top ten tuesday: novel heroines.

I know, right? Another top ten about books! Contain your excitement.
Here is my list of favorite female characters from some pretty amazing books.

Top Ten Tuesday: Novel Heroines.

1. Dagny Taggart, Atlas Shrugged
2. Margaret Hale, North and South
3. Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre
4. Hermione Granger, Harry Potter series
5. Francie Nolan, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
6. Flora Poste, Cold Comfort Farm
7. Valentine Wiggin, Ender's Game
8. Anne Elliot, Persuasion
9. Gwendolen Harleth, Daniel Deronda
10. Esther Greenwood, The Bell Jar

I know those last two might be kind of controversial (for book people, anyway), but I have my reasons...

Honorable mentions:
Éowyn, LOTR
Elizabeth Bennet, P&P

top ten tuesday: books to read.

So I'm still working on that "more intense" top ten list; it's taking longer than I thought it would. Aaaaand I might have been not exactly working on it too much. But that's ok since I still have a list for ya'll today. Here are the top ten books that I want to read right now.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read

1. Inside Delta Force: The Story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit, Eric Haney
2. The Winter of Our Discontent, John Steinbeck
3. The Fabric of the Cosmos, Brian Greene
4. Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
5. The Fist of God, Frederick Forsyth
6. Caravan, Dorothy Gilman
7. The Map of Time, Felix J. Palma
8. The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood
9. Parrot and Olivier in America, Peter Carey
10. A Pair of Blue Eyes, Thomas Hardy

There you have it. Even though it's summer, this overcast, humid weather makes me want to commence hibernation and read all of these in a week. But I gotta like, ya know, do things with my life.

top ten tuesday: nein.

The official announcement is this: No top ten today, in preparation for a more intense one for next week.

In other words, the author is battling a migraine and some crazy emotions. And possibly a cave troll.

top ten tuesday: jobs.

When I was growing up I thought that college was this magical place that ultimately would result in me being given my dream job. Fast forward fifteen years later aaannnd...let's just...not. Oh the dreams of youth.

Top Ten Tuesday: Jobs I Dreamed of Having When I Was Younger

1. Marine biologist
2. Actress
3. Astronaut (Still very much want. The tears that well up at the mention of space...)
4. Concert pianist
5. Veterinarian
6. Writer (le sigh)
7. Photographer
8. Architect
9. Museum person (That's what I called it then. I thought they lived in the museum. Now I know they're called docents. And have respectable housing outside the museum grounds.)
10. Forest ranger (No comment.)

top ten tuesday: recipes.

It's no secret that I love to cook and bake. I feel like half my life is spent looking through cookbooks finding new things to try. Enter the invention of the Internet and the subsequent zillions of recipes at my fingertips. Chyeah!

Here are the top ten recipes I'm currently dying to try. And then eat.

Top Ten Tuesday: Recipes to cook up.

1. Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava
2. Bacon Lover's Mac 'n Cheese
3. Apricot Almond Torte
4. Brioche
5. Roasted Peppers with Capers and Mozzarella
6. Lemon Risotto
7. Sweet Corn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas
8. Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese
9. Barbecue Chopped Salad
10. Key Lime Bars

top ten tuesday: summer.

Happy first day of summer! Although the weather here has yet to get the memo regarding the situation, I'm still excited for the season. I'm not one to enjoy sweating, but Utah's good about giving us all four seasons, and I like it. While by no means comprehensive, here is my top ten list of favorite things about summer.

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer.

1. Buying fruit from the farmer's market by my house.
2. Long drives, windows down, music turned up, while wearing sunglasses.
3. Baseball.
4. Obnoxiously bright toenails.
5. Swimming all day, and the accompanying exhaustion leading to the best nap of your life.
6. Camping, hiking, and boating my little heart out.
7. How it stays light outside until 9 pm.
8. Delicious grilled food, i.e. meats.
9. More acceptability to wear casual clothes to church and work. Just being able to wear less clothes in general.
10. No taking your life into your hands by driving in snow or ice.

top ten tuesday: after dark

I'm one of those people that comes awake at night. No, not in a mistress-of-the-night, vampire way (weirdos), but more in a, hey-my-creative-energy-is-going-crazy-let's-go-bunjee-jump-off-a-bridge-and-then-paint-a-masterpiece-before-exploring-the-tunnels- running-under-Salt-Lake-City kind of way. Kind of.

But luckily I'm able to control most of my nighttime impulses and have found more acceptable ways of channeling this energy. These are pretty tame in comparison to what actually runs through my mind.

Example:

Thought: Fly to Paris and take a class in French pastry.
Action: Make my own version of mille feuille with puff pastry, custard, and nutella.

Thought: Write a novel.
Action: Write the beginnings and plot lines for hundreds of stories.

You get the idea.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Things to Do After 10 pm.

1. Bake Amish oatmeal while listening to A.A. Bondy.
2. Drive around on Bacchus with the windows down and the music up. Some high school habits never die.
3. Write the beginnings of stories. Fifty-six and counting...
4. Go star-gazing in the mountains.
5. Look for the "elf house" in Copperton.
6. Go to some late-night place after a show and let it all sink in.
7. Sit outside on my deck and listen to the river and the crickets.
8. Plan trips to exotic places that would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
9. Start reading a new book.
10. Oh and sleep. I do that, in addition.