Catch up, lots to do! (book review and recipe)

OK, so I am way behind on what has been going on in my life. First off, I did something Saturday that I have never done before. I went to the Opera. One of our movie theaters here shows a live broadcast from the Met in New York. We saw Lucia di Lammermoor. It was wonderful. You can read more about it all here. I didn't know if I would like the opera...turns out I do. :)

Now, for my book review...

I am still putting Pride and Prejudice on hold as I still have books on hold at the library. But, my neighbor told me I could borrow her copy whenever I was ready to finish it. Thanks Sue! So, I just finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. It is the final installment in the Twilight series. Here goes (SPOILER):

Breaking Dawn
By Stephanie Meyer
I really enjoyed this book, I think that it was my favorite of the 4. She really wrote it well and was EXTREMELY descriptive. I was very glad that she made Bella be strong as a vampire since she was SO not strong as a human. In fact, her character really irritated me throughout the whole series, she was very unselfaware. I will say that this book I was able to connect with her a bit more. She gets pregnant, and no matter what anyone tells her, she is determined to keep the vampire baby, even if it kills her which she knows it probably will. I think this is how people that WANT to be mothers feel. You just want that baby no matter what the consequences to you are going to be. She loved her baby and that was all there was to it. I knew that the connection with Jacob the werewolf was going to be. It had to happen. He hadn't "imprinted" on Bella as they say so there had to be a reason that relationship was so strong. Of course he was going to "imprint" on her daughter, it was very predictable. Again, thoughout the book she was strong and I liked that. It made up for her weakness in the other books. If you haven't read this series, I suggest it. Yeah, it is about vampires and werewolves, but it is a good read. I really want to see the movie Twilight to see how it compares to the book.

Now I am reading The Friday Night Knitting Club: Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. I read the first one last year and it was SO good. So, of course I had to read the sequel. I also have Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich in the waiting. I love her, she is SO funny! Then, I have nothing else on hold and WILL read P&P.

Finally, I forgot about recipe Monday. So, I am going to post two today. We had Recipe Club here this morning with Death By Chocolate. Only one other person showed up, so here are our recipes:

GERMAN'S (R) Sweet Chocolate Pie
Prep: 15 mintues plus freezing

1 pkg. (4 lz.) BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate
1/3 c. milk, divided
4 oz Cream Cheese, softened
2 T. sugar
1 tub Cool Whip
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Microwave chocolate and 2 T of the milk in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring after 1 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
Add cream cheese, sugar, and remainig milk. Beat with wire whisk until well blended. Refrigerate about 10 minutes to cool. Gently stir in whipped topping until well blended. Spoon into crust. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Garnsih as desired. Let pie stand at room temperature or in refrigerator about 15 minues before serving for easier cutting. Makes 8 servings.
**Weight Watchers--6 pounts for 1/8 of pie**

Striped Snack Mix
1 box Rice Chex
1/2 bag pretzels
jar of peanuts
large package of M&M's
1 pound white chocolate bark
1 pound chocolate bark

Mix chex, pretzels, peanuts, and M&M's. Melt white chocolate according to package. Poor over snack mix and stir until coated. Poor out onto wax paper in one layer to let dry. Melt chocolate bark according to package. Using spoon or fork, drizzle over snack mix in stripes. When completely dry, break up and store in airtight container. Enjoy!

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!
Love,
Theresa