Monthly Archives: December 2014

A Resolution To Keep

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I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions. I’ve always felt that if you made a resolution it would ultimately be broken. Such common resolutions like losing weight, exercising more. We all see the kick off of those on January 2 when the stores trot out their “diet” food on sale and the gyms are all packed. At least for three weeks.

#tweet4toys

Eventually, the initial crush passes away. People let it slide. Resolutions are broken and another year is in full swing.

Well, this year, I’m making a resolution and I will keep it. In 2015 I resolve to not involve myself in Secret Santa gift exchanges.

Weird, no? Let me explain.

I love Secret Santa. I love taking the time to scout out the perfect gift for my draw. It makes my heart happy waiting to hear that they received the gift and to find out how they liked it. The remainder of the Secret Santa fun is getting a surprise gift that someone hopefully got the same enjoyment out of selecting and sending to me. 

I have been a part of two Secret Santa groups now for the past two years.  In one group, we actually use Elfster and the participants list things they would like to receive which gives you an idea of what to give even if you don’t know the person.

#tweet4toys-2012

Neither of the two years did I know the person who’s name I drew but I still had fun looking through their list and choosing for them something that I would like to receive. 

The other group is a blind gift. If I could have made my own choice of the person I wanted to have for my draw this year, it would have been the person I got. I was so happy. I already knew what the gift would be, I just had to find it. I had to have one piece made but then found the other. I enjoyed including a little description of the background of one of the selections as I knew the other would be understood. 

Both recipients seemed happy with their gifts and, in turn, I was happy. 

It’s now New Year’s Eve. The last of the deliveries have been made for the day, tomorrow is a holiday. Not to mention, another year. 

I have received no Secret Santa gifts in return. 

I’m not mad. Things happen, people get busy, sick, life gets in the way. But I can’t help but being a little bit disappointed.

For the past three years, one of my favorite events with Social Media Tulsa has been the time we spend with the Salvation Army helping them get ready for the Angel Tree gift giving. The group is a fun group and the cause, a worthy one. I love bringing toys that will go to kids who might otherwise not have a fun Christmas.

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Next year, instead of Secret Santa, I’m going to draw angels from the Angel Tree and fulfill their wishes. Since Christmas, to me, is really about giving, it will be a completely happy experience. 

#tweet4toys-2014

I’m excited with my New Year’s resolution, one I know I will keep. Maybe the first ever! I’m also looking forward to an awesome 2015 and I wish you and yours an equally awesome New Year. 🙂

Book Review: Devil in the Deadline

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Devil in the Deadline (A Headlines in High Heels Mystery #4)Devil in the Deadline by LynDee Walker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. Once I picked it up, I read it straight through. Although it’s the fourth in a series, it’s the first one I’ve read. I loved the fact that I wasn’t bogged down in back story from the previous books and only realized towards the end that the characters knew each other too well for there to have been just the one book. Excellent!

I love Nichelle, a journalist with a flair for detecting. I loved how the story was woven to where I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be until it was revealed.

Nichelle is called to the scene of a murder by a cop who trusts her to get the story out and maybe talk to people who won’t talk to the cops. As she starts investigating the story, she comes to connect the murdered girl to a large televangelist church.

After several visits out to the church and nosing around Nichelle becomes more convinced that the two are connected but lacks everything she needs to prove it.

There are two love interests for Nichelle. Joey, a guy with mob connections and Kyle, an ATF agent. These two add for a nice twist inside the story.

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fast paced, intriguing read. I can’t wait to read the books that came before! 🙂

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Book Review: Vanessa and Her Sister

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Vanessa and Her SisterVanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a hard time with this book but ultimately ended up liking it. It’s written in a diary form which, at first, seemed disjointed to me. But it also made it easy to read.

The story is about Vanessa Stephens and her sister, Virginia. Virginia love Vanessa beyond all reason and is a little emotionally unstable. Because of this, she wants whatever Vanessa has including her husband, friends, etc.

The book is a fictional work based upon real people and events, The Bloomsbury Group. I didn’t realize this until I was reading the Author’s Note at the end. I wonder if I would have “gotten it” more quickly if I were familiar with these people.

I enjoyed the characters, though. Artists and writers they were very avante garde for their time and always remained friends no matter water.

I’m glad I finished this book. 🙂

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Raw Vegan Avocado Pasta

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I’ve been sitting here the last couple of days marveling at this person I’ve become. It’s Christmas time after all and I’m not planning tons of uber sweet treats for us all to eat. No, instead, things like this happen. The other day I clicked into Pinterest to look at something Nikki wanted to do for the glambaby’s birthday and I saw this:

I clicked through to see the ingredients and immediately became obsessed with eating this salad. Now, I’d heard about hemp seeds before but had never eaten them so I’m not sure why I felt I needed to eat this, I just did. As soon as I could get away, I ran to Akins and bought hemp seeds and hemp oil and came home and made the salad. I wasn’t disappointed. One of the best things I’ve eaten since I started my raw journey.

I find myself finding other recipes that aren’t necessarily raw and trying to figure out how to make them raw and that’s what I did today. I came across this recipe for Avocado Pasta. I loved the idea but there were so many things I don’t eat in the recipe. Still, it leant itself nicely to being modified and I came up with this for lunch today. Oh yum! Seriously one of the best things I’ve eaten. If I had more zucchini, I’d have made myself another huge bowl. 

raw_avocado_pasta

I will definitely eat this again and again and again. The only thing I’ll do differently is add more ground black pepper which I adore. Yum!

Last year at Christmas, I think there were more desserts than people here to eat them. This year, my biggest Christmas dinner dilemma is what to do with all of my bananas so we can all sit at the dining table. What a change! 🙂

bananas

Raw Vegan Avocado Pasta
Delicious zoodles with a creamy avocado sauce.
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Ingredients
  1. 4 small or 2 large zucchini
  2. 1 ripe avocado
  3. 1/4 tsp basil
  4. 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  5. 1 tbs lemon juice
  6. 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  7. Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Spiralize zucchini into zoodles. Cuz tomatoes in half.
  2. To make the avocado sauce, place avocado, spices, and lemon juice in blender or food processor. Blend. Add water to make a smooth sauce.
  3. Pour over zoodles and tomatoes, toss until evenly coated. Add ground pepper to taste.
Notes
  1. You can use fresh herbs and spices, in fact they're probably preferable but I was in a hurry. Yum yum! 🙂
Adapted from DamnDelicious.net
Adapted from DamnDelicious.net
Lauri Rottmayer https://www.rottitude.com/