S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 13

Sunday Update – September 24, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

This was my busiest week yet and that's saying something. As most of you know, I'm a part owner/founder of the Future Fiction Academy (FFA). Along with 4 other people, we run the whole academy and make sure it's running smoothly. Well, this past week, two founders were in Florida for a conference, one was sick, and the other was swamped with day-job work. That left pretty much me to run everything. Yep. And I did, and everything was fine. We had a few substitute teachers this week, which made it a little easier. I also asked one of our employees to help with video editing, and that was a great help too. It was extremely busy and somewhat stressful, but I got through it.

That means I did almost nothing else this past week. I didn't visit any blogs to see how all my blog friends were doing (miss you all!) and didn't do much reading or watching TV. I didn't do any writing, though I played with several LLMs and generated plenty of text to demonstrate different kinds of prompting. I did manage to update the last of my books on Amazon with their new categories, so at least I did that.

We did have a wedding anniversary this week, though! 19 years married! We haven't killed each other yet. Hopefully next year we'll be celebrating 20 years in Japan.

What have I been reading and watching? I missed talking about this last week, so I have a little to catch up on. I finished reading all the Ali Hazelwood short stories and I loved them all. Then I started reading Carysa Locke's new novella that will be in Pets in Space 8. I also started listening to John Scalzi's newest book, Starter Villain. It's hilarious already and I'm about a third into the book. On TV, the husband and I are watching the September Sumo tournament and Invasion on Apple TV+. Invasion started out boring and I almost gave up on it. Then the rest of the first season was good. Not great, but good. We're a few episodes into the second season now and it's worse. Lol. Everything is predictable. I keep rolling my eyes because I predict everything. Like, of course the bratty kid ran away! And the other kid you left alone in the car is gone now! Of course! Of course, the sociopathic billionaire runs everything post invasion. Wouldn't want to try something new, right? Ugh. Right now, I'd give the whole show 5/10 stars. Meh. I'm also watching Call the Midwife on Netflix since they released the newest season. I love that show but every episode makes me cry.

As part of our anniversary dinner, we did caviar for an appetizer. It had been a while! It was a nice treat.

Watching the September tournament! We hope to go and see it in person next year. I think I've watched every tournament for the last 10 years!

One of our neighborhood cats came by for some attention. She climbed up on my husband's car and my oldest went out to give her some love. She's a sweet little thing. She's also Lulu's mortal enemy. Lol.

Have a great week, everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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Sunday Update – September 17, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

What a busy week! I feel like they're all busy now that we're back to school, but this one was especially for me. This week I saw two of my usual doctors. I saw my primary care physician on Monday for my annual checkup. Everything looks great via the bloodwork. I'm the picture of health. Even my cholesterol is lower than it was last year, along with my sugars. This is great news because I have gained weight this year, and I had wondered how it was affecting me. My doctor didn't even mention the weight. She's happy I'm working out consistently, eating well, etc.

We discussed the sleeplessness and both agreed that this is probably perimenopause, but it's not time for hormonal help. She recommended black cohash. Has anyone taken it? I got the Meno gummies this week and I've been taking them at bed time and been sleeping better, but I don't know if it's related to the gummies. My other doctor, the gynecologist, also said that everything is great and she recommended wild yam root, either as a supplement or as a cream. I bought a cream on Amazon and it'll be here in a few days.

I started the week not sleeping great, but it's been better in the second half of the week. I much prefer sleeping 6-7 hours a night instead of 3-4. Ugh. So little sleep was driving me bonkers. We'll see if things get better with all of these supplements.

On Friday, I went to my cousin's in the afternoon for tea with my mom who's in town and my aunt. It was nice to just sit around and talk. I then had the evening alone with Lulu because my husband took the kids into NYC for a k-pop concert.

I went into Manhattan on Saturday to see an old friend from high school who was in town for a conference! We sat in Central Park and talked and had coffee, watched all the dogs, and then we had lunch together. It was great to get out and not be behind my computer!

I didn't get much writing done this week. I edited a bunch of videos for Future Fiction Academy (I'm getting good at it!) and taught a class too. I also uploaded new versions of most of my books to Amazon and I've been keeping track of them in a Notion database. I'll be working on that today again too. I still have to do the Kimura Sisters series and the Miso Cozy Mysteries series. I'm putting together a box set for the Miso Cozy Mysteries as well.

No photos of Lulu this week… Don't know how that happened!

My trip into the city to see my long-time high school great friend, Nicole. She was in town for a conference. So I took the train in and we hung out in the central park and got lunch together.

The k-pop concert! My oldest child had a blast. My husband and the youngest child were strangers in a strange land. Lol.

The sky was pretty this week and the weather around here got much nicer. After a series of thunderstorms earlier this week, it got cooler and less humid! Yay! I like this weather a lot. I'm looking forward to going out on a walk this morning with Lulu.

Have a great week, everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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10 Years As A Published Author

Would you believe I almost forgot today was my 10 year anniversary as a published author? I started out the day early per usual and got to work. Then suddenly, as I was cataloging books in my Notion database, I realized the date. It was ten years ago that I published my first book, Removed, the first book of the Nogiku Series. Technically that book published on September 11th and then I started promoting it on September 13th because Amazon did not have pre-orders at the time. So I call the day in between my anniversary.

A lot has happened in the last 10 years. I wrote a lot of books. I sold a decent many of them. I've created whole worlds and characters that live in my head. I've tried a few genres. I've definitely gotten involved in the technology side of publishing. I've made a lot of friends and learned a great deal. I've had one or two fan mails that kept me going. It's been an amazing time!

I've also had a lot of bumps in the road. I've never made a profit, never made more than $1000 in book sales in a month. There are plenty of professional organizations that I can't join because my income is so low. I've considered quitting several times. I've had several bad reviews and people attack me and my books. I've made enemies of former friends because of my involvement with AI tools. I've fallen behind schedule, been stuck, put down, and insulted. Yes, it really can be that petty in the author world sometimes. (You need a thick skin to be in this business.)

Despite everything, the thing I love most about my 10 years published is that I have learned a lot about both business and life. I didn't realize I really enjoyed the intersection of marketing and technology until I did this job. I didn't realize that my capacity for learning would lead me to some of the greatest opportunities I could ever ask for. I couldn't know where my path would lead me if I hadn't stuck with this crazy idea that I could write books in a new and volatile market. I have learned SO MUCH and I'm so grateful to have had the chance to gain all this knowledge.

Things are shifting for me now. I'm obviously not just an author anymore. I'm also a part of a new start-up business that has the potential to do amazing things. I'm moving my focus from exclusively writing books to also including coaching authors and teaching this new technology on the scene. I'm letting go of expectations and rolling with the punches. The next 10 years will probably bring more upheaval and change, and I'm ready for it.

So, happy anniversary to me! Today, I'll celebrate a little and then it's back to work!

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Sunday Update – September 10, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

First week of school is done. And what a week it was. There were a lot of emotions in the house the night before school and then throughout the week. And then we had field hockey, band, and other carpooling almost every single night. I am absolutely beat, so I wanted to catch up on sleep this weekend. Nope! I only got four hours of sleep last night because my youngest child watched a scary movie with her friends and refused to go to sleep. So now I suffer because of it. Yay. (She won't be doing that again, I can tell you that.)

In writing/work news, writing on my fantasy rom-com is coming along. I have 15 chapters written now and the story is progressing as I envisioned it. I did a lot of work for Future Fiction Academy this week. I covered another instructor's lab because she was in pain. I edited 4 labs and got them up to Teachable. I realized the other day that I have not taken a day off from work since we went to Europe. I work every day, including weekends. Today, I will be updating this website, I will be making a box set of my Amagi Series, and I will be scheduling posts for SFR Station. SFR Station is winding down and almost closed for business but I have a few books in the queue left to post.

What have I been reading and watching? The husband and I are struggling to find something to watch on TV. Usually in these down times, we watch Stephen Colbert or John Oliver, but with the strike, that's not available to us. I don't know what we'll pick up to watch this week. For reading, I have read the first two stories in Ali Hazelwood's collection of shorter novellas, Loathe To Love You, and I really enjoyed them. So good! I think I'll start on the third today.

The website attacking kept up through the week and stopped abruptly. I think Wordfence must have updated their firewall rules because they all just stopped at some point. Good.

Lulu is stuck to me while my husband is gone. Attached to my hip or sleeping in her bed in my bedroom. Also, there have been a lot of deer in the yard this week. Lulu is unhappy about it.

We went out for Indian food last Sunday and ate our way to full bellies in no time.

I had my 900th Peloton ride! I'm only 100 away from the comma club!

I had to go get a tire replaced on my Model Y on Monday. This was my first experience at a Tesla dealership for Service, and they did a great job. Not only were they done within an hour, but I didn't have to do a whole song and dance and waiting to check out. When the car was done, I was alerted on the app, I paid on the app, and then the app showed me where my car was, handed off the car to me, and I was done and driving away without having to talk to anyone. Freaking brilliant. I took this photo in the dealership. The Model X is still a very pretty car. (This kid walked into the photo right as I was snapping it and it was the only photo I got.)

This is my new favorite gluten free pizza. The toppings SUCK, really, which is a disappointment. But the crust is fantastic! So I buy it, put Rao's sauce on it and more cheese, and then it's a fantastic pizza. Highly recommend the Banza pizza if you're GF, but be prepared to modify it.

This week led to a lot of drinking on Friday. Amazon added an “AI content” checkbox to the KDP dashboard, and OF COURSE they did not explain HOW the data will be used if you check the box. Authors were speculating all over Facebook. Some were cheering thinking this will be the end of AI content (it won't). Some were angry they have to declare (I understand). Some were happy that maybe this will legitimize the practice (that would be me). Sigh. It's a mess as usual. At this point, I don't have to check anything for my previous books. There was AI assistance in Escape from Shin-Osaka, A Surprise Favor, and the upcoming Tilli's Second Chance, and Amazon says I don't have to declare that. My tools didn't generate content but helped me enhance what I wrote.

But for my upcoming series, I'm doing a lot more work on figuring out how to make the AI generate what I want. You have no idea how many technical manuals I have been reading recently on Temperature, Top K, Top P, Presence Penalty, and etc etc. I know more about LLMs than I ever thought possible. Yes, it's a lot of work and experimentation, but I'm determined to make the AI do what I want with MY ideas. Still, in Amazon's eyes, this will be “Some sections generated with heavy edits.” So I will have to check the Yes box on those books.

And I'm saying all of this here, out in the open, because I don't want to hide what I have been doing. There's nothing shameful or wrong with using AI. It's a new tool and we should all learn how to use it. I'm diving really deep so I can teach others. Hopefully other people can respect that even if they don't agree.

That's all for this week! Have a safe and healthy week, everyone.

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Sunday Update – September 3, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It's September, people! And I don't have much to report for this week. I was super busy. Every day was packed with errands or work. We finally went Back to School supplies shopping and the kids start school again on Tuesday. Yay! We took care of a lot of chores around the house. The kids went to the pool. My husband got a lot of work done. You know, the usual. I've barely been sleeping, unfortunately. I'm getting anywhere from 4-6 hour of sleep per night, and that's it. I'm learning Notion! I think that's the only new thing lately. Lol.

What have I been reading and watching? The husband and I watched Hijack this week on AppleTV+. It was surprisingly good. Very suspenseful and compelling. I started watching Foundation Season 2. For reading, I finished both Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood and Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood, and I loved them both. The last book of the series made me cry at the 50% mark, and there were lots of good callbacks to the previous two books. It made me happy. I got her collection of shorter novellas which I plan to read this week. After that, I'm not sure what will be next.

Also, someone keeps attacking my website, and I'm not sure why. Just move on, hacker. You're not getting in.

Only two photos this week since I was super busy…

I got this toy for Lulu. You roll up treats in the pieces of fabric and tuck them inside and she sniffs and pulls them out. It's great for days when she's up my butt and I have work to do.

I don't know what these are, but they're pretty and they smell nice.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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September 2023 Goals

How is it September already? The kids go back to school next week!

What happened with August's Goals?

Finish at least one book. I did finish a book but it's not any of the ones I have been publicly working on. Sigh. I have been sooooooo busy.

Keep teaching and live-writing with FFA. This is what's taking up all of my time, but I'm glad for it. I feel like I've finally found my path in the author world and this is it. I am planning on still writing, but considering I never once ever made more than $700 in a month with my books, working with the FFA is the better choice for me.

Stick with the Peloton. I have been riding and not skipping any workouts. Huzzah!

Enjoy the beach house. I certainly enjoyed the beach house. It was nice to be there despite having loads of computer problems while I was there.

Keep going with Duolingo, reading, knitting, and TV. I did well with everything except knitting. I've been reading and watching good TV. I've been keeping up with my Duolingo. But I haven't touched my knitting in weeks.

September Goals

Keep writing. Okay, instead of saying that I should finish a book or even that I should get to a percentage in a specific book, I'm going to just encourage myself to keep writing. I spoke about this with my friend Elizabeth. We're both working really hard to make FFA happen, and we both need to set aside time to write our books. I'm hoping we keep each other accountable. Because I'm 11 chapters into the fantasy romance and it's turning into a witty and fun fantasy rom-com. Lol. I want to see where it goes! Plus there are my cozy mysteries too.

Keep teaching and live-writing with FFA. This is a given now every month, and September will be very busy because two of our founders are going to a conference mid-month and we have to cover for them. We've got this! But it'll be busy.

Stick with the Peloton. I need to keep up with my current schedule, which is going really well!

Get the kids back to school and re-establish my routine. Transitions are always really rough around here. Once the kids are back in school, I'm hoping my home routine gets easier.

See my doctors this month. I don't usually talk a lot about my health, but I'm seeing my primary care doc and the gynecologist this month. One for my usual yearly blood work and checkup. The other I'm hoping to talk about estrogen supplements because I'm 47 (48 in January) and I have peri-menopause symptoms like whoa. I'm barely sleeping, I'm running hot all night long, and then I have general anxiety all day. It's nuts and I want it to stop.

Keep going with Duolingo, reading, knitting, and TV. The usual here. I really should pick up my knitting this month.

That's it for this month! Have a great September everyone!

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Meet Ivan from Tilli’s Second Chance

Picking animal pairs for each Kimura Family member wasn't an easy job, yet the choice for Ivan came effortlessly to me. 

About 20 years ago, I was a fresh transplant in the Big Apple, and I decided to room with a co-worker and her friends. We were young and impulsive, so why the heck not, right? I barely knew these people, but I figured it would all work out.

During our time together, one of my roomies had this insanely cute and fluffy cat named Idon. That cat had personality for days! Then, another roommate had this sleek and stunning Russian gray cat called Stella, with bright yellow eyes that could melt your heart. Now, I'm allergic to cats, so I couldn't exactly spend quality time with them, but we managed just fine. It was a cool experience living with those cats.

Fast forward to today, and whenever I see a Russian gray cat, I can't help but appreciate their exquisite fur and striking eyes. When the chance came to introduce a new animal in this series, I instantly thought of both Idon and Stella and decided to combine their awesomeness into one cat. And thus, Ivan was born (giving a little nod to the Russian roots).

A little about Russian Blue cats

Russian Blue cats are one of the most popular breed of cats in the world. They are known for their distinctive gray blue coat, their gentle personality, and their intelligence. They're also a natural breed, meaning they were not breed into existence by humans, and they have been around since the mid 1800s. They also have a long lifespan, usually 10-20 years, and have even been known to live as long as 25 years.

In Russian folklore, the Russian Blue is considered both a healing charm and a good luck charm. It is believed that the breed can ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to its owners. They are also extremely intelligent and love to get up to hijinks and play with toys. I really love them. They are such great cats!

Pets In Space 8 Is Now Available For Pre-Order!

Blast off into adventure with the eighth installment of PETS IN SPACE, a dynamic anthology of 11 never-before-seen science fiction romance stories! Rocket through the multi-verses brimming with heart-pounding escapades, swoon-worthy romances, and the best pet sidekicks ever!

Each story will pull you into the far-flung corners of the cosmos with intrepid heroes and heroines you’ll want to cheer for as they fight to save their world and find their happily ever afters. You’ll adore the furry, feathered, and scaly friends who have come to help their brave human companions on their quests.

This limited-edition anthology includes novellas by some of the biggest names in science fiction romance including USA TODAY bestselling authors R.J. Blain, Susan Hayes, Honey Phillips, Skye MacKinnon, Arizona Tape, Carol Van Natta, Tana Stone, S. J. Pajonas, Carysa Locke, JC Hay, plus award-winning authors Gail Koger and Elva Birch.

The Pets in Space 8 authors continue their vital support of Hero-Dogs.org, the non-profit charity that provides trained service dogs for disabled U.S. veterans and first-responders.

Pre-Order Pets in Space 8 on Amazon

Pre-Order Pets in Space 8 on Other Stores

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Sunday Update – August 27, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Here we are at the end of August? Have I accomplished all of my goals for August? Not even close. Sigh. I decided to put a lot of my creative writing projects on hold while we are ramping up Future Fiction Academy. I'd love to be able to write more, but not only am I swamped during the day, but I'm also not sleeping well at night. I think I'm entering perimenopause because my hormones feel like they're fluctuating every day. And that's leading to poor sleep. I am seeing my doctor in September though (both the primary care and the gynecologist) so I'm hoping they'll be able to help me.

Still, I have been working a lot. Learning more about AI and writing in general than I ever have! All of it will be applicable when I finally get around to finishing the fantasy romance. I did have a plotting breakthrough for it this past week, though. I had been wondering what to do with Books 2 and 3 in the series, and I figured that out while taking a shower the other day. 10 years as a published author and I still get all my best ideas in the shower. Lol.

This past week was Band Camp! I'm so glad that's done with. It was a lot of driving and hearing about how tired my oldest child was. The youngest got her schedule for school, and after some tears and a few emails to her school counselor, we got a scheduling mishap fixed. This coming week we will be doing school supply shopping. I meant to do it earlier in August, but I've just been swamped.

What have I been reading and watching? Not much on the TV front. We watched a few more episodes of Only Murders in the Building and then we started Invasion on Apple TV+. I finished And Just Like That (Loved it!). I wanted to start rewatching Battlestar Galactica but Peacock took it off their streaming. (BOO!) So I watched Red, White, and Royal Blue on Amazon Prime instead and enjoyed it. For reading, I finished The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood and LOVED IT. It was fantastic. I tried to read another rom com from an Amazon First Reads and it was terrible within the first 10%. So what did I do? I asked my friends if I would get more of the same from the rest of the series, because that's what I wanted, and they assured me I would. So I bought the next book, Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood, and I'm now 50% through it. No complaints from me. I already love it.

Only a few photos this week since I was super busy…

More Lulu since you all love her as much as I do…

And I posted this photo of me this week. I'm still working out regularly, and I still love my Peloton bike. I may not be the fittest person, and I may have gained weight again, but I'm still working hard at being fit and healthy… except for those Gluten Free Oreos. Yum.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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Sunday Update – August 20, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

I can't believe we're already back home and band camp is starting. It's a sure sign that summer is coming to an end. Total bummer. Now it's time for all the car pooling and drama about band. Lol.

But I'm blogging from my new computer today! I love the size and the keyboard. I'm really happy with it so far. It's fast, zippy, and easy to use. I had some issues with it this week as I installed apps on it and got it up and running, but I think those are all worked out now. I decided not to use the Migration Assistant from my old Mac. I wanted a fresh system installation instead of porting over a ton of things that I didn't need or were legacy installations. Thankfully the majority of my files were on Dropbox and those just downloaded over night. The rest were in my Home folder and I copied them over with a thumb drive. I've decided not to install Microsoft Office. I had a standalone installation that was old and needed updating, and meh. I don't use it enough to either buy a newer version or subscribe to MS Office 365. I'll use the Apple apps and Google Docs. It'll be enough.

This past week, I got a lot of work done for Future Fiction Academy, and very little of my own writing done. I think I need to come to grips with the fact that my life has drastically changed and I am now more of a teacher/entrepreneur/prompt engineer/storyteller than I am just an author. I'll still be writing books but they will be fewer and farther apart. No worries, though. I am still writing. Just slower than before.

What have I been reading and watching? This week I spent apart from my husband as he stayed behind at the beach house and returned home on Friday. So for TV I didn't watch much. An episode of Good Omens 2 and the latest And Just Like That... But I also rewatched the movie Lost in Translation. It's still lovely and dead-on about Japan. As for reading, I finished the second and third Helen Hoang books, The Bride Test and The Heart Principle. This whole series was fantastic. I loved it all. The third book in the series was a bit painful to read, and I cried reading the author's note. You could tell it was very personal to the author. Highly recommend the whole series. I've started reading The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazlewood, and I'm enjoying that too. I seem to be in a geeky rom-com mood.

Lulu and her hot dog. Lulu, always on the wrong side of the door. Lulu next to me again on the couch. I missed her!

My new computer! I'm going to hope this one stays awesome. I love that Apple brought back MagSafe charging. It was one of my biggest complaints about the Air I bought.

I've been experimenting with rice ramen and making my own soups. This one was delicious! And soooo many cucumbers from my husband's garden. We can't keep up!

And finally, our last family beach day last Sunday before we left. See you again soon, beach!

I hope you all have a healthy and happy week!

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Sunday Update – August 13, 2023

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Here we are, halfway through August! School is right around the corner. Band Camp starts next week. Summer reading is in that last panicked stage of trying to get it done before school starts. Of course, this all applies to my children, not so much to me. But because it's all I hear about at home, it's a strong part of my life.

We're finishing up our last days at the beach house. Tomorrow, we drive home in the morning. I was hoping to stay until Wednesday, but we're going to go home early to get settled in before a busy second-half of the week.

This week at the beach house, one day blended into the next. It was hard to keep track of what day it was because they all felt the same. But I taught on Tuesday and Saturday so that helped anchor things a bit. I exercised a lot, I ate good food, but I had really crappy sleep for several days in a row. Not sure why. One night I suffered from some terrible lower abdominal pain in the middle of the night. It went away after a few hours and I've been fine since, so it was probably something I ate.

In writing news, I'm almost done with a secret pen name writing project which means I'll be able to return to my fantasy romance and cozy mysteries. I've missed working on them! I'm also looking forward to getting home and using my new computer! It arrived on Friday and my neighbor signed for it and is holding it for me. Love our neighbors!

What have I been reading and watching? I'm going to start talking about it every week right here. My husband and I started watching Good Omens 2 and we're loving it. We're also watching Only Murders in the Building and Star Trek Strange New Worlds. I'm watching the new Sex and the City: And Just Like That… show every week and super enjoying it. The podcast is also awesome! I actually read and finished a book this week for the first time in many months. I read The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and loved loved loved it. It was just what I needed. It sucked me in right from the get-go and I fell in love with both main characters. When I was done, my kindle said, “Hey! Did you know you already own the second book in this series too?” I didn't know that! I had bought it in a Bookbub deal some time ago. Lol. So I started reading that and I'm almost done with it too… And now I've bought the third book in the series as well. Looks like I'm binge reading!

This dog. She loves to lie around here, there, everywhere. She buried her bone over by the pool the other day and it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.

My husband's garden is doing really well at the beach house where we have no animals except for bunnies to eat the plants. At home, we have deer, groundhogs, squirrels, bunnies, and chipmunks.

I see these trees all over town here and I want to know what they are so that I can have one planted at our house too. They are so pretty and PINK.

We went out to dinner the other night and I had the most amazing blackened scallops and a GIANT lobster tail. Omg, it was HUGE.

After dinner, we went to our usual favorite chocolate shop. I took photos of these bars because they were funny (first two photos) and then our haul from the shop is the last photo.

A storm rolled in the other day and sat on top of us like this. It was nuts.

And finally, I passed the 10k minutes of exercise achievement from Peloton! Yay! It's been a good year for exercise so far.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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