Conspiracy theory...

Do you remember the little problem i have with magazines??  I've been good about cutting back and not renewing the gazillion that I subscribed to in my crazy subscription spree because I have absolutely not been able to get through them fast enough...I think i have enough unread magazines to last me years!  Also I've been working on getting rid of the junk that is overflowing my house, and one of those things is the magazines that I for some reason have kept for lots of years.  I've gone through some of them to find recipes that I want to keep, and in doing so have discovered a disturbing trend...

 notice any similarities??

 ??

  anything yet?

 is it just me or are the magazine cover designers lazy??

 these are the issues that mad me notice first...

and i think these two issues from February of 2004 & 2005 are the worst--they even have some of the same cover titles!

Now I will give it to them, these issues are from around 2003-2006 and since then they have drastically changed the cover design to make it less cluttered and more modern, and with that they seemed to have come up w/some new design ideas ;)  But I kinda felt jipped--instead of subscribing for all those years I could have just read the same issue each year and probably had the same information!  (and sorry to kinda be picking on Woman's Day--those were the issues that I had available, but I have noticed this in other magazines as well).

Book review: Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

Almost a year ago I used some of my Zoompanel points to get a memoir that immediately caught my eye based on the title and cover art (yes, I judged a book by it's cover...so sue me).  This lovely and hilarious book is Such a Pretty Fat by my new favorite author--Jen Lancaster.  And of course, it's another memoir, b/c that is what I'm all about these days, and I figured that it would be a perfect airplane/beach read on my vacation.

I love the "alternate" title: "Why Pie Is Not the Answer"--Hilarious!  Should be my motto!

One thing that I hate is reading books with characters who are obsessed with their weight and always complaining about being fat when they aren't even in the "normal" BMI range.  I just want to punch skinny girls who fuss about needing to lose weight--especially around those of us who are honestly struggling to get healthy and feel good about ourselves.  But it's also no fun to read sob stories about how depressed overweight girls are--yes, it's a hard struggle, and definitely something that I relate to, but sometimes people are just so down on themselves that it brings you down to hear about it.  

Well, this is not the case at all with Such a Pretty Fat.  Mrs. Lancaster is admittedly overweight, but actually has very high self esteem which I find extremely refreshing.  The title is a play on the two-faced compliment "you have such a pretty face" which of course is never said about overall pretty or friendly people...there is always a but, even if it's unspoken (which is hilariously discussed on pp. 145-147).  This memoir details her realization that her weight was becoming a problem for her health, the decision to write about it, and her experiences with some of the popular weight-loss corporations.

I absolutely adored this book! I read all but about the last 50 pages on the planes & in the airport--a super fast and enjoyable read (even at almost 400 pages).  I had to put it down a few times b/c I was laughing so hard the I was afraid I would disturb the person next to me on the plane! (see p. 54-55 "Two Fat People Admit Defeat": an actual ad that she placed in the wanted ads in order to sell their exercise bike).  I love her writing style, I love her honesty, I love her health success, I lover her pop-culture references, and I love that she wears pink crocs ;).  Seriously, I have now ordered all her other books, and am subscribing to her blog & twitter.  I know, I'm a dork; but she's hilarious!  I definitely recommend this to anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss and self esteem--it is nice to read about it in a light-hearted manner.  (disclaimer, she uses *colorful* language, if that kind of thing offends you).

And if you like the Twilight series you absolutely must read her hilarious blog posts where she acts out/parodies New Moon & Eclipse with dolls.  Love it!

So yeah, definitely buy/borrow/check out this book, and I will be posting soon with reviews of her others.

a book review

So why is the title of this post so generic rather than the actual book title?  Well...the book title in my opinion is a bit awkward for a 20-something, happily married woman to be seen reading in public (or to post as a blog title that her parents will see).  This review is of the wonderful memoir by Sascha Rothchild:

How to Get Divoreced by 30:

My Misguided Attempt at a Starter Marriage

Yeah, it takes some explanation when your husband sees that book arrive in the mail! 

I saw the review of this memoir on one of the blogs that I read (can't remember which one though...) and was immediately intrigued.  You know what a memoir/biography kick I've been on lately, and after flipping throught the book at B&N I decided to use one of my Swag Bucks gift card prizes on it.  

This is not at all a how-to manual, but a hilariously poignant perspective by Rothchild on the decision that she made to enter a marriage that was set up from the beginning to fail.  Each chapter's title is a "step" that she believes lead to the inevitable imploding of her marriage: "Don't Give Yourself a Minute to Reflect", "Don't Mention the Word 'Forever' at the Wedding", "Get Married for a Down Payment", "Call Your First Love", and so on.  In these chapters, she details the events or mindset that made her feel like she was making the right decision, but how each one was either a rationalization or just plain stupid!  In the process, you get a peak into her rather unorthodox upbringing and how childhood baggage & experiences inherently shape your worldview and adult choices.  

At only 210 pages, this book is a breeze to get through and had me laughing out loud at many moments...as well as examining my own marriage and the apathy & complacency that we are all-to-eager to call "comfort" & "stability." Though my worldview is basically opposite hers, and some of the jabs at Christianity & organized religion were a little off-putting; I was refreshed by Rothchild's honest perspective on her choices, her hilarious anecdotes, and her altogether positive attitude towards love and marriage--despite the baggage that her experience could leave her with.  I would definitely recommend this one!  You just may want to make a temporary book jacket so your husband and family don't freak out ;).

Cleaving by Julie Powell; a review

My lovely friend Sabrina regularly reviews the books that she reads on her blog, and I have decided to follow suit.  Tonight I think I am one of exactly 5 people in the USA not interested in the Lost finale, so I figured I would go ahead and start!

As you know, I am a bit obsessed with reading, and have been making a concentrated effort to read more books on top of the stacks and stacks of magazines that I accumulate. I've only finished 4 so far, which is kinda sad actually, but I will try to go back and review some of the others soon.  Also, I have become a library of sorts, lending out my books and DVDs to lots of friends.  Currently I have loaned out (at least) 36 books & dvds in the past 2 months (!!) and am now keeping lists of who gets what and when.  It's a nice way for me to find out what is good without actually having to read it!  Currently I am on a memoir/biography kick, so that's what you will see a lot of for the first bit at least.

So, on to Cleaving.

 

For those of you who don't know, this is the second memoir from Julie Powell, of Julie & Julia fame.  Around the time of the book/movie hoopla, it seemed to become a type of sport to hate on Julie, especially in the food blogging community, but I never fell in with that.  I read the original book before the movie and still occasionally meander to the blog that started it all to read through the posts.  Yes, Julie can be crass, and isn't a "cook" per se, but I kind of like the lack of refinement and the honesty that she has. 

Or, I did like it....

I won't lie.  This was a hard read.  Not hard as in poorly written and impossible to follow, but in that the book is so raw and graphic and painful and messy.  I don't like infidelity.  In the past year or so I have watched people that I know and love walk through the pain of affairs and try to salvage their relationships, but I have not seen it from this side.  From the side of the adulterer.  And I had a really hard time getting through that.  Julie writes in such detail of her relationships with her husband and lover and basically wanting to have both yet to run away from both at the same time.  I just can't wrap my mind around that kind of thinking I guess.  I knew before getting the book that this was the subject matter but I had imagined that it would be more about her marriage in the aftermath of the affair and how she and her husband "cleave together."  Nope.  Because the affair goes on for 2 years and her husband knows about it and has his own thing on the side too, yet they are staying married...yeah, just not the way my mind works. 

I do enjoy her writing style and the way she narrates the stories, though it is definitley self-centered (but isn't all blogging?).  The butcher shop parts are very detailed and could be boring--and/or disgusting--for someone who is not interested in food, but they just make me want to cook some meat.  (and there are plenty of recipes for the cook!) She weaves her life and the art of butchery together fairly well without being obviously metaphorical. 

Honestly, I most enjoyed the second half of the book: her apprenticeship has ended and she takes off to travel around the world learning about butchery in other cultures and, in doing so, (naturally) ends up learning more about herself and her relationships with the men in her life. The whole thing ends fairly anticlimactically and leaves the reader wondering...but that's life right??

So would I recommend it?  I can't say yes, but I didn't hate it.  I just think the reader should be prepared going in.  So many people fell in love with the Amy Adams portrayal of Julie in the movie, and this is not the same character.  This Julie is unlikeable for most of--even all of--the book (some people may argue she was unlikeable in Julie & Julia, so if you didn't like her then, you really won't like her now), and though I think there is some growth by the end, it is a portrayal of an inhereantly selfish and often immature woman who is constantly searching for things to fulfill her.

friday favorites

First I'll give you a hint of what is NOT my favorite...

I love my yummy brunch and all, but do you see the eggs?  Do you remember what they mean?  Yep.  Sick again.  (or should it be still??)  I finished my antibiotics for a sinus infection on Monday.  I had Dr. John look at me again on Thursday b/c on Wednesday I had started to feel worse.  He said I managed to pick up a virus while my immune system was down from the week before.  bah.  I am kinda afraid that it is the flu b/c last night I started to run a fever, and of course I am exposed to every nasty thing in my office.  But I haven't had the energy to get up and go to the doctor again.  I am considering firing my body.  It's performance has been seriously sub-par, especially since the start of the new year.  Does anyone have any good recommendations on where I can get a well-functioning new one? Any ideas at all?  Even a temp to get me through this season...let me know.

So what is my favorite this week?

My bed. But I cannot pretend that it looks this lovely right now...this picture was taken when I had first got the new bedding over the summer...now...well, just imagine bottles of medicine, tissues and magazines strewn about, and very rumpled sheets and pillows.

We got together to hang out at 6:00 last night, and had quite a wonderful time if I do say so myself.  I finally started on Julia Child's My Life in France and made it through the first hundred or so pages, finished a few magazines when my head was too fuzzy to focus on a book, had lovely cuddles w/the pets, and was surrounded by the things I need:  blue medicine, tissues, my ipod, my laptop, magazines, books, water, and my cuddly ones.  Hubs didn't get home from filming until I was extremely out of it at 10:00, and then I got even more cuddles from my favorite!  Bed and I had a lovely morning as well, hanging out until 11:30--I love the bed so much that I even had a dream about sleeping in it and never wanting to get up!  This dream was mirrored by reality.  I have been up for about an hour to make my eggs and post, but I think I will return to it in a short time...

books...a love affair

I have some money left from Christmas on a Barnes & Noble gift card.

Today during my lunch break I wandered the store picking books up and then putting them back down before I realized that I want ALL OF THE BOOKS!!!

*sigh*

Each book is a world waiting to be discovered. So many possibilities. So many things to learn. So many leisurely hours that I do not have...

But what should I buy with my remaining $18.04?

It also hurts me to buy books at full price when I know they can be found used online for so much less money. (the past 3 days of work have been focused on our collections accounts. blech--i hate calling people about their bills!)

And then there is the time issue. I do not have time to read all of these books. I do not have time to read all of my magazines. I do not have time to read all of the 145 blogs that I have "followed"--But I cannot seem to say no to reading material!

My compulsive tendencies are re-emerging.

I have recently been drawn to memoirs...especially those involving food (i wonder why?)

Help!!

Do you have any suggestions of wonderful books that you have read recently? I do not like dark drama type things. Any ideas??

btw...happy February! I missed TWD this week but it was Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes. I've heard mixed reviews.

A few things I want to do better...

2009 has been a year of some great changes and developments in my life. After discovering the wonderful world of blogging I joined several baking groups and have challenged myself to try new things that used to terrify me! Sadly, all the baking has not been good for my waistline...as we know, "Taste makes waist!!"

As I enter this new year, I have a few goals that I want to focus on:

1. Improving my overall health. I started '09 having recently lost about 10 pounds after joining Sparkpeople. I did pretty well at maintaining that loss for a few months, but have since gained it back plus more. This is largely in part to the baking, but also due to my health issues and medications. On top of my fibromyalgia and CFS, I have developed plantar fasciitis--the three of those have made any exercise excruciatingly painful: the prior conditions because my body is so worn out and painful the next day if I overdo it at all, but the plantar fasciitis makes my feet hurt so badly that I cannot run or even walk or use my gazelle for more than about 10 minutes without wanting to cry from the pain. My doctor said that the only exercise I can really do right now is swimming...that's exactly what you want to do when you're fat right? I need to join a gym so I can do this, but I hate to spend that money when I used to be able to just use my gazelle or bike at home for free! Oh well, I know that losing weight will improve my conditions overall, so I have got to figure this out. I am getting back on with Spark for real and tracking my food intake again. Pray for me b/c this is so hard!

2. Being a better steward of my money. I wasted way too much money this year on things that I did not use (i.e., more magazine subscriptions than I could possibly read!). Even with the economic climate, we had not really been effected so I just acted like money was nothing and bought what I wanted. This is stupid. I have to make wiser decisions about what I buy. I used to be really good about this, but I guess I got cocky about our financial state and got greedy about stuff. No more. If that means staying at the office on my lunch hour instead of running "errands" (aka shopping for things I don't need) then that I what I do--hey, it will also make me bring my lunch instead of getting fast food! Win-win!

3. Letting things go. I have been too much of a pack-rat (verging on "hoarding") and just need to get rid of things that I don't use or need, regardless of the memories attached. I will never be a person who just gets rid of everything, but there is no reason to keep all my magazines after I read them. No reason to keep bulky mementos from my past when I can just take a picture and put it in a scrapbook. No reason to keep clothes that I can't fit into that aren't even in style anymore! Also, I am not going to keep all the supplies I have for hobbies that I don't even participate in anymore. It just makes me feel guilty!

4. Waste less time. I have a problem with computer card games (solitare, freecell, etc..)and I will sit and play them mindlessly for way too long. There are way better things to do with my time!

5. Read BOOKS again. Through college I did nothing but read theology and philosophy and religious history and all kinds of things that challenge your mind. Then I graduated and made a choice to give myself a break and read cookbooks, magazines, and novels. While I don't think those things are bad, I need to find a balance again. Also, I have allowed several of my magaine subscriptions to lapse and am going to spend more time reading actual books! I also may need to edit my list of blogs that I follow b/c that takes a ton of time as well. A few practical things with this: I will keep magazines in the car for when I'm at a light or in a drive through line, and in the bathrooms so I can read while...well...you know. I will keep my Bible, journal, and a few devotionals in my bedroom to do before bed. I had gotten lazy in this area over the past year and need to focus on spending time with God again and focusing on my faith--I have to do these each night before any other reading. Other stuff can be whenever...

6. Organize/cleaning. I have a bad habit of letting things pile up until I am absolutely overwhelmed and the thought of starting the cleaning intimidates me. If I clean as I go, I will be less likely to get to this nightmare point. This also goes along w/point number 3--I don't need to keep everything in my house!

7. Spend more time w/hubs. We have both gotten so wrapped up in doing our "own thing" recently that we have not spent enough quality time together. I miss him!

Well, I think that's it for right now...just keep me accountable! I am going to revamp my "other" much neglected blog, previously entitled "adventures in organic eating", to be a log of my efforts in some of these things. This will be a little more personal and much focused on the weight issues--and will NOT be automatically posted to facebook like this blog is, so if you are interested in following along with all that, the blog is "to be a better me."

Well, thanks for following along with all my crazy life stuff, and I hope you are all having an encouraging start to the new year!

categories

i am having a quite silly, yet very real, dilemma over how to re-organize my cookbook shelf. i finally broke down and switched bookcases from the small (but still 4 shelf) metal one i had in the kitchen to a wide and tall white 5-shelf bookshelf that i moved from my "craft room"( aka: the room that hubs has taken over for his SECOND office. this room was supposed to eventually be a child's room. it is full as is the rest of our house...but don't get me started on that one...). on my little shelf i had one shelf devoted to magazines, the rest just stuffed full of whatever would fit. i have mentioned (here and here) my cookbook collection before, but i am overwhelmed right now!

since i was young i have always tried to categorize my things: when i had a huge CD collection i would organize them by label, then alphabetically by group and then album & year. currently our dvd collection is ordered alphabetically, but i would really prefer to do them by genre, then alphabetically within the genre (i.e., disney movies, musicals, comedy, comic book, etc...) books are a little harder b/c you get authors who may write in different genres. at this point i have separate shelves for fiction, religion (divided in to christian living, biblical history, and world relgions, and then alphabetical by author), & magazines (different shelves for different types: "current events" (aka: tabloids that i love--please don't judge me), general women's interest (woman's day, family circle, redbook, etc...) home & garden, and then the cooking-exclusive magazines in with the cookbooks.

then comes the cookbook shelf. my natural tendency is to want to group them by author or company (i.e., paula deen, pillsbury, taste of home, southern living, etc...) but then what about the genres?!?! i really want a shelf devoted to baking, but do i split up the taste of home or paula deen sections just because i have a few devoted only to baking? then what about the holiday issues?? i could probably have two shelves devoted purely to holiday food preparation! and then there's the holiday cooking and the holiday baking, and some devoted to just holiday cookies! oh goodness. i know i'm over-thinking this but it's an area where i am a bit obsessive compulsive. i have so many cookie cookbooks, and am developing a collection of cupcake cookbooks, and of course martha stewart has both--plus the baking handbook. what to do what to do?

bah. that was a long rant and ramble about something fairly pointless. how would you organize it?

a peek at the reading habits of a compulsive shopper

I feel that I should rename this blog to "I AM AN OUT OF CONTROL SHOPPER!!" but I think that "teapots and cakestands" is so much prettier! I'm sorry to subject you all to this (but of course you do have the option not to read), but I feel that it is good for me to put everything out there online--it helps me to be honest with myself!

so i decided to lay out all my (fairly) recently acquired reading material in an attempt to remind myself that i do NOT need anything else. the results, i must say, are quite shocking...

i already have 7 bookshelves devoted to my personal (already finished) reading material, as well as 3 temporary magazine/book racks for items waiting to be completed. I keep most of the magazines that I read, occasionally purging (by means of the recycling bin) when I feel that I have moved past the stage in my life where i would possibly refer back to them (for example, I got rid of the majority of my Brio & Campus life magazines right before I graduated college, and recently boxed up all my old Glamour & Cosmo magazines to give to a friend). In reality, I probably will never go back and re-read the magazines that I currently keep, but we'll see...I do occasionally refer back to old issues for recipes.

So here are 5 of my bookshelves:
cookbooks
People magazines/misc trash ;)
devotionals, Christian, world religions, philosophy, etc...


chick lit and misc. magazines other magazines

and here are my unread items:

new cookbooks

new chick lit/fiction/memoirs

AND....




MAGAZINES!!!!!!

in my defense, about half...well, at least a third...of the magazines are left over from cleaning out the waiting rooms at work and from some of my MIL's leftovers after the Edmundson family's yard sale last summer. BUT the point is, if I haven't had (or made) the time to read these in the past year, when is it really going to happen?!?

So now the question is, what order do i put the magazines in to read them? some of them are super old, so maybe i will just order them by month and read them in the current month, despite what year they are in--at least the old ones...

one thing is for sure--i don't need anything else!

pictures

here are some pictures of the room so far:

a shot of the bed & new wall color--haven't yet decided what to hang above the bed
close-up of the bedding

my side of the room--the pictures are needlework that Patrick's grandmother did
the super cool antique table that I got at the Clothes lion--it has magazine racks on both sides and another shelf in the middle. I also got some really neat antique books from the early 1900s and late 1800s on there.

Sadly, I never got a picture of the room before--but it was a dark green and we had dark red bedding. I'm just loving how light and lovely it is now! I'm having a hard time deciding what kind of furniture to get--I can get a dresser for my valentines gift but I can't decide what kind! I have realized that I really lean towards the more mismatched antique look than a tailored set. bah. well, there's no rush!