what i’m into – that’s keeping me sane {june 2018}

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Knowing that I post what I’m into each month keeps me focused on things that keep me sane. Thank you. Here are the highlights for June.

I have continued to read instead of mindlessly watching television.  I read seven books this month (more about them and others on this month’s Quick Lit post coming soon).

Even with all that reading, I did finish out my DVR’d episodes of This is Us. Wow! All of the feels on this!

Speaking of feels, I am finally getting around to a personal commandment that I made a year or two ago: Feel It!  I discussed this in a past post but I have been feeling a lot of feels this month. There were a couple of books that were very emotionally driven – I’m looking at you: The Ensemble; The Immortalist; and That Kind of Mother – but I sat in it and through it.

I enjoyed some excellent moments with the Buddy Man: cuddling while reading, going on playdates with Dom and Deucee, eating popsicles, and bursting water balloons.

Finally, I intentionally recharged after late nights before moving forward in my day.  One time, that involved reading in the cool of the shade by a beautiful lake before my next appointment. It was perfectly lovely.

And isn’t it those lovely, albeit simple, intentional moments that keep us all sane.

Per usual, I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer’s What I’m Into.  Whatcha’ been doin’ this month?

enjoy life…

quick lit – next page, please {june 2018}

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I have increased my reading exponentially this month.  I read seven books from the beginning of the year to last month and this month I have read ten! How’d I do it, you ask? Well, I intentionally made time to read this month.  On the practicality side of things, I stopped watching Netflix and Xfinity On Demand and read instead.

Read

  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Loved this but I wasn’t surprised. As an English major I read Homer’s Illiad, and have been fascinated with the Greeks and the Trojans since. Madeline kept me engaged with this page-turner and I loss a significant amount of sleep that I can’t put on the Buddy Man. Madeline has written another based on The Odyssey entitled Unfortunately, I’m #11 in line for three copies at my local library. Ugh! Gives me something to look forward to. No Modern Mrs. Darcy Category; just the sheer joy of reading.
  • The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. Read this for our Rocket City Mom Virtual Book Club. I have a full-review on that site. It boils down to this: quick but disappointing read.
  • Sunburn by Laura Lippman. This was the first book from my 16 of the 26 selections from the MMD Summer Reading Guide (MMDSummer#1). I enjoyed it.
  • The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. This is the first of a series. It was very interesting to read about Indian culture and history. This is also the first in Massey’s series about Preveen Mistry. I will read the next one when it comes out. MMDSummer#2 and MMD Category: A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own
  • I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos. Lovely read. MMDSummer#3
  • The Ensemble by Aja Gabel. This is a debut novel that is still sitting in my bones. It’s about a classical string quartet over a few decades of time. This book reignited my love for classical music. The novel being a debut for Gabel means that there is no back list for this author.  I guess I’m waiting… MMDSummer#4
  • The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. Quick and enjoyable read – The quintessential beach read. It’s a shame I wasn’t on the beach when I read it. MMDSummer#5
  • The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin. If you like ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, you will probably enjoy reading this book. The medical terminology, which I am not familiar with and unlike Grey’s you cannot physically see, may have gotten in the way of my really enjoying this one.  MMDSummer#6
  • We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union. Laugh out loud funny but raw and authentic at the same time, this is a collection of stories about Gabrielle Union’s life as an actress and activist. I absolutely LOVED this one. I read it in one evening.  My only regret is that I didn’t read this sooner.
  • The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin. Interesting premise; how would you live your life if you knew the exact day that you were going to die. I loved this one. Right now it is in the top three books I have read this summer.  It will be interesting to see who, if any can bump it down for me.

Currently Reading

  • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön. Continuing this one still; this is one to read slowly, contemplating each chapter before moving on. It was going to fulfill the MMD Category: A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own but The Widows of Malabar Hill did that.
  • Art of the Memoir by Mary Karr. Still taking this one very very slowly. I don’t think I am ready for this.

Doing these Quick Lit posts are so fun!  I love reading but sometimes go about it in a more haphazard fashion.  These posts, along with the Modern Mrs. Darcy’s (MMD) Reading Challenge, help keep me focused in my reading life.  I have missed not doing them. And today, I am linking up with Modern Mrs Darcy to tell you what we have all been reading lately. Check it out!

enjoy life…

now i get it {spring 2018}

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One of my favorite inspirational writers, Emily P. Freeman, post a quarterly link-up where we share what we learned during that season. I’ve seen and read these for a few years now but only participated one time. Sharing something so intimate feels overwhelming; what if I never learned anything new? What if I keep having to learn the same old things day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. For example, if you read my January 2016 edition, I discuss foundational habits.  Yep, still struggling with those! But, now I get that this is an excellent exercise for anyone who is seeking to live their one life with intention and purpose. And sharing in this space crystallizes what I have learned, making it real and refreshing my memory when I need to be reminded again and again.

So, with that in mind, I am participating this season and sharing with you wonderful souls what I learned and will probably always be learning this past spring. Here goes…

  • I’m learning to trust my intuition, my gut, “the voice within, the voice of God’s spirit, the whisper of my own soul.” (Shauna Niequist in Present Over Perfect) This is something that I will have to work on for the rest of my life.
  • I now know that I for me to live the life that I want to live that I must stop running from my emotions. In the book, “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chödrön, she discusses the necessity to sit in the “hot loneliness.”  I hate doing this! I have run from my emotions and my feelings for most of my life.  My modus operandi is when I get a whiff of a feeling that is uncomfortable, painful, or even something that is exciting or interesting, is to do one of two things: (1) push it deep into the spaces of my own heart and then pile food, preferably ice cream, on top of it or (2) get busy doing something, anything to not think about it anymore. All you have to do is see a pic of me to know which one I do the most. Ignoring my emotional life has affected everything: how much joy I experience; my honesty with my husband; my memory, or lack thereof, of the special moments in my life; and the authenticity in my writing. Learning to sit with my feelings is hard, probably the hardest thing that I will ever have to do, but now I know that I have to do it.
  • Self-care is requirement; it is not an optional exercise. There is no life (literally, no life) without it.

What have you learned recently? Let’s talk about it.

enjoy life