Book Review Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall

This is the sequel to Ties That Bind.  Ariana and Skylar have switched places after finding out who their biological parents are. The two were accidentally switched at birth.  Ariana has to get used to being part of the English world and Skylar is now with the Amish.  Ariana's biological father wants her to broaden her mind with all sorts of new ideas and experiences that she is unsure about.  Skylar is dealing with being cut off from her former life and dealing with an addiction.

I enjoyed the book but was disappointed that the story did not conclude and will continue in another book.  To me it started to drag a little.  I like the characters and life lessons about faith, love and family and look forward to reading more. 

I was provided a free copy of this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

Book Review: Koreatown

Koreatown by Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard

This is a cookbook containing 100 or so recipes for Korean American food.  I this cookbook and have enjoyed both reading it and trying some of the recipes.  I watch Korean dramas which routinely include a lot of cooking and meals.  They are always eating something that looks good or I’m not sure what it is.  I have been able to look these dishes up and even cook a few of them thanks to this book and our local Korean grocery store.  

There are a lot of pictures which is always nice when you are trying a new type of food and are not sure what it should look like.  There are also translations of the Korean names for ingredients. I would definitely recommend this cookbook to anyone interested in Korean food.  I am not Asian and not a super experienced cook and I found it easy to follow.

 I was provided a free copy of this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Book Review - Cats in Paris

Cats in Paris is an adult coloring book by Korean artist Won-Sun Jang.  Her illustrations have appeared in the Korean issues of major fashion magazines such as Vogue and InStyle as well as ads for clients such as Clinique.  She also won an award for her illustrations in children's books. 

The drawings in this book are absolutely gorgeous.  I enjoy adult coloring books but most of the ones I have use a lot of abstract patterns in the pictures.  These are simpler and allow you to color your own patterns on the cats so if you wanted you could make them very realistic or go crazy with fantasy designs.  This is one of the best coloring books I have seen.

 I was provided a free copy of this book by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

A photo posted by Chris C (@cjccur) on Jan 27, 2016 at 1:00pm PST

Is cold so I hide.

A photo posted by Chris C (@cjccur) on Jan 11, 2016 at 9:20am PST

weather is yucky

This morning when I came downstairs it was snowing but that seems to have changed to rain.  The kitchen is so much cleaner that I took the time to work on the house plants.  They have been neglected for ages but now look much better.

I spent a little time stitching yesterday and lots of time playing games.  With Will home I have someone to help with the cooking which is nice. 

Thursday Morning

Since I last posted I have actually started stitching.  I spent an hour stitching and watching Castle.  I didn't get very far but it is a start.  Will is going to make a working copy of the chart for me today which will help a lot.

I worked on Monday and was surprised that an old manager has returned to replace the one we lost.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.  There are many good points but a few not so good as well.

I spent the next two days cleaning and working on the budget and grocery shopping.  I've gone back to Flylady to help but I don't follow it completely.  It's overwhelming and I start to obsess.  I do find that some of the basics and missions are a good way to get back on track when the house is a mess.  Things like a load of laundry a day and keeping up with the dishes and mail make a big difference. Her first mission for the week was to shine your sink.  It took three loads of dishes and two days before I could do that!  I got started on dishes but we did so much cooking and baking I just couldn't catch up.

We are resolving to not touch our cards and to eat the food we buy.  This takes work and planning but we are doing it together which should make it work.  It is hard.  We are so used to running to the store or out to eat or many other things and using our cards.  It's just easier than making do.  This is a huge challenge for us.

Well I am off to work this morning.  I hope it goes well.  You never know what it is going to be like.