What Would Jane Austen Do?

Another meme, this one from Jeff by way of Mike : Below are “106 books of pretension,” compiled from the books most frequently marked unread by Library Thing users. Books I’ve read are in bold ; books I’ve started but haven’t finished are in italics ; books I own but haven’t read are marked with an dagger (†). Totals: Books I've read : +/- 11 Books I've started but not finished : 9 And the total number of all these books that I own? Drumroll please.... one. And it's loaned out. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Anna Karenina Crime and Punishment Catch-22 One Hundred Years of Solitude Wuthering Heights The Silmarillion Life of Pi The Name of the Rose Don Quixote Moby Dick Ulysses Madame Bovary The Odyssey (against my will) Pride and Prejudice Jane Eyre The Tale of Two Cities The Brothers Karamazov Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies War and Peace Vanity Fair The Time Traveler’s Wife The Iliad Emma (I think) The Blind Assassin The Kite...

It's been -- sheesh, nearly a month -- since SGM tagged me. Without further ado: A - Attached or single? Attached. Like a barnacle. B - Best friend? Chandler. Wayyyy better than Phoebe or Rachel, for example. C - Cake or pie? How about a cake with a pie on top? You should make one of those so we can see if it's any good. D - Day of choice? Saturday E - Essential item? Laptop F - Favorite color? Red G - Gummy bears or worms? Gummy worms are too disgusting to ponder. H - Hometown? Bridge City, Texas I - Favorite indulgence? Letting Papi get the kids ready in the morning while I sleep late. J - January or July? July, because school is out. K - Kids? There are a couple of demanding short people living with me, but I have no idea how they got here. L - Life isn't complete without? Dumb questions. M - Marriage date? 6-29-96 N - Number of brothers and sisters? 2 sisters O - Oranges or apples? Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit. P - Phobia and fears? It's more that I'm ...

I posted this on sk*rt, where it didn't get picked up (as usual), so nobody got to find out about it. But this is such a great link that I'm passing it on to you. Kris at Cheap Healthy Good posted a collection of links to 102 different light salad dressings, separated into categories like "Asian-inspired" and "fruit-based." Go check it out .

What's for dinner this week: Monday -- tortilla soup Tuesday -- spaghetti Bolognese (sorry, Papi), salad, garlic bread Wednesday -- salmon Kelvin, Asian coleslaw Thursday -- turkey taco salad Friday -- Mexican pork roast, rice Saturday -- Carnitas Jeff’s bday party: hamburgers at the park Sunday -- shish kebabs

Watch the volume, some of the language is NSFW.* *See, Susannah ? You can crank it up as loud as you want. Who says there aren't some advantages to unemployment?

Damn, I'm behind on my memes. This one is from Biddy : 1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages). 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five people. & post a comment here once you post it to your blog, so I can come see. Okay, now I actually got rid of 75-80% of the books in our house last weekend in a fit of decluttering. And yet there are 18 books and at least a dozen magazines on my nightstand right now. Jesus, what a slob. 1. The book on top of the pile is Flower Confidential . [Reading book...] Holy shit, that's boring stuff. Glad it's a library book. 2. Next book in heap is Influential Country Styles , which, while interesting, is chiefly a picture book. It's an Interlibrary Loan (possibly the greatest invention ever). I like it, but let's find another. 3. Passing up Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook (the recipe on page 123 is for Stuffed Bell Peppers, which wil...

Mmmm... I feel like I just had a heaping helping of CRAZY. God, I loved that show .

I FOUND THE PEANUT BUTTER ! And man, is it good. I had to haul over to the HEB on Fountainview, and then pay $3.14 for a pint, but it was worth it.

What's for dinner this week: Monday-- fish fillets (don't call them fish sticks) and french fries Tuesday-- pirate pasta and salad with the Van Campens Wednesday-- risotto with peas Thursday-- Taco Night! Friday-- lemon crockpot chicken, french fries, salad Saturday-- breakfast for dinner Sunday-- leftover chicken

Retro Renovation Finally pink kitchens get the respect they deserve! These folks hate HGTV as much as I do. How To Do It Online For Free " Online tools, Freeware and other useful things on the net. " Wall Street Fighter "Insider news for the Outsider," and source of this McLovin clip: "The Mclovin' Fund" with Kristen Bell and Christopher Mintz-Plasse on FunnyOrDie.com

What's for dinner this week: Monday: pizza frittata Tuesday: pork chops, carrots, green beans Wednesday: meatloaf , mac and cheese , green beans Thursday: dinner at PTA meeting Friday: lemon crockpot chicken , roasted potatoes, salad Saturday: vegetable soup Sunday: cousin Kip's birthday party at McDonald's (ugh)

P.S. I hear that BLOW JOBS ROCK!

Blogger Jo from A Cup of Jo pointed me to this website today: Postcards from Yo Momma . I can't wait to get old and send Emmet and Becca demented messages. Here are some good ones: Please cleanup your facebook. Sex, drugs, lesbian stuff, no religion. People look at that before they hire you - Pres. Bush gets reports about this stuff, too. Listen to your mother — have a little common sense for goodness sake. Have some Christian values! Your mother Oh no! You don't want to have your name written down in the National Directory of Lesbians! The news is out! Dad bought me a Webkinz. It is reallly well designed and is the biggest craze I’ve seen in a long time.. It is comparable to the tamgachi and beani babies of your early youth. Every first grade through 5th grade student has one. They are awesome, yet a bit addicting. I need your help. I can’t make enough money to feed my Webkinz. I have failed at three jobs so far. Please do not check my resume. My Webkinz has s...

What's for dinner this week: Monday -- Pirate Pasta Tuesday -- Tortilla Soup Wednesday -- Ham and Asparagus Frittata Thursday -- Make-Your-Own Pizza night Friday -- Slow-Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken Saturday -- in B.C. Sunday -- leftover chicken I also made Chinese Chicken Salad on Sunday, because Becca has been requesting it. It will be for lunches this week. pictured above: me

Here is my sad tale: my kitchen has no vent above the stove. Thus anything we cook we also have to smell for days after. I have been interested in trying the Lampe Berger for years, but it's the sort of unnecessary purchase I generally try to talk myself out of. Until Monday, when I cooked pork chops and immediately decided I didn't want to smell them all week. Not a very compelling picture, I know, but it's cute enough in person. In case you are curious: The Lampe Berger ... was invented by [French pharmacist] Maurice Berger in the early days of the twentieth century. Lampe Berger lamps were considered a disinfecting home appliance. Through a unique process of high temperature catalytic combustion, Lampe Berger eliminates and destroys the molecules behind unpleasant odors such as cigarette smoke and cooking while pleasantly perfuming the air and destroying bacteria. Which sounds like a crock, but my grandmother used them to get rid of the cigar smoke in her house, and...

Damn, I meant to post this two days ago for Danielle : Okay, here is my plan for the week, to be modified at whim: Monday -- Pork chops Milanesa and green beans with almonds Tuesday -- leftover night. Let's see if that Pirate Pasta is still good... Wednesday -- beef vegetable soup and garlic bread Thursday -- shrimp stir fry Friday -- crockpot Greek chicken (an experiment -- I'll report back) and orzo Saturday -- French bread pizzas Sunday --dunno... hoping to find asparagus at the store