A Stolen Life

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard is a memoir about her years in captivity after having been kidnapped at age 11. She was kept from her family and childhood for 18 years. In that time, Jaycee was sexually abused and gave birth to two daughters fathered by her kidnapper, Phillip Garrido. He, along with his wife Nancy, kidnapped Jaycee and hid her in a strange secret backyard in tents and outbuildings.

Phillip had a drug problem and suffered from schizophrenia and other mental issues. He was also out on parole from another sexual crime in his past. A Stolen Life is Jaycee's recollection of her time there astounding. The Garridos were horrible people who created a terrible life for Jaycee giving her a false sense of love, as a child, and forcing her into many things she did not want to do.


A Stolen Life is an incredibly interesting memoir of Dugard's recollection of her life during those years. Though not particularly well-written, considering she had no formal education from 11 years old on, it's pretty impressive. A fast read, well worth your time.

Rating: * * * 1/2

Butt Bible

Guys. I have found the BEST workout for your posterior region. It's by Pauline Nordin and it's called the Butt Bible. If you have Time Warner, you can find it free on Exercise TV. If you don't have Time Warner Cable, you can purchase the DVD's here for $24.99.

But seriously. There are three levels of both upper and lower workouts. I prefer the lower but have also seen good results with the upper. My butt isn't really a problem area but who wouldn't want a perfectly round tush. Let me tell you, she will kick your butt for sure. Pauline is Swedish and no nonsense. I love it! There's nothing better than the soreness on the 2nd day after a good strength workout. Am I right, or just crazy?

These toning routines coupled with my new running efforts are really starting to pay off, I think. I'm not yet in a smaller pants size (the ultimate goal) but I definitely feel stronger and see more definition. I know the strength training is helping my running pace as well. Quads, hams, and glutes are large muscles that take a long time to tone. I constantly remind myself of that fact but it's hard.

If you're looking for a new strength routine, give this a shot. If you prefer cardio (like I do), you'll still work up a good sweat with this. You try not to sweat during 2 minutes of single leg weighted dead lifts. I dare you!

Pumpkin Beer, Part III

Did you think I was done trying any and every pumpkin beer I could get my hands on? I guess you don't know me very well.

Wolaver's Pumpkin Ale: This is an organic beer from Vermont. Unfortunately, we drank them all and I can't find any tasting notes online. Sad. However, this was probably my least favorite of all the beers I tried. The pumpkin flavor was too subtle for me. Pass on this next time.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale: I liked this one a lot. It was a bit pricier than the others but still worth it. From the bottle: "This 8.0% ABV pumpkin ale is the mother of all pumpkin ales. It is heartier, spicier, and more “caramelly” and “pumpkiny” than its faint brethren! We have added lots of pumpkin along with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and a touch of cardamom and clove giving this beer a spicy, full-bodied flavor. This truly is an Imperial Pumpkin Ale." The higher alcohol content means you should probably only have one lest you do something regrettable.

O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer: I saved the very best for last. This was my absolute favorite out of all of them I've tried this year. It was the best pumpkin taste hands down. From the bottle: "We added 136 pounds of real pumpkin to the three-barley mash and then season the finished beer with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves." I found this at Kroger, of all places. I discovered O'Fallon earlier this year with their summer wheat and I loved it. They have a Chocolate Cherry beer coming out soon that I also can't wait to try. But for now, this pumpkin beer is the Grand Champion!

Stay tuned for all those delicious, stomach-warming winter beers to come!

Recipe Re-blog #44

This week I'm crockin' it up again. When the temperatures drop lower and lower there's only one thing to do, turn on the crock pot!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff: Beef stroganoff is not my favorite meal. It's even in my top 10 favorite meals but I came across this recipe in my Betty Crocker Crockpot Cookbook (say that 5 times fast) and it sounded good. John is a fan so we gave it a shot. Crockin' on Sunday is my new favorite thing to do because the meals usually yield 3 dinners for us. I totally goofed when putting this together. The sour cream isn't supposed to be stirred in until after it's cooked 8 hours, along with the cream cheese. I wasn't paying attention and poured the sour cream in with the soups and seasonings at the beginning. I realized my mistake about 2 minutes later and was beside myself. It turned out okay in the end, luckily. Also, it calls for condensed Cream of Onion soup. Supposedly, Campbell's makes this but I couldn't find it in 3 stores. I used an onion soup packet and a little milkas a substitute. This one is a keeper for sure!

P.S. Only 8 more weeks of new recipes to try! I can't believe I almost made it to the end of 2011.

Hola Mexico!

For 4 nights in October, John and I vacationed at the Valentin Imperial Maya in Riviera Maya, Mexico (near Cancun). This was our first experience at an all-inclusive resort. After months of research and careful consideration, we selected the Valentin based on glowing reviews, cost, and the fact that it was adults only. I am obsessed with Trip Advisor. I don't book anything without checking it out on there first. I realize that you have to take the bad reviews with a grain of salt. Some of them knock perfectly good establishments for the littlest things. You'll quickly learn to ignore those reviews and focus on the better ones.

We arrived during a monsoon. A tropical system had settled over the Yucatan Peninsula a few days prior and though we contemplated cashing in the trip insurance and rescheduling, we went anyway and landed on, luckily, the last day of bad rain.

I got a little wet in the golf cart on the way to the room.

Upon check-in, we learned we were upgraded from a Deluxe Silver Suite to a Golden Swim-up room. Score!

This is the off-season for travel to Mexico so the resort was not at full capacity. I'm sure that's why we were upgraded. The room was spacious and as promised, had a pool right off the patio. The only rough part about being on the ground floor was the accessibility for bugs and other creepy crawlies (like geckos) who made their way into our room without invitation. The room had a stocked mini bar (also included), jetted tub, bidet (fancy!), and a separate seating area.

The resort boasts 11 restaurants including a breakfast and lunch buffet. The food was awesome, at times, and not so awesome at other times. We are pretty easy to please in the dining room but some of the dishes had no taste whatsoever. We found this incredibly odd. The guacamole, for instance, had zero taste. The best meal we had was at the French restaurant, L'Alsace. I was adventurous and ordered Chateau Briand. Delicieuse!

In the evening there was entertainment of the cheesy variety. The lip syncing was not so great, but the dancing was top notch. There was also a band in the main plaza that was very good. We sat and listened to them most nights. We also found the sports bar a great place to hang out at night. They had a variety of games on TV, you could always find a seat at the bar, and there were board games! We are board game people so this was very exciting.

During the day, when we had hoped to be soaking up the rays, clouds rolled in. Had it been a bit warmer, we could have enjoyed a large main pool with two swim up bars (plus very cold water) or of course, our own private pool. Finding a lounge chair was no problem but we tended to get there relatively early each day. We preferred the beach and its abundant palapas over the pool. The atmosphere was more relaxed and the ocean water was a touch warmer and much more pleasant. The cloudy skies, plus my 50 SPF, probably saved me from getting sunburned. But, they also prevented me from getting any color whatsoever.

There were many activities included for guests to partake in such as kayaking (which we did), bike riding (which we also did), zumba and fitness classes (that I could never get my act together to attend), Spanish lessons (conflicted with other activities) and more! We didn't plan any excursions but they were readily available as was a daily shuttle to Playa del Carmen, for those hoping to sample the local cuisine and shop!

The service could not have been better. All of the employees went out of their way to help you with a big smile. That was much appreciated. We tipped but never felt pressured to do so and felt badly when we didn't. They did just bring you a drink while you laid on your butt, right?

Sunrise on our last day



As a whole, we really enjoyed our first all-inclusive experience. I would return to the Valentin but probably not before trying some others just to compare. We still love cruising but the resort gives you a lot of bang for your buck! And, it was very nice not having a large bill upon check-out like you typically do on a cruise. Just turn in your keys and head back to reality!

No-Sew Jersey Vest

I bought this burn-out tonal zebra fabric a couple months ago with not much of an idea of its end result. It was $4.?? for just under a yard because I got the remnant price. Then I watched this YouTube video and decided to give it a try. She calls it a sleeveless cardigan but really, isn't that just a vest? Anyway, GiannyL has tons of video tutorials. I can't wait to try more of them. You can try them too even if you don't have a sewing machine. This one just requires scissors!

I laid out my slightly under a yard of fabric folded in half.

I measured my back, shoulder to shoulder (just under 16"). Then I marked 8 inches down and 8 inches over to see where I would cut the arm holes. Borrowing the lid to my cotton ball jar, I sliced around it with my rotary cutter (love that thing!)

You need a round object with at least 4 inches of diameter, I'd say. The arm holes will stretch out a bit, depending on your fabric.

And that's it! You don't need to finish the edges because stretch jersey won't unravel. I put it on over a black shirt and skinny jeans, that I'm unfortunately not looking so skinny in these days. :(

From the back

And with a belt

I put on the vest and John gave me the side eye. Admittedly, it did come down to my knees. "Do I look crazy?" I said. He didn't want to crush my dreams, I could tell, but he was having a lot of trouble coming up with something nice to say. I ended up folding it back in half and cutting about six inches off the ends to shorten it up.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I feel like it makes me look hippy. That's hippy as in "large hipped." According to the stores, the 70's are back. But, I can't help but remember a vest phase I already went through some time in the mid-90's. Yes, I was super cool. Though this is an updated, deconstructed vest, I'm having visions of a white waffleknit number I used to wear over a black turtleneck. I wore it to a 6th grade dance with earrings that looked like globes. I thought that was the most fashionable thing I had ever worn at the time.

The other day I told John I want to take more fashion risks. He looked frightened. I have a feeling he thinks his wife has gone off the deep end.

So, what do you think? Belted, unbelted, back in the scrap pile to be made into something else? You won't hurt my feelings, promise.

Smokin' Seventeen

This is the latest offering from Janet Evanovich in her Stephanie Plum mystery series. I waited on the hold list for MONTHS at the library for this one. So long, in fact, that her 18th both comes out in November. Guess I better put in my request for that one now.

Stephanie Plum is once again the target of a bad guy. Someone is leaving dead bodies, some even labeled for her, on the bail bonds office construction site. Also, an angry mobster and a former bondee would both like to see her six feet under and are trying their darnedest to put her their. On the relationship side of thing, Stephanie is having trouble choosing between Morelli and Ranger (What else is new?) and her mother keeps trying to set her up with a new guy who quickly becomes relentless. What is Plum to do?

This was just so-so for me. These books are pretty fluffy for the first half and then in the second half I get more into trying to figure out whodunnit. In this one, I figured it out really early on (which never happens) and so I kept hoping I would be proved wrong but it didn't happen. Evanovich has quite a formula for this series and they are all extremely similar, right down to phrasing and character descriptions. It only took me a couple hours to get through so I'm glad I read it but if I have to wait months for the next book, it wouldn't be the worst thing.

Rating: * 1/2

P.S. November 1st?! How did this happen?