Scrabble on Saturday

Just a quick post...not that I want to be posting...but just to post it.

Here's Saturday's Scrabble Game.

I played against Rick and Dan. I won. They lost. 251-194-151.

After the game we went to Curt's, met up with some other friends and celebrated Rick's birthday with pizza and brownies and a movie (National Treasure). My continuing to beat Rick has, I'm sure, made his one win against me all the sweeter...

I'm taking a break from the blog

You should know that I'm taking a break from the blog and will probably take it down at the end of April. It has been fun, but time to move on to other things...

Robb, J.D. - Promises in Death

The newest Lt. Eve Dallas book was wonderful. If I'm ever murdered, I want her to be assigned the case...yes, I know she's fictional, but I think she could do it. What an awesome detective.
Read the series...but start at the beginning. It's worth it.
rj

Saturday's Scrabble

I won Saturday's scrabble game 306-253, but Rick noted that I didn't trounce him...and while I maintained a lead throughout the entire game, he also noted that he was "on my tail feathers" the whole way. Um, sure. But he still lost.

Berg, Carol - Restoration

I finished book 3 of the series this weekend. While I enjoyed it very much, I kind of felt a little let down by the ending. It just, um, ended...like it could have gone on for another 100 pages or so of story. It was a happy ending, don't get me wrong, but I still had so many questions about the characters and what happens to them next. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to "create" their endings in my head.
rj

Scones - Raspberry White Choc or Banana & Choc Chip

Here is the recipe for scones. I actually used an English Tea Scone recipe and then modified it for the two different types I like. So, first the basic recipe:


English Tea Scones
2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
milk

option 1
1 c raspberries
1/2 c white chocolate chips

option 2
2 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. With pastry blender or two knives, cut in margarine until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg with enough milk to measure 2/3 cup; stir into flour mixture with fork just until mixture holds together. Fold in optional ingredients. Gently form into a ball with fingers; turn onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently 10-12 strokes. With floured rolling pin, lightly roll dough on floured surface to 1/2" thickness. Cut with floured 2 1/4" cutter, re-rolling dough as necessary. Arrange scones on ungreased baking sheet about 2" apart. Bake in a preheated 425 oven until lightly browned (8-10 min.) Makes 16 scones.

The Boringness of Daily Life.

I am a bit flummoxed of late.
Mom tells me I need to write more in the blog. I say I don't feel like writing. She says, "write. Then you'll want to write more."
Um, sure. Whatever.
So, randomness.
I bought some Cadbury Mini Eggs today. I am glad they are only sold at Easter. I love them and find them addicting.
At home I am watching season 2 of Eureka. A great show from the Sci-Fi channel. My sister Libby bought season 1, so I watched that when she was done with it. It was so good, I bought season 2. I'm already half way through it. It is tempting to just watch several episodes each evening rather than do household chores like laundry and dishes and sorting through the mail pile.
Work has been very busy this week. The onslaught of questions and needs has been very random. I feel exhausted just from trying to keep up.
I spelled flummoxed and onslaught wrong.
I am tired of winter and wish that Spring would, um, spring now.
I keep forgetting to bring the raspberry white chocolate scone recipe into work to type it into the blog for Rick.
I haven't really cooked much in the past week. Mostly I've been eating cereal, fruit, veggies, frozen dinners and the like... oh and candy.
I've been craving BLT's lately and have had 3-4 in the past several weeks. I don't remember the last time I had a BLT (before the craving started).
I continue to read the bible every morning and I'm in Deuteronomy and Mark. Some mornings I don't really want to read, but I'm always glad that I have. And I usually find some nugget of wisdom to help me through my day.
I suck at eating well and trying to lose weight. What really sucks is that I know all of the rules and just don't seem to have the self-control to do what's need.

Is that enough writing? I still think it's not very interesting. The Boringness of Daily Life.

Scrabble Rematch

I won. 360 to 303. But at the beginning I thought I would lose...Rick got his highest one-play score ever (93), and I was mighty nervous as I was staring at 4 I's. Nasty little vowels. So hard to use. Once I played them and made a seven letter word, things started to look much better for me.

Berg, Carol - Revelation

I did enjoy book two. It got a bit long in the middle, but the ending was lovely and I am looking forward to starting book three today at lunch.

Berg, Carol - Transformation

I just finished the first book in a trilogy by Carol Berg. I do have to agree with Holly. She is a great author. Very engaging characters and stories. Plus a few plot twists and turns that keep you guessing up to the very (happy) ending. It's a fantasy book with magic and good vs. evil.

I started the second one this morning and had a hard time putting it down so that I could get to work on time. (Don't worry, I did it...but I also brought it with for my lunchtime reading...)
rj

Because I promised I'd post it...

The fate of the game hinged on the last play. I was up by 16 points after Rick decimated my 70 point lead with his 78 point word "equine." I came back from "equine" with a 24 point word...which left me up by 16 and holding 3 tiles that equaled 4 points. He had two tiles left. I was going to lose my 4 points. He was going to gain my 4 points. That put me up by only 8...if he found a 9 point word, he'd win. If he went with the 7 point word we found, he'd lose...

I saw the spot seconds before he did. I put my head down to keep from revealing it--To keep myself from telling him where it was...but he found it. On his own. Without me. And placed "hoe" up in the left hand corner for, you guessed it, 9 points.

I lost. By one. Rick won his first victory against me...

Against my better judgement, I have agreed to a re-match on Thursday. Those who know me well, know that I am not a good loser...

I do, however, make an excellent winner.

rj

Walls, Jeannette - The Glass Castle

I loved this memoir and am passing it on to sister Holly to read next. I recommend this book to anyone who ever thought his/her childhood was a bit crazy and abnormal. This family was downright nuts. But a feel-good story too.
Read. Laugh. Cry. Wonder at the craziness...feel good about your own parenting/family.

best ever scrabble game

Here's that scrabble game from Saturday. Check out my seven letter word "RELISTED" right in the middle of the board. 448 for me...

vacation week is over

Ah it was so lovely. I did so many wonderful things. And I got lots of rest in too. I made my favorite dish (Cape Malay Curry). I read four books (see below). I shopped. A Lot. I napped. I spent time with various family members. I cleaned (a bit). I played several games of scrabble.

(I'll post a picture of my record-high game tomorrow after I get it off of my phone's camera. I scored 448 points. Rick scored 200something...It was awesome! Well for me anyway. Though he assured me that he enjoyed watching me do it. My lowest scoring word (except for the last one when I used my last two tiles to go out) was 22 points. Wow!)

The cats enjoyed my vacation as well. And not just because they love naps. (I think they would have taken those whether I'd been home or not.) What they really liked was conning me out of extra cans of cat food. On "normal" days, they split 1 can when I get home from work. During the vacation, they managed to beg 2 cans out of me every day...fat cats.
rj

Fairstein, Linda - Lethal Legacy

It has been a long time since I've read on of Fairstein's books...a long time since she's had a new one out. One thing I love about my favorite characters in my favorite books is how picking up a new one instantly transports me back into their story. This new book was no exception. It was great to reconnect with my old friends Alex, Mike and Mercer...and the mystery kept me guessing right up to the very end.

Berg, Carol - Daughter of Ancients

A perfect end to the story; though I would love it if the author would write more "chapters" to it.

Berg, Carol - Soul Weaver

I read book three of the series in one day...cover to cover...with a few breaks in between. I love vacation days.

Berg, Carol - Guardians of the Keep

Book two was much better than book one and hooked me into the series. Perfect vacation read.

very busy week

I have had a very busy week so far. Work has been intense. A big chunk of my job is sorting through details and solving problems. Monday and Tuesday brought a whole host of them. My hope is that today will be quieter.
Next week I am on vacation. Traveling up north for a couple of days and then I'll have a few days in town to wander aimlessly...maybe some movies, plays, coffee shops, books, buy some stuff to make the condo better. The week is wide open.
rj

Berg, Carol - Son of Avonar

I liked the ending of this book more than I liked the beginning. In fact, I almost stopped reading it about half way through. It started in present time and then tried to tell the history of the story as though it was memories of the main character. It really didn't gel very well.
Hopefully now that we are well acquainted with the main characters, book 2 will start out great and continue great and end great as well...
rj

Harris, Charlaine - From Dead to Worse

Alright, book 8 was all about character development. There was a small mystery, but for the most part it was about extending our knowledge of our favorite characters and adding a few new ones to keep the series alive.
I still loved it and am looking forward to book 9 "Dead and Gone" which comes out on May 5.

Now for a little break from reading as I put my messy house in order and give my head a rest.
rj

Baker's One Bowl Brownies

These are the incredibly delicious brownies I made yesterday for Curt's SuperBowl party. From scratch, indeed. Yum! Yum!

Baker's One Bowl Brownies
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
3/4 cups butter or margarine (1 1/2-sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9- by 13-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan to form handles. Grease foil. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on High for 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add sugar, stirring until well blended. Beat in eggs (one at a time) and vanilla until well blended. Add flour and nuts, and stir to incorporate. Stop stirring when no traces of flour remain. Spread in prepared pan.Bake for 30 to 33 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few fudgy crumbs. Do NOT overbake. (It's better to underbake brownies than to overbake them.)
Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles. Cut into squares. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months.. Makes about 24 brownies.

Harris, Charlaine - All Together Dead

Book 7 was a quick read. (Well, the whole series has been quick, really.) I enjoyed the change of scenery and the new vampires (the Vampire Summit takes place in this book). I also got to hope a little more for Eric to win Sookie's heart.
I'm well into book 8 now, and book 9 doesn't come out until May. So, I'll have to wait a bit after this book before the series goes on.
rj

the flu sucks

If you're thinking about getting the stomach flu, might I advise against it. What a very nasty two days I just had. I haven't been that sick (with the flu) in years. Let's just say it wasn't the best way to lose 5 lbs.

Back to work today. I'm functioning at about 90%. Hopefully the day will be easy...

Harris, Charlaine - Definitely Dead

Book 6 was one of my favorites so far. Sookie travels to New Orleans to settle her cousin's estate. She meets new characters and has a wonderful new mystery to solve.
One thing I've enjoyed about each of the books is that the title appears somewhere inside it. In this book, one of the character's sees another (dead) character and says, "Yep, he's definitely dead." Very funny. Or at least it was at the time.
rj

Harris, Charlaine - Dead as a Doornail

I liked book 5 as well.
Same reason as all of the others. Light-hearted, fun, and a little romance and mystery thrown in too.
rj

Harris, Charlaine - Dead to the World

Book 4 is now done too.
And into book 5 now.
The story just continues one after the other. A few weeks between them. A bit of mystery in each one. A bit of romance. A bit of scare. And happy endings too.
Very quick, relaxing reads.
rj

Harris, Charlaine - Club Dead

And because it was a cold weekend, I also finished book three of the series. In this book, Sookie is off to rescue Vampire Bill from the bad vampires of Jackson, MI. She hooks up with a hot werewolf to help her cover story, gets to know Vampire Eric (who wants her bad) a bit better and even gets to meet the King Vampire of Mississippi. A wonderful light-hearted story.
rj

Harris, Charlaine - Dead in Dallas

Book two of the series was just as light and fluffy as book one. A perfectly distracting read. Sookie is quite a crazy woman consorting with vampires and werewolves and shapeshifters as though it was an every day thing. Well, for her it is...
rj

Funke, Cornelia - The Theif Lord

I loved this story. I saw the movie several years ago, so parts of it were "known" to me, but I had forgotten enough of the movie to make the story fresh.
This would be a great story to read out loud to a child...
rj

more books than bookshelves...

Little piles here and there of my books have slowly been taking over my condo. And I've known for a while that I need more bookshelves (or to *GASP* give up some of my books)...but I didn't want to go out and buy just any old shelf. Dad made the four I have, so I wanted him to make the new ones too. I just kept forgetting to ask. Sigh. In fact, he's made most of my lovely wood furniture -- coffee table, end tables, night stand, t.v. trays and bookshelves.

And now he is going to make me two more bookshelves. How lovely. I already know where I will put them and how I will reorganize my books to make it all work best.

Here's the picture I sent dad this morning of one of the ones he's already made...and I diligently took the measurements last night too, so the new ones will blend right in. Of course, you can tell by the shelf that even the books on the shelves need a little, um, reorganizing.

Harris, Charlaine - Dead Until Dark

My friend Karen loaned me this book. It's a light-hearted vampire series. A very quick read. I finished it in two nights. It is a romance/mystery...human woman and vampire man. I was enjoying the humor/romance of the story so much that I wasn't even paying attention to the mystery, so I didn't even figure out who the murder was until he got caught. That doesn't happen very often to me.
Karen has the next 5 in the series and has finished them...so I will probably begin reading them this weekend.

the birthday weekend

My birthday was on Sunday. I had a lovely weekend mixed with both fun activity and time at home to read and nap with cats.
I played miniature golf at the Mall of America with friends and then got to have dinner with other friends and play games. And my sister Holly made grilled cheese sandwiches (a favorite) for my birthday. And I read. And I napped. And did laundry. And grew ever so slightly older.

Flynn, Vince - The Third Option

I'm still not entirely sure why I finished this book. Maybe it's because I feel a bit of a connection to Mitch. I like him. And I wanted him to get his revenge. The fact that we knew the end of the book almost from the beginning kind of sucked, but still...I went on and finished it.
Now I take a break from the Flynn books and move on to other adventures.
rj

The goals go on

I'm down 3 lbs since January 1.

I've been reading my bible every day...and staying on the timeline.

I've been saving money by making better choices. Using those little mini-shampoos finally.

Other than that, it's been cold here. So, I've been staying inside and reading. I watched the first four hours of 24. I haven't seen the show since season 3, so lots of things are different and I know I've missed many plot threads. However, Jack is Jack, so it was easy to catch back up.

Evanovich, Janet - Plum Spooky

A lovely "between-the-numbers" book. This one was a little longer then most of those, and it actually seemed to have a story too it. So not just a fluffy check-in with our favorite characters.
Diesel pops in to help Stephanie find her skip as he (Diesel) is looking for the mastermind who's taken Munch (the skip) under his wing.
Several laugh-out-loud moments. Truly enjoyable.
rj

Flynn, Vince - Transfer of Power

I finished Transfer of Power this weekend. This is the book where we are introduced to Mitch Rapp. I liked the story and will probably continue with the series. Though I must confess that I will probably put it aside and read some other books first. It did get a little slow for me at times...I didn't really like that there wasn't any mystery. I knew from the beginning how it was going to end. But, I did bond with the characters, so it will be worth it to watch them grow in future books.
rj

When Timeouts Go Bad

I got this picture last week from Morgan and couldn't bear to just throw it away...

Boy misbehaves.

Boy goes on Timeout...

Boy uses markers on bedroom wall.

Boy misbehaves.

Boy goes on Timeout...

Boy uses marker on self.

Boy misbehaves....

teeheehee...

The Year of Using

This is the year when I will use things. I will use them up, wear them out, re-purpose them, finish them, and get rid of them to de-clutter my life.
I plan to work on the crafts that I own rather than buy new crafts to do.
I plan to read the books that I own that I haven't read rather than buy new books.
I plan to eat the food I have before stock-piling more.
Use the mini-shampoos. Use the good paper napkins rather than buy more cheap paper ones. Read the pile of magazines and then give them away. Etc.

Other new things:

• I restarted Weight Watchers yesterday now that the medications have stabilized.
• I started to re-read the bible on January 1 using one of those bible-in-a-year plans.
• On vacation next month, I will go through all of 2007 and 2008 papers that I haven't sorted out yet...file what needs to be kept and get rid of the rest.
• I will start saving money. A little each paycheck.

At the end of 2009, I want to be in a better, different place from where I am now. That's going to take work. A little each day will add up.

rj

Funke, Cornelia - Inkdeath

I finished the third book in this triology yesterday afternoon. It was a long book and took me four days to read (what with other bits of life scattered in).
I enjoyed the story as well. I would have ended it differently. But the ending was still a happy one.
I wonder what it would be like to climb into one of my favorite books and become a character inside the ongoing story. Hmm...
rj

Flynn, Vince - Term Limits

I didn't really care for this first book. But I finished it. Part of the problem is that the bad guys somehow become the good guys by the end of the book...and there really aren't any likable characters to root for except for the FBI agent in charge of the investigation...which he doesn't get to solve.
I will read Flynn's second book though. In Transfer of Power, he introduces Mitch Rapp, who becomes a series character. So, book two will help me determine if I go on reading more of Flynn or stop there.
rj