Wednesday, July 10, 2013

What We're Reading + 5 Faves

(1)
Trader Joe's Orange Chicken

My dear friend Mary Kate brought us 12,000 meals the other day.  Or so it seemed.  Included in her truck load of yumminess were delectable treats from my long lost buddy Trader Joe's, to whom I bid adieu when we left California lo those three years ago.  Trader Joe's, how I've missed you!

Have you tried their frozen orange chicken?


It is SO easy to make- pop it into the oven for a few minutes, poor heated sauce over the top.  Done.  Even my husband, who probably ought to have been a professional chef and can barely choke down most pre-packaged food (except for Funyuns.  Don't mess with a man and his funyuns) said "This is REALLY good!"

So yeah, it's good.

(2)


I've been using it for five months and still lovey lovey love it.
not an accurate depiction of current blog owner or climate






It comes in tons of colors.  I use it as a camera bag and a diaper bag (you can see how that works right here) and feel super snazzy every time I leave the house with it.


(3)

Have y'all seen this game?  Obsessed.  It is SO fun.  I love it, my 11 and 12 year old girls love it, and even my 5 year old boy says "Ooooh, time to harvest the crops.  Can I harvest?"  It starts off slow, so give yourself a bit to figure out all the awesomeness.  Man.  It is so good!

(4)
no t.v.

I think this one deserves an entire post of its own.  Because we've never had anything against television (still don't!) and we've always had one and everything has been fine.  But somehow it got out of hand and a certain 3 and 5 year old sibling group had taken to fighting like fools over what they were going to watch and for how long and in finally dad made good on his threat, unplugged the entire thing, and walked it out of the room.

Guess what?  It. has. been. AWESOME.  They still use the computer and help play Hay Day and otherwise have "screen time" so there's something else.  I don't know what.  I'll tell you all about it if you're interested, but if you're not just know- it is doable and it is great.

(5)
C.S. Lewis

Is this a joke, dweej?  Not this time!  No sir.  I'm mentioning him because I reeeeeaaaaaally want to be a person that reads books again, like I used to be back in my pre-kid days, but I guess I just need motivation. Enter Jessica, madame Housewifespice and her What We're Reading Wednesday link-up.

I'm a total cheater for even hopping in on this right now because I haven't actually read these books yet (for shame!) but they are on their way...


This is Lewis' Space Trilogy, which, like I said, I've never read.  Tommy assures me they are super good and rates them as some of the best books he's read in his life.  That is saying something, folks.

Okay, so Imma link with Hallie's Five Favorites and Jessica's WWRW and y'all are gonna forgive me and my cheatin' ways.  You're so generous!


Five Favorites, hosted at MoxieWife.com


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26 comments :

  1. The C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy is like vegetables, they're good for you and some people like them, people like grown-ups. I liked one of them a lot less than the others, but that probably goes for any trilogy (Can you say Two Towers needed an editor?).

    BTW, ALDI has a Funyuns Knock Off! My kids are obsessed.

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  2. Oh my gosh, Perelandra is definitely on my top 3 list of best books I've read in my life. Actually, it might be #1...You will love it. You will like Out of the Silent Planet, and the last one, well, it only confused me, so take what you will.

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    1. Totally agree with you, Jenny! I *love* Perelandra. I thought Out of the Silent Planet was great, but it took me a long time, and several re-reads of the first chapters, to get get into it. And the third one has some great quotes and concepts, but it is somewhat bizarre.

      Great choice for books to read though. =)

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  3. I agree regarding the Space Trilogy: amazing books! Like science fiction Narnia :)

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  4. Oh, man, make me drool all over my keyboard, will you? Dang, you're so cruel! We are all terrible and lazy cooks here, and there is no Trader Joe's within 90 miles. (I think the nearest one is 83 miles away.) ::sigh::

    Tommy may feel free to have his own literary taste. (Aren't I generous?) I greatly prefer the Narnia books to the SF trilogy. Like by a factor of about a thousand. Soooooo if you like the Narnia books, just keep this in mind as a possibility.

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  5. Glad you (and Sir Tommy!) liked the Orange Chicken! It's a crowd pleaser around here.

    I had no idea about Lewis' space trilogy! Very cool! Gonna check it out!

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  6. If you haven't read it, I l-o-v-e Lewis' Till We Have Faces. I've been meaning to reread it, it was a high school assignment. It's a goodie.

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    1. Totally second the "Till We Have Faces" recommendation. SO GOOD. I tried to read book 1 in the space trilogy, but just couldn't get into it.

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  7. I love the Space Trilogy! Also, the one TV in our house broke over two weeks ago and it has actually been fantastic! No plans to replace it any time soon.

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  8. You are in for a real treat with the Space Trilogy!! I would rate them as among the best books I've ever read as well. (Don't be fooled by those covers ... my parents have those editions and it always cracked me up because they have NOTHING to do with the plot of the books. Too weird!)

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  9. We just got rid if cable two weeks ago. Best decision we have made in a long time.

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  10. I need to try that chicken...I know a TJ's trip is coming up for me soon...also, you will LOVE the Space Trilogy. Seriously, some of the best books ever written. Especially with Perelandra, I recommend not stopping...just read it through!

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  11. Pleeeeeeeze tell more about your no TV adventures! I've threatened to pull the plug a gazillion times, but now The Hubs is on the bandwagon and we're thinking Hulu for ours upstairs because I can't live without my Duck Dynasty. Judge away.

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  12. My friend and I just compared notes last week about the embarrassing amount of time we've spent on our respective phone games. I won't be picking up Hay Day for fear of another addiction because you know I would totally go there.

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  13. love the lewi trilogy and we have had no tv since december and our lives are changed!!!!!!!!

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  14. I'm counting down the days til Trader Joe's is HERE!!! In my town!!!!! Do you know how many exclamation points that merits????

    I would LOVE for you to write on the tv thing. We don't do t.v for the kids at all except for the occasional movie or Jeopardy episode (nerd alert). We love it and I am so so glad we've done that. Would love to hear your take.

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  15. I'm re-reading the Space Triology right now too! I'm a little ways into Perelandra. Read it--it is GREAT!

    Also, we've not had a tv for about a decade (even before kids); I really don't miss it, actually. We do watch things on the computer, obvs, but for the most part, our kids don't have screen time at home (although I've been letting the middles watch Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood on amazon the last week just to have some sanity in my afternoon, plus a little rush of nostalgia...)

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  16. How odd that the trilogy popped up in today's post when I was quite literally recommending it to a girlfriend just yesterday?

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  17. Love his space trilogy. I have read them all a couple of times, and a couple of years ago, I read the first two with my oldest ones. The third book is a bit more mature, and my oldest tried to read it to himself this summer (he is 16) and couldn't get into it, although he loved the other two.

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  18. Never heard of the C.S. Lewis space trilogy, but I'm sure I would like it, so to my PaperbackSwap wish list it goes!

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  19. Trader Joe's Orange Chicken! YUM! We're actually having it for dinner tonight :)

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  20. We unplugged the TV after my husband and I had DVR through cable. We had such a backlog and were staying up until 2 or 3am. We realized we were actually neglecting out kid at times to watch it. How crazy??!! Anyway, my husband was very resistant because he was going to lose all his sports. I told him we had to try. We have never gone back. He now listens to games on the radio or has the sound up on the computer if it is really important to him and you know what, instead on sitting doing nothing, he is able to listen, and he does things like fold and put away laundry or the dishes. The kids talking or asking him for things doesn't get on our nerves. The radio/computer are in the main section of the house, so all he needs to do is turn up the volume. As for me, due to my work schedule I just wait extra time and rent the seasons from the library. It forces me to really think about if I actually like the show or just want my time filled. I have been getting so much more done now too. Also, when it is on DVD, I can use my portable player and put it wherever I am in the house, so I am a mini-me when compared to my husband.

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  21. Hi Dwija! After baby #4, I decided my diaper bag was ugly and useless and messy and so was my purse, so I bought a cute purse that doubled as a d.b., and I've carried it ever since. Love the yellow! I featured your WIWS pic on my 5 favorites post, because I showed the boys your pic and it made them so happy to see you healthy and that the baby is doing well (they are prayer warriors for you!).

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  22. I was just thinking about these books the other day. I loved them. We've started the Narnia series over here in book form and on CD. Such fun. Glad you're getting back into reading. I am trying to go back to pleasure reading too. It's hard but so rewarding. Good luck, Dwija! Love you!

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  23. You know what's even better than TJ Orange Chicken? Their Sweet & Sour chicken. Well, it's better because it uses all white meat, and sometimes the orange chicken meat can be a little too dark or chewy for my likin'. Anyway, MK is a GREAT friend :)

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  24. So I hope this isn't totally weird, but I'm passing on the Super Sweet Blogging award to you. Seriously, no pressure to "do" anything with it, LOL. I know I'm a rather infrequent commenter, but you're one of my faves :). And, more importantly, you and your family continue to be in my prayers. (http://frankacademy.blogspot.com/2013/07/super-sweet-blogging-award.html)

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