Breathing... a sigh of relief as I am finally settled into my room at my new school. Yes, the giant heap of boxes in my garage is no more!
Celebrating... paying off my car 6 months early! Yee-ha!
Making... my to-be-read list for Erin's latest book challenge.
Eating... Cuties! I love them almost as much as Honeycrisp apples!
Making... my to-be-read list for Erin's latest book challenge.
• 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages - TBD
• 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “L” - Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• 10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) red cover - The Royal We by Harriet Cocks and Jessica Morgan
• 15 points: Read a book with a character’s name in the title - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• 20 points: Read a book from this list: Book Riot’s 100 Must-Read Books with Plot Twists - The Couple Next Door by Star Lapena
• 20 points: Read a book with the words “house” or “home” in the title - The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen
• 25 points: Read a book by an author whose first and last name begins with the same letter - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• 30 points: Read a book that was originally published in a different language than your own - Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Bachman
• 30 points: Read a book where most of the action takes place on a form of transportation i.e. bus, boat, car, plane, etc. - The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
• 35 points: Read a book with a character that suffers from a debilitating physical illness - The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
Eating... Cuties! I love them almost as much as Honeycrisp apples!
Starting... to get my Christmas presents together.
Accepting... that I probably will not complete my Goodreads Challenge this year. I wanted to finish 50 books, but to date, I've only finished 40.
Missing... several of my work buddies at my former school. It's hard to leave friends.
Amazed... at how life changing a shorter commute can be. I mean, I knew my old (90 mile roundtrip) commute was rough, but I had no idea how rough it really was until I shaved nearly a third off it.
Enjoying... the simplicity of my Christmas tree. I only used three kinds of ornaments: red berries, pinecones, and cardinals. Voila!
Participating... in a Secret Santa gift exchange at work.
Dealing... with soft tissue trauma in my mouth. Damn almonds. Who knew you could actually sprain the ligaments around your teeth when using a lot of force to chew something?
Participating... in a Secret Santa gift exchange at work.
Dealing... with soft tissue trauma in my mouth. Damn almonds. Who knew you could actually sprain the ligaments around your teeth when using a lot of force to chew something?
Looking... forward to spending some time in West Virginia over Christmas Break.
Disbelieving... that the school year is almost halfway through! Where in the world has the time gone?!?
Contemplating... participating in several athletic events in 2018. No firm commitment yet, just consideration.
Contemplating... participating in several athletic events in 2018. No firm commitment yet, just consideration.
Laughing... at this:
Wishing... a friend of mine a Happy 51st Birthday later this month!
Giving... kudos to Time magazine for naming "The Silence Breakers," the individuals who set off the national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment, as their Person of the Year.
Sincerely hoping... that this movement, which has been simmering for decades, will finally boil over and bring about a long overdue shift in our culture.
Feeling... incredibly blessed. This time last year, I was not in a good place and I was extremely apprehensive of what 2017 might have in store for me. Not only was this year very kind in terms of not throwing any curve balls my way, but it was also incredibly generous, unexpectedly giving me the transfer that I've been waiting on for years, which has renewed my spirit in so many ways. Seriously, this is the happiest I've been with my career and my life in years.
Giving... kudos to Time magazine for naming "The Silence Breakers," the individuals who set off the national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment, as their Person of the Year.
Sincerely hoping... that this movement, which has been simmering for decades, will finally boil over and bring about a long overdue shift in our culture.
Feeling... incredibly blessed. This time last year, I was not in a good place and I was extremely apprehensive of what 2017 might have in store for me. Not only was this year very kind in terms of not throwing any curve balls my way, but it was also incredibly generous, unexpectedly giving me the transfer that I've been waiting on for years, which has renewed my spirit in so many ways. Seriously, this is the happiest I've been with my career and my life in years.
November in a snapshot:
 |
| 1) Surprise flowers on my first day at my new job, stunning color, the return of Bandana Girl. 2) Fall foliage in the park, a sunrise as viewed from my work parking space, almost no more leaves. 3) My room at work, celebrating R's BIG 5-0, the cafeteria ladies always set aside 2 breakfast pizzas for me every Wednesday because they know how much I love it. |
What have you been up to lately?
Linking up with:
A shorter commute seriously changed my life when I moved a few years ago. I went from a 2 hour (one way) commute to a 20 min one and I was like "Wow... what do I do with all this extra time?!" Little Fires Everywhere is on my list for the challenge too. I hope you enjoy Eleanor and Park- it's one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteGirl... I can't even fathom a two-hour one way commute! You are a champ! I've added at least 45 minutes to my day and it has made such a big difference. I look forward to comparing notes about our books.
DeleteI seriously wanted to do Erin's Book Challenge this last time and it just...didn't happen. I like these prompts though so I need to figure out some books for all of them. I might steal the Rainbow Rowell one though; I need to read more by her. I've read The Woman in Cabin 10 and it's really good - I hope you enjoy it. :)
ReplyDeleteYay for 2017 being a good year!!
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Congrats paying off the car early, that is truly something to celebrate. I love cuties, they are so delicious! And your tree is absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's been a great feeling (paying off car). Thank you again (about my tree).
Deleteyayyy congrats on paying off your car 6 months early!! that is AWESOME!
ReplyDeletei have got to get my list ready for Erin's challenge! you have some good books on your list - can't wait to hear what you think of evelyn hugo and the royal we :)
cuties and honeycrisp apples forever and ever amen.
um, soft tissue trauma?! that is scary. i had no idea!
i am so glad 2017 was such a good year for you :)
Yep, I bit into some almonds funny and the force actually sprained the ligaments surrounding my teeth. No cracked or chipped teeth, but lord it sure has hurt.
DeleteThank you. 2017 was very good to me. I am very fortunate.
Shorter commutes are a game changer.
ReplyDeleteHurrah to an early car payoff! So nice.
It's a HUGE game changer. I honestly had no idea how big of a game changer it would be.
DeleteYour tree is so pretty-- we added some red berries to our tree this year and I love the pop of color. It sounds like your new job is going really well, a shorter commute really does make such a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The best part of it is that it was so easy to decorate and took 15 minutes tops!
DeleteIf the third is 30 miles. LOL.
ReplyDeleteA hotel lobby Christmas Tree?
Women can be Santa now?
Get some friends your own age, please.
Is that your... husband?! He exists?
Yes, I actually shaved 34 miles off my commute, but who's counting? Aw, thank you... I think my tree looks rather good, but it's not hotel lobby good. I'm not too far behind my half-century aged friends and husband. Yes, that's my husband. He does exist!
DeleteWomen/santa?
Oh my gosh, I've been eating so many cuties lately too! They're so good and make me feel a little bit summery in the middle of winter! And that's great about paying off your car early!
ReplyDeleteI think your tree looks great! I hope you like The Royal We. It's long, but very entertaining. I didn't like The Woman in Cabin 10, but I know a lot of people did!
ReplyDeletemorganyud@protonmail.com
ReplyDelete