Where do I start?

It's been months since I posted. I literally posted the day before I gave birth to our second little hobbit and haven't posted since. 

The whole world has kind of turned upside down since then. For us it was already turning upside down with the addition of another hobbit so in a lot of ways it didn't change too much but in other ways it changed so much. 

Reading has fallen by the wayside quite a bit but I've still fit some in. I made a low goal this year on Goodreads because I've failed the last couple years. So with my low goal of 20 books I made it with so far already having 21. I remember the days when I used to get 100 books in a year. Life changes though and that's not bad. I wouldn't trade our precious hobbits for anything. 

I try to keep up with my blogging friends as much as I can admit the chaos. I miss the blogging world. There was a time in my life when it was such a wonderful outlet for me and while it probably won't ever be that again it still holds a special place in my heart and I can never abandon it completely though I might neglect it. 

I pray that you all are finding joy in this time of uncertainty. As we head into this Christmas season may you find peace in God's unfailing love. Merry Christmas and happy New Year! 

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New Year, New Bout of Books, New Post

I know I barely post anymore but I do love to keep up with the blogging world and I try to keep up with y'all's posts.
I'm trying to keep up with my reading also, which has also fallen horribly behind. I got 21 books read for 2019! I'm proud of myself for at least getting those done but I also look back at a few years ago when I could read a 100 books a year easily. Times have changed though. My goal for this year is 20 books. With another little Hobbit on the way I think that's a reasonable goal.
I've been recently inspired by the Literary Life group on Facebook and the Literary Life podcast. It's my new book nerd place. It's definitely classics focused but it has a bit of everything and is tons of fun. I can pretend I read more books when I read the posts and listen to the podcasts about books. 😂

There's a new Bout of Books starting today also so I'm going to jump on that and hopefully use it to inspire me to get some more reading in this year.
Currently I'm trying to finish up books I started last year that have been taking me forever before I start any new ones. I'm getting close to being done with Don Quixote and then I'll work on finishing up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. After that there's a world of possibilities!

I was inspired by the Literary Life group's 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge but I knew there were some categories that would stretch me further then I really could expect of myself this year so I took some of their categories, some of my local library's reading challenge categories and some of the Popsugar reading challenge categories and put together my own challenge for myself. It will still challenge me a bit this year but hopefully still be realistic.

What is up with y'all's reading life? Hopefully you're doing better than me.

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Bout of Books Sign Up August 2019 Plus Announcement

So looking back apparently I haven't posted since January?!?! Oops! I have a few drafts in the works though that in my head I had posted.
Anyways there's another Bout of Books coming around starting up next Monday! Here's what Bout of Books is about if this is new to you.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I haven't participated in Bout of Books in probably over a year but I really need a kick in my butt to read more so I'm hoping this is it. I looked back today over what I had read so far this year on Goodreads and of the thirteen (absolutely pathetic number for me!) books I've reads of far this year almost half have been for my book club, almost another half was nonfiction (mostly parenting books) and then only two for fun books I picked out for myself! I am just sadly not making the time for so many of the fun reads on my list so I'd like to spend this Bout of Books enjoying some new fun books I've had on my TBR list for awhile.
Here are a few I'm looking at:

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling 
• Love and Friendship by Whit Stillman (based off of Jane Austen's Lady Susan obviously) 
• Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
• At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon 
• Daddy Long Legs by Jena Webster
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio 

I also need to work on finishing up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. I've really enjoyed it but I haven't picked it up in awhile. 

Obviously I won't get to all of these but I'd like to get to a couple of them. My little Hobbit thankfully still takes a good 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon which gives me some time to read though I normally fritter it away looking at my phone or watching Midsomer Murders. Sometimes napping. This pregnancy has been exhausting and I need the rest! 

I'm hoping to keep up a bit more with blogging... hoping. I do love it. I do keep up with y'all's blogs still! Sometimes when I can't get out to keep up with my real friends it's nice to keep up with my virtual friends. So see ya'll in the blogosphere. 

And yeah, you read that right, I'm pregnant! 😁

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A Little Life, A Little Hobbit

It's been a looooong time since I've posted. I don't feel like I've had a lot to say and I've been busy/lazy so I haven't been very active in the blogosphere. I haven't been reading too much either, except for to our precious little Hobbit. With that in mind, this post will mostly be about life and baby.

On our family vacation to North Carolina this summer.

I've found that even though I'm working only one day a week since having our little Hobbit I am busier then I ever was. Part of that is definitely just having a baby it part of it is also that I find myself with all of this free time I never had before and I keep trying to fill it up with all the things I've wanted to do and haven't been able to and I go a little overboard. I'm able to get together with my friends a little bit more, be involved in a women's bible study and I take our Hobbit to baby story time at the library. I'm not the best time manager in my life though so that's probably a big part of my issues. Oftentimes I feel overwhelmed and I've discovered a messy kitchen is often the cause and a clean kitchen can make me feel less overwhelmed. Getting places takes longer and is so much more involved with a baby. I have to budget so much more time than I ever did before. Every moment with our little Hobbit is worth it though.

Our little Hobbit is now six months. She amazes me everyday and I still have trouble sometimes believing she's mine. She's crawling, sitting up and pulling up. I'm scared but excited to see what she does next. She's very determined and stubborn. Right now we are learning "no" as she tries to get in to everything. Since our theme for her nursery (and obviously her nickname) was "Hobbit" we were given a lot of items that went with that theme. I've loved using them for photo props for her monthly pictures. 

One of the hardest parts of being a new mom has been figuring out breastfeeding. It's certainly not as simple as seasoned moms make it look but what I've learned fro those seasoned moms was it was not easy for them when they started out and sometimes even now it's not easy. I'm so blessed though that we are six months strong with our journey. 

I love watching TV shows while nursing. I have sped through Gilmore Girls (so many thoughts about this show... not sure if I wasted my time or not) and Agents of Shield, caught up with Call the Midwife, have one season of Daredevil down and right now I'm watching Brooklyn 99. It's been fun to watch shows that I had never gotten around to yet. Then Brian and I watch shows together too. We honestly watch too many shows at the same time. We recently finished our rewatch of The Office. We're watching Arrested Development, Seinfield, Frasier and Star Trek: Next Generation (this is all Brian's idea... I am not a Trekkie but he is). All of those are shows that Brian has already watched but it's my first time watching them. We also recently finished White Collar, which was a first time watch for both of us. 

We have made it to the movies a couple times sine having our little Hobbit. The first time we did Avengers: Infinity War and dinner and Brian's parents watched her. The next time we did the drive in, which was fun as ti was a first for both of us. Since it was the drive in we were able to take her. That worked out really well except we were out super late! At the drive in we got to Watch Incredibles 2 and Ant Man and the Wasp. 

We had a Reformation Day party this past weekend, which seems appropriate to mention since today is Reformation Day. We've never had so many people in our house before!  It was crazy but tons of fun. It was a beautiful time of unity as we had people from four different local churches represented. Now we just need to get around to watching the Luther movie! 

On a final note. I just want to give a huge shout out to my husband. He has been my rock in this journey through motherhood. He's so incredibly patient and sweet and I don't know how I would do it without him. As my luck would have it, Abby seems to be infatuated with him. How could she help it though? He's amazing!

So what's going in y'all's lives?

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Reality

At some point reality has to set in and I think it's finally set in for me. Back in 2014 I set up my Classics Club list and made a goal to finish my list of books by January 2019. Due to some lazy reading, pregnancy and baby I've fallen behind enough so that I just am not going to make that goal. 2020 is a nice even number though right? So my new goal for my Classics Club is January 2020. I've realized recently that I have gotten so bogged down in my Classics Club list that I haven't been taking the time to enjoy some lighter reads. Just last week I sat down and re-read The Blue Castle for my book club and it was such a wonderful reading experience. I think I need to have more reading times like that. If I read one chunky classic after another of course I'm not going to want to read as much. I need breaks. I still love my classics and I always will but just reading classics isn't healthy. I want to enjoy reading again.

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It's Monday! Lazy Reading

I haven't put out an It's Monday post in quite a while now! Honestly I've barely been reading recently.  I was doing a lot of reading while nursing but of late I've been watching Netflix instead. I'm throughly ashamed of myself! I really need to get back in a groove as I still have over twenty books left on my Classics Club list and only until January to read them. I know it won't be the end of the world if I finish them after my deadline but I'd really like to.
So here's what's been up in my reading world in the last few weeks.

Finished in the last few weeks

• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (audiobook) 
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (book club pick)

Currently Reading 

• Kim by Rudyard Kipling (audiobook)
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 
• Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• God Is by Mark Jones 

I need to finish some of these before I start anything new I think. I do have a Classics Club spin coming up I'll be participating in that I'll start something new for but that should be it for right now.

And to wrap up here's a few pictures of my little time stealer.

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It's Monday! Road Trip with a Baby

Over Memorial Day weekend we went up to Minnesota to introduce our little Hobbit to family. It was a great trip but quite the experience with a baby. You've never road tripped until you've road tripped with a baby. It takes ten times longer! Thankfully she does travel pretty well and mostly sleeps in between feedings. It did give me a little more time to read though as thankfully she does sleep well in the car. Thank goodness I'm having the time to read because the Classics Club deadline is approaching faster then I'd like!

Currently Reading

• Moby Dick by Herman Melville
• Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes
• The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (audiobook)
• God Is by Mark Jones

Recently Finished

• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (book club pick)
• The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
• Intensity by Dean Koontz
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (FINALLY!!!!)

Coming Soon

• Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare

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Our Hobbit

Brian and I are so excited to announce that our little Hobbit has been born! It took days of labors, a lot of tears and even more prayers but she's here! It's been crazy adapting and I'm sure it will just get crazier. Thankfully Brian is there to keep me (mostly) sane. I've had little time to do anything besides feed her and change her diapers so it's taken me awhile to sit down with my computer and get this announcement out. Hopefully I can keep up more with blogging in the future but for now I think it's going to be kind of sparse. There are some book reviews I'll need to put out but it may be awhile. I've been keeping up with my reading almost better than before though since while I'm breastfeeding her there's not much else to do besides read. Hopefully that keeps up as I still need to get my Classics Club list finished up before next January.
And of course here's a few photos!

Brian reading to her as you can never start to early.

I still managed to make it to a book sale because not even having a baby is an excuse to miss a book sale!

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It's a Hobbit!

Brian and I are so excited to announce we are expecting our own little hobbit in April 2018! We are feeling overwhelming blessed and thankful. We can't wait to go through this new adventure together and we covet your prayers as we do. 

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Our Honeymoon- Charleston 2017

Over a month a go I promised y'all some honeymoon pictures (I also promised y'all some more wedding photos but let's not be greedy!) and I'm finally delivering.
Sadly enough my husband (now that's a delicious word is it not?) has most of the honeymoon photos on his computer and they look much nicer as they were taken on a real camera than mine taking on my phone. Regardless, I am going to share my crappy pictures because I keep forgetting to ask him for his nice ones.
We went to Charleston, South Carolina for our honeymoon and it was every bit as marvelous as you've probably heard. I'd move there in a heartbeat except it was SOOOO hot. Most of what we saw dated from the Civil War time period though some of it dated from much earlier in America's history.

After our long flight and settling into our Airbnb
we went for a long walk on Folly Beach. 

The next day we went for a long walk all around downtown Charleston.
We viewed many of the beautiful old houses from the outside but only
went in one... the Edmondston-Alston House. Unfortunately they did not allow
photography in it so we don't have any pictures.  We also went to the
Riley Waterfront Park and the White Point Gardens and Battery. 

The next day we went to the Nathaniel Russel house.

Thankfully this house did allow photography and we were
able to get some beautiful pictures of this spiral staircase. 

The Nathaniel Russel House also had these beautiful
balconies all around it but the tour guide told us they
weren't very sturdy and people would just step out on
them for a bit to get some fresh air and wouldn't take a
chair out and read on them like I would obviously do. 

We also did a walking tour of Charleston that day.
The tour's focus was on Charleston's hidden passages and alleys.

A sample of the beautiful ironwork gates in Charleston. 

Another one of the beautiful gates.

The steeple of St. Michaels Episcopal Church. We went inside it as well
and it was absolutely gorgeous but it seemed a bit sacrilegious to take
pictures inside of the church. We actually arrived right when they were
doing a midday prayer so it was interesting to experience that. 

Most of the streets in Charleston were modern paved roads
but a few of them like this were cobblestone. 

This is the French Huguenot Church. 

Brian and I. After the walking tour we also stopped
by Charleston's City Market, which was huge! 

The next day we got to go kayaking on the Ashely River.
It was so beautiful and serene. 

After kayaking we were able to go to Middleton Place, America's
oldest landscape gardens. It made me think of the gardens in period
dramas and actually it was originally designed after the English Gardens. 

All of the trees were huge and hundreds of years old.

A little alligator by one of the ponds' banks.
Something I had to get used to was seeing little
alligators everywhere and not freaking out. 

There were many of these unique benches around the property. 

In some cases such as this tree, the trees had to have supports
put in to hold up their massive branches.

I love a pathway canopied by trees. Most all of the trees in
 Charleston had Spanish Moss hanging from their branches.

The whole time I was at Middleton place I just imagined
that this was what Pemberly was like and I was walking
around the ground of Pemberly with my Mr. Darcy. 

Part of the paths there went through a beautifully eerie swamp. 

I love hollow trees! Brian has a picture of me in the
hollow of this tree because I couldn't resist climbing in. 

The original big house at Middleton place was burned down by
the Union soldiers what remains on the grounds is one of the two
flanking smaller houses. It was quite cool itself and I can only
imagine how incredible the original grand house would have been.

Another big tree because I could not get enough of them.

The next day we went to Fort Sumter and Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. Brian was especially excited about these. I think I would have been more excited if it hadn't been so hot. They were very neat though and at Fort Sumter we got to watch how they would have loaded and fired their guns during the civil war. It was a huge process then! Fort Sumter is where the Civil War started. The Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum is on the ship the USS Yorktown so it was fascinating to see inside the ship.

The next day we went to the Isle of Palms Beach.
This is the only picture I got of that. We did get
some great sunburns then. We had managed to
avoid getting burnt up until then. Then that
evening we went Contra Dancing. I was so excited
that Charleston's contra dance group happened
to have it's monthly dance when we were there! 

On Saturday we went to the Charleston's Farmer's market where we got weird sodas (delicious but weird) and gelato as well as produce of course.  Afterwards we went to the Aiken-Rhett House. It allowed pictures but it was an audio guided tour and I was so wrapped up in holding the mp3 thing and trying not to accidentally push the wrong button I didn't get any pictures. It was really interesting though and is the only house in Charleston to have it's original slave quarters left.

Sunday of course we went to church. We went to Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which is a PCA church in Charleston. In the evening we went for walk at the Charles Towne Landing State Historic Sites, which was a lovely walk and historically inserting. Charles Towne is the original site for the settlers landing before the built Charleston. They also had a little zoo area, which was nice but what really interested me about it was the otters. I love otters!!!!! They are so cute!!!

Monday we were scheduled to go on a boat trip to Morris Island but it was raining on the coast so it was postponed to the next day. I'm so glad it was because we made a trip we may not have if we gone with our original plans. THE MAGNOLIA GARDENS!!!! Just go!

Take a look at this porch! It's so big and awesome!!!! The original house
at the Magnolia plantation was burned down by the Union soldiers then another
was rebuilt on its foundation and then it caught fire (I think that's right) so the current
one was built on top of that foundation. So the current one dates from the early 90s but
is filled with the old furniture and other beautiful moments from the family. This house
was my favorite and unfortunately did not allow photography inside.

It also had the best gift shop of all the places we went.

Look at all of these beautiful tea things!  

And these adorable tea sets!!!! 

And these cute tea bag holders!!! I had to get myself one of them. 

Just one of the adorable bridges at the Magnolia gardens.
The Magnolia Gardens is America's oldest Romantic garden. 

An incredible tree that overhung the stream running through the gardens.
Naturally I had to climb out on it. Brian has some great pictures of me on the tree.

Bridges over streams, and moss on trees these are
a few of my favorite things! Oh, and there's Brian too!

So the next day we got to go to Morris Island finally!

And I got very bad pictures of dolphins on the
boat ride back. 

The next day was our last full day there before we flew out. It was a pretty dreary day. Cloudy, rainy, ect. And the thought that it was our last day there didn't help at all. In the morning we braved the rain and walked around Fort Moultrie... which I actually liked better than Fort Sumter even though Fort Sumter is the one everyone talks about. Then we went to the South Carolina Aquariam. That's not something we originally planned on but it was raining and most other things were outside. Plus we had heard that their sea turtle hospital, which normally cost extra was free with the general admission. It was pretty neat but super crowded because of aforementioned perk.
After the aquarium we walked to a used bookstore. That was my idea. I really wanted to buy a book in Charleston. While it was a nice used bookstore, I think my local used bookstore is even better. Regardless, I was able to get a couple Elizabeth Gaskell books I didn't already own and Brian got a couple poetry books.

Ends must come I suppose and so our departure date came. With the checkout time from our Airbnb being in the morning but our flight out not until the afternoon we had to kill some time at Barnes and Nobles. Not that I was complaining. I got another book there.

On the airplane. Our last picture in Charleston before we took off. 

So that was our honeymoon. It truly was magical and I'm not just being cheesy. I loved everything we got to do and see. We toured several houses, as you can tell from this post and each of them was unique in it's own way. You can't just see one house in Charleston. You need to see several to get the full history of the beautiful town. There were several more houses that we could have toured. Brian and I did a lot of research and chose the ones we wanted to see the most from that. We could go there many more times and still not yet see all Charleston has to offer.

Another note I'll make that I didn't mention earlier is the food. The food in Charleston is the best!!!! Fried chicken, South Carolina barbecue, Sweet potato waffles, sweet potato biscuits, just biscuits in general (THE BEST!!!!). If we'd stayed there much longer no matter how much walking we did every day I would have been fat. It was all delicious. Besides the traditional South Carolina fare we also went to a Mexican restaurant that was great and a pizza place that was unique and delicious.

I hope this gives you a glimpse into our honeymoon. Someday I'm going to procure the rest of the pictures off of Brian's camera but until then enjoy these!

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