A little squee of excitement..

I was looking through my stats about who comes to the blog and from where (yes you anonymous stalkers) and saw someone and gotten here via a link and I was like hmmm what is that, so I in my stalkerish habits clicked to see what it was.

What it just so happened to be is an article that mentioned my blog and linked to a post that I had written at the end of October about reading goals and how I was not going to fulfill mine this year.

In my giddiness of someone actually READING and then mentioning it in an article made me have to share and be a little attention whorish. :)

And in the spirit of giving, I want to attention whore Lisa's Beef Stew. My husband made it for us on Sunday and it was fabulous! ;)

So now, dear readers attention whore away in the comments (may it be about yourself, personal or a great blogging moment) or if you are feeling giving attention whore someone elses' blog. :)

December Blogger Book Club suggestions..

I have enjoyed reading our first to selections I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass and (still finishing) Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. The first is probably not a book I would have picked to read on my own and the second is one I wanted to discuss with others. :)

So any suggestions for December? Is there a holiday themed book you've always wanted to read? Another classic that is itchy to be read? Or a newer book you've wanted to tackle?

Leave suggestions in the comments until Thursday afternoon and on Friday I will put up a poll for Decembers group read with the winner decided by Monday evening and announced Tuesday, December 1st.

Get suggesting.. :)

2,191 days since my husband ...

Could claim victory over my BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO BUCKS!!!! 6 YEARS OF VICTORY! I am definitely enjoying smelling the roses as the OUT RIGHT BIG TEN CHAMPIONS!!!

THE GAME photo 2009 enjoying the game in our living room





THE game photo 2008 tailgating in Columbus

THE game photo 2007 at The Big House (yes my husband still rocks the Biakabutuka jersey)

THE game photo 2006 tailgating in Columbus

There sadly is not a 2005 photo because I watched it with my dad and he was at MSU tailgating for the MSU / Penn State game

Our first THE game photo 2004

We started dating in 2003 but I was still away at school so we did not watch the 2003 game together. Also known as the last time MEEEECHIGAN beat Ohio State.

GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a fabulous rest of the weekend!

Blogger Book Club: Check in!

How is everyone doing on reading Pride & Prejudice?? I am really loving it. It's been much easier to get into than I had thought back when I first attempted it back in July.

I really enjoyed the verbal sparring between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. It makes me feel like I'm in a courtroom drama with the jarring back and forth. It always intrigues me with the way the written language can be twisted and how far it has come since the 1800s when Jane Austen wrote her novels.

I must confess that so far, I have NOT figured out what the hoopla is about how some people 'want to find their own Mr. Darcy." So far, he seems like any other random cocky guy. So you want a guy? Is that what women are saying? I also was QUITE disappointed in how Elizabeth so readily listened to what Wickham had to say about Darcy. I mean, I thought she was smarted than that. Apparently, not.

I did mark one quote that I will share.. "Stupid men, are the only ones worth knowing, after all." Hah.. That made my night when I came across it.

Now for a discussion question..

Two central characters in Austen have her own first name.In Emma: Jane Fairfax is a decorous, talented, beautiful woman.In Pride and Prejudice: Jane Bennet is everything lovely.What do you make of that? Taken from Litlovers.com

Personally, I think Jane is a common name; and while it is interesting that her Jane's were beautiful/loved/talented I don't think it was done PURELY out of selfish reasons. However, it is obvious why Lydia wasn't a Jane nor Mrs. Bennet a Jane, ya know? I think Jane Austen wrote what she knew and she wrote to escape. She had to have been a huge people watcher and a private person and through her novels she got to live.

What are your thoughts on Pride & Prejudice? Have a quote you'd like to share? A question? Let's get a discussion going!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Free (idea!) Food Thursday.. :)

Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac (adapted from Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

· 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
· 4 to 6 chicken breasts (I used chicken breasts that had been marinating in zesty Italian dressing)
· 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
· 1 large onion, chopped
· 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
· 5 large cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated (I used garlic powder)
· 1 tablespoon paprika
· black pepper
· 2 cups chicken broth
· ½ cup or less of hot sauce ( 1/2 was too much and we LOVE spice, i'd say just a little less than a 1/2 cup)
· 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
· 1 pound whole wheat elbow macaroni
· 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
· 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
· 2 scallions, root ends removed and thinly sliced

Prep:

Put pot on for pasta and then cook pasta until al dente. Then drain and wait to put into the chili mixture.

Cut chicken little bite size pieces.

Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken bits and brown them, about 5-6 minutes. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, paprika, bay leaf and some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, until tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the hot sauce and crushed tomatoes, and bring up to a bubble. Simmer the chili for 8-10 minutes to let the flavors come together and thicken it slightly.

Pour pasta into chili. Mix together and then pour everything into a casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the top and place it under the broiler until the cheeses have melted and the top is golden brown. (2 to 3 minutes)

Sprinkle the chopped scallions over top! You can serve it with sour cream as well..

the finished product.. :)

Looking ahead -- a 2010 reading goal

I like to make lists and goals and books are not immune to this liking of mine. I am always wanting to branch out and try new things and books are an area where I really need to think and research when I am trying to branch out. I am someone who if they are interested in an author or series will read the entire thing as fast as possible and then need to find something else to help my 'fix.' I have an addictive personality, what can I say? :)

I have started to think about 2010 and what kind of goals I want to make reading wise. The last two years I have had the goal of reading 100 books. Which I know is doable, but work, the Internet, and reading more classics have come between me and reaching that goal. Last year, I also decided to an A-Z challenge, where you read 26 books starting with a different alphabet letter and 26 books by authors whose name begins with the different alphabet letters. Needless to say, I will not be realizing that goal this year unless I read a book a day pretty much between now and December 31st. I am okay with that because I have read a lot of different books this year, which was my main goal. I will also challenge myself to the A-Z challenge for 2010.

MOVING ON.. THE REAL reason for this blog post (yes I sidetrack easily).. My personal challenge to myself is to read books that have been made into movies that I want to see, but that I have wanted to read the book first. I am one of those people who ALWAYS wants to read the book first and THEN watch the movie. If I happen to know it is a book. However, sometimes I just want to watch the movie and sometimes I read the book and DO NOT want to watch it..

So here is a starting point of books that I want to read in 2010, and then watch the movie:

Gone With the Wind
Sense & Sensibility
Atonement
Great Expectations
The Bridges of Madison County
The Cider House Rules
High Fidelity
The Scarlet Letter
The Jane Austen Book Club
Because of Winn-Dixie
White Oleander
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Reader

Anyone else want to take on this challenge? What books/movies do you want to read/watch in 2010?

Teaser Tuesday - Pride & Prejudice

TEASER TUESDAYS (hosted by Miz B) asks you to:
Grab your current read.
Let the book fall open to a random page.
Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
Please avoid spoilers!
My 2 “Teaser” Sentences for today:

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and
caprice, that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficent to
make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less
difficult to develop.

~ pg. 3, "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Leave a teaser from your current read in the comments or post a teaser on your blog. Make sure you leave the author as well so others can check out the book if they are so interested. :)

Mannerisms & Subtle Signs

Hi friends! It’s Becky from Love Everyday Life. Our faithful blogger has been through a lot lately so I hope she is taking it easy and knows that our thoughts are with her (as are our virtual hugs).

Let me introduce myself. I’m a twenty-something outside of Washington, D.C. and I love my husband, books, OPI nail polish, and anything related to fall. But I have to confess. It’s almost halfway through November and I haven’t started the book we’re all reading yet.

I am really excited to read Pride and Prejudice – I’ve never read a book by Jane Austen before (don’t get me started on how I feel like my English degree doesn’t count because of that), and I honestly don’t know if Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth get together, but I’m sure it’ll be a heck of a journey to get to that point.

I found an article recently about Jane Austen – one of my bosses (a fellow English major) sent it to me, and it’s awesome. (Check it out here). Most of the article is about a new exhibit featuring Jane Austen, but the beginning is what caught my attention. It spoke of Jane Austen in a role we don’t necessarily see her in – that of a doting aunt. The exhibit showcases (among other things) a letter to her eight-year old niece Cassy, with everything spelled backwards. For instance, the beginning of the letter reads, “Ym raed Yssac,” and ends with, “Ruoy Etanoitceffa Tnua, Enaj Netsua.” (For those of you who haven’t had caffeine today that translates to “my dear Cassy” and “your affectionate aunt, Jane Austen.”)

The article described Austen as “precocious,” but mysterious enough where it’s hard to imagine what she was actually like. “You have to read her the way her most sentient characters read their companions, attending to subtle signs, mannerisms and language.”

Do you think it’s hard to separate an author from what he or she writes? Do you think they’re telling a story from their life at all (even if it’s a novel)? Sometimes I have problems separating celebrities from their roles in TV or a movie, but I don’t seem to have as much trouble with authors. Maybe because it’s easier to put down a book and go about my day as opposed to reading a recap of a TV episode online and seeing all the comments people made about it.

However, Jane Austen never married, and I don’t know much about her love life, but I don’t think she had very much of one. If that was the case, are you impressed with her ability to pick up on subtle signs and mannerisms between men and women, or do you think she used that as an excuse to sit back and watch? Have you noticed any subtle mannerisms in Pride and Prejudice? Do you wish you could write an entire letter backwards? Or are you like me and haven’t started the book yet?

(Thank you Becky for your very insightful blog post... NOW GET READING!!! ;) .. Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers over some of the most difficult times I've had recently..)

Commencement by j. courtney sullivan

Celia, Bree, April and Sally meet when they are all assigned the same dorm at Smith's College. Smith is an all women's college and they've all gotten there through different paths. Celia grew up going to Catholic school who has two well educated parents and a mother is a vp for a major markeing firm. Bree is from the south and has a very traditional family, and a mother and a grandmother who had both gone to Smith. April was raised by a single mother and is a hardcore feminist. Wanting to be involved in anything and everything that helps women. Sally's mother recently passed away and she is grappling at life without her.

The book jumps perspective from one Smithie to the next, and the reader is allowed to see how different and alike all of the women are. How Bree has a relationship with a woman, yet claims not to be a lesbian. How the other girls made out with or 'above the jeans' action with other women and do not think they are lesbians.

It's really a fast read and captures soo much of the college expereince and of growing up in your twenties in modern times. The book follows the girls after graduation and to one of the girls weddings where there is an AWFUL fight. It takes the next year with some REALLY life changing events to bring them all back together again.

I really enjoyed the book and the ONLY thing that upset me, was the ending. It was a fitting ending, but it defintely could have had ONE more chapter to tell you 'what happens now.' I hate when books do that. But that just means they are that good, when you want to keep reading. It certainly captures the intensity of college friendships that only those who are thrust into such close quarters with strangers can understand. It also captures the COMPLEX relationships, first loves, heart break, dissapointment, pain and grief that seem to be all encompassing as you find your niche in the world.

Feminism is talked about quite often. I would be surprised if you went through the book and saw it mentioned every 5 pages. The book talks about different types of feminism and how each girl encompasses their own brand of feminism and how each deal with the multitude of choices they have.

Definitely reccomend to women, especially in their 20's and 30's.

Pride & Prejudice: First Impressions

Hello dear readers – it’s Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns! I’m helping out this week since pinkflipflop certainly has a lot on her mind with the passing of yet another grandparent. L It’s times like this that I wish I could hug a person through her computer.

Have you started reading “Pride & Prejudice” by Jane Austen? I have actually read this book before, but I think it was 4-5 years ago, so I feel like I am reading it for the first time all over again.

Did you know that a previous version of this book was entitled “First Impressions”? Mr. Darcy & Elizabeth Bennet’s first impression of each other plays a major role in this book. The first night Elizabeth Bennet met Mr. Darcy, she overheard him making this comment about her:

“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men…” (p. 14)

Ouch. That’s a pretty rough assessment and must have been hard for Elizabeth to hear. It’s no wonder that she decided at that moment that Mr. Darcy was not someone she would want to associate with.

But sometimes first impressions can be wrong. Will Elizabeth’s impression of Mr. Darcy? I guess you’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Have you ever judged a person based on a first impression and found yourself to be completely wrong?

(Thank you Lisa!! Be sure to check out her blog, but I think most of you already do! )