December Book

I read the latest Stephanie Plum book. Mercifully, I can read the book in 3 hours. This latest was called "Takedown Twenty". As I have said before, it is time Evanovich ends the series. Her faithful fans and readers are getting tired of the formula. Stephanie can't alway be in life and death situations. She can't continue to go back and forth between Ranger and Morelli.

If Ranger says, "Babe" one more time, I will start tearing pages out of the book! It was cute at first. Then it got boring. Now it annoys the holy crap out of me.

The charm is wearing off. The interest is waning. I keep swearing I will stop reading and yet, I keep coming back. It is only because they are quick reads. I don't even know if I care any more who she chooses or if Stephanie ever becomes a real bounty hunter. Or how many more cars will get destroyed while in her possession.

It is time to let this one go.

I went  back and looked at my Good Reads review of this book. I didn't give it a review, but I gave it 4 stars. I don't know why I gave it 4 stars. Maybe I was just that happy that I actually finished one more book before the year ended.

October Meal

I made my October meal on October 30. I squeaked it in. We did have a guest for dinner that night. Alexsei's best friend Rachel Schollaert happened to be at the house on that night so she stayed for dinner night. Dakota was not home.

I went with a total autumn theme. I had roasted pork with a sauce made with wine and apple cider. I served it with creamy polenta and roasted vegetables with apples. I made carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onion.

The loin was very tender. The vegetables were delicious. I could have doubled the amount I made. The potatoes and carrots were especially popular.

Glen liked everything. The creamy polenta was not his favorite, but he ate it anyway.

Me: I liked all of it including the polenta.

Alexsei: She thought the pork was fine. She was not a fan of the sauce. It was sweet. She also likes polenta the way I usually make it. She ate some, but did not love it. She did love the vegetables.

Rachel: Rachel passed on the pork. She loved the vegetables and ate some polenta.

Savana: Savana also passed on the pork. She loved the vegetables and wanted more potatoes. She also was lukewarm on the polenta.

Alaric: I believe he ate the pork.

October Book

So the blog fell by the way side for the months of October-December. I did read a book in October. The book was "One Word that Will Change Your Life" by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page and Jon Gordon. We were given this book to read by our Principal. I read it on a drive through Iowa. It only took a couple hours.

The premise of the book is to select a word that will guide your year. The one thing the authors challenged is that you do not think about your word. The word should come to you. Of course, after I finished reading the book, I thought about words. As we were driving along, we passed a cell tower. All of a sudden, the word "Escape" jumped into my head. So that is my word.

I have been exploring the many meanings of escape. One of the strongest themes for me is that I am ready to find a new teaching position. That is the top escape for me. I am also trying to escape things that I feel waste my time. I am trying to cut down on my internet life and spend more time with my "real life" people. I also want to escape my unhealthy habits. These seem to all be worthy goals for the word escape.

This was a very easy read. It is very religious-based. I was surprised our principal has us read it based upon the religious angle. I am eager to see my progress come October 2014.

I would recommend this for anyone interested in Self Help books. It is a quick and simple read. The idea is very simple. It is not a time consuming, life change. I just need to continue my focus on my One Word.

One Word that Will Change Your Life