Friday Bullets

Posted on January 27, 2012

Ah, Friday. Thank goodness you’re here. Today, you get a list. Because I’m feeling fairly lazy, but not so lazy where I can’t blog.

I got fitted for contact lenses yesterday. It turns out, my left eye (the one that’s obviously bad to me) is still bad. No biggy. However, I also learned that my right eye has astigmatism. What? So, now I have a special contact for my right eye, and a not-so-special contact for my left eye. That should be fun if I mix the two up!
Also eyeball related: Contacts are going to take a hella-while to get used to. Hella.
Kyle and I are going to a play tonight. How cultured are we?! We’re going to see Lorne Cardinal (A.K.A. Officer Davis in “Corner Gas” – if you’re Canadian and don’t know what I’m referring to, we can’t be friends) act in “For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again” because we’re fans of his. I’m looking forward to it!
The company that did our taxes last year f-ed up and now we owe the stinkin’ government $200. Bastards. They’re lucky we’re using an actual accountant this year, because there’s no way I’m going back to them after that. Jerks.
I’m ridiculously excited for my ultrasound next Thursday. Like, seriously cannot-wait-for-that-day-to-get-here excited. Eeeee!
I finally picked up the Book of Negroes from the library and I can’t put it down!
There were three police cars and an ambulance at a house down the street from me and I wished I was at work so I could hear on the dispatch scanner why they were there. I’m going to be one of those little old ladies who sits by the scanner for all the going-ons in town.
Kyle’s mom and her BF are hosting a game night tomorrow evening and I’m super stoked for it. There’s prizes and everything! I’m making stuffed mushroom caps and I may just hoard them all for myself. I’m pregnant, so I’m allowed.

What are your weekend plans?

What I’m Reading: Room

Posted on January 26, 2012

Synopsis, from Goodreads.com:
To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world… It’s where he was born, it’s where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she has been held for seven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack’s curiosity building alongside her own desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating–a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

—

Room was one of the two books I picked up from my local library. I had seen in stores but whenever I read the book jacket I was apprehensive to actually buy it. I put it on hold at the library and a few days later it was available to pick up!

The story of Jack and his mom (Ma) is told through Jack’s eyes, a sheltered 5-year old who has lived in “Room” all his life. His mom was kidnapped by “Old Nick” when she was 19 and is kept in a garden shed-turned-makeshift house/shack.

To be honest, it took me a while to catch onto Jack’s unique language. Because he’s only ever lived in Room with just his mom, he has no sense of the “real” world. To him, Room and the things in it are the only thing that’s real. Once I got used to the way he describes things, it was a lot easier to follow along.

I don’t know if I loved the book, but I didn’t hate it either. It was definitely a lot different than books I normally read, and it had quite a few shocking and “REALLY?” moments. Really, I kept reading to see what happens in the end because the story of Jack and his mom and what they go through together is pretty amazing.

If I were to rate the book, I’d give it Three out of Five. It was good, but it wasn’t amazing.

Have you read Room? What did you think of it?
Do you plan to read it?

Oh, How Pinteresting!

Posted on January 25, 2012

Ah, Pinterest – so full of pretty little things that I probably never will try! Very rarely do I actually do any of the crafts or DIY projects I find (except for this one) or try out any of the recipes – Until last week!!

A few weeks ago I came across this pin:

Which actually from blogger Leana at A Small Snippet. So – if you visit her blog post here, you’ll find the whole recipe.

It’s actually quite delicious!

Changes I made to better suit my tastes:

I omitted the peanuts because nuts in meal-type foods are not appealing to me
I also omitted the sesame seeds and sesame oil (I just used extra veggie oil) because I didn’t want to buy sesame oil
I added a little less than 1 tbsp of red pepper flakes because I’m a spicy food wimp AND it was still too much heat. (However, I accidentally let the flakes heat for waaay longer than two minutes, which probably didn’t help)
I threw in some sauteed shrimp for a little extra oomph and protein
I used 5 tbsp of maple syrup instead on 6 tbsp of honey because I was told to avoid eating honey when you’re pregnant
I served it (to myself) hot because it was dinner and it was freezing outside when I made it

Here’s my final product: