Hello all,

Be forewarned....this post is going to be very, very long as well.

This is Part 2 of I Tag Catch-Up! The tags featured in this post are the Summer Fun Tag, The Cookie Book Tag and the Real-Life Blogger Party Tag.

Ready to go? I am! So, let's be off!



Tag #1: The Summer Fun Tag

Lila Red @ The Cheapskate Bibilomaniac tagged me for the Summer Fun Tag, which was created by Mikayla @ Making Music for the Maker. You can view Lila's answers here. Thanks for the tag, Lila!

Rules:
1. Thank the person who tagged you and link to their post.
2. Answer the questions.
3. Tag at least three people.

Questions:

1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?

I've actually been called this outside of my family as well but one nickname that my family calls me is "little lady". Every other nickname my family calls me is classified information.

2. What's a weird habit of yours?

Acting out my daydreams when I'm alone (or I think I'm alone). Not sure why I do it, I just do.

3. Do you have any strange phobias?

I have a terrible fear of rats and mice. One of my worst nightmares was someone shoving a dead rat in my face. Seeing a live rat or mouse paralyzes me, a dead one makes me shudder like this:


via GIPHY


4. What's a song you secretly love to blast out when alone?

"That's What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction.

Yes, I know. It's One Direction.

This is the only song that I like from them. But honestly, this song helped me through some really bad periods of low self-confidence. The song itself is good, and that's what counts for me.

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?

When people talk about authority figures (especially bosses) behind their backs about what they do wrong, why their actions seem stupid to them. Honestly, even if I agree with some of those points, the fact is...the boss is in charge. Often times, there is a reason why he does the stuff that he does. Have a little understanding, people!!!

6. What's one of your nervous habits?

Playing with my hair. I do that when I'm agitated.

7. What's a YouTuber that always makes you laugh?

I don't watch YouTube that often - most of my YouTube watching is watching music videos.

8. What's your first stuffed animal and what's it's name?

Just an ordinary bear named Teddy  :)

9. What's a drink you always order from Starbucks?

I'm not a coffee drinker, so I don't get stuff from Starbucks.

10. Do you have any weird body skills?

I used to play fiddle fairly often, and I have a terrible time using my pinky finger to play notes.

Why?

When I press the string, the one joint in my pinky finger flattens out, so my finger doesn't remained curved like it's supposed to. And I can't get it to not do that.

11. What's your favorite comfort food?

Macaroni and Cheese, by far. Second would be ice cream.

12. What is a phrase or exclamation that you always say?

I say "geez Luigi" a lot. It's a phrase that I created on the spur of the moment at one point, and it's remained in my vocabulary.

13. What is one thing that you used to wear when you were younger that you would never wear now?

Pants and shorts (by themselves)

I fell in love with modesty and dressing femininely when I was 16. After hearing a lot of interviews with Christian guys about what they see and feel when they see a woman in pants, and reading a lot of books and articles, I decided that I was not comfortable wearing pants in public.

Honestly, I don't really miss pants and shorts. I find that I'm cooler when I'm wearing skirts in the summer. I get much more respect and chivalrous behavior from men. I will wear sweatpants at home if I'm not feeling well, as well as shorts under my skirts (jeans if I'm working very laborously). Otherwise, it's long skirts for me.

14. What did you want to be when you were younger?

A veternarian. Then I found out I would need to be in school for 8 years, and there were a lot of things in the job that I was not comfortable with. So I went for agriculture instead.

15. How tall are you?

Let's put it this way...I'm short, but not that short. Short enough to have short girl problems. Nuff said.

16. What are five ways to gain your friendship?

1. Keep me in the loop. Always. I don't care if it's a minor detail or if it doesn't concern me 100%. Just tell me. I'll probably need that information at some point anyway.
2. When I ask for help, show me but don't do it for me. Let me do it while you're talking to me. And I'll always stop and make sure that I'm doing it right, so don't lie if I'm doing it wrong.
3. Actively take interest in what I say. I'm more likely to be the listener in any given time. I don't really mind that, but when I want to talk about something, I wanna talk about something!
4. Please don't swear or make obscene gestures in my presence or hearing. I'm a lady, and I don't take that kind of stuff very well.
5. Stick with me through the storms. It's one thing to share the joys, but another to share the sorrows. If you're still here after my sorrows are done, you're a friend. Period.


Now...to tag people.....

ohhh are you guys hungry? I've got some tasty books cookies down below!

Tag #2: The Cookie Book Tag

Yesss, this delicious tag!!! Faith/Florid Sword @ A Writer's Song tagged me for the Cookie Book Tag. You can see her answers here. I was watching the blogosphere go crazy with this tag, and I hoped I'd get it!

Rules:
1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Showcase books with the following descriptions.
3. Tag how many people you want.

Chocolate Chip - A book that never gets old

Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

from Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE

A couple of years after graduating college, Joan Sanderson finds that her life isn't really going anywhere. She has a good job and loves taking care of her family; but that isn't enough. She has no social life, and no boyfriend since Roger the Rat dumped her. When a new doctor, coupled with a rambunctious puppy dog, moves next door; she finds out what she has been missing...

This book was one of my first Kindle finds, and it is still one of my absolute favorite books. Joan's and Ken's romance is one of the best romances that I've seen written in a contemporary piece.

Dutch Snowballs - A book that gives you an unexpected surprise

Runner Up by Leah Banicki

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE

Tired of being on the sidelines when it comes to dating, Hannah Parker is finally stepping out looking for love. She lands a spot on the hit TV show Soulmate, and she falls for Anthony Capricchio - the dream guy of any girl with morals. But with 24 other women on his heels, will Hannah even have a chance with him? 

Ok....that plot twist in there was totally mean. Just as mean as the plot twist in Frozen. NOT JOKING. I WAS ROOTING SO HARD.....
And seriously, that much drama over a TV show? Turned me off watching shows like the Bacherlor and the Bacheolorette, that's for sure. But maybe that was the point....

Molasses - A book with a character that gets into a sticky situation

Every Bride Needs a Groom by Janice Thompson.

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE.

In a small towns, there are a lot of "givens". Katie Fisher counted on one "given" too far when, acting a false hint, she applied for a bridal contest from Texas Bride. When her boyfriend leaves her high and dry to chase new dreams - coincidentally hours before she wins said contest - Katie is in a pretty bad bind. How is she going to explain to the wedding dress designer - and her pro basketball player son - that she doesn't have the groom? 

Ladies...assuming that the guy is going to propose is a really bad idea.....just saying. But how she gets out of this jam is absolutely adorable.

Oreo - A book dealing with light and darkness.

Draykon by Charlotte English.

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE.

Could one little gem cause so much trouble? 

The discovery of istore by an introverted jewelry collector named Llandry sets off a series of murders and a lot of people desperate to get at the beautiful stones. But is there a deeper connection - one to the long-lost race of drakoni? 

Not only does this book have different realms, each one has unique characteristics. Some are literally light, some are literally dark. Besides that obvious analogy, there is some really shady stuff that happens in the book - the mystery around the istore especially. This book is a great fantasy book - chock full of fantasy creatures from ortings to drakoni. For my fellow fantasy readers!

Sugar - A book with a super sweet villian

Dr. Horatio vs. the Six-Toed Cat by Virgina Smith

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE.

A quick read deserves a quick introduction. Serving as a prequel to a book series called Goose Creek B&B, this book provides plenty of small town laughs as a girl introduces her fiance to her parents and the town vet tries to stop an epidemic of six-toed cats. 

I tell you...this question really floored me. You know how many books I had to scour through to choose one for this question???

Anyways.....

The title kinda gives it away a bit....in this particular book, there is a 6-toed male cat that is creating dozens of litters left and right. And the vet (Dr. Horatio) is getting fed up with dealing with crazy cat ladies freaking out over their precious kitties sporting extra toes. Hence, we have an elusive, very sweet villian to deal with.

Monster - A book that confused your emotions.

The Crown and the Crucible by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE.

A simple country girl leaves her ancestral home in order to serve in the castle of a Russian princess. But while the two girls are learning from each other and uniting in friendship, political revolution is threatening to pit family and friends against each other. Will their friendship stand it? Will their respective brothers be alive at the end of it all? 

Ok....what really confused my emotions about this book was the romance between the Prince Sergei and the maid Anna. Gah....I kinda wanted them together...but the class differences really stuck out. The fact that it was genuine attraction and not an impure one really made it worse.

Warning: This book has a minor infidelity plotline with Tsar Alexander.

Snickerdoodle - A book that makes you laugh

Pink Flamingoed by Steve Demaree

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE

When he moves in an old family home, Brad intends on making it his writer's retreat. That is, before he gets roped into helping with the Christmas caroling, a neighborhood joke involving a pink flamingo, and a beautiful girl next door. Before he knows it - boom! - he's interwoven into the Aylesford Place social life :). 

I guess that as a humorous Christian book, I would certainly hope that this book would make me laugh....

This book is one of those really light reads that I tend to read if I'm having a bad day. There really isn't much of a plot per se, as it is a collection of neighborhood vignettes with a loose timeline. There is a romantic plotline that ties up the book rather nicely.

Peanut butter - A book with a nutty character

Stars Collide by Janice Thompson

From Amazon.com. Check out the book HERE

Kat Jennings and Scott Murphy are just your ordinary TV family sitcom couple. Comforting kids, reading lines, falling for each other in real life....
Wait, what?
Uh huh. The flame is sparking on the other side of the curtain. The trouble is, how to keep Kat's Grandma from hurrying the romance and keep the ever nosy press from helping her?

Kat has a grandmother who has Alzheimers. The way that it is presented provides several laughs, eyebrow raises, and "okay....."s from the reader, guarenteed. Her quirk of dressing as classic movie stars (and quoting them like a pro) endured her to me in an instant.

Now I wanna re-read all of these books.....

Hang tight with me guys! I've got one last tag to go!! 



Tag #3: The Dream Real-Life Blogger Party Tag 

This was an open tag created by Abby @ Up and Downs. Thanks Abby, this one looked like a lot of fun! You can check out her post here.

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Answer the questions
3. Tag 5 people.

1. Name the venue for this party!

The South Carolina coast or the Sea Islands. In a Marriott resort.

Marriott resorts have a LOT of amenities, great service and activities. They're my favorite hotel chain, but the timeshare hotels are even better.

And the Sea Islands have forests, beaches, and still have access to some metro areas :).

2. List 3 foods that need to be present.

 Chocolate fountain, complete with strawberries and other fruit.

 Hamburgers. All-American food, and it's my favorite party food.

Macaroni salad or a mac and cheese dish. Maybe I should have said macaroni dish....

(Though I'll admit, those shish kabobs almost made it on there. Don't they look AWESOME??)

3. Dance Time! List 5 artists/bands for your party mix tape.

I'm going to slightly alter this question to "What songs would you put in?". Because I'm not one that looks at artists, I look more at songs. (Same way I look at movies and not actors.)

"Cotton Eyed Joe" by Rednex - seriously my favorite line dance ever.

"Cha Cha Slide" - another one of my favorite dances. And yes, I can go all the way to the floor.

"Y.M.C.A" by Village People - I forgot half of the hand motions that go with this song, but I like the message of it!

"On Top of the World" - The Peter Hollens/Mike Thompkins version is the best.

"Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars - Every party needs an uplifting song :)

4. What three activities would we mostly engage in?

1. Talking to each other! Us introverts may take us a minute, but we'll pull ahead of the extroverts in no time with all the like-minded peoples.

2. Real-life tag posts...AKA ICEBREAKERS!!!

3. Snapping tons and tons of photos!

5. Describe a collaborative post that you would do at a party.

I honestly would do a vlog with several blogging buddies. Because why not? They're already there!!!

6. What habits or interaction qualities would you notice?

I notice a lot of things...would I pay attention to them would depend on what it is.

I'd notice who was listening and who was talking the most though.


I've finished all the tags (thank heavens)....except to tag people! 

FOR ALL TAGS - It is open season again. Take one, take all, it's your choice!! 

I know...I'm taking the easy route. But, as I explained in the last post, with everybody finishing up summer, I don't want to add any more blogging to everybody's to-do lists.
Hope you enjoyed my tag posts!

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine