A "here-comes-fall" type of entry

When I last updated it was to explain how studying for a pharmacy technician certification test was eating all of my spare time, as it should have. I passed the test in April, got my license and registration taken care of in May and by June I was officially a Certified Pharmacy Tech. I even got a new badge (and photo!) with the updated title.

I had so much free time and it would seem what I missed more than anything was reading, because I started doing it again with a gusto. Between May and now, early September, I finished The Magician King (second in the Magicians trilogy), My Side of The Mountain (a recommendation from Brian), Angelfall and When She Woke (a couple books sitting on my Kindle for a while), The Incredible Journey and even two comics: X-Men Season One and Wonder Woman: The Contest. I also started but did not finish Storm Front, the second novel of the Dresden Files. In mid- to late-July I started A Game of Thrones after meaning to for months, if not years. I'm about a hundred pages from finishing it finally and I'm enjoying it so much I've already ordered the next two books of the series from www.thriftbooks.com, where they were only about $4 each and shipping was free with an order over $10.

Aside of the Dresden Files book, I'm actually enjoying what I'm reading again. When She Woke is probably one of the most feminist things I've ever read and while I don't read to be preached at (I get more than enough of that on Facebook), it did give me several thoughts to chew on mentally, which I liked a lot. Angelfall was somewhat different than a lot of the young adult lit I read in its premise; yes, it was another dystopian novel, but the apocalypse was brought on by angels, so it's not a "man destroys himself" storyline again. The story lost me on the romance aspect though. I hate reading romance and shoehorning it into storylines for what should be a very good adventure series. It makes everything predictable and is one of my biggest pet peeves in YA (or any other) literature.

The Magicians trilogy has stayed kind of flat for me, so I haven't made any plans to read the final installment, though the TV series was very good from what I saw. The side-story of The Magician King, in which we find out what the main character's best friend had been up to after he left her to go to Brakebills in the first book, completely overshadowed the primary story line to me. Julia's journey was so much more intriguing than whatever Quintin was complaining about this time, so I feel the book failed its readers in this regard. The last novel seems to be following whiny Quintin yet again, so I'm not interested in seeing what happens anymore.

Now that I'm all caught up with the Game of Thrones television series, I'm even more happy to have started the Song of Ice and Fire book series. They are hefty stories and I don't think I'd have as easy a time comprehending them if I hadn't seen the show and already had some idea of the relationships between characters. So far, A Game of Thrones has been very much like the first season of the show, with a few differences here and there, so I'm looking forward to how the written story progresses from what I've seen in the TV series. Tyrion is as sarcastic as ever, so at least there's that.

Brian and I also had the idea to take steps to start the process of revamping our master bathroom. We bought a vanity on sale about a month ago (it has drawers!) and decided a paint color and bought a couple gallons last week, along with some hole repair supplies. Really all we have left to do is decide what type of flooring we want and acquire it. Neither of us have ever done a full remodel like this and we are anticipating the entire project, once we actually get started on taking things apart, to take a couple of months of time. But we are trying to buy the materials we need as we can afford them with the idea of not rushing into it and not going into debt doing so. It's a very small room though, so probably a good idea to start with to see how the process will actually go when we decide to re-do something else, like the bedroom or living room.

I will miss this one particular paint blob though. It kind of looks like a thoughtful cow...

I never got into actually gardening this year, aside of buying a $2 clearance mint plant on a whim at HEB. We started the process of building a flower bed out front sometime in May or June, but it was just too freaking hot to finish. Though we went and spent $200 on a tiller that has yet to leave the garage, we are going to try to hit it again once things cool off. Hopefully around the same time we will be able to spread some weed and seed on the lawn for fall too. I'll be damned if I let these stupid weeds - parthenium hysterophorus - take over EVERYTHING again. Geez they were relentless...

Also looking forward, we had a break in the heat last week! It's only getting into the 80s for highs lately and in Texas, that's good enough to start acting like it's finally fall. No sweaters yet, but I'm planning to set aside a day, probably in late October or early November, to focus on baking some of the pretty fall treats I pin to my Pinterest boards every year but never make. It worked well last Christmastime when I said "this day I am going to bake cookies," and it was fun, so I want to do it again in the fall. Pumpkin is obviously the favorite for fall flavors now, but I really like cinnamon and gingerbread, to an extent, so I want to play with those on my grand day of baking.

Fall also means Ren Fest is coming up. According to a video shared on Facebook, the fairgrounds were not horribly damaged by Harvey, so there's no good reason to expect the festival to be delayed. I have grand plans for a costume this year. Like, real plans: I've pinned and priced a few pieces from a costume site that is relatively affordable with great reviews, so here's hoping not to be rocking just the hat this year, but a full on outfit - and maybe persona?

And so there's a small "hello" and look into what's been going on lately. It doesn't include everything (I'm sure you were all here to hear about our trip to Oklahoma last month, my dabbles in Pilates or how much Supernatural we've been watching), but I missed the blogging experience and just wanted to get back to it again.

Here's a picture of Inky and I to send you off with:

I've learned at least one thing in all this studying...

Some of you know I've been spending a lot of time studying for a pharmacy tech certification test the last few months. It's gotten really intense in the last four weeks or so and as I find myself getting closer and closer to that wire, my mind keeps wandering to all the things I'd rather be doing.

I have no plants this year.

I haven't touched the sewing machine since around last summer.

I bought a writing prompt journal for my birthday last month, and haven't picked it up once.

We've been eating a LOT of take-out and "easy prep" meals, if I cook anything at all.

Basically, I have foregone any activity that typically brings me joy or contentment in order to focus on learning allegation tables, generic drug names and classes, and the ins-and-outs of HIPAA.

And I've come to the conclusion I probably could not go back to school at this point without at least going part-time with work.

BUT! I am in the review stage of studying: noting topics that I struggle to recall and getting ready to schedule the official test. It's literally to the wire at that point and I'm so ready to get it over with I could just punt. 

I miss having free time; blogging, planning activities that don't pan out, reading, searching new recipes on Pinterest, doing generally creative things...  so I can't wait to get this test behind me so I can do them again.

And from the shadows of the interwebs...

Oh hot damn, I'm back.

Where the heck has Audrey been in the last six months? Well, busy.

The biggest task was a move. Yes, we packed up the house in Temple and moved to Killeen. By the time we got the Temple house fixed up and (finally) on the market, it was available a whole two days and saw two prospective buyers before someone decided they wanted it. A few more repairs and a month-ish later (late December) it was sold.

Obviously that takes a bit of time. Then we were sans internet for about two months while we got settled in. The water and electricity still has to be transferred to our names, but, you know, priorities.

I've also been reading a lot more thanks to getting into this Goodreads website. There are so many books on my "to-read" shelf now I don't think I'll really ever make a dent, but the yearly reading challenges give me a reason to try.

Something about a goal other people can see makes a great driving factor. I even surpassed my 2016 goal of 10 books!

I've also been studying for my pharmacy tech certification in both the downtime at work and on free evenings at home. We've been given access to an online course through our employer, and now that we have internet at home I should be able to run through it pretty quickly to hit my spring goal of taking the test.

Now that we're in January (aka pre-spring in Texas with the sun and allergies I've been seeing), I've been thinking about this year's gardening endeavors. With a new yard that gets quite a bit more sun than the last one, I'm thinking real seriously about having a strictly herbal focus this year. My basil from last year is still alive, but not enjoying the alternating winter-summer thing we've had lately, but the hardware stores already have their herbs for sale now, including some fennel I saw yesterday that I've never seen before.

So that's kind of where I've been and where I am now. I need to go shower before class, but hopefully this won't be the last update for another six months.