Merry Christmas! How are you all doing? Today, I’m sharing a poem that I wrote a little while ago.
Joyful anticipation fills my night I wake from sleep with glee. My sister's excited shout alerts me I run out to the wonderful sight.
The tree, previously bare, Now presides over a plentiful mound. Candy canes on the branches are found. Mints piled on the table with care.
In the manger, Baby Jesus lays, Now on Christmas morn. A deeper joy in my heart is born And with gratitude I pray.
My siblings whisper for Mom and Dad, And gather around the woodstove with bliss. We sit and smile and reminisce Of the beautiful Christmases we've had
I hope that you all like it! I am for sure no poet, but I really enjoyed writing this poem about how my Christmas mornings go. My siblings and I always wake up very early, as this poem portrays. These are such sweet memories that I will cherish as long as I live, especially when I am older and my siblings and I no longer live together.
How is your Christmas going so far? What are some of your Christmas traditions?
Hello, and happy Monday! Welcome to a random day in my life. Because of my extra post yesterday (have you seen it yet? You can read it here), and the business of getting ready for Christmas, I didn’t have a lot of effort to put into this week’s post. I decided to document my day last Wednesday and post about it today. I really enjoy reading other bloggers’s posts of that nature, so I figured that I would do another post like this. Sorry if this post is slightly boring. I didn’t have a very exciting day, and there were not many chances to take photos.
On December 13, I woke up at 6:30. The time I wake up always varies based on the quality and length of my sleep the previous night. There are days when I wake up at 5:00 and other days when I don’t get up until nearly 8:00 (especially these past few days, because I’m getting over a cold).
After I woke up, I read my Bible and did my morning prayers. I find that this is the best way to start my day, although it is not how the start of every day goes. In each day of December leading up to Christmas, I decided to read one chapter of the Gospel of Luke, because there are 24 chapters in all. It has been a good way to read my Bible more regularly and spend time with God every morning.
Then, I got up and ready for the day. Each day, I make a to-do list, listing all that I want to get done that day and my priorities. It helps me to stay productive and is honestly essential to my days now. After writing out my to-do list, I got dressed and ready for my day.
After getting ready for my day, I went outside to feed the cats. My family has three cats, one being mine and the other two belonging to two of my brothers. We take turns feeding them by week, and this week it was my turn. The sky picture I took on my way to feed the cats because I thought that the sky looked remarkably beautiful. I was also able to take a photo of my cat, Luna. Usually, the photos I try to take of animals end up blurry because of the amount that the animals move. I am glad that I got a still shot of Luna as she patiently waited for me to serve her her food.
I came back inside and started on my math at about 8:00. My newest obsession is the Broadway Anastasia, so of course I had to listen to the soundtrack as I worked on my math. Then, my dad came home with some groceries, so I took a break from my math to help unload and put away the food. I also had some bacon for breakfast.
At 10:30, I started on my chemistry. I am actually really enjoying it so far and find it very fascinating. Although some of the formulas are a bit difficult to memorize and such, chemistry is helping me to understand how our world is made up. After chemistry, I did some chores and such and then helped make lunch.
We had lunch at about 1:00: homemade cheese pizza! My family uses this recipe to make pizza, because it can be done in less than an hour, and is very simple and tasty. After I ate lunch and cleaned up, I worked with my sister to come up with some trivia questions for an upcoming Christmas party at our church. Following that, I worked on the computer a bit more to write my collab blog post that was published just yesterday.
At around 4:00, I went on a walk with my sister’s dog, Ava. I always enjoy taking walks, especially in the colder weather when there is little else to do outside. My brother’s cat, Petey, had to follow us partway down the road and meet us again on the way back.
When I got back, I worked on some crocheting. I would share some photos of my projects, but they were Christmas gifts, and I don’t want anyone to read this and find out what I made for them. While I crochet, I like to listen to something. While I was crocheting the gifts, I listened to more of the Anastasia Broadway soundtrack, some Christmas music, and got caught up on some YouTube videos.
Soon, it was time for dinner. I had leftover pizza, this time, a delicious barbeque chicken pizza. Then my family prayed the rosary together. After that, I recited a poem for my school. I finished up some chemistry problems that I procrastinated, and then got ready for bed.
After I was cozy in my pj’s, I worked on some more gift-making. I also started the 2005 movie Pride and Prejudice for the second time to listen to and watch while I crocheted. I really love the movie, especially the scenery. Seeing Elizabeth’s bangs in the movie also made me think about getting bangs again. I finished up some gifts, and went to bed around 10:00.
I hope that this post wasn’t too boring. I had lots of fun writing it! Would you like to see more posts like this? What’s going on in your life? I’d love to hear from y’all in the comments!
I cannot believe that it’s only a week until Christmas! What are you doing for Christmas this year? My family will celebrate with the usual traditions: Christmas gifts in the morning, Christmas Eve Mass, and our church’s Christmas pageant. I’d love to hear about some of your family’s Christmas traditions in the comments.
Hello and welcome to my blog. Happy weekend!! I am very excited about today’s post, where I will be collaborating with Skylar Heart from the blog Girls…Let’s Talk. Before reading this post, be sure to check out her blog, where she shares all sorts of posts for girls to read. She’s currently participating in blogmas, so she has new fun posts for y’all to read every day in December! Also, be sure to check out her collaboration post, where she will list more crochet decoration ideas.
This post will link 12 different patterns that I found online and thought looked very cute for the holidays. I did not make all of them, so I will not include photos in this post, but if you click on the link that I provide for each project, you will be able to find a photo as well as the free crochet pattern. After checking out Skylar’s blog and reading this short intro, let’s get into the 12 Christmas crochet decoration ideas!
Ruffle Christmas Tree
I love how the ruffle Christmas trees look. This pattern uses a styrofoam cone to create the tree’s shape, while bands of ruffled crocheted stitches are glued around it. The stitches used in the pattern make for a very realistic fir tree look.
This Christmas tree has a slightly different look than the previous one, but it is just as lovely. I like the fun texture that the shell stitches add to the tree.
Why not link one of my own patterns from a couple of years ago? I created this Christmas tree Christmas tree ornament pattern in 2021 and published it on my blog. These small Christmas tree ornaments can be hung on a Christmas tree, hung on cabinet drawers, or stitched together into a garland.
This pattern for a crochet gingerbread garland is so cute! I really like how garlands look, and this one incorporates one of my favorite Christmas cookies, so I had to add it to my list. What’s your opinion on gingerbread cookies?
This very realistic-looking Christmas wreath incorporates berries and pinecones into it for a special extra touch. Like garlands, wreaths are one of my favorite decorations.
Because of my love of wreaths, I thought that I’d add another wreath pattern. This cute snowball wreath incorporates blues, balls of snow, a “snow” sign, and an adorable snowman. While this isn’t technically a Christmas pattern, it’s winter, and that’s close enough. Plus, I really like snowmen and thought that there should be at least one included in this list.
Although I haven’t made one yet, I really want to. This pattern includes Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a manger, a couple of animals, some shepherds, and a lovely star. I will have to make this next year!
These poinsettias are so lovely. The pattern perfectly captures the look of poinsettias, with their 3-D petals. These would be perfect to hang on the tree or tie to the string of a wrapped gift.
This pattern makes a lovely angel to top your Christmas tree. The angel looks truly elegant. While it is slightly more intricate and time-consuming than some of the other patterns, if you make this, your work will definitely pay off.
This adorable snowman pattern is one of my favorite things I made this year. If you read this post of mine, you’d know that I made this snowman and entered it in my fair.
This Christmas truck towel topper is a lovely pattern. I love the classic red truck, and believe the towel topper a beautiful way to ornament the kitchen.
That’s all for today’s post! Be sure to check out Skylar’s half of this collab here. I hope that you all enjoyed this post. Thank you, Skylar, for collabing with me! I had such fun finding different patterns and writing this post, all the while listening to Christmas music!
What was your favorite pattern? Will you crochet any of them? Are there any other crochet Christmas decoration patterns that you’ve made that you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments!
Hello folks, and welcome to a new week and a new post of mine! How was your weekend? I’d love to hear about how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to in the comments.
Today’s post will list my favorite reads of 2023, as explained by the title of this post. I think that this year was a very amazing reading year, and I consumed many fantastic books. I contemplated not writing this post, due to there being so many books that I read and liked. However, I decided to narrow down my list a bit and was able to come up with the top seven books and series to talk about in this post.
This post won’t contain books that I read in previous years and reread this year. But, because I did reread some amazing books and series this year, I feel it only fitting to list a few honorable mentions– books that I didn’t read for the first time this year, but that I think y’all should. 😉 Those honorable mentions include Lovely War by Julie Berry, which I reread in February for Valentine’s Day. It is such a wholesome and sweet book set during WW1 and follows two different couples throughout the war; the story is quite bittersweet. The whole Hunger Games series as well as The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins are amazing books that I will never stop recommending. I reread them every year and am still able to get something new out of them each time. One last reread from this year that I must mention is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, one of my favorite classics. The story of the four sisters and their lives as they grow up will always remain with me. I am currently rereading this book, and I am again realizing just how much this book means to me.
Okay, before we get into the real list of my favorite books of the year, I will also mention that this list will not include the nonfiction books I read this year. There would’ve been too many books if I were to include those, because of the fact that I made the effort to read more nonfiction this year, and enjoyed many of the nonfiction books I read in 2023. Don’t worry, though. I will probably do a post listing the nonfiction books I read this year on my other blog in a little while if I get around to it. Without further ado, let us move on to my favorite reads of 2023!
The Heart of Betrayal and The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
This series…let me tell you: Pearson weaves a great tale of love and tragedy in her Remnant Chronicles book series. I was at first skeptical to read this series because of the first book’s title, The Kiss of Deception. This series led me to learn not to judge a book based on its cover (or, title in this case). It may be my favorite fantasy series now and for good reasons. I read the first book in the series late in 2022 and quickly ventured to finish the trilogy.
The series follows Lia, a princess who flees on the day of her arranged marriage to the prince of a nearby kingdom. In the village that Princess Lia flees to, she meets two strange young men–one of whom is the prince she was meant to marry, and the other an assassin sent to kill her. I sped through the first book, trying to find out which man was the prince and which one was the assassin (the reader, like Lia, is kept in the dark about the identities of the two men until the end of the first book, making for much speculation.) The following books follow the three of them, as many conflicts arise and treacherous situations make themselves known. These books had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, pages turning at a rapid pace.
Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin
This alternate history duology by Ryan Graudin really surprised me, as I did not have many expectations going into it. I believed the premise to be quite weird sounding, and it took me a while to pick up the first book, which my sister highly recommended me to read. I am very glad that I listened to her words of acclamation toward the series. It was very interesting to read, so much so that I even wrote a book review for the first book here, if you want to know more of my in-depth thoughts on the book.
This duology is set in 1956 as if the Axis powers won WW2. It follows Yael, a woman who can skinshift (take on the appearance of others) and who is determined to kill Hitler. Each year since the Axis’s victory, they have hosted the Axis Tour, a motorcycle race across Germany and Japan. The victor of the race is given the reward of attending a special ball, where Hitler is present. Yael decides that she will win the Axis Tour and go to the ball, where she will assassinate Hitler. I found the alternate history setting to be very interesting, page-turning, and full of interesting and realistic characters.
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West
I bet you didn’t think that this list would have any Kasie West on it, did you? 😄 But, seriously, her books are so sweet and fun and quickly read, without any of the unwanted romantic scenes or other things that many other contemporary novels contain. This one was particularly charming, and I loved how it contained some of the characters from Love, Life, and the List.
This book follows the aspiring actress Lacey Barnes, who is dealing with the stress of starring in her first movie. When her father hires her a tutor, Donavan, she begins to confide in him about her troubles. Together, they try to uncover the mystery of who has been working against and sabotaging Lacey’s career.
Dance of Thieves and Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
This duology is set several years after the Kiss of Deception series and follows a completely different set of characters than the original trilogy, but it is set in the same world. These books were amazing as well, and I have nothing but praise for them. The characters, the plot, and the tie-ins to the original tilogy’s novels make it amazing.
It follows Kazi and Jase, two young adults with their own troubles. Jase Ballenger takes over as head of the Ballinger empire when his father passes away. Kazi, who works for the queen, is sent to Ballenger’s territory to investigate several “transgressions against the new territories” as the Goodreads synopsis puts it. While each strives to fulfill their own missions, they meet and are forced to work together. The plot is very engaging, and the characters are very human, two aspects of the novel that led me to put it on this list.
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
This book was good, as I expected it to be. I haven’t ever read a historical fiction that took place on the Titanic, so this was a bit different than many of my other reads, but I really liked it. It follows Valora Luck, who risks everything to sneak aboard the Titanic to reunite with her twin brother, Jamie. Knowing how this book would end, with the sinking of the Titanic and the deaths of many aboard it, I knew that the ending would be sad. Still, that didn’t prepare me for the heartbreak that I would experience at the close of this book.
Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West
Another Kasie West book! This one was very sweet, and it also made me want to travel. It follows Norah as her family goes on an RV trip with another family that is friends of Norah’s family, including her best friend, Skyler, whom she has not seen for years. Norah is excited to finally reunite with her friend, yet when his family arrives, he seems rather closed off and unfriendly. Through the summer, they both discover new things and form new relationships, with others and with each other.
Anne of the Island, Anne of Windy Poplars, and Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery
Last, but in no way the least, is three of the Anne books. I really enjoyed reading more about Anne as she grows up, goes to college, gets married, and faces many struggles and heartbreaks, as well as the deepest joys of life. Alongside Little Women, this series is one of my favorite classics.
Well, that’s all for today’s post. What are some good books you’ve read this year? Did you read any of the books on this list? What are some books you want to read in 2024? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
I hope that you liked this post about all of my favorite reads; I for sure had such a fun time writing about all of my favorite books of the year. I would love to hear all about your favorite books, what you’re reading now, and your plans for Christmas, which I cannot believe is just two short weeks away. Have a lovely week, and keep an eye out for a fun blog post of mine that will be published this Saturday!
Hello everyone and welcome/welcome back to my blog, Books and Hooks! Since I have been away from blogging for the past threeish months, I decided that in today’s post, I would just give y’all an overview of what my life has been like lately. Let’s get right into it!
September
September was when my school started back up after summer break, and it took me off guard. This year, I am taking dual enrollment courses at a nearby college, and those were a bit more time-consuming than the normal school that I do. I did really end up enjoying the classes, though I am glad that the fall semester is over now.
Books I Read in September
In September, I did not get much reading in. I like to blame this on my school.
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery – This one was sweet, like every other Anne book that I have read so far. It was a bit of a letdown from the third one, which I enjoyed immensely, but I did like reading Anne’s letters to Gilbert. I always find it fascinating to read about Anne’s adventures, and this book was no different.
Hail, Holy Queen by Scott Hahn – This one was very good, and I would recommend it to anybody, whether they are Catholic or not. The book really captures some of the reasons that the Blessed Virgin Mary is an important part of the Catholic faith, and was overall a very beautiful book.
Photos from September
Most of these are nature photos, but there are also a few from my zoo trip, of my current read at that moment, and of a hummingbird that we found that was injured.
My sister’s dog, Ava, just chilling.I really like this one!😋My sister and I were both reading books in the Anne series when this photo was taken.We found this hurt hummingbird.
What Happened in September?
September seemed to me a busy month, but most of that feeling stemmed from the fact that school, and other activities such as my homeschool group meetings, were beginning again after the lovely summer. I went to the lake several times with my family, which is always fun. My family also visited the zoo with our homeschool group, as seen in a few of the above photos. Other than that, I cannot remember much of what happened.
October
Books I Read in October
The Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds – This was a pretty good book. I picked it up on a whim at the library and enjoyed reading it. I really liked the writing style. There were a few things about this book that I did not like, but I was able to overlook them because they weren’t major parts of the book. I think that the overall story was interesting.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins – This was a reread, and I enjoyed it so much more this time around. I got so much more out of it reading it a few years later. There are so many things that I noticed and picked up on this time reading it. I also saw the movie a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it (more about that later in this post).
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – It came time again for my annual reread of this series! Honestly, this series is just one of my favorites, I never tire of reading it, and I seem to get something new out of it every single time I read it.
Photos from October
There are considerably fewer photos from October, but still a few that I would like to share.
Reading The Hunger Games.
What Happened in October?
A lot of my relatives visited in October, which was fun! I had a fun time visiting, going thrift shopping, and just spending time together with my relatives. Other than that, my October mostly consisted of schoolwork.
November
I can’t believe that November is already over and that we are into December now. This year has gone by quite fast, but I am ready for 2024 and all of the adventures that it is sure to bring.
Books I Readin November
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – This reread was amazing. This book is definitely one of my favorites in the Hunger Games series. I love this book because it’s really the book where Katniss and Peeta’s relationship changes, and they actually begin to be friends.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – This may be my favorite book in the series, but it is so sad as well. The ending always gets me. 😢 I will never stop talking about how much I find the ending (and most of this book, to be honest) of the series quite bittersweet.
Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery – This book was so good. There were many ups and downs, tears and laughs, and I think that it has to be one of my favorite books in the series so far.
Fable by Adrienne Young – This book was surprisingly good. I didn’t have much expectations of it, but I enjoyed it enough. While there were some annoying things in it, I believe that I will continue with the series. It ended on quite a cliffhanger.
Photos from November
Thanksgiving pies!Our Thanksgiving appetizers. I really loved the movie!My mother’s new dog, Bingo. ❤️❤️
What Happened in November?
November was a pretty chill month. I finished up my dual enrollment classes for the semester and spent quite a bit of time outside. Despite the hate it receives, I think that November weather is just so nice. The gray skies and chilly weather and skeletal trees…I definitely could not live with this all of the time, but it is so beautiful in moderation. Thanksgiving was nice with my family and plenty of yummy food. In November, I also saw the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie. I would highly recommend it! I think that most of the aspects of it (the acting, songs, scenery, worldbuilding, etc.) were very well done. It was pretty true to the book as well. I was contemplating writing a movie review for it, if that’s something y’all would be interested in reading.
That’s all for today’s post! How was your autumn? What plans do you have for the rest of the year? I’d love to chat in the comments! I have some really fun posts coming up, so keep an eye out for those. Have a lovely week, and I will be back next Monday!
Books and Hooks 