Where Did AngelErin Go? I Have Some UPDATES Guys!

Well as some of you may have noticed I have been absent from my blog for SO LONG! Things have been super crazy and busy in my life for about four months now. I am currently going through a divorce (good riddance to that scumbag) and trying to figure out a job situation. I have been a SAHM for almost 11 years due to my daughter's autism. So all of this has been a very stressful, but hopefully something will work out though!

Besides the stress, I have been extremely happy the past few months. I've never been this happy and I'm really enjoying it that's for sure. Also, I have a new and wonderful man in my life. I'll leave that at that for now. Let's see what else has been going on... I went on a mini beach vacay in Corpus Christi, my daughter turned 13 in April, my sons just turned 10 on the 6th of July, I've been working on a poetry book to self-pub one day, I lost 83 lbs, and I got off the keto diet.

Also, I've just been trying to keep up with my kiddos and all of the other normal day to day things in life on top of everything else.  All of this combined with a book slump and I haven't been reading much until recently. If you follow me on Instagram ( angelerinsbookobsession ) then you may have seen me around a bit on there. Here's some recent pictures that I posted!

I honestly think that Bookstagram is my favorite bookish thing, besides reading, so I have tried to keep up with that some. I've been on Twitter just a tad here and there and very recently I'm trying to get back into all the bookish things again. However, I'm sure it won't be as much as before.

When I have had a little bit of lazy time (especially while I was in the book slump) I did watch some TV shows and listen to some great music. Here are my favorites lately!

Halsey is LIFE!!! I have NOT stopped listening to this album since it came out and I love every song! Also, right now my Twinnies and I are obsessed with that Despacito song. It's been on repeat a lot as well. 

I used to watch Degrassi back in the day and I couldn't help trying out the new Netflix series for it. It's definitely a guilty pleasure for me. I binged the first three seasons and then when season four came out I watched it all in one day. Oops. 

I started watching Reign a while back, but then I got distracted by other things and now this is what I'm currently watching. I love it so far and I'm almost done with season two. 

I know I've watched a few movies, but I can't even tell you which ones I've seen recently. LOL! I seriously have not been able to keep up with my life lately, but I'm thrilled to be back on the blogosphere. Even if I did miss my 2nd Blogoversary the other day on July 10th. Haha. 

Here's a few other pictures from recently that I wanted to share. I especially love the one with all of my kiddos. It's so hard to get all of us in a picture and it turn out well! Oh, and you can add me on Snapchat ( Erinld2005 ) if you want and I'll add you back. 

Soooooo that's what I have been up to, that's all the craziness in my life that has kept me from blogging. I'm sure I don't owe anyone an explanation, but I miss everyone and I wanted you all to know why I disappeared. 

HOW IS EVERYBODY??? Tell me in the comments EVERYTHING about how you have been and what you are reading/watching/listening to! What all did I miss??? 

Sorry for such a long post. :P 

Updates, DNF Mini Review, Discussion About Authors Branching Out, & Recs. (Yup, I Rolled A Lot Into One Post.)

Hey guys! I haven't been around on the blogosphere lately as much as I would like, but I'm sure you understand. I know we've all been there and life happens. To be honest, ever since the summer I've been struggling. I want to get back to blogging and blog hopping more, but it just may not be as much as I want right now. I don't want to stress myself so I'm okay with that. 

I wanted to write a quick update to let everyone know what's been going on in my life. Since it's been SO LONG since I have! Feel free to skip to the bookish stuff though! So my husband is going back to school (He just started last week.) to get his degree. YEY! I'm super proud of him and he's not even going to get a degree he really wants, but one that will hopefully help with his job/financial stuff in the future. While that means more stress on me at home, I'm very proud of him and I love that he's trying to better things for our family. Another thing that's been going on is I've been having MAJOR sleep problems. Insomnia and anxiety has been kicking my butt. With everything going on in life I feel like I'm having a hard time functioning. On a good note though since I started the Keto diet last September I have lost 50 lbs!! My husband has also been losing weight and my daughter has also lost a little. She is 12, she has autism, and she has a hard time when it comes to food. She's struggling a little bit, but we're working on it. As for my twinnies both of them are doing pretty well, despite the fact that within a few days from each other they accidentally gave each other corneal abrasions. They are okay of course, but they weren't even being hyper or anything. They just need to be more careful! These boys are a mess and how come twins have to always do the same thing? HAHA! :P 

I originally wasn't going to post my review for Two By Two on my blog (Which is why I just copied and pasted it hehe laziness for the win!), but I kept thinking about it. I want to commend Nicholas Sparks for going outside of his usual formula even though this book didn't work for me. In my opinion, most of his books are pretty much the same recycled formula with just a few things changed. That's always worked for him though. I mean his books and movies have been majorly successful and I have enjoyed all of the other Sparks books I've read so far. I have to give him props for trying something different than his usual style. And hey, I'm sure there are some people out there that do like this new Sparks book and that's fantastic! 

My point is this got me thinking about other authors that have gone out of their comfort zone. Of course everyone doesn't like the same things and I'm not trying to bash any authors here. I'm just curious in general, what do you think about authors branching out and trying new things? Whether it worked for you, or not, and why. My sleepy brain can't think of any other authors though right now. So I'm curious what authors have you read that tried something new? A new genre, a new writing style, whatever? Did it work for you? Why/why not? 

I'm looking for some recommendations!! Once my reading schedule clears a bit, I want to read more mental health books later this year. I need recs though to add to my list I've started. I have a few options so far, but I would like more to add. What I'm looking for is fictional books that portray mental illness realistically and without glamorizing issues. 

Okay guys, sorry for the SUPER LONG post! Thanks for hanging in there. :P 

Blogging Slump Blues/Updates

Hey all!! I'm still here! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. I know my kids sure did!  Sorry I haven't been around the blogosphere as much lately. I was battling allergy issues and then I hit a bit of a blogging slump. Plus I've just been BUSY. At one point I thought maybe I should just stop blogging if I don't have time for it, but I really don't want to do that. So what I've decided to do is just blog and comment back when I can! This may mean way less memes/updates and what not, but I don't want stress from blogging since it's supposed to be fun! I know I'm not the only busy/stressed one so hopefully you all understand. Hopefully things in my life will eventually slow down then I'll be around more!

So just in case anyone wants to know I have a few updates on my life and bookish things! First off I have started a bullet journal. Thanks to Neredya from Nick & Neredya's Infinite Booklist for the post about bullet journaling. (click the link up there to see that post) The post inspired me to start my own. I have wanted to start one for a while, but I can't draw and I thought you had to be super creative to be able to do it. Once I found out that's not the case I started one for myself and so far I really love it. I hope it will help me with my memory problem and to stay organized! 

Also, I've started a Society6 shop! AngelErin30 So I have no clue what I'm doing yet, but it's fun and I like it. I haven't figured out yet how much time I will put into it, but I'll post on Twitter and IG whenever I have some new designs. If anyone has any designing tips (free designs program suggestions & etc.) let me know! Speaking of tips, does anyone know if it's legal to use quotes from books (newer & older) on there or do you need some kind of permission?

As far as my personal life goes everything is going well, there's just a lot of changes and everything is crazy busy. I've lost 24 lbs so woo hoo! Go keto!! 1 more and I will have lost 25 lbs in about 8 weeks. My husband has also lost a lot of weight doing keto and guess WHAT!? He's going back to school in January! I'm so happy for him and very proud that he's going back to school for his degree. Things will probably be even crazier when he goes back to school, but it will be worth it. 

Other than all that, I've just been trying to find time to write and to read. I'm not doing Nanowrimo this year, but I completed it last year and I still haven't really edited any of it. Plus, I have other ideas I should be working on. I need to find time for that and I have so many books that I want to read by the end of the year. Wish me luck please, I need it! There's not enough hours in the day LOL.

I'm going to try and catch up on some blog commenting this week so if you want me to check out a post just leave a link below! I hope everyone is doing well. <3 

Weekly Updates & Recommendations (10/3/16-10/9/16) PLUS MIss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children MOVIE Review!

This week has been pretty hectic! Well especially this weekend, the weekdays were pretty much same old, same old. Friday night my husband and I took our kids to see the Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children movie. So here's a short review for that: 

I have to say that I enjoyed it better than the book. Which we all know is rare! I rated the book 3 stars back when I read it because while I loved the pictures in the book, it was hard to get into. Also, I don't feel like the writing is that strong since some of the things I didn't 100% understand by the end. The movie did a better job of explaining some things and seeing it visually may have helped. Tim Burton always does a fantastic job! I wasn't interested in reading the other books before, but I might now. It's a really weird reverse for me since I think I'll watch all of the movies first and then read the last two books. Also, the acting in the movie is FANTASTIC. I highly recommend seeing the movie, even if you are meh about the book like me. 

Saturday was pretty busy too. I went out and about and got a lot of things done. Like my car repairs, which cost me almost $400. YIKES. Today is a chill day for me and I'm just spending some time with the family. Also, I've been really enjoying my creepy reads for October! That's really about it this week. 

Currently: 

Reading: The Daemoniac By: Kat Ross and The Many By: Nathan Field.

Watching: I've been watching some more pilots to see what new shows are any good. I watched the pilots for Timeless, Frequency, and Pitch. So far I like all three, but I'm not sure on ANY of these shows how they will go in the long run. I'm surprised to say that I think I enjoyed the Pitch premiere the most. Which is surprising because I hate sports. I like that this has a lot of drama though and the big twist at the end of the pilot is CRAZY! 

Listening To: New JoJo music! I love her song "Too Little, Too Late" from back in the day and I'm THRILLED that she has some good music again. Check out the new songs, "F*ck Apologies," "Mad Love," and my favorite so far, "FAB." There's also one called "Music," but I haven't listened to that one yet. 

AngelErin's A+ Cover of the Week: 

AngelErin's Book Pick of the Week: My Review

For my recommendations this week I decided share some horror movies! I wanted to share ones that are underrated or that people may not know. Some of these I think horror fans may recognize, but I'm not sure so I added them anyway! All of these movies are definitely on my all time favorite horror movies list. Of course I do have a lot of favorites. LOL! 

*Click on movie title to view on IMDB* 

Inside- This is a french film (with subtitles) that I love. This one is not for the faint of heart due to the ending. Just a head's up!

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - The tagline for this is, "The first Iranian Vampire Western." It's fantastic and the music is great too. This is one with subtitles. 

Audition - This one is a Japanese film so there are subtitles. I will admit that most of the movie is dull, but the end is worth it. I'm still freaked out by the sound. Watch to find out what I mean! 

Trick 'r' Treat - This one is great if you don't want anything too scary. 

Cube - Before SAW, there was Cube! 

The Taking of Deborah Logan - This one part still haunts me. 

May - Really freaking weird, but good. 

Maniac - This is the remake with Elijah Wood. I haven't seen the old one yet, but this one freaks me out because it's from the killer's POV. 

Clown - Creepy clown + Demonic = What more do you need??

Afflicted - I really liked this one and I didn't expect to. It's different than what I expected. This one part really freaked me out and stuck with me. 

Orphan - Vera Farmiga is in this one!! 

Suspiria - An oldie from the 70's! This one has one the best horror movie music scores in my opinion. 

Antichrist - Willem Dafoe does such an amazing job in this one. It's super strange though, but in a good way.

The Entity - An oldie, but a goodie! I thought everyone knew this one, but I've had many people tell me they've never heard of it. It creeped me out so bad as a kid. 

V/H/S - I wasn't expecting much when I went into this one. I am surprised how freaky and weird it is. It's fantastic though.

Dead Silence - I don't know why this one isn't as well known. The ventriloquist doll thing is just so creepy! 

Okay that's it for this week! It was a pretty good/busy week and I hope to rewatch some of these horror movies this October plus some new ones. I know horror isn't for everyone, but if you want something not too scary I would say that Trick 'r' Treat and Dead Silence aren't too scary. Have you seen any of these movies? How was your week? 

Weekly Updates & Recommendations (9/26/16-10/2/16)

Um, is September really over already? This year seems to be going by super fast, I'm not ready for the holidays yet! This week was pretty decent for me. There was nothing bad that happened. Woot! I've just been very tired. On Wednesday my plans got cancelled so once my kids were at school I literally slept the whole day until I had to pick them up. That was fantastic because I never get enough sleep. That's just a mom's life for you though. Other than that, my week was seriously dull. These updates have really made me realize how unexciting I am. :P 

Currently: 

Reading: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams By: Stephen King and A Life in Parts By: Bryan Cranston. 

Watching: I haven't been watching Castle really this week. I took a break with all of the season premieres, but I can't wait to get back to the show soon. This week I watched a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I watched the pilot for Designated Survivor (loved it),  the pilot for The Exorcist show (hated it), Big Bang Theory is back, The Voice is back, and Project Runway is back. Ah, there's just so many shows. I can't keep up! Another thing I watched recently was the Lifetime movie, Girl in the Box, which is based on a true story and it was pretty darn good. 

Listening To: Come On By: White Lies. Hooray they have a new song!! I love it! 

AngelErin's A+ Cover of the Week: 

AngelErin's Book Pick of the Week: My review is coming soon!

For my recommendations this week I decided to recommend some more fabulous book bloggers!! You have no idea how hard it is for me to narrow these down. I'll definitely be highlighting more amazing book bloggers in the future. 

Du Livre- Not only does Amber write wonderful reviews, but her blog is SUPER CUTE and I adore the French flair. 

Metaphors and Moonlight - Are you looking to find an intelligent book discussion? Kristen has the best ideas for discussion posts and you just have to check them out for yourself.

Booker T's Farm - Books And Nails And Puppy Dog Tales- Barb is one of the few fellow bloggers that I see posting about horror novels and she always finds creepy books I haven't heard of yet! She also posts reviews for other genres and she is a dog lover. 

Star-Crossed Book Blog - This blog is run by multiple ladies and I love how enthusiastic and honest all of the reviews are. Everything is full of so much personality! 

Miranda's Book Blog- Have you seen Miranda's All About That Cover feature? If not, then you need to! I really love seeing which covers she picks and it's always fun trying to decide which covers I like best. 

Well that's it for this week! Nothing horrible happened, so I count that as a win! :) How was your week everyone? This year is going by too fast and I'm not ready for the Holiday Season yet, what about you? I love Halloween, but I feel like I'm not even prepared for that one. LOL! 

Weekly Updates & Recommendations (9/19/16-9/25/16)

Well I don't know what happened, but this week either went by fast or I didn't really do a lot. I took care of my family, read some books, went to the pool a couple of times, worked on my blog, listened to some music, and watched some stuff. It was a very chill week honestly, other than the migraine from hell I had one night. My favorite part of the week though was on Friday when I went to my local library's book sale!!! I'll do a book haul below of course. 

Currently: 

Reading: The Bazaar of Bad Dreams By: Stephen King and Pretty Wicked By: Kelly Charron. 

(Click the covers to view on Goodreads) 

Watching: I'm still watching Castle. I also watched the first two episodes of AHS recently. What do you all think of the new season? I think I've been up, down, and all over the place with it so far. I liked it at first and then the second episode I didn't. So we'll see I guess. 

Listening To: Can't Stop the Feeling By: Justin Timberlake. I have to admit that I was pretty meh about this one at first, but then it grew on me some more. Also, I think this is the first JT song that I have liked in quite a while. 

AngelErin's A+ Cover of the Week 

(Click on the cover to view on Goodreads) 

AngelErin's Book Pick of the Week: My review is coming soon! 

(Click the cover to view on Goodreads) 

For my recommendations this week I decided to recommend a website/app. Why just one rec this week you may ask? Because this one app is all that you need!! Libib is a website/app that you can use to catalog your books, music, movies, and video games. I use it religiously to keep track of my books! I haven't expanded into my DVD collection just yet, but it's been a huge lifesaver as far as books go. I have over 1,300 books (DON'T JUDGE ME!) and when I go out book shopping sometimes I forget if I own a book already or not.  I think we've all bought a book before that we already owned. Or maybe my memory is just that bad lol. Either way, now while I'm at the bookstore I can just pull out my phone, open the Libib app, and search my library on there! There's many ways you can add books to the app. There's a barcode scan, you can enter the ISBN #, or you can manually add it in. There's also  a ton of other fun features to help you catalog that you can play around with. 

(Click the photo to view the website) 

For the record, I was not asked in any way to promote or share this website/app. I just really freaking love it!! I highly recommend it to anyone with a crazy book collection like me. 

This week I also have a book haul to include!! As I mentioned before, I went to a library book sale. My library has them twice a year and I love to go and get goodies for SUPER CHEAP. I got a pretty eclectic selection I think and a few of them are middle grades that my sons will read also. So here's my haul from the book sale on Friday! 

Okay so that was my week! I can't complain. Things are going pretty well for the most part over here and that's fantastic. How was your week guys?!!? I hope it was wonderful!