September 2015 Wrap-up and Monthly TBR

September's TBR Pile (5/8):

1. Nonfiction: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
2. Book Club Selection: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
3. MVPA Book club selection: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer √
4. Carry-over: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
5. Random pick: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton √
6. Favorite Author Pick: First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen √
7. Challenge Completer: Don’t Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth Davis √
8. Added: 1491 by Charles Mann √

Picture Book Roundup:

1. Thomas The Tank Engine: The Very First Stories by Rev. Awdry
2. Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
3. Nuts in Space by Elys Dolan
4. Sock Monkey Takes a Bath by Cece Bell
5. Tractor Mac Harvest Time by Billy Steers
6. Is There a Dog in This Book? by Viviane Schwarz
7. Treasure on the Tracks by Rev. Awdry
8. Thomas and the Volcano by Rev. Awdry
9. Fall is Here by Frankie Jones
10. How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? by Jane Yolen
11. Penguin on Vacation by Salina Yoon
12. Where's Ellie? by Salina Yoon
13. Happy Birthday Mouse by Laura Numeroff
14. Let's Look at Construction by Britta Teckentrup
15. Tractor Mac New Friends by Billy Steers
16. Supertruck by Stephen Savage
17. Good Morning, Busytown by Richard Scarry
18. Firefighters! Speeding! Spraying! Saving! by Patricia Hubbell
19. If I Had a Triceratops by George O'Connor
20. ABC on Wings by Ramon Olivera
21. Bear Counts by Karma Wilson
22. The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Jeanne Willis
23. Snappy Birthday by Mark Sperring

1,000,000 Page Goal

Monthly Total: 2142 pages
Pages Remaining: 781,794 pages

Current Read - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Books Won (0)

Books I Gave Up On (0)

Challenges Completed  -- Dewey Decimal: one book for each major section of the Dewey Decimal system. I really enjoy nonfiction so this challenge is great for me!

Comments - And I've hit my inevitable reading slump... I knew it was bound to happen sometime in the fall. I've been so busy with activities and planning for other activities that my reading took a nose dive. It also didn't help that I read two very involved books (The Distant Hours and 1491) that seemed to take forever! Here's hoping October goes a bit better.

October's TBR Pile:

1. Nonfiction: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
2. Artistic pick: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
3. Book club selection: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
4. Carry-over: Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
5. Science pick: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
6. Series pick: 1493 by Charles Mann
7. Book to movie: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
8. Feminism pick: We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Blog-Tember Day 30: Farewell Coffee Day

Prompt: A farewell coffee date. Take some time to breath, sip a warm drink, and share with your new blogging buddies. If you'd like a prompt: how did the Blog-tember Challenge go for you? Any surprises? What was your favorite prompt, or what would you like to see included next time?

Overall, I have really enjoyed this new-to-me challenge. Initially I was hesitant to participate. Could I keep up with 30 days of blogging? Would I get bored? What do I do with all my regular features and drafts/completed scheduled posts? In response to the last question, I just pushed everything to October. Took me a few minutes, but not a huge deal. As to keeping up with blogging, I could access the prompts at the beginning of the month. That made it easy to work on posts when I had time which wasn't always the night before. Some days I wrote 3 or 4 blog posts, some days I didn't write any. And I didn't even get bored! I liked the variety of topics and challenges. I had fun sharing parts of myself that I don't usually show on the blog. I love creating lists so those types of prompts were my favorite.

As the month comes to a close, this challenge has made me seriously think about changing this blog. I love blogging. I love posting. But some of my current reoccurring features just don't inspire me anymore. Currently, I post every day, but maybe that's not the best for me now. I'm going to continue my usual type of posts through the end of the year. But come 2016, I may change things up a bit. One big change that I've already decided: no more readathons. My daily routine is not flexible enough to participate in readathons. I have been consistently disappointed in the time that I can devote to reading. Toddler care and reading don't really mix that much. I'll still be reading of course, but i think readathons put undue pressure on me. I am cutting them out for 2016. There amy be more changes, but we'll see how the next three months go.

Fall into Books Readathon -- Wrap Up

Pages Read: 184 (1491) + 16 (Dark Places)

Pages Read Total: 480

Comments: This readathon was a complete and utter failure. It made me realize that I readathons are not for me right now. Life gets in the way too much. However, I am happy that I finished 1491.

Books Read Total: 1

My goals:

• Read at least 1000 pages -- failed
• Read at least two books -- failed
• Review all books read -- success (although it was only one book...)

My TBR:

• 1491 by Charles Mann  √
• 1493 by Charles Mann
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
• A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (in progress)
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Blog-Tember Day 29: Blog Topics

Prompt: Write your own list of 10 blog topics to inspire us next month.

I've enjoyed my month following the prompts. I'm sure there are a few topics that I can add...

1. What character (literature, tv, etc) do you connect with most?
2. What is your Meyers-Briggs personality profile? Is it accurate?
3. What is your dream job?
4. What is your favorite recipe/meal?
5. Write your life motto.
6. Describe your dream home. Pictures encouraged!
7. What's on your tv/movie to watch list?
8. What's your favorite family/holiday tradition?
9. What's your favorite game to play (board games included)?
10. What are the top ten places in the world you want to visit?

1491 by Charles Mann

Title: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

Author: Charles Mann

Publisher: Borozi Books 2005

Genre: Nonfiction - History

Pages: 464

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Adventure (perpetual); Ebook; 52 Books - W38

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created corn in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indeed, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

Our book club selection for October. The volume has been on my radar for years, probably since it was published, but I somehow never actually read it. I consider myself fairly versed in history and I learned so much from this book. I found the new theories about life before European contact in the Americas to be fascinating. My favorite chapter involved the ways that native populations shaped the land for their needs. Fascinating! And on every subject, I deepened my knowledge. I can't wait to discuss this book with my friends.

Blog-Tember Day 28: Day in the Life

Prompt: A day in the life. Take us through it with you.

Being a stay-at-home-mom, the days can vary widely. However, we've tried to establish some sort of routine at least for the weekdays...

7:30am -- I wake up, take a shower, and get dressed. Hopefully Arthur (the 2-year-old) sleeps through all this...

7:45-8:00am -- Arthur wakes up. I get him out of his crib, dressed, and downstairs for breakfast.

8:00am -- Breakfast and daily prep. Arthur usually gets to watch an episode of Daniel Tiger or Sesame Street while eating breakfast. This gives me that break I need to eat, update my planner (essential to my day!), and pack for the day's activities.

8:30-9:00am -- Leave for activity. We often drive to an activity somewhere in the Bay Area. One day it might be something in San Jose and the next time it might be in Palo Alto. We try to have a park or museum visit at least three times a week. If we don't have an activity, we usually still leave around 9:00am to hit the grocery store or complete other errands.

12:00pm -- Lunch time! If we are at an activity, it's usually a picnic lunch. Some days we do grab lunch at a restaurant, but not often.

1:30pm -- Traveling home if out somewhere else. Or playtime if at home.

Arthur used to take a nap around 1:00-2:00 pm, but those days are gone. Sometimes this makes the afternoon seem to drag on for eternity. Often I will let Arthur loose in the backyard to get some peace and quiet. Or he may get to watch another television show for a few minutes.

5:00pm -- Dinner prep

6:00pm -- Dinner. Some days J is home in time to eat with us. Some days he arrives between 6:30-7:00pm. We don't wait for him to eat.

6:30pm -- Arthur bath time and pajamas. Often we spend about 45 minutes in the bath and playing afterward.

7:30pm -- Storytime and bedtime prep.

8:00pm -- Arthur goes to bed. J and I watch a movie or a few episodes of television.

10:00pm -- I head up to get ready for bed. I usually try to read a chapter or two before turning out the lights around 10:30pm.

That's it. Most days we follow this routine. It's a simple life, but it's mine...

Fall into Books Readathon - Update #2

Pages Read: 110
Pages Read Total: 280

Comments: Another 100 pages read from 1491. Pretty good considering that it's a dense history book and we had a ton of things to do this weekend. I don't think I'll be reaching my two book and 1000 pages goals, but I'm okay with that.

Books Read Total:

Blog-Tember Day 27: Wish List

Prompt: What's on your wish list? 

I always have a running Amazon wish list (and one on Etsy). Let's take a look at a few of the thing's I've been eyeing lately. (Links will take you to Amazon or Etsy)

101 in 1001 Update #8

What I did:

8. Choose and document One Little Word 2015 and 2016 — Still plugging away…

13. Pass 500 books for Arthur’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten (351/500) — Past the halfway mark for this goal!

21. Make 10 non-greeting card crafts from my Pinterest boards (10/10) -- I finished some cute decorated bags and candy boxes for the retreat and dino cupcake toppers, and dino favor bags for Arthur's birthday party.

26. Read 50 of my owned unread books (42/50)  -- Three more books read!

28. Read 100,000 pages toward 1,000,000 page goal (26,584/100,000) -- In August, I read 3862 pages!

34. Make 250 different greeting cards (86/250) -- 17 new cards made this month. Woohoo!

42. Participate in 30 Days of Lists 2x (2/2) -- September isn't quite over, but I'm on track to finish this goal in a few days. I love doing this no-pressure challenge.

45. Make 50 new recipes (28/50) -- Light on the new recipes this month, but I really enjoyed the two I did try out!

• Flank steak sliders with dill and harvati -- yum yum!
• Garlic ranch chicken pizza -- decent easy recipe

Remaining goals and total:

Friends, Family, and Love 1.Send out homemade holiday cards in December 2x 2. Build a snowman 3. Complete 52 once a week photos of Arthur 5. Date nights x 20 6. Complete a Jar of Life 7. Host a tea party 9. Write a personal manifesto 10. Take a picture of myself every first day of the month 11. Give 5 Just Because gifts 12. Give Arthur 25 pictures books in 25 days for December 2015 16. Take Arthur and twins to go see Santa

Crafting and Culture 17. Attend an opera or musical 18. Reread the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit 20. Finish one of my Perpetual Reading Challenges 22. Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all 23. Watch a meteor shower 24. Attend 5 concerts (1/5) 25. Complete 10 Day in the Life posts (2/10) 27. Tour a factory 29. Finish 2015 and 2016 Project Life book (family and Arthur) 30. Finish 2015 and 2016 December Daily 32. Watch 100 different TED Talks and do a short review/analysis on the blog (new series) 33. Watch/rewatch every Academy Awards Best Picture since the year I was born (1982) 1982: Gandhi 1983: Terms of Endearment 1984: Amadeus 1985: Out of Africa 1986: Platoon 1987: The Last Emperor 1988: Rain Man 1989: Driving Miss Daisy 1990: Dances with Wolves 1991: Silence of the Lambs 1992: Unforgiven 1993: Schindler’s List 1994: Forrest Gump 1995: Braveheart 1996: The English Patient 1997: Titanic 1998: Shakespeare in Love 1999: American Beauty 2000: Gladiator 2001: A Beautiful Mind 2002: Chicago 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2004: Million Dollar Baby 2005: Crash 2006: The Departed 2007: No Country for Old Men 2008: Slumdog Millionaire 2009: The Hurt Locker 2010: The King’s Speech 2011: The Artist 2012: Argo 2013: 12 Years a Slave 2014: TBD 2015: TBD 2016: TBD 35. See a drive-in movie 36. Listen to every song by The Beatles 37. Finish watching every Star Trek television episode and movie 38. Have a Pixar movie month 39. Complete The Artist’s Way 40. Complete a year of no book buying 41. Learn Ruby on rails

Food and Drink 44. Take a cooking class 46. Open a cookbook to a random page and make what ever is on it 47. Give up dining out for one month 48. Try Whole30 51. Make fresh pasta 52. Learn to make a good martini 53. Do a brewery tour 54. Try 25 new restaurants (12/25) 55. Try 5 new to me foods 56. No pop for a month

Health and Fitness 57. Lose 2 pants sizes 58. Walk a 5K 59. Get a massage 60. Take a yoga class 61. Get three pedicures (1/3) 62. Do a spa day 65. Get lasik 66. Get CPR certified again

Travel 67. Stay at a Bed and Breakfast 68. Go on a vacation with Josh 69. Visit the Redwoods (any park) 70. Travel to a new state

Philanthropic 71. Give a 100% tip 72. Donate something extra at each MVPA social x 10 (3/10) 73. Pay it forward at Starbucks/coffeeshop 74. Donate to a Kickstarter campaign I love

Financial 75. Two week money fast (starting with full gas tanks and a full pantry) 76. Open an Etsy shop

Miscellaneous 79. Get Arthur’s tattoo 80. Get a passport 81. Get rid of 100 things 82. Learn how to use our DSLR 84. Make a chalk mural on the driveway/porch 85. Finish a Soduku puzzle 87. Complete a coloring book 89. Take an IQ test 90. Play Bingo in a bingo hall 91. Go horseback riding or hiking 93. Unplug completely for 24 hours 95. Go to a convention (blogging, SU, etc) 96. Dye my hair purple 97.Revamp my wardrobe 98. Take real photos of me for my blogs 99. Post a vlog 100. Go apple/berry/etc picking

Blog-Tember Day 26: TBR Pile

Prompt:What's on your to-reading list, and what have you recently read?

I read constantly! Even with a toddler in the house, I average 3000 pages a month (7-10 books). I'm always excited to share what I'm reading...

Recently read:

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen -- Love her books! And loved this new one.

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer -- For book club. Not my favorite but that may be because I'm not the target demographic.

On my TBR pile:

Fall into Books Readathon - Update #1

Pages Read: 180 (1491)

Pages Read Total: 180

Comments: A slightly slow start to the readathon... I've only managed about half of 1491 by Charles Mann. To be fair, it is a fairly dense (but fascinating) history book. Hoping to finish it this weekend and knock out another fiction book soon.

Books Read Total:

Blog-Tember Day 25: Current Song Obsessions

Prompt: Three songs you are connecting with right now.

Ohhh... I am constantly listening to music. As a plus, Arthur enjoys it also. Right now we are rocking out to:

Florence + the Machine "Ship to Wreck"

Elle King "Under the Influence"

Houndmouth "Sedona"

Blog-Tember Day 24: Must Read Blogs

Prompt: Shout out five of your favorite bloggers. Who are your regular reads?

My Bloglovin' feed is a bit out of control, but let's see if I can pull out some of my favorite go-to reads! I couldn't narrow down the list to five, so I'm going to list my favorite ten bloggers!

1. Elise Blaha -- I love the sneak peeks into her life and business. Paired with her podcast, Elise Gets Crafty, this is one of my first must reads.
2. Renegade Mothering -- Janelle writes the honest truth about mothering and life. Her honesty is a breath of fresh in my life. Plus she's been a guest multiple times on the One Bad Mother podcast. Amazing stuff!
3. The Bloggess -- Jenny Lawson is hilarious. Her use of humor to deal with the difficulties of life is inspiring. Plus her second book released this week! Furiously Happy, go check it out!
4. Stylin' Stampin' Inkspiration -- Okay, confession time.  I am currently a part of this design team.  I added it to the list because I get so much great crafting inspiration from all the other ladies on the team!
5. 510 Families and Silicon Valley Toddler -- Two amazing local parent blogs. These are my go-tos when looking for area activities and reviews of places.
6. Iowa Girl Eats -- I have found so many great recipes from Kristin's site. Basically anytime she posts a recipe, I have to at least try it out. Great stuff!
7. I Like Beer and Babies -- Another awesome honest mom blog. Great stuff in the archives!
8. Strangely Mixed -- An friend from Omaha's newish blog. I love her take on a variety of topics.
9. Modern Mrs. Darcy -- A great overall lifestyle blog.
10. My Life as a Teacup -- A great blog focuses on writing and reading (two of my favorite things!).

Fall into Books Readathon - Goals

My goals:

• Read at least 1000 pages
• Read at least two books
• Review all books read

My TBR:

• 1491 by Charles Mann
• 1493 by Charles Mann
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
• A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Blog-Tember Day 23: Guest Posting

Prompt: Grab a guest post. Recruit a friend or fellow blogger to share on your space for the day.

No guest blogger here today. My blog is very much my weird personal space. I just don't have many friends who are interested in blogging. So you get just me today and everyday.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Title: The Distant Hours

Author: Kate Morton

Publisher: Atria 2010

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 562

Rating:  4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: TBR Reduction; 52 Books - W37

It starts with a letter, lost for half a century and unexpectedly delivered to Edie’s mother on a Sunday afternoon. The letter leads Edie to Milderhurst Castle, where the eccentric Blythe spinsters live and where, she discovers, her mother was billeted during World War II. The elder Blythe sisters are twins and have spent most of their lives caring for their younger sister, Juniper, who hasn’t been the same since her fiancé jilted her in 1941. Inside the decaying castle, Edie searches for her mother’s past but soon learns there are other secrets hidden in its walls. The truth of what happened in “the distant hours” has been waiting a long time for someone to find it. In this enthralling romantic thriller, Morton pays homage to the classics of gothic fiction, spinning a rich and intricate web of mystery, suspense, and lost love.

I loved Morton's The Forgotten Garden and was hoping to love this one also. Thankfully I did love this one. The story of the Blythe Sisters twisted and turned in all the right places. I kept second guessing my assumptions about what had happened to Juniper, Percy, and Saffy. I loved finding the truth right along with Edie. But my favorite part of the book was the atmosphere. Morton creates something special with her writing. I could almost feel myself traveling the drafty old Castle along with the characters. Although it took me almost two weeks to finish, I really enjoyed this book. I hope to read more from Morton in the future.

Top Ten Tuesday -- Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join.  If you can’t come up with ten, don’t worry about it—post as many as you can!

Fall TBR:

1. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon -- I will finish this one soon!
2. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin -- Another that needs to be finished before the year is out.
3. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke -- Been on my list for awhile now
4. 2 Nonfiction -- Always need to remember the nonfiction
5. 2 Classics -- To finish off my challenge
6. 3 Books from my own shelves -- Need to knock a few more off.

Summer TBR Recap (8/10):

1. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore √
2. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin √
3. Spellbound by Kristen Callihan -- library doesn't have it yet and I just can't bring myself to spend the money on it...
4. One Chunkster -- still reading Dragonfly in Amber
5. Two Classics √ (Age of Innocence; This Side of Paradise)
6. Four Nonfiction Books √ (lots more than four actually!)

Blog-Tember Day 22: My Creative Side

Prompt: Get creative! Sketch, paint, dance, play music, whatever then give us a glimpse.

I'm an avid paper crafter, so most of crafts revolve around scrapbooking and greeting cards. I'm currently using my skills to work on Arthur's birthday party decor, thank yous, and favors. I went with a dinosaur theme because of Stampin' Up's adorable new stamp set No Bones About It. Here's a look at my finished products.

Favor bags: For the favor bags, I went very simple with a base of white paper bags. I stamped some dinosaur footprints in random patterns on top. From there, I added a cute starburst tag in a variety of colors and patterns. (I added some blue dots to help fill out the white space).

Thank you cards: I made a few different variations of these cards, but each feature a dino with a party hat! It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but the dinos have heat embossed skeletons on top of their bodies. Looks really cool in person!

Matching game (for favor bags): I made 2x2 squares featuring stamped dinosaurs on one side and some patterned paper on the other. Each set includes 18 different pairs to match. I thought about adding leaves and such, but decided that the simple dinosaur silhouette in different colors looked just right. These are matching games for toddlers.

Cupcake toppers: Simple little cupcake toppers using my scrap paper. These will look great on top of the cupcakes.

I've also got a birthday banner for last year that I'm going to reuse (it's the right colors!). Still debating about adding some other decor. I have streamers, tablecloths, and will add dinos scattered around the play area. But maybe I'll decorate his cake more than just plopping a dino on top. I'm thinking maybe chocolate rocks and fake trees...

Fall Into Books Readathon

I'm joining in this month! Can't wait to get my readathon on.

Get your sweaters, cozy blankets, the hot chocolate and pumpkin lattes ready! For the season of autumn I have decided to host my first readathon. This week long readathon will begin on the the Autumn Equinox (first day of Fall) and run Sept 23 through Sept 29.

Rules for the Fall Into Books Readathon: 

• This challenge begins Sept 23 at 12:00 AM and ends Sept 29 at 11:59 PM.

• You may sign up anytime between now and during the readathon.

• Read as little or as many books as you want. I want you to choose your own reading goals. This is a low pressure readathon and meant to be fun.

• You do NOT need to be signed up for the Fall Into Books Reading Challenge to participate.

• You may read any genre for this readathon. I want as many people to participate as possible and I realize not as many will want to do only fall themed books.

• However, if you want to follow the rules of the Fall Into Books Reading Challenge: Ideally books should be fall/autumn themed but this will not be a rule. I found there wasn't very many books with this theme. Here is a list of books that will count for this challenge: include books with words to do with fall, autumn, leaves, going back to school, holidays including Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving, or autumn weather.  Books with things like colored leaves, hot chocolate, harvest, or a fall scene on the cover can count. I will even allow books with the word "fall" in the title. Books for this challenge MUST be specifically Halloween themed NOT general horror. I will be hosting a horror readathon in October.

• Use the hashtag #FallIntoBooksReadathon

• If you could be so kind, please place the Fall Into Books Readathon banner on your blog to help spread the word.

• Please link back to this blog, post about it on Facebook, Tweet about it, and so on to help spread the word.

• You may sign up using your blog, Youtube channel, Goodreads, Twitter, etc.

• To sign up for the seasonal Fall Into Books Reading Challenge please go here.

Blog-Tember Day 21: Favorite Quote

Prompt: A favorite quote/expression and how it has impacted you.

"Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world". — Eleanor Roosevelt

I've been loving this quote lately. The idea of being friends with myself has been a difficult journey the last few years. For awhile, I didn't really like myself at all. Things have greatly improved, but I have to remind myself about this constantly.