Month: September 2017

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The Magician’s Curse – A Book Review

Title: The Magician’s Curse
Author: Linda G. Hill
Series: The Great Dagmaru
Genre: Romance, Gothic Romance, Fantasy
Stars: *****
Goodreads
Amazon

When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesn’t expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom she’ll fall hopelessly in love.

Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows she’s the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Herman’s happily ever after, before it really begins?

Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magician’s Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.

My Review

If you’re a fan of fantasy, intrigue and gothic romance then this is the book for you. 

The chemistry between Stephen and Herman is enough to make your Kindle start to smoke. 

And with a well rounded, and intriguing in their own right, cast of secondary characters, not a page goes by without something to catch your imagination. 

I would have loved to see more of Stephens magic but with a second book around the corner to carry on Stephen and Hermans story, I’m sure we will have plenty of opportunity for more magic.

*I reviewed this book for #TBConFB 

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Got yogurt?

We did.

1.5L of Greek style yogurt.

Before it went bad I decided to look up a few recipes to use it up.

Two that stuck out were Snickerdoodle Cake and Frozen Yogurt Bark.

Both turned out delicious!

Print
Snickerdoodle Cake
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 


Course: Dessert
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 6 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup Greek style labour
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare 2 loaf pans.

  2. In a small bowl mix most of the cinnamon and 6 tablespoons of sugar together and set aside.

  3. In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder, salt and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside.

  4. In your electric mixer (or a large bowl), cream the butter, sugar and oil on medium speed for about 1 minute.

  5. Add the eggs and mix.

  6. Add the vanilla and yogurt and mix until just combined.

  7. Add in the flour mixture and stir by hand until just combined.

  8. Scoop a 6th of the batter into each loaf tin, sprinkle a thick layer of cinnamon sugar over the batter, repeat 2 more times, ending with a cinnamon sugar layer.

  9. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.

  10. Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from the tins.

  11. Serve warm with a little butter spread on.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from Betty Crocker

 

Print
Frozen Yogurt Bark
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 10 mins
 

Got some Greek style yogurt left over? This is a really quick and easy way to use it up.

Course: Dessert, Snack
Author: Gina
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Greek Style Yogurt
  • 2 tbsp honey You can add more or less depending on your taste
  • 1/2 cup fillings/toppings of your choice raisins, craisins, nuts, marshmallows, frozen berries, fresh fruit
  • 1/2 cup strawberry jam heated until runny
Instructions

  1. Mix the yogurt and the honey until well combined.

  2. Add in any fillings you want.

  3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or tin foil.

  4. Pour the yogurt onto the baking sheet. Thickness depends on you.

  5. Add desired toppings.

  6. Drizzle the strawberry jam over the top.

  7. Freeze for no less than 4 hours.

  8. Remove from freezer and break into pieces.

  9. Store in a sealed container in the freezer.

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Mindfulness

Yesterday, a friend gently reminded me that our words become our truth.

The more we say something, be it negative or positive, the more those words, that thought, becomes reality.

I was irritated with someone and I called them stupid. She reminded me that people make mistakes and that there can be miscommunication from both sides and that even though I was annoyed it didn’t make this person stupid. 

She was right. The more I called this person stupid, the more annoyed I got and the more inclined I was to view anything to do with them in a negative light.

The fact is this person is not stupid, they do not deserve to be thought of that way and I was not only doing them a disservice but myself as well. I am not generally a negative person. I tend to see the best in people but now I was only seeing the negative.

From now I will remember to take a moment, deal with the issue for what it is, and not let my thoughts and especially my words become negative and toxic.

 

My words are my truth and my truth is positivity.

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Live long and prosper.

About a year ago we adopted Spock.  Our first Israeli pet.

In retrospect we should have called him Flash. He is super fast, never sits still for a moment and eats everything in site.

He is also the sweetest little rodent ever. He never bites, unless you wake him up and is happy to climb on your hands and run around exploring.

This is how he likes to sleep, all smooshed in the corner with his nose in the air

Last Friday I noticed he had a lump at the top of his hind leg. It didn’t seem to be bothering him too much, he was still running on his wheel and eating and drinking, so I wasn’t too concerned about getting him to the vet until Sunday (by the time I noticed it all the vets were closed and they are not open on a Saturday so we had to wait).

On Sunday I asked a colleague to help me call the local vet who deals with rodents and make an appointment, except it turns out she is on maternity leave and her replacement doesn’t deal with rodents.

They referred us to two other vets, both of them quite far away for someone who doesn’t have a car. The one would require a taxi to get to and the other would require a 30 minute bus ride.

We called the one that was on a bus route and made an appointment for that night. Except then my bus didn’t arrive and I had to cancel the appointment and then it turns out the vet that deals with rodents only works one night a week and if I wanted to take Spock to them it would  have to be during the morning.

So the next morning we called the vet that needed a taxi to get to and they do deal with rodents just not with rodents that have lumps on their legs. 

So in the end I convinced Paul (who really doesn’t like rodents) to take him to the vet this morning.

Apparently the lump is something that older hamsters tend to get. Turns out that even though the pet store told us Spock was only a month old he was actually closer to a year old when we got him. The vet said that looking at his teeth, the loss of hair on his legs (they are almost bald) and the presence of the lump indicate he is closer to 2 years old now. And at two years old, she doesn’t recommend biopsy or an operation to remove the lump as long as he is not in pain.

While Paul had him at the vet they noticed his one eye was not open properly and they think there is an infection so they gave us drops to put in 4 times a day. I can see this being akin to bathing a cat.

So, in a nutshell, the hamster is OK and my husband is amazing for taking him to the vet for me (and for taking him back this Thursday for his follow up).

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Wooooosh!

That’s the sound of another year flying past us.

On 1st September Aaron and Faith started their new school year.

Aaron is now in Grade 4 and Faith is in Grade 2.

For Faith this means she is now part of the main school, she gets to play where ever the rest of the school plays. The Grade 1’s were restricted to their own playground that they shared with the Grade 0’s, so this is a big step for her.

It also means there is no more sandpit for her to play in which means no more sandpit coming home in her shoes and pockets. Yay for me!

She is also going to aftercare every day, where they will hopefully help her with homework since I am useless with most of it.

So far she is loving being in ‘big’ school.

Aaron, on the other hand, no longer has aftercare. He is now in Grade 4 so both the school aftercare and the private aftercare say he is big enough to look after himself in the afternoons. 

::puts head between knees, takes deep breaths::

My baby is almost 10 and is now coming home from school all on his own. Making himself something to eat. All on his own. Doing his homework. All on his own. Looking after himself until one of us gets home. All. On. His. OWN!

But I think this child will be just fine. No, I know he will. He is a smart, independent, compassionate boy.

Here’s just one of the reasons I think this child is awesome!

Yesterday when he went home, the downstairs neighbours dog was outside. He called me to ask what he should do. I told him to knock on the door and if no one answered to try open their garden gate or try pick her up and put her over the fence.

They were not home, he couldn’t open the gate and she was too heavy (and growly) for him to lift, so I told him to leave her, I was sure her humans would be home soon and its not the first time she has been out, she never strays far and waits near the door for them anyway.

He wouldn’t hear of it. Told me it was too hot and she couldn’t stay by herself. So he coaxed her into our place, gave her a bowl of water and she then proceeded to climb on my couch and lick and bite herself for an hour, leaving a big wet slobber patch and half her hair all over my couch.

But my sweet, kind hearted boy refused to leave her vulnerable. He makes my mama heart so proud.

Here’s to a new school year. May it be as awesome as my children are!