May Reads and Testing my Confidence

I had to pace myself with my reading the first half of this month, since I was testing for my license in therapy. Yes, I kept on reading, but I made sure not to read too much. It's a great way to do self-care and relax, but I must admit that the way I like to read makes me neglect the things I need to focus on.

I buckled down and readied myself for the test, and I recognized my own ADHD tendencies. With ADHD, it's not abnormal to wait until the night before to study for an exam, and with this one, I had not had success doing this. So, I needed to take 3-4 hours a day to just sit down and focus, which is not easy for me.

The test has been completed, but I don't have a score yet. Why? Well, it's graded on a curve AND there are experimental questions that count less or don't count at all, and that takes a while to score. It's been hell refreshing my inbox repeatedly, but the last day they'll send test results will be in June. Y'all, listen... if I passed, I passed, but it didn't feel like I passed, but my test prep program said that this was normal to feel when you actually did pass. I can always take it again... in 4 months. If I qualify for my license, it will open all different avenues of income to me, finally! And I will be a licensed counselor who can pursue developed paths.

Getting past the exam has been a relief, even if I don't know if I scored well enough. I'm getting back to reading and being social and seeing friends. But that's not what you're here for, right? Bring on the book reviews!

April Reads

April wasn't a lot for me. Reason? I'm studying for my licensure exam. It's a huge deal and I'm giving up a lot of things so I can focus on it. One good thing is we got the construction finished on the house! Yay! That's a big deal. It's been a lot of unpacking and adjusting to getting back into the swing of life. One thing I do to calm down is crocheting lately. I'm still working on that temperature blanket and a few other projects. I keep that stuff updated on my IG Craft profile, @elenistitching. It's fun to let Mother Nature write the pattern!

My cat, Maggie, for size reference

I went to Pascha at church, which was nice. I love the Orthodox holidays and church services Hopefully, I'll be able to do more when I finish my license requirements, but you're not here for that stuff!

As for reading...

March Reads 2025 and settling back in to life!

 Hi! Hello friends, thanks for coming back!

My life was turned upside down for most of Feburary due to flooding in my house and no real access to TV, but this actually ended up being a good thing for me. I started reading, and I got through more than I have in a long time, and accepted that I need to read differently due to my ADHD. I read fastest when I listen to audiobooks, and this is a big part of it. I finished 2 series and started several more!

Most of my life has been caring for others and preparing for a licensure test in May. I let myself read a ton in March, but I will slow down the rate of book completion in April. Life is slowing down to focus, because I went into a career that has one really difficult licensure test, the toughest in the masters-level of counseling. I took it once already, and I didn't pass, but I have a better idea of what the test will be like it when I retake it.

Also, the kitties are settling in and we are family now! I love them and they are my babies, officially. It's so nice to have cats around the house again, they bring so much life to it.

So, let's get down to the reading I did in March of 2025! As always, I do not link to high-corporate websites like B&N and Amazon, but I do link to an independent bookstore you can order the books from and get them shipped to you called Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. I do not work for them, and I do not get any kind of money for linking to them or free books, but this to assist with keeping independent bookselling alive in our country. Every book I review is a book I have either purchased new, used, or in ebook form, or have borrowed from my local public library. Let's pay authors for all the labor they went through to write these books and don't pirate, please!

January and Feburary Reads and Exorcisms in my School Board Meetings (Yes, that's actually happening)

So uh... plot twist?

I lost my job in January, but I kinda saw it coming. I realized my best bet would be to start my own private practice and a lot of my time's been swallowed up with that, working a second job to make ends meet and... flooding disaster in my house.

This Is Fine Flood GIFfrom This Is Fine GIFs

Fun times. At least I've gotten to read some cool books and meet some really awesome people! Let's get into it.

December Reads and Adventures

December started off with me struggling to get a job and heal my knee. HURRY UP ALREADY AND GET BETTER! But, in better news, I got a job offer starting in January. I'm so ready for it!

I got a lot of my closet cleaned out. I haven't donated clothes since 2017, and I'm kind of ashamed of myself for that. Have you ever had a moment when you folded your laundry and there was no room in the dresser? Yeah, I was there. So far, I have seven trash sacks of clothes to go. Marie Kondo anyone?

I also went on a trip to see my sister for Christmas. She’s a member of the Foreign Service and works for the State Department, so she works overseas. She was assigned to Bogotà, Colombia, so I went to South America! Let me tell you the elevation was killer. It messed with me physically. Pictures forthcoming! I didn’t get a lot of reading done in Colombia, but that was for good reason. Time with my niece was more important, and i made choices. I want my niece to remember me paying attention to her and feeling special in my eyes. Zoning into a book and ignoring her would make her feel unloved and ignored, so I put the book down. Being present with family is more important sometimes. 

Books next... right? Ugh... right?

November Reads

I started November laid off from a job I had hardly spent two weeks at. Great times! My whole life was projected into some chaos, but I felt I a little more grounded than the first time I found myself jobless. That's what a master's degree will do for you. I've spent a lot of time applying for jobs. I work a lot because I feel so guilty when I take time off. I didn't take time off when I got hired at my new job between that and my old job, because, I JUST CAN'T. I suck at work boundaries and time off. Well, God and/or the universe was like loooooool, think again!

I quit writing and October Reads

October 2023

I quit writing in October of 2023.

I've been struggling with creating good stories to write and I toil and toil over my manuscripts and making the storyline work. I haven't had new ideas for a usable new story in years. I come home from work, open up the laptop and I stare at old manuscripts for hours, nit-picking and staring at it, and starting all over.

It just struck me how little I physically read, I usually listen to audiobooks while driving, and you miss so much. I've talked about it, and I have a lot of books that I needed to read read, so I decided to start reading as much as I could again, too.