Sparkly Shiny Things: Odds & Ends & Random Bits
I’m continuing my Mid-Year Check-In with a short-attention-span set of updates. If there are any unifying themes here, it’s not necessarily by design.
- I was winding down a week off from work when I drafted this. We had planned a few days away but called off the trip earlier this month so we could focus on arranging for Paul’s mom’s upcoming move into assisted living. On my third day off, I got news from across the country that my uncle had passed away. (This link is to my sister’s sporadically active and virtually unknown blog.) Uncle Peter was diagnosed with leukemia late last year and had gone into hospice at home less than a week before he died. Overall, I can’t say it was one of the better vacation weeks I’ve had.
- Related: Sometimes a staycation is just not quite enough.
- It was enough for a nice mani/pedi, though. I usually get gel manicures since I tend to be hard on nail polish, but I forgot to specify that this time. It’s not holding up too badly so far, though.
I’m thinking I should think about doing that more often.
- Earlier this year my stepson introduced us to Jackbox Party Pack, a collection of group-participation video games. We play them on the TV using our iPhones as controllers. There are four editions (so far), and all the games require little to no “gamer” skills, which meets my basic video-game requirements. My favorite is Fibbage (trivia + bluffing), but we play Bidiots (Pictionary meets art auction) a lot too.
- Back when I was a more consistent blogger, I usually prepared my week’s worth of blog posts on the weekend. Last year, more often than not, that weekend time was allotted to work; numbers took over from writing. I’m not working much on weekends now, but I haven’t been blogging either–you may have noticed. I haven’t been too bothered by the break, in all honesty–I’ve been reading, seeing movies, hanging out and goofing off–but I’m ready to figure out where blogging time fits in again.
Three Reasons To Make Time to Blog
- Many of my favorite people and dearest friends live in the computer, and I miss
themyou! - Blogging doesn’t prove it happened., but it sure helps you remember whether it did. Especially when it wasn’t something you could photograph. (If it was, Instagram is a good substitute.)
- I started this blog as a way to track and remember the books I read. I feel like I’ve been having a decent reading year, but I don’t have the record to back it up. Most of my 2017 reading is a blur now, and I don’t want 2018 to go down that same path.
Bookish Bits
I think I’ve finally found a book-related podcast I’ll stick with! For Real is a Book Riot podcast focused on nonfiction, which is where the books that most excite me these days seem to come from. It’s fun, smart, and co-hosted by my book-blogging BFF and three-time Book Expo roommate Kim Ukura, so I’m excited to support it.
I’m glad that book won’t be out for a few months since I’m juggling several in-progress books right now as it is.
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