Book Review: Follow Me Back

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I don’t remember why I got this. Someone somewhere mentioned it and I ordered it from the library. It took eons to get a copy, hence not remembering why I asked for it in the first place. LOL

Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger was unexpectedly brilliant. I read it in one day. Read a bit in the morning while homeschooling the kiddo because I expected it to be crap and then I could add it to my one page reviews for third quarter and move on. Only, it didn’t quite go that way. I almost missed hot yoga I was so intrigued. Read during lunch. And then I took it to with me to get an oil change.

So why is this book so intriguing?

It is well written. No clunky dialogue. No misspelled words. No people talking that aren’t actually in the car.  No over inflated description. No head jumping. No time line confusion.

The main characters are compelling. I won’t go into details there because it would detract from the story.

The concept is one that plays on my mind frequently. Technology and just who is out there following you. It’s why I use a pseudonym. Why on some level I’m ok without a publishing contract. I’m ok with being indie. The spot light is not a place I want to be. I jokingly said to the hubs, “It’s hot and bright there.” And I like neither of those things.

The ending is where the book falters in my opinion. I think they want it to be a lady or the tiger type ending, where on some level you wonder if maybe she did really do that. For me, it just wasn’t there. I know firmly what happened. I’m being vague here because I don’t want to give it away.

℘℘℘℘℘ – Five Pages. If you like a strong psychological thriller, give this one a whirl.

Sunday Sup: End of Summer Burger

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The sunny days are slipping away. I have a strange desire to sing the Sesame Street song now. But given my latitude, PNW, it’s already getting cold. So I present my tribute to the great American summer burger, no bun because who needs that many carbs?

Great American Summer Burger

Thinly slice a sweet onion and thinly slice some mushrooms. Saute over low in a skillet. How much you use it up to you. I like a lot of onions and mushrooms on my burger, the hubs, not so much.

While that’s sauting down, grill your patty. I like mine medium rare and done in beef. But char that puppy if it makes you happy. Veggie burger, Chicken burger, turkey burger, elk burgers…it all tastes good.

Add cheese in the last minute or two of grilling. I like a nice sharp white cheese. A gruyere swiss combo but havarti works too. The hubs likes cheddar on this – purist.

In the mean time, whip up the sauce. Mayo, spicy brown mustard, paprika, and a dill pickle chopped fine.  How much you may be asking. Look I never measure, I’ll guess at it but use the force already. 1/3 c mayo, 3 tbsp mustard, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 small pickle.

Assemble patty, onions and mushrooms, avocado, and sauce. You can add tomatoes and lettuce if you have it, I was out the last time I made this meal.

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Fiendish Friday: Civilization vs the Primitive Brain

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 6 Comments

I am a civilized human. I am. I take my coffee with cream. I cook my meat and eat my fish raw. I bathe several times a week. I apply my war paint strategically for attractiveness, not to instill fear in my enemies.  I sew my fur coverings into shapes, rather than fasten them with a bone. I am civilized.

I love my husband for all the civilized reasons. He is funny and he laughs at my jokes which might actually be more important than him being funny. He is kind and so brilliant he makes me look dumb despite my above average IQ. He’s supportive of my crazy desire to be an author. He takes excellent financial care of the family. He treats me like a true partner. We agree on almost all the big picture items, so much so that when we disagree it’s a shock to the system.

But at the end of the day, what I find incredibly sexy at my core, is his ability to rip a 20 foot tall tree out of the ground with his bare hands and a minimum of effort. sigh. Primitive brain talking loud and clear.

You know damn well he would have brought home the woolly mammoth, every time.

Thanks for 12 fabulous years of marriage my darling!

Book Review: Modern Lovers

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 2 Comments

I’m not sure why exactly I picked this one up. It was on the Reader’s Pick shelves at the library. The cover is this really appealing green with yellow letters. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. Her name was vaguely familiar. I had read something about her recently or read an interview with her maybe….

Told from multiple points of view, which is super fashionable right now, this book is…trendy. Book clubs, lesbian couples, the straight laced boy corrupted by the wild girl, the husband being duped, the couple that is only happy when things are in crisis. Nothing new or genre breaking. Maybe that’s why even though I laughed in places, I enjoyed reading it, it left no lasting taste in my mouth. I read it slowly over the course of 10 days. And I’m not sure if the kiddo hadn’t gotten sick I would have finished it at all. If I am reading a book slowly it is because nothing in it compels me, speaks to me. It all felt predictable. It was all tied up in a neat little bow at the end.

℘℘℘ – Three Pages. Perhaps I am just not the ideal audience for this book. I neither tired of my marriage nor have I abandoned my dreams.

 

Sunday Sup: Paleo-ish Pad Thai

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I’ve made this recipe a lot of different ways. It’s one of my hubs favorite meals. It borders on fussy in my opinion but I have done my best to streamline it out.

The original comes from Our Paleo Life (https://www.ourpaleolife.com/paleo-pad-thai/). I’ve played with the recipe a bit though. I know you’re so surprised. LOL

Paleo Pad Thai

6 tablespoons lime juice. Fresh is best but whatever you got works too.
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons gf tamari
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3/4 c nut butter. Seriously, anything you got. I usually use Peanut butter but have been known to substitute cashew and mixed nut butter in equal portions when I was really asleep at the grocery shopping wheel. LOL
Blend in a food processor or with a whisk until smooth. Scrape down the side with a spatula then add 3/4 c coconut milk and blend again. Set the sauce aside.
Cut two medium onions in half and then thinly slice them.
Cut the ends off 4 cups of snap peas. I know that sounds like a lot but it never looks or tastes like too much. How did I arrive at that amount? I buy the 8 cup bag from Costco, use half for this recipe and half with hummus dip.
Add a couple of tablespoons of oil (olive or coconut your call) to a wok or large skillet. Heat over Medium Low. Add veggies. Cook until tender (or crisp, your call) stirring frequently. Ten or so minutes for tender crisp. LOL
In the mean time boil some edamame pasta, regular pasta, or cook a spaghetti squash, whatever you have on hand. I think we like it best with the edamame pasta but Spaghetti squash is a great alternative to really keep it clean.
Chop up some cooked chicken either from a Costco pre-cooked bag or that was left over from another meal. What’s that you say? Someone ate the left over chicken you were planning for this meal. No worries. Grab a can of chicken, drain it, and no one will notice once it’s all covered in sauce.
Add the chicken and pasta to the sautéed veggies, toss it around a bit.
Pour on the sauce and warm everything up. Serve. Eat. Yum.
PS. I forgot the picture again and of course this meal never lives long enough for me to get a snap later. Sorry.

Fiendish Friday: ED

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 6 Comments

Nope, not about Erectile Dysfunction. Although, if I could take a little blue pill to cure my Eating Disorder, I would. I feel like I am talking about this a lot lately. First with the Jennifer Weiner review and now the netflix movie. Some things just come about in rounds I suppose. I’m talking about To The Bone, a netflix movie made about eating disorders.

On one hand nothing about this movie triggered my food issues, so yay there. Like most things in life, I tend to try a wide variety of things. Like books: I read everything but horror and fantasy, and I’ve tried those and found they don’t suit. But I tried them. So with my ED I have tried just about everything. At heart I am a binger. Yes, I know exactly where I get that. I know what series of behaviors and experiences in my life that led to me soothing my emotions with food. Personally, I’ve always been grateful for that because if I had found say alcohol or drugs I would have never made it to recovery. Hello Overdose. But I’ve always spent some time with purging and anorexia and exercise bulimia. In fact I really liked combining anorexia with exercise bulimia. Endorphins.

That said, this movie rubbed me the wrong way in a few places. I think netflix wanted to  show a serious look at ED with a look how bad it can be if you don’t get help with a you can get better vibe. Most of the movie takes place in a treatment house. 7 patients, only one binges. Felt unrealistic. In my experience, bingers get help more often because society disapproves of us and the pressure constant disapproval can exert is phenomenal.

Next rub, they threw in a love story. The main character forms a romantic attachment with another inmate at the house, the only male. Really, we need a love story in here?

But the real rub, the big one. The male character tells her more than once how stunning she is. Yep, all of your bones sticking out, bruising up your spine from too much exercise, lanugo all over your body —- but you’re stunning. Good job netflix. Way to undo what ever realism you were trying to achieve.

 

Book Review: Hungry Heart

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I don’t think I’ve made a secret of my issues with weight. I certainly carried more than I wanted through most of my 20s. So I was intrigued to read Jennifer Weiner’s biography, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing. She is possibly the only mainstream popular writer to portray main characters who carry their weight with them. Their endings, somewhat happy, somewhat conflicted, always realistic – NEVER include a beauty transformation on the outside but instead showcase a transformation of their opinion of themselves.

It would be irresponsible of me not to say while I liked this book a lot, there are numerous triggers. Eating disorders, abusive parents, creditors calling and shouting at you as a child, judgement, pain, the desperate desire to fit in when you don’t. All my story and all horribly triggering.

I loved reading about her struggle to get published. The path she took, where she was brave despite her fear that another opportunity would ever come along. I hated hearing how belittled she has been by literary writers and reviewers. All her statistics on popular women’s fiction were staggering. I could share but I won’t. Read the book. Even if you only read the chapters on writing, it’s worth your time.

℘℘℘℘ – Four Pages.

Sunday Sup: Taco Skillet

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My family loves a big pan of nacho glop in the winter. It’s warm and heavy and so satisfying on that primordial level. But it’s summer. And it’s HOT. So I attempted to remake the dish in a lighter manner, while keeping the idea intact. The kiddo said I failed. The hubs liked it.

Summer Taco Skillet

Chop one red onion and one red bell pepper. Saute over low in the fat of your choice, I used Olive Oil, until soft.

Add one pound ground meat; beef, turkey, chicken, pork. Add a healthy dose of taco seasoning. (Paprika, cumin, and garlic will also work.)

Cook until browned. Add one can fire roasted diced tomatoes and one drained and rinsed can of black beans.

Stir Stir Stir until warm.

I served this with sour cream, guacamole, jalapeño jack cheese, and plantain chips. There’s no guac in the pic because I am super picky about what I put guac on, I serve it for the hubs.

 

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Fiendish Friday: Out of the Mouths of Babes

~ tahenryauthoress ~ 4 Comments

One of my oldest friend was here to visit with her fam. She has two older children, tweenagers, but they’re super good with my kiddo. He adores them as well.

So one of the things said friend needed to do while here was drive 5 hours one way to visit her dad. I agreed to take her, mainly because her dad lives past Portland and I was hoping for some time for fun. A little Kyra’s, a little Powell’s. Yummy dinner.

Anyway, said friend told me her kids were currently listening to the Twilight series on Audible. So in an effort to prepare my kiddo for the trip, I started explaining that the tweenagers are listening to this book about vampires but they are nice vampires that live with humans.

“That’s just wrong Mom. You can’t change the nature of vampires. It just isn’t right.”

Book Review: Death By Chocolate Lab

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I know, another cozy mystery. What can I say, people keep writing them. Death by Chocolate Lab by Bethany Blake is the first in a new series. That usually doesn’t bode well but in this case was completely adorable.

Daphne is a wandering soul. She is currently crashing with her financially successful older sister while she walks dogs and pet sits to try to keep a few dollars of gas in her old van. Daphne is quirky and amusing. She has fun friends, including her basset hound Socrates, who is written as though he interacts. It’s hard to describe but quite entertaining.

As per usual, someone unpleasant is killed. The list of possible suspects is long but Daphne’s sister heads the list and so Daphne springs into action to figure out the murderer before her sister gets arrested. It doesn’t hurt that the new cop in town is smokin hot.

℘℘℘℘℘ – Technically five pages, as I did read it in one day. However, that might have been due to the kiddo being sick. It was a good read though and I will grab the next one in the series when it comes out. So let’s say 4 and a 1/2 pages.