Book Bonanza

Is is possible to drown in books? Or maybe to be knocked unconscious by an avalanche of falling books? If so, I might be in danger. I'm a librarian, an English teacher, and a reading specialist, so it makes good sense that I have a lot of books in my life. But this week I realized just how much my life revolves around books. I'd call it a book bonanza for sure. My arms have gotten quite toned from hauling stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes of books around! Everyone should be so lucky! Take a look:

Let's start at home. Here's my bedside table. Sometimes I don't even have room for my nightly glass of water.

Here's my desk at school. Most people probably have a few books on their desk. I have EIGHT (count 'em) STACKS of books on and around my desk!!

This week was our Scholastic Book Fair. So in addition to managing the library, I was running this bad boy. It was like a book cave! I also felt quite like I worked at Barnes & Noble all week.

One library is CLEARLY not enough, so here is my classroom library with about 600 books.

...aaaaand here are the, oh, 15 boxes full of books waiting to be entered into the library.

I mean... seriously?!

So as you can see, I am surrounded by books pretty much ALL.THE.TIME. And usually, I love it :-) This week with the book fair and all the books I've been entering into the library, I've been on a book high. I keep pulling books and setting them aside because I want to read them. I've got a towering stack that I seriously can not WAIT to read. Good thing Thanksgiving break is coming up. I've been trying to work hard today to get things done so I can have lots of reading time this weekend. I'm still reading "Bright Young Things" (see previous post), but as soon as I finish, I'm going to tackle these little lovelies. I've posted them in order from little kid to big kid.

Book club, anyone?????

"Candymakers" by Wendy Mass caught my eye right away in Barnes and Noble last week. Quick: What does this book remind you of?

Willy Wonka, right?? I can't believe how similar it is. It looks like pure fun. I've read two other books by Wendy Mass that I LOVED: "A Mango Shaped Space" and "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life," so I'm sure this will be equally as good.

How fun does this look? It's a mystery / treasure hunt book where you as the reader have to solve all kinds of puzzles while you're reading.

At first glance, this book isn't my type, but it has won some awards, and I've seen it on lots of lists lately. It's a monster book about a kid who watches Food Network all the time and wants to be a chef.

"Return to Sender" intrigues me because I think it will be one I can recommend to my kids. It's about a boy whose family hires illegal immigrants to work on their farm. He becomes friends with one of the immigrants, and the story tells of the complex moral and personal issues that arise. It won the Pura Belpre Award for Hispanic American literature. This book's cover just grabs you, right? This book is described as "an opulent, surreal world of strange beauty, sudden horror, and lush romance". Sounds good to me!

I've read several Libba Bray books - most notably her "Great and Terrible Beauty" series. This one is definitely for a high school audience. Booklist calls it: "an unforgettable, indefinable fantasy adventure." As I'm reading about it, I can't really explain what it's about either. Something about mad cow disease and hallucinations... who knows. But I'm pretty sure it will be good. It won the Printz award.

I might be the only person who hasn't read "The Help" yet. Everyone from my mother-in-law to my colleagues have urged me to read it. I'm getting to it! Looks and sounds amazing.

Also, I may be the only person ever to have not read this. I came across it in the library the other day and was intrigued by this classic novel set in turn of the century Brooklyn. As you can see on the cover, the NY public library selected it as a "book of the century"!

Whew. That's a lot. I have a sickness. And, I know I've got others I want to read soon, too! Two more just popped in my head, but this post is already long enough. Got to save some books for next time!

What do YOU want to read? ...and do you want to come help me organize books? :-)

Fancy Plate

When Julia and I were kids, my mom used to make us something for lunch called "Fancy Plate". Fancy Plate was basically everything leftover from the fridge and pantry on one plate. Maybe a little lunch meat, a little fruit, a little leftover pork, a little leftover vegetables, some spaghetti, and maybe a cracker or two. We used to hate leftovers, so mom called it "fancy plate" in the hopes of getting us to eat it. And we did :-) We even started to ask for it.

So, blogger friends, I hope that same trick will work on you too :-) Here's my blogging version of Fancy Plate. A little of this... a little of that. Enjoy!!

Luxe Fans... It's Your Lucky Day!
If you're a reader of the blog, you've heard me talk about the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, and many of you have also become hooked just like me. I have been desperately hoping that Anna Godbersen would write another saga in the Luxe series. She still hasn't, but every time I go to the bookstore, I hope against hope and look on the shelf *just to be sure*. Today, when I made the rounds through Barnes and Noble, look what I found!!! A NEW book by Anna Godbersen!!! It's not "The Luxe", but it's oh-so-similar. It's called "Bright Young Things" and it's set in New York City in the 1920s. Yes, please!! I can't wait to dive into this one, like, tonight. Go get it and read it with me!
Embracing the Bootie
...the shoe, that is! I've long loved the mini boots, but I never thought I could wear them. (I'm not very cool, if you haven't noticed.) But it seems that EVERYONE has a bootie on lately, and they look so dang fashionable, I had to find one that would work for me. I had a gift card from my birthday (Thanks, Wendy & Luke!) so I ventured to DSW to find the perfect bootie. I found the BCBG Paris "Maxine". See me rocking the bootie below. Blazer gave them two paws up.

31 Workouts in 31 Days Recap

The good news: I worked out more in October than I have in any other month, ever. The bad news: Technically, I didn't complete the challenge. If you take a look at the sidebar, I was doing awesome. I only had to invoke a technicality one time. There was a day where I had to write a 20 page midterm paper for my grad class, so working out just wasn't going to happen. However, I did a few boot camps that were over an hour long, so I counted one of them as two workouts. There were a ton of days when I really didn't want to work out, but I did! I was doing great - up until the last three days... when I got sick. Of course! It was like God was saying, "Great job. Yay, you! You're so disciplined and in control! Oh, wait... nope... I'm in control!" I'm talking I was flat on my back, couldn't move, chills and fever, crying to myself kind of sick. Working out was not exactly a priority! So, I failed. I didn't finish the challenge. However, I do feel stronger, lighter, and more apt to keep up my workout routine in November and beyond! Maybe I'll try the challenge again another month...

Christmas Candles on Sale!

Bath and Body Works has all of their three-wick candles on sale right now! There is an in-store coupon you can use for $10 candles! I picked up all of my Christmas favorites: fresh balsam, winter candy apple, frosted cupcake, and spice.

Cozy Socks

Lounge lovers - meet the cozy sock. I am obsessed with this super soft, fuzzy, warm sock. You can get them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Old Navy, and lots of other places. Whenever I'm home, I literally live in these things. Fashionable? Probably not. Essential for winter weekends? Absolutely. Make sure you buy more than one pair.

Hope you liked the fancy plate :-) Have a great wekeend.

High School Reunion by the Numbers

Three: Number of dresses I bought before I found this one. (It's from Modcloth.com, and I love it! Don't worry, I'm returning the others.)

Four: Number of hours I spent shopping for a dress for my reunion.

Five: Number of seconds Brent spent deciding what to wear to the reunion.

Sixteen: Number of years since I was in Girl Scouts with these ladies.

Three: Number of girl scout uniforms we had: Daisy, Brownie, and Junior Girl Scout.

At least one hundred: Number of fun times we had horseback riding, cooking on vagabond stoves, eating hobo lunches, getting our hair braided, and using port-a-potties in Wimberly.

Six: Number of years we were in choir together.

One: Number of people in pictured with a super cool job. (Amanda, center, is an archaeologist!)

Twenty: Number of years it's been since Cameron (center) and I made secret forts at the creek by her house.
Twenty one: Number of years it's been since Cameron had a reindeer birthday party that I still remember.
Ten: Number of black satin and sequin show choir costumes Meghan (left) and I wore.
Two: Number of high school boyfriends Meghan & I now regret.

One: Number of UT cheerleaders in this picture (hint: It's not me.)
Two: Number of dances we went to together in high school.

Forty: Number of times we ate Rumors for dinner our freshman year of college while watching Dawson's Creek.
Zero: Number of inches of blank wall space in our freshman dorm room.

Ten: Number of years it's been since the girls of the class of 2000 have been together.
Two: Number of moms or moms-to-be pictured below (hint: not me.)
Eight: Number of 80s songs we sang together with teased ponytails.
Nine: Number of times this sweet girl has said she likes my blog.
Twenty-Four: Number of years it's been since we started kindergarten together at Moss Haven Elementary School.
One: Number of puppies who were glad to have some play time with Grammy, but equally glad to have mom & dad home at midnight.
Ten: Number of years until we do it again.

Christopher's Remix

Brent and I love Christopher's in College Station. It's basically the only nice restaurant in College Station, and it's actually really, really delicious. We look forward to going there once a year during opening weekend for football. They have an awesome menu, but we always get the house filet. I kind of want one right now. We took this year's trip in September, and they had a new appetizer on the menu. It was a "chile relleno" - basically a poblano pepper stuffed with beans, cheese, and shrimp and then deep fried. OMG it was good. Brent immediately started plotting how he could get me to make them at home, but I told him there was no way that was going to happen!

When we got home I was flipping through an old Everyday Food magazine, and I stumbled upon this just as delicious but WAY healthier version of a chile relleno: stuffed poblano peppers. I've made this dish twice now, and it is amazing. The Everyday Food recipe is completely vegetarian. That version was good - I made it according to the recipe the first time. But then we thought about Christopher's and how they had stuffed theirs with shrimp. So we decided that the next time we made them, we'd add shrimp.

I made the shrimp version tonight, and it did not disappoint. You get the rich tomato sauce, semi-cruncy pepper, beans, cheese, and spicy shrimp. And it's not fried! So you can have two! Here's how to make this super easy dish that will make you feel like you're at a Mexican restaurant.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Adapted from Everyday Food, April 2008

Sauce:
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 jalapeno chile, roughly chopped (seeds & ribs removed)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
Salt & pepper

Mix all sauce ingredients in a blender until pureed. Spread sauce on the bottom of a Pyrex dish.

Filling:
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 package fresh pre-cooked chipotle shrimp from Whole Foods (in the seafood section), chopped
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Salt

Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.

Halve four poblano peppers and remove seeds & ribs. Stuff each pepper with filling and place pepper halves filling side up in the tomato sauce.

Sprinkle the whole top with about 1 cup of shredded monterrey jack cheese. Cover with foil and back at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and broil until cheese browns (2-4 minutes). Serve with Mexican rice. (Serves 4)

October Obsessions

In no particular order, here are 10 things I'm obsessed with this October:

1. Burt's Bees
I've never been one of those people who is addicted to chap-stick, but I'm starting to wonder... The weather turned cooler by two degrees and all of a sudden my lips were dying. I now crave Burt's Bees original lip balm. It's peppermint-y, tingly, and soothing, and I can't get enough. I'm now the proud owner of 5 tubes because if I'm out and about and I forgot it, I can't stand it. I have to pull into the nearest Walgreen's and buy one. I heard that bumble bees are in danger of extinction, so I sure hope old Burt is taking good care of his bees because I can't live wihout this stuff. 2. The Sweater Dress
Flattering, comfy, and trendy: what more could you ask for in a go-to dress? You better believe I snatched up this sweater dress at Ann Taylor Loft. With a low slung belt and boots... tell me you won't be the most stylish girl at work.

3. Honeycrisp Apples
These are the best apples ever, hands down. I've tried just about every apple there is, and this is what we can't get enough of. They are quite aptly named since they are indeed VERY light, crispy, juicy, and sweet. They also don't turn brown as quickly as other apples when cut: it's a miracle.

4. Essie Nail Polish

My good friend Abbie tipped me off to Essie nail polish on her blog. I've always been an OPI girl, but I am LOVING Essie now, especially this color: Island Hopping. I'm perplexed by the name because it doesn't look summery or island-y to me at all. It's perfect for fall. I hereby rename this color "warm plum crisp". It looks great on fingernails - subtle but polished.

5. Cream of Wheat

I haven't eaten cream of wheat in like 10 years. I'm not sure what came over me, but I was in the cereal aisle and I saw the box, and I was transported back in time. My mom used to make cream of wheat almost every morning in the winter. I was truly curious if I would still like it, so I bought a box of the instant packets. It is SO GOOD. I make it in the microwave at school every day and put in small pat of butter and some brown sugar. When people see me eating it they're like, "Oh my gosh, cream of wheat! I haven't thought about that stuff in ages!" You're welcome, Mr. Cream of Wheat Man, for the comeback I'm staging for you.

6. Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain's show "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel is one of my favorites. If you love food and/or travel, you will love this show. Anthony is a journalist and a chef by trade, so his show is very focused on these two aspects of travel. He HATES all things touristy and loudly proclaims his disdain for anything cookie-cutter. When he travels, he focuses on the food of a place and how it shapes the people and the culture. He eats in local places and even in homes. It's a fascinating and beautifully written show. You feel like you've been there when you watch their beautiful shots and listen to the inspiring narration by Bourdain. There's a new season going on now.

7. The White Watch

It might just be a Houston thing or a YES Prep thing, but the white watch is all the rage in my world. I'm not kidding you that EVERY female teacher at my school has one of these white watches. There are several different styles but they all have a white silicone band and most have some sort of rhinestones. I picked up mine at Charming Charlie for like $11. I'm relatively sure it will only work for about 6 months, but after that it will be out of style anyway, so we're good.

8. Seattle's Best Coffee

I like to try different coffees because I get sick of the same old thing, so lately I've been on a Seattle's Best kick. They claim that it is the "smoothest" coffee you can buy, and I tend to agree. I especially like the "cinnabon" flavor - add a little fat free half & half, a touch of splenda, and a dash of cinnamon and you're good to go!

9. Old Navy Workout Pants

I'm loving the super-affordable and super-comfy workout pants from Old Navy. They are cropped and have a rollover waistband that you can adjust to make the pants as high or low rise as you want. The super cute pink dot pattern doesn't hurt either. I also bought a pair of black cropped walking pants with two pockets perfect for a cell phone or iPod when you're walking.

10. Woodwick Candles in "Fireside"

Last but certainly not least, it's time to break out the Woodwick candles. The Fireside scent will transport you directly to fall. If you missed my last post on Woodwick candles, you can check it out here. This candle is an absolute MUST HAVE for fall and winter.

31 Workouts in 31 Days

Happy October! It's time to break out the fall wreath, buy some pumpkins, have a pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, and... Workout!! That's right. Today I'm issuing a challenge for myself and all of my blogging friends:

31 Workouts in 31 Days!

There are several reasons why you should join me in this challenge:

• Any extra exercise you do now will allow you to go into the holiday season at your best, so you can have that extra slice of pie or serving of mashed potatoes (or both. let's be honest.)


• October is finally COOL, so you don't have to do every workout at the gym. You can vary your workouts with walks and runs and fun outside things and not die from a heatstroke while doing them, which is a bonus.


• If you succeed in working out every day this month (and you will), going back to regular 3-5 day a week workouts will seem EASY!


• Things always get busy in October, but if you take on this challenge, you have a ready-made excuse to leave work right on time - you have to go work out!

Here are my rules for the challenge, but you can make up your own rules if you'd like:

1. Any kind of exercise counts - walking, running, gym, cardio, weights, yoga, pilates...


2. You should aim for 45 minutes per workout, but 30 minutes will do in a pinch.


3. All 30 or 45 minutes do not have to be done at once. You could do 15 minutes here and 15 minutes there.


4. You don't have to work out EVERY day - you just need to get in 31 workouts in 31 days. So if you miss a day, all hope is not lost. You'll just have to find a day when you could double up - maybe a walk before work and gym in the evening? Or you could just kick your own butt for an hour-long workout, which could technically count as two 30 minute workouts - and you're back on track!

The main goal is for me to get back into a routine because let me tell you - September was no good... no good at all. However, I'm feeling optimistic about October!! We're going to make it happen!!

I've added a gadget to the right side of my blog where I'm going to update my daily workouts so you can keep me accountable and track along with me. You can see that I've already tracked my October 1st workout!

Will you commit to doing 31 workouts in 31 days with me? Why not post on your blog about your commitment? Leave a comment if you're with me!! (...And even if you're not with me, leave a comment because I still love you. Lots of you are having babies and having babies is a pretty good excuse, so all you mamas out there are off the hook for now.)

Time to load up the iPod...

Little Luke

I am officially Aunt Katie! My little nephew is here! James Luke Patterson II was born early Tuesday morning at 1:20 am. He was 9 pounds 5 ounces and perfectly healthy. I'm a little biased, but I think Little Luke is the most perfect, precious, sweet baby EVER.

My sister in law, Wendy, did an amazing job. She has made pregnancy and labor look EASY. Luke was due on September 25th, which came and went, and we weren't sure if and when she was going to be induced. Though we wanted Luke to come on his own accord, we just couldn't wait any longer to meet him! Wendy was induced on Monday morning and was in labor all day and into the night. (Praise God for epidurals!) We were hoping to see him Monday, but he was still nice and cozy and not ready for the real world just yet. Luke finally decided to make his appearance in the middle of the night when Aunt Katie was fast asleep in bed, but we ran right over to the hospital as soon as I was done with work today to see the little man. Wendy is doing awesome. Seriously - she made it seem like it was no big deal - she is very strong and brave! Luke is ADORABLE. He did not cry the whole time we were there - he just slept and made the cutest noises. He is healthy and perfect. I'm so proud of my sister and brother in law and so happy for their newest addition! Yay babies!

A Noble Workout Partner Who Can Find?

"A noble workout partner who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." ~Proverbs 31:10

OK.... so maybe I took a few liberties with that translation! But still... a good workout partner is a gem for sure!!

When we moved into our new house over a year ago, my next door neighbor Diana was the first person I met. She is super nice and wonderful in every way, and the only thing I have against her is that she's a Longhorn. But we have become friends despite that fact. She says "gig em" when she texts me, and I watch UT games when she comes over. She wears maroon to our supper club, and I turn a blind eye to the UT garden gnome in her front yard. Whatever works.

The best thing about Diana is that she is a GREAT workout partner! We both joined the gym in our neighborhood, and last March, we started going to boot camp once a week with a personal trainer there, Charissa. Y'all... you should have seen us at those first boot camps - it was pathetic. I'm pretty sure we couldn't do ten squats or ten push-ups in a row to save our lives.

But, we stuck with it, and we began to get better and better. The boot camps started out as groups of five to ten people, but it gradually dwindled down to .... just the two of us. I never thought I'd be referred to as "hard core" when it came to something like boot camp but wonders never cease. We enjoyed this personal training for quite some time until the gym was on to us, and they stopped the free boot camp :-( Sad. Luckily, our friend Charissa agreed to keep training us. Now that it was just us, she really turned it on and made it her personal mission to "kill us" every week.

Not long ago, Charissa got a new job at a gym closer to her house. I may or may not have cried. We're very happy for her but very sad for us! However, she taught us well, so we quickly decided that we would carry on. We got a super cute notebook, decided on Mondays and Thursdays, and got back to work. In our little notebook, Diana plans Monday workouts and I plan Thursdays. Between those days we do our own workouts, though we are excited for cooler weather when we can walk/run together.

Basically, it's our goal to outdo one another with the difficulty of our workouts. We have both vowed to do whatever the other plans. As we walk out to the car after our workouts, the conversation usually goes something like this:

Me: I'm so sorry if I hurt you!
Diana: No, it's totally OK! I want you to hurt me.
Me: Yeah, I guess I kind of meant to hurt you.
Diana: I'll get you back on Monday.

The next day we usually text each other:

Me: Sore?
Diana: Yep.

So you see, we're totally made for each other! haha! I'm proud to say that those girls who couldn't do ten squats in a row can now do 40 squats holding a 25 pound weight over our heads!!

We've invited our husbands multiple times to join us, but they have declined. I think that secretly they are scared we will kick their butts. ...and we probably would :-) Diana's husband says it makes him tired just to read what we write in our little notebook.

I better rest up now because Diana is planning tomorrow's workout and we may or may not have had a few margaritas while watching football on Saturday night (UT of course... A&M wasn't on TV, people!)