# 22 - Make a new recipe - May

This is the easiest, most delicious thing I've ever had!  Justin requests it all of the time and the best part is that it can be ready in 15 minutes so it's an easy dessert after a long day.  I found the recipe while following Molly Mesnick (from The Bachelor) on Facebook.  She has it posted on her blog, Reality Through My Eyes. 

I'm not a fancy cook. I don't make anything from scratch or count calories.  I want recipes that are easy, yummy, and fast.  If it has more than 7 ingredients, I'm intimidated and looking for a new recipe.  If it has stuff I've never heard of, I'm probably not going to bother.  I'm sure it's a shame and I'm missing out on a lot of great recipes, but my days are so long and busy that I need recipes I understand and can make quickly.  I don't have the time (or patience) to be traipsing to every specialty store looking for an obscure ingredient, to be used in only one recipe. I love eating food but I don't revel in the cooking process.  That's just not me. Sorry, I just felt like I needed that disclaimer before people gawk that I use frozen biscuits and a strawberry shortcake recipe that only uses 5 ingredients :)

Get the recipe here.  Trust me, you should.

# 1 - Read 30 books - Once Upon a Time There Was You by Elizabeth Berg (book 10)

I read Elizabeth Berg's The Last Time I Saw You and really enjoyed it.  So I saw this book written by her and picked it up.  There were some surprises and I appreciate the way it ended but I didn't like it as much as I liked her other book.  There was a lot going on in the book and it seemed rushed sometimes.  I found several parts anticlimactic.  Still, the characters were well-developed and I started to identify with some of them, especially John. 

To summarize the plot, John and Irene are divorced and live in different states.  They have a daughter, Sadie, who primarily lives with Irene.  Something traumatic happens to Sadie and John flies out to the West Coast to be with Irene.  There are a lot of emotions and the dynamic between John and Irene is well constructed.  I guess it's usually true that even if you don't love someone anymore, you can come together and put differences aside when you have to.


I'll continue to read Elizabeth Berg's work.  This wasn't my favorite book but still an interesting concept.  Read more about it or buy it here.

# 1 - Read 30 books - Paris in Love by Eloisa James (book 9)

This book was mentioned at the end of "The Last Time I Saw You" so I decided to read.  It's a memoir about the author's year in Paris with her family.  Her and her husband are both university professors and were able to take sabbatical for a year.  They packed what they could and sold everything else.  They shipped themselves and their school aged children to Paris where she hoped they could slow down and get back to what mattered.

The book is mostly written in short paragraphs regarding her day and random thoughts.  A lot of it had to do with food and her children's adjustment to French schools.  I loved it.  I've never been to Paris and it had never really crossed my mind to visit.  But after reading this book, I think it would be fun and romantic and lovely to - I'll put it on my bucket list.

It's a quick and entertaining read.  I highly suggest you read it too.  Learn more or buy it here.

# 1 - Read 30 books - Pledged by Alexandra Robbins (book 8)

I "rushed" Gamma Phi Beta in the fall of 2000 at Eastern Washington University.  I was 5 hours from home and only knew a handful of people at Eastern.  I hadn't given joining a sorority much thought before I got to Eastern but decided it would be fun once I heard that Fall Rush was coming up a few days after I got there.  When I went there, Eastern was a fairly small campus, nothing compared to UW or WSU.  At the time, there were 4 sororities on campus.  I loved going through rush (now called recruitment) and thought very carefully about which house I wanted to be a part of.

On the last night of rush, I knew that Gamma Phi was the one for me.  The girls were sincere, close and welcoming and that was the kind of sisterhood I wanted.  There was a lot in the book I couldn't relate to because we didn't have a house that first year, and I left Eastern the year we did get one. 

The book tries to be unbiased but I don't think the author hid her skepticism for positive sorority life very well.  The author goes undercover at a school and works closely with women from various sororities on a campus in the south.  She records their stories and follows their lives in and out of the sorority house.  It was an interesting read, and there were a lot of parts that appalled me.  I'm not naive, I know that there houses that still haze and binge drink, despite national attention and scorn.  As someone goes through recruitment, listen to what others are saying about each house.  Each house gains a reputation on campus for a reason.  Align yourself with the girls you want to be associated with.  If a house makes you uncomfortable, say something to someone.  Gaining acceptance isn't worth it if it goes against your morals and values.

I'm glad I read the book, I've been meaning to for a while.  I had such an overwhelmingly positive sorority experience (and I still do, as I'm active in my alumnae chapter) that I can see the merit and lifelong benefits of joining a sorority.  When I moved to St. Louis and didn't know anyone, I reached out to my local alumnae chapter despite being away from Gamma Phi for 8 years.  They welcomed me and involved me and I love those women.  And I love that we all went to different schools in different parts of the country and yet are united in something we all believe in and cherish.  It's special to me.  I hate to hear that other women have traumatic, negative experiences with their sororities.  I don't regret going through the recruitment process because I found a house where I belong, and continue to belong and that will always be special to me.

Read more about the book or order it here.