How INSERT NAME HERE got her groove back

Don't you hate when people post about vague phantom quasi-problems online? I do. But I don't mind when people acknowledge moods. We owe it to ourselves to keep it real, and no one is Miss Mary Sunshine all the time. People who work hard to prove they are are lying liars who lie.

Me? Currently I'm in a whatever period.

It's a general feeling of being restless, distracted, disinterested, in between, too many balls in the air, on auto pilot. I could also sum this up in general by saying whatever it is, I don't feel like it. 

I don't feel this way often and when I do, it doesn't last long. Seriously, thank God. Since I'm a Veruca Salt I want it now control freak, it makes me uncomfortable in my own skin because it's just not me. It requires patience I don't have, leaving me feeling stretched, exhausted, and irritable. If people ask me what's wrong I get surly. I need to get over myself.

The common ground here between you and me and the world is that we all have these periods. Nothing is wrong per se, but we're just in a mood, okay?

The uncommon ground is what we do to turn those frowns upside down. I'm always interested in seeing how other people, particularly other women, go about small doses of self care to ground themselves and return to center. So I hope you'll share your top three mood changers with me in the comments below. I'll be doing my patented top five this weekend:

1. Lose myself in a book or several books, ignoring everything around me.
2. Cook up a storm.
3. Paint my nails.
4. Spend a lot of time with my dogs, including outside time.
5. Organize something and clean something.

And fuck it, I'm getting a massage too. And having lunch with my girlfriends. And trying to make MFD do something fun. And only wearing lounge attire. And going to see my niece. The massage and the niece and something fun only if I kick this bastard chest cold tonight.

How do you get back to you when you're feeling un-you-ish?

Things I'm not doing

Decorating for Halloween, or even fall...aside from a flag out front and candles inside, things are status quo here. I just don't feel like it this year and that's okay.

Switching to hot coffee 100% of the time - I love iced and continue to drink it all year. I will drink hot more now than I did in the summer, which was never unless I was at a restaurant.

Drinking pumpkin spice lattes. Too sweet. I usually don't put sugar in my regular coffee. 

Watching scary movies or The Great Pumpkin. Charlie Brown is a weinerwhistle who grates on my nerves.

Buying any more scarves. I love them but I rarely wear them.

Snap chatting. I don't have the time or inclination for another social media thing and honestly? It seems like a teenager thing. Says the person who laughs at poop jokes and the word beaver and is generally age-inappropriate. 

Seeing any do nothing weekends on my calendar.

Remembering to tack my daily gratitude on at the end of posts. But I am remembering to list them for myself, and that's the important thing.

Feeling like I have a handle on life in general - the house and yard have gotten away from me and I don't feel like bringing them back into the fold.

Getting outside enough at lunch. Last week's library walk was my first foray away from the four blocks around my office in a month.

Fearing the dentist any less. An appointment still sends shivers up my spine. I had one last week and I have one next week. Deliver me.

What are you not doing?

Show Us Your Books Anniversary Edition - What I Read in September

Today is a very special Anniversary Edition of Show Us Your Books - Jana and I are giving away a $50 gift card to Amazon and Bookwormboutique merchandise. There will be two winners - an Amazon winner and a BWB swag winner. You do not need to link up to enter. The giveaway can be found at the bottom of the post after all the links. Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed this link up along with us, whether you've silently been taking notes on your next books to read, commenting with what you've liked recently, or linking up and doing all of the above...thank you. It's been awesome.

Linkup Guidelines:
1. Please visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me
2. Please display the button or link back to us on your blog post
2. Please visit a few other blogs who've linked up and get some book talk going!

Here's what I read since the last linkup. 

Engrossing Reads

Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta - This was fast paced and required a little bit of suspended belief in the legalities of it all, but I was definitely drawn in. A little legalese, a little D.C., a little love, a little violence, a little psychosis. It's a recipe for a winner for me.

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington - Let me come clean immediately and say this book infuriated me and I felt like punching many of the characters and calling them dumbasses as well as punching the author for ending it on a cliffhanger because I will have to read the next one...the almighty BUT here is that regardless of those things I couldn't put the book down and had to stay up until after 1, knowing I'd get less than five hours of sleep, in order to finish it. There's something to be said for that. It's a quick read so I anticipate the next one will be as well. Edited to add: thanks to Michelle in the comments for letting me know this is still free for Kindle. Always good to read the comments on posts like these friends!

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer - I was totally into this story, and I even got MFD to read it too. Well, to start it anyway. Thanks to Kathy Biatchi for this recommendation. It's an age old tale of two rises to the top - one born of privilege and one who had to claw his way there - a few fatal soap opera misunderstandings, and a lot of good stuff along the way.

The Betrayal by Laura Elliot - This book ensared me. The tagline is something ludicrous like a gripping novel of psychological suspense and hot damn, it was. I thought the past that they alluded to was a little wimpy at first, then I was like ohhh. I gobbled it up front to back.

The Doll Maker by Richard Montanari - Recommended by a co-worker, I did not want to put this book down. I read the first book in this series about Philadelphia Homicide Detectives Byrne and Balzano a while back and never picked up any others. This sucked me in immediately. It was extremely creepy. A good candidate for you mystery/suspense fans.


Passed the Time Just Fine

Never Buried (Leigh Koslow Mystery #1) by Edie Claire - This reminded me a little of the unassuming Aurora Teagarden mysteries by Charlaine Harris. A very mild character and a very mild storyline. I think I read another reviewer call them "cozy mysteries" and that's just what they are. I won't run right out to read more, but I didn't mind reading this one.

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald - I got this from Netgalley in exchange for a review. I liked the characters and liked the idea of a dead town being revived by books and sheer will. As a reader, I also love the references to books and how the author wove them into the story. The love story in the book seems really underdeveloped, which is a shame. Regardless, this left me with a feel good feeling like I used to get after reading Fannie Flagg books.

Whistling Women by Kelly Romo - Another freebie from Netgalley in exchange for a review. I didn't know much about this book. I liked the cover and the title, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked the story and how it unfolded too. I detested Mary and her speech patterns but enjoyed the other characters.

Open Season (Joe Pickett #1) by C.J. Box - I picked this up in Grand Teton. It's about a Wyoming Game Warden. I was like oh, why not. He was a bit of a wimp sometimes, and I don't really like that. His young daughter also played too heavily in the story too, I don't like that either. I liked this book okay and am curious to see how the character might develop further, so I might give another book in the series a shot.

Girl Defective by Simmone Howell - I very rarely remember who recommended what to me but for some reason I know I saw this on Erin's blog. Maybe because it's an Aussie book? I liked the writing here (some snippets felt lyrical), as well as the characters. I think the story could've been sharper and deeper. There were a lot of interesting plot threads, none of which were done justice I don't think. But it was a fine read as it was.

Hard No

N/A, thankfully. No non starters this month!

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month. The next one is Tuesday, November 10. 

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.lifeaccordingtosteph.com/" title="Life According to Steph"><img src="http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b536/lifeaccordingtosteph1/bookbuttonlinkup_zps01365b43.jpg" alt="Life According to Steph" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Non-bloggers, what have you read recently? Let me know what you recommend and what to stay away from. Bloggers, link up your posts below.

An InLinkz Link-up

One year anniversary giveaway! Two winners. One prize is a $50 Amazon gift card and the other prize is a mug & 8x8 print from bookwormboutique both seen below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TWTW - the one with the old school and the old fools

Friday night was gym, tanning, laundry. Minus the gym and tanning and plus frozen treats a la MFD. MFD: are you taking this picture to shame me? lolol and no.

Saturday morning I went to Lola's house, then I got my nails done and picked up a wallet to replace mine that was lost in the great purse water spill debacle of 2015. You see the ziploc bag there? That was my wallet for a while. hahahaha. I also cleaned the kitchen, read, and hung out with los perros.

Saturday night was our 20th high school reunion. MFD and I headed down to the city with Kim and Christy to meet up with friends for drinks at the Twisted Tail before we set sail on the Spirit of Philadelphia for the reunion. I had an absolute blast. While it's easy to see what many people are doing on facebook, actual face time is irreplaceable. We graduated with over 600 people and knowing everyone in school was impossible. I can't shit on facebook though as I actually know some people better now than I did then, which is awesome. So I spent Saturday night hanging out with my friends who are in my life regularly now, reconnected with some old friends, and made some new ones. MFD and I didn't get a picture together and barely saw each other all night. That's okay...we see each other a lot.

We unveiled our time capsule, which was quite popular. As you can see, MFD's sense of humor is the same.

MFD's note to himself says fart dart doodle, which is still said in our house to this day.

Philly looked good from the water.

We went back to the Twisted Tail after the boat docked, more fun ensued as well as a celebration of Melissa's birthday. My fun, beautiful, full of huge amounts of life friend. Happy happy.

Sunday I woke up not feeling too terrible, thank God (and a late night Wawa stop and water). Kim went to have lunch with her family and Christy headed home. For the first time in a very long time, I found myself with a day spread out before me with no plans. So I laid on the couch and read the rest of my book. It was glorious. Sometimes you need a do nothing day. I so rarely get the opportunity so I snatched it right up.

Otherwise I changed sheets, did some laundry, wrote some blogs, and made dinner. MFD headed down to the shore and Kim and I laid around on the couches like lazy old ladies. I was asleep before 9.

Weekly food prep sans photos because I only have a pic of oatmeal (who wants to see that? No one): this week's breakfasts are oatmeal. Lunches are spinach salads. Dinners are spaghetti & meatballs, honey dijon chicken with rice and steamed broccoli.

Tomorrow is the one year anniversary linkup of Show Us Your Books. Jana and I are doing two giveaways to celebrate the occasion - you don't have to link up to enter. See you then! 

I don't have today off. As a matter of fact, I have a day full of meetings. Pray for me. 

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

How to Make Wild Game a Part of Your Family's Diet

Saturday in the hizzy. Non-meat eaters, this post is not for you. I'll see you back here Monday! Today Jessie Hughes is back with some words on something that's been on my mind lately since we ate our share of wild game on our wild west trip. I also have a love of wild turkey since my uncle has caught some wild turkey for our Thanksgiving table, and I enjoy venison and especially venison jerky as well. 

*******************************

It's always fun to take your palette on an adventure when you're at a restaurant that features wild game, but few of us are bold enough to take the plunge in our own kitchens. But if you hunt or have a hunter in the family, you know that you don't need a Michelin star to work wild game into your weekly meal plan and that experimenting with a new type of meat can be the perfect solution to the age old question "chicken...again?" The good news is that even if you don't have an expert marksman providing you with fresh caught meat, you can hunt down wild game from friends with excess (a sizable deer can yield over 50 pounds of meat), through specialty markets, or even buy it online. Here are a few tips and ideas on how you can stop thinking of wild game as a rare treat and start incorporating it into your family's diet.

Jerky: the Perfect Protein Punch

Making your own jerky is one of the easiest ways to begin experimenting with a range of game meats. All you need is any type of game (venison, elk, buffalo, duck, alligator, etc.), seasoning and a dehydrator and you are on your way to making a fantastic healthy snack. First, prep the meat by cutting back any excess fat. This is an important step because fat will not cure and can make you sick. Next, cut the meat into thin strips. You'll make that job much easier if you freeze the meat for a few hours before slicing. Finally, after marinating the strips in a resealable bag for three to six hours using your favorite flavor combination, simply place the meat in your dehydrator and walk away. When you come back, you'll have a protein-filled snack.

Ground Game: Spicing up Your Old Recipes

Ground meat is another way that beginners can include wild game into their repertoire with confidence. If you're not up for grinding your own meat, take it to your local butcher and have him do it for you. Ground game can generally be used in place of ground beef in any recipe. Instead of your traditional chili, try using ground moose or venison. Spice up your burger night using bison or elk instead of beef. The main thing to consider when replacing ground beef with wild game is the game meat will generally contain less fat, but with the right techniques it's easy to avoid dry or chewy meat. For example, when grilling ground game, reduce the cooking time, because the leaner meat will generally cook faster. Also, you can add additional fat, such as bacon, or use a mixture of game and beef to keep your ground meat moist.

Wild Birds: Nothing Fowl About It

If you are already cooking meals using chicken or domestic turkey, although there is a difference in flavor, the preparation of wild birds like turkey, pheasant and quail will feel familiar. In general, like most wild game, wild birds are leaner animals and their meat has a stronger, or "gamier," flavor. For a quick meal that is sure to please everyone in the family, make sliders using quail breast. For something more formal, roasting a whole wild turkey makes for an impressive, yet not labor intensive, dinner.

                                       *******************************

Are you into the wild game?