Book 1 - The Haunting of Hill House
OK, this book sucks. Seriously. It is ridiculously slow and monotonous. You'd think a good psychological thriller would be just that - good. How is it that this book is recommended as a great book? It took me forever to actually get into it. I fell asleep more than once, and I never fall asleep while reading. Some people read to relax and fall asleep, I read to engage my brain. It says so much about a book when it puts me to sleep.
The book is overly wordy. Not intelligent wordy or even elementary wordy, just too many words. It's a short book as it is, but even that it's too many words. Maybe it would have been better to keep it as a short story - a chapter or two at most.
I'm not sure what book 2 will be. I've got a couple here to choose from already, however I'm also seriously considering House of Cards. I finished season 2 on Netflix last night. Talk about a man you LOVE to hate, Francis Underwood is exactly that man. I want to find out what happens next!!
For those of you out there that want to give Haunting of Hill House a try out, here's a link to it on Amazon. You can get it in paperback or on the Kindle. Or don't waste money on it (seriously) and get it from the library.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
A Book A Week
Well I suppose this is one way to get back into the habit of blogging again.
I'm committing to reading a book a week from this point forward (so the first week of March).
This week I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House and may move on to one of the other two books I picked up today at the library - The Exorcist or American Psycho.
Yeah there's a pattern. I read an article on buzzfeed about the scariest books you should read and those were on it
I got the idea for this from an article on Huffington Post a book a week
We'll see how it goes. When I'm done with each book, I'll write a post about what I thought of it.
Maybe this will get me posting regularly, with photos and all that kind of stuff. I will say that if I post photos and the house looks a mess in the background, don't freak out. We have 9 people living in this house right now. So there is a lot of LIVING going on here. We keep it sanitary and picked up as much as possibly but in no way is it ever going to look like Better Homes & Gardens. Just to give you all a heads up.
I hope you all have a great rest of the week. I'm off work until Monday. The college is on spring break so no evening hours to work.
I am planning that we'll be able to do some pictures with all of the kids the first week of April. Then I'll be able to put up a new header photo. Here's hoping that the weather cooperates! I want the photos as a Mother's Day gift for my mom. I've talked to my sister (need to pass it by my brother) and we're going to get all of the grand kids together (my 7 equal all of my sibling's kids combined!) to do a large photo that way too.
Prayers and Blessings Everyone.
I'm committing to reading a book a week from this point forward (so the first week of March).
This week I'm reading The Haunting of Hill House and may move on to one of the other two books I picked up today at the library - The Exorcist or American Psycho.
Yeah there's a pattern. I read an article on buzzfeed about the scariest books you should read and those were on it
I got the idea for this from an article on Huffington Post a book a week
We'll see how it goes. When I'm done with each book, I'll write a post about what I thought of it.
Maybe this will get me posting regularly, with photos and all that kind of stuff. I will say that if I post photos and the house looks a mess in the background, don't freak out. We have 9 people living in this house right now. So there is a lot of LIVING going on here. We keep it sanitary and picked up as much as possibly but in no way is it ever going to look like Better Homes & Gardens. Just to give you all a heads up.
I hope you all have a great rest of the week. I'm off work until Monday. The college is on spring break so no evening hours to work.
I am planning that we'll be able to do some pictures with all of the kids the first week of April. Then I'll be able to put up a new header photo. Here's hoping that the weather cooperates! I want the photos as a Mother's Day gift for my mom. I've talked to my sister (need to pass it by my brother) and we're going to get all of the grand kids together (my 7 equal all of my sibling's kids combined!) to do a large photo that way too.
Prayers and Blessings Everyone.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Pretzel Dogs
OK, sorry but no photos. Honestly, my kitchen is too messy for it, not to mention I have 5 "helpers", along with an equal number of cats, to be able to do photos.
This is the recipe that I used Pretzel Dog
I love that this recipe is set up to use the stand mixer to begin with. It makes mixing any kind of dough so much easier. It also is not nearly as time consuming, which is another good thing considering the afore mentioned "helpers" and the destruction they tend to pull down upon my house (why my kitchen is a mess after all).
2 things that I modified for this recipe. I used bread flour instead of all purpose. I use bread flour whenever I'm baking any kind of dough, it gets fluffier and bigger and is so much more rewarding in appearance and flavor, at least I think so. I also only use unbleached flour. I don't understand the reason for doing a chemical process on my flour, so I don't want it. The 2nd thing I changed is that I used regular old Oscar Mayer hot dogs. If I were to make this recipe for a friend of mine, I'd use all beef dogs (he has a severe pork allergy), but for my family, Oscar Mayer is just fine. Not to mention it's what I had in the house.
Once I let the dough rise, while I was doing the rolls, it made a LOT more than just 16. I did 24 hot dogs (12 hot dogs cut in 1/2). The dogs were very well covered. If I had used the hole hot dog, it still would have covered 16 hot dogs. That's a LOT of dough! I still had enough dough left over to make 4 medium sized pretzels for the weird picky kid who doesn't eat meat. He's my kid so I can call him weird all I want.
For the egg wash, I used 2 egg yolks instead of one. I figured that considering I had more dogs, I'd need more egg. I did the wash and sprinkled, liberally with kosher salt. What I found is this - with the egg wash they turned out much darker than I would like. I cut the cooking time down to 10 minutes and they were still cooked all the way through, but very dark on top. I think a lighter color would have been nice. Next time I'll most likely do a milk wash instead of using egg.
The kids loved them. The first pan I pulled out - it had 9 dogs on it, was gone before I could get the 2nd pan into the oven. They didn't last very long at all.
I think these would be great made with cheese in them, use the pretzel recipe to make cheesey bites, or smaller scale and use the Lil' Smokies.
This is the recipe that I used Pretzel Dog
I love that this recipe is set up to use the stand mixer to begin with. It makes mixing any kind of dough so much easier. It also is not nearly as time consuming, which is another good thing considering the afore mentioned "helpers" and the destruction they tend to pull down upon my house (why my kitchen is a mess after all).
2 things that I modified for this recipe. I used bread flour instead of all purpose. I use bread flour whenever I'm baking any kind of dough, it gets fluffier and bigger and is so much more rewarding in appearance and flavor, at least I think so. I also only use unbleached flour. I don't understand the reason for doing a chemical process on my flour, so I don't want it. The 2nd thing I changed is that I used regular old Oscar Mayer hot dogs. If I were to make this recipe for a friend of mine, I'd use all beef dogs (he has a severe pork allergy), but for my family, Oscar Mayer is just fine. Not to mention it's what I had in the house.
Once I let the dough rise, while I was doing the rolls, it made a LOT more than just 16. I did 24 hot dogs (12 hot dogs cut in 1/2). The dogs were very well covered. If I had used the hole hot dog, it still would have covered 16 hot dogs. That's a LOT of dough! I still had enough dough left over to make 4 medium sized pretzels for the weird picky kid who doesn't eat meat. He's my kid so I can call him weird all I want.
For the egg wash, I used 2 egg yolks instead of one. I figured that considering I had more dogs, I'd need more egg. I did the wash and sprinkled, liberally with kosher salt. What I found is this - with the egg wash they turned out much darker than I would like. I cut the cooking time down to 10 minutes and they were still cooked all the way through, but very dark on top. I think a lighter color would have been nice. Next time I'll most likely do a milk wash instead of using egg.
The kids loved them. The first pan I pulled out - it had 9 dogs on it, was gone before I could get the 2nd pan into the oven. They didn't last very long at all.
I think these would be great made with cheese in them, use the pretzel recipe to make cheesey bites, or smaller scale and use the Lil' Smokies.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Back to Blogging
My intention has been to get back to blogging for quite some time. I enjoy blogging. I've come up with one reason or another as to why I don't. I don't have the time or I don't want to put up a post without pictures or any number of reasons.
I think that I need a place to put out what I want, to say what I need to, to share what is going on around here.
We live a complicated and interesting life. Homeschooling 4 of the 5 kids. 3 kids have special needs, all on the Autism spectrum in some varying degree. 3 year old twins that I'm pretty sure are already smarter than I am. Trying to make an honest go of this whole small business thing.
I often wonder if I'm really made for doing all of this. Whether I'm a good enough parent. Whether I truly have the talent to be sewing for a living. Whether I truly have anything to offer with the sword fighting rennie group we are in. I wonder if I can actually teach these kids enough to go to college and succeed as adults.
I admit that there are days when I look around me and wonder what the hell am I doing? Why don't I just send the kids off to a regular school, pop the twins into daycare and go find a job. Then I realize that I'd be working to pay for daycare. I remember that my kids didn't excel in a regular school, that they were either singled out or just passed over.
Motivation is lacking for me many days of the week, many hours of the day even. I am trying a new mantra in this new year - get off your duff. I figure if I can at least do that very first step the rest of it will come along, eventually. Ever hear that phrase fake it til you make it? That's what I'm going for here. I may not want to do it, but I'll do it anyway. It's a life skill I'm trying to teach the kids, I should be able to do it just like I expect them to. Seems like the right thing to do after all.
Well I'm off to do something. Everyone have a great Thursday. Call it get off your duff Thursday if you need to.
I think that I need a place to put out what I want, to say what I need to, to share what is going on around here.
We live a complicated and interesting life. Homeschooling 4 of the 5 kids. 3 kids have special needs, all on the Autism spectrum in some varying degree. 3 year old twins that I'm pretty sure are already smarter than I am. Trying to make an honest go of this whole small business thing.
I often wonder if I'm really made for doing all of this. Whether I'm a good enough parent. Whether I truly have the talent to be sewing for a living. Whether I truly have anything to offer with the sword fighting rennie group we are in. I wonder if I can actually teach these kids enough to go to college and succeed as adults.
I admit that there are days when I look around me and wonder what the hell am I doing? Why don't I just send the kids off to a regular school, pop the twins into daycare and go find a job. Then I realize that I'd be working to pay for daycare. I remember that my kids didn't excel in a regular school, that they were either singled out or just passed over.
Motivation is lacking for me many days of the week, many hours of the day even. I am trying a new mantra in this new year - get off your duff. I figure if I can at least do that very first step the rest of it will come along, eventually. Ever hear that phrase fake it til you make it? That's what I'm going for here. I may not want to do it, but I'll do it anyway. It's a life skill I'm trying to teach the kids, I should be able to do it just like I expect them to. Seems like the right thing to do after all.
Well I'm off to do something. Everyone have a great Thursday. Call it get off your duff Thursday if you need to.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thought Filled Thursday
I've been thinking a lot lately about this guy I know.
He's a sweet guy.
A caring guy.
A loving guy.
He's smart.
He's a great dad.
He's a funny guy.
He makes great pancakes
He plays a great guitar
He thinks I'm sexy
He loves me and it doesn't get any better than that
He's a sweet guy.
A caring guy.
A loving guy.
He's smart.
He's a great dad.
He's a funny guy.
He makes great pancakes
He plays a great guitar
He thinks I'm sexy
He loves me and it doesn't get any better than that
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thought Filled Thursday
Here is the new Thought Filled Thursday!
First off, a giveaway! Not mine, but one that I've come across! This game sounds SO COOL!!! I know that James would love to play it, possibly for hours! She's talking about Time Engineers. This is the facebook page for the software developer company, Software Kids. Go to Notes From A Homeschooling Mom to find out how you can enter. She's only doing it for another couple of hours, so get in under the wire!
I have been cleaning the office a lot lately. It's amazing how calming and comfortable it is in here now! The craft table is great in here! Once I have it all of the way clean, I'll take pics to share!
While I've been cleaning, I've been streaming How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I know there are some people who are dissatisfied with Netflix, but I love the service. I pay just under $24 a month to get 3 dvd's at a time and unlimited streaming. The kids love it, I love it, Jason loves it, we all love it! Considering that we don't have satellite or cable, it's a great way to watch t.v. and movies. I love how I can control what the kids are watching.
Sewing. I really need to be doing more sewing. The MERCS are going to be at the Detroit Institute of Arts on January 20, 21, and 22 performing! If you are in the area, come check us out! Jason and I are trying to make arrangements for the kids so he and I can go out for the weekend with them! Back to the sewing, I'm working on the gambesons for the fighters.
So I am hoping that this post will work for you guys for the Thought Filled Thursday! I know there are a lot of links to follow, but they are worth it, I swear! Have a great weekend everyone!
First off, a giveaway! Not mine, but one that I've come across! This game sounds SO COOL!!! I know that James would love to play it, possibly for hours! She's talking about Time Engineers. This is the facebook page for the software developer company, Software Kids. Go to Notes From A Homeschooling Mom to find out how you can enter. She's only doing it for another couple of hours, so get in under the wire!
I have been cleaning the office a lot lately. It's amazing how calming and comfortable it is in here now! The craft table is great in here! Once I have it all of the way clean, I'll take pics to share!
While I've been cleaning, I've been streaming How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I know there are some people who are dissatisfied with Netflix, but I love the service. I pay just under $24 a month to get 3 dvd's at a time and unlimited streaming. The kids love it, I love it, Jason loves it, we all love it! Considering that we don't have satellite or cable, it's a great way to watch t.v. and movies. I love how I can control what the kids are watching.
Sewing. I really need to be doing more sewing. The MERCS are going to be at the Detroit Institute of Arts on January 20, 21, and 22 performing! If you are in the area, come check us out! Jason and I are trying to make arrangements for the kids so he and I can go out for the weekend with them! Back to the sewing, I'm working on the gambesons for the fighters.
So I am hoping that this post will work for you guys for the Thought Filled Thursday! I know there are a lot of links to follow, but they are worth it, I swear! Have a great weekend everyone!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thought Filled Thursday
Now I'm not saying these will be deep and amazing thoughts, but I'm hoping that by starting a weekly post I'll get back into the habit of posting and maybe do even more of it. I know many bloggers that have a random thought day post. I think Thursdays fit for me.
The Beatles. They're great. The group itself is no longer. The music lives on for an eternity. Yellow Submarine is a fav around here. Jason has the action figures that were made based on the cartoon. One of Izzy's most favorite movies is Yellow Submarine. All of the kids love the album.
Abbey Road in LEGOs. Now that's cool. Almost as cool as my kid named Abbey after this very album.
More Beatles in LEGO. Still can't get much cooler than that. This looks a lot like the sets from "Help" and "Ed Sullivan Show".
My man Johnny, looking suave and relaxed and oh so sexy. Yummy. And all kinds of other adjectives, most of them related to food or eating.
Almost nothing sexier than a man laughing. Have a pic of him laughing with his kids, that'll trump it. When it's Johnny, all bets are off.
Miss Piggy. Loved her as a kid. She has a new movie out, along with all the other Muppets. Took the kids to see it on Thanksgiving. It's just as good as it sounds.
There's my thoughts for this Thursday. If you don't hear from me before then, I'll see you all at the same bat time on the same bat channel next Thursday. Have a great weekend and beginning of next week.
The Beatles. They're great. The group itself is no longer. The music lives on for an eternity. Yellow Submarine is a fav around here. Jason has the action figures that were made based on the cartoon. One of Izzy's most favorite movies is Yellow Submarine. All of the kids love the album.
Abbey Road in LEGOs. Now that's cool. Almost as cool as my kid named Abbey after this very album.
More Beatles in LEGO. Still can't get much cooler than that. This looks a lot like the sets from "Help" and "Ed Sullivan Show".
My man Johnny, looking suave and relaxed and oh so sexy. Yummy. And all kinds of other adjectives, most of them related to food or eating.
Almost nothing sexier than a man laughing. Have a pic of him laughing with his kids, that'll trump it. When it's Johnny, all bets are off.
Miss Piggy. Loved her as a kid. She has a new movie out, along with all the other Muppets. Took the kids to see it on Thanksgiving. It's just as good as it sounds.
There's my thoughts for this Thursday. If you don't hear from me before then, I'll see you all at the same bat time on the same bat channel next Thursday. Have a great weekend and beginning of next week.
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