November 2011 Round Up

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What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I've been chipping away at a book with all the doctor's appointments of late, but it's not done yet. I have started getting Southern Living and Good Housekeeping magazines (getting ready for the inevitable collage projects sure to come in school), and I read most of both of them this month. I mainly get them for the recipes! LOL

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
* TV Time: Pretty much the usual. Still watching The Next Iron Chef. Chuck, Rizzoli & Isles, The Closer, and Mythbusters are all up and running this month, in addition to the usual suspects.
* New Films: Catwoman (just as bad as everyone says, maybe even worse), Salt (eh, this was just okay), All the President's Men (truly excellent! highly recommended), Robin Hood (Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett; eh, this was just okay, not sure how a movie with so much going on could feel so slow), Twilight (not really understanding the fascination; maybe they get better? sure hope the books are better (have not read them)), Twilight: New Moon (well, somewhat better; semi-interesting concept if you leave out the high school drama/foolishness; officially Team Jacob, for what it's worth)
* Old Favorites: Tangled, Treasure Planet, Sneakers, Tron: Legacy, Stargate, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Last Starfighter, The Count of Monte Cristo, Batteries Not Included, Toy Story 2, Bolt, The Mummy, Toy Story, Up, The Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Movie, Dumbo

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Spent Thanksgiving with my family at my parents' house. Great feast, saw my brother for the first time since last Christmas, good visit with my grandfather, excellent leftovers.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
A DSLR! Dad finally upgraded to a new one, so he gave me his old one, including the nice flash with diffuser and the big zoom lens. Yay me! Thanks so much, Daddy!!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
DH had a one night tummy bug, but other than that, I think we stayed more or less well this month.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Played Canasta with the family over Thanksgiving. May have been a year since we did that. Dad trounced us so bad in a single hand that it took the rest of us 2-3 more hands to catch up.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Tried a new recipe called Hot Chicken Salad (my cooking blog write up and direct recipe link. It was along the same lines as the Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole from a few weeks ago, but different enough to make it worth trying. Turns out, it was extremely similar in taste to our family favorite Ritzy Chicken Casserole. The Hot Chicken Salad was quite good, and I really enjoyed the corn flake and almond topping, but in my opinion the Ritzy Chicken Casserole is easier to prepare, so I'll probably just stick with that one. Might revisit the Creamy Chicken and Rice casserole, though.

Not doing nearly as well on my cooking blog as I hoped. Just *so* busy with work right now. Here are all of the current posts to Clueless in the Kitchen (forgot to do this in October, so that's what these are):

• Ritzy Chicken Casserole (Family Favorite)
• Cheeseburger Pie (Family Favorite)
• Cocoa Brownies from Alton Brown

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Seems like there was something, but it's not coming to mind right now. Bought some Christmas gifts, but that's about it.

What were this month's disappointments or frustrations?
Work was frustrating, but for a good reason. (I know, that doesn't seem to make much sense.) I kept making mistakes, but at least I was catching the mistakes, or I knew they were mistakes I should not have made, which means maybe I'm starting to sort-of learn what I'm doing.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Made some progress on some of the "over time" 101 Things items, but I'm still failing miserably on some as well. If I don't hurry (like on the pantry/refrigerator, etc inventory items), I'll miss them completely. I did complete one item, though.

22. Find a barbecue sauce I like (bottled or homemade). We settled on Sweet Baby Ray's. DH's Aunt E has a better homemade recipe, but I haven't gotten it from her yet.



What were Luke's accomplishments this month?


Luke had a pretty good month. School seems to be going pretty well for him, the reading is still making slow progress. His report card shows all A's (and S's for non-letter grade items), so we can't really argue with that. He also received a trophy for the completion of fall soccer. Overall, it was a pretty quiet month (which was nice for a change, especially with December/Christmas coming up).

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Nope, that pretty much covers it.

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: rounded