Winter Book Challege: Final Check-in

Books I've Read:
10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. — Home Front by Kristin Hannah (21 novels written) (432 pages) - 11/6/14
 15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. — Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet (241 pages) - 11/13/14

20 points: Read a "bookish book." — The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (12/13/14)

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. — Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern (song by Fallout Boy) (12/31/14)

15 points: Read a book written by a local author. — My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (1/5/15)
 10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. — The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand (1/11/15)
 15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (originally in German)(1/15/15)
 20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. — The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz (1/28/15)

 5 points: Freebie! — Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (2/2/15)
   25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke (Inspirational) (2/4/15)

(160 Points)

Not Read: 

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. —  The Dinner by Herman Koch and Breakfast with Darcy by Ali McNamara
 10 points: Read a book of short stories. —  Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (508 pages)

Book Review: The Thirteenth Tale

 The Thirteenth Tale

By: Dianne Setterfield 

Pages: 432

Read: 12/13/14

"Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long.

Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author’s tale of gothic strangeness—featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves."

{GoodReads} 

This was actually my second attempt to read this book.  I tried reading it a while ago and just couldn't get into it.  I stopped right when Vida started telling her story ... big mistake!!  That is when it starts getting good!  I am so glad I went back and reread this because it is now one of my favorite books!  The book starts out slow and has some slow spots but they are totally worth reading through to get to the good stuff.  This book has everything that I love; history, a mystery, family drama, and dynamic characters.  My only complaint is that Margaret's character definitely was not as dynamic or interesting as the characters in Vida's story.  Do yourself a favor and buy/rent this book right now! Such a great Gothic story!

I gave this book a 5/5 on my GoodReads. 

Get to Know Me: A-Z

A. Attached or single?

Attached.  Together almost five years, married for 9 months :)

B. Best friend?

My absolute best friend has always been Alex, since I was 3 years old.  But I consider all of these girls my best! (Kristine, Alex, Amy, Mom, Vicky, Laurie, Kristin, Heather).

C. Cake or pie?

How about Cupcakes?? :)

D. Day of choice?

I'm going to go with Tuesdays and Wednesdays ... my usual days off.

E. Essential item?

Books and my Ebook.  I am usually reading one of each and I take them everywhere.  You never know when you're going to need a book.

F. Favorite color?

Green.  Always has been and always will be.

G. Gummy bears or worms?

Both.  Bears have to be Harbio and Worms have to be sour.

H. Home town?

Abingdon, Maryland. 

I. Favorite indulgence?

I don't really have one, honestly.  I try not to spend a lot of money and I don't like having a lot of stuff.  I guess if I had to choose it would be books or DVD's.

J. January or July?

Most definitely July!  I hate the cold.

K. Kids?

No thank you.

L. Life isn’t complete without?

Family, traveling, friends, puppies, books, I mean this list could go on!

M. Memory you cherish

So many!  Victory Jam in Middle School, Counseling at Camp Campbell in California, Working at the biostation in Costa Rica, Snorkeling in Honduras, our Wedding and our first cruise.

After the flour and water game - Victory Jam 2003

N. Number of brothers/sisters?

One Sister, One Brother - both younger. 

O. Oranges or Apples?

Apples. I love cutting them  up and dipping them in Peanut Butter or Almond Butter.

P. Pet Peeves?

I have a few but one that is giving me problems now is micro management.  I hate micromanagers.  It's like, I know how to do my job, leave me the eff alone.  And the worst part of this is that I have this issue at both jobs.  One of my Co-workers went on like a 40 minute rant about this the other day.

Q. Quotes?

I plan to get this tattooed on me someday.

R. Reasons to smile?

So many reasons! My family, Josh, my friends, travel, books, having a job ... etc.

S. Season of choice?

I pretty much enjoy every season except for Winter.  If I can keep my windows open and be comfortable, I am a happy camper.  I like Summer, the end of spring, and the beginning of fall most.

T. Tea or coffee?

Neither, I don't drink anything with Caffine.

U. Unknown fact about me?

I'm extremely impulsive and I hate planning.  This is probably why I hated wedding planning, and if I had to do it again I'd do a small destination wedding somewhere.  Sometimes being this way turns out great but sometimes, not so much.

V. Vegetable?

Corn, Broccoli, Green Beans, Carrots.  I'm not a big vegetable fan at all.

W. Worst habit?

Daydreaming.  Sometimes I actually space out when someone is talking to me ... not good.

X. X-Ray or ultrasound?

I have had several X-Ray's and I've never had a problem.  I don't mind getting them, but I've never had an ultrasound so I can't say anything about that.

Y. Your favorite trip?

This is a tough one but I would have to say either Costa Rica or our Honeymoon Trip.  Both were such great trips, but so was almost every trip I've taken.  Costa Rica was a dream destination for me and one I think back to often.   Our honeymoon was just an all-around great trip.

Z. Zodiac sign?

Taurus

Monthly Life Update: January

I don't do a lot of "daily life" type of blog posts, so I thought a monthly update on the last day of each month would be a good idea (this month is different because I forgot to finish the post).  In these post I'll pretty much just share what I've been up to throughout the month (duh?).

+ This month consisted of a lot of work - we finally hired a new person which is fantastic!  But it takes three to four weeks before they're fully trained.  Plus since we work at a port there is a special ID that we need and the person can't work on their own until it comes in.

+ I was finally able to see my friends!  We all live within 10 minutes of each other and still have a hard time getting together which makes me sad :(  we were all able to get together at Texas Roadhouse for lunch and even though I was super tired from working a double, it was nice to catch up.

+ I started watching Arrow on Netflix and couldn't stop!  The first five or six episodes were a little hard to get through for me but after that, I couldn't quit!!   It doen't hurt that Stephen Amell is gorgeous.

+ I finally got frames for a bunch of pictures I want to hang and got a bunch hung.  This house is a rental so I didn't want to put too many holes in the wall, but I'm glad we did.  It feels much more like home now.

Books Read:  My Name is Memory by Ann Bashares (5 Stars)
The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand (3 Stars)
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (4 Stars)
The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz (2 Stars)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (current)

E Books Read: Back in the Saddle by K.F. Breene (3 Stars)
Hanging On by K.F. Breene (2 Stars)
Blitzing Emily by Julie Brannagh (3 Stars)
A Wild Ride by K.R. Breene (2 Stars)

New Movies/Shows Watched:  Arrow (Seasons 1 & 2)
When Calls the Heart (the movie)
A Cookie Cutter Christmas (yes I watch Christmas movies year round)
Endless Love

February Goals

How I Did In January:

Begin Organizing the Second Bedroom: This definitely happened, and I got more done than I had originally planned.  All there is left is to find a home for a few odds and ends and to get pictures hung!  I am definitely happy with my progress here.

Complete Level 1 of German: Epic fail!!  I only did a few lessons and then got sidetracked and never got back to it :(

Get Back to the Gym: Win!!  I have definitely gotten back into a gym routine that works with my crazy work schedule!  I have missed a few days here and there because of snow and because of lazy people calling out of work, but other than that, it has been going great and I feel much better.

Pay off my David's Bridal Credit Card:  The next payment that I make on this will be from my first paycheck in February, so I am going to consider this a win since I got most of it paid off this month, thank God!!

February Goals: 

Complete Level 1 of German:  I am going to roll this over from last month.  I really want to make an effort to get through the whole thing in a year. 

Complete my Online Course: I am signed up to take Intro to Sustainability online through Coursera.  I want to complete this course because I am thinking of going back to school for a degree in Environmental Biology.  

Cook One New Meal:  I am not much of a cook but if I am going to get back into shape I really need to start making healthier meals.  Schwan's Pizzas and Chicken Fries really aren't the best way to get healthy.  I really should set this goal a little higher but I'm trying to be realistic.  With my work schedule and Josh's we don't eat dinner together very much, so one meal is a fine goal for now.

Completely Finish the Second Bedroom: After making so much progress last month, I think I'll be able to have the whole thing (minus picture hanging) done by the end of this month.

Winter Book Challenge: 3rd Check-In

Books I've Read:
10 points: Read a book written by an author who has published at least 10 books. — Home Front by Kristin Hannah (21 novels written) (432 pages) - 11/6/14
 15 points: Read the first book in a series that is new to you. — Graveyard Shift by Angela Roquet (241 pages) - 11/13/14

20 points: Read a "bookish book." — The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (12/13/14)

25 points: Read a book with a song lyric in the title. — Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern (song by Fallout Boy) (12/31/14)

15 points: Read a book written by a local author. — My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (1/5/15)
 10 points: Read a book with a food in the title. — The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand (1/11/15)
 15 points: Read a book that was originally written in a language that is not your native language. — The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (originally in German)(1/15/15)
 20 points: Read a book with a direction in the title. — The Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz (1/28/15)

(130 Points)

I Am Currently Reading:

   25 points: Read a book from a genre you don't usually read. — When Calls the Heart by Janette Oke (Inspirational)
5 points: Freebie! — Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

To Read: 

30 points: Read two books with a different meal in each title. —  The Dinner by Herman Koch and Breakfast with Darcy by Ali McNamara
 10 points: Read a book of short stories. —  Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (508 pages)

Nature of Costa Rica

It's no secret that Costa Rica is my favorite country that I've visited so far.  The main thing that I loved about Costa Rica was being surrounded by so much nature!  The variety of different plants and wildlife that we saw at the biological station alone was incredible and we were able to see even more in Manuel Antonio.  Today, I wanted to share some of the amazing sights we saw and were able to capture in Costa Rica, including a Toucan, which was way harder to spot than you'd think.