Fun Stuff
Random topics that don't fit in other categories.
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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Fancy Footwear
Something happened that I never ever believed would happen to me… I became a Crocs convert. For years, my family has been telling me that I needed a pair of Crocs. “They’re comfortable.” “They’re convenient.” “They’ve updated the styles.” But I just couldn’t do it. “Crocs are so ugly,” I’d laugh as I shook my head wildly. Then I decided to start a garden; I needed a pair of shoes that I could wear in the yard without worrying about destroying. I needed something that could stand up to rainy conditions, so I started searching different online stores and happened upon the Crocs store. And that’s where I found them.…
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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Emergency Preparedness
As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. One of the scariest things to happen is to get an evacuation notice in the middle of the night. This happened to us when we were living in Pennsylvania; emergency trucks came rolling through our neighborhood with their sirens blaring telling us to evacuate as quickly and safely as possible. Huntsville Dam was about to overflow. Naturally, I…
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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Container Garden
Y’all, I have turned into a full-fledged {container} gardener courtesy of TikTok. I’ve wanted to start a garden for years but I was hesitant to dig up my yard and fail, then I stumbled across container gardening and thought that met my needs. Container gardening is just what it sounds like, growing your garden in containers. But before I did anything, I did a deep dive on TikTok to find out what I needed to do to get started. According to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map, I live in Zone 9a, which means our average minimal temperature is 20 to 30 degrees. Knowing this information lets me know which plants…
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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Boots on the Ground Line Dance
Y’all, my daughter and my grandchildren have me learning the Boots on the Ground Line Dance. I am perhaps the most uncoordinated, rhythmless person you’d ever want to meet. But I’m going to do it. And they’re going to record it. I’m about to make myself an internet laughing stock to amuse my family. My daughter sent me a link to a tutorial by Bizzy Boom. She used this tutorial to learn the dance, so she figured it’d be easy for me to learn too. I’m happy she has so much faith in me. LOL For reference, because I’m a librarian, here’s some background information on the song and the…
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Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: Artful Agenda, Almost a Year Later
As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. I have always been a planner girl. In fact, my daughter reminded me this morning of how I used to carry around a purple snake skin planner with a bunch of little tabbies and sticky notes poking out. I used different colored ink pens to differentiate between my family, school, and personal calendars. I also doodled in the…
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February 2025 Wrap-Up
Hey, y’all, hey! How are things going? I know I’m late with last month’s wrap-up but I’ve had a hard time sitting down long enough to get this post written. It feels like by the time I get home, get the dogs fed, and make dinner, it’s time for bed. Do you feel that way too? I need more hours in the day. Even though I know I probably wouldn’t use them to relax or do something fun. deep sigh What would you do if you had extra hours? WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED My Bingo Card hasn’t changed at all since last month, still I accomplished a lot. Mostly work stuff,…
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January 2025 Wrap-Up
Did 2025 have the worst beginning ever or what? And it seems to be spiraling towards the ground at a dizzying pace. Part of me wants to totally check out, but the other part of me knows I need to pay attention. I also refuse to be held hostage by the crazy that pops off every single day. I plan to focus on the things that are important to me: my faith, my family and community, and free and open access to information in all of its forms. I will protect my peace and I’d advise you to do the same. We cannot allow ourselves to become overwhelmed or complacent,…
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Where Bloggers Live: The Best Gifts I’ve Ever Received
When I was in my early teens, my best friend, Alisa, introduced me to Danielle Steel. Danielle Steel is an American author whose books are characterized by young women with traumatic childhoods who marry wealthy, much older men. Initially, I was caught up in the romance of the stories… To my thirteen-year-old mind, wealth and glamour went hand in hand with love and romance. Never mind that these women were marrying men who were old enough to be their fathers. That being said, one story stuck with me and would have a significant influence on me. Message from Nam told the story of Paxton Andrews, a female war correspondent who…
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{Audiobook Review} Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown
As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse for providing me with a free audio version of this book for review. BOOK DETAILS Title: Untethered Author: Angela Jackson-Brown Narrator: Karen Murray Publisher: HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse Publication Date: 3 December 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Multicultural Focus, Family Drama Format: Audiobook Listening Time: 10 hours, 51…
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Where Bloggers Live: My Top 5 Posts
As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support. When Bettye first invited me to join this group, I had no idea what I was signing up for… I thought is was just gonna be one of those things that I did for a few months and then bowed out gracefully. Well, here we are five years later and I’m still hanging in there. Admittedly, there’ve been…
