Books

So I realized the other day that I used to keep track of what I have read through my blogs a lot more, but haven't in a long time for some reason.  I think it probably had something to do with the fact that I was reading so many series at once.  So I think I will pick up where I left off last October (2006!) I will list them in this entry then will try to review the best ones in my reviews.  

2006

The Jinx by Jennifer Sturman (oct)
Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich (oct)
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich (oct)
Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (oct)
Tales from the Bed by Jenifer Estess (oct)

High Five by Janet Evanovich (nov)
Love Comes Softly by Janet Oke (nov)
Night by Elie Wiesel (nov)
Princess Diaries  by Meg Cabot (nov)
Love's Enduring Promise by Janette Oke (nov)
Your Oasis On Flame Lake by Lorna Landvik (nov)

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich (dec)
Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot(dec)
Princess in Love by Meg Cabot (dec)
Love's Long Journey by Janette Oke (dec)

Books read 2007
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (jan)
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (jan)

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue(feb)

Full Bloom by Janet Evanovich and Charlotte Hughes (mar)
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich(mar)
Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs(mar)-stopped cause it was horrible*
Spring Fancy by Lavelle Spencer(mar)

Love's Abiding Joy by Janette Oke(apr)
Seven up by Janet Evonovich(apr)
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder(apr)
Princess in Waiting by Meg Cabot(apr)
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder(apr)
The Honk and Holler Opening Soon by Billie Letts(apr)

Full House by Janet Evanovich(may)
Princess in Pink by meg Cabot(may)
Princess in Training by Meg Cabot(may)
Back To The Bedroom by Janet Evanovich(may)

On the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder(june)
Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich(june)
The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich(june)
Mad Girls in Love by Micheal Lee West(june)
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella(june)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards(june)

Love's Unending Legacy by Janette Oke(july)
Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich(july)
To the Nines by Janet Evanovich(july)

Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich(aug)
Eleven On Top by Janet Evanovich(aug)
Knitting Under the Influence by Claire LaZebruk(aug)
*Summer Pleasures*
Second Nature by Nora Roberts(aug)
One Summer by Nora Roberts(aug)
Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich (aug)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (aug)
Smitten by Janet Evanovich(aug)
Manhunt by Janet Evanovich(aug)

Full Tilt by Janet Evanovich(sept)
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder(sept)
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder(sept)
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder(sept)
For One More Day by Mitch Albom(sept)
Oh My Stars by Lorna Landvik(sept)
Loves Unfolding Dream by Janette Oke(sept)
Love Takes Wing by Janette Oke(sept)
Love Finds a Home by Janette Oke(sept)
The Tender Years by Janette Oke(sept)
A Searching Heart by Janette Oke(sept)
A Quiet Strength by Janette Oke(sept)
Like Gold Refinded by Janette Oke(sept)
The Earth, My Butt, & Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler(sept)
Full Speed by Janet Evanovich(sept)
Full Blast by Janet Evanovich(sept)
Full Bloom(reread)
Full Scoop by Janet Evanovich(sept)

Afterglow by Irene B. Brand(oct)
Still Waters by Gina Fields(oct)
Come Home to My Heart by JoAnn Grote(oct)
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich(oct)
Eagles for Anna by Catherine Runyon(oct)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer(oct)

Swapping Lives by Jane Green(nov)
Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts(nov)

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell(dec)
I'm Sorry...Love Anne by Andrea Peters(dec)

 

You can see I spent a couple of months trying to finish those series.  And the past few months I haven't read as much because to be honest I fall asleep whenever I sit down to read.  LOL I can only read for about an hour before I go to bed, and that's only if I got an afternoon nap.  I think I will review a few of the books listed but until I get around to it I will put a thumbs up next to the ones I recommend.  Obviously I recommend the Oke, Evanovich, Cabot and Wilder series I read they were all really good.  Just don't have 5 series going at once.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Years!  We rang in the new year 14 hours ago and it was a bit, as always, disappointing.  There are no live countdowns to watch and all that stuff you see in the  USA.  We did find a countdown with like 15 Japanese Boy Bands performing at Tokyo Dome then they did a countdown and one boy band member chased another and smooched him.  It was odd.  But mostly I was just thinking 'Oh man it must be disgusting in  there right now', because at the baseball game we watched last May at the Tokyo Dome it was smelly and stuffy and so gross... and that countdown had that place stuffed to the gills.  ACK. 

Dave is making Wings to snack on (him not me, I am not much for spicy especially with pregnancy heartburn) I made some of that Chili Dip to snack on too.  Then tonight for dinner I am making Ham and Corn Chowder with the last of the Christmas Ham and also AMERICAN baked Potatoes!  My mom sneaked them into a christmas gift.  And we cant wait to have a real baked  potato! ( The japanese potatoes are all they sell at the commissary and they have this weird disease in the center, you have to cut around it so you have to buy like 3-2lb bags to make a medium pot of mashed potatoes... and we pay 4 bucks for a 2 lb bag and half goes to waste!!  And what a waste to try to bake them because they spend 45 minutes baking and then you cut them open and find they are bad! So we usually only have boxed mashed potatoes which aren't terrible, but don't take the place of a baked potato for sure!  Soon I will make a list of things I can't wait to have again in the states)  We are SO excited about having a good potato!  yippie!!

 

 

Down to the wire!

Today I signed up for a few classes that are offered onbase.   I just hope I make to the classes before Nathan makes his entrance!  I am sort of cutting it close.  The Family Advocacy Clinic offers a bunch of classes but I signed up for the Baby Care Basics on the 8th, Childbirth Class on the 17th and 18th, and a Breastfeeding Class on the 22nd.  The breastfeeding class is the one I want to attend the most and it is frighteningly close to my due date!  YIKES!  I hope Dave  will be able to come with me to the Baby Care and Childbirth Classes but his work is crazy right now.  It is going to be tricky to get to the classes and the weekly Dr  appointments in January with him working so much since we only have one car.  I will probably have to drag my big pregnant behind out of bed early in the morning to drive  him to work so I can have the car.    
We  had a nice anniversary dinner last night.  We went to Magnums, the steakhouse on base.  It was a nice dinner.  I  cannot believe this is our 6th anniversary!   We really didn't do anything else other than go to dinner.  Dave cleaned the house and did laundry for me. What a nice gift!  Probably the best gift he could have given me considering how tired I get.  Yesterday my ankles were the size of Christmas hams!  I feel so bad for my ankles when i take my socks off at night I want to start weeping for them.

GOT HAM??

Hey if you have leftover ham this recipe is a great way to use some of it up without having the plain ham and mustard sandwiches. Dave and I went wild for them!

http://www.recipezaar.com/45350

Christmas

Oh, it didn't feel much like Christmas!  We didn't have any snow.  But it was still a nice day.  Christmas Eve we ran to the commissary to get some extra milk and oh my goodness that place was a madhouse!  I cannot believe people wait until the last minute like that.  The shelves were nearly empty and there were lots and lots of people packed in the aisles with full carts.  When we were up there it was 30 minutes before closing time!  I couldn't handle that!  We got our milk and got out of there.  We came home, made Chili Dip, and watched Christmas with the Kranks.  That dip was so yummy.  By the time the movie was over it was time to get ready for church.  We stopped at the post office one last time before we headed to the chapel and picked up one last Christmas package from my brother.  The Candlelight Service was really nice.  We came back home and ate dinner and watched White Christmas which we had never seen before and we liked it a lot!  We each opened one gift before we went to bed.  I opened 2 books from Melissa and Dave opened a CD from Melissa.

This morning we woke up and talked to my mom and sister.  Then we opened gifts.  I made French Toast for breakfast and after we ate we picked up the living room a little.  We caught the dog as she was scarfing down a bowl of reese's peanut butter cups!  She ate the foil wrapping and everything!  Nothing like worrying about your dog dying on Christmas to put a little downer in your day!  We spent the whole day watching to see if she was going to barf but she hasn't!  But she is still alive so I think that's a good sign.  We watched some Christmas movies on TV, then made dinner.  We had a little half ham, boxed cheesy scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls and pickles.  It was very yummy and Dave did most of the work just like he said he would. ( I wanted to go to the Chow Hall for Christmas Dinner so I wouldn't have to slave away in the kitchen, but he said he would cook a small easy meal) I have plenty of ham left over for a Ham 'n Cheese Omelet Bake tomorrow morning and then soup and sandwiches.  I cut the ham all up and split it up for the recipes I have, so it will be super convenient.  For dessert I made a pumpkin spice flavored instant pudding pie.  Talk about cheating!  I know a pie isn't that much work but this fake pie was NO work.  I just poured the pudding in a store bought gram cracker crust!  Honestly it made me laugh when we took it out to eat it.  It looked just like a pumpkin pie!  LOL It was very good considering it was just pudding. After we ate we just sat around watching Christmas movies on TV. 

Dave kept reminding me that this is our last Christmas just the two of us.  Next year we will be three!   I must say I am starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.  Getting in and out of bed all through the night is a lot of work, heaving myself into bed wears me out.  I feel as big as a double-wide.  I like feeling the baby move but it hurts my ribs.  Breathing is getting tricky. But I still really enjoy having this little guy in there.  He makes me laugh when he pushes against my hand. I am getting excited about meeting him.  Not much time left until he will arrive!

Dave has the whole week off!  Isn't that great?  I think he is taking me to the steakhouse at The Club on Thursday for our 6th anniversary!  Six years I cannot believe it.   

   We hope you all have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!

Considering he isn't born yet...

..he sure did have a lot of laundry! I am all finished washing everything in the baby's room!  I washed all of the sheets, towels, bedding, and clothing!  It was a lot!  I mean load after load after load.  I did 3 huge loads of clothes and considering how tiny those clothes are I was shocked I had to do three.  I need to put the clothes away in the dresser and closet. I think the baby's room will be all ready for him then! Once the room is all put together I think we will take a video of the room so everyone can see!  

Dave says I need to get my bag packed the first week of January. I really need to think of lots of easy meals that we can make in the weeks after the baby is born.  I plan on having all the meat and ingredients that wont go bad bought before the baby is born.  I sure as heck don't want to go grocery shopping with a newborn.  Thank goodness Dave will have 2 weeks off so if we need anything he can run out for it.  His job works out great because they are pretty relaxed about husbands running out to save their wives from sticky situations or near breakdowns.  Hehe. 
I am sure I will be able to think of a couple weeks worth of easy meals.  I consider most meals i make to be easy and fast... but when the baby comes I want no real prep work, no more than one pot used, less than 30 minutes type of meals.  HeheHe.  I'm thinking, frozen ravioli and a jar of sauce one night... LOL.... perogies another night.... maybe chicken stir fry using one of those freezer mixes.  Better than Fast Food I suppose.

Oh, Just Another Boring Tuesday.. NOT

So tonight I went to BINGO!  It was held at The Enlisted Club.  They have bingo in the dance club and they hold Football Frenzy in the sports bar right next door on Tuesdays.  So we met our friends Trina and Duane.  The guys went to the sports bar to watch football and enjoy free pizza and wings.  Trina and I went to play Bingo! I ended up buying the minimum bingo pack and 3 of the special games, I spent 22 dollars on my cards.  Well I was having no luck... UNTIL  the last game.  On a sheet with three bingo grids you have to have coverall on two of them!  I had one grid covered and only needed 3 numbers to cover a second!!  I told Trina "Oh my goodness I only need 3, 27 and 29!!" And what comes up??? 3!!!  Then I said "Oh my goodness I only need 27 and 29!!"  And what comes up??? 27!!!  At this point I could hardly breath.  I said "Oh my goodness I only need 29!!!"  And what comes up???!!!  29!!!!  I thought I might vomit!  I yelled BINGO! and waited for them to check to make sure I had a good Bingo.  AND I DID!!  So tonight I won at Bingo and I won the game with the largest prize.... Guess how much it was......I won $500!  Can you believe that?!  FIVE HUNDRED BUCKS!  When I went to the sports bar to tell Dave bingo was over he couldn't believe it.  He won a hat in a raffle and thought his luck was great! 

Then we went to leave The Club to find we got 2 inches of snow while we were inside and the roads were slick.  I thought, 'Here's our luck! We win 500 bucks, a hat, get a free dinner and we will crash our car on the way home! '  But we made it home safe and sound. I drove very slowly!!