50/50 Challenge 2015: I'm at It Again

Yes, I am trying the 50/50 Challenge again! I was so, so close in 2014 that I think that this year is my year to complete it. After hearing raves about Goodreads from fellow book lover friends, I've decided to update my book progress through the site, which hopefully will help me keep better track. 

You can track my progress and become a book friend here. 

Also, by using Goodreads, I can leave all my reviews in one place to help things be more streamlined. For movies, I'll probably update this blog after every five or so movies I see. 

Here's to a new year of literature and film!  


Rooms by Lauren Oliver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


As someone who is fascinated with ghosts, I thought the idea of writing a story from the perspective of ghosts was interesting. However, there are several narrators throughout the novel, both alive and deceased, which can cause some confusion. There is a lot going on in the history of one house.

A family has returned to settle the affairs of their father/husband who has died. The Walkers definitely is a family with issues and "ghosts" of their own and the whole story is depressing and quite melancholy. The mom is an alcoholic. The daughter is nymphomaniac who may have a daughter that is also maybe (*SPOILER:) a spirit. And, the son is contemplating suicide. If the story relied on their tales alone, it would be kind of deflating to read, but the voices of the house ghosts, Alice and Sandra, add another element of story as it relives their pasts and how they came to haunt the house.

The writing is vivid and descriptive, but there just might have been one too many characters. When discussing a story that spans over decades of years and more than one family, it can be hard to keep track of who's who.

I wanted the story to be more eerie, but it read more like a family history, which began to lose its intrigue over time. In fact, it had the book had a slow start. I like the theme the author used of traveling from room to room within the house and reliving memories that happened there and what it meant for the people involved. I also thought the end was a perfect wrap up to the story and didn't leave the reader feeling unsatisfied. There was closure.

If you do not have any interest in reading about ghosts, then this book may drag for you for reasons mentioned above. Getting the "other world" insight was what kept me reading.

*I'm not sure that this part is actually a spoiler because I am not sure if my interpretation is true or not. It'd be a question up for debate.



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New Year, New Recipes: Meatballs and Rice

Dieting has never been a resolution of mine because I just enjoy food too darn much. However, I did make a food resolution: try one new recipe a week. This helps me with my endeavor to cook more and eat more vegetables. 

My first recipe, though not vegetarian, was a success! I don't know if I can call it a new recipe necessarily, but since it's a short week, I am going to count it. 

Meatloaf is one of the easiest things to make. You only need ground beef (or turkey), an egg, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. I never make my meatloaf the same way -- I use what seasonings I have on hand and whatever additions I think I need.

I also never keep a refrigerator full of groceries because they usually go bad before we can use them, so I only shop for a few days at a time. I got one of those meat logs and divided it into thirds, the way my mom taught me, and used one-third to mix with the above mentioned ingredients and make meatballs. 

Voila new recipe! 

Meatballs and Rice

It's simple, easy, and most importantly delicious. 

You need: 

1 lb. (roughly) of ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup or so of bread crumbs (I used the regular, unseasoned kind)
any spices that you think might be good (I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoning salt)
a few shakes of parmesan or cotija cheese

If you want measurements on the seasonings, I'd say about a teaspoon or two of each, but heavier on the pepper rather than salt. Mix all ingredients by hand until everything is incorporated and roll into meatballs. 

Cook on a baking sheet at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until brown and cooked through. Option: the last five minutes of baking, pull out the meatballs and add BBQ sauce, then finish cooking the last few minutes.

Serve with rice, steamed veggies, and garlic bread. All of this is a meal for two for under $10! 

I would've taken pictures of the cooking process except another one of my 2015 goals is to take better pictures. That and my cooking mostly tastes better than it looks. 

Enjoy the eats!

Bye Bye, 2014!

Here it is, the end of another year. And it's been a great one, a prep one, I've been telling people. You know how you feel like you're preparing for something big? Maybe how an athletic team feels in a rebuilding year? That's how I feel about 2014. 

There was a lot of great things that happened this past year. I got engaged for one! How about that? I had never thought about marriage in a real way. Not that I didn't want it, but it was not on my 'things to do.' I thought it would happen or it wouldn't. 

I got to travel to some awesome places I've never been: San Antonio, Nashville, and revisit a few favorites: Chicago, NYC, and the Emerald Coast. There is something to be said about travel, the necessity of it and the fact that the more I travel, the more I want to travel. 

I barely missed my 50/50 Challenge goal, but feel OK about it because it's closer than I've ever gotten before. If you want the truth, this year in movies was kinda crap with a few gold stars. This is how my year ended: 

Movies

#46 - Mockingjay

#47 - The Big Wedding

#48 - Wall Street

#49 - Wild

#50 - The Pelican Brief

#51 - The Gambler

#52 - Big Hero 6

#53 - Unbroken

Books

#40: Mother, Mother - Koren Zalickas

#41: The Myth of Happiness - Sonja Lyubomirsky

#42: Still Alice - Lisa Genova

#43: Swim Back to Me - Ann Packer

#44: Not That Kind of Girl - Lena Duham

#45: Yes Please - Amy Poehler

#46: The Woman I Wanted to Be - DVF

#47: Flawless - Jan Moran

#48: The Happiness of Pursuit - Chris Guillebeau

In the coming year, I will probably be more active on Goodreads as that's an easier way to keep track of progress, but really, there are so many good books out there! I hope more people decide to read in 2015. I'm so happy to be part of a fun book club that makes reading even more exciting. Is that a geeky statement?

As it is now, I'm spending my final hours on a plane from the East Coast (Florida) to the West Coast (California) and thinking about the year ahead and how fantastic it will be. Tomorrow I will meet with my friends as they create vision boards and I create a specific list of goals of all the things I want to achieve in 2015. One of which is to update this blog more often and write more, in general.

So with that, I hope that your NYE is full of everything you want it to be. My personal goal is to stay awake until midnight, but why break tradition?

I write this in the air, after some Pinot Grigio, and a free viewing of "The Social Network." I hope 2015 treats you well. I'll be talking to you soon.