Baby It’s Cold Outside Tag

Hi everyone! Long time, no see and still no particular reason. I’ve been in a slump for about two months now but I wanted to do a winter book tag and the wonderful Luna tagged me in this one.

The Hallotober Tag!

Hi everyone! Long time no see but I’m here today for a Halloween-themed tag!! I was tagged by one of my faves Luna over at Bookish Luna and couldn’t pass it up. Check out her blog if you don’t already follow because she puts out some amazing content. It also was created by Jordanne from […]

Recommendations from Twitter: Part Two

I keep looking forward to getting more book recommendations and as always leave more below and if there’s enough I might do a post about just those!

Outlander Reading Experience: Part Two

I started reading Outlander as part of Tome Topple but didn’t finish it. Also the reading experience for the first half of Outlander was already almost 900 pages so I decided to break it into two parts.

At the Feet of Mothers Blog Tour

Author: Adnan Mahmutovic Publisher: Cinnamon Press Pub Date: May 4, 2020 Blurb: Joseph Schneider grows up in a Cherokee-Jewish family in the Smoky mountains of North Carolina. He dreams to be a cook on the biggest ship there is in the world but his attachment to his mother Rachel and his rootedness to the little […]

Book Review: The Dilemma

I loved both of these and have been meaning to pick up Behind Closed Doors. So my expectations were pretty high for The Dilemma as well.

Keeping your sanity during social distancing

It’s been over two months since social distancing started and since then I’ve barely left the house. But there are key things that have been keeping me from jumping off a roof just to feel something. (100% a joke mom and dad).

Reading Experience: Outlander: Part One

Yes, you read that right. I’m finally reading Outlander. I haven’t seen the show yet so I’m in for a treat. I got the book in a freebee pile a couple years ago and it had been on my list since then. It was on my pile for 2019 and it’s been on many smaller […]

Disney Parks Book Tag

I came across the Disney Parks book tag when I was bloghopping and I felt it is only fitting I did it since I love the parks!

Bout of Books 28 Wrap-Up

Last week was one of my favorite readathon was happening and I always set myself a goal even though it’s a super chill readathon and that’s totally not necessary.

The Angel’s Game: Reading Experience

I read Shadow of The Wind last year and it instantly became a favorite. I loved everything from the writing style to the characters and the plot.

Recommendations From Twitter: Part One

About halfway through April I asked for recommendations from Twitter for what books people think I would like and I got so many books I can’t fit them all into one post.

The Mystery Blogger Award

The Mystery Blogger Award was originally created by Okoto Enigma to find and promote bloggers who “haven’t been discovered yet.”

Parting Shot: Reading Experience

When I realized the series was expanded I instantly put the next one on my list but it took until now to get to it.

Recent faves during social distancing

I put up a poll recently on Twitter about whether I should do favorites or how I’ve been passing the time while social distancing. There is a lot of overlap but I also feel like there’s a distinction between the two.

Where I went on my Seattle Vacation

The end of last year was very heavy in general and I made it worse by having two trips, a Florida and Seattle vacation within a month. But it was so worth it experience wise. I’ve wanted to move to Seattle right after college but it’s hard getting a job somewhere you know no one […]

My experience at Universal’s Mardi Gras

There are quite a few things I got to experience here before everything got locked down and one of them was the Mardi Gras party at Universal Studios.

OWL Magical Readathon Wrap Up 2020

This past month I participated in the OWL Magical Readathon and I did so much better than I thought I would

May Readathons: Tome Topple and Bout of Books

So I’ll be doing the Bout of Books and Tome Topple readathons. I’m not going to separate the two readathons I’m doing because they’re the same week.

The Four Agreements: Reading Experience

I was debating whether I wanted to post about The Four Agreements because it’s not the type of book I generally read but I also wanted to be able to link to my thoughts on all of those books.

You Are Not Alone: Reading Experience

I want to start doing more reviews on this blog but I also wanted to do more vlog-type things because I forget how I’m feeling throughout the books.

Two Holidays, One Weekend: Horror Nights, RunDisney, Christmas

We did Horror Nights, Disney Run and saw the Disney Christmas decorations in one weekend.

Time capsule post: Coronavirus

I’m originally writing this on April 22nd, 2020 at 5:30 a.m. We’ve been social distancing for over a month now and it’s given me a lot of time to think about what I want in life. It’s really messed up my sleep schedule but having no set schedule all day has made me realize what […]

My domain is now jkimexploring.com

You can follow me on Bloglovin’ (https://www.bloglovin.com/@jenna2474) or Twitter (@jkimexploring) for posting updates!

Book Tag: Spring Time, Cozy Time

I recently saw Belle Rose Reads do this and it looked so cute I decided to do it as well! I also wanted to do this right away so it doesn’t get into summer before it gets done.

#StayHomeReadingRush Wrap-up

Last night concluded the Stay Home Reading Rush, a readathon that lasted for the past four days.

You Are Not Alone: Reading Experience

I decided to do something different for You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I want to start doing more reviews on this blog but I also wanted to do more vlog-type things because I forget how I’m feeling throughout the books. This book was slightly on my radar but I wasn’t […]

Reading Rush Readathon

However, all of these readathons I’ve been previously unable to do due to prior commitments are having ones while we’re all stuck inside to combat the boredom.

#BoutOfBooks wrap-up 27.5

My original plan was to finish The Magicians and read The Magician King, Kill Creek and You Are Not Alone in their entirety.

Thoughts on Wake Up Sunshine: All Time Low

I’ve been obsessed with All Time Low for years and I’ve actually had the chance to see them live back in college! Their new album came out so I decided to do the same thing I did with Halsey. Will this become a thing? Maybe. I enjoy doing them. I’m starting this one out before […]

Roommate Reading Challenge

One of my roommates and I went to the library before it shut down. We each got some books.

OWL Magical Readathon 2020

Last year I did the OWL Magical Readathon. I completely failed the NEWTs to the point I didn’t even post about them and was in a weird slump after and for the longest time past that. But we’re social distancing and my work isn’t open again until at least the 19th. So I decided to […]

Thoughts on Manic: Halsey

I absolutely love Halsey and she just came out with a new album. I’ve listened to a couple songs on it already since they’re out as singles but I wanted to talk about my first impressions of each song in the new album.

First Two Weeks: Move to Forida

I’m officially settled, I got into town on Jan 7th.

How I plan to get my motivation back

So I’ve taken a couple of days off posting. I announced on Twitter I decided to stop doing Blogmas because I’ve just been so busy. I did Blogtober two months ago and was very overwhelmed by how much I had to do that month and this month was even more hectic.

Goals for 2020!

But in all honestly 2020 is going to start out super hectic and I have basically no plan for the year at all.

#Blogmas: Book Review: Tunnel of Bones

Even before the second one came out I knew I wanted to read it and I enjoyed it just as much. This is the type of book that doesn’t take too much concentration and you can just sit and read it in an afternoon.

#Blogmas: Books I’ve DNF’d this year

Here’s a quick list of books I DNF’d in 2019. I gave myself permission to put aside more books I wasn’t enjoying but I still powered through quite a few I wasn’t enjoying as much as I hoped.

7 projects, 12 months

So originally I was planning to do a 12 projects, 12 months year-long project. I only had two ideas and one is a bigger one. Someone gave me the idea of doing sprints for it and develop it in different phases.

#Blogmas: Surprising books of 2019

A couple days ago I did my most disappointing reads of the year and today I’m bringing you my most surprising. I feel like I got out of my comfort zone with buddy reads, book club and in general so there were quite a few surprising ones.

#Blogmas: End of the year book tag

Have I been tagged? Not that I know of.

Am I going to do it anyway? Absolutely.

#Blogmas: Beating the Instagram algorithm

I’ve played around with different types of posts and engagement to see what works the best.

#Blogmas: Most disappointing reads of 2019

Some of my most disappointing reads ended up being more popular books. This does not mean they were bad or that I hated them.

My first programming interview

I was looking for a new job and came across this company that creates data management systems for large companies. The company also focuses on helping the community and bettering their employees.

Blogmas: Travel plans in 2020 and beyond

I’m warning everyone now this is a stream of consciousness post. It’s super sporadic.

#Blogmas: Top 10 books I read in 2019

At the time of writing this I’ve read 71 books this year. 71! That’s insane. I was aiming for 100 but due to life I haven’t read much within the last couple months.

#Blogmas: What are CSS variables

I cam across the concept of CSS variables quite a while ago and it was a game changer. Utilizing this concept makes massive (and minor) color scheme changes…. which I do quite a bit.

Blogmas: Book Review: The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Author: Neal Shusterman Publisher: Simon & Schuster US Pub Date: Nov 5, 2019 Format: Hardback Genre: YA Fantasy This is book three of Arc of a Scythe. There will be spoilers for books one and two but NOT book three. You have been warned. My Thoughts: I absolutely adored Scythe and Thunderhead both. I was so eagerly awaiting this one that I […]

#Blogmas: Bookish Naughty or Nice Tag: 2019

A couple years ago Jenn created the Bookish Naughty or Nice tag and I’ve done it every year since. It only makes sense I do it early on so other people can join in! I have’t been tagged but I’m going to do it anyway.

#Blogmas: Books I want to read this Christmas

I was in the middle of a ton of books when I wrote the actual TBR and I managed to not finish all of them. (Shocking, I know). Well, December I’m hoping to lump them together and actually accomplish it.

Bertelsmann Scholarship: AI track

Last Friday I got an email saying I was awarded the Bertelsmann Technology Scholarship Challenge Course.

Book Review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

It reads like a sequel and I didn’t care about any of the characters and honestly I don’t know why I didn’t DNF it.

How to handle a busy month

For some reason October is my busiest month every year and this year was no different. I participated in Hacktoberfest, Blogtober, was planning two trips, had family in town multiple weekends etc.

Pre-travel trip tips

As I was getting ready for Florida I started to realize I have an internal checklist every time I travel.

30 books to read before I’m 30

I attempted to curate a list of novels I want to read before I turn 30 and in doing so I tried not to repeat authors.

Hacktoberfest wrap-up:

Technically there’s still four days left of Hacktoberfest so if you want to you can still join in!

2019 goal check-in

The beginning of this year I posted my top four goals of the year and I’ve accomplished three of them already! So I’m pretty proud of myself.

T-1 Week: Run Disney

The run is one week away! I repeat ONE WEEK. And I do not feel ready at all.

My favorite scary movies

So basically I really like movies that could happen or have supernatural elements. Am I surprised? Nope.

Judging a book by the cover: pt 2

As promised! I really wanted to get through all the covers given to me but I didn’t want to do a super long post. If you didn’t see it, part one is here.

Run Disney update- maps announced

They gave us the time we have to be there at (4:30 am) which you actually know when you sign up but it’s slowly starting to become more real.

Scary Movie to be watched

I’m heading to Halloween Horror Nights in a week and a half and I still have some movies I want get to before I see the haunted houses based on them.

Macmillan’s ebook embargo

But here’s basically why this is a bad idea in case you’re new to the way ebooks work within library systems from my understanding.

T-2 weeks: Run Disney

Well… this week didn’t happen and this post is going to reflect it. I’m just going to pretend it didn’t. I think I worked out once.

Update on blue light reducer glasses

A couple months ago I got new lenses in my glasses. This was around the time there were a ton of sponsored posts for the blue light reducing glasses and I was curious.

Judging a book by it’s cover tag

I have bought or checked out many a books based mainly on their covers. Sometimes it ends up being really good, other times it ends horribly.

Movie Recap: Idiocracy, After, It: Chapter II

Basically I’ve watched three movies in the past two days. That’s more than I normally watch in three months.

Halfway point: October

This month I’ve been doing more than normal and I honestly have no clue how I’m balancing it all.

Book review: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

I was expecting a heartwarming tale and that’s kind of what I got… but I also got a ton of laughs and tears.

Axe throwing recap

As I mentioned a couple days ago my sister wanted to do axe throwing for her bachelorette party. It was actually kind of fun.

T-3 weeks: Run Disney

This week I was super sluggish because I wasn’t having much coffee and I feel like I wasn’t sleeping as much as normal. That mixed with the fact that I failed at eating healthy it was just an overall bad week.

‘I should have read that book’ tag

I felt like doing a book tag today, mix things up a bit because I haven’t done one in quite some time.

Top audiobooks I’ve listened to

I will admit it is a completely different experience but it’s still reading. I started incorporating audiobooks into my reading about a year ago now.

Let’s talk reading slumps

I’ve been busy with work and studying and cleaning and life and workouts and reading falls to the side so often.

Fall bucket list

Fall is officially a couple weeks underway and I’ve been thinking about how I want to spend it. And it’s going to be an amazing fall.

Halloween movie faves

No Halloween season is without movie marathons and I have yet to have one. Obviously that needs to change but here are my all-time Halloween favorite movies.

Productivity tips that don’t work for me

In figuring out what makes me more productive I’ve also found some tips that help other people that don’t help me.

T-4 weeks: Run Disney

This week has been kind of gloomy. I don’t think I went outside to run at all and when I run at the gym I only like to do a couple miles because I don’t like treadmills.

My current reads

I’m loving all of them, some I have to be in the mood for, some I need to reread parts of and others I just pick up randomly and read them.

5 thing I’ve learned in 5 years of blogging

I’ve had this blog for five years. Five! That’s kind of impressive. Throughout that time I’ve taken hiatuses, blogging challenges, guest posts, serious posts and ridiculous posts.

Dream October TBR

I know it was an ambitious TBR but I keep adding to it each year when I inevitably don’t get to them all. And to be fair: it wasn’t and isn’t going to happen so may as well dream big right?

#Hacktoberfest 2019

Every year Digital Ocean puts on a hackathon in October called Hacktoberfest and this year they are partnering with DEV.

T- 5 Weeks: Run Disney

It’s currently Saturday afternoon and I’m fighting a food coma because I ate pizza and cookies for lunch. So healthy.

My favorite ways to procrastinate

I absolutely love being productive and there’s literally nothing better than waking up early, getting work done, going to work, working out, getting more work done and passing out. Except these things:

T-6 weeks: Run Disney

I had so much fun writing the countdown posts for the Tough Mudder and it helped so much with my motivation to get to the gym.

eARC review: The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

Four top investment bankers get a text to meet in a development property for a team-building escape game. When they get there they’re told the goal is to get out alive.

ARC review: Alice’s Story by Lilah Sturges; Lev Grossman

Author: Lilah Sturges and Lev Grossman Publisher: BOOM! Studios US Pub Date: July 16, 2019 Format: Adobe Digital Ebook Genre: Fantasy/ New Adult/ Graphic novel My Thoughts: Do not read this book until after you’ve read the entire Magicians trilogy. You will be majorly spoiled. I have read all of them and my review for […]

The Tough Mudder recap you’ve been waiting for

A couple weeks ago I ran the Tough Mudder with six other people and I looked over at one of them halfway though after an obstacle and went “I think I just died.”

Tough Mudder Update: Less than one month left!

Yes, you’ve read that right. I have less than a month until I run the Tough Mudder and the nerves are real. I know I’ll be fine.

June TBR: The smallest, yet largest TBR of the year

June. I’m preparing to read outside a lot. And I can’t wait. I’m planning on doing a 24 hour readathon with some of the books still on my TBR from elementary/ middle school on the first so that’s not going to be on this list. (Mainly because there’s a pile of like 15 books). I […]

Tough Mudder Training: Two months to go

The last couple weeks of April and the first week of May I was killing it. I was putting in all the workouts. I could see an improvement.

Mentally Tough Workouts

Sunday I had my long run for the week which was 4.25 miles. I ended up running on one of the trails by my house and it was…. difficult.

Bird Box: Book to Movie

If anyone tried the bird box challenge they instantly lost cool points in my book. Due to me feeling like death a couple months ago I watched the Bird Box movie relatively quickly after reading the book in January. I thought I should do a book to movie comparison/ review before I forget everything. I […]

Impromptu 24 hour readathon… and it’s importance

This past weekend I read a lot… and I didn’t mean to. Granted, I didn’t read as much as I have in past impromptu 24 hour readathons. Basically…. I read all of After by Anna Todd and quite a bit of Red Queen by Christina Henry along with various bits of some audiobooks. This post […]

Bout of Books and May TBR

I’m so excited another #BoutOfBooks is happening! It feels as though the last one just happened.

Book Review: After by Anna Todd

I was laughing at the ridiculousness of a lot of it and at some points I was hate reading and other moments I was actually kind of enjoying it.

OWL Readathon Wrap-Up

I did it. I finished the OWLs required to be a Curse Breaker…. and three extras. I did not follow my actual TBR though….

Tough Mudder training: Three months Left

I have less than three months to finish getting in Tough Mudder shape. I’m not too worried though. I started the three month countdown about a week ago and it’s so much easier this time around than when I first did it before I got continuously sick.

Little Girls: ARC review

Overall this was a decent graphic novel. It wasn’t mindblowing but it wasn’t horrible either.