It’s that time of the year //2018//

 

Another year has somehow sped behind us! As I’m quite sure everyone with agree with and say themselves, it feels like we just welcomed 2018, but here we are at the close of it, 2019 on its heals.

As every year, 2018 has been full, with highs and lows, adventures and troubles, blessings and trials. And it has all grown us.  I praise God for all He’s taught me this year, even though it meant a lot of rough patches.

Life preceded over blogging this year…I had some good several months there where I did author interviews and character spotlights each month which was really loads of fun and I enjoyed it so much. But as the rest of the year continued, time slipped away and I wasn’t able to organize blog posts as well. Computer problems never help with blogging either, and we had our fair share of that this past year too.

 

Of the author interviews, there were 7 total:

 

 

 

 

And 8 character introduction posts:

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books! What would a yearly wrap-up be without books? At least coming from me ;) At the beginning of 2018 I had hoped I’d be able to read 80 books, but knew that was probably a bit unrealistic, so I lowered it to 75. Then half the year went by and I realized I might not be able to make that goal either, so down to 70 it went. I didn’t want the goal to become a stresser, because reading is a very pleasurable thing, not a drag. I made that goal, and ended up making my previous goal too. I read a total of 77 books in 2018, equaling 20,293 pages, approximately. Goodreads kept track of it all for me, in addition to my book-notebook that I keep. If you wanted a more in-depth look at the books I read, you can check my goodreads wrap up here. :)

And as I always attempt to do, I have selected some of my favorite reads of 2018! That was a mighty hard task though, let me tell you. I love all de books. <3

And as last year, I have chosen my Top Twelve instead of ten or less, because that is just not realistic for me. ;) So without further ado…. My Top Twelve.

 

 

Twelve beautiful books – And yes, I realize that there are only eleven in the picture. That would be because the 12th is an ebook :)  You can click on the titles below and they will lead you to my reviews of each one.

 

“The Masterpiece” by Francine Rivers

“Thief of Corinth” by Tessa Afshar

“An Hour Unspent” by Roseanna M. White

“A Light on the Hill” by Connilyn Cossette

“The Sea Before Us” by Sarah Sundin

“A Rumored Fortune” by Joanna Davidson Politano

“Storm Front” by Susan May Warren

“The Heart Between Us” by Lindsay Harrel

“Isaiah’s Daughter” by Mesu Andrews

“The Hunter and the Valley of Death” by Brennan McPhearson

“If Only It Were Yesterday” by A.M. Heath

“Through a Glass Darkly” by Jack Lewis Baillot

 

 

Annnnd because I am who I am, I have made an Honorable Mentions List. AND a very short list for my favorite short stories of the year :)

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

“A Sparkle of Silver” by Liz Johnson

“A Song Unheard” by Roseanna M. White

“A Promise to Break” by Kathlyn Spurgeon

“Picking Daisy” by Valerie Howard

“Escape and Endurance” by Sarah Holman

“Shelter of the Most High” by Connilyn Cossette

“The Writing Desk” by Rachel Hauck

“The Reckoning of Gossamer Pond” by Jaime Jo Wright

 

 

Novella’s:

 

“Finding The Magic” by Jack Lewis Baillot

“Shot at Love” by Sarah Loudin Thomas

“A Heart So Tender” by Debra E. Marvin

 

 

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And that wraps up the year! Well, it wraps up this blog post. ;)  Happy New Year, readers!! And THANK YOU for being a follower of my blog. It really does bless my heart, and even though I’m rather bad at posting frequently, I do appreciate each and every one of you! <3

October 2018

Welcome November!

I’m sad to say that another month slipped by with very few blog posts accomplished. Just when you think you’ll catch up life throws you another twist ^.^

Throughout October, I’ve been dealing with some health issues again, this time regarding internal organs. Kind of a bummer. It’s been a journey for sure, one that draws me closer to our Heavenly Father daily. He’s taught me quite a bit through it, and it really has been a minutely thing of trusting Him instead of the fear that is always right there, knocking at the door. But He does ALL things for good, and that is one of the things He’s been reminding me of.

Before the pain became more than an inconvenience, I celebrated my birthday, and made a two day trip up north to visit my grandparents shortly after. Both were very nice!

I read five books in October:

       

And sadly, I’ve only gotten my review up for one of those…But the rest will be coming eventually!

And of course got a few more books to add to my shelves  ;)  I don’t have a picture unfortunately. I wanted to get back into picture taking of books, but October was not the month for that. Maybe this month or the next. :)

My birthday gifts. :) <3

I participated in a cover reveal, which was very fun.

What was your October filled with? I hope it was lovely!

September 2018 Recap

Happy October, readers, and welcome to one of my most favoritest months of the year! ;) I love fall, and October, and just yes <3

How was your September?

For me, blogging took a major backseat as life was continually busy, and also our computer crashed…we have a temporary one working right now but since it’s just as old as the previous one…I don’t want to get too attached. So for now I am not committing to any blogging schedule just yet – I haven’t really had time to do so anyway. I do have some reviews coming up because I am sadly behind on those.

We harvested the majority of our garden in September, continued on with the farmer’s market, celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with a friend, and were kept busy with day-to-day life.

I completed the Instagram book photo challenge I took part in, though with a few hiccups along the way.  ^.^

As for books, I read:

 

 

And as always I acquired my fair share of books but haven’t had time to photograph them, so….yeah.

 

This is a very short post, and I always keep hoping for more, but it’s hard to keep up with right now.  Maybe soon, right?! ;)

What are you looking forward to in this fine month of October? For me it is the chilly weather, fall colors, my birthday, hot cocoa, and book-reading!

 

August Recap 2018

I know I should probably be sad and say that I’m bummed to see August go, but…I’m not. Because September brings Autumn, and August signals the end of summer, which is something I am happy about, I confess. Hot weather is just not my favourite. I managed it, I survived, and I did have a pretty good summer as a whole. But I looooove Autumn! And Winter. And colder weather. Mmmm, can’t wait. XD We’ve already had some very fall-like days, but also still some very hot summer days. I know that just because September is nearly here it doesn’t mean that we’ll be totally through with the hot weather, but it will come eventually.

Anyway! What was happening in August? For me it was extremely busy, and we were doing something nearly everyday. I won’t bore you with the day-to-day things, but some highlights were the continued farmers market, neighbors chores, raising nasty butcher chickens, a new fridge, and a new-used stove (apparently August was the month for appliances to fail). And of course, our local rendezvous/reenactment which was loads of fun, because it was our second year (third time because of the winter event) working one of the booths. The Eatery. It is an adorable little shack building where we sold food goodies.

August just seemed really nonstop. September is still a bit like that, but I’m hoping that eventually it will slow down!

Among the busyness, I read….

              

That last blank-looking book is “Joni’s Story: Todays Heroes” – I unfortunately could not find it on goodreads or amazon apart from its box-set status. But the Joni Earekson Tada book was excellent. While it is more geared toward children, her life story is incredible and I highly recommend it. I plan on reading a more my-age book about her, but this was a very well-written book that gives us a glimpse into her life and her struggles. It really promotes thankfulness for where we’re at too, which I think is needed in everyone’s life, because – and I speak for myself here – it’s so easy to slip into the “pit of despair” thinking we could have it better.

A very encouraging and humbling book.

I required a lot of books, but what is new there?

In the first picture, most I purchased from thriftstores (I love good deals XD) and 3 were swaps, and two are review copies. :) Second picture are books I’ve won; three of them  through the Christian Fiction Summer Reading Safari which was lots of fun!

Oh, and I’m also attempting to take part in my first time ever Instagram book photo challenge, so that should be fun. ^.^

Blogging:

Some of you may or may not have noticed that I haven’t been exactly on-time with all my planned posts, and some I’ve skipped entirely (like this month’s devotional…). Whether or not you’ve noticed, I just wanted to say that I am taking a step back from the weekly schedule; at this time it’s not working for me to try to make sure I have a specific post up every Monday. And now that harvest time is upon us, I really don’t have time to put together any kind of elaborate posts. That is not to say I am throwing away the author features entirely. In fact, I do have an author interview for September, but it will be towards the end of the month. A character-introduction is in the works for September too, and I will do my best to post it on a Monday. :)

As for devotionals, or random-fun posts, I will do those as I can too, but don’t want to put the pressure of “have-to” upon myself.

So, I will continue to post as I am able, but I am not going to let it stress me out, because that’s not helpful or healthy. I realize it is just a blog, and while fun, it doesn’t need to run or overwhelm my life. Life still happens, and that is okay. :)

How was your August? Are you looking forward to Autumn, or sad that Summer is over?

July ’18 Recap

Ah, a rather boring title, but logical. ;)

 

 

I find it both crazy and a tad bit thrilling to see July pass by. It actually went quite fast, which brings us one more step closer to fall! ;) And the latter half of this month has actually been manageable weather-wise. The first half was ridiculously hot and humid and yeah. But lately we’ve had some cooler days, which is surprising for July, but I’m not complaining! In fact, one day last week was 65 degrees. Sweatshirt weather. The mornings have been chilly as well. I know August is still to come, and with that more hot hot hot weather, but I’m enjoying this respite for now. ;)

 

 

In life updates….

 

 

We had to clean the tubs of the butcher chickens and transfer a few over to a new, less crowded one. And let me tell you, the smell was nasty. Like, horrible. Sometimes I think  still can smell it…And then another week later they were all transferred again to the larger pen, which is more spacious and nicer, and easier to feed them in. Whenever you step in there though, your feet are swarmed and pecked at because that’s how they are. XD I used to wear jean shorts to do chores in the hot weather, but now it’s long jeans only because eww. XD

And we also added 8 new layer chickens to our flock (except one disappeared and became some predator’s dinner, very sadly).

I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that my favourite mail carrier might just be done delivering our mail and I need to adjust to our new one. Yes, mail is a bit of a big deal to me. Our old MC was very orderly and always placed the mail in a nice stack, with any letters that might be addressed to me sitting on top. Packages arrived in a careful manner. ‘Twas nice.

But now…So sad. I do actually quite like our current mail carrier; she’s very nice. But maybe not as OCD me when it comes to mail ;)

In July our town has a bit of a celebration thing with various events. We went to the kiddie parade (for my nephews of course ^.^), the book sale, and the regular parade. It was all quite a bit of fun!

Also in July, we made a day trip up north and it was fabulous. an almost 4 hour car ride both ways, but so good to get up there and see my grandparents if only for a few hours.

 

 

I’m sure other stuff happened this month (in fact I know it did), but I’m moving onto the book section of things because I like books. ;)

 

 

These are the ones I read this month:

 

          

 

By clicking on their covers you will be brought to my reviews of the books. :)

 

 

And these are the books I acquired:

 

 

 

And let us not forget my new book cozy!

 

 

 

 

 

Other posts of this month include….

 

 

 

 

 

 

How was your  July? Have you read any of the books I read or received this month? Any recommendations? :)

June ’18 Recap

 

 

June was an extremely busy month – I felt that I barely had time to breathe sometimes. Summer began in earnest, though there were a few days of cooler weather tucked within the June days. Not as many as I would like, but then I would gladly have a longer Fall and Winter ;)

The heat really has been sweltering lately, and without air-conditioning…I feel like I’m going to melt away. Haha.

We started selling at our local farmer’s market again once a week, which has been going well, but takes up a lot of our time in prep-work. I’ve added to my necklaces – now in addition to the Pixie Dust and ‘Drink Me’ ones,  I have some “Message in a Bottle” necklaces, “Dragon Scales”, and “Wishes”. They look pretty cute if I do so say myself. ;) I need to update the blog site I created for them at some point….

 

June was just filled with life-stuff, as usual. We got butcher chickens, and they are quickly becoming annoying and ugly. XD We got the garden in, and spent a whole day weeding (I got sunburned, of course), re-fenced the horse pasture (still need to add the wire line but so far the tape keeps Pepper and Adora in), and other life stuff happened.

I was happily introduced to the amazing movie, “The Greatest Showman”, and that has been a near-constant high. ;) It really is a remarkable movie, and probably shouldn’t even get me started on it… ;)

 

So! Among the busyness and constant running, I managed to actually read a decent amount this month. My sister and I read before bed each night, which helps immensely with that. ;)

 

              

 

 

If already reviewed, you can click on the covers to go there. :) I will have the remaining reviews posted soon, hopefully!

 

Added to my collection:

 

 

Isn’t that cover of “Anne of Avonlea” stunning? And I found it at a Free Little Library! So cute.

Oh and see that little Paris lamp to the right? I found that at a garage sale and was so thrilled because I’ve been wanting an Eiffel Tower figurine thing and this is perfect. :)

 

 

Main Monday Posts from June:

 

 

Devotional Type Post: “It’s Okay”

 

 

Books Reviewed:

Jesus Calling // Quest for Leviathan // Among the Poppies //  Enchanting Nicholette // The Orphan’s Wish // A Breath of Hope // Trust and Obey //

 

Can’t help it…MAY I recap?

Yeah, I know. I should’ve resisted it. Too easy, right? But I just couldn’t. Not when it is just asking for it….I mean, it’s MAY. ;)

Which is now over. The beginning of the month was fair, temperature wise, but towards the middle and end it turned scorching hot…I’m dreaming of winter. ;)

This month consisted of reading, a visit to a park with family and extended family (wherein I remembered the joys of swinging. So freeing!), yard and garden work, and some more reading in between. Besides the heat, it was enjoyable. :) Not without its trials, but what life is?

 

The books I read:

 

 – I read a couple more stories in this collection.

                   

 

The first three you can click on to read my review, the next two have reviews that will be posted soon, same for “Enchanting Nicholette”, and the SMW books – my reviews are on Goodreads. :)

 

 

 

Books added to my already-too-big collection:

 

 

Three are review books, one is from Tyndale Rewards (where you can sign up to earn points towards FREE books! <3), a couple were book-swaps, and the rest were garage-sale and library sale finds, besides “Ain’t Misbehavin'” which I purchased on a FB group. :)

 

Yep. What else can I say than that I love books?

 

 

May Post Sum Up:

 

  

    

   

 

And posted about the GDPR news HERE, and also reviewed “Judah’s Wife” HERE.

And a Cover Reveal HERE.

 

 

And here’s to June, right? May we survive the heat. ;)

 

 

 

How was your May, readers? Any exciting news to share? Books read? Feel free to comment and we can chat!

April Be Over

 

The last day of April. It feels like, for me, that this month flew by. I don’t really know why – it was just…busy I suppose. :)

 

I think we actually got the most snow of the year in the beginning-mid of this month, which is quite funny. At least I think so XD Being the snow-lover that I am, I didn’t mind it at all, though I can’t say that for everyone.

I will give that this nicer weather is enjoyable too though – I wish Summer would be full of temperatures such as Spring, because then I don’t think I’d dread it quite as much. ;) Do you have a favourite season?

 

My month, bookish-wise was rather small. The books I read were:

 

     

 

“Until We Find Home” and “Julie” I’ve both reviewed, and you can click on their covers to read them. My review for “The Heart Between Us” shall be coming along shortly (secret: I loved this book!), and technically, I am still sort of working my way through The Backcountry Brides Collection – I’ve read 3 of the 8 novella’s so far, but have enjoyed those and look forward to the others! :)

 

 

The books that came into my possession this month:

 

 

 

 

That old copy of “Emily of New Moon” by L. M. Montgomery has 1923 dated inside the cover – so cool! And I found it at a little thrift store for only 50Cents! I was so pleased, to say the least. ^.^

“What A Girl Wants” by Kirstin Billerbeck, “Escape from the Vikings”, and “The Pickwick Papers” were all really cheap thrift-store finds too. “The Theory of Happily Ever After” by Kristin Billerbeck and “The Backcountry Brides” by various authors are both review copies. :)

 

So, that is my bookish month. :)

 

 

 

Posts from April:

 

 

 

I also reviewed “A Light on the Hill” by Connilyn Cossette, and was apart of Rachel Rossano’s blog tour.

 

 

And coming up for May is another great Author Interview and Character Introduction!

 

 

 

 

How was your April, friends?

 

 

 

 

My Kind of Normal

April is Autism Awareness Month.

You may know a lot or a little about Autism; you may know someone who has it, or maybe you have it yourself. I confess I didn’t know a whole lot about it before, or really hadn’t started learning about it more until recently when a family friend sent us some information on it. And it just happened to shed some light on a lot of my own struggles.

 I have not been professionally diagnosed with Autism specifically, but I was diagnosed with Sensory-Integration-Dysfunction around the age of 5. We’ve pegged several of my “oddities” on that, but as we’re learning, Autism may cover more than we expected of my sensory “issues”. To explain a little more, I’ve never been great in people-situations, and after I’ve “peopled” I definitely have to decompress and process away from people. I get anxiety over social events of any kinds, sometimes even family get-togethers. Sometimes even talking to people online can be something I stray from on certain days – not because I don’t enjoy the person I’m talking to, but because it may seem daunting at times. And any form of change is hard on me – I found this on an Autism site: “People with autism often rely on routines and schedules, and can struggle with change or being flexible.” And that for me is very accurate. 

So yes, I may be Autistic in several ways. And I’m finding that is okay. At first, I wondered if that made me even more different, if that makes sense. I know that sounds silly, but it made me think. When I thought of “autistic”, I didn’t used to think of me in that category. Because I feel normal. But I think that’s the point – no matter what level of Autism someone may have, or what level of anything, it *is* our normal. Sure, I can’t do things that some “normal” 22 year olds do, but I can do what God has me do. And that’s good.

I’ll admit, sometimes it is hard to accept this. Especially when I look outward instead of upward.

When I talk to some of my friends, I don’t have an “exciting life” to tell them about; a lot of my days are really…slow. Quiet. Yet busy in their own way. They’re my normal, but I don’t necessarily see them as “normal”. One friend is in college, and that’s great. Another friend has a job that she is dedicated to, and that’s fantastic too. It makes me proud of them and happy for them. But sometimes I feel like…their lives are moving, and mine isn’t. I’ll read a book where the main character is adventurous, and I wonder why I’m not. I compare.

But just because my life is different…that doesn’t mean it’s not adventurous or good, does it? No. It’s just…different. My kind of different. No, I don’t go to college, no I don’t have a job, or my driver’s license. Yes, that’s due to my “oddities”.  My differences. But that’s not wrong. That’s not un-adventurous. And I’ve decided I need to stop making excuses for myself. I need to stop denoting my life as boring just because it’s not other people’s normal. Their normal is their normal – what a beauty that is. And my normal is my normal. Which means a lot of days staying home, spending my time with my family working on home/farm projects, writing in my stories, getting chores done, running errands with my family, and reading lots of books. This is my normal. And it isn’t bad.

Whatever is YOUR normal – embrace it. This is the life God has given you, and it is good.

I’d also like to share the link to a great post on Autism Awareness that author Pepper Basham wrote. You can visit it HERE. :)

March wrap-up: Aquarium, life, books

 

Hello! And surprise – this post is actually being posted while it’s still March!! I must say, I’m rather impressed with myself. ;) Just kidding.

 

So, March. We had the lovely opportunity of visiting the Aquarium this month, and met up with some friends there too, which was very nice.  We all enjoyed ourselves, and it was a very good time. :)  I’m still sad the Aquarium no longer allows visitors to pet the stingrays as they have in years past, but what can you do?

 

In our spare time, my Mum, younger sister, and I have been watching Season Six of Little House on the Prairie. If you’re familiar with that show, you’ll already know that’s when Almanzo enters the scene. ;) I love watching Laura Ingalls try to prove she’s not a little girl anymore, and fail horribly at doing so… ^.^ Though I will admit there are a couple episodes I am not fond of because of the unrealisticness of them…the writers just want drama (and no, not the original book author, Laura herself. The tv show writers).  But anywho!

 

 

I read quite a bit this month, which was nice:

 

 

           

Clicking on their covers will lead you to my review of the book. (The one without a cover is “Pop Tops and Smiley Faces” by Ann Naedele”). All of them have been reviewed, except for “A Light on the Hill”, which will be posted soon! :)

 

My favourite of the month? It’d be a close tie between “The Sea Before Us” and “A Light on the Hill”. Both so good and highly recommended!!

 

 

I got a few books this month. Unfortunately our camera also decided to stop working this month, so I couldn’t take pictures. But here are the books I got:

 

• “To The Farthest Shore” by Elizabeth Camden//Thriftstore find (only 50Cents!)
• “Refiners Fire” by Sylvia Bambola//Goodwill find
• “Always On My Mind” by Susan May Warren//Giveaway win from author Valerie Howard
• “An Elegant Facade” by Kristi Ann Hunter// BetterWorldBooks
• “It Had to Be You” by Susan May Warren//BetterWorldBooks
• “The Wonder of You” by Susan May Warren//BetterWorldBooks
• “The Reluctant Duchess” by Roseanna M. White//BetterWorldBooks
• “Chasing Jupitar” by Rachel Coker//BetterWorldBooks
• “Troubled Waters” by Susan May Warren//Bought of a facebook group
• “My Heart Belongs in Superstition Mountains” by Susan Page Davis//FB group buy
• “All the Tea in China” by Jane Orcutt//FB group Book Swap with a gal.
• “Stealing Home” by Allison Pittman//FB group Book Swap with the same gal.
• “Where the Fire Falls” by Karen Barnett//Blogging for Books review copy.

 

 

I requested my last review copy from Blogging for Books (the Karen Barnett book). I’m so sad that BfB is closing its doors. That was one of my top favourite review-programs, and my first – good ol’ Blogging for Books is what started me into my reviewing journey! <3

 

So yes, quite a few…needless to say, I don’t have much book-spending money at the moment. ;) But it was all worth it. BetterWorldBooks has fair prices and free shipping which is amazing. The condition of the books are often a bit rough, but still readable!

Have you read any of these books?

 

 

I also was super pleased to review a Booksleeve this month, and you’ll see it in future pictures too, because it’s just so cute!

 

 

 

 

As for other blog posts…

 

March 5th//Author Interview with MacKenzie Morganthal

March 12th//Character Introduction – Haley Hampton

March 19th// “Yet” devotional post

March 26th//Booksleeve post

 

 

And there were also some book-reviews posted between the Mondays. :)

 

 

Be on the lookout for a new Author Interview Post this Monday!! It’s a great one too :D

 

 

 

How was your March, friends? Happy Passover/Resurrection Day :)