this & that

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• I went to Panda Express for the first time today. I had an urge for egg rolls. Now I have an urge for a good egg roll.


• I am in love with Starbuck's Black Tea Lattes


• I am really tired of this cold weather. I have only 4 pairs of pants and I am really sick of wearing them.


• I thought about trying to walk a marathon on a month, then it rained yesterday and it was too blustery today.


• I am good at coming up with excuses.


• I had this idea to do some details of my home for POTD's Home Sweet Home week but I could only come up with one.


• I used to like Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop. It takes like salted packing peanuts these days.


• I think I baked too much in December. I haven't baked at all this year.


• Orville's All Natural Butter Popcorn is very good. Tastes like the stuff I used to make on the stove.


• I had too much caffeine this afternoon.

glory, glory

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Glory, Glory (Bestselling Author Collection) Glory, Glory by Linda Lael Miller

My review


rating: 2 of 5 stars
Glory got pregnant at 18 and was forced to leave home and stay away. She comes back 10 years later to see her mother get married. She sees Jesse, her old boyfriend who is know the sheriff. And she meets Liza, the daughter she had given up for adoption.

You can see where this is all going and it does. Glory tries to get to know her daughter while Jesse hates her for running away without a word. But the attraction is there and they have no trouble having sex even while they argue before and after.

But eventually, the truth comes out and everything gets resolved way too quickly.

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starbucks wi-fi

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I don't go to church though every Sunday morning I leave the house at 9:30 and return before noon. Dad thinks I go to church. It makes him feel better when I go so I continue this little white lie.


In the past, I used to go Panera and get some tea & a pastry. But this doesn't fit in with eating healthy. I decided to try Starbucks though I don't drink coffee but I knew I could get some tea. It was Christmas time and they were featuring specialty hot cocoas. Yum! Each week I tried a new flavor.


While there, I would journal & catch up on podcasts Then I got my iPod TouchMyself and could use their wi-fi. I didn't want to pay for it I remember Madge saying that the wi-fi is free if you register a gift card and use it once a month. OK, done. The first week I couldn't get on because I didn't have the password. (warning tangent! I started using 1Password which I love. One of the features is that it will generate and save a new password for each site. It then will recall them when you revisit those sites. I used it for my wi-fi password so it's not an easy one for me to remember.) The next week I thought I had it saved but realized you can't access the email if you aren't logged in. The third week, I reverted to a low tech method and wrote it down. Yay! I got in. Now it's week four and I can't find that stupid piece of paper.


Big forehead slap.

four in hand

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Four In Hand Four In Hand by Stephanie Laurens


My review


rating: 3 of 5 stars
I bought this book thinking it was NEW from Laurens. I love her books. But this one was off. There were too many characters and not enough book. This was smaller than other Laurens books and it really should have been expanded into 4 larger books. After I finished, I saw that this book was originally published in 1993. Oh that explains it. I wish there would have been some warning that this was an older book.

I don't like when publishers reprint a book just because to make some money. This one should have been left in the archives.


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eatingwell's comfort food made easy

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EatingWell's Comfort Foods Made Healthy: The Classic Makeovers Cookbook EatingWell's Comfort Foods Made Healthy: The Classic Makeovers Cookbook by Jessie Price


My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have thumbed through this once (got it today!) and have added items to my grocery list for tomorrow to make some mac & cheese.

I have made a few of the recipes and they are really good. Some are quite involved but that is the difference between healthy homemade food and easy processed foods.

My favorites are mac & cheese (I prefer it without the spinach), green bean casserole (SO much better than the canned soup variety) & chicken pot pie.


By the way, you can many of the recipes on the EatingWell website.

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the idiot girl and the flaming tantrum of death

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The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death: Reflections on Revenge, Germophobia, and Laser Hair Removal by Laurie Notaro


My review


rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Laurie. She makes me laugh and realize there is someone doing the same stupid things and sometimes doing worse than me.

This book is about Laurie's move from Arizona to Oregon and all the happening that go along for the ride.

Someone commented that this book was like a good personal blog. True, but it's only the best parts and you don't have to wait for the next installment.


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