A Book Meme (or It's a Really Slow Work Day)

I found this at Rocks in My Dryer and thought it looksed like fun. Please feel free to play along, just leave me a comment so that I can check out your answers.

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Hardback, but that is only because that is what the library buys.

Amazon or brick and mortar? Amazon.com or BN.com.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Barnes & Nobel. They have stayed truer to the notion of a "book" store.

Bookmark or dogear? Depends. Library books get book marks, my books get a combination of both.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Well, First they are seperated by subject, then by author, and then by title. (I AM a librarian after all!)

Keep, throw away, or sell? Some I keep, some get donated to wither Goodwill or the local library's book sale, some I sell at my semi annual yardsale. I NEVER throw away a book!

Keep dustjacket or toss it? If they come with them I keep them.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Usually keep them on and use the little flap for a bookmark.

Short story or novel? Novel. Although Poe's short stories are divine.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? A little from column A a little from column B.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter all the way!

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Chapter breaks is what I aim for although I don;t always make it.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Both are trite and overused.

Buy or Borrow? Borrow from the library when possible. Buy when necessary or truly coveted.

New or used? Depends on the book. More and more are being purchased used.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Well, I do most of my professional purchasing based on reviews. I don;t really take recommendations because my tastes vary from day to day. Browsing, or as a library school professor used to say "the serendipity of searching" works too.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Sad to say I prefer a tidy ending. Life IS the ultimate cliffhanger.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? All day reading.

Stand-alone or series? usually stand alone but I do have a soft spot in my heart for a few series.

Favorite series? The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Favorite children's book? Cloudy with the Chance of Meatballs.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Behind the Attic Wall. A children's book which I reread once a year. Oh so good!

Favorite books read last year? A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

Favorite books of all time? Jane Eyre. Gone with the Wind. Outlander.

Least favorite book you finished last year? I didn't really like The Quite American.

What are you reading right now? The Last Tempation by Val McDermid and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.

What are you reading next? Not Buying It and Birthing from Within.

Ok so I lied...

I'm not really taking my leave of absence yet. I will be shortly but I had to share this recipe that I created last night that I LOVE. Hubby did not, so I won't be making it very often, but anyway here it is.

Turkey Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 onion
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 can pink beans (or white beans or kidney beans)
Tabasco to taste
Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper
1 can stewed tomatoes (homemade or frozen would be fine)
1 can tomato sauce (homemade or frozen would be fine)
1 1/3 cup baking mix (Bisquick, but I make my own)
2/3 cup corn meal
1 Tbs. parsley flakes
2/3 cup skim milk

In a dutch oven or a large pot with a lid, heat the oilve oil. When oil is hot add the garlic and the onion and saute until tender.

Add the turkey. Once the turkey is cooked add the beans, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tabasco, and spice. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.

In a large bowl combine, baking mix, cornmeal, parsley, and milk. Mixture will be thick and crumbly.

When 10 minutes are up, uncover the "chili" and drop spoonfulls of cornmeal mix over top. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Cover and cook another 10 minutes until dumplings are dry to the touch.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top and enjoy!

Offline

I will be off line for the next two weeks or so. Fear not... I will return!

Molly's Firday

-- Wake up, feel lousy, call out sick from work.

-- Get out of bed around 9, get a shower, put on comfortble clothes and head downstairs to lie on the sofa.

-- Spend whole day on couch.

-- Miss dinner with with in laws and brother-in-law. Go to sleep at 8:00.

Molly's Thursday -- A little Late

-- Woke up at 4:00 to use the bathroom, ear hurts... must be getting sick.

-- Got up at 7:30, forgot to set alarm., throat is starting to hurt

-- Made bed before dogs got back in it.

-- Got shower, threw up, brushed teeth.

-- Got dressed, did makeup, put hair up in French twist.

-- Went downstairs opened the curtains, let the dogs out.

-- Made breakfast and assembled snacks for the day. Didn't have to worry about lunch since I was meeting my mom at Panera.

-- Ate bagel with peanut butter in the car on the way to work. Drank chocolate soy milk instead of gingerale. We are making progress.

-- 9-1 WORK

-- Meet mom for lunch at Panera, have chicken noodle soup and half a chicken tomesto sandwich. Decide I really am sick, call out of work for the rest of the day.

-- Go home, let dogs out, get changed into PJs and lie down of the couch.

-- Sleep/rest as much as possible.

-- Hubby comes home, sends me to bed.

Molly's Wendesday

-- Alarm goes off at 7:15, snooze until 7:30 get up. Make bed.

-- Shower, brush teeth, throw up (when will this end), re-brush teeth, get dressed, put on make up, twist hair into French twist.

-- Pack up yoga clothes

-- Put away clothes that were dried and taken down the night before. Thanks hubby for bringing the laundry basket upstairs.

-- Head downstairs and open curtains.

-- Head to the kitchen to make breakfast and get lunch together.

-- Let dogs outside. Hear a lot of barking and see raised hackles, go outside to see what is going on. See that dogs have cornered a raccoon in the back of the yard, try to get the dogs inside so that we don't have to go to the emergency vet again. Luckily the little dog listens and goes inside. The raccoon scampers off but the big dog is not deterred. I lure him away from the back of the yard with the leash and the promise of a treat. I get the leash on him and bring him inside.

-- Once both dogs are inside I can get back to breakfast and lunch. Dogs are throttling themselves against the sliding glass door to get back outside. It ain't gonna happen boys!

-- Gather up lunch items: Chicken noodle soup, grapes, dried apricots, and animal crackers. Toast bagel for breakfast, spread with peanut butter (more protein than butter).

-- Put up baby gates to contain big dog, put the little dog in his crate, give everyone a treat and then head out the door. Eat bagel in the car with ever present ginger ale while driving to work.

-- Decide I need coffee. Stop at Wawa to get said coffee with milk and sugar.

-- 8:45 - 4:30 WORK

-- After work head to Goodwill to see if they have any good maternity clothe, baby clothes, books, or anything that could be used as a gift. I end up with an armful of books for me and the baby. I will post picks later.

-- After Goodwill I head to my parents house to visit with them and kill time before yoga begins.

-- at 5:50 I head of to the yoga studio for my prenatal yoga class.

-- 7:45 leave yoga studio and head home. I'm home by about 8:10.

-- Greet hubby and the dogs. Put my bags away and lunch containers in the sink. Eat dinner (a bowl of shredded spoonfuls and soy milk) ok 2 bowls of shredded spoonfuls with soy milk. Read my mail.

-- Put dinner dishes in the dishwasher which is full and needs to be run. Add dishwasher detergent and start dishwasher.

-- Hubby and I head to the family room with the dogs to catch up on Rescue Me on DVR.

-- Watch the episode we missed and 3/4 of the new episode before heading upstairs to bed.

-- Brush teeth, remove makeup, wash face, get in bed with body pillow @ 11:00.

-- hubby and the dogs come up a few minute later.

-- I am asleep immediately.

Molly's Tuesday

-- Woke up before alarm at 6:59 because the big dog ripped a hole in a heating pad and there were buckwheat hulls all over the bedroom carpet. Hubby was not pleased. I told him to not worry about it and I would vacuum when I got home from work.

-- Went back to sleep and finally got up at 7:30 with my alarm.

-- Got in the shower. Kissed hubby goodbye (while in the shower), brushed teeth, DID NOT throw up, went to get dressed.

-- Got dressed while watching the morning news. Put on makeup, twisted hair into french twist. No point in blowing it dry as it is pouring for the third day in a row.

-- Open up curtains in living room and dining room.

-- Go downstairs to the kitchen to get my lunch together and make breakfast. Lunch was left over mac-n-cheese with green peas. Cut up two peaches to go with, and pulled together some snacks for the rest of the day: string cheese and V8, dried apricots, animal crackers.

-- Toasted sesame bagel for breakfast, spread with butter. I will eat this in the car with my ever faithful ginger ale to accompany.

-- Let dogs out one last time. Let dogs back in. Make sure sliding glass door is locked. Put baby gates at the steps to contain the big dog, put the little dog in his crate. Give both dogs treats. Tell them to be good and I am out the door to work at 8:20.

-- Drive to work in the pouring rain. Find a great parking space. Walk to the front door of the building with my bag, my purse, and umbrella, and a carrot cake in the cake taker all the while trying to keep my pants from falling down. Some pants I can wear unbuttoned without the zipper falling down. Note to self: these are not those pants!

-- 9:00 am to 4:30 pm WORK

-- Left work and stopped at the drug store on my way home to pick up my prenatal vitamins, a new buckwheat heating pad, and other assorted sundries.

-- Headed home. When I got in the door I put my stuff down, let the little dog out of his crate, and then both dogs outside. When they came back in it was time for their dinner and then their after-dinner carrots.

-- While the dogs were eating I checked the messages and brought in the mail.

-- When the dogs were finished eating I grabbed the vacuum and headed to the bedroom to clean up the buckwheat hulls from this morning.

-- I vacuumed, emptied the canister, and put the vacuum away.

-- Headed back to the bedroom to get changed, make the bed that didn't get made in the morning, and put away from clean clothes that were washed and dried over the weekend.

-- Once all of that was finished I went back to the kitchen to wash out the dog bowls, do the dishes that had been left in the sink from this morning, read the mail and get a big glass of water.

-- Once all of that was done I headed upstairs to start cleaning the bathroom.

-- Finished cleaning the bathroom just as hubby walked in the door.

-- Talked with hubby, decided to order sandwiches for dinner.

-- While waiting for delievery, I made a spinach quiche for Wednesday night since I will have yoga and not get home until 8:00.

-- Ate dinner, cleaned up kitchen, headed to the family room to hang out and watch TV.

-- Fell asleep on the sofa @ 9:15. Woke up at 9:45, hubby suggested I go to bed. I agreed.

-- Went upstairs, let the dogs out and then back in.

-- brushed teeth, removed makeup, washed face. Went to bed.

-- Woke up at 1:40 with heartburn. Took 2 Tums went back to bed.

Molly's Monday

I thought I would play along with Candy's Chronicles, and detail what it is I do every day of the week.

-- I was off from work, so I got to sleep in until 9:00. It has been years since I did that.

-- I got up, made the bed, pulled on my bathrobe and fixed breakfast (soy milk and shredded spoonfuls).

-- I poured myself a big glass of water and headed downstairs to do a load of laundry. While the laundry was going I watched TV and hung out with the dogs for half an hour.

-- I got the laundry out of the washer, split what was to get hung on the drying rack (it was raining) and what was to go in the dryer. Hung some clothes, turned on the dryer, and headed upstairs to get a shower and get dressed.

-- Showered, brushed teeth, thought I was in clear, but alas I threw up. Cleaned up from that, brushed teeth again, went to get dressed.

-- Got dressed, put on makeup, gathered up towels, the bathroom mat and other miscellaneous things and put them in the washer. Turned the washer on.

-- Let the dogs out, then back in. Put the little dog in his crate, gave them both a treat and headed out the door to the warehouse club.

-- At the warehouse club I stocked up on: tissues, TP, Claritin, Breath Right Strips, animal crackers, dog treats, canned chicken, hot chocolate mix, and Tide.

-- After checking out and loading the car, I headed to the mall to have lunch with a friend. I parked on the opposite side of the mall, so I would gt a nice walk in. I was a little early, so I stopped at Border's to get some magazines for our upcoming vacation. I always buy magazines I never read so I got: The Utne Reader, Saveur, and Pregnancy and Newborn.

-- Met friend for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Had a delicious sandwich with grilled chicken, avocado, herbed mayo, lettuce and tomato on Navajo frybread.

-- After lunch we walked around the mall and I did a little window shopping.

-- Drove home in the rain, unloaded the car, except for the Tide which I really too heavy for me to lift.

-- let the dogs out and then back in, and gave them a treat.

-- Put all of the goodies away, took the finished laundry out of the washer, put that in the dryer, and started another load.

-- Brought the mail inside. Sorted and read with mail while having a snack and another large glass of water.

-- After a little respite, I made cream cheese icing to go on the carrot cake I made yesterday. I iced the cake, did the dishes.

-- Tended to the laundry again! Hung some, put some in the dryer.

-- Time to feed the puppies. Gave them their dinner and their after-dinner carrot.

-- Hubby called to say he was on his way home.

-- Hubby came home from work a little on the early side and since he wasn't feeling well, got in bed to rest.

-- I made dinner for me. Macaroni and cheese with green peas. (It has a TON of folic acid!)

-- Cleaned up from dinner, refilled my water, and headed to the family room to put my feet up.

-- Watched some TV, Big Love in on Monday's and I'm addicted. Also, Notorious on the Biography channel.

-- After Big Love, I headed upstairs, @ 10:00. Let the dogs out one last time. Made sure all the doors were locked, closed the drapes, turned off the lights.

-- Brushed teeth, took off makeup, washed face. Got in bed with hubby.

-- Got myself situated with my body pillow and was asleep by 10:30.

Recalls

SO I am beginning to think that it might be easier for the news media to provide a list of the products that HAVE NOT been recalled instead of what has been recalled.

Is it just me or is everything being recalled recently? I am sure that it is not the case, but it certainly feels that way.

Anyway, I found two great websites with up to date information about product recalls:

http://www.Recalls.gov

http://www.iparenting.com/recalls/index.php

Both great sites to bookmark and check on a regular basis

Dog Days of Summer

Jax

Beo

Good will to Babies II

I stopped at Goodwill on my way home because I had this urge to shop and I can't really do too much damage there. I really lucked out. I got two really cute sleep-and-plays and a great kids book about Passover.

I am gaga for all things Noah's Ark (how could I resist?)

This one have cute animals all over it.

and finally, who can turn down a book for $.30

Cake Mix Cookies

Last night I finally got around to trying out Mrs Wilt's recipe for Cake Mix Cookies.

Waiting to be baked:



Fresh out of the oven:



They are a nice, quick option for homemade cookies. They do retain a marked cake mix flavor, but I actually kind of like that.

Aprons

I love aprons... I really do. Not because they have any sort of symbolic meaning to me, but simply because (as my husband will tell you and anyone else who will listen) I am really messy. I always spill or drip something on my when I am eating, I have a tendency to wipe my hands on my pants when I am baking, I am just messy.

Aprons help with this particular problem. I have two aprons at the moment. One vintage apron from the 50s that I got at a yard sale as a little girl with which I used to play dress up. My other apron is a chef style apron that my mom made me for Christmas when I had my first apartment.

I am thinking that I would like another apron, one that criss crosses in the back like this one

I know how to sew and I have a good machine, I just haven't had the inclination recently. However, before I put away the machine when we turn our guest room into the baby's room, I might have to whip up a scalloped apron from the Paisley Pincushion.

Summer Fun Update

Since I posted yesterday about all of the things I didn't get accomplished this summer, my hubby would like me to report on the things that he did get finished this summer, specifically, the fact that he planted somewhere between 15-20 hot pepper plants which happen to be thriving.

Good Job Baby!

Irish up!

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous! You drink everyone under the table.

Who's Your Inner European?

Summer fun

So here we are in the second week of August and I started thinking about all the things I said I would get done this summer. For example,

• Pick strawberries and make jam
• Clean out the Linen Closet
• Hang ALL of my laundry outside
• Plant Herbs
• Walk the dogs
  
• Cross Stitch

So, how many of the above things have I actually accomplished this summer... zero.

Am I upset about that? Not really. I did get some cross stitch finished when I was on bed rest, I don;t really need 40 jars of strawberry jam, the laundry got finished even if it was hung on the drying rack inside, I always kill the herbs, so why bother planting them, the dogs get plenty of exercise chasing tennis balls (bunnies, lightening bugs, butterflies, each other) in the back yard, and the linen closet will wait for me no matter how many times I assure it its ok to clean itself.

So what have I been doing? Well, aside from throwing up... I have been reading. For pleasure. ALot.

This is the summer in a VERY long time where I have not been looking at classes in the fall. I will not have assigned readings, I won't have anything and it is glorious.

Currently I am knee deep in a few books, all of which I would recommend:

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

*Wonderful recounting of personal experiences with
eating local, growing/raising your own food and the movement to eat in season.

Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende



*The story of the life of Inés Suárez a fictional Spanish woman
who fought like a conquistador and helped to settle Chile.

And Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy



*Poking fun at pregnancy and its discomforts.
A little too much info at times, but it cracks me up!

Goodwill to Babies!

It has been a LONG time since I went to Goodwill. I needed to get out and about today (even thought it is 105 today!) so I thought I would check out Goodwill for some babygear.

For the grand total of $11.20 I got

5 onezies in a variety of greens and yellows. One even has the cutest little lizards on it! ($5.00 total)

A Long sleeve maternity blouse for me this fall ($4.50)

A package of drawer stops, you can never be too careful ($1.00)

And 2 board books, The Very Quiet Cricket and Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z. ($.60)

Cravings

I am almost 15 weeks pregnant and the one question I get asked the most aside from "How are you feeling?" is "What are you craving?" I usually answer nothing really, aside from lemonade which I could drink gallons of everyday and never be satisfied.

However, I realized that this is not an entirely true statement. I do have cravings its just that they change from day to day. For example, I am at this very moment craving macaroni and cheese in the worst possible way. Not just any macaroni and cheese, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, you know the blue box, the orange powder, the chemicals... yum!

Anyway, It stuck me Saturday night that this craving for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese was an honest-to-god craving as I was standing over the stove eating cold, congealed, Kraft Mac 'n Cheese out of the pan with a fork and wishing, wishing that I had more.

Is it wrong...

That it is 90 bazillon degrees outside with 125% humidity and I want to bake cookies? Specifically these cookies from Mrs. Wilt because they seem so deliciously bad for you?

I'm just asking is all...

Have a great weekend everyone!

I promise to post actually photos on Monday!

I Heart Yoga

I am not an exerciser. In fact, I can admit, that although I have "worked out" in the past, I absolutely hate to exercise. It is not that I am a couch potato or anything like that, I would rather just be active than have to carve time out of my day to actually exercise.

I knew that when I got pregnant I would have to change my ways a bit and make sure that I was active, it would help me keep the weight gain down (lost 6 pounds so far, and I'm not trying, I eat everything I swear), help me with labor (or so I hear), and would be good for the baby. So I started looking into activities that I could do as a woman who is pregnant and out of shape. I found yoga. Specifically, prenatal yoga. And I love it! Not only can I feel my body strengthening and stretching, becoming more supple, it is just so darn relaxing. I kinda feel like a bowl of Jell-O when I get done, a strong, powerful bowl of Jell-O.

I am so pleased that I started this... hopefully I can continue with this through the rest of my pregnancy and after.

Did you do anything special exercise wise when you were pregnant?

P.S. The Yoga Mama and Yoga Baby tank set is from a company called Sugartush (www.sugartush.com) a friend of mine owns/runs it with her sister in law. Such cute things!