What the mailman brought

Oh yesssss, my pretties! I have been looking forward to this book ever since I read the first in the series. Love me some Elizabeth Hoyt. And I've been intrigued by Mickey O'Connor since his dastardly appearances in the previous books. What is it about those amoral pirates? Again with the bad boy intrigue. hmm. I am really curious to see how the author redeems him because one gets the feeling that he's not had a pretty past nor a very upright moral code. Hoyt's writing has almost always "worked" for me, ever since the Raven Prince, so I trust her to weave the story and make me a believer.

Even though I want to dive in and devour this in one day, I am going to torture myself by saving it for later. Library books have to be read and returned. Right now I'm 50 pages into The Immortal Highlander, aka Adam Black's book. I seem to recall he was something of a naughty antagonist in some of the earlier books, but again, who doesn't love an anti-hero, right? Another bad boy! I'm sensing a trend.

And right on time...my spotify music queue (newest addiction!) starts playing Sexyback. lmao.

Once a year (or so) I post

Apparently!

So being as this is a new year, I guess was bound to start thinking about things I had neglected and nothing could be more neglected than this poor blog. I log in to find that, lo and behold, the last time I posted anything was on this same date. Just, um...two damn years ago. lol.

Rather than get all guilty and make resolutions that I can't and won't stick to, I guess I'm just going to use this space as an occasional free-flowing online journal rather than a review site. I still read a lot but I don't have a big book buying budget and tend to get stuff from the library, paperbackswap, and snag any free kindle deals that look worth the effort. So I can't really comment on the latest hot trends, but whatevs. Books are books and I like reading them. Since I have to write a fair bit now in my "real" life (moar grad school!), I can't promise actual reviews or any coherence. It makes it too much like work and ergo procrastination ensues.

Anyways, on the book front....I spent the last week going through the entire Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. Yay library! And yay on waiting to read a series in which each book ended in a cliffhanger. Going through the story in one go was definitely entertaining. I don't think it would been nearly as much fun dragged out. That said, it was a pretty good story, albeit a little repetitive. I can see why there are those who are pro/anti Barrons. Mark me in as a pro-Barrons. What can I say? I like them growly, taciturn, and assholish sometimes. Probably it's the fantasy that the hard-shell guy can and will be saved by the love of a good woman, and all that. I read the first four books within two days and then listened to the last one (Shadowfever) on audiobook. All 20-odd hours of it. Sometimes I dig (narrator) Phil Gigante and sometimes he's a little over-the-top for my tastes, but I have to say that his Barrons definitely worked for me. Yum!

Another holiday library find was Nalini Singh's Kiss of Snow. Which was totally yummy even if the will-they-or-won't-they sexual tension between Hawke and Sienna was dragged out just a wee bit tooooo long. This is a series that I had written off after the first book but have since come around on. Having spent the entire series waiting for Hawke's story, it was delicious when it finally arrived. No regrets here. In fact, I may have to reread it before returning it.

Speaking of the library, I just got an email that they have some of the Moning highlander books waiting for me to pick up. Cuz there is nothing like glomming a backlist once you get going on a series. Going to head over right now and snag them.

So that's what's up chez sula for the moment. Stay tuned or don't. I'm hoping to not wait another two years to post again. :)

back in the habit

Good morning and happy new week in the new year! I have to go back to work today after having a good 10 days off. le sigh. But it will be good to get back into the swing of things, I suppose.

In the meantime, please take a little trip out to DIK island where Carrie Lofty is visiting for the next three days. Today, she's talking about the exotic pleasures of Spain. I must admit, it is refreshing to see an author use a location and time period that we don't often see and I am looking forward to her new release. A monk in medieval Spain as a hero...yes, I'm all over that. :)

It was a very good year

2009 was a busy, eventful and life-changing year over here at chez sula. For starters, the location of "chez" (which literally means at the home of). It was one year ago today that DH and I finished moving all our stuff from the house I was sharing with messy college students into a cozy, historic apartment smack in the old town. We rang in the new year by spending our first night here. And how lovely it has been. Not just to have one's own place, but the location, the architecture, the windows and sunlight, everything. A great way to start 2009.


In April, I led a group of students, faculty and staff from our university on a one-week trip to Mali. Not only was it a great experience to be able to share the country I love with others, but I also got to re-connect with friends back there and visit DH's family. AND get back to speed on my language skillz (which apparently may go dormant but are not lost...happily).


The first half of the year also saw both DH and I busily working on our respective degree programs. It's important to note that in DH's country, there is only one university. When he attended classes there back in the early part of the 2000s, a series of strikes resulted in the entire academic year being canceled. So he ended up working and doing other things and wasn't able to go back and finish his degree. When we got the chance to come to the States and study, it was an unforeseen opportunity. He slogged through three years of classes in not his second, but his THIRD language, was often the oldest student in his courses, and worked a part-time on-campus job to boot. So when he walked across the stage at commencement in May and received his bachelor's degree (the first person in his family to do so) I was bursting-at-the-seams-proud. :)

Right after graduation, there was another trip out of the country for me...I was in Taiwan for about 10 days for my work. It was special in that I got to spend time with a colleague and friend who is from there and being with her gave me lots of insider scoops that I wouldn't have had otherwise. (Did I mention the all-u-can-eat sushi bar for under $10????) heh. But I missed my fiance and it was nice to come home again.

After two long years of part-time evening classes with no breaks for summer, I too got a chance to walk across the stage in August and receive my MBA. (Come to think of it, I guess I'm the first person in my family to get a graduate degree.) It was nice to finish the program, and I barely had time to catch my breath before my 30th birthday. Yet another mile-stone of sorts. heh.

Then it was full speed ahead to the biggest milestone of our lives...our wedding! Thankfully, I had a couple of very talented and giving friends who basically planned, coordinated, decorated and shepherded me through the whole process. The ceremony was held in the backyard of our good friends. The mountains and fields served as a cathedral unmatched in beauty. With a classic English garden at on end, guests were seated in four sections creating a circle which surrounded the ceremony site. Our families began the processional and walked in pairs to their seats in front of the garden. To the strains of a single violin, the wedding party processed through the garden paths and met one another in the center of the ceremony circle. During a moving interfaith ceremony led by our two ministers (husband and wife), we took our vows and exchanged rings. A djembe drum ensemble led the celebration as we left the circle as husband and wife.

Our reception was held under the trees in an open buffet style. Among the dishes served were roast lamb, plantains and a special African rice dish. After toasts by the best man and matron of honor, we enjoyed musical selections by a small gamelan orchestra, an instrument native to Indonesia (my childhood home). We cut the cake and then had our first dance to a song by a musician from DH's home country. Guests joined in the dance and much fun and laughter was had. Before the sun set, we changed into our best traditional African clothing and finished the evening by spending time talking with our friends and family.

As if that weren't enough for an eventful 2009, DH found a great job (in this economy no less) and started work shortly after our wedding. I began taking Spanish classes and applied to another graduate program for spring (hey, gotta keep busy). Then last week, we traveled down to Louisiana to spend Christmas with my parents and meet my mom's side of the family. I hadn't seen my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. since 2000...so it was quite fun to catch up with everyone and to introduce DH.

whew! Now that I look back on all that, I can sort of see why my blog has fallen by the wayside. Hopefully next year I can get back to reading more books and writing more entries. So that was 2009. This is a year I don't think I'll ever forget. Now onward to 2010!

Happy New Year to everyone who takes the time to stop by this little corner of the interwebs. :)

all snowed up

Didja hear about that blizzard that blanketed the east coast/mid atlantic this weekend? Well, we managed to get smack in the middle of it. Snow began to fall around 9pm Friday night. By Saturday morning, we were under almost a foot and it continued to come down steadily until nightfall. All told, I think we ended up buried under almost two feet of the stuff. Very pretty. But a total mess to clean up. ack!



In other news, I made a batch of lisabea's famous buckeyes to be part of a party spread, and they were a big hit. nom nom nom. And now I'm going to go eat one of the leftover ones because it feels lonely. heh.

And then I'm off to knit whilst curled up in the armchair. It's that kind of day. I hope you are all safe and warm!

hobbies

I've always liked to cook. Ever since my first lesson at age 6 when my dad taught me how to make scrambled eggs, I've been invigorated by the mystery of cuisine. When we lived in the jungle village of my childhood, there were no stores. No roads or cars (or even bikes). Everything we ate either came from the earth or was flown in on a supply run once every few months. So my coming of age included making everything from scratch. Including bread. Yummy delicious, warm fresh bread. mmmm. I fell out of the habit when I lived in my shared housing situation of the past few years, but now that DH and I have our own place, I find that I'm curious about picking back up and perfecting my craft. Besides, it gives me something productive to do now that my MBA classes are over.

Here is a French country loaf I made on Sunday to bring to a luncheon. It turned out pretty, but I need to work on the dough because it was fine-grained and more suited to sandwiches. Needs more of those big air holes and crusty goodness. Still...



The other day I decided to be more creative with my left-over pumpkin puree from T-day, so I found this recipe for a Ginger Pumpkin Braid and gave it a whirl. Let me just say, it was a huge hit when I brought a loaf to work yesterday. And I think I have an idea of what to make as Christmas gifts for people this year. heh.


So that's what I've been doing with my spare time. That and reading an AWESOME book which I hope to post about later this week. Cheers and greetings to all and happy hump day!

festivities

So long, farewell, dear holiday week of relaxation and fun. It was nice to know you. heh.

We had a great time here at chez sula. DH's cousin flew in on Tuesday afternoon to spend T-day with us. He is the only member of DH's family who was able to come to our wedding, and it was great to see him again. Since he lives in the States and not in Africa, he's able to come over here from time to time. We celebrated DH's birthday that evening with homemade pizza and homemade cheesecake (thank you KitchenAid stand mixer!). I decided it was high time we had a GPS unit, so that's what I gave DH as a present. Big success. oh yes, good decision on my part. He loves it. (and so do I, heh).

We spent T-day dinner down the street at a friend's house. I brought some of the food items, she supplied the turkey and other dishes. Some other students from DH's home country also came as well as the mother of one of them (she's visiting this week). So we had a roomful of Africans and a couple Americans and much food and fun was had by all.

After stuffing ourselves silly, we grooved to Michael Jackson tunes and attempted the gingersnap pumpkin pecan pie that I had made (note to self, tinker with pumpkin filling a bit next time around...did not set up well.)

While this all seems like a good time, it got even better the next day. No, we didn't brave the Black Friday hordes. We celebrated Tabaski (otherwise known as Eid Al Adha), the biggest Muslim holiday of the year in DH's country...essentially equivalent in importance as Christmas is here. Back in Africa, one would have purchased a sheep a few weeks ago and kept it in the courtyard to feed and fatten. On the big day, it will be sacrificed and loads of roast meat will be given to the poor and of course, eaten by everyone in the family. Then people visit their friends and family and wish them well, giving them lots of blessings and benedictions for the year to come. Basically, the point is to eat a lot of roast meat and hang out with friends. Which is exactly what we did. Not that we got to kill our own sheep, but we did buy a load of lamb chops and ten pounds of beef from Costco. After marinating and grilling, we gathered and partied African style for several hours. Everyone was speaking Bambara (DH's native language) with some French and a bit of English here and there to help out our Sierra Leonnian friend who is Anglophone...it was like being back in Africa. Good times! :)

Saturday morning saw us up at 5am to bring DH's cousin back to the airport. Our new GPS system proved it's worth as we used it to find another location in the Northern VA/DC metro area after dropping him off. I could get used to this little thing! It was nice to have a weekend to recover from the holidays. I actually don't feel too bad about going back to work this morning. Rather, I feel pretty refreshed and ready to hit it full steam to push through till Christmas.

Hope everyone had an equally festive week and best wishes to you all. In Malian style, here are some Tabaski blessings to send you out...

Aw sambe sambe!
Fa tigiala!
Ba tigiala!
Denw tigiala!
Ala ka san were yiran na!