Gone Girl - Book Review

So, I finally finished Gone Girl. It took me a couple tries to get through the book. I know, I know, it's a New York Times Best Seller but sorry to say, to me, the first 100 pages seemed like a bit of a snooze fest. My sister loved the story but I kept having trouble getting beyond the beginning but once I was into the story, it was well worth the read. It starts out slow...

It took me a while, to get beyond the introduction - which I thought was waaaaaaayyyyy too long, but when I did, I loved the twists and turns the story took. Okay, I'm a little odd but I like a story that's going to surprise me, or at least keep me guessing and this was a strange story with an unusual outcome.

I don't want to give away anything. . . but let me just say that the end is surprising.

Still, I have to admit I've been trying to read the book for quite a while. My first bookclub picked the story but when I started reading the very first page I got stuck on the talk about the shape of Amy's head...I was like...yaaawwwn.

And the story seemed to be just another Scott and Lacey Peterson story...

It's not.

And, like I said, after the first 100 pages or so the story starts amping up and up and UP until you can't put the thing down.

So over all, I'd say it's worth the effort and I'd give it a solid B.

Chili Contest

So I won! It's so much fun to win but it's really fun just to play. My family all gets together, everyone brings a pot of ...whatever it is we're making and we all eat, drink and vote for our favorite pot.

The fun thing is just getting together.

This month it was chili. Next weekend it will be a cake contest. Yep, I picked it. See, the winner gets to choose the next food challenge. :D

We try to make it a blind taste test.

We put a small bit of each pot into separate bowls - bowls so we can't tell who brought which recipe.

We don't want people to be swayed.

This time I won, my brother took second place and my nephew took third place.

I don't think I could recreate the recipe though, because I'm one of those people who put a pinch here, a dash there. No measuring...just whatever sounds good.

Now, I'm planning for next month...
start out with bowls filled with food,

Thought for The Day

I was watching a show and a customer ordered a "dirty" martini. I had no idea what made the martini "dirty" so I googled it to find out.

Do you know what a dirty martini is?

Well, it's a drink that has a splash of olive juice. So it's supposed to be quite tasty and that's what makes a drink "dirty".

Like Mother - Like Daughter

My Mom was a beautician. She loved to play with hair that's why she went to school to learn how to "style" the strands.

When I was little, she used to pull my thick horse-tail mane up in a ponytail and pull it to turn it into a "waterfall". At least that's what she told me. Mom always had a way of making the plain, ordinary and down right dull seem spectacular.

And, I have course, curly hair that is so thick I need to have it thinned more than a few times a year. When I was growing up, somehow it always managed to get tangled, twisted and terrible. Mom used all sorts of "products" before "products" even existed to try to make my mane more manageable. She used vinegar, mayonnaise, and even lemon juice to try to untangle my locks.

My head always ached from Mom pulling, twisting and brushing. So, I never thought of becoming a beautician but . . .

I have a hair board on Pinterest that I LOVE. I could spend hours looking at the unusual styles, colors and dynamic dos.

It makes me wonder, if a love of hair is something Mom has passed down to me...?

I don't know but it seems like a bond between us.

BUTTERBEER from Whimsic Alley

So who likes wands, magic and spells...?

If you said, "Me" then Whimsic Alley is for you.

This is a store dedicated to all that is Harry Potter. So if you're in the L.A. area you might want to hit Wilshire Boulevard. It even has it's own Great Hall, which you can rent for parties and birthday celebrations.

But that is just the beginning.

You can buy a replica of Harry's wand, or Dumbledore's or even Hermione's, which I did.

I bought Vinespell

I also had to buy some earrings with little black spiders, reminiscent of the movie and a spell book (for my son to jot down sketches and notes) and a deck of cards. But one of the best finds was Butterbeer. Now, I don't know if you've ever had Butterbeer or not but, if you haven't, you definitely need to try it.

And you can even make your own...it might not be exactly perfect but it will be close.  Here's the recipe:

BUTTERBEER:

Ingredients 

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup butterscotch topping

2 tablespoons whipped butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups vanilla cream soda

Directions 

Combine condensed milk, butterscotch topping, and butter in a glass heatproof measuring cup. Heat in microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir until butter has melted and incorporated into mixture. Meanwhile heat cream soda in another heatproof measuring cup for 1 minute 30 seconds.

Divide butterscotch mixture between 2 (10 to 12-ounce) mugs. Fill mugs with heated cream soda and stir thoroughly. Serve garnished with an old-fashioned butterscotch candy stick.

(I used vanilla ice cream instead of condensed milk and whipped butter--it was delicious).



 

Remaking a Tee-Shirt

When I was at the wolf sanctuary, they gave me a teeshirt.

But I don't like collars up around my neck or the square shape so I was thinking I might make it into a grocery bag or remake it into a shirt I would want to wear.

This is how I did it:

I made a paper pattern to cut the neckline to a shape I wanted by taking an 8 and 1/2 X 11 inch piece of paper and cutting the pattern by simply drawing the shape on one side and folding the paper in half and cutting the shape to put on the neckline and cut the fabric.

Then I took in the sides a little and put elastic in the arms so they wouldn't hang like a square.

Now I might actually wear the shirt.

It was super simple.

Run Like a Mother

Run Like A Mother- Portland, OR

Celebrate with Run Like A Mother on Mother’s Day!  Sunday May 12, 2013

Hillsboro, OR US 97124 

 

Start Time: 8:30am

Price: $40.00 Race Fee + $3.00 Sign Up Fee

 

RLAM’s Mission

The mission of Run Like a Mother® is to fuel a woman’s journey toward health and wellness. Empower with education and training programs. Inspire with communities, events and races. Enable through programs and partnerships. Run Like a Mother® Isn’t Just a Race, It’s Our Way of Life. Contact us at info@runlikeamotherrace.com.