Living Space

Kathryn Weber
Home Improvement
Tribune Media Services / December 2012
Kindle / 131 Pages

Our homes should not only look good but make us feel good just being there. In her brightly written “Living Space: Simple Steps to Transform Your Home,” author Kathryn Weber offers ways to reinvigorate and rejuvenate our lives with innovative home ideas that are budget-friendly and easy to create. Maybe it’s something as simple as putting new pulls on kitchen cabinets, rearranging armchairs or painting a powder-room ceiling in an unusual color. Or it could be trying something new, such as banquette seating in the dining room, a red tablecloth and cast-iron cookware. The book is filled with simple design and décor recommendations for all major rooms of the house, as well as a section on special spaces, including media rooms, porches, hallways, home gyms or even a wine cellar and home massage room. Ever hear of a “keeping room”? You will now. Living Space is an inviting guide to transform your home into the house you’ll love.

I picked this book up because Review Copy

What I liked the Most? The chapter on kitchens was especially useful

What I liked the Least? The keeping room

Review: I must say that there were parts of this book that I loved & parts that I honestly went HUH? on. For the most part the ideas are sound, truly they are, however if you look at the pictures it is very clear that everything is geared towards a largish home and not very pratical for small space living.

Now don't get me wrong, I adored the section on installing your own backsplash (complete with instructions) and how to spruce up the kitchen, but the keeping room & the living area just way out of my league.

Recommended to: People who have larger living spaces than I do :)

iPod Shuffle Game

Put your ipod/player on shuffle and answer the questions with each song that comes up. No cheating!

What is your wedding song? Marry Me ~ Train (no joke, hit shuffle & it started playing)

What song will be played at your funeral? Bad Girl Good Girl ~ Miss A

What do people think of you? Who Are You When I'm Not Looking ~ Blake Shelton
What are you truly like? Hey Soul Sister ~ Train
What will your future be like? Tea Party ~ Kerli (YES!!!)
What is your life motto? Sounds Like Life to Me ~ Darryl Worley
What do you want to be like? Click Clack (Make Dat Money) ~ RuPaul

Am I a good boyfriend/girlfriend? I Know What Boys Like ~ Vitamin C
What do you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend?  Remind Me ~ Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood
What is going around in your head at night? Airplanes ~ B.o.B.
Describe your prayer life: Barefoot Blue Jean Night ~ Jake Owen (This fits me perfectly I think)
If you were a superhero, what power would you have? Thong Song ~ Sisqo (Hmmm, will I be revealing peoples thongs or changing regular undies into thongs)

What will be a big challenge in life for me? Lucky 4 You ~ SheDaisy (hehehe - bouncing around between dreams/reality or the multiple personalities)

 

Do I have a Secret Admirer? When I Was Your Man ~ Bruno Mars

   

What is my sexual preference? Boy is a Bottom ~ Willam, Detox, & Vicky Vox

  

What am I afraid of? Rolling in the Deep ~ Adele

 

What will I be doing in a few years? Love Shack ~ The B52s (wahoo - don't forget your jukebox money!)

 

What is some good advice for me? Reading is Fundamental ~ DJ Shyboy & RuPaul

  

Will you get married? Good Morning Beautiful ~ Brad Paisley

 

What is the story of your life? You and Tequila ~ Kenny Chesney & Grace Potter

 

How can you get ahead in life? Dumb Blonde ~ Dolly Parton (Just because I'm blonde, don't think I'm dumb'Cause this dumb blonde ain't nobody's fool)

 

What is the best thing about your friends? Bruises ~ Train & Ashley Monroe (yeah this explains so much)

 

What song describes you? Hips Don't Lie ~ Shakira

 

How does the world see you? Walking on Air ~ Kerli (hmmm I wonder if its the little creepy girl with a little creepy face)

 

Will you have a happy life? Drops of Jupiter ~ Train

 

How can I make myself happy? Livin' La Vida Loca ~ Ricky Martin

 

What should you do with your life? Let's have a KaiKai ~ Willam & Rhea Litre (OMG)

 

Will you ever have children? C'mon Let Me Ride ~ Skylar Grey & Eminem (I don't know if that's a yes or a no LOL)

Kid Lawyer

John Grisham
Young Adult
Penguin / 2010
Hardcover / 288 Pages
Series Theodore Boone #1

A perfect murder
A faceless witness
A lone courtroom champion knows the whole truth . . . and he’s only thirteen years old
Meet Theodore Boone In the small city of Strattenburg, there are many lawyers, and though he’s only thirteen years old, Theo Boone thinks he’s one of them. Theo knows every judge, policeman, court clerk—and a lot about the law. He dreams of being a great trial lawyer, of a life in the courtroom. But Theo finds himself in court much sooner than expected. Because he knows so much—maybe too much—he is suddenly dragged into the middle of a sensational murder trial. A cold-blooded killer is about to go free, and only Theo knows the truth. The stakes are high, but Theo won’t stop until justice is served.

I picked this book up because it looked freaking awesome

What I liked the Most? Theo rocks socks

What I liked the Least? Total cliff hanger

Review: Theodore (Teddy to his mom) is a very likable character, knowledgeable but not pushy with it. He knows where he is in the middle school hierarchy, and he’s carved a niche for himself as being the go to guy for any legal question a kid might have, from a brother busted for pot to a ill tempered runaway dog.

You could clearly tell this was a first book in a series. There was a lot of character & world building set up for future books.

Recommended to:Pre-Teens looking for a solid read that doesn’t include para anything

A Celtic Witch

Debora Geary
Witchy Fiction
Fireweed Publishing / 2013
Kindle
Series A Modern Witch #6

Cassidy Farrell is a world-class Celtic fiddler. And if she has her way, that's exactly who she'll stay.

Except that's not what the rocks have in mind. Or a certain fetching spell. Or the truth working its way free in her own heart.

Can the music, and perhaps a certain grumpy curmudgeon and his baby girl, help Cass find her life's new song?

I picked this book up because Serical!!!

What I liked the Most? I love the twisty issues with the baby

What I liked the Least? I'm not a fan of Marcus (maybe now I'll enjoy him more)

Review: Return to the lovely Fisher's Cove in Nova Scotia, by way of a traveling musician Cassidy. For 11 months of the year, she listens to her manager and plays all over the world (as long as she gets to play a dive) and for the other month she goes were the music soothes her soul and she can rejuvenate, not to mention listen to the rocks. As with every book it seems the magic is pulling for multiple reasons. Look forward to finding love & peace within the pages of this story.

What keeps me eagerly waiting for each book in the series (not to mention rereading them obsessively) is not just the well crafted characters, but feeling that I'm being sucked into the warmth of family that exudes from every page. It's not just the witchy side, but the true generosity and openness that all the characters share.

If I didn't already know that magic is all around us, these books would certainly open me to that possiblity.

Recommended to: Fans of the series, but really this shouldn't be a starting point. Every one of these books is not only a joy to read, but they teach wonderful life lessons in a world full of positive, supporting characters that are truly well written.

Meal Plan 2-24 to 3-2

Sunday - Steak, baked potatoe, and strawberry spinach salad (ala Whole Foods Market)

Monday - Chicken Stir Fry & rice

Tuesday - Pork Chops (probably gonna toss em on the grill this time), orange cauliflower & some other side

Wednesday - Chicken Parm with spaghetti & garlic bread

Thursday - Crock Pot Roast Beef with all the trimmings (maybe including the Rents tonight)

Friday - Going out for our date night!!

Draggle Rock

Mini Challenge: Junior drag superstar pageant. Drag up some boy dolls and send them down the runway in teams of two!

• Vaxeline Androxx Zoe ~ Detox & Roxxy ~ total wash out on the coloring white white doll & white dress, more fashionista than drag
• Tina Lou Deveraux ~ Jinkz & Jade ~ pretty in red sparkles upholding the femininity
• Watermelon Sunshine ~ Ivy & Vivienne ~ total cuteness in fairy time prettiness with a flipper
• Savanah Lee ~ Alyssa & Honey ~ she is evidently participating in a natural pageant cause she is wearing a cute outfit with a message "World peace for all" and Shade Alert #1 when everyone is clapping for Savanah Lee Coco tells Monica "Don't do that"
• Lil Pound Cake ~ Alaska & Linyesha ~ "You're not my real dad" realness, looking a bit like the Toddlers & Tiras mainstream stars in the glitz world well minus the birdie & the scrowl
• Patty Park Place ~ Coco & Monica ~ washed out again, but this time the outfit is a cutie patootie Shade Alert #2 Coco heads right to the "Unlike Savanah she has completed" Damn that is one shady bitch!

Well Lil Pound Cake wins the pageant so Alaska & Linyesha get to divide the teams up.

Main Challenge: Create your own children's TV show

• Team Alaska as Buffalo Bill’s Barnyard Buddies
• Alaska ~ Buffalo Bill (out of drag might I add)
• Detox ~ Clucky the Chicken ~ word of the day BOX! and HI-larious
• Roxxy ~ Tasha Salad - added a lisp & totally rocked the funny!
• Vivienne ~ Anita Bump ~ yawn!!! So totally over the fishy failure
• Alyssa ~ Uncle Dick the cross dressing uncle just kinda stands there
• Monica ~ OMG she couldn't even read her reading lines
• Team Linyesha as The Magic Bush
• Jinkz ~ The fairy hostess with the funniest bit
• Jade ~ ok, she was cute, but to be honest Jinkz kinda stepped on her
• Ivy ~ Banana split making in haute couture drag
• Linyesha ~ translating the banana split into spanish - lateral translation with out the funny and FYI cherry is cereza not fresa
• Honey ~ TeeTee - against Coco she was the shining star
• Coco ~ Tiny the puppet and she was wooden just not in the good way

Really, the drama between Coco & Alyssa is over FaceBook?!?!?! WTF!!!!

Runway Think Pink:

• Alaska ~ Carrie ala pink blood with a pink gun
• Monica Beverly Hillz ~ pretty dress but she needs to loose the flower collar
• Alyssa Edwards ~ such a stunning dress - total pink fashionista
• Vivienne Pinay ~ ok, I'm over her fishyness - this was a drab outfit
• Detox ~ fishnet dress and an ugly collar
• Roxxy Andrews ~ pink mullet dress, not loving this one
• Lineysha Sparx ~ could have been in a pageant
• Jinks Monsoon ~ Maria Aquanet stunning
• Coco Montrese ~ Lolita cutie! But cool it with the highlighter
• Ivy Winters ~ Vegas show girl
• Honey Mahogany ~ is that your sheet?
• Jade Jolie ~ fishy realness, but a bit barbieish for my taste
• Coco Montrese ~ Lolita cutie!

My Top 3 choices: Roxxy rocked it, Jinkz was the total package, Detox (for the Cluckie bit, but not so much the runway)
My Bottom 3 picks: Coco was a drag, Monica was a stuttering fool & Vivienne was flat

Challenge Winner: Detox (Wigs from New Attitude Wigs)

Bottom Two: Coco Montrese & Monica Beverly Hillz to "When I Grow Up"

Eliminated: Monica Beverly Hillz "Love all of u guys, And never be a victim -♡- Monica Beverly Hillz"

Homework

See the difference between 2D food format (plate) & 3D food format (box)


BF wanted meatloaf (not one of my fav foods might I add) but I figured why not. So I made up a traditional meatloaf meal.

This is what it looked like in 2D or plated.

And this is the same meal boxed & ready to go to work. The only addition was the ketchup in the corner of the box. Didn't think I could get it off the plate & in the box.

Oh and for the record I work at home & general pack my lunch every day.