Dear John

A nestie friend was kind enough to send me this book when she was paring down. It wasn't until I started reading it, that I realized I've read it before. But since I couldn't remember how it ended, I kept reading!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads.com:

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love--and face the hardest decision of his life.


This book was a classic Nicholas Sparks: love story that doesn't work out just right, but still has a tearful bittersweet ending. Now I am looking forward to seeing the movie so I can compare!

Books and a smoothie!

M just went out to get gas for my car. I asked him to pick me up a Frutti smoothie from 7-11 while he was gone. Turns out the sweet man had to go to 4 7-11's before he found one with a Frutti machine. Mr. Wonderful went to 4 stores in a blizzard to satisfy my craving! Love him...

Anyway, what I really wanted to blog about tonight was my awesome experience with another NBC Elf Book Exchange. I was able to send my elf "Under the Dome" and a hard cover edition of "Little Women." The free shipping from Barnes and Noble made it possible to stay close (Only $2 over!) the $25 budget.

I was thrilled to receive books from RevJen. She sent



Check out Jen's Blog My Brain's Comfort Food

Bitter is the New Black

I received this book as a gift from my 1st Nestie Secret Angel...unfortunately, I still don't know who that kind GPer is! (If you are reading this, I would love to know who you are!).

Here's the synopsis from GoodReads.com:

Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life-until real life kicked her to the curb.

She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life-and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.

This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good.

Filled with caustic wit and unusual insight, it's a rollicking read as speedy and unpredictable as the trajectory of a burst balloon.

Here's what I said:

My copy of this book is roughly 400 pages. I didn't realize it was non-fiction until page 396. Embarrassing. Fortunately, the fact that Jen in a real life person makes this book that much more hilarious. Definitely a easy, chick-lit read. I'm looking forward to starting the next one. I will also be checking out Jen's blog, www.jennsylvania.com

Since I'm at work and it is only 12:47, I'm going to go look in my car to see if I have another book to read out there!

I gave in and read Twilight

Took me long enough, right?

For whatever reason I could feel in my bones that I wouldn't like this book. It was mediocure at best. I feel like I've given the story a fair chance. I've seen both movies and read the first book. Would I read the others? Probably not. I could be convinced to watch the movies, though.

Tonight I want to start my next book. I want something light, then will probably go to something more intense. Vote on what you think I should read next!






PS I also posted the poll on NBC!

This is what's up

Ok, I know you are all wondering what's going on with mrs.messi. Here's the honest truth...baby.messi hates me! That's gotta be it. The nausea and vomiting has continued...I am currently sitting at my desk at work the vomit on my scrubs. Real attractive and sanitary, let me tell ya! Besides that, due to some excruciating round ligament pain, I am now on pelvis rest. M was a real fan of that one...not. Honestly, I'm kind of enjoying the break. What a bad wife I am.

I'm reading "Twilight" right now. I know that it should be an easy quick read. It is easy, but I can only read a few pages before getting bored. I don't know if it is because the movie left a bad taste in my mouth, or because I just don't see how it can live up to hype.

So far I am loving PaperBackSwap! I've sent 5 or 6 books, received 2 and ordered one other. Seriously, why didn't I sign up for this before!

One more thing...once I have two more followers, I'll do my first giveaway! Spread the word about my blog!

PaperBackSwap

So, through the nest.com, I learned of a great website called www.paperbackswap.com
Basically, you list books that you are willing to part with, and as people take your books, you earn credits that allow you to request and received other used books. When you list your first 10 books, you get 2 free credits to start yourself off. For me the problem was choosing which 10 books to list as my "trial" set. I want someone to request from me just so I can figure how this whole thing works! I'm going to save my first 2 credits until I get a little further into WBC. I'm sure there will be a task that I don't already own a book for and viola! I'll be checking out PBS!

SuBC - A job well done

So today marks the final day of the Summer Book Challenge from the Nest Book Club. I completed 29 out of 36 tasks for a total of 415 points out of possible 450. I am amazed and impressed to have read 29 books in only 3 months. The challenge also "forced" me to read books I would have never picked up otherwise (Columbine, Eat Pray Love, Skipping Christmas) and introduced me to some new favorites (The Time Traveler's Wife, Outlander). Overall it was a fabulous experience. I am proud of beating the 400 pt mark and will make completing FBC my next goal.

Gearing up for FBC as SuBC winds down

So, as an added challenge to myself...I am only going to use books I already own but haven't read for FBC. I went though my bookshelf, adding things to my spreadsheet and it is 3/4 full! When I get through those books, I will commence with the regular library/used bookstore books.
The only exceptions will be the three books I buy for my IRL book club and audio books from the library to get me through my commute.
I'm pretty excited! I can't wait to read all these books that I have been holding onto. The hard part will be not getting caught up into new books people are talking about on the nest!

Today I am going to work on Jane Eyre, which is a TBC book and a SuBC book.

free AND signed?

There is a book called the Hunger Games that I first heard about on NBC. It seems sometimes that I am the only NBCer who has yet to read this page turner. The sequel, Catching Fire, was released today. To increase excitement and get people informed about the book release, free signed copies of HG were being given out at bookstores around the country. When it was announced that that a copy was at a Border's in Fairfax, I assumed someone would go claim it and that would be then end of it. Fast forward 24 hours...

So here is my story:

After seeing Pebble's post on the nest (thanks for posting, btw), I ate dinner, did some laundry and watched Project Runway. I got to thinking that maybe I should try to get the book - though I thought it was impossible. I called the store and they told me that sure enough, the book was still available, but that someone else had just called and they were on their way. The other person was coming from DC, via the metro and a bus - who knows how long that would take. I looked up directions - 51 minutes without traffic, and I got on my way.

I drove as aggressively as I could - which for me means going through most yellow lights and driving about 7-8 mph over the speed limit. My heart was racing. When I went into the store, the girl at the front said "Which one are you, the metro girl or the girl from [name of my town]?" I said I was the one from [town]. She said this into her walkie talkie thing and several Border's Staff members started to applaud. It was awesome! The manager presented with me with the beautiful signed copy. Then she suggested that I put it in my purse, as three other people had called and where on their way to the store! I thanked them and got the heck out of there!

Can't wait to read it

Crab Quiche

Here is the Crab Quiche I made, inspired by the book Julie and Julia.

It was delicious!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 eggs, beaten 1/2 cup milk

1 cup crab meat 1 cup diced Swiss cheese 1/2 cup chopped green onions 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, mayonnaise, flour, and milk until thoroughly blended. Stir in crab, cheese, and onion. Spread into pie shell.
3.	Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

And my review of the book... 2 out of 5 Stars.

This book was not what I hoped it would be. I hoped it would be a story of a woman exploring the art of French cooking, a la Julia Child, about recipes, ingredients, words she didn't know how to pronounce, dishes that turned out all wrong.

Instead it was just a story of a woman without purpose. Though she found some sense of worth during her year of cooking, at the end of the story, she still seems relatively lost.

I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been more structured, more focused on her cooking and less on the oddities of her life.

I definitely give Julie Powell's husband props for putting up with her!