Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Top Ten Tuesday ~ Romance from the Past ~ 2/11/2025


I've been blogging for 16 years so I have quite a few book reviews posted here on Colletta's Kitchen Sink.  (Go check out my 16th Blogiversary Giveaway post HERE!)  I thought for today's freebie topic I would share a few of my past romance reads and their reviews.  Just click on the cover to go to my review.

Enjoy!

One


2010

Two


2011

Three


2012

Four


2013

Five


2014

Six


2015

Seven


2016

Eight


2017

Nine


2018

Ten


2019

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What a blast from the past!  It was so much fun going back through my archives and seeing ALL the books I've read and reviewed.  I could have kept going but I decided to just stop at 10 :)


Please leave a comment with the link to your Top Ten Tuesday post so I can return the visit :)

Monday, February 10, 2025

Happy Homemaker Monday ~ 2/10/2025


Come join Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday. 
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Hello and Happy Monday!!!!!

So how about it?  Did you watch the Super Bowl last night?  I wasn't super invested in who won so it didn't much matter to me.  I do wish the score would have been a little closer to make it more exciting.  I enjoy a good nail-biter!


Did anyone get their free Starbucks coffee today?  At least the game was over fairly early as I had to get up for work this morning.

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I want to take this opportunity to invite you to join in my 16th Blogiversary Celebration & Giveaway.  Click HERE to read the post!


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Well, let's get this show on the road :)

The weather outside is:

It is supposed to be rather nasty this week with freezing rain, ice and snow.  Stay safe, everyone!




On today's to-do list:

I didn't get a chance to type this post on Sunday afternoon/evening so I'm just sitting down now at 7:56pm on Monday to write.  

I worked 10am-5pm.  Came home.  Had supper.  Washed dishes.  Relaxed a bit.  And now here I am.

Happening this week:

I work Wednesday and Friday 10am-5pm yet this week.  That is if the weather allows and the office isn't closed on Wednesday.

Tuesday for me morning I have a dentist appointment.  Tuesday afternoon is also a hair appointment for Laken.  The bad weather is supposed to start around lunch, so hopefully we'll get there and back before it gets too bad!

Currently reading:

February's book club selection/read-along is "you're not enough (and that's okay)" by Allie Beth Stuckey.  We're reading a few chapters of the book each week and then discussing it in a FB chat on Saturdays.  We'll also be having our monthly zoom meeting. 

I've read the introduction and Myth #1 (the first chapter) so far.  The ladies in the book club chatted about our thoughts on Saturday evening.  The Good for the Soul Women's Book Club is probably my favorite book club I've ever participated in.  Prairie, our fearless leader, does such a wonderful job and puts so much time and effort into the club.  She's such a sweetheart!


I'm also listening to "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell and will be starting Chapter 12 this evening.  It has been really fun to read about all the inventions and the menagerie of animals that make appearances along the way!


Listening to:

One of my first cars was a little red Subaru Impreza that had "No Fear" decals in the back windows.  I think of that car every time I hear this song!  lol  Probably not what the writer/artist had in mind but still...  Enjoy :)


Watching:

We watched 1 episode of Reacher but I'm just not really getting into it as much as the hubby would like.  I might give it 1 more episode and if it doesn't peak my interest then I'll say it is quits.

We watched the Super Bowl as I mentioned above.

There is a new show called The Hunting Party that looks REALLY interesting.  I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

In the Kitchen:

Super Bowl food/snacks:  i.e, walking tacos, cheese fries, dirt dessert, Puppy Chow etc.

In the Craft Basket:

I'm working on a plush "Dino Nugget" for a coworker to give to her daughter.  I have one side of it completed and would like to get it finished before I go back to work on Wednesday.

Picture(s) from the Camera










Prayer Requests

~Winter traveling safety.

~I need to get into a good routine of work, home and self-care.  I've been a bit scattered lately and need to find my self-discipline again.  Pray for me as I work on this.  (continued as I'm still feeling scattered when it comes to balancing everything.)

~As always, prayers for the safety and well-being of all school/college kids.  (continued)

~Our Country, our Leaders.  (continued)


Bible Verse

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. "

I Corinthians 13:1-3

Have a great week!

Colletta

Thursday, February 6, 2025

My Weekly Bookishness ~ 2/6/2025


All things bookish!
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What I Finished:

Nothing finished this week :(

But...I want to take this opportunity to invite you to join in my 16th Blogiversary Celebration & Giveaway.  Click HERE to read the post!


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What I'm Reading/Listening:


This book is the February 2025 selection for the Good for the Soul Women's Book Club over on FB and Instagram.  (We're actually reading this book as a read-a-long and chatting about each week's passage on Saturdays.)  It is such a great group and we have the best conversations about books through Zoom.  There's still time to join in!  

Blurb:

Is your quest to love yourself more actually making you miserable?

We're told that the key to happiness is self-love. Instagram influencers, mommy bloggers, self-help gurus, and even Christian teachers promise that if we learn to love ourselves, we'll be successful, secure, and complete. But the promise doesn't deliver. Instead of feeling fulfilled, our pursuit of self-love traps us in an exhausting as we strive for self-acceptance, we become addicted to self-improvement.

The truth is we can't find satisfaction inside ourselves because we are the problem. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because we are inadequate. Alone, we are not good enough, smart enough, or beautiful enough. We're not enough--period. And that's okay, because God is.

The answer to our insufficiency and insecurity isn't self-love, but God's love. In Jesus, we're offered a way out of our toxic culture of self-love and into a joyful life of relying on him for wisdom, satisfaction, and purpose. We don't have to wonder what it's all about anymore. This is it.

This book isn't about battling your not-enoughness; it's about embracing it. Allie Beth Stuckey, a Christian, conservative new mom, found herself at the dead end of self-love, and she wants to help you combat the false teachings and self-destructive mindsets that got her there. In this book, she uncovers the myths popularized by our culture of trendy narcissism, reveals where they manifest in politics and the church, and dismantles them with biblical truth and practical wisdom.

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I also started listening to "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell.  I've finished the first 3 chapters and look forward to listening to more and hopefully finishing this book before next week's post.

Blurb:

Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane.

London, England, 1860
When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.

Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself--at any cost.

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What I'll (Probably) Read Next:


Blurb:

Willow Dupré never thought she would have to marry, but with her father's unexpected retirement from running the prosperous Dupré sugar refinery, plans changed. The shareholders are unwilling to allow a female to take over the company without a man at her side, so her parents devise a plan--find Willow a spokesman king in order for her to become queen of the empire.

Willow is presented with thirty potential suitors from the families of New York society's elite group called the Four Hundred. She has six months to court the group and is expected to eliminate men each month to narrow her beaus until she chooses one to marry, ending the competition with a wedding. Willow reluctantly agrees, knowing she must do what is best for the business. She doesn't expect to find anything other than a proxy . . . until she meets Cullen Dempsey, and she must discover for herself if his motives are pure.

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Book Haul:

  

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Book Blogger Hop:

Q.  Do you prefer to read series one book after another, or can you read other books in between? (submitted by Idea-ist @ Get Lost in Literature)

A.  I don't think I've ever binge-read an entire series back-to-back.  I usually don't have access to all the books in a series at one time.   

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Bookishly Yours,


Linking up to: 

   

https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/



16th Blogiversary Celebration & Giveaway ~ Ends 2/16/2025


It is time to CELEBRATE my 16th Blogiversary (February 16th) with a MYSTERY BOX giveaway!!!!


I'm sure there will be some craftiness, some bookishness, some sweets and whatever fun things I come across between now and the giveaway's end.

To Enter:

1 Entry ~ Leave a comment on this post with your first name and state that you live!  (Open to United States Postal addresses only.  So sorry to my Canadian friends :(

2 Entries ~ Follow my blog (GFC, email, facebook, etc) and let me know how you follow in the comments!

2 Entries ~ Follow me on Instagram - @collettaskitchensink and let me know your Instagram handle.  (I'm trying to reach 250 followers before my birthday on 3/24/25!)

The giveaway will be open until Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 12PM EST.  The winner will be announced in a blog post that day!

Let's CELEBRATE!!!!!

Colletta

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Happy Homemaker Monday ~ 2/3/2025


Come join Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday. 
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Hello and Happy Monday!!!!!

Sunday was Laken's 18th birthday!  I can't believe my little groundhog baby is officially an adult!  18 years ago at 1:15pm it was 8F and there were huge snowflakes floating down from the sky.  That is how vividly I remember the day she was born.  My Apple Dumpling is all grown up and I don't know where the time has gone!


Sigh.....

Let's get this show on the road :)

The weather outside is:

Actually, right now freezing rain is coming down.  The steps and walkway are covered in ice and I hate it!  I find that I'm really  conscious of falling this winter.  The older I get the more and more worried I get that I will fall on the ice/snow and I'm only 46 years old!

BUT...look at that temperature for Monday and Thursday!  I'll take some 50 degree days, yes I will :)



On today's to-do list:

**I'm typing this on Sunday afternoon/evening (for reference).**

I work 10a-5p.  Other than that it should be a fairly normal day of trying to get back into the routine of the week.

Happening this week:

I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10a-5p.

As I look at my planner, it looks like the week ahead is a pretty normal one without much "extra" going on.  I pray it stays that way.

Currently reading:

I finished listening to "The Librarian of Boone's Hollow" by Kim Vogel Sawyer Thursday morning.  Our book club zoom meeting was Thursday at 8pm so just in time!  If you'd like to read my review CLICK HERE!

February's book club selection/read-along is "you're not enough (and that's okay)" by Allie Beth Stuckey.  We're reading a few chapters of the book each week and then discussing it in a FB chat on Saturdays.  We'll also be having our monthly zoom meeting. 


I'm also going to start listening to "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell.


Listening to:

We are made in the image of the One True King.  Let us remember that truth!  Enjoy :)


Watching:

Not much this week.

The hubby has recommended that I catch up on the past 2 seasons of "Reacher" so that I can watch season 3 with him when it airs.  I've 2 episodes in and look forward to watching more. (***haven't watched any more yet***)

The Super Bowl is on Sunday and I'll probably watch it.  I don't really have a favorite though.  I just might have to pick the Eagles as I am a Pennsylvania girly!  

In the Kitchen:

Nothing fancy this week...  Just normal supper fare.  Here's a question:  Do you call it supper or dinner?

In the Craft Basket:

I started making some of the cutest Octos.  I found a free pattern on the webs, if you're interested let me know and I'll link it.  So far I've made three:  yellow, green and purple.




Aren't they the cutest things ever?

Picture(s) from the Camera



Prayer Requests

~Winter traveling safety.

~I need to get into a good routine of work, home and self-care.  I've been a bit scattered lately and need to find my self-discipline again.  Pray for me as I work on this.  (continued)

~As always, prayers for the safety and well-being of all school/college kids.  (continued)

~Our Country, our Leaders.  (continued)


Bible Verse

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. "

Romans 12:18

Have a great week!

Colletta