I received my copy of this book for free from the author. I’m excited to read more from her!
This is Elliott’s debut novel, but you wouldn’t know it. She immerses you in early 18th century France instantly. The hardest part for me was not picturing the movies!
I loved Lea and Audric. I also appreciated Elliott weaving in their families, and their elaborate histories. It was so charming and special, like I was dropped into an actual history book and enveloped in a warm embrace the entire time. I had a really hard time putting it down. It took me a long time to finish it, but every single chapter kept me wanting to read the next one.
I bought Baby Driver (2017) on Blu-ray for Al for his birthday. I’d never seen it until recently, but thought the trailer looked pretty cool a couple of years ago.
From the get-go, I was pulled in and wasn’t let go until the end credits. Edgar Wright is a master filmmaker, and pretty much a genius! I immediately recognized why Al enjoyed this movie so much in the theater. I originally wasn’t interested, and I’m pretty sure I was out of town when Al went to see it. But, my goodness, I wish I had seen this in the theater!
I can’t say a whole lot without creating spoilers, but the music is absolutely top-notch. The cast was expertly picked, and I honestly can’t think of a single person that would have been better than those who were in it.
I want to watch it again soon, and I told Al that Baby Driver is now in my top 10 list of all-time movies. I’m really glad I bought that Blu-ray!
Publish at least two Book Reviews. — Did not accomplish yet.
Publish my latest TBR Recap post. — Accomplished!
Spend at least two hours every weekend on my office. — Did not accomplish yet.
Look up at least five new recipes to use in meal planning. — Accomplished!
Celebrate Al’s birthday! — Accomplished!
Celebrate P.E.O. Founders Day. — Accomplished!
Complete the filing project with the filing cabinet in my office. — Did not accomplish yet.
I didn’t have the energy to write the Book Reviews in January, but I’m hoping February will be a different story! Al and I were just talking about getting up 15 minutes earlier in the mornings, to shift back to our “traditional” schedule/routine, so I’m hoping those extra 15 minutes will help me blog a bit more in the mornings before starting work. We’re determined to start it on Monday. He remarked that it was a possible “unpopular opinion,” but I think it’s a good idea. I’m eventually going back into the office full-time, so doing this now will help ease that transition for me. It’s supposed to happen at the end of June / early July, but we shall see.
Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce (See photo below) – This was easily as good, maybe better, than Olive Garden’s. Super easy to make! I poured it over rotini pasta, and it fed us for four nights.
Chicken with Curried Mango Sauce (Haven’t made this yet, but it’s on the list)
Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos (Haven’t made this yet, but it’s on the list)
Crispy Honey Sriracha Chicken Wings (Haven’t made this yet, but it’s on the list)
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork) – Haven’t made this yet, but it’s on the list.
Best Chicken Alfredo Roll-Ups (Planning to do this one next week!)
Honey Garlic Steak Bites (I think I made this once last year, but I can’t remember, so I’m counting it as new)
Hawaiian Roll Ham Sliders – I made this for Al and I and they did not last long. Yummy. I’m making them again this weekend when we watch the Super Bowl.
Crispy Baked Shrimp Scampi (Haven’t made this yet, but it’s on the list)
Found through Facebook.
I also watched Baby Driver (2017) for the first time! It was an excellent movie. Edgar Wright is a master.
Al’s birthday was on a Monday this year. We both worked, and then we had steak, shrimp with cocktail sauce, and crab puppies. My mom made amazing key lime cake for him, and I bought a cookie cake. I’ll post the Crab Puppies recipe below. I’ve substituted the Ritz crackers for bread crumbs both times I’ve made it, and I don’t think I’ll change that. My college roommate, Amanda, made that suggestion when I shared the recipe on Facebook.
We had a wonderful P.E.O. Tidewater Reciprocity Founders Day event – Our first virtual one! We had over 50 women join us via Zoom.
I was able to sell several American Girl items that were duplicates through the big doll board/group on Facebook, so that was exciting! I’m slowly reducing that volume, piece by piece.
Today has been a momentous day for me. See below. This is what I posted on Facebook this morning. I’m still in awe, and still celebrating.
I hope others in my life will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine soon!
Cheers, friends!
January 20, 2021
How am I feeling? Grateful, humbled, thankful.
I received my first dose of the Pfizer vaccine this morning at Sentara Obici Hospital.
The staff at Obici were fabulous. Everything went smoothly. The first dose felt exactly like the flu shot. Aside from a slightly sore arm, I’m not feeling any side effects.
After I got back to my car, I prayed. I thanked God for this opportunity. My 95-year-old Grandpa got his first dose at the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center yesterday.
Today is also Inauguration Day. The U.S. will have a new President, and the first-ever woman Vice President will be sworn in. I’m grateful, humbled, and thankful.
Now, it’s back to work (from home), but I feel better and safer today than I have in a long, long time.
Publish at least one Book Review. — Did not accomplish.
Publish my annual “Favorite Things” post. — Accomplished!
Make progress with laundry. — Accomplished!
Make progress with my office. — Accomplished!
Celebrate Christmas! — Accomplished!
Finally send my second draft of my novel to my readers. — Accomplished!
Celebrate New Year’s! — Accomplished!
I wasn’t able to donate blood because I had icky sinus/congestion issues for the entire week before the blood drive. It also took me out of my normal volunteering role. But, I’m glad I stayed home and wasn’t spreading any germs. It was a great drive though – 78 units collected and four first-time donors!
I spent the better part of two hours a couple weekends ago devoted to laundry. I finally emptied the ridiculous basket of clean clothes in front of my side of the bed, went through everything in the smaller basket that was parked in front of my closet for months that Al kept tripping over, and have kept my closet doors closed and clear! Podcasts are my friend, especially the long episodes of Dateline NBC.
One of my big goals for my office was to clear the floor space between my desk and the floor lamp. I did that the weekend before Christmas, and I’ve kept it clean! I gave Al a huge pile of ancient paperwork to shred, filled a trash bag of other discarded things, and recycled two empty copy paper boxes. Al was also nice to clean off one of the filing cabinets that his dad brought down last year, and hauled it from the detached garage into my office. The printer is now far more stable on top of it. The next item to tackle is filling the filing cabinet with hanging folders and paperwork that’s been overflowing between our fireproof box and the dining room buffet drawers.
I sent the second draft of my novel, now with proper chapter distinctions, page numbers, double-spacing, and a lot of wonderful feedback closely noted and appreciated, via email to my amazing readers.
Although Christmas and New Year’s have definitely been different this year, it’s also been a bit more relaxed, if that’s the right word. Al grilled some delicious steaks for Christmas dinner, and I made amazing crab puppies. Al’s already requested them again for his birthday in late January. We had a Zoom call with Al’s parents and his brother’s family. We called my parents and talked to them for a while on Christmas morning. We exchanged gifts socially distanced on our porch on Christmas Eve, and that was such a boost to my spirits! We ate bacon-wrapped scallops and had a meat/cheese tray for New Year’s Eve tonight. I need to finish this post so I can go hang out with Al and the dogs, watch a movie, and then watch the ball drop on TV. We’re excited to ring in 2021 with feeling thankful that we have remained healthy throughout this pandemic, an overflow of gratitude for the essential workers and many other helpers, and good thoughts for the year to come.
