Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
What Happened this Week

Wednesday was book club. It was our annual “memoir-of-choice” month and it was a lot of fun. We talked about a lot of really interesting memoirs. You can read about it by clicking the link below.

I also went over to my BFF’s on Wednesday before book club. We crafted with both of her daughters and while watching a movie. She’s working on her pattern for a platypus amigurumi and I’m still crocheting plants and flowers for all my planters.

Yesterday, Corey and I drove a couple of hours north to spend the day with his parents. His dad recently had major surgery so we wanted to see how he’s doing / feeling. He’s still sore but he’s improving a little each day.

What I Blogged

Here’s what I posted on the blog this week:

What I Read and I’m Reading

I finished reading FOURTH WING on Wednesday. It was brilliant. I’ll be posting my review tomorrow.

I also finished with the WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING audiobook just last night. I have mixed feelings. I’ll be posting my review on Wednesday.

I started reading THE UNWEDDING by Ally Condie on Thursday and THE WIDOWMAKER by Hannah Morrissey last night.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
What Happened this Week

I’ve decided to change up my Sunday News posts. I’ve realized how much I disliked trying to think of something to share in each category every week.

Anyway, this week has been kind of quiet. I spent some time with my BFF. Her birthday was Thursday. Corey and I went to dinner with her and her family, we ate cake and cookies, played some Mario Kart and Boomerang FU on the Switch, and watched CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart.

We also went to my BFF’s oldest daughter’s jazz band concert on Friday morning. She plays both the clarinet and tenor sax like her mom. It’s been really fun to watch her grow and gain confidence in her playing skills.

What I Blogged

Here’s what I posted on the blog this week:

What I Read and I’m Reading

I finished rereading SUNRUNNER’S FIRE this week. I’m really glad I decided to reread the Dragon Prince trilogy. It was fun to revisit some of my favorite stories and characters. You can click the link above if you’re interested in my thoughts about the trilogy.

I couldn’t sleep Tuesday night so I listened to the HELLO, TRANSCRIBER audiobook and finished it before Corey woke up. I’ll be posting my review tomorrow.

I finally started reading FOURTH WING this week. I haven’t gotten very far because I’ve been really tired this week. I’m really excited to see what all the hype’s about.

I also started listening to the WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING audiobook. I started reading the Kindle book a couple of years ago but got sidetracked and never finished it. I went through my library’s available audiobooks and it was one of them. I really like the audiobook so far.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I’ve been feeling a little bit sad this week. I had to say goodbye to my amazing therapist, Doug. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he’s moving his skills to the state mental hospital and will no longer be doing private practice.

When I say Doug changed my life, I really mean I’m still alive because of him. If you’ve been following my blog for long, then you know I’ve been in therapy off and on since I was 16 to treat a myriad of problems–depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, PTSD from sexual trauma, etc. However, it wasn’t until I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in 2020 and spent a week in the hospital in March 2021 for overdosing on lithium that my psychiatrist and therapist at the time recommended I find a DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) program.

Thanks to Doug and the skills I learned in DBT, I’m no longer diagnosable with BPD or PTSD. I still deal with depression and anxiety, but not to the same extent I did before DBT. I also don’t need therapy as much as I did.

I’m going back to my previous therapist, Parker. I actually really adore Parker. I just needed Doug more at the time.

Blogging

Here’s what I posted on the blog this week:

Reading

I listened to Neil Patrick Harris’ memoir CHOOSE YOUR OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY this week. You can click the link above to read my review if you’re interested.

I’ve made a lot of progress on rereading SUNRUNNER’S FIRE by Melanie Rawn. I’m pretty sure I’ll finish it today or tomorrow. I’m also listening to HELLO, TRANSCRIBER by Hannah Morrissey.

Listening

Corey and I saw INSIDE OUT 2 this week and the theme song has been on my mind for most of the week.

Watching

Like I said above, Corey and I saw INSIDE OUT 2 this week. I loved it! Both movies are a subtle nod to what I learned in DBT. Sometimes our emotions can take over and cause us to act irrationally. As we get older, our emotions become more complex and harder to manage. We can learn to use our core sense of self (or our Wise Mind in DBT vernacular) to challenge our emotions and act more rationally. Emotions aren’t bad; we just need to learn to not let them take over.

Loving, Wanting, Needing

I have some really cute planters. I’ve been wanting to get plants for them. However, I know I’ll forget to water them because I keep them out of reach from my cats. Out of sight, out of mind. I’ve also tried succulents and killed them too. I decided the best option for me would be to crochet amigurumi plants. I’m in love with the cute little succulent I made for my 1.5-inch pot. Isn’t it cute?

Next, I want to make some cactuses and flowers for my other planters. I just need to decide the color and style.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

The last few months have been a bit rough. I’ve been dealing with some health issues again. At the end of March, I had a really bad bout of the stomach flu.

In April and May, I started having bladder pain. I tested positive for a bladder infection and got put on antibiotics for the third time in the last four to five months. Unfortunately, my bladder pain didn’t stop and after some tests, my doctor diagnosed me with interstitial cystitis. This means my body’s changing the pH of my urine, making it more acidic than it should be and inflaming the lining. I now have to avoid eating and drinking more acidic things–no more coffee, citrus, tomatoes, chocolate, etc.–at least until the lining in my bladder has become less inflamed.

By June, I was feeling better. I decided not to start blogging until now, though, because I just need to chill and not worry about my health or blogging.

Blogging

Here’s what I posted during the first week of March before I stopped blogging:

Reading

Because of my health, my reading suffered a lot in March, April, and the first part of May. When I started feeling like I wanted to read again, I didn’t feel like starting anything new so I decided to listen to some comfort read audiobooks. I made my way through the entire Harry Potter series during the last half of May and most of June. I also started rereading SUNRUNNER’S FIRE, the third book in the Dragon Prince trilogy, this past week.

I know this will make a lot of people sad… For now, I’ve decided not to keep reading THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. I still have around 35.5 hours left of the audiobook and it seems like a lot of time to invest in a story I’m not loving as much as I’d like to. I may, however, pick it up again in the future.

Listening

I’ve been introducing my BFF to the Mission: Impossible movie franchise over the last couple of weeks so I’ve been listening to a lot of versions of theme. This one’s my favorite, from the fourth movie MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL.

Watching

As I said above, I’ve been watching the Mission: Impossible movies with my BFF. I’ve also been watching the Harry Potter movies with Corey since I just reread the series.

Corey and I finished watching DARK MATTER on AppleTV+ this week. It’s based on the book by Blake Crouch. I really enjoyed the book so I was looking forward to watching the show. I wasn’t disappointed. It was phenomenal. I’m curious if they’re going to do a second season even though season 1 covered the whole book? Here’s the trailer.

Loving

I love getting the opportunity to meet authors and have my books signed. On Tuesday, my friend and I went to an author event for the duo Christina Lauren. It was a lot of fun. Here’s my Instagram post if you’re interested:

Wanting

I want to watch the new MY LADY JANE show on Amazon even though I hate the Prime streaming app. It’s so cumbersome and hard to find what you want or can watch. Anyway, I adored the book the show is based on so I might have to endure my frustration. LOL. Here’s the trailer if you’re curious.

Needing Wanting, Part 2

My IRL book club voted on our next 12 months’ worth of books in April. Every year for the past eight years, I’ve made a bookmark showcasing the books we vote in. I wanted to share it with y’all.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?

Sunday Post and Sunday Salon are blog news memes hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and Reader Buzz, respectively. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and other things.
Feeling

I’m feeling less meh this week. I went to lunch with Corey during the week and we went to the movies a couple of times. I also hung out with my friend on Monday and attended book club on Friday.

Blogging

Here’s what I posted on the blog this week:

Reading

I finished reading THIS SPELLS LOVE by Kate Robb and I also read DATING DR. DIL by Nisha Sharma. My reviews will be posting soon.

I listened to about 30 minutes of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO audiobook while I was driving this week. At this rate, I won’t finish it until the end of next year, lol.

Listening

Since I’ve been watching PRETTY LITTLE LIARS and I’ve listened to the opening song a lot lately, I thought I’d share it with you this week. It’s very short, but I still like the song.

Watching

Corey and I saw the new Dune movie in the theater twice this week. The first time was on Thursday and the second time was with some friends on Saturday. I loved the first Dune movie. I thought it was a really good adaptation. I think the new one is a fantastic movie by itself AND it pissed me off, lol. For those of you who don’t know, DUNE is my all-time favorite book. It has been since I was 17 so the movies had a lot to live up to. I really disliked how much they changed Chani’s character and I disliked what they did to the ending. I’m pretty sure Denis Villeneuve did it the way he did because he wants to make a third movie that follows part or all of DUNE MESSIAH. I’m okay if he makes another one. I just wish he would’ve finished the first book first before going into the next story.

Loving

I love Starbucks’ venti decaf iced lattes with vanilla syrup. I discovered these about six months ago. Before then, I didn’t drink coffee. Now, I’m obsessed. Whenever I need a pick-me-up emotionally, I can count on my coffee order to lift my spirits.

Wanting

I want to grow my hair out. I’ve had it in a pixie cut for most of my adult life. I’ve decided I want to grow it out to my shoulders at least. Right now, however, my hair is in that unmanageable phase when you grow it out. I’m trying to resist the urge to chop it off so I don’t look like a shagged dog anymore.

Needing

I need to remind you that my friend Suey’s hosting a FAIRY TALE read-along this month. Check out her post on TheStoryGraph.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen?