Living a Joyful Life

 Here are the books I read in December: Cruel Winter With You -Ali Hazelwood (short story collection) My Rating: 4 stars I thought this was a super cute short story collection and I found myself wishing that each story was a full novel because they were that enjoyable. Merry Ever After -Tessa Bailey (short story collection) My Rating: 3 stars This is another short story collection. I thought these stories were good. We Grant You a Merry Christmas -Morgan Matson (short story) My Rating: 4 stars Morgan Matson is one of my favorite YA authors. I enjoyed this short story so much and I found myself wishing it was a full length novel. The Holidate Switch -Torie Jean My Rating: 4 stars I loved this novel so much. The plot was so much fun and I loved the main characters so much. The Book Feud -Amber Eve My Rating: 4 stars This novel was so good. I enjoyed the second chance love story. The female main character was my favorite character and I loved her relationship with her dad and with t...

  Here are the books I read in November 2025: The Bright Side of Christmas –Morgan Elizabeth My Rating: 3 stars This book was pretty good. For me, I thought they were way too many steamy scenes. I don’t mind a few throughout the book but I felt like there were way too many in this book, for my personal taste. I loved the two main characters and I loved the female main characters relationship with her best friend.   Merrily Ever After: A Christmas Collection for Romance Readers –Catherine Walsh My Rating: 3 stars (really 3.5 stars) I thought this was a super cute collection of story stories. I was actually wishing for an entire book about each story because I thought they were all really good.   We Were Liars –e. Lockhart My Rating: 3 stars, really 3.5 stars This is a re-read for me. I really enjoyed this book. I liked all of the characters.   Family of Liars –e. Lockhart My Rating: 2 stars (really 2.5 stars) I did not enjoy this book as...

  What I'm Eating This Week... Monday: Chicken cutlets & zucchini sticks Tuesday: Leftovers Wednesday: Pasta with meatballs Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner Friday: Leftovers Saturday: Chili Sunday: Tuna noodle bake What I'm Reminiscing About... Christmases when I was a little girl. What I'm Loving... Spending time with my mom, watching my nephew N's football games, cat cuddles with  Davey & Mango, reading, watching sports/TV/movies. What I've Been Up To... My nephew N and his team won their first two playoffs game and made it the county championship for the first time in school history. Sadly, they lost in the championship. They had an amazing season. My nephew is the quarterback and I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished. What I'm Dreading... The Christmas/holiday season going by so fast, as it does every year. The Mets traded my favorite player and I'm very mad and sad about that. What I'm Working On... Planning out my content schedu...

  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...