No Good Deeds

Crow, being Crow, befriends a young black man and invites him home for dinner.  Of course, this couldn't be a simple dinner date.  Oh no, Tess and Crow's guest attempts to help himself to Tess's car, computer and a marijuana stash after the couple goes to bed.

Tess can't leave it alone, especially since the kid reacted to the name of a dead federal prosecutor.  So, Tess being Tess, uses an elaborate setup with her pal Whitney to track down her former house guest and get him to spill his beans.

And spill his beans he does.  He tells them details about the murder of said prosecutor that would be of much interest to the public and so they call in their reporter friends to get his scoop.  What Tess wasn't banking on, was pissing of a head honcho at the paper who drags her into a messy situation where she and her family are threatened.

I really liked this book and am still a fan of the Tess Monaghan series by Laura Lippman.  I am almost caught up, which will make me sad like all of my series that I enjoy, but I shall just have to find another!

What would you do if you came into a large sum of money?

Chicken Stir Fry

Back in 2009, when I was taking a graduate class my husband always made us dinner on Tuesday nights.  For some reason, Winter 2009 was our stir fry obsession time.  We ate it A LOT. So much that earlier this month when I made this, I couldn't even begin to tell you the last time we made it for dinner.  Probably 2009. I, however, was wanting some fried rice so I decided it was time to re-visit chicken stir fry.

First, I cut up 4 chicken tenders (I bought a large bag at Meijer awhile ago), and cooked them in EVOO and soy sauce.

I then made brown rice according to the package.  I put it in a bowl and chilled it in the fridge while I got other stuff going.

I then took 2 eggs and beat them together in a bowl.  Then in a pan I cooked the egg with some red onion.  Then I put it off to the side.

Then I went back to the cooked chicken and added in some veggies from a frozen bag I had in the freezer and some fresh orange pepper.  When that was all warmed up I went back to the rice.

I got the cold rice from the fridge and warmed it up with some evoo in the bottom and added some peas into the mix.  Then I added the egg.

Then we put rice in the bowl and the chicken/veggies on top. 

Nom Nom Nom.. It was good.  I liked the rice, but the veggies from the freezer were not my style so that was a sad.

What's your favorite Chinese food?

Mine is crab rangoons!!!

What's For Dinner This Week..

I have been spending a lot of time meal planning and cooking dinners the last few weeks because it is something I enjoy and helps make sure we don't get take out or resort to the same ole things over and over again.  Though, I can pretty much say we are not a house that eats the same ole sole over and over again.  We are the masters of making things one time only even when they are amazing.  Kind of like my book re-reading philosophy, so many recipes (books) so little time!

Here is what up this week..

M- French Dip Sandwiches, mac and cheese, strawberries

I will say this is a repeater from just 2 weeks ago! I used these two recipes as my starting point and went from there.

T- Taco Chili, tortilla chips, cucumbers and dip

I am using this recipe as my base and going from there. Have you noticed a slow cooker theme already? I start working this week and I know my dinner prep time is going to be cut waaaaaaay down but I have time early in the morning so I think we will be relying on the crockpot a lot more now around these parts!

W- Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken, brown rice

And, yet another crockpot recipe! I am pretty much craving black beans and spicy food lately.  We eat a lot of Mexican around these parts.

Th – Brats, pasta with fresh tomatoes

We may do smoked sausage instead because we ate brats on Sunday as well, we may even do hot dogs but I will be making the side pasta and tomato salad that I got the recipe from when checking out my new favorite website www.foodonthetable.com  THE BEST help ever in grocery shopping/meal planning.

F – Shrimp and Feta Cheese Pasta, pears

I also go this recipe from www.foodonthetable.com and I am excited to check it out.  Hopefully, I will get to share some of our faves with you later. ;)

Do you do meal planning? How do you grocery shop?

I have been meal planning two weeks out with maybe a couple supplemental farmer's market trips.  If we run out in the middle of something, we run out and have to make do with what we have in the cupboards, but we will never go hungry.  I also cut coupons.  I used to do it every week but now I only grab a weekend paper the Sunday I am going shopping, or if I am out and about I will grab one.  But I meal plan using various blogs/websites/magazines, coupon and check different websites/blogs for extra savings and then make my lists accordingly.  I don't save an awful lot because I'm not hardcore but my bill got marked down almost 30 bucks today with coupons! I also stocked up enough that besides going back for milk, possibly bread and more veggies/fruit I don't think I NEED to shop for 3/4 weeks now because of stuff I stocked up on.

The Sandalwood Tree - Discussion 4

I really liked this book, but the end seemed kind of rushed to me.  I don't know if this is because I was sitting on the last 10 pages for a really long time or not, but when I finished it, it seemed like one of those rush up and be done jobs.  Anyone else?

I think that Evie did a lot of growing in India and it was interesting to read when she finally realized she had to live for joy and what that meant.  I'm glad that both her and Martin could figure out what they needed to do to make things work.  And I liked Mr. Singh's comment about the best marriages in India being good friendships.  He seemed like an interesting man and I would like to learn more about his grandfather.

Also, this book was huuuuge on foreshadowing and I like picking up on it when I'm reading.  It's so much fun to speculate and find out if you are wrong.  Like my guess that Adela's grave really wasn't Adela? ;)

So, I really want to know your thoughts... Did you like this book? What characters did you connect with? Would you have traveled to India during either of those time periods? What time period in history would you like to time-travel back to and visit?

and from the book's discussion questions..

1. Evie says, “If you understand the lunatic nuances in keeping up appearances, you’ll understand why I spent an insane amount of time fighting dust and dirt in India.” and later, “I couldn’t fix our inside, so I fixed our outside. I vanquished dirt and disorder wherever I found it, and felt better, for a while.” Do you think Evie’s impulse to control what she can in order to compensate for the things she cannot is a typical human reaction? What do you think she gains and loses by focusing on these outward problems instead of the real ones?

2. Evie says, “If you understand the lunatic nuances in keeping up appearances, you’ll understand why I spent an insane amount of time fighting dust and dirt in India.” and later, “I couldn’t fix our inside, so I fixed our outside. I vanquished dirt and disorder wherever I found it, and felt better, for a while.” Do you think Evie’s impulse to control what she can in order to compensate for the things she cannot is a typical human reaction? What do you think she gains and loses by focusing on these outward problems instead of the real ones?

3. Elle Newmark uses foreshadowing throughout the novel, hinting at things to come. Evie says of Billy’s stuffed dog, “I wouldn’t have taken Spike away even if I’d known the trouble the toy was going to cause later. But nobody could have seen that coming.” What other instances of foreshadowing did you notice?

4. Throughout The Sandalwood Tree there is a huge dichotomy between the rich foreigners, with their servants and extravagance, and the abject poverty of so many of the natives. Did this disparity bother you? Do you think it’s inevitable that there be such a difference between classes?

5. Most of the British families in the novel have travelled to India only to recreate their lives at home, down to the same shops, food, and traditions. Why do you think this is? Do you think this is a reasonable way to create a comfortable environment for themselves, or a waste of an opportunity to experience something different? Do you think this insistence on holding on to their lifestyles is driven more by arrogance or fear?

Thanks for joining in again! Hope you come back in September!!!

My child is 3 months old.. holy crap

Dear Lovey,

These last three months have been a crazy tired whirlwind.  You rocked our world and we are still trying to pull ourselves out and into the fully functioning parental side of things.  I won't lie and say it's been the best three months of my life and I kind of side eye others that say that it is the best.  It's been tough, but worth it.  The month of July was probably my favorite.  We had a schedule of sleeping until 9 and you only woke up around 3ish and 5ish.  I could handle that.  Then you went through a growth spurt and started an every 3 hours thing for a week and ever since I just don't feel like I will ever catch up with sleep.  And honey, I need sleep.  So do you by the way, so perhaps you should stop fighting us when we put you down to bed.  Mmmm.. kay? Thanks.

We've watched you grow long and strong and the determination in your eyes, scares the crap out of me.  I've already seen that you are just as bit as stubborn as me and your father.  Which, will take you far in life, but I will let you know now, it will also land yourself grounded a time or two, since I am after all the adult. ;) You refused bottles of all kinds for almost 3 weeks and then magically, Tuesday night, I tried and you sucked it down so fast I was in shock.  Coming right after your daddy tried for 2 loong hours I was gone.  Since, you've sucked down 2 other bottles for grandma.  Thank you.  One less thing to worry about when I start working next week.

Working is another topic we should address.  I always planned on staying home with you darling, but realized that I kind of wanted to work a bit.  So a part-time teaching position came up and I took it.  I hope you don't hate me when your world gets rocked and you have to join 7 other babies in the infant room next week.  I'm sorry.  I'll try to find something better for you.  However, sharing/adjusting never killed anyone.  You're tough, you'll survive.  I believe in you.

It's so amazing to me that when you first arrived, you barely made a peep unless it was screaming to let us know how pissed you were.  Now you are smiling, cooing and even laughing at us.  You are standing, looking around, sitting up. Wow so much so fast.  You want to grow up and that's okay, I want you to as well.  That is what you are supposed to do, and I'm okay with that. 

I also apologize for not doing anything to your baby book.  And for never finishing hanging the stuff up in your room.  You'll realize we don't decorate well around these parts.

Anyway, three months have flown by and I'm sure the next three will as well.

I love you baby girl!

Love,
Mom

Veggie Feta Pasta Salad

I've been experimenting lately on ways to use feta (LOVE) and various pasta salads since I love pasta and veggies and get bored with the typical pasta salad all the time.

This was pretty easy and tasty.

I cooked the pasta.

I chopped up everything.

I combined EVOO, garlic powder, juice of a lemon, salt and pepper.

I drained and rinsed a can of beans.

Mixed everything together.  YUMMMMMMMMMY.

Ingredients
2 cups rotini (i used a wheat kind and it was a little too thick for this in my opinion and my hubbys)
1/2 a cucumber cut quartered and diced
1 can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 tomato, chopped
red onion, as much as you want
orange pepper, as much as you want
feta cheese, as much as you want
3 tablespoons EVOO
1 lemon, juiced
salt and pepper and garlic powder to taste

Yumm.  I will say that my husband was not a fan because of the pasta I used and because the dressing wasn't enough in his opinion.  And I agree on the dressing, I think the pasta absorbed it and then made it a tad dry.

No worries, I pulled out creamy Italian dressing and ate it with it when I pulled it out because I made enough I could eat out of it all week.  And since my husband didn't like it, I added in green olives.  I also had pre-cooked flavored grilled chicken strips that I added.  Yummmm. 

I really loved it, but would make it with different pasta and adjust the dressing.  I think a cesearish dressing would be the best.

What is your favorite summer side salad?

September's Group Read is.....

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens!! We had a tie and the ever so helpful random.org generator helped make the decision!

Here is the blurb from goodreads..

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all.

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.


Okay, I am super excited to read this.  I think this has been on my TBR list since it came out last summer.

Here is the run down of the discussions...

Discussion 1 Session 1- Session 8 September 9th

Discussion 2 Session 9 – Session 15 September 16th
Discussion 3 Session 16 – Session 22 September 23rd
Discussion 4 Session 23 – end September 30th

I hope you can join us this month! If you would like to write a guest post for one of the discussions let me know.

Who plans on joining us this month?

Smokin' Seventeen

I finally got my hands on Janet Evanovich's newest in the Stephanie Plum series and I was NOT disappointed.  It was laugh out loud funny, there was steamy scenes with Ranger and Morelli and a new guy was added to the mix.  Stephanie and Lula were ridiculous, the plot was ridiculous and my belly thanked me for the laughing workout.

This is seriously one of my favorite fluffy reads.  They are just so ridiculous they are hysterical.  There really isn't any better way to describe them, but when you break up a cockfight and have chickens and roosters flying around your head and THEN your borrowed vehicle gets stolen and you tase two guys and steal their car, you know nothing but good things can be coming your way. ;)

In this installment the bail bonds agency still isn't rebuilt from being firebombed and they are renting space from Mooner and his bus.  They find dead bodies with tags addressed to Stephanie, the ghost of a guy Stephanie killed before and a vampire is a FTA.  Complete ridiculousness.

I am excited for the movie to come out if only to see who plays Lula and the crazy outfits she wears.  OMG I love these books.

I highly recommend starting to read them from the beginning! They go by so fast and you will stay up late laughing your tush off.  I promise. ;)

What was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?

The Sandalwood Tree - Discussion 3

This third chunk really flew by for me and I actually had to stop myself so I wouldn't go ahead until after I had time to write this out. ;)

"Maybe we'd both be happier if I could just accept the change in him."

As soon as I read this, I was like noooo Evie just say no.  Sure, accept that he has changed but if that change is going to make you both freaking miserable that DOES not make things get better.

I found the whole having James Walker over for dinner and his and Martin's exchange to be quite interesting.  I also thought it was hysterical that Evie tried to make him an English meal and he complimented her on the Indian part! And jumping around like a crazy lady, I think what we learned about Martin's time at the end of the war was fascinating.   I also find it weird that one of Evie's first thoughts wasn't, 'Um husband of mine did you find Elsa attractive? Is why this is such a problem? Did you have feelings for her?" Because yes, what they did to the German's was horrible and wrong I can see where things got heated and things went bad but also, he kind of seemed like he had a thing for her, beyond just seeing the horrible things his fellow soldiers did that day.

And when little Billy went missing, did anyone else have a hard time stomaching the slave market part? Or just envisioning what happens to poor (seriously poor) kids in other countries every day? It turns my stomach and makes me want to puke and seriously, how can ANYONE think doing something of a sexual nature with a child that young is first, appropriate, second, enjoyable, third WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?? GROSS GROSS GROSS. BLECH.

In the Adela/Felicity aspect of things, is anyone else thinking that Adela takes Felicity's identity and the body buried under Adela's name is really Felicity? Or is it just me? And what about that little twist about the landlord being Singh? I can't believe Evie didn't make the connection yet, unless of course she hasn't read that journal entry yet and it was just shared with us readers.

So a few discussion questions, 2-5 taken from the book's facebook page

1. Do you think the leprechaun was a good idea or a bad idea? How do you see this ending for poor Billy?

2. The love affairs in the novel were all scandalous for their time: the interracial relationship between Jonathan Singh and Felicity, Adela’s lesbianism, Martin and Evie’s inter-faith marriage. What does it say about the characters that they were all able to defy expectations and conventions? Did you find their decisions shocking?

3. Evie says, “In 1945 they called it combat fatigue, but in World War One they had called it shell shock, which is more accurate. After Vietnam they started calling it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Stress? Please. The names for this mental illness became more sanitized with every war.” Martin is carrying serious scars from his time in the war, and as a result closes Evie out and starts taking dangerous risks in his work. Do you think a person ever completely heals from seeing the atrocities of war? Do you think enough is done to care for veterans when they return?

4. Harry quotes Gandhi as saying, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” What do you think of this statement?

5. One of the major themes of The Sandalwood Tree is the resilience of the Indian people. When Evie first arrives in India, she says “I wanted to… ferret out the mystery of [India’s] people. I wanted to know how India managed to hang on to her identity in spite of multitudes of foreign conquerors slogging through with new gods and new rules.” What did you think of this ability to “bend without breaking.” Do you think it’s universal to human nature? Unique to the Indian people? Something developed over time out of necessity?

Come back next week to finish discussing the last of the book! Also, don't forget to vote in the side bar for next month's read!

Wine and Love vol. 2

I am once again linking up with the wonderful Nora for her weekly wine and love! Head over to check her wine/love out as well as the others!

Weekly Wines:
- My tutoring appt. did not show today.  Home phone disconnected, mom work number unavailable. WTF?  Still haven't heard back from email.

- My daughter will not willingly drink from a bottle.  My boobs and I would like to leave the child for longer than 4 hour chunks without worrying she is screaming bloody murder for whoever is watching her.

- It's fair week and I haven't gotten any fair food.

- I'm not going to see Kenny Chesney next week.

- I didn't get the job I interviewed for and am bummed for various reasons.

Weekly Loves:

- My daughter is growing! We are starting to put away all of her 3 month stuff.  Can't wait for the snuggly fuzzy cooler weather clothes!

- Football season is one week closer.

- I've been married to one heck of an awesome guy for 4 years today! Totally want to relive our wedding reception again.  Sooo much fun.  I am so thankful I married someone who makes me laugh, is super smart and is very laid back.


- Feta cheese and ice cream.

What is on your list this week?