Losing Time

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I don’t really know what happens. I feel like we are so busy and have so much to do, but nothing actually gets accomplished!

My computer is upstairs in a little alcove in our rec room. With the exception of getting on once or twice to pay a bill that is too much work from my phone, and needing to cut a few things with my Silhouette, I haven’t been on my computer in months. Yes, months.

We don’t really have internet at our house. Not real internet anyway. We have a mobile hotspot from AT&T which is spotty with its connection. We live out in the country, and anything other than satellite (yuck) internet isn’t available out here. My phone doesn’t even have service most of the time. You would think that would make me more productive.

Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t. I’m a bit ADHD when it comes to productivity. I’m always in the middle of 10 projects and never seem to get any of them done!

  • I’ve made some cups (which I think I’m going to start selling once I can build a turner that is better than the one I’ve already built)- I really enjoy the process of making them, so we’ll see what happens
  • I’m working on painting my sons room. I’ve been working on it since spring break in April. It’s a lot of drama (I twisted my knee trying to paint his dormers) and I just dread it. But, I’m almost done! Maybe…
  • We have all the shit from his room all over the upstairs, and it makes everything in me irritated. I feel like I’m drowning in it, but there isn’t anything to be done until I get the paint done and we can put his room back together.
  • We still have 25 boxes of stuff from Hubby’s parents house that is sitting in the corner of the rec room waiting for us to go through it. I brought some of them home last July when I was down going through the house, and some of them came in September when we rented a uhaul for the furniture we inherited. They just stand in the other room and mock us.
  • I have the kids books, clothes, and toys to go through because shit needs to be gone, but I’m so attached to shit that I have such a hard time of letting go. But damn, stuff we don’t use is taking over the fucking house and it’s driving me insane.
  • I have paperwork all over the upstairs table, because I decided to clean out the filing cabinet because I didn’t have enough shit to do!
  • Just to make life a little more interesting, I’ve applied to go back to school in August. Cause why the hell not add one more thing?! Getting shit together for that has been a pain in the ass.

I’m telling you. It’s insane. I haven’t been reading as much (and I miss it) nor have I been trying new recipes like I was. But damn-it, I’m going to!

 

 

 

 

Studmuffin Santa (Ponderosa Resort Romantic Comedies Book 1) – Tawna Fenske

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Studmuffin Santa

Find it on Amazon

Is Christmas over? I don’t even care!

This book was so cute! I love me a RomCom and this one didn’t disappoint.

  • A buff hometown hero fresh from the military
  • A strong heroine who has some issues from high school (Don’t we all?)
  • A Reindeer Ranch

Yes!

Brandon is one of the good guys (and you know by now how much I love me a good guy) and Jade’s high school crush. When weird things start happening on Jade and her sister’s Reindeer ranch, Brandon is hired to not only play a sexy santa, but to do some security. Lucky for us! He’s a Christmas hater and Jade’s whole world revolves around Christmas, so we get to see him work out a whole slew of issues.

 

*Crush Sidenote* – I had a crush on this guy in high school when I was in the 9th Grade. So, I was 13ish? Has a Junior or a Senior, I don’t remember. I followed him around. Instead of being quiet around my crush? Nope – me, I babbled. he must have had a friend or girlfriend who was in my Algebra class, or had a class close, because he was in the hallway outside of my 5th period everyday. He was popular and played in a band (Maybe? I may 100% be making that part up in my memories) – Uh, Hello High School Talent Shows. Do they still do those?! – and good looking. I can’t remember one conversation I babbled at him though. You know the main thing I remember? He always had a smile on his face and he was so damn nice to me. He never rolled his eyes at me or acted like he had somewhere he’d rather be.  He gave me a styrofoam cup that he had signed one time. Why? I have no idea. Did I ask for it? Sounds like something I would do, but I don’t remember how I ended up with it, but I remember it sitting on my bookshelf in my room, so I know it’s true- ha!  He didn’t have any reason to put up with a freshman following him around and while he never showed any interest in me, he never made me feel bad about myself either – and as a fat 13 year old, everything made me feel bad about myself. I wonder how he is today? I hope he’s good! **Full disclosure, I’mma have to look him up and see if he’s on FB.

Okay! – Therapy Over! Back to the Book!

I love how Jade trieds to resist him, and can’t help herself. The two of them together makes me smile.  I know they were quite literally written for each other, but sometimes that seems forced with RomComs. Not here. Not at all.

It is a RomCom with a dash of mystery trinkled in (which I love) and there is a lot of growth with the characters and how they look at the world. It explores how just because you remember something exactly how it happened, that there wasn’t more to the story. You can never really tell what a person has going on or is going through from the outside. Some people hide it and don’t outwardly show any kind of distress. Others, shout it out to the world.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’ve got the 2nd one in the series high on my TBR!

 

 

Ex-Con Times Two: A Bad Boy MFM Romance – Jay S. Wilder and Bella Love-Wins

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Ex-Con

First of all.. Damn! Look at that Cover. Hot!

Find it on Amazon – It’s in Kindle Unlimited

I  liked parts of this story. Two hot boyfriends who rescue you when the bad guys come and try to get you? Go Katelynn! I liked the fact that Love-Wins and Wilder had fun playful sex scenes instead of just writing a book where a girl goes from a virgin to a pro at DP!

The issues that I did have with the story should have been spotted during beta-reads. An example was that after the first weekend Katelynn spent with the guys, that next morning she talks about the few times shes been to the apartment. But, it was the first time! There were several places where the timeline has moved ahead but the characters haven’t.  **Spoiler Alert**  After the first night the guys go out with Katelynn, they are talking about her fake ID and how they can’t fuck around with underage girls, but between seeing the fake ID and this conversation, they tried to fuck her in the bathroom of the bar.  ***  It’s shit like that gets on my nerves. Don’t talk about staying away from someone when 10 pages ago you didn’t care if she was a minor or not. It made me not really like them as much as I would have. They were so obsessed with staying out of prison, but not actually making good choices just to be good.  — Like I said, issues that could/should have been resolved with a good editor and beta readers.

Note: I’ve beta read for a couple of authors and I drove them nuts with notes on type of shit. But, that is the distracting shit that readers get irritated with.

It isn’t very long. The Amazon page says it’s 222 pages, but the book ends at 32%. There are a bunch of books after it though, so if you’re going to purchase it, you’ll get more for your $3.99. I didn’t read them.

 

*When I was looking in my Contents and Devices trying to figure something out with my KU, I noticed that there is a banner under the book that says “Update Available”, so maybe the issues that I had with the book have been fixed. I apparently borrowed it March 17, 2017 and with switching out KU books all this time, never gotten around to reading it. I’m not going to reread it to find out what the update is all about, but maybe the issues that I noticed aren’t there anymore. Maybe it’s a whole new story…. who knows?!  Or, maybe the bonus books aren’t there any more.  I’m glad I read it on KU, because I’d have been irritated and returned the book if I had paid $3.99 for it. :/

 

When Daddy Wasn’t Looking (Nice and Dirty Series Book 1) – Lola StVil

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When Daddy Wasn't Looking

It’s in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon

Doesn’t the cover model dude look like Kerr Smith with a beard?!

kerr-smith

He played Jack on Dawson’s Creek… If you didn’t know that, go find Dawson’s Creek and watch it. All of it…. Is it on Netflix or Amazon? I don’t know. I have the DVD’s from like 2007, so I’m not sure! But find it, watch it, make fun of it and yourself at 16. It will do you good 🙂

So, the book caught my attention because I am a Kerr Smith fan, so even though I hate the title and I’m 95% turned off from anything that has the word “Daddy” in the Book Title, Blurb, or Promo, I gave it a shot

**I wish I had saved a copy of the “Sponsored Ad” that showed up in my Facebook News feed. I’ve seen a couple of them for this book just this past week, but I don’t think either of them was the one that caught my eye. If it ever comes back around, I’ll edit and put it here!

For the most part, I really liked this book. “Daddy’s Best Friend” books are iffy for me. Add in 18 year old virgin troupe and I never know what I’m going to end up with!

I love that Hawk really is a good guy, despite fucking his best friend’s daughter (but he loves her, so I forgive him). I am a sucker for a rough around the edges good guy, even though the whole rest of the world seems to exclusively love bad boys turned “good” -to varying degrees.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been 18 (or a virgin, for that matter) so it’s hard to relate to Lucy, but Lola StVil did a good job of not turning her into an “I’m 18 and cute and the world revolves around me!” that seems to irritate the hell out of me in the “New Adult” genre of Romance. The fact that I’m Hawks age and think that maybe he needs to find himself a woman our age, who maybe deserves a good fucking for making it through life so far, didn’t stop me from enjoying the book. It’s the first book I’ve read by Lola StVil and I’ll have to check out her others.

 

 

Delivered Through the Storm – Nicole Garcia

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Delivered Through the Storm

Narrated by Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross

Find it on Audible

If you’d rather the book, you can find Nicole Garcia on Amazon

OH, Ryder! Just a sweet, good guy! Madison deserves him and the calm and love that he brings to her and the boys. Especially after dealing with that asshole of an ex, Mitch!

Nicole Garcia does a wonderful job writing a story that really captures what a struggle it is to be a single parent and to be “on” and in charge of everything -all the time! I don’t personally have to deal with that, but I’ve got close friends who do and I see how they struggle and conquer every day!

***Don’t Read, Momma!***

So, lets talk about Ryder’s cock piercing! I got way too excited for something that I’ve never even experienced. hahaha! And for a split second, I sad that I never will!!

***********************

Fucking Mitch! I just wanted to beat him with my fucking flip flop. I have friends who are/were married to this motherfucker and he just makes me so angry!

As always, Kai and Wen were perfection! I could really feel Madison’s exhaustion, frustrations, and finally acceptance. Kai never fails to make you want to climb into a story and be friends with the heroine, and this wasn’t any different! There were also other female characters with accents in this audiobook, that Kai does without losing her cadence and warmth! Amazing as always!

Wen did so many characters for this book – He was Aiden (a 7 year old), Ryder (all sexy and sweet), Tyler (the gay best friend), Rico (Ryder’s Cuban best friend), and Mitch (the nasty asshole ex-husband) – And he just proved how wonderful of a narrator and voice actor that he is. If nothing else, the way that he fed that hate for Mitch with his squeaky, condescending, and snide tone. I’m not so sure had I just read the words on the page, that I would have been so invested in my hate for Mitch!

**Spoiler Alert** As a mom, I was scarred as hell and could really relate to the pain Madison was feeling while Aiden was missing! When Ryder started punching Mitch at the hospital, I wanted to cheer!

 

Car – But I don’t want a car – Shopping Part 3: The Electric Revolution and a Subaru

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**We have already bought our new vehicle, but I hadn’t posted my notes from some of the car shops.**

So the hubs is obsessed with having an electric car – I don’t know if it came before Tesla became a thing or after Tesla, but it is what it is. So, he’s been looking into all sorts of them.

Chevy Bolt: We were invited to a Birthday party of a friends daughter about an hour away from where we live (To be fair, everything is an hour away from where we live!-ha), so Hubs got on to see what cars were available at the Dealerships around their town. He found a Chevy Bolt at one of them, so he made an appt for a test drive before the party.

On our way to test drive the Bolt, Hubs tells me to “Not be upset if I can’t fit in it, there is some talk that it’s not fat people friendly”. Now, while that would hurt some people’s feelings, my husband knows me pretty well. He knows that I need to prepare for that mentally and can move at my own speed once we get there, and that I won’t discover that in front of a salesman and panic and end up in an anxiety attack.

FYI: Their was plenty of room in the Bolt, and I didn’t feel restrictive at all. My seatbelt buckled and the door shut and there was breathing room. So, if you’re a big gal (or dude, and have heard its not accommodating, I think that’s false. I didn’t test drive it, but the hubs did (and remember he’s 6’10”), and he said it sat good. The biggest reason it won’t work for us, is that our 10 and 7 year olds are going to be too tall to ride in the back seat much longer (Our 10 year old has hit 5’7″, so she’s way taller than me and growing quickly). She fits in the back seat, but if they make it to 6′, it’s gonng get real cramped back there!

 

IMG_1880See, it’s cute! And he has plenty of headroom!

What I wanted to look at, but hubs refuses to buy me:

IMG_1882

 

 

Subaru Outback: Another day, we all drove 45 mins the other way and went and looked at Subaru Outback! I really liked them. They sit good. Plenty of room for me and Hubs. They are a little higher off the ground, so I didn’t feel like I was sitting on the pavement. We came really close to buying one, but I couldn’t get over the fact that there was no 3rd row! And I really need *want* a 3rd row!   ((Of course, as of the time  that I write this, Subaru has released the Ascent, which we didn’t even get to look at!))

 

Honda : The last car shopping expedition we went on was to Honda. The local Honda dealership in town had a Clarity (a plug in hybrid) and Hubs wanted to get a good look at it! So, we went to check it out.  The sales guy who “helped” us told us where the car was parked on the lot. So, hubs and I trekked out to the farthest depths of their parking lot (in 100*, because this was the end of June), and went to look at the car. Which was locked. So the sales dude got out there after a few mins, and didn’t have the key to open the door. I mean.. Really? What the fuck is that all about? How are we going to look at and possibly test drive a car with no key? He went back to get a key, and after about 10 mins I headed inside.  I was hot and pissed off and I wasn’t buying shit from this motherfucker anyway, so I didn’t need to be there. I went and hung out in the show room drooling over the Honda Pilot. And once Hubs came back in from test driving the Clarity, he got in and liked it too. But then, the dreaded test: WHY THE FUCK DO 3RD ROW SEATS HAVE NO WHERE TO PUT YOUR FUCKING FEET?! I’m so irritated over the 3rd row bullshit in cars.

 

Obviously Hubs and I are total opposites when it comes to vehicles. He wants small and battery/hybrid, and I want a huge gas guzzling throw 10 people in and lets go for an adventure vehicle. That’s really how every aspect of our personalities are.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bachelor Contract: A Bachelor of Arizona Novel – Rachel Van Dyken

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The Bachelor Contract

This is the cover from the Library:

The Bachelor Contract 2

 

 

Find it on Amazon

This is the 3rd book in the Bachelor of Arizona series.  This book was not my favorite. I hate to say that, because you know I have nothing but love for Rachel Van Dyken, but damn! How come when a dude is all “I lost the love of my life” that he has to become a man-whore to fuck his ex-love away? That shit just gets on my nerves.  It took me a long time to read this book. I’d sit it down and then come back later and read another chapter. Very unlike me.  I just didn’t like Brant at all. Like, I actively disliked him. I was surprised by that, because I felt like in the other books of the series, that I thought he was funny. :/.

There were parts of the book that I liked. I liked the dates that he tried to recreate and show her how much he really did care, and how Brant and Nikki found their way back to each other. Being part of the healing process was heartwrenching, and of course I cried. The loss that they had to endure clawed out at me, even though I didn’t really *want* them together….. Speaking of which, I’m wondering if Cole is going to get a book! I was kind of hoping Rachel had written another Sanchez-y story line. No such luck….. I was still happy that they could be reunited.

To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of Second-Chance romances. I’m a grudge holder, so I find it hard to get involved in a story where two people try and get back together. Maybe that is something I should work on! Personal Growth! 🙂

 

The Underachieving Ovary – JT Lawrence Narrated by Jennifer Swanepoel

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The Underachieving Ovary

Find it on Amazon

Find it on Audible – Narrated by Jennifer Swanepoel

This book is a twist and turn of emotions! From the beginning I was brought right along with the ugly ride that is endometriosis and infertility. The hope and the despair. It was done with such wit and sarcasm that it wasn’t a whiny tale, which would have been so easy to turn into. Her journal of infertility is such an emotional and personal journey, that I feel like I’m a friend of JT Lawrence and she’s kept me updated all along. The book was more like getting letters of updates than something that was written for public consumption. I found myself rooting for Her and Mike so much that every heartbreak and setback they encountered, I was in my car crying right along with them. Sometimes the road to parenthood is rocky. Sometimes easy. Sometimes it never makes it there. I am in love with JT’s sense of humor. I so wish she could be my friend!

It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter that I realized what an ordeal getting (and staying) pregnant is for a lot of us out in the world. It really is a miracle anyone has babies!

This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to narrated by Jennifer Swanpoel. I am a new fan! I have such a hard time with female narrators, because I feel like they are over produced and robotic. This is so not the case with Jennifer! She truly made it sound as if she WAS JT reading her journal. She had such emotion, like she was feeling it herself! I really really enjoyed her narration, and I will definitely be looking into other audio narrated by her!

Bookman Dead Style: A Dangerous Type Mystery – Paige Shelton

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Bookman Dead Style

Find it on Amazon

This is Book 2 of this series. Book 1: To Helvetica and Back: A Dangerous Type Mystery – Paige Shelton

 

I love the nosey bitches. It’s cause I’m a nosey bitch myself. haha.  Could you imagine meeting a movie star and a few minutes later you see them get arrested for murder of their sister?! Would you go visit them in jail? Would you assume that they had enough friends to come see them? It’s a good thing Clare went, or poor Movie Star Matt would still be wasting away in jail. Thanks to no small part of ass Creighton.  He irritates me anyways, but I never thought of him being an iffy cop. We’ll see where that goes! I’m wondering if he gets himself in trouble later in the series!

There was a subplot story about a polygamist group. I could *almost* be a Sister-Wife….except I don’t share well. But, the idea of a community… yes, that I could on board with. I read ‘The Lonely Polygamist’ by Bradley Udall a few years ago. It was so very sad in the idea that you’d constantly be pulled apart in 100 different directions. I’ll just stay monogomarried. ❤

And of course, a fancy secret party. I wanna go to a fancy secret party. I’mma have to find me one! 🙂

 

Digging up Trouble: The Leafy Hollow Mysteries – Rickie Blair

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Digging up Trouble

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This is the 2nd book of the series.

#1 From Garden to Grave: The Leafy Hollow Mysteries – Rickie Blair

Murder in a church(yard)?! Oh…My…

Of course, the 2nd book of a series is make it or break it for me. And this one did not disappoint. It’s nice getting to know the people who live in Leafy Hollow.

Verity is right smack dab in the middle of another murder. This time she’s not exactly a suspect, but is helping out Emy’s cousin. But, once again she gets herself in trouble and tries to get herself killed! Emy gets a bit bitchy and pisses me off, so we’ll see what happens with her! ha

We also learn a bit more about all the shit going down in the basement! Aunt Adeline is still missing, so Verity is trying to figure that out too!