Book Roundup of 2012

Another year has come and gone and I'm officially shutting the door on the books of 2012.

Without further ado:

1) The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok
2) The State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
3) Stay Close by Harlan Coben
4) Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
5) Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
6) When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
7) Witness the Night by Kishwar Desai
8) Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
9) My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
10) The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
11) Oxford Messed Up by Andrea Kayne Kaufman
12) Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
13) Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
14) We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
15) Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
16) Little Princes by Conor Grennan
17) Catch Me by Lisa Gardner
18) The Black Isle by Sandi Tan
19) Room by Emma Diffenbaugh
20) The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
21) Love You More by Lisa Gardner
22) The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
23) The Romanov Conspiracy by Glenn Meade
24) By The Iowa Sea by Joe Blair
25) Wild by Cheryl Strayed
26) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
27) Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James
28) Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
29) Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
30) The Odds by Stewart O'Nan
31) The End of Normal by Stephanie Madoff Mack
32) Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea Handler
33) The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay
34) Guilty Wives by James Patterson
35) Home Front by Kristin Hannah
36) Black Belt Librarian by Warren Graham
37) MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
38) Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs
39) Defending Jacob by William Landay
40) The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
41) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
42) The Most Talkative by Andy Cohen
43) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
44) Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
45) The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
46) The Big Bang by Linda Joffe Hull
47) Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon
48) The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perotta
49) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
50) I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
51) Sleep No More by Iris Johansen
52) Cruising Altitude by Heather Poole
53) Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook
54) Everything Was Good-Bye by Gurjinder Basran
55) Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
56) The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
57) The Clover House by Henriette Lazaridis Power

Alright.  There it is.  The list of 2012.  My general thoughts of this list?  This sucks.  Largely, generally sucks.  Last year, I had one book that I wanted to punch myself for having read.  This year, multiple books made me just flat out angry.  I did read a couple very good books but it was a stretch trying to find 5 of them.

Here's a general breakdown:
Fiction: 43
NonFiction: 14
Classics: 2
Audiobooks: 1
Series: 2
For Work: 6
Library Journal: 8
Books That Made Me Want To Punch Myself: 8
Most Overrated: Tie-- Defending Jacob and Fifty Shades of Grey
Most Underrated: By The Iowa Sea

Lessons learned? James Patterson just needs to stop putting his name on anything and everything. I'm not really a fan of the silly chick lit (Sorry Sophie Kinsella).  I very rarely agree with the masses (Oprah, Wild was just not really all that great. Let's be honest.  She just walked.)  What I don't find weak women and emotionally unstable men sexy. At all. I'm more moved by a book where the characters make me cry than the ones that make me cheer.

Top Five: (in no particular order)
1) The State of Wonder
2) Gone with the Wind
3) We Need to Talk About Kevin
4) By the Iowa Sea
5) The Night Circus

So? Do you agree? Do you disagree? Did I miss reading the best book ever?

Love, Luck, and Laughs

Happy (almost) New Year!

Holiday Hangover

So it begins..the can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it post-holiday slump...I'm trying to think of things to look forward to but being as my NYE plans haven't solidified, I'm coming up empty!

In the meantime, I'm going to sit around and gaze lovingly at my new toys...


Kate Spade Minka  Sorry, you can't get my pretty green anymore....



Moxie Bluetooth Showerhead by Kohler  So you can rock out in the shower with your iphone tunes...I used it this morning and it was glorious


Marc by Marc Jacobs Amy 36MM  Classing it up just a little bit, folks...


Nine West Tip-Top Knee High Boot Thank god..now I can replace the pair that no longer has a heel..

Today Is A Gift

via Etsy

How Did I Not Know About This?

Cynthia Rowley's Flask Bangle. $225.  Currently not available but supposedly there's a wait list.  It's kind of amazing.

Book Quicksand

What the heck does "book quicksand" mean, you say?  It's my new phrase to describe the timeline of how I got to be pretty in-over-my-head in books right now.

One day I'm putting down a book discussion book thinking "hey! I don't have anything specific lined up! I can read whatever I want! Probably for the entire holiday! I just finished that Library Journal book so I won't get one from them for a while!".  So I walk over to my trusty bookshelf full of books I haven't gotten around to reading and I pull out one of the most entertaining, non-brain-needing books I can find.  I tuck myself in bed and let myself get gobbled up in trash.  It's glorious.

Fast forward approximately 36 hours and I've gotten a notice from LJ that they're sending me a 2nd book to review in less than a month (due on the 4th! who is dealing with this over 2 holidays?!?! that's just mean), the new Oprah pick came in on the holdshelf for me and needs to be read in 7 days (I need to know what's going on with Miss O's books when I get asked 900 times how I liked them), and I realize that I probably need to start my library book discussion book that I need to lead on the 11th..And need I mention that my copy of Hunk for the Holidays came in and is begging to be read before Christmas?? Should I have admitted that? Probably not...but if I'm going to be in charge of buying romance books for the library, I should probably pick one up every once in a while...

Anyway, I'm now slightly entrenched...in the book quicksand, if you will....

Here's my list for the next couple weeks!

 (my initial entertaining read that I've had to abandon for the time being)

 (Oprah's book club choice that I'll be powering through..and am currently enjoying!)

 (My library book discussion book for the 11th)

 (My 2nd LJ book this month which is due on the 4th..just came in the mail today)

 (My steamy romance waiting to be guiltily enjoyed)

 (The other random book I started and need to finish)

There are a number of other books from the library that are currently sitting at my house with no start date in sight...

I think my brain is actually shutting down...Wish me luck!

*Side note- my first Library Journal book this month was Everything Was Good-Bye by Gurjinder Basran and it was FANTASTIC! I highly recommend it to start your 2013 reading!

*Extra side note- I just realized if I manage to finish all of this by the 11th, I'll have read 2,016 pages.  The Clover House is officially the longest at 432p.  Yikes!

Best Buddies Take 2

I blogged about these guys a little over a year ago.  They never cease to amuse me.

No, You Don't Have To Take Your Shoes Off

I'm getting ready to host my first real adult dinner party this weekend.  I mean, I've definitely hosted bbq's and parties with lots of appetizers but never a sit down fancy dinner.  I'm a little bit nervous that I'm going to screw something up or just be too much of a ball of cooking stress...I mean, the key rule of dinner parties is that you're supposed to have most everything done by the time people get there right? and have drinks ready so you're just like handing people drinks at the door?  I'm pretty sure I'm required to put people's coats on the bed too...  I don't know..I think I heard something along those lines..I probably need a butler...I haven't even started to think about my playlist..luckily, my awesome friend Peter has a website called The Mixcast that has AMAZING music mixes for FREE! So I'm pretty sure I'll be relying on him to set the mood..

But what I DO know, is that I'll be making the most amazing stuffed shells ever.  And I already feel fancy just  thinking about it.  I got the recipe from my favorite food mag, Food and Wine, and I've made them once before.

Ricotta and Fontina Stuffed Shells with Fennel and Raddichio

I also suggest using their "best ever marinara" recipe too. It's included in the recipe above.

Anyone have any good dinner party tips for me? Things like "Hey, Madeline, don't drink a bottle of wine before the guests get there" or "Maybe its ok if Andy doesn't wear white gloves when handing people drinks"?

Nice Jacket

I'm not even sure what to do with this.

Please read this in Tommy Boy style

Little Monkey In A Biiii-iiiggg Coooooo-oooaaatttt

I Can't Even Pretend

(I don't know who to credit this image to but I found it on this blog)

I don't pretend to be a history buff.  When it comes to historical battles and wars, if it wasn't included in a Ben Affleck movie, I probably don't know anything about it.  But I read the book Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson a few years ago and LOVED it.

(go buy it or get it from your library immediately!)

It's a nonfiction story about a group of divers who found the wreckage of a WWII German U-boat off the coast of New Jersey.  There were no government records of a boat ever being near the area and certainly no records of one sinking.  The men spent years attempting to gather enough information about the boat to identify it and be able to provide information to the families of its crew.  The story is absolutely fascinating and reads like an excellent documentary.  You simply don't need to be a history/war buff to enjoy this book. Although, if you are anything like me, you'll find yourself simultaneously intrigued and totally freaked out by submarines afterwards.

There's a cool Nova sight about it HERE btw.

That being said, ever since finishing this book, I've been really interested in stories about wreckage from WWII and it's retrieval.  This morning, I was excited to read in the Chicago Tribune that a WWII fighter plane had been pulled from the Waukegan Harbor, not even 15 miles from my home! From what I've read, it doesn't have quite as exciting as a background that the U-boat from Shadow Divers had, but I think it's very cool anyway.

Check out the story HERE 

Bottoms Up!

While Grain Belt is one of my favorite Minnesota beers, the friendly folks at First We Feast have compiled a list of the best beers from every state that makes a different choice.  It's a good choice too.

Best Brews from each of the 50 States

Drink up!

True Words

(from Johnny Cash to June Carter Cash)

If you're anything like me, you love getting a letter but probably aren't great about writing them.  You might like to read a diary (not your own..yikes, that's just a lousy idea..you never sound smart or romantic in your own diary..or at least I don't) but skip out on writing in your own.  I got a One Word A Day journal for my birthday and I've written approximately one word every other month.  It may be added to my New Year's resolution list...

If this is you, then you're going to LOVE this website.  Letters of Note is an amazing site filled with letters from celebrities, scientists, mothers, athletes, authors, musicians, and more...Some of them are laugh out loud funny, some are the dagger of words you always wish you could throw, and some will bring tears to your eyes.  The bottom line is you need to set aside an evening to read every word.

My personal favorites are the the letters that Johnny Cash wrote to June (one of them is above), a response from a writer of Will and Grace to a despicable religious organization, and the letter from Fiona Apple about her dying dog.

Letters of Note
Amazing

Listen Up, Jokers

Ok, I'm trying to get back on the blogging train.  It's my pre-New Years resolution.  Along with losing the last 10lbs...

Seriously, What Did You Expect?

Now, I can't say I appreciate it, but Guy Fieri's bleach blonde mess of hair is not what should have tipped you off to his lack of culinary (and life) refinement.  What should have tipped you off?

The fact that he wears sunglasses hanging backwards on his neck while hosting a national televised restaurant show.

As far as I'm concerned that's the equivalent of dressing up for a black tie (or any, really) wedding by wearing your nicest wranglers.  It's not ok, and it's not appropriate.  It screams "I don't care about anyone else but myself and I'm going to hope you take my lack of common fashion sense as 'man, that Guy Fieri must be really cool'"  No one thinks that.  Ever.

Anyway, I'm getting away from the point....The point of this is that no one in their right mind could have expected a guy who grills sushi because his friends were too chicken to eat it the correct way, to have put together a half assed decent menu in a huge Times Square location.

This review from the NYT is so brilliantly awful that I'm not sure how Guy doesn't just immediately go there and lock the doors.  You should read it immediately in it's entirety.

First up, the cocktail list, which is a glorious piece of white trash ephemera—a love letter to food coloring and sugar. I go for the El Azul Watermelon, a mix of Tequila Blanco, watermelon, pineapple, and blue curacao rimmed with shocking-pink sugar. It's not so much a drink, as it is a cup of diabetes that tastes like a crackhead with a sweet tooth melted down blue raspberry Dum Dums, gum balls, and Sour Patch Kids and put it on ice.

– Talia Baiocchi, Eater

BYOBTW

Otherwise known as Bring-Your-Own-Baby-to-Work



I'm sure many of you have seen pictures of Italy's Licia Ronzulli voting with her adorable daughter on her lap before but just in case you hadn't....

Licia Ronzulli has been bringing her daughter with her to work since she was breastfeeding her as a 6 week old...the tradition continues and Ronzulli continues to show what a wonderful mother and politician can look like...

The Guardian wrote a great article and included a link to many images of Licia and her daughter, Vittoria.  Check it out HERE

Also, Congratulations to our newly re-elected President!  I'm so glad to celebrate your victory!

Mind Melt

Sorry that I've been MIA.  I haven't posted lately because I've been fairly uninspired to show or blab about anything.  But today is Friday.  And, dammit, I feel like sharing something silly.

Have a great weekend!

Another Reason To Vote Obama

As if there weren't more than enough reasons to vote for President Obama...

Cute Kids With Obama

All images courtesy of Pete Souza unless specified otherwise (I think)

Little Black Book

via TheFrisky.com

Stunning Simplicity

image by Vivian Maier via Vivianmaier.com

While ordering books for the library today, I came across a book titled Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams.  I haven't seen the book itself, just read the review in Booklist, but I was curious to find out more about Vivian Maier.

Vivian Maier was born in New York city in 1926, traveled the world until about the 1950's when she settled in Rogers Park outside of Chicago.  She spent much of her life as a nanny and seemed to carry a camera with her everywhere, taking pictures of her charges and the scenes she saw on the street every day.  Her images were discovered after the contents of her storage locker was sold due to the fact that she couldn't pay her bill.  Most of the stunning black and white images were displayed only after her death in 2009 at the age of 83.

The images are gritty, beautiful, simplistic, haunting, and masterful.  If you haven't heard of her, I highly recommend seeking out Vivian Maier's story.

My Toilet Overfloweth

One of my reoccurring dreams is of being in a building where toilets are filled to the brim and massively overflowing in the surrounding spaces.  Inevitably, I wander from room to room trying to find a place that isn't disgusting and filled with waste.  Or in the worst parts, I try to navigate using one of these filthy toilets without soiling myself.  I have these dreams more frequently than I'd like. I wake up disturbed and grossed out.  Last night's dream consisted of me walking around the library trying to locate a usable bathroom and only finding overflowing toilets filled with all kinds of waste, the usual and the unusual (tree branches, cardboard, etc).

I woke up today going "Why do I keep having these dreams??? For the love of god, I'm so sick of dreaming about nasty toilets!"

I came to work and proceeded to fill in my co-workers about the ridiculous incident I had had the night before with a couple of our regular crazies.

I then mentioned to my coworker that I had also had this dream last night..at which point she suggested I Google it to see what I could find out...

I'd say my dreams were spot on last night...

Dreams of Toilets

You Float My Tug Boat

A floating hot tub boat? Ummm...yes please.  

HotTug

Unless The Oil You Were Referring To Was Snake Oil....

(source unknown but I'm happy to credit if someone can tell me!)


While I recognize that President Obama absolutely failed to present himself and his plans in a way that was effective, I was still more disgusted by Mitt Romney's overwhelming snobbery, lies, and ignorance of the rules of an adult debate.  He somehow tries to pass off his tax plan by not taxing anyone and somehow backing that with miracle money (aka: money from magical trees). Nevermind cutting all publicly subsidized everything (Hello, PBS. Or should we say "See ya never, PBS"?) and pushing off everything else onto the states.  Looks like that plan effectively gives the president nothing to deal with except the military.  Mitt think bubble "Well, we're not going to worry about finances, public programs, or anything that could be handled by the states that are largely broke...soooooo...guess this gig's a part time deal!"

By the way, to the women I know who also have a small business: Unless you're all secret millionaires, which I'm fairly confident that you aren't, GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK WITH YOUR ROMNEY SUPPORT! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

I highly suggest the following reading material:
At Last Night’s Debate: Romney Told 27 Myths In 38 Minutes

Wake The F*** Up

To Infinity And Back, I Guess

Ron Fugelseth's son has an attachment, as many boys his age do, to a Thomas the Train toy.  It's his sidekick.

One day, Ron and his son decided that Thomas should visit space.

They made it happen, recorded it, and made the world a little better by sharing it.

Thanks Ron Fugelseth.  You're an awesome dad.

Check out the rest of the story and another great video HERE

Bonus Pups

This KILLS me.

Friday Makes Me Wanna JUMP JUMP

Not only is this dog adorable, he's quite the gymnast...Enjoy!

A Flying Squirrel?

Conversation with Dave my 85-year-old-library-boyfriend

Leadup: Dave was interested in contacting a political group in Middleton, Wisconsin but had only gotten their p.o. box number.  He was hoping to get their phone number.

Me: "Ok, Dave, I've got their phone number."
Dave: "Wow! You're fast! Fast like a.....bird! No, wait, something faster! Fast like a....SQUIRREL!"

A Story Behind A Story

The Books They Gave Me

Story upon story of how people acquired books...some are remnants of lost love..life long friendships...adventures past...I find the background of books sometimes more interesting than the books themselves...I'm also the book owner who writes her name on the inside cover...which makes me wonder who might just have a book on their shelf with my name on it..and where that book has been since it left my hands....or what it meant to it's new owner..

Dream Wild and Live Happy

"Perhaps we don’t like what we see: our hips, our loss of hair, our shoe size, our dimples, our knuckles too big, our eating habits, our disposition. We have disclosed these things in secret, likes and dislikes, behind doors with locks, our lonely rooms, our messy desks, our empty hearts, our sudden bursts of energy, our sudden bouts of depression. Don’t worry. Put away your mirrors and your beauty magazines and your books on tape. There is someone right here who knows you more than you do, who is making room on the couch, who is fixing a meal, who is putting on your favorite record, who is listening intently to what you have to say, who is standing there with you, face to face, hand to hand, eye to eye, mouth to mouth. There is no space left uncovered. This is where you belong."

Sufjan Stevens, Michigan Essay

Walk The Walk

Nils Pickert's son likes wearing the occasional red dress.  Is the 5-year-old trying to make a bigger life statement?  Probably not. Sometimes wearing a bright red dress is just plain fun.  Mr. Pickert believes in supporting his kids no matter what they choose to do.  And sometimes that means not being afraid to walk the walk.

Nils Pickert, you're one of the most loyal, loving, sweet fathers I've come across.  Thank you for not only letting your child make whatever clothing decisions make him happy but for also showing him that clothes don't make the man-- love and support, on the other hand, do.

via Huffington Post

Box O' Shame

Whoever owns this dog, you made me snort laugh at your "box of shame".

Thank you

p.s. If you haven't looked at Dog-shaming.com yet, you should go there RIGHT THIS SECOND

Don't Mess With Science

Bill Nye Blasts Todd Akin, Challenges ‘Fucking Idiot’ to Debate 

via The Daily Current 

The Public Is Just Weird

Probably one of my new favorite funny blogs.  The stories are just too spot on.  You think I'm kidding when I tell the story of the man watching pregnant lady porn at the library? Or when a woman threatens to assault another patron because she's convinced that her computer is being hacked into from across the room?

Nope, I'm not kidding.  These stories go on for days.  I wish I had thought of writing this blog first...

I Work At A Public Library

My stories of today?

How about the woman who approached my desk about an hour ago to ask a question and her dry looking hair inexplicably dripped something on my desk? I've decided that she must have been wearing a wig and the hot weather was causing her to sweat through it...which because the hair isn't human hair, the sweat just beads up and drips off.  Or at least that's what I've come up with.  It's disgusting either way. I almost puked in my mouth.

Another woman just had a meeting with our director to complain that the library has a pop machine available.  She believes it encourages children to drink pop. Nevermind that it has just as many juice options and thirsty adults also use the library.  I get what you're saying lady, but hold your horses and focus your extra time elsewhere.  May I suggest a book?

Leg And Leather Envy

I will continue to work my butt off until I call wear this outfit and pull it off.

For the love of Nike, I want to wear this.  And look awesome.

Oh Lauren Conrad, why must you randomly wear clothes that I covet?  Feel free to hook a girl up.

side note- I have a strangely bad feeling about how the title of this post will come up in searches...

First Day Of Friend School

Or at least that's what I felt like after I finished MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche.  Like I hadn't been putting in the work and have some serious friendship schoolin' to do!

As the rest of the title says, Rachel Bertsche spent a full year going out on "girl dates" in order to find herself a new bff.  Like many women in their mid to late 20's, she had just gotten married and moved to a new city, specifically Chicago.  As she tries to explain, it isn't that she doesn't have any friends, it's just that her best friends live in other cities and she's looking for the sort of girl with whom she can grab lunch or simply watch tv.  In order to accomplish her goal of going on one girl date a week for an entire year, Rachel reaches out to friends of friends, asks out women she's met while shopping, joins clubs, employs a friend "matchmaker" and even rents a friend.  Basically, she actively searches out opportunities to meet new people and never turns down an invitation.  When Rachel says "We should get together sometime!", she means it.

Many of her dates are duds but plenty of them are a great experience.  Eventually she even begins to introduce the women she meets to each other in order to help them expand their friendship networks.  Over the course of this year, she develops stronger relationships with some women but also adds a wide variety of women to the list of phone call worthy friends.

I found this book fascinating on a number of levels.  First, as a girl who feels the need to build stronger friendships. Second, in the way that having girlfriends is so important to keeping a healthy relationship (you don't want to talk about girl stuff with your guy and chances are, your guy doesn't want to hear all your girl stuff!).  Finally, I'm not the only girl who has these issues and I need a kick in the ass!

As you might know, in the past 2+ years, I've moved out to the burbs and found myself looking for a new circle of friends.  I have had friendships that fell apart and to be honest, it was really hard.  Probably harder than breaking up with a boyfriend.  In fact, I don't give much thought to previous relationships, but I still find myself feeling bad about lost friendships.  That being said, I'm not one to trust new friends all that easily.  I make friends easily but I tend to keep them at arm's length.  I'm a lousy phone talker.  I get overwhelmed by girls easily and it makes me want to go sit by myself in the basement in front of the tv.

Is this pathetic?  Probably.  Conducive to making new friends?  Definitely not.  Do I wish I could just snap my fingers and skip all the work?  YES.  In fact, if I could force Kelly, Pharon, Becca, Courtney, and Laurel to move onto my street, I would.  Like tomorrow.

That loser speech being said-- I HAVE met women since I've moved here that I genuinely adore and want to be better friends with.  The problem is, I'm not making the effort!  Take my friend Lisa for example.  She's super fun and a great person to spend time with.  She's probably the whole friendship package!  But I suck! I don't call or text enough and then I wonder why it's hard to get a girl date with her.  Duh, Madeline, everyone else is being a better friend than you! That's why.

So what have I learned from MWF Seeking BFF??  I'm gonna try harder!  I'm going to reach out to people and make girl dates! I'm going to stop being such a crazy and start letting people be my friend.  Maybe they won't all work out, but it's worth a shot.  So if you hear from me soon, it's because I think you're great.

For the record:  I'm available for movies, eating, drinking, manis, pedis, sitting around in sweatpants, spas, shopping, concerts, puppy cuddling, baby cuddling, book clubs, sporting events, skype dates, dancing, running, crafting, tattoos and anything else that could potentially be awesome.  Unless it involves snakes.  Then I'm not interested in being your friend.

Stripes Are A Girl's Best Friend

My new fun fall dress! I'm wearing it at work today and I'm kind of in love with myself...I've got it paired with some brown strappy heels and I've gotten a number of compliments already! Target for $19.99

Follow up to the Buffalo Stuffed Chicken and Mango Chia Pudding recipes I posted the other day:

THEY WERE AMAZING!  The chicken was quicker to put together than the zucchini boats from Monday and it was delicious.  Both Andy and I want to add this dish to the rotating menu.  I also brought it for lunch today and it was just as good reheated a couple days later.  The Mango Chia Pudding was also super super super good.  Once I diced up my mango, it took all of 30 seconds to put together in a bowl and throw in the fridge over night.  The recipe ends up yielding about 1 cup per serving and it was one of the more filling breakfasts I've had in a long time.  I fully expect to pick up a couple more mangoes and make this in a big honkin' batch!

We've picked out our recipes to try next week and I'm going to restart my 15K training (my attempted start this week sucked)..so next week is looking good...

In the meantime, I've got plans to head out to Sycamore for lil Spaghetti's 1st birthday!  And to see Courtney and Jason's new house! Fun!

I Wish I Was A Little Food Blogger

wishiwasballerwishihadagirlifididiwouldcallher

ok, so a little bit of a stretch with the title of today's post but it makes me smile...that's really what counts here, people...

I'm lucky enough that I live with a fab-o guy who can pull together a well rounded delicious meal on a regular basis...but I try to have a plan for the week so we aren't scrambling at the end of the day...

This week, I've found some pretty good recipes on SkinnyTaste.com and I thought I'd pass them on for those of you trying to stay low cal!


Chicken Enchilada Stuffed Zucchini Boats

These took a while to make as I decided not to use the store bought enchilada sauce that I had on hand and used the recipe to make my own...I mean, it was the fab-o guy's birthday after all!  I also had to cook and shred the chicken so that took some time...But it was definitely worth the effort and the leftovers were good the next day too!

Only things I would do differently-- they don't specify if you're supposed to puree the ancho chiles so I took them out..I would puree them into the sauce to thicken it up next time...also reminds me to make a batch of shredded chicken and freeze them in packets so I don't have to shred...shredding chicken sucks...also, I'd probably add beans on the side as well as some avocado...bout it!


Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Breasts

I am making this one tonight so I don't have an actual review yet but I'm excited and it sounds really yummy..I'll let you know how it is!


Mango Coconut Chia Pudding

Also on the agenda to prep tonight for breakfast tomorrow! I've heard a lot of great stuff about using Chia seeds in pudding form so we'll see how that goes.

I'm Sorry, I Didn't See You There

We're renovating the library so there are lots of meetings going on about what sort of things we would like in the new library.

Today, the question of service desks came up...One of my personal pet peeves is when patrons decide to come behind the desk so they can breathe on my neck and watch every keystroke...it's an invasion of personal professional space people!!!  Do you go behind the counter at Subway while they make your sandwich?? I thought not....

I realized I've seen the perfect desk before...

Start Out Smart, End On Brain-numbing

I went on yet another vacation last week.  I know, I know...I'm super lucky blah blah blah...

Anyway, I was heading to a gorgeous lake in Northern Minnesota where I planned to do nothing but eat, drink, sunbathe, and read.  In the week before I left, I felt the urge to read something a bit more respected.  Something the complete opposite of what I intended to read on my vacation...no offense to beach reads but lets be real, "respected" and "beach read" don't tend to be used in the same sentence.

Enter: The Odds by Stewart O'Nan.
Short and very well reviewed, I figured it was the perfect time to squeeze it in.  It was a lovely book.  Art and Marion Fowler are a long married couple on the verge of collapse.  They are facing bankruptcy and the demise of their marriage.  They've returned to the sight of their honeymoon, Niagra Falls, in order to win enough on roulette to save their home and, in Art's mind, give their marriage one last try.  The short chapters are filled with missed opportunities and unspoken grievances on both parts.  I felt a dull pain reading about Art's longing to win Marion back and her seeming lack of interest.  Being a lousy gambler, I also felt anxiety at the prospect of them losing all of their money and their future along with it. Many reviewers before me have pointed out the symbology of the falls and gambling in relation to the Fowler's life...I get it.  It's fairly obvious when you think about it...but it doesn't glare at you while reading.  It's the pit in your stomach instead of the screaming migraine.

I won't spoil the ending but I will say that I was disappointed.  I thought sitting on it for a day or two would help but I don't think my disappointment has lessened.  This is one of those books where I'd like an update on their future.  I did love the simplicity, sadness, and hope in this book though.  It was still worth it.

It reminds me of By the Iowa Sea by Joe Blair...although, not nearly as heart-wrenching, The Odds will definitely be the dull ache you feel for days after.

Immediately after finishing this book, I took on the task of reading The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay for a LJ review.  I haven't actually written my review yet but I think it can be summed up by saying it reminded me quite a bit of State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.  I say this in the best way possible.  I loved State of Wonder.  I think The Map of Lost Memories will be a good recommendation for those looking for something similar.

This is where things start to go downhill.  Where I start to feel like a dirty, trampy librarian. This is the point where I started reading brainless beach crap.

Enter: Guilty Wives by James Patterson and David Ellis (otherwise known as written by David Ellis but James Patterson slapped his name on it for money purposes (?)) and Home Front by Kristin Hannah.

Let's be clear, I feel much less guilt for reading the Kristin Hannah book than I do the Patterson et al book.



Jolene Zarkades is a stay at home mom with a side job as a helicopter pilot in the National Guard.  Her husband, Michael, is a very-busy-never-home lawyer.  Their marriage is also falling apart and shortly after a blowup fight, Jolene is told that she is being deployed to Iraq.  Long story short, she ends up being wounded overseas and returns home not only with devastating injuries but to a marriage she isn't sure will continue.  Kristin Hannah consistently writes books featuring families in turmoil, a little bit of romance, and just a itsy bitsy bit of smut.  Meaning- there are a couple low level swear words and maybe one almost steamy sex scene that lasts about half a page.  I've always compared her to Jodi Picoult in the family drama way but now I'm starting to think she's more like Nicholas Sparks.  Really, either comparison is fairly accurate.  I don't have a major problem with Home Front...it was pretty much what I was expecting but I did find it fairly preachy on the military front.  I guess that was to be expected as it's largely a military themed book but I started feeling like I was reading about the author's political views...which I find intrusive.  Not Kristin Hannah's best, not her worst.  I'll probably pick up the next one when I need another simple read.



Yup. I read it.  At first, I didn't even feel bad about it.  It was moving along at the fast Patterson clip and it was set in Monte Carlo.  Add in some women blowing through some cash and low morals, I'm indulging like it's wavy Lays and french onion dip...greasy, guilt inducing, and definitely not healthy for any part of you.  But whatever. About 2/3 of the way in was when I started to realize I'd made a craptastic decision.  The "wives" have been framed for the murder of the president of France seemingly by their husbands.  The majority of the book focuses on Abbie Elliot, the one wife who didn't give up and is determined to prove her innocence.  Being as she spends the majority of the book in jail, this means that most pages are filled with stories of how the warden is trying to take her down or the guards are attacking her.  This is interesting for approximately 20 pages but brutally repetitive after the 200th page.  Shocker- she breaks out of jail, runs around figuring out who the killers are, and narrowly escapes being caught until a detective in charge manages to put the pieces together himself.  Blah blah blah.  Thank god for the short chapters because I was ready to be done with this book about 100 pages before it actually ended.  I don't have a problem with James Patterson books in general. The ones that he is the sole author of tend to be fairly entertaining.  It's not Pulitzer worthy material but usually a good quick thriller. I've just come to feel like his co-authored books are simply a way for the other author to get recognition/published. I'll stick with my opinion-- if you aren't good enough to get published on your own, you probably just aren't that good! That same opinion goes with self published books.

Anyway, I'm now back at work and trying to get back in the swing of serious reading.  I think the fact that I checked out Melissa Rycroft's memoir (remember her? of Bachelor/Bachelorette fame?) signals that I'm not quite there yet.  But next on the list is MWF seeking BFF: My yearlong search for a new best friend by Rachel Bertsche.  I'll let you know if I learned anything!  Or maybe I won't because I'll be busy hanging out with my new bestie....


p.s. Read By the Iowa Sea by Joe Blair. It's amazing.  It will break your heart completely but it's worth every minute.

Friday Before Vacation Laughs

Textfromdog.tumblr.com makes me double over giggling...If you have a dog, you for SURE need to visit this site...I can picture Midge saying virtually all of these things...Andy claims she's not smart enough but I think she just has the wool pulled over his eyes...She's like a diabolical genius who loves me

New Specs

Will these turn me into the most kick ass librarian ever? Maybe not..but they're pretty awesome anyway...

WarbyParker.com

Maybe Warby Parker wants to start an librarian testing program?  They can send me glasses and I'll do official library work with them...then I can write the official librarian review!

These are the Winston in Lunar Fade btw...