Friday, December 18, 2015

10 Things That Made Me Happy... (Vol. 13) & 2015 Audiobook Challenge Finale


Happy Friday, everyone!  Not only am I happy to see Friday finally roll around (it's been a LOOONNNGGG week), but I'm especially happy because today is my last day of work for 2015!  {Cue choir - "Hallelujah!}  The kids have been wild and wooly for about a week and a half and we all need a break from one another!  
Happy Christmas Break to me!  


 Today my blog is pulling double duty with two completely unrelated linkups.  Bear with me... LOL!

 First, I am linking up with Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird and Lindsay @ The Flynnigans for their weekly installment of 10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week. Second, I am linking up with The Book Nympho and Hot Listens for the 4th and final 2015 Audiobook Challenge check-in/wrap up.
1.  A quick breakfast visit with my best friend of 25+ years.  She lives 3 hours away, but was in town to take her daughters to a concert.  I wish our visit could have been longer, but I'll take what I can get.
2. Getting the potholes in my driveway filled in. Woo-hoo!  Sometimes it really is the little things...
3. Playing UNO with my students.  I always give them a "game day" during the last session before break.  It's a great way for us to enjoy each other and have a little fun.
4. Christmas Nerds.  I love Christmas Nerds.
5. Wearing my Christmas Snoopy t-shirt to work on Wednesday!
6. Wearing my Christmas Story "Triple Dog Dare You!" t-shirt on Thursday (even though the majority of kids nowadays have no idea what it means or anything about the movie)!
7. Relocating Tinsel.  I know a lot of people loathe the Elf on a Shelf fad/phenomenon, but I have really enjoyed finding clever places to position him in my coworker's classroom.  I know a lot of parents go to extremes in order to create "situations" for the Elf to caught in the act of doing, but I don't.  I prefer to keep it simple and use what the classroom has to offer.
Perhaps he was practicing shooting craps?

Tinsel's watching you...  (I almost got caught by a teacher's kid trying to get Tinsel into this position one day after school.  #shortgirlproblems)

Getting into the candy before the party...tsk, tsk..
Future architect?
Riding a buckin' bronco Cootie Bug!
8. The abnormally warm December weather we've had.  I haven't worn my winter coat yet!  Granted, we'll probably pay for this in February, so I've tried to make the most of it.
9. This cute photo:
via Pinterest

10. Knowing that this (below) will be me around 3pm today...  LOL!


~+~+~+~


 My goal for this challenge was 52 (see my original link post here).  As of today, I have listened to 67 audiobooks, surpassing my goal by 15 audiobooks and reaching the MARATHONER level!  To be honest, I am COMPLETELY SHOCKED that I listened to that many books in one year!  Here are the audiobooks I listened to in 2015:
  1. The Transfer by Veronica Roth
  2. The Initiate by Veronica Roth
  3. The Son by Veronica Roth
  4. The Traitor by Veronica Roth
  5. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
  7. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
  8. The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan
  9. Galveston by Nic Pizzolato
  10. Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
  11. Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James
  12. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James
  13. Tell No Lies by Gregg Hurwitz
  14. Raine Falling by Paula Marinaro
  15. Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan
  16. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
  17. Easy by Tammara Webber
  18. Breakable by Tammara Webber
  19. Wicked Ties by Shayla Black
  20. Sunset Express by Robert Crais
  21. Indigo Slam by Robert Crais
  22. The Last Detective by Robert Crais
  23. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
  24. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
  25. Grey by E. L. James (review here) 
  26. Looking for Alaska by John Green
  27. Explosive Eighteen by Stephanie Evanovich
  28. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (review here)
  29. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (review here)
  30. The River is Dark by Joe Hart (review here)
  31. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (review here)
  32. All the Light We Cannot See by Jonathan Doerr (review here) 
  33. My Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall (review here)
  34. Sweet by Tammara Webber (review here)
  35. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (review here)
  36. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (review here)
  37. Fear Nothing by Lisa Gardner
  38. YOU by Caroline Kepnes (review here)
  39. Landline by Rainbow Rowell (mini review here)
  40. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (mini review here)
  41. Three Shirt Deal by Stephen J. Cannell (mini review here)
  42. On the Grind by Stephen J. Cannell (mini review here)
  43. Lick by Kylie Scott (mini review here)
  44. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover (review here)
  45. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (mini review here)
  46. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (mini review here)
  47. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (mini review here)
  48. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (impressions here)
  49. Fahreinheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (impressions here)
  50. The Martian by Andy Weir (review here)
  51. The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson (review here)
  52. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (mini review here)
  53. You Are One of Them by Elliot Holt (mini review here) 
  54. Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen (mini review here)
  55. Hostage by Robert Crais (review here)
  56. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty (review here) 
  57. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick (review here) 
  58. The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre (review here) 
  59. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (review here) 
  60. The Forgotten Man by Robert Crais (review here) 
  61. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (review here) 
  62. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman (review here)
  63. Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
  64. The Fixer by Joseph Finder
  65. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  66. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
  67. The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Thanks to the gals @ A Book Nympho and Hot Reads for hosting the challenge.  It was fun!

And if you've made it this far, thanks for hanging in until the very end!  LOL!  Happy weekend to you and have a great Friday!
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11 comments:

  1. The FlynnigansDecember 18, 2015 at 1:10 PM

    Your book list puts me to absolute shame and the lack of books read this year *hangs head in shame*.
    Lucky you to be off until 2016. Good for you girl, you deserve it, ENJOY! :)
    If you don't link up next week, merry Christmas my friend and best wishes for 2016 ;-)

    xox
    Linds

    ReplyDelete
  2. Captivated ReaderDecember 18, 2015 at 2:43 PM

    Wow, great job this year in reaching the marathoner level!! I was aiming for that listening level as I had listened to 48 audiobooks last year and thought I would be able to listen to 50+ audiobooks with no problem... But alas, I only listened to 26 audiobooks to date. There's always next year, right?!

    I liked your list of audiobooks read this year. I listened to The Fault in Our Stars last year and loved it!

    http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/12/2015-audiobook-challenge-wrap-up-post.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. BetweenTheLinesDecember 18, 2015 at 4:12 PM

    Great listening list! Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Melanie (@AudiobookMel)December 18, 2015 at 6:22 PM

    This is a great list of listens. Great job exceeding your goal by 15. I haven't tried most of them. I'll have to look them up. Thanks for joining us. I hope that you join us in 2016.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownDecember 19, 2015 at 5:08 AM

    Oh my goodness...that's an amazing list of books you've listened to this year! I haven't caught on to audiobooks but I can't manage to even read that many books in a year.

    I know what you mean by Christmas break...I am counting down. For us here it's a summer break so it'll quieten down big time at work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ericka @ A Quiet Girl's Musings...December 19, 2015 at 10:57 PM

      Thank you! It took me a little while to get acclimated to listening to audiobooks when I first started. However, given that my commute is 1.5 hours a day minimum, it didn't take me long to get used to it. Audiobooks saved my sanity with my hellish commute.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. mypixieblogDecember 19, 2015 at 12:29 PM

    LOL @ Wild and wooly :) I can only imagine. Awww, I love the inventive ways you hid the Elf on a Shelf! So cute!!

    I am majorly impressed by the books you've read/listened to in the past year--Go YOU! Going to look through your list and add a few to my Goodreads list. THANKS! XOXO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ericka @ A Quiet Girl's Musings...December 19, 2015 at 10:54 PM

      Yep, wild and wooly - that's the mountain gal coming out in me! LOL!

      Thank you!

      Delete

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