Life As We Knew It.

I just finished this novel yesterday evening, and WOW! Is it wonderful! This novel is classified as Young-adult Fiction, but it's definitely a thought provoker for readers of all ages!

Told through the journal entries of a 16 year old girl's diary, Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It is about the girl and her family's struggle to survive after a nearly apocalyptic event. As the world watches, a denser than expected asteroid strikes the Moon knocking it nearer to the Earth's surface and wreaking havoc on the weather systems. Preliminary reports are heard of tidal waves that completely decimate the coastal states and sink entire countries, hundreds of thousands Americans dead, even more across the world, tornadoes striking, volcanoes never known to exist continuously erupting, and mass panic everywhere.

The family moves quickly and stockpiles food, clothing, batteries and First Aid necessities while stores are still open, but once the electricity never comes on again, the phone lines are down, and there is no gas to be had, the family is alone from May through the winter where they struggle hard for survival. They don't know who from their extended family and friends are alive, but they must stick together and save themselves.

This book is very intense. I was about 50-75 pages in, when I got so scared by the panic that I had to stop reading for a few minutes. When I explained to my hubby that I was scared he just kind of rolled his eyes and told me to quit reading. I couldn't just stop! The story is told so vividly, and the situation is so believable that it really did scare me for a bit. This is a wonderful read!

Operation: Kitchen Remodel update:

We went shopping for counters yesterday evening and it's hard! I know that I want something neutral and light, but not TOO light, but definitely not something dark. The hard part is that they have counter tops in every shade of color imaginable! It makes my head spin and it's very hard to pick out something so important, or at least, that's how I feel! Oh well, we are planning to start stripping the cabinets this evening, we'll see how this long process goes.

Operation: Kitchen Remodel.

Operation: Kitchen Renovation is officially underway.

I was sitting at work yesterday afternoon, letting my mind wander all over the place as usual (always a dangerous thing) when I decided that there is nothing holding us back from starting the Kitchen Project. I decided right then that I wanted to rip out that Gawd-awful faux-brick paneling that was (maybe?) meant to be the backspash in the kitchen. The faux paneling went from the bottom of the cabinets to the counter, and then along a tiny little lip of wall that houses the refrigerator. I have hated the existence of this faux-brick since we first toured our house while looking to purchase.

First, I despise faux-anything. I think it's cheap and tacky, this includes all faux-brick, tile, paneling (which we also had some of, ick), and the list goes on. I just can't imagine a moment in time when a reasonably sane individual could walk into a home improvement store asking where the particle board, cheap, faux-brick is. The only conclusion I could come to for the reason that this hideous junk was applied to the walls in our house is that they were able to get it for a cheaper price than paint. I'm guessing it cost about $0.02 per square yard. If the brilliant people who put it up payed more than that they were severly ripped off in my honest opinion.

So, I just up and decided that after work, I was pulling that faux-brick down! I texted my hubby of my grandiose plans:

Me: i want 2 rip down the kitchen walls 2night
H: ? why tonight?
Me: Bc im so tired of looking at that icky brick!
H: Lol. i can start when i get home.
Me: I can do it myselfs! When r u going 2 b home?

We arrived home from work at about the same time, and I'm guessing that Mark probably assumed (conservatively so) that I had lost my motivation to begin this DIY home project, but I was ready to go!

We ended up spending yesterday evening prying, pulling, yanking, and tearing all of that icky faux-brick down! (except for a small area that we can't seem to get out, but it's off to the side.) I swear, even though we are down to bare walls, two different shades of yellow, with stains, cracks, and nail holes, it still is a huge improvement of the faux-brick that used to be there. Our kitchen looks larger already!

Our plans are to paint the walls, purchase and install new counter tops (yikes!), and refinish the existing cabinets (double yikes!!). This is our first major home project other than painting when we moved in, and landscaping last year. It's very exciting.

I have some pics from last night, but they are at home, I'll try to add them later.

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes.

This book was wonderful! I was completely engrossed after the first few pages. The story sucked me in right away and kept me interested through the very last page.

Diane Chamberlain's The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes opens with the introduction of the title character. She is 16, naive, and alone in the world, left behind by her mother who passed away of cancer when CeeCee was only 12 years old. CeeCee's path crosses with a graduate student in the diner that she works at near campus. This graduate student plays on her naivety, her loving spirit, and her need for love to talk her into doing his bidding on a kidnapping which he claims will exonerate his sister who is on death row for a crime she did not commit. CeeCee reluctantly agrees and her adventure quickly begins.

This story is exciting, and intense. The characters are richly developed and there is an underlying commentary on the love of a mother for her child and what it means to be a family. This is definitely a must read!

Dim-witted Moment of the Day.

Person calls in at 11.40AM.

Me: What time's your hearing?
Stupid: 11.45 Eastern Standard Time.

Me: Scans Hearings.
We don't have any 11.45s scheduled, are you sure that's when it's scheduled for?
Stupid: Yes.

Me: Okay, what's your docket number?
Stupid: Hold on.
Silence, Silence, Shuffle, Silence
Uhm.... (gives me the docket number)

Me: Looks up case in system.
Well, it looks like your hearing was scheduled for 11.30AM, not 11.45.
Stupid: Pause.
What do you mean?

Me: I mean that you hearing was scheduled to begin at 11.30, not 11.45.
Stupid: (starts getting very angry)
What do you mean!? Is this some sort of Time Zone thing? Are we in different time zones and you're trying to mess me up?!! It's 11.40 right now!

Me: Makes What-the-Hell-?-You-are-effing-crazy-face, which of course, he can't see thank goodness.
No. I'm not trying to mess you up, I'm just letting you know that your hearing was scheduled to begin 10 minutes ago and you are late calling in. If you look at the paper in your hand right now, you'll see that your hearing was scheduled to begin at 11.30AM this morning and you should have called in at 11.15, not 11.40 like you did.
Stupid: *shuffle, shuffle*
Oooohhh, yeaaaaah, it does say 11.30.

Yeah, no shit.

It's not a Time Zone thing, it's a 'you aren't reading' thing.

Surprising Rave!

I am so in love right now... with my car insurance company!

Seriously. Fifty buckeroos and some change is all I pay per month for a car that I do not yet own outright! (I'm working on that part...)

Why is this so exciting you ask? Well... I'll tell you... I used to pay $137 per month to my old insurance company! The insurance company which showed their true colors and made my life a living Hell when I got into a weather-related accident last Winter. Sheesh, like I didn't pay them really HIGH premiums every month!

The reason that my insurance was so high is that,

1) I was 21 at the time, their premiums don't go down until you reach the age of 25. This was The Suck.
2) I drive a 2 door car, a Mustang, which they consider high-risk and therefore is more expensive to insure.
and finally 3) I have to carry full coverage insurance because I still have a lienholder to answer to.

All of these things combined, despite the fact that I had a good student discount, a perfect driving record, and had payed them on time, every month since I was 16, came out to cost me $137 per month. Ick.

Well, after the Winter Accident fiasco, I decided to say Eff them!!!! and switched over to my now-hubby's insurance company (which I was planning to do in the Spring anyway once we were married to take advantage of the multi-car discount that we are now eligible for).

This insurance company (have I mentioned I love them right now?!)

1) reduces their rates at the age of 21 (as opposed to 25 like my old insurance company. Humpf!)
2) gives me a discount because I have Homeowner's insurance with them.
3) I am now married, which lowers my rate, and 3.5) because we are married we get a multi-car discount, which lowers my rate even further.

All of this combined equals a monthly payment of $50, which rocks my previous car insurance hatin' world!

I'm so happy... about car insurance rates... that's kinda lame, but oh well *happy shrug*

Magnolia Bakery's Oatmeal Muffins.

I just got The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. I thought that my beautiful new pink Kitchen Aid mixer deserved to have a baking book so that it will get lots of use. This was recommended to me by a friend of mine, and I was able to get it for about $15 on Amazon, so I figure what the heck it will provide me with lots of goodies to make. This book has so many yummy sounding recipes!

I made a recipe out of it on Saturday for Oatmeal Muffins. I usually have a bran muffin for breakfast during the week, but this week, I will have a delicious oatmeal muffin with blueberries instead. Yum!

Here is the relatively simple recipe:

Ingredients:

2 Cups Rolled Oats (not quick-cooking oats!)

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1 1/2 Cups Flour

1 T. Baking Powder

1/2 t. Salt

1/4 t. Cinnamon

2 Large Eggs, Slightly beaten

1/2 Cup firmly packed Light Brown Sugar

1 Stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 t. Vanilla

*I also stired in about 3/4 - 1 cup of fresh blueberries because I had some on hand that I needed to use. It was a nice addition.

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

- Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. (I used Canola Oil spray)

- Mix oats and milk in a medium-sized bowl. Sit to the side for 10 minutes.

- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making a well in the center. Stir in the liquid ingredients and the oatmeal mixture until just combined. Be careful not to overmix!

- Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full, and bake for 16-18 minutes until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Do not overbake!

- Let cool and enjoy!

Whistling in the Dark.

Lesley Kagen's debut novel Whistling in the Dark is a coming-of-age thriller told from the point of view of a 10 year old girl named Sally. The novel is set in Milwaukee during the summer of 1959 and follows Sally and her younger sister. A lot has changed in Sally's life recently beginning with a promise that she made to her father before he died that she would take care of her younger sister Troo who is 9.

Shortly after the death of their father, the girl's mother remarrys a not so nice man, becomes ill and ends up in the hospital for an extended period of time. The young girls are pretty much left to fend for themselves for the summer when there is a child molester and murderer on the loose. Over imaginative Sally believes that she will be the next victim and she might not be imagining it after all.

This novel is so wonderful because it is told through the naive and innocent eyes of a 10 year old. The frankness with which she describes topics such as the "fast" girl in the neighborhood "getting some sex" and the confusion of how baseball relates to what the older kids do in the backseats of cars is at times very funny. The characters in her neighborhood are richly developed and it makes the reader want to sit down with the women, have a cup of tea, and gossip with them about what's going on in the house next door behind closed blinds.

This novel is charming, full of heart, and suspenseful all at the same time. It really takes the reader back to a time of innocence and draws you into the story until you are with the neighborhood children running the streets and trying to solve a mystery.