Homemade Tagalongs!!!

If you're like me and love Girl Scout cookies, you probably agree that there is a certain degree of suckitude regarding the fact that they are only sold once a year! I cannot rectify that issue, sorry.

BUT. If you like tagalongs, you HAVE to make these bad boys. I'm telling you, they taste so much like them it's insane.

Being the kind and thoughtful person that I am, I made some for the girls at work last night and decided to take pictures and share the process with you all.

Did I mention that these things are so easy that I barely even need to give instructions?

The first thing you need to do is spread peanut butter between two Ritz crackers and stick them together like a sandwich. I know it's tempting to load up on the peanut butter, but resist the urge or you are going to have a big mess later. You don't have to be too skimpy with it though!

Then....melt some chocolate. Yum! What chocolate you use is up to you. I'm no connoisseur so I have been known to cheat and use chocolate almond bark because then I don't have to mess with paraffin. No one has ever been able to tell the difference so far...but you know how that goes. The chocoholics can always tell. Everyone has preferences. I use a double boiler to melt the chocolate.


After that you just put your crackers in, make sure they're coated with the chocolate, then transfer them to wax paper and leave them alone so the chocolate can set. When I've done all the crackers I want, I always find some other stuff to dip in the chocolate. Last night I did pretzels.

That's all there is. Easy right? The hardest thing about it is cleaning up the mess. :)

How I intend to, yet avoid, working out all week.

Procrastination: Putting off or delaying an action until a later time.

Ahh, exercise. I love working out. Nearly as much as I love cleaning my toilet. Still, I adhere to a strict schedule regarding exercise, as follows:

Sunday: This week I will work out. *nods head* Definitely. I will definitely work out this week.

Monday: Alright. I'm doing it. I just need to find the workout that is best for me. Spend an hour pinning amazing workouts to Motivation board on Pinterest. *checks time* Ok, well I didn't actually workout today, but I found a GREAT workout to start tomorrow.

Tuesday: Completely forget about working out. Remember at 9:15pm, while surfing twitter and drinking wine. Tomorrow is only Wednesday. It's not too late.

Wednesday: Drank too much wine last night. Surely it's not a good idea to work out when already dehydrated?

Thursday: See Tuesday.

Friday: Blog about how badly I screwed up this week. Feel like a lazy cow. Decide that it's silly to start on Friday. Fresh starts should always begin at the beginning of the week.

Saturday: Is always a free day. Everybody knows that.

Sunday: This week I will work out. *nods head* Definitely. I will definitely work out this week.

Why book characters aren't like us....

In book reviews, I often notice readers referring to characters as being easy or difficult to relate to. On the surface it seems like a valid point. But then I thought about it some more, and realized that the characters that I love the most, I can't relate to at all. A few examples: Rose from VA, Katniss from The Hunger Games. What makes them so fun to read are the things that make them extraordinary. That detail aside, sometimes I think that a different set of rules applies to people in books, even the non-fantasy ones, which is part of the reason they don't always translate into movies well. Here is my list of reasons why book characters aren't like us boring old real people.

* They are often impossibly beautiful. They usually have an eyecolor that defies human physics, like silver. Hair? Never is it dishwater blonde, or ordinary brown. It is raven black, stunning auburn, golden blonde. Often, the combination of the two is something unheard of in real life.

* They can read things in each other's eyes that a real person never could. For example, I can usually tell if someone is surprised, happy, angry, or about to cry from the look in their eyes. Book peeps can tell so much more: I lifted my head nervously and glanced into his eyes, flinching at what I saw reflected there: anger, betrayal, and despair swirled within, turning his silvery gaze to ice. (See above point on appearance.)  

* They can do stuff with their faces that we hardly ever can. He covered his feelings in a hurry, arranging his features into an insolent smirk and raising one eyebrow lazily. People, I don't know if you've ever tried to lift one eyebrow without lifting the other. It's freaking hard. When I try it I look like a moron. Sure, a few of you probably can, but somehow it is not only effortless for many male characters, they manage to look good while doing it.

*They figure out the most complex of mysteries, often with very little to go on, but they don't click on to the obvious clues and hints in relationships. A guy could be pissed off every time she speaks to another male and all but drool when she walks in the room, and she will still be completely startled when he professes his love for her.

* There is always something unique about them, whether they're smarter than everyone else, have a power no one else has, the last heir to the throne, the person prophesied to save the world, etc.

* They refer to each other by first name. When reading this, it doesn't seem so unnatural, but in comparison to reality it is. I could have a thirty minute conversation with my BFF and never say her name once. Why would I? Characters often say each other's names a couple times per convo, and always when they are angry or touched.

* They have names like Katniss.

While I'm complaining a little bit, I wouldn't really change any of these things because that's why it's fun to read. If the character had brown hair, brown eyes, was an average student who lived in the suburbs, and divided her time between working at McDonald's and helping out at home, she might not be the most interesting character in the book, although there are probably thousands of girls in the world just like her who are good-looking and fun.

So what about you guys? What things have you noticed about book peeps that are unlike us?

Beautiful...wonderful...LIBRARIES!!!

I love books. Love them. But even if you aren't a book lover, there is just something about the sight of shelf upon shelf of them, thousands of different textures, sizes, colors...all filled with knowledge and imagination. So when I was trying to think of what to post first on the new blog, I thought, what better than photos of some super duper homes for books? I doubt if I have even scratched the surface of all the awesome libraries in the world, but here are a few that caught my eye. Some of them may surprise you. :)

Strahov Theological Hall- Prague, Czech Republic

Beinecke Library- Yale University

Thomas Fisher Library- Toronto, Canada

Real Gabinete Portuges de Leitura- Rio De Janero, Brazil

Trinity College Library- Dublin, Ireland

Melk Abbey Library- Krems, Austria

British Museum Reading Room (I've actually visited this one!)

George Peabody Library- John Hopkins University

Salem Courthouse & Library

A.D. White Reading Room- Cornell University


The funniest ever library:

Kansas City Public Library


The world's smallest library:

Somerset, England Book Exchange


If you can't get to the books, the books will come to you!

Donkey Library- Colombia

Bookmobile- Japan


And because I couldn't resist. :)

Isn't it refreshing to know that in this age of e-readers and disappearing bookstores, books- real ones with paper pages- are still so prominent in the world?