My Favorite Things- Sonia Kashuk Lipstick

I was at Target and picked up some of this lipstick ($10.00)  I'm always on the lookout for a nice lipstick and am usually disappointed.  But I love this one.  It's creamy and smooth on the lips and the color is exactly what it shows in the lipstick top. It even has SPF16 for protection.  I googled it and found it is only sold at Target.  Sonia Kashuk lipstick= one of my new favorite things!

To view other of my favorite things, click here.

Blackmoore

Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I trapped my husband in our car on a road trip and popped the audio version of this book in our Cd player and away we went. He had to listen. And though there was a fair amount of eye rolling, I think he enjoyed it. The story was a bit slow to unfold and Kate was very slow to realize or admit Henry’s love for her. Come on, Sweetie! And I thought if the reader said “heart” or “India” one more time, I would scream. But, overall it was fairly well written and certainly exciting at the end. My trapped husband was as anxious as I to finish it. When we pulled into our garage at the end of our trip, we weren’t quite finished, so we took it inside and finished it before we even unpacked the car. It did have an exciting conclusion. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.



View all my reviews

Sundays at Tiffany's

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Oh dear! I think I just read my first romance novel- a book genre I was going to avoid. I was almost done with it before I realized that’s what it might be. It’s a fantasy mixed with a romance and it is not very good. I did read the whole book, but I never could quite wrap my head around the plot. The characters were stereotypical ( Cinderella [plain turned beautiful], the mean stepmother or Cruella Deville, Knight in perfectly shining armor, and Hans from Frozen.) The interactions between most of them were painful to read. The ending was, well, silly, and didn’t make any sense. The book cover suggests that there is or will be a television show based on this book. I won’t be watching it. I’ll give it a generous two stars.



View all my reviews

The One and Only Ivan

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This winner of the Newberry award is written for children. But there is not an adult alive that wouldn’t love it and be moved by it. It is beautifully written from the point of view of a gorilla. I know, it sounds like something you won’t like; but you will. I promise. Though dealing with a sensitive and even possibly volatile theme, it is not didactic or preachy. I not only cried, but it was that chest-aching cry that comes from deep in the soul. It’s a study in selfless love, much like Charlotte’s Web- but with a happier ending. I recommend it to everyone ages eight to eighty!



View all my reviews

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Truly one of America’s greatest-ever heroes, Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is a classic. Though not well- written, it is his view of things, and that makes it very important, I think. The first section is written when he is in his 20’s and is the account of his childhood , teen years and young adult life. This first section- Part 1- is very interesting, even page -turning. The second half of the book is written when he is an older man, reflecting on his life. Part 2 covers his self improvement plan that has become so famous and what qualifies this book as a “self help” book. Part 3 is harder to read. It’s Franklin’s reflections of his life when he is an old man, and is a bit didactic. But it does describe so many of the great accomplishments and inventions of this great man and the things he learned from his experiences. Though Franklin is best known for his role as a Founding Father of our country, his autobiography does not even cover that most important part of his life. Sadly, he died before he wrote about the pinnacle of his life. But it does cover many others of his accomplishments, reflections and experiences and is worth the read.



View all my reviews

Kaboom!!!!

Last night:

The salad was made, the pasta cooked perfectly el dente, the table set.  The sauce was ready, perfectly seasoned.  I poured the sauce over the cooked chicken and KABOOM!!!!!   The pan exploded all over me and the kitchen.  That pan broke into literally thousands of pieces.  I was devastated!  There goes dinner.  There goes my pan!  There goes, and this is the saddest part for me, my can of Trader Joe's Marinara Sauce that I was SO excited to try.  

I was making Kristen's delicious Parmesan Chicken:

It is so yummy.  

Kaboom!!!!!!

Well that's not a very impressive picture, but the glass shards were EVERYWHERE!

So, instead of This . . .

We had this.  After my husband cleaned up the mess, of course.  He's nice like that.

I guess, if I'm being philosophical, I'm glad I wasn't hurt.  I did get a small glass shard in my foot, but other than that, I wasn't hurt.  It could have been so much worse as it literally exploded all over me.  This was not safety glass, people.  And I'm glad I had something else I could whip up quickly.  But I am sad about my pan and my Trader Joe's Marinara Sauce.  KABOOOOOOOM!!!

Fun Visits

We had fun visits- first from my sister, Patty.  Then from Michelle and Brian.   On Monday, Pam, Patty and I met for lunch at Sakura and then some fun sister shopping downtown.  That evening, we all went to Pam and Roger’s for a delicious rib dinner.  Everything was so good and Pam always makes everything so inviting and beautiful.  We had a nice evening.  The next day, Tuesday, I met Patty and Pam to go the annual art show held at Dixie State.  Pam and I have gone before.  It was just excellent and so inspiring.  There’s something that happens to the human soul when you view fine art or hear fine music.  You simply can’t put it into words, but it is real.  We then went to lunch and then to the “celestial kingdom.”  There’s a new accessory store in town called Charming Charlies that is so  beautiful.  They have chandeliers and it’s organized by color and each little cubicle presents jewelry and scarves and handbags and knick knacks in that color.  I was telling Michelle and Gabbi about it later and that it must be what the celestial kingdom will look like.  Gabbi said something about it being telestial.  Incredulously, I turned to my five-year-old granddaughter and said, “Where did you learn about celestial and telestial?”  Her answer, “You gave me a book!.”   That I did.  That I did.

    

The FAMOUS Blue Cheese Wedge Salad at Player's.  This is delicious . . . and I don't even like salads.

Lunch at Sakura.  The Paparazzi, aka Roger, showed up to snap our picture.  The waitress was incredulous that he came to take our picture.  That's just Roger!

Delicious and beautiful rib dinner at Pam's

Art Museum

Patty left Wednesday and then Michelle and Brian came on Thursday evening after Brian finished the Nevada Bar Exam.

  That evening, we had a birthday celebration for Michelle’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, dear Michelle!  How we love this daughter!

The next day, Friday, we went up to Zion National Park.  We enjoyed a picnic and then they all hiked to emerald pools.  Ken and Gabby were hiking partners.  She was tired and saying that she wanted to go back until they got to the lower emerald pool.  When she saw the splendor of that, she turned into a new little girl and pushed to go the middle pools and then the upper.  She became hiker extraordinaire.  It was just a glorious day up there. 

Beautiful Zion National Park

The Prince family at Emerald Pool

This kid is all personality

She made it the Upper Emerald Pool!!

Hiker Extraordinaire

  

   After the hike, we drove through the tunnel in the park, thinking that would be the highlight, but on the other side of the tunnel, we saw a Desert Bighorn sheep right by the side of the road.  We stopped and took pictures along with everyone else.  Then Gabbi, Grandpa, and Brian did a shorter hike while the rest of us waited by the car.  That sheep came right where we were.  I was out with Jaron- who was absolutely fascinated by him.  That sheep came within feet of us.  We had Jaron’s little bike with us and he’d ridden it a bit in the parking lot.  It was laying on the ground by the van, and that sheep came right up and sniffed his bike.  What a show.  We watched him over half an hour.  Unfortunately, Ken had our camera on the hike with him and my phone died, so I didn't get pictures of him close up by the car.

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Meanwhile Gabby, Grandpa and Brian had a great hike to an overlook.  

I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation and the only explanation I can find . . . is that I hiked and hiked and hiked to get here!!!

The View is worth the work!

 Saturday

Early the next morning, I brought out one of my shoes and taught Gabby how to tie a shoe.  Later that day, her mom and dad took her to the shoe store and she got tie shoes.

I also taught her about selfies (it was early morning and neither of us were dressed yet)

Gabby trying her skills at the "selfie."

Michelle made us a delicious lunch of zucchini pie.  The recipe is here.

After lunch, Michelle and I went to the aforementioned store and others while Grandpa and Brian took the kids to the Children's Museum.  I have to say, Michelle was in heaven with a few hours off and shopping! See, it IS the Celestial Kingdom!   We met all of them at Pizza Factory for dinner.  Then later watched BYU beat 3rd in the nation ranked Gonzaga in basketball.  That was fun!!!! We found out it is really fun to watch a BYU basketball game with Brian!

Sunday, it was nice to have Michelle and Brian in our ward.  Brian spent most of the time in Primary with Jaron, trying to get him to stay.  That morning, I awoke with a terrible headache.  Ken rubbed my head and I took meds and went back to bed for a little while.  When I woke up, I still had the headache.  I had to be at church at noon to lead the choir rehearsal.  Gabby came in my room while I was getting ready.  I told her I had a terrible headache and that I didn’t know what to do because I had to go lead the choir.  “I think we should say a prayer,” she said.  What a sweetheart.  So we did.  Halfway through the choir rehearsal, I realized that my headache was gone.  Medicine or sweet faith of a child?  You decide.

 Then after a Beef Stir-fry dinner, they headed back to Vegas. 

See!  Fun visits!!!  Thank you, thank you for coming!!!

Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a fun read. It was pretty well written, though the main character, Sadie, was a bit unrealistic. There’s no way a 56 year -old woman could do all of that sleuthing, underneath bed crawling, sneaking, crying, fighting, and then go home and bake and cook. I know. I won’t tell you how I know. It’s a light and easy read with a pretty satisfying ending. There are several recipes in the book. You can find them here:

http://www.josiskilpack.com/uploads/1...




View all my reviews