Stacey's Favorite Books

Monday, October 31, 2011

Book Trailer Monday...

Here's a brand new one by Maggie Stiefvater, author of Shiver. Can't wait to check this one out!

Friday, October 28, 2011

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

Another yummy snack mix from our contest...

Chex® Tin Roof Crunch

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:15 min
Makes:24 servings (1/2 cup each)


5 cups Rice Chex® cereal
2 cups Cocoa Puffs® cereal
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

Variation
For more chocolate flavor, use Chocolate Chex® cereal in place of the Rice Chex® cereal.
Substitution
Omit the peanut and chocolate chunks. Stir 2 cups of chocolate covered peanuts instead of the chocolate chunks.

1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals and peanuts.
2. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, peanut butter, corn syrup and butter uncovered on high about 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until smooth and bubbly. Pour over cereal; stir until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Break into bite-size pieces; stir in chocolate chunks. Store in airtight container.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Thoughts for a Thursday...

Here's an interesting word. Fun to say and fun to read! My kids and I ran across this one while reading Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss...

To get this definition I went to Urban Dictionary.com. Who knew Dr. Seuss was so hip as to use such slang??:)

piffulous  

small, trite, meager, insignificant.
One cannot live on piffulous pay.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday?

     Hey guess what?! It's Wednesday and time for What's In Your Library Bag Wednesday! Yay!!
     I must report, however, that I am still reading the Kitty series and have nothing new to tell you about. I did notice when I came in to work tonight that a lady sitting at a computer had checked out the rest of that series though, so now I must find something new to read. I have The Help in audiobook sitting on my IPOD and I have Water for Elephants in my bag. Maybe, eventually, I will get to these two hugely popular titles. I've only brought them home several times and returned them again as the mood didn't strike me. We'll see what happens this time...
     On other fronts, have you heard of the website Pinterest? I am new to Pinterest and in the exploring stage. It took me a long time to get going with Facebook, too, and even now I am a checker of Facebook, but not much of a user. Back to Pinterest, though. It's really kind of cool. Imagine a bulletin board out there in webland where you can "pin" all of those neat things you run across and want to keep/remember where you put. Voila! Pinterest. You get to "pin" to your heart's content and organize all at the same time. And, it's out there in webland, not taking up space or cluttering your own computer/house, if you get what I mean. Online storage for favorite pictures, cute sayings, magazine articles, recipes, recipes, recipes, cute craft ideas, decorating hints, best places to go to buy it, etc, etc. Everything and anything! You can follow your favorite bloggers; you can follow your favorite pinners. You can collect all kinds of cool stuff! And keep it organized, never to go digging for that one picture of that one craft that was a really great Halloween party idea, but must have fallen off its pin and now my house has "sucked" it up! It's all there at your fingertips!
     You have to send a request to be invited to join, but I think that's really a formality...Stop in and explore a little bit and soon you'll be "pinning" with the best of them!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

In honor of our Serial/Cereal Killer Snack Mix Contest, I thought I'd start by giving out my recipe...This came in a newsletter from my local lumber yard! Fun! Enjoy!
Autumn Snack Mix

1 box Rice Chex
1 bag Fritos
1 can mixed nuts
2 C. brown sugar
1 C. butter/margarine
1/2 C. light Karo syrup
1 bag M&Ms

Mix Rice Chex, Fritos and nuts together. Heat brown sugar, butter and Karo syrup on stove until all melted. Pour over Chex mix and stir. Bake in 2- 9x13 pans for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Stir and put back in for another 8 minutes. Cool. When completely cooled, add bag of M&Ms. Enjoy.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thoughts on Thursday....

Here's a new word for today...


harrowing\HAR-oh-ing\ , adjective;


1.Extremely disturbing or distressing; grievous.Definition of harrowing
See synonyms
Comment on today's word
Suggest tomorrow's word

Quotes:

It was his duty to read the applications from destitutes, reject the undeserving, visit the others to see how deserving or desperate they were, and then, if circumstances warranted it, to write harrowing accountings of their plight, harrowing enough to encourage contributions for the fund.

-- V.S. Naipaul, House of Mister Biswas

After a few minutes of harrowing silence, she said in a smothered voice, “Papa returns tomorrow.”

-- Benjamin Disraeli, Novels and Tales: Henrietta Temple

Origin:

Harrowing is from the Middle English harwen meaning to harass or annoy. It was also commonly used in the church to mean “descend into hell.”


Did you know what harrowing meant??

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday??

     Welcome to What's in Your Library Bag Wednesday!! What a perfect day to stay in side and curl up with a good book! Have you read any lately? Good books that is. Personally, I am stuck in the Kitty Norville series I mentioned to you last week.
     One thing I have noticed about finding good books to read is that you do need to know what it is you like about a book. Just saying you liked the book isn't enough. Dig deeper. Think about it. Did you like the fiesty female lead or do you like a strong male voice? Do you like a series that revolves around community or do you like one that centers on mystery and intrigue? Do you like to really get to know your characters, as in following them as they change and grow in a series, or do you like to read a single story from start to finish in one book? Do you like the romance/relationship aspect or do you perfer a lot of historical background instead? How about dialogue?
     As I type this, it somehow makes it feel like I am giving you an assignment, but one thing I've learned in trying to find books for people to read is that it is important to really listen to what they are saying about the books they are reading. Case in point: there is one series that I absolutely love. I've talked about it before; it's Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. The three biggest characteristics of this series, in my opinion, are 1)the love that lasts through time, 2) the fantasy of time travel and 3) the heavy use of historical background that Ms. Gabaldon incorporates throughout the novels. Now, my favorite part of these novels is the time travel and a love that lasts literally through time. But, I have recommended this series to others who really love a meaty historical novel and they have loved it also. They have gone on to read novels by Ken Follet and loved them, too. Whereas, he has never been on my radar because his ginormous novels focus heavily on the history of the time periods he's writing about, without much romance.
     So, you see, if you really focus on what it is you like in a novel, it's much easier to find one you'll really like or have someone like me be able to find one for you. One thing I really hate is when I suggest a book to someone and I totally get it wrong, cuz no one wants to read a boring book!! The next time you are in the library, stop by my desk and we'll chat so we can hopefully find your next winner.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Friday, October 14, 2011

From Our Recipe Box to Yours...

Here's to pumpkin season!!!

Pumpkin Pancakes with Nutmeg Whipped Cream
recipe image
Rated:rating
Submitted By: RUCIFEY
Photo By: mominml
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ready In: 20 Minutes
Servings: 4

"We make this every year for Halloween dinner. It would also be good for Thanksgiving morning breakfast and the whipped cream would be great on pumpkin pie."
INGREDIENTS:
Pancakes
2 1/3 cups pancake mix (such as
Bisquick®)
2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Nutmeg whipped cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
1.Whisk together the pancake mix, white sugar, cinnamon, the 1/3 teaspoon nutmeg, and ginger; set aside. Beat together the eggs, milk, pumpkin, and vegetable oil. Combine the two mixtures, stirring just until all ingredients are moistened.
2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Bubbles will start to form in the pancakes. Cook until the edges of the pancakes start to look dry, and a bubble popped near the edge holds its shape. Flip the pancakes over, and continue cooking until the other side is golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more oil to the griddle if necessary. Stack the pancakes on a plate and keep warm until serving. For larger batches, keep pancakes warm in a single layer on a cooling rack positioned over a baking sheet in a 300 degrees F oven (150 degrees C).
3.Place whipping cream in a small, deep, chilled bowl. Add the 2 tablespoons sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg; beat using a mixer with chilled beaters on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2011 Allrecipes.comPrinted from Allrecipes.com 10/14/2011

I've heard it's like eating pumpkin pie with regular whipped cream too!! I think I'll try these this weekend!! How about you?

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Thoughts on a Thursday...

Another word from my recent reading! Geez! I thought I was reading fluff!!

Always fun to learn something new, though...

World English Dictionary
laconic or laconical  (ləˈkɒnɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
— adj
(of a person's speech) using few words; terse
[C16: via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos,  from Lakōn  Laconian,Spartan; referring to the Spartans' terseness of speech]
laconical or laconical
— adj
[C16: via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos,  from Lakōn  Laconian,Spartan; referring to the Spartans' terseness of speech]
la'conically or laconical
— adv
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

laconic 
"concise, abrupt," 1580s, from Gk. Lakonikos, from Lakon "personfrom Lakonia," the district around Sparta in southern Greece inancient times, whose inhabitants were famously proud of theirbrevity of speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened them with,"If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the

ground," the Spartans' reply was, "If." Related: Laconically.