Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 169

Sunday Confessions # 19

Happy Sunday. I love this part of the week. Not only is it my lazy day, but its also the day that I recap everything that has happened on the blog this week. Its fun to see what I've been up to and what's to come. I also love to hear what you've been up to and share things that I find on other people's blogs. Leave me a comment below, so I can stop by your blog.

Sunday Confessions # 18~Weekly Menu #326 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Whip Smart by Melissa Febos~Book Review: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Weekly Menu #327 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Wildfire Carrie Mac~Book Review: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaures by Steve Brusatte~Sunday Confessions # 20



All of these books look amazing and I can't wait to read them.

I can't wait to hear from you all. Leave me a comment below and let me know what you are reading this week. 

Book Review: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Title: Dealing with DragonsBy: Patricia C. WredeGenre: FantasyPages: 212Release Date: November 1st, 2002Publisher: HMH Books for Young ReadersRating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads: Cimorene is everything a princess is not supposed to be: headstrong, tomboyish, smart - and bored. So bored that she runs away to live with a dragon - and finds the family and excitement she's been looking for.
Add on Goodreads

Review: I read this book as a child and loved it. Reading this story again was a nice reminder of a simple dragon story with lovable characters. The main character is strong and puts the dragons in their place. I can't wait to read the next book, and to remind myself of my childhood.

Book Review: Whip Smart by Melissa Febos

Title: Whip Smart
By: Melissa FebosGenre: BiographyPages: 289Release Date:  July 19th, 2011Publisher: St. Martin's GriffinRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:  A dark, wild, powerful memoir about a young woman's transformation from college student to professional dominatrix
While a college student at The New School, Melissa Febos spent four years working as a dominatrix in a midtown dungeon. In poetic, nuanced prose she charts how unchecked risk-taking eventually gave way to a course of self-destruction. But as she recounts crossing over the very boundaries that she set for her own safety, she never plays the victim. In fact, the glory of this memoir is Melissa's ability to illuminate the strange and powerful truths that she learned as she found her way out of a hell of her own making. Rest assured; the reader will emerge from the journey more or less unscathed.
Add on Goodreads

Review: Steamy. What an interesting look inside the world of whips and domination. I love how the author uses humor to make a dark subject light and relatable. Not that I'm into whips, but I think everyone woman can relate to the need to find who you are.

There were some steamy parts, but I didn't feel like it was too much to read. It didn't make me too dirty, but gave me just enough grit.

Weekly Menu #326 And The Book Of The Week

Hey Monday! It's back and you know what that means. Another week of delicious food and the book of the week. I hope you've been doing a lot of reading. I've definitely slowed down, but still on track to read about 200 books this year.

This weeks book is The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan. It's one of the last books in my Goodreads best of 2018 challenge. I'm coming down to the wire, so got to finish it. I only have two books left so I think I'll be fine. Already half way through this one, so you have some catching up to do.

Lets get to this weeks menu. Enjoy!

Monday- Crispy Southwestern Chicken Cutlets
Tuesday- Parmesan-Crusted Chicken
Wednesday- Pork Carnitas Tacos
Thursday- Mozzarella-Stuffed Little Italy Burgers
Friday- Beef Ramen Stir Fry
Soup Saturday- Crack Chicken Noodle Soup
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions # 18

Hello, and welcome back to my confessions. Its finally Sunday, family day, and its my turn to host family dinner. I'm not sure what I'm going to make, but I have all day to figure it out. I'll probably pick a recipe from the last few weeks that was delicious and easy to make. Any suggestions?

Sunday Confessions # 17~Weekly Menu #325 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Shaft~Book Review: The Finest Hour by Michael J. Tougias

Weekly Menu #326 And The Book Of The Week~ Book Review: Whip Smart by Melissa Febos~Book Review: Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede~Sunday Confessions # 19



All of these books sound amazing and I can't wait to dive into them.

Wildfire is a wonderful book to read if you are needing a book set in Washington. I just finished this book and will review as soon as I can. Stay tuned. ~I'm up to 12 books in my read around the country challenge.

Its been a wonderful week. I finally got back into the reading groove and am excited to read the new books I obtained this week. Happy reading!

Book Review: The Finest Hour by Michael J. Tougias

Title: The Finest HoursBy: Michael J TougiasGenre: Historical nonfictionPages: 197Release Date: May 19th, 2009Publisher: Scribner Book CompanyRating: ☆☆☆☆☆ DNF
Summary from Goodreads: In the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor'easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril.
In the early hours of Monday, February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, found themselves in the same horrifying predicament. Built with "dirty steel," and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly at the Atlantic's mercy.

The Finest Hours is the gripping, true story of the valiant attempt to rescue the souls huddling inside the broken halves of the two ships. Coast Guard cutters raced to the aid of those on the Fort Mercer, and when it became apparent that the halves of the Pendleton were in danger of capsizing, the Guard sent out two thirty-six-foot lifeboats as well. These wooden boats, manned by only four seamen, were dwarfed by the enormous seventy-foot seas. As the tiny rescue vessels set out from the coast of Cape Cod, the men aboard were all fully aware that they were embarking on what could easily become a suicide mission.

The spellbinding tale is overflowing with breathtaking scenes that sear themselves into the mind's eye, as boats capsize, bows and sterns crash into one another, and men hurl themselves into the raging sea in their terrifying battle for survival.

Not all of the eighty-four men caught at sea in the midst of that brutal storm survived, but considering the odds, it's a miracle--and a testament to their bravery--that any came home to tell their tales at all.
Add on Goodreads

Review: This was more of a history lesson about the area and the people and not much actual story. I lost interest pretty quickly. If you want to know about the events in the book, I would recommend watching the movie. 

Movie Review: Shaft

Title: ShaftGenre: ActionRelease Date: June 14th, 2019My Rating: ★★★★☆IMDB Rating: 6.4/10Cast:  Summary from IMDB: JJ Shaft, a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, enlists his family's help to uncover the truth behind his best friend's untimely death.
IMDB Trailer
Review: I've never watched the previous shaft movies, but this one was entertaining. There was action and humor. A love story intertwined. It was just enough and didn't overwhelm the story with froufrou kissy kissy crap. A good movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

Weekly Menu #325 And The Book Of The Week

It's Monday again. I have to say, I only read one book last week and it was a short one. What happened?!?! I guess time got away from me.

This weeks book is Abandon by Blake Crouch. One of my book clubs is diving into this one and it looked interesting. What are you reading this week? Leave me a comment below.

Let's get to the menu. Enjoy!

Monday- Tomato-y Tortellini Soup 
Tuesday- Cheesy Smothered Mushroom Chicken
Wednesday- Balsamic Tomato Parmesan Risotto
Thursday- Ribeye and Roasted Garlic Pan Sauce
Friday- Portobello Burger 
Saturday- BBQ Chicken Tacos
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions # 17

Hello Sunday, missed you. I threw my back out last Sunday. Couldn't do anything without the breath being knocked out of me. It hurt so bad. Pain under my right shoulder blade. My wonderful husband took care of me. Doing the laundry and dishes and taking care of the boys. Turns out, the very next day when I was feeling better, my husband threw his back out and I was the one to take care of him. Now, we are both semi ok and resting like the old people we are.
Lets get on with this weeks confessions, shall we?

Sunday Confessions # 16~Weekly Menu #324 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Novice Dragoneer by E.E. Knight~October 2019 Wrap Up

Weekly Menu #325 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Shaft~Book Review: The Finest Hour by Michael J. Tougias ~Sunday Confessions # 18


Saw a review for this one around the blogosphere. Took me a while to get my hands on a copy, but I'm excited to dive into its pages.

Its been a wonderful week and my back is well on its way to mending. Hopefully soon, I can get back to my workout routine and feel better. Happy Sunday!

October 2019 Wrap Up

OMG! So many good books this month. I've been watching the new releases coming out and they look epic. I can't wait for some of them. While I wait, I guess I will just keep plugging away at my back log of books. Here is October's wrap up. Enjoy!


Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate - Memphis, Tennessee, 1939
Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family's Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge, until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents. But they quickly realize the dark truth...Aiken, South Carolina, present dayBorn into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family's long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America's most notorious real-life scandals, in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country, Before We Were Yours is a riveting, wrenching and ultimately uplifting tale.









I really wanted to like these two books because I loved the movies and the stories are so incredible, but the writing was so bland and boring, I couldn't make it through. 

I read some really great books last month. I can't complain. Lets see what November has to offer.