whatcha readin'? {goal 41::book 1-3}

Most of January’s book reading time
was absorbed (happily)
by A Court of Wings & Ruin
but the month isn’t over yet.
:)

I find reading about subjects
that I am currently processing
in my head and my heart
to be helpful.
Not always and not all of it
but I have to admit that there
are always some little kernels of
truth or hope or “oh…that’s me, too!”
that I find helpful.

So I am not going to rate the first book
other than to say
that it was helpful in some ways
and it made me think.

Book 2 was the “Draw Everything” book
which was interesting
and I enjoyed playing with some of the
examples and suggestions.

Book 3. Oh. Book 3.
Which is the 3rd in this series
and SOOOOO good.
It took me a little bit to read cause…
well…pages. Lots of pages.
But it kept me enthralled from start to finish
and surprised me in a couple of
tense hold-your-breath spots.
♥♥♥♥♥ out of 5 for that one!

NEXT UP:: BEACH READ - EMILY HENRY
cause I need a little lightness…and I love her books.

and part of the bookmark project! :)

What are YOU reading?? :)

sponge.

I don’t know if I am going
through a bit of a cycle of some sort
but I feel like a thirsty, dry sponge
who just can’t get enough
of everything…
books
movies
music
real conversations
podcasts
interviews
documentaries
blogs
articles
nature
I just want to
keep absorbing
and connecting
and feeding the sponge monster
who is gobbling it up
and then saying
more…
give me MORE.

things are resonating
and clicking
and whirring like gears
and click-clacky clockwork…

i like this feeling.

the truth is
i am going to try to come
back to the blog more…
for no other reason
other than it is has always proven
to be a source of creativity for me.

i may, however, not always share the
link to new posts on other social media.
i haven’t decided that yet.
when i first started this blog,
it was a bit of a secret club
and mostly, i was the only member. :)
and while i have enjoyed sharing it,
i also catch myself censoring myself on it now…
because…it feels…different
to be so open and
it feels…
scary
sometimes.

though sometimes
i think why do i let it scare me.
why is it hard to be open,
to be vulnerable…
to let go.

but whatever i decide,
you know where to find me
if you are interested in seeing
what muddled thoughts are being shared
over here. :)

happy saturday!!
we are almost all the way
through january….
spring is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away!
:)

friday i'm in love

I wasn't going to write a
friday i'm in love post today….

I didn't think I was feeling it…
I was feeling all the feels today
but not really happy ones.

The truth is…well…you know
what the truth is.
I am still raw to touch
and too bruised to be in public…
I feel like my skin scraped dry
and my heart is on the outside
instead of safely hidden…

I try to protect it
but everywhere I go,
I am bumping it against
other people's stories
and the corner of my memories
and scraping it on the past.

So maybe today
I need a Friday I'm in love
more than ever….
even if it is just to remind me
that there are still things
to be in love with…

I have been meaning to share this
for a while so thought
today was a good day
to do just that.

At a very hard time,
a friend gave me something
I have been looking for
for years…Azrael the cat from the smurfs!
I had him tucked away
until tonight
but now he has been
happily reunited with
Gargamel and they are
happily plotting the demise
of the smurfs…

(thank you Lee Anne & Sandy,
though the smurfs are probably
annoyed with you….heh)

❤️ seeing a new-to-me video of dad when I was least expecting it…but needing it the most…
❤️ something in the orange…on constant replay
❤️ friends who have no idea how much I appreciate (and need) their support. I am not good at saying it…but I need them more than they know.

❤️ and finally…a hot bowl of chicken fricot
to end this frigid cold day off with…

I hope you had a warm and toasty friday!!

whatcha readin'? {goal 40:: MISSION COMPLETE}

It’s no surprise that I
totally did not keep on top
of updating the blog
with all the books
I read in 2023
but I DID hit my goal of
forty
just by the skin of my teeth
but I did it
so that is all that matters in
the big orange house.

Here is what I read…in list form…
cause it’s 2024 and, frankly,
I’m over it.

1. Frankenstein - hated. Literally HATED this book

2. House in the Pines - Ana Reyes
   ♥♥♥♥

3. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
   ♥♥♥♥♥

4. Love & Gelato - Jenna Evans Welch
   ♥♥♥♥

5. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson (this book was a struggle but beautiful but also made me want to hurl it into the ocean)
   ♥♥♥

6. She Who Became the Sun - Shelly Parker Chan
   ♥♥♥♥♥

7. Whiskey in a Teacup - The Adorable Reese Witherspoon
   ♥♥♥♥

8. Slammed - Colleen Hoover
   ♥♥♥

9. The Book of Goethel - Mary McMyne
   ♥♥♥♥♥

10. Bone Black - bell hooks
    ♥♥♥

11. The End of Her - Shari Lapegna
    ♥♥♥

12. Call Me Zelda - Erika Robuck
    ♥♥♥♥

13. Milk and Honey - Rupi Kaur {audio book}
    ♥♥♥

14. Really Good Actually - Monica Heisey
    ♥♥♥♥

15. Molly’s Game - Molly Bloom
    ♥♥♥♥♥

16. Demon Copperfield - Barbara Kingsolver
    ♥♥♥♥

17. A Court of Thorns & Roses - Sarah J Maas
    ♥♥♥♥♥

18. I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jeannette McCurdy
    ♥♥♥♥

19. The Whole Body Reset - Stephen Perinne
    ♥♥♥♥

20. Happy Place - Emily Henry
    ♥♥♥♥

21. A Court of Mist & Fury - Sarah J Maas
♥♥♥♥♥

22. I Carried You Home -
♥♥♥

23. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
♥♥♥

24. New Boy - Tracy Chevalier
♥♥♥♥

25. Homecoming - Kate Morton
♥♥♥♥♥

26. Breaking the Girl - Kim Corum
♥♥♥♥

27. Hello Beautiful Ann Napolitano
♥♥♥♥♥

28. A Homemade Life - Molly Wizenburg
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

29. Expected Loss; Anticipatory Grief - Alan Woolfelt
♥♥♥♥♥

30. From Scratch - Tembi Locke
♥♥♥♥

31. Did you hear about Kitty Karr - Crystal Smith Paul
♥♥♥♥

32. The 5 am Rule - Robin Sharma
{i hated this with ALL my heart.
if i could give negative hearts, i would.}

33. It’s OK to Laugh - Nora McInerney Puemon
♥♥♥♥ .5

34. Book Lovers - Emily Henry
♥♥♥♥♥

35. How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa
♥♥♥.5 {mainly because I don’t love short stories}

36. Self Care for Grief -Nneka M Okona
♥♥♥♥

37. One Day in December - Josie Silver
♥♥♥♥♥ {this one surprised me that i would
love it so much}

38. Surviving the Holidays with you - Gary Roe
♥♥♥

39. Ugly Love - Colleen Hoover
♥♥♥♥

40. Inside Out - Demi Moore
♥♥♥♥

41. Evidence of the Affair - Taylor Jenkins Reid
♥♥♥

Note: I realized as I was typing
these out that I had miscounted
in my list so I actually read
forty ONE books this year. :)

and took a LOT of photos of
my books as I was reading them…
this was just a few of them.
:D

friday i'm in love....

I debated getting outside
for a Friday adventure today
but
I am still trying to do
No Spend January
and I knew if if I left home
there was a strong chance
I would spend money
I don’t need to spend.

So I stayed home and
forced myself to start
decluttering
which the big orange house
desperately
needs and it’s starting to wear
on my mental health
so I know it’s time.

But it’s so overwhelming.

Baby steps.
That’s all I am doing.
Bite size chunks.
Til it all gets done.

FRIDAY I’M IN LOVE
♥ speaking of not spending money…heh…I bought tickets for this
I HAD to….Noah Kahan is coming!!!!! and yeahhhhh…I know, I know…no spend January….but this is in SEPTEMBER so…kinda doesn’t count (also I am very good at justification…heh) (plus….#glee)
♥ I skipped to the end to watch this but still my heart was racing for this kid who BEAT TETRIS. also it made me miss playing tetris. which also made me think about dad…and the family sessions of tetris we would have after supper (though the first after supper competition was asteroids. heh.)
♥ I am loving this series. Like….loving with all my heart. It’s so clever and sweet and interesting and has made me laugh out loud.
♥ an unexpected supper with a best friend last night where we laughed belligerently and guffawed and held back tears a little bit and left feeling both belly AND heart full. And yes, I know I said this was a no spend month but I consider filling your social gas tank to be a bit of a necessity.

happy, happy friday to you.
I hope it was out of this world. ♥