Tag: happiness

Sunday Post | Four Eyes

Posted September 21, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 24 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. 

I Got Glasses

I got my first prescription glasses last week! I’m so happy and I’ve been wearing them almost non-stop to the point where my husband is scolding me for wearing them while lounging in bed because he doesn’t want me to break them.

To be clear, these aren’t my first glasses, only my first prescription glasses. I had “vanity glasses” as a child because I wanted to look smart and studious and my dream job was to be a librarian. Yes, I wore glasses I didn’t need out of vanity, and I’m only telling y’all here because I feel like if anyone would get me, it’s other bookworms. 😂 Also, I get that the whole librarian wearing glasses thing might be a little stereotypical but I was 10 and I loved reading! 🤷‍♀️

It’s also nice to be able to see things a little more clearly now!

I also ran 5k three times last week! Woot, progress! Well, sort of. I ran almost every day when it was 3k, and now that it’s 5k, I’m only running three times a week because it exhausts me and I need more recovery time, so there’s a give and take. I’m still slow, but at least I’m running slow a little further!

I’m looking forward to eventually running a marathon, like maybe after 10 more years of training! 🏃‍♀️‍➡️

All the happy things:

  1. I love my new glasses!
  2. Really proud about my progress with running even though there’s definitely some growing pains!
  3. My Hobonichi Cousin 2025 arrived! I know it’s still a few months to 2025, but I like knowing it’s there ready for me and I also have some things already scheduled for 2025 that I can now fill in.
  4. We had more soup! Spicy Sichuan soup this time!
  5. I crocheted a bag out of scrap yarn and it’s ugly as heck but I love it! (I haven’t woven in the ends yet.)
  6. The cooler weather means I can crochet more now! It’s no fun crocheting in the heat with all that yarn on my lap, but it’s so cozy when it’s cooler.

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare – Book 1 of the Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy. I love Tessa Dare but I felt like this one had a little more cheese than her other books I loved. Still fun and enjoyable, and I needed light-hearted books.
  2. Surrender of A Siren by Tessa Dare – Book 2 of the Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy. Also kinda cheesy, but sometimes you need a little cheese.
  3. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig – It was very much a disappointment. The writing was quite messy and unclear. The characters were unlikeable and inconsistent and I couldn’t understand their motivations. The magical concept was interesting though, and I’m still very intrigued by the plot, but the good isn’t good enough to outweigh the flaws, and it was a struggle to get through it. I only did because it was a buddy read.
  4. Cujo by Stephen King – This is a reread but it’s been so long since I first read it that it might as well be a new read. As always, Stephen King is the King of Storytelling. There’s so much more to Cujo than just a scary, rabid dog story, and it’s such an incredibly look into the thoughts and behaviors of flawed human beings.

Book(s) I’m reading:

  1. Perfume by Patrick Süskind – It’s my irl bookclub’s BOTM for September and the meeting is this weekend. I’m about 30% in and it’s just so beautifully written. It’s a reread for me but it’s been a long while.
  2. I Fell In Love With Hope by Lancali – Just started and already I’m scared. It sounds like a sad and heavy read, and I’ve been warned to keep a lot of tissues on hand for the inevitable tears.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

Feeling a little burnt out with reading so many sad and heavy books over the last month and we haven’t even gotten to October spooky season yet. I’m going to try to get some more light-hearted reads in between the heavy stuff.

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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Book Review | Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

Posted August 22, 2024 by Haze in Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery

When twelve-year-old Anne Shirley came to Avonlea, she quickly won everyone’s heart. Now, she’s five years older, almost a woman, and about to embark on a new adventure: becoming the teacher in her old Avonlea school. It’s an exciting year as Anne struggles to win over all her students, welcomes two new members to her family, and feels the first stirrings of love.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Audiobook Challenge
The Classics Club

The Reason

I started Anne of Green Gables and loved it and just had to continue with the series!

The Quotes

“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.”

“One can’t get over the habit of being a little girl all at once.”

“The future is yet an untrodden path full of wonderful possibilities.”

“Of course, I knew there are no fairies; but that needn’t prevent my thinking there is.”

The Narrator(s)

Beth Kesler. It was a bit of an adjustment coming from Rachel McAdams in the first book to a different narrator, but I ended up really loving Beth Kesler’s voices for the characters and the narration.

My Thoughts

What I love about this book is the children; Paul, Davy, and Dora are all wonderful to read about, and I love witnessing Anne’s interactions with them. I think the best thing about having children in your life is that they help you see the world with childlike wonder, and that’s the best thing about this book too. I also really love Miss Lavender because even though she was an older woman, she was still so childlike and sweet.

Now that I’m older, I feel like there’s no reason to stop being childish and carefree just because you’re all grown up. I know there are people who disagree, but I’ve been serious and somber as an adult, and I’ve been childish and playful as an adult, and I can tell you I’m much happier when I can be childish and playful. Mind you, when I say childish and playful, I don’t mean immature and irresponsible. People need to know the difference!

I also love that Gilbert and Anne are friends in this book, although we don’t see as much of Gilbert as I want. But there’s still the next book to look forward to!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Sunday Post | Kitchen Not So Confidential

Posted April 13, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 28 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. 

Kitchen Not So Confidential

There’s been a lot of cooking this past week. There’s no special occasion or anything, I just felt like it and had the time, and maybe I’m also enjoying the cleaner kitchen and want to take advantage of that.

I made Butter Prawns, some random soups with everything thrown in, Braised Pork Belly with hard boiled eggs, napa cabbage stir fry, and other stuff I didn’t take pictures of. I’ve been eating well but I’m not sure if I can keep this up! I should probably try to get better at taking food pictures if I do!

I’ve finished watching 911: Lone Star and I was going to start watching the original 911, but a couple of other shows caught my eye so I’ll probably alternate when I have time. I started watching Renegade Nell on my own and I’m quite enjoying it even though I’m still not sure what the end game is and why Nell is special. My husband and I are watching Fallout together. Neither of us play the game but that’s not going to stop us enjoying the show. We’re only on the third episode at the moment. I’m really loving Lucy’s character. Not too sure about Maximus.

The weather has also been pretty nice and we took some walks around the neighborhood. That made me very happy and I hope the weather keeps getting better and we get to take more walks. It’s supposed to snow again later this week but I won’t mind it too much as long as I get to walk outside a little more.

All the happy things:

  1. All the food!
  2. The walks and the warmer weather!
  3. I bought a couple of organizers to organize my sticker collection and I love them!
  4. I bought a few skeins of yarn I’m excited to use, soon!
  5. Had a nice chat with a friend who made me feel encouraged about things I’ve been wanting to do
  6. Got started on organizing my closet

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – I’m so happy I finally finished this book! I’ve been anticipating it so much. I think I like the characters we meet in the first book more than the ones here, but I like them too, and I’m glad we were able to see more of Poe. I’m looking forward to the next book too!
  2. Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree – Another one I’ve been anticipating. I loved the first book, and I love this one too! I love that it’s so much more about bookshops and books. And I love Viv as ever. She’s someone I’d love to be friends with, and I love how her character is written so well that you just feel drawn to her the same way the people in the book are drawn to her.

Books I’m (still) reading:

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – I meant to finish the rest of this book but was distracted by another audiobook. Plus the next check-in is still some weeks away so I’ve got time!
  2. Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent – I’m 65% in and enjoying it very much! I promise I’ll get back to The Count of Monte Cristo after I finish this!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’ll finish up my audiobooks of Daughter of No Worlds and The Count of Monte Cristo, and I’m starting a buddy read for The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden this week. If I can make it, I’d like to get started on The Kite Runner for my in-person book club before the week is out.

I’m also hoping to get caught up on my book reviews and update my books read on Goodreads and The Storygraph.

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 | Spring Cleaning, Sorta

Posted March 30, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 21 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. 

Spring Cleaning, Sorta

I cannot believe it’s the end of March already! Where did the month go? I feel like I didn’t get much done this month, and I didn’t get a lot of books read either.

It’s the first week of Spring Break, and I’ve been taking it as an opportunity to do a little spring cleaning. See, when I imagined it in my head, I was all super-powered and I was able to clean and organize the whole house to make it look like one of those model homes. The reality though… I cleaned my kitchen. Only the kitchen. Ah well, better than nothing.

In regards to the weather, since everyone’s invested now; the beginning of the week started out promising. There was still snow on the ground but it was melting and the weather was getting warmer. Cut to Friday, and it’s snowing again. A lot.

Sigh… I am resigned to my fate and I have decided to embrace it.

All the happy things:

  1. I got the kitchen cleaned and somewhat organized!
  2. I signed up for a few buddy reads on my online book club, and I’m excited about those books!
  3. A friend from the USA may be visiting for a couple of days in May, and I’m excited to see her!
  4. My in-person book club met for the second time, and we had a great discussion about our book of the month, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.
  5. We are talking about a road trip for the summer! Nothing’s confirmed, but it makes me happy to have that possibility.

The Books

Books I read last week:

  1. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – It took me the whole week to read this one. It’s dense, and a little bleak, but it’s really good and there’s so much to think about. This one took up a lot of my time and energy, so I didn’t get to read a lot of other books last week, but it’s for my book club and I’m glad I read it. I haven’t written a review because I wanted to have our book club discussion first, which happened this morning (at the time of writing). I’ll write a review soon!
  2. Bear by Marian Engel – This was a sort of gag buddy read for my online book club. It’s short and I managed to finish it in a couple of hours. It’s…interesting. Weird, confusing, and I’m still waiting on others to read it so we can talk about it.

Books I’m (still) reading:

  1. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – The readalong is ongoing and the next check-in is Saturday. We’re reading Chapters 60-86 for this check-in. I’m currently at Ch 78.
  2. Blitz by Daniel O’Malley – I stopped at Chapter 19 (of about 30?) because the audiobook had expired and had to be returned. I have the physical book, so I’ll probably continue with it instead of waiting for the audiobook.
  3. A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal – I just started this as a buddy read! I’m only a couple of chapters in.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I’d like to finish Blitz and A Tempest of Tea this week. I’m losing a bit of momentum on Blitz to be honest, and I’m contemplating dnf-ing it. It’s not bad though, I’m enjoying the story, it’s just that I’m itching to read other lighter books at the moment, and there have been too many dense ones.

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 | You Know Nothing, Spring Snow

Posted March 23, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 26 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. 

You Know Nothing, Spring Snow

I am not happy that it’s snowing again, I just want to get that out of the way. I can’t believe how much I talk about and fixate on the weather, but I wouldn’t if it would only do what I want! Or maybe it’s time for me to toughen up and get friendly with Canadian weather.

One good thing about cold weather is having soups to warm you up! My husband made Bak Kut Teh and it was soooo good. The picture below is not the actual dish he made. I was too hungry and we weren’t thinking of plating for aesthetic purposes so we didn’t take pictures. It’s just a random picture taken off the internet for illustration purposes only.

Bak Kut Teh is a Chinese herbal pork soup/stew that’s sweet and savory. The main focus of it is the pork, but we often add tofu, different kinds of mushrooms, some vegetables, and we usually eat it with rice and garlic in soy sauce. The garlic is the best part for me!

I’ve often wondered if a vampire gave me the choice of eternal life but I’d have to give up garlic forever, would I do it? Such a dilemma; garlic vs. eternal life. What would you choose? 🧄or🧛‍♀️

On my husband reading The Count of Monte Cristo, he managed five chapters and decided it was too verbose for him right now, so he’s putting it aside. I can’t say I blame him; I tend to skip flowery descriptions most of the time and just focus on important events that happen in the book, but he likes to pay attention to details and there were just so much here.

On the bright side, he’s still open to taking recommendations from me and reading the books I love! He’s on The Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher right now, because it’s the only one currently available from the library, but I hope to get him on the other Kingfisher books as well.

Unfortunately, a couple of days ago I somehow sprained my right shoulder. It hurts to move it or to spend too much time on the computer – I think because of the height of the table and the way my arm/elbow rests on the table and the position when using the mouse, so I have to take frequent breaks. Thank goodness I did most of my blog posts earlier in the week! I’ve been trying to rest it more, but it seems to be hurting more today than when it started. Hopefully it will get better soon.

All the happy things:

  1. I got more blog posts than usual up last week! A few reviews, and other fun memes.
  2. I finally got caught up with updating my books read on Goodreads and The Story Graph.
  3. My husband and I had a really fun night dancing and singing to music while he made Bak Kut Teh.
  4. The fact that he made Bak Kut Teh!
  5. I bought some new stickers for my journal!
  6. Tax is all done!
  7. My library had a webinar with Madeline Miller : On Retelling Greek Classics: An Exploration of the Modern Epics with Madeline Miller. We’re encouraged to share the link to the replay, so here it is if you’re interested.
  8. We watched The Greatest Night in Pop, and it was so amazing to see how it all came about. I loved it!

Books I read last week:

I did not finish a single book last week but I did finish a short story that Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl highly recommended; Signal Moon by Kate Quinn.

From the title and cover, I thought it might be some futuristic scifi story, but it wasn’t what I expected at all. I’d say it’s more of a historical fiction with paranormal elements, and I loved it. It’s short and sweet, and I thought it was perfect on its own, but it also made me really want to read Kate Quinn’s other books. I’ve never read any of her books before and I need to remedy that.

Other than that, I’ve been reading a few books;
The Count of Monte Cristo is still ongoing – the timeline is until the end of April and we have multiple check-ins,
Blitz by Daniel O’Malley – the final book in the Checquy Files, and
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – for my book club discussion next week.

They are all relatively thicker/denser books, so I can’t just breeze through them. I’ve been wanting to take a break and read something light, but I also feel like I don’t want to add another story into my mental space until I’ve finished at least one of these. I’ll probably take some time this weekend to make a dent in one or two of them.

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

Working on Blitz, The Sparrow, and The Count of Monte Cristo!

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 | Good Food, Good Week

Posted March 16, 2024 by Haze in Sunday Post, Weekly Book Memes / 28 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. 

Good Food, Good Week

I made dim sum from scratch last week! I made a bunch of siu mai and crispy wontons and they were delicious. My husband made stewed pork hock too for the first time and it was pretty good. There was no special occasion except to feed our cravings. It might have backfired because now I’m craving them even more!

I know the pictures are kind of brown, but we made veggie dishes too; we had steamed okra and shiitake mushrooms, I just didn’t take pictures of them because I was more excited about these ones! I’ll be sure to take better pictures next time.

We watched a couple of movies; Argylle and Ricky Stanicky. They were both really cheesy, but just so much fun! And coincidentally, John Cena acts in both of them. I promise we didn’t watch either shows just because of him, but his performance on Ricky Stanicky was really something. I especially loved him in his Britney Spears costume!

I am also taking a page out of several blogs I’ve seen do this happiness/gratitude list thing. I haven’t been mindful about all the good things happening in my life, so I’d like to start incorporating it into my weekly updates.

All the happy things:

  1. My husband finished The Storyteller by Dave Grohl! I’m so happy and I loved that we got to discuss it together!
  2. He asked for recommendations for his next book, and I said The Count of Monte Cristo, and he’s actually willing to give it a try! I’m so excited for him! And for me because then I’ll get to talk about it with him!
  3. We took a walk around the neighborhood because the weather was nice.
  4. I had some chocolate this week! Yum!
  5. My online bookclub is doing a readalong for The Count of Monte Cristo; we had a midpoint discussion for the book yesterday and it was fun!
  6. I made cookies!

Books I read last week:

I finished The Bodyguard by Katherine Center in two days! Yayy! So it did kind of get me out of my slump, and then I started reading The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo next. It completely lived up to expectations and more. I loved the story so much! I haven’t written reviews for either of these books yet, but I’ll do it soon!

The Count of Monte Cristo is ongoing because of the readalong, and I’m enjoying it more because of hearing other readers’ thoughts. I am also really enjoying Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday right now. As of this writing I am 72% in, but I’m sure that by the time you read this, I’d have finish the book because I fully intend on going back to reading it after I finish writing this post!

Last Week on The Blog

This Week

I have the final book in The Checquy Files, Blitz by Daniel O’Malley, ready for me on audiobook, so I’ll be reading that. I also intend to start The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell before the end of the week for my book club’s BOTM.

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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