Julianna

One of the goals I set myself for after graduation was to get back into reading more for fun.  When I was younger, I used to love curling up with a good book and losing myself for a few hours, but unfortunately college took over my reading time.  The time that I used to look forward to became a time that I dreaded as novels were replaced with textbooks and articles. Luckily, I can now reclaim that time and read whatever I would like to.

A few days ago, I went to a yard sale in search of some reading material since I had not bought a new novel in years.  Seeing a table of paperbacks marked 5 for a dollar, I decided to grab a couple I hadn't heard of to start off my summer reading.  I have decided to post a review of every book I read on here so that others can know more about them, this is the first of many such posts.

Name: Julianna
Author: Judith Nelson
Genre: Victorian Romance
Rating : 5 out of 10

While this book was well written, it lacked a very exciting plotline.  From the first few pages, it reminded me highly of Pride and Prejudice and I knew exactly how it ould end.  Like pride and prejudice, this is a novel about how the headstrong heroine of the story falls for the man who infuriates her more than anyone else.  Unlike Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, however, Julianna does not have a controlling mother who is attempting to marry her off for money.  Julianna and her mother are left enough of a fortune from her late father that they can be comfortable for the rest of their lives even if she never marries.  Julianna does have a rather annoying great aunt who reminds me highly of Mrs. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.

Overall, this book was not really my type.  I was not a fan of pride and prejudice either.  I have a feeling that anyone who enjoyed one would probably enjoy the other.   Hopefully for me, some of the other books I picked will be more appealing to my tastes.

Things to be thankful for: Week 1

I realize that I have so many things in life to be thankful for, so I set a goal for myself.  Every week I want to find 20 new things to be thankful for in my life and I am going to record them each week in a blog.

#1- Our loving God:  he truly has had such an impact in my life in the last year and I am eternally thankful for that.

#2- My husband:  I feel truly lucky to have a husband that is as loving and accepting as mine.  He doesn't just put up with my quirks, he embraces them.  I love how I can really be myself around him and it makes us love each other even more.

#3- My Best Friend Jorge: We're the kind of friends that can call each other in the middle of the night and the other one would come help, no matter what.  I can literally say that Jorge saved my life.  I owe so much to him and I know that we will always remain a part of each others lives.

#4-Warm chocolate chip cookies: who can resist the delicious gooey warmth of a chocolate chip cookie that just came out of the oven.  No matter how bad my day has been, these always manage to brighten my outlook on life.

#5- Cell phones:  Although I sometimes have a love hate relationship with mine and threaten to through it out the window, I realize just how handy cell phones are.  I love that I know I can always call someone for help if I need to. And they're pretty fun to distract myself with when I'm bored as well.

#6- Books:  Even though you can find anything from a book online these days, I will never go completely digital.  There's something so comforting about curling up in bed with a good book on a cold winter day or when I am feeling sick.  I could never get used to one of those digital readers that you can get now, I find the feel and smell of a book too enticing to give up for the ease of reading any book I want on a single screen.

#7- Roses: When I was growing up, I watched as my mother slowly developed a gorgeous rose garden in our back yard.  I grew to love the sweet smell that wafted through the air as they bloomed and the feel of the delicate petals against my skin.  For as long as I can remember, roses have been my absolute favorite flower, so much so that I now have a tattoo of one.

#8- Disney Movies- Even though I have graduated from college, I'm still a kid at heart that enjoys a good disney movie.  I prefer the classics that I grew up with like beauty and the beast, but I also enjoy a good new one occasionally like Gnomeo and Juliet.   They're just some good clean fun that everyone can enjoy.

#9- My camera: I just have a basic digital camera, nothing fancy.  But I love this camera because it is easy to use and I have captured so many memorable moments because I had it.  I love being able to share my pictures with others.

#10- Scholarships: My entire life, I wanted to go to college, but I knew one thing could stand in my way: money.  My family has never been rich and I knew that although they would love to help me pay for school, they wouldn't be able to.  Through all my hard work in highschool, I was fortunate enough to earn enough scholarships to pay for my college.  Because of this, I have managed to graduate free from student loans.

#11- Shoes: While some people love going barefoot during the summer, i have never been one of those people.  I hate going barefoot.  I am very grateful to always have shoes to cover my feet or to keep them warm when the weather is nasty.

#12- Sunshine: I just love spending time outside on days like today when the sun shines down and brightens the world up.

#13- Recipes: I may not be a world class chef who can make up their own dishes whenever they want to, but I know that with a recipe by my side, I can create anything that I desire.  I love trying new recipes.

#14- Egyptian cotton sheets: When I upgraded to a queen size bed from my childhood twin, I realized that I would need to go sheet shopping for the first time in my life.  I saw some Egyptian cotton sheets in the store and I remembered hearing the name on a movie once so I decided to get them.  For anyone who has never tried them, they should because I discovered that they feel like sleeping on a cloud.

#15- Christmas Socks: Every year, my mom and I give each other goofy christmas socks.  I end up wearing them year round and they always remind me of my mom and how much I love her.

#16- Zebra print: I don't know what started my fascination with Zebra Print, but it is my favorite print.  I love how you can get so many fun things with this print on them.  I like it so much that my wedding cake was pink and black zebra print.

#17-  My Bicycle: Since I do not have my driver's license yet, my bike is my transportation whenever I am going somewhere alone.  I love how my bike is useful in that aspect but can also be so fun when I just want to go for a relaxing ride to nowhere in particular.

#18- My wedding ring tattoo: When my husband and I decided to get married, I told him that I do not like rings with anything sticking out of them.  So we considered just having bands, but then I came up with the idea of getting tattoos.  This was my first tattoo and definitely my most painful, but I am so glad I did it.  No matter where I am or what I am doing, It will always be there.  I don't have to worry about losing it or having my fingers swell so it doesn't fit.

#19: Fingernail polish: I have this bad habit of chewing on my fingernails. I have tried to stop so many times but I end up doing it anyway.  The one thing that keeps me from doing it is fingernail polish. Plus it comes in so many fun colors.

#20- My favorite comfy pink sweats- whether I'm not feeling good, going to bed, or just wanting to be comfortable, I love these pink sweats that my mom gave me for christmas a few years ago.  I hope they last for a really long time because I will defintely be sad when they wear out.

So those are the twenty things that I chose to highlight this week out of the many things that I am thankful for. Some of them are serious, and some of them are funny, but they all do affect my life in some way or another.

My First Bread

Today was a very special day for me: I made bread for the very first time.  When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to have a stay at home mom who was talented in all the ways that a mom could be.  She grew her own fruits and veggies, sewed clothes for me and my dolls, made me plastic canvas barbie furniture, knitted me hats and gloves, and cooked and baked some of the most amazing food.  One of the things I remember most from my childhood was a tattered old red Betty Crocker cook book that I loved to put stickers on while my mom was cooking.   From this cookbook, my mom created a plethera of delicious goodies including homemade bread, pies, cobblers, biscuits, cookies, and casseroles.   I don't remember anything coming out of that book that I did not love.  

A while back when I was at a used store, I browsed through the books not looking for anything in particular.  That's when I spotted it.  I found my very own copy of that beloved cook book from my childhood.  That was when I set the challenge for myself: to make my very own homemade bread.  Now I had watched my mom make it countless times as a child, but could I reproduce that delight in my own kitchen without my mom there to help me?

I decided that today was the day to go for it. And boy am I glad I did.   After making my arms sore with kneading and boiling as I turned on the heat in my apartment for it to be in a warm environment while rising, and hours of waiting, I have produced two beautifully golden loaves of bread.  They plumped out of the pans just as they were supposed to and reached that deep golden color I remember so well from my childhood.  It's amazing how something as simple as bread can give me such a feeling of accomplishment.

Traditional White Bread

  6 to 7 cups all-purpose or bread flour
   3 tablespoons sugar
   1 tablespoon salt
   2 tablespoons shortening
   2 packages active dry yeast
   2 1/4 cups very warm water (120° to 130°)
   Margarine or butter, melted


1. Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Grease bottoms and sides of 2 loaf pans, 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 or 9 x 5 x 3 inches, with shortening.

4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 18 x 9 inches, on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side, to form a loaf. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Press each end with side of hand to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with margarine. Cover and let rise in warm place 25 to 50 minutes or until double.

5. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 425°.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with margarine; cool.

From "Betty Crocker's Cookbook." Text Copyright 1991 General Mills.

The Start of a New Chapter

On May 14, 2011, I ended a chapter in my life.   On that day, I sat in a crowded gym for two hours, filed into an arena, sat there for two more hours, and waited for everyone to file out before I could leave.  Sounds like torture huh?  Well, it was definitely something close to that, but it was a torture I had been waiting for most of my life.  That was the day I graduated from college.  So now that I officially have graduated with my Bachelore's Degree in Psychology with a Gender Studies minor, a common question passing everone's lips is "What now?"

I feel like my whole life has been leading up to the moment when it would finally begin and now that moment is here.  I decided to start this blog as a way to share my adventures after graduation.  Perhaps it is also because a small part of me already misses the deadlines, the writing late into the night, and everything that comes with earning a college degree.

Well first on my list of things to accomplish is to earn my driver's license.  My parents gave me my own car for graduation, but there's one small problem: I never got my license.  While a part of me is tempted to just let my husband remain my chauffer, I realize that most of the careers I am considering do require a license.  So for the meantime, I am working at my current part time job as a community support worker until I earn my license and can get a real full time grown up job. :-)

I also plan on accomplishing things I never had time to do during college.  This list of items include: relearning to play the piano, reading for fun, learning to decorate cakes, finding more time to cook from scratch, clearing out some of the clutter I have accumulated over the years, learning to bake bread, and working out more. Hopefully i can accomplish all of those and more.

My goals for this blog are to keep a record of my progress. I will try to post one new recipe a week and review one book that I have read each month as well as just general information about my life.