Weekly check-in

Sunday, December 18, 2016 Permalink

I’m baaaaack. Okay, so I know I was only away for one week, but surely I was missed and the world felt a darker and more desolate place without me. Surely?

Anyhoo… I have returned from my trip to New Zealand and am happily ensconced in my own delightful home yet again.

What I read

It was a very light reading fortnight…. being away and all of that. I did read How Will I Know You by Jessica Treadway before heading overseas, but even when I returned home – after having the break – I was in more of a TV mood. I did however accidentally binge-read Alice Hoffman’s Faithful.

What I wrote

I’d pre-written a couple of posts before heading away… which was a good thing because I forgot my laptop charger. I prevaricated about taking my laptop – thinking I’d have a break from reading AND blogging – but remembered I had a couple of posts I needed to write so threw the laptop in. But left the charger at my brother’s. Oops.

As usual there were some book reviews:

Love Murder by Saul Black – a macabre read with charasmatic characters
My Husband’s Son by Deborah O’Connor – enjoyable but not entirely believable
How Will I Know by Jessica Treadway – another enjoyable read, which only disappointed because I enjoyed her previous novel so very much.

There were some book-ish posts:

Ten (new to me) authors I read in 2016 – joining the Broke and Bookish for the Top Ten Tuesday
My favourite books of the year – I came in with seven after much consideration and (over) analysis

And then there was the other navel-gazing crap I tend to gravitate towards:

My first job – my mid 1980s job renting out VHS and Beta videos
Realisations and transformation – in which I ponder whether ‘a-ha’ moments can be fast-tracked
Pre-travel nerves – my nervousness about my impending overseas trip
Let it Go – in which I realise I really really need to stop over-thinking everything and bloody LET THINGS GO!

What I did

I became a godmother. It was very exciting and I was unbelievably honoured as I’m a first-time godmother. I talk sometimes about my friend’s little boy Pickle (who’s 5). His mother and I met when we both moved here 4 years ago and I can’t imagine Pickle and his mum not being a part of my life so I’m beyond thrilled. AND I get to talk about my ‘godson’.

Oh and I went to New Zealand. And Brisbane. I’m planning on writing about my NZ trip on Monday (Oz time) so won’t say much here. My time there flew however and I loved catching up with my old and very dear friend.

What I plan to do

I need to get ready for Christmas as I’m hosting it for the first time in my entire 48 years. My brother, SIL and niece are staying with me and my SIL’s parents will stay with my mum in her nearby town. Thankfully everyone knows I’m crap at this adulting stuff and far from a domestic goddess so others are on top of the Xmas lunch situation. I have – of course – bought a goodly supply of sparking wine (champagne) and red wine, and a stack of cheese and pate and the like. I’ve also got my cleaner and mowing guys coming this week. (Hoorah for outsourcing!)

There will most likely be some reading as my TBR pile remains depressed and dispirited from my lack of attention, and I received some new books to read (below). I do – however need to do some chronological re-sorting before getting stuck into whatever’s next.

It’s most likely I’ll be taking a break over Christmas and the New Year but I don’t want to leave you bereft so will give you a day or two to prepare yourself for my absence.

Have you read any good books over the last couple of weeks? But more importantly – did you miss me?
(Oh, and have a lovely Christmas and New Year if you’re into that sort of thing!)

As usual I’m linking up with Caffeinated Book Reviewer; and The Book Date for ‘It’s Monday!’

47 Comments
  • Jo
    December 18, 2016

    Of course we missed you! Glad you had a great time…& good luck with the Christmas hosting thing.

    • Debbish
      December 18, 2016

      Gah! I was going to offer (with some help) to cook a roast lunch, but I think the consensus is that we do that earlier and have a cold lunch….

  • Stormi D Johnson
    December 18, 2016

    You were missed! It sounds like you had a great time and that is cool about being a Godmother, I love the note and wand!! That is so cool! Have a great week!

    Stormi

    • Debbish
      December 18, 2016

      Awww… thanks Stormi and the wand (and tiara) and note were all very cute. And I got a lovely keyring as well!

  • Nise' (Under the Boardwalk)
    December 18, 2016

    Glad you had a wonderful time. Hope the party you are hosting is a smashing success! The great thing is that our books patiently wait for us. Have a great week.

    • Debbish
      December 18, 2016

      They do wait patiently don’t they Nise’? I think it’s just the readers themselves that exhibit signs of impatience and guilt!!!

  • Laurel-Rain Snow
    December 18, 2016

    Yes, you were definitely missed…I looked at the link-up and you weren’t there, and you didn’t show up at my blog…sigh. But…I’m glad you had a wonderful time away. We all need that!

    I have been eyeing How Will I Know You, after looking up the author who sounded familiar, and discovered, of course, that she wrote Lacy Eye. A weirdly intriguing book.

    Enjoy your week, and thanks for visiting my blog. Congrats on being a godmother…and on hosting.

    • Deborah
      December 19, 2016

      Thanks Laurel, and Lacy Eye was very interesting (and a little disturbing!).

  • Greg Hill
    December 18, 2016

    Glad you had a great trip! NZ sounds fabulous, can’t wait to see your trip post. And congrats too on being a godmother! I went over and read the sample of How Will I Know over at Amazon after reading your review, and it kinda hooked me with just those few pages! So adding that to my TBR- thanks!

    • Deborah
      December 19, 2016

      Ha Greg, I was just looking through my NZ photos and most are of food… so that will make for an interesting post!

  • Kathryn
    December 18, 2016

    Hmm hosting Christmas day for your family, quite a big thing really. Nice to outsource! Isn’t it the way ending up without the power plug. I remember being in Australia without my charger for my ereader which was a nuisance. Congrats on being chosen as Godmother, lovely honour and a joy in store.

  • Kristen (Metaphors and Moonlight)
    December 18, 2016

    Congrats on becoming a godmother! And I’m glad you had a good time on vacation 🙂 Good luck hosting Christmas!

  • adventureswithabooknerd
    December 18, 2016

    It sounds like you had a lovely vacation! It’s funny, I leaving for vacation this week, and I’m wondering if we subconsciously planed our vacations back to back on purpose. Have a good Christmas, and happy reading! 🙂

    • Deborah
      December 19, 2016

      I’m sure we must have – aware the world couldn’t be without both of us at once! 😉

  • Emma
    December 18, 2016

    I think forgetting my laptop charger might be a good thing. Sometimes it’s nice to unplug. Hopefully it helped you have a nice visit. I will be interested in your review of Alice Hoffman as I love the blurb but have read mixed reviews.

    • Deborah
      December 19, 2016

      I really enjoyed the Hoffman Emma – and you’re right… it’s nice to be unplugged.

  • Jess
    December 18, 2016

    Laughed at your first time hosting Xmas/ crap at adulting comment, because this is me. Except I am not hosting and can’t imagine hosting anytime soon! Nor could I imagine anyone from my family wanting to come if I did host!

    • Deborah
      December 19, 2016

      Well, the other three women seem to have Xmas lunch arranged… so they seem to be well aware of my domestic prowess Jess!

  • Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
    December 18, 2016

    Outsourcing is amazing!! I think it’s great that you host and get others to help take care of stuff 😀 I do that, too! If my mom and sister come here, they cook our Christmas dinner… this year, with only us I’m gonna have to cook it myself, and I’ll teach all the kids how I do it, so maybe next year it can be their job 😀
    Congrats godmother Deb! That’s definitely a big honour. And it IS nice to have that kind of relationship with someone special.
    I look forward to reading your post about NZ – I really want to travel to Australia and NZ at one point. We shall see when I can make that dream come true 🙂
    Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      I think I’d outsource even more now Lexxie if I can afford it, but I work less so can’t justify too much of it!

      Great idea re teaching the kids how to do the Christmas lunch. I can cook a roast but haven’t done so for ages, so am loath to do it on Christmas day with others depending on me.

  • sjhigbee
    December 18, 2016

    Glad you had a great time in New Zealand – and yes, you were missed:). Congratulations on being chosen to be a godmother and hope you enjoy your time hosting Christmas. My top tip – enjoy yourself. Even if it is all a tad ramshackle and belt and braces, everyone will relax and have a good time alongside you. The worst is when the hostess is rushing around tight-lipped, tetchy and tense – though I’m sure that won’t be you! So have a lovely Christmas:)). My Sunday Post – https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/sunday-post-18th-december-2016/

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      Yes, I don’t think people expect me to be too overly domestic and we’re now going out for 2-3 meals while my visitors are here, so there’ll be minimal food prep myself. (Plus I’m not eating much nowadays and cooking less than ever!)

  • Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog
    December 19, 2016

    I really want to read Faithful. Congrats on being a Godmother! That is very special. Good luck hosting the holidays. Have a great week!!

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      Thanks Grace. It’s been a big and busy year for me. But a good one!

  • Lampshade Reader
    December 19, 2016

    Of course we missed you! 🙂 Glad you had a fun trip and congrats on becoming a Godmother! Have a great Holiday week! ~Aleen

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      Thanks Aleen, I hope you enjoy the upcoming holidays as well!

  • Aj @ Read All The Things!
    December 19, 2016

    I hope you had fun in New Zealand. I’d love to go there someday, but it’s sooo far away from me. Congrats on becoming a godmother! Happy holidays!

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      Sometimes we can get very cheap flights to New Zealand – in fact sometimes it’s cheaper than flying elsewhere in Australia (to fly to Bali or NZ etc!)

  • Roberta
    December 19, 2016

    Definitely missed you. 🙂 Enjoyed the list of your seven favorite books. So sweet you are a godmother now.

    • Debbish
      December 19, 2016

      I know! I like to think I would have been godmother to my niece, but we didn’t do that sort of thing and she’s now 20, so…. 😉

  • admin
    December 19, 2016

    Dark Heart looks interesting! I hope you enjoy your books, and happy holidays.

    My It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? post.

    • Debbish
      December 20, 2016

      Oh yes…. so many books, so little time!

  • karen blue
    December 20, 2016

    Sound like a busy week for you. 2 books read and a vaca, and you became a Godmother! That is a great. I hope you have a wonderful visit with your family. Have a great week!

    • Debbish
      December 20, 2016

      Thanks Karen. I’ve just had a week off work and am working this week and have the Christmas week off, so am looking forward to that as well.

  • Jo @ Booklover Book Reviews
    December 20, 2016

    OMG, I have to get myself a copy of The Slow Waltz of Turtles – what a fabulous title and gorgeous cover art. And that reminds me I put Pancol’s previous title translated into English (The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles) on my wishlist ages ago and have still not got around to it – I really should read that one first by the sounds of it 🙂

    • Debbish
      December 20, 2016

      It does look gorgeous doesn’t it Jo?!

  • Jane the Raincity Librarian
    December 20, 2016

    I told myself I’d take a break from blogging while I was away, and here I am posting comments while on a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka…Good luck hosting Christmas, I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, complete with massive turkey, though I do cheat and make stuffing from a box. 😉

    • Debbish
      December 20, 2016

      Oh god… like I said in my blog, I’m big on outsourcing so I buy almost everything I can pre-prepared!!!

      Have a wonderful holiday!

  • charliegirl
    December 20, 2016

    Outsourcing is amazing! I’m sitting here in the man’s Texas home while he is with his dad in Massachusetts. And the fence is literally falling down. I tried and physically cannot do it by myself. So he’s hired someone to come fix the little section that’s being so naughty. Neither of us has to do it in our winter weather. I don’t think I’d do well as a host, either, as I become awkward in social situations.

    • Debbish
      December 20, 2016

      I don’t think I’m that awkward, though I do have a lot of wine, so that will help! I’m just lazy! 😉

      And as to the outsourcing… I had guys come to mow my lawn yesterday, have cleaners coming tomorrow and an electrician as well. I even tried to pre-order some Xmas gift ideas so I could do a ‘click and collect’ but sadly it wasn’t possible!

  • Di @ Book Reviews by Di
    December 20, 2016

    Deb! You’re back! 🙂 I did miss you and I hope that you had a fantastic trip and time away.

    Congratulations on becoming a Godmother! How beautiful!

    Ahhh. Christmas preparations. Yes. Good luck hosting! I’m sure you’ll have some great fun!

    P.S. Love your profile pic in the sidebar! 🙂

    • Debbish
      December 21, 2016

      Thanks Di – the pic is from a photograph of my friend and I while I was in NZ. My hair’s been really short for 6-7wks now so I figured I should change my profile photo!

  • Kimberly (@TurninThePages)
    December 21, 2016

    awww congrats on being a Godmother! What a lovely gesture and right in time for the holidays! How wonderful. Happy Holidays Deb!
    Here’s my It’s Monday! post.

    • Debbish
      December 21, 2016

      Thanks Kimberly. It seems I’m already in holiday mode as I’m bingeing on TV rather than reading.

  • Literary Feline (Wendy)
    December 21, 2016

    Welcome home! Congratulations on being a Godmother. What a great honor! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Deborah! I hope the hosting goes smoothly. Take care.

    • Debbish
      December 21, 2016

      Thank you, so many great things lately!

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