A book, what's that?

You guys. I read a book. Like a real book with no pictures (actually there were some pictures - but they were historical!). I don't know the last time that I'd actually sit down and read a book for pleasure.

It all started back on this vacation where we had zero access to the outside world. Inside this magical place was a shelf, with books. I think I spent probably 15 minutes staring at the titles waiting for one to jump out at me.

Ken Follett - hey I've heard of that guy. "On Wings of Eagles"? Could be promising...And it was. Based on the story of two Americans imprisioned in Iran for no reason right before and then during the Iran revolution in early 1979. And even though it was basically an opportunity for Ross Perot to make a case for himself as a presidential candidate, it was an enjoyable read. Intrigue, drama, no romance, history. 

I wouldn't say I highly recommend it, but sure. I enjoyed it.

What are you reading this weekend?

I met Maddie

Because I spend quite a bit of time refining my tumblr page with reblogs from people who have far better taste than I do, I've known about "Maddie on Things" for a while now.

If you don't know of Maddie, she is a charming coonhound, who was adopted by Theron, and now earns her greenies by being extremely well balanced and having way more self control than Dillan ever could.

I follow Theron (@thiswildidea) on instagram and was really excited when I saw an announcement there that he and Maddie would be at Parnassus Books, I really had to go see her for myself.

When I arrived, the place was packed out, but I snuck into line where I purchased their perfect coffee table book with some birthday money, and waited in a looong line to meet Theron and Maddie.

Maddie scampered back and forth throughout the shop, not really wanting anything to do with most people, or would take a break in a leather chair. I did get a sweeping backstroke in as she trotted by at one point!

When I finally got to the signing table, I had no idea what to say... My inner dialog said something like this,

"Um Hi, would you sign your book...?"

Thankfully, Theron saved me from such inevitable awkwardness by asking my name and where I'm at in life. - what a great line!

Luckily, little Gavi gave me a perfect answer, "Well I just became a mom".

I then sheepishly brought up Dillan (like every other dog owner in the store) and dug out the ole' phone to show a picture of my beloved dog (yes, we still love you dillan!) Then we awkward posed!

Summer Reading because Winter is Coming

This summer, I had very high hopes. I didn't have a big test to study for, I didn't have any plans except that I was going to read, every weekend.  This was evident in my highly ambitious summer reading pin board.

And I did, on Saturdays I pulled out a few old beach towels and set up in the backyard to get some tan and do some reading. 

Yet, somehow, I just finished. I just finished reading about 5500 pages of tiny print, and it only took 6 months. 

The "game of thrones" series, more accurately know as "A song of Ice and Fire" is every fantasy book lover's dream come true. If you're like me, you were pretty bummed when the HP and LOTR books and then movies ended. Where am I supposed to get my fantasy fix? Well this is it. This series gives you wizardry, dragons, epic battles, truly abominable characters that far outnumber the noble ones, and ice zombies, to name a few. The only issue, is that it actually takes forever to read them.

Granted, as fall fell and winter came (a sort of GoT reference), I became more distracted by new series on Netflix, and it really cut into my reading time. But I felt very determined to finish by Christmas, and by golly I almost made it.

Now I'm in search for the next thing on my reading list. Any suggestions?

It's my Birthday gift to Me!

I might have mentioned that my birthday was a few weeks ago. And for most of it I felt like this:

I felt even more like this when my mother in law asked what I wanted for my birthday. Easy question, I want an ice cream maker! Otherwise what would this pinboard by good for?


Exactly, not good for very much at all. And furthermore, what good would an ice cream maker be good for if I didn't have the Jeni's splendid ice cream at home recipe book!!!?


Exactly, not good for anything.


So, I asked for both. And I am not ashamed to admit that I cheered and danced and leapt in joy when said gifts arrived. For a week I contemplated the very difficult decision of what would be my first homemade ice cream. I ended up choosing this one.

A little sneak peek of the recipe! pick up a copy!

Yes, yes. Salty caramel. And it turned out perfectly. Rich and smooth and creamy. The cool thing about this cookbook is that the first chapter gives the cook a foundation for developing ice cream flavors on their own and the science behind the ingredients. Which is complicated and essentially comes down to water content of the ice cream...Anyway...

Ice cream getting a chill before going in the machine.

Ice cream making is not to be taken lightly. It's kind of a several hour investment. None of it is difficult, but you will have a sink full of dirty dishes by the time you're done. And patience is essential, in fact I have a bag full of backyard mint ice cream steeping in my fridge as we speak.


But all that waiting is well worth it because in about 45 minutes you'll go from soupy mix to...

super mix.

Oh yum. I'm so excited to try the mint ice-cream with a bunch of added dark chocolate chips - my favorite flavor :)


So I want to know, what's your favorite flavor of ice cream?

So I don't seem so much like a back woods Tennesseean

A few months ago, one of the blogs I follow shared this link:

Is it old? 

It's pretty much the best. Let's say that you found this awesome article on how great it is to have Dillan. Type (or ctrl+c / ctrl+v) the url that you want to share with the world. This site will tell you that either "You're the First" so go ahead and blog/post/tweet your little heart out about this awesome new thing that You found! Woot!
Or, "Yikes!" Looks like 60 people have tweeted about how awesome Dillan is in the past 3 days. Basically, you're behind the times, old news. You've been living under a rock, in the woods, like a hermit, in East Tennessee... 

And guess what? my blog is the exact opposite of old news. In fact, you'd probably be the first to tweet this blog. Go for it!

SEE! You'd be the first!

BTW, look to the right. Oh, wow! Check it! You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Tumblr!

The Millenium Trilogy Has got me thinking

I'm currently reading through "The Millenium Trilogy" i.e. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", "The Girl who Played with Fire", and "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson.
Right now I'm about half way finished with the 2nd book, "The Girl who Played with Fire." Friends, it is good. Better than the first part of the trilogy. If you're into suspense novels they are a real treat. 

Read on and don't worry, there will be no spoilers.

Lisbeth Salander is a hacker and the book is constantly going into her never-ending computer knowledge with extensive detail. In fact, she uses this virus that virtually undetectable to hack into her enemies, or anyone else she wants to keep an eye on, computer. The virus then, with every click of the mouse or type of the keypad, over time transfers all of the computer data over into her own private server.

Moral of the story is I'm now a little (or more) scared of the internets. More computer always drags in the afternoon, but I can't help feeling like Lisbeth Salander is watching my every move. Paranoia? No, I am just highly effected by what I read. Like when I read Crime and Punishment and the Wuthering Heights back to back in high school and was probably a little depressed for a month.

In other related news, this book keeps pointing out math equations...so it has got me thinking about the equal factor in just about anything.

Example: x + y = z
this morning I put on tights + a silk dress  = static.

So what do we do? We solve the equation. But in my case, I totally had to throw out the y factor (silk dress) because alone, silk won't necessarily be staticky. So we solve for y?

(bear with me...)

Basically, I didn't want to have a dress clinging in immodest ways, so what sort of solution would equal no static cling?

x is tights
z is static. But static is negative in terms of me not wanting to have it. A negative situation...? But no static is positive; therefore, x + y can still equal z...

Thanks to a little hint from Real Simple y = dryer sheet.

x (tights) + y (dryer sheet) =  z (no static cling)

Did you know that if you rub a dryer sheet on your clothes they won't cling together??? Pretty cool little trick.

Source: Real Simple