Exceedingly Mundane

Feast One Hundred & Eighty Two
March 7th, 2008

Appetizer
If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be? Oh, do I have to pick? I don’t want to be a celebrity. I don’t want people following me to the grocery store to take photos or seeing me with no make up on and a baseball cap. Ugh. Please. I just want to be normal!

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you enjoy talking on the phone? Ugh, about a 2. I am so not a phone person.

Salad
Name a charitable organization to which you have donated (or would like to). The Red Cross

Main Course
What is a food you like so much you could eat it every single day for a month? Hello, is chocolate a food? Then definitely chocolate. I have some almost every day anyway! As for traditional food, probably something like pasta or chinese food. 30 days would be a long time to eat just one food though.

Dessert
Have you or anyone in your family had the flu this year? No, thank goodness. Just some sinus and gunk. I’ve only had the flu one time in recent memory. The only year I got a flu shot. So, I don’t get them anymore!

I mentioned the other day in my Nada, Nothing post that I had a few books I wanted to talk about. I really hate doing “book reviews” or trying to come up with something original to say about a book. And I almost hate posting about books in general, because I tend to sound like a broken record. I usually like most every single book I read. I think because I tend to pick books and authors that I know I’ll like, so I’m rarely disappointed.

In spite of that, I wanted to do a quick recap of some of the books I have enjoyed lately 🙂

I recently read “On Mystic Lake” by Kristin Hannah. I think I have read one book by this author before, but I can’t remember! I know I have 2 or 3 of her books in my TBR pile, that I have picked up at a library sale. This book was what I call “typical women’s fiction”. All about a woman who thinks she is happy, with a good marriage, until her husband looks over at her in the car and tells her he doesn’t love her and wants a divorce. It’s about her journey after that, her return to her childhood home in the tiny town of Mystic Lake, her reconnecting with a past love, and the story flows from there. I was in the mood for this kind of book, I guess, because I really enjoyed it!

After that, I switched gears. Already missing football season and dreading the long months until training camp, I decided to go ahead and read “Playing for Pizza” by John Grisham. I enjoyed this one also. I’m hoping to get Tim to read it. But, with the silly time changing so early this year, I envision him out playing golf every chance he gets. Not much chance of him staying inside with me and reading a book now!

For several years now, Tim has been wanting me to read the “Bourne” books by Robert Ludlum. These are the books that the movies with Matt Damon are supposedly based on. However, Tim has told me for ages that the movies do not follow the plot of the book – not at all. So, after much prompting from him, I started this series. I must admit, I struggled a bit with the first one, “The Bourne Identity“. It’s not that the plot wasn’t good, but it was just so long. And wordy. Ludlum seems to take a few pages to tell one little bit of info, he’s very long-winded. The hardest thing, though, was that this was a small paperback with really small type. My eyes are starting to show my age and I have trouble with really small print. We own these books, so I didn’t go check them out of the library, but I might need to do that for the next two. I did enjoy it, but boy, I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I finally finished it!

After I struggled through The Bourne Identity, I decided I wanted to read something light, so I picked up the 7th of 8 books in the “Southern Sisters mysteries” by Anne George. Oh, how I love these books! If you like cozy mysteries or especially, if you like reading about the South and how we really live down here (such as, stopping at the Piggly Wiggly to pick up something for supper), then you will like these books. Me, I LOVE them! I am so sorry to see them coming to an end. I’ve got one more, since I just finished “Murder Carries a Torch“. Sigh.

I saw at Amazon that Sophie Kinsella had a new book coming out, so I immediately went to my library’s website and did what I always do now – go to their new books section and look for the book, then get myself on the wait list. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when they called and said I could come pick up the book! I was the first one on the list, apparently, and so I went and picked it up. I LOVED this book as well! I have read every Sophie Kinsella book, and while I love the Shopaholic ones, I must admit that I love the stand-alone books of hers more. I really enjoyed “Undomestic Goddess” and “Can You Keep a Secret”, and the new one, “Remember Me?” was no exception. I devoured this book and had it back to the library in just a few days. Loved it!

For the record, I’ve read 15 books so far this year, for a total of 5,013 pages. Up next is a book I borrowed from my sister Gail called “Lost in NashVegas” by Rachel Hauck. I think I’m really going to like this one! It’s a Christian fiction book about a girl moving from small-town Alabama to Nashville to pursue her dreams of being a songwriter. Now, if that kind of book doesn’t have my name written all over it, I don’t know what does 😀

Happy Reading!

P.S. I ordered a couple of new books from Amazon and they are supposed to be here today or tomorrow. Do you want to see a photo of what I got?! 🙂

OK, sometimes I really like taking these things! This one is about half right – I am very ordered and I do love to make lists! The brilliant stuff though, well, that’s just poppycock!

You Are a Colon

You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren’t concerned much with theories or dreams… only what’s true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren’t subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions You get along best with: The Semi-Colon

What punctuation mark are you?! 🙂 If you hop over and take the quiz, be sure to let me know how you scored!

Ooh, fun topic this week! List your ten favorite drinks. Now, this is right up my alley 😀 I’m a huge drinker. I just don’t drink alcohol, but boy, do I love a ton of other stuff

Such as…

Coke Zero
Cherry Coke Zero
Mountain Dew Code Red, diet or regular
Dr. Pepper (regular, but I rarely splurge; not as fond of the diet)
Coffee with splenda and a good flavored creamer
English Toffee cappuccino
Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash (only available Thanksgiving to Christmas)
White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks (again, I rarely splurge on any Starbucks drinks, too many calories)
Sweet Tea (McAlisters or my mother-in-laws are the BEST!)
Orange Juice, Apple Juice, Grape Juice
Cranberry Juice with Ginger Ale
Sonic Diet Cherry Coke with Chocolate (sounds yucky but it’s wonderful)
Sonic Java Chiller (with mocha or caramel or both!)
Hot Chocolate
Hot Green Tea
Raspberry Zinger herbal tea

Oops, more than 10… told ya I was a big drinker. I could have easily come up with 20, probably, LOL!

Well, here it is the fourth of March and I have yet to post anything this month. That’s a new one for me. Maybe after 3 years of blogging, I’ve finally run out of things to say 🙂

We’ve been staying busy. Tim is still working a lot at night and our schedules are all wonky. We sleep late, eat breakfast late, eat lunch in the middle of the afternoon and then a late dinner. Tim is up most nights until 1 or 2 AM, somethings 3, 4 or even 5 AM. I’m trying to keep to some kind of schedule, but it’s a losing battle. I’ll be glad when things normalize a bit around here.

We had a busy weekend. We drove down to see my dad and work on some things around the house for him. He’ll be 85 next month but he still lives alone and can do most everything for himself. We worked on his computer a bit, and Tim climbed up on the ladder and cleaned out his gutters all the way around his house. We definitely didn’t want him on the ladder 🙂 We’re still trying to teach him to use his DVD player. He got it a couple of years ago and I’ve been buying him old John Wayne movies, but he can’t figure out how to get it all going. Hopefully, he will soon. 🙂 I know he gets lonely and misses my mom.

I’ve been reading some really good books lately 🙂 I’m going to try to do a book post later in the week.

I haven’t been cooking a whole lot. Well, I cook every day and we eat three meals a day here most of the time. But it’s easy stuff like sandwiches, breakfast food, po-boys, soup, tacos, etc. I made a loaf of banana bread over the weekend that was really good though 🙂 We’re going to have a friend over Thursday to watch Lost and we’ll order pizza. Then Tim’s parents are coming for a visit on Friday, so we’ll all go out to eat. That’s one reason I haven’t been posting my menu every Monday. Too boring.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! I’m going to try to get some time in on the treadmill. That, cleaning and laundry!

Well, it’s an “extra” day today. Only happens every four years. You think there’d be some kind of celebration or “National Holiday” or something to commemorate Leap Day, wouldn’t you?! Are you doing anything different or special today?

I mentioned it the other day to Tim, and he said, being the sweet, supportive husband that he is, “you ought to do something special on your blog.” When I asked what, he said to ask a special “Question of the Day“. So, when I asked, here’s what he said!

If you could do anything or go anywhere you wanted today, where would it be? Here’s the stipulations – money is no object, but time is. You only have 24 hours to accomplish this. You can leave the house at 12:01 AM but you have to be back by midnight. You can go anywhere you want, with anyone you want. But here’s the catch – you have to be willing to do this every four years on Leap Day. You have to go to the same place, do the same things, with the same people. Where would you go or what would you do and who with?

Leave me a comment and let us know… after all, this was Tim’s “Question of the Day”!!!

Have a great Leap Day 😀

Appetizer
Who was the last person you hugged? My darling husband, of course!

Soup
Share a beauty or grooming trick or tip with us. Hah! Me, beauty tips?! You must have me confused with someone else! Ok, here’s one thing. I’ve heard for a while about the make up like Bare Essentials, the “mineral powder” and “powder veil” type makeups. Those kinds of things aren’t in my budget. But last week when my sister and I were at Walmart, we found that most of the brands there are coming out with these mineral based makeup. I think I saw them in Cover Girl, Maybelline, Revlon, L’Oreal, Almay, Neutrogena, etc. I bought some of the powder foundation and I really like it. It’s going to be great to wear in the summer, much lighter and doesn’t feel so cakey and heavy as liquid foundation.

Salad
What does the color yellow make you think of? Happy things – daffodils, spring, Easter chickadees. My kitchen! A new color of Fiestaware dishes I am hoping to get. Two cute blouses I just bought (one is yellow and white and the other is black, yellow and white, cute cute cute!)

Main Course
If you were to make your living as a photographer, what subject would your pictures revolve around? Natural things like flowers, birds. Red Barns. Old churches. Stained glass windows. Hmmm, having a hard time picking one!

Dessert
What was the longest book you ever read?It feels like the last one I just read, the first book in the Bourne series by Robert Ludlum (paperback, tiny print, 535 pages). I don’t know, maybe Gone With the Wind was longer. I don’t like long books. I’ve found that not only am I a mood reader, but I have a fairly short attention span where books are concerned. 😀

sometimes, you don’t!

I’ve been trying to get on the treadmill every day. We’ve had it a week and a half and I’ve only skipped 1 or 2 days so far. So far this week, I’ve done 3.5 miles (Monday) and 4.0 miles (Tuesday). Let me tell you, it’s kicking my behind. And, to make matters worse, I got on the scale this morning, expecting to have lost weight. Boy, was I disappointed!

Anyway, back to the subject at hand. While on the treadmill, I’ve been watching a bunch of cooking shows that I have saved on our DVR. I watched a baking show yesterday and they made several kinds of cookies and bar cookies. Most of the recipes had nuts and that made me think – does everyone like nuts? I know a lot of kids these days have allergies to certain kinds of nuts. How about you – do you like nuts in your cookies? If you’re going to bake chocolate chip cookies, do you add pecans or walnuts, or do you not want a nut to spoil your cookie? I don’t mind, but I don’t always add them. I think Tim prefers his chocolate chips cookies and other baked stuff to be plain, but he will gladly eat them either way 🙂

That’s today’s “Question of the Day” – nuts in your cookies and baked goods, or not? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Are you old enough to remember this old nursery rhyme? I think I remember my grandmother telling it to me…

Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?

So, I thought I’d steal that nursery rhyme for the title, as my sister Gail does at her blog, More Than a Song. We’ve been having tons of blackbirds here lately (a lot more than 24, more like 124 at a time!) I must admit – I love birds. I have several birds feeders and a suet feeder and I love to watch the birds in my backyard. We have a lot of cardinals, wrens, mockingbirds, sparrows, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers and other backyard birds. I saw a robin on the way to church last Sunday, but I haven’t seen any in my yard yet. Hopefully, soon! Lately, we’ve had tons of blackbirds. One day a week or so ago, I was inside the house, with the TV on, and I could hear them outside. I got my camera and got a couple of photos as some of them were moving over. It’s funny how they move in such a swarm:

Believe me, the photos don’t do them justice! They were everywhere. I think they are my least favorite bird.

So, how about a Question of the Day: Do you have a bird feeder in your yard? Do you enjoy feeding the birds and watching them? And, are you nerdy like me and like to take photos of birds?! 🙂

Have a great day!

Good day today so far. Our church is doing a series on “Desperate Households”, about families and couples and parents being “desperate” for God. It’s been such a great series and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. I almost hate that it’s going to end in a couple of weeks, right before Easter. It’s made us want to get up and get to early church as soon as we can every week. 🙂 We had a quick lunch, and then after watching some golf on TV, Tim decided to go head to the driving range to hit some balls. Beau and I are hanging out at home. I’m doing laundry and catching up on reading newspapers and going through piles of mail. It’s a beautiful day here, all sunshiney and just a little cool (58º right now). It’s supposed to hit 70 degrees tomorrow before it starts raining again.

I obviously just transferred a bunch of photos and decided to play catch-up on here. Here’s a couple from today:

Beau taking a nap – look at the two toys curled up in his feet, so cute!

And yeah, the doorbell just rang and guess what finally came!

I’ve been really good so far in 2008. I haven’t bought any new books, and I’ve been working on my TBR pile. I have over 50 books in my “to be read” pile. I have only gotten 3 books, a trilogy by Tracie Peterson, from the library, way back around New Years. Everything else I’ve read has been from my own bookcases, so I’ve been working on whittling down my huge pile of books. Plus, I have not bought a book for myself this calendar year. I felt like I deserved a reward!

So, this past week, I made up for it! 🙂 My sister Gail came for several days to visit, and we went shopping. Had a blast, as always, and Gail was sweet enough to indulge me and go browse to my heart’s content at Lifeway Christian bookstore. We spent a while checking out the “bargain book” shelves, and I scored the second and third books in the Mindy Starns Clark “Smart Chicks” mystery series. I haven’t read any of her books, but have been wanting to. So when I found each book for under 5.00 each, I snatched them up. Now, I have to order the first one from Amazon, and then I can get started.

We stayed up really late Friday night playing Text Twist (technically, it was Saturday morning, and if you knew me in real life, you’d know that was a feat in and of itself), so I really wanted to sleep late Saturday morning. But no, my local library was having its thrice yearly “Friends of the Library” sale. Believe me, that’s about the only thing that would get me out of bed early. 🙂 The bottom 4 books in the stack were all I found at that sale. I saw a lot of books that I wanted to read, but opted to wait and check them out of the library rather than purchasing them and adding even more books to my TBR pile. 🙂 In case you can’t see them in the photo, they are “Maggie Sweet” by Judith Minthorn Stacy, “Sea Glass” by Anita Shreve, “Booked to Die” by John Dunning and “Twelve Ordinary Men” by John MacArthur. Yeah, more books!

I’ve been lax lately about transferring and posting photos. Time for a little catch-up!

What’s a boring, old married couple do for Friday night excitement? Why go out on a date to eat at a yummy restaurant, or to a movie, when you can stay home and watch TV shows like Bones, Monk or Psych? Then, instead of actually watching the whole show word for word, you crank up the computer and play Text Twist? We’ve been playing Text Twist online at Yahoo since right before Thanksgiving. Our previous high score (together) was in the 130’s. After several (read: more like 5 or 6) hours of playing, we broke our old record and attained a new record. Unfortunately, I had used Firefox to open Yahoo with and Text Twist won’t save our score. So I had to take a photo for proof. New high score:

202, 040 — in case you can’t read it. Isn’t that awesome?!!!! And who on earth knows the word “fakirs” as the “long word” solution? No wonder we were stumped and couldn’t keep playing! 😀

Appetizer
Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim? No, I’m not a jokester. I’ve had them played on me, back when I worked with all men (engineers and analysts). They loved to do things like unplug my keyboard, put tape over the speaker in my phone, etc. They got a kick out of seeing me get worked up. I never felt the need to do things like that to other people 🙂

Soup
What do your salt and pepper shakers look like? I have 2 sets – one sits on my kitchen table, and matches my dishes (Mikasa French Countryside), so they are white. I have a tool caddy/spice rack next to my stove that Tim bought me for Christmas several years ago. In addition to glass jars for all kinds of spices, it has a stainless salt and pepper shaker included. I use that when I’m cooking 😀

Salad
Where is the next place you plan to visit (on vacation or business)? We haven’t figured out where we’re going this year on vacation, yet. Suggestions?!!!!

Main Course
What kind of lotion or cream do you use to keep your hands from getting too dry? I don’t use hand cream regularly, but I do use it more this time of year than the summer. I’m currently using some from Bath and Body Works.

Dessert
Make up a dessert, tell us its ingredients, and give it a name. Aww, come on now, I can’t come up with a new dessert! Mine would have chocolate in it, of course, and maybe some cherry. How about some kind of chocolate-cherry bar?

This week’s topic: Format

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

Gosh, wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing, if price and storage space were really not an issue?! I’m envisioning a huge room in my spacious new home, just for a library. With big leather chairs and big snugly chairs by a fireplace, with ottomans and chenille throws tossed on them. Wall to wall bookcases overflowing with books that I love and want to read. Even one of those nifty movable ladder things to move around to find all of my books 🙂 However, I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen for me. But – if money weren’t an issue, I’d probably really get mostly hardbacks. I really like the bigger trade size paperback, so I don’t have a problem having those. I would really rather not have the small paperback. As I’m getting older, I’m finding that the type size on most of those is getting really small, plus sometimes they are just harder to hold for me. Give me a large paperback or a hardback most every time.

Great question! Happy Reading!

Do you have a food processor? If so, what kind and how often do you use it? I have an older one that my mom gave me years and years ago. It’s an Oster (Sunbeam) brand, and it has a small food processor cup with just one blade, and then a blender attachment. I like it because it gives me both, but I’ve often wanted more functionality out of it. It doesn’t have a tube for adding things, nor does it have any blades but the one simple cutting blade. It’s also really small, probably either a 3 cup or 5 cup capacity. I really like it, it’s worked well over the years, but sometimes I get the urge for a new one 😀

I’ve batted around for years, the whole dilemma of finding room in my overflowing kitchen cabinets to upgrade and get a larger and nicer food processor. I’ve gone back and forth on the whole Kitchenaid vs Cuisinart thing. I watch so many cooking shows, and I see them both used, often and fairly equally. {Oh, and since we’ve gotten our DVR, I record and watch a ton more cooking shows. Heavens to Betsy!} 😀

I can’t decide. My main concern is cleaning out enough cabinet space to store the thing! I still haven’t spent any of my Blingo winnings, so I have money for a new appliance. I just can’t decide what to get!

Let me know if you have one, how big it is, what brand, how often you use it, what you use it for, and so on and so forth! Inquiring minds want to know 🙂

Have a great day!