New post! Now with super-shitty MS Paint skillz!!

I can’t tell you how many half-written entries I have saved into a folder on my flash drive. I think I should get a LITTLE credit for attempting this blog. It counts, right? Of course it does. It’s the thought that counts.

Now onto to other things…

I moved back to the lieberry where it all started. Now, was it a good decision? The jury is still out on that one. But it is leaning to one side. The commute is awesome. It’s nice to get home and not be exhausted and amped up at the same time. My road rage has gotten somewhat better, so that’s good too.

The co-habilitating thing is working out nicely. He’s putting up with my messy, scattered, unorganized self, and I’m putting up with his whack-a-doo scheduled, gaming-obsessed, toy hunting self. Don’t ask me how it works, but it just does. I wouldn’t change a thing. Especially since we HAVE PASSED THE 1-year mark. Because HOLY SHIT THIS IS REAL, Y’ALL. Still don’t know how we’ve made this far.

I have this master plan to create this recipe database a la the Betty Crocker app! I’m totally going to enlist the help of Gamer Stud’s bfff. Hopefully I’ll be able to bribe him with Scotch. That’s legal tender, right? Basically, you put in the ingredients you have on hand, and it shows you a few options that you can make. Pretty easy, right? I have a binder that everything is in right now, but digital is so convenient when you’re pressed and don’t have the time to go hunting for a recipe. Speaking of recipes, keep an eye out for some of those bad boys. I’ve been trying several ones out, so hopefully I’ll remember to take pictures of the process. But let’s be honest, it’s probably not going to happen.

I cooked this totally delicious casserole from a recipe that I got from the back of a bag of cheese last night. Well, GS did most of the cooking before I got home since he was off, so I swooped in and did next to nothing. Woo! I totes forgot to take pictures, so next time around (and there will be a next time), I’ll be sure to put some along with the recipe.

I promised myself that I would include a little bit of everything when I started up yet another blog. So, this time around, I’m going to include some book reviews that I did earlier in the year. The books may or may be something that you would want to read, or it may inspire you to actually pick it up and give it a whirl!

Atlantia by Ally Condie

So here I was getting super excited about this book, because OMGIBETITSARETELLINGOFTHELITTLEMERMAIDYAAAASSSSS. But NO. That is not what this book is about.

My first mistake was mistaking the title, Atlantia, with Ariel's home, Atlantica. NOT THE SAME, Y'ALL.

Then, they have the nerve to go and put Ursula's shell on the cover. Again, NOT THE SAME Y'ALL. Now, the shell is very significant, just like Ursula's so there’s that.

Here’s the dust jacket blurb to give more of a summary than a review:

Can you hear Atlantia breathing? For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose. Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.

I guess I should get on with the review, right? Overall, I enjoyed the book. When I was able to sit down and read for a continuous amount of time (not just 10 minutes here, 20 here, etc) I found myself flying through the pages. But, not in a good way. This was my first Ally Condie book, and I feel as though it will also be my last. I kept skimming through because it was pretty darn bland. I kept waiting for something to happen, and there were a few events, but nothing enough to really grab me. There was a lot of build-up, but no boom. I’m not saying I need that every time I read book, but if you’re going to spend over 4 chapters building something up, you better pay up! The book had so much potential, but it left me wanting more. More detail, more character development, more stops on the plot line. I think if the book was expanded another 100-150 pages, I would have been sold. I feel like I could write a companion piece expanding both the Below and the Above. Especially the Above. I needed more. The Above felt like the way the Games in Catching Fire started. Water and lots of surprise death. Meh. Overall, I just needed more. MORE I SAY!

Aright. That’s it for now. BYE Y’ALL!