BMBR: Deadline by Sandra Brown

Romance artfully disguised as a well written and decently plotted thriller. 

Journalist meets trial witness and loses his objectivity. Etc. A couple events had me rolling my eyes or scoffing at stupidity, but I didn't lose any brain cells over it.

Her books are easy reads, but far from dumb.

Great escapist reading without being too fluffy, and if you don't like reading the romantic bits, they're easy enough to skip over. 

4/5

BMBR: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

 This one was horrific. Not the writing or the book itself, but the subject matter. I remember watching the movie and being horrified at the end, and so when I read the book I knew the ending, but the detail that books will give you always outshine the details and backstories that movies do, so it hits home harder that they are children. And the writing feels like a cross between written for adults, but in a way that is simple enough for younger children to read, which makes the premise of children waging wars more terrible.

I do wish to continue the series.

4/5. 

BMBR: The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Wonderful South Asian fantasy set in modern times. A shopkeeper trained in the Magic of Spices has to choose between her Craft and her Love for an American man.

Beautifully written. Not a fluffy read, but not a difficult read.

5/5

Planner Prompt Week 4: Start a Jar of Awesome

The suggestion is to write something that happened that was awesome on a slip of paper and put it in a Jar of Awesome. Every. Day.

We had a Memory Jar. We donated it after years of no use, so I'm not sure that this one is going to work for me.

A notebook, maybe? The Curation planner itself?

I do love this idea. It's a little more nuanced than Daily Gratitude, I think, because sometimes the things that you're grateful for aren't always the awesome thing that happened to you. 

I feel like this one has a lot of pressure attached to it, to be honest. And I think that to remove some pressure off of having an awesome thing happen to you every day, you're going to have to learn to lower your expectations of what is Awesome. Like, maybe the best thing that happened to you today is that you got through the day. The Awesome thing is maybe you got dressed, or remembered to eat. Felt the sun on your face. 

I had a gym coach that always says "Have the best day" when you're leaving the gym. If every day is the best day, that's a lot. Sometimes I'm happy with a good day, or even a mediocre day. Every day can't be the Best day, can it?

BMBR: Escape by James Patterson and David Ellis

 This book wasn't bad; it was decently written. Took a while to get really into it. It read like a million things were going on, and the stuff that happens in the description on the back of the book is so late in the book it's like a spoiler.

 On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is super easy to put down and 5 is I got no sleep, I'd rate it a 1 in the first half and a 3 in the second half.

Easy read. 

Planner Prompt Week 2025-03: Create a Physical Vision Board of Your 2025 Goals and Intentions

 The planner suggests that we use magazine and newspaper cutouts to do this. They must still have those in Australia.

I went to Pinterest and did up a quick board instead.

I'd like to camp, hike, kayak and swim more. Get fitter. Eat better. Paint my house. Go to Haida Gwaii. Write more.

Planner Prompt Week 2025-02: Feel-good activities and rituals that take less than 10 minutes (Self Care)

List some 10 minute or less feel-good activities in your self-care menu. Categories are mind, body, and soul.

Naps. Short ones.

Slowly savouring a square of quality dark chocolate.

Listen to a song with my eyes closed. Warm Shadow by Fink or Afterglow by Ed Sheeran are the go-to's, but not the only ones.

Walk dog. Pet the dog. Pet the cat.

Yoga.

Give and receive hugs.

Massage my toes.

Wash my face.

BMBR: In Too Deep by Lee Child and Andrew Child

 It's a Jack Reacher book, so you really can't go wrong. Unless you start reading right before bedtime.

Planner Prompt 2025 Week 1 - Dec 30-Jan 5: Reflect on your Definition of Fun. What fun experiences or activities would you like to try this year?

 In other words, what's going on your bucket list this year?

I am starting my third Curation planner by Saint Belford. They're sold out of all their 2025 planners already, but you can still get an undated version here.

Each week of the planner contains a prompt for self care, etc., and in each planner the first week of 2025 and the last week of 2024 are the same week (Dec 30-Jan 05), but the prompts are very different. I've done week 53 of 2024 already. 

What do I find fun?

Reading. Hiking. Laughing at funny stories.

I like to be fulfilled, to accomplish things that are out of my comfort zone, but not traumatizingly so. 

I would like to see Haida Gwaii this year. 

I would like to bring others joy by writing a funny book.

I would like to hike in to a camping night. 

I would like to cross-country ski more times this year than last year (so, at least once, basically). 

I would like to learn to Belly Dance again. 

I would like to learn to play the piano so that it has more joy itself, and isn't just a piece of furniture.

I want to feel like I tried something new, make time for the things I love, and still have time to nap. 

Planner Prompt Week 53 - Dec 30-Jan 5: Reflect on the Last 12 Months

I am in love with Curation planners for reasons including the focus on the Self Care, the layouts, and the fact I have used it for two entire years (been a while since I've used one for an entire year through). At the end of each planner they have space for reflecting on your last 12 months.

What's super helpful is the Memory Bank. It's pretty helpful to look back at the year and know that you went to a movie with K2 in November. I know when I took my tree down last year (February); this year it's coming down today. I know when I went to the theatre or symphony, when I had UTI's, when I had coffee with friends.

The next section is the 2024 Reflection, and the prompts are: What are you most proud of? What brought you the most joy and fulfillment this year? If you could rewind the year, what advice would you give yourself? List your biggest insights and lessons. Reflect on how you spent your time and energy this year, what do you want to spend more and less time doing, and where do you want to focus your time and energy for 2025?

I am most proud of doing a CrossFit competition, and hiking a long & hard trail.

Camping, and spending time with family and friends brought me the most joy this year. Progress I made physically, and actually trying to write, gave me great fulfillment.

I don't have much for advice, except to take care of myself. 

I like myself more when I'm not unnecessarily lazy. I do need downtime, but I could watch less TV. Reading always feels like a guilty pleasure, but I'd feel less guilty reading all day than I would watching TV all day. Figure that one out. 

I spent less time on School PAC things, and I'm happier for it. I spent more time on me.

I want to spend my time and energy getting healthier, and working on the house that drives me crazy. I have wanted to repaint the interior for years. I've done some, but not all, and I hate the light-sucking mushroom colour that exists right now. We need to organize the laundry room, under the deck, and the shed so that everything in the house has a safe place to be. I don't need a show-home, but I'm getting tired of not being able to find things.

I want to spend more time with family and friends, most of all.

What about you?