Bookworm Wednesday: June

Hi!

Happy Bookworm Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Summer!

Are you excited to be talking books like I am? Depending on when you’re reading this…I probably look like this right now…

…because (while I only read one book this month, thank you, school) books are the best. If you would have asked my elementary aged self if I would say that? Never. The answer would be never. And if you asked my younger self if I would be taking walks while listening to Jesus music and reading a book? Never. I guess you should never say never.

I definitely have blogging to thank for this love of books again because you guys read your books, talk about them, and then I get all excited because I want to read them too. And especially on days like today when Shay talks about books and so many people comment and share more ideas too!

#thankyoublogland

Now, if you remember last month I told you all about Hoda’s book.

Well this month I stayed on theme with my Hoda woman and read another one of her books…this month I read Ten Years Later.

And holy cow was it humbling. Not only that but holy cow do I want to have Hoda’s job. And not only that but holy cow do I want to be friends with Hoda. Still. That hasn’t changed from last month either.

Ten Years Later is just Hoda telling us about 6 different people whose stories she followed. They faced some kind of hardship in their life…abuse, health, sexual disorientation, etc. and it tells you all about what the experience was and how it turned out for that person. This tugged at my heart strings as she shared the different kinds of stories from these people. And that’s only 6 people in this world! Like I said, it was so humbling and really made me look at myself and think “wow and you’re whining about bloating issues”. Now that I loved both of her books, I am dying to read her third one. I would seriously recommend these to you anyone! Honda woman rocks!

Next month, link-up with Katie and I on July 6th for our next edition of Bookworm Wednesday! I should have more to talk about because I’ve got a few vacations planned and that means lots of car/plane/travel time…meaning…BOOKS!!

Bookworm Wednesday: May

Happy Bookworm Wednesday!!

Every first Wednesday Katie and I host this link-up. Grab this graphic, blog about your reads for the past month, and then link to Katie and I. Submit your link below….it’s simple. And fun. I hope you join us! 🙂

I read THREE books this month and I learned this month that my favorite books to read are  about people I know. I love those little memoirs and autobiographies. Being able to connect the person with the paper just makes reading that much more fun for me! Get ready for more of these in June….and don’t forget to mark your calendar for June 1st for our next Bookworm Wednesday!

So my last day in Omaha over Spring Break this March, my aunt and I went to see Miracles From Heaven. Her friend was over earlier that week and talked about how great it was. I hadn’t heard anything of it and after they told me what it was about I was like “sure, why not?” People. I LOVED IT. If you haven’t seen the movie you need to! That’s why when I saw Miracles From Heaven the book at the store, I knew I was buying it.

For those of you who haven’t heard, this is the story of a little girl who has a VERY rare disease where her intestines basically don’t process any of her food. She’s constantly in pain with a distended stomach. Her mom takes her to Boston for treatment and it basically goes through the horrors of the entire process. One day she falls in a tree and hit her head just right that it cured her disease. Crazy story, but so fascinating.

I’m really glad I saw the movie first actually (I know, that’s a surprise) but the way Christy Beam writes the story the thoughts are bouncing around and I probably would’ve been confused. Regardless, I am so happy I read it because there really wasn’t much difference between the movie and the book. Jennifer Garner plays the mom in the movie and I heard somewhere that after she starred in the film, she started taking her own kids to Church again. What an amazing way to share your faith!

The next book I read was Fearless by Max Lucado.

I usually try to make one of my reads each month a Christian book. Now, I struggle with fear. I think a lot of us do. Fear is all-consuming and there’s a lot of things we can fear in life so I was looking forward to reading this one because I knew Max Lucado was well known and I liked one of his previous books that I read.

However, this book was kind of difficult for me to get into. When I finally finished the story I was just proud to be done. There were parts that I thought it dragged on, but I really think it’s great if you want a biblical outlook on fear. Max talks about fear in all areas of life…finances/money, death, etc. and how and why we should be fearless. It was challenging for me as a Christian. I am constantly trying to grow in my faith as a Christian, so I was able to take away some of his recommendations and thoughts. If you read this you might want to take notes (because I really don’t remember everything I read in this book).

Now that the weather has been nicer, I’ve been able to lay by the pool and catch some rays while I read my books. So relaxing!

My third book this month was Hoda: How I survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee by Hoda Kotb. Look, y’all know how much I adore this lady. Her and KLG are my people. You saw that being on their show is on my bucket list. I saw her book at half priced books, bought it, and was done with it by the time the weekend was over. I LOVE her personality, I love her stories – everything that she has been through and done is so fascinating, and I love that she is a normal person like us and had to work at where she is now. It also goes into the background of how her and KLG got together and I was surprised to find out that Hoda was there before KLG. I just love me some Hoda Kotb. I’ve always said that from when I first started watching their show in 2014.

Hoda, PLEASE CALL ME SO WE CAN HAVE WINE TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT LIFE. 🙂

Bookworm Wednesday: April

It’s Bookworm Wednesday! The first Wednesday of every month we all blog about our reads, include this graphic below, and link back to Katie and I!

Then you can go through the links to get ideas from others on what to read next 🙂

2016 Bookworm Wednesday dates:

May 4th
June 1st
July 6th
August 3rd
September 7th
October 5th
November 2nd
December 7th

This month I read two books. Well, really just one book because the other one has been a couple months in the making but March is when I finished it.

Ahhh book #1, Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure was finished within days. I read while I took a bubble bath…am I the only one? Say you do too.

And when I was hanging out with my grandpa…

And in the airport. If I can get excited about a book, there’s no stopping me!

Speaking of excited, I was so excited to read this book that I may have driven to the next town over the night before I left for vacation because they were the only store that had it in stock. I mean, we all know by now that I love me some Candace Cameron Bure. After all, I would invite her on my talk show. I have already read Balancing It All

along with Dancing Through Life.

To see what I thought about those, click here.

As for Reshaping It All…I think I had higher expectations for it that it really didn’t measure up to. I was really excited about this one because I remembered reading in one of her other books that she really dove into her struggle with an eating disorder, so I thought that’s what it was really going to be about. Candace definitely touched on the subject but it wasn’t as in depth as I was hoping for. When I think back on this book I remember her talking the most about her parents, how she was raised, and how that affected her physical life (and really all parts of her life). She too struggled with insecurity, body image, etc. like a lot of us so it was nice to see how she put that into perspective with her faith.

There were also parts at the end of the chapters where she wrote famous quotes and Bible verses and to be honest, I just skipped over them. I really wanted to read the content. I loved that she included recipes at the end of every chapter though!

Overall, if you’re a Candace fan I would definitely recommend you read it because you still learn about her and her life, but if you’re not a Candace fan you probably won’t find it very interesting.

 The other book that I read was for my online Bible study: So Long, Insecurity which was over the series of two months.

My Thoughts:

There was soooooooo much content. It was good information, but when you’re doing the study for 10 weeks and you have to read 2 chapters a week it gets to be a little much. This personally moved too fast for me and my liking. Since I can’t cut down the size of the book, I would spread the study out more. I thought there were a couple times it felt like Beth was rambling.

On the other hand, I loved what Beth had to say. I found myself thinking “oh my gosh she’s right” a lot of the time. Beth had a lot of interesting points and I love that she pulled stories of other women into the book as well. There are so many of us that struggle with this ugly beast and it’s so heartbreaking. There were also a lot of verses mentioned that I wrote down and will refer to again. I am planning to put them in the back of my Bible.

OBS Participant Thoughts:

I sent out a survey to everyone who participated in the study to see what they thought. My opinion is one thing, but I also wanted to get the opinions of everyone else who participated.

100% of the survey participants thought it was a good study overall and would recommend it to a friend.

Here’s a few things that our OBS participants liked:

• The message was something I really need in my life.
• I liked the book that was chosen a lot. It was very relatable with good examples.
• I found myself agreeing with what the author said very often and I could apply different scenarios to my own life.

Here’s a few things our OBS participants didn’t like as much:

• I like studies that have questions that you can fill in throughout the reading.
• I felt there was a lack of communication. I wish we could’ve all discussed it together some way.

If you’re wanting to follow along with this study, just purchase the book and go through all of my OBS posts! You still can!

Next month, the goal is to read 3 books, but with it also being the end of the semester I don’t know how much time I will have to read. I’m almost done with book #1 so that’s a good sign. 😉

And if you’re looking for more book posts:

Book(TV)worm Wednesday – March
Bookworm Wednesday – February
Bookworm Wednesday – January
Bookworm Wednesday – December
Bookworm Wednesday – November
Bookworm Wednesday – October
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Happy reading this fine Wednesday!

Book(TV)worm Wednesday: March

It’s Bookworm Wednesday, which means that the first Wednesday of every month we all blog about our reads, include this graphic below, and link back to Katie and I!

Then you can go through the links to ideas from others on what to read next 🙂

2016 Bookworm Wednesday dates:

April 6th
May 4th
June 1st
July 6th
August 3rd
September 7th
October 5th
November 2nd
December 7th

Confession: I’m a bad Bookworm Wednesday host this month. I host this linkup because my favorite “downtime” activity is either reading or watching Netflix/TV. And this month, with the amount that I have going on, I’ve been binge watching like a mad woman. This is mainly because I can have the lights off already and just fall asleep. When i’m reading, the lights have to be on and I have to hold the book, you know? And i’m lazy. Especially when i’m tired all the time.

So this month’s Bookworm Wednesday has been re-named to TVworm Wednesday. Because #bingewatching. And #goodTV.

Binge-watching this…

Ahhh,When Calls The Heart is my new show. The old western feel. The love story. Lori Loughlin. The way they talk. The way they dress. No cell phones. Writing letters. Living in simpler times. It’s all me. If you’re a fan of this show, I would highly recommend the Love Comes Softly series. That’s all 10 DVD’s for $15.00. Binge watch it now, thank me later! But only if this is your kind of thing 😉

And this….

We all know and love the Tanners. And we were all excited for Fuller House to premiere this past Friday. So let’s talk about it!!!! Because you know I binge watched the entire season and am already finished with it. What are your thoughts? For me…

1. Danny’s voice is weird.
2. Nicky and Alex were pointless and I did not like them.
3. The first couple episodes were so cheesy.
4. Candace Cameron Bure is A HOT MAMA and I am totally obsessed with her. I’ve read 2 of her books and I have been searching for the third one everywhere but can’t get my hands on it. It’s the one i’m most excited to read too.
5. Not a fan of them dressing Stephanie in a hoochie mama outfit. Someone put some clothes on that girl!
6. Bring Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky into more episodes!!! They. Are. My. Favs. And how are they both so HAWT after 30 years?! Ps…I totally guessed the whole rose episode at the beginning. PPS. I may or may not have cried in elementary school when I found out these shows were not real and they weren’t actually a couple. Maybe.
7. Max is the bomb. I want him to be my son.
8. I feel like as a loyal Full House watcher I should be #teamsteve but I have to say i’m #teammatt. Poll: Which are you??
9. Andrea Barber is doing an amazing job. Kimmy is the exact same. But that “soon to be ex husband” drives me bananas.
10. When the heck are they releasing the next episodes already?!?! And why the heck was it only a 13 episode season?!?!

So do you agree or disagree with me? Spill.

Of course there’s this…

Let me just start by saying that I love Ben. The Bachelor picked a good one. Like, an actual good guy. Him, Sean, and Chris seem to be of the few that seem to be genuinely good guys. Poll: #TeamLauren or #TeamJoJo?? Monday nights episode was so juicy and i’m PUMPED for March 14 and the Finale. I think I have a hunch on who he will pick, but then again, you can never be sure with this show!

I’m back onto this…

I’ve mentioned before that my dad and I’s thing is watching episodes of The OC together. We did this when I was either in late middle school or early high school and we started again. So after the end of a long day when we are both done with our obligations, we cuddle up on the couch (most of the time with food) and we watch an episode. But only 1. We’ve tried 2 and it was too long for us. And not on Monday or Tuesday nights ’cause dad knows…

I’m watching this…

And since I have a show with dad, I have to have a show with mom. On Monday and Tuesday nights mom and I huddle together to watch The Voice since it just started again Monday night! Whoop! I’m really not a Christina fan but i’m looking forward to this season. Because I am SO GLAD that Jordan won last season. He was awesome!

I also re-started this…

I feel like Hart of Dixie is controversial. Everyone that I have talked to about it either hates it or loves it. There’s no in between. I am on the end of the spectrum that LOVES this show. But apparently I was out voted so that it’s not coming on anymore. So now I have to re-watch on Netflix. This is why I can’t get emotionally invested into TV shows because I get so sad when they are over. Just like Parenthood!

And then there’s this…

I’ve been going 5 years forward with Pretty Little Liars. This show reminds me so much of high school. Not only because they were high school girls, but because it came out when we were in high school. I mean, I would throw premiere parties every season it started again! Emily and I watched together each week too. Her and I were originals watching the first season while everyone else jumped on the bandwagon after the second season. Trend setters, baby!

And one more…

There’s a new season of Grey’s Anatomy out on Thursday nights. Morgan is the one that got me to start watching this show in the first place so when she’s home from college we will watch together. But when she’s gone, we just text about it. We’re both over this show now. Without Derek, life is just not the same in Grey’s world. And now they’re just having to make up a plot line to keep it interesting.

Do you see my problem??? There’s just too much good tv to spend time reading right now. And when I get home from work and i’m eating my lunch, I go straight to my recordings. When I get home from class and should actually go to sleep, I click to my recordings. And my favorite thing to do is watch my favorite shows with some of my favorite people. It’s just life right now. So WHAT am I missing out on??

Online Bible study girls: Week 8, 9, and 10 are coming! Don’t forget about them. These past couple weeks have been perfect for catching up since I know many fell behind. 🙂

Next month, the plan is back to books because vacation is coming and a girl’s gotta have books for the flight. But if you’re looking for book posts now…

Bookworm Wednesday – February
Bookworm Wednesday – January
Bookworm Wednesday – December
Bookworm Wednesday – November
Bookworm Wednesday – October
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Bookworm Wednesday: February

It’s Bookworm Wednesday! Every first Wednesday of the month just blog about your reads, include this graphic below, and link back to Katie and I. It’s quite simple 🙂

Then you can go through the links to ideas from others on what to read next 🙂

2016 Bookworm Wednesday dates:

March 2nd
April 6th
May 4th
June 1st
July 6th
August 3rd
September 7th
October 5th
November 2nd
December 7th

This month i’ve been reading/spending a lot of time with a faith-based book, a “for fun” read, and a serious/school read.

For my faith-based book it’s been for Online Bible Study…

We’re still reading So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore and it has been so challenging! In a good way. If you want to participate, you still can. Click the link above or the picture of the book on my side page. Once you get the book you can go through the posts and catch up! It is beneficial to all women (and men) who struggle with insecurity of any kind.

It’s a lot of reading the book, reading the Bible, journaling, and a lot of time. But so, so worth it!

I also started Winter Stroll this month since I got it for Christmas, but then I realized you have to read Winter Street before because it’s a 3 book series. So I had to close the cover…and i’ll go back another time. Sigh. I tried.

So for my “for fun” book, I decided i’ll go ahead and still get my Elin Hilderbrand on by reading her Nantucket Nights that I bought a few months ago.

Another book i’m reading right now is actually assigned for a class, but I think it will help me in my career as well. Actually I know it will because why else would the professor have us read the book and write papers on it??

The HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership is a book compiled with articles relating to leadership, what it means to be a leader, how to act as a leader, how to get others to respect you as a leader. I mean you name it. I’ve had the professor teaching this course for the past three semesters and every semester we have had to read the Harvard Business Review articles from different books and I go through them and really think about how beneficial it will be when I remember this as i’m in the workforce. If you’re struggling with this, whether in work, school, life I think you might find this interesting.

So that’s it for this month!

And to see my book posts from the past…

Bookworm Wednesday – January
Bookworm Wednesday – December
Bookworm Wednesday – November
Bookworm Wednesday – October
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Happy reading!!

Bookworm Wednesday: January

Bookworm Wednesday is here! Thank you to everyone who participated when Katie and I started running it towards the end of the year.

After a lot of requests, we decided to continue this link-up for 2016, so every first Wednesday of the month, blog about your reads for this month while including this graphic below.

Then simply, come to the blog and link your post to ours. We’ll talk about our books and then get ideas from others on what to read next 🙂 It’ll be fun!

2016 Bookworm Wednesday dates:

January 6th
February 3rd
March 2nd
April 6th
May 4th
June 1st
July 6th
August 3rd
September 7th
October 5th
November 2nd
December 7th

Now, this month i’ve been out of classes. And i’m like “Praise Jesus, Hallelujah” because school is a lot of work. And a lot of time. So I figured I would get a lot of reading done. NOPE. I literally just worked and relaxed all winter break and do I regret it? Not one bit.

However, I have been doing a lot of Online Bible Study…

Yep, we’re reading So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore and I love it! If you want to participate, you still can. Click the link or click the book on the side page of my blog. Then, go through my tagged posts and catch yourself up! I truly think it is beneficial to all women (and men) who believe that they struggle with insecurity of some kind.

It’s a lot of reading the book, reading the Bible, journaling, and a lot of time. But so, so worth it! Anything worth it takes time right?

I also decided this year that with my Quiet Times, I want to start reading a book by a Christian author. Well, considering half of my Christmas list this year consisted of books, I got almost all of them for Christmas.

And I can’t decide which one to pick first because I want to read them all so I need your help! Which one do y’all want to vote for me to read so I can give you some feedback???

If you’ve missed other book posts:

And to see my book posts from the past…

Bookworm Wednesday – December
Bookworm Wednesday – November
Bookworm Wednesday – October
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Happy reading!! And don’t forget to help me choose my next book for my quiet times 🙂

Please and thank you!!!

Bookworm Wednesday: December

It’s the first Wednesday of the last month of 2015! Oh, wow!

This month, I read 2 books. Both Candace Cameron Bure. Listen, I am a huuuugggeee fan of her. I was before. But became a fan even more so after reading her books. If you ever watched Full House, (which let’s be honest if you didn’t, you did not grow up right) you would be too!

Love me some Tanner family. So when I saw that DJ, oops I mean Candace wrote a book I was all over it! I’m pretty sure I read them backwards, but oh well.

First up….Dancing Through Life.

This one was about Candace’s journey on Dancing with the Stars. She really dug into how she stood on her convictions of being a Christian on the show. Candace told us how badly she wanted to be on the show and she finally got the opportunity. There were times when she’d have to say no to certain things like outfits or dance moves because it didn’t match up with her Christian beliefs. I loved learning about her and the DWTS journey. It made me wish that I actually watched her season. There were parts of this book that I felt like she was rambling on so I found myself drifting in and out. I would still recommend it!

The next one I read was Balancing It All.

I personally liked Balancing It All better because it was about how Candace has balanced her life starting at the age of 5 when she landed her job on Full House to now. We got a sneak peak into her childhood life and Full House in general. And because I am such a huge fan of this show (like cried when it was over huge fan…just like Gilmore girls) it was fun for me to see what it was like. We learned how her and her husband met and how she juggles life being a mom. She raises her kids very normal considering their circumstances…as to not get wrapped up in Hollywood life. It’s how she grew up too. I also love that she touched on her struggle with Bulimia, which is why i’m so excited to read her next one…

…Reshaping It All (I can’t find it in stores anywhere, so now it’s on my Christmas list :)).

I love me some Candace Cameron Bure. Candace, if you’re reading this let’s hang out because I LOVE YOU and we have a lot we could talk about! 😉

• If you’re interested in reading any of the books, check out my “Shop My” page.
• Link-up (with the link below) and tell us what books you read this month…I asked for at least 15 on my Christmas list, but I can always add more you know.
• Also, sound off in the comments as to whether or not you would like for us to continue Bookworm Wednesday!! We love it but want to see if you all still want the link-up to continue!
• DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY GOING ON RIGHT NOW!

If you know why Wordpress doesn’t show the widget feel free to let me know???

Bookworm Wednesday – November

I’m honestly still in shock that it’s November. Yes, it felt like August when August came around. It felt like September. It felt like October. But it just doesn’t feel like November. I just love this month though.

And that’s exactly why. I mean I love October, November, December. Those three months are my favorite time of year. Because…family. You all know i’m all about family. So put that together with family, the happiness of the holidays, the weather, and you’ve got one happy Molly! 🙂

And now that it’s the first Wednesday of November…

…it’s time to get our Bookworm on.

I had a lot going on this October and didn’t get around to reading anything other than textbooks and articles to write papers on (again). So instead of telling you what I didn’t read…this is what i’m planning on reading this month. That’s if I can ever stop binge watching this:

I watched an entire season this weekend and I have #noshame. My goal has been to get caught up so I can watch this season as it’s been airing. All of my free time was spent eating leftover Halloween candy and Scandal watching on Sunday. And Saturday too. Ha!

Oh yes, back to what we were talking about. So when i’m not watching Scandal this November (i’m really going to try and back off a little bit), i’m planning on reading/ordering these books below.

1. I want to finish up something borrowed. I started it month’s ago and it’s been on my Bookworm posts ever since. I really need to just finish it.

2. Elin Hilderbrand anything.

I’ve seen in Shay’s book posts that she (and many others) love Elin Hilderbrand. So I figured I might as well give her a try and see if I like her books too!

3. Paul Miller’s A Praying Life

My pastor spoke about this book one Sunday and i’ve been wanting to read it ever since. Actually, any book he recommends I usually want to read.

Don’t forget that all the books i’ve read in the past are on my Shop My page. You really need to check them out. Such great deals!! Okay, so tell me what else I need to be reading. I need to order some more books…today!! No seriously, i’m probably placing an Amazon order today so help a girl out!

Please and thank you!

Bookworm Wednesday – October

Mornin’ friends, it’s Bookworm Wednesday!

For those of you still unfamiliar, Katie and I are hosting a link-up on the first Wednesday of every month where we will talk about the books we’ve been reading. We’ll see what others recommend, what they wouldn’t recommend, what they liked that we might have disliked and vice versa. Maybe you haven’t read a book this month, but you’re working on one? Link-up anyways! Get your amazon accounts ready people; we’ve got books on the brain!

Now last month I called myself a slacker for only reading 2 books. But this month i’ll have to admit, I have REALLY been a slacker with my reading for fun. My reads recently have consisted of textbooks, case studies, articles to write papers on, and e-mails from work. That’s what my reading looks like. So for fun, i’ve been doing my best to read through all of your blogs. And i’m struggling! *insert that sweating emoji here*

Currently, i’m in the middle of this book:

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. I’ll lay in bed at night and if I don’t crash after 30 seconds of my head hitting the pillow, i’ll usually open this up and try to read a chapter. It’s funny because I realized that I had already seen this movie after I had started reading. I knew I remembered the storyline sounding super familiar.

I picked Emily Giffin’s book because I read her book the The One and Only last summer for my August Goals. If you want to read The One and Only it’s listed on my “Shop My…” page.

However, sometimes I just want to do something that doesn’t require brain power at night. In that case, i’ll turn on Netflix when I hop into bed. Right now i’m just catching up on…

…yup, scandal. I don’t know why but it’s taking me forever to get through this show. I’ve been trying to finish it for months now and i’m still only on season 1. I just want to catch up so I can watch it live tv on Thursdays! #workinprogress #likeeverythingelse

I’m hoping that most of you have done better than me. If that’s the case, i’m jealous. I’d much rather be leisurely reading than opening textbooks and writing papers over case studies and articles. But nonetheless, I can’t wait to see what you’ve picked to read this month!

Don’t forget: our next Bookworm Wednesday is going to be November 7th!

And to see my book posts from the past…
Bookworm Wednesday – September
Books in July
Books (and some Netflix) in June
Books in May
Books in March

Bookworm Wednesday – September

YAY! It’s Katie and I’s first edition of Bookworm Wednesday. For those of you still unfamiliar, we are going to host a link-up on the first Wednesday of every month where everyone will talk about the books they read. We’ll see what others recommend, what they wouldn’t recommend, what they liked that we might have disliked and vice versa. Get your amazon accounts ready people; we’ve got books on the brain!

This month, I slacked. I only read 2 books and started a 3rd but am still in the middle of it. With school and work all week and lots of family/friend time filling my weekends, I am out by the time my head hits my pillow. But the main reason for the lack of reading this month…

These people pictured above. Grey’s Anatomy has taken any and all of my free time. I’ve binge watched the entire 11th season and there are no words. Are they really not going to make another season?!!?!?!?!?!?!!!!

Book 1: The Princess Within by Serita Ann Jakes

I’ll be honest…when looking at this book on the shelf I was not very interested. It says “for teens” on the bottom so I figured it was going to be very juvenile. Buuuuuttt occasionally as I am, I was wrong. It is written more for younger girls but I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily a bad thing. For me, it dumbed things down a little bit so I could really grasp the concept. I think any woman any age can read this book and get something out of it. There was an application at the end of each chapter that asked you a question that you’re suppose to think about for yourself like “what difficult choices are you facing this week” or “are you having a hard time forgiving so and so?” and Serita writes a little about each question, tells you Bible verses to look through, and encourages you to write a journal of all these questions and responses. I actually have them all written in a note on my phone that I can use as a topic for my quiet time if needed. I read this in the car within the days we were moving Morgan in. Short, sweet, to the point.

Book 2: Miracle at The Higher Grounds Cafe by Max Lucado

LOVED this book. Occasionally I will step into Mardel and see what kind of deals they have going on for their books (because usually there’s always something) and i’ll find some really good ones. I saw this book on a couple of shelves and decided to just get it because it looked like it would be a light read. And it really was. I read it a lot at night when I couldn’t sleep. Or on the treadmill as I was walking ^^. Miracle at Higher Grounds Cafe was positive, made you want to read more, and ended on a happy note. You can’t complain about that.

I’m hoping to get more reading accomplished this September…and not textbook or required reading. Wish me luck! Don’t forget to mark your blog calendar for our next BWW:

October 7th

And I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has decided to write a bookworm post today. I’m more than excited to go through and read everyone’s book list and whether or not they liked their books for the month. Get some good ideas here below:

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! As per the usual, i’m talking my favorite things today with Erika, Andrea, and Narci.

This week has been good. Lots of things happening, but today is the only day this week I had to work. I can’t complain about that 🙂

ONE

Pause for a second people. Before you get into this post take a second to click and visit my favorite new page called “Shop My…“. I’ve updated it with books (Julie: think “the Vow”) and i’m hoping to have some jewelry, clothes, shoes, purses, house things up within the month.

TWO

Speaking of books, my friend Katie e-mailed me on Wednesday after my books post to see if I wanted a co-host for the new Book Worm Wednesday link-up. I told her I couldn’t say no to the person that gave me the inspiration for it in the first place 🙂 So, there will be some sort of new graphic to add to your favorite book post link-up, but for now make sure your calendars are pen’d in on 9/2, 10/7, 11/4, 12/2.

THREE

Another discount code!!!! Taralynn’s is having a temporary 50% off ALL DRESSES. But only until midnight tonight. Y’all don’t want to miss this. How often do you see dresses that are half price???? Never!

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FOUR

My new favorite exercise is going to the gym, hopping on the treadmill for the “cross country work out” setting and reading a book while walking. It’s so much better than walking about in the heat right now and the gym in my neighborhood is pretty quiet on most days. This is my go-to right now.

FIVE

You know, I love summer. But fall is my favorite season and when I went in Target and walked through the scarves and saw they have their boots out already I got a little giddy. Oh, the days of layers are almost here 🙂

SIX

Having days off work is something I won’t ever take for granted. I’ve gotten so much accomplished this week that I feel like everyone’s favorite hero, superwoman!!

That’s all for today, folks. See you on Monday!

Books in July

Well well, it’s the 1st Wednesday of the month and therefore I have something cool planned for the rest of our 1st Wednesdays at the bottom of this post. But don’t you dare skip my review on these books, I know how you people operate!!!!

I have been a reading machine this month. My grandma would be so proud of me. When she would come down to visit us she always brought AT LEAST 3 books and had them done within the week and a half she was here. And her and I would read together before bed. She loved reading, and it’s starting to wear off on me in my older age 😉

So, here are the 4 books I read this July starting with my most recent:

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

I just finished this book on Saturday night. Yes, I spend my Saturday nights reading books. And no, I have no problem with it whatsoever. My mom actually started this book before me and didn’t like it, so I decided I would take it off of her hands and see what I thought. And I feel like i’m going against the odds here to say I didn’t like it at first. I couldn’t get into it, I couldn’t understand it, and I was confused why everyone raved about this book. I think it was around chapter 12 that I FINALLY got the hang of things (there’s 3 different people’s stories to follow) and really enjoyed it. This was a big ol’ book being 400 pages long. Was it my favorite read? Not really. Did I hate it? No. Maybe one of Liane Moriarty’s other books is good…so i’ll probably try another one. Any recommendations as to which one next?

The Vow by Kim and Krickitt Carpenter

The Vow was a super simple, super quick read. I picked it up at the store because I had seen the movie and didn’t know that it was based on true events. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the couple gets into a car accident where the wife loses all short term memory including the fact that she’s married and the husband tries to make her fall in love with him again. It’s sad but uplifting at the same time. They are a Christian couple and it talks a lot about their walk with God in the process. If you need a light, lovable read…The Vow. And watch the movie if you haven’t!

One Light Still Shines by Marie Monville

This book is written by the wife on the man who committed the Amish schoolhouse shooting. I really didn’t remember anything about that particular incident. It happened in 2006, I was in 6th grade and of course didn’t watch any kind of news. The only reason I ended up getting the book was because I felt like everywhere I looked I saw it. I’m so glad I read it. This is also a Christian book and talks about how she relied on God during this tragedy. If you’re an easy crier, you’ll probably cry ’cause I felt myself getting teary eyed at one part and i’m definitely not a crier. It’s worth a shot reading!

Let’s All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs

It feels like I read Annie’s book forever ago. I loved this one! She’s real and shares about different parts of her life that I know I can really relate to. There were many times I would read something and think “uh-huh” or “me too!”. Annie throws in Bible verses or Bible passages that relate to whichever topic that she is talking about in that chapter making it all the more meaningful. The main thing I think of in regards to this book is the word relatable. Especially when she mentions loving being at home and not wanting to leave her little bubble. Ugh, brave stuff is hard.

FUN NEWS!

I’m starting a new link-up for all of us book lovers/book readers to join in on! I’ve been wanting to host a link-up for about, eh forever now and Katie gave me the idea when she mentioned wanting to participate in a book review link-up…so it was the extra push for me.

(Just like today) Every 1st Wednesday of the month for the rest of this year i’ll be hosting “Book Worm Wednesday” on the blog. We’ll all talk about our favorite reads for that particular month and get ideas from each other on what to read next. So, mark your calendars for….

September 2
October 7
November 4
December 2

Use this graphic below and BOOK WORMS SHALL UNITE!!!! *Holds fist in air like superwoman*

Ps. I added the link-up button today in case any of you are reviewing books like me on this fine Wednesday! 🙂