Book 12 ...

On to another Jodi Picoult book, are you surprised?? Really? Haha, looking forward to reading this one, hopefully the weather will stay nice and I can read it outside in the sunshine!!

"Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural NH by her widowed father Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiancée, and her own Search and Rescue bloodhound — which she uses to find missing persons. But as she plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can’t recall. Vanishing Acts is a book about the very nature and power of memory. It explores what happens when the past we have been running from catches up to us, and questions who we trust to tell us the story of our lives before we are capable of remembering it ourselves."

Another new book ...

I finally finished Between Sisters. I have been so busy lately so it took me a reallllllly long time to read, but still a good book. I recently went on vacation so was able to start Memory Keepers Daughter, which was an amazing read. I highly recommend this book. I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and will put my review for the book under 50 books when I am finished. Hopefully I will be able to catch up with my reading so I can still get 50 books read by the end of 2010!

# 7 - Take a trip somewhere I have never been before...

I am sooo happy to be able to cross this off my list, I have been so excited to do it!! We just got back from a week in Cuba and it was absoloutley amazing! The resort was gorgeous, the beach was captivating, we went swimming with dolphins, the food and staff were great, and I came home with a nice tan!

Strawberry Swirl Cake

At work, we do a cake of the month to celebrate everyones birthdays that fall in that month. I signed up for March. I was thinking of doing something for St. Pattys day, but decided instead to do something a little nicer. I found this recipe on the Kraft website, and everyone loved it! Check out the recipe under the 25 new recipes tab.

Ingredients

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix

1 pkg. (4-serving size) Jell-O Strawberry Jelly Powder

2/3 cup sour cream

2/3 cup icing sugar

3 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries, divided

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease two (8- or 9-inch) round cake pans; set aside. Prepare cake batter as directed on package. Pour half of the batter into medium bowl. Add dry jelly powder; stir until well blended. Spoon half of the white batter and half of the pink batter, side by side, into each prepared pan.

SWIRL batters together using a teaspoon. (Do not overswirl, or the colour of the cake will be all pink and not pink and white marbled.) Bake 30 min. Cool 30 min. in pans. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

MIX sour cream and icing sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Place one of the cake layers on serving plate; spread top with 1 cup of the whipped topping mixture. Top with 1 cup of the strawberries. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread top and side of cake with remaining whipped topping mixture. Top with remaining 1/2 cup strawberries just before serving. Store leftover cake in refrigerator.

# 55 - take 3 photos in black & white and hang them somewhere in the house

Picture # 1 - Every time I take Jackson for a walk we pass this barn with horses, and every time I say that is would make such a pretty picture. So this is the first black and white photo I’ve taken for this goal. I decided to take the next 2 photos somewhere close to home as well.

You are loved...

Since I feel that I haven’t been doing much off the list since I’ve been busy, I decided to start this goal, as I can do it whenever and wherever I can! This is my very first ‘you are loved’ note that I have left. I stuck it to the insides of the locker I usually use when I am at the gym, we’ll see if it is still there next time I go… Hopefully it will make someone smile, I know it made me smile just putting it there.

Barbecued Pork Tenderloin

This turned out really well considering I put cilantro in instead of coriander by accident, and I really don’t like cilantro. Next time, with coriander, this will be amazing!!!

Ingredients

2 pork tenderloins

2 tsp cornstarch

1 green onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped corriander

Marinade

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 tbsp grainy mustard

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp worchestire sauce

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Marinade: In bowl, whisk together orange juice, tomato paste, mustard, garlic, chili powder, sugar, cumin, coriander, Worcestershire and salt. Add pork, turning to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 24 hours. Remove pork from marinade, letting excess drip back into bowl. Pour leftover marinade into sauce pan; set aside. Cook pork on greased grill, about 20 min. Meanwhile, bring reserved marinade and 3/4 cup water to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and let simmer until reduced to one cup. In small bowl, whisk cornstarch with 1 tbsp cold water; whisk into marinade in saucepan. Simmer until thickened. Keep warm. Put some of the marinade in the saucepan over the cooked pork and sprinkle with green onion and coriander.