[Wrap-Up] April 2020

What an odd month April was. On one hand, it seemed to drag on and on… But on the other, I feel like I blinked and the month was over!

The worst dilemma I ran into this month was technology related… My Dell laptop, that was only a year and a couple of months old, started having major issues. The fan was broken so the keyboard was always hot, it sounded like it was about to float into the air, and it kept shutting down randomly. It also started making horrible grinding noises and got extremely slow. We finally shipped it out for repairs. Luckily I had a very old MacBook that I was able to use in the meantime… but this sucker is on it’s last legs as well. I looked up how much Apple would give me for a trade in. A nice $200!

Alex and I bit the bullet and just bought me a new MacBook. I had really missed my Mac when trying out the Dell. If I ever go back to a PC, I NEED to remember that I have never had any luck with Dells… I’ve owned 3 now, and each only lasted a year. Now to impatiently wait the arrival of my new Mac so I can send this poor one out.

This month, one of my personal projects was to clean out “the pink room.” This is a room that we ended up putting all the random stuff in when we moved but weren’t sure what to do with. I’m still working on this project, but I moved enough around to make myself a wonderful yoga space! My friend Morgan and I have been doing yoga via a Zoom meeting at lunchtime three days a week and it has been lovely!

This month I baked a batch of cookies for the first time in years. They came out horribly flat… My husband had better luck with the cooking! He tried a new recipe for a honey garlic chicken that was made in the slow cooker… It was AMAZING.

We did a TON of yard work this month. I’m getting really excited about the progress so far, but we still have a ways to go.

This guy startled me so badly when I was raking one afternoon. I totally thought it was a rock until it moved in my hand.

One of my favorite parts of the month was that things started blooming around here! We still weren’t sure what’s planted around here from the previous owners, so we were pumped to see what came up! This was our first flower:

Also this month, I was surprised by a beer delivery! My friend Morgan is the best!! I’m OBSESSED with these two beers!

Another amazing thing that happened in April was Corona Con! I had SO much fun during this day long virtual horror event and I was psyched that quite a few of my questions were answered by the authors that were participating. I really hope they do another one soon. I’ll definitely be there!

My Reading Breakdown for April:

• 5 Stars – 2
  • Anger Is An Acid by Michael Clark
  • Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
• 4 Stars – 5
  • 5-Minute Stress Relief by Elena Welsh PhD
  • Creature by Hunter Shea
  • Behemoth by H.P. Newquist
  • Skinwrapper by Stephen Kozeniewski
  • The Sorrows by Jonathan Janz
• 3 Stars – 2
  • The Beast of Wheeler Ridge by Chris H Stevenson
  • Boy in the Box by Marc E. Fitch
• 2 Stars –
• 1 Star –
• DNF – 

Monthly Musings

Watching:

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (Netflix Original) – 1 Star
We finally finished this series. I think watching this was more frustrating than anything. What a mess all of these people have fond themselves in. I’m glad that we finished it, but my god…

Castlevania (Netflix Series) Seasons 1-3 – 4 Stars
Alex and I started this from the beginning and cruised right through! We LOVE this series so much.

The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+) – 5 Stars
OH MY GOD. I love Jeff Goldblum so much. If you haven’t watched this yet, please do. It will make you smile! I LOVED the Tattoo and Ice Cream episodes. I can’t wait to watch more!

Playing:

Triviaaaa nights, hosted by the amazing Morgan Mason!

We also had a wonderful JackBox Games night!

Drinking:

Ah shoot! Last month I forgot to add in all the craft beer we tried! We made an order in March from a local craft beer shop, The Packie, and got a slew of new beers to try as well as a pack of one of my all time favorites. In April we made a second order to try more, and again, got a pack of one of my favorites!

This was our haul from March:

From this haul, we both really loved the Raspberry’s My Jam! The Magic Dragon sour was really good as well! The Rubaeus is one of our favorites, so we got a pack of those. I didn’t like the Urban Funk or the Apripeche, and the Rosetta I wasn’t a huge fan of either.

April… got a little out of control. At some point, I’d love to put together a quick post that covers the full list of the beers we’ve tried recently!

Listening to:

This month, I have been so hooked on Brené Brown’s new podcast, Unlocking Us. This is a MUST listen for all! It’s so powerful, filled with information and therapy-like tid bits that we can all use right now.

I finally listened to the Overdue Podcast episode of NOS4A2! It was so good! Check it out here.

I listened to the 4-part series from The Fall Line, season 7. It was centered around the cases of missing and murdered girls in the Carolinas. This podcast is always so wonderfully organized with great concern for the victims, telling their stories, and reviving the cases, not just the gory details for the sake of entertainment. I highly recommend checking it out. Learn more here about The Fall Line, Season 7 here.

I also binged The Clearing, a podcast about what happened after April Balascio called a detective in 2009 to tell him about her suspicions that her father, Edward Wayne Edwards may have committed multiple murders. This one was interesting to listen to, and I really felt for April, but it wasn’t one of my favorite true crime podcasts.

In the bookish community:

Beth of BookNest shared: How to stay positive when it looks like the world is falling apart around you

Michael Clark posted an awesome video to prep for the launch of his third book! Check out the 2:35 mark!

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is headed for the screen!!! I REALLY hope this is good! It’s my favorite King novel!

Monthly bookish related haul:

I also wasn’t kidding in my Corona Con post… I went a little nuts ordering books directly from the authors. This is what arrived in April but there are more on the way…

My favorite bookish photos this month:

In case you missed it:

• [Wrap-Up] March 2020
• Visiting Old Number Six Book Depot
• Interview with Michael Clark
• [Book Event] Corona Con – April 2020
• [Book Feature] Relic Hunters Series by Martin Ferguson
• 3 May Book Releases I Can’t Wait To Read

Looking forward to: 

Warmer weather! I am SO tired of being cold all the time!

Thanks for reading!