Manic Monday

The view of camp through the bell.

I attended a retreat for the women of our church this weekend.  The retreat center where we stayed is up in Pennsylvania.   The facilities are beautiful.  The facility that they use for conference attendees is much like a hotel.  No maid service, but every room has two double beds, and a private bathroom.  The staff cooks meals - and good golly, those meals are fantastic - and provides a warm, open, large space for people to gather.  Even me, with allergies to soy, milk, and gluten had NO ISSUES with food!  They had a separate station for allergies, and we were able to get our food from the allergy free station and then roam over to the regular food station if there was something there that we wanted to pick up.  My favorite thing?  The salad bars were separate, so that no cheese fell off of anyone's spoon and into the other "clean" vegetables.  NO cross contamination!  I wish more places were that caring and careful!  It made my weekend worry free and so much more enjoyable!

Have you ever seen Avenue Q?  It's a puppet show for adults.  The program that we got said it was for "Graduates of Sesame Street".  There were parental advisory warnings about the content of the show all over the theater.  Content was intended for mature audiences only.  And boy howdy, was it ever for mature audiences only!  The production was put on at the Community College.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely.  And yes, the content was for mature audiences only, and not for the faint of heart.  If you are easily offended, do not go see it.    

The Princess going after a slice of Starbucks Pumpkin Bread.

Luna

 Luna really, really likes pumpkin bread from Starbucks.  Daughter stopped by Starbucks and picked up some pumpkin bread on the way home from class on Thursday.  Princess Luna spent a lot of time getting the pieces out of the bag that daughter left for her.  Our first cat loved to lick banana peels and eat grapes.  What crazy things do your cats like to eat? 

 I was attempting to text daughter the other day, and Luna was all over my phone.  I finally took a picture of her - she's rubbing her head against the edge of my phone, so all you really see are her eyes and the top of her nose.  She is one very crazy cat.  I love that crazy little kitten!  (She's over 5, so I guess she's really not a kitten anymore, even if she does act like it.)

Have you ever heard of Believe Big?  It's an organization that provides mugs to cancer patients.  You can decorate the mugs any way that you want, with one caveat - you can only have one word on the mug - Believe.  We made Believe mugs as one of our service projects this weekend.  This is NOT my mug.  It was provided by Believe Big for us to use as an example.  If you'd like to make one, you can check into your local pottery store.  Most offer some variation on Believe mugs.  You have to pay a nominal fee to cover the cost of the mug and the glazing, and then they fire it and deliver it.  Making them is a lot of fun!  You really get to let your creative energy flow when you make one of these!  

We also filled bags with goodies for the children who are living in our local Ronald McDonald House.  RMH will put these bags into the cubbies of the children who are staying on the property.  When they get back from receiving treatment, they find some kind of something in their cubby to help brighten their day.  Considering that these kids are going through hellishly scary medical treatments that make most adults weak in the knees and squishy in the stomach, it's really a nice gesture to have something like this waiting for them when they get back home.  I like to hope it makes them feel a little bit better.  

Monday comes all too fast after a great weekend, doesn't it?  This is a crazy busy week for me - meetings that happen only on the first of the month and kids coming home from college (HOORAY!!) and dentist appointments OH MY!  I'll be posting on Friday about some of the crazy things I do to help make dinner flow faster on these crazy nights.  Tricks I learned when I had three young kids, soccer practices, scout meetings, and baseball practices to get to. 

Enjoy your week!  Make it wonderful!

Vegetable Quinoa

I'm working my way through the backlog of stuff that we have in the freezer.  I want to eat through as much as we can so that I can defrost it and get it ready for the garden goodness I will have coming my way this summer! 

I have an odd combination of veggies, meat and some Chipotle Chiles in Adobo sauce.  I had bought a can of the chiles for a who knows what reason when I was still spaced out on drugs from my colonoscopy, and I ran them through the food processor and made a paste out of them.  I froze what I didn't use in tablespoon size heaps on a cookie sheet, and then stored them in a plastic baggie.

This particular night found me staring at the bag of frozen chile piles and a bag of "southwest blend" veggies.  The blend included black beans, corn, onions, and pablano peppers.

As I was foraging around in the cupboards, attempting to figure out what this could become that wasn't another batch of chili, I hit upon a bag of Quinoa.

We make a Quinoa Pilaf on a fairly regular basis.  What if I tried making a "Southwestern" pilaf?   I was hungry, so it was worth a shot.

The result was fantastic.  We really enjoyed the flavor mix.  Didn't even have any leftovers!  (I'm going to have to make this again so that I can get a picture to add!)

Southwestern Vegetable Pilaf
2 cups Quinoa, rinsed
3 cups vegetable broth  (or water and a couple of broth cubes)
1 bag of Southwestern Vegetable mix frozen vegetables
2 TBSP of Adobo Chile mix

Bring quinoa and broth to a boil, add the Adobo Chiles, lower temperature and cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally, and add extra water to keep Quinoa from sticking to pan as necessary. 

Add more water to the Quinoa if necessary to keep it moist and not sticky, then add the bag of frozen vegetables.

Stir it all together.  It should take about 5 minutes for the vegetables to warm up enough to eat.

Enjoy!!!

There's All Kinds of Encouragement

I've been struggling with weight loss for a long time now.  I go to the gym, and I go take classes, but every once in a while I get some asshole who decides to "tell me" what I should be doing to lose weight, or makes a very nasty comment about my size, my ability to exercise, etc.

I admit that I am very overweight.  I work at it.  I do.  I try to eat right, and I try to exercise.

Even so, those snarky comments get me down.

But this week, I met a professional athlete at the gym.  Actually, he's been around all week, visiting family.

No snarky comments from this man.  NONE.  He was absolutely wonderful when I met him the first time.  Introduced himself, joked around for a while and moved on.

Every day since then, I've seen him, either in the gym, or at the grocery store.

You know what?

He remembers my name.

When I saw him at the grocery store, he asked if I had been to the gym yet that day as he hadn't seen me when he was there.  Was I planning on going that day?  He introduced me to his family, and I returned the favor.  He told me he was going to be looking for me at the gym the next day.  Would I be there? 

Honestly, I don't know why he's bothering to talk to me, or why he cares.

But the fact that he noticed me, remembered my name, and shot the breeze with me for a few minutes in the grocery store impressed me no end. 

Yes, I did go to the gym the next day.  I'll be there again today.  Not so much because I might run into some absolutely huge professional athlete that I can see on television, but because someone noticed that I was there, and cared enough to acknowledge my presence without offering any judgement about me or my current state of being.  He made me feel a part of the community, and as if I belong.

That's the kind of encouragement that people who are struggling with weight loss need when they go to any fitness facility.  A welcome, a feeling that we belong, and encouragement to keep going.  Not judgement, not harsh words, not "advice".  Believe me, we already have that self talk with ourselves on a daily basis.

Thanks so much to this amazing professional who has put himself out to make people feel welcome - even though it's not his facility, and he's the guest in our town.  What a gracious person.

There's all kinds of encouragement.  This kind is a good kind. 

Dave Ramsey's Debt Snowball

We've been following Dave Ramsey's plan to pay off our debts for over a year now.  The "big" test of his theories came this month - the month that I had set aside to be our "No Spenduary" month.  The goal was to pay off a big bill that's been hovering over our heads for a while now.  We're so close to the end, it's not even funny.  But, this has been a month of unexpected expenses for us that has hit us hard. 

As part of Dave Ramsey's method of paying off debt, he advises readers to have an emergency fund, and that this fund should be used only in the case of emergencies.  Credit Cards are to be used as a last resort.  Once you have that safety net built up, you then concentrate your energies into paying off your bills.  You pay the lowest balance first, while making minimum payments on the others, and then once the first is paid off, you put ALL of the money that was going into the first debt into the second debt.

We had paid off one credit card, and were plugging away on the second debt when we got bamboozzled by an unexpected car repair and unexpected dental work.  Actually, this has all happened since our last paycheck.

Two years ago, we would have charged everything to a credit card and not looked back.  But, we've come so far, I really didn't want to put a charge on the credit card.  REALLY don't want to.

Thanks to the savings accounts, we were able to pay mostly cash for everything.  We ended up charging $270.  Yes, we had to charge, but it was ONLY $270, which we will be able to pay off next month without a problem.

We don't have a lot left in any account at the moment.  We've got enough cash left to put gas into the cars to get back and forth to work this week.  We're going to go sparingly on the use of the grocery money this week.  It's time for some creative cooking!  Fortunately, both husband and I are very good at cooking from scratch, and we have a decent collection of raw ingredients on hand at any given time.  No doubt about it, we're going to be eating an eclectic set of meals this week as we work our way through the freezer and pantry.  But hey!  That's what the freezer and pantry are for!

It looks as if March is also going to be a spend as little as possible month while we work to build our emergency savings back up again. 

In the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers that nothing else breaks this month! (Less than a week left!)

Dave Ramsey, thank you for your most excellent advice.  Being able to get through a major financial challenge without hitting up the credit cards was a very warm and cozy feeling. 

Just Another Manic Monday

Ever have a morning where you forget to set the alarm clock?  Tiger woke me up this morning after 6.  I'm usually in the shower by 6 and out the door by 7.  Somehow, I managed to stumble out of the house 5 minutes earlier than I usually do, and I even got to work 15 minutes early.  I swear I wasn't speeding!  I did do one thing differently this morning, though.  I put oatmeal in a travel cup and filled it with hot water.  The oatmeal was really runny, and the oats had more than enough time to plump up.  By the time I got to work, I was able to sip my wonderful hot oatmeal out of my travel mug.  It was great!  This was an inspired breakfast idea!  I'm going to do this again! 

Note to self:  STIR the oatmeal before you put the lid on, and shake it well a couple of times on the way in or you will end up with a big, giant ball of solid oat goodness at the bottom of the mug.  It tastes great, but it won't fit through the opening to drink it, no matter what you do. And if you don't have a spoon with you, you will look a little undignified attempting to get at that oat ball... but it's worth it!  

Last week, I had the nastiest of nasty bugs.  Sore throat, high fever, chills, aching joints.  Yes, I had the flu.  It seems to have settled in my ear.  (At least it's not my lungs.)  If it doesn't clear out by tomorrow, I'm going to have to go visit the doctor and have it checked.

I think I've mentioned before that I finally found the Ben and Jerry's Non-Dairy Ice Cream.  One thing I really, really miss about not being able to handle dairy is the fact that I can no longer eat ice cream.  Enter Ben & Jerry.  I've had to search long and hard, but I've found their non-dairy ice cream!  The gluten free gal in me has to diligently scrutinize the ingredients label.  As much as I love the dairy free chocolate brownie ice cream, eating that would give me as many issues as having real ice cream.  So.... read the labels very carefully, and you, too can find the ice cream heaven!  Our store only had Coffee Caramel Fudge.  I stopped by another store, closer into Washington DC last week, and I found all of the flavors.  I picked up some Chunky Monkey.  I didn't see any gluten laden ingredients on the label, and by golly, that stuff was amazing!  Ben & Jerry really nailed the formula!  Thank you guys!

I found an actual working card catalog!  I went to the Historical Society the other day and poked around, just to see what items they have.  I had a ball, looking at old maps, seeing where the old farms were located, and looking at the old newspapers they had on display.  If you have a historical organization where you live, you should definitely go check it out and find out more about the very interesting history of the people who lived before us.  I know we like to think that they were all wonderful, never made mistakes, and were paragons of virtue.  It's an awful lot of fun to hear their stories and realize that they were humans, just like us, and made the same mistakes that we make.  Actually, I found it rather comforting to know that they were just like us, and they managed to survive and thrive!

Since daughter is now home and attending the community college, she has decided to redecorate her room.  I'm thrilled, because for the FIRST TIME since she was able to carry and move things on her own - HER ROOM IS CLEAN.  Let me repeat that - HER ROOM IS CLEAN.  This has been a never ending battle with her for 18 years now.  Everything seems to have migrated to her room over the years.  I remember losing my engagement ring many years ago.  I thought I had lost it while we were camping by Mount Rushmore.  Six months later, I found it on the floor of her room on one of my trash bag forays into her room!  Next to her big bookshelf, she found these cute little wooden wall mounted crates at one of the chain craft stores.  We mounted them to the wall, and she is now storing her paperbacks, as well as her little plastic dinosaurs on here.  I like the touch of whimsy that it adds!  It's all part of the reading nook she set up by the window, with a comfy arm chair and lots of lights - both from a floor lamp and the window.  Luna fights her for that space on a regular basis!  She loves the sunshine!

So, have you ever had your boss tell you - "get this done today before you leave"  and then stand there and talk to you for half an hour?  And you only have an hour left in your work day?  Frustrating, frustrating, frustrating.

I leave you with this picture of the river.  I was stopped, waiting for the train and looked over at the river.  It just seemed so serene.  I don't think the picture accurately captures the serenity of the moment.  I'm glad the train had me stopped and gave me the time to look over at the river.  It set a nice tone for the day.  (And yet, I still managed to make it in 15 minutes early.  HOW did that happen?)  Enjoy your day!

Harper Lee

Disclosure Notice: This post contains Affiliate Links.

It's taken me a while to be able to pull my thoughts together about this amazing author, who passed away on Friday.  Even after multiple revisions, I really can't write an homage to her that is worthy of her writing, her ability, and her passion.  For me, her work defined my ninth grade year of high school.  Out of all the books we read that year, Mockingbird still stands out as THE book of that year.   I loved Scout's family, and I loved Atticus and the impact he made on the world around him.  She made it seem as if we could change the world - one person, and one battle at a time, by standing up for what we know to be right. 

image: amazon.com

To this day, To Kill a Mockingbird remains a literary milestone.  Set in the South in the 1950's, Lee explores race relations from the point of view of a young child whose father is defending a black man in a racially charged case.  In the year 2016, this book is still as relevant to American Society as it was when it was originally published.

I've done research about Harper Lee over the years.  Up until last year, she had only ever published one book.  Did you know:  she grew up across the street from Truman Capote?  Did you know: she helped write and do research - but never received credit for - In True Blood, Capote's seminal work?

I have said for years that she probably has many other books that she has written, but was afraid to release because of the fear that she would not be able to live up to the success of Mockingbird. If they are squirreled away somewhere, I hope that the estate will look seriously at the works and consider publishing them. 

In the meantime, I leave you with her own words:

Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.   -Harper Lee


My Reviews on other books written by or about Harper Lee:
On this blog: Go Set a Watchman

On my Books for Teens Blog: I am Scout, the Biography of Harper Lee

In Search of the Perfect (Vegan) Grilled Cheese

Disclosure Notice: I am receiving nothing in exchange for this review.  These are my honest opinions about products I purchased on the advice of my friends with my own money.

 

I found out that I was allergic to milk in November - just before Thanksgiving.  I posted about it last week, as I finally feel comfortable enough about my new reality to share it.  I am still not that fond of anything that is labeled Gluten-Free/Dairy - Free, but I need to learn to adapt.  So, I've been slowly learning to adapt to the new and different tastes.

I have been craving a grilled cheese sandwich lately.  I asked my Vegan friends what they do when they want to have a grilled cheese sandwich.  They unanimously weighed in with rave reviews for Daiya cheese.  BUT, when questioned on which type of fat to use to grill the sandwich in, the reviews were evenly divided between Grapeseed Oil, Avocado Oil, and Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.

Today, I decided to taste test the Earth Balance blend.

Using my favorite gluten-free bread, I layered in the cheese, and used a generous portion of the buttery sticks to grill the bread.

I probably should have defrosted the bread before I started, as it took the cook time up longer, and it took longer for the "cheese" to melt.  Give it enough time and press down on the bread with the spatula, and it does speed up the cooking.

The finished product!  The "cheese" is perfectly melty, and the taste of the buttery sticks is phenomenal.  Actually, I think this cheese melted better than a certain name brand American Cheese Product.  After almost 3 months without a grilled cheese sandwich, this tasted very close to the real thing!

Overall, this was a phenomenal taste, and I enjoyed this Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwich!  Maybe this no-milk diet won't be as hard as I thought it would be after all.

Dreaming of Veggies

The seed catalogs have arrived, and I've begun planning my garden for this year.  I know where it's going to be located, and I've decided that I will wage war against the ants that have tried to push me out of my garden space in the past.  This might end with the ants physically destroying the garden, but they could just move a few feet over into my neighbor's back yard.

I've decided that I'm going to plant the vegetables that I love that I adore but can't find easily at the farmer's market.  These are the vegetables that usually sell 3 for $5, and we love them and just can't get enough of them.

So far, this list includes beets, kohlrabi, ginger, asparagus, celery, leeks, onions, rhubarb, delicata squash, fennel, broccolini, and possibly a cantaloupe.

There are so many others that I'm looking at, trying to convince myself that I don't need to plant them all. (Heirloom tomatoes, I hear your siren call.)  I can't possibly grow them all. I know I want more... so much more.  I love that wonderful green goodness, still warm from my garden!

 FoxTrot Classics by Bill Amend, July 27, 2009 Via @GoComics: One of the many great comics you can read for free at GoComics.com! Follow us for giveaways & giggles.

Fun Presidential Facts

In honor of President's Day, here are some fun facts that I found on the White House Website.

Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to travel outside of the United States.  His destination was Panama, and he arrived on Nov. 14, 1906.

Lucy Webb Hayes was the first First Lady to receive a college degree.  She received a degree in Liberal Arts from Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College in 1850.

William Howard Taft was the first president to have an official White House automobile, a White Motor Company Model M seven-passenger steam-powered touring car.

Woodrow Wilson was the first president to hold a doctorate – he received a degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University in 1886. His dissertation was entitled "Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics."

In 1812, Dolley Madison arranged the first nuptials held at the White House – the wedding of her widowed sister, Lucy Payne Washington, to Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd.

After applauding war hero Andrew Jackson's first inaugural address at the Capitol on March 4, 1829, a crowd of thousands descended on the White House to enjoy the reception for the "People's President" – to the accompaniment of crashing china and glassware. President Jackson escaped the crush of the crowd of merrymakers and would-be handshakers by leaving through a window.

Rutherford B. Hayes was the first president to have a telephone and a typewriter in the White House – the telephone was installed in May 1879 and the typewriter arrived in February 1880.

The White House's first web site was developed during the Clinton administration and made its debut on October 20, 1994.

George W. Bush was the first president to complete a marathon, finishing the Houston Marathon with a time of 3 hours, 44 minutes and 52 seconds on January 24, 1993.

Three presidents have won Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album – Bill Clinton (2005), Jimmy Carter (2007) and Barack Obama (2006, 2008).

Source: The White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org accessed Feb.  15, 2016.

Frugal Friday

Something out of Poe - a flock of Ravens sitting in the branches of the trees.

After the last two weeks, I'm beginning to think that the title of this week's post should be Profiligate Friday, or Flout It Friday.

If you recall....  I had set up February as our personal Nospenduary Challenge.  I couldn't wait!  I thought for sure I'd get a major debt paid off at the end of the month.

At the beginning of the month, I took the van in for an oil change, and it ended up needing $1500 in repairs. "No problem, we can cover this with cash from the emergency savings."

Last week, daughter woke up with a hugely swollen face.  Two courses of antibiotics later, and she will have a root canal on Monday, followed by a Crown a couple of weeks later.

The fun of seeing if the tooth was viable was that we had another set of x-rays taken, and ended up with a referral to an oral surgeon to have the wisdom teeth removed.  All 4 of them.  Fortunately, that won't happen until April, so we've got some time to save money for that.  Insurance doesn't cover much in the way of tooth extractions, so save, save, save.  I can't find a clever way to make March into Thrift.  Maybe Miser Month?

With the exception of those BIG ticket items, we did not spend any additional money this past week.  I made a huge pot of chili on Sunday for the Super Bowl.  The leftovers were repurposed into Taco Salad.  I tried a recipe for Jerk Chicken that I found on Cooking Light's Website.  I served it over lettuce to make a salad later in the week.  We had pancakes for Shrove Tuesday, and we went out to dinner one night with friends.  It was a Panera meet-up, so we were able to use a gift card we had been given for Christmas.

Oh, wait, I almost forgot - I returned my library books ON TIME - so there were no late fees!  I've got to get better about returning those books on time.  10 cents here and 20 cents there adds up after a while.

More boxes are brewing in the basement.  Husband has Monday off of work.  He's going to take them over to Goodwill.  Last count was 200 items in those boxes - and we've got more to go before I send them out.  It's really, really nice to see that junk finally leaving the house!  I've started setting aside a pile of things to see if I can sell them on E-Bay.

I hope you enjoy your weekend and enjoy time with your sweetheart!

Tracking Down A Food Allergy

My stomach has bothered me most of my life.  As far back as I can remember, I've had stomachaches and digestive problems.  I've been to doctors and asked why, and been told everything from "it's all in your head" to "stop eating so much salt" down to "lose weight".  No matter what I've tried, I couldn't lose weight, but my numbers were good, so despite the weight, there was no huge push from the doctor to find out more.

Meanwhile, every time I ate, my stomach hurt.  I found myself in pain.  Some nights I woke up from the pain - but there were no answers.

I finally sat down with a nutritionist.  A newly minted nutritionist who had just graduated with a MS and passed the big national certifications.

I spoke at length about my inability to lose weight and my digestive issues.

I mentioned my allergies to soy and sensitivity to gluten.

After much discussion, he convinced me that I most likely had another food allergy that had yet to be tracked down, and he suggested that I try an elimination diet.  An elimination diet is just that - you eliminate a food for a week, and then you add it back in to your diet and see what happens.  I told him I didn't have allergies, because I don't have anaphylaxis.  He told me that most food allergies don't present at anaphylaxis, but instead as persistent digestive problems.

His first suggestion was milk, as it is one of the big allergens.

Rooting out the source of all dairy was harder than I thought it was going to be.  It turns out that finding processed food that doesn't contain milk is even harder than finding processed food that doesn't contain gluten.

At the end of the week, I felt better than I remember feeling in recent years.  The bloating in my stomach had gone down, and my joints had all stopped hurting.  I'd slept through the night almost every night, and I had energy - oh the energy!

When I put milk back into my diet, I felt like someone was running a knife through my stomach from the inside out.  You remember that scene in Alien where the aliens were working their way out of the stomach of their host human?  Yeah, that kind of pain.  The digestive consequences were massive, and my allergies came back with a vengeance.  No amount of allergy medicine could get my allergies under control.  The phlegm was a massive problem - from the moment I started drinking my first post challenge milkshake until about 12 hours later.

I've been off of milk and all milk products for 3 months now.  It's been rough.  Sometimes, I'm not as vigilant as I should be about reading ingredient labels and I find myself suffering the GI consequences for a couple of days after the fact.

The result?  My stomach bloating has gone down.  I'm sleeping well through the night.  I'm losing weight.  My joints have stopped aching.  The redness has left my face.  All of that from one food allergy.  Many, many thanks to the nutritionist that was willing to work with me and listen to me.  He didn't sit down and tell me anything about carbs or balancing my diet.  He listened to my concerns, and gave me real suggestions to see if we could figure out what was going on.  He has my eternal gratitude.  We are now working together on my diet, and I am learning more about food every day. 

(I am really looking forward to Ben and Jerry's Vegan ice cream hitting my local store.)

Here's more information about food allergies from the Food Allergy Research and Education website.

Mild Symptoms (may include one or more of the following)
- Hives (reddish, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)
- Eczema (a persistent, dry, itchy rash)
- Redness of the skin or around the eyes
- Itchy mouth or ear canal
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Nasal congestion or a runny nose
- Sneezing
- Slight, dry cough
- Odd taste in the mouth
- Uterine contractions

Severe Symptoms (may include one or more of the following)
- Obstructive swelling of the lips, tongue, and/or throat
- Trouble swallowing
- Shortness of breath or wheezing
- Turning blue
- Drop in blood pressure (feeling faint, confused, weak, passing out)
- Loss of consciousness
- Chest pain
- A weak or "thread" pulse
- Sense of impending doom

Severe symptoms, alone or in combination with milder symptoms, may be signs of anaphylaxis and require immediate treatment.

source: https://www.foodallergy.org/symptoms

Book Review: Born of Betrayal

image: amazon.com

Disclaimer Notice - This post contains Affiliate Links

What would you do in the name of family loyalty?  Would you give up dessert?  Would you move out of the area?  Would you leave the person you love most in all of the world and move to another planet?

Years ago, Fain Hauk made the choice.  Family loyalty above all else.  Given the choice of watching his younger brother die a slow, tortuous death or leaving the woman he loved, he chose to save his younger brother.  But he never told the woman he loved why he left her.  He allowed her to think he was having an affair with another - a human no less - and walked away from the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Betrayed and humiliated, Galene Batur vowed vengeance against Fain.  Disowned by her family for the secret she carried, Galene made her own way in the world.  She became a commander in the military.  While she continued to hate Fain, she assumed that his life had been easy and comfortable ever since he walked away from her.

But fate can be a cruel and heartless bitch.

Galene and Fain find themselves thrown into an unexpected alliance when their respective alliances throw them together to forge a truce and keep the peace.

Galene begins their encounter by shooting Fain in the chest the first moment she sees him.

And Fain finds that none of his feelings for Galene have been lessened by time or distance.

As Fain and Galene strive to work together, Fain discovers the true secret that Galene has kept hidden from him for all these years.

And Fain discovers that despite his fearless reputation, he finally has something to fear.

Something to love more than life itself.

While the worlds crumble around them, Fain works desperately to save the most precious and valuable things in the entire universe.

 NOTE- This book contains adult themes and adult situations.

Book Review: Divergent

amazon.com

Imagine a world where everyone chooses a faction - a home where they belong for life - when they are 16 years old.  Each faction has a specific job in life.  A specific knowledge or trait that they value above all others.


The Erudite value intelligence.  The Dauntless treasure valor and fearlessness.  Amity values peace.  Candor values honesty.  Abnegation are selfless.  Once you choose a faction on graduation day, you are a member of that faction for life. You will put your faction above all else, even family.  Every person shows an aptitude for a certain faction.  During the graduation tests, they find which faction best matches them.  They are free to choose any faction, but the tests help them see where they would best fit in.

But, what if?  What if you don't fit into any one faction?  What if the tests don't work for you?  What if you don't fit the mold? 

You are Divergent.... and the Divergent are considered to be dangerous and outside of the control of the faction.  The Divergent are hunted down and killed when they are found.  Their deaths are explained away as accidents or suicides.

Beatrice Prior grew up an Abegnation.  When she takes the tests, her results come back with a scary answer.  She is warned that she is Divergent, and that she must guard this secret with her life.  With no true faction affiliation showing in her nature, she will be choosing whichever faction will make her happy.

What will she choose?  Will she choose a life of selflessness?  A life of danger?  One of constant honesty?  If she chooses outside of her faction, she will never again be a part of her family, and her choice could bring shame to her family.

The choices you make define who you are...

*This review is cross-posted on my YA book blog, Books for Teens.*  

Manic Monday

Where to begin?

Daughter's tooth got massively infected last week. We spent days in the dentist office.  One appointment to diagnose, followed by tons of antibiotics.  Root Canals, a crown, and an unexpected trip to the Oral Surgeon for a consult before the root canal was done.

We headed down to Virginia to spend a day with my Mom over the weekend. She turned 85 earlier this week.  We had a FANTASTIC time with her!  We spent the day talking about everything and nothing.  We went out to lunch at Bob Evans, where we had the most fantastic meal with the most wonderful waitress.  What a great day we had!  So much fun, so fortunate to have more time with my Mom. 

Work last week was interesting.  Most days I love my job, but last week, I didn't quite so much enjoy it.  Maybe 1 out of the 5 days was a good one.  I'm hoping that next week is a better week. 

I had a unique problem this past week.  I have read two fantastic books in a week.  I finished Divergent, and then I read Born of Betrayal.  Both books were fantastic, and I couldn't put either book down.  Born of Betrayal was written by Sherilyn Kenyon.  I've read other books by her, and she weaves a compelling story.  This book did not disappoint. I was forcibly pulled into her world and did not surface again until I had finished the book.  I'll be posting reviews for both books later this week, but wanted to put a note about them here.  I wanted to point out one more thing that I'll point out again in the reviews.  While Divergent is a Young Adult book, with themes appropriate for teens, Born of Betrayal is definitely an adult book, with adult themes and adult language.  Keep that in mind.

One last thing to point out:  more Primary voting takes place this week.  If you live in one of the states that is voting, PLEASE get out and vote.  Every vote does count.  But, I can hear one or two people saying "But my favorite candidate has already dropped out.  Why should I go?"  Go and vote!  Vote for your candidate if he's on the ballot.  Vote for your second choice.  Keep in mind - the candidates do get candidates who will cast their votes behind another candidate at the convention.  Your vote could be crucial if the race comes down to a very close heat between two candidates.   No matter what, remember - YOUR VOTE COUNTS.  EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE.  THE PRIMARIES ARE IMPORTANT.

Take care everyone!  Have a great week!  Stay safe and hug your loved ones tight!

Hyundai First Date Commercial

My favorite commercial of the night.  Maybe because I have a daughter? 

Ponder This...

source: Facebook, Intellectual Take Out

An Interesting Couple of Days

Daughter woke up on Tuesday with the right side of her face very swollen.  Her mouth hurt a lot, and we just assumed that it was her wisdom teeth coming in, but made an appointment with the dentist to see what was going on.

We got into the office, and found out that she had a huge abscess in her tooth - upper right side.  And it had spread, fast.  The abscess itself had ruptured into her mouth earlier in the day, so all of the infection was draining down her throat.  The infection itself is raging in her jaw - dangerously close to her brain.

The dentist drained more, and packed her up with antibiotics.  And sent her home with still more antibiotics.

She has a root canal scheduled for Monday.  They don't want to do anything until the infection and swelling goes down.

In the meantime, she's miserable. She's not very hungry.  Applesauce is about all she's been wanting to eat (drink) the past couple of days.

Keep an eye on your teeth, peeps.  Her last check up was in early September, and she's vigilant about brushing and flossing.  Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, these things happen.

2016 Resolutions - February Update

Resolutions.  We make them, and then we forget them.  I'm just as guilty of this as everyone else.  I began keeping track of them last year, in an attempt to force myself to come back and look at what I promised myself I'd do, and then DO it.  I sound like the Nike commercial, don't I?

Every year, my resolutions vary.  They are a list of things that I'd like to do - and things that I need to do.  Since I've begun keeping track of my resolutions on this blog, I've done a significantly better job of keeping my resolutions than I ever did before.  I'm very proud of the job I've done accomplishing things since I began posting this publicly!


1) Remodel the Hall Bathroom

Third year is the charm, right?

2) Improve my Health
For 2 years now, my goal has been to lose weight.  Over the last two years, I have lost weight.  But I need to lose more weight.  Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, I am going to focus on some larger goals that are a bigger indication of overall health.

a) Lose inches off of  my waist.
This year, my goal is to lose 3 inches off of my waist before the end of the year.
1/4 of an inch gone, in one month.  That was an awful lot of work for only one quarter of an inch.....

b) Get my blood pressure down into the normal-normal range.
My next check up isn't until April... so, this will be the test.  Will I get lectured in April, or will my blood pressure be at the point that nobody thinks twice?  We'll soon find out!

c) Go down at least one clothing size. 
Working on this.... I've lost inches, or fractions thereof all over this month.  Not enough to go down a size, but enough to make my clothes a little bit looser on me!

3) Re-Start my Vegetable Garden
Garden catalogs!  Oh my!  I love my garden catalogs!

4) Learn to Pressure Can
Need to find a pressure canner.

5) Daughter's Quilt
I have a pile of fabric.  A great big pile of fabric squares.  I need to cut a few more squares before I can get moving on this.

6) Clean Out and Organize the Carport
I didn't move fast enough on this before the snow hit!  But, we did get things cleared out enough that the woodpile isn't a problem.  At the rate we're burning wood this winter, we should be able to

7) Exercise Consistently
With the exception of the days we snowed in, I've been exercising an average of five days a week.  I feel better than I have in a long time, and a bonus side effect?  I was able to shovel snow for hours at a time with a minimum of muscle aches when we finished.

8) Clean Out 23 Things Each Week

Here's a humbling number - 23 Things, every week for 52 weeks?  That's 1,196 things I plan on taking care of this year.

We had a huge haul of stuff that went out of the house after being snowed in for the better part of a week. A bag of books (20 books) to the Used Book Store for a trade in for credits, and 2 boxes plus a bag full of stuff for the thrift shop, and another bag full of craft supplies for the art department at the high school.  Total number of items that went out in this load: 150+.  (I gave up after 150... why keep counting?) I'm going to hit up 1,200 things before I know it if I keep going at this rate.

Items Out of the House This Month: 323
Big Black Trash Bags: 2



9)Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
I found this challenge last year on a wonderful little blog entitled Frugal, Debt Free Life.  In short, aside from bills and the gas that is required to get to and from work, you spend no extra money during the month.  No Starbucks runs.  No fast food.  NADA.  I am curious to see how this pans out for us!

This is extra timely as the van went in for an oil change and came out with repairs totaling over $1500.  We were able to scrape together enough cash to pay for the repair, but the savings account needs to be replenished NOW!

10) Visit One Place on my Bucket List
Phase One: completed

11) Get at least half of the CEU's I need to keep my teaching  and my library certificate.
I'm taking a class right now.  3 CEU's out of the 6 I need to renew my certificates.
Best of all?  The class is free, offered through a library association.  (OK, I do pay dues for the library association, so I am technically paying for the class.  BUT, I'm not paying any additional money for the class.)

12) Scrapbooking
I need to catch up.  I know I had years that I didn't do this.  I went through all of the albums this month and found the years that I have not yet finished.  These are the years I am in search of:
2006
2009
2010
2011
2012
2015 - Let's start where I am now.  I just finished this album while we were snowed in!

This is going to be fun.  From 2009 on, we had a digital camera.  Those pictures will be easy to find.  2006 was all paper photos.  6 years.  Can I get them all done before the end of the year?  Let the challenge begin!

13) Walk or Bike a portion of at least 6 Rail Trails
Did not happen this month!  Maybe if I had snowshoes I could have had some interesting adventures?


14) Pay off the big debt and one smaller one-
NoSpenduary!  The goal is to pay off the balance of the big debt at the end of the month.

15) The Recipes Tab
After a lot of work this month, I got the recipe tab organized.  While I don't have the pictures to accompany every recipe, I do have the recipes organized.


What are your resolutions for this year?  What kind of progress are you making towards your goals?