Eighth Grade Bites (Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, #1)

As a sixth grade teacher, I observe a lot of my students reading this particular series. I read it because I wanted to check it out. First off, I did not have a high expectation after having read other paranormal teenage books. However, it actually suprised me pleasantly.

What I liked about this story was that it had a lot of emotional depth revolving around Vlad's dead parents and his love for his aunt. The story also has a lot of intrigue and suspense. It introduces characters and snipets of Vampire culture, without fully explaining them. I found that I wanted to keep reading in order to find out what certain symbols mean... and why Otis Otis always wore a top hat (and yes, his first and last name is Otis). What I especially liked about the story was that it was intriguing and age appropriate. There is no intense sexual innuendo or desperately painful and over done teenage drama. 

Favorite Quotes:

"Because teachers, no matter how kind, no matter how friendly, are sadistic and evil to the core." (p.53)

"People fear what they can't understand and harm what they fear." (p. 114)(

The Lost Wife, by Alyson Richmon

This bittersweet story is takes place during the Holocaust, where two young lovers are torn apart because they are Jewish. It is a story of young romance, loss, and profound emotional horror. It was one of those stories where I was so attached to the characters and did not want to read another page because of the horror of what was happening to them; yet I was so addicted to this book that I could not put it down.

The story begins at the end, and as it progresses, the chapters jump around on the timeline. They alternate between the points of view of Josef and Lenka, the two main characters. At times, I thought it was creative, but sometimes difficult to jump between events in the chronology.
Richman does a fantastic job using language and romanticizing certain themes throughout the book. One theme that I enjoyed most and could identify with was the concept of young love. The characters wonder if it was a fantasy and wanted to keep it to themselves, like only they were invited to a secret world to be happy and safe. As the plot progresses this concept fades away into loneliness and loss. However, Richman still finds a way to beautify this concept. At points throughout the story, Josef explains the visions of people he has. He says when you dream, love ones come to visit, but the horrors come when you are awake. Richman found a way to make a situation so foreign to the reader seem familiar so they can identify with it.

The only disappointment that I found with this book was the ending. I believe that it stops at a crucial point in the story and I long to know what happens to them afterwards.

Favorite Quotes:

"A different Lenka was emerging, one that existed as two halves- one half wanted to feel alive, to feel happy, to saturate myself in the feelings of first love- but the other half was full of dread." (p. 78)  

"She always told us there were two types of women. Those who are lit from the outside and those who are lit from within. The first needs the shimmer of a diamond to make her sparkle, but for the other, her beauty is iluminated through the sheer light of her soul." (p. 37)

"I love my children like a tiger. I love my wife like a lamb." (p. 69)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel came to my high school, probably around the year 1998. After listening to his speech with us, I made a silent vow to myself to read Night. It took me near fifteen years to work up the courage to read it. I feel that reviewing this memoir would be a disservice. Instead, all I would like to say is that this book made me thankful for all things, even the mundance, it made me cry, and it made me wish I had the courage to write something so profound... and thankful that I don't have anything as profound to write about.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

I have long wanted to read the story of Harriet Jacobs. Reading, The Help, was the final push that needed to pick up this book. Harriet Jacobs was a slave during the early to mid nineteenth century. She told her story to an abolitionist woman who wrote it down. The audience was directed toward white, northern women. Also like the help, the realtionship between black and white omwne, was inherent throughout the text. Although there is speculation as to how true Jacobs' story is, I find that it brought up excellent lessons about slave life that could have happened to any slave during this time, regardless of whether it happened to Jacobs or not.

Some of Harriet's duties reminded me of the duties that women in The Help still had to perform. However, the consequences were much more servere. "It was necessary that a servant should sleep in the same room, to be on hand if the child stirred." Harriet was always meant to be with Mrs. Flint and her children. Harriet's own children took a back seat. They should not be raised together under any circumstances. It amazes me how much strength Jacobs had, in order to do what she does to set her own children free (which I won't mention as a spoiler). Overall, I could not imagine wishing that my own child were dead instead of being a slave, as Harriet did.

I thought it was interesting how her appearance, aside from her skin tone, afflicted her. Harriet hated a dress given to her by her mistress, Mrs. Flint. She hated it because "It was one of the badges of slavery." Mr. Flint also cut all of her hair off as a punishment, to show that she as a disobedient person.

Central to the text was also her and her family's feelings on slavery. William, her brother said, "...he did not mind the smart of the whip, but he did not like the idea of being whipped." He did not like being property. Harriet repeatedly said that she did not want to be conquered. She refused to be someone's property. Even in the end when she achieves her freedom, she looks at the bill of sale with mixed feelings. She is grateful for her freedom, but it disgusts her that she has to have a piece of paper to prove it, especially when it is backed by money.

Slavery also brought power to whites who were even low on the socioeconomic status tier. She spoke that when a town was looking for a runaway, low whites were "exulted in such a chance to exercise a little brief authority, and show their subserviency to the slaveholders," (p.101). Priests told the slaves that they were sinners just by being born a slave. Constables also had coveted privileges. For example, if he found a slave out after nine o'clock, "he could whip him as much as he liked." (p. 166).

Overally, the lessons in this book were extraordinary. It was definitely a wonderful, somber read with a triumphant end.

Favorite Quotes:
"I was born a slave; but I never knew still six years of happy childhood had passed away," (p. 36).

"I would ten thousand times rather that my children should be the half-starved paupers of Ireland than to be the most pampered among the slaves of America." (p. 63)

"I forgot that in the land of my birth the shadows are too close for light to penetrate." (p. 71)

"That poor, ignorant woman thought that America was governed by a Queen, to whom the President was subordinate. I wish the President was subordinate to Queen of Justice."

"It seemed as if I were born to bring sorrow on all who befriended me, and that was the bitterest drop in the bitter cup of my life." (p. 147)

The Slave Dancer

The Slave Dancer is a story about a young 13 year old boy, Jessie, who lives in New Orleans during the slave trade era. Jessie is kidnapped and brought to a slave ship heading to Africa. His job is to play music for the slaves so that they will dance. This measure was taken to help them slow the process of muscle deterioration while in severely cramped quarters on board.

The Slave Dancer is one of those books that definitely brings truth to the phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." I originally purchased this book for a young adult literature class and never read it. The reason I was reluctant was because it has a young, jovial boy playing the fife on the cover. I thought, "How can this realistically illustrate the horrors of the slave trade?" Reading the novel proved that there can be a delicate balance between historical horror and young adult literature.

The story tactifully included many details about sailing on a slave boat. There were well developed sailing characters, that captured the life of a working class sailor. It discussed the moral dilemmas they had with their job and justified why they made their decisions to work on the ship. It also captured the relationships that American and European countries had with slavery and the fight to abolish it. In fact, the most horrific ending had to do with their willingness to do anything in order to save their own freedom from punishment of illegally participating in slave catpure.

I would recommend this book to both adults and young adults who are interested in learning the details of the slave trade. It does not hold back, and tactifully causes tears instead of screams.

The MONSTER MANKILLER FLIES of Charles City

To state the obvious, there are bugs in Charles City. Lots of bugs. However, there is one bug that is truly noteworthy: the monster mankiller fly. This fly not only bites you, but will take a chunk of flesh out and leave you with a swollen wound the size of a grapefruit. They are so big that they fly into windows and either kill themselves or stun themselves and have to lay on the ground for 15 minutes until they can fly away. They come into season around the beginning of August and "bug" you until Thanksgiving. I present pictures below of the terrible, flying, horror.

I hate you, bug. Close-up of the bug scheming how to get into the house and eat my finger from the kitchen window.

The mankiller fly on our kitchen window.

For scale, I am pointing to the fly with my finger so you can see how big he is. Thank goodness we had a pane of glass between us. Otherwise, I might have lost my finger!

James Meets Irene

When Hurricane Irene came, I thought it would be neat to document the changes of the James River from my kitchen window. Here we go...

Friday, August 26, 4:00 pm: When I got home from the middle school, the water level was normal. The water was choppier than usual. You can see the little ripples. For this picture, I took the camera outside. It was so humid that the camera lense was fogging up.

Friday, August 26, 7:00 pm: The water level was already rising! We were even having little white caps on the waves. Notice the direction of the water is towards the grass.

Saturday, August 27, 7:00 am: 12 hours after the first picture, the water level had raised considerably. The picture is blurry from the raindrops on the window. The tide is changing from towards the grass to towards the pier.

Saturday, August 27, 9:30 am: The water is crashing into the pier as it continues to rise.

Saturday, August 27, 1:00 pm: The water rising and consuming the pier

Saturday, August 27, 6:00 pm: The walkway of the pier is underneath the water.

Sunday, August 27, 8:00 am: Back to normal. Other than a few branches, you'd never know the hurricane came. I'm rather happy that James and Irene's relationship didn't work out; he kicked her out in hopes of a better catch.

Making Indian Food at Home

By no means am I a professional at making Indian food at home. My friend Kunjan in college taught me all about Indian food and I learned to LOVE it. Indian food is much more readily available up North. However, in Virginia, Indian food is really expensive to eat at restaurants that are few and far between. Occasionally, Brad and I will go to Nawab in Williamsburg, or Curry Club in Richmond. They are very good, but have high prices and are far away. We have compromised and learned to "cook" Indian food at home. By no means is this authentic, but it's good for when you need a weekday fix!

Products to Use:

• Simmer Sauces: After you cut up some chicken, all you need to do is brown it and then simmer it in an Indian inspired sauce. You can find a variety of simmer sauces in grocery stores. Our favorites can be found at Martin's, Harris Teeter, and Fresh Market. We have used a simmer sauce from Trader Joe's, but it was lacking flavor, even after we spiced it up a little on our own. For tips on spicing up the chicken, see below.
• Rice: For quick and easy rice on the weeknights, I love to use Microwaveable Jasmine rice by Trader Joe's. It cooks in three minutes. If we are using sweet simmer sauces, such as those made with coconut milk, we will jazz up the rice more (see our rice tip below!)
• Naan: For people who may not be familiar with Indian cuisine, naan is a type of bread that goes with meal. It comes in a variety of ways, such as out of the freezer cases at Walmart. However, we like to purchase Masala Tandoori naan from Trader Joe's. 

Pros of Cooking Indian at Home:

1. It is cheaper
2. You can add spices to the sauce to make it as mild or hot as you like
3. It's tasty
4. You can experiment with different simmer sauces and find some really good ones!
5. It's an easy weeknight meal and makes excellent leftovers for lunch the next day

Cons of Cooking Indian at Home: 

1. It makes your kitchen smell like a NYC taxi cab
2. It has the potential to make you want to consume an entire box of Gas-X 
3. You can choose a simmer sauce that is not so tasty and have a meal that's not tasty
4. It's not as tasty as restaurant (or Kunjan's) cooking

Tips:

Spicing the Chicken: Depending on the type of simmer sauce we use, we like to rub in any combination of the following: curry seasoning, cayenne, dry pepper flakes, and fennel seed. It works best to rub the spices into the chicken before it is cooked.

Sweeten the Rice:If we have a sweet sauce, usually containing coconut milk, we like to make sweet rice. I find that this rice is so tasty that sometimes I don't even want anything else. I just want to eat the rice! This rice should be used in moderation for healthy eaters because we add the following:

• Fennel Seed
• Chopped Pecans
• Golden Raisins
• Shredded Sweet Coconut

Types of Seasonings for Sara and Brad's Tasty Rice

Final Tasty Indian Rice

Turkey Taco Bake

This is the perfect dish for weeknight dinners when you want a warm, hearty portion. I stole the base recipe from a Campbell's cookbook, and vamped it up to taste better and become leaner. Using an 11 x 8-inch casserole dish, a fourth of the pan is 13 Weight Watchers PointsPlus. It's a good chunk of points, but it is filling... and you can always eat a smaller portion size!

Final Product: Turkey Taco Bake!

Ingredients
1 pound 97% fat free ground turkey

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 taco seasoning packet

3/4 cup water

1 can Condensed Tomato Soup

1 cup chunky salsa

1/2 cup fat free milk

1 can Rotel diced tomatoes and chilies

6 8-inch flour tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Cook the turkey and the onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the turkey is browned. Stir frequently to break up the meat. 

Ground turkey, onion, and taco mix

2. Add the taco seasoning and the water. Mix the seasoning until it thoroughly coats the turkey.


3. Stir in the soup, salsa, and milk into the pan and mix. Then, fold the tortillas and cheese into the mixture. (this is the trickiest part- make sure that you are using a large enough pan. I halve the tortillas and fold them in two batches.)

Stir in soup, salsa, and milk

Fold in cheese and tortilla

4. Spoon the mixture into a shallow 11 x 8 inch (2 quart) baking dish. Cover.

5. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining cheese immediately. 

Sprinkle on cheese while hot!

Enjoy!

The Help

Not only is "The Help" the title of this book, but it may also stand for, "The Help I Will Need to Find Other Books that Compare to This." This work is so delicious that it has *almost* ruined my appetite to read other books because I know that they will not be as good.

I do not like to give plot summaries in my book reviews because better plots can be read by the publisher. Plus it will take up the space that I need to write about my feelings and analysis of the story. For this novel, there is a lot.

First, I must get started with the development of the characters. I felt like after reading a page or two featuring a character, that I knew them. I could prompt what types of responses they would have to situations. I understood their humor. I would know what they looked like if I crossed their paths on the street. I first lamented that they were not real and made up by an author's imagination. However, two hundred pages into the novel, I realized that I no longer lamented their nonexistence. Stockett developed an authentic celebration of the actual people who lived during this period in history. Even though Aibileen, Skeeter, and Minny didn't actually exist, their personas, feelings, and histories lived in actuality. It makes me want to jump into the book and live in this time period and through the events, meeting people who did live through it. I was born thirty years too late.

I commend Stockett for achieving such a delicate balance between the controversial issues present throughout the five hundred something pages. There were tensions present between both genders and races. I never felt an intense hatred towards an entire group of people. For example, even though Hilly was a horrible character, it did not make me hate white people in the 1960's. I only specifically despised people with characters like Hilly. Same goes to men and Leroy... and the naked intruder...

Miss Skeeter and I have mothers that went through the same finishing school. That is all that I should say about that. Luckily, I found a better man than Stuart.

Rarely do I ever comment on the structure or typeface of the tangible book itself. Here goes the first: the outline of the chapter, "The Benefit (p. 377)," was striking. It visutally grounded the drama of the chapter.

After I finished the book, I must say that I hated the ending. What happens to them?!?! So much has changed!!! ARGH!!! Then, after about two days of distress after finishing the book, it makes me happy. It was genius and the lack of details does not matter. What happens is that they have new beginnings and the world is open to them. It was a beautiful end.

Favorite Quotes:
"Mrs. Charlotte Phelan's Guide to Husband-Hunting, Rule Number One: a pretty, petite girl should accentuate with makeup and good posture. A tall plain one, with a trust fund." (p.67)

"'And you call yourself a Christian,' were Hilly's final words to me, and I thought, 'God. When did I ever do that?'" (p.407)

"I'd cry, if only I had the time to do it." (p.417)

Blood of the Fold (Sword of Truth #3)

So far, this has been my favorite of the Sword of Truth books. There are three major reasons why I loved this so much.

1. Even though this story rooted in fantasy, there is deep, DEEP, commentary on today's society. In this particular book, commentary was often set upon today's parenting and children. On page 72, "The young are lazy nowadays. So they sit and wait, to be given, to be taken care of, instead of seeing to their own needs." Then again on page 225, "Morality comes from the top, such as parent to child. The first step then, is to set down laws and show that all of us must live by their maxims. You can never stop all wrongdoing, but if you don't punish it, then it proliferates until anarchy wears the robes of tolerance and understanding."

2. The heroes in this book are flawed. They are not perfect. But their strength comes through their willingness to do good for the masses of other good people. They fight for their beliefs, often making mistakes. But they learn from their mistakes and strengthen naturally.

3. Zedd has some fantastic one-liners that end a few of the chapters. My favorites of these are:

"Fate does not seek our consent." (p. 374)

"History is rarely made by reasonable men." (p. 402)

Stone of Tears

This book took me FOREVER to read. It was a slow start and I was irritated because the main two characters did not appear within the first seventy pages. When Richard and Kahlan do enter the the story, they are taking steps that are super cliche and predictable because the end of the Wizard's First Rule set the plot for this. Then some annoying changes occur and Kahlan, Zedd, and Richard get separated and the story takes three different routes.The story after the beginning takes off and was about 600 pages of complete suspense, thrills, and action.

One of my favorite themes about the book was woman vs. testosterone crazed heathen idiots. I loved watching Kahlan learn to balance compassion, love, and becoming a strong leader for a people who turned their backs on her.

Apple Maple Man Quiche

Apple Maple Man Quiche

This recipe is a brain child of both Brad and myself. We love to cook together. It helps with the timing, the cleaning, and the brain storming. Two minds are better than one! One day I went to make a quiche and just used maple sausage. It tasted pretty good, but there was potential for greatness. Brad added the two ingredients that brought this quiche up the totem pole to Thunderbird position: apples and caramelized onions! The best part of the this quiche is that 1/4 of the 9inch quiche is only 8 Weight Watchers Plus Points. 


The quiche is created in four stages: apples and onions preparation, sausage preparation, egg preparation, and quiche construction. 

Maple Syrup over Onions and Apples

Apples and Onions: Chop 1 sweet red apple and 1 onion into pieces. The pieces should not be too small because when you saute them, they will cook down to be too small. Saute them in a small frying pan. Pour a touch of maple syrup on them to absorb extra flavor. Set aside.

Sausage: Use Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage. Fry up the sausage in a large skillet. When I have finished cooking the sausage all the way through, I drain the fat from it to cut down on the calories. I fold up two paper towels at the bottom of a bowl, lay another two unfolded over it. Then pour the sausage into the bowl and bundle with the paper towels, pressing gently. Wipe out the oil from the frying pan and return the sausage to the pan. Stir in the apples and onions mixture and set aside.

Paper towels BEFORE sausage drain

Paper towels AFTER the sausage drain

Eggs: I prep the egg mixture in a Pyrex liquid measure cup. Crack four eggs into the cup.Technically, you can pour in a touch of half and half. I tend to leave it out to cut out calories. I never notice it is missing with this particular recipe. To season the eggs, I crack peppercorn in and add about 1 Tbsp of tarragon and 1 tsp. of dill (roughly). Whisk the ingredients together and set aside. I leave the salt out because the sausage tends to be salty enough. Set the eggs aside. 

Quiche Construction: This is the most important part of the recipe. I use a 9 inch prepared crust (as a time saver... so I can make the blog!) I do not use deep dish because it has a difficult time cooking the whole way through without burning the top. First, lay the pie crust on a flat pan to put in the oven. This prevents an oven mess in the event that it overflows and makes the uncooked quiche easier to transport. Next, I sprinkle 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese over the bottom of the crust. This helps to keep the quiche together when slicing it later. Then, fill in the apple, sausage, and onion mixture into the crust and atop of the cheese. 

Crust with sausage mixture inside

Next, pour the egg mixture over the sausage mixture. Use caution, since it will pool in certain places where the sausage is low. Pour in large, concentric circles. With a flat spatula, press down on the sausage and even out the top so that the egg mixture flows over.

Press sausage mixture to even out the top and disperse egg

Place the quiche in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow it to cook for 30 minutes. Make sure to keep the quiche on a pan. 

Quiche on pan in the oven!

When finished, slice the quiche through the center with a knife to check if completely cooked.

Are you done?

Note: This is not a delicate quiche. We call it the meaty man quiche at home because it has enough substance to keep my state trooper hubby satisfied at DINNER. Sometimes, we will also serve it with another side item, like Aidell's Chicken Apple Sausage, or Smithfield Maple Ham Steak.

Toad in the Hole

Huge Bratwurst Package- 14 links!

Toad in the Hole is a traditional British dish. I first had it when I was on a trip to Bath, England. The basics of the  dish are sausages that are baked into Yorkshire Pudding. Amazing! Tonight, I changed it up a little. I had a HUGE box of bratwurst to use that Brad's parents had given us (seriously, what are we going to do with 14 bratwurst?) Therefore, made Toad in the Hole with a German twist- I added a chunky onion sauce and used bratwurst in the pudding! Technically, this could be made low fat by using a different type of sausage. This recipe is a combination of information provided by The Illustrated Quick Cook, Jamie Oliver, and Nigella Lawson. For more information on Toad in the Hole, read the wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toad_in_the_hole

Yorkshire Pudding Batter

Sausages and Pudding: To make, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift 1 cup of flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center. Then, crack three eggs into the center of the well and add in a 1/4 cup of milk. Stir with a wooden spoon. Slowly whisk 1 cup of milk into the batter. Season with crushed sage leaves, salt, and pepper. Leave the batter in the fridge to stand for half an hour.

Brats into the oven with batter!

Next, place eight bratwurst into the bottom of a roasting pan so that they are not touching. Drizzle some olive oil over the bratwurst and roll them around so they are covered. Cook the bratwurst in the 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until they are browned.Removed the dish from the oven when finished, pour the pudding batter over the sausages, and return  it to the oven to back for another 15-20 minutes. Batter should have risen and look golden and puffy!

Toads are out of the oven!

Onion Gravy: Now, I am definitely not a connoisseur of making gravy. In fact, I stink whether it's gravy, soup, chili... anything with a liquid consistency. I'm a genius who is still learning. I used a recipe from another cooking blog and tried my best. It came out fabulous! However, instead of having the consistency of gravy, mine was more like... soupy stewed onions. It still tasted good though! 
http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/toad-in-a-hole-with-onion-gravy

Ingredients used for onion gravy

Overall, Toad in the Hole is like British Pub comfort food. It can be prepared so that it is savory and what Brad would call, "Fat Nasty." It can also be prepared with healthier ingredients (replace the bratwurst for a chicken sausage) and can be left without the onion gravy. The possibilities are endless! 

The finished product- I need a nicer presentation plate.

Naming a Blog

While this is not my first webpage, this is my first blog. My last webpage was in college. It featured quotes from professors and friends, the Reuben Review (on the best Reuben sandwiches of course), and adventures of a traveling gnome. I hope that this blog will be a new start and a chance to grow and share small adventures, creations, and thoughts.

Naming the blog was quite a chore. At first, I wanted a name that had to do with time. Time is my most valuable resource. Carl Sandburg had said, "Time is the coin of life." It is the only resource in which one can spend without having another person ultimately influence it. However, The Coin of Life was not a suitable name for where I am in my life's journey at the moment.

The past three years I have been changing careers from an archaeologist to a teacher. I moved in and began a relationship with an amazing man, learning to overcome traumatic childhood experiences and gaining self confidence. To top off the changes, I was just married this past weekend.

Recently, adventures in life have taught me how to balance the brain and the heart. The point of the blog is to document the journey on making the heart, brain, and body happy and healthy, from inside and outward.