Category: Personal Interests

Finishing projects!

Last year for Stevie’s first birthday. my mother-in-law bought Stevie a bluey bed set. 

I told her I would make curtains for Stevie’s room. Well, Stevie just turned two and I am finally hanging up curtains… After we switched her bedroom with Josh’s office and started preparing for our adopted son to people born. … parent of the year over here.

We still have some projects like patching the drywall in the closet and making the crib sleep safe but it’s a work in progress.

Shout out to Lori Hoback for lending me her Cricut press and for my mother for chasing my toddler and giving me the confidence to tackle this task. Honorable mention to Josh who was working on his master’s homework in the same room as our chaotic mess.

closet before valance added now with baby’s bed!
curtains before hem & iron-ons added

Here’s a few pictures of the birthday girl (birthday yesterday!) as a bonus.

2023 Reading Log

At the end of 2022, I had to admit to myself I had not been really reading. As someone who writes and speaks publicly, I realized how much of a problem this truly was. How can you speak into the world? How can you stay informed if you are not constantly engaging with new material?

Recently, I discovered a Tiktok revealing reading statistics for the US in 2023. Spoiler alert: Our reading statistics are abysmal. Apparently my reading habits 2022 and prior were not unique. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8qppVMk/

I could easily create an excuse for myself based on academic burnout. Personally, I think it is completely normal after graduating (from high school or college or graduate work, etc) to have a reading burnout time.

Considering I graduated from graduate school in 2017… it was time to get back in the proverbial saddle. I used the Goodreads app to set a goal of 15 books in 2023. Surely I can read a little over one book a month right?

I’m proud to say that my reading soared in 2023.

Three revelations lead to my reading increase: the Libby app, identifying my learning disabilities, and releasing the stigma behind audiobooks.

I, too, am a reader even if it looks different.

I have pictures showing my reading log from 2023. You’re welcome to judge me, I judge myself. My goal was to balance genres, interests, interests, nonfiction and fiction, etc. AND I tried out some new things! I’m proud of this list.

(Disclaimer: a reading list doesn’t mean I endorse any of the books or authors or ideologies represented. Talk to me about the book, that’s the only way you’ll really know what I think)

Ultimately, I cannot stop praising my library for using the Libby app by overdrive. I can get ebooks or audiobooks through this app and have a constant stream of something to read.

As a way of appreciating my library, keep reading:

There is a Tiktok trend to go to Barnes & Noble with your book lover and give them 5 minutes to scope out the store and then 3 minutes to grab anything they can carry in their arms. At the end of 3 minutes, you will purchase whatever books they have picked up.

examples of the book buying challenge on tiktok

I love the passion for reading but I also wonder about the cost and the waste. How many of us have giant TBRs?

What these trends don’t identify is how many books are purchased by Book Lovers and forever stay in our TBR pile. Are we being good to the environment by mindlessly purchasing?

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8qsNtGA/

The tiktok above is a perfect example of us Book Lovers gone wild in a bookstore. I think we believe we are immortal based on the number of books in our TBR.

No judgment or shame on this woman and the fact that her books read is 1/4 the amount of her books puarchased in the same year. All of this keeps me turning back to the need to support our local libraries.

Because of the book buying challenge on Tiktok, I decided to tally up the cost of every book I read in 2023.

Thank you Kokomo-Howard County Public Library for providing for all my book lover needs.

Reading Confessions & Goals

As a self-proclaimed nerd, I have always taken pride in the stories I have consumed. I especially loved historical fiction, fantasy fiction, young adult novels, and sci-fi stories. however, I must admit that higher education can frequently kill the desire for reading for pleasure. It’s taken me a while to approach reading as a fun and engaging activity again rather than a thing with which to be productive.

On top of this, in the last few years I’ve had to come to the realization of the uniqueness of how I learn. through this discovery I have been in the process of being assessed for ADHD and autism. though I have been previously diagnosed with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and OCD.

All of these things factor into how I take in information and process that information. I wanted to learn things “right.” These realizations resulted in needing to reflect on some ableist attitudes I had been holding.

I used to judge myself for my preference to read through audiobooks and would say it didn’t count as reading which led me to pretty much not reading anything. if it wouldn’t fit into the categories I created for myself, I wasn’t going to read it.

My thoughts have since been challenged by TikTok (which was inspired by a tweet)

I had been limiting myself along with others because of preconceived ideas that I received from someone else. When I released my definitions about reading, I immediately started looking for audiobooks.

Before my revelation, I was using solely my Kindle or audible options for content. Then I saw a Facebook post by a local bookstore Chapter 2 books about an app called libro.fm– this app allows you to buy digital books and audio books through small businesses. I also updated my library card and downloaded the Libby app in order to borrow books from the library, which is a much more budget friendly option. (Occasionally I will still buy books through Google books in order to spend my Google rewards money.)

This post is all a very long way to say: I have set a goal to read 15 books this year.

I have finished six so far and have abandoned two because 1. I did not like the content (Time Traveler’s wife) and 2. i wasn’t able to emotionally handle it at the time (the body keeps the score).

I am currently in the middle of my seventh book: Lies We Believe About God. UPDATE: i finished this.

Some Books on my radar for this year:

  • The Gentle Parenting Book by Ockwell-Smith
  • Eragon by Paolini
  • A Rhythm of Prayer by Bessey
  • Leaving Church by Taylor
  • The Book Thief by Zusak
  • Tress of the Emerald Sea by Sanderson
  • The Hate U Give by Thomas

What are you reading? What’s your preferred format?

For the Children….? – a political rant with pictures

*Disclaimer* My words do not reflect the opinions of my congregation or denomination. They can speak for themselves.

Apparently, we need to ban drag queens from reading to children….

but not if it’s a at Churches or for charity like Relay for life or domestic abuse prevention. AND as long as the person is heterosexual whiler cross dressing, then it’s fine. (After all, it’s really a negative statement about how silly women are when heterosexual men dress like women).

Let’s protect kids from homosexuals because all homosexuals are pedophiles. (Even though the LGBTQIA+ community is 200% on consent and vehemently opposes pedophilia.) Yes, protect kids from the homosexuals but not from being child brides to creepy old men.

Also, we’ve got a labor shortage, we hear it everywhere. Don’t raise minimum wage. Don’t improve worker conditions (especially for railway workers).

We need laborers – kids can work. (also they don’t have the right to vote…. but they’re too young to know about no taxation without representation.)

Ban drag queens, it’s for the children!

Protect babies by banning abortions but also decrease assistance in SNAP from the mothers who are barely scraping by to survive.

ALSO let’s definitely not make either disposable diapers or cloth diapers available on WIC. Heaven forbid mothers could get help to diaper their babies.

While we’re at it, let’s judge mothers who can’t keep a job because they can’t afford child care.

Educate children…

Wait, teacher shortages? Let’s move to a 4 day school week to fight teacher shortages! Maybe we’ll have to revisit States mandatory school days…

Mass shootings and school shootings continue to go unchecked (below is a screenshot of shootings as of the date I’m writing this sentence).

Violence and poor mental health can have correlations. Students ask for mental health resources. BUT Therapy is a luxury. We don’t need mental health coverage as part of our health insurance.

Don’t put restrictions on assault rifles in order to protect our kids. Let kids buy bulletproof inserts for their backpacks!

Or even better yet, How about we arm the teachers?

But let’s also restrict school funding to add other pressures on teachers.

We’ve got a teacher shortage soooooo… let’s get soldiers to serve as substitute teachers rather than paying teachers what they deserve, changing classroom sizes, remove standardized testing, and provide the budget necessary for supplies needed.

SINCE WHEN IS THIS PROLIFE? SINCE WHEN IS THIS PROTECTING CHILDREN?

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

UPDATE: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR7Mteeq/

Lego Hogwarts Castle – a 3 month build

In 2018, LEGO released their Hogwarts Castle at the time it was the third largest set. I have always loved Legos but never owned a normal set of my own. I had “girl” LEGOS with purple and pink flowers, but never the real deal.

This year, Josh bought me my DREAM as an early Christmas present (and then he ended up getting me 2 other presents…). I received the set in October for Alex and Deandra’s visit. The goal was for us to have something fun to do together while we hung out at home.

Here are some pictures of the different stages.

  1. Alex & Deandra got things unboxed and sorted.

The beginning: sorting the four books of instructions and 40+ bags of parts.

2. Various stages of the build- much was started by Alex & Deandra

3. The final product: forgive my terrible lighting

We started this in October 2022 but I wasn’t able to finish it until January 17th, 2023 because of 1. needy baby girl and 2. a complication with a step in bag # 34 while assembling some stained glass windows.

I feel like we climbed Mt. Everest. My nerd heart is happy.

Disclaimer: the author of Harry Potter is a TERF. Building this does not mean I agree with her sentiments about trans folk. Trans-men are men. Trans-women are women.