to a new year

I love the feeling of a fresh start at the beginning of a new year. Who knows what might happen this year? That thought could be exciting or scary. 2020 is the beginning of a new decade and a leap year!

Although I'm not too good at keeping New Year's resolutions (ok, I'm terrible at it), I still like to reflect on the past year and dream of improving myself. It frustrates me that I can visualize something but really struggle to enact those good intentions. Any real advice on how to stay motivated and make new habits?

When looking ahead at a whole new year, it seems long and full of potential. But the days, weeks, and months fly by so fast. I find myself wondering if I'm doing anything worthwhile with my life. I'll turn 35 this year, and I would've thought at this point I'd have it figured out!

To start off the new year, I'll enjoy mom's pork and sauerkraut. Can't wait!

Happy New Year! 

best books 2019

Here's my list of favorites from the books I read this year. On a scale of 1 - 5, I'd rate most of these as a 4. I might've already mentioned some of these books in previous posts, but since they're ones I read this year, I'll mention them again.

Nonfiction: 

3 out of 4 of my top nonfiction books happen to be WWII escape stories. I love history, and it seems like so many of the books I read come from that time frame.

Destiny of the Republic
- Candice Millard
My review: I knew next to nothing about President James A. Garfield, and this book made him come alive. The assassination attempt and efforts to save his life especially interested me. The ignorance and incompetence of the doctor who took charge of his case made me angry! Garfield's patience during the suffering he endured was outstanding. He was a truly remarkable man.

The Long Walk
- Slavomir Rawicz
From goodreads: The harrowing true tale of seven escaped Soviet prisoners who desperately marched out of Siberia through China, the Gobi Desert, Tibet, and over the Himalayas to British India.
My review: An astonishing story of escape and survival. I rated this one 5 stars.

We Die Alone
- David Howarth
My review: This story of one man's escape from the Nazis during a battle in Norway and his subsequent attempts to reach Sweden is almost unbelievable. Battling exposure, frostbite, and starvation, Jan Baalsrud survived unimaginable conditions with the help of some villagers. Another 5 star book - it's a must read.

The Great Escape
- Paul Brickhill
My review: This book details the incredibly organized escape of 76 POW's from a German prison camp. The project required intense effort involving hundreds of prisoners, one of whom is the author. Unfortunately, the ending is not a happy one.


Historical fiction:

America's First Daughter
- Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
My review: This novel draws from letters and original sources to tell the story of Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter, Martha Jefferson Randolph. It's a long book but very interesting! I learned more about Thomas Jefferson as well.

The Alice Network 
- Kate Quinn
My review: I've read many historical fiction novels set during WWII, but this one stands out. There are two storylines spanning both world wars. One is the story of a female spy during the Great War, and thirty years later an American college girl searching for her cousin in the aftermath of WWII.

Fiction:

These are the kinds of books I read for pleasure or as an escape. Nothing too remarkable or deep here!

The Secret Life of Bees
- Sue Monk Kidd
My review: Set in South Carolina in 1964, this book tells the story of 14-year-old Lily Owens, a white girl taken in by a trio of black beekeeping sisters. I fell in love with the characters and the tone of this book. It's my favorite out of the three.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
- Gail Honeyman
From goodreads: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
My review: I found this book funny in a sad way. The twist at the end was rather surprising.

Where the Crawdads Sing
- Delia Owens
From goodreads: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand.
My review: A tale of love, murder, and mystery. Another surprise ending.


*Sometimes I get asked for book recommendations for teenagers or young adults. I wouldn't necessarily suggest any of these books for children, as they contain adult language, murder, romance, etc. I am working on a blog of book recommendations appropriate for young adults.

Best of 2019

It's always fun to reflect over the past year as we look forward to the beginning of a new year. Here's a few of the highlights from 2019. I've already blogged about most of these activities, so I won't go into too much detail. If you want to read more about it, I'll include a link to those blogs in the heading.

Kitchen facelift
Tearing off wallpaper, repainting, and putting up shiplap took a long time, but I love the new look!

Visiting my sister in her Kansas home
I'm so glad we made it a priority to visit Derek & Camille this spring, especially since they no longer live in Kansas! I got to see their newlywed house and help do some landscaping. We made good memories.

Summertime  
I don't have to say more!

Helping Chad & Keela move
It worked out for Cliff and I to spend a few days in Ohio helping Chad's move into their new house. It was a big job, but we had fun doing it!

Anniversary trip to Boston
We celebrated 15 years with a weekend trip to Boston, a place I'd always wanted to go. Whale watching and lounging at Castle Island looking over the Harbor were the best parts of the trip.

Not a highlight: Shelby & Kait moved to Tennessee 
This was an unhappy event. We loved having Shelby's live a few yards down the road from us and miss hanging out with them.

Swarey reunion
We waited three years for this! Good times.

Derek & Camille moved to Pennsylvania!
So nice to have a sister living near me.😍

Christmas in the Smokies
This is one I haven't blogged about, so maybe I'll go into a little more detail. We met Shelby & Kait in the Smokies for 4 nights and 3 days this past week. We rented a cabin high up in the mountains overlooking Pigeon Forge. (Here's a link to the place we stayed.) We did some touristy things, went to Cade's Cove, and ate at many delicious restaurants. Apparently Christmas is a popular time to visit the Smokies, because traffic was terrible and everything was packed. We still had a great time, though! It was a relaxing way to spend Christmas.

Other events
Cliff left his job at Spray Foam Insulation Services and went back to Bowers Sales & Rentals. He's happy there.

All in all, it was a good year. I'm very happy to be at the point in my job where I'm not new anymore and understand what's expected of me.

I thought of including my favorite books from this year but it looks like that will have to be a blog by itself!

Christmas stories

Today I read two short Christmas stories that made my day off even better! A new one for me was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. It's a great story! Kid's books are the best.

The other book was The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans. I think I read it many years ago but had forgotten it.

I have to say, my all-time favorite is still A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I'm having fun telling the story through WhatsApp statuses this year.😄 My illustrated copy is displayed and referenced every year.

I want to give a shout-out to my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher Mrs. Schmidt for instilling in me a love for this book. She'd read it every year in her incredible way. I think it's probably safe to say that her many students remember it to this day!

As a side note, last year I found this wonderful wooden four piece Christmas Carol series at an antique store. It's one of those things that grabbed me instantly and I knew they belonged to me.

Scrooge and Marley

Scrooge's flat

Fezziwig Warehouse 

Cratchit's house

Back to Christmas stories. Another classic favorite is O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi.

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham is a humorous Christmas story.

Any more Christmas books I should read?

work, food, and Christmas plans

My weekend at work 

I was ready to collapse after working Saturday and Sunday. Weekends can be brutal because there's only a few people working and sometimes the workload is the same as a weekday. This weekend there were only 2 pharmacists and 2 technicians. I was the only one making all the IV's, which the blister on my hand from pulling syringes can verify. Wintertime is our busy season. There's a large amount of IV antibiotics being used, and on Saturday I had to batch a lot of them (106 bags) to get us through the weekend. In addition, there were several CCU patients who were on IV sedatives, insulin drips, vasopressors, and end-of-life pain management. My other weekend responsibilities include cleaning all the hoods, (where we do the sterile compounding - for more details see this blog) inventory of our stock of IV antibiotics  and making sure there are enough to last 24 hours, watching the label printers and filling orders, and 3 cartfills (large batches of IV's that print every day). I ended up staying 45 minutes late both Saturday and Sunday to get somewhat caught up. I keep thinking of a Jordan B. Peterson podcast I listened to where he said, "The bulk of the work is done by a small minority of the people. The square root of the number of people who are doing the job do half the work. So if there's 10 people, 3 do half the work. For 100 people, 10 do half the work." Using that formula, if there's 4 people, 2 are doing half the work. That seems about right as it relates to my job! I certainly felt like I did the work of two people. Thankfully I'm off today so I can recover.

Easy, delicious treats
Someone brought these tasty pretzel M&M hugs to our Swarey reunion and I wanted to make a batch for the holidays.

Mariah and Allie came over Friday evening while Charles and SaraBeth went caroling, and we made these together. It's a perfect project for little helpers! The combination of sweet and salty hits the spot. Plus, they're pretty and so easy to make! Click here for the instructions.

Christmas preparations 
It's hard to believe Christmas is only 9 days away! I guess Christmas cards and letters are a thing of the past for me. It looks like a few people still have me on their list though, as I've received 3 cards. My family isn't getting together this year. Some have other plans, so Shelby's and we decided to meet in the Smokies for a few days. I worked last Christmas so was able to get off this year, and managed to get a few extra days between Christmas and New Year's. Time off during the holidays is very limited, so I figured we should do something since I was lucky enough to get it this year! A vacation in the Smokies will be perfect.

and the winner is...

Tina Koehn

won the giveaway! Each person's name was written on a piece of paper and carefully mixed up before I closed my eyes and picked. Tina told me she couldn't decide which item to choose, so I'm still considering which one to order. 

If anyone is interested, the signs can be purchased on Etsy from Misty Hollow Product Co, one of my favorite small businesses. I've ordered custom signs several times and been very happy with each one. This one is on my mantle right now.

Thanks to all who participated in the giveaway! It was so much fun I might have to do it again sometime!

Giveaway!!

It's been almost a year since I started blogging. To celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway! The winner will be able to choose between this Katie Daisy 2020 planner

Or your choice of one of these adorable mini wood beverage signs. I have the "hot tea" sign and love it!

To be entered in the drawing, comment below on what you would pick if you are the winner. The drawing will be done on Sunday evening, December 15.

Blogging has opened up a new outlet I never imagined I'd enjoy. This past year has been enriched because of it!