Jack Daniel's Cookbook

I love cookbooks and when I heard that this one was coming out, I was eager to see it. Having spent some time in the South near Tennessee (military tour), I remembered so many of those great tasting meals I enjoyed at friend's homes. But to be honest, growing up a California girl, I wasn't very familiar with Southern style cooking.


Now I've got a way to learn how to make hush- puppies (something completely new to me until I was stationed out there), pickled eggs, Farmhouse country fried steak, old-fashioned cold slaw, and many others. I was very excited to see a recipe for banana pancakes as I've been introduced to from the Jack Johnson song. Now I can actually make them.  


Just recently released, I have a beautiful cookbook with great tasting recipes to complete. From the makers of Jack Daniels comes a cookbook with all the right Southern tasting recipes. While some recipes contain Jack Daniels, there are many that do not. 


Many recipes contain stories about that recipe or something related to it. For example, a lady named Mary Ruth Hall who hosted a Boarding House back in 1949 created a recipe called Spaghetti and Beef Casserole. It goes into more detail. Very interesting.  


With this cookbook, you are guaranteed to not be disappointed. Not only that but this book is filled with amazing photographs too. If you like Tennessee style cooking, then you will be sure to enjoy this brand new cookbook.


Thank you Thomas Nelson Book Publishers for a chance to review this book.

500 Miles in 2010

So my goal for this year has officially been decided. However, I don't think I ever filled anyone in on it. I plan to walk 500 miles in 2010. So far, I'm up to 17 miles. I haven't walked today though so it should be more. Please keep me encouraged to finish my goal.

And to celebrate a new year with my new goal, here's a song for you!

I'm gonna be 500 miles - the Proclaimers
Uploaded by mokaneko. - See the latest featured music videos.

My Bucket List

Being 28 years old, I feel as though I have accomplished a lot already in my lifetime. But I still have a Bucket List of things I'd like to complete before I die. Dr.Seuss once said, "Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed (98 3/4% guaranteed.)"


Do you have a list? I'd like to see it. You can email it to me. If not, it might be good to make one so you can have some goals for your life.


Here is my Bucket List:

• Visit Ireland. See all the McCabe family spots.
• Travel in an R.V. for one year to see the U.S.
• Separate from the R.V. trip, I'd like to have visited all 50 states in my lifetime.
• Have one more baby. If it's a girl, perhaps name her Lorelei Belle. I'd call her Rory. If it was a boy, he might be Max or Luke. 
• Visit a Renaissance fair.
• Walk/Run 1000 miles in one year.
• Have two miniature Yorkies named King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. 
• Walk a marathon.
• Take horseback riding lessons.
• Ride in a hot air balloon.
• Visit the Northern Lights
• See the Eiffel Tower in Paris with Mikey.
• Visit the Van Gogh museum in Holland.
• See a Broadway show in NYC.
• Watch Fantasmic from Walt Disney's old apartment (the seats on the balcony). 
• Go swimming in the Great Salt Lake, Utah.
• Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY.
• Have lots of great grandkids, possibly great, great grandkids.
• Have a room in our house someday that is a library, filled with books and comfy chairs.
• Finish the scrapbooks for the kid's baby albums and pregnancy albums. Only completed Hunter's so far.
• Read 52 books in one year, one book a week.
• Read through the Chronicles of Narnia with all the kids.
• My hope is that I have raised strong, independent children who live to serve God in all  that they do. I would feel at peace if they have accepted Christ in to their lives and that they live for him daily. This also applies to all family members and friends.

Well, this is just a glimpse of my bucket list for now. I'll have to write  more later.

The Silent Gift

Dating back to the Depression Era, the authors Michael Landon Jr. (Little House of the Prairie) and Cindy Kelley write about the troubling times of a young boy who has a disability of not being able to hear. This sweet boy, Jack, is deaf and lives with his lonely mother, Mary, during a trying time. While the world is suffering from a huge financial breakdown, this young boy and his mother must make due with what they have- each other. Then comes "The Gift." This gift is a talent that the young boy possesses of being able to use numbers in correlation to Bible verses and then Jack knows what the future holds, almost like a fortune teller. Once this gift has been discovered, he and his mother meet trouble with others who want to take advantage of his gift. Everything begins to get tough for this family and they have to figure out how to pull their way through. With the country's financial situation as it is right now and since many people are not able to make ends meet, this book couldn't have come at a better time. It gives hope to others. Generally, I enjoy books from this time period (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) and I really like the Love Comes Softly movie (and book) series which were directed by Michael Landon Jr. This book follows along in the similar styles of these other books and movies. If you enjoy any of these other series, you are bound to enjoy this book. *** I reviewed this book for free from Bethany House Publishers.