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Friday Fun! (May: Cooking, Fitness, Writing, Spring Cleaning, and Reading Of Course!)
Spring means I get to read outside in the sun for my lunch break!
Hello my lovely readers!
As previously promised, Friday Fun has now become a monthly check-in on the last Friday on the month to touch base with you guys and help you get to know (or stay in the know on) the blogger behind the reviews (and the novels/novellas/short stories of course).
May was a busy month for me. I attended a conference for medical librarians, which invaded this blog a bit, as I summarized what I learned for both myself and for other librarians. Thanks to that conference, I worked 12 days in a row, so I took off a few days the week after to give myself a nice long weekend. On that long weekend, I did some spring cleaning and got started on sorting through and getting rid of stuff. I usually do this in the spring, but I’m doing it with more vigor this year as my boyfriend and I are planning on moving in together when my lease is up. I’m of course incredibly happy to be moving in with my partner but also nervous! To that end, if any of you want to check out my ebay store, there’s mostly lp’s/records, clothes, and of course, books! This is also why I’ve been reading so many books for my Bottom of the TBR Pile Challenge. Most of my print books are for that challenge, and I’m trying to clear off my shelves.
My vacation also consisted of a lot of cooking. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, and I hadn’t had much of a chance to make more complex recipes since I was so busy and exhausted. I made: 4 hour lasagna (I call it that since it takes me…4 hours to make), twice-baked rutabagas, and pumpkin monkey bread muffins. You can see all of the recipes over on my Pinterest Pinned It And Did It board.
This month also brought back the real motorcycle riding season. My boyfriend got me an awesome vegan jacket (for safety) and a helmet (obviously, for safety), and we’ve been going on some nice evening rides together. I’m looking forward to some longer ones out into western Mass later in the season. I also got to dig my bicycle out of winter retirement and go on my first ride of the season. I’m pleased to say my legs stayed in much better shape over this winter season than previous ones, although my seat bones weren’t so happy with the first ride. Ow.
In related work-out news, my gym’s 60 day challenge completed last week. I had signed up for the body composition challenge, which was about body fat percent rather than body weight. Over the course of the two months my body fat percent went down by 1.2%, and I gained 2 pounds of muscle! I was totally shocked by those results, as I mostly just kept on doing my regular fitness routine, where I focus in on being healthy and acquiring more personal bests in weights/cardio/etc… I mostly wanted to see what impact my routine really has on my body, and it clearly is helping me build muscle. I’m very excited about that.
I’m also pleased to report that writing is progressing on the sequel to Ecstatic Evil
In reading news, this month I read 7 books, which is the most I’ve read so far this year in a month. I’m not even going to try to guess as to what made it go up, but I’m glad that it did! I read a wide variety including scifi, urban fantasy, historical fiction, thriller/mystery, and horror, and I read across all reading platforms (ebook, print, and audio). I have yet to write up reviews for 4 of these books, so rest assured, more reviews are coming! For June I intend to continue my focus on predominantly choosing books that appeal to me most in that moment, although I would like to knock out at least one from my Bottom of the TBR Pile Challenge that is unappealing. Additionally, I got an arc for the next book in Madeline Ashby’s artificial intelligence series that is releasing next month, as well as the final book in Jackie Morse Kessler’s series that is also releasing in June, and I’d like to read/review both of those around their release dates.
How were your Mays? What was your favorite read of the month?
Friday Fun! (In Which I Take Back Up Counted Cross-Stitching and Blog Tour Updates)
Hello my lovely readers!
I’ve been trying to keep things kind of quiet in my non-work life right now, since work is so busy with the beginning of the medical school academic year. So I don’t have too terribly much to tell you except that I now have something besides cooking and cleaning that I’m doing when listening to audiobooks. I’ve taken back up counted cross-stitching.
I’ve been searching for a crafty/productive hobby for a bit now. Knitting could only progress as far as scarves before things started to get thrown across the room. I couldn’t even learn how to do one stitch in crocheting. I knew I was capable of counted cross-stitching (and embroidery) because it was forced upon me….er, I learned it as a kid. However, I had this perception of it as being something steeped in old lady and overtly religious patterns. And then I saw something on tumblr.
It was a counted cross-stitch that quoted Fight Club saying, “Condoms are the glass slipper of our generation,” and had a glass slipper on the bottom. I about died laughing. And then I discovered the world of punk stitching, which is what the non-traditional stitchers call it. I was immediately excited and intrigued.
So I picked up a cross-stitching kit (before getting into designing my own patterns or buying other homemade patterns) to make sure that I wasn’t misremembering my abilities. After much hunting I found a wintry wolf scene that I thought would go well in my Native American themed bedroom area in my tiny apartment. I completed 400 stitches the first time I sat down. And I was remembering correctly. This is something I am good at! This is something that bafflingly relaxes me! All the counting and organizing that I so adore, and I wind up with prettiness! I am beyond excited about this rediscovered hobby, as my new pinterest board of patterns probably demonstrates. 🙂
In Waiting For Daybreak
From Me To You… had previously reviewed my novella, Ecstatic Evil
The Paperback Pursuer offered up a review stating, “I was blown away by Amanda McNeil’s ability to develop such a unique and troubled character who every reader can relate to on some level.”
Kelsey’s Cluttered Bookshelf has an interview with me up where you can find out things like my future writing goals and advice for other writers. She is also offering a giveaway!
Bookishly Me also has an interview up in which I talk about the research I conducted for the book, among other things.
Last but certainly not least, Fangs for the Fantasy offers up a review from a social justice perspective stating, “But even better than a realistic and well-presented depiction of mental illness, we also have it become a strength in the zombie apocalypse.”
A big thank you again to all of the participants! I’m so glad folks have been enjoying the tour so far.
Happy weekends!
This work by Amanda Nevius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Opinions of a Wolf 