This one is going to take a while

I'm trying to read an actual literary novel (Hide Me Among the Graves by Tim Powers), albeit it is still about things that go bump in the night.  Why are literary novels so vague?  I read something and then I wonder, was the big mouth guy a vampire, a ghost, or what.  So then I'm still reading, but not really sure what's going on.  Also, I hate the poems at the beginning of each chapter.  Do I need to read them?  Is the content important?  How much time should I spend puzzling about the meaning?  Anyone have any answers?  We will see how this goes.  I try to read things of substance every once in awhile.

Weekend's Over

Another weekend flew by.  I was busy doing a lot and nothing at all; where does the time go?  I wish I had more time to do scouting activities with Midwestern son.  I did help Midwestern daughter bake, that was fun.  Even the weekends where we don't do much are great.  I love just hanging out and doing stuff together around the house. 

(I didn't take this picture, I found it on the web, but it reminded me of how things looked around here this weekend.)

Dark Needs at Night's Edge by Kresley Cole

Book 4 in the Immortals After Dark Series
Paranormal Romance

It took me forever to finish this one.  Not because I didn't like it, but just being busy.  I really enjoyed this book.  An interesting story line and a great romance all add up to a really good read.  I also really liked that characters from previous books were woven into this book adding a continuity between books. 

Conrad is a fallen vampire, one who has drunk a victim to death, and seems to be beyond help.  Neomi is a ghost bound to the house she was murdered in.  Neomi turns out to be Conrad's bride.  A vampire's bride is his eternal wife.  Only a Neomi can render Conrad fully alive, starting his heart beating and breathing.   

Old Fashioned Money Saving

I'm not a big fan of Super Couponing.  My money saving method is to try not to buy commercially prepared food.  It is amazingly expensive for what you get.  It is much cheaper to make homemade food and go without things like frozen dinners and mixes.  The time spent searching the Internet, planning, and clipping could be spent making something.  The extra benefit is that your food will have a lot fewer preservatives and chemicals.  Yes, coupons for things like trash bags and bathroom supplies help and I do clip coupons and use them, but only for things I already use.  Usually, the generic brand is cheaper than the name brand even with a coupon anyway.

For Example:

I purchased a spiral cut ham for Easter for $18.00.  We ate or will eat it for the following meals:

Easter Dinner
3 Ham sandwiches
6 Ham salad sandwiches
Split Pea Soup, (easily 2 dinners and 2 lunches)
Quiche (1 dinner, 1 lunch)
Scalloped potatoes with ham, (1 dinner, 1 lunch)

All those meals for $18.00!  That $1.00 a meal.  (yes, I realize the other meals require more ingredients, but it is still amazingly inexpensive)

I do that once or twice a year.  I also do a similar thing with turkey.  These kinds of meals were the kind of meals our grandmothers made.  With food prices so high, we can't afford to waste.

I also made egg salad out of the dyed Easter eggs.  Delicious homemade food and cheep too, it doesn't get any better than that.

I think raising my children is the most important thing I will ever do in my life.  They are my legacy.  They are my connection to the past and my link to the future.  Raising them has been and is the most challenging, frustrating, joyful, and difficult thing I will ever do.  I worry about them incessantly and am so proud of them.

The Time Starved Chef

I've struggled for years to put dinner on the table that not only everyone will like, but that is easy and quick, and fairly inexpensive.  I have decided that lots of people (myself included) can put dinners on the table is cost were no option and I had lots of time.  The real challenge is when you have picky eaters, with everyone being picky about different things; a short cooking time, some nights only 30 min. to fix dinner and eat; limited resources; oh and don't forget it should be at least a bit healthy. 

That should be a reality show.  Contestants have to work a full day, come home at 4:15, go though back packs, unpack lunch boxes, feed dogs, get dinner fixed and kids fed, and then have kids changed and ready to leave at 5:45 two days a week and 4:45 one day a week.!  I say, "Good Luck!"

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

Anne Rice is back, thank God!  I wasn't too thrilled with her Christian works, but I did read them.  In this book, she takes on the werewolf myth.  She manages it to turn the werewolf myth into something new.  In her version, the wolves are driven to destroy evildoers only.  They seem driven to this.  The book is all about spirituality, the purpose of life, what we are here for.  I liked that the wolves were basically good and there wasn't a lot of moaning and groaning about being evil. 

A good read.  I liked it, but didn't love it.  It was lush, beautifully written, had a very interesting myth story, and was full of details.  I will definitely read future books in this series.