It was hard to get a decent pic of my Midnight here, but I had to share what a big deal this is. I adopted Midnight and her brother Sunny (not really siblings, but a bonded pair) from a rescue over a year ago. Midnight was one of 42 cats rescued from a hoarding situation. She HATED being carried but loved being pet. Now, she jumps onto my lap and literally climbs into my arms. The fact that she trusts me like this means so much 😭 #CatsOfLitsy

“Cycling between times of famine and feasting was the way of life for our prehistoric ancestors… Called the ‘thrifty gene‘ hypothesis, it speculates that this genetic coding still exists in us today. It posits that when we don‘t mirror our ancestors‘ feast-famine cycling behaviors, our health suffers.”

It‘s been a while since I‘ve thoroughly annotated a book, but I‘m taking this one pretty seriously. I want to do more research on the topic and doing this will help.

“All too often we determine our self-worth by comparing ourselves to another woman‘s highlight reel. This is as damaging to our bodies as any of the five failed diet strategies…”

“To commit your life to honoring and maintaining your physical health; to the passion, the risk, and the excellence of a demanding career; to the pursuit of a rewarding relationship with another human being; or the continual upward revision of your personal standards, is to strive for powerful goals, often elusive and at times frightening. But for now, all you need to do is take one small step.”

It took me a while to finish this one as I went through each chapter very intentionally and working at most of the exercises. This book isn‘t only for people with physical portfolios relevant to their work, but for anyone who is multifaceted and multidimensional. Wallace tackles everything you might think of and more in order to help you juggle your many professional goals, and she takes your personal life into account as well. Continued ⬇️

“But how can you know for certain what your work is worth? It‘s simple: You‘ve got to start talking about money. With your friends. With your colleagues. Even with your competition.”

A neighbor suggested this one. I wasn‘t expecting such an adorably sized book when it arrived today, but it suits the topic of kaizen lol. I plan to read a couple of nonfiction books before heading back to fiction.

1* I was 15 and it was for a work experience program. They assigned me to a daycare at first but I only worked there for 3 days as I witnessed and reported abuse. My supervisors from the program felt bad about having placed me there so they allowed me to work directly in their office as an office clerk.
2* I‘ve been considering a freelance business and an Etsy shop.
3* Yes, it‘s possible but it takes some determination.
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

It‘s been a while since a book has turned me into a crying, sobbing mess, and this one did that and more. It took me on a wild ride of emotions. This author created such beautiful characters in a breathtaking world, and I fell in love with them. Their hurt became my hurt, their joy became my joy. Such an enchanting tale from beginning to end, and now I‘m sad it‘s over! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trying to level up my job search 😬😮‍💨

“Some years swept by, leaving little mark on our lives, while a single moment sufficed to upend them.”

This one has been on my TBR list for a while, so I decided to pull the trigger and give it a listen instead of adding to my ever-growing physical TBR pile lol.

Normally, this kind of book has all the elements I love in a story (you would think) but for some reason it took a while to grasp my full attention (like 7 hours in). The narrator was great so I can‘t put my finger on the reason for it. This might be one of those that I would‘ve enjoyed more had I read the physical book. I liked the characters and they all had great arcs. The concept is interesting too, unwritten stories just waiting to be told.

“The darkest of nights is when the stars shine brightest.”

“What did I care for the power that came alongside royalty, the chance to leave your mark on the realm, to mold it to your beliefs? I would choose a flowering forest or a tranquil shore over all the banquets in heaven.”

“…the break of dawn, the moment despair is edged with hope.”

Part 2 of this duology arrived last week. I loved the first one, so expectations are high and I‘m excited to dive in!

I was absolutely engrossed in this book from start to finish. I am in awe of Ai Weiwei and his father. I empathized with them on a deep level as an artist and as the daughter of immigrants from a communist country. The information about what they went through as political prisoners and of China‘s history was interesting and shocking at times. The personal anecdotes pertaining to their family and their art process was profound and intriguing… ⬇️

“Today‘s censorship touches on all aspects of life—from the internet and newspapers to books, concerts, and art exhibitions. It nullifies the individual‘s sense of self and experience of life: ideas give way to compliance, speech becomes flattery, and existence is reduced to servility.”

“Limitations come only from a fear inside the heart, and art is the antidote to fear.”

“Freedom of expression became a central meaning of my art, for personal freedom is the highest value that we can know.”

“…living in this era, you need to confront its reality. If art cannot engage with life, it has no future.”

“When administrative power is unlimited, when the judiciary is subject to no scrutiny, when information is shielded from public view, society is bound to operate in the absence of justice and morality. Corruption of the judiciary is the public face of a morally bankrupt body politic, a scar disfiguring the era in which we live.”

“The difficulty in making something happen, I have found, is often directly correlated to its importance: things that come easy aren‘t worth doing.”

“No matter how strong a power, it can never suppress individuality, stifle freedom, or avert contempt for its ignorance.”

I really loved this book. There aren‘t many exercises but there‘s a plethora of tips and inspiration to get you going. I‘m a homebody, so filling up a sketchbook takes me ages, but he did inspire me to try and get out more in order to try my hand at urban sketching. I loved his illustrations on every page and his musings about the drawing process. This is the kind of art book I‘ll go to over and over again when I need inspiration.

“‘Reality‘ is a compromise among many ways of seeing.”

Here the author is referring to drawing realistically versus with more expression. Basically, he says we can only go by our own perspective, which will be different to someone else‘s.

I‘m in love with these gorgeous bookmarks and my newest book sleeve from an Etsy shop called FabricBound. This is my second book sleeve from this particular shop and they are well made. Love the designs on these fabrics too!

“Truly great illustrators count on their intuition—not on techniques and constructs!”

Look how cute! 😍 #BookishPuzzle

I‘ve been on a journey to get healthier in recent months. I‘ve been exercising regularly/trying to eat better. My only goal right now is to feel better and create a habit of consistency. I saw Tony Horton (creator of P90X) post about Dr. Mindy Pelz and decided to get this after looking into her. I‘m not sure how I feel about fasting, but I‘m willing to try it intermittently. I like that she takes hormones into account, so I‘m keeping an open mind.

“My view was simply that painting was something I wanted to do, and I had no wish to submit myself to any particular standard; right from the start I refused to let myself be limited by established practices and conventional rules.”

“With art I opened up a space that was new to me, an abandoned space infested with weeds, in wild and desolate ruin. Perhaps what I was doing was decadent and self-indulgent, but it offered the prospect of self-redemption and a path toward detachment and escape.”

“Drawing creates more than depth of focus—it allows insignificant things to disappear and conjures significant things out of nowhere.”

Here, the author is referring to how drawing is different from photography and how we can choose what‘s important in drawing a scene/subject instead of capturing everything.

“In art, the emotional middle ground is deadly. The more opinionated a drawing is, the more entertaining it will become!”

“Anyone can learn tricks and gimmicks but you must learn to accept your own line and the way you draw—it‘s your own unmistakable signature! In time, you‘ll come to realize that your signature is beautiful.” ❤️

Been in a creative slump lately, so I‘ve been reading through this one. I‘ve done blind contour drawing before, but it‘s been a long time. Practicing with it, as the author asks us to, was refreshing. It made me laugh. I realized I just need to let loose and have some fun, not worrying about the end result. Loving the book so far…

“But despite all the difficulties, he had published more than two hundred poems and essays and three books of poetry, fulfilling his vow to write with the same indomitable stubbornness that a soldier would need to fight a battle.”

Not the best photo, but the sun is setting, and a summer rain cloud just past through as I sat on the porch to get some fresh air as I read.

Feeling like some nonfiction next… this one has been waiting in my TBR pile for a while.

How I LOVED this book! So much so, I already preordered the sequel (it comes out in a couple of weeks). It has all the elements that make for my favorite kind of read. Likable and sympathetic characters, strong female characters, love and betrayal, forgiveness and folly. There‘s a lot of action and magic along with interesting dynamics between the characters. The plot is entertaining and held my interest with every page. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“For those that came after, one tread a little slower, a little warier—after hearts had been bruised and promises broken.”

Me time with breakfast 🥰😋

“Time to an immortal was as rain to the boundless ocean.”

I love this cover. This one has been on my TBR list for a while and I finally got myself a copy.

I‘m actually somewhere in between a pick and a so-so with this one. The prose was beautiful and the characters likable. I sympathized with them on a profound level. There were some slow parts and it felt like time stretched on to get through them for some reason. But this book has a lot of heart and the story points to the lengths we go to in order to hold onto hope; and with those we love, we can always hope.

“In the morning when the Sun returns. It‘s possible for us to hope.”

I don‘t know why, but this line made me emotional…

Winding down for the night… Sunny always has to see what I‘m doing when a book‘s involved. I wish I captured the moment he stood on my stomach and peeked down at me over the top of my book lol #CatsOfLitsy

My next listen… hoping this one can keep my attention.