Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, by Chelsea Handler

Hi ladies, 

Thank you, Farrah, for hosting book club again - the book was Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang and we all seemed to have enjoyed the book (except Sunday who didn't even read it.)  We did discuss the book for a bit and we all decided that while Chelsea is witty and dry and quite hilarious, she probably would not be a very good friend.  She'd always be looking to sell you out if you did anything embarassing; and if you didn't, she'd probably just make something up.  While I think it's pretty funny that she says stuff like, "that puppy was a complete dick," Lisa pointed out that it was a bit much that she'd call babies assholes.  That was pretty much the concensus...  Still, she's a hoot and the book had everyone laughing out loud at one point or another. 

Farrah served delicious Greek salad that had me burping cucumber for the next 48 hours.  Good thing it was so yummy, because that gift certainly kept on giving!  We also had hummus and crackers, a veggie tray with the tiniest, sweetest carrots I've ever had the pleasure of laying upon my tongue.  Anissa brought a bucket o' margaritas and some amaretto - if you've never had amaretto margaritas, you are missing out!  They are the perfect blend of tart and sweet and they go down like golden heaven.  Mmmmmm....  just thinking about them makes me want one, even though it's only 10am on a Sunday morning.  I think in the spirit of Chelsea Handler, I might have to make that happen.  We finished off the evening with absolutely DELICIOUS lemon bars.  I really hope nobody noticed me stuffing extras in my purse.  Awkward!

Anyhoo...other topics of discussion were: a mini-battle of who would host next (Sunday or me.... Sunday won); how skanky all our toes were and how we all should go get pedi's asap; how, for some bizarre reason, I always seem to forget about Anissa, who has become one of my sweetest friends.... but she lives the wrong direction on Bordeaux; Shana's engagement (congratulations, Shana!  We've been missing you at book club!); and Sunday's favorite swimsuit, which is completely see-through in the rear-end, and she's ok with that. 

Ana and Mia gave us some hilarious stories from their childhood, a crowd favorite being the one where Ana told their parents how Mia was chatting online with her friends after curfew, earning Mia a THREE MONTH grounding.  And lastly, and probably most importantly, how Farrah really should always keep her hair ratted and wear a girdle. It's only proper and people will surely not think her mother raised her right if she doesn't start doing these things immediately.

Here are some books I've come across that look really good to me, so I thought I'd share - if you have any recommended reads or books that are on your wish list, let us know.  I'm always looking for book ideas and I know you ladies probably are, too. 

The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin

Open by Andre Agassi

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul by Deepak Chopra

The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson

Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush

Happy reading, friends!

The Help, by Katherine Stockett

Hi ladies,

Our March meeting to discuss The Help by Katherine Stockett was last Thursday at Z Tejas - if you weren't there, you missed some yummy appetizers and deliciously strong beverages.  You also missed the half-hour-long trip around the parking lot to find a spot to park, though, so that's an up-side.  Note for future reference:  now that McDonald's is open next door to Z, it's impossible to park on a Thursday evening.  Once we got in and got settled, though, it was a fun night of visiting. 

Things you should be aware of if you missed the meeting:

• Mia cannot be left alone with a knife and a pan of corn bread - she simply does not know how to do it.
• It's important that you know where all of your tampons are before having someone you don't know well get in your car.  Having this acquaintance pick up the tampons for you is quite embarrassing (particularly if it's a male doing the tampon-picking).
• Likewise, make sure you don't have any accidentally-unwrapped tampons floating around where you keep your ink pens, because if you pull your pen out and it has the pull-string of a tampon attached to it, you might end up flinging that lovely cotton plug into someone's lap.

It was a fun evening and several of us shut the patio down, so that was fun - and on a school night!!  Such irresponsible, naughty girls!