It has been a super busy past week and a half!

Two Saturday’s ago we ended up going to my parent’s house to celebrate my mom’s birthday a few days late. The plan was to cook out on the grill, so we had the usual hot dogs and hamburgers (and Kristen’s veggie dog). It was super cloudy and grey out, but we ended up getting in the pool to get Kailyn to swim more. It was probably the first time we went into the pool this season, and even then it was a little bit colder than I would have liked, but it was nice!

Last Wednesday I ended up bringing Kristen and the kids to Sea World after work because we had some free guest passes, so that was a lot of fun. We were aiming to be there for the Sesame Street parade, but with nap time and gathering necessity things, we ended up getting there right at the end. The majority of the time we hung out in the Sesame Street area for Kailyn, first waiting for the photo op, but we ended up catching Big Bird’s story time right outside as we were heading over to the train. After we got our picture with Big Bird, we actually rode the train, which was a total night and day difference than the last time I took her on it (which consisted of screaming and then wanting to go again). She ended up convincing her mom on it another two times after we went to the splash pad for her, which I feel like she would have never left if we didn’t take her to see more characters. We ended up seeing Abby and Zoe, and I got some cute pictures of Kristen and Kailyn!

Ozzy also had an eventful time last week, with having to go to the vet due to some major tummy issues. He wasn’t eating, and then on Friday I finally had to make an appointment which ended up working out well because they got us in same day. The vet’s office were amazing, with how kind and caring they were, and they ended up giving him some fluids, some anti-nausea medicine, and took some labs. The night of the appointment he was already on the up, with actually being able to eat and take the medication they sent us home with. I was also impressed with how often the vet would check in via text, just in case we needed to take him back in or come up with another game plan. Now, four days later, you’d think nothing happened to him because he is acting his normal self.

For reading, I completed the two parts of Mistborn: The Final Empire, which I am really enjoying. The MMC and FMC are both interesting and different characters, and I am finding myself wanting to learn more about Allomancy and the powers with the burning of metals. I actually like the MMC and FCM, Kelsier and Vin, and don’t find myself getting annoyed with their choices like my last book I read, and really enjoy Kelsier’s interaction with Vin and teacher her the magical ways. It’s just a different kind of world compared to other stories, and I’m happy it was recommended for my book club I’m apart of.

I did start Japanese Gothic and I will say, it is as good as I hyped it up in my mind. I didn’t know what to expect with it following two characters in separate time lines, but each chapter follows one of the two main characters in their respective time. Sen, is a daughter of a former samurai in the past, and Lee is a son of an American and Japanese household in the current time. It is nothing like what I expected, with me being on Chapter 9 and nothing horror-like has occurred, but I have been finding myself wanting to read more to learn about the characters’ stories more. We don’t know what happened to Sen’s father, and how he escaped or why he came home. We don’t know what happened to Lee’s mom, or what happened to James, the man that Lee says he killed back in New York. I am also doing the immersive reading with this book as well because I found the audio book on Hoopla, which is a fantastic app if you have a library card for both audio books and e-books! The past two days have been busy, but I am excited to read more of this book later when I finally get free time.

The next two books that I need to read before the 30th are Hungerstone by Kat Dunn for the Pride Picks challenge, and then for the Community Picks challenge I have either These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant, The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark, or The Whisper Man by Alex North, although none of the books on the latter challenge jumped out at me. I’ll end up reading the Pride Picks book first because it was already on my TBR because it was supposed to be a Carmilla-inspired story, which I have read and loved. Mystery for the Community Picks I am honestly not super crazy about, but I’m going to try and accomplish because I do want to get through all of the challenges this year on Goodreads.

I also did finish playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, as well as Bioshock Remastered last week, and did end up treating myself to the Sekiro Side Story: Hanbei the Undying manga and the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Official Artworks so they should be in on Wednesday and Saturday! So far I have art books for both Elden Ring and Bloodborne, so to add Sekiro to the group is exciting (although I need to get the art book for the Elden Ring DLC).

Today I had caught the Nintendo Direct accidentally, since I didn’t realize it was going on today, and I will say there were some exciting announcements! The Pokemon Pokopia Expansion Pass was super cute, and I got a lot of FOMO because everyone has hyped this game and I haven’t been able to play it. Hello Kitty Party Land looks absolutely adorable, and with it being Sanrio characters, I am conflicted with a co-op game being Hello Kitty and not being able to play this. Star Fox is a classic, and looks great. I hate the fact that The Duskbloods is a multiplayer game, but it looks beautiful! I already have the Kingdom Hearts Collection on Steam, but then to announce Kingdom Hearts IV makes me want to binge play all of the games and catch up because this was a huge announcement. Then of course they announced The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the FOMO was real. I know I have been against buying Nintendo products since the Switch 2 was released, but with all of these great announcements, and the fact that they are probably going to release a Zelda themed special edition Switch 2, I might finally cave and buy one. I am just super conflicted because I don’t like the excuse of tariffs being the reason why they are raising the prices (when now it was ruled it was unlawful), and I have never agreed that $70 should be the base game price of games today (especially if they are majority of the time pushed on a digital form). We will see what happens if I make the jump if something is announced or if I remain stubborn and hold my ground.

Until next time!