The Posts I Should Have Written

Let me let y'all in on a terribly kept secret - I've been awful at blogging. In retrospect, it's nothing new. Each of my blogs has had a post or ten about how I promise to be better. I'm also quite sure my haphazardly kept grade school diaries were in the same vein. 

So, why the heck do I keep trying? Because I love writing. Always have. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a written words person. I do okay with spoken word, too, but writing y'all, that's my jam. 

And here's the thing, my head is constantly swirling with ideas of posts.

In fact, here are some ideas from this week:

• Where did this zit in my eyebrow come from, and why does it hurt so bad?
• Why is Topanga wearing business attire for most of season five and six of Boy Meets World? Is she going to a meeting later? Is this what we all were wearing in the late 90s? If so, WHY?
• Boy Meets World totally jumped the shark after that Cory and Lauren situation.
• Blossom is on Hulu! Also, I totally wanted to be Blossom in the opening sequence.
• The adulting excitement of cleaning and organizing our garage.
• All the great deals I got on Cyber Monday for stuff I wanted needed.
• How I'm going to organize and decorate my new Simplified Planner.
• Reflections on two years (tomorrow!) in my current job.
• This zit though. How does this happen?

So, where do I go from here? Here's some ideas:

• Better book posts. My forever dream has been to be one of those kids on Reading Rainbow who reviews books. In fact, I used to practice regularly in my mirror. Book reviews are the one consistent feature of this little blog, but they can get a little book report-y, so I'm going to work on that.

• The return of What's Making Me Happy. It used to be a regular feature. Then, it wasn't. Now, it will be again.
• More cross-stitch project sharing. Because y'all, I love a good cross-stitch, and I've done some neat ones.
• The sh*t I want to write. I overthink which means I then don't write at all. I'm adopting a new mantra - Think Less, Write More. So, I'll do that starting now.

Okay, BYEEEEE.

November Reads

Note: I usually post pictures of the books I read. 

I don't know where they all are right now. Instead, here's a meme.

The Absolutely True Diary Of A Part-Time Indian was a selection for a book club I actually led, then left, then never read. It's a bummer this one took me this long to read because it's fantastic. It's about Junior who is attending high school on an Indian reservation, then moves to the public high school. It is just such a wonderfully told story about high school (in all its emotional angst), as well as how Junior navigates his identity in different spaces. It is fantastic.

How To Think is a book people who are not me will probably enjoy. It's all about this idea that we don't think as individuals rather we think about our thoughts in the context of other people. Sound confusing. It can be. For me, the stories and examples were really interesting and helpful to understand the concepts, and I wish there was more of that.. For others, I think they'll likely dig the theory that is throughout. Again, it's for people who aren't me. Oh, and I got this book for free. Thanks Blogging for Books.

Sisters First: Stories From Our Wild and Wonderful Life is a memoir by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara (Pierce) Bush that was just a good read. It was literally just a collection of stories and what it was like to be in the White House, twins, sisters, etc. The Bush twins are my age, so I've also been intrigued by them and followed their lives. A lot of what they shared here I didn't know, and I appreciated their authentic storytelling. Before reading this, I was in a bit of a reading funk, and this one broke me out of it.

A Short History Of The Girl Next Door IS A SAD BOOK. I'm going to write that in all caps because you need to know that going into reading this. Heck, I knew that, and you know what? IT WAS STILL SAD. It starts with unrequited love which was formerly my area of expertise. Then, IT IS JUST SAD. SAD. It's sadness well done because the characters are endearing, but y'all, this one kind of broke me. Oh, and this was also free. You the best, Blogging for Books.

Late October Reads

October was a good month as far as books were concerned. Here are four more that I squeezed in to the month.

True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of America's Fraternities was a book I read for work. It's a tough read (as far as emotion), but a needed one. It's a deep dive into fraternity culture and how a toxic culture develops. It's really well researched and explained, and it made me think quite a bit. It even also has some emotion and hope at the end, and I even ended up tearing up on the plane. For those of my friends who do the kind of work I do, it's a must read.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading is about a woman who decides she is going to read one book a day after her sister's death. It was interesting. As per usual, I feel weird judging memoirs. I did find I wanted to know more about all of the books she's read via the book. She did do a good job of explaining how books connected her to her sister and other times in her life. As a reader, I related with that part. Also, the prospect of being able to do nothing but read for a year is pretty great.

The Power of Moments is the newest book by one of my favorite pairs of business-y books. Surprise - It's about how moments stick with us! There was some interesting research throughout, and more than anything, it made me think about how I structure educational experiences. It's a quick read, but not one to rush to check out.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was one a co-worker had told me to read awhile ago. Finally, my turn came up at the library. It is outstanding. It made me think a lot about how I'm spending my time and what it says about what I value. It's made me stop and think a lot about how I could definitely be doing better at some aspects of my life as far as the time and energy I give. Similarly, there are some places where I need to care less. This one is quick read that is definitely worth moving up your book queue.