I'm Back

Photo courtesy of Adi Respati

After a nearly 5 month absence I'm back to blogging. A number of things have happened in the last 5 months that culminated in my absence from blogging. Among them were school problems with my son, 2 serious family emergencies and other such important things that take precedence over blogging.

Over the next few days I will be doing some cleaning and spiffing up of the blog to prepare it for going into 2014. 

                              
In November I participated in National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo. For those who have never heard of it NaNoWriMo is all about writing 50,000 words during the month of November. I'm proud to say that I won this year. I had tried the two previous years but had failed spectacularly. Third time was the charm! So, yeah I'm patting myself big time on the back.

That leads me into my plans and goals for my blog going into the New Year.

Number 1: I plan on writing 350,000 words in 2014. I plan on finishing my NaNoWriMo novel which is part of a series of fantasy romance novels. I also have a series of post-apocolyptic new adult romance novels planned. As to publishing said works...well if I ever find that I can edit them into something I think people will want to read then I most likely will go the route of self-publishing. I will be posting on my blog updates my progress

Number 2: I plan on entering a couple of reading challenges this year. Among them is to read 125 picture books, 100 non-picuture books, once a month review of a book and its movie counterpart, and lastly 24 graphic novels/ comic books.

Number 3: In regards to reading my review policy it is changing for right now. At the moment I am NOT accepting review requests. Why? Because I have a tight schedule and I don't want to make promises of posting a review by a certain time when I simply cannot guarentee that I can keep it. That is not to say I will not be reading any ARCs/Review copies. It is just that all ARCs/Review copies will be of books I have personally requested from an author/book tour/netgalley/etc. That doesn't mean I wont take book suggestions I just wont be taking requests. So for the most part my reading is purely pleasure. I apologize to the wonderful authors out there who so readily offer up their books for free reviews. I love you guys and I know how important blogger reviews are to you. I just can't make promises at this time. I will continue to read mainstream and indie books as I always have.

Number 4: I will now be posting movie reviews. A large number will be movies available for streaming from Netflix, some new releases, some oldies, some indies, and of course some foreign. These are purely for fun and I have no set amount that I will post. Hubby and I tend to rent/watch one or two movies on the weekends so

Number 5: Giveaways...ah one of my favorite things in the world is giveaways. There is nothing like that feeling when you get an email that says congratulations. I often enter giveaways when the mood hits me. So you may see posts on here from giveaways I enter. I also plan on hosting a few giveaways this year. Because they are a LOT of work and take a LOT of time I will most likely only be doing blog hop giveaways.

Number 6: I am pledging to blog 3-5 times a week. Some days may have 2 or more others may have only 1 or none. I also will be hooking up more with non-giveaway blog hops. I also am looking to communicate and actively follow more blogs. I miss the friendships I had with others on my old blog. I was always talking with my fellow bloggers and I think that it is important to be able to share you passion (in this case reading) with fellow bloggers.

Blog Name Change

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/

I have decided to change the name of this blog. I originally had intended this blog to be fairly general with some recipes, etsy features, reviews, and about me becoming organized. Since then I've found myself walking back down the road of book blogdom. I love books and love to read. I love talking with others about books. So I have decided to make the tiny switch to being a book blog. I will still do some of the other features I had originally intended on. The focus however will mainly be on books. Since this is still a tiny blog that really does not have many followers I don't think this will affect or upset anyone. I still have plans to grow this blog and foster it like I did with my old book blog. I love the book blogging community and look forward to forging new friendships and learning about new and upcoming books from my fellow bloggers. So without further ado Life and Time of a Messy
Mommy is dead and Messy Mommy Reads is live.

Top Ten Tuesday

For the future Top Ten schedule & how to participate go HERE!

Ok so I'm doing my first Top Ten Tuesday. This week is all about top ten words/topics that will make me pick up or buy a book.

1. Isolation- I love stories where people are cut off from the rest of the world. IE plan crash on an island, stuck in a cabin during a blizzard, bomb shelter, a boat in the middle of the ocean. Add some romance to that and I'm all over it like a dog slobbering over a pork chop.

2. Secret Worlds- Alice following the white rabbit down the tunnel to Wonderland, an owl arriving with an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a huge cavernous underground city, Atlantis....well you get the idea. I just love that secret world hidden to but a few.

3. Time Travel- Yes yes yes please. I want to travel back and forth through time. As a Dr. Who fan I can't help but daydream of traveling through time (and space). But time travel romances ah there lies a guilty pleasure of mine. Add in a knight, a man in a kilt, or dust covered cowboy and you've got my undivided attention.

4. Genetic Alterations- I have a thing for people being altered genetically. Whether they get superpowers, turn into monsters, grow extra body parts, live forever etc...it is all beloved by me. Throw in a question of ethics on it all and I'm scooping up that book faster than you can blink.

5. Alpha Male- I admit it I have a thing for alpha males. I don't like the ones that are borderline abusive. I like the strong, protect his woman at all cost type. He gets jealous but would never hurt his lady, ever. Oh and no stalking, watching me sleep while I don't know it types. Julie Garwood's historical romances are a good example of what I like.

6. Magical Objects- Mirrors, necklaces, bracelets, shoes, suit of armor etc. Anything that carries magic with it and has the potential to change a person, environment once they don it/look into/ say special enchantment etc.

7. Belly Busting- Anything that has the potential to make me laugh out loud and then embarrass myself in public by doing so is right up there on my list. I love books that make you laugh so hard you have to cross your legs and squirm in a modified peepee dance sort of way.

8. Fairytales Retold- I love retelling of stories especially fairy tales. I love when people put their own personal spin that makes it unique but yet still retains that familiar essence of the story. When it is done right you have a Disney Beauty and the Beast when done wrong you have a Disney Pocahontas.

9. Kick-ass Heroine- put in a kick-ass female and I'm hooked. The type who could take down a whole army and yet is still a woman. She is smart, beautiful and deadly. Heaven help the man who makes her angry enough to seek revenge on him.

10. Love Triangle- Don't hate me but I love me a good love triangle. I'm not much of a fan of two girls fighting over one guy. But two guys or a guy and a girl fighting over a girl...yeah I'm there. I know so many people hate them. I still love them. I especially love when the author goes back later on in other books and gives the "loser" a love interest of their own.

B is for Blackberry

Here is day two. For day two I decided to go with blackberries. These yummy berries (though they are not really berries they are actually an aggregate fruit) are a healthy sweet addition to any diet. At just about 75 calories in a cup they are also a wonderful snack for the calorie counter. They have vitamins E, C, and K. They are also packed full of antioxidants. They are best enjoyed during the mid to late summer.









The following photo and recipe is curtsey of Becky at Girl Interrupted Eating Please check out her blog and twitter page for other wonderful recipes. Please do not post any of her recipe/photos including the one below without contact her first. The only changes I have made to her recipe is to put them into the standard American Measurements.

 

Blackberry Bakewell

Blackberry Bakewell
Shortcrust Pastry to fill a 12 inch tart tin
1 1/4 cup of plain flour
1/2 cup of butter
3tbsp of water

1. Sift the flour , add the butter and rub in with your fingertips


2. Add the water and mix to form a dough


3. Wrap in cling film and chill for 20 minutes

Bakewell Filling
2 cups of blackberries
1 1/4 cups butter
1 1/4 cups caster sugar<---aka baking sugar, or superfine sugar
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs
1 fresh vanilla pod/ 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350


2. Roll out the pastry and line a greased tart tin, line with baking paper and baking beads.


3. Bake blind for 20 minutes .


4. Simmer the blackberries for 10 minutes uncovered to break them down and concentrate the juice. Carefuly taste and add a little caster sugar if they are too sour.


5. Meanwhile make the filling , if you are using a vanilla pod scrape the seeds from the pod


6. In a food processor blend together butter sugar until creamed.


7. Add the almonds , flour baking powder eggs and vanilla


8. Mash the blackberries with a fork to break them down a little, spread across the bottom of the pastry case, then spoon the almond mixture on top and spread out evenly


9. Return to the oven for 40 minutes until golden on top


10. Dust with icing sugar

A is for Apricot

Here it is day one or rather day A of the A-Z blogging challenge. I will be doing two posts per day as an extra challenge to myself. One is an etsy shop feature the other being food related.

For this first day I could have gone with the obvious choice of apple but no I wanted to change it up. So today you have apricot! Apricots are wonderful for people who are dieting
They have about 17 calories each and contain vitamins A,C,E,and K. They are also rich in Iron and Potassium.


The following recipe/photo is courtesy of  Janet Hudson of Vegan Feast Catering. She the author of the cookbook The New Vegan: Fresh Fabulous and Fun

Apricot Tarts

Recipe:
1 Recipe Puff Pastry
2 apricots, sliced
8 apricots
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/2 water
2 tbsp agar agar
In a sauce pan bring apricots, sugar, and water in a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar- add agar and continue to stir until thickened. Remove from heat and chill.
Roll out puff pastry and cut out stars - ladel some apricot sauce, star, and repart until you have a short stack. Top with a slice of apricot.
Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

A-Z Blogging Challenge

 To help keep me blogging I have signed up for the 2013 A-Z blogging Challenge. The simple idea of it is we will be writing for 26 days (skipping Sundays) in April. Each day follows the letters of the alphabet. So April 1 will be A April 2 will be B To find out more or join visit http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/.


Among the ideas I have is daily recipes, kids crafts, feature etsy shops whose name starts with daily letter, along with other fun things that follow that days theme letter. I'm looking forward to this and hope to meet and learn a lot from my fellow bloggers along the way.

Don't have a blog? This is a great opportunity to jump on the blogging bandwagon. the more you blog the more addictive it becomes. What topics would you feature? If you haven't blogged in a very long time this is your chance to get back into action.

First Post for a not So New Blogger

Photo courtesy of mike Licht, Notionscapital.com

Here it is my first post on my brand new blog. However I am not what one would call a new blogger. I used to blog on smallish/medium sized book blog. I loved that blog. Loved it so much that lately I've been missing it. So what to do? Do I go back and start posting after abandoning it for a whole year? Do I wipe it clean and start fresh? Or should I leave it out there and just start a brand new blog elsewhere. As you can tell I chose to start a brand new blog.

Photo courtesy of John Althouse Cohen

I learned a lot in my first blog. I learned how to successfully host a giveaway. I learned the best times to post and the best ways to drive traffic to my blog. I forged friendships along the way and learned a lot about myself. However, I soon grew tired of the constant upkeep. The most successful blogs require lots of work and lots of time. At that time my son was still home and taking care of him took up most of my day. Now my son is in kindergarten but is struggling. It appears he has both behavioral and learning disabilities. Right now as I type the school is arranging testing for him. I love my son with all my heart but taking care of him can be very taxing.

So why am I blogging when it takes so much time and energy? Because I've let so much of my life fall apart. I need to start taking care of myself and my family. I need to stop wallowing in my depression. One of the best ways is to get organized. One of the best helpers at organizing? Blogging, of course! So please join me on my journey to straighten out the mess that has become my life.