Monthly Musings: February 2021 Valentine's/Love

I am really starting to love this Monthly Musings link-up and this one is all about Valentine's Day and Love!

1. How do you show love? What is your love language?

I think I am a very affectionate person and love to give hugs and kisses. I'm a terrible gift giver, I can't ever think of anything creative and get stressed out, so I don't enjoy that. I'm also pretty selfish so doing things for others doesn't often occur to me, ha.

I would say I'm an equal opportunity person when it comes to my own love language. I will take any sort of affection or attention and be happy. 

With my forever Valentine

2. Do you have any fun Valentine's traditions?

We decorate a little around the house, give the kids a small gift - think book or small toy, and the girls usually dress-up in something heart-themed or red/pink.

Little presents with love notes for my little loves!

3. Favorite Valentine's memory?

I have 2!

First, I've copied my parents in that they got Patty {my sister} and me a small gift for Valentine's Day that they set on the fireplace. I remember one Valentine's as a little girl where Patty and I got these little baby dolls that were supposed to look like newborns and they had a slit in the back for you to put your hand inside like a puppet to make the baby doll move. I LOVED that doll! 

Second, I remember my first Valentine's Day with Brent. We went out to eat and he gave me a James Avery ring. It felt so special to be celebrating this holiday with him! We'd almost been together for a year, and it felt so momentous! 

4. Favorite Valentine's treat?

I am for anything made from sugar, I'll take it all! A few years ago - well probably more like 10 years ago - Starbucks did a Valentine's cup, and I loved that! I'm a huge fan of themes. {grin}

5. Do you wear Valentine's Day fashion?

I have on-and-off over the years. I love themes and and found matching shirts that are super cute for the girls and me to wear, I'm so excited! On-and-off over the years, the kids have had shirts, and the girls still like it, but I am 105% certain Trent wouldn't wear one. {grin}

6. Valentine's Day...like, love, or hard pass?

I'm going to say like. I don't LOVE it like I do Christmas, but it doesn't annoy me or anything. I think it's easy for me to feel this way as I've been in a relationship for over half my life and can understand for others how it is not a fun day.

7. What do you think is the most romantic song?

I'm partial to mine and Brent's wedding song which is Alabama's There's No Way.

But I also love Etta James' At Last, Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love, The Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows. Lots of great romantic songs out there, but those are what are popping to mind!

8. Dine out, take out, or cook on this Valentine's Day?

I imagine we'll do take out. I will take any excuse not to cook or have a messed up kitchen. {grin} And with 3 kids, it's hard to plan a date night on a day like Valentine's Day.

9. Pink or red?

Pink is my all-time favorite color, so this is a no brainer for me - all things PINK!

10. Flowers or chocolate?

I think this goes with anything being my love language - if this is a gift, I'd be happy with either! Given my addiction to sugar, I'm probably more inclined to want chocolate in general, but flowers do make me very happy.

January 2021 Book Review

 It's time for my first book review of the year!!

I started January off with a bang by reading 10 books, yay! That will definitely help me get to my goal of 100. And lots of variety this month, I love when I don't end up being my own cliche of chick-lit only reading ha. I also had a lot of 4 and 5 star reads this month and many books that will help with my 2021 goals, so it was a great month! {Remember - find me on Goodreads, I love this app!}

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting - This was an adorable start to 2021. The owners of 2 neighboring restaurants get off on the wrong foot but quickly figure out they are a good couple. I liked that there wasn't a huge relationship issue between the 2 leads - there was definitely a challenge they faced but it wasn't the traditional 'we misunderstood each other and got in a fight and now are we broken up or what' that happens a lot in chick-lit/romance. The characters were fun, the plot was cute, I highly enjoyed! Rated R.

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abe Dare - Holy smokes. This is going to be hard to top as best book of 2021. Adunni grew up in a small rural village in Nigeria with a mother who wanted her to get an education and give herself a louding {loud} voice. She faces SO MANY hardships on her journey but never gives up. Her spirit and hope were the heart of the book, and I had ALLLLL the feels while reading it. Just phenomenal.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller - And just like that, my non-fiction favorite might be clenched too! This is a memoir about Chanel Miller who was raped while unconscious at a party on Stanford's campus. I have 1 word to say about this book: WOW. This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. Chanel is an insanely gifted writer! We read this for my 'regular' book club and I took so many screen shots to capture all the powerful things Chanel said about her experience and the aftermath. This book also made me think A LOT about the pressures society places on women to meet certain expectations and their treatment when they don't. As a mother of young girls, I struggled a lot with that. And as a mother of a young {white, privileged} boy, it also made me think a lot about how I want him to behave and treat women. An amazing, MUST READ.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Kambili and her brother, Jaja, live a privileged life in Nigeria...or so it seems from the outside. Being in their world was fascinating as they navigate having a religiously fanatical father who is viewed by the outside world as a hero but makes their private lives hell. This book was excellent! There were a lot of twists and turns I didn't see coming, and I really enjoyed it! I did feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, I would have liked a little more time with the characters at the end!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - This story was told from the POV of a dog at the end of his life. He looks back on his family and the trials they went through. I thought this was a completely charming story...but then about 2/3 of the way through it took a big turn and I couldn't put it down!

Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum - This was the selection for the BFBC, and it was another excellent book that looks at the effects of systemic racism. I think every parent and educator should read this book - there was so much good information in it! It was pretty hefty in terms of content, but it wasn't too much to process which I appreciated!

I Will Plant a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman - Trent and I read this book together, and he really enjoyed it! It's a woman's true account of surviving the Holocaust as being on Schindler's List. This book was written for middle grades, so it was a little less descriptive than I would have liked, but it was still a good book and a fascinating story. Trent said he would give it 4 or 4.5 stars while I wasn't quite that enthusiastic about it, ha.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner - I have a lot of mixed emotions about this book. It was such a sweet premise - people in a small town in England after WW2 where Jane Austen lived for a while work together to preserve memorabilia of hers. It was just really, really slow. The first 80% of the story felt really long, and then ALL THIS STUFF happened in the last 20% {and I might be generous with those percentages}. I loved how everything ended but wish the exciting parts could have had more room in the story! When it ended, my heart was very happy, and I was glad I stuck it out...but it was, at times, a slog.

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - After watching Bridgerton, you guys knew I would want to read this Regency romance series. I mean I'm kind of surprised I hadn't heard of this before if I'm being honest! This has everything I love in a romance - set in England, set in the 1800s, Aristocracy, love story - BOOM! AND it's a series - 8 books! I will definitely keep reading the series.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - Well. I have read ALL things Twilight over the years. The whole original series, the short stories, the story where the genders are swapped, this story when it was just a leaked 100 pages. I love the world of Twilight! But this...was not good. Sigh. This is Twilight from Edward's point of view, and it was just SO long and whiny, ugh. I did NOT enjoy being in his head - a lot of the time I was skimming. I'm very sad about this! I will say it was fun to be back in Forks with some of my favorite vampires, but this story wasn't for me.