Happy Happy Monday! I actually feel much better so it is a happy Monday, finally. I’m almost fully recovered from being sick, so I feel like I can get some things done and feel more like a human again. Being sick really puts a damper on my plans and throws me all out of whack for a while. It can be so difficult to get back into a routine afterward. My week was mildly eventful, which I’m thankful for. I love a good balance. I dislike a super busy week and a super boring week, so having a few things to do without it being overwhelming is perfect, in my opinion.

With my renewed sense of motivation I mentioned last Monday I decided to do some cleaning and reorganizing this week. My husband mentioned that he wanted to rearrange our bedroom, so I thought it seemed like a good idea. Every so often we move furniture around because it gets boring or feels stuffy after a while of looking at it the same way. He did all of the heavy-lifting, but I helped with the smaller stuff. Cleaning out and organizing is never fun and I always end up regretting it about halfway through, which is exactly what happened. I still have some things I need to finish up with and I may do that today. I definitely want it done by the end of this week.

One thing I have a tough time with is throwing things away. Am I just overly sentimental or does everyone do that? I keep so much stuff, especially things that are my children’s. I keep special outfits or things they wore on days that were a special memory. I just hate getting rid of those things even if I have a million pictures of them wearing said outfits. I do the same with my own clothing as well. I keep things that I wore on my and my husband’s first date or what I wore when he proposed. It doesn’t matter if it’s something I will never wear again or if it doesn’t fit, I keep it. My sentimental tendencies make for a very full storage building and a lot of stress when deciding what to get rid of.

I also have a terrible habit of keeping clothes I haven’t worn in years because what if the event finally arises where I’ll need this exact outfit. It’s honestly ridiculous. I have so many clothes that I need to throw out, but I can’t decide which to keep and which to get rid of. Someone please tell me I’m not alone in my crazy behavior of hanging onto so many things. Other than my own room, I also cleaned out my two-year-old’s room. I still had so many clothes in her room that doesn’t fit and that she doesn’t wear anymore, so I had to take all of those out to decide what to do with them. I’ll be happy when I fully finish with all of the organizing.

I also did more reading (of course) and took a trip to the library this past week. I absolutely love our local library because it’s just great because it’s a library, for one, but also because they have such a great children’s section. It has toys, beanbags, rocking chairs, and a little puppet stage. It’s just a really awesome space for kids. They also have a lot of cool events for children that I want to try to take mine to more. My oldest was at school when we went, but my youngest had a great time playing with the toys for a while before we looked for books. My oldest always loved the library as well. We went there a lot when we were homeschooling and it was always so much fun. I definitely recommend checking out your local library and seeing what programs they have if you have children because it may be something they enjoy.

So, onto the books I read this week. I saw a post that said that Simon Teen, which is for the YA books of the publishing house Simon & Schuster, had different free reads in August every day. I read one called The Do-Over, by Lynn Painter and it was such a cute story about a girl that kept reliving Valentine’s Day over and over until she got it right, which ended up being so heartwarming. It was a little difficult to try and finish the whole book in a day. I fell asleep reading, but thankfully it was still pulled up the next morning so I was able to finish the last few pages before it was unavailable. The next I read was another free read on Simon Teen and it was called Run Away With Me, by Mila Gray. It is where a girl reconnects with her childhood best friend/first love after seven years. There are things that happened and reasons why they hadn’t seen each other in seven years, but I don’t want to spoil it. It was also so good and I definitely recommend it. Run Away With Me is actually free to read on their website until August 31st, so you still have time if you would like to read it. (https://simonteen.com)

The third book I read this week was from the library and the second book of a trilogy. It’s from a YA science fiction trilogy called Midnighters, by Scott Westerfeld. I think the series is really interesting and would make a really cool television series. I’ll be getting the third book from the library this week sometime, so I’m excited to finish it and see how it ends. When we went to the library last week I checked out eight more books, so I have plenty to read and get through. I will definitely be talking about these books. Maybe I’ll make separate posts with more in-depth reviews like I have with a few others.

I also started a non-fiction book this past week and it is fascinating in the worst way. I just can’t fathom someone being the president and having no idea how anything works. The book is called The Fifth Risk, by Michael Lewis. It is basically about the transition into Trump’s presidency and really highlights how unprepared he was and how little he and his team knew about how the government worked or what it took to transfer everything from one president in power to the next after the election. If you’re into political non-fiction or want to know more about how these things work, then I’d highly recommend it.

I’m not sure what my takeaway was from this week. I think I was just grateful to be feeling better and slightly back to normal. I guess I can just reiterate what I said last week. Don’t take your ability to do things for granted, and maybe try to procrastinate less when you have the opportunity or free time to do the activities you’re interested in. Always rest and recharge, but use your free time to tackle a project you’ve been putting off too. I hope your week is beyond fantastic and that you get a nice hug (with your consent and from someone you want a hug from) this week!

XXXX (All Kisses),
Summer