1. Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings
Yes, another Christopher Moore book. I'm addicted. I really wanted to read his newer book, "Fool" but it cost over $20 for the eBook at Barnes & Noble....total rip off....so I got this one instead.
I really like this book because it was just fun. It was def one of his more sci-fi books but the aquatic themes kept me really interested. Since Ryry is so obsessed with all the animal in the ocean this book felt familiar. The book was fun but I still love Lamb the most. I think I'm tired of Christopher Moore for a while now though.
2. The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder: A Novel
This book, by Rebecca Wells, the author of the Ya-ya series, was so sweet and cute. I know this sounds majorly dorky but it really made me want to be a better person. To just be kind and sweet and gentle to the people around me. I know that this isn't realistic, but Calla Lily just seemed so understanding and forgiving. I wish I could be more like her.
I read the Ya-Ya series so long ago and loved it. This book seemed calmer then that series. It was just calming to read.
I even tried to act more like Calla Lily after reading it. I know this is going to sound so unbelievably dumb, but one day I was at McDonalds and all the customers were angry and mean. The people behind the counters were definitely frazzled and kept messing everything up. People were slamming things down in their frustration while waiting for their simple orders, and everythign seemed to be spiraling worse and worse for the workers. I tried to be more like Calla Lily and when I got to place my order, instead of showing how mad I was for having to wait so long, I tried to just smile and talk slowly. First answering thier mandatory "Hi How are you?" and asking it in return, and then actually listening to what he said. I placed my order and threw in tons of smiles. I smiled while I waited for the order. And said thank you nicely when I (finally) got it. The guy behind the counter still seemed a little flustered because there were still some angry/frustrated customers but I like to think I helped a little. Or at the very least didn't add to his chaos. But its pretty pathetic that I had to actively say to myself, BE NICE, BE LIKE CALLA LILY. I wish I was just more like her to begin with.
So, I guess the point is, I recommend this book if you. Its not all rosey, but it will def leave you feeling good.
3. The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, #1) by James Patterson
I read this book for two reasons: 1. It was a free eBook download from B&N, 2. Mandi loves this writer.
I was so excited to tell her that I was finally reading one of his books. Unfortunately her response was along the lines of, yeah I read that but those books are certainly not the reason why I like the author. The book was fun to read but I didn't download any of the rest of the books in the series. I would read them if they offered them for free though. Its just a quick cute read.
4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Unfortunately for me, I had seen the movie before I read the book. I loved the movie and loved the book. But unless I am remembering something wrong, the movie seems pretty accurate. This is a case where I didn't feel that the book was better than the movie. So if you have a long list of books to read.....just rent this one on Netflix.
That being said, I love his style of writing so I am currently reading his other novel, "A Thousand Splendid Suns". So I guess the book, in a way, better than the movie.
I made this soup last night for my sicky husband, who refuses to eat chicken noodle soup. (and I refuse to NOT serve chicken soup when someone is sick!)
I altered this recipe a little, and was very happy. I can't wait to make it again and add a few more alterations.
Ingredients:
Drizzle of olive oil (I used the Lime Infused Olive Oil I have from Napa)
Small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon of minced garlic (I used it from a jar)
1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger
6 turns of pepper grinder
1 quart of low sodium chicken broth
1 can (13+ oz) of Reduced Fat Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
5 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 pound of thinly sliced chicken breast, cut into strips
1 small can of bamboo shoots
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1/2 pound of long thin pasta
Hot Pepper Seeds and Suracha Sauce (to taste)
Directions:
0. Start water boiling to for pasta.
1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes
2. Add ginger, garlic, pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, soy sauce, lime juice, and bamboo shoots.
3. While soup is coming to a boil, cook pasta until done. Drain and keep hot.
4. When soup reaches a boil add chicken. Cook until done.
5. Serve in large bowls. Place pasta in bowl. Ladle soup on top.
6. Add pepper seeds and suracha sauce to tase!
I love Coconut Chicken Soup so much! But its usually so rich that if I eat it at dinner it gives me an upset stomach. This one didn't at all. Plus with the pasta it made it a whole meal! And it was pretty cheap to make. Next time I make this soup, which is going to be soon, I'll add those little mushrooms and possibly some shrimp? I think some other green veggie could be good in it too but I haven't figured out which. Also I'll add the cilantro from the original recipe on top before serving.
(Sorry - No pics! Too worried about nursing Ryry back to health!)
So I started this boot camp class on Monday with my friend Teresa. Its at this boxing gym called Trinity Boxing Club NYC and its lead by this army guy who used to be a Green Beret. Its pretty serious. (More info - click here!)Its a month long course of 3 workouts a week. The first and last class are fitness tests. I'm posting my starting scores (pretty pathetic but whatever...the point is to improve) and I'm really excited to see my final scores.
Pushups - 2 (!!)
Sit ups - 37
2 mi Run - 20:24
I had my second class this morning and I don't think I'll be able to move my arms until about next Monday....if I'm lucky! The people in the class are all nice and the instructor is very encouraging (not at all scary). We just do normal things that any one could do, you don't need any equipment.
Today's Workout Included (but I may have forgotten some):
3 sets of 2mins of doing full sit ups (all the way up to your knees......not "crunches")
3 sets of 2mins of doing push ups
4 sets of 30 seconds of kicking both legs up together (partner pushes them down) and not touching the floor
4 sets of 30 seconds of flutter kicks
Countless squat thrusts and other excercises that are similar (don't know the names)
So at the end I should be able to keep doing these exercises. Can't wait to see how he tortures us on Friday!
Class last night went really went. The teacher complimented my painting when he was critiqueing everyones work at the end of class. He said he could tell I had put a lot of thought into my peice, that I had the right idea about the colors and the shadows and with a little more time I'd have it. Then he said I need to practice my drawing because my drawing needs to be a little more accurate, my drawing limited me this time because I couldn't place all the features right.....but still.....I was so happy to get a good critique finally, instead of him just saying "Don't worry, you'll get better"....
I'll post all the paintings at the end of the class so you can see my "progress"
What's the biggest frustration in your life right now?
Portrait Painting class at the School of Visual Arts. It's soooooo hard!! I love doing the class, its a big challenge for me, which I kind of need right now. Its something to do, "on my own" (which really meanswith my sis-in-law Diane, but its the first thing I've done without Ryan). It makes me feel like much more of a New Yorker.....because who does this kind of thing? Just takes a portrait painting class? Plus it ensures that we get together as a family one night a week, with Nicole and Ryan, to do our homework, which normally means a fun time of dinner and drinks!
It's just soooo hard to paint faces right! I actually started crying during our last homework session. I kind of freaked everyone out too. But I think next time I just need to stop and take some breaks or something. When I look at my homework now I don't want to cry, so it isn't THAT bad....Plus, I'm supposed to get better as the class goes on, so I'm sure it will get less stressful.
Either way, its def the most frustrating thing. You have no idea how hard it is to get all the colors right. Its oil paint, so you aren't "shading" like you would with drawing, you actually have to mix all those tones and colors. I have such a hard time getting the colors right and making them warm and cool....its so much to concentrate on. Plus, theres the whole matter of trying to paint something that looks like the person in front of you, which feels impossible right now! At the end of class maybe I'll put my paintings on the blog......if I get enough courage!
Jaira FINALLY came to visit me and Ryan in NYC this weekend. We've been living here almost 5 months already but with all the plans and craziness we both had all summer we just couldn't get it together. Jair took the train in from Trenton (about 1 hr from her new place in Westchester PA) and arrived around 3 on Saturday afternoon. We hit the ground running. As soon as she arrived we took off on our own, Michelle and Kim had to leave to catch their train and Ryan, Matt, and Mike had other plans. I've been dying to go to this little cupcake bakery in the LES called Butter Lane. We took the subway their and once out of the station I immediately got us lost! We walked the wrong way probably 4 or 5 times.....ooops!
They use organic ingredients they have tons of tasty cake and frosting flavors. I got a banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting (so moist and with big chunks of banana inside) and Jaira got the vanilla cake with american vanilla frosting. (they have french vanilla frosting too) While we were there I noticed that they offer cupcake classes so I'm going to try to sign up for one! They'll teach how to make the batter right and how to make frosting. So fun!
After our cupcakes we decided to take a relaxing walk home. I think it might have been about 2 miles but it was nice to just walk and talk and Jaira got to see some more of NYC. We got to walk my Pam's new apartment complex, which is about 9 blocks from the house.
Once we got back to the apartment we grabbed the dog and walked him over to the dog park. Because it had rained so much earlier in the day, the park was really sloshy....the gravel was all puddly and gross so we left pretty soon. Jaira got to see Frankie swim in the fountain though! She was very ammused with how he starts paddling the second he is held over the water, even if its still 4 feet away and the water is barely chest deep....
After the dog park we met the guys over at Tonic on the rooftop for a drink. At this time of night, this bar was actually pretty cool. The guys could watch football and we all had plenty of room to relax and talk. It wasn't the crowded and loud scene like I've always seen it later at night.
We made reservations to eat at Blue Smoke but we had to wait. We decided to grab a drink at McCormicks, an Irish pub nearby. I really liked this pub. It was super cute inside, had a nice bartender and nice patrons, plus a cool window to the street that you could sit at and still chat with your smoker (gross!) friends. I would def go back here! Our friends Ross & Dana met up with us there and joined us for dinner.
I've eaten at Blue Smoke before, (click here), but we really liked it so we decided to bring the group there. Its one of the two most famour bbq places in the city and there is an entire bourbon menu, which we thought Matt would enjoy. Unfortunately the wait was ridiculously long and we were all a bit cranky by the time we were seated. Thankfully, everyone seemed to LOVE their food! We all pretty much splurged with the food. I ordered fried chicken, Dana & Jaira split a rack of ribs, Matt & Mike got burgers, Ryan got a half rack of ribs, and Ross had a pulled pork sandwhich. We also got two orders of mac & cheese (the BEST item on the menu!) and some deviled eggs (that were really delish.....i want some right now!) By the time we got out of there it was about midnight and I was feeling sick (thanks a lot fried chicken) and me and jaira were tired. We went back to the apartment and just hung out. The boys and the Esposito's went out.
In the morning, Jaira and I got up bright and early. She really wanted to walk across the brooklyn bridge. We grabbed some bagels and then took the subway again and it would have been IMPOSSIBLE to get lost this time. When we came out of the station there were hundreds of people trying to walk across the bridge. They were having a wlak for diabetes or something. There may have been thousands. I have no clue!
Even though it was really hedtic with all the people it was still fun. Neither of us had done this walk and Jaira had never been in Brooklyn. At one point she wanted to turn around, to avoid the rest of the crowd but I made her continue. Once we saw the "Welcome to Brooklyn" sign we turned around.
We were sweaty but it was worth it!
We rode the subway home and went to get Ryan. I really wanted to take Jaira for frozen yogurt before she left. We went to pinkberry, and she loved it! She even got the mediun sized one, which was huge! Jaira got Coconut with Mango, Mochi, and Raspberries. Ryry got a swirl of passion fruit & coconut with fruity pebbles and gummy bears. I got the pomagranite with gummy bears and blueberries. So delish!!
We had to hit the road pretty soon after in order for Jaira to make her train back home. On our walk to Penn Station we saw this crazy Polish Pride Parade.....
We are gonna blame the parade for making Jaira miss her train. (Even though we were trying to get to Penn for a 1:30 train, and made it there for 1:20.....turns out the train actually left at 1:15....ooops!) but we are blaming it on the parade anyways!
It was such a great visit. We got to talk and catch up on everything. PLUS Jair said that this trip, even though it was just one day, made her understand how someone could actually live in NYC. We were so happy to hear that! Its nice to think that we were able to make the city fun and relaxing for her, instead of the craziness she usually expects!
I have to plan a trip out to Westchester to go visit her now!
On Wednesday Ryan dragged me out to a show in Brooklyn for a band I never heard of. I wasn't too psyched to go, kind of tired after drinking with Cheryl at Wine:30 (aka Wine Down....new name now) but I knew I'd be a bad wife if I made him go alone.
I finally picked a halloween costume for DoodleBop!
Ryan is going to be sooooooo jealous! Its perfect though because Franker's ears are just perfect little "Batman" ears! (good because no way would he wear that hat) Observe:
The resemblance is striking. Jaira is actually the one who always said he should be Batman. One year he was a bat (with just a cute little set of wings) and she couldn't get it out of her head.
Now I just have to figure out MY halloween costome....
So I guess I suck at keeping this thing alive and pumping. I really had anticipated this being a start to a daily...or at least weekly update even if it was just a random thought or something about my day buuut I'm SO BAD at this. Anyways. I just wanted to see if I could find some encouragement by writing an entry about...not writing entries.
2 cups of Lemon tea this morning...Thank God It's Friday!
