Winter Has Come

It’s been a weird winter here in Michigan. We’ve received hardly any snow, mostly cold rain and gray, gray days. This past Wednesday we were hit with a pretty good storm, and it finally feels like a real Michigan winter. At the very least, the snow is pretty, and it makes the house feel cozier.

I’ve been hunkered down with lots of schoolwork as of late. I do have a book haul on the horizon, a book review and a possible comic review as well. Until then, I try to check in every couple of days when I have extra time. So, for now, I leave you with cute dogs in winter pictures.

April: A Month of Shenanigans

Most of 2022 has sucked (for me) but April was a great month. We traveled to California, met some online friends and had many, many adventures.

Yesterday, Mr. and Mrs. Moth came to stay the night and get into some real shenanigans with us. We hit the bowling alley in town on the request of Mr. C&M who was randomly craving attempting to bowl again. We did this YEARS ago and he was absolutely awful at it, and I made fun of him a lot. But if you play a lot of Wii Sports and now Switch sports, apparently it CAN translate to getting better at real bowling because we didn’t have to put up the bumpers this time. The Moths hadn’t played in years either (although Mr. Moth had played more recently than any of us) and they declared this was extra good fun and we need to do this on the regular.

We attempted to go to a Mexican restaurant that I had heard really good things about but unfortunately, they were not doing any dine in on the day that we decided to show up. We selected a decent looking burger joint that exceeded our expectations and also had margaritas.

Cranberry Orange and Mixed Berry. Delicious but lacking in alcohol I felt.

After that we went home and played Switch Sports bowling which was just not nearly as exciting as real bowling anymore. 😛 Then, things got really competitive, and we played some Mario Party. Moth’s present game is always on-point, and I received some mighty sweet new swag:

April Reading:

I reviewed Half a War.

4 out of 5 stars – I won this book in a giveaway hosted by Tammy at Books, Bones & Buffy. When I couldn’t decide which book I wanted, I asked Tammy to send me one of her favorites and she was kind enough to oblige. I thoroughly enjoyed my ride through space to unravel a murder mystery on the outer edge of the galaxy. I haven’t decided if I will review it or not but here it be. I recommend checking it out.

The end of April also brought my school semester to an end. I did WAY better in Intro to Probability and Statistics than I ever dreamed I would. Math isn’t my best subject. I can do it, but I hate life while I do it. I actually enjoyed this class, so I think that says something about both the teacher and my dedication to learning. I have not had more than 3 weeks off of school at a time since I started back last summer so this round, I’m taking the summer off and continuing in the Fall. I am super excited to have the summer free to do literally whatever I want. (Still have to show up to work though unfortunately.)

What adventures do you have planned for this summer?

Here’s Zelda for your extra dose of cute:

The Outstanding Blogger Award

Thank you The Corner of Flaura for tagging me!

The Rules

1. Provide the link to the creator’s original award post. (very important: see why in step 5)
2. Answer the questions provided.
3. Create 7 unique questions.
4. Nominate 10 bloggers. Ensure that they are aware of their nomination. Neither the award’s creator, nor the blogger that nominated you, can be nominated.
5. At the end of 2020, every blog that ping-backs the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!

Questions:

1. Would you rather travel to the deep sea or outer space?

Could you ask a more difficult question?? I mean………..crap. I think I’m going to have to choose deep sea but you should feel bad for making me think so hard about this. I want to see all the sea critters. I want to see space critters too but I think I’m guaranteed a few sea critters. Aliens, please make contact soon because, why not?

2. Are you artistic?

Is ‘sort of’ an acceptable answer? I can do STUFF. Just not anything particularly GOOD.

3. How many books did you read last year?

Forty.

4. If you could live any one historical figures life, which would you choose?

I think I’m going to have to choose the Notorious RBG.

5. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter?

Autumnnnnn.

6. Which character in a book would you most like to be?

Full fantasy mode with this one, Julia (aka Aurelia Ryder) in the Kate Daniels series. I dig her powers, her attitude and her obviously future mate. (But I’d like to stay a brunette please.)

This were some pretty fun questions so I’m going to keep them for my tagged peeps:

Ignited Moth

The Shameful Narcissist

Imperial Rebel Ork

Grab the Lapels

Bookstooge

Anyone else who would like to jump in, feel free!

I can’t believe I actually got around to doing one of these. I’m just not a good tagged person, I frequently forget about them. :3

Coffee & A Chat – Cat Butt

I don’t get no respect.

Hello my favorite little weirdos! It’s the first Coffee & A Chat of 2020. A post where I just ramble about whatever I feel like because I can and I will.

First and foremost – I HAVE BOUGHT ZERO BOOKS IN JANUARY. I didn’t think I could do it but I did. I’ve been on an Urban Fantasy kick as of late and I own quite a few of those. I’m also working on a controversial non-fiction read. I take my time with non-fiction though or I don’t enjoy it as much. I have to finish it by March 3rd as that is when my Kindle Unlimited ends and I do not plan to renew it. I find I can read most of what I want that’s available on Unlimited within a month or two.

I’ve decided to not stress myself about posting on the blog so there may some weeks where I post frequently enough and others where I only post once. That does not mean however that I’m not going to keep up on YOUR blog posts. It’s a part of my morning coffee-before-work routine to see what everyone else is up to.

It hasn’t been a REAL winter here in my part of Michigan. All rain and ice and very little snow. Why am I complaining about this? Because it means I have little excuse not to go out when people ask us to and I was really looking forward to using that excuse to stay home more.

Mr. C&M and I have a lot of metal concerts planned this year. With no vacation to save up for, we’ll be doing more fun little things.

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, which in general, I don’t care about BUT my boss has a crazy party every year so either I need to run out to buy a snack to bring or find an easy baked good to make, so ta-ta for now!

How has 2020 treated you thus far and what are you looking forward to the most???

Fly on the Wall Podcast

Ello mates! Just dropping a post to inform you that the incorrigible Imperial Rebel Ork was kind enough to read one of my book reviews on his podcast, Fly on the Wall. His cohort Waz, reads it in a fun “Michigan” accent.

It’s a fun little podcast that is quickly gaining speed. So if you’re looking for something that will make you laugh, and may be considered slightly offensive at times, this is definitely the podcast for you.

Thirty Two, Wooo!

Hi friends! Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday, and as such, I’ll probably be MIA for the weekend. My dad and uncle are coming to town to celebrate and I just want a weekend of fun and shenanigans.

My coworkers threw a lovely little party for me yesterday at work since I took the time off. They got me an Instant Pot (Woooo! Time to try a million new recipes!!), a giant bottle of my favorite tequila, and a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond since they know there are a million things I want to buy for the house.

My husband couldn’t wait until my birthday and gave me a present. A custom made Harry Potter purse with little secret pockets inside. It’s really cute.

I just have to get through today at work, then it’s a margarita fueled weekend for this girl!

P.S. Don’t be depressed about entering your thirties, they’re seriously the best.

Instagram & Authors

After a year of shenanigans on Instagram. I’ve had some fun and learned some things. One of which is that, if you’re a bookworm, it’s the place for you. Not only are there plenty of bookstagrammers to follow and ogle their pretty books, but it’s a great place to interact with your favorite authors as well. Recently, Brian McClellan, author of the Powder Mage trilogy, requested bookstagrammers to read his new UF series and give feedback and I was lucky enough that he said yes to my request. This gave me the idea for this post, link a few authors and why their IG accounts are fun to follow.

Brandon Sanderson – regularly signs his books in random bookstores in airports and then lets you know where you can find them.

Kevin Hearne – travels a lot, posts interesting food and cocktail drinks. Shares his fondness for whiskey.

Brian McClellan – besides ARC offers, he posts his cat and dogs, and his cooking.

Delilah S. Dawson – she gets up to a lot of shenanigans. Conventions, pets, Star Wars and her friendship with homie Kevin Hearne.

Chuck Wendig – posts a lot of beautiful outdoor pictures from his daily runs.

Who are some of your favorite authors to follow on IG?

420

I hit 420 followers so this image only seemed appropriate.

Thank you everyone! (Even if you have to get high to read this blog, I appreciate you.)

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

A little questionnaire to get everyone in the holiday mood. I’ll post the questions without answers first to make it easy for everyone to participate if they wish:

1. What scent sets the holiday mood?
2. Favorite Halloween Fun Size Candy Bar?
3. Favorite Halloween movie?
4. Favorite seasonal sweet?
5. What toppings are on the perfect candy apple?
6. What’s your favorite costume you ever wore on Halloween?
7. Most enjoyable fall tradition?
8. Pumpkin Patch Hayride or Haunted Hayride?
9. What song is a must for a Halloween Party Playlist?
10. Favorite Halloween Monster: Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.?
11. Cider or Cocoa?
12. Scary movies or Scaredy cat?
13. Pumpkin Spice: Yum, or Yuck?
14. Which is scariest: Spiders, Zombies, or Clowns?
15. Best find in your Trick or Treat bag?
16. Worst thing to get in your Trick or Treat bag?

1. What scent sets the holiday mood?

Dead leaves. Above all else, for me, it’s the smell of dead leaves.

2. Favorite Halloween Fun Size candy bar?

Snickers

3. Favorite Halloween movie?

This is a bastard of a question….I will pick all B-Rated horror movies and you can’t stop me.

4. Favorite seasonal sweet?

Have you been following this blog? Pumpkin AND Caramel Apple.

5. What toppings are on the perfect candy apple?

Caramel and nuts.

6. What’s your favorite costume you ever wore on Halloween?

Catwoman from Batman Returns when I was like 8.

7. Most enjoyable fall tradition?

Gah. What is it with you people and wanting only one answer? Cider mills.

8. Pumpkin Patch Hayride or Haunted Hayride?

Haunted hayride. I much rather run through the pumpkin patch myself thank you.

9. What song is a must for a Halloween Party Playlist?

The Monster Mash!

10. Favorite Halloween Monster: Dracula, Frankenstein, etc?

Dracula

11. Cider or Cocoa?

Cider! Cocoa is for winter time you fools!

12. Scarey movies or Scaredy cat?

Scarey movies! I am not much of a scaredy cat about anything.

13. Pumpkin Spice: Yum, or Yuck?

How is ‘yuck’ even an option??

14. What is scariest: Spiders, Zombies or Clowns?

Goddamn clowns. Shudders

15. Best find in your Trick or Treat bag?

Reese’s peanut butter cups.

16. Worst thing to get in your Trick or Treat bag?

Mini dental kits. Way to ruin my fun you dentists!