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
Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is doing well. Can you believe this is the last week of March? This month flew with its whiplash weather. It may be a bit premature with it still being in the 30s in the morning, but it is officially spring! I know I am eager for the mornings to warm up a bit.
We started our two days work-from-home last week. Thursday was super windy and very cold, and I was thinking about how lucky I was to be working from home. No commute for four days definitely had a positive effect. I exercised after work on both Thursday and Friday, since I only work until 3:30 pm, and then did my regular Saturday and Sunday. I needed to find more time to increase my activity, and my new schedule will definitely support that. I found I had more energy this week and slept a bit better, too.
I had a nice surprise. My daughter forwarded her itinerary to me. She is coming for Mother's Day this year! It's been quite a while since I spent the actual Mother's Day with my child. Her showcase was usually close to the day, so we celebrated when I was in Chicago, but it wasn't actually Mother's Day. I was impressed with the great deal she got on the ticket. It's like Covid prices. I paid double for my last trip out there. Anyways, something for me to look forward to.
We have a short week due to the Easter holiday. The stock market closes on Good Friday, and thus, so does my business. I don't really have any plans. I am getting my hair cut on Friday and going for an early dinner to my sister's on Sunday.
On the Blog
- Monday: Reviews - The Happiness Blueprint, Old Flames and New Fortunes
- Tuesday: TTT - My Spring TBR
- Wednesday: CWW - Savor It, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
- Thursday: Reviews - Nosy Neighbors, Weekends With You
- Friday: Six Degrees of Separation - Out on a Limb
- Saturday: Sloth Goes Places - Maine
Let's Discuss
- Chapter Adventure shares some great articles
- Kym asks if you are ever afraid to talk about books
- Lisa talks giveaways
Stacking the Shelves
I got two invites this week, but they were for books I already had. Otherwise, it's been a really slow week. I have a bunch of books marked to download when I am ready to read them, but no new approvals.
Free
- Point of Origin by Rebecca Yarros
Read Last Week
I didn't read as much as I wanted to. You can see I swapped a novella for a book below, but the quality was great. My favorite book was not as I expected. It was Lovers and Liars. I had read and loved The Lifeguards by Ward a while back, but this was even better for me. I was very absorbed in this story. The setting, the sibling relationship at the heart of the story, and all the secrets kept me flipping those pages. It was funny, a bit painful, and terribly heartwarming. Loved it!
Find all my reviews on Goodreads
Books
- The Guests on South Battery by Karen White - ★★★★ 1/2
- The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - ★★★★ 1/2
- Catch a Wave by Savannah Scott - ★★★★
- Lovers and Liars by Amanda Eyre Ward - ★★★★★
- A Risk Worth Taking by Jessica Joyce - ★★★★
Audiobooks
- Next to You by Hannah Bonam-Young - ★★★★ 1/2
Currently Reading
I am not very far into How to Dance, but I am loving Done and Dusted. I wasn't sure what to expect based on that cover, but it's a lot of fun. I guess it's enemies to lovers, but what I love is how the hero and heroine have always been part of each other's lives. I suppose there is a touch of brother's best friend in there, too.
- How to Dance by Jason B. Dutton
- Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (audiobook)
To Be Read
Of course I have SIX library holds comes through. I delayed one but snagged all the others since I have been waiting quite a while for them. So, I will be working on May ARCs along with my library loans this week.
- Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
- All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
- Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown
- Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello
Let us know in the comments!
Sounds like the first week of the two days working from home was a success. That's great! And hooray for an upcoming visit from your daughter. I saw that video a week or so ago and loved it. I'm sure others sports do similar/same, but I love that hockey teams seem to consistently be involved with their communities and giving back. And of course six library holds came in at once. lol
ReplyDeleteI was just shocked to realize how old the kids from Sandy Hook were now. It seems like it just happened.
DeleteHomeworking helps a lot with sleep Sam! And that's a great news for Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteI am not sleeping longer, but I am sleeping better.
DeleteI really miss the days I spent working from home during COVID. I will say, just finding a routine for exercise was so helpful to me. Even now that I commute every day, I'm still able to work in my activity either before or right after work. It has made a huge difference to my physical and mental health!
ReplyDeleteI think I am a little older than you (over 50). I leave at 4:30 am and get home at 5pm. I am tired, and still have to make dinner, prepare lunch for the next day, get my clothes ready. I cannot find the energy to exercise after work and it would be really early to do it before my 3 am shower. I am grateful for the two extra days at home to get in 4 workouts a week
DeleteI'm glad working from home is going well! I also got to work from home last week. I only had Zoom meetings on my schedule, and my supervisor said I didn't have to go to the office for it. That's never happened before. I hope you enjoy your Easter holiday!
ReplyDeleteThat has to be a real treat for you with so much of your job involving being on site, and you have had some weather lately too
DeleteGlad to see that you have been enjoying the routine in adding in working from home. It definitely has its pros' and saves on time management especially. I really love that Rebecca Yarros cover. So romantic.
ReplyDeleteThat cover is romantic, for sure, but so sweet and tender too
DeleteThat's nice that you get to spend Mother's Day with your daughter. It's been 79 and then in the 50's here. Crazy weather. It's about to start raining right now.
ReplyDeleteNothing like whiplash weather to keep you on your toes. It poured and there were high winds all day yesterday, but it's lovely today.
DeleteHow do you find the energy and will to exercise after work? LOL. Glad it's doing you good though! And yay for Mother's Day with the kid!
ReplyDeleteI cannot find the energy on days I commute, but I am good on the work from home days.
DeleteThat's awesome you get to see your daughter for Mothers day! And the wesather- yeah. We got snow the other night- and a lot of it! Please spring hurry up! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since I had a kid on Mother's Day. I am looking forward to it. You poor dear. I would cry if we got snow now.
DeleteSo nice that you are able to work from home two days a week now! I hope that is a permanent schedule! So much time is wasted commuting! And bonus it frees you up to get in some exercise. Wonderful news that your daughter is coming to celebrate Mother's Day with you! I've seen Done and Dusted around and I'm curious. I'm going to look into that title.
ReplyDeleteThis two day thing is supposed to be for good, but I heard it's more three days in the office. Meaning, if we have a holiday, we still have to be in the office three days (so only one at home). Waiting to see if this gets communicated to us by my manager. Done and Dusted is good. I am trash for friends to more and I love that they have been in each other lives so long.
DeleteSaving time on a commute is one of the biggest perks of working from home. I love being able to log off and immediately go for a walk! So glad for you! And so happy your daughter is making it home for Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteI save over 3 hours a day without commuting. Loving it! I don't walk. I don't like outside. I have weights and stuff.
DeleteSounds like the two-day WFH routine is working for you and that's amazing! I think I need to start taking advantage of my office's mandate to let us WFH for two days, should we choose to. Surprisingly, no one has really started doing it so I might as well start it! 😂 And how exciting that you'll be spending mum's day with your daughter. I hope you have an amazing time! Happy reading and have a great week ahead, Sam!
ReplyDeleteYou go in more by choice? I wouldn't do that.
DeleteIt sounds like a great week working from home and finding out your daughter is coming for Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteHer visit is the best gift!
DeleteThat's so great that your daughter will be with you on Mother's Day! Also great that your new schedule will allow more time to be active. My doctor just yelled at me about that earlier this week so I need to figure out something. Apparently my leisurely walks around the neighborhood listening to audiobooks aren't cutting it, lol.
ReplyDeleteI hate outside, so I pay for one of those online membership and have a bunch of weights. I am trying, that's all we can do
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