January Recommendations

Product: Pantene Pro-V Curl Enhancing Spray Gel. My new go-to hair product for when I want to air-dry and go natural. It has a stronger hold than the Tresemme mousse I was using, it leaves my hair in its wavy/curly state longer, it reduces frizz, and it's easier to apply than mousse (as in, I don't miss giant sections of hair, particularly in the back). I also like that unlike most gels, it doesn't give my hair that crunchy feeling afterwards. And it's like $3 at most drugstores. Win-win. 

Program:  Target Gift Card Exchange Program- I originally saw this over on Anne's blog, but apparently you can exchange gifts cards from hundreds of stores for a Target gift card, fo free! Just bring those gift cards you're not using to a participating Target store for a gift card you can use in-store on online. 

Music: This list of Upbeat, Happy Feel Good Songs

App: HQ Trivia- A free trivia app that goes live every day 9P and every weekday at 3P EST in which you have the opportunity to win $2,500 in cash monies via Paypal. Of course, that gets split between you and the other winners across the country, but still! The only thing you need to put it is your name and telephone number. The host is super annoying and sometimes the app lags, but it's free and the questions get hard, which makes it more fun to play. (Use my code lildesiqua if you start to play, please!) Shout out to Lauren for getting me addicted. 

Book: "Love Is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting." I will go into more detail about this on Show Us Your Books day (2/13), but I just started it last night and need to mention it here. I will state that I'm not normally a fan of graphic novels (or anthologies, for that matter) but this is so beautifully done, and the stories/comics are told from so many different perspectives and are so varied and loving. 

And now I've got a question for you. Are you using those Pop Sockets that attach to your phone? I've seen them everywhere, but I don't get the hype. If you have one, what do you use it for? It just looks cumbersome to me. 

What are some things you've found I need to check out? 

January Goals + Word of the Year

I'm aware that January is more than halfway over, but I've had this list (and have been working on it) since about the first week of the year; I just hadn't shared it yet. December was BUSY ('tis the season) and I took an unplanned hiatus from this space for awhile. While I'm still adjusting, I've been hygging it out for most of January. For me, this means keeping my calendar mostly clear, staying in, reading, and generally just giving myself a mental break. So far, it's going really well! Before diving in to what's on deck for the rest of this month, here's how I did in December. 

December Goals

• Deck the halls- Yup
• Enjoy bday in Vegas- Hell yeah! Post hopefully coming soon!
• Prett-ify: mani/facial/brows- 2/3, I'm calling it a win! 
• Re-evaluate finances- Nope
• Sell on Poshmark- Nope
• Make a holiday/Christmas wreath- Nope 
• Weatherize windows- Check! 
• That screen door though...- YES! (Only took like 6 months!)
• Participate in Alexandra's Live Your Best Life for Less (Holiday Edition) Challenge- I did 12 of them. I was going to list them but that seems tedious, and do you really care? 

60%- not too shabby! I'm sticking with monthly goals this year because it's seems to be what's working for me best these days. Like last year, I've chosen a word of the year. While I want to continue living by last year's "Choice" I also want to incorporate  "DO"- as in "do it now" or as Nike aptly puts it, "Just do it." I've been in the bad habit of thinking or worrying about something instead of actually taking action to get it done. This has been a bad habit for awhile now, and I think it's actually gotten worse. It's one thing I'd like to carry through with this year. Here are some of my smaller goals for January. 

January Goals

• Respond to emails/comments in a more timely manner
• Dentist appointment
• Lady doctor appointment- check
• Fill in new planner- check
• Gain weight
• Participate in Erin's 8.0 Reading Challenge. (Ongoing until 4/30.) I already finished 3/10 (as seen here) and working on 4 and 5, but I made a bunch of changes, so I'm re-writing it:

(5) Freebie: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar- Cheryl Strayed

(10) Starts with "L": Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng

(10) Red Cover: Me Before You- Jojo Moyes Love in Lowercase- Francesc Miralles

(15) Name of Character in Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?- Maria Sempe

(20) Book Riot: Here Comes The Sun- Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

(20) House/Home: Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt White Houses- Amy Bloom

(25) Double Initials: The Accidental Life of Greg Millar- Aimee Alexander Emma in the Night- Wendy Walker

(30) Different Language: The Lioness of Morocco- Julia Drosten The Invoice- Jonas Karlsson

(30) Form of Transportation(road trip): Perfect Days- Raphael Montes 

(35) Physical Illness: Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl- Jesse Andrews Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt

What are some of your goals this year? 

Do you have a word of the year?

10 Random Things About Me

It's the start of a new year, so I wanted to do a re-introduction of sorts, and what better way than sharing 10 random facts about myself? 

1. In high school, I wanted to change my name to Melanie.
I got tired of my name and felt it was too long (mind you, my middle name is only one letter shorter). So I tried to get everyone, including my teachers, to call me by my middle name. I gave it up when in biology class, my teacher called on me to give an answer and I got it wrong. He said, "You were smarter as Danielle." 

2. My favorite number is 12.
My birthday is 12/12 and I was my grandparents 12th grandchild. 

3. I learned how to ski and scuba dive because of an ex.
My first serious boyfriend in college was an avid skier and scuba diver, and I didn't know how to do either. After about two years of being together, he started inviting me on family vacations to places like Mont Tremblant and Bonaire. His mom paid for lessons for both so I could participate. Skiing went fine, but I didn't get my scuba certification because I freaked out in the lesson trying to clear my mask and gave up. 

4. I get obsessed with researching things easily.
I'm not sure exactly how to explain this well. I guess one example would be when I was searching for an ancestry kit for Christmas, and it took me nearly 6 hours trying going through the details of each service and product available to find the best one. Or getting lost on Pinterest trying to find recipes with ingredients I already have on hand or with minimal effort. I fall into the rabbit hole or get distracted and it can take hours for me to realize and dig myself out.

5. Also, I'm a planner. 
No, not the kind with washi tape and stickers (though I do use my paper planner daily) but things like travel or event plans. Give me a project where I can plan something and leave me to it. I'm really good at planning itineraries and paying attention to details and I love doing it! Related, I also love making lists (yes, even grocery lists). 

6. But I still don't know what I wanna be when I grow up.
I'll probably write about this in detail at some later point, but for now I'll just say that I still don't know. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an architect until I learned how much math was involved and I hated math. Then I wanted to be a school psychologist or counselor and got my Bachelor's degree in Psychology, but didn't feel like getting my Master's right afterwards and soon realized I couldn't get very far in that field without one. I currently work as a User Support Specialist in IT and while I don't like it anymore, I don't know what I'd rather be doing either. 

7. I'm a pack rat.
A hard thing to admit in this age of minimalism! I save paper items more than anything, like greeting cards, old notebooks and journals, but I've also kept old t shirts from organizations I was a part of, a favorite risque halter from my clubbing days and the first pair of jeans my butt busted through. (There was a time in college when I was gaining weight rapidly and ripped 3-4 pairs of jeans in a row right in the backside. I was thrilled because I've always been underweight and was finally gaining.)

8. I don't want to own a home.
*gasp!* Isn't that part of the American Dream? I'm not interested. First of all, if something breaks, I have to fix it (or find and pay someone to fix it). Secondly, taxes in my area are off the charts. And third, I don't like feeling "stuck" anywhere. 

9. I haven't had cable in 4-ish years.
I cut it shortly after moving into my apartment to save money. I didn't have it as a kid growing up and I already had Hulu and Netflix so it wasn't a big deal. Now there are only a few shows I watch that are on cable channels but I use friends' accounts (because sharing is caring!). 

10. This video from 2003 still makes me laugh every single time I watch it, and I still say "I am le tired."  (Though with #45, the possibility of this actually happening is a little too much...)

Do we have anything in common? 

What are some random facts about you? 

Show Us Your Books

Hip hip hooray, it's book lover's day! Ok so maybe I'm a day late, but que sera sera. I actually read quite a bit in December/beginning of January and after several really great reads, I'm  still on a reading roll- huzzah! Here's what I read and what's on deck. 


Do This For Me- Eliza Kennedy: 3 Stars
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. 

I nearly got whiplash from the rate at which this woman goes from seemingly normal to straight up crazypants. After discovering that her husband has cheated on her, she sets about methodically ruining every aspect of his life. Though I found the process of her finding herself and sorting through her emotions and thoughts a bit slow-moving, I liked how well-developed and relatable Raney was and really enjoyed the story as a whole. 

"I don't want to be that woman, Doctor Bogard."
"What woman?"
"You know the woman. The one who's husband betrays her, humiliates her, disrespects her- and she stays. The one we've seen at a thousand press conferences, standing stone-faced as her dearly beloved apologizes to the world for whatever deceitful, depraved thing he did. That's not my story, Doctor. I reject that narrative. But..."

"We are mysteries to ourselves. We don't know anything. And maybe that's okay."


The Deal of a Lifetime: a novella- Fredrik Backman: 4 Stars
library hardback

I'm not a fan of Christmas stories so I was wary of picking this up (what with the Christmas tree on the cover), but it was so short and I wanted to see if I really didn't enjoy Backman's writing style or if I just started A Man Called Ove at the wrong time. I'm happy to say it was the latter. I read this in an hour and it pulled at my Grinchy little heartstrings. 

Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng: 5 Stars

library e-book

This was the first I've read by Celeste Ng, and I finally understand all the hype. Do you know how many books I give 5 Stars to? Approximately 2 per year. Maybe I'm too hard on books?! Anyway, I loved how this story unfolded. I loved the writing style and language. I loved how it tackled a very difficult and realistic issue and the different viewpoints the story was told from. I wish that some of the side stories wrapped up differently, but I understand why they did not. I will definitely be picking up Ng's other novel!

Heating and Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs- Beth Ann Fennellly: 2 Stars

library hardback

Meh. I love memoirs, but I only liked 6/52 of these, and 5 of them were the "Married Love" series. Overall I found her completely unrelatable, pretentious, and downright boring, and like she was trying too hard to be funny. I was relieved when it was over and thankful that it was so short. 

Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Burnt: 4 Stars

So. Many. Feelings. 

It took me a long time after reading to fully process this one. I liked how it described different kinds of love, even if some of them made me slightly uncomfortable. It was heartbreaking and heavy and had so many beautifully written passages, but I didn't feel like I truly connected to or even liked any of the characters other than maybe Finn and Toby.  

"Don't you know? That's the secret. If you always make sure you're exactly the person you hoped to be, if you always make sure you only know the very best people, then you won't care if you die tomorrow." (p 194)

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Also, after some careful consideration, I've decided that I will participate in Erin's 8.0 Challenge. I was on the fence because I don't like being rushed to read a certain number of books within a certain time period, but I also love a challenge! If you're unfamiliar with Erin's Challenge, the details are on Goodreads and Facebook. So far there are 87 participants! Here's what I'm hoping to read this time around.

(5) Freebie: The Invoice- Jonas Karlsson

(10) Starts with "L": Little Fires Everywhere- Celeste Ng

(10) Red Cover: Me Before You- Jojo Moyes

(15) Name of Character in Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?- Maria Sempe (currently reading)

(20) Plot Twist from this list: Here Comes The Sun- Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn

(20) House/Home in Title: Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt

(25) Author with Double Initials: The Accidental Life of Greg Millar- Aimee Alexander

(30) Originally Printed in Different Language: The Lioness of Morocco- Julia Drosten

(30) Form of Transportation(road trip): Perfect Days- Raphael Montes

(35) Physical Illness: Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl- Jesse Andrews

Linking up with Steph and Jana!

What's New With Me// Currently

Hoooowwwddddyyyy Hoooo!

No apologies for the unannounced mini-hiatus- December was BUSY. But I'm back! I'm currently warm and cozy in my PJ's under a blanket with coffee by my side during what's being called a "bomb cyclone" (aka blizzard) because we have a SNOW DAY! I love snow days just as much now as I did as a kid, possibly more. And it was definitely needed after a being away from the office for 2 weeks and then coming back to stressful days of being at work by 7AM and meeting my new boss. But enough about all that; here's what I was up to in December. 

Celebrated my friend Michele's 50th birthday with my fellow Mountain Mommas (group of friends who all live in the same condo complex on top of a mountain) and actually wore a dress for the first time since summer...

Bought myself some fun warm thermals from Old Navy during their super sale (currently wearing the gray one as I type this)...

Was completely, utterly, and totally embarrassed at Dueling Pianos with friends. Why, you may ask? Well, Blue and co. thought it'd be a real hoot to tell them that it was my birthday (it was a few days later). But they had already sung happy birthday to someone else. So they called me up to the front of the restaurant, made me stand directly in the center and sang this Monty Python song instead. I turned bright red (which is hard, I'm brown you guys) and wanted the floor to swallow me whole. Then they gave me a dirty toast which I don't really remember. But then they played Ed Sheeran and I got Blue back by making her slow dance with me in front of everyone for at least half the song. 

I celebrated my birthday in Vegas with my favorite couple who came in from Denver for the festivities! Full recap on that next week!

Had an excellent Christmas Eve brunch with all the Mountain Mommas...

Spent Christmas morning opening presents with Blue, then headed home to spend the rest of the day with my mom. As per tradition, we watched movies, ate Chinese food, and drank wine. We added manicures and masks this year because it was there and we were already in PJs so why not?! 

I did a whole lot of nothing during my week off between Christmas and New Years which was blissful. New Year's Eve was spent at Blue's in my jammies with friends. There is a terrible video of us singing TLC's "Waterfalls" (among other songs) because the little one (my friend's niece, she's 12) brought a karaoke game. We also played Llama-Rama (below) which I'd given as a present because... llamas. 

iPhones of missing Mountain Mommas that couldn't attend

Other December things:

- Watched Star Wars: The Last Jedi (great), Pitch Perfect 3 (meh), and Home Again (bad)

- Spent actual birthday off from work chillin and then went to my fave restaurant with Blue

- Attended other holiday parties/festivities and Christmas Eve dinner at the "in-laws"

- Was not at work or on a computer at all from 12/16-1/2

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Currently...

Reading: Tell The Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rifka Brunt

Listening To: One Foot- Walk The Moon

Watching: Ellen's Game of Games, Married at First Sight (S6), Top Chef, Young Sheldon

Starting: blogging again after my unannounced and unplanned holiday hiatus and tracking my eating again with myfitnesspal.

Hoping: for another snow day tomorrow! (Wishful thinking, for sure)

Scheduling: a Veteran's pickup for 1/12, a few doctor appointments, and a vacation for sometime in March.

Playing: Llama-Rama, a rhyming game, on NYE.

Looking forward to: Blue and I celebrating our 3 year anniversary this weekend! 

What's new with you?

Linking up with Kristen, Gretch, and Anne.