Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/17/22

Well, howdy there.  

I hadn't picked up any new books in a while, so I went on a little tear last night and actually bought 3 books.  Two were books in series that I've enjoyed previously - I think they're both 'book 3s' - and another was a book that just sounded really interesting - suspense, mystery, paranormal mystery.  Should be fun.

Books Read:

49) Faytown Calling by E. Nathan Sisk (9/15/22) - UF Noir*3# - 5 stars.  Nope, not new to me, but certainly underappreciated, so I added it.  Hey, it's my thing, I can do what I want LOL.  Paid full price for it - $4.99.
Review: "Chock full of everything I love about fantasy, paranormal, noir, and action/adventure. It even had a little romance thrown in. Woohoo, what a ride. I'll be seriously interested in what Mr. Sisk does with the next book. (And waiting impatiently for that book to be finished - like all his other fans, I'm sure.)"

DNFs:

9/16/22 - cozy mystery - free.  It couldn't decide if it wanted to be past tense or present tense, and it was trying too hard for a folksy quality that just came off as insulting to actual folksy people.

Currently reading...  After I DNF'd that one yesterday, I spent time looking for new books to read.  Nothing came up in yesterday's newsletters, so I hit Amazon.  By the time I found a few books to snag, it was too late to start one of them, so I watched On Patrol: Live instead.

What was on your reading lists last week?

Sunday Update - Week ??

It was a week.  Don't ask me what the number was.  They all blur together now.  The days blur together, too.  Laying in bed the other morning, I had a devil of a time determining what day it was.  A large part of me was absolutely certain it was Saturday and was all for rolling over to go back to sleep.  But a little voice doubted it greatly, so it started thumbing through activities from the days before until it could present an argument that it was not, in fact, Saturday.  It got some heckling and I think someone threw a tomato, but in the end, I got out of bed and got ready for work.  

I got some reading accomplished.  It was all over the long weekend, but hey, it was something.  And I read a bunch yesterday, but it's a longish book, so I doubt I'll finish it today.  :fingers crossed:

Ack, I have to remember that the last Update was on Tuesday and not repeat myself too much.  Which shouldn't be hard.  Tues-Fri, I worked and didn't do anything else.  

On the activity meter, I did spend about 15 minutes at work sweeping the office.  It desperately needed it.  I also ran around gathering up all the garbages on Friday.  I try to do that every Friday because I hate the thought of garbage sitting in the office over the weekend and I do not want to walk into the office on Monday to stink.  Hasn't happened yet, but I want to avoid it if at all possible.  This week, I'm going to clean the bathrooms at some point.  For off-work activity, Hubs and I are going to take a walk today.  At least that's the plan.  We were going to walk last night after dinner, but we got wrapped up in a movie and then it was dark.  

The movie was The Importance of Being Earnest.  I saw in the theater in 2002, but Hubs hadn't seen it yet.  It's a fun movie and we enjoyed it.  With all the working, quality time with Hubs is at a premium.  I try to make the most of it.

I didn't do any baking last week.  Today, I need to make zucchini bread.  Hubs is out.  

Yesterday, I did the big Wallyworld trip.  We're loaded up for a couple weeks at least.  Yay.  It wasn't a bad trip.  The worst part of it was getting Yertle the Turtle for a cashier.  I got this guy once before, months ago.  One would've hoped he would be fired before now, he'd that bad, but nope.  Still there.  Still just as slow.  I think he might have Asperger's.  Which is like 'hey, whatever', but cashier at a Walmart is probably not the best fit for him.  Soooo, slooooow.  And lacking in the personality necessary to deal with customers.  I will not make the same mistake again.  

Also yesterday... hey, I told you Tues-Fri was all work... I was at the gas station and overheard the poor gal at the cash register trying to help an older biker dude :cough:poser:cough: with directions.  So, I was all like 'where are you trying to get to?', so the dude comes over with his little local marketing book with its tiny map and he's showing me where he wants to go.  I gave him accurate directions.  If he had followed them, he would've gotten where he wanted to go.  I pay for my stuff and walk outside to find him standing next to a pick-up truck with his little book, getting directions from some dude out there.  Whatever, man, I hope you end up in Oklahoma.  Nobody gives great directions like I do.   LOL, maybe the 'head south on this road until you reach the T, take a left' that confused him.  It could've been the 'this road turns into the road you're looking for once you cross the border into Arkansas and then it turns into this other road if you take a right' - but that's on the state of AR not me.  Dude?  Buy a map that's bigger than a postcard.

And I think that's it for me.  I hope you all had awesome weeks and that the week ahead brings you wonderful things.

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/10/22

Hey, All.  I didn't read a whole throughout the week, but I did get two books finished over the holiday weekend. Yay.

No new books of any kind acquired.  I need to rectify that this weekend.

Books Read: 

48) Shadow Stitcher by Misha Handman (9/5/22) - UF Noir*# - 5 stars.  New to me and underappreciated.  Free off the Book Barbarian newsletter.
Review: "Interesting characters, a fun mystery, solid storytelling. Of course, it was a little sad seeing what had become of one of my favorite places in childhood, but I got over it. Using the backdrop of a beloved children's tale to create a fantasy noir novel was brilliant. The author did an amazing job weaving the stories together."

47) Order Bound by E. Nathan Sisk (9/4/22) - UF Noir*2# - 5 stars.  Not necessarily new to me, since it's a book 2, but it's definitely underappreciated.  Paid full price for this one after reading the first book - $4.99.
Review: "What a ride! A most excellent sequel to a most excellent book in a most excellent series. The twist at the end was delectable. A surprise twist to a mystery that I wasn't even aware WAS a mystery. And the sweet carrot dangled in front of Virgil was heartbreaking. Dang, that's some awesome writing there. Good job, Mr. Sisk.

I'm super-excited at the prospect of reading Book 3, but I'm gonna need a day or two to come down off this one. "

No DNFs.

Currently reading... nothing.  It was a week and I didn't have the brain power to reading anything, let alone start something new.  Maybe today.

What was on your reading list last week?

Thursday This n That

 I found this awesome red shirt at the thrift store.  It's long sleeved with a collar and with buttons up the middle and at the wrists, so it's kind of styled like a men's dress shirt.  But it's made from alternating strips of sheer material and satiny material.  I wore it to work yesterday with a black dressy tank top underneath over black silky dress pants.  I was probably way overdressed for work, but sometimes a girl has to put on her armor and wade in, ya know?  Today it's back to a golf shirt and casual slacks, but it's nice to know I can still rock the dressier garb.

I've lost 11 pounds now.  If this keeps up, I'm going to have to buy new clothes soon.  It also means that the two pairs of pants I bought last month that were a tad too tight will be wearable soon.  

Ooo, and now that it's getting cooler, I can break out my suit coats. I love suit coats.  And they're back in style.  I think.  Maybe.  :shrug:  I don't really care about style.  I wear what I like.  (That's appropriate for work, of course.  Otherwise, I'd be in sweats and t-shirts all day every day.)

I hate cell phones.  I mean, they're handy, of course, but having any kind of actual discussion over the cell waves blows.  Echoes, static, blow back, unnatural pauses, volume issues... Humans don't converse like that.  Give me a landline any day, every day, and all day.  Yeah, they aren't without their issues, too, but as I sit answering phones all day, I can tell the difference between someone calling on a cell and someone calling on a landline, because I am more likely to hear them, understand them, and not have to ask them to repeat themselves so I can take accurate messages.  Do the world a favor and call from a landline if the call is important.

And if you are calling on a cell phone, don't treat the other person like a moron if they have to ask you to repeat yourself.  We're doing the best we can with what we're facing.  The other day I had to ask a guy to repeat his name twice and then asked him to spell it because every time he said it, it was coming back garbled.  L-O-N-G, he says with a laugh.  I laughed, too, and apologized, but I really couldn't understand him.

Yesterday, while I was at work, a chickadee slammed into the picture window.  Poor thing broke its neck and poor Hubs had to deal with it.  I'd handled dozens of birds from that window since we moved here 9 years ago, and it always breaks my heart when I can't save them.  I would've done anything to save Hubs from that.  :sigh:

Hubs just refilled my mug, so I told him "I know you love me, because you bring me coffee."  It's the little things that show love, doncha know.  Or maybe he's just refilling my java because out of self-preservation.  ;o)

And that's it for me today.  What's it for you today?

One last thing to add on... I tried on a bra I'd purchased in a fit of optimism.  It was one size too small.  Now it fits.  That's progress.

Tuesday Update?

Okay, so I totally brainfarted out on the Sunday Update and then I was going to do it yesterday, but I forgot.  So here we are.  Stupid holiday weekend.  Don't even get me started on 'Labor Day'.  

I spent a lot of this past weekend reading.  Finished the book I had been reading last week on Sunday.  Made it most of the way through another book yesterday.  Good times.

I baked a lot, too.  Well, on the weekend anyway.  I made cake cookies on Sunday.  Then yesterday, I made biscuits in the morning and homemade pizza in the afternoon.  Something went wonky with the pizza dough.  I used all the right measurements, I swear I did, but the dough was really wet.  I added more flour and more flour and still more flour.  And I probably kneaded the damn stuff for 15 minutes.  (Which I am paying for this morning with ouchie arms.)  In the end, it worked out, though.  I was afraid it would be bland, but I brushed the dough with a butter, garlic salt, Parm mixture and it was yummy.  I did end up with two pizzas out of it.  I did one pepperoni, mushroom, olives and the other pepperoni, ham, mushrooms.  Loads of leftover slices.  Yay.  Lunch and dinner!  

In the realm of activity, Hubs and I took a walk one night after dinner.  Then Saturday, we worked together to clean the car.  We did the windows and vacuumed and scrubbed the dashboard.  Detailing... yeah, that's it.  Anyway, Callie's the newest looking 19 year old car on the road, man.  After we were done, Hubs took her for a spin and got gas for the lawn mower.  Then he spent yesterday mowing the lawn.  Oh, and I lost some more weight.  Weight: 170.2.

Because I had the time, I did some research for work, too.  Saves me from having to do it today, so yay.

The fawns are starting to lose their spots.  :sniffle:  

I saw a frog.  That might not seem noteworthy to you, but it was a big leopard frog and I probably haven't seen one of those since I was a kid.  I spent a lot of kid time playing with leopard frogs.  Sadly, this one did not want to play with me and he hopped away.  We get lots of toads here and the occasional tree frog, but leopard frogs... I knew they were in Missouri, but I'd never seen one here.  Yay.

And that's about it.  Exciting stuff, eh?  How have things been in your world?  Did you have a nice long weekend?  

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 9/3/22

Sorry about these reading wrap-ups becoming slightly less interesting.  Less than for reading, doncha know.  Anyway, here's how the week shaped out...

No new books.  I have four unread ebooks - Paranormal, suspense, cozy mystery, and UF noir.

Books Read:

46) Seashells, Spells, and Caramels by Erin Johnson (8/28/22) - Paranormal Mystery* - 5 stars.  New to me but not underappreciated.  Free off the Book Adrenaline newsletter.
Review: "This book is loads of amazing! It's got an interesting premise and a unique paranormal world. Plus, the characters were awesome. And the hint of romance was delicious. Oh, and the mystery was fun, too!"
Available in Audio.

No DNFs.  Yay.

Currently reading... the sequel to that urban fantasy noir thing I read last week.  It's all kinds of awesome.  It's like... steampunk and fantasy and paranormal and action/adventure and noir all rolled up.  These are long reads, though, so I won't be surprised if the weekend passes and I'm still not finished.

What have you been reading lately?

Thursday This n That

As I type this Wednesday night, Hubs is watching Dr. Strangelove.  I don't think I've ever watched it all the way through.  It's definitely a weird one.  

Apropos of nothing...  You know, there have been plenty of times in my life when I have been poor.  Scraping to make ends meet poor, not wondering whether I would have a next meal poor.  (Okay, there was that time in college when I only had enough money to eat something small once a day.  I lived on Little Caesar's breadsticks - when they were 99c a bag and I could make a bag of those things stretch for a few days - and the occasional Hardees 99c breakfast biscuit.  I could eat all week on like $5.  And I went around campus collecting cigarette butts that still had a few puffs left in them because if I had something to smoke, I wasn't as hungry.)  Anyway, as thin as things were from time to time, there were two things I never missed - rent/house payments and car payments.  Those got paid first.  Then the electric bill - cuz Michigan sucks in the winter with no heat, eh.  Then food.  Whatever was left got spread around to other things, like phone, credit cards, etc.  (Needless to say, I didn't have much on credit cards, because they would've been fools to give me credit.)  I had a tiny TV with an antenna that picked up three stations.  If I had splurge money, I might buy a half-gallon of cheap ice cream or a bottle of Boone's Farm.  I don't understand how other people think, but that's how I think.  Tighten your belt.  Pay your bills.  If you don't you're stealing.  

Yeah, that had a basis.  Not one I can discuss here, but it was there.  Life can be rough.  Suck it up, buttercup.  No one needs a smartphone.  Or TV.  You don't need booze or fancy food.  Or fancy clothes.  Hell, I'd say you don't need internet, but these days, life would be harder without it.  Prioritize.  Figure out what your actual needs are and stick to them.  

On a different subject, the young gal at work was totally dressed cute today.  And it was totally '80s.  Which I told her.  She was rocking a cute red blazer.  And I hope she took my words as the compliment I meant.  She seemed pleased.  Anyway, we got talking a little - because neither of us had time to chat - and she's into thrifting like I am.  I showed her my awesome slacks that I got for $4.  I can thrift with the best of them.  LOL, I have a lot of practice.

I just got an email from LinkedIn telling me I'm on a roll with my career.  I opened it, wondering what the hell they were talking about.  It was filled with suggested people to connect with in the writing world.  Yeah, if that was my career, I sucked at it.  (No, I don't think I sucked at the writing.  Just the career part of it.)  Talk about depressing.  If I had been good at the career part of it, I wouldn't have needed a job.  Duh.

God, I love ice cream.  I had a big, ol' bowl of chocolate ice cream with peanut butter stirred into it and drizzled with dark chocolate syrup.  Yummers.  

And I'm down 10 pounds.  Feel free to hate me.  The secret?  Busy busy at work, don't eat much throughout the day, stress.  I can eat all the ice cream I want now.  Bwa ha ha.  If I throw in some exercise here and there, I'd probably get back to my courtin' Hubs weight.  Only 36 pounds to go.

On that note, I should probably get back to the movie.  Maybe I'll be in time to watch Slim Pickens ride the bomb.  LOL