#54 Social

I joined librarything in the first round of IHCPL. I think I would prefer a live book club so I could have the intimacy of seeing people's faces and visting with refreshments.
We have a book club at our library, but it's for adults. We could try a children's or teen book club. I think it would be cool to have a teen(or preteen book club) and have the kids pick the titles at least half the time, unless they seemed like they needed more direction and more suggestions. I would definitely like there to be refreshments there. I liked the ideas for icebreakers listed on the Reading Group Choices site-one listed asked patrons to bring favorite book, numbers are displayed in lieu of person's name by each book-you try to match the person who brought the book. Reading Group Guides suggested The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for a YA book club book.
3. 78 people had Animal Shelter Mystery on Shelfari and it received 4 and 3/4 stars and compared that to Amazon's 4 1/2 stars. On Shelfari 36 members have Ghost Hunt, it got 4 out of 5 stars. On Goodreads An. Shelter Mystery received a rating of 3.72 and Ghost Hunt series ranged from 3.93-4.38.

#53 Finding Books Online

1. The three closest bookstores according to google are Family Christian Bookstore, Andy's Bookstore, and Libreria Cristiana Amisadai. Family Christian has an online prescence with a sophisticated website as it is part of a chain-great graphics and sections for movies, pre-buy, email sign-up, clearance, kids, apparrel, and music besides books.
2. At Barnes and Noble Animal Shelter Mystery is $4.50 or $4.05 member, $1.99 used. I did not find an ebook for it on Barnes and Noble or Harris County for listening or reading online.
3. The ebook I chose was off of 20+ places for public domain ebooks;they had many sites for ebooks listed -I clicked on many books.net. At first I tried Abbot's Ghost by Louisa May Alcott, but the language was very formal so I then chose Adopting an Abandoned Farm by Kate Sanborn 49pg unabridged. It tells of a poet around 1889 who visits a friend in the country and decides to rent a house across the street for 3years for 40 dollars. It takes place in Gooseville, Conn. and assumed name for Foxboro, Mass. It tells of her experiences with local auctions, horses, dogs, hens, etc. I don't prefer reading online at length compared to print-unless it's news or something, but that gets annoying too with so many changes to websites with videoclips, etc. I only read about 20 pages in 30 minutes. It was hard to focus at times and when I scrolled down it would jump to the next page alot before I'd read the last paragraph on the page. A smaller device I would like even less, although it would be advantageous in a situation where you're waiting somewhere like at an airport,etc. Also, it can't be damaged or lost like a book, at least not in the same way-water damage still issue. Also, I like how they are automatically returned. Books more intimate of course.

#52 What to Read

1. I searched in Novelist plus for Nora Roberts and it suggested Joann Ross, Anne Stuart, Suzanne Brockman, Christine Feehan, & Jayne Anne Krentz among other authors to try (for similar reads). In What Should I Read Next suggestions were Jude Devereaux, Catherine Anderson, and Cara Lockwood. Webrary.org results were pretty non-existent. I found her on a list w/romance authors but there was no link and she was not on their list of authors w/read-alike links.
2. For a fourth grade girl choice #17 on novelist for animal fiction was The Animal Shelter Mystery by Gertrude Warner. Since the genre wasn't specified I did a search for nonfiction also and first on list was Animals and their young how animals produce and care for their babies by Pamela Hickman. For her 13 yr old brother I searched for all (instead of fiction or nonfiction)-#6 on the list was Ghost Hunt anime series by Shiho Inada and #13 was The Ghost Behind the Wall by Melvin Burgess-those are my picks.
3. For Dean Koontz I went to Library Booklists and Bibliographies and was connected to Atomz.com and if you like. It was not nearly as easy to use as novelist, I had to look for him under horror authors-first other horror authors listed are Jonathan Aycliffe and Clive Barker(not exactly horror?) I didn't see him on webrary. Novelist Plus gave me Greg Bear and Dan Simmons.
4. For the Tamora Pierce series I chose Novelist -the name of the series is Song of the Lionness
. Alanna: the first adventure (1983) 2. In the hand of the goddess (1984) 3. The woman who rides like a man (1986) 4. Lioness rampant (c 1988)
(links from author to title to series)

Holiday, Cooking, and recipes oh my! #51

Jack-o'-lantern Quesadillas Get 2 Free Trial Issues!

.See This Recipe In...
Menu: Kids' Halloween Dinner Menu
See Wine Pairings for this recipe
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Appetizer Recipes for Every Occasion Halloween Treats Cheese Recipes .My Notes
(Only you will be able to view, print, and edit this Note)

Edit Note
. Rate the RecipeRead Reviews (0)Cost per serving: $1.21

Yield: 8 Servings
Cost per Serving: $1.21


Ingredients
16 (8-inch) flour tortillas, preferably red or orange
8 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 cups grated pepper Jack cheese (12 oz.)
Preparation
Preheat broiler to high and place an oven rack about 5 inches from heat source. Line a baking sheet with foil and mist with nonstick cooking spray. Stack 8 tortillas on a cutting board and use a sharp paring knife to trim away some of top, leaving a 1-inch "stem" so tortillas are shaped like pumpkins. Repeat with remaining 8 tortillas. Use a knife to cut two triangles for eyes and a crescent for a mouth into 8 tortillas.

Warm 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add a tortilla without eyes and mouth, sprinkle with a scant 1/2 cup cheese. Cover with cutout tortilla. Cook until underside is golden, 1 to 2 minutes, slide onto baking sheet, and repeat to make three more quesadillas.

Place baking sheet under broiler and broil until tops are golden. Slide onto a serving platter and loosely tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:524
Fat:25g (sat 11g)
Protein:19g
Carbohydrate:55g
Fiber:3g
Cholesterol:45mg
Sodium:753mg
All You, OCTOBER 2007

Conversion using Recipe Conversion Calculator which connects to FruitfromWashington.com for 2 people instead:

4 Tortillas
1 tbsp and 1 tsp of vegetable oil
2 cups grated monterey jack cheese

I went to myrecipes.com for the recipe and planned to go to Southern Living but right off the home page they had a picture with halloween recipes that I liked.

Texting module/Potluck #57

I have used text before. A year or two ago when I was on a family plan I just did a few times because it cost extra. Two months ago I bought unlimited text and have been texting often, but could probably get away w/500 a month text plan because I don't think I go over that.
I'm a regular texter now. I use text lingo, but mostly just whatever abbreviations that come to mind.Text 2 lingo seemed not too useful for me, but for those who are confused by text lingo and need practice or translations it was ok.
After reading the New York Times article, I definitely will avoid texting while driving altogether in stead of just doing it occasionally. It seems even more distracting then talking on the phone. It's pretty unbelievable-the statistic they mention that teens are averaging almost 2000 texts a month!

Recession Busters #60 Fun food & frugality

1.I really enjoyed Clara's video. I liked her little side stories of the price of potatoes in the depression, having to quit high school because no money for socks or clothes and a lady trying to steal from her garden.

Here's a Recession Recipe from the net. Looks like I could have picked an even cheaper one, but this is something I have eaten before and really like so...
Here is a healthy and frugal recipe that my husband, daughter & I LOVE (my son, not so much...). I fix this when green peppers are 4/$1 ~ I usually have the rest of the ingredients on hand.

2 medium sized green peppers


1 lb 90% lean ground beef


1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small)


2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into small wedges


1/2 cup long grain rice


1/2 cup water


2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce


1/2 teaspoon dried basil or oregano, crushed


1/4 teaspoon pepper


1/2 cup shredded lower-fat natural cheddar cheese (2 ounces)


Halve peppers lengthwise and remove stem ends, seeds, and membranes. Immerse peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes. Invert onto paper towels to drain well.


In a large skillet cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in the tomatoes, uncooked rice, water, Worcestershire sauce, basil or oregano, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or till the rice is tender. Stir in half of the cheese. Spoon meat mixture into peppers. Place peppers in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Spoon any remaining meat mixture into baking dish.


Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven about 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Let stand for 1 to 2 minutes or till the cheese melts. Makes 6 servings.


Enjoy and God bless ~ Thrifty Gal

I really enjoyed Clara's video. I liked her little side stories of the price of potatoes in the depression, having to quit high school because no money for socks or clothes and a lady trying to steal from her garden.
2. Tips on recession I've read about in the media include shopping around for car insurance, and increasing deductibles to lower rates and cutting out unnecessary coverage, and using the library!
3.Tips I've used include the obvious: buying soup, eating in more, turning up thermostat not running heater, avoiding driving and trips, saving and using coins, and adding water to liquid soap (also wearing jeans twice-yuck!)
2.
2.

#74 Social Petworking

I looked at some of the sites and decided to create a profile for Rocky on Animalattraction.com. It wasn't too hard or lengthy to sign up, but it wasn't real clear that to activate the account that i had to click on the site in an email received. I had tried to login after signing up, and after repeated attempts clicked on send password just to see. It sent the password i had already been trying to my email account but activated my account when i clicked on site from there. I also entered Rocky in a second pet contest on the site. I don't know that I would make this a regular stop for me but I liked the idea of $1 being donated to petfinder.com for everyone that you refer to the site.
Kim

Losing a Pet

I went to the Humane Society website and found good information on the grieving process and 5 ways to remember your pet including holding a memorial service, having a special place for the ashes, having a living memorial, making a scrapbook, or writing down your feelings. It also gave tips for dealing with a child's loss of a pet.
The ASPCA site gave alot of info about euthanization of a pet, grieving, and when to replace a pet (wait a month).
The Delta Society gave info on public pet memorials, a resource directory with info on counseling, memorials and cemeteries and an online community section.
All sites were helpful in their own way.

#72 pet health

Took dogage quiz. My dog, Rocky, who is on the pet parade btw, scored an 11.5 or so in dog years which is 4.5 or so years under a dog of his breed's average estimated age. He is acually 3-3.5 years old I believe. I have had him almost 2 years and he was 1 or 1 1/2 yrs. old when I got him. He was adopted from a friend of a friend who was moving into an apartment.

IHCPL Pets module #71

1. I took the pet picker quiz and unfortunately, was recommended to get a ferret. The last quiz I took matched me more to my terrier- a parson russell terrier mix.
2. I went to petfinder.com and checked for animals available (dogs) for adoption in my area. Results turned up about 22 dogs in my general metro area which included houston, pasadena, san leon, texas city, alvin, and league city. I didn't really find any dog that I was so bowled over by that I would be willing to absorb the extra cost in addition to the dog i already have. He could use a buddy but the time I spend at work in addition to the vet bill doesn't warrant a second dog for me.

staying well #42

I went to drugs.com and used the pill identifier to look up my regular 2 prescriptions. For one, the site gave many identifying pictures. The information seemed brief,but accurate and more information was available in other segments on the site on the drugs. I had trouble with medline, then realized I wasn't using medline plus. I got 5-7 good results for endocrinologists in Galveston County (within 10 miles). I created a family medical tree by clicking on My Family Health Portrait. I filled out just the medical information for myself, entered listings for my siblings, parents, grandparents, and my parents siblings. After printing I will fill out the information that I know and will find out more on other family members' medical or past medical conditions. Some of my relatives had multiple medical conditions, as we do now, and I'm not altogether certain what they died from, but am curious to see if I can find better definitive answers from relatives. This is important for genealogy, besides encouraging you to write down names of relatives of course, you can trace incidences of common disease and begin to guess at heriditary or lifestyle nature of diseases present.

Wellness, #41b Going Green part 2

I looked at the consumer reports website and found many tips on saving car gas mileage, most I had read before, but will make more of an effort to abide by the tips now. These things I consider a harder to change. Tips include: going 55 instead of 65 or 75, not accelerating or braking as hard, warming the engine first, making sure the tires are properly inflated, and avoiding idling. One thing that was actually easy was going to Internet Consumer Recycling Guide and taking myself off the Valpack mailing list. So, I reduced my waste today by avoiding those envelopes that come in the mail full of coupons every week or so.

Wellness 41a Going Green Activity #1 & #2

I went to the Green Team site to get my estimated carbon footprint. After taking the survey and submitting suggested improvements, the site told me I could whittle my usage down 6% for a savings of $305 a yr. to save 2510 pounds of CO2 per yr (to make my usage 36,672 lbs. a yr). Points were given for recycling, getting a more economical car, using more efficient light bulbs etc.
I've been to a few farmer's markets. The last notable larger one I've been to was Froberg's Farm on the outskirts of Alvin, TX (off Hwy 6). I called ahead for hours and to ask what was in season. Although they had a variety of goodies and a nice building, I was dissappointed that the 2 things they told me were in season and grown on the farm-eggplants and something else, weren't actually in stock when I got there. I would go again though.

wellness module fitness #40

I looked at the fitness calculators on exrx.net. I don't know that I'd use the site much though, personally. My BMI was dissappointing, even though I've lost 10lbs. in the past 2 weeks. I was 5 whole points above average ( mine- 30.2). Also, my caloric intake to maintain seemed pretty high 2972. I feel like I don't take in near that many calories,but I've just recently started eating only one full meal a day, most other days I just snack. Traditionally, I don't eat much food, but the wrong kinds. Too many carbs, fats, sugars as opposed to more fruits and veggies. I was a little surprised by the results and plan to as always walk the dog more and join a local gym.

wellness module/nutrition #39

I went to nutritiondata.com and checked out the back to school section which reminded me to eat breakfast, even if it's just some dry cereal or a piece of fruit, also to pack lunch and plan snacks. Some other items I clicked on included the glycemic load portion and the weight loss segment. Under weight loss I clicked "lose without being hungry and learned that baked potatoes give much more "fullness" than potato chips. Also, oatmeals, apples, and grapefruit among a few other food items are much more filling actually than pizza, ice cream and a snickers bar. I also clicked on the meditteranean diet section to remind myself of the imporantance (especially for the heart) of eating fruits, veggies, fish and olive oil. I was surprised to learn that a donut had actually 12% iron, but was almost 1/2 fat (calories from). Total fat is 18% and saturated fat is 16%.
The recipe I found out information for on sparkpeople.com was black bean salsa.
Here's the recipe and nutritional data:
2 cups black beans rinsed
1 package frozen corn thawed
1 tomato
1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper (+1 poblano pepper if you like)
1 small purple onion
1/8-1/4 cup cilantro chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper
Nutritional data:
4 servings
CALORIES 160.8
TOTAL FAT .9 g
SAT. FAT .2 g
polyunsat. fat .4 g
monounsat. fat .1 g
cholesterol 0.0
sodium 588.0mg
potassium 545.7 mg
total carbs 31.8 g
dietary fiber 9.8 g
sugars .9 g
protein 9.2 g
vit. a 39.2%, vit b-12 0%, vit b-6 11.2%, vit d 0%,vit e 1.9%
calcium 4.1%, copper 13.3%, folate 38.1%,iron 15.3%,magnesium 19.7%
manganese 30%, niacin 5.9%, pantothenic acid 4%, phosphorus 16.1%, riboflavin 6%
selenium 2.2%, thiamin 18.7%, zinc 8.3%

ihcpl/crafts/decoupage08/21/2009

It's been awhile since I posted. I actually completed this module a few weeks ago, but my blog had been temporarily disabled because of inactivity. It's reinstated now of course, but my post won't be as fresh although I did make some notes. Anyway-from the websites flickr, etsy, mycraft.com,hgtv, etc. I liked the earrings, the trompe l'oeil chest, a screen, the frames, and the mirrors. I really like the mosaic items too. On HGTV there was a decoupage mosaic toy box that was impressive- on etsy, I liked the rabbit figurines and the silly bunny light-and I also like the poster chairs as well as the module creator which were made from fine art prints.
I have not made a decoupage project yet, but would like to make one soon. A few weeks ago one of our librarians held a young adult craft where the teens made decoupage keepsake boxes out of nice cigar boxes. I took one home. I have puzzle glue at home which is similar to modge podge I believe. I would like to do a mosaic effect-I have a mosaic stepping stone kit at home to complete also.
Thanks for posting this module-I enjoyed it. (:
Kim Tiller
Sr. Children's Asst.
North Channel Branch