what i’m into – keeping me sane {may 2025}

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Summer is here and I am feeling so much better. It is weird. I don’t know if it is because the sun is shining so brightly? Since my therapist told me a few months ago that I was burned out, I started seriously implementing some strategies to heal from that burnout. Maybe that’s it?

I have begun taking time to explicitly do the things that I enjoy.  It’s almost like I reverted back to COVID days.  I started watching some nostalgic tv shows (I’m looking at you, White Collar) and Survivor, Season 48 which I particularly enjoyed. I have started working jigsaw puzzles again. The one pictured above, Book Club by Carolyn Suzuki, was super fun. I got a kick out of the titles of the books: Paradise Found, Breakfast Epiphanies, Pride and Prune Juice and Moby Richard to name a few. 

I have started running again and I missed it so much! It feels so good to get outside, and hear the birds twittering. I have seen a couple of cardinals and a bluebird. I run by a small pond and sometimes I can hear the bullfrogs. And in the early morning, I see a number of rabbits.

May was particularly busy at work. Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy released her 14th annual Summer Reading Guide, which feels like “the most wonderful time of the year” to many of us. It was so much fun! Professionally, I am pleased with what we accomplished as a team and now I can enjoy planning my selections from the Guide and reading them over the summer months. 

For the third year in a row my family and I went to the Big ‘Ol Ballpark Fair.  I LOVE going to this; we went with a couple of the Buddy Man’s friends and I love the sheer unadulterated joy of it all. 

I am slowly getting back into writing. I wrote a post for Modern Mrs. Darcy about my love of Blackwing pencils. You can read it here. It feels good to experience my love of words in this way, putting words on the page, rearranging them, having the editor tell me that I’m missing the mark (LOL) and trying again.  I often get scared when it’s time to write. A lot of times I have avoided the process completely. Most of what I write is very personal and since I live in my head already, it can feel emotionally draining when I am already burned out. But since I don’t feel quite as overwhelmed as I used to, space has opened up, I feel like I can write now.

I am really looking forward to these three months of summer.  Even though the Buddy Man goes back to school in August, I am still going to treat it as such in my mind. And that excitement feels good; it’s not something that I have felt in a long time. 

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {january – march 2025}

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Every year I like to do a reading project. Normally, I try to read as many books as I am years old (which would be 45 this year). I continue to notice how my reading project will coincide with the rest of my life. In 2022, I was open to the abundance of life and possibility and that kind of carried over into 2023.  In 2024, I wanted to have a more focused approach around the things that I know I enjoy and indeed need to incorporate into my life. What I like matters and I have to let it matter. So this year, I am narrowing the scope down even further and I want to read 25 5-star reads in 2025. 

Here’s my rating system. I very rarely will give a book 1 or 2 stars. I generally DNF (did not finish) a book if I am not enjoying it. Three stars means I “liked” it. Four stars means I “really liked” it.  Five stars means I “loved” it. 

Twenty-five books turns out to be approximately two 5-star books per month. I am not married to the exact number of 25 or to the 5-stars. A 4-star read will work as well. So far, I am pleased with my progress. As of the end of March, I have read four 5-star reads and a 4-star read. 

A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT by Becky Chambers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read this Monk and Robot novella, or its sequel, every New Year’s. It’s a lovely way to start my reading year. Dedicated to “Any one who could use a break”, I can’t think of a more appropriate book right now. 

THE RIVER HAS ROOTS by Amal EL-Mohtar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This year, I am clearly having a thing for novellas and short stories. When I read the first line, I knew I was fully in. “The River Liss runs north to south, and its water brim with grammar.” The writing style put me in mind of an older text, beautiful but very accessible. But grammar as magic to this English major? Brilliant. It was delightful with a very satisfying ending.

HOW TO READ A BOOK by Monica Wood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This March Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club pick was a complete and total 5-star surprise.  I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. If you liked Lily King’s WRITERS & LOVERS, I think you will enjoy this one.  Serious stuff happens but it is heartwarming and hopeful. 

MARBLE HALL MURDERS (Susan Ryeland #3) by Anthony Horowiotz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I enjoy Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series. And while this one wasn’t my favorite, I am always thrilled to spend more time with Ryeland and Pünd. I was introduced to MAGPIE MURDERS by a lovely listener to the What Should I Read Next? podcast. Releases May 13. 

THE KNIGHT AND THE BUTCHERBIRD by Alix E. Harrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read every short story by Alix. E. Harrow writes. This one explores the lengths we will go to be with the ones that we love.  Beautifully written. 

What great book have you read recently?

enjoy life…

what I’m into – keeping me sane {march 2025}

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There is a lot going on and a lot of people have discussed “all of the things” ad nauseum. My brain has a tendency to forget negative experiences – a few years ago, I can remember a friend reminding me of all the things that I had gone through during that year because I had completely forgotten. But here are a few things that have kept me sane recently. 

Therapy

I have been involved in very extensive therapy for the past year and a half and had to recently switch therapists. I was nervous about this change but over the past few months I have realized that my new therapist is exactly what I needed. Don’t get me wrong, therapy is hard and I cry in almost every session but I have been noticing small changes and I find this very encouraging. 

The work of Dr. Claire Pumbly

My therapist introduced me to the work of Claire Pumbly. Pumbly resesarch involves the five stages of burnout and she describes the nervous system as having three “modes”: green (a relaxed state), amber (a state that can move from positive to negative depending on whether we are under threat), and red (when we are under threat, red is the “freeze” response). I have realized that I have been living exclusively in amber mood for a long time. This podcast got me started and then I promptly bought her book, THE TRAUMA OF BURNOUT: HOW TO MANAGE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM BEFORE IT MANAGES YOU. She says, “The aim…is to support the nervous system to move fluidly through the gears [modes] throughout the day.” I have never thought of managing my nervous system in this way. For so long, my goal has been to be in green as often as possible. But Pumbly describes how true rest occurs when both green and red are online. It is a fascinating read. The book includes suggestions that I have just begun to implement. 

Sound Bath

One of Pumbly’s suggestions to move from amber to green is using breathing and sound so I have been attending a yoga and sound bath class and it is one of the most relaxing experiences I have ever participated in. I have attended three classes and actually fell asleep in one of them. My anxiety has only let me do that one other time on the massage table. It’s so restorative. 

So, what about you? How have you been staying sane in these “unprecedented” times?

enjoy life…