Monthly Wrap-up: September 2015

Month in Review is a monthly meme which was created by Kathryn at Book Date

Well my least favourite season has come and gone. Goodbye hot, sticky, not-able-to-breathe summer and hello to beautiful, crisp autumn! I just love smell of the smoky air, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot and of course the vibrant changing of colours. I could do without the pumpkin spice everything though. 

Why is it that every time I sit down to type up my monthly wrap up I totally blank on what I did for the past 4 weeks? Does this happen to anyone else? 

What did I do? Ah! I went camping with some friends at the beginning of the month. I must say I prefer camping near the end of summer when the nights aren’t as hot for sleeping in a tent. It did rain a little bit, but we made the most of it anyway. We also did a little bit of sightseeing in the area nearby. Check out this yummy breakfast we made over the fire..

Hopefully we will visit this campground again next summer. 

This past month I joined up with #FitReaders, and failed miserably thanks to a cold that just lingered for a few weeks. I must get on track.. I MUST! 

Here on the blog I made some adjustments and additions to my new layout. I added my rating scheme to the sidebar and a page for my contact information. 

Now on to the books. I had a great month in reading, completing 6 books. I'd say that the quality of the books I read in September is on par with the quantity. 

Books Completed in September: 6

Appalachian Serenade (Appalachian Blessings, .5) by SarahLoudin Thomas (RATING: 4/5)
My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (RATING: 3.5/5)
Things I’ve Said to My Children by Nathan Ripperger (RATING: 4/5)
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (RATING: 5/5)
Taming the To-do List by Glynnis Whitwer (RATING: 3.5/5)
The Hanged Man’s Noose by Judy Penz Sheluk (RATING: 3.5/5) 

The Stats:

Favourite Book of the Month: Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Favourite Setting: Wise, West Virginia (Appalachian Serenade)
Favourite Character: Pollyanna
Longest Book Read in September: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares (336 pages)
The Shortest Book Read in September: Things I’ve Said to My Children (96 pages)
Total Number of Pages Read: 1,201
Total Number of Fiction Books Read: 4
Total Number of Non-fiction Books Read: 2

Challenge Updates:

2015 A-Z Challenge: 12/26
2015 eBook Challenge: 25/25 COMPLETED
2015 Historical Fiction Challenge: 14/15
Millionaire Challenge: 12,827

Currently Reading:

 

October TBR:

 

Thank you for checking out my September wrap-up. How did you do this past month? Did you read anything exciting? Could your monthly reading experience be considered more quality based or quantity based? Please leave me a message in the comments, I would love to hear from you. 

Happy October!

Sunday Post #1, #FitReaders Check-in & Stacking the Shelves

 Today I am linking up with The Sunday Post (Hosted by: Caffeinated Book Reviewer,) #FitReaders (Hosted by: The Geeky Bloggers BookBlog & That’s What I’m Talking About) and Stacking the Shelves (Hosted by: Tynga’s Reviews). 

Because I had so much to share I decided to combine it all into one big post.

Nature Box:

This past week I got my September Nature Box in the mail. Here is what I was sent:

Pistachio Power Clusters: This snack was also in my July box and I just love them.

Cashew Power Clusters: A lot like the Pistachio Power Clusters, but these reminded me more of bite sized rice crispy squares.

Salted Caramel Pretzel Pops: This snack consisted of small pretzel balls dusted with natural powdered sugar and has a caramel flavor. They were good.

Cashew Crumble: This was one of my favourite snacks in this box. It was like eating crumbled peanut butter cookies only instead of peanut flavoured they were cashew flavoured.

South Pacific Plantains: Tasted more like potato chips than plantains, I think. They were good, but I don’t know if they would be on the top of my list to add again.

All in all, I was satisfied once again with my monthly box. I think it is a good value for the money and I do find myself more full after snacking on these treats than I do when I eat regular (less healthy) chips or snacks. I am looking forward to seeing what I get for October.

FitReaders Check-in:

This week I did better with my walking. I went for a walk Tuesday and Wednesday Nights. I was also more active around the house, getting general housework caught up on after not feeling so great last week. Thanks to my Nature Box I made some healthy snacking choices. I have also been doing well with my water intake. Tonight I plan on going for a longer walk or even a bike ride.

My goal for this coming week is to begin doing yoga exercises again. I especially want to focus on Yoga for people who suffer back pain, in hopes to ward off sciatica pain.

Stacking the Shelves:

Free Downloads:

Auld Acquaintance by Ruth Hay

A Chance for Sunny Skies by Eryn Scott 

For Review from Author: 

The Hanged Mans Noose: A Glass Dolphin Mystery (Book 1) by Judy Penz Sheluk  

From Netgalley:

Pane and Suffering (A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery #1) byCheryl Hollon

 (Images from Goodreads)

 

Did you add anything new to your shelves this week? Are you participating in #FitReaders? I would love to hear from you. Leave me a message in the comments. 

Hope you all have a great week to come and happy reading to you all.

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in: September 4 2015

#FitReaders hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About.

Hello all,
Just a quick post to check-in for the #FitReaders challenge, I recently joined. 

You know those weeks where you blink and its over? Well that is exactly happened to me. It felt like we had just gotten home from our trip this past weekend and here it is Friday night already. What did I even do this week? Not a whole lot, to be honest. With my heart problem I tend to get tired easy, especially after having several busy days in a row. It often takes me a couple of days to recover, just resting and getting a lot of sleep. So that is what I have been doing this week. 

I admit that I haven't been very active, nor did I get out on any walks the past 5 days. However my fridge is full of yummy fruit that I have been nibbling away on. I've been eating fresh pears, raspberries and watermelon. 

Thursday evening was probably my most active day this week. I went for a long swim and got out just in time for a big storm to hit. That swim did me good though because I was so exhausted when I got home, I slept like a baby last night.

Hopefully next week I will have a better report to share. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.

-Melissa

Monthly Wrap-up: August 2015/ Fit Readers Check In

Month in review is a monthly meme which was created by Kathryn at Book Date.

For me, August was a month for getting back on track with my reading after making poor progress in July. Thankfully, with the help of Bout of Books I was able to get in gear. In the end I did much better than I thought I would. Click below to see my master update post from the read-a-thon.

Bout of Books 14

In an effort to get in better shape I signed on for Fit Readers. My goal is to start making better choices in the food I eat and to get more active. My first week went better than expected as it happened to coincide with a camping trip I went on. I did a lot of walking this past weekend and managed to have at least 1 serving of fruit every day. I am also trying to drink water instead of pop or sugary juices but I admit that is slow going. To learn more about this challenge and my goals click on the link:

Fit Readers

Here are my reading stats for August:

Books Completed in August: 6

Innocent in Las Vegas (Tiffany Black Mysteries, #1) by A.R.Winters RATING: 3/5

Where There’s Smoke by Jodi Picoult RATING: 4/5

Hope Harbor by Irene Hannon RATING: 3/5

The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann RATING: 2.5/5

Pretty, Hip & Dead (Agnes Barton/ Kimberly Steele Mystery #1) by Madison Johns REVIEW COMING SOON

A Bride at Last (Unexpected Brides #3) by Melissa Jagears REVIEW COMING SOON

The Stats:

Favourite Book of the Month: A Bride at Last

Favourite Setting: Hope Harbor Oregon

Favourite Character: Charley from Hope Harbor

Longest Book Read in August: The Stockholm Octavo, equivalent to 416 pages.

The Shortest Book Read: Where There’s Smoke, 40 pages.

Total Number of Pages Read: 1531

Total Number of Fiction Books Read: 6

Total Number of Non-Fiction Books Read: 0

Challenge Updates:

2015 A-Z Challenge: 11/26
2015 ebook Challenge: 19/25
2015 Historical Fiction Challenge: 10/15
Millionaire Challenge: 11,068/1 000 000

Currently Reading:

 

September TBR:

Thank you for checking out my month in review. How did August go for you? Did you reach your reading goal for the month?