100 episodes! I don’t think I could do it!! 🤣 That’s a bummer about Behind Your Touch…I was thinking of starting that one soon.

Just popping in to say I finished one of the new shows on Netflix...Destined With You. I liked it a lot. It was perfect for this time of year because at times it had a spooky vibe. I didn't love the supporting cast, but it's okay because the main couple was so cute together. Loved Rowoon in this one! (FYI...it was not all light/fluffy. There are parts that deal with a stalker/attempted murder situation.)

Woah! My grandparents had one at their house and my cousin and I used to love playing with it. They’re both passed on now, and I have no clue what happened to it. What a nice thing to remember today. Thank you! ☺️

DD and I finished the next book in our American literature buddy read, which was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Funny enough, I had never read this book before or seen the movie, so I really had no idea what it was about. We both liked it, although I thought it was kind of a sad story. (4 stars)

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Hello everyone….happy November! 🍁 Hard to believe we’re here. It’s almost holiday season, and I don’t feel ready at all, as usual! I feel like I read a decent amount in October, so I hope to keep that up this month. I look forward to hearing from all of you and what you’ve been reading. ☺️

You were replying to the silencer question, which is why I was clarifying. However, I totally missed the post earlier with similar information. 🤦‍♀️ I need more caffeine today! I live in Texas and my DH has many guns, so I'm aware of how easy the gun buying process can be. I've stood in the store and waited! 😜 I just wanted to clarify that one piece of info. Sorry!

Just to clarify....suppressors/silencers take much longer to purchase than normal firearms. The purchase is done through an approved dealer and then the approval process is done through the ATF. This can take up to 9 months depending on their wait times. It is a much more in-depth process than a firearm purchase. In case anyone is curious, here's an article on the steps involved... https://silencerco.com/blog/how-to-buy-suppressor-guide My FIL has one (again, because he lives on a farm) and it took about 6 months from the time he purchased it for him to receive it. I don't know if the background checks are handled any differently, but I just wanted to clarify that the process was different/longer to even purchase one. ETA...Sorry!!! I totally missed the post above. You can disregard my repeated information.

DD is currently in 10th grade. She has become very interested in foreign languages, to the point that she thinks this may be what she goes on to study in college. I know it's a bit early to make that decision, but assuming she continues down this path, we've got some questions about preparing for college/college admissions. Currently, she's taking Spanish (year 2) and French (year 1), and she's also doing a Conversational French class that's offered through our library. She wants to learn more languages, but I'm not sure if that's the best path. So that's the first question...should she continue to learn/deep dive into the few she's learning now, or would it be better/okay to learn more languages, but maybe not as in-depth? Next question - does it matter whether she self studies or takes classes? She's currently taking classes for Spanish (CLRC) and French (AIM), but I think she wants to self-study others on the side. Lastly, what other activities or extracurriculars (related to language) can she do to help her study these languages beyond taking classes? Hopefully all of that made sense. Thanks!

I agree with this. I think Taylor Swift is a mastermind at crafting her public image and right now she's got a new album coming out, a movie, and tour going on. I'm not saying she's using this relationship for gains either, but I also don't think she's that naive. If we're talking money, I actually think she probably gets more out of it than him. His salary is fixed through the NFL...sure, he could get more endorsement deals, but I don't think it'd be anything near what she banks. Anywho...I think they're kind of cute together, and I hope they're happy! ☺️

Hugs Jann...I'm really sorry

Finished a few books... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - I read this book aloud to DDs. Overall, I liked the story, but the author's writing irked me. Sometimes there were these really great, meaningful things she'd write, and then two paragraphs later I found some of her writing kind of cringey. Maybe because I was reading aloud to two teenagers! 😜 (4 stars, maybe 3.5) Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas - This story takes place in 1840s Mexico and we follow Nena and Nestor. The story starts when the two of them are teenagers, Nena being the daughter of a ranch owner and Nestor the son of a vaquero. That doesn't stop them from becoming close, even though their young love is forbidden. One night, they meet up but something goes terribly wrong. Nena is attacked by a creature that they've never seen before. Nestor brings her back to her family, thinking she's dead, and feeling very ashamed. He leaves the ranch for nine (NINE!) years and becomes a successful vaquero. When an attack on the ranch by the invading United States is imminent, Nestor goes back to help out. When he arrives, Nena is there, alive! Together they have to help fight off the impending attack, but the monsters are also out there lurking and wreaking havoc. I really enjoyed this book, especially the Mexican culture that was intertwined. There are a lot of Spanish words and no translations, so if you're not familiar that may be off-putting, but I enjoyed this. My only gripe was the vampires. They were used in the story a bit differently than I'd imagined, so they were just okay. (4 stars)

If what he said was true, then there’s no way they could find her…she’s long gone. I do agree he most likely killed her. Whether he acted alone and whether or not he just floated her out to sea, well I’m not so sure. Like I said earlier, I’m glad her mother seems at peace with things. I just hope that someday he doesn’t change his story again and crush her. Hopefully this will be the closure of it all and he’ll spend a very long time in jail.

👆This…I feel like he got off easy. 😕 Also, while I’m glad her mother seems at peace with how this all went down, the only corroborating evidence for what he said was a polygraph test, which are not always reliable. He has lied about the circumstances surrounding Natalee’s death before, so I’m not sure I fully believe him.

Because of their shorter life span, I wouldn't. There are other larger breeds that have less health problems and longer life spans that I'd check out first. They are beautiful and seem to have a good temperament, so I can understand the appeal. My heart just couldn't stand having one for such a short time.

That reminded me…I saw that there will be a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. I’m not sure, though, when it will be released. ETA…looks like it’ll be a while! September 2024 ☺️

What a funny and strange thing for the author to get wrong! 🤦‍♀️😆 That would’ve annoyed me too.

That’s what I call it too ☺️

I've finished a few books recently... The Connelly's of County Down by Tracey Lange - In this story, we follow Tara Connelly who has just been released from prison after doing 18 months on drug trafficking charges. She lives with her brother, who suffers from a TBI, her brother's son, and her sister. These three siblings haven't had an easy go of it after their mother passed away when they were young and their father left them due to some criminal activity he was involved in. When Tara is released, she tries very hard to rebuild her life, but it is difficult for her. Her siblings are struggling too. However, she finds help from the person she least expects...the police officer who helped put her in jail. I enjoyed the story of this book and all of the different characters, but it was on the shorter side and you could feel it....I wanted more! More backstory, more character building, more interactions. Everything just felt a little thin. This was still a good read. (4 stars) A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson - This was our book club's pick for this month. In this one, high school senior Pip is trying to find out more answers regarding a murder/suicide that happened in her town five years prior. She knew the boy accused of committing the murder and she can't believe he would do such a thing. Also, the body of the victim has never been found. Pip works with the accused murderer's brother to find answers. As a thriller/mystery, I really enjoyed this one. It kept me guessing the whole way through and the big reveal wasn't cheesy. There were a few things that bothered me, like the fact that everything just unfolded so easily for Pip. She was able to do detective work better than the actual police detectives. Also, there was one death in the book that I thought was hugely unnecessary. This is a series, but I'm not sure if I'll continue. (3.5 stars) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - DD and I are doing a buddy read of American Literature this year and this was the next book on the list. I thought I'd have a lot more thoughts on this one, but I don't. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. I feel like I should've appreciated it more than I did, but I'm not sure how. I'm still glad we read it and talked about it. I think this author just isn't for me.

So I finished A Time Called You. They sure did pack a lot into those 12 episodes! It definitely kept me guessing on how they were going to wrap things up, but I was satisfied with the ending. It was pretty heavy…murder, suicide, mystery, etc…it never really had any light moments. It was still good, but if you haven’t watched it, just be aware going in. I really liked all of the actors and the story in general. @Jann in TX….in regards to the few scenes with Rowoon. I might be off, but I took it as them kind of completely differentiating that iteration of the character. At that moment he was the original, away from all the other characters, so maybe it was a way to make him stand out even more. 🤷‍♀️ Just a thought I had. Also, that car accident was very jarring…I knew it was coming, but boy I was like 😯😳🫢🥺

I'm so sorry about the shingles! My DH had them when he was 36 or 37. We were building a house at the time, living in a small apartment with two small kids, and he was traveling a lot for work, so we think it was definitely stress induced. We didn't know it at the time, but he was also suffering from a thyroid issue (hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's). He didn't discover that for another year or two, but we've always wondered if his thyroid being out of whack contributed in some way. Anywho...I hope you get to feeling better soon!!

I'm really sorry Jann...that all sounds really awful. 😔 I hope you can get back to feeling better as soon as possible!

This was my pick this month for Book of the Month…it should be here next week. ☺️ I’ll be honest…I didn’t love The Ten Thousand Doors of January, but this new one sounds interesting. I’m looking forward to it…my TBR stack for October keeps growing! 🤣

I’m sorry you’re having a stressful time. 😞 I hope you find that brain candy!

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