Uggh.

I hate waking up with a headache. It just doesn't bode well for the rest of the day. I have lots of stuff to do and don't want to deal with a headache while doing it...

I am going to be making up some homemade ravioli -- (See the recipe page for the recipe) for lunch and I think I am going to alter the recipe to have sausage and goat cheese rather than the beets (the kids won't eat beets) and trying my hand at coming up with a recipe for a butternut squash soup for dinner. (will post recipe if it works)

Some pics from our trip home for Thanksgiving...

Me and my little brother

Me and my Dad

My Parents

My Uncle Nicky and me.

My Mother, Medea and me

My mom and the Boys

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Show us something you believe in.

JMC0085~Spirit-of-Giving-Posters

Not really "Santa Claus" per se..but the spirit of giving that he embodies. I don't mean the giving of material things, as not every one can do that, but the serving/helping of others in meaningful ways as part of our daily lives, ie. volunteering, kind acts, contributing to charities. I don't think this should be limited to the "holiday season" either, but should become a conscious effort from us every day, every week, every month, every year of our lives.

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If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go right now?

Blue_lagoon-1

The Blue Lagoon-- Iceland's most unique and popular attraction. Guests enjoy bathing and relaxing in Blue Lagoon. In addition to bathing in the lagoon guests have access to a sauna with a view of the lagoon, a steam bath with white walls that resemble silica mud and a cosy steam bath carved into a lava cave. Guests can also stand beneath a Blue Lagoon waterfall for an energizing massage. Of course, guests bathing in the milky waters of the lagoon have easy access to the famous white silica mud, an essential part of the spa experience. A selection of Blue Lagoon in-water spa treatments and massages are available. They take place in the lagoon, and the fresh air and natural surroundings enhance the feeling of wellness. geothermal seawater, known for its positive effects on the skin. A visit to the spa promotes harmony between body, mind and spirit, and enables one to soak away the stresses of modern life. The spa's guests rekindle their relationship with nature, soak up the scenic beauty and enjoy breathing the clean, fresh air.

Doesn't that sound marvelous?

7 random and/or weird things about me

Yay! I was tagged by Mo to do this "7 random and/or weird things about me" meme....So we're off to the races...

1. My name is spelled "incorrectly" -- I am gonna steal this Mo, because mine is too!! My parent's spelled Rebecca with two B's making me the only REBBECCA in existence ( I'm pretty sure on this one!)

2. I read about 10 books a week..I know you won't think that is weird, Mo--But most people think it's odd.

3. I could eat rice and Furikake spice every day for the rest of my life and not get tired of it.

(Furikake spice)

4. I wear sunglasses whenever I go outside (even during rainy/overcast days) because I have very sensitive eyes.

5. If I never ate spaghetti with Meat Sauce or meat lasagna again..I wouldn't be sad. I love making them..but I am so burnt out on Italian red-sauces and meat.

6. I would prefer it to be 45 year round. It's the perfect temperature for me.

7. I am addicted to World of Warcraft. (Yep..I am a geek!)

(the rules)
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. (ehh...If you want to do it..go ahead--just commment and let me know so I can read your random/weird things!)
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog 

I love this quote!

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

--Sylvia Plath

I don't think I have ever laughed so hard at a football game in my life.

Sorry Peter but the Colts SUCKED last night, and I would like to personally thank the Pats fan that paid Adam off.

"Peyton Manning was poised to atone for those franchise-record six interceptions.

He'd moved the Indianapolis Colts well within Adam Vinatieri 's range with 1:31 left on a crazy, rainy night.

Snap, hold and ... miss!"

From Peyton's career high of 6 INT's, to Adam missing field goals from 42 and 29 yards, I just laughed each time I flipped back to the game from Iron Chef America (Bobby Flay and Giada vs. Mario Batalli and Rachel Ray (Team Ray FTW!)

Thanks for making my night fun, Peyton! HUGE thanks for the Pepsi through the nose laughing that came when you were sitting on the sidelines with a huge red and swollen forehead with that lovely little "Manning" face that you do, it was worth it.

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Show us a childhood hero.
Subitted by Eric's Page.

LeVarWithBooks

Levar Burton and the Reading Rainbow show. I loved watching it and learning about all different cultures, people and places. I used to go to the library and look for the books featured on the show. I remember the one about the Patchwork quilt especially well and it was brought back to my mind the other day when my daughter came home with the book (Patchwork Quilt-- Valerie Flournoy) and asked me to read it to her.

Peony In Love – Lisa See

Set in 17th-century China, See's fifth novel is a coming-of-age story, a ghost story, a family saga and a work of musical and social history. As Peony, the 15-year-old daughter of the wealthy Chen family, approaches an arranged marriage, she commits an unthinkable breach of etiquette when she accidentally comes upon a man who has entered the family garden. Unusually for a girl of her time, Peony has been educated and revels in studying The Peony Pavilion, a real opera published in 1598, as the repercussions of the meeting unfold. The novel's plot mirrors that of the opera, and eternal themes abound: an intelligent girl chafing against the restrictions of expected behavior; fiction's educative powers; the rocky path of love between lovers and in families. It figures into the plot that generations of young Chinese women, known as the lovesick maidens, became obsessed with The Peony Pavilion, and, in a Werther-like passion, many starved themselves to death. See (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, etc.) offers meticulous depiction of women's roles in Qing and Ming dynasty China (including horrifying foot-binding scenes) and vivid descriptions of daily Qing life, festivals and rituals. Peony's vibrant voice, perfectly pitched between the novel's historical and passionate depths, carries her story beautifully—in life and afterlife.) I must say that I loved the first Lisa See novel that I read (Snow Flower and the Secret Fan) and had high hopes for this one, and was severely disappointed. It just rambled on and on (SPOILER) even after the main character dies. Uggh. After the beautiful writing of "Snow Flower", it was hard to read this-- it was simply missing too much - in terms of explanations, background details, character development, and tying together really choppy scenes, that it felt amateurish, trite and unmoving.

The Sleeping Doll -- Jeffrey Deaver

(Kathryn Dance, an investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation, returns from Deaver's The Cold Moon (where she was a secondary) in this post–prison break pulse-pounder. Dance is the lead cop handling the escape of psychopathic killer Daniel Pell, dubbed "Son of Manson" by the press for his "family" of young runaways and his most horrendous crime, the murders of computer engineer William Croyton, Croyton's wife and two of their three children. The only child left alive, nine-year-old Theresa, is known as the Sleeping Doll. Pell, charismatic and diabolically intelligent, continually eludes capture, but Dance, a specialist in interrogation and kinesics (or body language), is never more than a few suspenseful minutes behind. Dance is nicely detailed, and procedural scenes where she uses somatic cues to ferret out liars are fascinating. The book sags in its long middle, but toward the end Deaver digs into his bottomless bag of unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers wide-eyed with surprise, and leaving them looking forward to more of the perspicacious Dance.) Typical Deaver. He brought back a secondary character from his last novel and makes it work for the most part. I didn't think it moved as seamlessly as his Rhyme series but it's not bad for the first novel of a "spin-off" series that will be alternated with books about Rhyme and Sachs. If you like the Rhyme/Sachs series, you'll probably like this.

New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts (24-20 final--Pats W)

Two simple thoughts....

A. The Colts are much better than I thought/hoped they were, and are right on par with us.
B. That was some of the worst officiating I've ever seen.

(Wes Welker --4-yard touchdown pass from Brady in the second quarter and a 55-yard non-touchdown bomb in the fourth quarter that ignited the comeback)

I love this little guy. He's really becoming a go-to for Tom when they positively need a quick good catch!

Visiting Life – Bridget Kinsella

--When a friend who taught creative writing at a maximum-security prison asked Bridget Kinsella to read the work of one of his best students, she readily agreed. As a publishing professional, Kinsella was used to getting manuscripts from all sorts of sources. Who knows? she told herself. Maybe I can help this talented inmate get his work published. She had no idea that her correspondence with a convicted murderer serving life without parole would lead to a relationship that would change her life forever. Why in the world would anyone get involved with a prison inmate?

In this beautifully written, brutally honest memoir, Kinsella shares how she stumbled into a relationship with a lifer and became part of a sorority she never thought she’d join. Over the course of three years, she spends time with and ultimately befriends the wives, girlfriends, and mothers of some inmates at Pelican Bay. On this unexpected journey, she learns of the hurdles, heartbreaks, and hopes they have for their relationships as she experiences a connection with someone who helps heal her own wounds. (It's not bad, kinda sappy and I hate that)

Helpless—Barbara Gowdy

-- Nine-year-old Rachel Fox has the face of an angel, a heart-stopping luminosity that strikes all who meet her. Her single mother, Celia, working at a video store by day and a piano bar by night, is not always around to shield her daughter from the attention—both benign and sinister—that her beauty draws. Attention from model agencies, for example, or from Ron, a small-appliance repairman who, having seen Rachel once, is driven to see her again and again.
When a summer blackout plunges the city into darkness and confusion, Rachel is taken from her home. A full-scale search begins, but days pass with no solid clues, only a phone call Celia receives from a woman whose voice she has heard before but cannot place. And as Celia fights her terror and Rachel starts to trust in her abductor’s kindness, the only other person who knows where she is wavers between loyalty to the captor and saving the child. Will Rachel be found before her abductor’s urge to protect and cherish turns to something altogether less innocent?
Tapping into the fear that lies just below the surface of contemporary city life, Barbara Gowdy draws on her trademark empathy and precision to create a portrait of love at its most consuming and ambiguous and to uncover the volatile point at which desire gives way to the unthinkable.(It was a good premise, but the ending was crap! Totally not plausible)

Yeah so sue me

I've been slacking on the posts lately.  Its not that I've been overly busy either, I mean seriously-- I found time to organize my spice drawer (yes, a full drawer--and not one of those wimpy small ones either..this is like dresser size!). I think it's just that I don't know what I want to write...do I want to write about the lameness of my day to day? The recipe I made for dessert?

Blah.

Bad Monkeys –Matt Ruff

-- "Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder.

She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons—"Bad Monkeys" for short.

This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail's psychiatric wing, where
a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy—or playing a different game altogether. What follows is one of the most clever and gripping novels you'll ever read." ( I loved this!! It was
twisty and turny and just made me want to keep reading until the very end, and even then I was like..I want more!! I am definitely going to pick up more of his stuff!)