"Out of Oz"

New Year's Resolution #4

(Yes, I know I'm going out of order)

Read at least one new book every month.

The book of choice for this month is Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire. It's the fourth and final book in the The Wicked Years series. 

I first read Wicked my sophomore year of college. I then continued to read the sequel, Son of a Witch and was less than intrigued. 

I didn't love the books the first time I read them, but decided to give them a second try. When I reread them, I was amazed by how much I had missed the first time.  These books are so steeped in symbolism and imagery that I needed gillyweed to swim through it all. How I missed this the first time, I don't know, but I was amazed. And I hoped and prayed that there would be a third book. If for no other reason than that Son of a Witch finished with no less than a dozen or so loose ends.

And there eventually was a third. A Lion Among Men did not disappoint. But with the closure of the book, there were still many loose ends and just enough of a cliff-hanger to make waiting for the next book pure torture. 

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Picture it. Black Friday 2011. I was shopping with my mother-in-law at Meijer. We were casually meandering down the book aisle - she was looking for a certain book for one of her sons, I was browsing the titles. When my eye was caught by the name "Gregory Maguire." The name of the book: Out of Oz. Having been shopping since midnight, it took a moment before my brain clicked. ... The new book! The one I had been waiting for! This was it! I was ecstatic, mesmerized, reluctant to put it down. When my awesome MIL snatched it out of my hand and threw it in the cart. Yeah, she is awesome. Anyway...

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Before Christmas, I began re-reading the first three books for a good refresher. I finally finished about 5 days ago (yes, I am a slow reader) and began the last book.  I'm about half-way through and cannot wait to finish. I'm struggling between feelings of hope (that all the loose ends and questions will finally be tied up and answered) and fear (that it will end with as many loose ends as it began).

On a personal note, I would not recommend the Wicked books to everyone. In fact, I would not recommend them to most people. They're pretty dark, pretty vulgar, and have a few pretty obscene scenes.

If you haven't seen the musical, it is none of the above. I highly recommend it. If you have seen the musical, and therefore want to read the books, be forewarned. When they created the musical, I'm pretty sure they just took a few of the main characters, one of the main plot lines, and watered everything down a good deal. And then proceeded to tell their own story. Not to knock the musical, I actually rather enjoy it. I just can't even compare the two. I get depressed when I try.

To conclude, with the help of my new Kindle - aptly named Glinda (and all the awesome free books on it), I already have a reading list lined up for the rest of the year:

The Hunger Games (Collins)

Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)

The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky)

Dubliners (Joyce)

Bleak House (Dickens)

Frankenstein (Shelley)

Grimm's Fairy Stories (Grimm and Grimm)

The Last of the Mohicans (Cooper)

Walden (Thoreau)

Little Women (Alcott)

Gone With the Wind (Mitchell)

Laundry Room Reflections

2012. 


The new year is upon us and it's that time of year when (basically) everyone makes all sorts of new promises and resolutions that they're never going to keep. 


But it's a tradition, so why the heck not?


Here's my list of resolutions that I "only half intend to keep this time - just like last year" (from New Year's Eve by Five Iron Frenzy - seriously, if you've never listened to that song, you need to).


1. work out 3-5 days a week (wow, 3 days into 2012 and already failing at this one)


2. blog at least once a week (this is my first post since July...)


3. eat healthier (just vague enough that I may, technically, accomplish this one)


4. read one new book every month (this would be easier if I wasn't so avid about re-reading the books I already love)


5. write down one thing every day that I am thankful for (I actually bought a planner that I'm using specifically for this purpose - we'll see how long this lasts)


Despite my cynicism, I am actually quite excited about the prospect of blogging again, I'm loving the new planner I bought (I splurged on a really nice/cute one), and I really do need to exercise more and eat healthier.  Always the eternal optimist - I know I'll probably fail, but it's a new year, so why not at least try?


Another thought on New Years:


I know everyone gets reved up about the new year - it's a new beginning, a chance to start over and get things right, blah blah blah. ... but isn't EVERY day a new beginning? Isn't every morning a chance to start over and "get things right this time?'  Why wait around for a new year for your life to begin/again? If you don't like the way things are going, get up off your butt and do something about it. Now. Not 362 days from now. 


Just a thought.


As I am sitting in the laundry room.


Waiting for my clothes to finish.

Celebrating Marriage

It's been a while since I've posted anything but recipes on here.

I've decided this needs to change - so today I'm going to do a "Thankful Thursday" post.  I know it is not, indeed, Thursday - but since this is my blog, I get to make the rules - and change them up.

Today is a very special occasion - it's my parent's 31st anniversary!

In a world full of divorces and broken families, I am so thankful that I have two wonderful parents who are an excellent example of what a healthy marriage looks like.  Beyond the "honeymoon" phase, through raising 5 kids,  it is possible to stay married.  And happy.

It all began on July 12, 1980.  Five child-births, many graduations, 3 weddings, and 5 grandchildren later - they are still together.

So Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!

Here's to hoping that 31 years from now, Adam and I will be as happy as you two!

Much Love to All!

Tasty Tuesdays - Sloppy Joe DiMaggios

I got this recipe off Rachel Rae's 30 Minute Meals (she had it paired with this sweet corn salad that looked delectable).

I made it for my husband's birthday a couple weeks ago and it was a pretty big hit.

It's real simple to make and puts a fun, tasty twist on sloppy joe's.

It's also great for the summertime - great for cookouts and family get-togethers because you can double this recipe and make enough for a small army.

1.  Brown about 2 pounds of ground meat in a large skillet - seasoned with a little grill seasoning and lots of chili powder.

2.  Push meat to the sides of the pan, and add 6 chopped hot dogs in the middle (size of the the chopped pieces is really up to you - I like mine smaller).

3.  Add in 1/2 chopped onion (again - to your preference - I prefer my onions to be more finely chopped).

4.  Turn heat down to low/med-low and cover to let onions cook more quickly.

5.  I transfered mine to a crock pot and it did well in there - I had made it hours ahead of time, so wasn't too concerned about the onions cooking through (which can take a bit) - I just let them finish cooking in the crock pot.

6.  Serve on hamburger buns and top with shredded cheddar cheese.

The idea of these sandwiches is that they're supposed to taste like a ballpark - you've got the chili-seasoned meat and cheddar cheese to bring in that chili cheese french fry and/or hotdog flavor, and - well - the hot dogs themselves.

Mmm...sloppy!

 (ps-that drink in the background - awesome. I will share another time)

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about putting hot dogs in a sloppy joe, but trust me. It is delicious - even if you're not a huge fan of hotdogs.

This recipe made enough to feed 8 of us - and that was with the guys going back for seconds, thirds, etc!

Oh! and Rachel Rae had this fantastic tip for left-overs - cook up some macaroni noodles and mix them in to make a sort of "sloppy joe goulash." Unfortunately, I didn't have any left-overs to try this with!

Much Love to All!

Happy Eating!

Tasty Tuesdays - Easy Red Velvet Cake

Adam's grandmother has this delicious recipe for red velvet cake made from scratch.  Recently, however, Adam found a way to make the cake that is much simpler - and I modified it to make it much richer so that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between this recipe and his grandmother's. 

Ingredients

-One box of white cake mix

-The ingredients indicated on the cake mix (mine called for 3 egg whites, oil, and water)

-Buttermilk

-Cocoa

-1 oz. bottle of red food coloring

Directions

1.  Mix together the white cake mix as directed on the box - replace the water (or milk - depending on the brand of cake mix you get) - with 1/2 buttermilk, 1/2 water/milk (my recipe called for 1 1/2 c. water - so I did 3/4 c. buttermilk and 3/4 c. of water).

2.  Set cake batter aside.

3.  Mix 2 Tbsp. of cocoa with the 1 oz. of red food coloring - once bottle is emptied, fill with water and add to cocoa mixture.

4.  Combine cocoa mixture with cake batter.

5.  Divide equally into 2 round, greased and floured, cake pans - bake as directed on the cake mix box.

6.  Once baked, removed from oven and let cool before removing from pans.

Now the icing is what really makes this cake special - so I can't really leave the icing recipe out of this post.  So here it is:

Red Velvet Cake Icing

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. milk

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

a generous 1 c. of shortening (close to 1 1/2 - gotta love grandma's recipes)

Directions

1.  Whisk together milk and cornstarch in a small pot over heat until thickened (usually takes bringing it to a boil to make it thicken) - add vanilla.

2.  Chill in the refrigerator until it forms into a gelatin.

3.  In a large boil, mix together granulated sugar and shortening until creamy - add gelatin and mix thoroughly.

Now all you have to do is frost your cake generously!

Enjoy! 

Yuuummm...

Tasty Tuesdays - Oatmeal Pancakes

I posted this recipe back in February, so I thought I'd share it again for Tasty Tuesday :O)

Kate and Stephen's Oatmeal Flapjacks

I've had some more time to experiment with this recipe since I posted it last and here's an added tip:

-Though you cook these like "normal pancakes," make sure that you turn your burner down a little lower than you would for other pancakes.

These are truly very thick and delicious - meaning you've got to give the centers time to cook - so make sure to turn the burner down a bit.

Also these are extremely filling! 2 of them usually fill me up - but I'll eat 3 if I have to :O)

Happy Cooking!

Much Love to All.

Final Thoughts on Harry Potter

I apologize for my rather lazy blogging habits lately - it's been nearly a week since I've posted in either of my blogs, which is quite a dry-spell for me.

Anyway.

I have mentioned before my two favorite fantasy series - Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  Having Tolkien and Lewis as standards against which I measure other fantasy series, it is extremely difficult for me to admire another author.  In the case of Harry Potter, in particular, I was fully prepared to enjoy the story - however, I was NOT prepared to be so impressed with the author.  These are truly very well-written stories and I love reading them.  Some people don't require "good writing" to enjoy a book - I do. I enjoy and bask in exquisite writing like some people do in excellent music or superb cuisine.  These books are definitely something I can go to in order to satisfy that hunger.

What makes these books, in my opinion, "good writing?"

-The character development - the characters are not static - they have depth and complexity.  Especially the main characters - they change as adolescents so often do as they grow older and gain more experiences.  They are also very true to life - I often found myself mad at Harry and Ron for all the stupid-teenage-boy-stunts, and I didn't think it was possible to hate a fictional character as much as I hated Umbridge.

-The themes are plentiful and fully carried out - friendship, trust, loyalty, love - these books have a lot to say about all of these and more.

-Rowling's attention to detail, and her style of writing in general, pulls you into the story and takes you on an emotional roller coaster - I laughed out loud (literally, not just "lol"), welled, gasped, sobbed, and often found myself on the edge of my seat, holding my breath.

All of this and more really helps a story to come to life and I think that JK Rowling did an absolutely fantastic job.

I am currently re-reading the books - quickly, before I have to give them back :P and I cannot wait to finish this story again and gain a more complete view of how everything ties in together towards the end.

My husband doesn't understand how I can re-read books - when I already know how they end.  I guess I should ask him why he listens to a song a loves more than once - to enjoy the melodies, harmonies, and rhythms that he knows he loves? Same reason why I read a book again - to enjoy and bask in the excellent writing.

Much Love to All!