Arthur: 4 Years Old!

Happy 4th Birthday to my Arthur Dent!

Easter Egg dying (April)

Riding the carousel (April)

Making Music at BADM (April)

Park day (May)

Likes: Paw Patrol; trains; cars; his baby brother Quentin; playing with friends; going to the library

Being an astronaut (May)

Celebrating the flowers (May)

Be a little pig (May)

Modeling the new car (May)

Dislikes: Quentin playing with his toys; eating dinner; when daddy's at work upstairs but he can't go bother him

Listening to a story (June)

Beach day (June)

Showing off his model car (June)

Playing in the box with Q (June)

Sleeping: Decent sleeper. He goes to bed at 8pm and wakes up sometime around 7am. Very rarely do we get a mid-night waking.

Splash pad fun (July)

Ice cream at the beach (July)

Water park fun (July)

Hanging with Snoopy (July)

Eating: Typically picky 4 year old. I can get him to eat a fairly nutritious breakfast and lunch, but dinner is such a struggle. Most nights he eats a bite or two of dinner and it done. I really wish I could get him to eat more at dinner. 

Sonic for lunch (July)

Balancing (August)

Pretending to be a tiger (August)

Pretending to be a tortoise (August)

Playing: So much imaginary play! Thankfully he can get Quentin to engage with him, so Arthur's not bugging me to play every 5 minutes. He also really likes simple board games. And of coarse anything he can climb or ride. 

Playing on Thomas (August)

Bounce house fun (August)

Cow time at the farm (September)

Pouty Arthur at the park (September)

Milestones: He's got his letters and numbers down pretty well. We're starting with the basics of reading and writing. He's been doing a few simple PreK activity books. His favorite is the scissor skills book.

Climbing the frog (September)

Making music at a friend's birthday party (September)

Out and About: So many activities! We try to do at least one big out-of-the-house activity per week. Another day is a closer-to-home activity such as a park morning. We also try to hit the library at least once every two weeks. We have to enjoy all the great California weather and attractions while we still live here. 

Birthday project -- making a horse (October)

Loving the cars at Happy Hollow (October)

Argh! Pirate Arthur (October)

FrightFall Readathon 2017 Week #2

Pages Read: 196 (Secondhand Spirits) +  60 (Hidden Figures) + 158 (The Mummy)
Pages Read Total: 1274

Books Read: 1
Books Read Total: 3

Comments: My reading slowed down this week. We're still recovering from the crazy birthday party last weekend... 

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• The birthday party is over! It was so much fun, but I'm glad it's over for this year. My to-do lists were out of control.
• On to finishing up our Halloween plans...
• Speaking of, I need to redo my big to-do lists. 
• Thinking about all the people affected by the wildfires in North Bay. The region is going to take years to recover. 
• Loving my reading as of late. Such great books! 
• Catching up on my podcasts from last week. I just added about 10 more books to my TBR page... 
• Rum punch is oh so yummy.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Fall Bucket List Update #1

My current completion 10/35 28.6%

1. Enjoy a PSL -- Always have to indulge a few times.
2. Go to a pumpkin patch
3. Buy some proper cider  -- I bought some cider at Target. Unfortunately, I bought spiced cider and it's a little too orange-y for my tastes. I'll have to pick up some more at another store.
4. Bake pumpkin bread -- One loaf down, I imagine I will make a few more before Christmas.
5. Make stuffed acorn squash -- Always love this recipe, but can only make it in the fall when the acorn squash is ripe.
6. Carve a pumpkin
7. Make a fall craft with Arthur
8. Read some scary books -- I'm participating in Seasons of Reading's FrightFall Readathon. I've read:
   1. 8.4 by Peter Hernon (earthquake thriller)
   2. Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (supernatural cozy mystery)
9. Pick up some fall themed tea: Apple spiced or pumpkin flavor
10. Take pictures of the changing leaf colors
11. Make chili and cornbread -- It will be back on the meal plan soon.
12. Find two new fall soup recipes
13. Watch Shaun of the Dead for Halloween
14. Visit a corn maze
15. Bake fall cookies
16. Make leaf art
17. Pick up some fall nail polish (and actually do my nails!)
18. Go apple picking
19. Bake an apple pie
20. Make mulled wine
21. Plan and cook Thanksgiving
22. Read Kids Books
    1. Fall
       1. The Autumn Equinox by Ellen Jackson
       2. My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
       3. WonderFall by Michael Hall
       4. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
       5. Fall by Kay Barnham
       6. An Apple's Life by Nancy Dickman
       7. Autumn by Stephanie Hedlund
       8. Leaves Fall Down by Lisa Bullard
       9. Kitten's Autumn by Eugenie Fernandes
       10. The Autumn Leaf by Carl Emerson
       11. Who Loves the Fall? by Bob Raczka
       12. Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
       13. Little Elliot Fall Friends by Mike Curato
    2. Halloween
       1. Countdown to Halloween by Patricia Reeder Eubank
       2. Click, Clack, Boo! by Doreen Cronin
    3. Thanksgiving
23. Decorate the front porch
24. Buy some pumpkin ale -- I grabbed Leinenkugel's Autumn Shandy. Decent, but I will have to find something else.
25. Go on a hayride
26. Celebrate Halloween with costumes and trick-or-treating
27. Pick up a fall candle -- I grabbed a yummy smelling Orchard candle from Glade. It reminds me of pumpkin and bonfires.
28. Read a cozy mystery -- I finished Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell this week. I loved it! Will have to pick up the next book in the series.
29. Make a scarecrow
30. Make homemade sauerkraut
31. Toast pumpkin seeds
32. Have a Monster Mash dance party
33. Create Halloween and Thanksgiving cocktails
34. Watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
35. Have a Resident Evil marathon

Next up on the TBR pile:

Arthur and Quentin's Pirate Birthday Party!!!

As the boys' birthday are fairly close together (Sept. 26th and Oct. 15th), we opted for a joint birthday party. If you want to see the crafts I made up close, check them out over at the craft blog this week. For today, I'm posting mostly party pictures.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday -- Sir Sly "&Run"

Next up on the TBR pile:

Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell

Title: Secondhand Spirits (Witchcraft Mystery #1)

Author: Juliet Blackwell

Publisher: Obsidian 2009

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Pages: 313

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; What's in a Name -- Alliterative Title; New to Me

Lily Ivory feels that she can finally fit in somewhere and conceal her "witchiness" in San Francisco. It's there that she opens her vintage clothing shop, outfitting customers both spiritually and stylistically.

Just when things seem normal, a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area. Lily has a good idea that some bad phantoms are behind it. Can she keep her identity secret, or will her witchy ways be forced out of the closet as she attempts to stop the phantom?

Such a great little cozy mystery! Bonus points for being set in San Francisco, my adoptive city across the bay. I loved diving into Lily Ivory's world of clothing, mystery, witches, romance, and goblins (or pigs). I sped through this book waiting impatiently to find out the mystery behind La Llorona, Frances Potts, and all the other fun characters. I loved the world building in this volume. Can't wait to pick up the next in the series!

Witchcraft Mystery

• #1 Secondhand Spirits
• #2 A Cast Off Coven
• #3 Hexes and Hemlines
• #4 In a Witch's Wardrobe
• #5 Tarnished and Torn
• #6 A Vision in Velvet
• #6.5 A Haunting is Brewing
• #7 Spellcasting in Silk
• #8 A Toxic Trousseau
• #9 A Magical Match

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #28

As I look outside my window: Sun is shining, the leaves are a fun mix of colors even here in the relatively season-less Bay Area.

Right now I am: Attempting to blog while Quentin climbs all over me... it's a challenge. 

Thinking and pondering: What activities/projects do I need to prioritize next? There's always something coming up, just ned to decide on an order that makes sense.

On my bedside table: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly; The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

On my tv this week: J and I watched a few movies (Why Him?; The Little Hours; Spiderman Homecoming). Arthur and I watched a few episodes of Avatar. We only have four episodes left in the series!

Listening to: Yesterday's pirate music mix J created. I was really getting into the pirate shanties. And it even included all the songs from The Pirates of Penzance.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Southwest Beef and Cabbage
• Tuesday - Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Wednesday - Lemon and Caper Fish
• Thursday - Beef Stew; Rosemary Flat Bread
• Friday - Leftovers
• Saturday - Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin
• Sunday - Meatball Sliders

On my to do list: I need to buy some plane tickets, make eye appointments, finish cleaning from the party, redo our big to do lists (birthday party was a big event cluttering my list), do a playroom cleanout (thinking of getting rid of the baby toys), schedule retreat info meetings, craft a ton, and read!

Happening this week:

• Monday - Errand day
• Tuesday - Oakland Zoo!
• Wednesday - Pumpkin patch?
• Thursday - Arthur's doctor appointment
• Friday - Probably a home day
• Saturday - Stamp Club
• Sunday - Train ride for Arthur's actual birthday

What I am creating: Now that the birthday party is over, I need to focus on creating Christmas cards for my Christmas card classes and personal use.

My simple pleasures: Rum punch and cupcakes!

Looking around the house: The kitchen needs a good wipe down after yesterday's big birthday party and the playroom is a disaster. No huge tasks, but i would like to get to them today.

From the camera:

Next up on the TBR pile:

FrightFall Readathon 2017 Week #1

Pages Read: 283 (Voracious) + 117 (Secondhand Spirits -- in progress) + 460 (8.4)
Pages Read Total: 860

Books Read: 2
Books Read Total: 2

Comments: I sped through Voracious as a bit of great light reading while digging into The Last Stand. I also made it through 8.4 even though it wasn't that great. Another book off my To Read shelves. 

Next up on the TBR pile:

8.4 by Peter Hernon

Title: 8.4

Author: Peter Hernon

Publisher: Jove Books 1999

Genre: Thriller

Pages: 460

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

A massive earthquake in America's heartland causes massive destruction and a launches an equally epic struggle to save the survivors. 

Random book from my shelves. Along with my scary reads for October's FrightFall Readathon, I threw this one in as a thriller. Unfortunately it just wasn't great. The style is very much in the same vein as Michael Crichton. Lots of science passages and action with only a bit of characterization. The plot jumped around a bit between all the characters. The characters themselves weren't that well developed. The romance was silly and forced. The action sequences were the only parts that kept me reading. I made it through the book, but wouldn't recommend it to anyone...

A Pumpkin Patch of Videos

Michael Che was on point! And Kate's Angela Merkel is always a joy.

I do love my Property Brothers, but this may just be better!!!

I loved the book trilogy so much. I hope the movie conveys that same dread that the books do. Can't wait!

We really enjoyed Wonder Woman in this house, but Honest Trailers are always so entertaining.

I'm intrigued to see how they frame this story...

I love a good Mental Floss list and this one is about one of my favorite places, the library!

I love a good zombie movie!

Hilarious!!!!

Next up on the TBR pile:

Voracious by Cara Nicoletti

Title: Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books

Author: Cara Nicoletti

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company 2015

Genre: Cooking

Pages: 283

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - About Food

As a young bookworm reading in her grandfather's butcher shop, Cara Nicoletti saw how books and food bring people to life. Now a butcher, cook, and talented writer, she serves up stories and recipes inspired by beloved books and the food that gives their characters depth and personality.

I was listening to What Should I Read Next the other week, and this book came up. The guests, Rikki and Michaela, are the amazing creators of The Ardent Biblio and mentioned this great volume as a marriage between two of their favorite things, books and food. Imagine my delight when I randomly saw it on the shelf at the library. I had to check it out! I loved reading about how various books have affected Nicoletti throughout her life. I think every reader has their own life of impactful books. Nicoletti makes a coneection between all those great books and some amazing food. I loved reading the essays and perusing the recipes. I'm not really big into cooking, but I do love good food. I may jsut have to notate a few of these recipes before I return the book to the lubrary.

Next up on the TBR pile:

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Music Tuesday -- Bastille "Basket Case"

This cover of Green Day is way too fun...

Next up on the TBR pile:

September 2017 Wrap-up

September's TBR Pile (7/10):

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff √
2. Series Pick: Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine √
3. Nonfiction Pick: The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
4. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa (put in the sell pile; just not speaking to me anymore)
5. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
6. Romance Pick: One Night for Love by Mary Balogh √
7. Comic Pick: The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 5 √
8. Added: The Great Quake by Henry Fountain √
9. Added: The Lost City of Z by David Grann √
10. Added: Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine √

1,000,000 Page Goal:

Monthly Total: 2320 pages
Pages Remaining: 709,892 pages

Current Read - The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

Books I Gave Up On (1) -- Children of Eden by Joey Graceffa. A YA Dystopian novel that I just couldn't get into. I think this one would have grabbed me when I was 15. Alas, I am not 15 and consequently I am just bored by it.

Books bought/received (1) -- I ended up preordering Anne Bogel's Reading People. Because I preordered, I get the audio version read by Anne herself as a bonus. 

October's TBR Pile:

1. MVPA Book Club Selection: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
2. Series Pick: Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (not pictured; library hold)
3. Nonfiction Pick: Reading People by Anne Bogel
4. Nonfiction Pick: The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick
5. Read Your Book Shelf Pick: The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
6. Discworld Pick: The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (iPad)
7. Scary Pick: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
8. Scary Pick: The Gates by John Connolly
9. Scary Pick: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
10. Scare Pick: 99 Coffins by David Wellington
11. Scary Pick: Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
12. Scary Pick: 8.4 Peter Hernon
13. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by Carol Karlsen
14. Nonfiction Scary Pick: The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall
15. More Nonfiction: The Tea Reader edited by Katrina Avila Munichiello
16. Food Pick: Voracious by Cara Nicoletti
17. Cozy Mystery: Cast-Off Coven by JUliet Blackwell (not pictured; library hold)
18. The Mummy by Anne Rice (iPad)

Movies watched

• Wonder Woman -- Finally! And it was so good. Sure, there are some issues, but I loved seeing a badass female superhero lead a movie!
• The Great Wall -- Our silly big blockbuster pick. We made an agreement to not pick on the historical inaccuracies. Otherwise we would have never made it through the movie.
• Hot Tub Time Machine -- We needed a good silly comedy one night. This is a go-to!
• The Island of Lost Souls (1932) -- A classic from our Science Fiction Top 100 list. Definitely better than the crazy remakes...
• Sausage Party -- J's pick. It was thoroughly stupid, 
• Boss Baby -- Arthur's pick. Actually a pretty decent animated movie. Alec Baldwin voicing the baby was perfect casting!
• The Lost City of Z -- Amazingly this movie did not make me as angry as I thought it would. Decent adaptation of a book based on a true story of exploration in the Amazon. I would watch it again... 
• The War of the Worlds (1953) -- It's been years since I watched this one. Part of the Top 100 Science Fiction Movies. We're making our way through the entire list, watching some for the first time and rewatching others.

TV Shows watched

• Ken Burns' The National Parks -- We finally got around to watching and it was beautiful. 
• Supernatural S2 -- Working our way through the series slowly, but surely...
• Rick and Morty S3!!! -- Woot woot!
• The Good Places S2 -- Oh man! The first two episodes were great. I can't wait to see where they go with this season.
• Star Trek: Discovery -- We're reserving judgement in the hopes that the show is more philosophical than action, but the first two episodes were pretty good at setting up the series.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender S3 -- J finally fixed the files (they were in Hebrew), so Arthur and I can finally finish the series.

Comments - So I didn't reach my pages read goal of 2500 pages this month, but I wouldn't call the month a failure. I knocked off some decent reads and one bad one (Fates and Furies). I read two more volumes in one my newest favorite series, The Great Library. We also watched a fair amount of movies and watched a fair amount of TV. October's TBR pile is very ambitious, but I'm hoping to knock out at least half of the books pictures> I would love a good showing for the FrightFall Readathon.

Next up on the TBR pile:

October 2017 Life Goals

Let’s check in on September's goals and my progress.

• Read 2500 pages -- Fail! I only read 2320 pages in September. Hoping to do better in October.
• Finish planning the birthday party -- Success! The planning has been finished. I need to hit the grocery store and decorate. 
• Finish buying/prepping our costumes -- Partial fail. I still need to pick up some accessories, but we all have our basic uniform bought.
• Finish my blog fix -- Success! I finally fixed all my back posts. Some aren't perfect but they at least have the big issues fixed.
• Buy plane tickets for Christmas -- Fail. Still need to do this, but I do have a plan.

October's Goals:

• Pull off the birthday party! -- The party's Saturday. Gotta get on this!
• Buy treats for the MVPA social -- We look forward to the MVPA Fall Costume Social every year. Now we need to decide on the treats for trick-or-treating.
• Participate in The Mummy Readalong -- I haven't read this one for years. Very excited!
• Make 4 New Recipes -- I haven't tried anything new lately. 
• Complete 6 Fall Bucket List items -- I've gotten a start on the list, but looking forward to some itneresting activities in October.

Next up on the TBR pile: