I can‘t fully express how helpful this book has been. I had been feeling stuck for a long time, not knowing even where to begin when it came to building my portfolio. This book is like a roadmap, it doesn‘t do the work for you but it shows you the way. Cespedes discusses everything from the type of site you should use, to the kinds of portfolio projects you should work on when you lack experience, and even how to present your work during… ⬇️

Saturday morning ☀️☕️

New listen while I hop on the treadmill and cook dinner. It‘s been way too hot to walk outside lately but a good audiobook helps make the treadmill less dull.

“Confidence doesn‘t come first—action does…Start where you are, show your process, and keep improving. The confidence will follow.”

Time to stop thinking about my portfolio and actually build it…

“‘You have a wholesome character, and you want all of life to be made up of wholesome phenomena, but that doesn't happen…You also want the activity of the individual man always to have an aim, that love and family life always be one. And that doesn't happen. All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade.'”

“The place where she stood seemed to him unapproachably holy, and there was a moment when he almost went away - he was so filled with awe...He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”

Been running around all morning, had to take my son to urgent care for an ear infection. He‘s relaxing now after his first dose of meds, and I have a quiet moment to myself.

Up next… working on my goal to read more Russian classics.

If you love reading and learning about nature/science, and especially if you care about the environment, this is a wonderful read. In fact, I think it‘s an important read for everyone. I got this one out of my curiosity for nature in general, and also for my childhood love of mushrooms (I always believed fairies used them for housing, bowls, cute hats, etc.). But I don‘t think I was fully prepared for the mystical ride I was about to embark on… ⬇️

“Metaphors and analogies, in turn, come laced with human stories and values, meaning that no discussion of scientific ideas—this one included—can be free of cultural bias.”

“Eliminate Google and Amazon and Facebook overnight or shut down the three busiest airports in the world, and you'll cause havoc. Selectively remove large hub trees—as many commercial logging operations do in an eftort to extract the most valuable timber—and serious disruption will ensue.”

“Out of this intimate partnership—complete with cooperation, conflict, and competition—plants and mycorrhizal fungi enact a collective flourishing that underpins our past, present, and future. We are unthinkable without them, yet seldom do we think about them. The cost of our neglect has never been more apparent. It is an attitude we can't afford to sustain.”

Work of art indeed 😻🐈‍⬛

#CatsOfLitsy #BlackCatsOfLitsy

A little poetry before bed ☺️

I fear I don‘t have the words to describe how I feel about this trilogy. I was immersed in this world for the last few weeks as I devoured all 3 books every chance I got. The characters are so well written, the magic intriguing and unique, the setting beautifully described. I felt so much for these characters, and had my heart broken for their sake countless times. There were also loving, tender moments and suspenseful battle scenes. Continued ⬇️

“I healed. Not completely. A scar is never the same as good flesh, but it stops the bleeding.”

“Mine had been a long and weary road, but I still dared to believe that at the end of it there might be a life of my own choosing.”

“Other men might dream of high honors or riches or deeds of valor sung by minstrels. I wanted to come to a small cot as light faded, to sit in a chair by a fire, my back aching from work, my hands rough with toil, and hold a little girl in my lap while a woman who loved me told me of her day. Of all the things I had ever had to give up simply by virtue of the blood I carried, that was the dearest.”

💔💔💔🥺🥺🥺

“I could hear the faint sounds of the merrymaking. Closer to hand were the now-unfamiliar creakings and settling of a building, the sounds of folk moving in other rooms of the inn. They made me nervous, as the wind through the branches of a forest, or the gurgling of the river close by my sleeping spot, had not. I feared my own kind more than anything the natural world could ever threaten me with.”

“…the companionship of a beast…to know that the friendship of an animal is every bit as rich and complicated as that of a man or woman.”

Here we go! 😁

Book 2 in this trilogy only made me cry once (versus 3 times with book 1 😭). This series already has me in a chokehold. I felt myself completely immersed in this world and so worried for the characters. I really hate the antagonist and I can‘t wait to see the MC go head to head with him. It ended on a cliffhanger, so off to start book 3!

“Time is no miser when one lives always in the now.”

Went in the pool with hubby and my son earlier today, and now the only decisions I want to make for the rest of the evening are whether to game or read. Why not both? 😁

“The word ecology has its roots in the Greek word oikos, meaning ‘house,‘ ‘household,‘ or ‘dwelling place.‘ Our bodies, like those of all other organisms, are dwelling places. Life is nested biomes all the way down.”

“‘He's got it,' he said huskily. ‘He's caught the knack of it now. Not that he's fully honed yet. Drill will make him sharper, but you've made a wise choice for him. The axe is his weapon.'
Verity nodded slowly. 'And he is mine.'”

First and foremost, I take a break from the news and social media. While I‘m of the opinion that staying informed is important, I also know we need breaks from processing so much information (that is more often than not, extremely negative).

Then I move my body with intense exercise or calming walks, and focus more on tasks/goals that are important to me. I keep busy to avoid things that make me feel powerless.

@Kerrbearlib #mentalhealthmonday

This is where I‘ll be in between loads of laundry. I‘m right by my window and a thunderstorm is brewing too ☺️📖⛈️☕️

Up next 😁

This is the type of fantasy that is my absolute favorite; the kind that takes hold of you, sucks you in, and makes you begrudge any other tasks or responsibilities. It had me right there with the MC, with every step of his arduous, often heartbreaking journey. The MC is a royal bastard in a world that treats them like garbage, but the King (his grandfather) decides to forge him into a weapon. And a weapon he becomes, but others full of hate and ⬇️

Still have some organizing to do around my desk area, but I got this little bookshelf for the stack of art books and magazines I had all over the place. It has LED lights too 😁

We‘ve been on vacation mode and for this week my main goal is to play catch up with several aspects of my life. I‘ve been slacking in so many areas thanks to summer, so it‘s time to get back on track.

And here‘s a quote I found in that regard: “With the new day [or week] comes new strength and new thoughts.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

#MellowMonday @Eggs

Needed a drink… only 6 chapters in and I‘ve already bawled my eyes out three times for the MC. Reading fiction really does teach us empathy… how my heart broke for him 😭

“A mycelial network is a map of a fungus‘s recent history and is a helpful reminder that all life-forms are in fact processes not things. The ‘you‘ of five years ago was made from different stuff than the ‘you‘ of today. Nature is an event that never stops.”

I‘ve been wanting to start this series, but when I went to the bookstore last week they only had book 2 and 3 of the first trilogy in stock. So, I ordered book 1 😁

1. Loyalty
2. I‘m really liking my 30s so far but I‘d have to say high school was the best era for me… I had a blast.
3. Carry it Well by Sam Fischer

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Wasn‘t really sure what to read next, so I just grabbed a book about nature that has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I‘m taking a break from social media and TV shows in an attempt to read more, I have so many books in my TBR pile.

This is a rather large book, that on top of a very busy several weeks, is why it took me a while to finish. But Walter Moers did not disappoint, just like with Captain Bluebear, I was transfixed by this adventure. Rumo is a different character entirely, unlike Captain Bluebear who finds himself in crazy predicaments seemingly by accident, Rumo runs toward them headlong with the intent to either prove himself, to survive, or protect his friends. ⬇️

Midnight was very cozy with my book in my lap 😻🐈‍⬛
#CatsOfLitsy #BlackCatsOfLitsy

Love reading on the beach ❤️

Went on my traditional birthday shopping spree thanks to my family and friends (aka enablers) giving me gift cards. I behaved better than I did last year lol.

My book haul from our trip. Two were from the bookstore we visited and the rest were from the stores inside the various museums we visited. I may have gone overboard. But no regrets 😅

I just had to visit this restaurant/bookstore during our trip to the DMV area. 😍

1. Be present and focus on what matters.

2. 🧐🤓🤪

3. My cat purposely intimidating my mom‘s dog—who‘s scared of her own shadow lol.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Kids have been on summer break since last week, they‘re sleeping in and I‘m enjoying some me-time before CrossFit 😁

1. I don‘t have a middle name, so my kids have asked me which one would I go with if I could choose. I‘m going with that answer: Elise. Not sure why, just like the sound of it.

2. As a kid I had Cookie 🐶 and Stuart 🐹. Rocky was my first cat who passed away a few years ago. Now we have Luna, Midnight, and Sunny (yes, it‘s become a theme lol).

3. Marlowe from Ordinary Monsters and Elspeth Spindle from the tagged book.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

As much as I loved the last book I read, there were a lot of sad moments. I‘m in need of a palate cleanser and since “The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear” did that for me, I‘m finally going to read book 2 in the Zamonia series. I read that you don‘t have to read these books in order, but it‘s ideal because there are surprises that are more enjoyable when you‘ve read the previous books 😁

This one was structured differently than the books I usually read, but I found it refreshing. It doesn‘t have a linear storyline but follows the lives of several unnamed characters in a family: grandparents, parents, and their two sons. It goes back and forth in time, sometimes the characters are younger, sometimes they are grown (even the sons). We see them through some very tough times, but in between the tragedies… ⬇️