Living a Joyful Life

  Here are the books I read in October 2025. Fun for the Whole Family – Jennifer E. Smith My Rating: 4 stars “A breathtaking, joy-filled novel about the people we love, the secrets we keep, and the enduring power of family, from the bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James.” This novel was very good but also very sad and I cried for the last 4 or 5 chapters.   The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year –Ally Carter My Rating: 2 stars (really 2.5 stars) I was bored most of this book until like half way through. The last like 6 chapters were really good. I did like the main characters but other than that, it wasn’t my favorite.   Daughter of Mine –Megan Miranda My Rating: 3 stars I liked this novel but it isn’t my favorite novel by Megan Miranda. I still think it’s worth reading especially if you like Megan Miranda’s novel.   Mint to Be –Katie Cicatelli-Kuc My Rating: 2 stars (really 2.5 stars) I love the YA genre so much but this felt ve...

  What We're Eating This Week... Monday: Late lunch (Red Robin) Tuesday: Reubens Wednesday: Pasta with meatballs Thursday: Leftovers Friday: Takeout Saturday: Pizza/Salad Sunday: Takeout What I'm Reminiscing About... I tend to reminisce a-lot about when my nieces and nephews were younger. What I'm Loving... Spending time with my mom, cuddles with my cats, watching the World Series. What I've Been Up To... I've mostly just been taking it easy because of the constant pain in my hip. It's so hard to get comfortable and I hardly get any relief. What I'm Dreading... The rest of the year and the holiday season going by so fast. What I'm Working On... Filming videos for my Youtube channel. What I'm Excited About... Halloween and then all things Christmas starting on November 1st. What I'm Watching/Reading... Watching: My nephew's football games, the World Series, NFL, college football, TV shows, Hallmark, The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3. Reading...

  Here are the books I read in September: Wish You Were Her –Elle McNicoll My Rating: 5 stars I loved this book so much. “An autistic YA homage to The Shop Around the Corner with a pinch of Cyrano, Elle McNicoll's Wish You Were Her is a triumph!” I love that it also featured the characters from Some like It Cold .   Maid for Each Other –Lynn Painter My Rating: 5 stars Another lovely novel from Lynn Painter. A millionaire and a house cleaner are a match maid in heaven in this sparkling new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happily Never After .” I loved the main characters so much!   The Sandy Page Bookshop –Hannah McKinnon My Rating: 5 stars I love Hannah McKinnon’s writing so much and her latest novel is just as amazing as her other novels. “The return of a prodigal daughter to her sleepy Cape Cod town brings the community together in this heartwarming all-new beach read from the acclaimed author of the “absol...

  What We're Eating This Week... Monday: Chicken rice dish with veggies Tuesday: Caesar salad Wednesday: Quesadilla Thursday: Tilapia, rice, veggies Friday: Salmon, leftover rice & veggies Saturday: Leftovers Sunday: Takeout What I'm Reminiscing About... My trips with my mom to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in the fall when I was growing up. We would go to fall festivals, go apple picking, bake, and spend lots of quality time together. What I'm Loving... Spending time with my mom, spending time with my cats, watching football (my nephew's games, college football, and NFL), watching the Mets, reading, planning. ^My photo^ What I've Been Up To... Watching sports, reading, planning. What I'm Dreading... Being in pain every day. It's been like this for years and years and it's exhausting. What I'm Working On... My content schedule for October for my Youtube channel. What I'm Excited About... Watching my nephew's play football. Unfortunate...

  Here are the books I read in August 2025: Designated Hitter –Megan Cousins (Unwritten Rules #3) My Rating: 5 stars This is the third and last book in the Unwritten Rules series. I love Megan Cousins’ books. She writes some really amazing sports romances. If you love sports and reading romance books, I highly recommend her novels. You Must Be New Here –Katie Sise My Rating: 4 stars I downloaded this book free on Kindle Unlimited on a whim nd I’m so glad I did because I really like this author. This book was really good and I really enjoyed it. If you like mystery books, I recommend this author. The Vacation Rental –Katie Sise My Rating: 5 stars This book is so good. It was full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and I loved it a-lot.   We Were Mothers –Katie Sise My Rating: 5 stars Another great novel by Katie Sise. She writes really great mystery novels and I can't wait to read her other two mystery novels.   Slow Burn Summer –Jo...

  What We're Eating This Week... Monday: Roasted pork, beets Tuesday: Leftovers Wednesday: Salad Thursday: Stuffed pepper & zucchini fritters Friday: Leftovers I'm not sure about the weekend. What I'm Reminiscing About... I've been thinking a lot lately about when my nephews and nieces were little. They have grown up so fast. (2 nephews in college, 2 nieces in college, a nephew who's a senior in HS, a niece who's a junior in HS, a nephew who's a sophomore in HS, a nephew in 7th grade, a nephew in 5th grade, and a nephew in 2nd grade). What I'm Loving... Spending time with my mom, spending time with my cats, watching baseball, visit to see my family. What I've Been Up To... I visited my family for two weeks this month. I had a good time seeing everyone but my pain is so bad that it affects so much of my everyday life.  ^Personal photo that I took a while back when I was going to visit my family.^ What I'm Dreading... Being in pain every day. W...