Promises in Death by J.D. Robb

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love all of the In Death books. They are all about a homicide cop, Eve Dallas, in NYC set in the future (2050+). The author has done a great job of creating this future world, with tons of little details that just make it came alive. JD Robb is a pseudonym (SP?) for Nora Roberts. So some of the scenes are quite steamy. And some of them are kind of graphic, because she is a homicide cop.

But there have been a lot of books in this series, and sometimes the storylines feel a little familar. The main plot in this story was solid. But the best part of this book was the character interactions. She brings in a lot of the secondary characters, and there are TONS of great little scenes. I swear, I wish they would make some of these into a movie. Not a made for tv deal, but a real feature movie. I truly had some laugh out loud moments. And it felt like the main character grew a lot personally in this book. If you have never read any of the In Death books, you probably won't get the same impression of this book. Because you have to know the background of each of the minor characters to reallly understand what is going on. You'll still like the book. But this book was definitely a payoff to all the longterm fans.


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Green Smoothies

So awhile ago, I posted about green smoothies, and how much I loved them. Unfortunately, I have gotten out of the habit of making them. I enjoyed sleeping in way too much. However, I'm trying to add one healthy habit a week into my life, and this week it is breakfast. I just happened to have all the ingredients, so I decided to make them this morning.

I started with these ingredients:

Normally I would use a fresh banana, but I had a bunch of bananas that were about to go bad, so I cut them up and froze them, and I actually like the way the smoothie turned out with the frozen bananas. That is about 2 handfuls of baby spinach, 1 small glass of water, and 1 apple cored and sliced, and about 1 banana (peeled and cut into pieces).

First you put the spinach and water in the blender. I kind of stuff the spinach down in the bottom, because I have a cheap blender, and it doesn't always get all the stuff blended smoothly. I use the liquefy option. It just takes a few seconds. Then I add the apples (usually in 2 batches - again, cheap blender). Few more seconds on liquefy. Then I add the bananas. The banana adds a creaminess. You can also add ice or more water at this point. Chris tends to like them a little thinner, so I added some more water.

And then you get this:

Yes it is green, yes it looks a little bizarre. But I can tell you that I can't taste the spinach. The banana and the apple provide almost all of the flavor. And I don't know what exactly it is, but I have some much more energy during the day after I have one of these. Chris is even a believer (mostly - he still thinks it is a blog fad, but he agrees that they really work). There are tons of combinations out there. The other ones that I have tried are kale instead of spinach and rainbow chard instead of spinach. I've also added frozen berries instead of the apple. But then they are purple smoothies. :) The kale and rainbow chard combos had a different flavor (and texture), and I think I will have to work my way up to those over time. I think I need a better blender to try kale again. It didn't liquefy as well.

The place where I first learned about green smoothies was Happy Foody. She has some great ideas (and inspiration) and even a link to a video on how to make them. Just google Green Smoothie, and you will find a ton of resources. Particularly on peoples blogs. If you try one, let me know!

New Blogs

I found a few new blogs that I thought I would let you know about.

The first is Eightcrazy The Blog. I found it through Tip Junkie. Tip Junkie is one of my dailies that has all kind of great ideas from other people. They have everything from decorations, to organizing ideas, to food, and beyond. Anyway, they posted this link to a post on Eightcrazy about a fantastic craft idea. I won't say much more about it, because I plan on buying the stuff for this project tomorrow, and I'll blog about my success (failure).

The second is Our Best Bites. I haven't made it very far into this blog yet, but one of my weaknesses are food blogs. I want to make everything I see. So far, I've had some luck, and a few not so good choices. Anyway, I found this blog today (through Eightcrazy) and I started looking, and immediately knew I was sunk. I plan on trying a a few of their recipes soon.

Celia Garth

Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my favorite books, by one of my favorite authors. It is set mostly in Charleston during the Revolutionary War. Gwen Bristow does an amazing job of portraying strong women as the main characters. There is a thread of romance in the story, but it isn't the primary focus of the story. I've learned (retained) more about history from reading some of Bristow's books than I have from my history classes. :)

My other favorites of hers are Jubillee Trail and Calico Palace.

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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I just finished this book. I had picked it up on a whim at Joseph Beth. Part of my whole plan to expand the kind of reading that I did.

I think I'm to close to it to really identify what I thought about the book. At one point, I had to stop reading it for awhile because it was too depressing/hard-to-read/sad/emotional/somthing. But then I picked it back up yesterday, and couldn't put it down till I finished it.

The author is a wonderful story teller. And it is definitely worth reading. But it makes you think. Sometimes about stuff that you don't want to think about.

The Little Lady Agency and The Prince

The Little Lady Agency and the Prince by Hester Browne

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Very fun book. I liked the first two books in this series a lot, and this one is a great addition.



This is a story about an English girl who sets up her own "Little Lady Agency" where she acts as "sort of a freelance advisor for single men who need a bit of help keeping everything running smoothly. You know, all the things girlfriends do for free" (but not that). In this one, she has to tackle a playboy prince who has to reform his act.



Anyways, a very good read. Fun and easy to read. Definitely has laugh-out-loud moments and I even teared up a time or two.


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Paisano's Italian Ristorante

Chris and I decided to do our Valentine's Dinner early this year. The past few years, it has been a pain trying to go out to eat ON Valentine's Day. We don't usually celebrate too much, we just try to go to dinner.

Chris had class till 7 last night, so I just hung out in Lexington after work, and he met me at Coffee Times. We decided to go someplace close by, and I suggested Paisano's Italian Ristorante, because we had never been there, and it looked cute. It was delightful!!! If you have never been, it is one of the nicest Italian restaurants in Lexington. The prices were very reasonable, the food was delicious, and they had a ton of variety. We had 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, 1 dessert and one beer for around $38. That is incredible!! And the dessert. AHHHHHH. We shared a tiramisu, and no joke, it was the best that we have ever had. It was just amazing. It wasn't just Chris and I who thought this either. We heard the couple at the table next to us say the exact same thing. The ambiance was very cozy, and the service was great. The rolls they served with the meal were very yummy. I had the Baked Cannelloni stuffed with chicken, spinach and cheese with Alfredo sauce. Very very tasty, and enough leftover for lunch today. Chris had the linguine with clams, and he seemed to enjoy it as well. If you don't have plans yet for Valentines Day, I definitely recommend trying out this place. You won't regret it!

They are located at:
2417 Nicholasville Rd # 3Lexington, KY 40503
(859) 277-5321

Movie Review: New In Town

Chris and I went to see New In Town last week. It is absolutely hilarious. We both loved it. One of the funniest movies we have seen in a long long time. It is set in Minnesota. Renee's character is an executive from Miami that comes to this butter plant in Minnesota to downsize the plant. I don't want to spoil any of the storyline, so that is all I'll give you about the storyline. It is a heartwarming movie, that is filled with hilarious situations.

I think part of the reason that Chris and I loved it so much is that we both really long for that fictional small town community. Those perfect little towns where there are community gatherings, beautiful downtowns, everyone knows everyone, etc. We have both lived in small towns, but haven't found one that works like that yet. Oddly enough, I have felt really pulled towards Wisconsin and Minnesota lately. I think we will have to plan a trip there to see if my day-dreams are just my imagination, or if it is really that great.

World Without End by Ken Follett

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book, and its companion (Pillars of the Earth), are two of the best books I have ever read. I love to read, but these books have completely captivated both my husband and I. We listened to both of these books on cd. They were both narrated by John Lee (who did a fanatsic job). They are incredibly long, but totally worth it. My husband and I are both sad that they are over.


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****edited to add: There are a number of graphic scences in this book. There are a number of very uncomfortable scenes. There are sexual scenes, as well as very violent scenes. Definitely for adults. Wanted to make sure you all were aware of it if you decided to read this book.

Working From Home

For those of you that don't know, my employer recently decided to start a work-at-home pilot program for my team. They picked two of us to test it, and I was one of the lucky two! This has been in the works for well over 6 months, and I had been not-so-patiently waiting for it to start. The first few days were VERY stressfull, because when we had a problem, it was hard to determine if it was us, the computer, the connection, the secure line to work, the program, etc. As we have gotten to be more familiar with how it all goes together, it has been much smoother. We still have a few kinks, but they are being addressed. Hopefully it won't be long before the rest of our team is working from home as well!

Right now, I work from home 4 out 5 days. On the fifth day, I go into UK to work. It has actually been nice, because the one day that I'm at UK, I get to get out and about, and see people, and run any errands after work. Plus, we found out that our offices will be moving offsite, so when that happens, I won't have to worry about paying for parking anymore. My job is exactly the same. I'm tied to my computer via my headphones, and I troubleshoot over the phone all day. But now, I have a window and comfy clothes, and a relaxing envioronment. Positives all the way around! It has actually already been a benefit to UK as well. One day a few weeks ago, UK lost power for 5+ minutes, and the rest of my team weren't available to answer calls because they didn't have electricity, but since I wasn't there, I was able to keep answering calls from the rest of UK that didn't lose power. :) So far my stats are staying high, and I'm able to answer just as many calls now as I did before.