Book Reviews: March

I'm so close to finishing Erin's challenge, I can taste it!  Right now I'm at the mercy of the library.  My last books are on hold and there are a lot of people ahead of me.  I think I may have to change one of my books again :(

This was my second try with this book.  The first time I just wasn't in the mood for it, so I figured I'd try again for Erin's Challenge.  I still had a  hard time getting through the first half of the book, but once I hit the second half and things started coming together, I couldn't put this book down!  It is such a great story about friendship and the horrors of war.  I can't recommend this book highly enough, especially for fans of WW2 Historical Fiction.  Just be ready with a box of tissues!  ... 4/5 stars
Read for Book Challenge By Erin

I totally jumped on the bandwagon with this one and I'm so glad I did!  Eleanor herself was a bit of a difficult person - her social awkwardness kind of reminds me of Dr. Brennan in Bones.  But as difficult as she is, you can't help but grow to love her and understand her. I really loved Raymond and Sammy, too - they are great characters and great for Eleanor.  I also give the author credit, it takes a lot for me to not get a "twist" and this one I got it half right and half wrong.  I'd recommend this to people who loved A Man Called Ove or The Storied Life of AJ Fickry.  It's that perfect balance of happiness, sadness, and general life stuff ... 4/5 stars.

I don't know what it is about them, but I generally love books written in the form of letters! I enjoyed this one but it wasn't the best that I've read.  The first 10% ish of the book was good, then it got a bit boring and repetitive until the last 40 pages - then I couldn't put it down.  I loved that it was written in letters, the World War 1 setting, and the characters Tom and Alice.  I also loved the little snippets of "present day" which was actually 1968.  I didn't like the repetitiveness, the journalist self-righteous attitude of Evie's, and her overly aggressive feminism.  I also felt like some of the events were talked about as we would talk about them today, not as someone living through them.  Overall, I was a bit let down by this one, but I did still enjoy it (totally conflicted on this one, obviously) ... 3.5/5 stars
Read for Erin's Challenge  

I don't understand how Fredrik Backman can make even a 90 page novella super good.  Obviously read this in one sitting and loved it.  I hear his other novella is better and I can't wait to read it ... 4/5

I have mixed feelings about this one.  This is another book written in letters, but I really didn't like the way it was done.  It was like she just wrote it in "letter" format because how else would they communicate, but otherwise it was written like any other book.  I mean, I don't typically write out dialogue in my letters.  I enjoyed the characters and really liked the idea behind the book - two people who could never meet because of health issues.  However, it got a bit too sci-fi-ish at the end and it really took away from the book for me.  I don't mind sci-fi, but this book went from contemporary to sci-fi with no warning.   Enjoyment wise, this book was probably a 4 up until the end.  But I just had so many other issues with it that I have to give it a 3 ... 3/5 
Read for Erin's Challenge

Getting Out of Debt: Motivation

I've been working on getting out of debt for almost a year!  That's so hard for me to believe!  We're almost finished paying off debt #3 of 6 and I'm so excited about it!  I have a lot of things motivating me but these are a few of the biggest motivators (besides travel).  These are the things that keep me going.

1.  Debt is friggin' annoying
I mean, lets be real here.  No one likes making payments, and no one likes when half of their paycheck goes out the window the second it hits the account.   Its annoying and frustrating and I'm over it.  Simple as that.

2. Having to work multiple jobs that I hate
I've been working two jobs pretty much since we got to Fort Drum.  I lucked out with Friday's - there are definitely things I don't like, but I've met some great people working there and we have a good time.  However, I haven't liked any of my other jobs for one reason or another.  The first one was mind numbingly boring, the second one was management, and the one I'm at now is my coworkers constant negativity and drama.  I can't wait to only work one job and be able to take the time to find a job I actually enjoy.  I'd be perfectly happy right now if I could just work at Friday's, but I need two jobs to knock out this debt.

3. Having no money when you make plenty
We've always made enough money for us to live comfortably and have extra, but having all these payments makes it seem like we hardly make any money.   I want to be able to use my money for things like retirement, travel, and general fun things.  I want to be able to save cash and buy a car without paying extra in interest.  I want to be able to make my money work for me instead of flying out the window.

4. Being able to buy a house after the military 

This is the biggest one for both of us.  We're already ready to own our own home and we still have 3.5 years left in the Army!   When Josh gets out we plan to rent for a year to make sure we like the area we choose to live in and to make sure we have good, secure jobs.   After that, we want to buy something we could live in forever.  We want to put 20% down at the very least.  Once we're debt free, we can start saving, and I can't wait!

Life Update: March

Why do I live where winter never ends? UGH!  March has been a super long month for us, partially because it feels like winter is never going to end and the snow is never going to melt.  It seems like every time the snow starts really melting, we get more snow.

Anyways ... For me, March was another month of lots and lots of work.  It got to the point where I was super burnt out!  There was a day where I spent the whole day holding back tears because I was so effing tired.  The week of St. Patrick's Day, I ended up giving away some shifts and only worked 1 double (by double I mean work both jobs in 1 day).   It was hard to give up that money, but I needed it for my mental health!

As far as blogging - I'm feeling a bit frustrated.  I haven't written much, not because I have nothing to say, but because I start writing and it just comes out a mess. Sometimes I think that Vlogging would be better for me for certain topics, but I hate seeing myself on camera.

photo added for cuteness factor ;)

Josh has had quite the month as well.  He went to the promotion board in the middle of the month and got his promotable status (E4 to E5), and had a PT (physical) test which he passed.   After that fun was over, he left for training for a month (I'll tell you where when he gets back).  He actually had to leave a few days early because he was one of the "lucky" ones chosen to fly out with the helicopters which was a 5 day trek, which has turned in to a 10 day trek (they're still not at their destination as of today).

Nothing exciting in March - it was overall just a blah kind of month.  Thankfully, April is looking better.  The snow has started melting and spring cleaning is happening in this house right now and I'm loving it!