Bye 2018

Man, I have really neglected this space in 2018, and if I'm being honest, 2019 probably wont be much better.   I really had nothing to write about this year.  We've really been focusing on paying off debt, so we have been doing a lot of hanging around the house.  I think I've watched more TV this year than I ever have in my life.   In 2019, we'll be continuing to pay off debt.  By the summer, we should be down to just one student loan!  We're making great progress, but that means we've just been working a lot and not spending money.   I did want to pop on here and tell y'all what I do plan to do in 2019 and the one thing I plan to post about each month no matter how much I neglect this blog otherwise.

1.  The main reason I'm pretty sure this blog will continue to be neglected in 2019 is because I will be starting school!  I am signed up for three classes which will begin at the end of January.  I am pursuing a degree in Paralegal studies and should finish in the Spring of 2020.  I already have my basic credits from my criminal justice degree, so I really don't have many classes to take.  This is perfect timing because I should be finishing up right around the time Josh gets home from his upcoming deployment.

2.  If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I've been trying a lot of vegan recipes lately.  That is because I plan to go completely vegan starting January 1st.  I've been vegetarian for about 5 years, but for the last 6 months or so I've just been feeling like that isn't enough.  It started when Annie shared something by a girl named Elizabeth (@ethically_elizabeth) on Instagram during Hurricane Florence.  I've been following her and other rescuers and activists since then.  In that time, I decided that I no longer wanted to contribute to or pay for the animal agriculture industry.  So I started pinning vegan recipes and trying a new one each week and I feel like I'm in a place where I can go vegan healthfully.  I'm so excited to start this journey!

3.  This will be our last full year of being in debt!  We should finish paying off the last debt sometime mid-2020 unless something crazy happens.  I'm hoping to finish earlier due to deployment pay and my pay increase (I am a server but we make way more in the summer here, I also got a job at a much busier restaurant).  We'll be paying off Josh's car in January or February.  I really wanted to pay it off in 2018, but we ended up having some pretty expensive repairs on that car, so we had to put off paying it off.   We'll also be paying off my second of three student loans probably by the end of summer.  That will leave us with one student loan which will take about 9 months to pay off.  I'm so happy with the progress we've been making!

4.  The one thing I do plan to post on here no matter what is book reviews!  I love writing them and I definitely want to make it a priority to come on here and crank out those reviews once a month.  I do plan to set my reading goal a little lower this year due to school and a crazy work schedule, but I do want to make sure that I'm taking the time to read some books for fun.  It's my way of relieving stress.

I hope everyone has a fantastic 2019! 

101 in 1001 Update

I meant to do this at the end of the summer, but as you can tell I just haven't been in to blogging lately.   I'm still not really, but I really wanted to crank this one out just for my own records.

DONE

Attend BookCon in New York City:
 SO MUCH FUN!  You can read about it here.

Meet a Famous Author/Get a book signed by that author:
I met V.E. Schwab (Shades of Magic Series), Scott Westerfeld (The Uglies), Kody Keplinger (The Duff), and Siobhan Vivian (The List, Stay Sweet) and got books signed by all three.

Visit NYC:
My Sister and I spent a little bit of time exploring NYC while we were there for BookCon.

Eat at Tin Pan Galley:
 This is a local restaurant located in Scakets Harbor, NY.  Everyone raves about how delicious their breakfast is and how it's one of the places you have to go while at Fort Drum.  I took my Mom and my Brother there when they came to visit at the end of August and I'm sad to say that we were all a bit disappointed.  I don't know if we chose the wrong things or what but I thought it was just OK.  I'm also a bit of a breakfast snob so maybe that has something to do with it.

IN PROGRESS

Pay off Josh's Car: 
 I'm happy to say that we are more than halfway done with this one.  We're a little further behind than we wanted to be due to having visitors, going home for a wedding, and having a lot of doggy expenses (shots, boarding etc.).  But we should be done by January or February.   We're planning to sell this vehicle before Josh deploys because it's basically garbage, but we still want it paid off.

Complete an "Around the World in 80 Books" Challenge (3/80): 
I really need to pick up the pace on this one.  I have read three books so far; set in Ireland, Scotland, and Sweden.

Read all of the books currently on my shelf (4/28): 
This is another one I really need to pick up the pace on.  So far I've only read 4 of 28 and I'm currently working on number 5.

Read 5 Classics (1/5): 
I read Animal Farm by George Orwell.  I never had to read it for school and I think that's why I actually enjoyed it. 

Read a total of 200 books (18/200):
Falling behind on reading is becoming a theme here.  I'm definitely in a bit of a rut right now but I'm slowly coming out of it.

Read a book with 500+ pages:
I am currently reading Winter by Marissa Meyers and it's taking me FOREVER.  I don't even know why.  I really like the series and this book is good, I just can't concentrate on it.

Read a book beginning with each letter of the Alphabet (8/26):I'm actually pretty happy with my progress on this one.  Once I finally finish Winter, I'll be adding another one to this list.

Get rid of 100 things (45/100):
 To be completely honest, I've probably already achieved this goal.  I was doing really well with keeping track of everything that I've gotten rid of, then I took a few trips to the thrift store and forgot to record all the things that I've taken. I also forgot to record all of the things I donated to a friend after her house caught fire.  Then I set aside a few things my sister wanted me to save for her - I'm not counting those until they're out of my house.

Try 5 new Vegan recipes (2/5):
I tried "chicken" and dumplins which was AMAZING!  I actually just made a second batch right before writing this post.  I also tried chunky monkey oatmeal.  That one was good, but definitely didn't keep.  I'll need to cut the recipe down to just one serving next time.

Begin School:
  I'm so happy that this one is moving along!  I had a meeting with an advisor last week just to make sure the school had everything they need for me to sign up for classes.   I have a phone meeting Thursday with someone from MyCAA to see if I can get a scholarship through them.  If all goes as planned I'll be taking 2 or 3 classes in January and then going back full time in the fall.  I'll be pursing a degree in Paralegal Studies and I could not be more excited.

Learn to hold a handstand:
I've been going to yoga a few times per week and working on my balance.  I've tried a few times at home and can get up but I can't hold it quite yet. 

 

Book Reviews: July

Dear July, thank you for being so good to me!  I read some great books this month and I'm so excited to share some of them!

I know a lot of people loved this book, but I found a lot of it to be very boring. There were a few parts that I found interesting and the overall idea for the book was great, I just don't think the execution was a great as it could have been.  I think I liked Daniel's story the most and Vasrya's was hardest for me to read because of the animals (can't say too much more without spoiling it).  Overall this was a bit of a letdown.
3/5

I struggled with how to rate this book.  On the one hand, I loved it!  It was a little bit slow to start but then I just couldn't put it down.  I found myself needing to know what happened next and really caring about a lot of the characters.  On the other hand, there were points where it felt a bit soap-operaish, which was a bit annoying.  There were also times that I found the narrators (there were two) a bit frustrating.   I went with a higher rating because I really did enjoy this book and it really will make you feel all the feels!
4/5

I'm a fan of Cecelia Ahern and have read several books by her so I wasn't surprised by how drawn out the book was - it starts when they're 5 years old and ends when they're 50.   I enjoyed it but man did it seem like it would never end at times!  And the ending was very anticlimactic.  I did enjoy the way it was written (letters, emails, texts) and I think it made it easier to get through 45 years of life than if it had been written like a regular novel.  Even though the story was mainly about Rosie and Alex, I loved Rosie and Ruby's messages the most - everyone needs and friend like Ruby!  I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind epistolary novels.
4/5

"Gloriously eccentric and wonderfully intelligent" is exactly how I would describe this book.  My brother is Autistic so I usually enjoy any books that help me to understand him better.  This book was written by someone on the spectrum, about someone on the spectrum, so I think it offered a unique perspective.  There was a lot of math in this book which I kind of skimmed over (math isn't my thing and these parts were not critical to the story), and a lot of him explaining his logical thought process (which I found interesting at times, and frustrating at times).  This book wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, but I really enjoyed it and I'm glad I read it.
4/5

Still sitting here scratching my head wondering why I waited so long to start this series!  I'm loving it and I'm loving how all the old and new characters are coming together and how their stories are intertwined!  I loved getting to know Scarlet and Wolf while also learning more about Cinder's past.  I honestly can't decide which book I liked better!  Not-so-patiently waiting for book 3 from the library!
4/5

 I received a signed ARC of this book from the I Read YA event at BookCon
I really, really liked this book.  I can totally understand why others may not, but I really did and I had a hard time putting it down.  I will say that I did expect this book to be a bit different.  There wasn't some big emotional punch or reveal like I had been expecting, but to me the whole book was an emotional punch in the face.  It probably will be for anyone who has lost someone at a young age.  For me, the circumstances were different. I wasn't there and it wasn't a school shooting.  But it was sudden, unexpected and tragic - and 10 years later it still hurts.  And everyone I know dealt with his death differently and that is a lot of what this books is about.  The aftermath and dealing with a tragedy.  It's also about the truth and how it gets twisted and I think that part of this story is so important because of the media involvement in school or other mass shootings.  Speculation hurts people - if you weren't there then you just don't know.  This book gave me a lot to think about, and I think that is why I liked it as much as I did.
5/5

I had the pleasure of hearing Angie Thomas speak at BookCon and she is fantastic! Hearing her talk about the inspiration for this book and the tie-ins to her own life made this book that much better for me!
This book y'all.  I don't really know what to say other than that this is probably one of the most important books you could read right now.  It is thought provoking, sad, frustrating, funny, and sobering.  Do yourself a favor and go get it today.
4/5

BookCon 2018

I discovered BookCon when I was making up my most recent 101 in 1001 list.  I saw it on someone else's list and immediately googled it.  When I saw the low weekend price I immediately texted my sister and told her she had no choice but to go with me.  It wasn't too hard to convince her.  We'd been looking forward to this weekend for month and it was definitely worth every penny!  The weekend went by so fast :( but we really enjoyed ourselves.  I can't wait to see who is going to be there next year (now that we're going to be in NY longer than expected).  Here are the panels we went to and a little bit about each one.

Time Traveling Fantasies Panel: Naomi Novik, Deborah Harkness and V.E. Schwab

This was our first panel. To be honest, they didn’t have the mic’s turned up so I didn’t hear a lot of the first half, but the second half was fantastic. I wanted to see this panel because Victoria (V.E.) Schwab was on the panel and it didn’t disappoint.

Magic and Power Panel: Marissa Meyer, Cassandra Clare, Brandon Sanderson, and Tomi Adeyemi
 This was a great panel about fantasy novels. They discussed their newest books, how they came up with the ideas for their stories, where the inspiration for some of the characters magics came from, and so much more.

 I Read YA: Met and got advanced copies of books from Scott Westerfeld, V.E. Schwab, and Kody Keplinger.  These are some awful pictures of me (thanks sis) but I don't even care - I fangirled so hard!

 Dear Evan Hanson Panel: Justin Paul, Benj Pasek, Steven Levenson, and Val Emmich 
 The creators of the show and the author of the upcoming book talked about how they took a popular Broadway musical and made it into a book. I can’t wait to read it when it comes out!

 The Real Reel: Becky Albertalli, Lauren Oliver, Angie Thomas, and Soman Chainani
 This was a great panel about what it’s like to have your book turned into a movie. They talked about how much control they have over things (note: not much), and what it’s like to see something you created come to life. Also, about the difference between Hollywood and publishing.

PBS: The Great American Read: Glynnis MacNicol, Yahdon Israel, Veronica Roth, and Daniel Jose Older
This was probably one of my favorite panels. The moderator had a bracket and a bowl of books from the Great American Reads list. She picked two books at a time and then each panel member would have to choose a book and defend their choice. The audience then voted by a show of hands. This went on until we had a winner (Harry Potter, of course).

 The Hate U Give Panel: George Tillman Jr., Sabrina Carpenter, Amandla Stenberg, Angie Thomas

 YOU GUYS!!! My sister and I saw Angie Thomas at a panel earlier in the day and really loved her. That coupled with the fact that my sister is a Sabrina Carpenter fan, we decided to stay for this panel (and got really good seats). Between this panel and the PBS one, I got up to get us some food. When I came back I noticed a sign saying no taping during the screening – and a whole bunch of scary guys in suits.  Y’all we got to see the first ever screening of clips from the movie and it was amazing! When I say first ever, I mean the author and the actors saw it for the first time just minutes before us. I freaking can not wait to see this movie! I guarantee this is going to be one of the most important books/movies of our generation

Here are the books I got signed and some of the things I brought home from BookCon.  We didn't get as much as we probably could have because we were more interested in the panels than the free stuff. 

Since the first day of BookCon ended around dinner time, we went out and enjoyed the city for a bit.  I honestly can't remember where we got dinner, but we spent the rest of the time in Times Square.  My sister isn't a big fan of NYC but she does enjoy Times Square.

  

Book Reviews: June

June was a solid reading month for me - I enjoyed every book I read.  I'm so excited to get into all of my books for Erin's Challenge in July!!

As far as enjoyment goes, this book was a solid 4 for me.  The story line was interesting and I really wanted to know what was going to happen to Lena.  I also love that it takes place in the south (near a town we are considering moving to).  My only issue was that I found the narrator a bit annoying and very repetitive.  I also think it could have been a bit shorter.  I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.
4/5

Honestly, Fredrik Backman can do no wrong. He can pack more of a punch in less than 100 pages than a lot of authors can in a whole book. 

4/5 

My first thought after finishing Cinder was, WHY did I wait so long to start this series?!?  I'm not typically a science fiction fan - there have definitely been sci-fi books that I've loved, but it isn't something I gravitate towards.  This one just blew me away.   One of my favorite things about this book (especially as a YA book) is that the characters weren't all caught up in their emotions.  They made mature choices based on how it would affect the people around them, not just how it would affect their love interest.  Also, Iko is the best!  I already have the next book on hold at the library and I can't wait to see where this series goes!
4/5

This was the first Backman book I was ever hesitant to read.  I loved Beartown and I didn't know if I really wanted a sequel, but I couldn't let a Backman book go unread.  As always Backman came through with a beautiful and emotional story.  I there was several times throughout this story where I was holding my breath and bracing myself.  While I still loved Beartown more, this sequel definitely didn't disappoint and I definitely recommend it! 
5/5 

Documentary Review: National Parks Adventure

Documentary: National Parks Adventure

Watched On: 06/17/18

Duration: 42 Minutes

Narrated By: Robert Redford

My Rating 4/5 Stars 

This was my first documentary watched for my Day Zero Challenge. I decided that in order to get the most of out each documentary, that I would take notes and post about each one.  National parks Adventure was a fantastic first pick and I'm really glad I watched it. 

This documentary was less about what they were saying and more about what they were showing - the immense beauty that is the National Parks in the United States.  They started in Yellowstone which happens to sit on top of the worlds largest super volcano (which was the subject of a book I read a few months ago!), and is home to over half of the geysers on earth.  Next up was a short visit to the Grand Canyon whose exposed rock layers date back up to 1.7 billion years ago!  The next stop had me freaking out a bit - not because of the monument itself but because of the fuzzy friends who live there!  Devils Tower in Wyoming is  home to one of my favorite animals - Prairie Dogs!  Prairie dogs are super cute and happen to have a very sophisticated vocabulary.  They have different sounds to alert about different types of predators, and it's the females who do the alerting.

Native Americans believe that the ridges of Devils Tower are the claw marks from the great bear.  They are, in fact, massive crystals of rock which formed the heart of a volcano which has long since eroded away.   From there, the climbers take you to Redwoods National Forest.  The Redwood trees are in danger of disappearing which is really sad as some of these massive trees are over 2,000 years old!  95% of the Redwoods were spelt for lumber back in the early days of this country.  It is in Yosemite that you learn about the formation of the National Parks system, and the camping trip that started it all (for that information, you'll have to watch for yourself).

One of the most interesting facts I learned watching this documentary is that it was actually a woman's club that fought to save the Everglades back in the early 1900's after discovering that millions of birds were being killed by hunters every year.

I learned a lot of interesting facts about the National Parks while enjoying the beauty of these parks.  The amazing scenery is what really made this documentary great.  If you have any interest in our National Parks here in the US, I'd definitely recommend watching National Parks Adventure on Netflix.

101 in 1001: Fitness/Health

Last 101 post, I promise! I have some PCS goals, too but I don't feel like those need any elaboration, so this is it.  These are my health and fitness goals.  I've gotten really out of shape this winter and really want to change that.  I also miss hiking and really want to get back to it so hopefully these help.

Learn to hold a handstand
 I could do a handstand when I was younger and I actually had some success in 2016 at the beach, but in general it is a skill that I totally lost.  This one kind of ties in with some yoga goals, but I really want to be able to do a hand stand and hold it for at least 10 seconds.

Complete a Walk to Mordor challenge
 This is another goal that I found on the Day Zero website and I thought it looked fun.  The goal is to walk 1779 miles "from the Shire to Mordor" in your own neighborhood or parks etc.   They calculate that if you walk 3 miles every other day that it can be done in 20 weeks (4.5 months), but I think I'm going to challenge myself to complete it in half that time.

Hike in the Adirondacks
 If I calculated correctly, we can be in the Adirondacks in about 1.5 hours.   Now, the part I really want to go to is a little bit farther than that, but still a doable day trip, especially if we take the dogs like I want to.   I'd like to do more than one hike, but I'll take whatever I can get. 

Hike with the dogs once per week
This is, of course, a summer goal and also weather permitting.  The pups LOVE to go for walks and love going in the buh-bye car because that usually means that we are going somewhere fun.  I'd like to get out and find some new trails and go back to some old ones this summer. 

Get a massage
 It just needs to happen.

Complete a 30 day yoga challenge
 I love Yoga and I was doing it all the time when there was a night class at the gym.  But the instructor PCS'd and now there is only AM classes.  I really want to find an app that has a 30 day program and just do it at home on my own time. 


Use my fit-bit to track my activity for 3 months
I've actually already started this one!  I'm currently doing Isagenix (and I don't plan to stop!) and the Isa App connects with my fit-bit app to give me a more accurate idea of my calories in vs calories out.  I really want to continue to track my activity and really work on getting my steps above 10,000 at least 4 to 5 days per week. 

{Find a workout schedule that works for me, Keep that schedule for 6 months} 
 With my work schedule, finding the time to work out is a bit difficult.  I really want to write up two schedules for each day - one for if I do work on that day and one for if I don't.  That way I always know when to work out and what I'll be doing each day as soon as my work schedules are published.

101 in 1001: Blog/Writing

I'm trying really hard to be better about blogging, so I had to throw some blogging goals onto my 101 in 1001 list.   Last time I was a bit too ambitious, so this time around I made the goals a bit more realistic for me.

Blog twice per week for 1 year
 I really do enjoy blogging but with working two jobs most days, I just don't feel like blogging when I get home.  I want to put more effort into blogging on my days off.  If I can just complete one post on each day off, I'll meet this goal.

 Keep a journal for one year - write 2X per week
 I've always wanted to keep a journal so why not start now.  I've been thinking about starting this on my thirtieth birthday (next year!  Yikes!) and documenting the first year of my thirties.

Make a list of 100 things I've already done
 When I first started blogging, another blogger had posted her Reverse Bucket List - a list of awesome things she's already done in her life.  I thought that was a great idea and did one of my own.  It really reminded me how lucky I am and how much I have actually done in my life.  At that time, I wasn't feeling too great about my life so it was a good reminder to be grateful.   I plan to do this on a much larger scale with a list of 100 things I've done. 

Make a list of 100 things I want to do before I die
For my 101 in 1001 list, I needed to be realistic about what I could accomplish in the next 2.75 years.   With this list I get to be a bit more lofty with my goals and think a little farther into the future.  Though I do plan to be a bit realistic, I mean I know I'm never going to have my own huge library on my property, as much as I would LOVE that.


Document one week of my life in photographs
 I've noticed that I'm starting to take less pictures (other than pictures of my dogs) of daily life.  I used to take photos all the time even if it was something that seemed trivial.  I've always been pretty good at being able to take a photo but still actually enjoy whatever it is that I'm looking at.  However, lately I've just not been motivated to take pictures.   Hopefully this goal will help me get back into taking pictures of daily life.

Do at least 1 Vlog
I have never liked seeing myself on video so I know this will be a hard one for me and probably one that I'll put off for a while.  However, I do what to give it a try.  Some of my favorite bloggers do the occasional Vlog and I always enjoy them!

101 in 1001: Random/School

I had a few goals that didn't really fit into any of the other categories and became their own "random" category.  I also have a few goals for when I return to school.

Finish German Rosetta Stone
I've had this damn Rosetta Stone for years.  I was doing so well with it, but then the audio went out on my laptop.  I haven't had the chance to get it fixed, but I was told I'd probably need a new laptop which I can't afford.  I've installed it on Josh's laptop and hope to get started fairly soon.
 
Complete 7 goals in 1 week
 I saw this one on someone elses list and thought it sounded fun, so I added it to mine.  No other reason behind this one.

Go horseback riding
I LOVE horses!  I rode when I was younger and have been wanting to get back into it, but it is an expensive hobby!  I'm hoping that it's one I can get into again once we're closer to being debt free. Even if I can only go once per month, I'm cool with that. 

Get comic and giraffe photos framed
We have three prints that we've needed to get framed for like 2 years!  We want to hang the comic ones in the spare room and the giraffe one in our room.  We don't want expensive frames, we just need to get them measured because they're all weird sizes.  So basically it hasn't gotten done because I'm just lazy. 

Make Christmas cards
By this I mean cute little cards with photos of us and the pups.  I always do the generic ones you can get in a box from Walmart because they are cheaper.  We'll have more money either this Christmas or next so I'd like to finally do a cute personalized Christmas card. 

Put together a Will
We both need one and I don't have one.  Josh has one through the Army which is fine for as long as he's in, but I need to do one for myself.  I'm not too worried about this until we actually have more money saved than we do debt. 

Get the pups fully trained
Y'all these dogs drive me nuts!  Both of them are terrible on a leash.  I've taken Bolt to three different trainers and he just doesn't care.  Belle is just bad because I haven't taken the time to train her separately.  We are having issues with her going potty in the house.  Accidents are getting fewer and fewer but it's still annoying and we can't figure out why she does it.  We potty trained her by letting her out every 30 minutes when we first adopted her, and praised her every time she went outside.   She knows better.  We're going to see a trainer soon to see if there is something we're missing.


{Begin school, Maintain a 3.5 GPA (at least), Maintain a 4.0 GPA in all Paralegal classes}
I plan to start attending school when we move.  I wanted to get most of our debt cleared before starting because I wont be working as much once I start.  I would start next semester but I want to start and finish at the same school.  I plan to study to be a Paralegal and do so very well!

6 Month 50 States Update

At the beginning of the year I put up all of my choices for my 50 States Reading Challenge.  I'm not nearly as far as I'd like to be, but I'm still holding on to this goal!   These are the books I've read so far along with the ones I still need to read.

READ:

Arizona: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (04/17/18)

Iowa: Ashfall by Mike Mullin (04/11/18)

Michigan: Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (04/23/18)

Montana: After the Rain byRenee Carlino (04/30/18)

Pennsylvania: Only Ever You by Rebecca Drake (02/23/18)
 South Carolina: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia (06/11/18)

Tennessee: Breathe, Annie, Breathe by Miranda Kenneally (02/04/18)

Wisconsin: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (04/23/18)

TO READ:

Alabama: The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Alaska: Upstream by Melissa Lion

Arkansas: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

California: Emmy and Oliver by Robin Benway

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus

Colorado: The Shining by Stephen King

Connecticut: All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Delaware: Are You Scared Yet by Hunter Morgan

Florida: Abandon by Meg Cabot

Georgia: The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Hawaii: Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

Idaho: Idaho by Emily Ruskovich

Illinois: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone

Indiana: The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter

Kansas: The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

Kentucky: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Louisiana: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Maine: Picture This by Jacqueline Sheehan

Maryland: Divine Fall by Kathryn Knight

Massachusetts: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Minnesota: Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

Mississippi: The Chamber by John Grisham

Missouri: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Nebraska: Tease by Amanda Maciel

Nevada: Void Moon by Michael Connelly

New Hampshire: Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

New Jersey: Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley

New Mexico: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

New York: The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen

North Carolina: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

North Dakota: A Country Christmas by Debbie Macomber

Ohio: Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise

Oklahoma: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo

Oregon: The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Rhode Island: Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

South Dakota: Blood Ties by Lori G. Armstrong

Texas: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

Utah: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Vermont: All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg

Virginia: The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Washington: I was Here by Gayle Forman

West Virginia: The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows

Wyoming: Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

101 in 1001: Watch

As much as I love books and reading, I also love movies and documentaries.  I set a few goals in order to branch out in what I watch and also to watch a few old favorites.

Watch 15 documentaries (0/15)
I love documentaries if they're good.  I want to try to find more good ones - especially about veganism and minimalism.  I've got a list of about 80 potentials saved from netflix, so this one shouldn't be too hard.  I'm also not opposed to re-watching a few favorites.

See a drive-in movie
There is a drive in theater not 5 minutes from our house in Black River and one in Alex Bay.  I've never been to a drive in movie and I would really like to go.   We plan to go this summer at some point.  I've heard that Alex Bay is better, but Black River is really close to our house, so that one will probably win. 

 Watch 50 of IMDB's top 250 movies (0/50)

 I have my list of 50 that I am interested in saved to a word document.  Some of them I've seen, but I'm OK with that - most of the ones I've seen I haven't watched in quite some time.

Have a Harry Potter movie marathon
Anyone who knows me knows that this isn't going to be a hard one to achieve.  I'd like to spend a rainy day watching all of them, but if I have to watch one or two on separate days, I'm OK with that.   I'm hoping to re-read all of the HP books this year and then do the movie marathon afterwards. 

Have a Disney movie marathon

I LOVE Disney movies and I don't watch them often enough.  I want to have a day of just watching all of my old favorites - Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, the Lion King.


Spend a rainy day watching movies in my PJ's
Watching movies is my favorite thing to do on rainy days, I want to devote an entire day to watching all of my favorites that aren't Disney or HP.  Blue Crush 2, Letters to Juliet, Eat Pray Love, Pretty Woman ... and the list goes on. 

Listen to 5 TED talks  (0/5)
I always see TED talks pop up in random places but I never watch them.  I've heard that they're great so I want to watch a few on subjects that interest me.  I haven't picked any yet, but I have a feeling that there will be plenty that interest me.

Book Reviews: May

This was a sucky month of reading for me.  I read a whopping ONE book :(  I tried but I really just couldn't get in to anything this month.  However, the book I did read was finished in two days. 

This book was super cute and enjoyable.  Ireland is one of the top places on my list of places I need to visit, so I loved reading about different towns and sights in Ireland.  I loved all of the characters in this story (which is rare for me), especially Rowan.   I think one of my favorite parts of this book was reading little snippets from the book Addie was reading, called "Ireland for the Heartbroken".  Each passage had a little bit of advice and some crazy things to do at each site they visited.   Very entertaining and cute read - if you liked Love and Gelato, you will probably enjoy Love and Luck.
4/5

Book Challenge By Erin 9.0

I am so excited that it is almost time for another Book Challenge by Erin!  I was able to finish my list for the first time during her last challenge and I am hoping to do so again this round.  Maybe for 10.0 I'll try to do half of the bonus round, but for now I'm good with just finishing.  Here are the categories as well as my choices for each.  For more detail on the categories, check out the public Facebook Group. 

• 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages:
TBD

• 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “N”:  
The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen

• 10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) orange cover:  
 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

• 15 points: Read a book with an unlikeable character:   
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• 20 points: Read a book from the list of 100 books that PBS calls “The Great American Read”:  
The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

• 20 points: Read a book with something related to water in the title; i.e. ocean, sea, lake, river, waves, etc. :
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

• 25 points: Read a book you’ve owned the longest but haven’t read yet (or that has been on your goodreads “to read” list the longest, or has been sitting in your kindle the longest):  
Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley  (GoodReads)

• 30 points: Read a book with an emotion word in the title; i.e. joy, sadness, grief, love, anger, etc. (submitted by Megan):  
Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

• 30 points: Read a book (must be at least 2 words in the title) where each word in the title of the book begins with the same letter (submitted by Vinay):  
Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

• 35 points: Read a book featuring a character who shares your profession or similar one – basically the idea is the character does the same kind of thing as you do day to day – stay at home parent or student counts as a profession:
TBD (If anyone knows of good books where a character is a waitress or works in a restaurant, I’m open to suggestions).