The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week, and showcase books and things we have received.
Don’t forget to look at my giveaways on the right sidebar.
Sunday, Christmas Day. We were relaxed about it. We had a few gifts. Lulu got a stuffed monkey and immediately started carrying it around. Internet was available about 30 minutes. We had to drive to McDonalds so my daughter could use WiFi for a once a year deal on one of her games. I was so full after dinner. Ugh. I did read Magic Tides in one sitting at bedtime.
Monday, I managed about 2 hours with Internet. I handled some year end money things and bill paying. Then we went on a road trip to 2 “nearby” JoAnns stores. We did find some skeins in the dye lot my daughter wanted, some Christmas lights to replace ones gone bad on deep discount, as well as some Christmas candy. I got some quilting supplies for a baby quilt for my niece’s baby due next month. We got takeout pizzas from Red Robin. No Internet when we got home.
Tuesday, no Internet when I got up but then it was available a couple hours later. I did my visiting, emailed a giveaway winner, everything but write reviews. The Internet dropped at 6:20pm. After dinner, my daughter and I watched a Garfield Christmas show while knitting.
Wednesday, WTF Lulu? She woke me with barking around 2:30, 5:30 and 8:45. I let her out to potty and put her back in the crate the first two times. I’m not always able to go right back to sleep though. I had such big plans for today. Sigh. The Internet is still weird. I got some reviews written anyway. When my daughter got up we talked about another tour to find the dye lot for her yarn. Since the locations are all more than 2 hours away, I had the bright idea to call and have them check. Lucky, because the locations we were planning did not have it. Then we called stores in Virginia. There are several within 10 miles of each other, but 3 – 4 hours from us. We found the dye lot. Interestingly, one store wouldn’t put it aside unless we placed a curbside pickup order and called back with the order number. But other stores were happy to put it aside, and one store which only had one skein (we need 5) told us our own local store could request them to be sent to them and we wouldn’t have to drive! So we were easily able to arrange that with our local store. SO if you need something specific at a Joanns far away, your local store can get it so you don’t need to drive there.
Thursday, I slept better. The Internet is wonky. It’s time to stop being patient and call again. I dragged a bit today with the whole Internet fiasco depressing me a bit. I spent over an hour on the phone with them and lost energy. My laptop doesn’t seem to work at all with Wifi anymore even though the tests on the adapter show it is working and the driver installed is the newest one. For now I’m connected through Ethernet cable, but that is slower than the fiber can deliver. I did calculate my library savings for a year end post. I also pushed myself to use a Shutterfly deal to create a 2023 calendar for my Mom. I wanted to do it but was tired. I went to “bed” early to read and hopefully catch up a bit more on sleep.
Friday, I managed another night without Lulu waking me up until morning. I worked on my January plan for reading. It’s going to be tricky with more ebooks than audio. I went to get a pickup at Walmart and then Harris Teeter along with a couple of Rx for my daughter. When I got back, I started a batch of food for Lulu. Then my daughter and I took Lulu for a walk on a medium route to our neighborhood park / pool / tennis courts. She got a call that the yarn is in! I made a cheesecake for tomorrow night and we had yummy fish tacos tonight. After dinner, I finished the top of a hat my daughter made but didn’t feel comfortable using the double point needles at the end. It really felt like a great productive day for a change.
Saturday, I finished up my book this morning because I just didn’t go to bed early enough to read a bit. My daughter didn’t go to bed very early so she might not be awake until next year. Just kidding, she will get up for dinner. I did some year end financial things which I should have done earlier in the week. I have a LOT of year end blog stuff to finish up today and some reading. and some reviews to write.
December Reading: I had another good reading month. I managed to read 25 books. Audiobooks continue to help me read more. Some count for more than one challenge. I listened to 13 audiobooks, read 9 library books, 10 COYER reads, and 5 books which I already own.
I did manage to read 5 books I own (goal is 3 per month):
- A Perfect Christmas Gift by Lori Wilde
- 🎧 Homecoming King by Penny Reid
- Outtakes from the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
- 1,2 He Is Coming for You by Willow Rose
- 3,4 Better Lock Your Door by Willow Rose
2022 Year in Books:
I read 305 books this year. In the categories I track this included:
305 total books
172 Audiobooks
257 COYER reads
85 Library books
All Library books (including ones not reviewed on the blog) 2022 Library Love Challenge
74 Books I Already Own
My Goodreads Year in Books: 2022
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality. These are the exciting ARCs I received this week (If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry):
NOTHING.
(If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry)
I picked this up as an Audible Daily deal.
Now the really scary one. This is all the Kindle and Audible freebies I grabbed this past week. You can see why I need to do Thrifty Thursday to be sure I read a few at least one each month.
I really meant to cut back on freebies BUT they are free so I guess that won’t be happening.
I’m not including things like reviews posted or upcoming as they are always in the right sidebar. And, my challenge status is also there.
Anne
Happy New Year to you and your family Anne! Intermittent internet is very frustrating – I hope this gets fixed soon. Hooray for not having to drive long distances to get your wool too! Have a wonderful week ahead.
Thank you Jodie. The Internet has finally been consistent since Thursday night.
Wow! Awesome reading month! How annoying about the internet. I have Google Fiber and sometimes it acts funny. I’d say at least once a day. It will freeze in the middle of a tv program or while I’m blogging. Very annoying. Lulu pictures are adorable as always, but shame on her for waking you up so much! Happy new year!
Thanks Lisa. It was an annoying week with not knowing if I would have Internet or not. It was better after I figured out how to connect to my phone, even though it was slower. It’s really weird because Lulu never did that until recently.
My dog, Falcor got some toys for Christmas too. He loves opening his presents. Happy New Year
Well we opened her present but we let her get little treats out of her stocking. I was excited to see she started carrying it around right away.
I need to stop getting kindle freebies *lol* Oh boy… Lulu looks so adorable in her “winter coat”. I see a lot of dogs her size with a “coat” walking around here. Your Internet was down, I think, I screwed my blog on New Year´s Eve *sigh* So much to a fresh start with no problems *double sigh* Anne, I wish you and your loved ones all the best for 2023. Happy reading.
Thank you Vi! It was kind of a limbo wondering if my Internet would work this week so it didn’t feel very good until Friday. Plus the weather was seriously cold for Christmas.
Happy New Year and happy knitting! Lulu looks so cozy. The fish tacos and cheesecake look yummy. I’m at JoAnn’s frequently, I’ve told myself to stop it lol I have more than enough yarn here in my stash. It’s just so convenient if I’m out running errands and sometimes I just pop in to “look” then come home with a few more skeins. That’s good they can ship the yarn to your local store for you. Hope the internet connection gets fixed soon, I don’t know how we ever lived without it.
Thank you Jen. I know it’s crazy not to have Internet; there’s so much we use it to do. I went to Joanns today to pick up the yarn and did you know they are pet friendly? Lulu was a bit nervous about it but she got lots of pets.
Happy New Year! I hope you get the internet stuff sorted soon. That would make me super cranky.
I was definitely cranky and in limbo about it. It was depressing too. But it seems to be fixed. YAY.
You are one prolific reader! Congrats on completing so many books. I find the only time I seem to be able to listen to audio is when I’m driving. Haven’t yet figured out how to type a review and listen to a different book! ha. I’ll be joining a few of the same challenges as you so I’m sure I”ll see you around. Happy New Year and here’s to lots more good books in 2023.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
Thanks Terrie. I really look forward to seeing you in the challenges this year. I do lots of audio when doing chores, and especially when cooking dinner.
That’s a lot of reading! Sorry about the internet and computer issues. Hope that gets fixed soon. I hope Lulu has stopped waking you up. Have a wonderful New Year!
Thanks Bonnie. The Internet is better thank goodness. Lulu is still being weird but not every night.
Happy New Year to you and your family, and Lulu! You had a great week of reading. Lulu looks adorable in her little coat. 🙂
Thank you Wendy. It was a quiet week other than the Internet issues.
Happy New Year Anne! What a pain with the internet; I would be so frustrated. I understand a day, even two, but ongoing problems all week without explanation? And having to use the ethernet cable for slower speeds 🙁 I’m sorry! I hope it gets fully resolved for you soon.
Yay on calling Joanne’s and saving yourself that long drive! I can’t imagine driving 4 hours for any supplies, thank goodness you didn’t have to.
I hope you have a great week! Looking forward to our buddy read – I’m already 15% in 🙂
Thank you. yes the Internet issues were frustrating and depressing so I’m glad to say it is back to normal. Sometimes I get a bright idea, like calling to check, and I’m so proud of myself. This week is a huge improvement, the yarn already arrived at our local store and I picked it up today. The Ian books are going to be hilarious.
Happy New Year! I hope the internet is on its way to getting straightened out. That’s so frustrating! That’s so great about the JoAnn’s stores and interesting that each store had a different way of handling the request. I always hate calling places but you definitely proved it can be worth it. Have a wonderful week!
Thank you Katherine. It was definitely worth it to make those calls. I was so glad one of the stores told us so we didn’t do all that driving.
It’s been a busy two weeks and I ended up taking an unplanned mini blogging break. I just posted for the first time in a while. I hope you were okay with all the storms everywhere. We’ve had some crazy weather and rai
How come you have spotty Internet? Hope you get it all sorted because that’s so frustrating. Just found out our Internet is out at our house because a branch took down a line. We knew something was wrong because our property cameras went out last night. Our neighbor just texted us to tell us a branch took something down. Not home yet but are on hold to get it fixed. :/
Wow, that’s great you read over 300 books! I was happy to get to 150 books this last year.
Thank you Rachel. I think the Internet issues were either the weather or the utility installation guys again. I didn’t see anyone come out so it’s weird and scattered through the neighborhood, some working some not. My next door neighbor is still out and I’d be furious if we still were after 10 days. The audiobooks really let me read more because I can listen while I do other stuff mostly cooking and walking Lulu.
Internet troubles suck! We had really annoying issues with ours back at the start of December. We put up with it for about a week assuming it was to do with the upgrades they’d been doing to the system but then our supplier reached out to us as the issues had flagged at their end! We had an engineer out a few days later and they had it fixed in about an hour. So glad as it feels like my house doesn’t work without internet!
Fingers crossed yours is resolved soon.
Happy new year, anne!
Thank you Nicci. It was fixed last Thursday after I called them again. I’m not exactly sure of what all happened but you’re right that things don’t work well without Internet. Luckily my daughter was on school break because she is doing all her college classes online and she would have been stressed out by it.
How frustrating with the internet issues. When it’s gone we quickly realize how much we use it and depend on it. Red Robin has pizza? *note to self to check that out* That’s great that the one lady at JoAnn told you about having the orders sent to your local store. The cheesecake looks delish. I’m not much of a sweets eater (I have no sweet tooth), but I make an exception for cheesecake. 🙂 I see you got Faking it with #41. I really enjoyed that one. Happy new year, Anne!
Thank you Tanya. Internet outages are so frustrating and kind of depressing in that one can’t do the planned stuff as easily. It’s shocking how much we rely on it. At least we had it through our phones. I was so glad the one store told us. I picked it up today at our local store. yes Red Robin has some of the best gluten free pizza. I can’t say about their regular pizza. I’ve decided the whole cheesecake is more work and so I’m going back to mini cheesecakes in muffin cups. It’s easier to store and serve and tastes the same.
I hope that they figure out your internet problems soon. I would be very annoyed! Random barking in the middle of the night is never fun but it happens often with our 3 dogs. I can usually sleep through it and my husband deals with them. You had an amazing reading year! Have a great week!
Thank you Carole. It is VERY frustrating to have Internet problems but thankfully it was working after Thursday. The random barking is driving me nuts because she never did that until a month or so ago.
Lulu has a monkey!!!! And sleeping on her bed! That was weird about her early morning barking.
The cheesecake and fish tacos look delicious!! Wish I had them right now!
Thanks Jinjer. Lulu is crazy cute carrying around her new toy (and her old toys). The random barking is making me crazy and tired; she’s only done that for about a month. I can’t figure out what’s changed.
I hope your internet situation gets fixed. Thankfully when ours goes out (which is rare) I can use the hotspot on my phone to connect my laptop. Happy New Year!
Thank you Kimberly. yes it did get fixed but it was almost a week. I did figure out how to use my phone as a hotspot after the first day because no Internet is no bueno.
Nothing more annoying than internet issues. I hope yours get resolved soon. Happy New Year!
Thank you Laura. yes the Internet was finally resolved after almost a week.
Awww. That is such a cute dog.
Happy New Year and have a great week.
Thank you. Lulu is the star of our lives.
Happy New Year Anne! Sorry to hear about the internet. I’ve been so preoccupied with my daughter and the holidays, that I haven’t been connected on line and didn’t know you were having such problems. I would be so frustrated. Those fish tacos look AMAZING!
Last week was pretty lazy for us all. I did get in some walks and helped my daughter shower and do some homework. We also watched a couple movies. This coming week is going to be tough getting back into a routine.
I;m so glad you had a relaxing holiday. A week without Internet was not fun. I used my phone as a hotspot which I had never done before so that was good to learn. That’s my latest version of fish tacos and we really like it. It’s one of my favorite foods.
Sorry you’re still having Internet issues. That’s really annoying. I’m glad you found the dye lot your daughter needed. I need to knit/crochet more this year. 😀
Thank you. The Internet is finally consistent but it took a WEEK. I’d like to fit in more knitting myself.
Congratulations on so many books written! I really hope your internet issues get ironed out soon. And you should ask for a refund for the days you went without it. As soon as they start losing money, they start getting serious about fixing it. Have a Happy New Year!
Thank you. yes the internet got consistent finally but it was a WEEK. They already mentioned crediting my account. So we will see if they do it.
Happy New Year, Anne! I’m sorry to hear about your internet troubles. That would really frustrate me as well, considering so much of what I do is online. I’m glad to hear you had a productive week in spite of it.
Thank you Suzanne. It is frustrating to not have consistent internet and that it took them a WEEK. I did learn how to hotspot so that was a good thing. It was just hard to keep energized when I didn’t know if I would have Internet or the slower connection. It felt great to catch up after it was steady though.
Sounds like you worked hard to get that yarn you wanted. Glad you found all you needed!
Thank goodness it turned out to be easier than driving all over. The phone calls were easy enough to find out who had it.
Happy New Year! It sounds as though you had a very hectic week, I’m sorry to hear you are having troubles with your internet, it’s so annoying when it doesn’t work properly.
I need to set a monthly goal for reading books I own – I’m trying not to buy any new ones but when they are on sale at 99p I can’t resist!
Thank you Louise. The Internet finally seems to be working but I’m still anxious because it was very frustrating. At those prices, it’s worth buying some.
I enjoy your Lulu photos. 🙂 My cat Nina rediscovered her stuffed ladybug recently (it was Mouse’s originally, but Nina stole it) and was throwing it up in the air and having a great old time with it on Christmas Day. It was so cute and funny. I am glad Lulu likes her monkey. I hope your internet situation is more stable now. I heard a lot people were affected by the recent winter storms. My brother’s power was out for about 23 hours over New Year’s due to wind and rainstorms up in Northern California. The flooding up there has been pretty bad. It’s been raining a lot the last few days where I live too. Much needed, but too much at once causes so many hazards.
Look at all those books you read this past year! That’s awesome, Anne. I hope you have a wonderful 2023!
Thank you Wendy. It was a good reading year. I am happy to have the Internet be more stable now. Lulu is the star of our lives.
Happy New Year Anne! My dog woke me up several times a night some months ago for weeks and it was…hard! Here to hope that Lulu sleeps all night from now on.
Thank you Sophie. Lulu is still having some issues but it’s not consistent. This household needs to work a little more towards sleep consistency.
Happy New Year! Looking forward to sharing thoughts on books.
YES! Books make it a happy new year!