Sunday Christmas Baking - Round Two

So, yesterday was dedicated to more Christmas Baking, this time for the Greek taste buds in the family.

I did manage to get a couple of Christmas themed short stories read (reviews later today, I hope) while waiting for things to come out of the oven.  Reading Christmas stories seemed appropriate somehow.





Yesterday's results ...

Melomakarona (Honey Walnut Cookies) 

And the sampling plate 'cause, you know, you have to taste before you can give them to folks!

Koulouraki (which I always think of as Greek Shortbread)

and Kourabiethes (Walnut Crescents)

 

30/30
NaBloPoMo  DONE!!

The Masked Truth - A Review

THE MASKED TRUTH by Kelley Armstrong

As Riley Vasquez was babysitting one evening, upstairs entertaining the little one so the parents could leave the house without the crying scene, masked intruders broke in.  Riley, hid under the bed as shots were fired downstairs, discovering later that the little girl’s parents had been killed.  Despite the fact that by hiding she undoubtedly saved the child’s life Riley suffered survivor’s guilt.  Her therapist suggested an overnight therapy group may help her open up about what happened in order to deal with her trauma more effectively.  Things did not quite happen that way.  Just as everyone was arriving for the “therapy weekend” masked intruders broke into the facility holding all the patients and the two counselors hostage.  That is until the shooting started.  Riley has only herself and Max Cross to depend on to get them out of there.  Unfortunately, Max is schizophrenic and has a hard time discerning what’s real and what’s imaginary.

This YA novel is a step away from Ms. Armstrong’s usual paranormal fare.  It was a well-written book that kept me turning the pages.  Yes, a little reality suspension was necessary.  Yes, the characters were a little cliché – the strong (thinks she’s not) heroine, the flawed hero, unbelieving parents and bad guys that were a little over the top.  Some of the action was a little repetitive as well, but the book certainly gave you action.  I’m rating this one three stars.  Being a constant reader of Ms. Armstrong’s books, including most of her YA books, this story felt like a bit of a rehash of “The Darkest Powers” trilogy without the paranormal edge … teenagers running from the bad adults, hiding, running and finally having to deal with everything one their own.

It was still a good read just, in my opinion, not one of the most original of her books.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her website)

I’ve been telling stories since before I could write. My earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, mine would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to my teachers’ dismay. All efforts to make me produce “normal” stories failed. Today, I continue to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in my basement writing dungeon.

29/30

Otherworld Secrets - A Review

OTHERWORLD SECRETS by Kelley Armstrong

If you are an “Otherworld” fan and still suffering from withdrawal symptoms because the series ended this is definitely the book to pick up.  It is comprised of six short stories (I would dare to say novellas) and each was a nice (re)visit with the main characters from the book series.  As I was writing the short synopsis of each story I also got to thinking that these stories stand pretty well on their own too ... if you have not read any books in the "Otherworld" series they still make sense and it may whet your appetite for the series.

LIFE AFTER THEFT (Hope and Karl) 

With baby number two on the way Karl has retired from his life as a werewolf jewel thief, but one of his clients has one more heist that only Karl can pull off – the theft of the ultimate grimoire containing ancient dark magic spells. 

MORGAN (Elena and Clay)

Morgan Walsh has been living with wolves in Alaska – living with them as a wolf – but now he has decided to come to Stonehaven to consider Elena’s invitation to join the pack.  (Elena being the only female werewolf thanks to Clay's impulsive bite and now Alpha in training for the pack)  While on route he stops in Westwood for a bite to eat.  How he resist stopping in a town that advertises itself as “Home of the Werewolves” and the diner gives a 10% discount to all Werewolves and their families … of course the town is talking about their football team ... but Morgan stops anyway.  It’s not too long before he discovers himself in the local jail with barely any recollection of how he got there.  A map with Stonehaven circled and Elena’s telephone number written on it is the only identification he has, so the sheriff calls.  It’s not too long before Elena and Clay realize that things are not quite right in Westwood.

ANGELIC (Eve and Kristof)

With her latest case resolved Eve is ready to join the ghost realm with Kristof for some much needed R&R.  The fates however have a slightly different idea.  They want her to wrap a quick case involving a demon uprising.  To save time she enlists the help of a couple of other avenging angels only to find that she is not the only rule breaker in the “angel corps”.

THE UNGRATEFUL DEAD (Jaime)

While performing one of her on stage séances Jaime is visited by a ghost with a mission and no amount of vervain is going to repel this determined spirit.  Not wanting him hanging around as she is getting ready for a weekend visit from Jeremy she decides to see what his request is all about.  Well, she can certainly put her necromancer skills to good use when she uncovers his little secret.

ZEN AND ART OF VAMPIRISM (Zoe)

Zoe has always been the only vampire in Toronto and she likes it that way, but when two new vamps come to town with the idea of taking over Zoe gives them a tour of the city they will not soon forget.

COUNTERFEIT MAGIC (Lucas & Paige, Adam & Savannah)

Carlos is still trying to get Lucas to leave the Cabal and a new client shows up to hire Winterbourne Investigations to look into the death of her brother … somehow these two incidents are related.  Not until things in Paige and Lucas’ marriage take a turn for the worse and Adam is possessed by a demon do they get the bottom of what is really happening.

Each story was wonderful, but because they featured my favorite characters from the series I must admit to enjoying “Counterfeit Magic” and “Morgan” the best.

As I was reading this book I realized that I have been quite “brainwashed” by the “Bitten” television series, because every time Clay’s name came up all I could picture in my mind was Greyston Holt.  Not a great hardship, darlin!

("Clay" walking up the stairs after changing out of wolf form ... sorry - not really - but couldn't resist)

 THE END

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her website)

I'm married with three kids and live in rural Ontario, Canada. After graduating with a degree in psychology, I switched gears and studied computer programming. Currently, I'm a full-time writer and parent. Could I make this section any more dull? Probably not.

28/30

Too Many Books - Not Enough Time

In my opinion this is still the BEST bookstore meltdown EVER!

"There aren't enough bowel movements left"

27/30

Happy Thanksgiving!

26/30

Stop the Diet, I Want to Get Off! - A Review

This seemed like a good book to review after hitting "publish" on my Christmas Baking Post - just to remind myself why those cookies should get put in the freezer ASAP!

STOP THE DIET, I WANT TO GET OFF by Lisa Tillinger Johansen, MS, RD

Who hasn’t been on a diet?  As Ms. Tillinger-Johansen states in this book it is probably easier to count who has not been on a diet than tally those who have.  The word “diet” itself does not denote the desire to lose weight – diet simply refers to what we eat and drink every day.  A specialized eating plan can be made up to help attain certain goals achieved through what we eat – a healthier lifestyle, prevention of diabetes or high blood pressure and, yes, weight loss.

I have been a TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group leader for a number of years and I enjoy my group but sometimes I find it difficult to come up with an interesting meeting topic to discuss each week; a topic that will not only be interesting for my members but that will also keep them (and me) motivated until next week’s trip to the scale.  I requested this book hoping it would give me some ideas.  Well, if you are looking for a common sense, easy to read, packed full of information and often amusing book about dieting this is certainly one to pick up.  Having read through this book I feel quite certain there is not one aspect of sensibly eating (diet, if you must) that this book does not touch upon.  Ms. Tillinger-Johansen includes obesity statistics from other countries (staggering!), she discusses fact versus fiction when it comes to dieting and touches on the plethora of diets out there (many some of which can do more harm than good both for your health and your waistline).  There is even a diet that promotes eating baby food … I’m pretty sure I didn’t even want to eat baby food when I was a baby!

What would a diet book be without discussing the evils of distorted body image brought on by Hollywood, advertising, beauty pageants and even Dr. Oz.  Personally, don’t even get me started on him.

All the important subjects are covered including protein, starches, fibre, WATER, fats, fruits and vegetables, vitamins and portion size.  Have a question about their importance and the answer can be found in this book.

On the back cover of this book it states “We’re caught in a never-ending merry-go-round of weight loss plans, fueled by celebrity endorsers, TV doctors and companies angling for a piece of a $60 billion industry.  But do these diets really work?  And how healthy are they?”  If you want to get off that merry-go-round and start eating for your health this book is an excellent resource on how to do that … and most importantly … it does that without being preachy or weighing you down (pun totally intended) with guilt.

I still find this book, packed full of solid information, an excellent resource to use for my TOPS group. 

* I received this book at no charge from the author via WordSlinger

 in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the book jacket)

Lisa Tillinger Johansen is a registered dietician who counsels clients on a wide range of health issues.  Her debut nutrition book, “Fast Food Vindication”, received the Discovery Award (sponsored by USA Today, The Huffington Post and Kirkus).

She lives in Southern California.

From her website www.stopthediet.com

REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS

Lisa helps her patients clients find a realistic plan that works for them. In this fast-paced world, it isn’t always easy to prepare home-cooked meals. Lisa helps her clients devise nutrition strategies for eating on the go, whether at sit-down restaurants or even fast-food establishments.

REACHING OUT AROUND THE WORLD

Now, through this website, fastfoodvindication.com and consultthedietitan.com, Lisa answers nutritional questions, gives helpful tips, and creates exclusive videos designed to promote a fun and more healthy lifestyle.

25/30

Is That a Werd?

Today is going to be a busy day and I have nothing prepared for my daily NaBloPoMo post, until this came up and got me thinking about a quick post.

When my girls played rep sports we spent a lot of time in the car traveling to various sports venues.  Let me tell you they do not call them "travel teams" for nothing!  We enjoyed making up ridiculous stories as we drove along.  I always said someday I would write them out, which I still might.  But spending all that time in the car, especially after long days spend at tournaments, sometimes you get so tired your mouth does not want to work correctly anymore.  Things fall out that make you shake your head and laugh.  Which led to an imaginary world we made up called "Joe-Land" where nothing could be used except combination words to alleviate the stress of trying to think up a perfect word when you're talking.  There were a lot of rules around "Joe-Land" but just to give you an example ... the national sport was "BaBoJengGolf"; Baseball or Basketball (depending on the season)/Bowling/Jenga/Golf.  (Cut us some slack, the girls were young)

ANYWAY ...

I recently wished another blogger I follow a Happy Blog Anniversary.  I simply commented "Happy Blogiversary".  I know I didn't make up that word - I'm not usually that clever - but judging from the comments people had not heard it before ... so ... I'm claiming it as my word for today. 

That just reminded me of another word I read in a book (Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay) recently, that I meant to comment on in my review and forgot.  The word was "coughter".  I mentioned it to my daughter and she immediately knew what it was - uncontrollable laughing until it makes you cough - and then she said "that would be an awesome word for Joe-Land."  It warmed my heart that she even remembered that made up place.

So there are my first two contributions to "Is that a Werd".  Has anyone else come across words that are not real but yet convey the thought perfectly.  I'd love to see them 'cause who knows, Joe-Land may need a dictionary some day?

24/30
 

Sunday Christmas Baking - Round One

Since I work Monday through Saturday (one of perks - haha - of managing your own office) I am very protective of my Sundays.  I try to have all my errands and "chores" done by Saturday night so Sunday belongs to me.  Even my friends know that unless something is planned in advance chances are very good that I will not even get properly dressed.  I have my breaky, do anything that may really need to be done (like my treadmill and the kitty litter ... both equally despised) then have a shower and put on a clean pair of pajamas.  Then the safe bet is I will make a latte, grab a book and read.

Of course, 'tis the season, so I am doing my holiday baking now.  Years ago I started giving home baked Christmas goodies to co-workers, the young man who mows my lawn, my BFF ('cause she doesn't bake), one or two neighbours and of course my daughters.  It was something I enjoyed doing and when money was tight I thought it was a nice way to share the spirit of the season without the stress and expense of Christmas shopping.  The list of recipients has grown and the past few years it has turned into quite the production.  This year I kind of put out the word that maybe, just maybe, I might forgo the baking this year (it is time consuming and really not that inexpensive anymore).  That statement was met with more than a few pouty faces and half-hearted that's okays.  You would have thought I'd announced there is no Santa Claus.

My oldest daughter actually threw her hands up in the air and announced "Well, now you've gone and totally ruined Christmas".  She was kidding of course, but someone once said many a truth is spoken in jest.

I have a strong "guilt complex" so I took my self off to the grocery store and bought the 10 Kg bag of flour and then to Bulk Barn to get other various and sundry items I would need and began my baking, starting with all the baking I knew would freeze well.

Needless to say no reading got done yesterday and I didn't think to plug an audio book into my ears - just as well - often the mixer and the food processor drown it out anyway.  I just thought I'd share what I was up to yesterday ...

Gooey Chocolate Butter Cookies, Gooey Lemon Coconut Butter Cookies (these are the easiest cookies and the world to make), White Chocolate Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti and Dark Chocolate Walnut Biscotti below.

Fruitcake Cookies (my fave) and Chocolate Rolled Cookies below.

23/30

Simply Let Go of the Mouse and Walk Away!

Sometimes you just have to admit defeat, turn off the computer and walk away ...

 

And then there is that awful moment - just as your finger hits the send button you spot a typo ...

A good friend might do an intervention to let you know it's time to just give up and try again another day ...

BUT REMEMBER ... it could always be worse!

Happy Sunday!
22/30

Real Santa - A Review

REAL SANTA by William Hazelgrove

Just how far would you go to keep your daughter’s belief in Santa Claus alive for just a little while longer?  Would you … be willing to become the town laughing stock?  Put your family’s finances in jeopardy?  Take a chance on alienating the rest of your family?  Risk your life?  George Kronenfeldt does all those things, and more.

When George’s 9-year-old daughter Megan comes home from school and announces that her fourth grade teacher has denounced Santa Claus during a discussion on Global Warming George decides to take matters into his own hands.  Marching off to school to confront the teacher turns into a shoving match and George vows to keep Megan’s belief in Santa alive for at least one more year.  He is determined that having ruined his relationship with his children from his first marriage this time he will be a better parent.  He will use his expertise as an engineer and manufacture a Christmas Eve visit from Santa that Megan will never forget.  One that she can videotape and show her friends … and Santa will stay alive in their lives for one more year … even if he has to be the “real Santa”.

All the nay-sayers will cannot deter him from his mission as he hires a filmmaker to help with special effects, rents nine flatulent reindeer and a sleigh to perch on his roof, a contractor to expand his chimney and a couple of mountain climbers to help him up and down that same chimney.  Soon enough he begins to have his own doubts about his scheme, but he has reached the point of no return and plods forth.  Does Megan get her video of Santa’s visit?  In the end … no, I won’t give it away!  Suffice it to say that I do not think it was by accident that George Kronenfeldt shares his name with that other iconic George of “It’s a Wonderful Life” fame.

This book was a wonderful Christmas read.  George is a loveable loser just trying to do his best when everyone in his life doubts him.  This book has everything you could want in a Christmas read; a little history about Santa Claus, a lot of humor, many touching moments, some suspense and great characters.  Megan’s teacher is the perfect villianess in this book – over the top, set in her ways, crotchety, bitter and determined to stop George at all costs.  Throw in the next-door neighbor with the ugly seasonal inflatables (a tank?) on his lawn, the long suffering wife who decides she’s finally had enough, the vengeful ex-wife and his two slightly neglected children from his first marriage and you have almost the entire cast for this perfect Christmas farce.

I’m going to rate this Christmas read at 4 Christmas trees.  There were a few sections that seemed to go on just a little bit too long and I could have done with less of the film director but don’t let that stop you from picking this book up if you are looking for a Christmas read.  Yes – you will have to suspend reality, take a few things on faith and give in to the spirit of Christmas, but that won’t be so hard to do as you cheer for George right to the end.  

I could so see this book being made into a movie ... I'd watch it. 

* I received a copy of this ebook at no charge from the publisher, Koehler Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website)

William Hazelgrove is the bestselling author of eight novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks Mica Highways Rocket Man, The Pitcher, Real Santa, and forthcoming Jackpine and The Pitcher 2 in 2015.

His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly and Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway’s birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today have all covered his books with features.

He runs a cultural blog, The View From Hemingway’s Attic. He lives in Chicago.

21/30

Red Tide - A Review

RED TIDE by Jeff Lindsay

Jeff Lindsay once again brings his readers to Miami, this time not with Dexter rather with Billy Knight, but no worries – the body count is still high.  Billy is an ex-cop who wants nothing more than to be on his boat chartering tourists out fishing.  When he’s not doing that he is trying to keep things together with his girlfriend (she leaves) or he hangs out in bars (ends up in jail).  Life’s not so great.  On a trip picking up and delivering a boat for a friend he and his friend Nicky are enjoying the ocean when Nicky decides to do some target practice shooting coconuts out of the water.  One of the coconuts turns out to be a human head.  It looks like another Haitian refugee has not made it safely to American soil.  “Happens all the time,” say the police and Billy tends to agree with them.  But Nicky feels a responsibility to this corpse he took a pot shot at. 

Enter Anna, a refugee herself, albeit from Eastern Europe.  Billy immediately falls for her and wouldn’t you know it – because of her own history – she agrees with Nicky; someone has to look into what turns out to be a series of “tragic drownings” involving Haitian refugees.  Reluctantly, Billy agrees to look into it.  With the help of The Deacon, Billy’s contact on the police force the three take the reader along on an adventure on the high seas hunting down a Haitian Voodoo Bocor who’s best talent seems to be making Haitians disappear from his boat – after taking their money.

This is the second book in the Billy Knight series and it read fine as a stand-alone novel.  I didn’t feel I missed anything by not having read the first book.  Admittedly there were a few intriguing snippets here and there, but were they compelling enough to entice me to pick up the first installment?  Not sure.

I liked the setting in this book, I liked the characters – especially Nicky because he is quite unique, the action was intense because it took place in the closed confines of a ship sailing from Haiti to Miami and there were a few voodoo tidbits thrown in here and there.  Yet overall the story was lacking originality.  It felt almost a little formulaic if one compared it to the Dexter books … changed a couple of names and circumstances yet I could have taken the two books pulled character names from one, easily placed an equals sign to a character from the other.  I can’t rave about the book but would still mention it to action/thriller fans without feeling too guilty.

* I received this ebook at no charge from Diversion Books via

Netgalley in exchange for an honest review *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from GR Author Bio)

Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of an American crime writer, Jeffry P. Freundlich, who lives in Cape Coral, Florida with his wife, author Hilary Hemingway, daughter of Leicester Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway's brother.

Lindsay is best known for writing the Dexter series of novels. Many of his earlier published works include his wife as a co-author. Time Blender was written with Michael Dorn. He graduated from Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1975.

The first book in the series, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, was included on the original nomination list for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Awards in the Best First Novel category. However, it was dropped from the list after the group learned that Lindsay had put out several books in the 1990s under another pen name, Jeffrey P. Lindsay. 

20/30

Use #GiveaBook November 16 - December 24

I received a little blurb about this in an email this morning so I checked out the Penguin Random House Give-a-Book website and thought this was an awesome promotion to get books into the hands of children all over.  You can read all about the program HERE but in a nutshell it amounts to using #GiveaBook on Twitter or Facebook.  Penguin Random House in partnership with First Book and First Book Canada will donate one book each time #GiveaBook is used up to a maximum of 35,000 books.

According to their website "the #GiveaBook applies to any type of book giving, whether as a gift to friend or family member or a donation to a charity book drive such as Angel Trees, library donation boxes and individual bookstore collection drives."

We are a book community and many of us avail ourselves of ARC's, Netgalley books, books directly from authors and Amazon or Kobo freebies.  I know, for myself, that saves me a ton of $$ every year.  If everyone (who was comfortable with it and able) gifted one book to a friend, family member or charity drive and tweeted/Facebooked it using #GiveaBook think of the number books that would be donated!

I know I gift books to people at Christmas time and I know almost every mall has a drop box for unwrapped gifts to be distributed by various charities to underprivileged children.  I have purchased a children's book or two as well as a small toy and donated.  I have every intention of doing it again this year, so this program does not ask me to spend any money I wouldn't ordinarily spend anyway.

Just a simple tweet using #GiveaBook and a book gets placed in another child's hand.  Seems like a good deal to me!

If you are comfortable with the idea ... participate!

Legalities and details (from #GiveaBook website)

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE #GIVEABOOK DONATION DETAILS: 

Donation Period: Penguin Random House will donate one book for each use of the hashtag, #GiveaBook, on Facebook and Twitter (see below for details) between 12:01 AM EST on November 16, 2015 and 11:59 PM EST on December 24, 2015. Any use of the hashtag after December 24 is encouraged, but will not trigger a donation to First Book from Penguin Random House.

Donation Limit: Penguin Random House will donate one book for each use of the hashtag during the Donation Period up to 35,000 books. If the Donation Limit has been reached before December 25, 2015, Penguin Random House will notify users on social media.

Donation Eligibility: The #GiveaBook hashtag may be used on any social media platform. However, only those uses of the hashtag on Facebook and Twitter (see below for details) will trigger a donation from Penguin Random House to First Book. Any use of the hashtag on platforms other than Facebook and Twitter is encouraged, but will not trigger a donation from Penguin Random House.

Facebook Action Requirements: Only original Facebook posts using the hashtag, #Giveabook, will trigger a donation from Penguin Random House.Limit one post per account per day. Any other actions, including but not limited to shares, likes, and comments will not trigger a donation from Penguin Random House.

Twitter Action Requirements: Only original tweets and quote tweets (those tweets that embed an existing tweet and include new original material) using the hashtag, #Giveabook, will trigger a donation from Penguin Random House.Limit one tweet per account per day. Any other action, including but not limited to verbatim retweets and likes will not trigger a donation from Penguin Random House.

Penguin Random House is the sole sponsor of the #Giveabook campaign, which is no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook or Twitter.

19/30