Laziness or Lack of Time?

BOOOO000ooooo. I haven't updated my blog in forever and now I feel horrible. :(

Anyway, now that that's over with! Here is my new schedule for this year and I have to admit, it feels weird to only be taking 4 classes as opposed to my normal load of 6 or 7. They all seem to be very interesting so far, as I've had one class of each now. 3 classes Tue/Thr and only 1 on M/W. Fridays are free! I don't know what I'm going to do with all of this free time!

Here's what I'm taking:

Social Psychiatry
Forensic Psychology
Psych of Gender and Sexuality
Race and Ethnic Relations

All of my Criminal Justice classes have finally finished after my VERY tough Senior Seminar last semester. All that's left are some Sociology and Psychology electives for my psych minor.

It does feel weird to be in my last EVER semester of college. I'm ready to leave, yet I feel that I haven't spent enough time. Never fear! I will be taking many more trips this year so hopefully I'll have lots of material to update on. I already have new posts lined up from over Winter break so we'll see if I can get those written in the coming months. Bear with me as my regular laptop is with my University's tech crew as they are trying to figure out just exactly what the problem is. God help them.

I am currently typing this on a loaner laptop, which, I have to say is much nicer keyboard-wise than my own despite them being the same model. Maybe it has something to do with my keyboard having been replaced 2x now... -_-

Anyway, apologies once again for not updating. I'll have some fantastic recipes and reviews on the way. If you get bored, head on over to my Shutterbug blog, even though I haven't updated the photos on there recently either. Oh well, I've been busy alright?

Best of luck with your New Year's Resolutions. I personally didn't make any, but if there's something I should be doing more of, it is blogging, so for the sake of you lovely reader(s) <-- not sure if more than 1 person actually reads this... but oh well... I will try to keep up and provide you with insightful little snippets out of my life.

Stephanie, WWT

P.S. Oh and by the way, I just turned 21!!!!!!!!YAY! :) Ok, back to your normal lives.

Fall Recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes

After I made some lovely pumpkin Halloween cookies, I had a significant amount of pumpkin pie filling left over. So.... I decided to make pumpkin pancakes with the rest! Keep in mind, I used canned pumpkin pie filling NOT canned pumpkin puree (unsweetened). If you are using the pumpkin puree, you will need to sweeten it with sugar. K?

Normally I would have used the plain canned pumpkin, but my apartment does not have cloves, allspice, and nutmeg so I decided to buy the preseasoned can to avoid spending a fortune on spices.

I made a smaller batch, considering I was just making them for me, so if you're cooking for more people, you might want to double the recipe. Mine made about 7 medium-sized pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes:
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk and they came out just fine!)

3/4 cup - 1 cup pumpkin (pie filling or pure pumpkin, basically I just used however much I had left)

1/2 egg (how do you measure 1/2 of an egg?? Scramble the egg in a bowl first and just pour half in the batter!)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

additional spices (I added more cinnamon to the flour mixture for more spice!)
additional fillings (I used dried cranberries, pecans, and banana slices in mine!)

*NOTE: If using pumpkin pie filling, don't add any sugar!! If using pumpkin puree, then you'll want to add about 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1) In a bowl, mix together milk, pumpkin, egg, and oil.

2) Combine the flour, brown sugar (if using), baking powder, baking soda, and any additional spices in a SEPARATE bowl.

3) Stir dry ingredients into the wet pumpkin mixture

4) Put in the fridge for a couple minutes (I put it in for about 5 while I was chopping my nuts/banana)

5) Heat your frying pan (or skillet if you're fancy!) to about medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter in the pan depending on how large you want your pancakes.

 Pumpkin Pancake Batter!!

Extra fillings :)

 Cooking Pancakes! Yummy :)

The perfect pancake

I have to say I was really proud of myself from making these from scratch. They turned out perfectly and had a very strong pumpkin spice flavor.  The cranberries, pecans, and bananas were great additions and were lovely suprises. Topped with butter, you don't even need maple syrup for flavor! For a nice fall breakfast try these lovely little discs of joy. You could even add chocolate chips and whipped cream and you've got a dessert too!!

Have any other fall recipes to share??

Stephanie, WWT

Halloween Haunts: Eastern State Penitentiary

Looking for a great place to go to get in the mood for Halloween? One haunted place I love is Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, that was first opened in 1829.  Although other prisons in the area preceded this one like the Walnut Street Jail, Eastern State had a different goal in terms of punishment.  People thought that by confining prisoners in solitude and making them work, it would change their behavior and encourage them to repent for their crimes. Some may have found a higher spiritual meaning of life through the valuted ceilings and skylights in the cellblocks, while others may have just gone insane. 

Ever wonder where the word penitentiary came from? The goal of this type of prison was to make the prisoners penitent and regretful for their crimes, hence the name.  This theory was nicknamed the Pennsylvania System, largely due to it's practice in the state.  Throughout it's use, Eastern State housed some famous prisoners like Al Capone, whose lavishly furnished cell is on display, and is the site where he was supposedly haunted by the ghost of one of the victims from the St. Valentine's Day massacre.  The prison also had an inmate that wasn't actually human... yes, Pep the Dog was sentenced to a life sentence for murdering a cat.

Various riots, fires, and a partially successful escape went on before the prison was officially closed in 1970.  Most of the inmates were moved to Graterford (where I volunteered to teach inmates last year!). Now the prison remains intact, right in the city of Philadelphia, reminding us of a gothic-style castle with the high walls and turrets. It is a national landmark and is open for tours during the year. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the audio tour unless you're a huge fan of Steve Buscemi, who narrates the tape.  You may also recognize the prison for it's use as a setting for various movies.  12 Monkeys along with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were both filmed here. 

But... on Halloween, things get a little hairy. The prison hosts numerous haunted houses, located right in the cellblocks of the prison.  Complete with scary volunteers and an eerie location, you're sure to have a great time if you love haunted house type things.  Or you can go to learn a bit more about penology and corrections. It really is a creepy, yet cool place.

Have any other favorite Halloween-themed tourist spots? Please share!!
Happy Haunting!!
Stephanie, WWT

Movie Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire

As promised, here is the movie review of the second Swedish movie installment of the Stieg Larsson series.

All of the same actors return to play their respective parts in the sequel to the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  Noomi Rapace once again delivers a perfect Lisbeth Salander who kicks ass and researches like no other! The film pretty much follows the book storyline, although much more simplified in order to fit it into a two hour movie.  There are some graphic scenes and a couple very naked sexual parts of the film.

In my opinion, it would be necessary to read the book before watching this movie because there are just too many details that couldn't be included.  One might be a bit confused at the general point of the story, like the research that Dag and Mia were conducting on the side, or the joint investigation by Bublanski's team, Armansky's team, and Millenium.  Many characters with a smaller role weren't actually identified, and you would only know who they are from the book. 

Overall, the sequel was just as good as the first.  The ending is pretty amazing. That's all I'm going to say. Go rent it! I'd probably give it a 7 out of 10. I can't wait to read the final book and finish the series, but I'm on a hiatus know in order to focus on school work... boo.

Stephanie, WWT

Book Review: The Girl Who Played With Fire

How impressive is this: my last post was about book 1 in the Stieg Larsson series and I've managed to read the second book as my next post! Ok, well sure, it's been a while since I've posted at all, but the point is, I love this series!! It's so good, although I have to take a break before reading the final book to focus on my studies. This semester has been killing me with four research projects along with numerous readings every day, ugh!
Anyway, back to the book. The second installment of the Lisbeth Salander series, The Girl Who Played With Fire, leaves off where the first book ended and promises a great ride and adventure that surrounds Lisbeth being accused of a double homicide.  As she goes into hiding at the same time trying to get revenge on people who have made her life awful, many allies come to her defense in the investigation, including her old partner and awkward lover, Mikael Blomkvist.  We learn more about minor characters from the first book including Lisbeth's on and off lesbian lover Miriam Wu, her guardian Holger Palmgren, and the mysterious Zala.

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first and would recommend it to anyone who likes reading about female empowerment.  Once again, Larsson has delivered a great read.  I haven't rented the second film in the Swedish movie series yet, but I plan on it sometime this week, so look for a movie review as well.

What good books have you read lately??

Stephanie, WWT

Movie Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

After I finished the book I seriously couldn't wait to watch the movie so I headed over to my campus video store and lo and behold, they had a copy of the Swedish version!!

I just finished watching it and I thought it was great. Obviously a 2 and a half hour movie can't capture 600 pages of material, but I thought the movie definitely did the story justice. Noomi Rapace was exactly how I pictured Lisbeth to be and I loved her in the role.  Actually, most of the characters were spot on in my opinion. 

SPOILERS!!

Some parts were left out that I thought could have been incorporated for more drama. The relationship between Cecilia and Blomkvist was left out and his relationship with Berger wasn't really mentioned, but you could tell there was something there. Also, the part where the two find the dead cat and its severed head on Lisbeth's motorcycle wasn't in there. I thought for sure they'd go for an intense/scary scene with that one. They forgot Susanne's Bridge Cafe too! lol.

But all in all, I thought the film did a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the story.  Some things were definitely changed around a bit, but it didn't detract from the original storyline. Loved it!!

Definitely watch it after reading the book so the Vanger's are all fresh in your mind haha.

Here's the Swedish trailer!

I'm excited for the U.S. version to come out this December so I can compare the two!:)

Stephanie, WWT

Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Yay! Another book review from yours truly. :)After much hype I finally decided to read the first of the late Stieg Larsson's trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Originally written in Swedish, the English version has been translated marvelously and I immediately fell in love with Larsson's style of writing after reading the first chapter.

His writing is very descriptive and intelligent, with just enough to keep you interested, if you find yourself straying.  However I do know that some people might not agree with this. My mom, for instance, didn't like the book very much, whereas I loved it!

The plot follows two main characters that are separate, but later become linked.  There's the book's main female protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, an edgy, independent, reserved yet extremely intelligent computer hacker/researcher.  Second is Mikael Blomkvist, a middle aged newspaper journalist who has recently had some bad luck with a recent story of his that has landed him with some time in prison.  He is hired by a member of the Vanger family to investigate an unsolved disappearance of a young girl that happened years ago. Blomkvist's research inevitably meets Salander's and the two create an awkward, protective relationship with each other.

In addition, there are many other characters that can at times be sort of confusing. For example, the entire Vanger family is very extensive and several times I had to refer back to the family tree depicted in the beginning of the novel. So some attention is definitely needed when it comes to the supporting characters, especially for us Americans who might not be familiar with some of the names. Don't get discouraged by the slow start that the book has (According to my mom, that is. I thought it was great) or the amount of people involved.

There are four parts of the book, and if you pay attention to the stats in each opening page, you'll find that their seriousness kind of corresponds with the content for that part (well, at least I thought so!).  I finished it even while taking 6 classes in college and having to deal with the readings for those. I was so eager to finish the book that it motivated me to get all my studying/homework done so I could have time for it! :P I know, I'm such a nerd.

Anyway, now I've moved on to the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire, which so far, has proved to be just as fast paced and interesting as the first.  I am highly anticipating the American version of the movie that will come out sometime this winter (around Christmas I think, right?). I haven't seen the Swedish movies yet, but I will rent the first one as soon as a find a copy. So look for that movie review to come! My aunt assures me the movies are awesome, but she hasn't read the books.

Here's the official U.S. trailer!!

Maybe I am just really interested in the stories because they revolve around crime. Being a criminal justice major allows me to simultaneously connect the material back to my studies, so that's what I find intriguing.

So how about it? Have you read the book(s) yet and if so, what did you think? Did you agree with me?
I give this book 10 stars, honestly. It's one of my favorites.

Stephanie, WWT