Welcome to another TTT! This week is Thanksgiving in the USA, so I thought a Thanksgiving/Thankful Freebie would be fun. Life is pretty hard for me and things don’t always go the way I’d hoped, but I still have so much to be thankful for. I enjoy taking a few minutes to think about the things that are going well for me, and the things I’m grateful I have. So that’s what I’ll be doing with this week’s prompt!

1. I’m thankful for my mom. She and I laugh together, cry together, and are pretty much the same person. She is always looking out for what I need and is the first one to help me whenever I need it.

2. I’ve finally gotten an answer (diagnosis) to a major health issue that I hope will improve my quality of life. There’s no cure, but there are things I can start working on to improve my symptoms. After being bounced from doctor to doctor for 15 years, last month a doctor finally told me that it’s not all in my head and that I should never let anyone tell me otherwise. This doctor is the most respected in his field and concentration in this entire region of the country (the wait to get in to see him was a year and a half), which means that my other specialists and doctors will also finally take me seriously. I’m also thankful that I’m finally getting a bit of a handle on another chronic condition I deal with. After trying different methods of treatment for a few years now, and doing a ton of my own research, I finally found something that is actually bringing a part of me back into balance. Everything every doctor had prescribed before was making me very sick, so I opted to just not treat it due to quality of life concerns. This year I found a doctor who was willing to work with me on a natural route of treatment I discovered, and my blood results prove that it’s working. And with no side-effects. I am so excited.

3. I’m thankful for animals, whether they are mine, a friend’s, or a stranger’s on Instagram! They never cease to make me smile.

4. I am thankful for books! I love reading, but it has been a struggle for me this year. I guess I’m in a slump because I haven’t been enjoying a lot of what I read. I found my way back to audiobooks a couple weeks ago after not listening to any for the bulk of the year, and I’ve been loving it! Plus, I’ve started my Christmas reading and I’m pulling myself out of my slump!

5. I’m thankful that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal will come from or where I will sleep tonight. I am so fortunate to have the things I really need.

6. I’m thankful for music, and the ability I have to connect with it on such a deep level through both listening and singing. I’ve been singing a lot more than usual this year, and it’s really doing wonders for my mental health. Did you know that singing and humming activates the vagus nerve? It’s obviously not the wonder cure for anxiety and depression, but it helps me a lot.

7. I’m thankful for my talents. I’ve done a lot of graphic design this year, which I love. I also love crocheting and cross stitching and anything else that lets me be creative.

8. I’m thankful for Christmas! This is my favorite time of year, and it makes me so happy. I love Thanksgiving, too, but Christmas brings me a level of joy that’s hard to replicate. I love the meaning of the season, the lights, the music, the food, and the togetherness it brings.

9. I’m thankful for nature. I live in a really beautiful place, with changing seasons, stunning snow-capped mountains (there’s seriously now up there about 9 months of the year), bright sunshine, blue skies, and so much natural beauty. I can drive 5 minutes and be at Target or 10 minutes and be up the canyon sitting by a river overlooking stunning vistas. I’m making it a goal in 2026 to get outside and soak more of it up. It’s so good for the body and the soul.

10. I’m thankful for my Heavenly Father. Without Him I’d be lost.

Happy Thanksgiving this week to all who celebrate!


What’s the biggest thing you’re thankful for this year?

I’m so thankful for you and that you come to my blog to see me.

Welcome to another TTT! In honor of Halloween being this Friday, this week’s topic is a Halloween freebie! I thought it would be fun to share ten Halloweeny things I’ve never done before! Spoiler alert: almost all of the things on my list are there because I am a scared and anxious person. lol. I love Halloween for the pumpkins, the spoopy (cute spooky fun, not spooky scary) vibes, and the candy. I can’t wait to see what topic you came up with, so I’ll be visiting many blogs this week!

1. I’ve never bobbed for apples.
Even as a child, I guess my fear of germs was strong. Or maybe my fear of drowning? lol.

2. I’ve never gone to a “haunted” attraction.
I’d probably die if a went to a haunted house, haunted corn maze, haunted hay ride, etc. I almost died on the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, so it’s just never going to happen.

3. I’ve never gone to a real haunted place either, like an old house or hotel known for ghost sightings or a spooky town ghost tour.
Truthfully, that would be a million times worse than a fake haunted place!

4. I’ve never gone apple picking.
Now this, I would do. This sounds like a lot of fun! I see no reason to be afraid of an apple orchard unless it’s haunted or has a major bug infestation.

5. I’ve never had a pumpkin spice flavored beverage.
I don’t drink coffee, so it’s not like I’m against the PSL because it’s pumpkin spice. I actually love pumpkin spice, just only in baked goods.

6. I’ve never gone to a murder mystery dinner.
In theory, this could be fun… but my friends know my very well and would do what they could to scare me at least 10 times. lol. These are the friends who sat me in the middle of the couch, covered me with blankets and pillows, surrounded me with their bodies (for protection, naturally), and then watched me watch a scary movie (it was What Lies Beneath, for those wondering. I do not recommend it if you enjoy sleep at all.).

7. I’ve never read a horror novel.
I mean, I’ve read scary books, but my threshold for scary reads is so below average that pretty much nobody I know would think I’ve read a scary book.

8. I’ve never told ghost stories by flashlight.
It will just never happen. Ghost stories keep me up at night no matter how outlandish they might sound.

9. I’ve never participated in a séance.
It’s too scary! I won’t even look in the mirror in the dark because I’m scared Bloody Mary will show up uninvited.

10. I’ve never used a Ouija Board
I will not be inviting that energy into my house, no thank you!

So basically, I’m a major chicken. I’m scared of my own shadow or if the toast pops up out of the toaster before I’m ready. I’m scared of little noises. I’m scared of no noises. I’m really just here to find out when I can start decorating for Christmas.

Ok, so give it to me. I’m excited to hear who is just like me and who thinks
I haven’t actually lived yet without doing some of these things!

What is your number one favorite thing to do at Halloween?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is a non-bookish freebie, which means you get to come up with literally any topic you can think of… that’s not bookish. lol. Last time we had this topic I wrote about the amazing places I’ve visited. Today I’ve decided to focus on another hobby of mine: crochet. I love making amigurumi, and today I’m going to share pictures of my top ten favorite crochet creations. I do have a crochet instagram, @JanasCozyCritters, if you’re interested in seeing more!

 

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Do you have any hobbies outside of reading and bookish content creation?
Do you crochet, too? I’d love to find more crochet friends!
What topic did you choose to write about this week?

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time, and was submitted by submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books. I decided to tweak this a little because there’s no way I can find 10 ways my style has changed. But even this tweaked topic is still a bit of a tricky one for me, as I’m not sure I’ve changed much since I started reviewing books waaaaaay back in 2011. But I’ll see what I can do!

*30 minutes later* Ok, I’m changing this to five ways my blogging habits have changed because this is too hard. LOL

1. I am pickier about the books I accept for review. I used to accept almost anything I thought I might like because I wanted to get some experience, show that I’m trustworthy, and build a name for myself in the blogging world. I’m pickier now, which helps me keep my reading schedule under control and allows me more freedom to be a mood reader.

2. I am more willing to DNF books, which means I write way fewer negative reviews than I used to. I used to make myself finish every book in the beginning, even if I wasn’t enjoying it, so I ended up writing more negative reviews. Now that I DNF (and sometimes quickly), I get to spend more time gushing about the books I love and promoting authors rather than talking about why a book didn’t work for me. I love this, and it’s what kept me reviewing all these years later.

3. I’ve switched up the kinds of books I review! I used to read YA almost exclusively. My reading habits changed, and so did my review habits. I now focus primarily on adult romance, with the occasional mystery and historical fiction novel thrown in here and there.

4. I quit summarizing the book in my reviews. I actually quit this very soon after I started reviewing. It takes forever and why not just use the summary the publisher paid someone to write in the first place? It helps avoid spoilers, it saves time, it avoids redundancy, and it’s allowed my readers to find my thoughts easily without having to slog through a synopsis they most likely don’t need since they already read the official one (or one written by another reviewer). I really don’t love it when I go to read someone’s review and 95% of the review is their own summary of the book (which is often too detailed and gives away the entire book), followed by a couple generic sentences saying that they either liked it or didn’t. I’d much rather know what you liked and what you didn’t like and why you felt that way than read another summary.

5. I’ve allowed myself to write shorter reviews. I used to think that long, detailed reviews were preferred but then I realized I didn’t like reading long, detailed reviews from other people! And I don’t like writing them myself! Now that I’ve shortened my reviews it doesn’t feel like such a chore to write them… and I’m writing more. Imagine that!

How have your blogging/reviewing habits or style changed since you started reviewing books?