Vicki’s Comments (group member since May 01, 2018)

Vicki’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I’m wondering how we should go about picking our first book or two. Are we first trying to spell out CELEBRATION? Should we “claim” letters or hold off until we’re finished reading? Do we have a plan?

Tara wrote: "Vicki wrote: My library is still closed. It's been closed since mid-March. :("

Mine FINALLY opened this week for curbside service - I'm picking up my order this evening. I only got two books [book..."

My library normally allows us 25 books from our local branch as well as 10 from Link+, but if you lose a Link+ books it's $115. Anyway I normally have a ton of books from the library but I had just gotten back from a month in Florida and took all my books back (the head librarian extended all my books while on vacay) so I only got the few that I had already ordered. I've had the books since prior to March 19 when we went on lock down. It's one time I really wish I had my limit of books! But then again I have six bookshelves, 3 really large ones and 3 medium ones and I have a lot I've not read yet. LOL

Halli wrote: "@Silje - I am a total type A so would love a planning spreadsheet!

I've checked out 2 books from Overdrive that just came off my holds list so those will be my first 2. Both happen to be re-reads..."

I absolutely LOVED Between Shades of Grey but it is so sad.

Logan wrote: "All the BOM wait times are pretty long at the library but I’m debating buying a couple. I volunteered for DQs for the first July book. Super excited for that one."

My library is still closed. It's been closed since mid-March. :(

Tara wrote: "@Vicki - thank you for your kind words :) It's hard raising responsible kids these days. Our elementary school works very hard on their ROAR expectations … which is Respect, Organized and Always Re..."

Yes, I can tell and that's really wonderful! It's awful to be in a district you don't care for and that doesn't serve your children well.

I'll recommend these books that I loved and that are in various genres:

From Sand and Ash
Between Shades of Grey
The Air He Breathes (entire series!)
A Different Kind Of Angel
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
Wolf by Wolf

Angie, that’s really nice of you to post that. I’ll be visiting!

Logan, that's how I feel about seeing my family. DYING to see them! On Mother's Day those in this area came to my house and my daughter texted me that she had dropped something off on my porch so go get it before a porch pirate steals it, so I went out and my family who live here were all there! They were outside our fence area and waving and yelling loving things and then they sang Happy Mother's Day to me. It made me cry but it was so good to see them all! I want to hug and snuggle to my heart's content!!!

Halli, I have 2 sisters, too! One is my absolute BFF (Janice). It's fun watching the little ones, right? I reminisce sometimes and find pictures of my grandchildren at really young ages and send them out. It's a lot of fun to do that and they love it. They can't believe that I have some of the pictures that I do, and I'll send it in group texts to those who are in the pictures. :)

I have twin granddaughters, but they aren't identical. Are you and your twin identical?

@Megan...oh my gosh! I am so glad that you're okay!! I am super scared to get COVID-19 because of my risk factors and health. I hope you continue to get stronger and healthier!!! Did you get very sick with it or have to go to the hospital with it?

You just might be sorry you asked this question. LOL

We have had a tradition in our family since 2008. One of my sons and his wife got a divorce and she moved to Oregon (we're in California). My other son had already moved to southern CA, and so things were more difficult because we had spent a lot of time getting the grandkids together. So, my son Brian and my oldest (daughter) Kim thought of having a "Cousins Camp" every summer so that the cousins (my grandkids) would remain close and never forget each other or not know each other. The first 2-3 summers we spent in my daughter's backyard. I think it was 3 nights at first. Boys in one tent with one "adult" and girls in the other with an "adult" but the adults were probably the biggest instigators, teaching the kids how to harass the other tents, etc.

It's grown since then, as our family has, and to this day we haven't missed a single summer planning and having a Cousins Camp until now. :( We have mostly spent our times in one of our homes, but twice my husband and I were able to get us 5 rooms at a resort in Big Bear and we had our Cousins Camp there. We've been jet skiing (not me, Grandma watched lol), boat and dolphins swimming by our side (like about 30!), we've been to the Bible of the Museum when it was in L.A. area (mobile unit), ocean trips, water parks and many kinds of activities. In Big Bear in my son's room we had an ongoing 1000 piece puzzle set up on a table and we'd drop in and work on it for 5 minutes, an hour, whatever we wanted and we did finish it. We have SO SO MANY good memories and to this day, even my grandchildren's spouses come to it. They all still love it and look forward to it. Of course, a couple times one or two couldn't make it. I have one grandson by marriage who is in the service and overseas, so he's had to miss it. One of my granddaughters had to miss it due to being pregnant and due when Cousins Camp was happening. It's usually in July, but sometimes we have it in June. My son Brian is a pastor and he is over children's ministry and men's ministry, so we have our annual event when the head pastor tells Brian when he (Pastor Tim) is going on vacation because Brian is also assistant pastor so he "takes over" when Tim is gone so we can never plan it at that time. But we don't always know when Pastor Tim is going until a month or two prior, so planning isn't easy with 35 of us. We do not allow anyone to come except for our family since we want to build family ties, so boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. (unless they are a couple living together) aren't allowed. But if they are part of the family but just not married, we include them. That is only 2 in our family at this time. I am so sad we probably won't have it this year but if we do, I might not go. :(

Christmas we rarely all make it to one place. Traveling at Christmastime for my son to where we live is about 320 miles and he has 6 children, but now 2 are grown and married. But having 6 children and no van that fit all of them, he and his wife drove 2 cars for trips and often still do because she can stay for a few days or a week, but he normally has to get back for church. On my 70th birthday (Jan. 27) he drove up here and had dinner with the family but then he had to drive back that night to be at their church service. So he drove about 5-6 hours to be here and turned right around and did the same thing. I was shocked to see him at the restaurant!!

So that's it in a nutshell. :)

Sarah wrote: "Hi team! My name is Sarah and I'm 41 and from Toronto, Canada.

I'm married, no children, but mom to my two feline furbabies! I do have a niece and nephew that I love to spend time with.

I mostly ..."

I am SO SO SAD that we had to cancel our July trip to Canada. I was taking my daughter and her girlfriend and 2 of my granddaughters and we've had it planned since June 2019. Cairn Banff was our destination. Hopefully we can go next year instead, but as of now we've planned a trip to Yellowstone National Park which is absolutely amazing to see. The animals, beauty, hot springs, Old Faithful, and so much more to see. My daughter (Heather) is into nature big time so we decided to take her there next year. Anyway, I did go to Victoria in 1972 and it was absolutely gorgeous! At that time it was so clean I used to tell people, "You could eat off the streets!" But I don't know if it's still that way.

Anyway, welcome to our trip around the world!!!

To all: I am glad that it seems most or all of us have not lost jobs or income during this time. I was already retired but my hubs (Scott) is also an essential worker and a General Mills plant. I worry about him every day because he works with truckers from all over the world, seeing that they are coming and going with the proper order/load. Last week 1 person was found to be positive and 2 days ago they were notified that 3 are positive. The good news is that he doesn't work in the main warehouse, so he should be safe but you never know. Since I am older and have several high risk categories, it does make me nervous. I do all that I can from home, disinfect etc. wash my hands (they're so soft now lol) and do not go out to stores or anything (Scott does all the shopping), if God chooses to take me then I'll know that's on Him, not me. LOL

I'm really looking forward to playing will all of you! We seem like a great team. I promise (well, I'll try) not to write an entire book about all my family!

@Tara, we did play on another challenge or maybe 2 because I remember your profile picture. :)

I love your children's names and ages. That first time kindergarten is a difficult one. At least they were for me, especially if they cry that first (or 2nd etc.) day. I understand wanting more but deciding it's not perhaps the best choice. Maybe you'll have grandchildren in many years from now and just you wait and see how much JOY they bring you!! Such a different relationship from that with your children.

Garrett must be a special little boy. Being selected for safety patrol is huge and a wonderful self-esteem/responsibility builder. I think one major fault of parents these days is not giving their children enough responsibilities (chores) at home. When I taught high school (mostly 9th grade) I couldn't believe how many students had NO responsibility at home. Perhaps some lied about it, but I didn't get that sense. In yearbook, of course, I had the best of the best students since they had to apply and I got to choose which ones to take. Students in yearbook were mostly very motivated kids, and I know quite a few that are now nurses, a chiropractor, a real estate guru, and other successful careers. They thrived on responsibility in school (for the most part).

Tell Garrett that Grandma Vicki (lol okay, a friend of yours on GR) said, "I'm very proud of you, Garrett. It's really wonderful that you are taking on such an important job and at such a young age! Good luck on safety patrol, buddy."

@Halli, I loved having 5 children and when they were growing up, I was very proactive in their "training." We had SO MANY good family times like dancing in the living room, their friends coming over and practicing dancing moves, my son Brian's baseball buddies coming over and spending the night. Once Brian fell asleep and the drew a face on his face with make up and then woke him up and told him they wanted to go to the store right down the street from us, so he got up and left not knowing he looked ridiculously funny. LOL

I also loved being pregnant! I missed being pregnant right after they were born and feeling the movement inside, but at the same time I obviously preferred having them in my arms. And I feel cheated because I never had sonograms to see my babies inside me since my first was born in March 1970. Doctors would guess their gender based on heartbeats. But I think I'm too old to try again. LOL

Hobbies? Not much. Before this dang pandemic, I was spending a lot of my retirement time taking care of my grandkids. One of my daughters was back in college and I'd watch her younger ones (mainly the 2 year old...my heart, Lily). I was usually there 3-4 days a week. She also works at a hospital as a CNA and is trying to get into the RN program, but she had her last baby March 6, we went on official lock down March 19 so she's been on maternity leave plus disability for about 2 months or so prior to the virus due to a really bad sacroiliac. She still hasn't returned to work and has a least 2 more months before she has to go back.

Other than a lot of time with my grandkids and traveling a lot, my only "hobby" is TV. I have to admit that I love some shows like The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Big Brother (thanks to my sister making me watch it), and some others. I love all of the dance shows and singing competitions too.

@Ashleigh, thank you for making all of that so clear for me! I truly appreciate the time you took to do that! Your nieces and nephews are clearly very important in your life! All my nieces were like my children (5 nieces). Back then they still lived in CA and our children got together a lot!! Sadly, one of my nieces is simply missing, but not from being kidnapped. She got involved (we think) in drugs and we haven't heard from her in years and years. I fly to FL every year so I can visit my 3 siblings, Janice (my BFF), Jon (my bear hugger), and Judy (the one with more lives than a cat!). Maybe I'll explain that at some point. LOL

Business first: What are all the book recommendations? Are we supposed to be recommending them for a particular reason for this challenge? Or are we simply telling others what our favorites are? Maybe I missed something...highly typical for me. LOL

Well, Maritza, I can tell you what others on this team have to look forward to. I have 21 grandchildren (11 boys, 10 girls), 5 great grandchildren (3 boys, 2 girls), and my kids (notice they come last now lol) are 3 girls, 2 boys. MY baby will be 41 on the 11th of June.

My oldest grandchild is Brianna and she'll be 26 the 27th of this month. She used to lead worship for her youth group when she was younger, then she led on Saturday nights before her dad (my son) taught the Bible. She went with my son on one of his missions trips to Canaille, Haiti, and while there she played and sang and even learned to sing one of the songs in their language. It was quite a learning experience.

My next oldest is Christopher and he is 6 months younger than Brianna. He is currently studying Neuro-muscular Therapy and advanced manual therapy. He'll finish in August. The goal of his massage therapy is to eliminate or alleviate pain via soft tissue manipulation and muscular reeducation. He is big time into plants! He has been for years, even when he was a teen. I mean plants like herbs mostly. He grows his own herbs in planters since they're in a small apartment in Orange County. He lives with his girlfriend of about 3 years.

My youngest grandchild was 3 months yesterday and he's a boy. He has the LONGEST hair I've ever seen on a child that young, ever! LOL His 2 year old sister has hair that her mommy puts in little ponytails, but JuJu could have a really long ponytail. Why do boys always seem to get the long hair and lashes? LOL I sadly have barely seen him because of the pandemic. They only live 30 minutes from me and my daughter has 6 children. The 2 oldest are out of the home (although her daughter is there now due to the virus). She has 4 boys and 2 girls, and JuJu is her last so VERY likely my last grandchild. What a joy they all are!

Okay, enough on myself. I literally could write forever about my grandchildren. They are definitely a joy in life! So how about you? Married? Career? Stay at home mom? I see that you live in New York City. I hope that you're far, far away from all the chaos going on and staying safe. Were you born in NY or moved there later in life? Tell me about yourself a little. I visited New York City back in 2008 or 2010...can't remember but I was only there from Thursday night to Sunday early afternoon. I did get to go on the ferryboat and see the Statue of Liberty. I couldn't believe how big it is! It gave me chills and such pride! I had gone there to meet 5 people from an online masters class we had all been in. That was too fun! We went to see Phantom of the Opera, which made me tear up before it even started because I was so overcome with emotion just sitting in that beautiful theater and knowing I was going to see a real Broadway show at the Majestic! I loved it so much!

Sorry to be so long but I love to write (can you tell?) and no one has to read it if they don't want to!

Our team is not very chatty at all, or at least not yet. I like chattiness and getting to know people on my teams. I've already met several Goodreads friends in person. One person came to San Francisco for a Goodreads meeting of some king (she's one of their librarians) so even though she was only there Thursday night, had an all day meeting Friday and left Saturday, she took out the time to drive halfway (about a 45 minute drive for each of us) so we could meet. Then in January 2019 I flew to Florida to meet another friend and attend her wedding. I got to visit her for a whole week. And last summer 2019 my hubs and I went to Vegas and I met another friend from Goodreads. I become close friends with some people on GR as I am sure many of us do.

Okay, I will shut up for real now! I welcome anyone who wants to chat!

Hi everyone! I am Vicki and as of now I am most likely the oldest member on the team. I am happy to have lived to be 70 years and 4 months old because a lot of people don't. :)

I am a mother of 5, grandmother of 21, and great grandmother of 5. I can write books about my grandkids, but I'll spare you all! Ask if you have any questions and I'm happy to brag! LOL

I am a retired high school teacher as of May 2017. I taught English for 25 years and yearbook for 18-19 years. I loved my students and still keep in touch with many of them, mostly via social media but I've definitely had a few "coffees" or meals with several and attended a few weddings and hospital visits to see their newborns.

I played Wheels twice, I believe (old age is my excuse for a bad memory). I'm excited to play but I have a few questions for sure.

Question 1: Do all the books we read have to have one of the above tags to count? I assume this would be in addition to the genre. So, if we need to read a book that is dystopia and we find tags for "battle" it would be extra points, but we don't have to have it tagged with one of the words, correct?

Question 2: The rules say ◈ Each book can only be used once - one book per task, one task per book. Does that mean we have no reason to buddy read for this challenge, meaning if I read a particular book for one task that no one else can read that same book for that task?

Halli wrote: "Anybody else anxiously refreshing your group waiting for it to be unlocked? 🤣😅"

OMG! I've been obsessed with it today! In fact, I'm having to resist emailing my captain because I don't want her to think I'm pressuring her.

Hopefully our captains will open our thread soon. I want a team chat and to begin to strategize.