The Host

I read Stephenie Meyer's book 'The Host' about four years ago. I'm not someone who enjoys reading. I have a very small attention span and end up reading through 2 pages and having to go back and re-read them again since I didn't pay attention. I also must have been one of the only people to not know who Stephenie Meyer was at the time of reading the book. 
In order for a book to keep me interested enough to read all the way through, it needs to be exciting and easy to picture in my imagination. In my life I have read a total of 6 books all the way through. So, I guess that says a lot about how many books can really keep my attention. 
When beginning 'The Host' I had the same expectations as I do with all books. I'll finish one chapter, then it will sit on my bookcase unread for the rest of time. Fortunately and surprisingly that did not happen. It so happened that once I was done the first chapter I couldn't put the book down. When I was reading the book the pictures came so easily and my imagination ran wild. Once finished, as with all 6 books that I had finished, I felt accomplished. Such a wonderful feeling to finish a book, and yet also so depressing that it is over. 
Last year they announced there was to be a movie about the book 'The Host'. I was so excited. Only 2 of the 6 books I had read had ever made it to a movie, and they did not disappoint. There are many reasons why it's exciting to see a book you've finished make it to the movie screen. I enjoy it cause I get to see first if it's true to the story, and second if my imagination did me justice. 

I've been to see the film and loved it. I feel they may have made it more 'P.G' and younger than needed, but they were true to the story. Better yet, my imagination was very close. I did feel like the caves were slightly more smaller and darker than in the movie. I don't feel the trailer did the movie any justice whatsoever. Were I to have not read the book, I most likely wouldn't have thought to see it. Personally however I was very disappointed with who they got to play Wanda in the last few scenes. I have watched the actress grow through 'Lemoney Snicket', 'Suckerpunch' and 'Sleeping Beauty', through which she looked beautiful. She did not look beautiful at all in 'The Host'. I was disgusted looking at the choice of actress as I see Wanda as a gentle beauty. 

I would highly suggest reading the book before seeing the movie, as you get a deeper emotional connection. I loved the book and the movie, and will be purchasing the movie once it's out. :)

Mother's Day Countdown Week 8

Mother's Day Countdown Week 7

Finding your perfect Venue

For me and my husband the perfect venue can be the first one you visit. Unfortunately for a lot of couples the options are so endless that it can be a little overwhelming. 

When I was preparing to visit venues I did my research online. Most venues have extensive information about their facilities online and researching your favorite venues online will cut down your physical searching time for sure. 

There are many types of brides out there, but for me I am the "over-organized" bride. I had documents and paperwork for even the smallest thing. I thought, you can only do this once so do it right! The more I researched the venues, and watched wedding shows online, the more I realized that some of my questions haven't been answered. And boy did I have questions!
SO, I prepared myself two venue checklist documents. 
I'm going to share these documents with you in hopes that they may help you to ease your questions for the venues, and possibly give you questions you didn't even think were necessary to ask! I'm also going to explain more in detail, why I decided to create these files for myself, and how they helped me to create my wedding. 

I created two versions of each file in case one doesn't work. (I have the old 2002 Microsoft Word, so I don't know if that matters)

Free Downloadable Wedding Venue Checklist

Venue Checklist #1 (word doc)
Venue Checklist #1 (PDF adobe reader)

Venue Checklist #2 (word doc)
Venue Checklist #2 (PDF adobe reader)
These documents are for personal use only. All rights to these documents are property of Sandra Carpenter, any unauthorized posting of these documents is illegal. Link back to this site if you wish to blog about this post or the free checklists.


If anyone uses these documents to go "venue shopping" please leave a comment or link your blog post about your experiences with these checklists. I'd love to hear about it. 


Elaborate explanation of the venue checklists:

1.
The first checklist deals with what's included in the venue and what you'll need to supply yourself.

It's surprising how different each venue, and package within a venue is when it comes to what's included. Some venues had packages that included a bride & groom suite, centerpieces, chair covers, candles, floral arrangements and even a D.J. For someone like me, these extra inclusions can be very helpful in completing your wedding dream. Knowing the items or services that are not provided can also help you plan further in what you will need to purchase yourself. For example, in our venue there was no dance floor when I arrived for the viewing. After asking about it, they told me it was included and that it was a snap together floor that is only put out when there is a wedding. 

2.
The second checklist deals with the handling of one specific venue in more detail. 

When I realized how many extra fees were to be included after you buy a package or even just a hall I was stunned. I wanted to make sure I knew where and what every single penny was going to and what it covered. For example, the damage and deposit fee. A deposit on a venue is mandatory and also one of the scariest deposits you can make. I asked the venue, "If you go up in flames before my wedding, and you are burnt to the ground what happens?" Can you believe that I wouldn't get my deposit back? Furthermore I would be out of a venue entirely. Of course, that was the very worst of 'what if's' and they did give me information on insurance from a different source. I was going to be my own D.J. But did you know there are still fees you need to pay for that? 

I wanted to have a lot of little extras in my wedding, but many venues have restrictions on many items! All the indoor venues in my city refused to allow confetti, silly string or rice. 
So the second checklist handles the little items that need to be addressed. 



These checklists are just guidelines on areas I found to be important to me. If you plan on using them, go over them before arriving so you know which items apply to your venue. 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Lean Ground Beef

I enjoy experimenting with recipes and ingredients, so I thought I would make some baked macaroni and cheese with ground beef my way, since I had all the ingredients I needed at home already. Reading from a recipe doesn't always satisfy my inner creativity. Unfortunately I had no garlic or garlic salt. Garlic spoils too quickly in my house, but I would've added an immense amount were I to have it. My husband and I enjoyed my experiment, but if you are someone who does not like the taste of "real" tomatoes, I suggest substituting the can of diced tomatoes for a can of spaghetti sauce. 

Ingredients: 

• 1lb lean ground beef
• 2 boxes of Kraft Dinner (I put the seasoning aside for a different day)
• 1 can of corn (341ml) 
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (796ml)
• 200g of Monterey Jack cheese (this is what we had in the house, if I had more I would've put more...lol)
• 2 medium onions (chopped)
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp chili powder
• bread crumbs (optional)

Add caption

Step 1: Brown the meat on medium heat and boil your water.

Step 2: While you are browning and boiling, chop your onions.

Step 3: Grate your cheese and put your noodles in the boiling water. Then cook them according to package. (normally 8 minutes)

Step 4: Turn off the heat, then drain your meat. Set aside. Drain noodles and set aside. 

Step 5: Place butter and onions in pot. Brown them. Once browned add tomatoes (don't drain), corn (drain), ground beef and all spices. 

Step 6: While your meat mixture is cooking, layer half the macaroni on bottom of tray. 

Step 7: After meat mixture has cooked for 5-8 minutes spread half evenly onto the macaroni.

Step 8: Layer cheese then thin layer of bread crumbs. 

Step 9: Repeat layering once more. (Macaroni, meat mixture, cheese and bread crumbs.) 

Then place in oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

And done! I enjoyed mine with some "Italiano blend seasoning" my husband enjoyed his with ketchup (EW).

Bunny in my backyard

This afternoon my wild bunny friend came to pay me a visit. 

It was only this past year that I have moved here, and the animal life here was vastly different. I was previously living in a more busier part of town on the top twelfth floor apartment building next to the airport. The only animals that would ever pay me any notice up there were pigeons that would always fly away even if you were bringing them food. 
A favorite past time of mine is sitting by a lake or in a park and feeding ducks, squirrels, chipmunks, and even seagulls. I haven't been duck feeding at my favorite park in about a year. I used to take my expired bread products and stale crackers to feed the animals. 
When I decided to move after the wedding, we tried to find a slightly bigger place. The only thing nice and in our price range at the time was 20 minutes away. This part of town is still in development, but I'm really liking how much quieter it is. I haven't seen a single pigeon. I do however have a bird feeder, and get to see chickadees and other birds that I don't know the correct names of. 

Bird in the Backyard, summer 2012. Collecting nesting items for the nest beside our place.

Birds aren't the only difference. We now have bunnies. I tried planting a garden, but I think I planted it too late in the summer for anything to actually grow. It was either that or I just don't have the green thumb. However the bunnies never seemed to steal any of the tomatoes or strawberries. 

Early in winter I was making a lot of chicken pot pies, (My husbands favorite) and I ended up having a lot of carrots left over. Now this may gross out some people, but I still have them in my fridge. I save the bag for the bunnies. It's weird, I would've thought the carrots would be mushy by now, but they are still very hard, just a little dried out. Whenever I see the bunnies pass by, I run into my kitchen grab the carrots and throw them a couple. Bunnies are just so cute to watch nibbling on food, the sounds they make are adorable. 

Bunny in the yard, flash camera, march 2012

Bunny eating a carrot, flash camera, march 2012

The view from my backyard.

The land in my backyard and just a bit out is undeveloped. That's where they live, make their homes and have their babies. Sadly, in the next year to 3 years the city will be tearing down the landscape, and ripping up the trees to make more stores and buildings. I just hope I won't lose my wild bunnies.