Tell Me Something Tuesday: Mid-Year Hump Update

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Question: Mid-year Update: What have you been up to?

Answer: It feels like nothing lol but I guess I've just been doing other things (than blogging) so it just seems that way.

BOOKS:

2021 Reading Challenge

Karen has completed her goal of reading 12 books in 2021!

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23 of 12 (100%)

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I'm actually doing far better than I thought I was with reading - although far shy of my - used to be - average of 200 books a year.

I got off to a rough start, reading anywhere from 0-2 books a month but I seem to be picking up steam.

More importantly though, I'm finding books that I'm really enjoying! I'm also reading a bit more out of my comfort zone thanks to audiobooks. I seem to be able to read more angsty/tough things in that format.

A few standouts...

The House Plant was unique and fantastic, heartfelt novella. 

The Cemetery Boys & The Firekeeper's Daughter were excellent story driven YA with excellent diverse representation & character development.

I can't say I loved either Caul Baby or Black Buck but both were very thought provoking and stayed with me long after finishing.

The House in the Cerulean Sea was just the sweetest book I've read in a long, long time.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown was my favorite of the Brown sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert.

Float Plan, The Soulmate Equation and People We Meet on Vacation gave me all the feels and finally brought me back to enjoying romance. Between misleading synopsis, false rom-com labels and being too heavy at times to feel like an escape - the genre wasn't the comforting read that it used to be. All three of these books balanced serious topics, love and a few laughs brilliantly.

I just finished the arc of The Love Hypothesis and...speaking of rom-coms...this was actually a rom-com and so freaking adorable! 

TV/MOVIES:

I've been watching SO much tv this past year. A few highlights...

WandaVision - LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Disney+

Lupin S2 (but please go back and watch the brilliant S1 too!)

Invincible - an animated - very dark twist on the superhero genre. Amazon Prime

Raised by Wolves - really wacky and original but great. HBOMax

Sweet Tooth - Loved this one too! Netflix

We Are Lady Parts - what a fun show about a all girl British Muslim punk rock band. Free on the peacock app

Good Girls - I've been binge watching the past 4 seasons with a friend. The girls make me want to *grrrr strangle them* they can be SO stupid! but it's been a fun buddy watch. Netflix & NBC

LIFE:

Well, of course, I got these two and everything got turned upside down despite them looking very sweet and calm here lol

I never expected to get a puppy again. never mind TWO. They have slowly patched up my broken heart after losing Fonzi last year. I've lost a lot of pets over the years but none hurt as much as losing him. It could have been because he was the last one from my little (original) sheltie crew or because he was with me for the BIG move when I felt all alone, or maybe it was made tougher because of the pandemic or just because he was seriously the bestest dog ever and always by my side - but that one crushed me. 

Ripley & Kai have no time for any of that though and have kept me on my toes and got me back outside enjoying life again. They are totally different personalities but compliment each other perfectly. 

I've really got back into gardening too. That used to be my all consuming hobby before blogging and moving gave me the opportunity to start over from scratch. I miss my FL butterfly garden SO MUCH. Like an irrational amount of missing lol but I'm slowly building the new one out here in the PNW. I've had 2 butterflies so far woo-hoo! lol 

I've been playing around with cooking more and bought a bread machine that I actually use! The fresh farmed and local food is too amazing not to experiment with. 

I've also been out exploring our new digs a lot. We're really lucky to live in an area where could get out the past year but stay distanced and safe. The outdoor opportunities are endless and we went to Portland (Oregon) a lot for the the food carts and it was so easy to pick up fresh, delicious food but still be no contact. 

BLOGGING:

This is probably my biggest 2021 fail but I always feel like I either have nothing or too much (not knowing where to start) to say. 

I keep saying this but I do plan a sort of a reboot where I shift to talking about a variety of things instead of being a book blog. I know I do talk about other things at times but it would be even more so. I just need to get the urge to blog at all 😂

Welp, I think that covers everything!

What does your mid-year look like?