April's Books....

I think maybe.... I've bought enough books this month.

We're not even to the half way point of the month and already there are 13  books in my "bought this month stack. To be fair, I only paid $5 for the first 10 this month... so there's that. Also, ebooks never make it into this stack (because of their physical restrictions), so I also bought Devil's Bride, and The Peculiar, but they're nonexistent in the physical sense.

MOON CALLED - Patricia Briggs
ZOMBIE LOVER - Piers Anthony
GEIST - Phillipa Balantine
THE BRIDGERTONS: HAPPILY EVER AFTER - Julia Quinn
DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY - P.D. James
UGLIES - Scott Westerfeld
PRETTIES - Scott Westerfeld
SPECIALS - Scott Westerfeld
EXTRAS - Scott Westerfeld
ENCLAVE - Ann Aguirre
OUTPOST - Ann Aguirre
CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS - Cassandra Clare
DR. HORRIBLE AND OTHER HORRIBLE STORIES - Zach Whedon

2013 Goal Updates: April

And boy howdy is this one late!

One Craft Project per Month

I managed to complete this: I made a set of homemade bath supplies! (Coconut Body Butter, Citrus Body Scrub, Sugar Hand Scrub and Bath Bombs) But I only managed to get a post up about one of them. I’ll get that up soon.

Review 4 Movies and 1 Season of TV per Month

Well, I failed miserably on both of these this month. I didn’t get a single one down! I’m going to have to do better with that one, methinks.

Read 60 Books (5/month)

This one I passed… I read 8 books this month. (they're linked if I reviewed them)

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles)by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgertons) by Julia Quinn

When He was Wicked (Bridgertons) by Julia Quinn

Dead and Alive (Frankenstein) by DeanKoontz

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K Vaughn & Fiona Staples

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices)by Cassandra Clare

Lost Souls (Frankenstein) by DeanKoontz

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices) by Cassandra Clare

March’s Goal: Get back into the swing of knitting!

(I learned how to knit in the fifth grade, and while I’ve since then not knit in over a decade – excluding the two rows I did when I bought a set of needles in January – I’ve found that its actually not that difficult to get back to! At least… I’m hoping not.)

I did not get this done. :(

April’s Goal: Get caught up on all the previous goals I’ve slacked on!

2013 Goal Updates: March

As I sat down to write out this progress report, I realized something. I didn’t remember what all of my goals for February were. And even not knowing them (or perhaps because I didn’t know them) I knew I had not managed to get through them all.

2013 Goals Update:

 

One Craft Project per Month

I got this one done half way through the month. I kind of feel like that was a miracle… but at the same time I know it wasn’t. I started it in January for reasons stated in the post about it and so I was able to get through it relatively easily :)

February – Button Monograms

Review 4 Movies and  1 Seson of TV per Month

Well, once again I got the movies done, but failed miserably on the TV part. I’m going to have to do better with that one, methinks.

The Amazing Spiderman

Bridesmaids

The Three Musketeers

Warm Bodies

Read 60 Books (5/month)

This one I passed… I read 11 books this month. I bounced around in a few genres, and certainly had a gamut of ages to those books. But the important part is that I enjoyed them all! (they're linked if I reviewed them)

The Governess Affair (Brothers Sinister) by Courtney Milan

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Japanese Fairy world – Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan by William Elliot Griffis

Prodigal Son (Frankenstein) by Dean Koontz

City of Night (Frankenstein) by Dean Koontz

The Duchess War (Brothers Sinister) by Courtney Milan

A Kiss for Midwinter (Brother’s Sinister) by Courtney Milan

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

February’s Goal: Get the apartment completely and totally organized and up to snuff.

Yeah, this didn’t happen. I have a list of things to do to make it happen, and I think I’ll get closer this month.

March’s Goal: Get back into the swing of knitting!

(I learned how to knit in the fifth grade, and while I’ve since then not knit in over a decade – excluding the two rows I did when I bought a set of needles in January – I’ve found that its actually not that difficult to get back to! At least… I’m hoping not.)

If You Give A Girl A Bookshelf...

She's going to want to fill it with books. And once she fills that bookshelf, she's going to ask for another... and another... and another....

I definitely went over my $30/month book-buying budget… Here's what I ended up with now that I've put myself on a temporary buying hiatus.

• A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady by Marie Brennan
  

  It's a fake memoir about dragons... how could I resist?
• Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
  

  I love Gail's books, so this new series was a must. I preordered it back in September of last year. Review Here.
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
  

  Loved Cassandra's first Trilogy (The Mortal Instruments) so I had to get this prequel Trilogy that adds a steampunk twist to the world she created. Since the final book comes out next month, I picked up the first two! Review Here.
• Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
  

   See above ;)

  The Dead Town by Dean Koontz
  

  My Mom has been awesome and has given me all five of the books in this series, This one arrived in the mail on Wednesday!
• V for Vendetta by Alan Moore/David Lloyd
  

   I've been wanting to get this for a while. And Earl has been getting more into the Graphic novel thing, so I caved and picked it up (and Judge Dredd below).
• 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
  

  I was pulled to the book table at Costco, like I always am (moth to flame) and there was one copy of 1Q84 left on the table among the other masses. This gigantic tome has been on my wish list for a while and with a Costco mark down to $10, I figured I had to buy it.
• Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files 01 – by John Wagner/Pat Mills/Brian Bolland/John Cooper
  

  Same situation as V up top.

A Note on Saturday Mornings

Some Saturday Mornings, Earl works a four hour shift. Its a rotating thing, so it only comes up every once in a while unless he voluntarily takes one.

Those mornings, like today, are always a little weird. We get up together rather early, and he leaves when I take the dog out for her morning constitutional. And then, the rest of the morning is mine.

For the most part, it's taken up by cleaning (the stuff that's easier to do by myself - and quicker when done that way) and placating a puppy who REALLLLLLY wants to play with her moose.

This morning, as an example, I've already gotten through a load of laundry and one of dishes as well as getting the hand washing done... Next is a quick jaunt to the trash room and general tidying.

And after I get through with my cleaning, then I get to settle in with my book and a nice cup of tea.

2013 Goals Update:

365 recipes

I will admit. This did not get done. In hindsight it was not the best of ideas, and I think I’m going to scrap it in favor of something else. The recipes are just too unhealthy to really sustain eating them with any normalcy. Instead, I’m working on a different eating plan – one that’s easy on my waistline and I’m more likely to sustain!

One Craft Project per Month

I managed to get this one in just under the line. In fact, the glue is probably still drying! But I did start my February craft already and I’ve started re-teaching myself to knit (albeit slowly)

January - Cork Birdhouse

Review 4 Movies and 1 season of TV per Month

This goal was  almost met this month with a little extra on top of the movies category.

I didn't finish Season 1 of Agatha Christie’s Marple (but I'm darn close!)

Aliens

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Iron Sky

Jurassic Park

Skyfall

Read 60 Books (5/month)

I got through my prescribed five novels in… a week and a half early, with one extra on top of that. And read a few more before January closed out. (Don’t forget, you can always follow along on Goodreads!)

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

The Kassa Gambit by M. C. Planck

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

When you Give a Duke a Diamond by Shala Galen

Hourglass by Myra McEntire (Review will be up 2/5/13)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Review will be up 2/7/13)

and Light Weaver by Thomas Locke (This one is getting a series review a little later.)

January’s goal: Organize all my Pinterest boards

Success! The task, albeit a tedious one, almost proved therapeutic. We’ll see how long it takes before the mess builds up again!

February’s goal: Get the apartment completely and TOTALLY organized and up to snuff.