whatcha readin'? {2018::book 6 - goal 24}

Ok...can we all just give me a little
pat on the back here...
it's February and I'm already at 6 books read!
(actually, it's 7 but I am getting ahead of myself).

Yay me!

I just went back to compare where I was at
this time last year
and I had read 1 book.
ONE book.
By February 20th!
What on earth was I doing!
Any wonder I didn't make my goal last year!
Such a slacker.

So anyway.
I just finished The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory.
If you read this blog at all, you will know that I
always preface my "reviews" with ... (& I use the word review in the
loosest possible way...I really shouldn't even say review...
it's not a review...if anything it's a recommendation...
or maybe even the equivalent to a facebook thumbs up or down...
but I do not consider what I write here to be a review....
that requires work & thought & proper punctuation
and well...
I just wanna say hey...that book was super-awesome
or that book?  not so much and leave it at that.)

So anyway.
I got off on a tangent there and didn't even finish the sentence I started.
This is why I can't write reviews.
Anyway.  I always preface my reviews (*see above) of this author
with guilt that I am admitting I like these books. 
And I wasn't going to do that this time.
This time, I was going to be like damn it, I love these books
and I am not apologizing for that.

But then,
I didn't quite love this one.
I'm not sure why.  I really don't think it was the writing...I always love her
writing.  I think it might have just been where my own head is at and just
bad timing and I just HATED ELIZABETH SO HARD that
it kind of frustrated me throughout the whole story.

So if you like these books, please do not let this "review" (air quotes) stop you
from reading it.  If anything, go read it and then maybe we
can be united in hatred of Elizabeth. 

Again.  So not a review.  More of a book-related-ramble.  Rambles I can do.
(and Philippa Gregory, if you happen to come by and read this
please accept my sincerest apology.  I really do love your books!)

4 out of 5 ♥'s

NEXT UP:  YOU ARE A BADASS - JENN SINCERO
 

robots! weird looking pugs! distorted faces!

I have been using this sketchpad for a while and
knew I wanted to do something
with the cover
but didn't know what...
so yesterday i thought
what about ROBOTS!
you can't go wrong with
ROBOTS!

and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
:)

and also this week:

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(and...that is supposed to be a pug...I have some work to do there...)
and when I showed this to my 18 year old son
he said, "oh look!  one of your girls is actually smiling!"
which I hadn't noticed was a thing I had been doing...

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And still...faces are so hard.  I have one...
you'd think that would make it easier.

Heh.

I haven't been leaving the house much this week...
my car is being weird.
it's cold out.
i'm tired and slightly PMS-y (too much info, I know)...
but the bright side is
instead of moping on the couch
building a blanket fortress
and eating ice cream,
I did mess around with pen and paper a lot instead.

hmmmm.
Did someone say ice cream?
:)

oh...and I have also been catching up on This is Us...
♥♥♥

friday i'm in love...

♥♥♥
i have finally seen the movie Wonder
and i will tell you right now,
it did not disappoint.
i am not going to lie
i sobbed my way through most of it
but...a good kind of sobbing...
if you know what i mean...

♥♥♥
week 2 of 52 drawing labs book project...
check in on Sunday to see how it went

♥♥♥
yoga with adriene youtube videos...
for those days when i just can't make myself leave the house.
(cause, you know...winter.)

♥♥♥
neil gaiman.
i am seriously crushing on neil gaiman.
i want to be neil gaiman.
really.
my obsession with him right now
could qualify
as unhealthy.
(and if, by some cosmic twist in a bizarre but benevolent universe
he happens to read this blog post
or comment on the associated tweet,
i will most likely self combust from happiness...)

♥♥♥
i feel like a lot of us should read this...
more than once.
or ok...i feel like i should be reading this...
like once a day...as a reminder....
because i do all of these things.
i try to balance but
it's so easy to slip back into old habits.

♥♥♥
maggie's getting married!  are you going?  you should!
(and sidenote...i really miss not being involved in a play this year...
i was surprised by how much i missed it.)
 

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wordless wednesday - the bokeh edition

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tuesday truths...

■  
I just realized there is no diet coke in the house. 
None.

■ 
My hip hurts.  My hip has never hurt before. 
I am not liking it.

■ 
I went to a writing group on Saturday. 
This was my second time going. 
I think this is exactly what I need in order to make myself
actually sit down and work on something...
I need that accountability.
And it is obviously not working to pretend that
I will hold myself accountable
because apparently, I have a very soft heart
that believes every sob story excuse I tell myself.

And the great thing about this month's session
was that I admitted up front
that, while this was the start of a story,
there is a very good chance
that I will never finish it
because I have never finished ANYTHING in my life.
They kindly pointed out that I had indeed finished the story
that I shared the week before
but...that was like
1900 words.
That kind of story I can handle.
A snippet.  A page or two.  A scene.  A scenario.
It's putting a bunch of those together
and calling it a cohesive story that I struggle with.
But after I read the group my story about Bernadine,
they told me I had to write more
because they wanted to know
what was going to happen next...
(and...to be honest...so do I!)
and that they would be expecting to hear more
at next writing group.
:)

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