MamaManagement

I'm baa-aack...with more tween reading reviews. Here are three more fun books for you and your tween/teen reader. Truly…don't think that just because these books are in the children's section at your local library means that they aren't for you. They are. They are lovely books. They are well written. They are enjoyable reads. And they will take you back to days gone by, when life seemed so complicated, but was, in fact, so simple. Take a trip with me. First to... The City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau This is the first in the currently oh-so-popular literary form: the trilogy…in this case it's the first book in the Book of Ember trilogy. I have not yet read books two and three, but book one was a fun read, and I will likely pick up book two eventually. The people of Ember have never known anything but the dark, structured world they live in. They don't know that the city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race two hundred years ago. What they ...

So, folks, I have a confession. I have been nitpicking my reflection in the bathroom mirror to a much greater degree lately than ever before. To my eyes...I look older. I look tired. I look fatter. I look paler. I have more wrinkles. My skin isn't as bright or as even as it used to be. My hair is duller and frizzier…the list goes on and on. Nothing seems up to snuff lately. Maybe it's the approaching 4…gulp…0. Maybe it's the recent move craziness. Maybe it's the last 5 years since kids entered the picture and I stopped focusing on myself. Whatever it is, I feel decidedly un -attractive. Decidedly un -sexy. And I've been wallowing, on the inside, in these feelings for quite a while. I look at pictures from my wedding and honeymoon just 6 short years ago and think, "What happened?" "I used to be so pretty." "Look how rested I look, how radiant." "Look at my skin! My hair!" Me, pre-wedding, no make-up, no hair did: lovel...

Okay, okay, I know…ANOTHER soup recipe. But you've got to ride this soup train with me because it is just so damn delicious! Seriously people, I am on a roll here. So try another soup with me and, I promise, I'll recommend some books or wax poetic about something not in my le creuset next week. Deal? Okay. So… Sweet Potato, Mushroom and Gouda Chowder. If you like mushrooms, this is heaven in a bowl! I kid you not. My husband, who is not a mushroom fan, liked this soup. I, who am a mushroom lover, drooled over it. (I am pretty sure I moaned while eating it.) Absolutely delicious. As good or better than anything of the like that I've had in great restaurant. Take a nice piece of crusty, fresh, bakery bread and dredge it through your bowl…oh. so. good. Bon appe-freakin'-tit, baby. (photo from ahintofhoney.com) Sweet Potato, Mushroom and Gouda Chowder   (adapted from ahintofhoney.com) 6 slices bacon, diced 1 medium sweet onion, diced 1 lb mushrooms, sliced (...