I feel like it’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these!  This is my monthly recap post, and they’re few and far between these days.  But since I’m journaling more, I thought it would be fun to start doing them again.  I ended up writing this post a little bit later than I wanted to but I got distracted by other things.  Better late than never!

Especially because I’m writing everything down in my Currently 2020 workbook.  I can only speak for January, obviously, but it was really fun to write down the good things that happened and the stuff I read, watched and listened to.

I’m not going to lie, drawing isn’t something I typically do.  When I do, I go for things like flowers.  I go for something super basic.  But considering creating is something I want to focus on this year, I felt like a pencil and paper was pretty appropriate.  And while I don’t know why I went for circles, I just know I wanted to draw a bunch of circles!

Inspired By:

1917.  This actually sparked an idea for me in terms of a NaNo project, and the idea of trying to get a message to people in perilous times really speaks to me for some reason.  I haven’t worked out how I’d do it, but it is hovering in the background as an idea.

Journaling.  I just feel like handwriting things now, and I think I’m having as much fun picking out pens as I am making lists and writing how my month went.  I honestly forgot how much I liked and missed journaling, and I really am glad I’m doing it again.  I just want to write all the things, even if it’s the alphabet!

Shutterbean!  I love her blog so, so much, and her blog is a big reason why I started journaling again.  I’ve been using her food journal for months, which has been interesting but helpful, and I love seeing the photos she shares from her own life.

What I Watched:

On Netflix, I watched V Wars, which was really cool.  It ended up being on in the background while I did other stuff so at some point, I might re-watch it.  A virus turns people into vampires, and two friends find themselves on opposing sides, and that definitely caught my interest.

I also re-watched old episodes/watched new episodes of the Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the t.v. show with Melissa Joan Hart back in the day, but I also love how different/dark this version is.

I’ve been re-watching the Blacklist, and for the first time ever, I’m actually watching Dr Who live.  I stopped watching somewhere during the Peter Capaldi years (when it disappeared off Netflix) , so I have some seasons I need to catch up on.  I’m determined to catch up one day.  Maybe soon, I’ll go back and re-watch from the beginning.

Movie-wise, I saw 1917, which was really good, and Dolittle, which was pretty enjoyable.  I have to say, Robert Downey Jr is a pretty solid choice to be Dolittle.

Reading:

Well, quite a lot.  This is 99% a book blog.  But Navigating The Stars and Stay Sexy And Don’t Get Murdered stand out as audio books, which I don’t do nearly enough.  And Zero Repeat Forever made the list because it was my book club read.

Thinking About:

Going to therapy!  I used to go years and years ago, and stopped.  Part of me feels like I don’t have anything to talk about but there are a few things I want to work on and process.

Also, blanket storage.  I have a ton of crocheted blankets, with 3 in progress, plus a couple more I want to work.  I’m not at a point where I need storage, but it’s something I’m going to have to do at some point.

Listening To:

The My Favorite Murder backlog.  I have gone back to the first episode and listening to old episodes when I need something different to listen to.  I’ve done a couple of audio books, plus I have one going right now, so it’s on the back burner temporarily, but it always makes me feel better!  Now that I’m not on the Saturday schedule- I don’t mind working Saturdays but I’m also glad my Saturday shifts are done- I should be able to get a little more listening time in, whether it’s a book or podcasts.

As far as music goes, I haven’t been listening to a lot.  But there are two songs I’ve been listening to a lot: Wicked Game by Emika, and Burn It Down by Fitz And The Tantrums.  I haven’t been in a music mood lately, and if I do listen to music, it’s on for a couple of minutes before I switch to something else.

Dream Life:

Here’s the thing with dreams: I know I dream.  I remember dreaming.  I know they’re really vivid.  I just can’t remember my dreams for the life of me.

Well, for the most part.  I remember the occasional dream, and I’ve taken to keeping my phone next to me in case I wake up, remember a dream, and can type it in my dream notes.

The only dream I remember having is this one: the dream where Blockbuster was still open.

That’s it.  That’s the dream.  It’s the only detail I remember.  I wish I could add more detail but I honest-to-goodness can’t.  Maybe this month, I’ll have some dreams I can share.  There’s one that super-weird but I’m going to be terrible and not tell you now, because I want to save it for the next recap, just in case it’s my only one.

Researching:

Therapists!  I need to find someone who takes my insurance, and I know there’s one place I can go, but I’m curious to see what else is out there.  I suppose I could have done this in the Thinking About section, but I think I’m going to leave it here.

Craft supply storage!  I wanted to organize my pens and notebooks a little more, so I spent some time researching rolling carts.  I have since gone to Michael’s and purchased a couple of carts, and getting that semi-organized will be really nice!

Eating + Drinking:

Tea And Water.  Mostly because I had a cold for about a week or two, and coffee tasted terrible.  That’s how I knew I was sick…because normally coffee is not terrible.  Smoothies too, because I’ve really wanted to eat fruit, and berries looked good, but because I am weird, I can only have berries in smoothies.

And soup.  Again, I was sick for a bit, so soup sounded good.  Plus, I had some leftover, frozen turkey from Thanksgiving I wanted to use up, and turkey soup was really comforting.

Grateful For:

A new year!  I don’t know why, but this year, I’ve felt a need for a fresh start and setting goals/intentions/resolutions for the year.  I just feel so excited about what I want to do for this year.

Time to write.  I’ve been journaling and blogging- mostly at the library because I really want to work it in somehow.  Saturday morning is my usual writing time, and it took some time to figure out when else I could write, but I’m glad I took the time to write on different days and times, instead of just not writing.  It’s kind of nice, when traffic is really terrible, to stop at the library and write until traffic dies down.

And I’m also grateful Mysterious Galaxy is staying open!  I was sad to hear that they lost their lease, but they have since found new owners and a new location, so I’ll be able to go to book club and the really cool author events they have!

The Good Things:

I’m actually going to share this page, and while it’s pretty simple, I also really like it!  Mostly because I really want to write down this quote from The Bone Houses that I really liked somewhere.  I wanted to fill the page with something cool.  Making note of quotes from the books I read…I don’t usually do that, but there’s been a few that I liked enough to write down.

As for good things that happened, I feel like it’s pretty self-explanatory but there are the things I wanted to remember for the beginning of the year.

Some of it, I already talked about, like journaling, a fresh start, and Mysterious Galaxy staying open.  Getting organized- I’ve made a good start with looking at storage options, but now it’s time to actually do it.

But I mostly just want to talk about the book signing for Chosen by Kiersten White!  She’s also fun to see, and I love going to her book signings.  I’ve never seen Buffy, even though I always meant to after going to the signing for Slayer last year.  Thankfully, you don’t need to have watched Buffy in order to read the book, which is nice.  I can say I’m going to watch it someday as much as I want, but who knows?  Maybe it’s something I’ll actually get around to doing this year.  Don’t quote me on that, because I told myself I was going to watch it all before this signing, and I never did so…yeah.  Following through is not always my strong suit.

I honestly think that’s all for this recap.  I’ll see everyone soon, and for now, enjoy the sunset!