February

I took last Friday off and had a nice 3 day weekend. Of course, it’s snowing and the roads were awful this morning, but the weekend was fantastic.

I drove down to Springville on Saturday to see my niece play volleyball. It’s an almost 2 hour drive, but it was a gorgeous day with the sun shining and that’s why I went. Normally, I’d only go to games closer to home. The cast list for a play she auditioned for came out in the middle of the tournament and watching her face as she finally realized her name was at the top instead of the bottom of the list was pretty fun. She got the lead!

Then on the way home, I took my nephew with me and we stopped at a used bookstore, 2 different Barnes and Nobles, and a comic book store. We were looking for a specific manga he wanted and finally found it. He told me his mom and dad would definitely not go to 4 bookstores with him. I say sign me up! I’ll do that any day.

It’s birthday shopping month! And this year I’m not really doing birthing shopping. My trip to Egypt is coming and will be here before I know it, so I am using the birthday shopping money for that trip instead. Which is completely fine. I mean, not everybody gets to say that their birthday present to themselves was a trip to Egypt. I’m kind of hoping to find a cool piece of jewelry to bring back home, but I guess I’ll see.

The House That Built Me

I like that Miranda Lambert song. But also, it's true.

Found these pictures today. So these aren't the actual house that built me, although I found a few of those too.

It changed over the years, but this was a great yard to grow up in.

Lots and lots (and lots and lots) of good memories.  It's been 5 years now since they sold it and sometimes I still miss it. 

Best Books of the Decade

Since everybody is doing “decade” lists on the internet along with year end lists, I thought I’d look back on my favorite books of the decade. To qualify, they had to be on my “best of year” list on Goodreads, I have to own them, they impacted me in ways I still remember, and they garnered multiple re-reads.  Some of these books and series are responsible for huge book hangovers and the inability to let go of them. Others were read right when I needed them.

The Queen of Attolia – Megan Whalen Turner

Magic Bleeds – Ilona Andrews

The Scorpio Races – Maggie Stiefvater

Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins

A Conspiracy of Kings – Megan Whalen Turner

Song of Scarabaeus – Sara Creasy

Lady of the Glen – Jennifer Roberson

Easy – Tammara Webber

Master of Crows – Grace Draven

Binding the Shadows – Jenn Bennett

Written in Red – Anne Bishop

Every Breath – Ellie Marney (entire series)

One Plus One – Jojo Moyes

The Road Home – Ellen Emerson White

Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell

Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo (entire series)

Nimona – Noelle Stevenson

A Darker Shade of Magic – V.E. Schwab (entire series)

Den of Wolves – Juliet Marillier

Death Wears a Mask – Ashley Weaver

Revolution – Jennifer Donnelly

Dark Minds – Michelle Diener

Madam, Will You Talk? – Mary Stewart

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me – Mariana Zapata

White Hot – Ilona Andrews

The Firebird – Susanna Kearsley

Wait For It – Mariana Zapata

The Opposite of You – Rachel Higginson

Letters to the Lost – Brigid Kemmerer

Storm Cursed – Patricia Briggs

I look at this list and think there are a lot that are my favorite books that are missing. But then I realize that sometimes books get better after time and might not have been on my Best Of list back when I read it. Some of the books on the lists didn’t make this cut even though I liked them at the time I read them. And there are a few that I loved and might have re-read them over the years, but I don’t own them.

Best Books of 2019

This year I did something different and started tracking my books on a spreadsheet complete with charts and graphs. It was kind of fun and I’m going to keep going next year to get more data, although I think it has been a pretty typical year for reading. I read 117 books in 2019. Mystery was by far my most read genre (not surprising since it’s my favorite). The 2^nd most read genre was sci-fi romance, followed by historical romance. That one did surprise me a little because I’ve gotten tired of that particular genre, however, I read a bunch of Carla Kelly’s back-list which explains the number. Without them, it wouldn’t have made the cut. Contemporary romance came in 4^th and my top 5 rounds out with YA.  I got 5 classics and 9 non fiction books read. It’s been fun to realize the scope of books that I like as I try things outside my norm. Other statistics which were fun to track: paper vs. ebook. I read more paper, but just barely. I purchased more paper books and borrowed more ebooks (from both Kindle Unlimited and the library). Library books accounted for about 34% of what I read. March was my biggest month with 16 books read and November was my smallest with 4.

And here they are in the order I read them:

The Hollow of Fear – Sherry Thomas

I was reluctant to start this series but it was silly and this one is my favorite so far. I’ve got the next one on my shelf but haven’t gotten to it yet.

Letters to the Lost – Brigid Kemmerer

To an extent, I’ve gotten tired of the contemporary Young Adult genre but I read 3 of Brigid Kemmerer’s books this year and loved them. This one was the first and has been my favorite, so far.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman

This one killed me in the best way. I re-read it a few months later and it was still so, so good.

The Lost Man – Jane Harper

I read all 3 of Jane Harper’s published books this year and liked them very much. This one, though. I swear I could feel the heat of the Australian outback from my living room.

The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary

The buzz on this one was positive and I had a feeling so I bought it and found a cute chick lit type of romance but with some depth to the characters.  

Finder – Suzanne Palmer

This book was a breath of fresh air. I don’t read in the non-romance science fiction genre that much and it just felt good. It helps that the MC was just an all-around nice guy and competent and good at his job.

Storm Cursed – Patricia Briggs

A very good installment in a favorite series, plus there’s a scene at the end that completely shocked and wowed me.

Singapore Sapphire – A.M. Stuart

A fun mystery set in Singapore. The characters were so good, but in a first book, not everything is revealed about them. I have to admit I’m dying to find out more about Inspector Gordon. Book 2 next year will be an auto-buy.

The Downstairs Girl – Stacey Lee

This one gave me a lot to think about with the Chinese immigrants in the South. I love it when I get a good story plus learn about things I didn’t know before.

In the Time of the Dragon Moon – Janet Lee Carey

A random pick of YA fantasy with a tiny bit of romance. Fantasy is another genre I need to read in more often.

Murder at Kensington Palace – Andrea Penrose

I’m really enjoying this series. There was some great, if slow, character growth in this one. I’ve had issues with the author in the past for stagnating relationships and fingers crossed it doesn’t happen here. 

No Shortcuts to the Top – Ed Viesturs

This one snuck in at the end of the year. I read 4 mountaineering books this year. They were all good, but this was my favorite.

Merry Christmas

Ah, the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. So they say. I didn't have the motivation to get out the regular sized tree this year, so I went with the small one. My niece decorated it for me. It's not like I was at home to need a bigger one.

I made a conscious effort to do some #lighttheworld things this year (although I made up my own, not the ones from the church prompts) and I feel pretty good that I did them, so there is that.

I spent Christmas Eve with my family and it was chaotic and then I went home to my quiet house. On Christmas day I went back to my mom's house and we did a puzzle.

It was a good day but feels like another holiday that comes and goes. Which it kind of is.

Thanksgiving Week

Spent the whole week off work and having myself a little stay-cation. It’s been such a needed break. I don’t think I did much of anything useful but I wasn’t really supposed to. I went shopping with my mom on Monday and almost all of my Christmas shopping is done. Tuesday, mom and I went to the temple in the morning and then I did some errands like getting the oil changed in my car. I took it easy on Wednesday and made rolls.

Seeing pans of dishcloth covered rolls on the the table on Thanksgiving morning is one of my favorite childhood holiday memories. To this day, it makes me happy. Of course, I don’t get up as early as my mom so I rolled them out on Wednesday morning (at a normal time) and then let them rise and baked them that afternoon.

I also got to use the little bread basket thing I picked up last year in Austria. I never use it just for myself.

And did I mention it snowed!! Yay!!! It snowed off and on almost all week. And it dumped overnight on Wednesday. Lot’s of heavy snow. I was going to try and just drive through it out of my driveway but the plow truck came by and I was not going anywhere. So I shoveled myself out. I haven’t shoveled snow in a long time. That’s hard work!

We made candy on Friday, of course. Although we cut it back this year and I’m glad we did. It only took a few hours and then we were able to clean it up and watch movies. My nephew was dying to go back to Best Buy (he had gone early with his dad, but he’s a very slow decision maker) so I told him I’d take him in the evening. It was busy, but not so bad I couldn’t handle it. And luckily, he knew what he wanted and we weren’t there very long.

On Saturday, my mom and I took most of the kids to Frozen II. Then we tried to go to Ogden’s Christmas parade and lighting of the Christmas Village. Ha ha... yeah, that was a total bust. Below is the happy picture. Then there was lots of complaining. I mean, I was prepared and even I was cold so I don’t blame them. The parade was kind of slow and the kids weren’t really interested in it. Plus, you couldn’t see all of it through the people. So we left before it was even over. Missed all the lights. And it’s ok. We went and got hot chocolate and then I was home and wrapped up in a blanket. So that’s not something I want to try again unless we end up with a warmer and less snowy Thanksgiving in a few years.

Like I said, it’s been a great week. I’m so thankful for my family and my warm house and the really good life that I can live. I’ve been very blessed. And you know what? I’m ready to get back to work and into my regular routine. That seems weird to say since I’m always complaining about it. Guess I’ll try not to complain and be grateful that I have a job and a routine. 

Aunt Fail

I had a sleepover with 5 of my nieces and nephews on Friday night. I think we all had a good time that night. It was just the next morning that they were up pretty early, after being awake pretty late, that some crying and complaining started and I kind of lost it. LOL – I told my brother and sister to come get their kids. I know I didn’t get enough sleep either and totally lost my patience. After my house was quiet again and I was cleaning up I got to thinking that I’m just like my mom in all the ways I never wanted to be. I seemed to not get any of the qualities I admire. I love being an aunt, but it’s better when I do things with them outside of my home. I like to take them places and do fun things that their parents don’t normally do for them. In fact, I think they are kind of lucky they have an aunt who doesn’t have kids so I can do things with them that maybe their other aunts and uncles can’t. And I’m just older now and set in my ways and like the quiet and order of my home. It’s kind of my sanctuary and even though I love the kids dearly, I’m not used to having them there.  So maybe not the greatest sleepover ever. Hopefully, they forget about it and next time I see them, we can have some fun together.