exciting happens. I'm working on the rest of my roadtrip blogs and will post next time I get the internet for longer than a few minutes.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Lily Gulch Soap Giveaway!
Lily Gulch is giving away a customized Soap Sampler. All you have to do is go to Something Snappyand post a comment about your skin type.
I've recieved Lily Gulch items in The Little Black Box Sampler and Lemming Central Sampler. Their items are lovely and reasonably priced.
I've recieved Lily Gulch items in The Little Black Box Sampler and Lemming Central Sampler. Their items are lovely and reasonably priced.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Reading Challenge
The Waterstones Guide to Cult Fiction
If it's written in blue I have read it. If it's written in purple it's on my shelf to be read. It it's written in maroon I'm on a bookring at www.bookcrossing.com waiting for it. I'm hoping to have this list finished by December of 2009 at the latest.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The New York Trilogy (Paul Auster)
Cocaine Nights (J. G. Ballard)
Money (Martin Amis)
The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks)
The Chivalry of Crime (Desmond Barry)
Sleepyhead (Mark Billingham)
The Sheltering Sky (Paul Bowles)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Quite Ugly One Morning (Christopher Brookmyre)
Ham on Rye (Charles Bukowski)
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
Naked Lunch (William Burroughs)
Double Indemnity (James M. Cain)
The Outsider (Albert Camus)
Carry Me Across the Water (Ethan Canin)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Truman Capote)
Elephant (Raymond Carver)
The Magic Toyshop (Angela Carter)
And the Ass Saw the Angel (Nick Cave)
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
Utz (Bruce Chatwin)
What a Carve Up! (Jonathan Coe)
Generation X (Douglas Coupland)
My Summer of Love (Helen Cross)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
Pig Tales (Marie Darrieussecq)
Underworld (Don DeLillo)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
L.A. Confidential (James Ellroy)
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
The Virgin Suicides (Jeffery Eugenides)
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
The Sportswriter (Richard Ford)
The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde)
The Magus (John Fowles)
American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
The Beach (Alex Garland)
Carter Beats the Devil (Glen David Gold)
All Tomorrow’s Parties (William Gibson)
Blood-Red Rivers (Jean-Christophe Grangé)
Sheepshagger (Niall Griffiths)
The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett)
Hangover Square (Patrick Hamilton)
A White Merc with Fins (James Hawes)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Sick Puppy (Carl Hiaasen)
A Rage in Harlem (Chester Himes)
Atomised (Michel Houellebecq)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
The World According to Garp (John Irving)
Slaves of New York (Tama Janowitz)
Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
Berlin Noir (Philip Kerr)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
The Football Factory (John King)
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Hearts in Atlantis (Stephen King)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
Death and the Penguin (Andrey Kurkov)
Be Cool (Elmore Leonard)
Corpsing (Toby Litt)
The Butcher Boy (Patrick McCabe)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Comfort of Strangers (Ian McEwan)
Asylum (Patrick McGrath)
The Story of My Life (Jay McInerney)
Perdido Street Station (China Miéville)
Ghostwritten (David Mitchell)
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
Pixel Juice (Jeff Noon)
The Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)
The Gormenghast Trilogy (Mervyn Peake)
The Big Blowdown (George P. Pelecanos)
Life: A User’s Manual (Georges Perec)
The Bell jar (Sylvia Plath)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert M. Pirsig)
Gravity’s Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
The Dice Man (Luke Rhinehart)
Portnoy’s Complaint (Philip Roth)
253 (Geoff Ryman)
Bonjour Tristesse (Françoise Sagan)
The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
Powder (Kevin Samson)
The Emigrants (W. G. Sebald)
Last Exit to Brooklyn (Hubert Selby Jr.)
The Quantity Theory of Insanity (Will Self)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
Slaughterhouse 5 (Kurt Vonnegut)
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson)
Tipping the Velvet (Sarah Waters)
The Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham)
If it's written in blue I have read it. If it's written in purple it's on my shelf to be read. It it's written in maroon I'm on a bookring at www.bookcrossing.com waiting for it. I'm hoping to have this list finished by December of 2009 at the latest.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The New York Trilogy (Paul Auster)
Cocaine Nights (J. G. Ballard)
Money (Martin Amis)
The Wasp Factory (Iain Banks)
The Chivalry of Crime (Desmond Barry)
Sleepyhead (Mark Billingham)
The Sheltering Sky (Paul Bowles)
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Quite Ugly One Morning (Christopher Brookmyre)
Ham on Rye (Charles Bukowski)
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
Naked Lunch (William Burroughs)
Double Indemnity (James M. Cain)
The Outsider (Albert Camus)
Carry Me Across the Water (Ethan Canin)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Truman Capote)
Elephant (Raymond Carver)
The Magic Toyshop (Angela Carter)
And the Ass Saw the Angel (Nick Cave)
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
Utz (Bruce Chatwin)
What a Carve Up! (Jonathan Coe)
Generation X (Douglas Coupland)
My Summer of Love (Helen Cross)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
Pig Tales (Marie Darrieussecq)
Underworld (Don DeLillo)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
L.A. Confidential (James Ellroy)
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
The Virgin Suicides (Jeffery Eugenides)
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
The Sportswriter (Richard Ford)
The Eyre Affair (Jasper Fforde)
The Magus (John Fowles)
American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
The Beach (Alex Garland)
Carter Beats the Devil (Glen David Gold)
All Tomorrow’s Parties (William Gibson)
Blood-Red Rivers (Jean-Christophe Grangé)
Sheepshagger (Niall Griffiths)
The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett)
Hangover Square (Patrick Hamilton)
A White Merc with Fins (James Hawes)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Sick Puppy (Carl Hiaasen)
A Rage in Harlem (Chester Himes)
Atomised (Michel Houellebecq)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
The World According to Garp (John Irving)
Slaves of New York (Tama Janowitz)
Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka)
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
Berlin Noir (Philip Kerr)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
The Football Factory (John King)
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Hearts in Atlantis (Stephen King)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
Death and the Penguin (Andrey Kurkov)
Be Cool (Elmore Leonard)
Corpsing (Toby Litt)
The Butcher Boy (Patrick McCabe)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Comfort of Strangers (Ian McEwan)
Asylum (Patrick McGrath)
The Story of My Life (Jay McInerney)
Perdido Street Station (China Miéville)
Ghostwritten (David Mitchell)
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
Pixel Juice (Jeff Noon)
The Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)
The Gormenghast Trilogy (Mervyn Peake)
The Big Blowdown (George P. Pelecanos)
Life: A User’s Manual (Georges Perec)
The Bell jar (Sylvia Plath)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert M. Pirsig)
Gravity’s Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
The Dice Man (Luke Rhinehart)
Portnoy’s Complaint (Philip Roth)
253 (Geoff Ryman)
Bonjour Tristesse (Françoise Sagan)
The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
Powder (Kevin Samson)
The Emigrants (W. G. Sebald)
Last Exit to Brooklyn (Hubert Selby Jr.)
The Quantity Theory of Insanity (Will Self)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
Slaughterhouse 5 (Kurt Vonnegut)
Trainspotting (Irvine Welsh)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson)
Tipping the Velvet (Sarah Waters)
The Day of the Triffids (John Wyndham)
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