Monday, December 18, 2017

Monday Musings

IMG_7876
Alohi's birthday hike!

My week: Alohi turned 1 on Saturday! To celebrate we took her on a hike. She got a little bored and bratty in the middle (in her defense, it was nearly 5 miles), but I think she had a great time! And my mantra is a tired puppy is a happy puppy, and she was definitely contentedly tuckered out.

My husband's and my Christmas roles seem to be reversed this year. Normally I'm the super-festive one and he's the Grinch, but I just haven't been feeling it this year. He actually had to convince me to go cut down our tree (I was all, "Ugh, it's soooooo much effort just to take it down in a couple weeks"), when usually I'm the one saying, "Let's go, let's go!" We had some lighted garland around our front door and I finally gave into the trend and bought a blow-up Rudolph this year, and honestly I felt like that was enough; it's ok to take a break once in a while! But no, Jarrod has been bitten by the Christmas bug and after this week our house looks like the Griswold's and our electical sockets look like the ones in "Christmas Story" that keep blowing the fuse. And, happily, I'm finally feeling a bit more festive -- I'm actually listening to Christmas music as I type this.

Reading: I stayed home from work last Monday with a cold and I spent hours and hours reading -- and blazed through "Magpie Murders." It was really two mystery novels in one -- one set in the '50s, one in present day, both in England -- and I loved it!

Then I read "Big Mushy Happy Lump," the second Sarah Scribbles book. I didn't find the comics in this edition to be quite so "OH MY GOD, that is SO me!" as the first one, but it was cute and fun nonetheless.

Next up was "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, one of the most hyped books of the year. It was deserving of all the hullaballoo, though not perfect -- I gave it 4 stars. I will say, though, that it was one of those books that sucks you into a situation that's obviously spiraling out of control, and you just can't look away -- or put the book down! It was the first book in a while that got me to stay up way past my bedtime reading.

And now I'm reading "Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery" by Jenny Colgan. It's cute, and I love that it features a PET PUFFIN(!!!!!), but I'm 2/3 of the way done and it doesn't feel quite as Christmas-y as I'd hoped. It's actually the third book in a series (though the other two aren't necessary to enjoy this one -- there's enough background) and I do think I might go back and read the first two. I want more of this charming island off Cornwall!

I've now read 95 books this year -- fingers crossed that I make it to my new goal of 100!



Watching: We watched the movie "Get Out" this week. It didn't seem like something I'd like and I had no intention of watching it until I saw Allison Williams talking about it on The Tonight Show and then a co-worker recommended it. It was... definitely a unique plot. I didn't hate it, but it certainly wasn't my favorite. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Also: a couple Hallmark Christmas movies. One, "A Gift to Remember," was pretty much made for me in all its cheesy glory -- it involved a bookstore-working bibliophile who likes to make crafty displays in the shop, and a cute dog.

Knitting: A Christmas-y bird ornament for my work Secret Santa. I finished it yesterday but it was too dark to get a good picture, so here he is partially completed.

IMG_7889

Eating: I discovered this reeeally yummy peppermint-white chocolate caramel corn at Target. Peppermint is pretty much my favorite flavor, and I am now addicted.

Dreading: Going to the post office after work today! Ughhhhh! I'm usually the early bird as far as Christmas shopping and mailing, but this year I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the books I ordered from Book Depository for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa to arrive. A month later, they are still not here, and I'm now going to be the crazy lady braving the post office a week before Christmas. And I have a ton of stuff to mail, too (the joys of living far, far away from family and friends!).

Blogging:
Monday Musings
The Book Series I Started in 2017 -- And Which Ones I'll Continue
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery
Christmas Song Book Tag

Looking forward to: Taking Alohi down to the Honolulu City Lights to see Shaka Santa and Mrs. Claus. And finally doing some Christmas baking this week!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Kimberly of Caffeinated Reviewer for Sunday Post.

8 comments:

  1. I can't believe Alohi is 1! Booker T and Cass send birthday doggy wishes as well. Sorry you were under the weather but a day home reading sounds like just what you needed. I've gone back and forth with the Christmas spirit this year and good luck at the post office. Shipping this year has been nuts to say the least.

    We watched "Get Out" when it first came out and I'll be honest, I had no idea it was classified as a horror movie. I thought it was pretty good but like I said, it was not something I expected.

    Have a wonderful and cheery week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you're feeling better. Good luck with reaching 100 books. I'm right where you are with 96 read, but with a week of travel, family and Christmas in there I'm not sure I'll make it to 100.

      Delete
  3. Lol about Christmas roles- they can definitely change from year to year! Happy birthday to Alohi too!

    Little Fires Everywhere is one I definitely want to read, after seeing some good reviews. Sounds gripping! And Christmas at Little beach street does look very festive!

    Have a super week!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Magpie Murders sounds great. I'll have to add it to my wishlist. Both my brother and I are Grinches this year. Our Christmas tree is sitting half decorated in the middle of our dining room and might just stay there. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy birthday to Alohi. She's such an adorable puppy. *.*

    I hope to get my hands on Little Fires Everywhere. I watched Get Out this week as well. I didn't hate, but it was odd - very odd.

    Happy readings! ;)
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've read 96 books and am in the midst of 2 others. I really think I might end up at 99 :)

    I loved Get Out. I listened to an episode of the podcast Code Switch about it before seeing it, and they talked a lot about the context - like, how black characters are usually represented in horror movies - which I think made me like it even more.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! Comments make my day, and I read and appreciate every single one!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...