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fitness fellowship 2025

Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in 30

Hello, Fitness Friends!

How has your fitness journey been this past week? Ups? Downs? Indifferences? Please do share how you've been coming along.

( My Week in Review )

I'm hoping the week ahead is an excellent one for you all!

Can't get there from here

I had a boyfriend once who was really into Firesign Theater and introduced me to "The Further Adventures of Nick Danger", and I haven't really thought about it in years, but the phrase "You can't get there from here" has always stuck with me, and been the catch phrase of many of my journals. Tom Lehrer's death reminded me of it for some reason. So I'm going to listen to that today as well as some of Lehrer's stuff (I am happy to admit that my two favorite Lehrer songs are from Electric Company). Same kind of vibe, I guess.

The radio guy for the bb!hockey team has a podcast Attila: Heists and Hockey and it is a most ridiculous story, and Casey's amazing and, anyway. If you're interested in hockey, stupid people, and good storytelling, there you go.

I have to do some interviews for my capstone class, and so I got two done this week. The two licensed clinical social workers I talked to were amazing and I got some great information. No one else on the group project has started. I love group work (also - if you are a licensed clinical social worker and would be willing to answer some questions, I'd love to talk to you).

Going to spend today doing homework, going out to a late lunch with hubby and some of the kidlets, and doing laundry. The excitement of my life knows no bounds.

I'm not sure if it's trying to post here again or being off work for the summer or what, but I did more adventuring this weekend, heading up to Canada and going to Stanley Park. We took the scenic route around because I fail at turning at the right time because the little map lady likes to tell me right after I pass the turn. Anyway, Pictures.

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this band will steal your brainz

New (well, The Paper Kingdom) MCR from last night

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

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recommendations

Three Book Recs

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A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

Nina is a Lipan girl in our world. She’s always felt there was something more out there. She still believes in the old stories. Oli is a cottonmouth kid, from the land of spirits and monsters. Like all cottonmouths, he’s been cast from home. He’s found a new one on the banks of the bottomless lake.

Nina and Oli have no idea the other exists. But a catastrophic event on Earth, and a strange sickness that befalls Oli’s best friend, will drive their worlds together in ways they haven’t been in centuries. And there are some who will kill to keep them apart.

Why you should read it: What a lovely book—a compelling blend of myth and contemporary coming-of-age storytelling—with sweet characters that were wonderful to spend time with. Sometimes a book that spends a significant amount of time building up characters in separate storylines is disappointing when those storylines finally converge, but this one really nailed it. The individual character stories were both incredibly engrossing in their own right, and when they finally intersected it was even better. There's so much heart and hope in this book, I adored it.

- — - — - — - — -

Amor Actually (A Multi-Author Anthology) by
Adriana Herrera, Alexis Daria, Diana Muñoz Stewart, Mia Sosa, Priscilla Oliveras, Sabrina Sol, Zoey Castile

It’s Christmas Eve in New York City and anything is possible. For these couples, it’s the season to find true love. From second-chances, big leaps, missed connections, and reconnections, this charming collection celebrates the spirit of the holidays and delivers nine perfect HEAs.

Why you should read it: This is a delightful collection, with some truly fantastic stories in the lineup. As with any anthology, some offerings are stronger than others, but the book as a whole felt incredibly cohesive and fun. I was surprised at just how blatantly the pieces riff on "Love Actually"—but not in a bad way. If you enjoy that movie, you will have a fantastic time with all of the subtle nods and more blatant homages that fill the pages of this book.

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What moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruravia.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

Why you should read it: Well. That was eerie and disconcerting. I enjoyed the hell out of this nightmare-tinged novella. The main character is incredibly compelling, and everyone else was equally fascinating even though I spent most of the book being deeply suspicious of most of them. I love seeing a well crafted story and characters tucked snugly into such a short book. I'll definitely be reading more of this series (and more T. Kingfisher all around.)

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fitness fellowship 2025

Fitness Fellowship 2025: Check-in 29 (LATE)

My apologies for being late in getting this up. We were returning home from vacation on Monday, and yesterday, we spent the day driving my BFF (and catsitter extraordinaire) back to her ancestral abode.

I hope everyone has had an excellent week and that you're making strides toward your individual fitness goals. As always, please share as much or as little as you'd like here.

( My Week in Review )

Here's hoping the remaining days of this fitness week are good ones for you!

A date late

I was going to post yesterday, and I know you were all worried that I'd broken my streak, but I had a date of sorts yesterday with two of the kidlets. We went to the Lavender Festival and had quite a bit of fun. We picked berries, we picked lavender, we picked flowers. We didn't wait for the ferry for 3 hours. Instead we drove around which was an adventure all itself. The day was lovely, the drive home was ridiculous. This outing has become a tradition. I gave the kids some money, since things are stretched tight for them, and they happily spent it. Which is good, because that was what it was for.

I don't know if it's my skill or Alex's, but every time I give them money or gift cards it's the perfect amount. They spent exactly how much I gave them, to the penny, and when I got them a gift card for groceries, they spent all but 72 cents of it.

Anyway, here are pictures. https://www.flickr.com/photos/27659024@N08/albums/72177720327679330/. Today I'm going to Funko because apparently the Ranma 1/2 figures are in, I'll have to see what they have, as I have an order that has all the chase ones coming in, but if I can get them at the store, they're a little bit cheaper. And hopefully it will be in time to cancel the other order. Who knows. I would think the store would get them first, but stranger things and all that.

After that, I'm going to start on my two final projects. Yay - literally because they're my FINAL final projects, but also not so yay because I have to do them.

Anyway, happy Monday!

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books-a-go-go

New month, new book post!

Re-reads. HUH

* Towards Zero by Agatha Christie (Classic mystery) - A group of ppl gather at Gulf's Point, home of Lady Tressilian. Among the guests is famous tennis pro Neville Strange, Kay Strange (his second wife), Audrey Strange (his first wife), and a handful of other folks. There's a palpable tension that keeps climbing once murders begin to occur...

I first read this book when I was in 6th or 7th grade. After hearing that the BBC was gonna drop a new adaptation (and having watched another version), I decided to pick this novel up to refresh my memory. Even though it's the 5th in the Superintendent Battle series, I first read this book as a standalone and that's how I approached it this time around.

FWIW, I was disappointed with the story this second time. It had a good build-up, great atmosphere, etc. However, the whole plot kinda dissolves in the last two chapters. There are sudden coincidences that help solve the crimes and reveal the murderers identity. But everything was so convenient that I almost felt secondhand embarrassment. I gave this book a 2 out of 5.

I DNF'd

* Making It Fierce by Ian O. Lewis and Luke Jameson (M/M romance) - Elijah was a marine for 14 yrs until an accident led to him getting discharged. Now he's making a living as an audiobook narrator and voice actor. Lucas is a radio DJ and audio producer. They meet when Elijah rents studio time to record a v. important (for his career) audiobook.

The gist of the story is that both MCs want to love and be loved. For Elijah, that means meeting someone who doesn't mind he's got some physical injuries (including disfigurement) and also PTSD. Meanwhile, Lucas is tired of being everyone's one night stand.

Frankly, the writing was ATROCIOUS. Both MCs sounded exactly the same. And, for some weird-ass reason, the authors decided to dedicate entire pages to the het (really bad) romance that Elijah was recording. Awfulness all around. Thankfully, I'd borrowed this from my library cuz I'd have been pissed to have spent money on this. I gave this a 0.5 out of 5.

Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there)

* The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan (Historical Romance) - Set in the late 1800s England, the story is abt Chloe trying to help her father set up a business for the upcoming village festival. She's got NO time for anyone's nonsense. Especially Jeremy.

Meanwhile, Jeremy is back in Chloe's life (after being away for years). He's DETERMINED to woo her and (hopefully) marry her. His only problem is figuring out how to tell her that he's the duke that everyone in Chloe's village seems to despise...

Funnily enough, I bought this book in 2020 (when it was published), started reading it, and stopped by chapter 3 for no reason I can think of. So I went back to the start and managed to read it all the way through.

FTR, the writing was AMAZING (as expected from a Courtney Milan book). I also really liked the relationship between Chloe and her father, the many perspectives on being part of a diaspora, and the description of all the yummy food Chloe's father cooked. Oh, and I loved how grumpy Chloe was; she had a fun personality and was someone v. easy to root for.

OTOH, however, it took me AGES (at least until the last two chapters?) to finally warm up to Jeremy. On top of that (and despite enjoying a lot abt the book), I'm still not fully convinced abt Chloe and Jeremy's romance? In part, I think it's because, once the romance part gets going, there's a v. strong screwball comedy vibe that comes to the foreground. Chloe's hyper-organized and serious vibes vs. Jeremy's carefree and chaotic good ones. I found it tiresome. YMMV.

The OTHER thing that lowered the rating for me is a

HUGE SPOILER

OK, so Jeremy's ENTIRE CONFLICT is abt Chloe's v. likely negative reaction once she finds out he's the Duke. He's STRESSING THE FUCK OUT abt this from the second he shows up in the novel. HOWEVAH, by chapter 5 or 6, there are a couple of character who let him know they know he's the Duke. And, OFC, after "coming clean" to Chloe, it turns out that she's known he's Duke FOR YEARS. As a matter of fact, the GORRAM ENTIRE VILLAGE knows and collectively decided to just, you know, play along for funsies?

NGL, I HATED THIS SO MUCH!!! In part cuz I guess I was somewhat emotionally invested in the goings on. Other readers have loved this twist. IDEK, y'all. It is a pretty low-angst book and the intimate scenes were good too. My local library does have the next 2 books in the series, so I'm planning to get around those eventually. I gave this book a 2.1 out of 5

Had a good time

* You're Ours by D.C. Emmerson (M/M/M romance novella) - Tyler works as a comptroller in a nameless company. One night, he accepts a dinner invitation to Jackson (a fellow comptroller) and SKy (Jackson's husband)'s place. The mood turns hot and then all three tumble into bed...

NGL, I was ready to DNF this novella cuz I can be v. picky/techty when it comes to office romances. [NB: technically, Jackson is one level above Tyler, but that's handled mostly OK and then there's a good resolution that works for everyone w/o breaking up the triad. I'm just mentioning it in case anyone else gets as (potentially) squicked abt these kind of unequal work dynamics as I do.] But this is a v. low-angst book. Or, better said, the angsty part has some weight to it. I also liked that all three characters were ADULTS with real jobs and stresses.

There was a smidgen too many sex scenes (which were good). Also toward the end, the author seems to have run out of space cuz there was a lot of telling instead of showing. THAT SAID, the writing was good, I liked the fact that no one was freaked out abt one of the characters being a trans dude, there was no cheating, etc. I'm giving this one a 3 out of 5.

* The Silent Places by Skyla Dawn Cameron (Mystery/Thriller) - As the anniversary of her husband's disappearance draws near, Imogen is still trying to survive all of the gossip and side-eyes thrown at her in the village of Red Fox. Everyone says she's killed her husband (but she didn't). And now there's someone sniffing around her story and her husband's. Imogen is worried cuz there are things she really, really does not want to be uncovered...

This was my first time reading this author and I gotta say WOWZA! Excellent writing, fantastic tension, and the kind of ending I'm STILL thinking abt. I also liked seeing POC and queer characters. FWIW, IDK why I can't give it a top rating, but I still gave this novel a 4 out of 5 and I'm planning to read more from this author.

Current fic tally

There's been a bit of progress in some ways (have picked up 134 fics, DNF'd 70). BUT, a lot of the fics I've been reading are 60k+ so it's slow going. Still having a good time, tho!

As for my profic reading, hmmm. June went on pause cuz of BORAMONTH + OT7 reunion, 4 different online concerts I had to wake up at 3-4 a.m. for, and lots of random livestreams. It's not like things have settled down per se, but I find myself getting back onto reading a bit more than before.

Up next...

Was finally able to borrow The Thursday Murder Club after, like, 10 weeks on hold. Have also borrowed a hot Adriana Herrera novella, am re-reading something regarding movies, and there are a handful of other things I've got my eye on. Good times altogether.