Wow…haven spent the last few hours updating my book list, and only adding 3-4 authors, I realize that I read WAY to much, and WAY to quick.
After looking at my books choices, I guess I need to explain what I read and why I read it. My main goal/focus for reading is to read for enjoyment. Reading is a stress release for me. And reading books/authors that are very tedious, dark, depressing, will not cross these hands…ever. Out of all the types out there, I prefer murder mysteries and sci-fi/Fantasy (think R.A. Salvatore), with a bit of British humor/mystery thrown in for added spice..
Currently, I tend to stick with the more “cozy” type murder mysteries, with a strong lead woman as the main detective . Joanne Fluke, Laura Childs, Diane Mott Davidson, and Laura Levine are a few of the authors that I particular enjoy. Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series and Rita Mae Brown’s Sneaky Pie Brown series can also be found on my reading list.
R. A. Salvatore’s characters Jaraxel and Artemis top my list for scifi/fantasy. I have read most of the Drizzt Do’Urden books, all of The Cleric Quintet, and his the Sellswords Series. I also loved reading Elaine Cunningham’s Forgotten Realm’s books/series, and thoroughly enjoyed Weiss and Hickman’s Dragons of series. And while I do enjoy the fantasy side, I haven’t really been reading it recently. During my off times, and when I am away from the computer I have been picking up the Dragon’s of trilogy, so there is a small chance I will return to this world full fledged.
As for my dips into British writings, Agatha Christie was at the top of my list (especially those books with Hercule Poirot ). And of, course I had to read Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I did enjoy the books, but I do recommend NOT reading them while dispatching…it took me forever to read all 6 books, because I was constantly having to stop, answer the radio, and then rereading what I just read because I had forgotten it. But I finally made it through, towel and all.
But currently, I am reading P. G. Wodehouse. I love Jeeves and Wooster portrayed by Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, so I figured I would give his books a chance. Since my local library doesn’t carry many of his books, I went online and was very happy to discover that Project Gutenberg contains many of his books online (for FREE!). Looking at his list, I decided to start at the beginning and work my through his many books. I read The Pothunters, and am currently reading The Prefect’s Uncle. So far, I have really enjoyed them. While they are lacking at the verbal sparring that Jeeves and Wooster seem to perfect, they do hint of the future humor that P.G. Wodehouse will soon hone.
As for classics – for most of them..yuck. During school, I was forced to read so many crappy “Classics” (such as Where the Red Fern Grows, the Yearling, Red Badge of Courage, etc), that I started hating the “classics”. I ended up telling my teachers this – if I have to read 240+ pages and the main character(s) dies at the end and nothing Happy happens, I will throw the book at you (and have). Eventually they listened and the book selections started getting better. So when it comes to “classics”, I throw most of them in the trash.
Okay…now that you know most of what I like and don’t like, tell me more about what you enjoy! Do you have any books or authors that I should read, or that I need to stay away from?
Archive for » March, 2010 «
Okay…I love the classics, and this is just too funny. (not for the sensitive ears!)
Just wanted to let everybody know that I changed my Spam Filter to WP-SpamFree. This new filter has a minimum character requirement, 15 characters. So you can’t just say, LOL or love it! If you noticed that you are not seeing your comments, and you are not a spammer, then let me know (Janetelise at gmail dot com).
Note – If you are a first time commenter, then your post will be automatically sent for moderation. Once you have been approved, then you other comments should automatically show.
Thanks!
A few years ago, a friend of ours, Heather, introduced us to Angel Food Ministries,”non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing food relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States”. Brannon and I were a bit skeptical at first, but quickly fell in love with it.
So what is Angel Food Ministries exactly, you ask? We tell people it is a good way to save on food cost, provide wholesome food for the family, and a small way of giving back to the church/host’s benevolent fund. Basically, once a month you place an order for a signature box and for any of the monthly specialties boxes. Then on a specific day, you pick up the food from your host location. Nothing hard.
So what are these signature and specialties boxes? Every order must 
contain at least 1 signature box, and that box contains approx. enough food for a family of 4 for 1 week, for $30. Each month the offerings are different, but usually they contain chicken, meat, vegetables, a breakfast item, dessert item, and more. In the specialty boxes, you will find boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables, meats to grill out, frozen chicken pieces, afterschool items, senior/convient prepackaged meals, and more. As for the quality – most of the food comes from a mix of distributers and farms, including T.J. Farms, Pampa, Nestle, Mrs. Smith, Jiffy and more. And it has all been very good quality.
So who qualifies? That is the beauty of this, everybody qualifies! There aren’t any limits as to who can and can’t participate. And they even take food stamps!
Now that you are interested, check them out at: Angel Food Ministries. Once there you can find your local host, and check out the next months menu. Plus, you can even pay online!
So stop wasting money, start eating healthy, and giving back.
Saturday was a busy day at the Hall house – from lite spring cleaning to planting trees. Plus, Hall had to meet a friend at 7pm, so dinner had to be quick. After a few minutes of debating, Hall sheepishly requested grilled cheese. While he finished up and then cleaned up, I started on our grilled cheese. Not in the mood for my standard g.c., I decided to improvise, and it was well worth it!
Yummy Grilled Cheese
2 slices of bread per person (or more if you are hungry!)
Butter, soften
Cabot’s Seriously Sharp White Cheddar (at least 5 slices per sandwich)
Kraft’s Classic Melt (finely shredded)
A Colby-monterey jack cheese (thick shredded) blend
Soften Cream Cheese
Your favorite Herbs or an already blended mix (I used Garlic powder, salt, Penzy’s California Seasoned Pepper, and Tastefully Simple’s Spinach and herb mix).
Griddle or large skillet (large enough to hold 4 pieces of bread)
Butter each side of each of the pieces of bread, and set aside.
Blend the spices/herbs together with the soften cream cheese. There is no particular measurements, just blend until it taste right and there is enough to spread on 1 piece of bread per sandwich. Microwave for 5-10 seconds to get it really soft.
Work in small batches (1-2 sandwiches at time)! 
Either on a griddle or a large skillet, on medium heat, add 1 slice of bread per sandwich. As soon as the side that is face down is golden brown, turn on piece over and just lightly “crisp” the other side – leave it there until it isn’t “wet” looking from the butter. Remove and flip on to a plate so that the golden brown side is facing up. Carefully, spread a small amount of the cream cheese mixture on this side, and then set aside.
Place the remaining slices of buttered bread on the griddle and toast one side till it is golden brown. Once golden brown, flip over and add the cream cheesed bread back to the griddle – cream cheese side up.
On the non-cream cheese bread, add a layer of Cabot cheese, followed by a small handful of each of the shredded cheeses. Once all of the cheeses are down, top the shredded cheese with the cream cheese slice of bread (lightly toasted side goes up). Flip the sandwich over until both sides are golden brown.
Once both sides are golden brown, remove and cut in half and serve. Enjoy!
Okay…if you noticed a few differences, then you have good memory skills! Yes, I have changed a few things around. The original theme I had didn’t allow for widgets, and after fighting with it, I found this theme which was very similar but widget friendly. Yay!
I have added a few new widgets to the site. The main one is “Now Reading” which is shown on the right, and list the books that I want to read, readings and have read. And at the bottom there is a link to the full library. Over the next few days/weeks I will be updating that library to include most of the books that I have read, and want to read.
So if you have any good books that you want me to read, or have a suggestion for a few good widgets, let me know! 
A few years ago, Hall was introduced to an author and asked to help redesign his website and other marketing materials for his upcoming book release. The author was Austin Boyd, and the book was the last one of the Mars Hill Classified trilogy. And with Hall being Hall, I was tasked to read the other 2 books to gain insight into the author and series, so that the Hall’s layouts and designs would better fit the authors needs. So I set upon my task to learn more about Austin and his books.
Austin Boyd is a christian author and speaker who lives in Alabama. He was a Navy pilot, spacecraft engineer and an astronaut candidate finalist, before retiring from the military. Austin is also very active in the church and many Christian ministries. And he uses those past experiences and his love of Christ as his inspirations and resources for his books and speeches.
The Mars Hill Classified trilogy is a great example of him using his experiences and loves to write a compelling and powerful set of scifi/christian books. Set in the future, The Evidence, The Proof, and The Return take you on a long suspenseful journey of John Wells and his family, as they deal with terrorist, aliens, politics, and religion.
If you are interested in Scifi, or just even fiction, books, then I would highly recommend this trilogy. And don’t let the Christian based part throw you off. The books are strongly Christian and ask some very important questions, but yet they don’t get preachy and in your face with it, if that makes sense.
The only concern that I have is that they are very large books, and they do need to be read together. I really wouldn’t consider them “stand alone” stories. Yes, he does tie up each book, but the loose ends/questions that are left sort of nag you until you relent and start reading the next book. So if you do start reading this trilogy, do plan on ready all of the books.
Note: If you want to learn more about Austin and his books (and to see Hall’s and WootFish’s work) check out www.austinboyd.com.
Mars Hill Classified trilogy consist of The Evidence, The Proof, and The Return.
Brannon started fixing these for me a few weeks ago, and they are fantastic! Especially with hot of the grill hamburgers. YUM!
Battered Fries
Potatoes
1 cup All Purpose flour
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Steak Seasoning (McCormick’s or Lowry’s)
3/4 to 1 cup water
Vegetable or Peanut oil (enough to fry in)
Draining station
Mix all ingredients (but potatoes and oil) in a medium size bowl. This will be your batter.
Cut potatoes to desired thickness. (Soak in water with lemon until ready to batter, to keep from turning.)
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Add a handful of potatoes to the batter, coating them. (It helps, if you work in small batches.) Quickly remove 1 fry at a time, knocking off the excess batter and carefully drop into the oil. Fry the fries for 2-3 minutes, or until light brown. Agitate continuously so that fries do not stick together.
Once light brown, remove the fries from the oil, and set on a draining station (wire rack over newspaper, or paper towels, NOT somebody’s hands!) Sprinkle with salt or steak season if desired.
Note: This recipe is also good for pieces of broccoli, carrots, yams, zucchini, and anything else you want to get your kids to eat!
When looking for a recipe for today, somebody suggested a Easter-ish one. Unfortunately, I really don’t have anything that screams Easter, but this one comes the closest because of a few factors: 1) It’s based off of Chocolate, and 2) The recipes was part of a Geocache, which is sort of a Easter Egg Hunt. (See below to learn more about Geocache).
Kiss This
1 Cans hungry Jack Biscuit, 10 count
1 bag chocolate Hershey Kisses (1 bag of chocolate chips)
Melted butter
Cinnamon Sugar mixture
Open the biscuit containers, and remove the biscuits. Split each biscuit in half, like you would if you were to butter one. Unwrap 20 Kisses.
Place a Kiss on a biscuit half, and wrap them up in the biscuit, rolling them into a ball. Dip each ball into melted butter and then roll the wet ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Drop the balls into a pie pan, leaving a small gap between each one, because they will expand somewhat. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.
Serve hot—once they have cooled down, the chocolate will resolidfy.
Tip: For little bites, cut each of the biscuits into ¼ pieces. Using Nestle Chocolate chips, insert one of the chips into the center of each piece of biscuit. Finish them up like the bigger versions. Also, you can try using different flavor chips for more unique taste.
Geocache:
This recipe is a unique recipe for us. We found it on a Geocache search. A
Geocache search is like a treasure hunt. You are given a set of GPS coordinates and the hike/treasure hunt begins. When you get the coordinates on the website it tells you the type of cache you are going after and what you need to bring with you.
One our first Geocache hunt, the cache was a recipe. We left a recipe that
was one of our favorites, and took a recipe that somebody else had left. This recipe is a great holiday treat, and will make your house smell great!
Check out the sight: www.geocaching.com
With spring here, and the weather not cooperating, I am getting spring fever and ready to shed the confines of my house for something a bit more relaxing. So I am curious as to what type of vacations do your like to take?
(If it isn’t listed, leave a comment with your answer! )
