Reading for Fun and Goodreads Account Info

Hi guys!

It's no secret that I love to read! I try to read (for fun) as often as I can, but sometimes it's hard to find time to read when I have class. Between mandatory reading, band stuff, homework, lectures, working out, etc. I usually don't have a lot of free time- if I do, I usually try to catch up on sleep. 

Oh, the life of a college student (haha!). 

I recently made a Goodreads account. The app/ website let's you create different groups of books; that way, you can keep track of what you want to read and what you have already read. Plus, you can give each book a rating. Goodreads can then suggest books that you may like based off your ratings. It's like a social media website for book nerds like myself :) 

By the way, if you have a Goodreads account, add me (Keri Tichenor). 

Anyway, back to the whole point of this post- I want to keep a list of all the books I read each year. Goodreads keeps track of this for you, but I wanted to post a list for those of you who don't have Goodreads, or for those of you who are just curious. I also think it will be extremely rewarding to see the list of books I've read by the end of the year. I'll include books I read for fun and for school, but I'll be sure to mark them accordingly. I usually read dystopian and/ or fantasy (think Hunger Games, HP, and Divergent), but I'll pick up a non-fiction or autobiography on occasion. 

Check out my next post if your interested in what I'm reading :) I'll talk to you again soon!

Keri <3

Edward Flew the Coop

Hi, again :)

The orphaned baby bird we have been taking care of (Edward) flew back into the wild today. Mom and I went outside to check on him this morning and he was fluttering around and jumping from branch to branch inside his house. We fed him, gave him some water, and let him fly away- we wanted to roost in the tree in our front yard, but he decided to fly into the neighbors' shrub. 

Edward's new home (for now)

Hopefully he'll be okay on his own. I'm sure he will figure out how to find food and water on his own- maybe a nice bird family will show him how to fend for himself. I'm glad he was healthy and able to be released back into the wild so soon!!

Thanks for keeping up with the Edward updates, and reading the blog :) 

Keri 

Edward Update

Hello!

Thought I would type up a quick blog and update you guys on baby Edward. He seems to be doing really well! He's starting to walk around his box (we had to make him a new home since he outgrew his other one already!), and he is almost able to curl his feet around the perch we have him. Edward has an bottomless pit for a stomach- whenever he sees one of us, he throws his head back, squawks, and opens his beak for food. He's definitely healthy and getting stronger each day. Edward is almost completely covered in feathers; and he's getting a lot cuter as he gets older :)

At first, we thought he was a barn swallow, but we looked at pictures online and now we think he is an English sparrow. They almost look like blackbirds, but sparrows have some gray feathers. Whatever type of bird he is, we're glad that he is doing so well. He is about 2 to 2 1/2 weeks old (just an estimation based off some Internet research).

Thanks for reading today's blog! Stay tuned for more updates on Edward. 

Keri :)

PS: I promise I will finish my blog about Vegas ASAP. I had an entire blog written up, but I forgot to save it to my drafts before I closed the app on my phone :( I will definitely have it up before the end of this week!!

Mary Kay VoxBox

Hi guys!

If you read my last post, you know that I was in Vegas this weekend (pictures coming soon!). As I was sitting in the airport waiting to catch my flight home, I received an email from Influenster. For those of you who have never heard of Influenster, here is a quick rundown of the program. Basically, you create an account on influenster.com (which is 100% free, by the way) and take surveys every so often.  The company then sends you a VoxBox in the mail- the box contains samples (and even some full-sized) products especially for you based on your answers to the surveys. Here's the catch: not everyone gets a VoxBox after every survey. A handful of people are selected to receive each box based on their survey results. After you receive the box, Influenster asks that you take a brief survey about the products, and they also encourage you to share your experience on your social media outlets. 

Whew, that was a lengthy explanation (sorry...). Anyway, here's a screenshot of the email I received today:

I. Cannot. Wait. To. Get. My. VoxBox!!!!! I honestly didn't expect to get one so soon- I just signed up on Influenster a few weeks ago. No complaints, though! I've never used any Mary Kay products before, so I'm really excited about trying something new :) I'll let you know how everything goes once I receive the box and test the products out. 

Check out my next post to see some pictures from my Vegas trip! As always, thanks for reading :)

Keri <3

Florida Pictures

Hi again!! 

I mentioned in my last post that I am not really great about taking pictures while on vacation... But I did manage to take a few picture while I was in Florida this May. Enjoy :)

Disney World 

Cinderella's Castle 

The castle again

Leslie, me, and Raechel in front of the castle

Dad and Mom

Dad, Mom, and I

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Island of Adventure

Hogwarts is amazing!!!! The ride inside the castle (Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) is the best ride I have ever been on!! There's really no way to explain the ride itself, but the engineers did a fantastic job on its design. 

Men In Black: Alien Attack

Basically, you have to shoot aliens throughout the ride and you get a certain amount of points for each one you hit. I think this is the highest score I've ever gotten. Somehow my brother managed to get 400,000+ points each time we went. His aim must be a lot better than mine haha. 

Sorry I don't have more pictures for you guys... I will definitely have more pictures from Vegas this coming weekend :)

As always, thanks for reading and check back soon!!

Keri <3

I'm Back!! And We're Fostering a Baby Bird!

Hey everyone!! 

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted on here... This past semester kept me extremely busy, and finals were a nightmare. But at least that's all over and I can relax until band camp starts in August. 

The summer hasn't been too exciting thus far, so I really didn't have anything to post after school let out. My family and I spent a week in Florida- which was absolutely amazing- but I complete forgot to blog while I was there (sorry :( ). And I'm really bad about taking pictures... But I'm working on it, promise ;) I'll be heading to Las Vegas in 3 days, so I will definitely attempt to blog and take a ton of pictures! 

If you have seen any of my previous posts about the foster puppies, I have some exciting news- All of them have found their forever homes (along with Annie and Juliet)! Thank goodness for amazing pet owners :) All of the dogs seem to be doing really well in their new homes, but we haven't gotten any pictures from their new owners. I do have a one of Riley (aka Othello) and Annie:

We definitely love and miss all of the fosters, but I'm glad they are safe and happy in their new homes :) 

I don't have a clever segue into the next topic... So yeah....

WE ARE FOSTERING A BABY SPARROW!! Each year, we have a family of sparrows build their nest on/in our roof. This year, for the first time, one of their babies fell out of the nest and landed in the holly bush in the front yard. We think he's only a few days old, but he may be a week or so old. He doesn't have too many feathers yet (mostly just down feathers), but he seems to be doing pretty well. Mom whipped up some baby bird food- soaked dog food, hard boiled eggs, and applesauce mixed together- and we have been feeding him every half hour for the past day. He's getting stronger and is definitely eating well! Hopefully we can release him back into the wild when he gets a bit older/ more independent. 

I'll keep you updated on his progress every few days or so :) In the meantime, here's a few pictures:

He's definitely not the cutest thing in the world, but we love him already! My brother Drew decided the bird's name should be Edward (there was really no reason behind it). 

Thank you so much for reading!! Check back again soon for more pictures and updates. 

Keri :)