Dave Barry in Cyberspace

I picked up a copy of Dave Barry in Cyberspace, by Dave Barry (surprise, surprise) at a yard sale about a month ago. The book was published in 1997 so I was unsure if some of the humor would be out of date or not quite as funny. I was completely wrong. The book remains fresh in this world of changing technology. This is a laugh-out-loud HILARIOUS book. Anyone who has used a computer or surfed the internet will appreciate the humor.

A Long Way From Chicago & A Year Down Yonder

A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck.

These books were recommended to me by my brother. Since A Year Down Yonder is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago I felt that they should be reviewed together. In a way, the sequel is just the next chapter in the lives of Joey and Mary Alice (although, more so Mary Alice). The characters, especially Grandma Dowdel, jump off the page. Set in the time around and about The Great Depression, there are plenty of historical references scattered throughout in the best way possible - you hardly even realize they are there. They are just part of the story. And Grandma Dowdel is such a complex character. At the beginning of the story, she is almost scary in that she is completely unknown to Joey and Mary Alice. By the end of A Year Down Yonder, she had her grandchildren have formed a very strong bond that none of them had ever imagined.

This is a laugh-out-loud comedy as well as a story of family. You just never know what the heck Gramdma Dowdel is going to do next. Sometimes it seems that she doesn't even know what she is going to do next, but it turns out that she is much more cunning than she ever let on.

Both of these books are fantastic reads and definitely worthy of a second read someday.

#73 - Try 5 new non-chain restaurants. (5/5)

I took my mom to Tuscano for lunch yesterday for her birthday. We both had paninis (which, we pointed out were not technically paninis because they were on rolls instead of bread, but they were fantastic anyway) and we split an order of french fries and then had a slice of Crazy Carrot Cheesecake and a slice of some sort of awesome berry cake. Both were awesome. Both were shared. Much other awesomeness was had.

Would I go there again? Possibly. The prices were good and I only ate half of my sandwich (I just finished the second half now for lunch today). For drinks, sandwiches, fries, and desserts for 2 it was about $35 with tax and tip. Not bad considering we were splurging a lot.

Things my Girlfriend and I Have Argued About

Things my Girlfriend and I Have Argued About, by Mil Millington is absolutely hilarious. My friend Melissa recommended it to me, so I picked it up at the library when I was there. It was a quick read, despite being almost 400 pages long. It had me laughing out loud at every turn. I was surprised at how much the novel flowed even though it was cleverly disguised as a collection of short stories. Some of the language used is very colourful, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone. The author (and the main character) are from the UK so it has a wonderful English humor mixed with a bit of crudeness and many surprising twists and turns of plot.

Many, many thanks to Melissa to recommending this wonderfully entertaining book!

#73 - Try 5 new non-chain restaurants. (4/5)

After my tap recital in May, Dad took us out to eat at Rock Bass Grill. It is really nice and has a country club feel to it. The seafood was awesome as were their various renderings of potatoes (all the fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes were awesome). Dad ordered a bottle of Riesling to go along with our food which was awesome because Rieslings are one of my favourite kinds of wine. Everyone else in the family had been there before except for me, so I had lots of advice on what to get. I had swordfish, but I also tried everyone else's food, so it was like a seafood buffet!

#72 - Try 12 new recipes (and actually use the recipe). (9/12)

I made Strawberry Freezer Jam using the recipe from inside the box of Certo (which is a liquid pectin). I followed it really closely because I was afraid of messing something up with the set. I haven't eaten any yet, but it is sitting in my freezer ready to try after I finish up the last jam I made. Making spreads is fun.

The Midwife's Apprentice

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman won the Newbery Medal in 1996 Newbery Medal. I picked it up when I was at the library a few days ago. It was a quick read (after all, it is at about a 6 grade reading level and short), but as Cushman tends to do, she transports you to medieval England with great characters and quaint dialogue.

At one point, I was trying to read all of the Newbery Medal winners, and I think I'll resurrect that goal.

Wicked

I finished reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire this weekend. As much as I was originally annoyed by the writing style and overuse of bizarre and strange words (aside from the made-up words of the Land of Oz), it grew on me and by the end I was not noticing it so much. I think this might also have been because most of the big words were used during the chapters were the characters were attending school. Perhaps the author thought he was giving those chapters a more collegiate feel by using all those big words that caused me to go scrambling for a dictionary (or more likely, Google).

I really liked the way the book was written around the story and characters created by L. Frank Baum. Reading Wicked was almost like reading fanfiction in this way. My only knowledge of this world was from the movie and the stage show, so I plan on adding the novel to my to-read list. I have also seen some of the more bizarre movies based on his later novels, but I am not sure how much they really influenced my reading of this book.

SeinLanguage

SeinLanguage, by Jerry Seinfeld was an extremely quick read. It only took me 3 nights to finish it off. It is basically a collection of sketches, some of which were used in episodes of Seinfeld. I really enjoyed it and laughter before bedtime was definitely a nice change after All the President's Men! I'm going to be passing on my copy to my grandma who loves Seinfeld and likes reading. I think she'll get a kick out of it.

All the President's Men

I FINALLY FINISHED All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward. I think the thing that most kept me from getting really sucked into this book was all the names and people that there were to keep straight. I don't know if I really followed exactly because of that (although, it was helpful when I recognized a name or two), but I definitely got the gist of it. There were definitely parts where things got very intense, and other's where it dragged. I think this is due to the nature of it being a true story and all. Not every part of life can be exciting! I did find that it ended rather abruptly. I'm looking forward to watching the movie again now that I've finished the book.

#72 - Try 12 new recipes (and actually use the recipe). (8/12)

Someone on one of the LJ communities I follow posted a link to HillbillyHouseWife and I spent some time checking it out. This specific recipe caught my eye:

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/sausagecheeseballs.htm

When the butcher at Karns has loose sausage on sale, I always hesitate because the only thing I end up doing with it is browning it and throwing it in spaghetti sauce. This recipe seemed like a great way to put some of it to good use. (and they are awesomely yummy)

Sausage Cheese Balls

* 1-1/2 cups Biscuit Mix (Bisquick)
* 1 pound bulk turkey sausage
* 3 or 4 cups of shredded cheese

Get out a big bowl. Measure the Biscuit Mix and cheese into the bowl. Add the raw sausage. Use your hands to mix everything together like meatloaf.

It is sort of gooey, but the finished product is worth a little goo. Shape the mixture into small balls the size of walnuts or egg yolks. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and drain them on paper towels. These are best when they are still warm, but are still rather tasty cold. Makes about 75.

#31 - Have my family over for dinner.

For Mothers' Day on the 11th, I invited my family and Aunt Karin over for dinner. Elizabeth and Albert helped prepare things, but the biggest preparatory task was getting the apartment ready! It took me 2 whole days, but it was definitely worth it.

Here's the menu:

Appetizers - Bruchetta, Hummus, Carrots & Dip

Dinner - White Chili and Cheddar Bay Biscuits (a.k.a. Red Lobster Biscuits)

Dessert - Chocolate Fondue and Lemon Pudding Cake (seriously, this needs a better name that does not involve the word "pudding")

Also served was Wine. At dessert, my lack of a coffee maker was sorely obvious, but wasn't the end of the world.

All in all, it went really well - it took a lot of stinkin' work, but was totally worth it.

#72 - Try 12 new recipes (and actually use the recipe). (7/12)

I had extra strawberries leftover from our Mothers' Day celebration, so I decided to try my hand at this recipe. I halved it, but did make the recipe. It turned out very well and made about 2 jars of jam.


Strawberry Jam

4 cups mashed strawberries
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
You basically mix all three ingredients together, bring them to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes. Check the temp to make sure it reaches 220 degrees (F). Then place the mixture into sterilized mason jars.

#12 - Get some bubbles and blow them in a public place

I finished this one and not even on purpose. At my cousin Sean's wedding, they had bubbles! And when he and his bride, Stephanie, left the church we blew them and it was pretty. I have since randomly blown my bubbles at people in various locations. But I had to take the bubbles out of my purse because I became paranoid that it was going to leak.

#8 - Tryout for a musical or a play.

Tonight I auditioned for Little Shop of Horrors at Hershey Playhouse. My song was It's a Helluva Way to Run a Love Affair from Plain & Fancy. The singing part when fabulously.

The dancing part went okay. The choreographer when to HACC with me back in the day - almost 8 whole years ago! The dance was really fun, but some of the girls there were definitely more experienced than me with picking up the steps quickly. I was solid though, and I think I had them topped with ATTITUDE!

It was an interesting group of people, too. Girls were all on the young side (I was the 2nd oldest there for women) and the Men were mostly on the older side (although, there were some teens).

Another great thing about the audition was that I got to SEE the Playhouse! The theatre has three sets of riser seating (VERY comfortable) and it is really beautiful, especially the lobby. Not handicap accessible, so I'm not really sure how that works.

Whatever happens, I had a fun time tonight and this will put me up to dancing 3 times this week! Woo!