literally

Hello friends and Merry Christmas!  I have recently found a few likes at the library.  It excites me so.  My favorite new passion is for Christy Jordan's southern cooking cookbooks.  I just got Southern Plate over the weekend from the library and have already made five recipes out of it.  All of them turning out fantastically.  I have to share that tonight I made the squash casserole and steak and milk gravy.  The casserole was awesome but when I drizzled the gravy over  broken up white bread it truly brought back memories of my Mom making gravy with supper.  Oh the way that tastes is shear heaven on a plate.  If you are in a bit of a cooking rut... making the same things mainly because you can remember all of the ingredients by heart and make the dish without a recipe... not that that ain't good... it may be time to shake it up back to your roots.  Grab one of her.  You will not hate yourself I promise.

I've also taken to watching Modern Family in my kitchen nook.  I've seen several seasons sitting here on the counter.  I think Phil is just about my favorite character.  I do love them all.  Sometimes I wish I could remember some of the funny stuff they say and apply it to some conversation to make someone laugh but I never can.

M.C. Beaton... not long ago I was really into reading the Hamish MacBeth stories by M.C. Beaton and still am!  BUT... recently, while browsing the author's books for something centered around Christmas, I checked out on of her Agatha Raisin mysteries instead of my Hamish ones.  I lack finishing the last chapter right now and even though Christmas is just this weekend I will still love the next one I have ready for pick up right now.

The author, Christy Jordan, is apparently good friends with the author of the other cookbook listed... The Southern Bite.  I can only assume at this point what this one is about.  Hopefully it will be just as good as hers and every bit as inspiring.  I love a good cookbook that gives new life to ingredients I normally have on hand.

Botanical Style... I really can't wait to gawk over the pictures in this book.  I forgot until tonight that I had it on my wait list.  I can't remember what blog.... wait... yes I can... nope.. wrong.  I thought it was THIS one.  I love her gift guides.  Anyway.. maybe it will at least inspire me to water my plants more and give them more love.  It's like this.. I've had some of them for so long I think they are old enough to water themselves.  At least Juanita lets me know when she's thirsty.  I have seriously had that plant for twenty three years.  There's a picture of her HERE oh and apparently I forgot at some point that her name was Lola... I've called the dang thing Juanita for the last four I know... HERE she is getting a new pot.  What an oddball!

I seriously hope you each have a wonderful Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!! 

literally on the library hold shelf

I haven't done one of these in a while.  Doesn't mean I stopped going to the library!  I haven't been much in to reading novels lately but yesterday I came across a list of books and picked a couple that the library had.  They aren't far, one in Madison and one in Inglewood, so maybe they will get here by Saturday when I go to yoga.  I haven't watched many movies since my Wes Anderson click... I'm still not over the Moonrise Kingdom movie and I've rented it three times.  I wanted to rent Raising Hope which is a TV on DVD thing but they don't have it.  I settled for My Name is Earl and also found a Carol Burnett dvd there.  Our new station on TV that airs older shows actually shows Carol Burnett reruns but it comes on pretty late.  The other book Pretty Happy by Kate Hudson I am hoping will be a "feel good" book.  I just love her... probably because of who her parents are but she is precious!  I have been on the wait list for this one for a good while but I'm now #1 next in line for it!  Have a good weekend!!!



literally on the library hold shelf

I got an email from Goodreads wanting votes for the best of the best 2015 books.  While there aren't a whole lot of new releases that I can vote for, mainly because I haven't read a ton of new releases, I found it a fantastic place to find new items to check out.  You can find the fabulous link of the Choice Awards books HERE.

And now I will share what I quickly went through and picked for myself as I scramble to the library website to get on the hold lists.  I literally probably won't see any of these books until after the first of the year.  So I am all set for winter time fireplace reading for a while.

 

 



literally on the library hold shelf

 

rethink: I have been waiting for my library to get this book for a long time it seems.  I actually haven't checked in a while to see if it was there.  Now that it is I am on a wait list. 

 

wild: I don't know much about this movie.  Only that I'd like to see it.  So it's waiting on me now.

 

the bee cottage story: One of two home interior books on my list right now.

 

the stuff of life: The other one.  Although I'm not really in to redecorating.  I haven't had much interest in that for a while.  I do however enjoy keeping up with styles and both of the design books I have here are 2015 and may have some great ideas.

 

the girl on the train: I admit I have already read this one.  To boot, I picked it up Tuesday night before yoga and read a few pages before going to bed.  Then wound up finishing it by noon on Thursday.  It completely captivated me.  I never read books that fast!  I guess I do now!  The story and the characters and the "up in the air" / "I don't know what's going to happen" feel of the book I loved. I truly enjoyed it and wanted it to last longer. 

literally on the library hold shelf

A list of random items I have requested from the library. 

I do hope you enjoy this series as much as I do!

Melanie Shankle's Sparkly Green Earrings first book came from an interest in her third book as reported by The Pioneer Woman as a friend of hers.  I figure she's good if PW likes her but really... .I have to be honest here.  When I requested the book from the library on a split second whim I didn't even look to see what the book was about which is musings from motherhood and sorts.  I seriously try to stay away from the motherhood subjects even when looking at blogs because I can't be a mother myself and it makes me feel sad and not included.  Then I think "well... you're a mother to the kids at the day care during the day" and it makes me feel better for a minute but really... I don't know if I will read this book once I get it just to avoid possible depression.  I really never know how my mind will react.  So this may be a book suggestion for someone else and not me.  Booo Hiss... I should have looked before I leaped.

And then..... From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman as a suggestion to go along with a craft for the day care that I found on a wonderful little blog called BuggyandBuddy.com.  The craft looks like this...

I know.... how cute if that AND it has a free printable for the center part!  I have cheap paper plates on my Walmart list for this week already and luckily one of the pick up parents here brought me a bag of craft supplies that has striped, thick pipe cleaners!  Oh what luck I have!!!

I found the cookbook Power Foods while searching for more Martha Stewart cookbooks and noticed that the forward is by Martha so it must be pretty good if she's endorsing it right?  I hope so.  I've been stuck on Martha cookbooks for a couple of weeks now and am at the end of the line of available books from her at the library sadly.

Dumb & Dumber To.... I have to admit that I have watched the first Dumb & Dumber movie a hundred times and laughed at all of them.  I even have a couple of funny lines I will pull out of my hat and use from time to time that came from the movie.  Shaun actually took me to see the second film over this past winter.  I think it's good to see a movie multiple times if it makes you laugh even once during it!  It's healthy to laugh, remember?!?!

And now on to the weekend!  Katie Bug and I are both getting our hair done today.  Mine colored and hers shaved off.  I think we would both say "glad it's her and not me"!  I think we have a bon fire tonight, with yoga and the library pick up of the above listed items tomorrow and in the mean time I plan on starting to pull out junk upon junk to put together a yard sale soon and totally plan to include some mushroom hunting in the woods.  Wish me luck!!  

What are your weekend plans?? No one ever answers my questions here so I can only imagine that you will all be having too much fun in the sun to tell your old internet buddy here!  Whatever you do... do it with love and kindness in your heart!  

literally on the library hold shelf

Fortunately and unfortunately I have a couple of kids headed to kindergarten in the fall of this year.  It makes me both sad and proud but it also makes me feel as if I have some sort of responsibility to do my part in helping prepare them as much as I can.  This should be a fun book to help with that and I love that Miss Bindergarten is a border collie like Katie Bug whom they know very well.

Spring is upon us and if the weather will ever clear up enough for us to take a good walk when they are all here we will have a discovery stroll looking around us to finds signs of spring right around us.  

We are still stuck on Mo Willems.  I try to include one at least one book of his every week.  They are easy to find a good coloring page online and the books makes the kids laugh which I adore both.

We have been eating healthier and cutting out sweets whenever we can here at the day care.  Shaun couldn't believe, when he was here during snack time the other day, that the kids were asking for more cut carrots.  It's funny that the foods they at one time turned their noses up to are now their favorites.  I hope even if they choose a junk food path for themselves that they always remember the healthy stuff too.  I am excited to read The Food Parade and plan to maybe have coloring pages of different foods to have our own food parade.

Lego DC on dvd.  This is for the older boys.  As much as I try to keep their minds off of weapons and violence... they are still boys (as Shaun pointed out to me).  I have one day a week where I only have the older boys and I reckon this will be the day next week that I allow them to watch a movie like this.  They have all seen it before but will love seeing it again.  I like to make the day with the bigger kids special and still let them be who they are. 

Looks like it's going to be an exciting week here next week! 

Especially when Mrs Laurie comes up with activities to go along with these books!

I'd better get to work!

library list

Literally, these titles are on "hold" or on their way to me from the library. 

Happy Handmade Home by Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman.  I have actually followed A Beautiful Mess blog for a few years now and have enjoyed watching it grow as it has.  I have a feeling I will recognize posts made into book form but will enjoy having it in my hands all the same.

Five Little Pumpkins should be to me in time for October.  I love this little tale and enjoy the kid's faces as I read about what the little pumpkins get into.

Happy Herbivore Holidays by Lindsay Nixon.  I actually have one of her books on my birthday list.  She has a way of making vegetarian cooking easy and very good.  Her book Happy Herbivore Abroad is my personal favorite.

Dallas Buyers Club is actually at the suggestion of Shaun.  He oddly mentioned the title of this movie and I responded by asking if he had seen it.  I knew better that he hadn't so it's coming for us to see.  I have been amazed at Matthew McConnaughey's transformation for the movie.

Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks.  Oddly enough, I saw the book in a picture, on a blog, sitting on a nightstand in a post entitled "Bedside" on Moon to Moon blog which I frequent.  I have since read a snippet about the book and have it on order from simple interest. 

Funny where my inspiration comes from.  I really liked the picture above this one too with the tea cups stretched along the nightstand.  I showed it to Shaun and he simply said "looks like somebody needs to clean up."