The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Datewhere we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.
This week was busy, busy, busy! Not great as far as reading, but a ton of stuff got done around the house and it was quite productive. Work was thankfully easy this week (hence the house and mild renovation getting done), and yesterday was the first Saturday off in months. Full week of work ahead!
My dog is finally healthy again, after being sick for nearly all of April. Turns out it was an incredibly simple problem and the first vet I took her to only made the issue 10x worse. Thankfully she's back to normal and I did get my $600 back after contesting the issue with the first vet!
Call me crotchety, but I cannot wait for spring to be over. This is the third wave of pollen and subsequent allergies, and I'm getting really tired of an itchy throat and pounding headache and sinus pressure.
On the bright side, the weather has been amazing this week. We even had a day of 68 degrees in the day and 50 at night. In May. In Florida. It was glorious!
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Datewhere we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.
It's been something of a mixed week for me, with some serious fun and some serious anxiety. I do have anxiety and while I usually manage it well with the right environment, diet, exercise and mindset, sometimes it just overwhelms me and leaves me a nervous wreck.
On top of that, my poor dog is sick. She picked up some kind of bacteria tthatgrows on the plant life here and now has an infection. She's on a cocktail of antibiotics and seems to be on the mend, but poor girl.
A working vacation (emphasis on working) at a beach house definitely helped (though of course, the vacation was when my pup got sick) combat the anxiety and I'm feeling more myself now.
My yoga studio for the week: the third floor outdoor living room! And yes, my yoga mat is in rough shape. :p
The rest of the view!
Fitness
I kept up with yoga, walking, and even did a 2 mile bike ride each night!
I've seen the Five Things Friday posts on KimberlyFaye Reads and Brandie is a Book Junkie, and they're some of my favorite post types, so I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. Also, I'm lazy and was getting bored of Cover Lust. ;)
Let's jump right in!
1. Book of the Week
I really loved this super slow burn (like, slow burn) romance! Mariana Zapata is officially on my auto-buy authors list.
2. New to my shelf
3. Fun Things this Week
Everyone, meet the newest addition!
This little fluffy thing is Lucinda, a 9ish week old rescued kitten. She's joined my other cat, Salem, as the resident feline crew here at Good In The Stacks. She's hilarious and so friendly, and has fit in with the rest of the gang perfectly.
Fun fact: She's named after the heroine in the book The Hating Game, which I enjoyed much more when I read it after listening to the audio.
Nola is the best dog, I swear.
4. Pic of the Week
5. Looking Ahead
Starting some new work things this coming week, and some more big life changing things coming up that I can't wait for!
I saw this post over at Rebel Mommy Book Blog and then again at Brandie is a Book Junkie, and thought it looked fun!Original post from Lindsay’s Library. December is my favorite month and I would like it to slow down a bit to savor the Christmas feels, so I'm excited to do this tag...survey...this. Also, the colored text won't go the way I wanted it to. Damnit. Let's go!
Favorite Christmas song/s?
Carol of the Bells! I also really likeBaby, It's Cold Outside(Dean Martian version),It's Beginning toLook A Lot Like Christmas(Michael Buble version) and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas(Cat Power version; the one that was in that Apple commercial a year or so ago). And I will admit that Last Christmas(Wham! version) is my guilty pleasure.
Favorite Christmas movie/s?
Um. I'm not a big movie person, so...none? #embarrassed
Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch or Charlie Brown?
Frosty or Rudolph. The Grinch is eh (those Whos are annoying!) and I can't stand Charlie Brown.
Best or most memorable Christmas gift you've ever received?
My dog, Nola. 6 years ago this month. Hands down, best gift I ever received, even if I didn't get her on Christmas day (early December instead). She's changed my life and has opened so many doors for me, showed me a passion I didn't realize I had, and helped me through the darkest point in my life. Because of her, I've been able to make dogs my real, actual job.
The second would be my first DSLR camera!
Real tree or artificial tree?
Both! The main tree must be real, but I like having artifical ones scattered about the house. Thankfully my cat isn't an asshole about messing with the real tree, though she does have a strange fascination with the fake one.
I'm watching you.
What tops your tree? Angel? Star? Bow? Star!
It's a bush. A Christmas bush. With a star stabbed in there and cockeyed as hell.
When did you stop believing in Santa? I never did believe in the first place? My family never really did the whole Santa thing; not for any religious reasons, it was just something we didn't do. To be honest, I find the whole Santa concept a tad creepy. #introvert #Don'tComeInMyHouse #SorryI'mWeird
Do you send out Christmas Cards? Do you do photo cards or traditional? I do...of my dog, and to other dog people. Part of that whole dog-is-my-job thing. ;) Photo cards all the way!
Do you have a favorite type of Christmas decoration - snowman, trees, village, ect? The Christmas Dachshund!
Do you have any sentimental decorations or ornaments? Every year since I was born, my mom found one Christmas ornament and saved them, so that when I was an adult, I'd already have some. They're very special to me!
White lights or colored lights? Big old fashioned lights or mini lights? White! Both on the tree and for outside. I'm not opposed to a little color, but I like a "white Christmas" (in Florida...). Um, they're just normal lights so...I guess old fashioned?
When e do you start decorating for Christmas?
Usually the day after Thanksgiving, though the past two years it's been so hot that it's more around the first or second week or December.
Favorite Christmas treat? I don't eat sweets made with sugar (honey or maple syrup instead; my body just does not handle actual sugar well), but my mom makes some bangin' maybe syrup based fudge.
Do you like sugar cookies? Gingerbread cookies? See above. I do like the occasional healthy gingersnap cookie, though.
Do you have hot cocoa or hot chocolate? Do you like warm chocoately beverages with marshmallows?
Um... there's a difference? I like tea when it's cold out.
What do you eat at your Christmas feast? Usually ham, pasta, ect.
Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or wait until Christmas Day? Christmas day.
Favorite Christmas-y scent? Christmas trees, cinnamon, and oranges/citrus. December is the month you get absolutely mouthwatering citrus here in Florida, so that smell is always holiday-ish for me.
I mean look at that! Perfect grapefruit, and the taste is amazing.
Do you have any Christmas traditions?
One of my favorite parts of Christmas as a kid was driving or walking around to look at Christmas lights, and it's still my favorite today.
Yup...that's a sailboat at the marina!
If you could ask Santa for any Christmas gift this year - and you know he'd bring it - what would it be?
Money, so that we could move now instead of this coming spring. While he's at it, enough money to live comfortably, travel the world, eat and explore for the rest of my days.
That said, I'd totally settle for a kitten (my cat wants a friend. And by my cat, I mean I want another one) or a yellow lab puppy. ;)
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Datewhere we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. A mostly laid-back and very chilly week! Several days it stayed in the upper 50s/low 60s, with nights getting down to around 35-32 (Floridian here, so that's freezing cold). Lovely weather that everyone is enjoying. I've found myself sleeping with the window open at night, burrowed under heavy blankets and stealing the dogs' warmth. ;) It's quite cozy! Finally got a tree this weekend, and I have to say that it's quite a hideous thing. Since you won't find a Christmas tree farm here (or at least not one that produces the classic fraser fur), the choices are limited to Lower and Home Depot. The Home Depot here had all their trees bound up, and it wasn't clear that this tree is pretty much just the middle of the tree. It's more of a Christmas bush than a Christmas tree, in all honesty.
It's literally the middle of a tree.
"If you ask me, we should've gotten one of these. They're actually suppose to be small." My dog is judgmental.
Oh, well! It works, and it's kind of growing on me, haha.
I've relaxed a bit with my fitness routine, in a good way. Rather than pushing myself for a minimum of 10,000 every day, no matter how I feel, I'm focusing more on doing what feels good and targeting what needs it that day. Hitting that number or higher is still ideal, but if I'm feeling too bad, I'm exhausted or sore (I twisted my knee last week and it still twinges), I relax on that and do something that doesn't aggravate me...or sometimes I just rest. It's nice to find a good balance!
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Datewhere we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next. This week was exhausting. "That time" of the month is always hard for me, but this time was especially bad and I spent this week with my head in the toilet, or wishing my head was in the toilet (I'd rather vomit than be nauseous). The iron deficiency that goes along with that has left me exhausted, chilly, and with a chronic headache. Enough about that, though! I'm feeling better with the cooler weather, and something amazing happened this week: it rained. We've been in a drought for around three months, and the rain was incredible. I took Christmas photos for my other blog and Instagram yesterday, which was a blast and they turned out great. The tree gets picked out this week, too! December is my favorite month, and I'm loving it so far.
5 stars!
What a ride! Next book releases in May, and I can't wait. Fantastic narration, too!
Audiobook
3 stars!
Eh. I liked Trust much better.
2.5 stars!
This series was basically the same plot and characters, just with different names. Also, gynecology isn't an attractive field. It's just not.
Currently Reading
3 hours into this audio, and it's pretty good so far!
Only a few chapters or so into this one, but the setting is absolutely stunning.
