a quick addition to the recent beer cheese soup recipe: (I noticed my notes in the margin after I'd posted it...)
1- you really only need to add one bottle or can of beer
2- to thicken it (I thought it was a bit thin) and to add protein, I added 2 cans white beans (you could probably use any kind).

I think that's it for food, now for books:

In the last five weeks I've read 5 books, as follows:

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult--not her best, I thought; about a little girl who begins to manifest the wounds of Jesus after her father leaves her and her mother. It's more of an exploration of the topic of stigmata and faith than anything, but doesn't come to any conclusions, rather unsatisfactorily so, I thought.

The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen--again, not one of her best books either. It's really a spoof on Orthodox Judaism (written by someone who I assume is Jewish, which makes it more acceptable, I thought) and the hypocrisy of those who "strain at gnats" (keeping scrupuously kosher) while "swallowing camels" by being shallow, materialistic and just generally snotty.

Steve and Me by Terri Irwin--the story of Steve and Terri Irwin (he was the crocodile hunter on Animal Planet-guy with a great Aussie accent). An excellent and sadly moving book! I replayed it in my mind dozens of times after I read it. Definitely worth reading.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer--the story of the young man who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness, never to be heard of again. Jon researched what actually happened to the guy, and it makes a fascinating, if sad, story. Worth reading.

A Safe Haven by Dave Hunt--I'd like to read more by this guy. A good read, exciting and God-honoring story line and just enough facts and present-day info to make it credible. A modern, atheistic revolutionary is kicked out of his home country and ends up in Israel, and nearly perishes there.

Now I'm reading Joe's Law--a book by Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County in AZ who is notoriously tough on illegal immigration. So far it's fascinating and is a real eye-opener to the whole issue of illegal immigration.

What have you ladies read? THis has been a bit of an unusual time in my life- feels like a rewind back twenty years, only I'm not trying to homeschool as well as run a house and raise kids so it's a bit more peaceful. (And I probably have more time to read than I normally do...) I'm actually enjoying being a "mom" of little kids again for a while.