Tag: birthday

Sunday Post | Birthday and Other Things

Posted October 19, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 11 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Ups and Downs

Last week started off with news that one of our friends had a heart attack and was in the hospital. He’s a very dear and beloved friend and we were very worried when we got the news, but he was in great spirits when we visited him at the hospital and it put our minds at ease. He’s already had tests done and he’s well enough to be discharged back home, which is great! We will be visiting him again this weekend.

Last weekend was also the Canada Thanksgiving long weekend, and my birthday was on Monday. We got my favorite Sichuan food to celebrate and I meant to take pictures but I was a glutton and ate before I remembered!

The highlight of my week was meeting with Susan from The Cue Card this morning. I was so excited when I realized she lives relatively close to me, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever met a fellow blogger in real life. The most wonderful thing about it is that you’ve got lots to talk about because you’re both into books and reading! We had so much fun talking and we found out that we had a lot in common.

My husband and I also hung out later and had a late lunch after his work. We shared and had a little of both dishes because we wanted to try each other’s orders and they were both great! And I did manage to take pictures this time before I gobbled it all down!

The Conqueror Challenge

I didn’t do as well on The Conqueror Challenge last week compared to the week before. My goal is to get at least 20km per week, but I only got 15km last week. Hopefully I’ll make up for it this week.

It has been a tiring week but more emotionally and mentally than for an actual physical reason. It did translate over to me feeling physically tired though and not only did I not run as much as I wanted, I had to reschedule some plans I initially made because I didn’t have the energy for them. I didn’t even manage to work as much on my project as I had hoped.

I’m going to try to make up for everything else that got put off last week, not just the running, but I still don’t feel at my best yet, so I’m not sure if I’m going to end up taking some extra time this week also.

It’s hard not to feel pressured and guilty about not getting things done, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it is important to put your own mental and emotional health first (also physical health!).

All the happy things:

  1. So much good food! All the yummy stuff!
  2. Meeting a fellow book blogger! I loved meeting with Susan, and I hope we’ll see each other again soon!
  3. So grateful that our friend is doing well and recovering at home now.
  4. So grateful that I am one year older and wiser.

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Exhalation by Ted Chiang – Wow, these stories really made me think. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but I think they were all really good.
  2. The Shining by Stephen King – This is a reread and a buddy read. The last time I read it was more than a decade ago so there’s a lot I don’t remember, but I loved reading it again and I feel like I’m appreciating it more now.
  3. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 10 by Nagabe – It’s starting to get more and more confusing, and I’m starting to get annoyed by the inconsistencies, but there’s only a couple of volumes left so I feel like I should just see it through.

Book(s) I’m reading:

  1. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying this book! The writing isn’t very good, tbh, but the story is really good and I’m just very pulled in by the whole thing. Also I’m listening to it on audio, and the narrator’s voices are adding to the experience for me!
  2. Never Whistle At Night edited by Shane Hawk – I’m 20% in and while I really enjoyed the stories so far, I’m debating if I want to finish the book. I expected more focus on folklore, but the folklore connection is quite thin on some of the stories, and they’re all very dark and gruesome. Maybe it’s just that I’m feeling low right now so I don’t feel up to finishing the book, but we’ll see.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’ve got a couple of reviews to catch up on, and I’m planning to read Pet Sematary this week for my irl bookclub, plus it’s also a buddy read for my online bookclub. Two birds! So efficient!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Progress

Posted October 12, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 17 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Slow Progress Is Still Progress

I had another busy week last week and didn’t get a lot of reading done; I finished two books and that was it. I’ve been working on a project for a long time and it’s very close to being done, hopefully in the next 2-3 months, so I’m trying to push as much as I can. It has been slow going before due to a lot of unforeseen issues that cropped up, but as long as nothing else unexpected happens, I feel like we’re good and we’ll finish strong!

The Conqueror Challenge

I did pretty good on The Conqueror Challenge last week but I ended up hurting my knee on Thursday in the second km and walked the rest of the way home. I was also going to try walking 8km this morning but I got tired and only did 5.7km.

I’m still ahead of my goal, so there’s that, even though I’m walking some of the time instead of running, and I did get in almost 20km this week. I find myself trying to hit certain milestones in order to get the virtual rewards offered in the app, and they are fun, but I really want that physical medal as the ultimate reward!

There’s still a long way to go but I’m already excited about the prospect of finishing this challenge and getting that medal. And then I’m anticipating the next challenges and the next medals! This thing is seriously addicting and I don’t know yet if that’s a good or bad thing! 😂

All the happy things:

  1. It’s my birthday on Monday and we’re getting my favorite Sichuan food to celebrate!!
  2. I also got myself a one-year subscription to Audible as a birthday present to myself!
  3. And I got it at a discount!
  4. I made some yummy chicken wings in the air-fryer and they were so good!
  5. Feeling very optimistic about finishing my work project soon. 🤞
  6. Really enjoying my online bookclub, not just for the buddy reads and book discussions, but the chats and jokes as well. ❤️
  7. Despite my setback hurting my knee, I’m very happy with The Conqueror Challenge keeping me motivated to walk/run now that the weather is getting cooler.
  8. I’m really enjoying seeing the Halloween decorations popping up bit by bit around my neighborhood. 👻

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – It was a good book with a good story but it turned out a little preachy and I didn’t like that.
  2. The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth – It wasn’t the best mystery but I really enjoy the way the author writes about familial relationships, and especially something as complicated as the relationship between mother- and daughter-in-law.

Book(s) I’m reading:

  1. Exhalation by Ted Chiang – There are 9 short stories. I finished 6 and have 3 more to go. It’s all been very thought-provoking so far.
  2. The Shining by Stephen King – It’s a reread and a buddy read. I’m at 20% so far and loving it.
  3. Super Powereds: Year 1 by Drew Hayes – I started this audiobook because I listen to audiobooks to fall asleep and I needed something not scary (ie. not The Shining!). It’s actually pretty good so far!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’m anticipating another busy week (plus it’s my birthday!) so I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to read but I really, really want to get started on Never Whistle At Night if I can!

How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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Sunday Post | Birthday Celebrations

Posted December 9, 2023 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 20 Comments

Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings. 

Birthday Celebrations

I didn’t get a lot of reading done this past week because it was my husband’s birthday and we did several activities to celebrate, but I did manage to finish one book. We had a nice Sichuan meal. The food was so good, but honestly, not nearly spicy enough. It was our first time at this restaurant and we had the fish, prawns, and pork, but they’ve got lots of other great stuff on the menu and we’re definitely going back for more.

Our local zoo is very good and mindful about wildlife conservation, and the animals always seem happy and well taken care of. There are both indoor and outdoor spaces for the animals that need them and they can easily move between the two when they want depending on the weather.

It was my first time seeing the polar bears, but the otters were the stars of the show this trip. They were very active and frolicking around in the water, playing with seashells and each other. It was so fun to watch. It hadn’t been snowing when we went to the zoo so it looked nice and balmy in the pictures, but it was quite cold and I’m sensitive to the cold so I’m all nice and bundled up.

There were lots of other animals at the zoo too, of course, but we only visited the North American animals section of the zoo this time because it was closed the last times we went and we had already seen the other sections. We are definitely going back as often as we can though, because it’s always such a joy to see the animals playing, or just doing their own thing, and some of them even like performing for the crowd. We’ll be going back again for the Zoolights when it snows, because my husband wants to see them in the snow.

It did snow later in the week, and we went out to see Christmas lights last night. I love how beautiful they all look. My favorites are the peacock, and the big Christmas tree. There are lots of places in Calgary going all out on Christmas lights decoration, and we’re going back for the Zoolights, but we’re going to see if we can visit some other ones too. The Christmas lights are some of the best things about the winter season.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I don’t have much planned this week because I was too busy to think, but I do plan to do the weekly memes, and hopefully start reading the books I intended to read last week – Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.

I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!

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