Twilight

To clarify...Yes, I did enjoy watching the movie Twilight. I had issues with the casting (I didn't picture some of the characters as they filled the roles), but besides that I thought it was well done. I loved the baseball scene!

Born In Trilogy

I finished the third book in the trilogy today! If you are a "stay at home mom" or a "need more fantasy" type of person....you'll truly enjoy this story. Each story is about a different lady and how she is connected to two other ladies...and the three ladies are linked in each story, so the author doesn't waste time re-introducing the characters in each book. They average about 350 pages, in my opinion, real page turners...not for the suspense in a scary fashion, but suspense in a romantic fashion. The only downside is that they drink a lot of tea and eat a lot of cakes...well, it is based in Ireland. So, I found myself thinking of snacks quite often.

Oh to be so clever.

So, we watched the movie Twilight yesterday...based on the novel by Stephanie Meyer. Afterward, we watched the deleted scenes and extended scenes, as well as, the clips showing the transition from paper to film. In this they had the author sharing how she developed her story. She had a dream...and it was such a good dream she wanted to know what happened before and after, so she wrote it down. Well, her dream amounts to all of chapter 13 in book one. She managed to write the first twelve chapters...the chapters that followed to complete book 1 and oh, 3 more books each totaling over 600 pages. I wish I were that good.

Back to Work

My "spring break" is officially over. However, it was very productive. I managed to take an entire truck load to Goodwill and the garage is clean enough to park in it...for the first time since we moved in!!! I read the second book in the trilogy by Nora Roberts...Born in Ice and caught up in my daily Bible passages. I got a pedicure, a manicure, filled prescriptions, took the dog to the vet, caught up on groceries, laundry and television shows. Most would think that I'd be exhausted, but just being "current" and organized is very refreshing to me. Sadly, I didn't get to spend much time with my husband b/c he is working quite a bit. JMS and I got to spend 4 of 6 days together...as you saw we took him to the aquarium, and we watched Cars...and Sesame Street. He sure is smart. He'll tell you that he "touched a star pish" (he means fish, but says pish) He is saying words these days that I didn't even know he knew.

Mascarpone Cheese

Several folks have asked what is Mascarpone Cheese? Well, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia --- Mascarpone is a triple-cream cheese made from crème fraîche, denatured with tartaric acid.^[1] Sometimes buttermilk is added as well, depending on the brand. After denaturation, whey is removed without pressing or aging.^[2] One can manufacture mascarpone by using cream, tartaric or citric acid, or even lemon juice.^[3]

Mascarpone is milky-white in color and is easily spread. When fresh, it smells like milk and cream. It is used in various dishes of the Lombardy region of Italy, where it is a specialty. It is a main ingredient of tiramisu. It is sometimes used instead of butter or Parmesan cheese to thicken and enrich risotto.

I've managed to find it at Kroger's in their specialty cheese section. It comes in a tub like ricotta cheese.

Baked Pasta

Mmm...okay, try this one:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Boil 1 package of cheese tortellini's.
Mix, 1 cup Mascarpone cheese, 1 jar of Marinara sauce (your choice), and the tortellini's when their done cooking.

Pour into a shallow baking dish. Top with slices of smoked mozzarella cheese and a small shake of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with garlic bread. Who doesn't love this?

Trip to Newport Aquarium

We went to the Newport Aquarium on Saturday. In addition to fish, they had frogs and birds too. JMS enjoyed the frogs...hopefully, not enough to bring them home in his pockets.
Look at this cool blue one. He is poisonous.
Love birds...kiss kiss.
Just after I took this picture this bird pooped. No casualties. A second later and I probably would have captured it falling in the photo. Too funny.
Doesn't this look like I was in the water with this big guy?
JMS...enjoying the sharks. He did really well. The only time he said "scary" was in the elevator. The elevator had real life shark photos up close and really big. He had to cover his eyes.