Slice of Life 3/11: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This week I read The Fault in Our Stars. It is about a girl who has lung cancer and only five years to live. She goes to a cancer support group and meets this guy who lost his leg to cancer. They both really like this book and they go to Amsterdam together to meet the author and answer questions about the ending.
I loved it. This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. The characters were all well developed and I cared about them. I really liked the writing style and it was a really fast read. The plot was original and solid, in terms of completion and a good story arc. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Slice of Life 3/10

I woke up at 7:00 this morning, according to my alarm. I sat up, confused and disoriented for a moment, my body trying to pull itself back down and sleep for hours. The room was dark, and Waffles was still awake. Obviously her internal clock won't change anything because she doesn't use analog or digital. I was tired, like always, but for some unknown reason I was less tired than usual. Maybe my mom's prodding the night before had gotten me into bed early, or maybe it was an unnatural phenomenon.
As I sat in the car, feeling all clean and fresh with wet hair, I saw the sun rise as we drove down 6th Avenue. I don't really understand the time change, what happened or why it has to happen, but I'm just happy to have another sign that winter is almost over.

Slice of Life 3/9

She came home with my dad and brother, dirty and too tired to be her usual exuberant self. He said that she had done amazing, as always, but her the white feathering on the backs of her legs and stomach were caked in mud from the puddle that she used to cool off. Zippi is a Brittany, bred to point pheasants, chukar and quail. The hunting season is coming to an end, so my dad will take her a couple of times this month. She had goat-heads in her fur, and my parents used a comb meant for horses to untangle them. Finally it was my turn, because I'm willing to put on a swimsuit and get in the shower at nine at night. We have a shower just for the dogs, but it's small and open and very stressful for her, so we clean her in a human shower. I rubbed the dog shampoo through her fur, and my hand came out dirty. Little bits of debris and off-color suds were washed down the drain. Her tail was between her legs and her head was bowed, pressed against the door. Finally I scrubbed all the dirt from her white fur and rinsed her off. She shook the water off, then was assisted by the towel and was on her way.

Slice of Life 3/8

The secret to a perfect tiny scoop of ice cream is that cookie dough scooper thing.

 I stirred in the orange peel, hoping that the fire was not too hot and and my sugar was secure, all while instructing my brother on how to mold cookie dough to the outside of muffin tins. Cooking sugar always seems precarious, even if it is basically just simple syrup. They cooked for fifteen minutes, smelled oddly similar to bacon, cooled for an hour and were dipped in chocolate and chilled. My candied orange peels were only one element of my crazy weekend project, along with cookie bowls and orange sorbet. I made everything myself, I even juiced the oranges. My project took several hours, an unreasonable amount of sugar and a ton of dishes, but it was fun, and it was really good, and I'm proud of myself for accomplishing something other than watching TV. The question is, how much work is this product worth?

Slice of Life 3/7

I have never liked math. I don't know why, but some people like it and I guess I am just not in that minority. Yesterday I spent a total of two hours and forty-five minutes in math. It was unspeakably awful. There is a lot of stress involved with my math experience on Thursdays, because the morning is spent preparing for a quiz that will haunt me all morning, then once I take the quiz, my brain is used up for the day, which makes the rest of math and the last hour of school almost always unproductive. I always wonder why I hate it so much. It's logical, which I should like, and it involves problem-solving, which is very satisfying. I guess that trying to juggle a terrible grade cancels all that out, and once again, the repulsive power of math is too strong for my terribly weak attempts at positivity.

Slice of Life 3/6

Sometimes snow is disappointing and sometimes it's very exciting. During the winter I try as hard as I can to ignore the fact that global warming is definitely happening, which is why I am so excited to wake up to a fresh coat. It's officially March now, which means that although it is come rely normal weather, I am done with snow. I forget to appreciate how pretty it is. At least it is spring snow which means that it is almost spring, but real spring never involves copious amounts of frozen water. Then again, real winter doesn't involve seventy degree weather.

Slice of Life 3/5

Nancy and Tom are back from their honeymoon and they are so tan. Nancy said she used a special brand of suntan lotion. I cannot believe that they got to see the world's largest garden hose. Unbelievable. Meanwhile, my bridge club tried a new restaurant and it was much too spicy. I ended up at that dreadful hospital and just my luck, I got the dreadful nurse. Boy, she really let herself go, just like Jimmy before he died. I ran out of my lipstick on the day that I went to get my hair done. Imagine that! Walking into the beauty shop feeling completely unprepared. Melanie's daughter just had a baby. Isn't that wonderful? She's getting the arthritis so she might have to retire soon and I might have to find another beauty shop that knows how to do my hair how I want it. That's really it, but here is a recipe that I just love and is easy on my stomach:

1 box minute rice

1 stick bacon

1/4 lb. butter 

1 box lime jello

2 slices gluten free bread

1/4 cup mayonnaise 

Make jello and minute rice. Melt butter. Combine. Chop bacon as a garnish. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Chill. Toast bread and spread thick layer of jello mixture. Add mayonnaise. Enjoy!