Post by RoxMonster on Apr 28, 2024 22:11:03 GMT -5
Flew through Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra in one day. 4.5 ⭐️
Super creepy and suspenseful. If you like thrillers, I recommend this one. The author has you questioning if the narrator is unreliable. No spoilers from me; I will just say I’m happy with how it turned out.
I was pretty sheltered/poor growing up so very rarely ate any kind of fast food, and most prepackaged snacks were a no, too. Except the tastycakes. I can confirm that today's butterscotch krimpets don't taste like I remember, but maybe that's bc I have access to more/better options now.
I worked at a coffee shop in high school that sold Orangina. I thought it was the fanciest drink I'd ever had in my life and drank so much of it in my time there.
Do you all remember Ground Round and making kids weigh themselves to pay by the pound? WTF was that?
That reminds me of how much I loved Fruitopia! I could get it in the college dining hall as part of my meal.
And the Ground Round was our go to place as a kid, so yes, this is what I remember too. Getting weighed before dinner! Definitely had a birthday party there. I thought it was super regional but apparently there were over 200 at one time, and it was one of the first casual dining chains (and the reason happy hours are banned in Massachusetts to this day?? Is that true??)
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 27, 2024 14:30:41 GMT -5
It’s our planting weekend! My favorite time of year. Went to two nurseries and spent a lot of money but my yard makes me happy. Now to finish mulching and then starting to put our container pots together.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 26, 2024 17:02:23 GMT -5
No, I don't join stuff like this. My work had one in March where you could do it individually or in a group of 4. You manually tracked your "exercise hours" and didn't sync your device, but it's just not my thing. If I did anything like that, I'd want to enter individually so I wouldn't worry about bringing my team down or feeling pressured by team members. But I just chose not to participate at all.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 23, 2024 21:56:33 GMT -5
Mine is Koala Yummies. I Googled and apparently you can still buy them places in the Asian food aisle marketed as Koala’s March. I may have to get some. I don’t think I’ve eaten any since I was about 8!
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 21, 2024 18:28:24 GMT -5
I just finished Lilith by Eric Rickstad. I flew through it in half a day.
4 stars Definitely need to give a content warning
This is about a school shooting that injures a mom/teacher and her son and the vengeance she seeks to get after. I would describe it as a literary thriller.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 20, 2024 18:03:16 GMT -5
I have done several garage sales over the last 10 years. I usually wear a fanny pack with the money in it. That way I don't have to keep track of it or worry about it wandering off and it's also hands-free. We had a LOT of clothes, and made up huge signs posted around the yard that said "All shorts are X$, all jeans are X$ etc" instead of individually pricing each item. We did the same for other similar items like a sign on a table that said "All paperback books 50 cents" or whatever.
Like others have said, people WILL show up early and start shopping. We've had people show up an hour before our posted opening time and it was a bit stressful because we were trying to get everything set up and pulled out while they were trying to look. I find a lot of people who are serious about getting there that early have specific stuff in mind they're looking for though and usually don't stick around too long.
For negotiating, I usually looked at how much total stuff the person was buying (I was a lot more willing to cut a deal for someone buying 20 pieces of clothing instead of 1-2) and also time of day/how much I hated keeping the item if it never sold. This last garage sale, we also did 50% off all items for the last 3 hours of the sale to get rid of stuff.
If it's going to be hot and you have something like this available, we put up one of those pop-up tent type things they use at farmers markets to shade us and had camp chairs and a table set up so we could eat lunch and what not. Every single time, we were busy like 8-12 and then it got a lot more sporadic after that.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 20, 2024 17:28:18 GMT -5
We went to our local nature preserve’s Earth day festival. We did a guided bird hike again. We went last year when it was snowing (lol) and there was only one other person on it besides the guide.
This year the weather was much better and it was packed! We had at least 20 other people on the hike and most were kids. I absolutely love seeing people out enjoying our trails. I did feel bad for the guide because she kept trying to get them to quiet down so we could actually hear some birds and was mostly unsuccessful 😂 We did still get to see a turkey, barred owl, several woodpeckers, a chickadee, cardinals etc.
RoxMonster Keep an eye on your travel plans, your long drive between Aspen and Crested Butte may have gotten longer, or you’ll want to reverse your route and do Breck to CB. This bridge closure is a huge impact to travel in this area and recreation/tourism as well if they can’t get it open by this summer:
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 18, 2024 17:07:36 GMT -5
Just finished The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass - 4 stars. I really enjoyed it and I love when the setting is basically a character itself. Very atmospheric. I have enjoyed every book she's written.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 17, 2024 17:36:51 GMT -5
When I was making a career transition, I searched on LinkedIn.
If I found a job I was interested in, I would go to the company's actual website and apply through there rather than through LinkedIn to ensure it was legit. The number of applicants listed on the job postings on LinkedIn are not accurate so I wouldn't let that dissuade you. It is counting the number of people who click the "Apply" button, not whether or not they actually send in an application. Of course, it does follow that the higher that number, the more people are interested in the job to begin with.
One thing to be aware of is that I have come across several jobs that may be listed as "remote" but when you read the job posting, it is actually hybrid with some sort of in-office requirement or it requires a lot of travel. There are some true fully remote jobs out there but they are dwindling from what I saw a couple years ago when I was applying.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 15, 2024 10:27:07 GMT -5
If there was no mention of “no gifts,” Then I would probably bring a small gift like a bottle of wine (if they drink it) or a gift card to a favorite restaurant. I would love if the invitation said “no gifts” and would follow it - I’d bring a card with a nice note inside.
I haven't been to Dollywood but I have been to the area, so I wanted to speak to your concern about not having enough to do in the area. I think you will find there is a ton to do there. We stayed in a cabin through VRBO near Gatlinburg. We are national park people so most of our time was spent in GSMNP - you could spend weeks JUST going to the park and not run out of stuff to do. We did Clingman's Dome, Cades Cove, Laurel Falls trail, had a picnic near one of the creeks, did a few of the "Quiet Walkways" that are located throughout the park, did the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Drive, drove a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and lots more. Absolutely beautiful place!
We didn't go into Pigeon Forge but Gatlinburg has lots of touristy type stuff if that is up your alley. I have also heard from people I know who went to Dollywood that they enjoyed it. I definitely think the area as a whole has plenty to keep you busy.
We have absolutely gorgeous weather here this weekend. Well, actually tomorrow is going to be 85 and I kind of wish we didn't jump right to summer weather, but I won't complain because I would rather have this than cold and rainy.
We got mulch delivered yesterday so that's mainly our project. I am getting a pedicure this morning. We may or may not go to a local minor league baseball game tonight depending how tired we are from mulching lol. I'm also looking forward to some time READING ON MY PATIO which I have looked forward to all winter.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 12, 2024 18:10:04 GMT -5
We get one volunteer day per year. 2023 was the first year I worked there and I used my day to do my shopping for the family we bought for at the holiday through a local organization.
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 10, 2024 15:24:47 GMT -5
How To Kill a Guy in 10 Ways: 4 stars Definitely a page Turner for me and super entertaining. It’s a thriller with VERY dark humor and a lot of murder, in case that bothers you
Post by RoxMonster on Apr 10, 2024 15:07:25 GMT -5
From Mackinac Island, I agree with others to drive north to the UP and at least check out the Munising area and Pictured Rocks. We really enjoyed the lake cruise that takes you past the formations - go in mid to late afternoon for the best lighting on the rocks and try to get a seat on the right side of the upper deck. We also enjoyed driving out to the cute town of Grand Marais, MI. Lots of hikes (some are pretty short) and viewpoints along the way.
It’s a bit of a drive (another couple hours) but Copper Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula was an adorable little town and the entire peninsula is gorgeous! It’s right on Lake Superior. If you stay there for an overnight, definitely do sunset from the top of Brockway Mountain. Stunning! You could then drive down the opposite side of the peninsula en route to MN and visit the Porcupine Mnts. Lake in the Clouds is an easy walk to an extravagant view and is easy to do if you’re just passing through the area.
We had 94% here and it was still a cool experience. The temp dropped ten degrees, the birds started going nuts and dogs started barking. The lighting was super eerie even though it wasn’t complete darkness.
I just finished Every Move You Make. 3 stars I normally like stalker thrillers and I did find the premise interesting (a group of stalking victims decides to stalk their stalkers to turn the tables), but some things were just implausible/illogical and I felt the book went on too long. However I did appreciate the author’s note where she details her own experience being stalked. And overall it did keep me engaged and wanting to know what would happen next.
Just downloaded and currently reading How To Kill a Guy in 10 Ways
Chilly here but at least sunny today before the rain tomorrow. A favorite band of ours is doing this thing where they are playing an acoustic set at a local park today and encouraging people to come out with picnics, etc., so we are going to do that for awhile. I'm hoping if we sit in the sun with a sweatshirt and a blanket if needed that we aren't freezing.
We are in 94% totality. Would have LOVED to drive to totality but not in the cards for us. It's too hard with our dog and her health limitations. We can't take her with us and it's a PITA to get my dad to come down and watch her. I did get us eclipse glasses and I'm really hoping I can step outside just after 2 PM to see the peak eclipse here.
My boss asked me to sit in on an (virtual) interview from 1-2 on Monday so I'm just hoping it does not run over. I'll be disappointed if I miss the peak.
We don't celebrate Easter and don't have kids so it's a typical day for us. Yesterday was a beautiful day and now today is cloudy and cold again, so I'm probably getting some of the remaining things for our vacation booked.
Random question: If you have been to Maroon Bells since they started requiring reservations, do you recommend doing the shuttle tickets or the car pass and getting there early? We wouldn't have problems getting there before 8 AM but I would probably like to get there later, which means doing shuttle passes. It just seems like a lot of extra hassle to do the shuttle.