Friday, January 30, 2009

Oreo Truffles

As requested, here is my very easy recipe for Oreo Truffles.
One package Oreo Cookies ground very fine with no lumps. (I use my blender with about 7 cookies at a time)
One 8oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or other flavor; I've heard mint is really good)

Mix all ingredients very well until no white shows through. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Roll into truffle size balls, put on waxed paper and chill for 45 minutes.

Melt 1 pound milk chocolate (I like the Stater Bros brand called Candiquik. It melts really well, hardens up fast, and can be remelted easily. If I have extra that I melted, I store it in the fridge and remelt it later. It is awesome!) Dip chilled truffles into chocolate. You can also get some white chocolate and drizzle it over the truffles or even dip some in the white chocolate. Store in refrigerator.

Thanks to everyone who came last night, for the great conversations, and for the yummy treats you all brought.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Victorian Book Challenge Choices

Hey ladies,

I've signed up for the Victorian Book Challenge, basically read a certain number of Victorian Era books by the end of June. I'm going for 4 books, which puts me at the "a walk in Hyde Park" level.

My choices are as follows:

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stephensen (already on our list, so I thought I'd just read it early)

The Tenent of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (you know how I love my Bronte sisters, but I've never read this one by the lesser known of the three.)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill (seen the PBS movie and LOVED IT -- I figure I should at least read the book)

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (because, well, it's victorian literature and it just seemed unnatural to NOT have a Dickens on here, and I haven't read this one; which is kind of embarassing....)

So, if you're up for it, list your books here!

Let's "Book" it!!

Hey ladies,

I wanted to give you an open invite to come run a 5k with me in March. The details of the 5k are at this link.

I figured it's a good one because it's close, on a Saturday and only $25 bucks if your doing the 5k only (the race info is a bit confusing because this is in conjunction with a duathlon.)

Just an FYI, I am in no way fast and this will be my first run since I've had Genevieve (I know so sad.. don't judge) so I'm not out for any kind of glory. I'm sure there are all different running paces in our group, so this is a no pressure, no competition (amongst the ranks) type of deal. I thought this could be a fun and different thing for us to do together. If you start now, you have about 2 months to get ready and maybe we could even plan a few Saturday morning runs together before then.

Oh yeah, and I will be wearing my "runs with vampires"shirt-- just for good measure (bonus points to anyone who does too.)


Who's in?

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Hungry for more Hunger Games

Okay girls,

Just finished The Hunger Games, and I'm pretty certain this is the book that we should have read for January and what we should spend our time talking about this month as Shopaholics will take less than 5 minutes to discuss.

For those of you who were going to wait until the sequel is closer to coming out, you are REALLY missing out...DON'T WAIT! You will want to read this book over and over again before September anyway -it's that good. Right up there with Twilight and Harry Potter!

I found myself dying for when I'd need to feed Olivia next so I could sit and read it.

I am completely in love with the characters, the concept of the book, and can't stop thinking about it.

READ IT NOW!!! -Because everyone else is going to be talking about it...why are you still reading this post, go get this book!

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Victorian Challenge




Anyone up for joining the Victorian Challenge with me?  

Check it out...


January Meeting

Quick reminder of this month's meeting!


This Thursday --7:30 at Camille's house.  Bring something to share if you can.  Anyone who needs directions, email me or her.  

The book is "Confessions of a Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella.  If you haven't read it yet, you still have time, it's a quick and fun read.   If you didn't read it, come anyway, this will be a lighthearted and fun night. 

ALSO, any fans of the book, keep in mind the movie version comes out on Valentine's Day if you feel so inclined for a litchick outing.  

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Alternate Reading for 2009

I'm still compiling the list of alternate reads for this year since I lost the one created at the Christmas party. So far what I have compiled is now listed underneath all of our monthly reads over on the right hand side. They are also all linked to Amazon for easy review and reference. If I am missing your choice, please email it to me since I want to make sure we have a good variety. Also, I strongly encourage everyone to post any great reads here on the blog for all of us to enjoy, either with our without a review.

Finally, I came across this blog a few weeks ago and thought I would share. You will find a lot of great and well written reading selections on here that are all clean free of smut (hence the name deliciously clean reads!) It's a good resource when you're looking to pick up something new. I saw that several of our favorites are already on here with review similar to ours. Many of the titles are Young Adult, so even if they're not for you, this would be a great resource for your daughter, YW, or nieces.

http://cleanreads.blogspot.com/

Friday, January 9, 2009

Getting Rid of Some Books...

I'm cleaning off my bookshelf and decided to get rid of a few books. I thought I would check with all of you before giving them away. First come first serve, let me know if you'd like any of these.

Atonement : Ian McEwan
The Pillars of the Earth : Ken Follett
The Portrait of a Lady : Henry James
Lost and Found : Carolyn Parkhurst

I've also got the first three books in a series by Chris Stewart called The Great and Terrible. Alot of people really love this series, I think there are 6 or so books now....

Just e-mail me, or leave a comment here.

-Devyn
dos.manns@gmail.com

Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games




Step 1: Go buy it.
Step 2: NOW
Step 3: Tell all husbands and children to leave you alone
Step 4: Read like a crazy person
Step 5: Be completely in the depths of despair because you can't have the sequel until September.
Step 6: Call me when you done.

I'm not joking. This book is fantastic, fastpaced, addictive, amazing, deep, and you can't help but completely love the main character. You will not be dissapointed. There is some violence, so be warned. But it's also so beautifully written and so full of life that it completely haunts you when you put it down.

Here's a link to some reviews.