2017: Adventures in Reading

I read 26 books this year, which sounds low compared to other years.  But I didn't have as much time for reading, knitting, etc this year.  Still, there were some good books. 

I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb.  I love Wally Lamb books, I usually can't put them down!  ("She's Come Undone"  will always be a personal favorite.)  This one was a little strange and a bit of a slow starter, though.  I enjoyed how he revisits some previous characters, and I liked the premise of the ghosts and watching his life unfold as a movie, only to see what was REALLY going on at the time.

Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner.  Oh my goodness, this was incredible.  A biography of her life and how she came up with the ideas for her stories, and some of the best advice I've read in a long time about loving yourself and making peace with your (plus-size) body.  It also makes me want to hunt down my copy of "Good in Bed" and read it again!

I'm mentioning this one not as an award, but a reminder.  Turbo Twenty Three by Janet Evanovich.  The 23rd book in the Stephanie Plum series and what I believe will be the last for me.  I stuck it out longer than anyone else I know, hoping that it would recapture the fun of the beginning of the series, or at least end and we'd know who Stephanie ends up with:  Morelli or Ranger.  I don't think that's ever getting resolved, and the books are just getting sillier as we move along.  Next!

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa has to be one of the heart-wrenching books that I have ever read in my life.  Based on a true story, it's about a girl and her family fleeing the Nazis on the St. Louis.  The story goes back and forth, from the girl's point of view to her great-niece's present day view and then they come together in the end. I've read plenty of stories about the World War II era and this one punched me in the gut. Another WWII era book that I read was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, and that was a rough one as well.  I honestly needed something fluffy to read after finishing.

So for pure fluffiness, I read the Winter Street Series by Elin Hildebrand.  They were enough to keep me interested, but by the third one I was sick of them.  And the shameless plug that the author put in the third one for one of her books just annoyed me.  Another "fluffy" read was another vampire book called Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper which was funny and unlike any other vampire novels that I've read.  It has a sequel that I may or may not go back to read. 

The last one that I finished for the year was The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman.  It's about an ice cream heiress, Lillian Dunkle, and basically is her life story, about how she came to this country from Russia in the early part of the 20th century, the horse and wagon accident that left her unable to walk, and about opening her ice cream brand, Dunkle's Ice Cream with her husband.  It was fiction, but very well-researched and felt like reality a lot of the time. 

So there you have it.  I'm starting to think about books that I want to read for 2018,too.  See you next year!

2017: A Year in Review

It doesn't feel like the end of the year without the Review!

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before?

After many years of hemming and hawing, I got my first tattoo!  It's a heart on my right wrist, made up by the boys' fingerprints.  I love it!!  I THINK I may be a "one and done" when it comes to tattoos, though.  

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I'm not a "New Year's Resolution" type of person.  I'm more of a "Make Plans and Goals" kind of person.  That being said....i made a goal of being healthier.  In some ways I did well--started drinking protein smoothies for breakfast and cutting back on the ice cream.  Then my stress-eating tendencies came out late in the year and well, My Fitness Pal shows me to be the same weight as I was last year at this time.  Turns out I'm a fantastic maintainer.  Goals for 2018?  Wag more, bark less.  Maybe get some more sleep, who knows.  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?  I covered maternity leave for one of my co-workers, she had a baby in June.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?  Not close anymore, but one of the residents at my first property management job died in September.  We kept in touch for ten years after my leaving that job.  She was a wonderful person who dispersed fantastic advice, I'll miss her.  Traveling to that site will be weird, not stopping in to say Hi.  


5. What countries/places did you visit?

We had an AWESOME trip to Disney World in June!!  Can't wait to go again in a few years.  

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Honestly, 2017 was a shit show in a lot of ways.  I'd like for 2018 to be a kinder, gentler year for my family.

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?   On October 19th, my mother had a small stroke.  Things ended up being OK with time, but it was rough.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Instead of achievements, I'm going to call them lessons.  

A.  When it comes to your kids, it's amazing how strong you can be.  Especially when strength is all you've got, and what you really want to do is fold or crumble, but you stand strong.  

B.  I've always had a hard time asking for, and accepting, help.  I think it's because I'm usually doing to the offering and helping.  But when it hits the fan, you have to learn to let people help you.  And man, I had a lot of help this year.  I've had friends and family members flock out to help us get through stuff, and I'm forever grateful. 

9. What was your biggest failure?
I refuse to call anything a failure this year.


10. Did you suffer illness or injury?  Nothing major.  


11. What was the best thing you bought?
For Mother's Day, Brian got me a cleaning service!  At first it was weird, but I cannot tell you how wonderful it is for someone to come to your house once a month and clean your bathrooms, floors, etc.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Skip.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Donald Trump, and many of his supporters.  Actually, the supporters were more appalling.   (this answer is too good not to keep)

14. Where did most of your money go?

Living expenses.  Pretty boring, right?  

15.  What did you really get excited about?

Disney World....and Universal Studios to see Harry Potter's Wizarding World.

16. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? A big ol' mix of all of it.

b) thinner or fatter? Right about the same.  (BTW, I hate this question.)

c) richer or poorer? Both, rich in some ways and poor in others.  It all offsets in the end.

17. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Read.  Knit.  Socialize.  Maybe not in that order....

18. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Work.  I took on a second property in May, and I covered a maternity leave and a manager vacancy this summer as well.  At one point I was providing coverage for FIVE SITES, bringing work home often, working long hours, going back after dinner, etc.  I often wondered "just how in the hell are you doing this, Ginny?"  But I knew all along that it was just for the short-term, and the bonus at the end of the year was worth it!

19. How did you spend Christmas?

We had a big family celebration at my house a few days before, and then my parents came on Christmas Day.  

20. Did you fall in love in 2017?

I've been in love with the same man for 19 years.  NINETEEN YEARS, holy crap.  

21. What was your favorite TV program? 

Eh....nothing really grabbed me to be a "favorite."  Though I do love that Will and Grace came back with new episodes!  

22. What was the best book you read?

I read 26 books, which sounds kind of low for me.  I really enjoyed "The Nest" by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  


23. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pass.  

24. What was your favorite film of this year? 

The four of us recently went to the movies to see the reboot of the 90's film "Jumanji" and loved it!

25. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

For the first time in 12 years, I worked!  The residents had a cake for me, which was really nice.  I took the following day off so Brian and I could spend it together.  We ended up watching Wonder Woman and going out to lunch.  

26. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Less stress and worry.  Getting my son the help that he needed sooner.  But hindsight IS 20/20, and not worth it to dwell.  


27. What kept you sane?
My friends, that checked up on us, fed us, offered help, listened, offered advice when appropriate.  My mom, for being there when my husband couldn't.  My husband, for his shoulder to cry on, and his jokes to keep us both sane. 


28. Who did you miss?
My far away friends and family.


29. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017:
Never ask "Could this get any worse?"  And above all, be grateful.  



30. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I don't know.