August books

So last night I finished the 5th book I have read this month.  I thought WOW I might need another hobby.  Since I really liked all five of them a lot I decided to write my take on them.  I am no pro  but here are my reviews....

Crazy Ladies by Micheal Lee West- This book was an absolute delight to read.  It was funny and really had a great story to it.  You will love these women, even if they are a little crazy! Don't expect this book to keep you busy for long, this 400 page book will have you racing through it and when it ends you will be asking for more!

Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik- After reading and loving Lorna's Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, I was worried that I would compare it to this book and it would fall short.  However, I was not let down.  This tale of Patty Jane and her sister Harriet had me wishing I could be a regular at House of Curl.  The women in this  story feel like friends.  By the end of this book you will be struggling to find reasons you shouldn't move to Minnesota.

The Freedom Writers Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell- I have written about this book a couple of blogs ago.    The book contains diary entries of the kids in Erin Gruwell's English class.  The 150  Freedom Writers entries will shock you and will make you embarrassed that in America there are places  where young kids live through these things.  They experience drive bys, shoot outs, family violence, along with drug and alcohol abuse.  The lives of these kids are changed when their 9th grade English teacher introduces them to Anne Frank and Zlata Filipovic.  You will be proud of them when you read of the things they are able to accomplish.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich-  This is the first book in the Stephanie Plum Series.  This book is hilarious !!!  You will be thrilled by the adventurous new job Stephanie has started as a bounty hunter.  I personally cannot wait to read more of the Plum books.  I just got a call that Two for the Dough is finally in at my library and I cannot wait until I can pick it up tomorrow!

 The Tall Pine Polka by Loran Landvik-  This makes number three on my list of Lorna books that I loved!!! I read this book super fast since it is such a fun story.  You will love meeting all of Fenny Ness's friends and you will wish you were a regular at their favorite hang out Cup O'Delight Cafe.  This cute tale of Fenny getting a huge Hollywood movie role by "pooping in her pants" will have you rolling on the floor!  The Tall Pine Polka had me asking Dave, " Can we move to Minnesota?" (He said 'no')

JUST A FEW IDEAS

So I was just trying to plan this weeks meals so I can make my shopping list and I thought, 'why is this always so hard?'.  I have plenty of meals that I make that we really like, but I always have a hard  time picking 6 meals for the week.  I always try to mix things up so we don't end up eating the same things over and over.  Since  I am doing my food shopping tomorrow morning I want to get my list done tonight.  Well, I just finished my list and thought maybe I will share it.  Maybe someone else is trying to think of something for dinner and wants to try something new.  So, this is what we are having this week:

Monday- Slow Cooker Beef & Pork Barbecue Sandwiches with Coleslaw and Corn on the Cob.

Tuesday- leftovers

Wednesday-San Diego Chicken with California mix veggies

Thursday- Grilled Tuna Steaks with Uncle Ben's Rice  and Snow peas

Friday- Cuban Pork Chops with  corn on the cob and rice with black beans

Saturday- Grilled Steaks with Southwest rub, seasoned and grilled whole new taters, and steamed Broccoli. 

Luckily next weekend is a holiday weekend so I am counting on going out Sunday.  Yippie!!  If anyone wants a recipe let me know. I have tons of really great recipes.

Well, I was also able to finish The Freedom Writers Diary today.   If you want to read some incredible stories pick up this book!  These kids went through things I thought only happened in the movies.  I am telling you, I have lived a really sheltered life, but I never really knew that until I read this book.   There were a few stories I was just blown away by.  Some made me cry.  Some I can't stop thinking about.  Read this book!!!!! 

Tom Hanks

Dave and I were just talking a few days ago about how much we love Tom Hanks.  So many of our favorite movies have him in it.  We own a lot of his movies.  Then today I was flipping through the channels and saw that his E! story was on.   They interviewed Gary Sines and Leonardo  DeCraprio, both of them were talking about what a great guy Tom Hanks is.  I think that is why we like his movies so much cause no matter what part he plays I always see him as a nice guy.  I started thinking of how many movies he has made, and how many movies I probably didn't even know he was in.  SO today I looked up his list of movies and thought I would post them.  SO here are our favorites:



 *The Terminal * The Ladykillers *  The DaVinci Code * Catch Me If You Can * Castaway *  The Green Mile *  Toy Story 1 and 2 *  You've Got Mail * Saving Private Ryan * That Thing You Do *  Apollo 13 * Forrest Gump * Band of Brothers * Philadelphia * Sleepless in Seattle * A League of Their Own * Turner & Hooch * The 'burbs *  Big * The Money Pit *  Splash



Here are his movies that we haven't seen. 

1. Polar Express, The (2004)
   
   
2. Road to Perdition (2002)
   
   
3. "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) 
   
   
4. Vault of Horror I (1994) (TV)  
   
   
5. Radio Flyer (1992)
   
   
6. Bonfire of the Vanities, The (1990)
   
   
7. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
   
   
8. Punchline (1988)
   
   
9. Dragnet (1987)
   
   
10. Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986)
    
    
11. Nothing in Common (1986)  
    
    
12. Volunteers (1985)
    
    
13. Man with One Red Shoe, The (1985)
    
    
14. Bachelor Party (1984)
    
    
15. Mazes and Monsters (1982) (TV) 
    
    
16. "Bosom Buddies" (1980) TV Series 
    
    
17. He Knows You're Alone (1980)
    
    
    
     

So, what is your favorite Tom Hanks Movie?????

Parade

So today we went off base where they were having a festival.  They had a costume parade that lasted a couple hours.  There were a lot of really cute costumes, and there were a lot of really strange costumes.  It was fun though.  Check out the album.  Beware I did take a pic of the sumo guys from the rear so don't be shocked.(That might be rude? I am not sure but everyone was looking so I thought it should be okay for me to snap a picture right?) 

Books

Dave arrived home the other day.  He is really glad to be home.  He is really tired and is looking forward to time off next month.  I am so glad he is finally back.  I was running out of stuff to keep me busy.  I put together 4 scrapbooks, made three Christmas presents, did a lot of online shopping and did two puzzles.  Ha!!!  I have put the four scrapbooks in my photos.  If your not into scrapbooking they will probably be boring to look at.  Sorry. 

Everyone back home sure has been quiet lately.  Guess summer is keeping everyone busy.  I have been reading a lot since most of the summer has been rainy.   I have read a bunch of really great books.  If you are looking for a good read here is a short list of some I would recommend- Mine are Spectacular, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Patty Janes House of Curl, Crazy Ladies, One Thousand White Women, One for the Money, Gap Creek, A Girl Named  Zippy, Icy Sparks, Lucky, Lovely Bones,  Cheat and Charmer.          

I am going to start The Freedom Writers Diary next week.   I will let you know what I think when I am finished.                                  

THE CRICUT HAS ARRIVED!!!!

Well, today was a very special day since my CRICUT arrived!!! I had been watching JoAnn.com waiting for it to be in stock and it finally was, and I finally got mine in the mail today!!!!  If you are a serious scrapbooker you have got to get this machine.  It is so amazing.  I got home from the post office at 3 this afternoon and I started playing with it and lost five hours!!!  Dave called at 830pm.  I lost all track of time I was having so much fun!!!  It really works great and I love it already.

Well, since my scrapping machine is the highlight of my summer I will fill you in a little on what Dave is up to.  His TDY is finally coming to an end.  He leaves Alaska on Sunday( in Alaska,which is Monday here) and will arrive home on Tuesday.  I couldn't be more excited.  After talking to him today it sounds like he is really ready to get home.  They worked a lot from the sounds of it, and this trip to Alaska didnt produce much time for him to fish.  He is a bit disappointed.  He didn't catch any Salmon.  Hopefully he will have a little more luck at *Salmon Camp*. 

Well, nothing more to report... tata for now.