A new place to write my to do's...

Before

 After

Much better

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

This was a truly inspirational true story about a boy from Malawi, Africa. After suffering through famine and hunger and having to drop out of school because his family couldn't afford his school fees, William studies [on his own] and determines a way to bring electricity to his village by building a windmill to generate power. I was amazed at this boy's patience, determination, and smarts [he really is a genius]. I highly recommend this book, I think it's a must read!

Some yumminess...

I bought these wraps with the intention of making egg rolls, but when I got home from the store I realized I'd missed some of the necessary ingredients (I hate it when that happens!). So, I hopped online and looked for some other things to make with them and TA-DA, I found the coolest recipes. 

The other night I made homemade spinach ravioli. I threw cooked spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, cottage cheese, and some seasoning in a blender to make the filling, then followed the instructions here to put them together and bake them. They were so good! 

I also made mini quiches using the instructions found here, although I used a different filling. 

OH and did I mention we also had mini crepes with them too? I love these wraps...I should be their spokeswoman!

Another recipe I'd like to share...Quick Cinnamon Buns with Buttermilk Icing. Cinnamon rolls are Brian's favorite, but they take so long I hardly ever make them! With this recipe, there is no yeast involved, so they take a fraction of the time. And they are seriously good. Find the recipe on America's Test Kitchen's website. 

Enjoy! 

My Latest Reads...

Hooray! I joined by sister's book club and although I wasn't able to make it to January's meeting, I managed to read 2/3 of the books assigned. Lois Lowry is the author of Number the Stars, which was one of my favorite books growing up. With that in mind, I was pretty excited to see what else she had written.

I really liked The Giver (I think my High School English class was the only one that didn't read it!). It is a light and easy read, yet it really makes you think about life and how fortunate we are to live in our current society, even amid its imperfections. I wasn't as big of a fan of Gathering Blue. The plot was a little slow and I was very disappointed with the ending. So much so that I decided not to read the third book/companion. 

Ethan Frome is a classic and came recommended (first by my father in law, then my husband), so I gave it a shot! I really liked it too. Although it's a bit heart wrenching, the character connection is inevitable (at least it was for me). I found myself torn between Ethan's loyalty and his happiness. I like books that make me think and this was one of them. 

I can't remember how many times I've read it before and how long it's taken me to read it this time. And I can't promise you I've had a great personal study every day, but I can say that The Book of Mormon has been a source of solitude and strength over the past year. I've found that when I read sincerely, my days seem to go much better and I'm able to maintain an eternal perspective on life. I started reading it from the beginning again today...

Quiet Book

This book was definitely a learning experience! Lot's of hours went into creating this little baby! And I think I might have sat at the computer looking at ideas longer than I actually worked on the book! There are SO many creative people out there in the blogging world, it makes my head hurt! (Here's where I got some inspiration...check out this ONE and this ONE)

Although I am pleased with how it turned out, it is full of imperfections (which really drive me nuts). If I had more time I could pour dozens of hours into sprucing it up...but we're leaving for Utah tomorrow and I must hand deliver it to my sister's cute little kiddies (it's supposed to be their Christmas present, I'm horrible). I'm counting on them not noticing things like how the pages are different sizes! Anyways, here it is...

Front cover with velcro strap

Pick the apples and play with the animal finger puppets

Close the doors

 Puzzles

Count the animals and make a flower arrangement

Build the burger (the pieces velcro off) and style the girl's hair

Find essential's in the purse and play tic tac toe

And a little pocket in the back for the extra stuff

I hope they like it. If I can gather the time and energy I might make one for Eden too!

My Life in France

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to posting this book review. I really enjoyed getting to know the life of Julia Child. It wasn't quite a page turner, but it was fun and interesting. It made my mouth water and inspired me to try some French Cuisine (although she did favor some dishes that I would never ever consider putting in my mouth). I also thought it was so wonderful that she found her passion and talent for cooking later in life. It gave me realize that learning should never have to stop. 

I joined my sister's book club and My Life in France was the book they read for November. I'm really looking forward to next year's reads, they should be good! Stay tuned for reviews...

Jammies for Eden

These are so easy and cute...I think I better make her a few more pairs.