book report!

Since last night I have finished two books.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

It was an interesting read.  I liked how descriptive she was in her writing.  Used a lot of adjectives and new words for me to look up. 

I don't know why...but I love looking up new vocab words. In high school, we had weekly 'Word within the word' tests.  Basically, they wanted you to learn how to break down words to figure out the meaning.  I always did well, because it was interesting to me. 

I read these books on my nook, and I have to say it has REVOLUTIONIZED my vocab lookup!  Often when I am reading a book, I don't have the time to grab a dictionary or I'm not near one.  With Nook, you can look it right up!

My favorite word from Water for Elephants  

Pachyderm

any of the thick-skinned, nonruminant ungulates, as the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros. or

a person who is not sensitive to criticism, ridicule, etc.; a thick-skinned person.

I'm fasinacted that I can be called the same name as an elephant!  It's true though, Ellie and I have something in common!

Anywho, Water for Elephants wasn't the best book that I've ever read, but it was a great mind stretcher!  Anxious to see the movie! :)

The other book I read was Her Last Letter by Nancy Johnson

what a great mystery!!!   I really couldn't decipher what had happened until it hit me smack in the face!  It had enough side stories to keep me suffiently occupied so I couldn't put too much thought into what was going on!

Other things I attempted today:

This scruffy puppy needed a fur-cut!  I am not the best groomer so I only got a smidgen done before I gave up! 

My beautfiul Puppies :)

Look how happy they are!!!

Then I reorganized my closet and got rid of a ton of stuff!  Jewelry got sorted and purged as well!  I am very grateful I have such a large closet! 

Casey was a great help!  Once I got rid of what i didn't want anymore...I delegated the sorting to him!  I just asked him to keep like styles together!  Dresses, pants, etc.  Must be my work habits coming out!

Can I tell just how fresh and organized and on top of the world when my closet is organized??

This week will definitely be a great one.

Til next time,

taralynn

On a side note:  I think the Europeans are on to something with the gap year between high school and college.  Brilliant idea!  Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

annnddd...spell check doesn't work for the blog- so sorry for the grammar fanaticals!



SUNDAY FUNDAY!

I guess everyone's definition of a funday is different!!

I'm planning an Easter full of READING!

I bet you're thinking...what's the hype.

A little fact about me.  I'm OCD when I read.

MEANING...I have to read a book start to finish.  No joke.

Sometimes it's a real pain, since I generally compromise sleep  to finish a book.

Hence, dedicating a day to reading!!

On my list:

Water for Elephants (Can't wait to see Reese and Rob on the big screen!)

One True Love (can't wait for some sap!)

anndd I can't remember the two other titles!

I'll summarize when I'm done :)

yiiippppiiiieee!!



the delicious moment you've all been waiting for...

It's here!

I did it!!

I wrote a recipe for my stuffed shells that you all love so much!

Here is it:

Tara’s Zucchini and Pepperoni Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 box Jumbo shells

1 26 oz Jar of your favorite pasta sauce

2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.

For Filling:

1 large zucchini quartered

1 package of pepperoni quartered

8-10 oz. small curd cottage cheese

8-10 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you do not like spicy food)
Italian seasoning

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Boil noodles. Use salt to prevent noodles from sticking together.
3. Saute the zucchini and the garlic.  Once zucchini is almost tender, add the pepperoni.  Let cool briefly.

(Looks good doesn't it!!)

4. Mix the cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, seasoning together to make filling.

5. Add the zucchini and pepperoni mix to the filling mixture.

6. Once noodles are done boiling, drain. Let noodles cool enough to touch.

7. Put a little sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 pan.  

8. Using an ice cream scoop or a cookie scoop, spoon mixture into each shell. Keep shells close together in the pan, and place the shell in the pan with the opening facing up. If you have remaining filling mixture, you may put it in the bottom of the pan or dispose- whichever you prefer.

9. Pour your sauce over the noodles, making sure to cover all edges thoroughly. 

10. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top of sauce. Also add the crushed pepper if you like.

11. Add mozzarella cheese, liberally cover shells.

12. Place foil over dish, and bake for 30 minutes.

The end product should look like this...

oohhh yess. 

and two posts in one day??  I think that more than makes up for my lack of blogging :)

...going bananas!

One of my favorite desserts is Banana Creme Pie...

...but only when it's made well.

I happen to have an awesome formula for a quick creme pie.

Check this out:

1. Get some Nilla Wafers.  I mean it's a must.  Throw them in a blender to get them finely ground.  If chunks remain, no worries- it's okay :)

2.  Throw some melted butter in with the ground wafers.  Only go a tablespoon or so at a time.  You don't want it to be greasy.  You'll know when its the right consistency when it can be smushed into a crust.

3.  Thus, smush it into a crush. I prefer thicker crusts...so go wild!!

4. Use instant banana pudding mix.  (Hey if you're in a hurry, it'll do the trick!)

5. Quarter one or two bananas depending on your texture preference.  I normally go for two. YUM!

6.  Dump the pudding onto the crust!

7.  Make homemade whip cream.  Seriously, I can't stand Cool-whip, but homemade is amazing.

To make homemade whip cream, get  1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream and use a whisk blender.  Blend it for a minute or two and then add powdered sugar about a cup at a time.  It'll get the texture of a whip cream but a little different.  I say add powdered sugar until you like the flavor.

8.  Lather that pie with the whip cream and get a nice cold glass of milk!

Oh yeah,  you can thank later ;) 



Murphy's Law or Law of Attraction

Oh boy.  The last couple weeks have been full throttle.   It's like when you get all your dominoes all lined up perfectly and that first one teeters...

It's trying.

But you know what, I believe in law of attraction.   "The Law of Attraction is a metaphysical New Thought belief that "like attracts like”, that positive and negative thinking bring about positive and negative physical results, respectively. "

Seriously, try it.  Visualize what you want to happen.  Visualize all your obstacles and nay-sayers.  Now I want you to visualize wiping these obstacles out one by one.  Visualize the end result.  

Amazing things can happen.

So Murphy's Law- you don't apply to me.  Sorry. 

I know...not such a great blog- nothing exciting, just random tidbits of my thoughts.

But hey, if you need something to occupy your time... try  Stumblinggg!

Only check it out if you have a couple hours to spare though, it's slightly addicting.