We made it to August and I am not thrilled about it. August means fall is around the corner. Even though I appreciate fall, I just love summer and this fall promises to be relatively challenging so my plan is to spend the few days of August until school starts again resting and not putting any pressure on myself.
Big Goal: The big goal for Auguat is going to be to spend some extended time journaling and looking within. Maybe I’ll get to the reclaim from the list I’d made in January. Making a list, understanding the roots, reclaiming them. Additionally, my goal is to create ways to ground myself, see what i can do to help prepare for the Fall, etc. Let’s see how far I get.
Progress on the big five:
Y: The goal for the yard is to prepare the yard for the fall. I want to understand and make a plan for what that means and i will finally tidy up the side yard in preparation, too.
G: setup the new shelves i bought, unbox the few things left and maybe get some hanging stuff?
S: Call doctor, get appointments, cross fingers! Get letters.
Sa: Practice leaving Sadie longer at work, get vet appointment for Sept, get her groomed.
D: No goals for this, this month.
Three Medium goals:
Come up with a plan for the front porch. Maybe buy some more plants?
Take more naps.
restart the art mbsr book possibly, or some other deeper dive plan.
Chores:
dentist appointment
A->H appointment
finish ply and boyne
finish margarita, diaspora
buy return tickets
hang up office lights
figure out curtain office
Start: documenting E stuff
Stop: staying up late!
Continue: yoga and slow reading.
Brave: start letting it go, can i?
Here’s to another month. Quiet one this time around. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
I really really tried. I read 75% of this book and I just could not take it anymore. I know it was listed for the Booker Long list. I know it’s purposefully absurd and ironic and sarcastic and a bunch of other things but man oh man, it was too long on a concept that just didn’t merit this long a book, I’m sorry.
This book was a rollercoaster for me! As Jamie goes through her memories and the songs that match with it, I lived so much of my own youth too as I grew up in the 90s and lived in NYC during Sept 11 and so many of the songs, so many of the places were near and dear to my heart. It felt like I was living so much of the relationship right alongside Jamie.
I loved the way the story was told, i loved the characters and I loved everything about this book.
with gratitude to netgalley and Tantor Media for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I listened to this book on audio and it was absolutely excellent!
This is a very sweet story of healing. Even though on the surface Amber comes to Bend, Oregon to heal her body after a fight with cancer, she ends up healing so much more than that and healing several others around her along the way. Beautiful story in a beautiful setting with a beautiful message. Loved it.
with gratitude to netgalley and Tantor Media for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I listened to this one on audio and it made for a very lovely companion while I painted.
What an absolutely marvelous novel. Even though it took me forever to finish this, I loved every second I spent with this story of three people in three timelines whose stories of course weave together. There were some twists I didn’t see coming but the mystery was only part of the beauty of this book. The atmosphere, the characters, the melancholy that weaved through the whole book coupled with the beautiful and terrifying and larger than life nature of Alaska was the best part.
Mystery, history, nature and more in this stunning novel that I highly recommend.
With gratitude to netgalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Since we’re a few days from the end of July and I didn’t manage to post yesterday, I figured I can just merge the updates and then make plans for August later this week. I haven’t had any time to think about August as July went a little more awry than I had planned. But that’s ok. Life.
So while I didn’t really establish a nighttime routine, I did in fact start a yoga practice and I’ve done yoga almost every day in July. Huge progress. I’ve also found a cream I love and have used skin cream more days this month than the whole year before this. So major progress.
I made a little progress on the reclaim list but not nearly enough. This one will have to be something I re-tackle.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Got a lemon (not orange) tree. I didn’t do side yard but I did plant flowers in the front though two out of three already died…
G: Got ikea unit moved but didn’t unpack and put away the last bits leftover. I also got a carpet though and it looks nice!
S: Did the change, appointment tomorrow, working on research.
Sa: doing a really good job at work. Also now can leave home and be outside without her freaking out. Progress!
D: Finished both the cleaning and servicing.
Three Medium goals:
Quests are finally ready to go though i am so tired of it, we’ll see if it takes off.
MBSR book stalled after week one, partly because I am reading so many other books at the moment.
Finished all of my chores, I am very proud!
Start: I am slow reading both Diaspora and The Master and Margarita, and loving it. So proud!
Stop: I did an excellent job in July reducing my snacking considerably.
Continue: I did a handful more this month but not nearly as much as I wanted. It’s ok. It’s been an unexpectedly busy month and I am happy with how I prioritized.
Brave: Actively working on this.
I’ve done a lot this month. And some unexpected curveballs too. I am really proud of how I handled it all and truly grateful for my full life. Working hard to move onward and working hard to appreciate what is.
Here’s to another month. Paying attention. Loving my people. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
3.5 stars for the crazy twist at the end that really left me more confused than i expected. It was interesting but also i feel a little too over the top towards the end.
What a gifted writer Nina LaCour is…I loved every minute I spent with the story of Odette who is best friends with her cousin Delphine. Both of whom have secrets they can’t tell anyone else. As they make bold moves to leave their Creole community and move to Los Angeles, their lives diverge only to converge years later again as a result of a huge moment for Delphine. Neither woman will be the same again. As we follow Odette navigate her life and her choices and the consequences they bring, I felt like both wishing she were braver and having so much empathy for her and her fears around losing everything she loved most.
LaCour’s writing is so real that the characters jump off the page and carve their place in your heart as the story navigates family, belonging, mental illness, black community, sisterhood, queerness and so much more. Angel Pean’s audio brought it to life beautifully, helping me connect to the story much more deeply.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Still making progress over here. Still doing yoga and cream, I am proud of myself. I bought this cream which has been lovely and I love using it every day. I started on the reclaim a little bit but not enough. But that’s ok. I am feeling good what I’ve done so far, and giving myself grace about the rest.
Progress on the big five:
Y: Got the lemon tree! Let’s hope it sticks.
G: Didn’t clean up the rest still.
S: Coming soon!
Sa: nothing yet 🙂 but we’re practicing staying put at work and so far so good.
D: done with this one!
Three Medium goals:
LOTS of debugging but got it done. I will do more this week.
Still haven’t done week two yet, but soon.
done with getting tree pruned. so all chores done!
Start: Still doing the books with D and Evelyn. Loving them both.
Stop: doing a good job so far!
Continue: none during the week but maybe…
Brave: started this a little but not much progress.
Still feeling grateful with all the work I am putting in this month. If I can mostly maintain this for most of the rest of this month and just be there for my kids, that’s all I want from July.
Here’s to another good week. Paying attention. Savoring and living in awe. And taking steps to move onward.
