My Neck of the Woods

What I'm Reading: I just finished Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and I'm currently reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (both on my 2015 Reading Challenge list).

Y'all. I can't even count how many times I've read EE, and I can't tell you how many times I think to myself, "I probably won't love it as much as I did the last 15094 times I've read it...", and I can't tell you how many times I close the book and think to myself, "OHMYGOSH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH WHY WHY WHY IS IT SO AMAZING *HEARTEYEEMOJI*!!!!!" So, there's that.

This time, I listened to EE on audiobook - highly recommend! It just brings the book to life. The entire time I was listening to it, I just kept thinking about how amazing this book would be as a movie. And then I would remember that they did make a movie out of it, and it was terrible - minus Hugh Dancy as Char - because they were not true to the book at all. So. Does anyone know any fancy producers that would like to re-make the movie to be true to the book? Much appreciated.

Why, I'd love to call you Char...

I would like you to know, Char, that I always say "Thank you" to chivalry...

You can sweep me off my feet anytime...

What I'm Watching: Surprisingly, I am not watching Ella Enchanted, the movie (just the gifs, apparently). Since all my TV shows are on their winter break right now (why do they do that to me?!), I'm currently binge watching Criminal Minds via syndicated marathons. It's gotten to the point where I'm watching the same episodes that I already saw earlier in the week, which I guess means it's time to find another hobby. Any other good recommendations?

What's Happenin': I traveled back home to spend Christmas with my family, which meant that I was off work for a whole week - I love my job, but sometimes you just need a vacation! I came back to work for two days before NYE, and rang in the New Year with Stardust and Larissa! We celebrated New Year's Day by cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes in their Sugar Bowl win! The odds were not in OSU's favor so I didn't want to get my hopes up, so when they did win, I may or may not have cried a wee bit.

Oldie but rocking my Buckeye pride with my Buckeye seester.

And then... the plague hit. That's what I'm going to call it, because I've officially been away from work for a week. It's like my body says, "Oh, I'm tired of being sick in this way, so let's try something new!" WHO KNOWS. This means that I've had many opportunities to scour the TV schedule for when the next Criminal Minds episode is (there's only one today, how will I live?!), sleep 12+ hours a night, and figure out ways to pass the time when my cable and internet go out for hours on end (hair braiding, y'all). My deepest thoughts have been trying to decide if it's socially acceptable to go to bed at 7:30 pm (consensus: it is), so I'm really hoping that my body is on the mend so I can get back to "real life".

Link It Up:

The 2015 Reading Challenge - Modern Mrs. Darcy also set forth a reading challenge for 2015, and I think I'm going to try to check off all her categories in my own reading challenge! Here's to reading in 2015!

Ideas for Friday Abstinence - Jenna at Call Her Happy shares some great ideas for your Friday fast besides giving up meat. There's some great ideas on there for those Fridays where you just need that burger!

Ignitum Today - I've been editing posts for Ignitum Today! Head on over to read all the great things that I'm privileged to have come into my inbox each week!

What's happening in your neck of the woods? Share with me in my sickness-induced boredom!

Weekly Roundup

What I'm Reading: The Maze Runner by James Dashner and Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves by Jason Evert.

I have to be honest. I am not really enjoying The Maze Runner. I have heard so many people recommend it, so I'm a little surprised, but I am just having a really hard time getting into it. I won't give up though (yet)!

On the other hand, I am really enjoying soaking up Evert's book on JPII. It wasn't even on my radar until Miriam graciously sent it to me in the mail, hand-wrapped with a prayer card and saint medal. She is the sweetest! I am not too far into the book as I want to take the time to savor it, but so far I am really enjoying reading about JPII's life before he was JPII! It is so beautiful to read about little Lolek's life when he was growing up, and to see how that shaped his life-changing papacy. I first fell in love with JPII when I discovered Theology of the Body and the documentary Nine Days that Changed the World, and I have a feeling that this book will cause me to love him even more!

Thanks Miriam!

What I'm Watching: It's summer finale season! Already? Where has this summer gone? I am soaking up some of my favorite summer shows, including Rizzoli and Isles, Perception, Graceland, Royal Pains, and Suits.  Are there any new shows in the fall that you just can't wait for? I am intrigued by Scorpion, but otherwise haven't seen too many previews for new shows I want to check out.

This Week's Roundup: Last weekend, I went to my fatherland to celebrate my cousin's wedding. I went a couple days early to spend some much-needed quality time with on of my best friends from college and her 2.5 year old son. We spent a couple of days playing board games (our favorite!), taking walks to the farmer's market and park, and enjoying the nice weather at the zoo! Then it was time for the wedding weekend! My sisters and I are like the von Trapp family singers, except with instruments, so we played the music in my cousins wedding. Overall, it was a beautiful wedding and a fun party. I also got to sit down with my Grandma and Poppy to show them some pictures from my trip to London. It was fun re-living those two weeks with them (and brings back the fever to go back to England for Round 3!).

At the Rehearsal dinner, my Poppy walked up and said,
"Let me get a picture with my favorite granddaughters!"
You must know it is a competition between all us grandkids as to who is the favorite.
This is photographic evidence that we are the winners!

New Things:  I chopped a lot of my hair off this week! I went back to the bob haircut I loved in college and beyond... now that it's starting to cool down as we make our way into fall, I don't have to pull my hair up all the time. Maybe when it doesn't look like the ratty mess that it is right now (sleep is a beautiful thing... just not for your hair), I will consider posting a picture of the new 'do!

Link It Up:

The Corner With A View - I could probably link to a million of Julie's posts, but I am loving everything she writes lately (and all the pictures of Gracie!), so I will just link to her blog. Go say hi!

How to Pray with Kids - Yes, I know this post is technically written to help you pray with children, but I need to learn to be more child-like in my spiritual life, so I've been doing this myself every night.

The NCBC Response to the ALS Challenge - Some alternative charities that are morally and ethically a-ok if you want to make a donation for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Threadflip - I'm addicted to Threadflip, which is basically so thrift-a-holics (like me!) can thrift without ever having to leave their couch (well, you have to go to the mailbox, but that's easy most days...). If you wanted to sign up using my referral link, I would be ever so grateful! You should also get some site credit for signing up with my link, so basically, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain (or buy)!

Laughs: In honor of all the kids going back to school and officially making me feel older than old...

What is the difference between a buffalo and a bison anyway? (Source)