#48 - Try 24 new recipes and blog about them (3/24)

I guess I forgot this was an item because I have now 3 new recipe posts since I started the 1001 days again.

Whole Wheat Cornbread Muffins
These were very good!  I guess I have to stop saying that I don't like cornbread. I am going to make these again soon (Mike likes to have them when I make chili) but I think I will make them with mini hot dogs inside next time.  I read about that somewhere.  Sounds yummy.

Sausage & Cheddar Pinwheels
I made these to take to a church function, but I should have waited and baked them the morning of instead of the night before.  They were a little dry after we heated them up again.  And in the time it took to heat them, we could have just baked them!  But they were still gobbled up with none leftover, so they must have been pretty good!

Banana Pancakes
Sometimes a recipe just grabs you and says MAKE ME I'M DELICIOUS!  That is what happened with these.  They really were delicious and they will definitely be made again - perhaps with chocolate chips next time....

If Only That Horse Were A Member Of My Church

If Only That Horse Were a Member of My Church is a book of short stories, jokes, inspirations, and quotes compiled by Charles W. Byrd.  I really enjoyed having this book to pick up when I just had a little bit of time to read each day.  Each story has it's own qualities to bring to the table (touching, hilarious, ironic, blessed, thought-provoking, etc) and they are arranged in a way so that each story is not overwhelmed by the ones around it.  This book only comes in at around 100 pages, but it certainly left me with a lot to think about! 

I also realize about half way through reading my copy that it is signed by the author!  This is my third autographed book find.  Neat-o!

#39 - Track Survey, etc revenue

I have been tracking survey revenue as well as my mystery-shops in a google spreadsheet for 2 full months now.  I think I am on track to continue with this practice!

#18 - Use the Briarcrest Pool

I did it!  I went to the pool on Saturday around 7pm.  It was lovely to just lay in the water, but I got bored quickly.  I did some laps (which was awkward due to the weird shape of the pool) and floated on my back.  There was one family there (dad and 2 kids in the pool with the mom watching) but they were in the low end, so we weren't really near each other.  It was relaxing.  I'm hoping to go at least once more before they close the pool in a week or so.

#34 - Research Auto Insurance and possibly combine plans

Well, well, well.  This one falls under the category of "easier said than done."  It would save us money to combine our auto insurance and be insured under one plan.  However, for Mike and I to be on the same plan, we would have to be married or we would have to change the titles on our cars (a possibility of marriage is really that far down the line, I suppose).  From my research, it sounds like esurance would have allowed us to have us both on the same plan, but they were not cheaper than if we just keep our current plans.  So, this item is finished.  The research took me about 3 days, which were not entirely wasted as I did learn a lot more about the process that is involved for having 2 people on the same plan (even if it did not work out).

The Secret Life of Bees

I had meant to read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd BEFORE seeing the movie, but it did not happen that way.  I think I saw the movie on TV or netflix over a year or more ago.  Reading the book helped me to have an even greater appreciation for the film.  The film captured the feeling and atmosphere of the book very well.  I do not specifically remember if the film was true to the book in details, but it was definitely true to the book in heart. 

I also really liked the way that the book tied in facts about bees with every chapter.  The bees of the story were another character that reacted to the events going on in the lives of the Boatwrights, Lily, Rosaleen and the whole of South Carolina as momentous changes are going on in the US as a result of the Civil Rights Act.  I guess that kind of makes this a semi-historical piece with the way the characters are affected by the goings on in the country.  I highly enjoyed this book, but I do wish that I had not watched the movie first as I would have liked to generate my own images of the characters instead of remembering the actors from the movie.

Johnny Tremain

I remember Johnny Tremain by Ester Forbes being talked about in school, but I know that I never read it.  Sometimes our teacher would have us pick one of three books and then we would study that book in groups.  I think Johnny Tremain was one of the books that I didn't not have a chance to choose.  It was only rather recently in my reading career that I became interested in historical fiction, though.

The story of Johnny Tremain is definitely one of historical fiction.  Forbes makes Boston of the late 1700's come alive on the page.  This book definitely made me check the dictionary a few times as it tends towards language of the day. I also ended up doing some research about the Revolutionary War to help me remember why the historical characters were so important.  It was great to have Johnny brushing elbows with Paul Revere himself!