Exceedingly Mundane

This week’s topic: Dessert First

1. Do you cheat and peek ahead at the end of your books? Or do you resolutely read in sequence, as the author intended?
2. And, if you don’t peek, do you ever feel tempted?

Believe it or not, I have the first question on my list of “topics to ask as a ‘question of the day’ “. Yes, I keep a running list of ideas of things to ask, and am always on the lookout for more. I’ll have to remember to mark this one off of my list!

Ok, time for my answers. I don’t cheat and peek. I don’t like to read the ending. I read it in order, and even if I’m struggling, I still plod on along and don’t read the ending. I’ll tell you what I do, do, though – I do flip to the very back when I first look at getting a book and I first start reading it. I always want to know how many pages it is! I have this mental roadblock about books that are too long. My limit is usually in the 350-400 page range. I start struggling around then, and if the book is any longer than that, I really probably won’t even attempt it. I guess my attention span is just too short 🙂 Anyway, I read in order and rarely feel tempted to cheat and peek. I don’t like to know how it’s going to turn out until I turn that last page.

Great question! Leave me a comment and let me know if you cheat and peek at the ending, or play along at your blog. This is a great meme if you like books and reading 🙂

If you know me in real life, you know I’m a hoarder. I hoard certain kinds of things, like toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, cereal, etc. I buy these things in bulk at a warehouse club (we only have Sam’s here) and I always have plenty on hand. The way I’ve always looked at it, I see no reason to ever run out of toilet paper. There’s lots of other things that I don’t want or need to run out of, but in my mind, toilet paper is right up there at the top. So, I buy the huge bags that have like 36 rolls in them. Then, when we get low a few months later, and by low, I mean down to 6 or 8 rolls, I go back and buy more. Toilet paper is not something I ever intend to run out of.

I think a lot of this stems back to my post-college days. I had a suite-mate in college (a wonderful girl who shall remain nameless) who was not the most organized of girls, nor was she the most prepared. When we all graduated and moved into our first apartment, she and I both lived alone, but lived in apartment complexes across the street from each other. I had a hard time going to her apartment – there would be cereal bowls by the bathtub, with the spoon stuck to the bottom in a puddle of dried up milk. The rest of the apartment was a mess, too, with clothes (dirty and clean) lying around everywhere; the kitchen was a nightmare of leftover food stuck onto plates and bowls, pots and pans and glasses absolutely everywhere. Among other things, she was always running out of something. I used to make late-night runs with her a lot, until “the toilet paper incident”. After that, I told her I wouldn’t go anymore 🙁

She called me one night at about 12:30 AM (I had gone to bed at about 10:30 PM because I had to get up and go to work the next morning) and said she was out of toilet paper, and would I please run to the grocery store or convenience store with her. So, I drag myself up, get dressed, drive over to get her, have to wait on her to finish getting ready, then take her to buy toilet paper. I was not a happy camper the next day (I’ve always, always been irritable if I don’t get enough sleep!), and I told her to just buy more toilet paper next time!

So, the moral of the story is that I never run out of toilet paper. These days, I buy those big bags of Quilted Northern toilet paper at Sam’s Club and we always have plenty. How about you – do you stock up on toilet paper and similar items, or are you perpetually running out and having to go back to the store to get more? And if you really want to share, tell me what brand of toilet paper you use in your house! That’s today’s Question of the Day!

I recently signed up for a new program online, called Bzzz Agent. I think I saw this either mentioned at someone else’s blog, or maybe an online article about how companies are targeting bloggers to promote their products. I signed up for the Bzzz program, and answered several sets of questionnaires, so they could find out more about me and the products I might be interested in. From what I can tell (this is my very first foray, or “campaign” as they call it), you sign up for campaigns at their website and then you get info either mailed or emailed to you on a certain product. You try the product, and then you give your honest opinion and feedback on the product. You tell your friends and neighbors about it. You talk to your co-workers at work about it. In my case, you blog about it! :mrgreen:You create “bzzz” and talk about their product.

The first product campaign that I signed up for is the al Fresco brand of all-natural chicken sausages. I signed up and was accepted into the campaign; then a couple of weeks later, I received an information packet in the mail. Included in my packet were coupons for their products. I had already spent a little time at the al Fresco website, and had found out where their products were available in my area, as well as some about the company and the types of products they have. al Fresco makes gourmet, all natural chicken sausages in a variety of flavors. They’re made with lean, skinless chicken and contain no artificial flavors or preservatives. Some come already fully cooked, and some are “fresh”, which means they need to be cooked or grilled. The grocery store where I shop only offered 3 flavors of al Fresco sausages, all fully cooked. My store had Buffalo Style, Sweet Italian, and Apple with Vermont Maple Syrup. I plan to get the Apple/Maple next and try it in a breakfast omelette. We love to have breakfast at dinner, and I think this will be really good.

OK, back to the Buffalo style chicken sausages – we really liked these! There are 4 in a package and in my store, they retailed for 4.99. So, they are pricey, but I’ve found that to be true with most healthy food choices. We could (and do) buy bratwurst for much cheaper. But one link of bratwurst (we like the Johnsonville ones) has 220 calories and 22 grams of fat. The al Frescro buffalo chicken sausages have 130 calories and 6 grams of fat per link. Much better! They had a nice spicy taste to them, almost too much for me, but that’s because I don’t like spicy foods. Tim loved them and they could have been even spicier for him 🙂 I bought these first, because he loves spicy, buffalo flavored stuff, and I thought he would like them more. And I was right!

Tim put the al Fresco links on the grill on indirect heat for just a few minutes, to heat them up. I sauteed some peppers and onions in a skillet, and we sliced the 2 sausage links into small slices. We served them on whole wheat hoagie buns, with some Monterey Jack cheese sprinkled on top, with homemade coleslaw on the side, and we both thought it was a great meal. I took some pictures, so check out the extended link for those 🙂

I asked Tim if he would eat these again, and he said definitely. As I said earlier, we’re going to try the apple/maple flavor next. I am really glad to have found this product, because we eat a lot of this type of food in the fall, on “game days”. We love to grill bratwurst and have while we’re watching football. These will be a more expensive, but much healthier alternative for us to have.

As part of my BzzzAgent kit, I received several coupons in the mail. I’m going to use a couple, and give a couple to family and friends. But, I have a few that I will have left over, and I will be more than happy to share with any of you out there who might be interested in trying these chicken sausages. I only ask one thing – that you check the al Fresco website and see if they are available in your area before I send you the coupon. They were only available in one store near me, but thankfully, it was not far and I shop there often. But it was not at any other grocery in my area, so I just want to make sure you will be able to use the coupon. The coupons are for $1.00 off each, so if they are 4.99 in your area, that will make your cost 3.99 for a package of four fully cooked sausages. If that’s not in your budget, then that’s ok, but I’d really like to send the coupons to someone who will use them, and hopefully let me know which flavor they bought, if you liked them, and if you’d buy them again. Not required, but it would be nice to get that extra feedback. 🙂 I’m trying to create as much “Bzzz” as possible with this new program 😀 If you would like a coupon, just leave me a comment and I’ll contact you via email for your mailing address and send your coupon on out to you.

Click on the extended link for pictures of our first taste test of al Fresco chicken sausages:
Read the rest of this entry »

I finished another library book last night, “Back on Blossom Street” by Debbie Macomber. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I expected to! I love the Cedar Cove books by Macomber, and I’ve loved both books she has set on Blossom Street (The Shop on Blossom Street and A Good Yarn). I do hope she continues on with this series and these characters. In this book, we have yet another knitting class, this time for a prayer shawl. Lydia and her sister Margaret are back, as are several of the other characters from the previous books. One of the members of the knitting class is Susannah, from Macomber’s other recent book, Susannah’s Garden. Another member is Alix, from the first book, who is about to wed pastor Jordan Turner, if she can survive the wedding preparations. There’s also Collette, who works with Susannah at her flower shop on Blossom Street. If you read and enjoyed either of the other books, you will like this one!

For the record, that makes 40 books for me so far this year, with a total of 12,510 pages read. Up next is another library book, one I picked up on a whim from the New Release shelf – “Dream When You’re Feeling Blue” by Elizabeth Berg. This is going to be a totally different book, as it appears (from the book jacket) to be about “3 sisters during World War II, their lively Irish family and the men they love”. I hope it’s good!

Here’s the plan for the week. Once again, I’m not trying any new recipes. I really need to get back into the habit of doing that, but lately, it just seems easier to plan stuff that we like and that I have the ingredients for on hand. I keep a *really* well-stocked pantry and freezer :mrgreen:. As always, thanks to Laura, for hosting this every week!

Sunday – Buffalo Chicken Sausage sandwiches (review coming soon), coleslaw

Monday – Shrimp Fried Rice, stir-fried veggies

Tuesday – Cheeseburger Macaroni, green beans, salad

Wednesday – Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese sandwiches

Thursday – BBQ Loaded Potatoes, Salad

Friday – Date Night or Pizza

Saturday – eat with family

I saw this a while ago at Deena’s blog – A Peek at my Bookshelf. Thanks for sharing, Deena, here’s my answers!

What’s Your Preference??

1) Novel or novella? Novel, definitely. I like to watch characters grow, and see what happens to them and how they turn out 🙂

2) Hardback or paperback? Both. I like the new larger size paperback best, but I will read hardbacks and paperbacks.

3) Male authors or female authors? I read some of both, but I think I do read more women authors lately than men.

4) Fiction or non-fiction? Oh, easy one! Fiction all the way. I have a hard time reading non-fiction

5) Bestseller or obscure title? Bestseller. I like to read what others are reading and stuff that is “good”. Usually the bestsellers are pretty good

6) Local bookstore or chain franchise? I know it won’t be a popular answer, but I do patronize chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble. We have a copy of local bookstores I keep telling myself I want to go to, but I haven’t yet.

7) Read the book first or see the movie first? Book is always better, I think, but I have done it in reverse order. I usually try to go back and read the book afterwards, but that is harder, since I already know how it’s going to turn out.

Feast One Hundred & Forty Seven
June 08th, 2007

Appetizer
What do you consider to be the ultimate snack food? As much as I love chocolate anything, I think popcorn is probably the ultimate snack. I know it’s a definite for me when we go to the movies, and I like to pop some at home when we watch movies, too. Good stuff. Sometimes, I actually do crave something salty and not sweet! 🙂

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), about how popular is your last name? Gosh, not very. Neither my maiden name nor my married name are popular at all, maybe a 2. The problem with both of them is that people tend to misspell them. 🙁

Salad
Who is your all-time favorite sitcom character, and why? I like several of the characters on Friends, but I always really loved Jamie and Paul on “Mad About You” 😀

Main Course
Do you shop online? If so, name some sites you like to browse for goodies. I do a ton more browsing than actual shopping. I do the majority of buying from Amazon. It’s just so easy and they have so much of what I’m interested in ordering online (usually books and kitchen items)

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I think ___________ should be ___________. Hmm, we could go a lot of directions with this. How about “I think The View should be canceled”. “I think Paris Hilton should be completely ignored”. “I think chocolate should be named one of the essential food groups”. 🙂

Good grief! Usually these things are not all that accurate for me, but this one is spot on. I have a degree in math and computer science and I consider myself a very logical person. I love dogs, I love reading, and I love and adore peace and quiet. Crave it, really. The only part that isn’t right (and this would be my 25%, I guess), is that I do like sports, especially football!! 😀

You Are 75% Left Brained, 25% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

I finished another library book last night, one that I had requested and received from their waiting list, “Whitethorn Woods” by Maeve Binchy. I have read most of her work in the past and always enjoyed her books. This one was no exception, although I will say, I don’t think it was one of my favorites of hers. I haven’t read one of her books in a while, but I do own several (collecting dust on my bookshelves!), and I probably need to glance through some of them soon. I’m thinking this one was not like her normal books. It seemed a little more disjointed in how she flipped from character to character, in telling the story of the townspeople. Half the time, when I started the chapter, I had no idea who the character was, or how they would tie into other characters she had “flitted” through in her telling of the story. This sort of bothered me at first, but I settled into it fairly quickly, and I did enjoy the book. I didn’t love it, but I did like it. Always the case with me 🙂 Especially considering it’s a library book. I’m always more critical of the books I buy. Something about that expenditure of money from my pocket, I imagine.

For the record, that makes 39 books so far this year, for a total of 12, 117 pages read. Up next is another book from the bestseller list, that I was on the reserve list for at the library – “Back on Blossom Street” by Debbie Macomber. I’m looking forward to reading it – I loved Blossom Street and A Good Yarn and look forward to revisiting those characters. I just ran to the library early this morning and picked it up. And, me being me, I couldn’t just walk into the library and pick up one book on hold. Oh no! 😀 I had to peruse and get more books. I picked up the next book in the No 1. Ladies Detective Agency series (for me, I’m up to book 6, “In the Company of Cheerful Ladies”). I also have to always check out the new release shelves up front. I saw a new book by Elizabeth Berg. I’ve read two Berg books so far and enjoyed both of them, and although I don’t remember hearing anything about this one, I picked it up anyway. It’s called “Dream When You’re Feeling Blue”. I hope it’s as good as her others.

Happy Reading everyone!

Today’s “Question of the Day” is short and sweet, and sort of stems from yesterday’s Menu Plan Monday. I guess I’m still thinking “foodie posts” 🙂

Now that summertime is upon us, I start thinking about meals differently. When it gets to be 96 and 97 degrees here in the late afternoon, the last thing I want to do is get in a hot kitchen. Of course, a lot of the time I plan things for Tim to grill out, and really – he probably doesn’t want to be out in that heat over a hot grill anymore than I want to be slaving away inside. So, I try to plan more crockpot meals, more skillet meals and more salads and sandwiches.

Anyway, now with Tim working from home more, we eat a lot of our meals here during the week. We eat out a lot on the weekend, but we do eat at home a lot too. I have no problem fixing us food 3 times a day, but I tend to not fix “big” meals but once a day. So, that’s today’s question.

Which meal of the day do you consider to be your “big meal”? Do you have a bigger breakfast, a bigger lunch or a bigger meal in the evening? Are they all about the same? Do you snack between meals? Do you eat a big meal in the evening and then do the couch potato thing (like we do way too often)?

Here’s my answers – I would rather have our big meal at lunch, but Tim likes it in the evening, so that’s our “big” meal of the day. We often tend to sit down and watch TV or a movie after dinner (after I’ve cleaned up the kitchen, I won’t sit down and enjoy TV, knowing there are dirty dishes in there waiting on me). I have a problem with snacking some days, too. About 3:30 or 4:00 PM, I start getting hungry. Some days I am fine, and can just drink a bunch of water, and some days I have to break down and have a snack. 🙂

How about you? Leave me a comment and let me know!

I didn’t get to make a menu last week, as we were out of town on vacation for the better part of the week. I’m looking forward to trying to get back on track, and on a schedule this week. I work a lot better with a plan!

Nothing special this week on my menu, but there are tons of others posted over at Laura‘s blog, OrgJunkie. Go check them out! Thanks to Laura for hosting this every week.

Sunday – Eggs, deer sausage, homemade biscuits, grits

Monday – Spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, salad

Tuesday – Grilled Chicken (Tim)/Grilled Salmon (Stacy), squash, smashed potatoes

Wednesday – RR’s Quick Chicken Noodle Soup, salad (Light Night before Tim weighs in)

Thursday – Turkey Cutlets, zucchini, rice or potatoes

Friday – Date Night or TBD

Saturday & Sunday – TBD

Debi tagged me earlier this week with this fun little book meme that is going around. We were off on vacation, then I’ve been trying (ever so slowly) to catch up on things. I’m afraid blog-reading came after unpacking, laundry, etc. But, better late than never will have to apply here! Thanks for tagging me Debi, and without further ado… I give you my answers to the fun book meme!

The next 5 books on your to be read shelf:

1. Thorn in my Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs
2. Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy (at the library, they called and I need to stop by and pick it up)
3. Murder on a Bad Hair Day by Anne George
4. What a Girl Wants by Kristin Billerbeck
5. Not sure, either the next Anne George book, Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner or Blessings by Anna Quindlen, will depend on my mood

I’m also going to append this with the exact thing that Debi posted on hers. Great minds think alike 😀 “I do, of course, reserve the right to change my mind. The whole woman’s prerogative thing, you know.” What I plan to read and what I actually end up reading, in order, often depend entirely on my mood.

The last 4 books you’ve read:

1. Murder on a Girl’s Night Out by Anne George
2. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
3. Loving Ways by Gail Gaymer Martin
4. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

The last 3 books you’ve borrowed (library or friend):

All from the library, I don’t borrow that many from friends or family:

1. The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
2. Miss Julia Strikes Back by Ann B. Ross
3. Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson

The last 2 non-fiction books you’ve read:

1. 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
2. Can’t think of another one, I don’t read much non-fiction at all. I have several on my TBR shelf but never seem to get to them 🙂

The 1 book you wish everyone would read:

1. Hmm, sort of a tough question. I’d like for everyone to read the Bible, but I must admit, I’ve not read the entire thing. I mostly wish everyone would just read. Read for yourself, read to your kids, buy your spouse a book. Read for enlightenment, read for pleasure, read for knowledge, read for fun. Just Read!

I won’t tag anyone else, but if you’d like to play along, please do so! Leave me a comment and let me know if you decide to play, so I can be sure to come by and read your answers 😀

Feast One Hundred & Forty Six
June 1, 2007

Appetizer
Name something you think is “the best.â€? Since I’m hungry, I’m thinking food. We think Sonic is the best! We pick Sonic before all other fast food places. If we want a quick burger, we go there. If we want a slushy drink or a great shake, we go there. We love Sonic, it’s the best 😀

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 highest), how stressed are you today? About a 5. Both of my boys are sick. Tim has been sick for over 2 weeks now with a cold/sinus head and chest congestion thing. Beau came home from the kennel and threw up 8 times in the first 24 hours. The vet has him on bread, Xantac and this morning he could have plain white rice mixed with chicken. He didn’t like the rice, so he spit it out on the floor while he rooted around in his bowl for the chicken. Tonight, we’re going to try his food again and hope he doesn’t throw up. I hope he doesn’t throw up any more, I want him to get better, plus, I’m tired of cleaning it up! I have a bad sore throat, so we’re all sick. Other than that, everything is rosy and nothing to be stressed over 😀

Salad
What kind of cleanser do you use to wash your face? I vacillate between Olay foaming face wash and Biore pore minimizing face wash

Main Course
Tonight is a blue moon! What is something that you believe only happens “once in a blue moon.� I have no idea!

Dessert
When was the last time it rained where you live? Weeks, it seems like. We had a decent chance for rain yesterday. It sprinkled for about 90 seconds and barely wet the pavement. My grass is so dry in my yard, it crunches when you walk on it 🙄

I’m still trying to catch up from being gone on vacation. Today is a day for going through the pile of mail and newspapers, working on the pile of laundry, catching up on emails, blogging and posting photos to my Project365 photoblog. It’s going to be another day or two before I get caught up enough to come by and visit all of my favorite blogs – hope everyone understands 🙂

I’m using my Project365 blog for most of the pictures I post, so go check out the last several days entries if you want to see some vacation pictures. I actually didn’t take a lot of photos on this trip. Half the time, I left my camera in my room 🙁 I think because we’ve been up here so many times before that I just didn’t think to take photos. I did take a few though, and I’ve posted some over at my photo blog. I’ll post a few more in the extended entry, so click on the more button if you want to check them out 🙂

Read the rest of this entry »

This week’s topic: Paper or Plastic

Do you read e-Books?
If so, how? On your computer, or a PDA?
Or are you a paper purist? Why?

OK, this is a great question. Believe it or not, as much as I love techie gadgets, as much as I love my laptop, and as much as I love my PDA, I’m a purist when it comes to books. I don’t like them in any format except the written word. I don’t like them electronic, I don’t like them in the form of audiobooks. I like a plain ole book I can hold in my hands and turn the pages on. I like a book that I can go back and re-read the last paragraph or page when I’ve put it down for a day or two and can’t quite remember what I last read. I like a book to hold in my hands and drop on my chest when I fall asleep reading before bed 🙂 I like to hear my own voice in my head as I read along and not someone else’s. I’ve tried a sample of an e-book on my PDA and I didn’t like it. I checked out an audio book from the library and didn’t make it through more than one chapter. Give me a good old paper book any day and I’m a happy reader. 🙂