Schedule Announcement and Book Covers.

Yes, I have to do one of these kind of posts every now and then. If you care to read the last {and first} one I did then look for it in the archives at the bottom right hand side of your screen under December {yes, it's waaaaay at the bottom}. Now, below is my current posting schedule though it of course doesn't guarantee that I actually post regularly because I'd run out of stuff to post about very quickly if I did that. ;)

Sunday: Interesting Scripture Passage/The-Scripture-That-The-Sermon-Was-Taken-From
Wednesday: Excerpt from current book or pictures from a recently {as in the last seven days} viewed movie or television show.
Saturday: Book Review or movie review if I haven't finished my current book.

Now, this is the new posting schedule that has been bouncing around in my head for the last week or so.

Sunday: Interesting Scripture Passage, etc.
Tuesday: Links to Neat Blog Posts I've read over the past week or whatever.
Wednesday: Excerpt from current book/movie or show pictures.
Thursday: Totally Random {from poetry to short stories to odd pieces of news to uh, well I haven't really decided what to post about on Thursdays honestly. Maybe music reviews}.
Friday: Movie or television show review.
Saturday: Book review.

So, what do you think?

There was something else I was gonna mention here {and it had nothing to do with the ridiculous soundtrack I'm listening to and wondering why on earth my siblings think its hilarious!}. Hmm....Well, if I remember it anytime soon then I'll just edit this post and add it in. ;) God bless!

Scratch that, I just remembered what it was! *slaps forehead* Okay, lately I've been reading all these modern publications and have noticed that all the covers are pretty decorative so in my book reviews from now on I'll be including the cover pictures. Now, if you're wondering why I haven't done so before, it's because until recently {as in the last six or eight months} I've only read hundred year old books {and those are still the best but I can't get free review copies of them :(} and it's rather difficult to find fancy covers for my beloved old books. ;) Anyway, just thought I'd mention that.

Excerpt from The Centurion's Wife.

Linux asked the question that had hung between them since Alban had emerged from the palace. "How was your audience with Pilate?"

"So intense I am still sorting through the fray." He grinned crookedly at his companion. "Like after a battle, just as you said."

Linux stirred the fire. "You know what is an officer's best friend in battle?"

"Cunning."

It was a good answer, but Linux flicked his head in disagreement. "Cunning alone can trap you. Get a soldier into a pinch and allow him a way to escape, cunning gives him reasons to turn from warrior to coward. And too often he'll fall into the trap his enemies have set."

Alban picked up one of the flatbreads and tossed it from hand to hand until it was cooled enough to eat. "What is it, then?"

"Cunning bonded to a secret rage. A good warrior lets the fury take hold only when the heat of war surrounds him. Then he lets loose, and cunning guides his aim." Linux inspected him gravely. "You have that rage, and you have that control, and you have that cunning. That is what I think Pilate found as well."

Alban rolled a slice of the meat and a bit of the dried fruit into his bread. He found himself silenced by Linux's observations. It was not often that a man read him as well as this one had.

The soldier continued to study him. "I for one wouldn't want to come up against you in a fight, centurion."
               ~ Excerpt from The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.

A Round of Interesting Blog Posts.

One of the things that has been simmering away at the back of my mind for a week or two now is the thought-provoking question of how many fun things can I do with my blog? What you are now reading is the result of all that back-burner thinking. May I introduce you to the new "weekly" post in which I shall provide links to any interesting posts I come across during the week at the blogs I follow {trust me, there are quite a few blogs I follow}. So fellow Bloggers, I wish you to know that even though I don't get online every day or comment on all your posts, I still read them. And if your post is particularly interesting or thought-provoking then it might end up in a post of my own. ;)

All right, first things first. Over at my dear friend Miss Hellwig's family blog, I found this humorous and very interesting post on plant sprays: http://hellwigfamily.blogspot.com/2011/05/natural-plant-sprays.html

Over at Lady Elenatintil's blog, I found this listed in her most popular posts thing and thought it hit several good points in a well written, well thought out manner:

http://elenatintil.blogspot.com/2011/03/x-men-on-screen-hits-and-misses-and.html

Over at Miss Herringshaw's blog which I recently found was this delightful book review that had originally attracted me to her little nock in this cyberspace blogging world: http://enjoyingthewritingcraft.blogspot.com/2011/05/praying-for-your-future-husband-by.html

Over at Bloom, I read this cool post that all young men and women should read: http://www.bloomthemagazine.com/2011/05/quotations-what-godly-guy-wants-in-wife.html

Over at The Rebelution blog, I read this post promoting a neat new book that is worth looking into:

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2011/05/uncompromising-by-hannah-farver/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rebelution+%28The+Rebelution%29

And, finally, over at Ruth's wonderful blog I found this awesome movie review:

http://booktalkandmore.blogspotthor.html

Happy reading folks! :D

The Tiphereth Trilogy Book Review.

Title: The Tiphereth Trilogy.

Author: Katie Hepner.

Genre: Christian, Allegory, Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Romance.

Plot: Aramoth, the orphaned son of Aroroth and Mayhiyel, is undergoing weapons training in the city of Thurwyn when it is attacked by Peerthigrin {savage creatures in the service of the enemy} and he is forced to relocate to the nearby city of Ewythrin with his tutor and guardian the Lady Gwynarae while Ynyth Tamam of the city of Banoch alerts the elderly king and urges union among the five cities of Basileia. The king is gravely ill and sent to Ewythrin to recover while the counsel is disbanded and Ynyth put in charge of selecting new members, but these new members refuse to unite and work together to save the kingdom from the approaching destruction. Meanwhile, Ewythrin is unexpectedly attacked and Aramoth and Gwynarae are forced to flee while an anxious Ynyth rushes to the city's relief and orders his men to defend it before coming to Aramoth and the wounded Gwynarae's aid. When the battle is over and the dust has settled, Ynyth and Gwynarae get married; Aramoth continues his training, befriends Iach who is a boy from Idyllin which was the city they fled to, and discovers the hitherto unknown fact that he has a sister named Aramiel.

Aramoth, Iach and Aramiel all first meet as young children but rapidly grow before our eyes into cheerful teenagers who obey their parents and learn new things nearly everyday. But, in the course of their everyday existence, the enemy forces gather and many battles are fought by the band of boys which Iach and Aramoth lead. Now Aramoth is the heir to the throne of Basileia and when the city of Banoch falls, Ynyth packs up his family {which includes Aramoth and Aramiel} and heads to the City of the King to inform Aramoth's grandfather of the news and once again urge union among the cities. A year later, the day before the armies are to march upon the enemy forces, the old king dies and Aramoth reluctantly assumes his rightful place as the king of Basileia at fourteen years old. He faces his first challenge when the Snozama, a large group of rebellious women who have traded spindles and cradles for swords and shields, arrive at the palace asking to fight alongside the men. When Aramoth refuses, they kidnap him and cart him off to the enemy's dark territory.

From Aramoth's capture and rescue to each battle he leads his men into, this epic trilogy will hold you on the edge of your seat till the final page is turned and the exciting conclusion is reached and the lessons learned by the characters have been summarized for our benefit. This is definitely a book you want to add to your summer reading list!

Likes/Dislikes: This book is the second by Miss Hepner and I look forward to future books by her for she certainly has a talent for spinning clever stories with sound lessons and good morals that today's society really needs to be reminded of. Now, as much as I enjoyed this book, there were a few very minor inconsistencies that kinda threw me: Aramoth's age kept changing which was natural but I don't remember nineteen plus four equalling twenty-four; and it would have been nice to have a little bit description, especially of the bad guy's forces because, when I read that the Peerthigrin have tails, I immediately pictured the lizard guys from At The Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs. ;) And when Iach is whipped, he most certainly would not be able to get up and walk to the City of the King as soon as he did so {plus his mother would definitely have stalled him on his way when she saw his bloody shirt} and he probably wouldn't have been up for smashing the Telos Zizanions when he arrived. ;) I very much enjoyed the wonderful description of the enemy: I have never read a better one in all the books I've read! And it was grand how all the loose ends were wrapped up at the end. Good job Miss Hepner! To purchase this book, check out Miss Hepner's blog: http://mariashiphrahdaltonpublications.blogspot.com/

Rating: G-10 and up for the reading level: highly recommended for family read-alouds.

Date Report Written: May 7th, 2011.

This book was provided free by the author; I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions expressed in the above review are my own.

A Call to Readers, Followers, and Book Lovers!

Hey folks! Could you pretty please take a minute of your valuable time and rank my reviews? Thanks so much!! :)

Sir Rowan and The Camerian Conquest:

http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/01/sir-rowan-and-camerian-conquest-book.html

Mine is the Night:

http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/03/mine-is-night-book-review.html

Here Burns My Candle:

http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/04/here-burns-my-candle-book-review.html

Do Hard Things:

http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/04/do-hard-things-book-review.html

Thanks so much!

100th Post and Recipe!

Guess what? This is my 100th post! Way cool; let's party!!! :D

Okay, that's enough. Now, seeing as how summer {ugh, not my favorite season!} is just around the corner, folks are gonna be out barbecuing more often and one of the more popular side-dishes for anything barbecued {aside from watermelon} is potato salad, I'm gonna give you the recipe for my famous potato salad! See, aren't I nice? ;)

What you will need:
12 to 16 good sized red potatoes. Brown potatoes will work too but they tend to fall apart during the cooking process. You can also vary the amount of spuds; my family is rather large and everyone has large appetites so. . . :)
3 to 6 hard boiled eggs.
1 tub of sour cream {trust me on this one}.
2 sticks of celery, minced {or at least chopped into small pieces}.
1/2 red onion, finely chopped.
1 large pickle or 6 small pickles {depending on how much you like pickles that is}.

Now, the above ingredients are the basics. The ingredients below are optional; actually, everything aside from the first three items are optional.

1 can of black or green olives.
12 to 24 pickled green olives {you know, those things sitting at the bottom of your martini glass?}
1 carrot, finely chopped.
1/3 to 1/2 cup of pickled peppers or fresh peppers {the equivalent of one half of a bell pepper}, chopped of course.
I suppose you could put mushrooms in it but I never have.
Some apple cider vinegar {I'll explain in a minute}.
Salt and black pepper.

Step 1: Gently scrub the potatoes; red potatoes have a thinner skin than brown potatoes so you don't need to peel them. Besides, the skin is the healthy part of the spud anyway. Tip: to eliminate any bitter flavors, scrub out or remove the eyes on the spuds. Place the clean potatoes in a pot of boiling water {add a dash of salt to the water before you stick the spuds in for flavor} and boil until a fork is easily inserted into the middle of the potato. Remove, drain, rinse under cold water and let cool while you get the eggs boiling.

Step 2: While the spuds cool and the eggs slowly boil {which they should do for about fifteen to twenty minutes or so}, get out a sharp chopping knife, a cutting board and a large bowl {like, very large!}. Chop up the celery, carrot and onion first; put these into the bowl and then pour a little of the vinegar over them. This is a trick I learned from my mom: the celery and other veggies will soak up the vinegar and when you eat them later, they'll be more flavorful. Okay, once those are in, chop up and add in the olives, peppers, pickles and such.

Step 3: The eggs should be finished boiling about now so drain and rinse them with cold water before you move onto the potatoes, which you will chop up and add to the vegetables. Peel the eggs {I advised rinsing them off once after you've gotten rid of the shells} and then either chop into small pieces or use one of those handy-dandy things that slice the eggs with wire. What are those things called anyway?? Well, when you've all the ingredients, sprinkle with salt and pepper then dump the entire tub of sour cream into the mix and thoroughly combine the ingredients. Add a dash of salt and pepper to your tastes and serve with the rest of the meal.

See, wasn't that easy? :) Typically takes two to three hours from start {scrubbing the spuds} to finish {adding in the sour cream}, and serves oh, ten people depending on how much you actually made. A sixteen-potato salad typically serves my family of seven for two days after the main meal it was made for. We often have leftovers for breakfast and lunch around my house. ;) Enjoy!!