Sunday, May 10, 2020

Sundays with Sam - The Sunday Post



Sundays with Sam is a combination of Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

My Week in Review

To any an all who celebrate


I cannot be with my daughter, but at least I am with my mother. I come, however, empty handed. My mother always buys herself EVERYTHING, so I have to be really creative. I was searching online, but nothing captured my attention. UNTIL, I was on Instagram, and saw these really cool painted sneaker. I saved the ad, but when I went back, it was gone. I got lucky on Friday, and saw the ad again. This time, I ordered the shoes, but obviously they won't be here in time. I still think she will like them.

I am at the point, where all I have to talk about is the weather, and at least NJ didn't disappoint. It was hot, cold, rainy, windy, and we even had a little snow squall (???). I was waiting for the four horsemen to come through.

Other than that, I had another Animal Crossing date with my daughter. I like going to her island, because, like in real life, she is much richer than me, and has some really nice stuff. Below are some pictures from our visit. First, we shared some tea. Then, we checked out KK Slider's concert. We later visited one of my islanders, and Kiersten treated me a drum solo. Then, I checked out Kiersten's sewing studio on her island.


I did some stuff on my island too. I love watching my neighbors do yoga. I wish I had the capability to join them. --sigh-- Then, we had a birthday celebration, and I help Wisp locate all his spooky parts.


I also tried out a new look. I was totally feeling the mohawk. I lived out my musical dreams playing drums and singing in the town square, and enjoyed a bit of quiet contemplation at my art museum.


I know I usually stick to animal vids, but I am so impressed by what some people are doing on their islands. This was amazing!

I have to say, it made me smile.

Again, not an animal video, but you can't tell me, that this didn't make you giddy.


Let's Discuss!
  • Marie shares a list of some YA books with mental health representation
  • Jackie wants to know what's the difference between YA, MG, and adult fiction
  • Malka shares how she never sees her family in books 


On the Blog:
  • Monday: Blog Tour - War and Speech by Don Zolidis
  • Tuesday: TTT - Waiting and Winning
  • Wednesday: CWW - Faith, Life After Juliet
  • Thursday: Blog Tour - The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton
  • Friday: Discussion - How Long is This?


STACKING THE SHELVES

Super light week again, but they are both romance books, which are sure to please.

Edelweiss/NetGalley



What I Read Last Week

Working from home, and doing the job that I am doing, I actually grind the whole time I work. Therefore, I am listening to a LOT of audiobooks. I am trying to find more at the library, since I only get 10 borrows a month from Hoopla, but I have been finding some good ones.

My favorite of the week was Life After Juliet. It's a companion book, and though I cried quite a bit, it was a bit easier on my emotionally, since it was healing book, and NOBODY DIED. Shalvis' new book was a close second. I had the best time reading that book. It was fun, sweet, sexy, emotional -- everything I have grown to expect from Shalvis. She just never disappoints me.

Books

Audiobooks


What I Am Currently Reading

I am so excited to see how Bitty's college career ends. This is such a charming, fun, and sweet series. I mean, hockey, baking, and romance - what a great combination.

I should be ashamed, because I own the book, but I am listening to The Book of Broken Hearts, and it is fantastic! It's about a girl, whose father has early onset Alzheimers. It's beautiful, and heartbreaking, but so, so wonderful.


What I Plan to Read

How was your week?
Let us know in the comments!

52 comments:

  1. "I cannot be with my daughter, but at least I am with my mother."
    That's a consolation, isn't it? I hope she'll like her fun shoes!

    Snow in May sounds a bit extreme, even for NJ...I guess? LOL. At least you have your funny island where you get mohawks and play drums! 😉

    That cow video LOL. The kid one was really cute too, but all that cat-licking looked so random...and still so fun (the "victim" also seemed to like it quite a bit!). I didn't know cows could pet a cat 😂.

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    1. The snow only lasted 10 - 15 mins, but it was a bit heavier than a flurry. Very shocking to see in May. Nothing like some cow cat-licking to make me smile.

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  2. I hope your mom likes the shoes! I always have a hard time trying to find something for my mom too! I'm hoping she likes the gift I picked out for her! Might be awhile still until stores up and I can return it otherwise! Lol. Hope things get to the point where you can visit with your daughter again! I know how much you miss her!

    Nice new reads! Those are new to me ones. I hope you enjoy them all!


    Here's my StS

    Have a GREAT day!

    Old Follower :)

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    1. I feel like my mother will like the shoes (when they come). Fingers crossed your mom like the gift. I hate returning stuff. I swear, I have stuff I will never use, because I am too lazy to bring it back or don't want to pay the restock fee.

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  3. Happy Mother's Day! This mother's day is so strange. I ordered my mom some books, but they aren't arriving on time either. I hope you still have a wonderful day.

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    1. Since time has almost no meaning, I am sure our moms won't mind the delay. Hey! Gifts in the mail are always fun. My daughter's gift for my mom came, but mine didn't. She did send me something lovely on Animal Crossing though.

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  4. I usually take my mom out to eat for Mother's Day which isn't going to happen this year. I just plan to take her somewhere when I can but I am kind of feeling guilty about not having anything for her this year. The videos you shared are adorable. How cute is that baby with his toy giraffe?! Enjoy all of your new books! One good thing about returning to the office full time is that I will go back to listening to more audiobooks. I hope you have a wonderful week. Happy Mother's Day, Sam!

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    1. I like to take my mom out, because she always buys herself everything, so that made my job harder. That baby was the best thing I have seen lately. Just take that joy, and bottle it up, please. My audio game is way beyond since I started "working" again. Tough, more audio always means less reading books.

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  5. You really got creative with the painted sneakers... love that! Hope they don't take too long to arrive. The kid with the giraffe was too funny. :) I've never read anything by Shalvis. Her backlist is sooo intimidating. But she seems so beloved. I had the first Check Please on hold at the library right before this all started. Maybe one of these days I'll actually be able to go get it. :)

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    1. Yeah, but I just got an email telling me they will be delayed because of the virus. Maybe they will be here in time for my mom's birthday in December. I adored Shalivs. I think I started with one of her Lucky Harbor books, not even the first one, since these are truly companions, and it was love at first read. I had to wear my reading glasses, but I was able to get through the eBook of Sticks and Scones. It was really wonderful. A great ending for Bitty.

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  6. Happy Mother's Day to you, Sam! I didn't know what to get my mom, either, but we ended up sending a restaurant meal to her house last night, which she enjoyed! Since I don't have a commute anymore, listening to audiobooks has been kind of hard for me. I mostly only listen to them on walks or when I'm puzzling.

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    1. A meal you don't have to cook is always a treat. I am lucky, that I can work and listen to my audiobooks. It really allows me to knock a lot of books out

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  7. Animal Crossing seems to be all te rage right now sam! I too did spend my Mother's Day without my daughter nor my mom!!! This is very sad but things could be worse right? Now YOU made me read a book this week : What I Carry by Jennifer Longo! I loved it! expecte a review hopefully next week.

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    1. I am SO HAPPY to hear you loved What I Carry. I thought Up to This Pointe was just as good. I still have one more to read, her debut, which I hope to get to soon

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  8. Happy Mother's Day! You had such a great gift idea! I love that haunted mansion video. We are huge Disney nuts in this house. We even have several attraction posters displayed in our hallway!

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    1. Apparently the gift is coming from places afar, and will be delayed, but my mom likes getting stuff whenever. She has nowhere to wear them right now anyhow, right? We lived in FL for 6.5 years, and went to Disney all the time. We visited Disney World over 70 times, and even hit up Disneyland California and Paris. Our goal is to get to the parks in Asia, but that's like bucket list level for me. My daughter sends me all these Animal Crossing posts, and I am awed by what people have created.

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  9. Laughing about the four horsemen. right? It's been that way here, too, weather- wise. A little bit of everything. Happy Mother's Day to you! Hope you have a nice one. sorry you can't be with your daughter, but glad that you can be with your mom. Hope it's a great day.

    I think Animal Crossing is amazing and I really want to play haha.

    Love the videos!

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    1. Seriously, what else can happen? Be careful, because Animal Crossing is so addictive. I have to set time limits for myself, otherwise, I could spend hours tooling around on my island.

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  10. I really want to read Check, Please 2. I loved the first one! I'm glad you can be with your mom but I'm sorry you aren't able to see your daughter. Your gift for your mom sounds super fun, and hey, better late than never, right? Happy Mother's Day, Sam!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. The ending was so sweet, and a bit deja vu. I loved it. My gift for my mom may come in time for Christmas. It's already been delays.

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  11. I LOVE that you got to hang out with your daughter on her island! I never even thought about it, but I should totally get my mom a Switch so we can play together! She's so bored at home. I hope you enjoy your new books and have a good week!

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    1. It's fun. ACNH is our new bonding thing. I think it's a great cross generational game, because you can play hard or casually. There's no real goal, and you don't need any grand level of dexterity to play. That is probably why I love it so much

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  12. I have been spending way too much time watching videos of other peoples islands on youtube!! My villagers do yoga as well. One of them does it in her underwear though...its weird. I have been trying to create cute little locales on my island. I now have a "starbucks" and a library. I'm trying to get to 5 stars!

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    1. I think I was looking up how to do something one day, and almost fell into an ACNH hole, but I stopped myself. Wow! I don't know if I have the drive or ambition for 5-stars. I saw that video of the woman, who has the massive flower field. They grind and time travel, and when I hear the number of hours they dedicate per week to the game, I just couldn't see it happening. But, good luck! That's quite a goal.

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  13. I'm lucky to be in lockdown with my dad so we can keep each other company. He also tolerates my obsession with Harry Potter films each day!

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    1. My daughter is alone, but she skypes with her friends, and is doing a lot of online classes and she is working too. She seems ok, but I do wish she wasn't alone.

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  14. Glad you and Kiersten at least got to visit via Animal Crossing! :-)

    And the videos you share each week always make me laugh--thanks for brightening up my day!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I was worried I would have no vids, because social media has been irritating me, so I have pulled back a bit. But, thank goodness for those accounts I can always rely on for something cute and fun.

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  15. This Mother's Day has been a strange one, right? Good to hear you got to hang out with your daughter virtually and nice that you found a good gift for your mother. The cow/cat video is so cute!

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    1. We had so much drama here, because all the takeout places in our area had a 3 hour wait for food or were closed. I thought my mother was going to lose it.

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  16. We FINALLY got AC!!! I'm so excited to start playing! :) Hope you had a great weekend, Sam!

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  17. My SIL is in Ontario and it snowed quite a bit, sorry Jersey got a bit of it as well. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! What's the countdown for the vacation??

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    1. I hope you had a wonderful mother's day cuddling with your little bundle of joy! I am trying not to get to excited about the vacation, since everything planned for 2020 has been canceled so far. It is planned for Oct, though.

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  18. Personally, I am not into Animal Crossing, but watching you and your daughter meet up in your adorable little world makes my heart happy.

    We were in the upper 80's here for about 4 days and I was sweltering at night but today it is in the 60's and rainy. The world is WEIRD right now.

    I have the Shalvis coming up because her books are always a good escape so I signed up for the tour. Which I rarely do so let's hope I like it lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I mean, the weather is usually very unpredictable, but it's been all over the place lately, and I just want to sit in front of an open window, you know? Shalvis' book was fantastic! I think I say each successive Wildstone book is my favorite, but I really thought the group she put together in this one was pretty special. I had lots of feels and smiled and laughed, and just enjoyed myself as I inhaled the book

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  19. I love that you've found a way to connect with your daughter and visit over animal crossing. That's cool. I got to see my parents over the internet for the first yesterday and it made me both happy and sad.

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    1. Yeah, we are going to have to settle with seeing each other virtually, but we have our phones on speaker as we play, so we talk too. I am with my parents, but I. know my mom would have liked to have seen my sister and her kids. They live a few miles away, but are staying home, as they have been told. Your "visit" is when I love tech.

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  20. Happy belated Mother's Day! I'm glad you and your daughter got to be together - even if it was just in Animal Crossing :)

    The gift my sister and I got our mom didn't arrive on time either. She wanted a new Kindle and although we ordered it in plenty of time, Amazon kept changing the delivery date! It's supposed to get to her today, so at least it's not TOO late.

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    1. Hope you had a nice mother's day too! It's tough getting non-essential items these days, but since all the days seems to blend together, you can just have a mother's day part II when it comes.

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  21. That's good that you at least got to be with your mom on Mother's Day. I hope she loves her new sneakers. I was empty handed in the gift dept with my mom too. I tried to order flowers for her but all of the florists in my hometown had stopped taking orders because they're experiencing wholesaler shortages and had no more flowers to sell. She wants a decorative tree to plant in her garden so I'm getting that for her but it will be a late gift.

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    1. The shoes may not be here to Christmas, but I think they are something she would like, I think something for the garden is nicer than flowers. She can watch it grow and think of you

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  22. Animal Crossing sounds like so much fun! Where do you get it, in the app store? I don't have trouble picking out gifts for my mom, because she always lets me know what's on her wish list. However, I struggle with picking out gifts for my MIL. I'm glad The Summer Deal was so good, because I have that one for review. I think it's great that you can get through so many audiobooks when working. My library has the cloud, and they have a ton of books on my wishlist, so as soon as I have the time, I'm borrowing from them. I can't wait to see what you think of My Summer of Love and Misfortune. I love the premise and cover for that one. Happy Belated Mother's Day!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. I think there is an app version of AC (pocket camp), but I am playing it on the Switch. The Summer Deal was so good (at least I think so). I keep pushing Summer of Love and Misfortune, because everyone seems to hate it. I am afraid. Hope you have a lovely mother's day!

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  23. Your gift for your mom sounds like a great mother's day present even if it will be late. I'm sorry you didn't get to spend the day with your own daughter, though, but your Animal Crossing date sounds like it was lovely. I'm always impressed with the amount of creativity people show with their islands.

    You read so many books even when working! TO be fair, would probably fly through a few audiobooks too if I hadn't gotten a podcast obssession. I also find audiobooks are harder to pay attention to even though the format is the same as podcasts it's a strange one.

    And you're reading (probably finished by now) The Book of Broken Hearts? I loved that book, it's heartbreaking but also completely lovely.

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    1. The gift for my mom may not get here until her birthday in December. I guess I didn't realize it, when I ordered, but it's an international company, and the day after I got the confirm, I got an email saying how there will be delays because of convid-19. So, if I don't hear from them in 43 days!!! That's a big delay. I guess it will come eventually.

      The Book of Broken Hearts was so beautiful. My heart! The premise of the book does that story no justice. It's so much more than some boy vendetta. I didn't read the book version, which I bought, but I am glad I stopped putting it off, and listened to the audio. A very memorable book.

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  24. Happy belated mother's day! I'm sorry you can't be with your daughter, but happy you're with your mom, that's still something nice! <3
    I'm really eager to hear what you think of Verona Comics, I really liked it, even if it was way heavier than I expected it to be!
    Happy reading! :)

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    1. It's hard to feel like a mom, when you haven't seen your children for months, but I guess technically, I'm a mom. I set Verona aside. I don't know how it is where you live, but here it is endless politics, and labeling of people, and all sorts of media not considering people as individuals, and it makes me sad. When it pops up in books, I just cannot. I need a break from it.

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  25. I know what you mean. At some point it just gets hard to buy for parents because when they want something they end up buying it themselves! We ended up getting her a giftcard for new clothes (since her weight loss she had to throw out and donate a lot of clothes.) I have heard such good things about Check Please so enjoy it x

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    1. Good for your mom! That's a great reason for needing a new wardrobe.

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