Whats Up Wednesday

I decided to do the Link Up with Sheaffer and Shay this month.

1: WHAT WE’RE EATING THIS WEEK: Menu's are really a fly by the seat of my pants sorta thing anymore. However, I am making a creamy garlic parm shrimp and pasta dish tonight and this weekend there is shrimp boil in the works.

2. WHAT I’M REMINISCING ABOUT: Vacations I need another one!! I'd love to be on a beach with a pina colada and a book!

3: WHAT I’M LOVING: The lower humidity this week. Especially after the 100 plus degree days with 95% humidity.

4: WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO: Removing paint from the wrought iron railing on the front porch - there's a good 50 years of paint on it and it needs to come off.. It's been a PROCESS!    I am also midway through my first class in my bachelor's program - many many more to come,

5: WHAT I’M DREADING: Frankly, the end of summer - I hate the cold snowy weather and it just seems downhill from August 1st. 

6: WHAT I’M WORKING ON: School, I need to get the vacation pictures off the camera and posted. Cleaning out my closet and little odds and ends around the house to get it ready to go on the market. 

7: WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT: Finishing up the projects on the house, being done with my first class. There is just something about having that first class done. 

8: WHAT I’M WATCHING/READING: I've been watching Stargate on Prime. I'm currently reading The Marriage Pact 

9: WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: Audiobooks on my commute to the office - Currently Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. I also have my Spotify playlists going. I recently discovered that being a student again there are a few discounts I am thrilled with (hmm guess this should have gone under things I am excited about) one being that I get a deep discount on Spotify premium but that its also bundled with Hulu and Showtime. All three are just $4.99 PER MONTH TOTAL. If you are or have a college student - you need to check that out!   

10: WHAT I’M WEARING: Lately, all the maxi shirts with tank tops and sandals or cargo pants with tanks and sandals

Show Us Your Books

I was reading a blog post and one of the comments sent me off in a search.. It about borrowing digital books right to her Kindle and how that was so much easier these days. Within minutes, I had a new elibrary card to the St Louis Library and Libby downloaded. I had waitlisted 3 books, borrowed 1 and discovered borrowing Audiobooks with Libby as well.  That was last Thursday...


Since then I have finished:

Crazy Rich Asians on Audiobook

I liked this far more than I thought I would.. I will admit I checked it out to see what the hype was over the movie. I also started watching the movie, however, I will not finish that. I know so many love the movie, but in my opionion, it's another case of the story being lost due to time constraints on film and frankly, the 20 minutes I have watched of the movie I do not like.  I have already download China Rich Girlfriend on Audiobook (and have started listing on my commute) and have a hold on the 3rd Audiobook.  I recommend the book - especially if you have only seen the move.. So much has been lost in putting this into film

What Alice Forgot:

I liked it, the start was a bit slow for me and thankfully it picked up quick, I will not finish a book that doesn't hook me within the first 4 chapters or so. I have never been able to force myself to read a book that wasn't a school assigned read. This is a good quick poolside read once you get past the first few chapters. 

Still Me: 

I loved this trilogy - puffy sticker heart loved it. I think it put a very nice bow on Louisa's life and ended well. I loved Margot - and have my eye on the collection of short stories JoJo took the character from. 

On my now reading/listening to list: 

On Audio                                                                                                    on Kindle 

Time Flies

It is wild to me that I have been in St Louis for a little over a year now. I arrived here with a broken heart, a u-haul with a few things, towing my car and my cat. I had no plan and no clues.  I did have a tribe of hugely supportive women and a desire to really live my life.  After a few weeks, I had a job and an apartment.  A few weeks after that I had furniture. I also had found more confidence in myself.

This July I look back and I don't even recognize the woman who crash landed in St Louis:

Tomorrow I start back to school. I have enrolled in a Bachelors of Science in Business program. I have spent the last few months dealing with the red tape involved in getting student loans which is always a pain in the ass but more so when factor in having to disentangle someone else's income from yours because you no longer are in that household, that income no longer applies to you BUT when you enroll in school for 2019 - 2020 the 2016 income tax return is what determines your financial aid.. 

I have been living by myself for a year, I had never before lived on my own, I was terrified when I came to St Louis, scared to death at how I was going to do this. Yet, I just did it. I took a lease out on my own, I didn't even have to consult with a single person on the apartment I chose (I did make sure that the part of town I chose was a good choice). When my beloved car finally gave up after 15 years, I went to the dealership and obtained a car loan on my own, I chose the vehicle I wanted, didn't have to ask a soul if they liked it. I love it - that's all that matters.

I still have that wonderfully supportive tribe behind me - and I've added a few more members. I smile more often now, I laugh harder and louder. I now no longer come home and wonder, how did I get here, how is THIS my life.

 
** I do plan to blog more, I have some book updates, a vacation post (I have to get the pictures off my camera) and now school updates.  My life is totally different and I look forward to sharing the new chapters