Author: stacybuckeye

Weekend Cooking: Ten Healthy Teas by Valerie B. Lull

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Ten Healthy TeasFinished 5-4-12, rating 2.5/5, health/food, 41 pages, pub. 2012

I like tea.  Jason and I both like to drink tea at night (sometimes wine wins out for me, but on a good night it’s tea!).  I like the act of brewing it and sipping it in pretty tea cups.  I’ve been known to buy the loose leaf tea and try to blend depending on my mood.  So, it was a no brainer when this book was offered to me.

This is my first book about tea, but am confident in saying that this is not a definitive one.  However, it does have interesting information on 10 big teas-ginger, garlic, green/black, chamomile, cranberry, peppermint, raspberry, goldenseal, echinacea, & lemon.  My favorite versatile tea is peppermint; I blend it with lots of other flavors. But I was surprised to know that it affects male fertility.  On a related note, Jason’s favorite raspberry, can affect women’s uterine area and should possibly be avoided while pregnant.

The book is very short, but it does include recipes for each tea.  I was thinking about giving it away, but think I’ll hang on to it for a bit longer as I try a few of the combinations.  I like that the recipes are for tea bags and not loose leaf since that’s how most people drink their tea.

Valerie Lull is currently studying herbalism and I thank her for sending me her book.  I hope the tea drinkers out there will take a look.  The only reason I didn’t rate this higher is because it was so short.  Fine for the what’s in there, but it felt incomplete.

Do you have a favorite tea?  My go-to tea the past few years has been Asian Jasmine White Tea.

Beth Fish Reads hosts.  Weekend Cooking  is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book  (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes,  random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs.

FREE BOOKS (& a few notes from the month that I don’t much remember)

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April just flew by and I have a hard time pinpointing exactly when all of my personal goals got put aside.  So, April was a wash and the same goals will re-apply for May. My Recent Favorite Books on my Zagat Restaurant Guide from last month.  Congrats 🙂

The good news is that I did a little cleaning, stress on the little part, and I found a few repeats on my shelves and I’m going to share them with YOU!  Just leave a comment and tell me which one or ones you want (you can win more than one) and I’ll draw winners at noon on MAY 14th.

1. Collision Bend by Les Roberts.  Part of a mystery series set in Cleveland.  I haven’t gotten to this one yet, but I love the series.

2. Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman.  Love Hoffman! Brand new.

3. Little Children by Tom Perrotta.  I think I picked this up (twice!) because Jenners raved about him. Brand new.

Good luck and happy reading.

 

Frenchy Quiz – guessing closed

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Two years ago this month Jason and I were enjoying France for the first time (but hopefully not the last).  See if you can figure out these books set in France.

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling!

This round will last til August.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!  Last week’s Grisham quiz here.  Leaderboard and rules here.

1. A concierge and a school girl form an unlikely friendship in this book set in a posh apartment building in Paris. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

2. Jean-Baptiste was born without a body scent, and his search for the perfect scent leads to murder.  Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

3. This novel that alternates between 1942 Vel’ d Hiv’ and 2002 Paris, illuminating the horrors of the French Jews imprisoned on behalf of the Nazis. Sarah’s Key

(I have some old editions of a few of these that should make it fun)

4. Corked  5. Chocolat  6. Anything Considered  7. A Tale of Two Cities  8. French Lessons  9. The DaVinci Code  10. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly

April’s 5 Word Movie Reviews – Join in and win $ for charity

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Every time you add 5 words of your own to one of my reviews then you donate $1 to charity.  What charity, you ask?  The charity is chosen by the person who has the most reviews once we reach 100. (Last charity here)  PLEASE leave a clear 5 word comment so I can give credit for it.

You can add reviews to any of my past movie posts AND see who is in the contributing lead here.

Act of Valor, 2012 (Cast-U.S. Navy Seals, Roselyn Sanchez, Nester Serrano, Emilio Rivera)    Grade B

Raw, Violent, Powerful Recruitment Film

 

A girl and two boys, running through a dark forest.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 1, 2010 (Cast-Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint)      Grade B

Waited too long, Needed refresher.

Fast-paced first half of movie. (Heather)

Best one of the bunch! (Stephanie)

Good, but a little long. (Kathy)

Time to Grow Up Kids (Beth)

Saw at theater, exciting experience! (Debbie)

It’s hard to grow up.  (Kay)

Emma Watson, audio book reader.  (Tony)

 

Carrie, 1976 (Cast-Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta)  Grade C+

Getting period never so traumatic!

I can’t top yours, Stacy :)  (Stephanie)

Sissy Spacek was perfect lead. (Kathy)

King Of Horror Movies Classic (Beth)

Traumatized teen, pig blood, still scared! (Debbie) – I’m pretending not to notice the 6th word

Ick factor when first seen.  (Kay)

 

Man holding up a card labelled hall pass, his friends standing behind himHall Pass, 2011 (Cast-Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis) Grade C

Funny first half, iffy second.

Great cast, hoped for more. (Debbie)

Sundays with Gage – Family

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I asked my mom if she’d come up and Gage-sit while I went to the British Tea, an annual charity fundraiser put on by New Clevelanders.  This is the newcomers club I’ve belonged to for 10 years and I’m currently the club’s historian, aka photographer.

My mom decided to invite my aunt Judy, my aunt Betty and cousin Kelly too.  So, the foursome arrived on Wednesday and left on Friday and, of course, I wait until they are getting ready to leave before snapping a photo.  Seems like Gage is always getting photographed in his high chair, but I guess that’s the only place he’s still enough.

Gage is going to be an only kid and I wish we lived just a little closer to my family.  It’s a little less than 2 1/2 hours and that’s great for weekend trips, but not as easy for stop-ins.  I want Gage to be surrounded by his extended family and I am always so thankful when they visit.  Gage always loves an appreciative audience and they were definitely that 🙂

Delirious, by Daniel Palmer

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DeliriousFinished 4-22-12, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2011

I started this on audio, read by Peter Berkrot (12 hours 39 minutes) and finished with the print version after the discs turned faulty halfway through.

Charles Giles is successful, arrogant, and trying to distance himself from his family when he is fired from his job due to some questionable actions that Charlie cannot explain.  He is accused on espionage, an absurd thought to a company man like Charlie.  When co-workers and medical personnel tell him he’s going crazy, Charlie thinks he may believe them.  After all, his brother Joe is schizophrenic and his dad had his own mental health issues.  Locked up with crazy people will make even a sane man nuts and Charlie isn’t sure he’s a sane man, he did write that Kill List and one person on it had already died.

I liked this fast paced thriller.  Was Charlie crazy or could the circumstances of his firing have been manipulated?  His mother was in a coma and this led to a reconnection with the brother who he was trying to forget.  I liked the very real relationship between the two.  Charlie harbored a lot of bad feelings toward his brother that stole most of their mother’s attention.  Add into the mix that Charlie really felt like he was going crazy and could identify with his brother and the typical thriller becomes laced with a reality that leaves the reader satisfied.

Is Charlie paranoid or is he being set up?  Both choices are plausible and the book had me guessing til the reveal.  One minute I’d think Charlie was mentally unstable and the next I was sure he was bring set up.  This is an excellent debut and I look forward to more by Palmer!

I checked the audio out of the library and had an autographed book on my shelf.  Both were very good. 

Isn’t that what I said? Grisham Quiz – guessing closed

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These John Grisham titles are not quite right, but they’re close.  Give me the correct title for 10 points each.

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling!

This round will last til August.  The person with the most points will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Have fun and Good Luck!

1. A Moment to Silence – A Time to Kill

2.  The Fugitive Peers – The Runaway Jury

3. The Road Attorney – The Street Lawyer

4. A Colorful Abode – A Painted House

5. The Ruler of Wrongful acts – The King of Torts

6. The Guiltless Mortal – The Innocent Man

7. The Fish-eating bird Short – The Pelican Brief

8. Hopping Yuletide – Skipping Christmas

9. Splotched Coffee – Calico Joe

10. Shallow water Province – Ford County

Last week’s Graphic Novels quiz here.  Leaderboard and rules here.

World Book Night/Day

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I handed out my last book at 4:40 at Walgreens.  World Book Night was a success 🙂  I chose The Glass Castle and Jason reminded me last night about how I came to read The Glass Castle.  Jason is not a big reader, but in the break room at his office there is always a pile of 20 or so books for people to take/exchange and one day he brought home a random book for me to be sweet.  I had seen the book on a few blogs but, not being a memoir reader, never thought I’d read it.  But you all told me I had to and when I did I was blown away and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year.  So, we’ve come full circle.  Someone put the book out there to be found and read, I did, and today I got to put the same books out there to inspire 20 more people to read.

I handed out books at the dermatologist, wine store, dry cleaners, and Walgreens.  Everyone was so excited.  I will say it was hard to really differentiate the reader from the non reader when giving them away.  I tried my best.  And it was weird to say World Book Night when I was handing them out at 1 pm!

Sundays with Gage – Learning is fun

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As a first time mom, I am somewhat clueless about how or when babies and toddlers learn things.  Each month I religiously look at the milestones from the What to Expect book, oh wait, Gage is now 18 months and I haven’t looked yet, okay, I ALMOST always take a peek at milestones.  It’s nice to be aware of what should be happening or what’s about to happen, but the books don’t explain everything.

For instance, kinda thought that once I put a straw into Gage’s mouth it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for comprehension.  I mean, he does suck on a bottle every night, right?  Well, it’s taken weeks and I finally broke down and bought the little juice boxes so I could squeeze it through the straw.  After a few days of this he finally caught on that he could do this himself.  I know he is late to the party and other kids have been doing this forever, but what can I say?  He’s been busy doing other things.

Like he is a master nose blower.  When we tell him to blow he shows off his lung capacity.  But, when he wants to be a big boy and  blow bubbles himself this is a problem.  We tell him to blow and, well, let’s just say that he gets very upset because his nose blowing doesn’t produce any bubbles.  It doesn’t matter how many times this has happened, I get a good laugh every time.

Watching Gage learn is fun.  One thing we have not had to teach him is love balloons.  Here’s a bonus picture of him running around the house like a madman with his balloon.