October is OVER! It is now November and I’m finally finding the time to do my wrap up. I’m such a slacker! October was a decent month. I finished my Goodreads reading challenge. I’m currently working on #109 for the year. My goal was 104.
Life has been going pretty well. Fall has started and Arie is having a lot of pain due to the weather change. We’ve had a lot of sleepless nights. BUT…we’re doing good. If that remotely makes sense. I mean, we’re physically tired but we’re handling everything.
Piper (my 16 year old) was fitted for a wheelchair at the end of October. Her knee instability and POTs/Orthostatic hypotension has been making her miss out on things like the zoo or park—things she enjoys. So, we’re relieved that insurance is going to cover her chair.
Other life changes include my husband quitting his job at the prison. Things were just getting so bad. Lockdowns were happening all the time. We worried about his safety! So, he’s starting a part-time job at Chick-fil-a next week. Of course, this is in addition to his full-time job. As some of you know, we’re doing this so we can make a move at some point in the future. Trying to pay off all our bills and squirrel away money for us to move. We hate that he’s away so much but we’re working towards a goal this important to us!
Anyway, enough about real life and back to the blog and books! I’ve got a couple new blog series going on. Wordless Wednesday was started up last month and it has had such a great response on Instagram (and here!) lot of views and likes. That makes me so happy!
Then, I’ve started blogging about aromatherapy this week. The plan is to share an aromatherapy post a week. I get a lot of hits on the blog about aromatherapy despite the fact I have so few. It felt like time to fix that! Aromatherapy is a big part of my life. In fact, I’m hoping to become a certified aromatherapist in the near future. This is something I’m so excited to share with all of you! I’ll also be partnering up with my good friend, Tyler for this series. He’s already in the classes to become certified. So, this is just all around exciting!
Alright, I promised the bookish stuff and the wrap-up…here we go!
New in October
Goodreads Monday:
[2 Oct] Goodreads Monday|The Storekeeper’s Daughter
[9 Oct] Goodreads Monday|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
[16 Oct] Goodreads Monday|A Time to Die
[23 Oct] Goodreads Monday|The Cosy Christmas Chocolate Shop
[30 Oct] Goodreads Monday|Serafina and the Splintered Heart
Reviews:
[3 Oct] Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan ★★★★
[5 Oct] Lydia, Woman of Philippi by Diana Wallis Taylor ★★
[7 Oct] Be Brave Little One by Marianne Richmond ★★★★★
[7 Oct] The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson ★★★★★
[10 Oct] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Joanne K. Rowling ★★★★★
[12 Oct] Let There Be Light by Mark Leonard ★★★
[13 Oct] Starswept by Mary Fan ★★★★
[16 Oct] Look & Find Bible Storybook by B&h Kids Editorial ★★★★
[17 Oct] The Proving by Beverly Lewis ★★★★★
[19 Oct] Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport ★★★★★
[20 Oct] A Gift for Anne Marie by Kathleen Fuller ★★★★★
[21 Oct] One Christmas Bear by Anne Vittur Kennedy ★★★★★
[23 Oct] The Storekeeper’s Daughter by Wanda E. Brunstetter ★★★★★
[24 Oct] Picturing Heaven by Randy Alcorn ★★★
[26 Oct] The Character Builder’s Bible ★★★★★
[27 Oct] The Adventurers Guild by Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos ★★★★★
[28 Oct] Draw 50 Sea Creatures by Lee J. AmesErin Harvey ★★★★★
[30 Oct] Really Woolly Christmas Blessings by Bonnie Rickner Jensen ★★★★★
[31 Oct] Serafina and the Twisted Staff (Serafina Book 2) by Robert Beatty ★★★★★
Wrap-Ups:
[1 Oct] Monthly Wrap Up: September 2017
[8 Oct] Weekly Wrap Up: Week 39&40
[15 Oct] Weekly Wrap Up: Week 41
[22 Oct] Weekly Wrap Up: Week 42
[29 Oct] Weekly Wrap Up: Week 43
Blog Tours & Spotlights
[3 Oct] Lydia (Woman of Philippi)|Spotlight
[16 Oct] Colors of Christmas|Spotlight
Wordless Wednesday:
[4 Oct] Wordless Wednesday: Gaze
[11 Oct] Wordless Wednesday: Hello, Sun
[18 Oct] Wordless Wednesday: Contemplation
[25 Oct] Wordless Wednesday: Muse
Book of the Month
Serafina and the Twisted Staff (Serafina Book 2) by Robert Beatty 
Series: Serafina #2
Published by Disney Hyperion on July 12th 2016
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animals, General, Horror, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Serafina’s defeat of the Man in the Black Cloak has brought her out of the shadows and into the daylight realm of her home, Biltmore Estate. Every night she visits her mother in the forest, eager to learn the ways of the catamount. But Serafina finds herself caught between her two worlds: she’s too wild for Biltmore’s beautifully dressed ladies and formal customs, and too human to fully join her kin.
When a mysterious series of attacks test Serafina’s role as Biltmore’s protector, she finds herself torn from the side of her best friend and only ally, Braeden Vanderbilt. Heartbroken, she flees.
Deep in the forest, Serafina comes face-to-face with the evil infecting Biltmore-and discovers its reach is far greater than she’d ever imagined. All the humans and creatures of the Blue Ridge Mountains are in terrible danger. For Serafina to defeat this new evil before it engulfs her beloved home, she must search deep inside herself and embrace the destiny that has always awaited her.
Hi. Tough news in your post today, but ultimately both your daughter and your husband (and in turn your family) will get to the place they need to be so things are even better. I’m sending good thoughts towards you all this weekend.
Congrats on passing your GR book count. That’s awesome. I’m hovering 1 below right now but will probably fix that tomorrow when I hope to finish 2 books.
Hope you had good weather today. This is the best of the time year!
It has rained all day so we might have another bad night with Arie. I guess we’ll see! Ty for the well wishes! We need them!