Update: Real Life Stuff & A Break

I don’t interact with a lot of my readers directly (though I do answer comments if you leave them and I see them and they’re not spam), but I know I have a lot of friends and family who read this, so I wanted to give an update on the current state of myself and this blog (especially since I’ve missed a couple weeks).

I’m currently dealing with a bout of depression. I think of depression has an acquaintance who likes to show up, make everything gray and red for awhile, and then leaves whenever she feels like it. Sometimes she only stays for a couple hours. Right now, she’s going on about a month long vacation in my head space.

I’ve learned over time that if I try to force her out, she just gets stronger. Therefore, I work around her and try to ignore her pain in the ass presence in my world. But one thing I’ve learned is that when she settles in, even the simplest things are overwhelming. And when life gets overwhelming for me, I tend to shut down and do nothing. I have little tricks to kind of get through this, but it doesn’t always work.

I told a friend a day or so ago that I was behind on life, and it feels like the truth. So I’ve had to prioritize and try to pick out one or two obligations that I really need to focus on right now (when I’m in good mental health, I can handle 4 or 5 with no problem). This time, I’m choosing work and health.

1. Work – It goes without saying that I spend a lot of time at work. But right now, even more time is needed. Not only that, but I need to turn my attention to being effective, efficient, and a team player.
2. Health – My workout schedule has taken a hit over the past two weeks, and I want to focus on getting back into a routine and getting my strength and cardio back up. I also have to put some focus on physical therapy for an arthritic knee. I know that when I’m feeling healthy, I have an easier time of doing everything else.

There are also some every day things I’ll continue doing: reading, time with friends and my better half, and maintaining my house as best I can. I also need to give myself time to just stare at the TV sometimes, because that’s about all my brain can handle.

Which means other things are going to have be put on a back burner, and this blog is one of them. Even though I enjoy doing it, it takes a bit of time and sometimes I just don’t have the energy. Which means it all piles up and then I feel bad about not getting it done. Also, depression gives me a little bit of a creativity block, so writing something interesting or remotely entertaining is a struggle.

I don’t plan on giving it up completely though. There will be books I’ll still want to review, and I’ve promised someone a recap of a fairly scandalous sounding book (but not really a conventional romance). I have one waiting in the wings right now that I’m going to make sure to do a review for. I’ll still be reviewing through NetGalley, but I’ll be carving out time for fun reading too, not just reading to review.

And who knows? At some point, I’ll probably pick back up and start updating regularly. Or I’ll do something wildly different, like publish my own books in serial blog posts for the heck of it. Either way, I won’t disappear completely. I’ll just be lurking in the shadows for awhile.

 

Book Review: No Interest in Love by Cassie Mae

I’ve only read a handful of road trip novels, but I usually enjoy them. Also, they’re super romantic. Though in the case of this story, they’re also really stressful, a little scary, and definitely full of bad luck.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
An actor and his agent try to get to an audition for a role that would also get him a hook up with a Hollywood starlet, but everything that can go wrong on the road does. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Pop Culture Extravaganza
It’s hard to put into words how much I loved this book. It was the perfect blend of romance and comedy, with a ton of fun pop culture thrown in. I know I’ve questioned the use of pop culture references in the past, because who knows if they’re still going to be relevant in a few years? But honestly, the more books I read that have them, the more I like it. It helps me connect with the characters, and I get excited when there are references I know.

No Commitment, No Worries
Jace Carver is a struggling actor, known for a role he played in a SyFy original movie. But when his agent gets him an audition with one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood, not only does he want the part, but he also wants what goes along with the part…the chance to sleep with a woman well known for sleeping with her male leads. He has no interest in being an relationship, so a fling with no strings is his holy grail. Sure, he’s kind of a douche, but then you find out how much he loves his grandma, and you know he’s going to turn out okay.

Internet Famous
Shay Kwak is Jace’s agent. She also happens to be well known because she became an internet meme during college…thanks to Jace. The two knew each other before they started working together and have an interesting history of randomly finding themselves in the same place at the same time. She’s no nonsense, sarcastic, driven, and hates that everyone knows her as Elmo Girl.

Fury Road: A Love Story
On their way to Jace’s audition, bad weather leads to a series of bad luck. Jace and Shay find themselves trying to get to their destination with no money, very few clothes between them, and a working relationship that seems to involve them arguing every chance they get. It also involves losing credit cards down a storm drain, sneaking onto a train, and hitchhiking.

A Guy’s Perspective
The story is almost completely told from Jace’s point of view. I kept waiting for it to switch to Shay’s point of view so I could figure out what she was thinking. It never did, and while I would have expected that to drive me nuts, I liked not knowing what Shay was thinking, especially because at times, it meant not knowing how she was going to react to things Jace did.

Getting Close & Closer
The interaction between Jace and Shay was amazing and paced well. They went from professional colleagues to friends to more (no spoiler there since it’s a romance novel) in a matter of days, but it still feels realistic in that romantic movie sort of way. I was drawn in by their goofiness and Jace’s attempts to stay positive, so if there was anything that I should have questioned, I either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Plus, they had some cute quirks, like Jace’s lucky Marvel pants and their shared love for both Wolverine and How I Met Your Mother.

The Romance Factor
Jace’s progression and the way he starts to feel about Shay was adorable.  The foreplay in this book went on forever and it was awesome. I’m not talking about the kind of foreplay where there’s loads of sexual tension and you feel they’re dragging things on more than they need to. Knowing that these were the book’s leads, every single thing they did kept me wondering when they were going to kiss. Just kiss! It took forever, but it made it so romantic. 5/5

The Steam Factor
I really had to think about the SF score for this one. There’s not many sex scenes at all, though Jace does talk quite a bit about his penis. When things do finally start going that way, there’s not much erotic description. In fact, it’s fairly tame in comparison to some of the other things I’ve reviewed.  But there is so much buildup that things still feel really hot. Plus, Jace and Shay have fun during sex, and that alone makes it hot because while a lot of books show people in enjoying sex, few show the main characters letting themselves be goofy about it. 3/5

Final Thoughts
There is so much more about this book that I could go on about. It was well written, the characters were fun, and the sweetness wasn’t overdone. Plus, even though sex didn’t figure in heavily, I feel that the way it was shown was very sex positive and portrayed in a way that shows that sex isn’t always perfect, that sometimes silly things happen, and it’s okay to just roll with them. If Cassie Mae’s books are all as good as this one, I’m going to be in reader’s heaven going through her catalog.

Book Review: Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Dean Koontz book, and even though I’m usually feeling the romance genre, I decided to give this one a try.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
After a woman’s cancer mysteriously disappears, she starts dealing with strange things happening around her, all connected to the fact that she has to save someone called Ashley Bell. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Down the Rabbit Hole
The story flips between the present and the past. In the present, Bibi deals with a series of strange events: dealing with cancer that seems to magically go away overnight, a weird medium who uses Scrabble tiles to divine what Bibi’s purpose is, and a chain of seemingly random events involving people who Bibi either knew or was told about, including the person she’s supposed to save and someone who randomly calls to threaten her life. The flashbacks to the past show Bibi as a child and events surrounding a dog she owned and a captain who lived in her parents’ garage apartment who showed her a way she could repress memories she didn’t want to keep.

Memories Forgotten
The mystery is the main part of the story, but there’s also a supernatural vibe. I enjoyed trying to tie everything together and I especially enjoyed the idea of repressed memories, as that is one of my favorite psychological subjects. These repressed memories play a key part in unlocking what’s really going on in Bibi’s world and why things seem to be going insane around her. As the mystery unfolds, things get more bizarre, and guessing the mystery was half the fun.

Quirky Characters
Bibi and her parents are quirky characters. Her parents are surfers who’ve raised Bibi liberally, allowing her to make her own decisions. Bibi doesn’t seem to have turned out poorly for it, but she’s definitely different. There were times I thought she was a little too quirky and unrealistic, but there were also times where the story and the characters seemed aware of this. There was also a lot of surfer lingo, which I thought gave the story its own interesting personality.

The Romance Factor
Other than the few times Bibi talked about her love for her fiance, Pax, and Pax’s concern for Bibi, there wasn’t much romance. Then again, this wasn’t really a romance book, so that was to be expected. 1/5

The Steam Factor
Nothing to see here. Besides a few references, there are no sexy times. 0/5

Final Thoughts
While definitely a departure from my normal reading style, once I found my rhythm with this book, I enjoyed the narrative and watching the mystery unravel through past and present scenes. There were parts that were a little eerie and the whole thing was weird enough for me to find it enjoyable. If you’re a Koontz fan or like a good scary mystery, then this one is for you.

Ride Steady (A Chaos Novel) by Kristen Ashley

I was on the fence about biker romances, but I grabbed this one on NetGalley because one of my favorite podcasts, Dear Bitches, Smart Authors, have talked frequently about the crack that is a Kristen Ashley novel. I decided to find out for myself why this author was so addicting.

I received an ARC of this novel free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A biker from a broken home and a woman struggling to take care of her son on her own connect years after knowing each other in high school and try to forge a relationship through the emotional baggage they’re carrying. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
They weren’t lying when they said Ashley’s books are addictive. Here’s the thing…there were things about this book I didn’t particularly like, but I had a really hard time putting it down. It’s not a one-sitting read either. The book is long because the author doesn’t just take the story over one conflict, she takes it over the whole situation. In the story of Joker and Carissa, we not only have the angst of their romance, but we also get to see what happens when their relationship settles down and becomes good. We get to see the characters’ dynamic with other people in their life, like Joker’s friends who supported him when he was growing up in an abusive house, and Carissa’s douche canoe ex-husband. It’s easy for a story to become bogged down in different conflicts and plot lines, but Ashley seems to have a knack for doing this and doing it well.

I also liked the fact that the motorcycle club that Joker belonged to wasn’t a criminal gang, but they weren’t above taking it there (on the down low) to defend or take care of a member of their family. I also liked the character development. Joker and Carissa both evolve during the book, and the author shows this, rather than tells it, especially in the dialogue, where Joker went from ignoring pronouns, which drove me nuts, to talking in full sentences.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm
Though I really enjoyed this book, I found several aspects of it fairly jarring. For instances, even though I’ve seen it on TV shows and in movies and have read it in other books, having the bikers refer to their women as “bitches” took some getting used to. As I mentioned before, I hated Joker’s cut off sentences, and he’s not the only character in the book to use them. It was hard for me to hear him talk in a way that didn’t sound weird. Though Carissa turns out okay, there are parts of the book where she’s super whiny and annoying. Strangely enough, she was also endearing, so I wanted to hit her, but then I wanted to hug her.

The Romance Factor
I think the only reason I’m not giving this one a 5/5 romance factor rating is because of the whole “bitches” thing, because that was hard for me to get around.

But the relationship between two broken people was sweet. There was a sense of possession at first, but Joker was mostly supportive of Carissa and wanted to see her happy. Their whole damsel-in-distress meet cute (she was stranded with a flat tire, he stopped to help her) was kind of adorable. This one gets a 4/5.

The Steam Factor
There was alot of sex in this book, but it wasn’t used as filler. It was part of the story and it was entertaining and it was definitely steamy and a little graphic. I’m giving it a 5/5 Steam Factor and noting that it also fits into the romance because of the way Joker made Carissa feel about her body (typical self conscious heroine, but rather than being over the top, this interplay was done very well and realistically and didn’t go on too long).

Final Thoughts
It’s a pretty easy call…I’m definitely going to read more of Kristen Ashley’s books. In fact, while in Michigan, I found another Chaos novel at a used bookstore and grabbed it up. Her writing is addictive. Even the things I didn’t like drew me into the world she created. This one is a sweet romance with some action and a few non-romantic violent scenes to add to the more dangerous plots Joker had to deal with. I’m pretty sure this author will find a place on my must-read list.

New Title, New Look

I decided to go ahead and take baby steps towards changing the look and theme of this blog. Since I don’t update on a daily basis, the Daily Grind no longer fit. And let’s face it…most of what I’ve been posting has been book reviews. So even though there are already a ton of book bloggers out there, I decided I’d go ahead and dedicate this space to reviewing the books I read, though I’ll keep up with the short blurbs about what’s been happening because I kind of like doing that, just to keep it personal.

I’m also going to play around with some new layouts and try to find my blogging/reviewer voice, so bear with me. I’ll still have my account at Goodreads, and I’ll probably even just publish my GR reviews here some of the time. At some point, I’m going to change the web address of this blog and redirect so it will save all my old ones. I hope this is a simple process. I want to keep the old stuff, and I didn’t want to lose any readers by making a whole new blog. So here goes nothing.

A.

Goodreads Review: The Escort by Laura Marie Altom

I have been a reading maniac lately, but it doesn’t help that I found some podcasts and book blogs that pretty much feed my need to read all the romance. In fact, I heard about two books today that I just went ahead and requested at the library because they sounded so good. Meanwhile, I’m still getting through the list on my Kobo and Kindle and making sure I get in on new ones from NetGalley. This one was one I requested on a whim. It’s the 3rd in a series, but assuming you don’t need the backstory of the side characters, it can be read on its own. In fact, after reading the synopsis for the first two, I’m glad I started with this one. This book comes out in August. 

The Escort by Laura Marie Altom

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Carol and Nathan hook up at the wedding of the people each of them has been in love with for a long time. Though only intending on a quickie on a pool table, the two find that they’re interested in pursuing more with the other. But with Carol’s background of men leaving her and Nathan’s pride and lack of money presenting them with challenges, it’s hard for either of them to commit fully. When Nathan takes a job as an escort, he thinks it’ll solve his problems, but as he becomes more attached to Carol, he realizes that the choices he made to take care of her could actually endanger her instead.

Let me say that while this book was fun, it was also a little bit silly. It wasn’t a romantic comedy, and much of the content was serious, but overall, it was still silly. Among my favorite silly things:
– A company named Zoogle and the fact that people use Zmail
– A guy signs up with an escort service and right away is given a car, an apartment, a bunch of new clothes and money (if anyone can verify this is truth when it comes to escorts, please let me know)
– The fact that the guy decides he can lie to his girlfriend about still having the job and then somehow miraculously help her do something and go on an assignment in the same weekend without cloning himself
– Celebrity singers showing up at big events, my favorite being John Mayer’s hilarious cameo

While there were times I wondered if this novel was actually taking itself seriously, I was also really digging on many aspects of it. I like the role reversal of the heroine being the well off one while the hero initially has no money and a low paying job at a grocery store. I thought the crazy madam was brilliant (though evil), and I enjoyed the angst between the 2 main characters.

As far as annoyances go, Carol wasn’t horrible. She had dealt with some stuff in high school (fairly serious stuff) and was trying to deal with her own hang ups about abandonment, while at the same time wanting to take care of Nathan to maintain control. Nathan is sweet, but it drove me nuts that he didn’t tell Carol about things that potentially put her life in danger. Also, as hard as he tries, Nathan never comes across as a full alpha male, which I think worked really well for the story.

I didn’t get any major heart feels from this book but it had a few good moments, so I’m giving it a 3/5 Romance Factor. The Sex Factor also gets a 4/5. The scenes were steamy, but there was a little bit of shady voyeurism at one point that got kind of squicky.

Overall, this was a fun read. Though I talk about its sillier points, there are some heavy things in this book, like voyeurism, the threatening of loved ones, and adoption, so it’s not necessarily a laugh riot, but I think the author did a good job balancing the silly with the serious.

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Goodreads Review: Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

I finished this book during my recent trip up north to the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop for some hardcore yarn shopping and friend time. You know it’s a good weekend when you get to chill with cool people, buy a ton of yarn, and finish a good book. This one reminds me of my mom, but only because it reminds me of Val McDermid’s crime novels, and my mom got me hooked on those. I think she’ll really enjoy this one. My mom, I mean. Not Val McDermid. Though maybe Val will enjoy it too. The book comes out on June 2, 2015, so put in a request at your local library. 

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mystery/crime drama isn’t my first choice of genre, but the premise of Eeny Meeny intrigued me, so I requested it and am so glad I got approved.

It starts with a young couple, then a pair of work associates, then a mother and daughter – people are disappearing in twos. Days later, one of them emerges, starved and sick. During their captivity, the victims are given a gun and a choice: shoot the other and be set free or die a slow, painful death from starvation. It falls to Helen Grace and her team to solve the mystery and apprehend the criminal. Pretty straightforward, right?

There were a lot of things that made this book enjoyable for me. I tend to give simplified plot synopses anyway, but in this case I’m doing so because I don’t want to give too much away. However, the writing and plot were solid. The author details the captivity of the victims in horrific detail (some of that detail made me uncomfortable, which raises its “awesome” factor) but not so much that the story drags. It keeps its pace with the main plot and the side plots of which there are a few, all of which intertwine through the main story with ease.

The characters were great. Helen Grace is a strong female character, but she’s also strongly damaged and comes with some painful quirks. The side characters, while taking a backseat to Grace and those involved in the crimes, are given their own personalities and lives that emerge throughout the book. By the end, I had a sense that I knew them, was involved with them, and even shattered with the ones who get dealt the trauma. My investment in this group was worth it…the payoff at the end of the book is good and sets things up for more in this series.

The writing was strong and the story well-paced. There were only two things I took issue with. The first was in the formatting more than the writing. There were no breaks when the scene shifted, so it was sometimes hard to easily discern when the setting and characters had changed. However, I think that was more an ARC format problem than a problem with the author’s presentation.

The second thing was the weirdly added romantic/sexual aspect to the story. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and I had to go back to make sure I hadn’t missed a chapter or two leading up to when it starts. As someone who loves a good romance and tends to prefer romantic interludes in all the books I read, I actually didn’t feel like this one was needed. It seemed a little forced and out of place, though not jarring enough to throw the whole story off.

If you like crime novels, definitely give this one a try. It reminded me of Val McDermid’s novels, and that’s a good comparison. Helen Grace could be the new favorite read of gritty/graphic crime lovers.

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Goodreads Review: House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy

It’s been awhile since I’ve ready something scary, having been more into romance for a few months now. NetGalley gave me a good excuse to wander into something different for a little while with this horror/mystery. I really enjoyed it, and though there’s nothing mind-blowing or new, it still held my attention and gave me some unsettling feels. Goodreads shows that this comes out April 14th, so if you’re so inclined, pick up a copy and give it a shot. 

House of Echoes by Brendan Duffy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Horror-mystery is a genre I tend to enjoy more in movies than books. Some of the newer authors I’ve read don’t seem to do horror in general as well as some older writers, often falling to cliche without being entertaining. It was refreshing to read this novel by Brendan Duffy, because even though the story had many of the classic horror tropes, it was still delivered in a well-written, haunting manner.

Ben Tierney brings his wife and two sons to a place called The Crofts, a house in a village full of history and mystery, and one that he wants to write about. It’s also an escape from the mental troubles his wife had faced when they lived in the city and a chance to start over by turning the large house into an inn for them to run. It’s also an opportunity for a new start for his older son, Charlie, who had faced bullying at his previous school. The people in the village are friendly and Ben feels he’s in the right place, until strange things begin happening and a strange entity starts luring his son into the woods.

The writing was solid and the author did atmosphere really well. From the start, the book was eerie. The setting was common but the way it was presented still gave me, as the reader, a chill when picturing some of the scenes and happenings. There wasn’t a lot of gore in the book, but what there was had an impact on the story. The plot had a good overall concept, though I think there may have been a little too many different tropes thrown into the mix. At one point, I started reading it like a checklist of plot points found in horror. Having said that, he never used something that wasn’t part of the plot, so even though there was a lot going on, it still tied into the storyline.

The characters didn’t start out with much depth, but one thing I liked about them is that they all remained somewhat of a mystery. For instance, Ben’s wife seems to be losing her mind at one point, and even though there are reasons for it, I started wondering if maybe she was going psychotic. Same with the son, because let’s face it….creepy kids and horror go together well. The changes in the characters kept an air of mystery to the story, even though a horror fan is likely to figure things out fairly early. And what’s nice about this book is that figuring it out doesn’t matter…it’s still a good book to read to the end.

I’d recommend this to all horror and mystery readers, though I think those who like classic ghost stories/mysteries are going to enjoy it more than those looking for something edgy or gory.

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Sunday Hijinks at the Theater

As happens, if I’m really lazy one day of the weekend, I tend to actually get out and do things on the other. While I completely spaced on having my car looked at, I did venture out to do Sunday afternoon fun things.

That wasn’t before finishing up season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Can we talk about that show for a second? I wasn’t sold when we first started watching it. The first few episodes were kind of boring, but once the show found its pace, it was amazing! After I got home from being social, we started season 2 and I got punched right in the feels. I’m still hurting a little bit.

My faves!

First outing of the day was seeing Fox on the Fairway at the Manhattan Arts Center. Unlike the last few shows I’ve seen there, I didn’t have the background on this story. One of my job perks is that the owner of the company will often buy tickets for employees (our company is a sponsor). I love live theater, so I jumped at the chance to go.

I have to give kudos to the MAC staff for hooking me up with a more comfortable chair. Their normal ones are super narrow, and not wide-bottom comfortable. In the past, I probably would have been too shy to say anything, but age is great for no longer really caring and valuing comfort over being afraid to just say “My butt needs a bigger chair.” So I did and no one was weird about it. They got me a comfy one right away and even thanked me for letting them know.

As for the play itself, it was hilarious. The actors were spot on, the story was really fun, and being that it was a Sunday production, the theater wasn’t super crowded, so I didn’t feel claustrophobic.

From there, I went to the weekly Stitch ‘n’ Bitch gathering, which was held at Panera this week. I went early to meet up with a fellow knitter who was giving me a ball and swift winder lesson and winding up a couple skeins of alpaca for me for my next project. Recently I got it in my head that I need these tools, so I wanted to see how they worked and get some feedback on good brands. I kept waffling over the weekend about buying them, but I didn’t order anything yet. I think I’m going to wait for our new yarn store to open and I’m going to see if I can purchase one through them. I’ll feel good about keeping it local, and in this case, I’d like to see what I’m buying beforehand.

We did have a bit of a yarntastrophe, but I suppose that’s how it goes sometimes. We finally detangled and still got some quality knitting time, though I’m a bum and still haven’t taken any pictures of my work in progress to share.

Not much got done in the way of housework this weekend, but I have a free Monday night tomorrow, so after grocery shopping…which I desperately need to force myself to do…I’ll do a little bit of cleaning and prepping for the rest of the week.

On that note, I’m off to bed. Onward to the Monday!

A.

The Balance Between Fun and Responsibility

Last week was a busy and exhausting week. My natural tendency to pull away from people showed itself, and yet I pushed through it to be social. Some of that social interaction wore me down. Most of it was fun though.

In gaming, my halfling rogue was turned into a vampire, which made me sad. My werewolf saw combat, which frustrated me (not the story so much as the game mechanics). I’m also kind of a sore loser, even though that really shouldn’t apply to this sort of gaming.

I also played a game called Superfight and found out that it’s tough to beat someone or something that has been turned into a poltergeist.

In knitting, I realized I really need to learn to read a pattern better. I read the length instructions for a hat wrong and ran out of yarn. I figured I’d just use some matching scrap, but it wasn’t working for me, so I completely fudged the end of the hat. I suppose it doesn’t look horrible, but it drives me nuts because the original pattern would have been super cool looking. I’m going to try that one again. Some day.

Thursday was the highlight day of the week.

1. I paid off all my credit cards. Doing this involved going against what many a financial advisor would advise. I cashed out my previous 401k. It wasn’t a decision I made quickly or easily, but when it came down to it, I wanted to free up money to comfortably pay Jon’s student loans each month. I’m glad I did it, even if it means pushing retirement back.

2. We bought new games. What better way to celebrate financial responsibility than to go out and spend more money. I have no regrets. We picked up Smallworld: Underground and Betrayal at House on the Hill from our new game store. They were 2 games we’ve been wanting and we know they’ll see play.

3. I had my 90-day evaluation at work. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been there for 90 days. Most of the time, I feel like I just started. The eval was good. I’m right where I should be. I was fairly stressy about a week ago with regards to my speed and quality, but at the urging of my boss, I stopped stressing and all has been well since.

The weekend has been lazy enough to offset the . Snow and cold kept me inside watching movies, listening to podcasts, and knitting like a maniac. I finished an easy project and then moved on to a not so easy project. Not sure if that was a great idea considering I’ve been knitting more in social situations, but I realize I do have the power to just start a different, easier project.

My first cowl.

Onward to finish off the weekend and prepare for the inevitability of Monday.

A.