So sorry....

No, I have not abandoned the newly created blog....my husband and I have been sick since Monday and this morning was the first morning I actually woke up feeling somewhat rested and half way decent...then our daughter came home tonight with a fever. She seems to be in good spirits though, so hopefully she'll pull through just fine.

My point, I have just been too busy and/or sick to post, but I did finish another Debbie Macomber book...it was OK but nothing compared to Wyoming Brides. So far that book is #1 on my recommendation list!! I started reading another one from the library yesterday but the "love scenes" in it were a little much for me, so it has been returned after reading only the first 30 pages or so and I am starting a new one. Hopefully the new one isn't as, well, graphic as the last one I tried to read!!

I'll be back soon!! There may be life after diapers, but when you're sick, there's not much life after that!!

Maneater

Maneater by Gigi Levangie Grazer

Alrighty, I have another book to add to the reading list!! This time I got "financially creative" when it came to picking my next book....I decided to read one I could check out from the library, and I'm super glad I didn't buy it because the book wasn't very good. Now, interesting enough, this was made into a movie and I actually saw the movie on Lifetime (I think that was the station) a few months ago. I thought the movie was super cute so I just assumed that the book would be better (as is usually the case when a book is turned into a movie...i.e., Twilight, Harry Potter...you get the point). Well, this book wasn't anything like the movie, in fact the changes the movie made were MUCH better than what the book originally had.

The synopsis...spoiled rich girl (Clarissa) is about to be cut from Daddy's "payroll" so she decides she needs to marry a rich guy. Being that she has already, ummm, "made aquantainces" with all the rich guys in LA she had to look for fresh meat...queue Aaron Mason. He moves here from somewhere else and is rich and god looking and even has a club foot (Clarissa likes her men to have some kind of handicap, whether it's endearing or just disturbing I haven't decided yet).

So, she sets out to capture him, which she does. They end up getting married, and this is where the book and the movie go their separate ways. I will tell you what happens separately below:

BOOK: Since she has already decided that she has to have at least one child to ensure her social standing she, well, creatively gets herself pregnant (if you really want to know, read the book...I don't know that it's entirely possible the way she did it but the Author gets creative and very creepy points for thinking of it). Then, her husband informs her the next morning that his parents cut him off and that they are dirt poor...in fact they have to get ready and run out on the hotel bill. Needless to say she is a little upset and she finds herself and Aaron in a small apartment and him working as a PA for some director getting his coffee and morning paper. She then decides to go drop-in on his parents and break the news of their impending promotion to grandparents, they are thrilled, but she can't understand why they are so nice when they practically dishoned him at the wedding (or that's what she was told...), when she gets back they have a fight and she leaves, while he screams after her that she can't take care of herself, let alone a baby (he was excited, but dumbfounded as to how she got pregnant). An ex-boyfriend of hers who she is still friends with (Simon) tells Aaron that the baby is his, and when Aaron asks her she is so angry that she tells him it is Simon's baby and speeds off. Then 9 months of her avoiding him begin...they see each other at a few parties, and all the time he tries to make things right but she just won't go along with it.

MOVIE: They get married, she gets pregnant the regular way and Aaron is thrilled. She decides to surprise his parents and tell them she's pregnant, hoping they will put Aaron back on the family payroll...they are excited. She gets back and Simon has told Aaron that the baby is his, Aaron is angry...they fight, she leaves. There is some communication between them and she isn't quite the mean witch to him that she is in the book. After months of trying to re-connect he finally gets her to listen and she admits to him that the baby can't be Simon's. They make up and the baby is born.

The real difference is that in the book she is made out to be a total witch...in the movie she is a little more personable, just stubborn. Also, the book has a lot of nasty language...Again, I liked the movie much, much better!!

In the end, she ends up finding out that "Aaron" has his own secret...and it explains why the parents she went to see were so sweet to her. You'll have to read the book (or I would suggest watch the movie) to discover what the secret is and what happens after that. Funny enough, I would say that the book version would be almost rated R, but the movie version, barely PG-13.

I think I'm done with books from this author...I think her favorite word is the "F" word and there's nothing I hate more than reading a book with that scattered all amongst the pages.

My New Best Friend in the Kitchen

My sister-in-laws raved about this little kitchen tool, saying that it was amazing and that it worked just as well as they said it did on TV....well, I am a huge pessimist when it comes to the supposed latest and greatest from late-night infomercials.

But this little chopper has earned my full and complete respect...they insisted that it was worth the $20 so I headed to Target and picked one up a while back. Seeing as how I tend to have problems with sharp knives and graters, I figured if this thing really worked, I could save myself quite a bit of blood loss and steer clear of a few more scars.

I used mine for the first time last night to chop potatoes, carrots and onions....and it was amazing!!! It worked just as well as it does on the commercials and it cut my prep time down by probably a half hour, if not more...AND I didn't have to worry about cutting myself...YAY!!!

It made all the veggies look all neat and pretty, and made it so much more enjoyable to prepare a meal without all the tedious chopping. I chopped a whole bag of carrots, about 4 pounds of potatoes and an onion in a matter of 2 or 3 minutes (after I peeled them of course...where's the miracle machine for that??).

Anyways, if you have ever seen the commercial for this little gadget and wondered if it really was as good as it sounds, it is!!! So head to your closest Target and pick it up off the ever popular "As Seen on TV" shelf that is in the middle of the store...but resist the urge to pick up any of the other infomercial rejects there, you'll probably only be disappointed!!

Unless...any of you have any great "As Seen on TV" finds?? Go ahead, tell me about them...I promise I won't laugh that you actually bought that tube of Mighty Putty or package of Hercules Hooks if they really were worth the money!!

Wyoming Brides

I know, I know...another book!! This one I read in a day and still had time to fold laundry!!

"Wyoming Brides" by Debbie Macomber is actually 2 books that are now published as a joint story. Debbie wrote the first book "Denim and Diamonds" back in the late 80s, and then just recently in 2006 she wrote the "sequel" or more appropriately, part 2 entitled "The Wyoming Kid." Both books basically center around a brother and a sister who lost their parents years ago and are now taking care of the family ranch in Wyoming.

Let me just say that this is one of the best books I have read in a long time...much better than the last 2 I have read!! This was a wonderfully romantic story, you could just feel the emotions when you read it and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as graphic as some of the other books I've read lately and I definitely appreciated that.

This book needs to be read to fully appreciate it, and I would definitely recommend going down to Costco and spending the $4.50 to buy it. Basically, Letty and Lonny are brother and sister...Chase Brown owns the farm/ranch next to theirs. Letty and Lonny grew up together and after High School Chase proposed to Letty, and she loved him dearly but wanted to pursue a career in LA...so she headed out and left him heartbroken. Well, life in LA ended up leaving her with a 3 year old whose father split as soon as he found out his DNA had been reproduced and a hole in her heart, literally, that was discovered during her pregnancy. She now needed surgery and had no choice but to head back home to her brother and have the surgery back home where she could get help with the bills and have someone to watch her daughter.

No one knows the real reason she comes home, they just assume that she finally decided to head back to her roots and raise her daughter. Chase wants nothing to do with her at first and even gives her daughter the cold shoulder but Cricket (her daughter) has become fascinated with Chase and won't leave him alone, which at the beginning annoys him and causes a few awkward situations for Letty.

Over time everyone finds out about her condition and the surgery and things get smoothed over...but while all that drama is unfolding, Lonny has his eyes on someone himself, but he doesn't realize it yet. He has fallen hard for the local school teacher, Joy Fuller, but despite Letty's constant prodding he insists that he loathes her and Joy similarly can't stand him. They have a few encounters, 2 of which are car accidents, or incidents, that they end up in together.

The second book, The Wyoming Kid is about Lonny finally realizing that despite all those years of yelling at Joy and thinking that she was just impossible he loves her and that he doesn't want to imagine his life without her in it. So, he sets out to "woo" her with the help of his now married sister who is friends with Joy. The only problem is that Joy's old boyfriend from the city is coming back to try and rekindle what was lost for them a few years back in college. Now Lonny has to try and convince Joy that she should stay there in Wyoming with him and that she in fact loves him too...but she wants to see what happens with Josh her old flame and she insists that she doesn't love Lonny, that he is just crazy for saying things like that. After a few incidents where they find themselves in each other's arms mostly by accident she finally realizes that small town life really is what she wants and that small-town life would just be boring without Lonny in it.

This is kind of a quick review, and honestly, this book needs to be read to fully appreciate it. if you are looking for an easy read and something that will make you smile, then this is the book for you!! I loved it and would definitely read it again!!

The Friday Night Knitting Club

The next book in my personal book club was "The Friday Night Knitting Club" written by Kate Jacobs.

This was a very interesting book, and I am glad to say that it was almost exactly what I expected based on the summary on the back cover. On the front it is described as "Steel Magnolias" set in Manhattan....I have never seen Steel Magnolias, but I know that it's the one movie that makes lots of grown men cry, so that prepared me for some sort of emotional event...and this book actually did bring tears to my eyes.

I've decided that you know it's a good book when you can write a review in a few sentences...this book was basically about a woman (Georgia) who had a teenage daughter whose father had split when he found out she was pregnant (and who of course shows up later on in the book) and she owns a yarn shop in New York. The book is about her shop and how inviting a few of the regulars to stay and knit when they wanted a break morphed into a formal gathering every Friday night. The club ends up being a wonderful bonding experience for these women who all come from different backgrounds and are in different stages of their lives. They all share their heartbreak, their excitement and their secrets over their knitting projects and really show us that with a common goal, we can all learn something from someone else (if that makes sense).

This book is a beautiful tribute to being a mother and raising a child. The end of the book is sad, but not entirely since the order of the events leading up to the ending made everything a smooth transition and made sure that every one of the characters involved had their own happy ending.

If you want a book that is going to make you grateful for friends, then this is a wonderful read. For me personally it has been a very long time since I had a friend like some of the women in this book and it made my heart ache to have that bond with another woman again. Although my life story is much different than Georgia's, I still felt a connection with her and her friends. This book really made me think about starting my own knitting/crochet club....I wonder if anyone would be interested?? I used to teach crochet at JoAnn's and I really miss it, I really miss the satisfaction of watching someone start up a scarf and their excitement as they returned the next week to show me how they had been able to do even a few rows straight!!

I figure once Greg gets the backyard done I might float the idea around...kids could come and run around the backyard while all of us women sit around and knit or crochet...and I would be more than willing to teach and/or give tips!!

What will my next book be?? I have one more paperback from Costco that I bought, but I have to find it first...I think I am going to try and make a baby blanket/burp cloth/bib combo pack from some leftover flannel and possibly put it up on Etsy and see what happens. Or maybe I'll just go watch my 2 beautiful children sleep for an hour.....

I can sew and read anytime, but these 2 kidlets won't be this small forever, I think I'll go sneak a few peeks while they're out!!!

The Starter Wife

I have read many books since having children, but I am going to start off with the most recent read....a interesting book titled "The Starter Wife" by Gigi Levangie Grazer.I actually picked this book up at Costco. I was wandering through the book section about a week ago checking out the inexpensive paperbacks when I saw it and remembered that there was a show on USA about this book. Now, I have never seen the show and didn't really know much about it other than it was about a women who was married to a rich guy who leaves her for a younger woman.

So, I grabbed it and brought it home (after paying for it of course) and read it.

I finished it about 4 days ago....and I am just now getting around to "reviewing it," mostly because it was just OK. One thing I'm learning as I start reading more and more is that I wish there was a rating system on the printed media, like for movies. This book had some language in it, and some "romantic moments" that were a little over done...and that kind of thing really should be noted on the book somewhere.

Anyways, back to the content...like I said, the book was OK. It was a love story, obviously, and it was written well for the most part. I found that the very beginning was kind of hard to follow the way it was written. It took me re-reading a few paragraphs to finally figure out who was who, and there were a few other times in the book where I had to really stop and think about who was who, but otherwise it was entertaining to read.

Basically, Gracie has been married to a big-shot Hollywood Producer for almost 10 years with one little 3 year old girl when he calls her one day and tells her he wants a divorce, conveniently right before their 10 year anniversary...and before the 10 year deadline on the prenup. So, she has to pack up her daughter and leave what she calls the "McMansion" and ends up living in Malibu with her good friend named Joan who lets Gracie and her daughter stay in her house. "The Colony," is the name of the gated community Joan's mansion is in and she insists that Gracie and her daughter camp there while she and her elderly husband are off vacationing in some other country for the summer.

During those months Gracie discovers lots of things...she discovers that her husband was cheating on her with Brittany Spears (another thing that bugged me about the book...the author used real people, but in fictional circumstances...it annoyed me). Gracie ends up making friends with one of the girls who is a security guard at the gate to the beachfront community and starts walking the neighborhood with her daughter looking for single men, even though she thinks she is doomed to live out the rest of her life alone since she is 40 and with a kid. Throughout the book she ends up making some new friends; losing a very dear friend (her ex-husband's boss) who was supposed to only pretend to kill himself, but ends up following through. She has her life saved by a random man that she decides she is going to seduce, only to discover after having him over to dinner that he is the homeless guy on the beach...but she can't forget about him and despite how stupid it sounds she decides that she is love with him and that she has to have him. As she goes to find him and confess her love, she discovers that his makeshift home is gone along with any trace that he was ever there.

Throughout the whole story there are lots of little twists and turns, and insights into the lives of the rich and how despite their wealth and comfort, they aren't immune to what the rest of us deal with on a daily basis. The book has some humorous parts, and has some drama....but it ends in an expected but unexpected way with Gracie getting everything she could have wanted and more.

If you want to know the ending you'll just have to read it yourself, but be warned, it's not a G-rated book...if I had to rate it, I would say it was at least PG-13...but I wouldn't let my teenage daughter read it.

Now, I have started reading a book titled "The Friday Night Knitting Club" and I will let you know what I think of it when I finish it. Again, this was another Costco book section grab, but this one already is more promising than the book above!!

Flourless Chocolate Truffle Cake

Saturday I decided to try a new cake recipe that I had seen on Bakerella's blog...it sounded yummy and the pictures looked even yummier, and apparently it is a Paula Deen Recipe so that meant it had to be delicious!!

When it comes out it looks normal....

But then you let it sit for an hour and Voila - It falls, and it falls deliciously hard!

Then you put it in the fridge for a few hours (which, trust me, is totally worth the wait) and when you release it, it looks like this...

Oh yummy delicious chocolateness!!! This was a dense, moist, fudgy, rich chocolate treat!!

WARNING...DO NOT even attempt to eat a bite of this cake if you don't have milk available!!!

Until I learn HTML and how to post links, you'll have to do a little typing to find the recipe, but it will be well worth it...go to Bakerella's Blog (it will be on the side of my blog) and in the search box type in "flourless chocolate cake"....then enjoy!!!

WELCOME

I decided that I needed to start a blog that was strictly about me....a mommy, a wife and a woman who is slowly discovering that there really is "life after diapers." I, like many other mothers of young children, am trying to balance loving and raising my beautiful children with everything else I love....things like baking and crafts and just having fun!!

So, this blog is a record of all my attempts at trying to discover "life after diapers." I will post recipes and pictures of my baking adventures, pictures and ideas of crafts or projects I am working on, and reviews for books I have read...all in the hopes that I can prove to myself (and maybe a few other women out there) that we can have a life of our own while loving and attending to our children and husbands.

Alright....one....two...three.....
Here we goooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!