Total # of books for the year: 80. My car broke down this weekend. I’ll be finding out how much it’s going to cost to get it fixed sometime today. I don’t think I would be handling this nearly as well if it weren’t for the Boyfriend and my anti-anxiety meds.
My anti-anxiety meds are working so far, but it was rough going until a couple days ago, so I’ve taken it easy with myself about everything.
The Boyfriend added me to his yoga membership so I can now go to as many yoga classes as I want on my own. I went with him on Sunday, and I plan to start going after work at least 3 days a week.
I’ve been concentrating on getting enough water this week, and my efforts paid off. Five out of Seven days isn’t bad, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to say I drank at least 64 ounces of water every day in next week’s check-in.
Image: Dominic Hartnett
For those of you who regularly read the posts I write here at Fortified By Books, you probably noticed that this past Friday I did not post my weekly Fit Readers check-in. It’s the first time I haven’t posted a check-in since I joined Fit Readers. I simply didn’t have the spoons to look at my FitBit stats and write about what has been going on. Instead, I chilled out on the couch with my cat and watched Parenthood.
As many of you know I have dealt with Anxiety and Depression for years. I’ve considered myself lucky to not have to be on any kind of medication for over a decade. That changed this week.
Until Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling pretty good. I’ve got a great boyfriend who’s family is amazing. I’ve got a job that, while it’s not my dream job, pays the bills. I’ve got friends, and this blog, and a hundred other things in my life that are either great or at least going well. So why did I have an anxiety attack at work? Why did the panicky feelings continue into the evening and then on into Wednesday? For the first time, I have no idea. Usually, my anxiety escalates during major life changes, not when my day to day life is stable.
For the first time since my first anxiety attack when I was a teenager, I was scared for myself. I knew I had lost control and needed help. I called my Doctor. I said “Yes” when I was asked if I was open to medication. I took my new meds for the first time on Thursday morning, and while I’m doing pretty well, SSRIs are not the kind of pills you just take and then everything is magically better. Hence the lack of spoons to write a simple weekly blog post.
While I can’t promise that I’ll definitely have a Fit Readers post up this Friday or any other post for that matter, I’m slowly adding back in all the activities I normally do as long as I feel I have the energy. I’m not going anywhere. This blog and the community of book bloggers I’m a part of means too much to me to shut it down. So, I’ll see you back here as soon as I can.
“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life. All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted. This edition is a little bit different than what I usually do since I’ve decided to combine my usual “Monday’s Minutes” with today’s A Month of Favorites topic, “This Is How We Read.”
Image: Stephanie Kilgast
It’s that time again! The Christmas tree is up, the holiday decor has been strategically placed around my office, and the questions of what to get me this Christmas are being asked by my loved ones. So, in the spirit of last year’s Holiday gift guide for book lovers, I’ve put together another wishlist, broken up by price point as best I could.
I am not in any way affiliated with any of the companies linked to or mentioned here, and I’m not receiving any form of compensation for clicks, sales, or this post. Gifts $25 and Under
Wiztem Jasmine Book Stand – I’ve recently started digging through my large number of cookbooks and baking on the weekends. Perhaps it’s only a Hobbit-like domestic phase, but while it lasts, I would love to have one of these to make my time in the kitchen a little easier.
Outlander Kitchen Cookbook– To go with the book stand, because I don’t have enough cookbooks until I’ve got this one.
Quite a bit has been horrible about 2016. Instead of discussing all that, however, I’m joining Andi at Estella’s Revenge, Tanya at Girlxoxo, and Tamara at Traveling with T to share all the wonderful that 2016 offered. While I probably won’t do every topic they’ve scheduled for this month, I’ll do as many as I can because I absolutely loved A Month of Faves the last time I was able to join in.
I’m going to assume the 5 books for today’s topic can either be popular books published this year or popular books we read this year, regardless of publication date. Since I’m woefully behind on all that is new and shiny, I’m going with the latter. I’ve read exactly six 5-star books this year, out of the 78 I’ve read so far (The one that I didn’t put on this list is Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, but only because I enjoyed Furiously Happy even more). That may change to seven (The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler has been phenomenal so far), but for now, here are my five books that are totally worth the hype.
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater – I knew the story would have to end eventually, despite not wanting it to, but I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to “The Raven Cycle” series than The Raven King.
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – Click on the title to read my review, then head over to thebloggess.com to get a taste of awesome that proves this book is a must-read.
The Martian by Andy Weir – This was my favorite book from my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge. Click on the title to read why.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins – Click on the title to read why this is one of the most important books to have come into my life.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – This is a frequently challenged or banned book. In fact, it’s being challenged, and defended, in Iowa right now. I listened to the audiobook during Banned Books Week, and it’s probably my favorite banned book. I wish I had read it when I was a teenager.
This check-in is for November 25th – December 1st.
I’m getting better about drinking enough water, and that’s pretty much my only accomplishment this week. I hope my groin muscle heals soon so I can get back to exercising.
Quite a bit has been horrible about 2016. Instead of discussing all that, however, I’m joining Andi at Estella’s Revenge, Tanya at Girlxoxo, and Tamara at Traveling with T to share all the wonderful that 2016 offered. While I probably won’t do every topic they’ve scheduled for this month, I’ll do as many as I can because I absolutely loved A Month of Faves the last time I was able to join in.
Today is all about our favorite things. So here’s my list:
My fave thing to eat this year – Shortbread. I’ve made it twice, and it’s dangerously easy to make. It was loved by all at Thanksgiving.
My fave thing to drink – This year, it’s been all about tea. I’ve been big into tea for quite a while, but my BFF gave me a gift of assorted teas from Teavana, and then I discovered Pique tea, and then the Boyfriend bought me the best version of a pumpkin spice tea that I’ve ever had, and then I fell in love with oh so many more different teas along the way. I had to put a moratorium on tea buying until I found another tea I wanted to try of course….
My fave smell – The wonderful candle that the Boyfriend’s Mom got as one of my Christmas gifts last year. It’s not often that it gets cold enough to burn candles, but when I do, my go-to candle is that one. I don’t know why, but I call it my “Outlander” candle.
My fave thing to wear – I haven’t loved pajamas nearly as much as when I went back to work full-time. Where I work is fairly casual, but nothing feels as right as pajamas after a long day at work. Nothing makes me crankier than telling me I need to put on some real clothes and go out to do anything after I get home from work.
My fave purchase – Do I have to pick only one? Not counting books, it’s a tie between the reading gloves from The Print and Plaid Company, and the book pins from Pigsey Art.
My fave thing to do – If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you might remember me complaining about not having much time to read while I was in college. HAHAHAHA! Oh, silly college student me! Though I still manage to read an average of 300 or so pages a week despite my full-time job and other adult responsibilities, it feels like I have no time to read at all post college. In fact, most of my reading is done in the car via audiobook during my commute to and from work. Another way to make me cranky very quickly is to tell me I don’t have any time to read during the weekend because I have to be an adult and get stuff done.
The fave place I visited – The Texas Book Festival! This was the first year I was able to go, and I had a blast! I was lucky enough to have just gotten my overtime pay and therefore was able to afford all the hardcover books I bought to get signed.
Total # of books for the year: 77. Now that I’ve finished Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, I can’t wait until the next book is out! I need to know more about what happened with Brianna and Roger. From my understanding, it’s going to be at least another year until the next book, and now I kind of wish I had waited to read this one. However, I’m mostly glad I didn’t because I probably would’ve forgotten many of the important plot points and would have spent a lot of time looking things up in the Outlandish Companion.
I decided to put The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne back on the shelf for now. I don’t know when I’ll pick it back up, but it wasn’t grabbing my attention at all. I kept getting distracted by the other books I’ve been reading.
