Yumm-o Pumpkin cookies!

I just finished baking the yummiest cakiest deliciousiest (yeah, yeah... so it's not a real word) pumpkin cookies.  I found a recipe and tweaked it... here is the revised recipe the way I made it.

Start the frosting first because it needs a long time to cool (learned the hard way, lol):
Melt 6 Tbsp of butter
8 Tbsp of milk
1 cup of packed brown sugar
until the mixture is fully dissolved then completely cool it.

For Cookies...
Cream together:
2 cups of butter (recipe called for shortening and I don't use shortening EVER)
2 cups white sugar
1 can of pumpkin or equiv. of 2 cups

Add 2 eggs and beat until fully mixed... a minute or two

Add mixture of:
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or use all spice or pumpkin pie spice)
1 tsp salt

Mix for 2 minutes

Drop spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes each.  Until the tops are 'dry' looking but not turning brown.

While cookies are baking and once the brown sugar mixture is cooled....
Add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups confectioners sugar

Spread frosting on cookies and enjoy! 

They have a wonderfully moist cake texture not to mention BUTTER!  ;)  I love butter. 

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a wonderfully written, inspiring story about a girl and her mother who immigrate to the United States from Hong Kong with nothing to their names and knowing very little English.  Kimberly Chang is a 10 yr old girl who has lived through a lot in her short life.  Her father has died and her mother has just gotten over having Tuberculosis.  Her aunt and uncle in America have paid their way for them to legally move to the U.S. and attempt to start a new life.  Upon arriving in the new country they find that things aren't as wonderful as they thought.  They are in a shabby apartment with no heat, which is a terrible thing in a New York City winter.  Kim must go to a regular American public school knowing hardly any English and manages to not only pass but to thrive and gain acknowledgement. 

Kim was a top scholar in her school in Hong Kong and now spends all of her free time either working in the sweat shop with her mother to make a few pennies per item while finishing clothing to be shipped out for sale, or working hard on her homework, even reading the dictionary, to learn the language that is going to their ticket out of the slum they live in.  At a young age Kim is torn between the culture her mother knew and is trying to raise her in in Chinatown and the American culture where people say what they think show their true colors without fear. 

Girl in Translation follows Kim and her mother, as well as a few other key characters, through a span of 20 years and kept me captivated from beginning to end.  Kwok writes such a realistic portrayal that even I, as an average white american housewife, can identify and feel a connection with poor Ah-Kim as she goes through her life remaining respectful of her mother's wishes and still attempting to become a part of American teenage life. 

I completely enjoyed reading this story and found it to be a simple, easy read that allowed me to relax and completely immerse myself into the world of these immigrants as they worked to become naturalized citizens and strive for the dream of all Americans... Freedom.  Freedom from fear, Freedom from the grips of poverty, Freedom from the weight of expectations. 

My $14 Walgreens trip....

Here are a few pictures of what I got and then I will explain how I got it and how you can get it too!!  :)



Above you see the little caramels that are 39 cents.  Walgreens (and most stores) have a policy of using no more coupons than you have items being purchased.  This means that when you are using Manf coupons AND have the reward bucks to use you will have to use a 'filler' item to put extra things on your reciept.  This is what I choose to use.  The Oral B Cross Action Toothbrushes were in the sunday paper coupon insert.  There was a Buy one get one free coupon a few weeks ago I've been holding on to, then there was the Save 75 cents on one coupon.  Combining the two together in this transaction with the sale of $3.99 each I got them for $1.62 each.



Above you will see 3 bottles of Vaseline Sheer Infusion lotion which is on sale for 5.99.  It has a $2 sticker coupon on the bottle (don't forget to peel it!) AND there is a $5 reward coupon that prints out after your purchase.  You must purchase each bottle separately as only one coupon will print per transaction!!  After rewards and $2 coupon it's a $1 moneymaker.  The 2 bottles of Tilex and 2 containers of clorox wipes are 2/$5 this week with a $2 reward coupon printing out when you buy 2.  There is a $1 off 1 Tilex coupon and $1 off 1 clorox wipe coupon that I will have links for at the bottom.  Leaving these things at 50 cents per bottle after all coupons and rewards.

There are 2 bottles of Hylands Cold n Cough for children.  They are on sale for $5 and I got a $2 off coupon plus there is a $5 reward that prints.  You must purchase each bottle separately and I will put a link to the coupon on the bottom of the page.  This is a $2 moneymaker.  The Pantene Beautiful Lengths conditioner is on sale $4 plus it's BOGO 1/2 off.  Which means $6 for 2.  I had a $2 coupon from the P&G insert mailing. (I don't know how you'd get one now) Then there was a $2 register reward which made these $1 per bottle for me.

Walgreens brand pain relievers are BOGO free and cost $4 for 100 ct bottles, making them only $2 after discount.  The kraft homestyle mac n cheese is on sale for 1.99 and there are $1 coupons on the kraft website.  I will try to get the link on here if it is still available.  Some of these coupons aren't out anymore.  That makes those bags of super creamy, yummy mac n cheese only 99 cents.  The Charmin is on sale for $2.99 with a limit of 3 and I had a 50 cent coupon from the P&G mailing.

*******************************************************************************

Here are a list of the links for coupons available online.  I highly recommend that any of you interested in couponing and cutting your grocery and supply bill significantly get at least one subscription to your local newspaper.  You can often get good deals by calling them up and talking to a person.  I got an entire year, 7 days a week for only $100.  The Sunday paper alone in Las Vegas costs $3 a week.  So I am getting it delivered to my driveway every day for less than $2 a week!  Can't beat that.  :)  Invest in a printer if you don't already have one.  I have figured that I print out about $300 in coupons for every $40 that I spend in ink.  For those that say it's a waste of ink... it's only a waste if you're not using the coupons.  Buy paper at the office stores when they are cheap and on sale.  I stock up when they are $2-$3 a ream.  I have about 4 packs of paper in my closet right now. 

Here are links to some of the coupons you can use for the items above...

Clorox Wipes:  You will have to "like" clorox on Facebook to get the coupon for the wipes and make sure you hit the back browser 3 times after the first print and it will print you a second one.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/Clorox?v=app_155211227838269&ref=ts

Tilex spray bottles:  You may have to go through a few pages to find it but it's in there.  You can only print 1 per computer so if you have multiple computers just print one from each to make the deal I showed above.

 http://www.coupons.com/

Hyland's Cough n Cold for children:  You will have to register on this site and select the coupon.  It will be emailed to you and you can print as many copies as you want.  I hope it's still listed.  I just printed mine yesterday but sometimes the coupons go fast.
http://www.healthesavers.com/HealthESavers/Coupons.aspx?ViewAll=1

Kraft Homestyle:  I will give you a couple of links to try for the Kraft coupons.  Since I have already printed them I have no way of knowing which one will still have it available.
http://www.kraftfirsttaste.com/default.aspx
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/


Another couple of tips for shopping at walgreens when using the rewards...

• You cannot use reward coupons to pay for the same item that just gave you the reward and still get another reward coupon.  Example.  You can't buy the vaseline lotion, then use the $5 reward to buy the next vaseline lotion, because it will not print out another $5 reward since it knows you just got one. 
• You CAN use the reward immediately following your purchase on a different item.  Example.  Alternate purchasing the Vaseline lotion and the Hyland's Cough n Cold and continually use the $5 rewards on the next purchases.  Stick in a few other purchases (tilex or clorox) with each and when you check out each time your total should only be a dollar or two. 
• Don't forget the little caramels next to the register when the cashier tells you that you have too many coupons for the number of items purchased! 
• Be KIND to the cashiers!  I love my cashiers and they love me.  I am in there at least once a week stocking up and I want them to look forward to helping me... not run the other way!  They are doing their job just like you are doing yours. 
• Have your coupons in order know what you're doing before you approach the register.  Having a game plan for the order of redeeming your coupons/rewards is key to walking out of there spending the least amount possible out of your account! 

Most of all... remember that this is about saving and stocking up on things that you WILL need.  Don't go in there and buy things you will never use just because it's cheap as that completely defeats the purpose of shopping frugally.  Don't get caught up in the sale trap!!  The sale is only useful as the product you're buying!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is the third and final book of the Hunger Games series.  If you have not read Hunger Games and Catching Fire do not read this review. 

Katniss has just been lifted out of the arena of the 75th annual Hunger Games by a hovercraft flown by the rebels.  She finds out that not only has she been a player in the capitols sick game but the rebels have used her to begin their rebellion and have gone against her wishes to keep Peeta alive by choosing to save her and leave Peeta to be taken by Capitol officials and possibly tortured or murdered.  In the meantime she is taken to District 13 and healed then persuaded to become the embodiment of the Mockingjay and the visual leader of the rebellion, the catalyst and person that woud remind the districts of what they are fighting for.  Katniss must decide who to trust, in essence, whose lies  hurt the least because she feels they are all lying to her except the one person she wishes was.

This final book is absolutely action packed and kept me reading nonstop... literally.  I read the entire book yesterday, I couldn't put it down.  When I read the last sentence and closed the book I wasn't sure what to think or what to write out in a review.  My brain needed a little time to digest what I just read and figure out how I really felt about it.  My initial reaction was disappointment but I couldn't figure out why because I couldn't stop reading, so rather than write a bad review like others were eager to do I wanted to search myself.  I think I've come down to feeling sad... which is totally fine!  All books do not have to leave you feeling happy and bubbly.  Katniss has been through 2 back to back rounds of the hunger games and wakes up thinking she's a POW and ready to kill not only herself but Peeta and Beetee to save them from endless torture.  She is clearly suffering from PTSD and who wouldn't after all she's been through.  She manages to make it through day to day with little windows into the old Katniss reminding us why we fell in love with her.  I feel like Collins made this 3rd book true to what would happen to a 17 yr old girl that's been in a war for over a year, she's almost cracked and President Snow is pushing hard to see her shatter to the ground. 

This morning I wake up and I feel like I can say I really, really liked this last book as a whole.  Not Loved.  I gave the first two books 5 stars each and would give this one 4.  If you are reading this review then that means you've read the first 2 and I highly recommend this one to you to get the answers you know you're dying to hear about.  As in the first two books, Collins does not linger on the whole Love triangle thing as that is not the center of the book but simply a branch off.  The main story being the Hunger Games and the otrocities of the government and President Snow in particular.  The story of people being controlled and oppressed and made into slaves that are fighting their way out of their situation against all odds. 

*******Small Spoilers, no major plot revelations**********

I want to warn people that this book is far bloodier and intense than the first 2 combined.  The war is on and the Capital is sparing no tricks with this one.  Katniss spends much of this book in a fog or hiding in a closet and trying to hold herself together.  Peeta is mentally altered when he is taken as prisoner and he is a completely different person, he's a weapon in President Snow's arsenal against Katniss.  Gale has taken on the role of soldier full force as he's always wanted to since they were in district 12 back in book one.  He's always had the fire in him to fight the Capital and he finally has the chance to do it.  This book introduces our 3 favorite characters in a very altered state from our previous encounters, but they should be!  They are teenagers that have been put through more than adults would be able to handle.  They are falling apart but still trying to work with the adults around them to reach the best end possible.  The fighting and death may be too much for you and if it is then you could possibly skip the war and go to the last 40ish pages of the book to find out the answers you need.  If the death doesn't bother you I highly recommend reading it all because it really was good.  I couldn't put it down! 

*******end spoilers*******

People that reviewed this poorly had pretty messed up reasons that mostly revolved around things not going the way they wanted them to go.  This whole series was about the Mockingjay which was a symbol of overcoming a government.  The bird itself was not supposed to exist but it defied the Capital's plans and lives anyway.  Katniss embodies this description, completely.  This book is about revolution and freedom and fighting for what should be rightfully yours anyway.  It's about finding what's real and true.  This is not a sugar coated, love fest like other YA series but anyone would know that after reading the first two.  If you are reading this series to find out if it's Peeta or Gale then you are reading it for the wrong reasons and will be just as disappointed as those others.  Give it a chance and remember that freedom isn't free and it greatly alters the minds of those that fought to get it for you.  In the reality of war this is true and in the story of Panem it is equally true and I applaud Collins for making it a believable story and not a fairy tale about a heroic girl that throws herself in harms way only to come out stronger and braver. 

The Boy who Changed the World by Andy Andrews

The Boy Who Changed the World is a children's picture book written by Andy Andrews.  It is a children's book that has a wonderful message and a real purpose.  I read this book to 3 of my children ages 10, 5 and 20 months.  The review is a little different for each child. 

My 20 month old was absolutely thrilled with the pictures and made a game out of finding the butterflies on each page.  The butterflies are all throughout the book with at least one on each page and they are beautifully illustrated!  Really kept him interested in each page when the actual story was very much above his level.

My 5 year old loves having books read to him but was slightly disinterested in the story as it was hard for him to follow.  He liked the pictures but became distracted easily and didn't pay attention as much as he has for other books.

My 10 yr old daughter loved the book and even read it again to herself later on.  She loved that each story led to another about a different boy that made decisions that changed the world in small ways that had a huge ripple effect which eventually led to billions being saved from starvation.  She talked about it afterwards and it really touched her.

Overall this is a wonderful book that I will cherish and keep as my boys get older so they can read it when the words mean more to them.  In the meantime I will pull it out now and then and read it for the great story that is extraordinarily well written and the gorgeous illustrations... or just for butterfly hunting. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  If you have not read Hunger Games (book 1) yet then do not read this review as it will contain spoilers.

Katniss Everdeen is 16yrs old and has just survived the 74th annual Hunger Games in Panem.  She and Peeta, her partner from district 12, became the first ever couple to win and in doing so have upset the balance of a very unstable government.  Their final act in the Hunger Games has been viewed as rebellion by the other districts and has led to many whisperings of uprisings and all out rebelling against the suffocating government that is keeping them all in a constant state of ecomonic depression. 

Katniss is now faced with many decisions.  She and Peeta have to convince the world they are truly in love and in order to do so the president wants a wedding... soon.  But she is torn because of the feelings she might have for Gale.  She also has the Quarter Quell coming up, the 75th annual Hunger Games.  Now that she and Peeta are victors they will become mentors to the next 2 Tributes from District 12 and that may be even harder for her than when she was in the games fighting for her life. 

Following along in the same fashion as book one, Catching Fire is a fabulous dystopian novel that follows one of my favorite protagonists, Katniss.  There are few characters from novels that I enjoy as thoroughly as I do Katniss, one of my other favorites is Jace from the Mortal Instruments series.  Throughout these novels there is such an intensity and urgency in all of the decisions and actions that can be felt through the pages.  I couldn't wait to pick this back up again to continue reading!  This is a series that is high on my list of favorites and will definitely be on my reading list every year! 

As I said with The Hunger Games, this series is not for everyone.  It can be very dark and is about subjects that can be tough for more sensitive people to read.  People are put into an arena and told to kill or be killed in order to win a game that the rich find entertaining.  I highly recommend this series but have also had friends that have not been able to handle them and didn't like them much at all.  They found it a bit too dark for their tastes.  I, personally, am extremely glad that I read this gem of a series!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is book 1 in a YA trilogy written by Suzanne Collins.  It is a dystopian story written about future North America after floods, war and famine.  The continent is changed into one large super country called Panem that is made up of a large capital and 13 districts, each in a different area that produces a different resource used by the government to control all of the other districts.  There was a rebellion in the history of Panem in which district 13 was completely destroyed, leaving 12 districts in fear of what could happen to them at any moment. 

Katniss Everdeen is a 16 yr old girl that lives in district 12, the coal district.  She has lived a hard life in the harshest district.  Katniss lived through her father dying in a mine explosion and her mother turning catatonic after that while she still had a younger sister, Prim, to take care of.  The worst is not even close to over to Katniss, though.  The day of the reaping is coming.  This is where the Capital chooses one boy, 18 and under, and one girl to become the Tributes from each district and these children must fight to the death in a man made arena.  The sole survivor is crowned victor and lavished with gifts and food and a new home and their district is given food and oil for the entire year until the next reaping.  Whose name gets called out at the reaping?  You'll have to read to find out in this electrifying novel that kept me turning pages from beginning to end. 

Suzanne Collins take a subject (children being required to kill to survive) that could be so repulsive and turns it into a heart stopping story where you can truly love the good guys and they choose to do what's right and good even in the worst of circumstances.  This book is very well written and there is great development to the characters and relationships.  I look forard to reading Catching Fire and Mockingjay, (books 2 and 3).  I already own both and will start them immediately!  So far this series tops my list of favorite YA books.  Of course this trilogy is not suited for everyone.  It is very dark and there are killings and fighting.  Nothing extremely graphic, but enough that you get a really good picture in your head.  I MUCH prefer this over the usual YA fare of romantic mush and teenage drama.  Katniss is a perfect protagonist.  She is incredibly smart and strong, very able bodied and doesn't let her emotions rule her.  She has solid relationships and keeps herself in check.  I love that Katniss is responsible, not just out of obligation but out of love for her sister and out of a knowledge that she must do what's right and what needs to be done. 

I highly recommend the Hunger Games to any dystopian fans or to anyone looking for something new and exciting to read.  The good news is the 3rd book was released in August so you can read the entire trilogy at once with no waiting!

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Truly has been enormous since before she even took her first breath.  While pregnant her mother got so huge that the town was betting on the weight of the bouncing baby boy that would surely be coming any day now, some even bet there were twins.  Once delivered, Truly's mother died and she was left in a home with an older sister that was as petite and beautiful as any girl could possibly dream to be and a father that blamed her for killing her mother.  Obviously her life did not start out on the best note, and it didn't get any better for her either. 

Tiffany Baker takes decades of time and weaves them together into a beautifully written novel centered on the life of Truly.  She is a woman of great size, larger than the men in the town, and she has always been bigger from the beginning of her time. Her sister is embarrassed of her, her father doesn't know what to do with her and the rest of the town either avoids her or treats her terribly. 

I found myself thinking about these people even when I was forced to put it down and return to real life for a bit.  It was so well written and descriptive that I felt like I was living there with them.  I can picture Amelia's farm and the cemetary and Robert Morgan's house with the Doctor's office attached.  This was a phenomenal debut novel for Baker and I can't wait to see what else she may come out with in the future.  The emotion that comes out of this is so amazing, I definitely recommend this one!

*******Spoilers*********

For my Christian friends and fellow readers...  I want to put out a couple of things for those of you that may be a little more conservative in your reading choices than I am.  One of the male main characters grows up feeling different.  He would rather wear dresses and make up than play sports and be tough.  In high school he begins a relationship with another boy and in the end of the book they move in together to live as a couple.  The only thing in the book between then besides the basic info I just listed is a kiss in the attic one afternoon, there is no other mention of anything they do together besides love each other and treat each other well.  Also, one of the older generations that are tied into the story has a woman that healed people using herbs and natural remedies and she is referred to as a 'witch' in the story because she uses alternative means of helping.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Linger is book 2 in a series by Maggie Stiefvater, book 1 is Shiver.  Do not read this review unless you have already read Shiver as there will be spoilers in here for that book. 

Linger is the continuing story of Sam and Grace.  In the end of Shiver we see that Sam has turned back into a human and returned to Grace because of the 'cure' that they thought up of infecting Sam with bacterial meningitis to give him a high fever and "kill the wolf" within him.  Now, Sam is back working full time at the book store, Grace is in school and still friends with Rachel but is closer to Isabel after all they have been through.  Olivia is still lost to the woods as a wolf and presumed to have run away.  New to the story are the newly infected wolves that Beck brought into the picture.  Grace's parents have decided to become parents finally, but it may be too little too late for this family.  Sam has now taken over Beck's role in his family and has to keep track of the pack and whoever may shift back to human form.  He doesn't really want this responsibility but this is what he must do, especially with new shifters running loose like Cole St. Clair.  People that are unpredictable and have nothing to lose are hard to control and teach rules to.  Sam and Grace have their work cut out for them in this second installment that is filled with romance, suspense and plenty of new drama.

Ok, so one of my biggest concerns with Shiver was the lack of parental guidance and intervention in Grace's life.  Circumstances come around that cause Mr and Mrs Brisbane to go into parental overkill in Linger and that turns out to be even more disasterous than no parents at all.  Their change in parenting was sudden and extreme and although it fit the actions of the story it still irritated me that they would decide now, at 17 1/2 years old, that they would become parents to Grace.

Isabel is a much bigger part of the story this time which I really enjoyed.  I like her attitude and I loved getting a little deeper into her mind.  Cole is a very interesting addition, he added a lot of spunk to this book and so much personality too. 

This book was very well written and Stiefvater did a wonderful job of introducing new characters into an already known storyline and having them meld right in like they always belonged there.  It's hard to imagine Cole not being a part of the story now.  This story goes a different direction than Shiver did.  Shiver was so immersed in the love story between Sam and Grace and the desperation to keep Sam human.  Linger continues the love between the two of them but builds on other areas and adds more points of view.  Rather than back and forth between Sam and Grace, we are entertained by the minds of Isabel and Cole as well.  I found myself flipping back every now and then to remember which character's mind I was reading through.  It flowed well and didn't happen often.  It actually really worked for me and I enjoyed the change of view in mid conversation to see first person from several views in one setting.  Sounds complicated to read, but it really wasn't.  Once again, just like Shiver, I'd rate this 3.5 stars for a regular read... 4 if you're a YA fan.

****SPOILERS******
Grace and Sam are still sleeping together in Grace's room when she gets very ill and screams out causing her parents to come in and find them together.  Her parents become furious and decide to become parents and not only ground her but forbid her from seeing Sam ever again.  She becomes extremely rebellious and speaks to them with complete disrespect (expected if you read Shiver you'll know) sneaks out of her house when they're gone and eventually runs away to live with Sam... which only lasts one night when she gets violently ill and goes to the hospital.  Sam is always respectful of her parents and doesn't want her to go against them.  Isabel is alone with Cole multiple times while he's naked after having just shifted and there are references to what she's thinking as she looks at him, nothing profane, just that he is a good looking fit guy.  She tries, at one point, to seduce him but he refuses because she is a virgin and he will not make her regret more of her life later on.  If you let your teen read Shiver then they can read Linger also, if anything there are a few extra lessons on integrity and compassion in this one. 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is a Young Adult supernatural romance novel written by Maggie Stiefvater.  It is the story of Grace and Sam.  Grace is a 17 yr old girl that lives with her parents who are rarely around so she is pretty much raising herself.  Grace's home is on the edge of woods that are occupied by a pack of wolves.  Many years earlier Grace was snatched from her tire swing by the wolves and nearly killed as they ripped and pulled at her but she was saved by one yellow eyed wolf that pushed the others away and pulled her to safety.  For many years she sat out and watched her wolf as he came around watching her equally as fascinated.  She knew these wolves were special but she didn't know just how special until she met Sam.  Meeting Sam revealed a whole world to her that was thought to be fairy tale, a world of shape shifting... werewolves, as some might call it.  Once infected with the disease a human would begin shifting into wolf form, mostly with cold weather, but randomly in the beginning.  Sam and Grace have shared a bond and affection from the moment he saved her from the pack years before.  But something baffles Sam... Grace was bit, many times over, and she never changed.  Why?  What was special about Grace that she remained human and held onto the life that Sam grieves every day.  How long does Sam have in his human form before the cold of winter and the wolf take him over, maybe for good.

The story of Sam and Grace is sweet.  Grace's parents are non-existent and even when they are around they are written to be scattered and the mom quite ditsy.  Without giving away any of the story I can't really tell more but you will understand if you read it.  I actually really enjoyed reading this as a light "fluff" read.  Not much substance and the characters aren't very deep but I just loved the story of Sam and Grace in its simplicity.  It can easily be read in a day and would be a good easy picnic or beach read. 

I have purchased book two "Linger" (didn't know it was going to be a series when I got the first one) and hope to read it this week as well.  I think that I might give this book 3.5 stars out of 5 (4 out of 5 if you're a YA fan).

***Spoilers***
As far as your teens reading it, there are no language issues.  There is the situation with the parents and behind their back she speaks of them with little respect and feels a bit superior to them.  I didn't care for the way the parents were written in, but I suppose there are parents out there that are just this way.  Sam lives in Grace's home sleeping in Grace's bed with her for a couple of weeks without the parents knowing because they never even peek in her room at night to check on her when they get home. There is a lot of cuddling, touching, kissing and they do have sex in her room while her parents are out (which is always).  They talk about how it was the right time and they used protection so that makes it perfect and good.

Merry Christmas to MOM!

So I went on a little shopping trip to Toys R Us today to take advantage of their deal on backpacks.  Buy one for 12.99 or more and get a free lunch box.  I had a $10 TRU gift card from when I purchased my Wii so after card and sale I got a cool Spiderman backpack and a groovy grown up looking lunch box (for Kara) for only $6.48.  Then I went on to Target next door because how can you be that close to a Target and NOT go in??  LOL

I have been reading on line about the great toy clearances going on there and here's what I found just this afternoon...

This is my bed the toys are filling up

I got $432.84 worth of toys and games for $121.56.  There were many more things there like Chixos and Pixos and toys that I don't want in the house because of the baby and choking.  I put a pretty good dent in our Christmas shopping for this year. 

If any of you have Targets near you, you need to get there ASAP and see what you can find before the shelves are cleaned out by other bargain hunters.  The store employees were still in the process of marking more down while I was there too. 

Happy Shopping to you all!  (shopping is always happy when you save 75%!

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

After years of having The Notebook at the top of my favorite movie list I decided to go ahead and read the book as a comparison.  I have to say that If you've seen the movie, you don't really need to read the book.  The ending is different and in a way I find the ending to the book slightly creepy in a weird, old people kinda way. 

Allie and Noah lived a life that is definitely that of a love story, well, this is a love story.  They were together, then separated by things beyond their control, then brought back together by randon circumstances only to find out they love eachother even more than when they were younger.  Allie has to choose between Noah and Lon, between Love and Family, between her passion and her pride. 

This movie still tops my favorites list and this is sadly one book that I will say... just watch the movie and read Water for Elephants instead. 

Couponing 101

A few months ago I decided to start couponing.  Our grocery bill was getting out of control with 4 kids, 2 in diapers and I figured it was about time to fix the problem.  I prefer to do most of my shopping at Smith's (a Kroger grocery store) that has the savings card and pays you back quarterly for shopping with them.  I shop only using their sale flyer and plan our meals around what they are offering deals on.  Snack foods for the kids are 100% sale items with coupons only.  Fruits and veggies at Smith's are just fresher that other nearby grocery stores, especially the commissary which I try to avoid at all costs. 

Last week I got $130 worth of groceries for $49.  This week (pictured above) I got $89 worth of groceries for $25.  You can see all that I got up above.  I combined sale prices, store coupons and manufacturers coupons to end up getting some of the items almost for free.  The TGIF Potato Skins (I got 2 bags) unded up being 19 cents per bag.  The Barilla Piccolini was 39 cents.  The Suave was free and the hot dogs were all 70 cents per pack for Ball Park and Oscar Mayer Premium.  The A&W was 35 cents. 

You get the picture.  There are SO many coupons out there and it doesn't take much time to do and if you think of it as a job, like making money for yourself, you'll find that you start to enjoy it.  I love my shopping trips (when I don't have kids with me, that is) because it fulfills my need to bargain hunt.  I love leaving the store and seeing that I saved 2 and 3 times more than I actually spent.  And... as much as the people behind me in line Hem and Hah while the cashier is scanning my dozens and dozens of coupons, they are always amazed in the end and comment on how they're jealous and wish they could do the same thing.  Well... you can!  You don't even have to have a newspaper subscription if you can't afford that (although if you can I do recommend it!).  Every wednesday in my mailbox I get a Red Plum flyer that has tons of coupons in it, it's free and most people just throw it away.  DON'T!  There are also a few websites to go to for printable coupons which is where I save most of my money.  Most stores accept printed coupons. 

I am putting links to the websites at the bottom.  The first 3 are the best ones.  At Target.com you'll go all the way to the bottom of the screen and in small print one of the options is "coupons".  Some of them are TARGET ONLY coupons and those are AWESOME because that means you can couple them together with a manufacturer coupon.  For example:  I had a coupon for $1 off 2 Eggo products and printable Target coupons for $1 off of 1 Eggo product.  Eggo was on sale at Target for $1.75 a few weeks ago.  That means I got 8 packs of Eggos for only 25 cents each box.  With the Target coupons you can only use 1 per product per transaction.  So... if you want to use multiple then you'll have to ring them all up separately. 

At Kraft First Taste you register with them and you'll get GREAT coupons about once a month or so.  Like $1.50 off Deli Select Lunch meat or $1.50 off 100 calorie cheese packs.  You just have to register and wait.

When you are at coupons.com you can go back and print most of them at least twice.  Once you have printed something it automatically gets moved to the back pages of the coupons and when you've printed the limit it lets you know. 

Facebook is also a valuable resource for coupons.  Many companies (Nabisco and Huggies are two) offer great coupons quite frequently when you "Like" them.  Nabisco gives coupons for a free pack of cookies when you buy cookies and milk the first Monday of each month.  Huggies gives $3 off one pack of Huggies and $2 off a pack of wipes at random times.  There are several others out there, you've just got to keep your eyes peeled.

Check out Frugal Girls and Deal Seeking Mom on FB and "Like" them.  They are invaluable in their tips and special offers.  I don't just "like" them.... I LOVE them. 

Coupons.com
Smart Source
Target printables
Eversave
Kraft

A valuable resource for online printable coupons is The Krazy Coupon Lady.  She has compiled an entire database of every printable coupon available, organized alphabetically by brand.  I LOVE IT!  I go through the entire list about every other month to make sure I didn't miss anything, but I also look for a specific thing I might be shopping for and have often found a coupon for it!  :)
The Krazy Coupon Lady
She is also on Facebook and if you "like" her then you will get all of her wonderful updates!  I highly recommend her.

I hope this post has been helpful to you and Happy Couponing to you!!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

I enjoyed the Twilight series enough and own the books, I've seen the movies and absolutely LOVE The Host. I'd say I'm a Stephenie Meyer fan. I've read Midnight Sun on her website and really enjoyed that as an addition to Twilight. But this book I probably could have done without paying money for. I'm very glad that Stephenie made the decision to offer it for free online.

This is a Novella written about the young vampire that is killed in the end of the large battle in Eclipse. When Carlisle is going to spare her life but the Volturi come in and execute her anyway because they can't let her go. This tells of the last days of her very short vampire life. Follow her around and meet some of the other newborns. See how newborns feed and how they were assembled. Yada, yada, yada...

If you are truly a TwiHard Fan and HAVE to own every single book in the series... you wouldn't be reading reviews to decide if you wanted to buy it, you'd already own it, finished reading it and have it on your bookshelf in between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. For the rest of us out there, through July you can read this in its entirity on the internet for free. You can't print it so you'll be stuck to your laptop for a couple of hours, but it's worth saving the $7 IMHO. Go to www.breetanner.com or click on the title of this post and it will take you there to read it for free.

I found it to be a waste of time as I could have imagined the things that went on all by myself without reading the book. But go ahead and read it for free and decide for yourself. You can always buy a copy of it after if you find that you really like it. I wish I would have read it for free first, I wouldn't have spent the money.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water For Elephants follows Jacob Jankowski who is either 90 or 93, he can't remember, as he reminisces about his days during the most trying time in his life. He was about to graduate from Cornell with his degree in veterinary medicine when he gets word that both of his parents have died. Not only that, but he finds out that because of the economy (during the great depression) his father's veterinary business was so far under that their house is taken and the business is gone. He has nothing left but to take his final exam and somehow start a new life completely on his own. In the middle of his exam he breaks down, runs away and hops a train out of town... but it's not just any train, it ends up being a circus train for the Benzini Bros circus and they don't like stowaways. This begins a roller coaster ride that will last 3 1/2 months with a crash course in taking care of large animals, understanding business, befriending a grouchy midget and learning what love truly is.

Passion, hatred, murder and even a wild animal stampede add to the delight I found in this book. We see glimpses of the 93 yr old Jacob living in a nursing home feeling helpless followed by wonderful tales of his life on the circus train with Rosie, Walter and the lovely Marlena. I found it to be extremely well written and it flowed nicely always making you want to read on and see what will happen. Sara Gruen did a great job of switching back and forth between young and old Jacob and keeping the story just as interesting while in either time. I was just as attached to and invested in 93 yr old Jacob as I was in the young handsome veterinarian with morals and principles from Benzini Bros Circus of 1931.

I definitely recommend this book and will probably read it again once I make it through my summer TBR list.

Footnotes for my Christian friends...
The language is fairly minimal and usually confined to very heated moments of anger and such. There is one sexual encounter that is expressed in detail while the others are just stated as having happened and one other one that's left to speculation not only to the reader but to the character involved as he was quite drunk and grieving when it happened. There are fights and animal beatings and lots of alcohol, things you'd typically think of with a depression era train circus.

Matched by Ally Condie

Check out the summary and reviews for 'Matched' By Allyson Condie. Click the title of this post to get linked to Allyson Condie's website/blog. There are reveiws by some of my favorite authors and they are ALL good.

“Matched is a page-turning, dystopian love story, written with the soul of a poet. Finally, a brave new world that readers from Twilight to The Hunger Games will claim as their own.”
—Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, authors of Beautiful Creatures

“I can’t stop thinking about Matched. It’s impossible to put down this enthralling romance, set in a chilling world where every choice is predicted and even love is controlled. I need to know what happens next. More please!”
—Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves

Description copied directly from her blog:
"In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion."


It looks like it's going to be a very good read! Can't wait til it comes out in November.

Under the Dome by Stephen King (audibles download)

So I am basically going to add on a review at the bottom that was not posted with my Amazon review. This added review is for my Christian friends and reading this from a Christian perspective.

Under the Dome is a huge novel, over 1000 pages, that takes place in the span of 6 days... Crazy?? No, King! Only Stephen King can take one tiny little week and create an intricate web of lives and stories that play together to form a novel of 1000+ pages and make the entire thing worth reading. The number of characters, the mass of details, and the supernatural nature of the story are all written together in such a flawless way. What is the Dome? I guess you'll have to read it to find out... no spoilers here. Dale Barbara is the somewhat lead character, or at least is very central to the plot, and he is an ex-military man turned short order cook in a local small town restaurant Briar Rose. He is mere feet away from leaving that foresaken town of Chesters Mill when the Dome crashes down, or up, or both. Many accidents and deaths occur as people learn more about the Dome and the force around it. Is it created by a terrorist sect, just a strange natural occurance, or something more. Follow the survivors of Dome Day as they figure out how to live in a society that is creating its own greenhouse effect with very little oxygen exchange from the outside. As they are now living in a place and time where the law is enforced and made up by crooked men looking for power and control, wanting to be worshipped and never questioned. How do you fight a power that cannot be taken down, and when you fail... how do you get away?

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The language was, umm, colorful to say the least. Being from Maine and having all of my family still there, I do know that this is the way they talk, King wrote it to be real and he would know since that's where he lives also! I listened to the audio book (reading the real book I may never have finished) and I had to keep this book on headphones instead of listening through my docking station or in the car because I have 4 kids and it was totally inappropiate for their ears. The audio book was well read and performed, I wish the person performing it would have had a New England accent or at least portrayed one for the story, but he still did very well. Not the greatest audio book I've encountered, but very good and made it easier to finish the book while staying busy.

Add on:
This book is written by Stephen King, so any of my Christian friends that are considering reading it are probably not super conservative about their literature. As I said earlier, the language is definitely an issue. That I can remember there is one sexual situation that was a bit uncomfortable to say the least, but goes along with the story line and is not done tastelessly. If you've read Stephen King then you know what you're getting into, if you haven't... you probably shouldn't start with this one if you are going to start at all.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Cameron is a teenage boy that has a twin sister named Jenna and parents that are well educated and they seem to all co-exist in a big world of denial. Jenna being the perfect child that's popular and well rounded, Cameron being the slacker son that smokes pot and hangs out in the bathroom instead of going to class. Cameron suspects his dad is having an affair with his personal assistant and that his mom is contently oblivious, choosing to immerse herself in other areas of her life. That's his life in a nutshell, until...
One day Cameron starts having strange symptoms that range from pain and delerium to all out hallucinations. After visiting several doctors a specialist finally diagnoses him with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, aka Mad Cow disease in human form, and better yet... there is no cure. Cameron is hospitalized and thus begins the journey that is known as 'Going Bovine'. Between the hypoconriac dwarf friend, fire giant attacks and an indestructible garden gnome you are left to remember that this is a boy laying on his death bed in a hospital in horrible pain living a crazy life inside his crazy mind. We follow Cameron's mind as he believes he's on a journey to find Dr. X to save the galaxy, close the wormhole, oh yeah... and get the cure for Mad Cow disease that only Dr. X has.

In Going Bovine I found a thoroughly entertaining story that at times made me sad, remembering that Cameron is actually going to die, and other times made me soak in the creativity that Libba Bray has put out there. I initially got this book because I loved the Gemma Doyle trilogy. I had read all of the warnings that this was way different from 'Gemma' but I like different and I have a good sense of humor (a must if you are going to read this book). I found myself chuckling out loud at some parts and loved the wit that she injects into the lead character.

I'm not sure what this book is categorized as (YA or Adult fiction) but I wouldn't really recommend it for the YA age group. A lot of language, drug and alcohol use amongst the teens and a couple of sexual situations with no use of protection (which is noted in the book as being a completely stupid thing... but he's dying anyway so he doesn't care... not to mention the fact that it's all actually a hallucination).

This is a very different book and so unique from anything I have ever read. I really enjoyed it and tried to explain it to my husband while in the middle of reading it only to get a blank stare back, so I know it's not for everyone. Gemma and Bovine can in no way be compared and if you read them unknowingly you would have no clue it was even the same author. Read it on its own merits and know that it is as original and creative as the Gemma series while vastly different in topic and character.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

This is the concluding book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. In The Sweet Far Thing we follow Gemma and her two dear friends Felicity and Anne as they continue on their journeys through the Realms and into the winterland. Kartik has vanished leaving Gemma to wonder what has happened to him and if he is still safe. The construction continues at Spence Academy in the rebuilding of the wing that burned years ago leaving the founder, Mrs. Eugenia Spence, dead. Gemma must discern who among her acquaintances can truly be trusted as there is a huge web of lies being woven all around her. She doesn't know if she can even trust her own thoughts anymore. With the help of her friends and those she comes to rely upon she must defeat the evil within the winterlands that mean to unleash the magic and open the realms leaving no barrier between the mortal world and themselves. Can she make the choices necessary and what will the cost be?

I have listened to the entire Gemma Doyle trilogy on unabridged audiobook and am writing this review on both the audiobook and the novel itself. First on the audio and the narrator. I absolutely loved the story as told by the story teller, as she truly was a storyteller and added such emotion and zest to the story. She did a great job of varying her voice for each character to the point that I didn't even need the written side notes of "Felicity said" or "Anne exclaimed" because I could recognize the voice without it. Much more entertaining and easy to listen to than other audiobooks I have had and I highly recommend it. I enjoy audiobooks while I'm cleaning or driving but still love my real books in my hand when I have the time to sit and enjoy them (with 4 kids that seems a rarity now).

As far as The Sweet Far Thing the novel, I loved it just as much as the first two which is something that doesn't happen very often! It had the adventure and the action and the romance with a great build up to the climax and an ending that left me longing for the characters to still be with me but yet so very happy that things were wrapped up with such finality. No loose threads here. I got to 'watch' as Gemma has finally grown into the woman that can stand on her own confidently with no regrets and know that she has a place in this world all on her own.

The lands that are painted for us in this novel are vivid and full of life. I can picture each area of the realms and the creatures that inhabit these places. Libba Bray's trilogy is definitely going to be at the top of my list of YA series to recommend. It was so tastefully written from start to finish. Only at the end of the 3rd book as things come to a climax was there anything that might be questionable for a girl to read depending on what you find questionable but in the case that you are reading this review because you have a daughter that wants to read the series..... Here is a little elaboration only for the purpose of informing those that would want to be informed, skip this part if you are an adult looking for yourself and don't need the heads up.

****************SPOILER ALERT******************

There are a couple of instances (3 I think) between Gemma and Kartik that get a little heated with heavy kissing and he grabs her breasts while they are both fully clothed.
We find out toward the end of book 3 that Felicity and Pippa are gay and in love with eachother (shocker for me) and Felicity ends up moving to Paris where she has heard there are "others like her" so that she may fall in love again.
The language picks up a little more in the end too with at least one use of B***h and A** among a few other things.
And... of course the entire series is written about magic and death and other worlds. Gemma does not believe in God as Christianity sees Him, she doesn't exactly know what she believes but there is a lot of talk of 'gods'.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Imagine Earth has been taken over little by little by alien beings that implant themselves into our human bodies and take over our lives as if they are us. They do it slowly so nobody will notice, then by the time we do notice they are already everywhere and drawing attention to yourself as a human will only make them take you down as well. They are peaceful beings that are trying to salvage the planet that they find so beautiful. They mean no harm to humans, only to fix what we have taken for granted and destroyed. These aliens are tiny silvery beings that implant themselves into the spine of human bodies and after they are inside it leaves a silver ring that shines in the eyes of anyone that has been changed. This is how the remaining humans can tell who is human or not.

Melanie Stryder has been captured during the rebellion and has been implanted with the soul named Wanderer. Upon waking up Wanderer can hear Melanie talking to her, but Mel is not supposed to be there still. This is where the struggle begins. Melanie is protecting the ones she loves and that is very hard when the enemy is literally inside your head, she must protect her every thought. We follow Melanie and Wanderer as they set out to follow clues in Mel's mind that will lead them to her brother and Jared, the man she loves. Wanderer has grown sympathetic to the humans and their plight, but the Seeker that is assigned to Wanderer to find information on the remaining humans will not let up and is determined to figure out what is being hidden in Melanie's mind.

I will start by saying that the first part of the book is hard to follow the first time you read it. It is science fiction and is giving you a background to work with and you understand it SO much more if you read the book a second time which I highly recommend (loved it even more the second time!). Once you get through understanding the invasion and takeover part and you get into the story and struggle between Wanderer and Melanie it rolls much more smoothly.

The complicated love triangles that are tearing at the characters really drew me in and definitely made me pick sides. The people, relationships and surroundings were all so believably written that you forget this is an alien story. There is so much that goes on in this novel that is quite long but after getting through those first few chapters I was completely sucked in. I never found myself wanting to quit or willing myself to continue on just to find out the end. I enjoyed this book so much and really hope that Stephenie continues on and makes companion books.

I really liked the Twilight saga, but this is so far beyond that. This book is so well written and truly showcases Stephenie Meyer's writing much more so than Twilight did. This story is so different from anything I have read before and I highly recommend it to all of my "reader" friends.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle returns in the fantastic second book of Libba Bray's trilogy. Gemma is still at Spence Academy and has her dear friends Felicity and Ann with her. In this second installment Gemma must find a way to bind the magic in the realms to keep evil from take reign over the world as we know it. She has the help of the loyal Indian boy Kartik that she is attracted to, but knows it would be forbidden in society and in her family.
During christmas break the girls must all head home for visits but that still leaves them all close enough to see each other often allowing them to journey into the realms in search of the way to bind the magic and to help their friend Pippa who is in limbo left in the realms.
Outside of the magic of the realms, Gemma has caught the eye of a very prominent young man in London society, Simon Middleton. She is quite fond of her and begins courting her right away with his mother's approval of Gemma driving him even more than his own desire. Gemma is walking a dangerous line that could leave her exposed and left cast out. The magic is making her weak and ill and she's having a hard time hiding it any longer, but she must finish the job she started, she is the Hope.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I can say with great certainty that the sequel was as good if not better than the first book! I am thoroughly enjoying this series and highly recommend it. I can't wait to start The Sweet Far Thing (book 3).

Gemma is an absolute delight to follow along through the story. She is strong when she needs to be and humble when the need calls. She is a smart and thoughtful character that makes the reader fall in love with her and her world of magical realms. This series is so creative and so well written that I can picture the realms and the creatures that live there as if I've seen the pictures on the page. The magic in the stories is not overwhelming or abused by the girls, though they are tempted a few times. They are responsible with the task they've been given.

I am usually not a fan of "magical" types of books or series but this series has really taken me in. Libba Bray has done a wonderful job with this series especially once you learn that she's a Texan and doesn't live anywhere near London! (not to mention Victorian Era London!) I'll be moving on to read the third book in the series later this week and hope to read Ms. Bray's 'Going Bovine' after that. I know it's completely different from the Gemma series, but I love Libba's writing style and hope that I will love it as much as I love Gemma!

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Lucinda, or Luce as she is referred to throughout the book, is dropped off by her parents at a reform school for teens, Sword & Cross, which is an old abandoned church that has been transformed into this school. It is filled with plenty of misguided teens that ended up there one way or another, but Luce is most concerned about one boy in particular, Daniel. He looks eerily familiar but she can't quite place him. When their eyes meet from across a cemetary during a gathering he smiles as if he knows her as well and Luce can't look away... until he "flips her the bird", gives her a nasty look and turns away. Maybe she's just crazy after all.

Next comes Cam, the extremely good looking guy that is quite taken by Luce and seems to find her no matter where she is and always has the most perfect thing to say or do. He is just too perfect and she doesn't know why she is drawn to Daniel when she has Mr. Perfect swooning over her. She feels so guilty about it, but at the same time knows she can't have a relationship with anyone right now knowing how terribly her last relationship ended. A Fire, a death and Luce with complete amnesia to anything that took place during that evening. Travis is dead and she was shipped off to Sword & Cross under suspicion of the police as being a pyromaniac. She doesn't know what happened and until she figures it out she's not taking any more chances.

There were quite a few places where I found myself skimming through paragraphs of details and descriptions that seemed a little pointless. Constantly hearing descriptions of surroundings and what Luce is seeing got a little old. I wanted to know what was going on, not what was around them.
I found it to be the cliche teenage girl story of 2 gorgeous guys both wanting her, one being the perfect good boy and one being the obvious bad boy. I found Luce to be an Okay protagonist to follow. It took me a bit to finish this book, it seemed to drag along in some points. I liked Luce and Daniel, but there was never quite enough information about Cam. He seemed to always be there, but we never really get to know him.
In all I kind of felt like it was a puzzle that was never quite fully put together. Characters introduced in the very last pages that were apparently always involved in an attempt at a twist but it sort of fell short for me.

Honey Wheat bread or Sandwich rolls

Here is the recipe I use for honey wheat bread. We love it... You can do it in your bread machine using the dough setting or do it in a kitchen aid (that's what I use). This will make one regular sized loaf.


Add to bowl...
2 3/4 cups unbleached flour (all purpose would be fine too)
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 packet of yeast
Take a minute to toss all of the dry ingredients together before adding the wet...
1/4 cup honey
1 beaten egg
1 1/4 cup warm milk (not so warm that it will cook the egg!)
2 Tbsp melted butter (butter is much better than margarine)

Turn on the bread machine to the dough setting and follow machines directions. OR
Turn on Kitchen aid to 4 and let it mix and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. It is a very sticky dough when mixing, it will not form into a ball in the machine. Once you turn it onto the flour it is very easy to handle.  (or you could leave it in the bread machine for the entire time... I just like the shape of the bread in a traditional loaf pan)

Once it's done flip onto a floured surface and lightly roll it with your hands until it's the size and shape of your bread pan. Grease the bread pan and place dough in it to rise until doubled. I find the best way to do this is in the microwave with a steamy cup of water to prevent drying out and rise faster.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. You may need to cover the bread with foil after the first 20 minutes to keep it from browning too much on the top. If your bread pan is aluminum then you will want to place it on a preheated cookie sheet instead of directly on the rack to prevent the bottom from burning. After removing from the oven brush the loaf with another 2 TBsp of melted butter.

An Alternative...

When you flip it out of the mixing bowl or bread machine lightly roll it out with a rolling pin or press it out with your hands to about 3/4 inch thickness. Find a glass or circle shaped cutter about the size of a hamburger bun and cut circles out placing them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until golden on top and bottom and springy when touched. These are perfect sandwich rolls. Yum.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle is 16 and living in India with her parents. She wishes desperately that she lived in England where she could be going to a proper school like a civilized teenage girl. Her mother believes firmly that she should not go back to live there because she is against all that they stand for in preparing girls to walk the straight and narrow and answer to their husbands every whim. After a disagreement while out in a marketplace Gemma runs off angrily, during her moments apart from her mother she gets sucked into a 'dream' of some sort that takes her over. In this dream her mother is being followed and after being caught she pulls a knife from her bodice and plunges it into her chest. Gemma awakens to find herself still lying in the street with an Indian boy questioning her, but it doesn't take long before that very dream begins to unravel right in front of her, ending in her mother's death.

Gemma is shipped off to the very prep school her mother loathed and she learns all too quickly why her mother was opposed to such a situation. Young girls can be harsh and cruel, especially when there is a new girl and she's in their territory. Gemma must try to fit in as much as she can while knowing something is terribly wrong with her, how did she see her mother's death before it actually happened? If the others find out she will be ridiculed, but it happens again at school and she is starting to think she can't hide it. Then there is the young boy from the street in India, he has followed her to the school and is watching her, leaving cryptic messages and telling her to stop what she's doing but the mystery of The Order is too powerful for her to ignore. Will it also be too powerful for her to overcome?

I enjoyed this book on audio download. I cannot comment on the readability of this novel, but I can tell you that listening to it through my ipod held my attention completely. The person that told the story did a wonderful job. The spiritual nature of this book builds so gradually that by the end it truly reaches a climax and has an ending that doesn't leave you hanging. This is the first book in the Gemma Doyle series and I half expected that I would be left frustrated at the end like other YA series that don't give you a real ending between each installment. I was very pleased with this one.

I love watching the relationships build in the story and seeing how the young girls interacted. It was very real without being cruel or harsh. With this novel taking place in the victorian era there was no issue at all with language, violence or sexual situations since those are all things that were avoided by young ladies in that period. It was not written prudishly or on some moral high ground, just realistic to the period. I love reading a good YA book that is NOT centered around hormone crazy teens, sex and violence! This was just the thing for me. I'm sure that I would have loved reading a hard copy of this book just as much as I loved listening to it on my ipod.

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Chasing Brooklyn is the story of Brooklyn and Nico, two people overcoming the grief of losing a loved one. Lucca was Nico brother and Brooklyn long time boyfriend and an all around great guy that came to a sudden and early demise in a terrible car accident in which his best friend Gabe was driving and survived. In the beginning of the book it is the one year anniversary of Lucca's death, and everyone is taking it quite hard, especially Gabe who was found at home after having over-dosed and now is gone also. Brooklyn is closing down and Nico sees her but doesn't know what to do because it's even harder on him since his parents still haven't moved on with the death of their son either. Suddenly, a whole year after his death, Lucca begins to show up in the dreams of his brother and eventually makes himself present when Nico is away too. His message to Nico... "Help Brooklyn". How? What's wrong with her? She won't talk to him so how is he supposed to know how to help? Will Nico help break down Brooklyn's walls and help her to live again or will the walls that are coming down on him keep them apart?

Chasing Brooklyn is an absolutely beautiful book written in verse as a daily journal of two people dealing with grief and loss. There are so many facets to their lives and relationships with all of the people around them and Schroeder does a great job of showing the feeling and the haze that falls upon them as they are grieving and trying to break through. Living with nightmares and trying to run away from reality is pretty much defining Brooklyn and Nico, fear of living lives again because the person they each loved more than anything no longer has life.

This book is not action packed, it is just a simple and beautifully written look at human emotion and healing and Schroeder did a fantastic job at hitting those emotions straight to the readers heart with the style she writes in. I've never read a book this long written in verse and on top of that it kept me spellbound from beginning to end.

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

2.5 stars

Hanna loves talking to her father, they have long conversations and he is her best friend. That would be fine if her father was alive. He died over a year ago and he's been with Hanna ever since. Her Aunt has had her sent to psychiatrists and locked away in mental hospitals with multiple diagnoses finally coming to Manic Depression which puts her on medication to control her moods. She is on the road now headed to Texas toward a mother she has never met, by the guidance of her father she gets there much to the surprise of Rosalee, her mother, she just walks right into her home and makes herself comfortable.

Rosalee finds out that Hanna hit her Aunt on the head with a rolling pin in order to run away, and now she has no chance of returning which means she must stay with Rosalee, her only living relative. The very next day she is sent to school to register and finds out that in this town she is considered to be 'normal'. The strange things that happen around this place make her look like someone without a problem in the world. She meets Wyatt, the strong, handsome, brave boy that everyone in the school looks up to and he actually notices Hanna, she is beautiful but being a "transient" he shouldn't have given her a second glance. While living here she will face her inner demons as well as real live ones that try to kill the people of the town. Wyatt and Hanna must prove their strength and bravery to everyone around them but will it pay off in the end?

I'm going to start my review by saying this book, IMHO, is in no way suitable for teens to read. I can't believe it's classified as YA fiction. It is riddled with cussing, use of unknown drugs, lying, stealing and lots of sex. The sex is enough that any parent should worry about their child reading this. Rosalee and Hanna both flaunt and admire the fact that they each use sex as a tool to use and abuse men and that feelings are something that shouldn't be had. Sex is something to get what you want and nothing more. Rosalee is quite proud of her numerous affairs with married men and the fact that she 'fascinates' men enough that they fall in love with her and she throws them to the side like trash. She talks with her daughter about all of this and gives her a box of condoms so her daughter can do the same thing with Wyatt to snag him and get him to take care of Hanna.

The story itself is different, new. Something that held my interest beyond the gasps of disbelief as I read things imagining a 14 yr old reading them after checking this out from the library. It had a pretty cheesy ending and not much depth to the story that revolved around Hanna being completely crazy to begin with, then moving into "crazy-ville" itself and letting her crazy loose since it was no longer taboo. As an adult I can say read it if you like that sort of YA book because you'll probably love it, but I do caution parents to think twice about letting your teens read it.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Imagine waking up in complete darkness in a strange box and knowing nothing more than your name. Thomas awakened to that reality on page 1 of the Maze Runner. Where is he, why is this place filled with nothing but teenaged boys and why can he remember nothing specific about his life prior to the box? Once a month a new boy is sent up through the box where he is taken into the Glade and trained in several jobs to find each boys strong suit. Thomas shows up no different than any other 'Greenbean' or 'Greenie' (new kid) but less than 24 hrs later the alarm sounds again notifying the boys that another person is coming up in the box... only this time when it reaches the top, it's a teenage girl and she's in a coma. She has a message for the boys that Everything is going to change.

The days to follow the girl and the message lead to many strange occurances in a place where things are always in Order and on Schedule. They must solve the puzzle of their captivity in order to find the Creator of their locked up world and fight for their freedom. Is it worth fighting for anymore or is the world outside even worse than the maze they exist in now where you must avoid being stung by terrible animal/machine creatures that what nothing more than to steal them away and tear them apart? Without a memory of their life before the Glade, none of them truly know what they are fighting to get out to... just what they are fighting to get away from.

The Maze Runner is the first novel in what will be a trilogy written by James Dashner. It takes place in a dystopian society where teenage boys with a strange dialect seem to be in charge and running things pretty smoothly. Thomas shows up and wants to be a "Runner", the people that run the maze to find an exit. He doesn't know why he wants to do it because it's extremely dangerous, but deep in his gut he is driven to this job in particular. Thomas's character is not very well developed but since he has no memory of who he is prior to the box all we know is the integrity and strength we see as he performs his daily tasks and through his eyes we get a better glimpse of some of the other characters, like Minho, Chuck and Newt.

Unlike most YA genre books there were no romantic ties at all in this book, that was a good change for me. It moved along at an Ok pace and had enough action and drama, I suppose, but it seemed to lack something for me. I really had to force myself to finish the book so I could see how it ended and I found myself skimming the pages a lot just reading the dialogue. The story was different and new but not anywhere near the calibre of the Hunger Games trilogy, another dystopian series I very highly recommend. It was an entertaining enough read if you have nothing else on your TBR list.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Her Fearful Symmetry is a dark and haunting story following mirror twins Julia and Valentina. Their mother Edie is also a twin but has been estranged from her sister Elspeth for 20 years. Now Julia and Valentina are 20 yrs old and have just found out that their aunt, that they never knew, has died and left everything to them with a few stipulations that are mystifying. They must be 21 yrs old before accepting any of it and live in her flat in London for 1 yr before they are permitted to sell it, plus, their parents must never be allowed to stay there in that flat.

Niffenegger is a literary artist in the way she paints a visual canvas using only words. The story was well written and the characters are well developed and very easy to like. She has woven a tale that keeps you interested in every aspect of the many characters without being confusing and gives a glimpse of London to those of us that may never make it over there. I fell in love with the people and never found a point in the book that was lagging where I felt a need to skim through just to get by.

Towards the end the story takes many unexpected turns (and I'm usually great at predicting twists) and some of them made me *gasp* while others left me frustrated. The book was already at 400 pages but I didn't care for the abrupt and odd ending, I wished she would have stretched it a little longer to give it an end that matched the rest of this fantastic book.

Ending aside, this was an absolutely wonderful book that kept me turning pages for hours on end, I finished it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book as long as you are not a person that gets bent out of shape when a book doesn't end your way with the perfect happy ending. This one is far from that and definitely borders on odd and disjointed in the last 1/4 of the book, but still was an outstanding novel.

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Deadly Little Lies is book 2 in the Touch Series. If you haven't read Deadly Little Secrets, check that one out first...

Camelia is back at school for the second semester of her Junior year. It would seem that things couldn't get much worse than they were in the first semester, with being kidnapped and held in a secluded trailer by a psychotic ex-boyfriend and all, but things suddenly take a strange turn once again. Photos and strange messages begins showing up in her life again at the same time that Ben returns to school and tells her that he wants space and doesn't think they should be together. Camelia is heartbroken but Spencer hires a new college student at Knead that happens to be a good looking guy who's very interested in her and his name's Adam. Will Ben become jealous and decide he made a mistake? What will happen with the threatening messages and phone calls she's suddenly receiving again?

Deadly Little Lies held my attention from the beginning, I am always wondering what is going on in Ben's head and why he continues to avoid Camelia. Camelia has discovered that her new psychometric ability to sculpt objects of future (or past) relevance is with her to stay but she would like nothing more than to share this with Ben.

The overall story isn't all that different from Deadly Little Secrets. Ben tries to avoid Camelia and ignore the chemistry that pulls them together. Another boy enters in and tries to take her attention away but fails at which point Ben makes himself more present and weird things begin to happen making him look all too guilty.

Good for a lazy day that you want a quick book that requires no concentration to read. A simple story with suspense and mystery. Fairly predictable, and as I said before, very similar to the first book. But, if you liked Deadly Little Secrets then you will like 'Lies'. I enjoyed it enough that I plan to read book 3, Deadly Little Games (Dec 2010).