Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 77
February 12, 2023
Sunday Confessions #186
Hello Sunday!
The family has been a little sick, but I think we are finally getting over it. Ugh!
It was a good weak on the blog. Lets recap.
Sunday Confessions #185~
Weekly Menu #493 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore~Movie Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever~Book Review: The Art of Quiet Influence by Jocelyn Davis
Weekly Menu #494 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Waxing on: The Karate Kid and Me by Ralph Macchio~Book Review: If I did it: Confessions of the Killer by O.J. Simpson~Sunday Confessions #187
I'm up to season 4 of Chicago Med. I'm still frustrated with the high and mighty morals of the cast, but I still love watching medical shows.
11/100 2023 Reading Challenge~49/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~57/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~56/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
I'm glad that everyone in the house is on the mend and I'm read for some more books.
February 10, 2023
Book Review: The Art of Quiet Influence by Jocelyn Davis
Title: The Art of Quiet Influence
By: Jocelyn Davis
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 256
Release Date: May 7th, 2019
Publisher: Nicholas Brealey
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads:"A tremendous and relevant read!" -Stephen M. R. Covey, New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust Drawing on the enduring wisdom of the Buddha, Confucius, Rumi, Gandhi and others, The Art of Quiet Influence shows anyone, not just bosses, how to use influence without authority, a key mindfulness principle, to get things done at work and in life. Through the classic wisdom of 12 Eastern sages, relevant insights from influence research, and anecdotes and advice from 25 contemporary experts, Davis lays out a path for becoming a "mainspring," the unobtrusive yet powerful influencer first introduced in her book The Greats on Leadership.
Organized around three core influence practices: Invite Participation, Share Power, and Aid Progress, readers will learn how to take mindfulness practice "out of the gym and onto the field," while gaining the confidence and practical know-how to be influential in whatever role they occupy.
It was sooo dry.
There was a lot of good information inside the pages, but nothing I hadn't heard before.
February 9, 2023
Movie Review: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Title: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Release Date: November 11th, 2022
My Rating: ★★★★☆
IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
Cast: , ,
Watch On: Disney+
Summary from IMDB: The people of Wakanda fight to protect their home from intervening world powers as they mourn the death of King T'Challa.
Review:Finally, I was able to watch Wakanda Forever. I've been waiting for to see how this movie was going to playout for a while now.
With the passing of Chadwick Boseman, there was the question of who would or could play the new Black Panther, or even if they should pass on the mantel at all. There was a lot of debate, but I'm actually happy with how this one turned out.
The movie starts off with the death of King T'Challa. Although they never say what the cause of death was, I think how the scene played out was more for Boseman. It was touching and heartwarming. I had tears in my eyes.
The rest of the movie was action packed and full of emotion. Shuri is struggling with her brother's death and how she wasn't able to save him. There is also a new contender on the horizon, one that can take down Wakanda and destroy the rest of the world.
There is a lot going on in this movie. The introduction of new characters good and bad, and a new storyline put into motion. The one thing that I can't get over is some of the costumes are ridiculous looking. Okoye's costume.... She looks like she has a squid on her head. If this is my only gripe, I can deal with it.
All in all, this was a great movie.
February 8, 2023
Book Review: Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore
Title: Winter, White and Wicked
By: Shannon Dittemore
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 384
Release Date: October 13th, 2020
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads:Winter doesn't like the smuggler who's come to Whistlestop. She doesn't trust him, doesn't want me to take this job.
Twice-orphaned Sylvi has chipped out a niche for herself on Layce, an island cursed by eternal winter. Alone in her truck, she takes comfort in two things: the solitude of the roads and the favor of Winter, an icy spirit who has protected her since she was a child.
Sylvi likes the road, where no one asks who her parents were or what she thinks of the rebels in the north. But when her best friend, Lenore, runs off with the rebels, Sylvi must make a haul too late in the season for a smuggler she wouldn’t normally work with, the infamous Mars Dresden. Alongside his team—Hyla, a giant warrior woman, and Kyn, a boy with skin like stone—Sylvi will do whatever it takes to save her friend.
But when the time comes, she’ll have to choose: safety, anonymity, and the favor of Winter—or the future of the island that she calls home.
The reason I picked up this book was the promise of a badass Mad Max vibe in a frozen tundra, but the problem with a frosty wasteland that never ends is the colorless world you get stuck in. There was little world building or much of anything that could be described and the characters seemed to be on the longest journey ever.
As for the storyline, its was interesting enough, but with the slow uneventful pacing what did it matter.
I guess the hype around this book was a farce and I'm left disappointed.
February 6, 2023
Weekly Menu #493 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Monday!Well, another week gone and we are officially in February. Although nothing extraordinary happened at school with the boys this week, it was still chaos... you know, the normal stuff.
This week I'm going to finish up The Last Jedi by Michael Reaves. I'm 77% of the way through so it shouldn't take me long. I know I said I was going to start in on Ulysses by James Joyce last week, but instead I chose to plow through If I Did It by O.J. Simpson. If that wasn't a confession, I don't know what is. I think The New One by Evie Green might also be on the menu this week. We shall see how productive I am this week.
Lets get to this weeks menu, shall we? FYI, I've had to add a second kids recipe due to my youngest's eversion to everything I make. Latesly he has been eating nothing but bread and applesauce... Ugh... Enjoy!
Monday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla/Nachos
Tuesday
Kids - Chicken Noodle Soup/Chicken Nuggets
Wednesday
Kids - Chicken Nugget Mashed Potato Bowls/Fries Bowl
Thursday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla/Nachos
Friday
Sausage and Veggie Couscous Bowls
Kids - Mac and Cheese/Cheese and Breadsticks
Saturday
Kids - Chicken Ramen/Fries and Cheese
Sunday
Family Dinner
February 5, 2023
Sunday Confessions #185
Hello Sunday!
I really need my kids to get on the same schedule as the rest of the world. This whole staying up all night and then sleeping through the day, is just not working. Any suggestions on how to keep pre-teens on the right track?
Lets recap this week and see what's been going on between the sleeping issues.
Sunday Confessions #184~
Weekly Menu #492 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu~
January 2023 Wrap Up~Book Review: Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller
Weekly Menu #493 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Winter, White and Wicked by Shannon Dittemore~Book Review: The Art of Quiet Influence by Jocelyn Davis~Sunday Confessions #186
Currently catching up on the latest season of Worst cooks in America only because they make me feel like a 5 Michelin Star chief. Also watched All the Bright Places movie on Netflix and yes I was crying at the end.
8/100 2023 Reading Challenge~48/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~57/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~56/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
It has been a good week on the blog. Here's to another wonderful week to come!
February 3, 2023
Book Review: Prince of Song & Sea by Linsey Miller
Title: Prince of Song & Sea
By: Linsey Miller
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 352
Release Date: October 4th, 2022
Publisher: Disney Press
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:For fans of Twisted Tales and Villains is a brand new YA series that retells the classic Disney stories you thought you knew from the Disney Princes' perspectives.
Before Prince Eric’s mother, the Queen of Vellona, went missing two years ago, she reminded him about the details of the deadly curse that has plagued his entire life. The curse? If he were to kiss someone other than his true love, he would die. With a neighboring kingdom looking for any excuse to invade their shores, and rumors of ghost pirates lurking the seas, Eric is desperate for any information that may help him break his enchantment and bring stability to Vellona. The answers he has been searching for come to him in the form of a letter left from his mother that reveals Eric must find his true love, the one with a voice pure of heart,or kill the sea witch responsible for cursing him in the first place.
Now Eric is on a quest to find the Isle of Serein, the witch's legendary home. But after he is rescued by a mysterious young woman with a mesmerizing singing voice, Eric’s heart becomes torn. Does he enter a battle he is almost certain he cannot win or chase a love that might not even exist? And when a shipwrecked young woman with flaming red hair and a smile that could calm the seven seas enters his life, Eric may discover that true love isn’t something that can be decided by magic.
There is a lot of buzz around this book. Good thing and bad, but if you go into it with an open mind, the story itself comes shining through.
I was never a little mermaid kind of girl when I was younger. As an adult however, I often find myself wondering what the other character's stories were. What were they thinking? Where did they come from? We don't always have the answers to these questions, but in this story, there is far more for my mind to chew on.
All in all, an entertaining read.
February 2, 2023
January 2023 Wrap Up
Well, January is over and we are knee deep in 2023 now.
I wanted to say this year started off slow and easy, but it has been nothing short of a roller coaster over here at the hovel. The kids are keeping me on my toes with doctor appointment after doctor appointment. Not easy ones either. It took an hour to convince my middle son to get his vaccine that he needed to be able to stay in school. Not to mention his heart scare. All is good there though.
Within all the chaos, I managed to read 8 books last month. Not my best work, but still respectable. Lets recap.
It Ends with UsColleen Hoover
Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.Read my review here
This book was super dry and I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Stopped at 30%.
8/100 2023 Reading Challenge~48/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~57/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~56/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge
I'm looking forward to seeing what February brings. Hopefully is a quieter month. Happy reading!
February 1, 2023
Book Review: We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
Title: We Were Dreamers
By: Simu Liu
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 320
Release Date: May 17th, 2022
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:Marvel's newest recruit shares his own inspiring and unexpected origin story, from China to the bright lights of Hollywood. An immigrant who battles everything from parental expectations to cultural stereotypes, Simu Liu struggles to forge a path for himself, rising from the ashes of a failed accounting career (yes, you read that right) to become Shang-Chi.
Our story begins in the city of Harbin, where Simu's parents have left him in the care of his grandparents while they seek to build a future for themselves in Canada. One day, a mysterious stranger shows up at the door; it's Simu's father, who whisks him away from the only home he had ever known and to the land of opportunity and maple syrup.
Life in the new world, however, is not all that it was cracked up to be; Simu's new guardians lack the gentle touch of his grandparents, resulting in harsh words and hurt feelings. His parents, on the other hand, find their new son emotionally distant and difficult to relate to - although they are related by blood, they are separated by culture, language, and values.
As Simu grows up, he plays the part of the pious son well; he gets A's, crushes national math competitions, and makes his parents proud. But as time goes on, he grows increasingly disillusioned with the expectations placed on his shoulders, and finds it harder and harder to keep up the charade.
Barely a year out of college, his life hits rock bottom when he is laid off from his first job as an accountant. Unemployed, riddled with shame and with nothing left to lose, Simu finds an ad on Craigslist that will send him on a wildly unexpected journey, into the mysterious world of show business.
Through a swath of rejections and comical mishaps, it is ultimately Simu's determination to carve out a path for himself that leads him to not only succeed as an actor, but also open the door to reconciling with his parents. After all, the courage to pursue his ambitions at all costs is something that he inherited from his parents, who themselves defied impossible odds in order to come to Canada.
We Were Dreamers is more than a celebrity memoir - it's a story about growing up between cultures, finding your family, and becoming the master of your own extraordinary circumstance.
I had never heard of Simu Liu before his roll in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings, but this actor was perfect for that roll. He also had one hell of an upbringing. Born to Chines immigrant parents, Liu didn't always fit in, and his parents expectations were outrageous and unobtainable.
The way Liu opens up about the harsh parenting he went through and his poverty stricken childhood really hit me hard. We all have those things from our childhood that we wish was different, but never really realize that others are going through the same thing, or worse. I enjoyed the candor.
Although at times this Liu's story was hard to read, I enjoyed looking into the life he made and how he overcame and made a name for himself. This was a great read.
January 30, 2023
Weekly Menu #492 And The Book Of The Week
Hello Sunday!This month is almost over and it has been a hell of a ride. So many doctors appointment and school meetings, just for middle son alone. Good news though, his heart is fine. His cardiologist didn't find any abnormalities and chalked his fainting up to sever fever and just being plain skinny. That kid needs to eat a sandwich.
For this weeks read I'm finishing up All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven before moving on to Star Wars The Last Jedi by Michael Reaves as I continue my journey through the Star Wars universe. I think reading Ulysses by James Joyce might be on the menu as well... Or at least starting it since that is a thick read.
Lets get to this weeks menu. There are a few new recipes I'm excited to try. Enjoy!
WEEKLY MENU
Monday
Persian Style Herb and Beef Stew
Kids - Chicken Ramen
Tuesday
Moroccan Chicken Couscous Bowls
Kids - Mac and Cheese
Wednesday
Kids - Fritos and Cheese
Thursday
Kids - Cheese Pizza
Friday
Kids - Chicken Noodle Soup
(this is going to be a big ask)
Saturday
Kids - Cheese Quesadilla
Sunday
Leftovers Night
