Happy October! A Recap On Life And My Upcoming Reading Goals

Yes, yes I know.  I'm late posting this, but it's been a busy weekend.

But hey!  It's October now! 6 more weeks baby! Yeah!

....Can you tell I'm getting excited about my upcoming due date?

The Midway Recap: What's Been Going On And What I'm Planning

Okay, halfway through September!  8 weeks left to go!

Life Recap

I think this is the first time I'm glad that summer is ending.  The end of this pregnancy is coming and I'm impatient for it to end!  Not only will I finally start getting my body back, I'll also have a son.  I've been feeling him kick all this time; how he kicks when the cat lays down on top of him, how he seems to like rock 'n roll music....I've been learning so much about him all this time, and I just can't wait to meet him in person!

Lately, it seems that I've been getting a mixture of extremely busy days (for a pregnant lady), and lovely days off (this is rare for a self-employed individual, by the way).  Over the past couple of weeks there were times that I was working at least five hours in a row, and staying on my feet and dancing for most of it.  Pre-pregnancy-me would have just shrugged this off, but when you have a bun in the oven, those five hours are exhausting and I end up limping back home because my feet, back, and hips are all killing me!

Happy September! A Monthly Recap And My Upcoming Plans

Woohoo September! Two and a half months to go before Jack arrives!

Favorite Spotlight: Pride And Prejudice, by Jane Austen

Well, it's been a while since I've put a spotlight on a favorite book of mine.  Might as well do one now on one of my all-time favorite classics!

Pride And Prejudice
By Jane Austen

Genre: Classic Literature, Romance

Words To Describe This Book: Witty, romantic, satirical, feminist, informative, thought-provoking

March Is Here! My Reading Plans For This Month

Oh my God, I can't believe it's March already!

Happy Hump Day! A Quick Peek At How I'm Reading So Far

Hey it's Wednesday already!  Yippee!

Well, at least Wednesday is starting off okay.  It's not snowing....yet.  They keep giving the Winter-Storm-Alert-Of-Doom and saying that we'll be seeing snow coming down starting at 9 am.  Oh come on people!  It's just going to be a few inches!

It's February Already! My Ambitious Reading Plans This Month

Happy February everyone!

Things are looking up this month!  Our contractor is ready to start our kitchen remodel on Monday (Thank GOD!), I was able to pay off my holiday credit card debt, and I've been exercising every day for two straight weeks!

Happy January! My Mid-Month Plan For The Rest Of The Month

Happy (belated) New Year!

Well, it's a new year and a busy one at that!  Last year was extremely hectic, and even painful at one point (miscarriages are never fun), and I didn't really achieve any goals that I wanted to achieve.  There were some good moments of course; I'm grateful to have such a wonderful husband, and we did get our first house, so there are good things to balance out the craziness that is life.

OMG It's July already! My Goals For This Month

I can't believe we're already halfway through the year, it's gone by so fast!

Happy Monday! How I'm Doing With My Reading Schedule

It's Monday again!

Well, the 25th has come and gone and I've managed to accomplish my goal of finishing books according to schedule!

Yeah, remember?  My obsessive-compulsive reading schedule that only proves that I'm a crazy person?  The one that I made to get me out of my reading slump?

Well, it's working!  Slump is now a distant memory, and I'm only two books away from finishing my 12-book goal!  Yippee!

Here's what I've read this past week (click on the covers for a link to the review):







This is one of my favorites in this series (#5), along with the first book.  You gotta love Temeraire in this one!


















This was a re-read (book 6 is in the series), and, once again, it read better the second time around.  There were still some slow parts, but there were enough interesting bits scattered around to make it fun.














I admit, King has thoroughly confused me with this one.  I'm hoping the subsequent installments in the series will clear things up a little.

















This was a book club BOTM, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I think I'll read it again later it on; it seems like one of those books that will improve on the re-read.













Okay, I've got only two books left this month.  Two.  That's it.  That's all I'm planning so far.  I need to figure out what next month's books are, but in the meantime, I've got my next two books to read, and here they are (click on the cover to find out more):

This is BOTM read for a book group that has a monthly tag, where you read as many books as you like that fit that tag.  This month's tag is coming-of-age, and this book is considered to fit that tag, so there you go!

This is the next book in the Temeraire series.  I've read it before and I remember vaguely what happens (apparently I only gave it 3 stars last time.  Huh.), but I'm looking forward to reading it again. 

Anyway, I need to get back to reading!  I'm feeling super confident and happy about my goals this month, and I can't wait to finish it!

Happy reading everyone!

It's Monday! Time To Brag A Little

Happy Monday folks!

Well, I'm feeling a little smug.  I've been keeping up with my (slightly crazy) reading schedule, and I'm loving it!  I'm finally finding myself able to actually sit down and read, and enjoy myself on top of it.  It's so depressing when you find yourself unable to do what you love most because there isn't time.  It's even worse when you do have time, and you don't feel in the mood to read, because you're stuck in a rut and you have no momentum to get out of it.

But now I'm officially out of my rut, and back in the swing of things!

For those of you who are wondering what my reading schedule is, let me catch you up:

For the month of June, I want to complete four books every 10 days.  That's 12 books total.

So far, I've completed six books, with two more soon to be finished. Whoohoo!

My upcoming deadline is June 20th, this Tuesday.  I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to finish my current reads by Tuesday evening, despite having just started one of them.  We shall see!

Anyway, here are the books I've finished thus far: (click on the book cover to see the review)

Just finished this one yesterday on audiobook!  This is yet another good continuation in the Temeraire series.  Seriously, if you like books about dragons, this is a good one to read.

This one was a BOTM for a book group and a surprisingly quick read.  I wouldn't say it's the best thriller I've ever read, but it was still fairly decent.

















I finished this earlier in the week.  Empire Of Ivory was book #4 in the series, this one was book #3.  I liked book #4 better, but this was still pretty good.














So, doing well so far!  Here are my upcoming reads for this week: (click on the cover to find out more)

This is a BOTM read for a book club whose meeting is coming up this Tuesday.  So far I'm finding this book to be rather sad...and maybe a little confusing.  I'm definitely looking forward to the upcoming discussion.

This is the audiobook read, and book #5 in the Temeraire series.  This will be a bit of a sprint for me to finish by Tuesday night, but I'm looking forward to reading it.  It's already off to a great start!

The next book-book I'm planning on reading.  It's short, so it'll be a good one to read after all the heavy books I've been working on.

The next installment in the Temeraire series, this one I'm hoping to start listening to on Wednesday.














Anyway, as usual, all this talking about books to read is making me want to read some more, so off I go!  It's going to be a rainy day, so perfect for cozy-ing up with a book.

Happy reading everyone!

Happy Monday! A Recap Of What I've Read, And My Goals For Next Week

Happy Monday folks!

It's gorgeous outside!  A perfect day to sit and read on the porch.  I can't wait to go out there!

I'm feeling pretty good about myself today.  I set a goal to finish 12 books this month, and so far I'm doing pretty well!  I finally finished two books I had been working since May, and while I didn't finish the audiobook I had planned to complete last Saturday, I only have a couple of hours left.

And in other good news, the poison ivy rash that has been plaguing me for the past couple of weeks is finally dying down!  I've been using Benadryl to keep the itch away (surprisingly, it doesn't make me drowsy), and it's looking much better.  I definitely learned my lesson the hard way: I'm super allergic and I need to be extra careful when handling the plant.

To top it off, I'm doing well financially!  Summer is always a good time for dance lessons, which means I'll be expecting a lot of extra cash by the end of this month.  Always a good thing, especially since I have some plans for our garden that I want to put into action.

Anyway, back to reading!  Here are the books I finished this past week.  Click on the book cover to see my full review.

I'm so proud of myself for finishing this book.  I didn't finish this book when I was a kid, and I had been meaning to try again for years.  It was a marathon to read, but I'm glad I'm finally done.  I'm also really heartbroken.  This book was so upsetting to read, but the annotated edition I read was really helpful.

This is the second Russo book I've ever read, and I'm beginning to really like this author.
This book was surprisingly dense, but also pretty darn good.  It has a nice rambling quality, with characters that you can like, although you might get a little exasperated by some of their antics.

This is book 2 in the audiobook series I'm currently working on.  I've read this before, and I did enjoy this book better the second time around.  I don't think I can really declare this series a favorite, though, just a really good series.














Okay, so my next deadline is June 20th.  I know, I know, I'm a little crazy to have a reading schedule, but I feel like I've been in a bit of a slump and I want to get myself back on track.  It's also keeping me away from the TV and bingeing on my favorite shows (like Doctor Who, already approaching the end of Season 4).

Here are the books I hope to finish by the 20th (click on the cover for book details):



This will be the first book to finish.  I was supposed to finish this on the 10th, but I fell behind.  I'm almost done though, with only a couple hours left on the audiobook.

This is the last BOTM for my library book club, before the club takes a break for the summer.  It's not too long, so I feel I can finish this pretty quickly.

Another BOTM for an online book club that I've been neglecting.  This is clearly going to be a fast read.  It didn't take long to finish 10% of the book.  I'll probably finish this in 3 days.

The next installment in the audiobook series I'm listening to.  Definitely will finish this by the 20th.  Easily.

Book 5 of the audiobook series.  This might be a bit of stretch to expect myself to finish this by the 20th, but I'm going to try.  It'll give me a good excuse to go outside and work in the yard, at the very least.













Anyway, it's way too gorgeous to stay inside any longer.  I'm going to finish watching the news and then go out there with a book. Have a great day every one!

A Tuesday Rant About E-mail Scammers

Well, that was a fun to way spend my morning.

I just sent a complaint report to usa.gov about an e-mail scammer who's been contacting me.  I'm still feeling irritable about it, so I decided to write a post and vent my feelings a little.  Here's my story:

As many of you know, I'm a self-employed ballroom dance teacher.  I have my own studio and my own website.  And I love my job.

The one sucky thing about my job is that it's based on appointments and walk-ins, so I have good months and bad months with earnings.  I have to hope that people will use my website's contact form and inquire about private lessons.

So you can imagine how happy I was when a "father" e-mailed me the following message last week:

"Hello how you doing today this is Nicolas Barry i will like to ask if you still provide dance lesson I'm organizing a surprise dance (like flashmob) for my daughter's wedding, So i want you to teach the Bridesmaids choreography and i hope you accept credit card as method of payment ?"

Mind you, this isn't a weird e-mail for me.  People are frequently grammatically incorrect in e-mails, and I get a lot people asking me if I accept credit cards.  What was different was this surprise flash mob dance request; I've never had a request like this before, but hey!  I'm always up for something new!

I replied with my usual response: yes I do still teach dance lessons, yes I do accept credit card.  I also added the usual "private group lessons are $15 per person per hour.  Please let me know if you wish to set up an appointment".

So then I got this response:

"Thanks for the response. Wedding is on the 24th of June. The ladies are local. There are 7 Bridesmaids(all ladies) and i want them to choreograph a song by "John Legend" titled "All of me"  I want lessons to be at your studio. I'll prefer Tues&Thurs 11-1pm, if that's okay with your schedule. Though the ladies are fully committed to this training, so their timing is pretty flexible  They are not professionals and have no experience in dancing. What is the total cost for 2 hour rehearsals twice a week for 3 weeks?"

Uh, okay.  It's still pretty legitimate-looking.  Wedding date, number of bridesmaids, song, schedule, etc., all the usual info.  The last line was a little weird, but I figured he just wanted confirmation on the cost.

So I replied in the usual way, repeating the cost and that it's all pay-as-you-go.  The e-mails went back and forth, with the guy really sounding like a dad wanting to surprise his daughter, but he still insisted on my quoting an estimate.  I finally conceded and gave him a number: $1,260.  I also emphasized the pay-as-you-go policy with the payment at the end of the lesson.

Here was his next response, and that's when the red flags came up:

"What is your full-name,studio address for the private transport driver i'm organizing to locate your place when they are coming Can i make reservation with my credit card? Cause i won't be coming in with the ladies due to my current health status. I'm currently under intensive care in preparation for my surgery. I'm doing the booking since the whole surprise is my idea and i will be responsible for all payment."

Seriously, he used my website for the original e-mail, he should be able to see all the basic info right there!

The real kicker was the "private transportation".  I've gotten this kind of e-mail scam before.  They say they're hiring transportation and, for some emotionally tragic reason, they have to pay for all the lessons in advance by credit card.

Here's how they get you: the driver can't accept credit cards so they ask you to put his charges in along with your lesson cost.  They expect you to be helpful and agree, and when the lesson happens, you give the driver his price using your own cash.  Once they're gone they reverse the credit card charge and run off with your money.  Sucks, doesn't it?

I sent him a reply calling his bluff.  I told him there were no reservations allowed, and that if paying per lesson was a problem, that he should send the bridesmaids money and they could pay me in cash.  I also threw in the friendly advice that he should make sure his driver is paid in advance.  I then subsequently reported his email to usa.gov.

I know I probably shouldn't reply, but he tried messing with me and I really, really want to get a little revenge.  If he keeps replying, I think I'll try suggesting something a little more ridiculous.  I'm not sure what yet, maybe suggest that the choreography should include life-size Dalek robots from Doctor Who?

I'm still miffed, though.  It had seemed so legit at first, and I would have made so much extra cash this month if it was real.  It angers me that there are people out there who are willing to steal money from innocent small businesses who only make enough to get by, and wouldn't have been able to afford losing hundreds of dollars.  The world can really suck sometimes.

Anyway, here's some helpful advice for all you dance studios out there: watch out for e-mail scams like this one.  Never accept a charge where you have to pay for another service with your own money.  Report it immediately if you spot this type of scam.  The bridesmaid flash mob has been the most recent one, but there are other scams are out there as well.  They are all grammatically incorrect, need a bunch of lessons prepaid, insist on a check or credit card for some compassionate reason, and have weird requests added on (paying for someone's boarding, transportation, etc.).

Done for now.  I'm going to take my mind off things and go get lost in a book.

Happy June! A Recap Of Last Month, And My Goals For This Month

Yay!  It's June!  It's my favorite month of the year!

It's starting off a little itchy, thanks to the poison ivy incident, but I've had the rash for about a week now, so the itch is finally going down (thank God for meds and calamine lotion!), and I'm feeling optimistic.

My reading didn't pan out so well last month.  I binge-watched a lot of TV, and I focused on the house more than I did reading.  The good news is that my house is slowly looking the way I want it to look, and I have finally figured out a really good cleaning schedule.  Also good is the fact that I made a lot of money teaching dance lessons last month, so I have more than enough to cover the bills (yay!).  The bad news is that I only finished five books, most of them on audio in the car.

Here's what I read.  Click on the book cover to read the review.

May's Books:

A Whole New World, by Liz Braswell
Date Finished: May 9
My Thoughts: An interested retelling of Disney's Aladdin.  It took an unexpected turn at the end, making it a bittersweet story, but I enjoyed it.  Not a masterpiece, but certainly something quick.

Side Jobs: Stories From The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher
Date Finished: May 10
My Thoughts: This is a re-read.  I had just finished the Dresden Files series, and I didn't want to leave that world just yet, so I listened to this one on audio.  As always it didn't disappoint.  If you read this, I recommend reading it at least after book #12 of the series (Changes).

Someone, by Ann McDermott
Date Finished: May 17
My Thoughts: This was a BOTM read for the library book club I'm a part of.  It was an interesting story of the life of a woman living in New York.  The time jumping was a little disorienting at first, but it worked.  Overall I really enjoyed it, especially after the book club discussion.  Great for your next BOTM read.

Cybele's Secret (Wildwood Dancing #2), by Juliet Marillier
Date Finished: May 19
My Thoughts: I read this on a whim.  I didn't realize it was a sequel until I had already started it, but it didn't really detract from the story.  It was an okay YA novel, with the usual love triangle and it's miscommunicating lovers.  The quest was also a little weird, but it was nevertheless an interesting story.  Not Marillier's best work, but still good.










His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire #1), by Naomi Novik
Date Finished: May 27
My Thoughts:  Another re-read that has now officially become a favorite.  Who can not love Temeraire the dragon?!  It's a fun and fascinating story that explores what our history would have been like if dragons existed.  I found it extremely entertaining from an anthropological point of view.  Definitely continuing the series over the next month.










So, not as bad as it could have been, but I still want to read more this month.  I have an ambitious reading schedule for June: Twelve books.  Yup, twelve.

I'm hoping to complete four books every ten days.  It's a little extreme, especially since at least one book is going to be tough, but I'm ready to try.

June Reading Schedule:

June 1-10

Books #2 and 3 of the Temeraire series.  My audiobook reads.

I'm still working on it from last month.  I'm enjoying it, but it's small print with no real chapter stops, so it's a little hard to read in short sittings.  But I'm determine to finish quickly.

Okay, this one is taking forever.  At this point, I feel like I'm in a marathon.  It's going to be hard to finish in ten days time, but I really want to finish this soon.  It's just so darn depressing!

June 11-20

The next two books in the Temeraire series.  Should be fairly quick audiobooks.

This is a BOTM read.  I feel bad because I haven't read a BOTM for this book group in a while, so I going to read this one, especially since there's a summer reading challenge involved.

Another BOTM read, this time for the library book club.  It's the last meeting before it takes a two-month summer hiatus, so I don't want to miss out.

June 21-30

The next two audiobooks in the series.  I'll be almost done before the month is out.

This is for a BOTM tag for another book club.  A short read, so it should be fairly easy to accomplish.

Another BOTM for yet another book club (yeah, I'm all about the book clubs this month).   I'm hoping my husband will read it with me.  We've been meaning to read this together for a little while.

Okay, enough talk, time for action!  If I want to read all of these books before my birthday (June 30), I'd better get started.  Happy reading everyone!