Summer Reading Challenge: Month Two

Here's the categories:

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.  
10 points: Read a book you have never heard of before. (Just go to a shelf and pick a book based on the cover, the title, whatever you want!)

Started, not finished yet!

10 points: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for at least two years. (If you've had a Goodreads account for 2+ years, this will be easy to figure out. If you don’t, do your best to pick a book you’re pretty sure you’ve been wanting to read for years.)
10 points: Read a book that won a Goodreads “Best Book” award in 2014.
15 points: Read a book by an author who is completely new to you.
15 points: Read a book by an author you have read before. (No re-reads for this one.) 

GIRL ON THE TRAIN, previously counted

15 points: Read a book with "light" or "dark" in the title. (Or "lightness" or "darkness.") 

A LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, M L Steadman, 354 pages. I liked it, but the ending wasn't what I expected and I kind of wanted a different one. 3.5/5.

20 points: Read a book with the name of a city, state or country in the title. Edited to add: The place must be real, either current or historical, but not fictional.

THE PARIS WIFE, Paula McClain, 336 pages. Very interesting and a good version of Hemmingway's early life! I loved it, 4.5/5 stars.

20 points: Read a book with an animal on the cover. 

A DOG'S PURPOSE, W Bruce Cameron, 333 pages. This was so sweet and a go to if you need a good cry! But it has a happy ending, so 4/5 stars.

25 points: Read a book that is part of a series with at least four books.
25 points: Read a book that is longer than 500 pages long. — Submitted by winter finisher Kristen from See You in a Porridge. 

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, previously counted

30 points: Read a book with an alliterative title. (All words in the title must begin with the same letter; no exceptions for articles or prepositions. Examples: Gone Girl or Nicholas Nickleby. Yes, this is tough, which is why it's worth the most points!)

So my previous total was 40, plus 55 more this month is a grand total of 95. I better get to reading, y'all!

Summer Photo Dump

I'm never going to be one of those bloggers that posts daily, or let's be honest, even weekly. This summer has proven that blogging hasn't been a top priority. So here's what has!

Lots of fun with the mini! Summer festivals, his 5th birthday, Drew's 34th, baseball final games, and much, much more that's just hanging out on my hard drive waiting to be uploaded.

Fun times at the zoo! They had a Lego installation that just tickled us pink! 

Took a quick road trip up to Madison, WI for my cousin's wedding! It's a super cool city, but I never really saw the draw in cheese curds. Cheese that squeaks is weird.

Caught War on Drugs in Covington with my gal Brooke! It was an awesome show, and I'm pumped to see him perform again at Forecastle!

A heck of a good time down in Owensboro for the Romp Bluegrass Festival. Drew and almost his whole family having been going for years, and I've been excited to finally go check it out!

Despite two days of torrential downpour and missed shows, we had an absolute blast. Maybe one day, I'll do a post on how to camp with kids for long periods.

First birthday for the nugget! She's the sweetest! I hope she likes her alphabet book of classic rock stars, her super awesome aunt sure does!

In not so awesome news, Riley has been a pretty sick pup these days. It started with a double ear infection, conjunctivitis, and an infected tummy spot. 

A month later and he's got an enlarged spleen, can't keep food down unless it's chicken and rice, and is extremely lethargic.

He's making improvements, but he's 10, and this might be the beginning of his twilight years. Send a little cosmic love his way (and mine too, I've been a mess), and hopefully we'll figure it out before I run out of savings paying the vet.

Up next on the calendar is Forecastle Festival, a work trip down to Opryland, a trip to Michigan for a week on the lake with Drew, the mini, and his fam.

It doesn't slow down after that, our 1 year anniversary is the weekend after Michigan. It's hard to believe it's only been a year, we've packed so much awesome into that short time. I can't remember life without him, and am glad I don't have to!

Much more concerts to see, a trip to the beach, and who knows what else!!!