December News
December saw me officially moved out of the old place and into the new. The move was a little wearing and there is still a bit of a mess everywhere (hidden, though!). We only had three weeks of school before getting out for the break, and the day after getting out my brother stationed in Hawaii came home for Christmas!
Baby and I jetted to the man’s to spend time in her “home.” The man has now upgraded “the vacation house” to “this is my home, Momma.” He was gone almost the entire month (Dec 6-28), and it was a week longer than last year. It is hard to drop him off at the airport each December, but so sweet when he comes home. While he was gone, I had to man the house. I think he had a lot of fun watching me on all the security cameras! “Don’t forget to close the garage door!” he yelled at me while I was bringing in groceries. 🙂
It was hard not seeing him for so long, and we missed him. I put up the Christmas tree before he left. The last day of school was the first day I was sick and it developed into a full-blown upper respiratory infection. As soon as I got meds, I started feeling SO much better.
December Reads
Average Rating: 3.16 stars
Pages Read: 889 pages
Favorite Book: Oklahoma Christmas Blues
December Posts
I was pretty relaxed in December and just kind of rode out the rest of the year. I didn’t want to focus on starting new features or creating something new, and December is the month for all things end-of-year.
For the First Time in 2016 – new authors I loved in 2016
The Dreaded Question – the holiday question I hate
My 2017 Challenges – keeping it simple
October/November Chit Chat – monthly wrap ups
Review – Oklahoma Christmas Blues
Review – Between Heaven and Earth
Visitors & Search Terms
December has actually been a very popular month for me for the previous two years, but this year that wasn’t the case. I did return back from my hiatus at the beginning of the month, but when I started drafting this post on Dec 20 there were only 600 views for the month (2015: 2,000+; 2014: 1,300+). I saw year wrap-ups going up the second week in December, so I think people are just busier this year preparing. At least, I hope that’s why! 🙂
Search Terms
harry harry potter and the deathly hallows text to self – Seriously? You can’t think of ONE connection YOU have with this text? No brain cells to use? Get outta here!
books like the dead poets society – You have come to the right place, my friend!
banished love saga – SUCH a good series! Hope you like the reviews!
may dodd little wolf – Who? If May Dodd Little Wolf is missing, you’re not going to find her here.
verity wonders – Uhhh….those are two different books. Code Name Verity is one, and Wonder is the other. Were you in too much eggnog?
Challenge Updates
These are my final updates for the year! EEEEK! This has given me the chance to look closely at my challenges and my goals to make decisions for next year. I’m keeping things really simple next year and saying goodbye to some of these year-long challenges.
- Goodreads – 55/52 completed
- Alphabet Soup – 20/26 completed
- NetGalley – 6/50 completed
- Shelf Love / Backlist Books – 19/51+ completed
- TBR – 23/50 completed
- Discussion Challenge – 18/24 posts
- Winter BINGO – 7/25 completed –> ends in February
- December BINGO – 15/25 completed
January Reads
Girl of 1000 Wonders 
That’s so cute about the security cameras! Glad you and Baby are settling in and that the meds took effect quickly. Love your January reads! I’m so excited about the Donna Alward!
I’m surprised. He didn’t do as much viewing as he did in 2015. Shortly after I got there that year, I found the shovel and knocked down all the dang dirt dobber nests on the back patio. He was watching me the entire time via the kitchen cam. Sent me silly messages like “Hit that shovel hard!” I felt kind of sheepish after that! OH – I started reading Donna’s book last night. I’m really liking it!!
Hope you had a lovely holiday!
Looks like you got lots of great wintery reads in. And good luck with your challenges!
It was a relaxing holiday. I hope yours was restful, too. I had hoped to get in more holiday reads, but it was time to move on!
I’m sitting here grinning imagining the man watching you on the security cameras while you’re bringing in groceries. Too funny!
He forgets that it’s always the two of us, and if I’m by myself I have to make at least two trips. He does the one in the garage to scare me more than anything! He likes watching my spooked reaction.
It is hard being away from the people we love, but oh so sweet to have a reunion afterwards 😀
And I’m with Nicole, laughing out loud about him watching you on the security cameras and telling you to shut the garage door 😀
I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday, and that you’ve been able to sneak in some reading this week.
Reunions are so sweet! I’m amazed I didn’t tear up this year. I was grinning like a fool, though! I should tell more security camera stories. I hope you had a fantastic finish to 2016. Cheers to 2017!
I loved this post- especially the search terms! Happy New Year, and I hope you had a lovely Christmas. 🙂
I decided to start doing them after being inspired by Cait @ Paper Fury. Hers are hilarious!
You did great on all your challenges! Thanks for sharing the search terms, they was funny. It is hard to figure out what people are doing by looking at stats. I am often floored by what posts get looked at the most (other than giveaways, of course). I can’t figure it out. All of your January books look good. I hope you enjoy them all.
If you think mine are funny, go check out Cait @ Paper Fury’s. That is where I got the idea. She’s much better at it, though. I read your comments in a recent post about the posts you thought would see the most traffic vs. those that actually did and I was also surprised. I don’t know if I’ll figure it out either.
So glad you are better. Have a good reading year in 2017
I read The neverland Wars and can’t wait to read the sequel and I see that you have it on your January reading list. I hope it’s really fun!
I’ve only read two of Maggie Shayne’s books. They were ok, but nothing to write home about. Maybe I should give her a second chance…