The Sunday Salon: Let Another Year Begin!

Outside my window: It's Sunday morning right now, barely. About to change to afternoon, which means I have church then, which means I better hurry if I want to do this post because after church we'll have dinner guests and other activities!

I am listening to: the TV is mindlessly on... plus I hear the sound affects of kid#3s Koss pad that he is building. (It's like a synthesizer built into a guitar, in case you wondered.)

Song of the week: I can never get enough of this version of Hotel California.





TV Talk: Vampire Diaries ended until January, sadly... but with much craziness. Survivor has been very interesting with Cochran trying to take control over Ozzy. I love it. Amazing Race has been quite boring this season. I caught up with Once Upon a Time online, and enjoyed those episodes a lot. Doctor Who continues to work it's way into my heart. I haven't watched any Merlin or Supernatural this week. The husband is completely addicted to 24 and has been watching several episodes a night.

Reading Report
Books I'm Reading: The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan, though I don't think I actually ever read it this week. This means I am now many chapters behind in my buddy read with Ibeeeg! Dang.
Books I've Finished: The Death Cure by James Dasher, review to come this week.
Books I've Started: This morning I've been working on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for book club.
Books I want to start: So many I want to read right now, it makes me crazy. Like seriously, I'm beginning to fear for my sanity.

I am thinking: It's really time I had a shower and got ready for this day!

I am grateful for: family, as always, but it needs to be said again this week.

Around the house: I spent one whole afternoon this week cleaning the laundry room, which is really the junk room. I throw away a ton of stuff and wow, you can actually see the room again! It was an exhausting, but satisfying task. Here's hoping I can keep it clear for awhile anyway!

Recipe of the Week: This week I made Ibeeeg's Pumpkin Soup found here.(Everyone loved it!) Also we made gingerbread men cookies for Toto's "pioneer recipe" school project. This recipe came from an old bakery in Nauvoo:

Ginger Bread Cookies

from the Scovil Bakery in Nauvoo, Illinois

1 C sugar

¾ C butter

1 C molasses

½ C hot water

2 eggs

Stir

1 Tsp. Soda

½ Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Cinnamon

1 heaping Tsp. Ginger

6-7 cups flour

Refrigerate dough. Roll out and cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Favorite things of the week: Yesterday was pretty awesome when I hung out at the library all day long and listened to four authors talk, mingled with other Utah bloggers, and got books signed, etc. Another favorite thing was taking the whole family to visit a spunky neighbor we have and left laughing and happy. Why don't we do things like that more often?

Family Matters: Kid#1 went golfing with Grandpa and needs to finish is English paper, Kid#2 did not have a good week at all and we'll leave it at that, Kid#3 is building the guitar as mentioned above and continues his zoombie game addiction, Kid#4 has learned how to make things, crafty things, out of duct tape.

Things we discussed at home this week: much talk on relationships. What a complicated bit of this life we live.

Things I hope to accomplish in the coming week: I've got to read more this week. Last week was pathetic on the reading front. I'm also going to learn my new video editing program I just got... Premiere Elements TEN!! Wahoo. Beware, I may make a movie and force you to watch it!

The Blog Report: I gave away a book, I discussed issues that bugged me, I pondered getting old, and I got excited about John Green.

Don't forget to go sign up for the Virtual Advent Blog Tour!!