2017/2018

2017 was...a really rough year.

Emotionally it was so taxing. Job/money stress and worry over the political state of my country contributed to the most drained I've ever felt.

The good things that happened though:

My nephews 1st birthday and seeing him grow.

Finally starting a new job after 7 years of dashed hopes after every interview.

My dad retired in the spring so for the first time in a decade, I got to see my parents more than once a year.

Finding an awesome group of knitters to hang with who don't make me feel stupid for not knowing as much as them or treat me like a youngster who's invading their space and therefore not welcome.

Building a new lightsaber and Jedi costume for DCC.

All the good books I read.

All the good movies I saw, like Wonder Woman and The Last Jedi.
And all the fun times just hanging with friends.

Here's hoping 2018 will be better.
I'm gonna read more books, see more movies, have more time for friends, try out new recipes, craft more, and enjoy more weekends outdoors.

And just maybe, update this blog more than once.

My Year in Books - 2017

Next year's goal: 30 new books.

Happy New Year!

The Paper Magician

Someone in my lady geeks group recommended this series and oh. my. word. I have not gotten so immersed in a series so quickly in a very long time, I mean I read the whole trilogy in a 2 days.

Ceony Twill arrives at the cottage of Magician Emery Thane with a broken heart. Having graduated at the top of her class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined, Ceony is assigned an apprenticeship in paper magic despite her dreams of bespelling metal. And once she’s bonded to paper, that will be her only magic… forever.

Yet the spells Ceony learns under the strange yet kind Thane turn out to be more marvelous than she could have ever imagined — animating paper creatures, bringing stories to life via ghostly images, even reading fortunes. But as she discovers these wonders, Ceony also learns of the extraordinary dangers of forbidden magic.

Dawn of the Jedi

For those that don't know, I'm a huge Star Wars fan. *HUGE*. And after the latest movie, I realized that while I've read the occasional book or comic book here and there, I've never actually read the whole expanded universe books before.

So I've decided to do that. 
Now it's not going to be a crazy read them all this year challenge, just a casual read through of the whole story. Thankfully the Star Wars wiki has compiled everything in a handy chronological timeline so I don't have to guess which book(s) to get next. 

So starting at the beginning:

It's been a while...yeah...it's been a long while...

So it's definitely been a few years since my last post and life certainly went a bit nuts in that time but I'm feeling that I'd like to get back into this again. For now I think I'll just stick to some book reviews and maybe a few crafty posts here and there as crazy stories about people would quickly devolve into complaining about how horrible humanity is on a near daily basis now. So yeah, there we go...I'm back I guess.

Is this your first major election? May I share a little unbiased advice with you?

So someone asked me about this yesterday and I realized there may be quite a few other young people with the same question.

So if I may, I'd like to share a little advice with you.

The question was: With a major election coming, how do I know who to vote for?

So first thing you need to do is ignore everything you're hearing about candidates and sides right now and sit down and write out what issues are important to you. What means the most to you? What hits home the most when you hear about it?

Then, write out what you want in your leaders. What do you want in a President all the way down to your local officials? What skills, experience, and qualifications do you think they should have in order to do their best in that position? What kind of lifestyle or values do you believe they as a leader and possible role model should have?

After that, research. Research everybody and everything. Research your list of issues, find out who's saying what about them and how to deal with them. What's their plan in fixing things that are wrong? Find out everything you can then figure out who's vision matches up best with your own. Continue to do so until Election Day and then vote with confidence.

And remember:

• Don't stick to just one source, there are two sides to everything and the truth is somewhere in the middle. Find it.
• Stick to your list of issues/beliefs. But know that you'll never find the perfect candidate, just find the best that you can.
• In politics, everybody lies in someway so don't be easily swayed by commercials and speeches, take what's said at face value and let their records back them up.
• Be realistic. Things take a long time to pass through government so while their plan may sound amazing, is it something they can realistically make happen in their term?
• Being prepared and informed will give you peace that you made the right decision and help keep away any later doubts.

I truly hope this helps you somehow.

Book Challenge (week 3)

Previously on...

Week 2: "Prediction: knowing nothing about it, I'll probably love it. Or I'll get halfway through, something tragic will happen and I'll completely hate it. Could go either way so..." Yeah...I didn't like it.