Gone With the Wind

Here's the thing. Scarlett O'Hara is Irish- they love the land. To emphasize this (exaggeration used) they explain the land of her home several times throughout the novel, maybe 5 times, each time saying almost the SAME exact thing, and taking about TWENTY pages to do it. I loved the storyline, and I even loved the description of the land- but in my opinion it should've been shortened. I thought the purpose of the book was to tell her story, not emphasize that she was Irish. Yes, it's a part of her, but shorten it just a little. When you repeat it, only repeat the things that actually had some effect on the character... Example, the gently rolling hills made her feel at home and she looked ahead with anticipation to the bend from where she'd be able to see her home. (I haven't read this in years, so obviously NOT an exact quote). Instead I felt like it was more like, "She looked ahead to the rolling hills, and as she rounded the bend she could see her house." Same way, every time. No emotion. Just a statement of fact. The rolling hills were there- she saw them. The bend was there, and from there she can see her house.

SO... to sum up my opinion, take out a few of the descriptions of the land, or shorten them or rewrite them and you have a great novel. With it, you have a great story with some boring parts that although, they do emphasize an aspect of her character, are easy to fall asleep in and miss any value those pages might contain.

The Other Side of the Page

It was interesting... The storyline was like behind the scenes of two books this author wrote as if the characters had a mind of their own.  After talking with some authors I've realized that this happens a lot.  They develop the characters and realize they have to change the ending or the plot, etc.  It was a quick easy read.  So I liked it and it was entertaining but it wasn't a favorite.

Bossypants by Tina Fey

K, so I actually listened to this several months ago, so I'm going to do my best to write my review of it. First off, I love Tina Fey and she is definitely a great story teller. It was very interesting and entertaining. Listening to it I didn't feel like there was one underlying thing that tied the whole thing together but it was still fun to listen to. There were parts with bad language (if you care about that) though it always seemed appropriate or just quoting someone, not just using it for the heck of it. There was also a whole chapter that was a little preachy. It was on homosexuality- if you are against it then just be prepared, there's one chapter that's bad- so skip it, or don't read it I guess. If you don't mind or are for it, then you won't have a problem. I don't remember having a problem with it, but when I was listening to it I felt like it was almost hypocritical. Like, love everyone except those who don't agree with homosexuality. That wasn't what was said, but it just seemed weird to me. If you don't agree with someone else then don't agree with them. Believe they're wrong, fight for what you feel is right, but one viewpoint doesn't define whether or not a person deserves love and the tolerance of others. And it wasn't that strong, maybe it just seemed that way because of all the conflict surrounding that issue right now and I felt she did a poor job of stating her opinion. But it was her book and she had a right to say whatever she wanted and I still enjoyed the stories in that chapter just like any other one.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

I really liked this book. Each chapter is a new mystery and in it I gained an appreciation for mini stories- all with Sherlock Holmes unique way of thinking. Trying to think as Sherlock does proved of SOME help by the time I reached the latter chapters as I was able to at least guess, in part, what the conclusion was, or at least where the key point was in each story. Very fun read, and relatively easy. :)

I have heard one person tell me that Sherlock Holmes has some anti-Mormon sentiments- I did not see any in this book, though I have other Sherlock Holmes books on my to-read list, and I will write when/if I encounter them.

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

It was not one of my favorites. In my personal opinion, if you liked, "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, then you will also like this one. For me it reminded me of two friends and all of those two friends' negative qualities. It made me wonder why my two friends don't annoy me. With that said, I still think it has its value- I liked a few of the quotes and my favorite parts were, by far, the times he spent with Monsignor Darcy.

Plot- the story follows Amory Blaine- through childhood, school and college and briefly during the war and after. I felt like it was a Napoleon Dynamite story- not in humor or style of the story, but in the fact that I felt the character had very little growth. He declares himself at the end to be selfish and a romantic at heart, but I never felt much change. There were little mini stories throughout which were entertaining, but I felt like the lessons learned, or the point in sharing them was left out.

It is very reminiscent of youth, how he regrets losing it and wishes he could do it all over. There was a quote when he was going through this that I liked- saying we don't really want to go through things again- we just want the pleasure or the thrill of doing certain things, or having a second chance at life (like in Faust and other novels).

So summary- it has value- but don't expect some great change of character or huge plot line. Read it for the ideas he brings up and the moments of wisdom scattered throughout its pages.

Thai Pumpkin Soup

It's not spicy, we loved it, and it's LOW in points, so great for a base for other things.
2 Points Plus on Weight Watchers for 3/4 cup serving
Prep: 6 minutes Cook: 8 minutes

So, what you need:
2 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste
1 (13.5) can light coconut milk (we couldn't find light milk, but we found some without anything added and we figured that was just as good)
1 cup water
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
2 Tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
lime wedges (optional)

The recipe strongly suggests using the cilantro and lime wedges and we loved them also.  We added the cilantro while cooking the rest of the stuff though

1. Place curry paste in a medium saucepan.  Add coconut milk, stirring with a whisk until smooth.  Stir in 1 cup water and pumpkin (we add cilantro here); cook over medium heat 8 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Remove from heat; stir in fish sauce.
2. Ladle soup into bowls.  Top with chopped cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.  Yields: 6 servings

We had this as soup the other night, but tonight we did it more like a curry base.  We cooked up some beef for some meat, and added more vegetables for the curry mixture (anything from broccoli, carrots, onions, celery... whatever sounds good to you that has no points- or just count for them).  And then we cooked up some white rice (3 points for 1/2 cup or 5 points for 1 cup).  So we served white rice and poured the soup and veggies and beef on top.

Fruit Salad

So, the following is a fruit salad I learned from a previous roommate.  It is relatively simple and I think it's pretty good- even though I have found other recipes I like as well. :)

You will need:
Fruit (things I've used before- grapes, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, apple slices and bananas)
a jar of Marshmallow Creme
a stick of cream cheese
a large bowl

One jar of Marshmallow Creme and one stick of cream cheese can go a long way, so unless you are making enough for 10+, you probably don't need to double it.  Especially if you use strawberries which adds fruit juice to the mixture and allows it to spread thinner and further.

Steps:
1. warm up Marshmallow Creme in the jar.  Take off the lid, stick in the microwave- I usually set it for a minute- but you HAVE to watch it.  What you're looking for is to wait til it starts puffing up over the rim and looks pretty rounded.  If you just forget about it in the microwave it might explode and let me tell you- it's a pain to clean up.
2. Scoop out Marshmallow Creme into a bowl (whatever you want to mix everything together in). And add the cream cheese (make sure it's soft enough that you can mix it).
3. Mix the Marshmallow Creme and cream cheese together.  My roommate used a hand mixer, but I've also done without it, with the aid of a fork- it takes much longer to get it smooth and fully mixed but still works if you don't have a hand mixer available.
4. start adding the fruit.  Make sure it's all sliced, if needed.  (Examples- pineapple needs to be sliced unless you bought them in chunks.  Bananas need to be sliced.  Strawberries I usually slice in half.  Grapes you can slice if you have extra time and want them sliced.  Apples should be sliced).
5. Enjoy!  My sister and I went on a road trip and this is what we wanted to bring.  Not the wisest idea with kids, it could end up all over your car, but my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed our snacks that trip. :)