CourtnieMarie

47 minutes ago, Wufkar said:

All,

 

As many of you know, I am wildross' youngest child.  I am posting here for those of you who may still have this topic marked as following and have not yet heard the news.

wildross passed away on Dec 18, 2020 from prostate cancer.

 

A Virtual Memorial page has been posted here:
Jim Wildman - Online Memorial 

Sending you love. This is so sad to hear. He will be missed <3

1. Read a YA nonfiction book – Between the World and Me (Read)
2. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color – Her Body and Other Parties (ebook)
3. Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman – Unseen (Read)
4. Read a graphic memoir – Fun Home (Read)
5. Read a book about a natural disaster – Seveneves (ebook)
6. Read a play by an author of color and/or queer author – How I Learned to Drive (hoopla)
7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII – The Empire of Gold (Read)
8. Read an audiobook of poetry – Dreams from Many Rivers (hoopla)
9. Read the LAST book in a series – The Hero of Ages (Read)
10. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Read)
11. Read a debut novel by a queer author – Juliet Takes a Breath or Magic for Liars (audio)
12. Read a memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own – Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black, Muslim (Read)
13. Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before – I Am A Filipino
14. Read a romance starring a single parent – Wait For It
15. Read a book about climate change – Rising (ebook)
16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman – Days of Blood and Starlight (Read)
17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages) – How the Marquis Got His Coat Back (Read)
18. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community – Lizzie Demands a Seat
19. Read a book by or about a refugee – Refugee (Read)
20. Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK – The Night Diary (Read)
21. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non) – Turtles All The Way Down (Read)
22. Read a horror book published by an indie press – The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires (Read)
23. Read an edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical) – Freeman’s (hoopla)
24. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author – There, There (audio)

Don't mind my notes on where I'm going to obtain the listed books  since my last update I've read:

The Empire of Gold - sad it's over. It was so fun and the author did well wrapping up the trilogy.

Refugee - I loved this one. It was sad and definitely pulled at my heartstrings but I learned a lot that I didn't know and it was well-written.

The Night Diary - I also really liked this one. Another tear jerker where I learned a lot that either I forgot from grade school or was never taught about.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires - I had issues with this one... It was a cool/new take on vampires for sure but there were sexist and racist issues I couldn't over look. It's not that it's overtly either of those -ists, it just gives itself huge opportunities to address those issues and didn't.

1 hour ago, Áine said:

Also saw Empire of Gold - im in love with that series

 

Just started Empire of Gold and I also loved the first two! Feels like classifc fantasy without being trope. Empire is currently going swimmingly  

 

1 hour ago, Áine said:

I see a few have read Binti - why havent i already ready the follow ups?!

quick! I think they're going to make a tv show of it 🥳

16 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

Nice! I did like it! I though it was a cute story, I think I would have liked an additional maybe 50%. Have your read the sequels? I saw the second is about 1 year later, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

I just read the second one actually. it was good! It's a continuation of the story and more about her little device (the name of which escapes me pre-coffee). it's not one of those stories that's going to take you through the day to day lives of students going through classes and what they ate for lunch if you know what I mean. but it kept me engaged and then disappointed again when it was over 😏

 

16 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

How did you enjoy Fun Home? Alison Bechdel is great, but that book can be a bit heavy.

yes exactly. i liked it up to the point where she wanted me to know more about these authors and historians than I did. so while I'm glad I read it, I understand why people might call it a slog to get through haha

hope you enjoy Binti! It's disappointingly short so just remember that and that there are two more in the series   [edited: Looking back at your list I realized you've already read Binti haha! how'd you like it?]

 

 

1. Read a YA nonfiction book – Between the World and Me (Read)
2. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color – Her Body and Other Parties (ebook)
3. Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman – Unseen (Read)
4. Read a graphic memoir – Fun Home (Read)
5. Read a book about a natural disaster – Seveneves (kindle)
6. Read a play by an author of color and/or queer author – How I Learned to Drive (hoopla)
7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII – The Empire of Gold
8. Read an audiobook of poetry – The Book of Delights
9. Read the LAST book in a series – The Hero of Ages (Read)
10. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Reading)
11. Read a debut novel by a queer author – Juliet Takes a Breath
12. Read a memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own – Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black, Muslim (Read)
13. Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before – I Am A Filipino
14. Read a romance starring a single parent – Wait For It
15. Read a book about climate change – Rising (ebook)
16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman – Days of Blood and Starlight (Read)
17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages) – How the Marquis Got His Coat Back (Read)
18. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community – Lizzie Demands a Seat
19. Read a book by or about a refugee – Refugee (audio)
20. Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK – The Night Diary
21. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non) – Turtles All The Way Down (Read)
22. Read a horror book published by an indie press – The Bone Weaver’s Orchard
23. Read an edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical) – Freeman’s (hoopla)
24. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author – There, There (audio)

I've definitely made progress since my last update. I loved Between the World and Me, Turtles, and The Hero of Ages. It took me some time to get into Hero but it's definitely worth the slog in the beginning! I want to name my next dog after one of the characters actually...

 

I've started to prioritize books that have been on my TBR list by black authors so not sure how far I'll get on this list. hope everyone is well!

1. Read a YA nonfiction book – Between the World and Me (Read)

17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages) – How the Marquis Got His Coat Back (Read)

 

I really enjoyed Between the World and Me and it's very short. It definitely pulled at all my feels and taught me some things I didn't know. highly recommend quick read. I listened to the BBC radioplay of Marquis which was cute. A good way to come down after the other one.

I'm currently reading Turtle All the Way Down which I didn't realize was YA, so it's got your typical high school romance aspects but I'm enjoying it so far. The descriptions of thoughts and thought processes in a highly anxious person are illuminating.

Oh good! I bought the first of the Broken Earth series in a used bookstore last year. Maybe I'll be able to get to the second and check off #5 as well.

Not as far along as you but I have a good amount of these already acquired. I just have to finish what I'm currently reading...  

1. Read a YA nonfiction book – Between the World and Me
2. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color – Her Body and Other Parties
3. Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman – Unseen
4. Read a graphic memoir – Fun Home
5. Read a book about a natural disaster – Seveneves or The Obelisk Gate
6. Read a play by an author of color and/or queer author – Last Summer at Bluefish Cove
7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII – The Empire of Gold
8. Read an audiobook of poetry – Life of the Party
9. Read the LAST book in a series – The Hero of Ages
10. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
11. Read a debut novel by a queer author – Juliet Takes a Breath
12. Read a memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own – Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black, Muslim
13. Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before – A Cook’s Tour
14. Read a romance starring a single parent – Wait For It
15. Read a book about climate change – On Fire: The Case for the Green New Deal
16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman – Days of Blood and Starlight (Read)
17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages) – How the Marquis Got His Coat Back
18. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community
19. Read a book by or about a refugee
20. Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK
21. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non) – Turtles All The Way Down
22. Read a horror book published by an indie press
23. Read an edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical)
24. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author

I'll be participating! I already picked out a few... which of course may change by the end  

 

1. Read a YA nonfiction book
2. Read a retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, or myth by an author of color
3. Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman – Unseen
4. Read a graphic memoir – Fun Home
5. Read a book about a natural disaster
6. Read a play by an author of color and/or queer author
7. Read a historical fiction novel not set in WWII – The Empire of Gold
8. Read an audiobook of poetry
9. Read the LAST book in a series – The Hero of Ages
10. Read a book that takes place in a rural setting – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
11. Read a debut novel by a queer author – Juliet Takes a Breath
12. Read a memoir by someone from a religious tradition (or lack of religious tradition) that is not your own – Unashamed: Musings of a Fat, Black, Muslim
13. Read a food book about a cuisine you’ve never tried before
14. Read a romance starring a single parent
15. Read a book about climate change
16. Read a doorstopper (over 500 pages) published after 1950, written by a woman – The Good Daughter
17. Read a sci-fi/fantasy novella (under 120 pages) – How the Marquis Got His Coat Back
18. Read a picture book with a human main character from a marginalized community
19. Read a book by or about a refugee
20. Read a middle grade book that doesn’t take place in the U.S. or the UK
21. Read a book with a main character or protagonist with a disability (fiction or non) – Turtles All The Way Down
22. Read a horror book published by an indie press
23. Read an edition of a literary magazine (digital or physical)
24. Read a book in any genre by a Native, First Nations, or Indigenous author

thanks @miss_marissa  I will probably do 2020 but i can't guarantee how often I'll post! I still update my goodreads though https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27753292-courtnie-marie

 

i was really happy with 2019 despite a few bad ones. i found a lot of women and POC authors that write in genres i enjoy! Only one duplicate too. I'd recommend everything below EXCEPT 7-10, and 23

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -  Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)  (Read)
2. An alternate history novel -  The Underground Railroad (Read)
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 - Exit West (Read)
4. A humor book – Nerd do Well (Read)
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism - The Library Book (Read)
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - Binti (Read)
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America – Like Water for Chocolate (Read)
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania - Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Read)
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads -  Chosen Soldiers (Read)
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman – Confessions (Read)
11. A book of manga – Monstress vol. 1 (Read)
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character – The Chapel Perilous (Read)
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse – Criminal (Read)
14. A cozy mystery - A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock, #2) (Read)
15. A book of mythology or folklore - The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1)  (Read)
16. An historical romance by an AOC – Under a Painted Sky (Read)
17. A business book – Grit (Read)
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author – An Unkindness of Ghosts (Read)
19. A book of nonviolent true crime - Invisible (Read)
20. A book written in prison – Letter from Birmingham Jail (Read)
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen (Read)
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark (Read)
23. A self-published book – Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Read)
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014 - The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)  (Read)

Good gracious, have I changed or what? well, sure hope I have. That's growth right? I'll be here for the next challenge cycle just updating when i can and want to.

 

for those previously following my challenges, we did sign up for Anytime Fitness and now need to catch up on sleep in order to get up early enough to go. Evening yoga has become harder with a long commute and visiting my dad. This weekend should be relaxing and probably emotional - I'm going to start cleaning out my dad's house.

 

Next week i'll be traveling for work so let's see how much i can get my shit together before then!

So I made the decision to take a break from NF and instagram. Work has been busy and my dad's status got changed to hospice care about 2 weeks ago. I've been focusing more time on myself and the people around me. Let's take a look at how I did:

• try two new gyms - tried 3 different ones and think I'll pick the Anytime. it's the only one with a DL platform!
• 1 morning workout/week - 14/5 well that was easy. might consider upping the length of at home BW workouts
• 1 evening yoga/week - 3/5 i'll have to come back to this habit later
• sleep: get an average of 7h30m - 5/5 weeks I hit the average, though last week I did not
• eat vegetables, 3 per weekend - no idea but i remember being cognizant of it each weekend so that's good i guess
• liquidate dad’s 401K - check
• unpack some boxes - check, boxes are gone from my living and dining room except for one that's a donate box for the animal shelter
• sell or donate some clothes - check, i sold 14 items on thredup and earned $48.66. i still have 41 items listed on there as well

actually not bad at all! yoga and vegetable, y u so hard.

 

the next few weeks are going to be tough and busy so I might reawaken my battlelog until I get back on my feet. <3

 

in better news, the David Harbour SNL episode was really good

 

On 10/14/2019 at 12:38 AM, Mad Hatter said:

Now I need something light and lovely that gives me hope for humanity again, even if it's fiction.  Recommendations?

anything by Fredrik Backman   I've read A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here and they were all delightful and hopeful

Thank you everyone, I really am so glad to have a space where I learn to talk about my feelings and everyone is so supportive. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you <3

It's friday of week 4 and I haven't updated you all at ALL! work has been hectic but not toooo stressful like a week or so back. we signed up for a 7 day pass at a nearby Anytime but haven't gone to get it yet (they make you come pick up the key which isn't available until 11am most days).

 

sleep average is 7h46m so definitely still going strong there. I've gotten in movement on monday, tues, and wed mornings: half hour of yoga; 20 min walk; and 20 min bw circuit. we started packing for our ptown camping trip this morning. i haven't unpacked a box yet.

 

things haven't been great on the dad front this week and i spent a good amount of time crying on wednesday. so i'm going easy on myself for maybe a slow week goal-wise

On 10/7/2019 at 2:49 PM, JustCallMeAmber said:

I attempted this directly after squats, good mornings and lunges. It didn't end well.

 

 

2 hours ago, raptron said:

And then last month I had one and another just started today.

 

but really that's awful timing and wtf indeed.

many good choices here! i hope you are able to get in more sleep this week, is there anything you can do to make sure it happen or is the lack of sleep more due to poor sleep quality?

here for any responses on how to eat ramen  congrats on trying new places and realizing that you don't need to go back to two of them! now at least you know and won't forever be haunted by WHAT IF

 

8 hours ago, Harriet said:

the doctor said my feet aren't that flat and it's a fascial problem.

stretching and maybe foam rolling type stuff? like rolling the bottom of your foot on a lacrosse ball, etc should help the fascia!

2 hours ago, raptron said:

Big week for physicality and good sleeping and BOX CONQUERING!

 

1 hour ago, Harriet said:

Workouts looking good! Cuban tapas sounds nice. 
 

Okay now you have me imagining CM taming three wild, savage boxes... they're circling her, looking hungry and snarling, but she brandishes a whip at them and they reluctantly settle down and spill their contents. 

 

i mean... these were boxes of some wild DVDs. anything's possible  

oh man i so wish we could help you fill out the cast! that's going to be an awesome show  

 

MEET WEEK!!!

Week 3 – Thursday

 

Made it to the gym! LA Fitness again because we finally got our actual guest pass. wasn’t too bad – there were actually 2 other people deadlifting with me in awkward non-spaces

 

DL

95x5

110x5

120x5x3

 

Inverted rows

8, 10, 10, 10

 

Squats

95x5

105x5

110x5x3

 

EZ curls

50x5x5

 

Thursday and Friday were both very busy and stressful work days. I don’t even remember what I did Thursday night.

 

Week 3 – Friday

 

We decided to get the most out of our free pass to LA fitness and went again. I did accessory type stuff to compliment Thursday (and by “compliment” I mean “inflict all the DOMS on myself”)

 

Front squat

45x8

65x5x4

 

Underhand cable pulldowns

85x8

100x5x3

 

Farmers carries

25# DBs x90 steps

30# DBs x90 steps

30# DBs x100 steps

30# DBs x50 steps

 

RDLs

65x8x4

 

We went out to eat with a couple friends to an amazing Cuban tapas place. it was delightful. Stayed up a bit too late with the housemates but still got to bed right at midnight.

 

Week 3 – Saturday

 

I had a bit of a lie in and then got ready to take the pup to her vet appointment. We tried going shopping but didn’t have much luck and only got angry at the crazy amount of people there. we ended up going grocery shopping and finally watching captn marvel! very cute, but I couldn’t help think of her as an afterthought.

 

veggies: kale with lunch, salad for dinner

 

Week 3 – Sunday

 

5K in the morning! I was kind of grumpy but I did finish and mostly jogged. I’m slow AF but whatevs. we grabbed the free beer with our friend who had joined us and had a good time catching up. by that point I was very hungry, I don’t like to eat before races. Spouse and I grabbed burgers since I had a coupon for a free one this month for muh birfday!

 

We had a very sleepy ride home but powered through to get breakfasts batch cooked and laundry folded. we went out for coffee and also picked up Endgame (also finally).

 

unpacked THREE boxes with Spouse after the movie! finally figured out a place for our DVDs

 

veggies: a little bit of salad but mostly no vegs

 

week 3 scores!

Food: 2/3 weekend vegetables

Life: 3/1 boxes unpacked; 1/2 dad spend down

Fitness: 2/1 AM workouts, 0/1 PM yoga

Sleep: 3/3 midnight cutoff, avg 7h35m

 

no evening yoga last week but I did at least get it in twice in the mornings. I’m doing well on sleep and mostly everything else which is probably keeping me so sane! I really need to get going with pre-paid funeral costs for my dad and stuff though.

Week 3 – Tuesday and Wednesday

 

Tuesday I stayed home from work. it was definitely needed. I did end up getting some work done but mostly cleaned up a bit, ate ice cream, Indian leftovers, and finished a book. And a quick yoga session. (spicy indian and ice cream are best left to be eaten on separate days. just FYI)

 

More yoga Wednesday morning and then left work around 11am to visit dad after his surgery (it went well!). back to work until later than normal to catch up. I haven’t unpacked a box yet this week but I have put two pieces of summer clothes away for the season… baby steps right??

 

 

the plan.

M: visit dad

T:  yoga

W: yoga; dad’s surgery

T: gym; yoga

F: run; yoga

S: gym; groceries; meal prep

S: 5K

oooo update time! getting closer. Telesa was not good. Definitely way more YA than my tastes run if that makes sense. Too juvenille. But learned a bit about Samoa and their mythology so not going to hate too much. Chosen Soldiers was also not great lol BUT I super enjoyed An Unkindness of Ghosts (which I switched from The Only Harmless Great Thing because it was available on audiobook on my hoopla app).

 

1. An epistolary novel or collection of letters -  Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)  (Read)
2. An alternate history novel -  The Underground Railroad (Read)
3. A book by a woman and/or AOC (Author of Color) that won a literary award in 2018 - Exit West (Read)
4. A humor book –  Nerd do Well (Read)
5. A book by a journalist or about journalism - The Library Book (Read)
6. A book by an AOC set in or about space - Binti (Read)
7. An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America – Like Water for Chocolate (Read)
8. An #ownvoices book set in Oceania - Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Read)
9. A book published prior to Jan 1 2019 with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads -  Chosen Soldiers (Read)
10. A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman – Confessions (Read)
11. A book of manga – Monstress vol. 1 (Reading)
12. A book in which an animal or inanimate object is a point-of-view character – The Chapel Perilous (Read)
13. A book by or about someone who identifies as neurodiverse – Criminal (Read)
14. A cozy mystery - A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock, #2) (Read)
15. A book of mythology or folklore - The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1)  (Read)
16. An historical romance by an AOC – Under a Painted Sky (Read)
17. A business book – Grit (Read)
18. A book by a trans or nonbinary author – An Unkindness of Ghosts (Read)
19. A book of nonviolent true crime - Invisible (Read)
20. A book written in prison – Letter from Birmingham Jail (Read)
21. A comic by an LGBTQIA creator - Relish: My Life in the Kitchen 
22. A children's or middle-grade (not YA) book that has won a diversity award since 2009 - I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark 
23. A self-published book – Telesa: The Covenant Keeper (Read)
24. A collection of poetry published since 2014 - The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)  (Read)

this is already somewhere heavy!! we are in it!!

 

you are testing 1RMs for the first time, yes?

I don't think i previously knew the best way to spell out electronic beatzzzz! now i do