What a week! This month is really being so full on when it comes to work I’m exhausted. I'd quite appreciate a quiet couple of weeks now but I don't think that will happen until I get through this coming week.
I'll start this post my saying I'll be taking a week off and I'll be back at the start of March. This is partially because I'm exhausted, but also it's my birthday next weekend so I want to relax and enjoy that so I'm treating myself to some time off from the blog to come back fresh the start of March. I know I won't have the time to focus on blogging as much as I want so I'm being honest and taking a step back instead.
As far as work goes let's just say never join a group that's meant to work on culture without checking first what exactly it will entail. I wasted so many hours in meetings this week for it that I am amazed that I got any work done. Between that and meetings to do with a project I'm on I seriously have had no time to just relax. I miss the days when people forgot about me at work and I could keep my head down and do my own things. I even used to be able to work and listen to audiobooks. Those were the days. Add in the fact the culture group has had a serious amount of drama around it it’s safe to say I’m exhausted when it comes to work. I won’t get into it because I don’t want to be a gossip, even though you don’t know anyone I’m talking about I’ll still feel bad, but work needs to slow it down with the drama. I do think I’ve made another work friend though so let’s look at the positives.
My life just revolves around work now so the only other things I’ve been doing are reading, hanging with Artemis, and playing PlayStation. I seriously need to get a life again. My friends are all coupled up so I’m having to book them weeks in advance to have a chance to meet them. Unfortunately, that’s meant a quiet February for me but it’s fine I’m meeting a friend for tea tomorrow (potentially today with how late I’m writing this post).
What I’ve Been Reading
Honestly, I regret picking up the Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas as it’s not hooking me in. I picked up the first book as I rolled the prompt of reading the longest book on my shelf and that’s it but it’s too long and just plain bad. Why do I keep reading Sarah J Maas when she doesn’t let her books be edited down? It’s just tedious and definitely could have been edited better. All these 5 star ratings say im the odd one out but im 51% of the way in and im hating it. I don’t want to DNF but I might have to come back to it.
New To Me
No new books because I've been dragging myself through trying to finish the stupid book I didn’t think I deserved any new reads. Honestly, need to find a new book to read as my current read it bringing me down.
How was your week? Any good books I should check out since I'm not enjoying mine? Tell me all so I can catch up when I'm back in a week.
It's been a minute. Sorry about that, life has got a little busy so the blog fell to the backburner for a little while. I don't even really have posts drafted for you right now but I'm working on it. It doesn't help little Artemis takes up a lot of my free time. After I finish work I'm trying to entertain her as she's left a little to her own devices otherwise. She is very popular on all of my Teams calls, though. But we move, I'll figure it out.
Artemis went for her first visit to the vets this week to begin her vaccinations and she is such a curious cat. There was no real hesitation on her part, she just wanted to explore and was calm in her cat carrier which was good. All the staff at the vets loved her and she'll be back in 3 weeks for the next course of vaccinations and to see if she's big enough to microchip yet. She's getting a little clawier and seems to want to chew on everything, but turns out kittens teeth so I imagine that's part of the problem if she's beginning to get adult teeth in. She is such a babe though I don't mind. She's been left alone for one day in the office this week and she seems to handle it well, which is a relief, just full of beans when I get home and tried to get me to stay up late playing. She seems to have developed a fascination with getting under the bed covers which is less than ideal for me, I found her down by my feet when I woke up last night and that was rather confusing for me half awake at 3am.
I treated myself to a PS5 last week. I had been planning on waiting as there aren't really any exclusive games to the console I absolutely need to play but I know the next Final Fantasy game is due in June so I wanted one by then. Once I found out I could play PS4 games and transfer my data it was a no brainer, though. I got an end of year bonus with work and I thought I should put it towards something impractical as well as something practical, so I'm looking at blinds for the living room and need to get the garden sorted once I can actually access it through the side gate again, but then I have my nice impractical PS5 that I didn't need but wanted anyway. I suppose I'm trying not to buy all of the books under the sun so I need to put that money elsewhere and not just on bills.
Last week was just pure chaos, as was this week to be fair. Work has been so busy and I hardly had a moment to myself. I was covering for my replacement as he rudely took annual leave and I honestly forgot how much work my old role was, it meant I couldn't really do any of my usual work, not the standard I usually would anyway. Add in that I picked up a major error they had made at the beginning of this week and it's safe to say I'm exhausted work wise. I cannot wait for some time off at the end of the month, I think I need to book more time in as well whilst I can and just spend a few days relaxing.
Outside of work I've also been busy, I went to a bottomless brunch with friends and what was meant to be an evening out which turned into a night out last Saturday. I then lost most of Sunday to feeling fairly delicate. But I can now say I've been to an adult ball pit and it was fabulous. I hate the photo pf myself (but I hate every photo of myself) but I think you can tell by my face I'm enjoying myself. Highly recommend if you're ever in Birmingham, which I know makes it quite a niche suggestion but I imagine they have similar bars in a few places. Bars in the UK seem to be leaning towards experiences as well as good drinks and I am not complaining.
What I've Been Reading
New To Me
I borrowed Taste and Lick from Kindle Unlimited when I was hunting for a book to vit the vampire paranormal prompt. It's safe to say I am not a massive vampire reader, I almost used a reread to fill that prompt but I want my reading challenges to be exclusively books I've not read before. Lies & Lullabies was then a freebie on Amazon which I dithered over getting but couldn't help myself. And finally I borrowed Daisy Jones and the Six from the library when I went in to sort registering my card again.
Again, I ask for any and all book recs to help me on my next Romanceopoly square. And please tell me how your week has been while I catch up on more blog posts.
I feel like I'm getting old because I immediately want to say how crazy it is that the end of January is fast approaching. I don't know where the month is going but I'm pleased that I've managed to make it through another week of blogging and I'm still enjoying it.
This week has felt a little chaotic. I started it with a clear plan of how things would go, from going into the office Tuesday to Thursday, to making sure I got some things sorted at home over the weekend and enjoyed myself as I have plans next weekend. Instead, I went into the office on just Tuesday, my original plan for sorting things around the house this weekend flew out the window as my coat zip broke, and I have been doing lots of things last minute instead.
The week began according to plan, I worked from home Monday, went into the office Tuesday, and met a friend for lunch as we both work in Birmingham now and it was nice seeing people and getting out to the office, even though the weather has taken a decidedly frosty turn with mornings being in the minus figures. Things began to veer of course when my mom text me Tuesday afternoon asking if I wanted a kitten. It was a very out of the blue message and it all began because my stepsister was trying to get a kitten for her sister and the friend she found who had some available had 2 left and didn't really want another cat if she could help it so was trying to find someone she knew to have one. I had been saying I needed to get myself a pet as living alone is great, but it does get a little quiet some nights. I've been trying a new thing this year where I say yes to more things with friends and family and push myself to be a little more social, which is why I'm going to a Harry Styles themed thing at an adult ball pit venue next week (honestly, it'll be interesting if nothing else). Anyway, I said yes, and so Wednesday evening I was off to get a small kitten from a friend of a friend. I was rushing around Tuesday night getting things sorted so I had food, litter, toys in for her. It helped that it snowed Wednesday morning so I didn't really push myself to go out to the office, even though the snow melted by the afternoon. I spent Wednesday night settling her in and Thursday worked from home with her to make sure she was ok.
I've named my little kitten Artemis, she is obviously my cat as she found her way onto the bookshelf and went to sleep on the books for a while. She did chew on a few of those books so she doesn't have the most respect for books but it's fine. One of the books she chose to chew on was Artemis and I took that as a hint from her she wanted a nice name. I'd been calling her Mini and Tiny Cat until that point and Tiny Cat does get used more than her name but I'm not the best at using names to be fair. It's better than my brother's suggestion of Dave anyway.
I ended up going shopping Saturday, leaving her alone for a few hours, and she was fine. I discovered Friday night that my coat zip had broken and it would no longer zip up, not ideal when the temperature keeps dipping below 0. I bought myself a new coat, treated myself to a couple of books and probably spent a little more than necessary considering it's not pay day until next week. It was worth it though to make sure Artemis has herself more toys to keep her busy and to be certain she can handle being home alone without any accidents and without causing chaos at home.
What I've Been Reading
It's been a pretty decent reading week. I've been letting my Romanceopoly rolls determine what I pick up next as I've not really known what I've been in the mood to read. I'm currently stuck on that though as I've landed on Fang Alley which requires a paranormal romance where one of the MCs is a vampire and I don't seem to have any vampire books on my shelves right now. Any suggestions for a good romance with vampires? It was nice to continue the Ice planet Barbarian books and I admit they're ridiculous but I always enjoy them. I also feel proud as I’ve started one of the books I bought already so at least I’m getting better at reading what I buy.
New To Me
I borrowed Barbarian Lover from kindle Unlimited both to get my money's worth from my subscriptuon, but also to help complete another Romanceopoly prompt. I finally gave in with some book purchases, one was a 99p deal and how could I not and I have actually read Radiance before so it doesn't actually increase my TBR but just means I will reread at some point and possibly even finish the series. The other two books snuck themselves into my bag when I went shopping yesterday, but in my defense I'd been wanting to buy Cemetry Boys for a while and a paperback for £5 is a bargain. How to Fake it in Hollywood was more of an impulse buy but it's a fake relationship romance, which we all know is my catnip so I couldn't resist.
How was your week? Have you read any good books I need to know about? And please give me all your vampire paranormal romance recs as I'm desparate.
My first full working week and it's safe to say my blog/life balance was put to the test. I didn't blog hop quite as much as I managed the week before and I definitely didn't sit down and draft posts as much but I always knew I'd struggle figuring things out at first so unsurprising it's a quiet week of blogging but I can say my reading hasn't slowed too much at least. When I first returned to going to the office reading went right out of the window. To be fair, reading went out the window a lot last year as it was a year of slumps, but I'm glad this year hasn't started the same.
I ended up only doing 2 days in the office after intending to do 3. I woke up Tuesday and it was cold, dark, and raining. It just wasn't a combination which motivated me to leave the house and I figured builders probably won't show when it's raining. They did, but they couldn't do a lot of the louder work because of the rain which was good. I'm lucky I have the flexibility of going in when I want, I hadn't mentioned to anyone I was planning to be in so at least I didn't have to explain myself. I did Wednesday and Thursday fine and it was nice to see people. I didn't get a lot of work done last week on Wednesday in the office, I felt like it was all questions all day. Probably, because people hadn't seen me in person in a month and it's far easier to just pop on over and ask questions in the office isn't it? Thankfully, it was a one day only thing but it meant I stayed late working Wednesday so I was exhausted once I got home.
I'm trying to stick with having one day of no blog related things a week. I want to try and make it Sunday so it's a rest day but that's not really worked out this week. I am going to keep trying as last week I used my Sunday to finish Our Flag Means Death (I think it was last Sunday anyway… or maybe it was Saturday) and to play a little Pokemon and Sims. I liked having no pressure to do anything and to chill so I'm hoping to keep that up. Definitely recommend a weekly blog break.
What I've Been Reading
I didn't read as many books this week as I might have done. I read a lot of Our Flag means Death fanfiction instead, but I still got a decent amount of reading in. I started with a reread of The Madness of Lord ian mackenzie and it was just as good second time around and then I continued to Lady Isabella's Scandalous marriage as it perfectly fir a Romanceopoly prompt and I am all about trying to continue series I have read. I did almost buy the next book in the series but I'm 2 weeks in with no new purchases and I just can't do it. I'll be returning to that at some point though if I can get my unread Kindle books down. The Ex Hex was quite a meh read for me, another Romaneceopoly book but I was close to DNFing as it just wasn't for me. I almost DNFed In The Middle of Somewhere as well as the tiem seemed to hop all over but once I was 50% of the way in I was wrapped up in the characters. It's definitely one which hits you in the feels sometimes. I might not continue the series (although I might as it is on KU) but it has been on my shelf for a while I'm glad to remove a book off.
New To Me
Like I said, no new purchases for me yet. I have borrowed A Taste of Gold and Iron from my library but that's about it. I also really need to go into my library and reregister my card as it's due to expire soon. Honestly, hate my library wants to see me in person. But currently I can only read it on my iPad which isn't ideal but that's what I get for being in the UK. One day mmaybe I can send to my Kindle.
What have you been reading this week? Am I alone in sucessfully avoiding any new purchases so far this year?
I wasn’t sure I was doing a Sunday post this week, it's going to be more of a when I have time post as some weeks you just don't need to hear what I've been up to as it will be very boring but I thought why not have a catch up since I've been gone for so long? My last post was May 2022 so a lot has changed since then. Or not so much actually, but whatever.
It was a return to work for me this week, I was in over the holiday period but only a couple of days and we know how quiet those weeks are. I admit, I found it difficult to get back into the writing mindset, especially as I've changed position slightly recently and I think they're still trying to figure out what that role will look like. Add in that I've been assisting my old team for the past month and you can see why I've found it difficult to get back into the working mindset. Hopefully, next week will be better and I can go back into the office for a couple of days! With the numerous train strikes I've not been able to go in for around a month and I quite like getting out of the house. It doesn't help my neighbour is having some building work done now as they have an extension so it's a little less peaceful working from home. I don't mind, I knew the work was happening eventually just a little annoying so I'll make the most of being able to go into the office but I'm a little wary of what that means for the blog.
Apart from work I've done the usual post Christmas clean of the house, taken decorations down and just tried to get organised. I've sent some books and clothes to charity but I still need a better deep clean if things but it's actually been quite cathartic to get things organised. I'll see how long it lasts.
What I've Been Reading
I've read a lot of books this first week of the year, it helps so many were short novellas but even so it's more than I usually get through. I attribute it to the New Year and once I'm out to the office that will change as I'll be sleeping far earlier. I didn't expect to enjoy The Family series as much as I did but I think it was definitely a reading mood thing because by the time I was at The Don I was rolling my eyes and just felt like it was a bit repetitive. The Spanish Love Deception was a great fake relationship book and
New To Me
The Family series of books I did borrow from Kindle Unlimited but I've not purchased any books yet this year. Hopefully, I can keep my purchases down. I'm trying to employ with books the same logic I use with buying new clothes and waiting a few days before purchasing to be certain it's not an impulse buy.
How has your week been? Anyone else riding the wave of the New Year motivation? And what have you been reading this week, anything I should check out?
After doing lots last week I feel like this week has been very quiet and boring. I haven't done anything really. I had plans to meet a friend Saturday but he cancelled on me last minute. It was a little annoying but I found something else to do instead. Now we're meeting next week but it'll only be a couple of hours because I'm dog sitting next weekend and don't really want to leave Milo home alone for hours.
My week was mostly work focused otherwise. I've had lots to do and there looks to be a meeting I might have to go to in a couple of weeks in person. We'll see what comes of it anyway but that really has been all I've done outside of watching TV and even then I've just had it on in the background while I scroll on social media. I probably need to get out more or find a new book to read. I'm in a weird rut I just don't know what I want to be doing. I think that's probably why I made my impulse purchase, but that comes into my Saturday adventures.
As my Saturday plans got cancelled, I ended up going shopping for a few bits that I needed to buy and while I was at it, I ended up buying Ring Fit Adventure. It was a bit of an impulse buy as I'd seen a TikTok which made it look really fun that morning and I'd seen it second hand for a decent price. It was in the original box, and I won't lie, it's been fun but it's a genuine workout. Nintendo has definitely progressed in its fitness games to make it feel like hard work. I probably won't be able to play in long stretches because I am far too unfit for that but I'm enjoying it so far. Hopefully, it's not one of those things I play for a couple of weeks and get bored with. The exercises are tough! I am someone who likes to have a game to keep me motivated with arbitrary trophies and goals. There's a reason I've got such a long streak on Duolingo although I wouldn't claim to have achieved any kind of language fluency. I've done 2 days so far and I'm doing it on the easiest setting and it makes me sweat! I didn't expect it but why not hop onto the workout everyone seemed to be doing in the pandemic? Also, the money I spent on this is far cheaper than joining a gym and I'm much more likely to use it. With that logic, I'm basically saving myself money.
I then watched Eurovision Saturday night. I always love Eurovision, it's the best for the total mix of music. I loved Moldova; they deserved their high audience vote numbers. It was tense with the voting as the UK hasn't done so well in forever! We didn't win but we came second, that's a far cry from our usual bottom of the table finish. I was glad to have beaten Spain because I thought their song was terrible, no shade if you liked it but it's 100% not my taste in music. I suppose I can see it had pop appeal at least. I'm pleased for Ukraine, though. It's good that it shows support is with them, I know they were the favourites going in. I just hope the UK can do even half as well next year, we might learn our lessons from this year's show and actually choose a good act and a catchy song and everyone reacts to that.
What I've been reading
I'm in a weird mood at the moment and don't really fancy reading much. I've finished a few books and have enjoyed them, but I just don't feel like I'm in the right mood for reading right now. The Intimacy Experiment and The Right Swipe were both really good, I enjoyed them and I loved the stories, but once I finished I've not been in the right mood for any book I've started. I also listened to The AI Who Loved Me finally and that was great too but again, no idea what I want to read next. I hope I'll figure it out soon but I think I might be in a gaming mood. I'll see how it goes.
New To Me
I've not figured out what I'm spending my gift card on yet so no new purchases, not even when I went shopping (but that was a close thing). I've got it narrowed down to 7 books. Why are decisions so hard?
How was your week? Has anyone else played Ring Fit Adventures? Hopefully, it doesn’t kill me off with exercise. And what do you do when you’re just not in a reading mood?
Another last-minute Sunday post from me. I'm usually drafting these posts on a Friday night or on Saturday but it's been a busy week and I've not had the time or motivation at the right time so you get me half asleep on a Sunday morning instead, isn't that exciting for you?
As I said, it's been a bit of a busy week this week. Monday was a bank holiday so I spent the day watching TV, reading, and doing a few boring chores. Nothing exciting but stuff which needed to be done. I'm glad it was a more relaxed day as I ended up working late Tuesday for month end and was absolutely exhausted and that was really how my working week proceeded: busy. I did get some good work news, or two pieces actually. I am on contract and we were advised of our contract extensions this week and I got told that I'm being made a permanent member of staff so more job security for me! There's no difference to my contract or anything like that I just don't have to go through the regular contract renewal meetings which will be nice. I've been trying to be made permanent ever since I started and came close to getting it a couple of times but internal politics meant it didn't happen. Every single one of my managers (of which I've had many at the new place) has fought for me with HR and with senior management to have more permanent roles approved so I'm happy it all finally worked out. After getting that news we were then told the company will be offering an additional payment to all staff because of the current financial climate. Apparently, it’s because they couldn’t have accounted for the rapid rise in the cost of living in January when we get our usual incremental pay rise so they’re doing a one-off payment instead. The taxman will get most of it but it was still a wonderful piece of news and I’m already mentally spending that money.
Not only did I have positive work news but I also won a competition! I want to preface this with the fact I never win anything. I am just not lucky like that, I think the last time I won a book competition was about 5 years ago or something crazy so I am insanely excited. It was Nick's competition for reaching 10k and I currently have my book choices narrowed down to 14 so hopefully, in another few days, I'll actually buy some.
Outside of work I've also been busy seeing friends. I went to see The Lost City on Wednesday after work with a friend and it was brilliant. It was far funnier than expected. I didn't totally believe the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum but I believed it enough for the film to work. Then Friday I went to a friend's house for drinks, takeaway, and board games. Sadly, it ended up only being a couple of us as a couple of my other friends pulled out last minute but we still had fun playing Treasure of the Pharaohs and a couple of card games. I'm glad I went as Treasure of the Pharaohs was my favourite game as a kid, I don't know anyone else who owns this board game but it was one my nan had probably owned since my uncle and dad were kids. It's stupidly fun and in surprisingly good condition. It would have been better with more of us playing, though. I won the card game we played as well. I stayed out far later than intended and was very tired yesterday.
Before anyone asks, I didn't spend Saturday hungover, I only got 5 hours sleep but forced myself to go shopping. I'd done a click & collect order at Waterstones for their edition of the new Holly Black book so I knew I had to go out otherwise I'd miss out on that book as it's sold out online. I actually placed the order Saturday morning when I woke up stupidly early with the sun as I knew if I did that I’d have no choice but to go out. I can never motivate myself to go to the shopping centre when I could just do to the supermarket instead so it was a form of reward for not being lazy. I’m glad I did as I got a few things I’d been meaning to buy forever for the house but more importantly, it meant I looked around a couple of home shops looking for a sofa for the conservatory. I was actually getting ready to go home when I went into Marks and Spencer to look at their home section.
I don’t know what motivated me to go in as I never usually shop in M&S but I’m so glad I did as found two sofas in there which were comfortable. I’d been drawn to a two-seater pink sofa which ended up not being that comfortable but I decided to test out the two next to it as all three were available in 7 days, insanely fast for a sofa. Those two sofas next to it were far more comfortable. I’m leaning towards one over the other but I’m awaiting fabric swatches to arrive in the post so I can see them in my conservatory lightning. I’d vowed I wouldn’t get another grey sofa since it’s rather boring but I might end up with a grey sofa and have to throw a lot of colourful stuff on it to mask that.
What I've Been Reading
It's not been a great reading week, probably because I've been so busy. I finally DNFed Dirty this week. I accepted I wasn’t feeling it and it was time to move on. I only bought that one because I wanted to read the second book anyway so here’s hoping that one works better when I finally read it. I finished A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and really enjoyed it second time around, though. I started Good Girl, Bad Blood pretty much straight after. It definitely was a much darker second book but I was hooked but now I've been reading a couple of pages a day of As Good as Dead and I'm finding it harder to get hooked on this third book. I think it's partially because Pip is in a very different place than in the first two books and the tone is much darker. I'm hoping to spend some time reading today so I can move on to a lighter book next.
New To Me
So far, I've only bought one book and that is Book of Night by Holly Black. As I said, I saw this book available for click and collect on the Waterstones website Saturday morning and decided to treat myself, but also it worked as motivation for me to go to the shopping centre near me. It's not that far away but it's still a long bus ride and it's just easier to go to the supermarket instead so I have to use a reward system as motivation. I'm glad I did as the Waterstones edition is so pretty so hopefully, the book is good as well.
How has your week been? Am I the only one who has been rushed off of their feet? And do you have to reward yourself to motivate yourself to do certain things you don't want to do or are you normal?
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