Book Review: The Gentleman's Poet

The Gentleman Poet: A Novel of Love, Danger, and Shakespeare's The Tempest by Kathryn Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enroute to the Americas in 1609, Elizabeth, a young servant girl, sees her blinding headache as an ominous sign. Sure enough, a hurricane during the final leg of their journey tosses the ill-fated ship the Venture and its passengers/crew onto the shores of the Bermudas. In the months that follow, they deal with hardship, mutiny, adventure, danger . . . and a little romance. Elizabeth despairs of their ever being rescued, but she finds hope and strength in a new friendship with the ships historian, a poet traveling under the name of William Strachey. But Will is more than he seems. To many back home in England, he is known by a different name, Shakespeare. And he sees in their great misfortune as the makings of a magical, truly transcendent work of theater, the Tempest.
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Ok I totally borrowed most of that, but wanted to at least give you an idea of what it was about. I liked the book, but did not love it. Maybe if I had reminded myself of Shakespears play, the Tempest.

Halloween Star: Latest craft project

Have I talked about Pinterest before??  Love this website. Finally have one of my sisters addicted to it as well.  Anyway. I was browsing the different "pins" and I found something I just had to try myself. (pictured below)

The directions were pretty simple. Find a Star (found mine at Hobby Lobby), Halloween paper, and ribbon.  Cut and place paper on the star (used both Elmer's adhesive spray and mod podge).  Add ribbon, and voila, your own Halloween star.  Honestly was surprised by the lack of paper options at the store for the Halloween holiday.

Above is my star finally hanging on my front door.  I'm actually very happy with my Halloween star. Love it so much I may make one for each holiday or season...as they come. Probably cost me around 30 dollars to make the star.  Now keep in mind this is a large star, not a small little star. It's about the size of a regular wreath.

Now if I could only finish the other projects I've started.....

Book Review: First Grave on the Right

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
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I'll be the first to tell you that paranormal is not my first choice in reading material. I picked up this book from the readers choice table at the library and surprisingly I really enjoyed it! The book is a debut novel from the author, the writing is smart and funny. Honestly can not wait to see how she writes the next novel. The book is a paranormal romance suspense...

My Big Girl Birthday Party!

My daughter and her cousin both have September birthdays  9 days apart.

   My oldest had a 7th birthday party over the last weekend.  I've been planning this party for weeks.  With her just starting school, with new friends, and new faces, we decided to have an all girl pink pink pink party.  We invited the 2 girls her age on the street and then all of the girls from her class, and most of them showed up.  Pink everywhere! Pink decorations, pink birthday cake, pink flowers, pink balloons, pink bracelets, and pink necklaces.

   Above are the pictures of her giant cupcake ice cream birthday cake. One with the giant cupcake liner that I made and the other just before we cut the cake.  She chose a devils food cake and on the inside? pink peppermint ice cream. My favorite was actually making the the icing on top! I used a tall can of white fluffy frosting and a tub of cool whip, then added pink food coloring. Soo good. 

   Here's the pink party area .  The giant cupcake is a pinata filled to the top with candy. On the table we have different beads and we let the girls make their own bracelets.  Have you used memory wire?? best ever for kid bracelets. 

Here's an example of the bracelet beads, I made this one for my daughter.

   Here's most of the party group after they hit that pinata down in seriously...4 hits!

 

   Girls eating their yummy birthday cake!

the inside of the birthday cake! I think it turned out really well.

  The party was a lot of fun.  When the girls first came in, I handed them necklaces I made with their names on it...(kinda like a name tag, but they get to keep), then they got their fingernails painted! They got to choose from a lot of different glittery nail polish.  The hardest part was trying to figure out who would be first to get their nails done.  Next time I need to just pull names out of a hat instead of play the number game.
   After that the girls started to make their own bracelets, which I thought went a lot better than expected.  I even introduced the girls to the ferrets, which they thought were pretty cool.  After that, my husband set up the pinata in the garage. These girls are strong, we only got through 2 girls before they tore it open and the candy came pouring out. Tons of candy.
   When the candy was finally picked up, they went inside for ice cream cake! and last of all...open presents before the parents came to pick them up.  The party was fun, hope they all had a good time.  I think I'll wait a few more years before I throw a party like this again....

weekend with old friends

    Not very often your friends come back into town.  Our old next door neighbors are visiting from Texas! We haven't seen them for a couple of years, so happy to see them again.  My twin sister was a gem and was willing to watch both of my girls for a night so that we could be kid free to see our friends.  Have you been to Tin Roof Grill?? Only my second time, and I loved it just as much as the first time.  We knew that our friends would appreciate the food.  Afterwards, we took them back to the house to share this bottle of wine.  Fat Bastard.  I've been wanting to try this out for over 9 months. Sadly disappointed....but didnt' want to waste it either.

     And what's a trip back home without trying our favorite place? WingNutz. 

Also important to mention from the weekend?? After our little snack at WingNutz, my husband sold his red honda shadow motorcycle.  Great motorcycle, but haven't used it very much the last few years.

the boys

     The next day before we picked up our kids from my sister, my husband and I made it up to Oktoberfest at Snowbird. Nice to walk around and try the food without chasing 2 little girls. After we picked up our girls, we met up with our old neighbors again for the Pi Pizza.

     The were so nice, they gave my daughter a belated bday present...the hello kitty skeleton backpack. AND  they didn't want my youngest to feel left out, so they gave her a giant gummy bear.

    The night ended with satisfying everyone sweet tooth at Marble Slab.  Definitely miss our old next door neighbors, always fun to see them. Loved the weekend!

Book Review: Sweet Misfortune

Sweet Misfortune: A Novel by Kevin Alan Milne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

   Sophie owns a chocolate shop where she sells Misfortune Cookies-dipped in bitter chocolate they contain messages she hand writes each day such as "Your car seems fine now, but just wait...it will eventually be a source of frustration and unexpected delay." What starts as a gimmick, turns into a surprise hit with customers. But when her ex-fiance moves back to their small Washington town, he is surprised at how bitter and unhappy Sophie has become. She proposes a bet--he must place an ad in the paper that simply states "Wanted: Happiness." If there are 100 good real responses, then she'll agree to one date with him.(mostly from excerpt from inside cover).

   I loved reading this book. Definitely would be good for a bookclub read, summer read, or if you just want to read a good book! One of those that was hard to put down, even wanted to cry a little at the end. Could not believe the layers that unfolded in the story. You think you have it figured out, then something else happens. must read.

High Tea with her Auntie

my sister and oldest daughter at high tea @ the Beehive Tea House

    My twin sister and I each have kids with September birthdays only 9 days apart, and our other sister decided to come into town this weekend and treat both of them in her own way.  Saturday she took my twins son to the Dew Tour. How cool is that? What boy would not love to be surrounded by bmx bikes, skateboarding and just fun!  Guess he also got to watch Shaun White on his skateboard. very cool.
   Then on Sunday, my sister and her friend Natalie got all dressed up and took my daughter to high tea at the Beehive Tea House downtown. Such a wonderful treat for my oldest. I had no idea we had a place like this in our city.  My sister gave her a princess crown, some cute sparkly bracelets, glittery lip gloss and a glittery bag to carry it all in to the tea house.  My daughter loved being spoiled by her aunt.  At the tea house she had hot chocolate, pb&j tea cut sandwiches, raspberry and cream for dessert, and look at those place settings!!! Very memorable experience, can not believe I'll have a 7yr old by the end of the week.
   The day before my mom took my girls (and one of my sisters girls) to see Mary Poppins at the Capitol Theatre.  The little ones only made it through the first half and fell asleep, so they came home early, but still they had a lot of fun with their grandma. Busy weekend...Next weekend will be just as busy. should be fun!

p.s. also important to mention that my oldest lost 2 more teeth over the weekend. seriously. That's at least 6 or 7 in the last 6 months.

Red Rock Relay

Red Rock Relay

    Over the weekend, my husband ran the Red Rock Relay near Zions.  The race starts in  starts in Brian Head Resort, through Dixi Nat'l Forest, Cedar Breaks, Snow Canyon, St George, and then ends at Zions National Park.  He was apart of a 12 man team, and each person on the team was assigned 3 different sections (aka. legs) of the course.  Overall they will run 187 miles in about 2 days.

this is one of two vans for team weezomg weasels. 

   Started early Friday morning when I dropped him off, and they were on their way to southern Utah to start their adventure.  My husbands first leg was #7, Navajo Ninja, which is about 6 miles up hill up to Navajo Lake.  From what I heard, he was also running in a rain/thunder/lightning/hail storm during this leg.
   Next was #19, Super Iron 8, a midnight run and his favorite of the 3 legs. This stretch was about 8.3 miles, scattered with cattle guards and an old Iron Town. 
  Last of all (yay the 3rd leg!!) #31, Telegraph Tease.  This heads up to Coral Canyon, this run is about 5.2 miles with some serious inclines.

For each leg in the race they finish they get a mark on their leg. The number represents which leg they finished.

  After everyone is finished, the van of Weezing Weasels went out to celebrate with dinner, (hoping a shower) and much needed rest.  Sunday morning they drove home.  The van my husband was in ran about 100 of the 180 miles between the 2 vans, and he also played "water sprayer" for one of the teammates. Guess her sweat glands don't work, so he ran next to her and would spray her with water to cool her off.

The team from the sun van back from red rock relay.

  Good Job handsome! very proud of you.

The latest in our family.

I've been meaning to update my blog, but honestly didn't have the motivation. So just for giggles, here's what's been happening with my family recently--if you're interested.

With my husband: Seems he has a lot more happening. Biggest change? He's been with the last company for 12.5 years, and starting Monday he will be starting a new job with another company.  Almost surreal, a little nervous (me), but excited to start a new chapter in our lives.  Also, he's been doing some marathons over the summer like the South Valley Half, and Provo River Half. This weekend he is doing the Red Rock Relay, which is similar to a Ragnar. He is apart of a team of 12, and each runner runs 3 separate legs in a 24 hour period.  The course starts in southern utah at brian head resort, then through dixi nat'l forest, cedar breaks, snow canyon, st george, and ends at zions. Can not wait to hear all about it!

My girls:  I have a 1st grader and a preschooler. First time since I had kids that I have a couple of hours a few times a week to myself.  My oldest started a jazz class, and so far she's really enjoying the style.  I've never had her in a real dance class before, so this is a new experience for all of us. My oldest is also turning another year older and wiser next week! I've been attempting to plan an all girls pink party. Hopefully it turns out. 

me?  I just finished my 4th week at bootcamp. happy to be back.  Sometimes you just need someone to give you that extra push to get the results you've been looking for.  Also trying a new type of diet.  My brother (that lives in my basement) asked if I'd do it with him if he got the books. Basically it's a 12 week program where along with your exercise routine, you eat 6 small meals a day--specific meals.  They give you the grocery list, recipes for each week, and you just have to follow. One week down, 11 to go.

Other happenings: 

• The ferrets!! what have I learned so far?? That Bear has a shoe fetish, you can't leave them anywhere or she'll drag them to one of her hiding spots, and Snowball has a doll fetish; she has eaten the hands and feet of at least 2 barbie dolls..that I've found.  Having ferrets has been better than I expected. They are super cute when they are playful.
• I'm addicted to Pinterst.com.  Basically it's a website where it lets you organize and share anything that interests you. I have many boards from my favorite things, pictures of clouds, holidays, art that I love...you decide what boards to create and then you "pin" what you like. Check it out, and invite me as a friend! You can go to your friends boards, see what they have and pin their things too. loove this website, it's my new addiction.
• We took the girls up to Donut Falls last weekend. Have you been? I haven't been in years and it hasn't changed much.  My husband expected something different, so was kinda disappointed. But still, the girls got to get out, do a small hike,and do something fun.

First Day of school

My First Grader. Finally. Today is her first day! She is soo excited.

And my little girl, who started preschool about a week ago.