Devil's Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack

I love to read.  There's nothing more relaxing than getting lost in a good book.

  Lately I've been so busy that I hardly find time to read anything but emails, and sometimes not even those!  My latest read came to my mailbox through the Good Reads.  I recently discovered the First Reads section  of their site and it could be a dangerous thing!  Children could starve (mine), toilets could go unscrubbed for days on end (what else is new) and schedules interrupted (schedule? I had one of those...once.)

So I bring you....

Devil's Food Cake ~by Josi Kilpack

This is the third book in the Culinary Mystery series.  First was Lemon Tart, then came English Trifle, and now we have Devil's Food Cake.  It's really not surprising that this would be my favorite of the series because, you know, I love chocolate.

(from the back cover)

     It's been years since Thom Mortensen has been back to Garrison, Colorado.  As part of the committee that invited the bestselling author to speak at the library fundraiser, Sadie Hoffmiller wants everything to be perfect--right down to the homemade devil's food cake she baked herself.

     Murder was not on the menu.

     When Thom's manager ends up dead on stage, Sadie immediately offers her guidance and expertise to investigators.  But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice except to pursue justice on her own.

I have been saving this book to read on my jaunt to St. George.  I don't really like car trips and this book was a good distraction. It was also a great poolside read.  As I mentioned I've read each book in the series.  One of the coolest things about these books is that they are sprinkled with delicious, tried-and-true, homemade-tasty-goodness recipes.  I could also list this as a bad thing.  I may have gained a pound or two during this series.

The story line was easy to follow, and the characters were relatable.  I liked the plot, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was a twist or a turn.  At one point I actually gasped out loud (and had to check and make sure no one noticed the crazy lady in the lawn chair with the book).
It's a fun, light read that will keep you guessing until the very end!

This is us by the pool.  It's kind of hard to read AND watch a 5 & 7 year old in the pool, but I managed.  In between all of the "Hey Mom's" and the "Watch ME's" I really enjoyed this book!

The next book in the Culinary Mystery series will be Key Lime Pie. 

You can bet I'll be eating reading it as soon as it's released!!!

Legal Schmegal Disclaimer: I received one copy of the book to read and review. 

Other than that I received no additional compensation for my time or review.

Bounce a bounce a bounce.....

As an onlooker, I want to say, "Wow! Impressive!"

...As a mother, I don't even know WHAT to say.

(Click on the photo to appreciate it fully.)

I'm assuming the idea behind this stunt was to see how many consecutive bounces he could achieve

without falling off the yoga ball, breaking a bone or hurling himself through the TV.

(For the record, he just informed me that his record is 156 bounces. Sheesh!)

Blessed

This past weekend I made an executive decision. 

I decided to take the weekend off. 

Partly out of necessity, but mostly because I wanted to.

So I borrowed a baby...

And I did a little of this.

And a little of this.

And some of this.

And I didn't even look at my dirty kitchen.

Or the piles of laundry.

Or the un-vacuumed carpets.

And you know what?

One of the kids eventually cleaned the kitchen.

My husband did a whole lot of laundry.

Another kid vacuumed the family room.

I checked out and life went on. 

The world continued to turn on it's axis. 

The sun rose and set without my giving it a second thought. 

The internets kept on internetting. 

I could complain and say that I'm not needed. 

That everyone's just fine without me.

Instead,

I'm grateful.

Grateful for kids who know how to clean.

Grateful for a husband who knows how (and more importantly is willing) to do laundry.

Grateful for a nice home where I am warm and safe and cared for.

Grateful for sisters who bring dinner and lend babies.

Grateful for good books and 3G networks.

Some might say I'm a lucky girl.

I'm not lucky.

I'm blessed.

Speaking of blessed...that sweet baby is Haizyn May and she was blessed on Sunday. Isn't she cute?

Recap of the past 48hrs

It's been a rough couple of days around here.  They say that if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.  Well, mama (that would be me) has been ANYTHING but happy lately. 

I have a health issue that requires that I undergo a certain medical procedure every year or so.  I'll spare you the gory details because frankly, I wash my children's mouths out with soap for saying "potty words" and any detailed description of the last 48 hours is sure to be full of them.

Long story short, I usually manage to make it through the prep and the procedure without too much of a problem.  Actually the prep phase is always the worst and the day of the procedure is mostly a blur.   But hey, since it's my 6th time around this particular block, why not spice things up a bit?

The prep was pretty much how it always is, lengthy and torturous, but I didn't throw it up so that's a win!  Also, I didn't have trouble during the scope since I was out like a light.  Once I was in the recovery room, I actually woke up from anesthesia a lot quicker than I usually do.  I thought I was doing pretty welll.

We came home and I slept for about 4 hours, then Kevin brought me a jamba juice so I took some sips and went back to sleep for an hour.  This time when I woke up, I got up and went into the bathroom and from there into the kitchen.  I set my drink and some pills on the counter  and then all of the sudden I was REALLY tired.  So I put my elbows on the counter and layed my forehead on the nice cool countertop.

--That was the last thing I remember.--

Suddenly Kevin was yelling my name and everything was black except for a little circle with his face in it.  He caught me before I hit the ground and took me to the couch where I proceeded to hallucinate.  I was convinced that: My mouth was huge and my teeth were falling out.  My skin was covered in fur...on the INside.  Also, there was a whooshing sound in my ears and I just kept saying "something's wrong" over and over again. Only, I don't know if I was saying it out loud.

Once he decided that a return trip to the hospital was not necessary, Kevin grounded me to the couch and babysat me for the rest of the day.

Today I feel alot better but my hands are shaky and my head is still a little fuzzy.

I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but I'm thinking it was a reaction to the anesthetic (propofol & demerol) coupled with the fact that I was dehydrated from the prep.

All in all, it has been a pretty eventful couple a days.  Days that I don't want to repeat any time soon.  But I will have to. In 18 months (insert wailing, whining and gnashing of teeth).  Poor me.

The good news is, the Dr said everything looked good (I'm pretty sure that's a relative term considering where his camera was at) and there's no sign of anything cancerous.

For now...I'm just taking it easy.