Chaos Is A Friend of Mine

Ornament Cupcakes

I made these ornament cupcakes for West's preschool Christmas party. I found the idea on the Wilton website.

West leaves the paper on and eats the cupcake out of it. You might think that would be less messy but it's actually not.

Library Loot - December 16

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marge that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

I picked up a ton of stuff (for me) at the library yesterday because I had a bunch of holds come in at the same time. Funny how it always seems to work that way.

 

Books: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian, Bindi Babes by Narinder Dhami

 

Audio Books: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker and The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

What did you get this week?

As Long As I'm Living, My Baby You'll Be

Now that Tiny is here, West has been trying really hard to remind me that he's still my baby. He's been trying out all of the baby things, including wearing Tiny's size 12 month clothes. West is so skinny he can actually fit into them but the arms and legs are too short of course. The other day he took his nap using the Boppy as a pillow and one of Tiny's blankets.

You'll always be my baby sweet West.

Teaser Tuesday: December 15

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"He saw the twins and his stomach clenched. The sensation reminded him of stage fright; then he realised it was guilt."

p. 159 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Book Review: Basketball Jones

Basketball Jones by E. Lynn Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Basketball Jones is the story of Aldridge “AJ” Richardson and his boyfriend, NBA star Dray Jones. They’ve been in love for seven years but must keep their relationship a secret to avoid jeopardizing Dray’s career. Dray even goes so far as to marry a woman, Judi. Trouble ensues when someone starts blackmailing AJ and Dray and threatens to expose them.

I listened to this book on audio and I think that added to my enjoyment of it. The narrator, Mirron Willis’s voice is as smooth as silk and the tone he used for Dray was incredibly sexy. The blackmailer’s identity was supposed to be a mystery until the end, although I had it figured out well before AJ did. I didn’t mind though because I loved the characters so much and was having fun following along, even if it was predictable. AJ and Dray had a very tender, loving relationship and I enjoyed that aspect as well.

I’m sad that E. Lynn Harris passed away earlier this year. This is the first book of his I’ve read and I’m looking forward to reading the others. View all my reviews >>

Sunday Salon: December 6-12

This was another whirlwind week - the first full week that Tiny was with us. I didn't finish reading any books but I did take the family in for our Christmas photos, order the Christmas cards, make the Year In Review Shutterfly books for the grandparents' Christmas presents and take Tiny to his first court date. I did NOT get the ever growing mountain of laundry folded. The other day Cash sighed and exclaimed, "Babies are a lot of work Mommy!" They are but they're worth it. We'll get back into our groove soon enough.

What's In A Name Challenge

Beth at Beth Fish Reads is hosting the What's In A Name 3 challenge. It sounds fun so I decided to enter. This will probably be my last challenge - I don't read as fast as some out in the blogosphere and I don't want to get overwhelmed with challenges; I also have two book clubs to keep up with. Here's how it works:

Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title: Clockwork Orange, Grapes of Wrath, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
2. A book with a body of water in the title: A River Runs through It, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, The Lake House
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title: The Murder of King Tut, The Count of Monte Cristo, Lady Susan
4. A book with a plant in the title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Wind in the Willows, The Name of the Rose
5. A book with a place name (city, country) in the title: Out of Africa; London; Between, Georgia
6. A book with a music term in the title: Song of Solomon, Ragtime, The Piano Teacher

The book titles are just suggestions, you can read whatever book you want to fit the category. I'll keep you posted on what books I choose!

Book Review: You Suck: A Love Story

You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends and continues the love story between vampire Jody and Tommy. I liked it even more than Bloodsucking Fiends. It was written several years after Bloodsucking Fiends and it shows. Christopher Moore's writing has improved and the humor is sharper. The character Abby Normal, a goth teenager, is hilarious. View all my reviews >>

Christmas Sandwiches

 

 

Yum! (He really did like them - I don't know why he's making that face.)

South Asian Author Challenge

Swapna from skrishnasbooks is hosting a South Asian Author Challenge. I've decided to sign up for three books. I'm so glad she's doing this challenge - I've been really wanting to read some books by Indian authors and now I definitely will. I've seen a lot of great reviews in the blogosphere. I'm going to wait to decide on which specific books to choose.