Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - March 16, 2025: First Quarter End in Sight

Well, well, well. Here in Michigan, we're into one of our 'fake springs.' It's warm, but rainy. There's still a few snow muck piles around, and not much is actually growing yet. Winter is over (the ski hill closed a day or two ago), but the general misery is still here. Maybe that's just how the U.S. will be from here on out? I digress. It was 70 degrees F yesterday, but there's a day with a high of 40 next week. I'm just trying to enjoy being a bit less cold, and know the real spring should be just around the corner. 

I'm blogging along with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon, and Caffeinated Reviewer's Sunday Post. We share what we've been up to, what we're reading, and anything else we decide may be worth sharing. And then we check in on a bunch of others. I've been known to reference in conversation 'a book blogger,' and it's usually one of the people in these linkies. C'mon in! The water's fine (just kidding, do NOT get in the actual water yet. Brr...).

What I'm reading this week:

I'm in a bit of a book transition right now. I just finished Homegrown Magic on my kindle (5 stars, review to follow on this page in the next few days), and Goddess Game in the print version (easily recommended 4 star read, review to be posted on BooksIThinkYouShouldRead, where most of my reviews are published).

Last night I started reading Glory Daze as a pdf. It's the second in a southern mystery series, and the first was a really fun read. So far the second is shaping up the same. I haven't gotten as many print books for review lately, so I'm finally starting The Girl Who Drank the Moon this afternoon or tomorrow on my lunch (my usual print book reading time).

Three Good Things:

1. My son was offered some scholarship funds to attend Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for band! I'm so grateful that our public school district prioritizes the arts, and a Blue Lake representative comes to the middle school to listen to auditions. My son is still deciding whether he wants to attend. He's a pretty chill guy and likes his down time. He's already attending a different band camp with some friends, as well as a couple other summer commitments. I'll be sure to post if he goes or not. If you attended Blue Lake or something similar, what would your advice to my son be?
2. ToDaY is my daughter's high school art show. We attended last year because she had a couple pieces displayed from her jewelry and drawing classes. This year she is in AP art, so her portfolio is being shown! She did a 2D - drawing portfolio, with a theme of retaining childhood playfulness/innocence (she describes it way better, but I love all the drawings and I'm excited to see them shared). I think my niece has some ceramics in the show, and a couple of my son's friends are showing art as well. And I've come to know a few high schoolers in the last few years ;) They also do a silent auction for art club projects, to make it a self-funding club. So maybe I'll pick up some new art for the house.
3. I found out our work 'points' can be spent on LEGOs! We sometimes can get awards that come with points (because who really wants a raise, when you can get points!!?!) and you get some for some anniversaries. Anyway, I spent mine on a Gru and Minions set, and an inspiration building deck (ideas of how they make things). 

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Clean out the cupboards. See, sometimes I put new things! The top shelves of our cupboards are filled with (especially) cups and things that were gifts, prizes, whatever, that we literally never use. While my husband is still in town for a couple days, I want to clear off a couple shelves and have my family 'claim' what they want to keep, and I'll donate the rest.
2. Pack my lunch. Last week I packed a sandwich and chips for a day or two. I'd like to pack my lunch more consistently. The best plan, of course, is to pack it the night before so I don't run out of time, but just grab it and go. This gives me something to eat without worrying about spending money on food, and it gives me more time to read.
3. Hoping to work some overtime this coming week. Last week I got almost 6 hours of OT in. This week I should be able to squeeze out... 8, or 14 if I can convince some other team members to join me on Saturday. Then I'll get paid on the last day of spring break with my son, which will be nice :)

Hope wherever you are is getting toward spring, and hope you find something to make you happy each day.

Shows You Don't Want to Miss! - March 2025 - Oakland County, MI

Oxford High School presents Mary Poppins
March 1 @7pm; March 2 @ 2pm 
Visit OHSMusical.com for tickets.

South Lyon High School Theatre presents Into the Woods

March 1 @ 7pm; March 2 @ 2pm

Visit www.SLHSTheatre.com for info and tickets

Ignite your imagination and dive into an unforgettable Theatre experience in Rochester! Join us in Adams High School Theatre for our Spring Musical sensation, the Little Shop of Horrors! 

Tickets are vanishing fast-- secure your seat now before Audrey II and his quirky plants get you! Shows March 7, 14, 15 at 7:00 pm, and March 8 at 2:00 pm!

Visit https://adamstheatre.ludus.com/200472963 for tickets

Don’t miss Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy, LAUGHTER OF THE 23rd FLOOR. March 14-29. Tickets on sale now! Box Office: 248-608-9077 or at www.avonplayers.org

Coming soon, the classical world of Molière meets the nostalgic cheer of a 1990s sitcom when Flint Community Players presents: THE IMAGINARY INVALID!

PERFORMANCE DATES:

Friday, March 7 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 8 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 9 at 2:30 PM

Friday, March 14 at 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 15 at 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 16 at 2:30 PM

Tickets available at 810-441-9302 or flintcommunityplayers.com

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - February 23, 2025: Early Motivation/Ideas

I'm not sure if it's an actual drawback or benefit to my work schedule, but it's a lil after 5am on Sunday morning, and I'm wide awake. My alarm goes off for work Monday - Friday (and sometimes Saturday) at 4:20am, so even on the days I do fall back to sleep, I usually wake up by 4:30 to go potty (welcome to middle age?). Anyway. Today I woke up, went back to bed, and laid there with my eyes wide open. So I slipped next door to my home office, turned on the space heater, grabbed my vitamins and Red Bull, and decided to get something done. Welcome to my burst of productivity!

This morning I'm once again  joining with Caffeinated Reviewer's Sunday Post, and Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon. Random aside, these ladies are on point. I come and go, but they're both here, posted every week (and plenty in  between!). While I've been blogging quite a long time, they're here regularly for these weekly posts and much, much more. Kudos on a job well done!

What I'm reading this week:

I'm almost up to the last quarter of Little Women - and LOVING it! On my kindle, I'm on the second half of Better Left Unsent by Lia Louis. I love their casual writing style with unique, contemporary stories. This one is a possible 'glitch' (or potential intentional sabotage?) that sends all of the emails from Millie's drafts folder. See, Millie has been writing honest and emotional emails - without ever meaning to send  them - and leaving them in her drafts folder. Overnight, during a server malfunction, they all get sent. To the whole company, to her family, to her friends....everywhere! Ugh! Four stars so far, but I mostly want to find out if it was really a glitch...

Three Good Things:

1. Last week (Monday/Tuesday with my kids) was as awesome as expected. Daughter and her friend got their prom dresses, son has finished the only Fortnite Lego set he didn't have before last week, and I'm on the last bag of my Money Tree from Lego. I was also delighted to realize on Tuesday night that I was happier than I'd been in a while and didn't even think about work for at least those two days.
2. Winter has GOT to be ending soon, right? I'm completely over the cold, and especially the anxiety over driving in fresh snow - repeatedly!
3. I scheduled another week off early this summer to be the 'official' adult on my daughter's college orientation! Participating adults have to be paid for, so while our whole family is going up there, I'm the one going with the college kid. She is actually scheduled to stay in the dorm, but then the other three of us will stay at a hotel or whatever and be able to explore campus and the town as well. Can't wait!

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Part of why I wasn't falling back to sleep was worrying about my volunteer fundraising goal with the local theatre boosters. For whatever reason, I'm having a hard time getting businesses to respond/commit with our regular dine-to-donate fundraisers (even restaurants who have participated previously!). So I'm going to pick a few dates and keep trying with a different place for each so I can get some booked. We also do Kroger (register your shopper card and they donate), a local graphic design shop for spirit wear, and a Amazon wish list to get things we need instead of buying. I think I'm finally going to start using my blog Facebook page to post these things, as well as a bunch of different dine to donates in the community, and other theatre performances in our part of the state. I've been meaning to do this for a long time.
2. My office got a lil progress last week. Before my super fun days with the kids on Monday and Tuesday, I was pretty much snowed in on Saturday and Sunday. So both days I spent a lil time sorting out trash, and hanging up some stuff in the closet. While I missed the concert I had a ticket for on Sunday, hubby did take us out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary on Saturday night. So I suppose the 'goal' portion here is to keep going!
3. This week at work I start training a new team member. I'm going to try and talk less/smile more, in general. I plan to tell/show them what they need to know, but try to be positive about it and try to conceal everything I hate about being there every day. LOL If I can teach them to actually complete the investigation summary, that will be one less thing to hate, right? Hahahaha

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - February 16, 2025: Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary indeed! It is hubby's and my 19th wedding anniversary! He put up an absolutely lovely post on Instagram/Facebook <3 We went out to a steakhouse for dinner last night, but now he's on  a work trip. They had originally wanted him to stay in Indiana after working there last week and go to Florida with other co-workers today (because our weather is pretty sketchy lately), but he drove home as scheduled and we were able to go to a party on Friday night and out to dinner last night. He left really early this morning and his flight took off just a lil late. His potentially risky plan paid off, and he's back at work on schedule.

I'm at home with the kids, and posting with Sunday Salon/Readerbuzz and Sunday Post/Caffeinated Reviewer.

What I'm reading this week:

I finished reading and reviewing the Sylvia Plath biography - Rough Magic - and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I'm glad I read it as it was an astounding detailed history of Sylvia Plath's life, publications, and achievements. I finished Conditions of a Heart (4 stars) and Beneath the Poet's House (5 stars) on my kindle - reviews for both to follow on BooksIThinkYouShouldRead.

I've finally gotten back to reading my print copy of Little Women (in preparation for The Other March Sisters, which I have a review copy of since it's publishing soon). On my kindle right now is a pdf of An Inconvenient Wife (a Tudor Mystery about Hank Tudor's previous five wives, told mostly by his sixth wife).

Three Good Things:

These are so easy this week!! I have Monday and Tuesday off this week to match the kids' mid-winter break...

1. I finished my Lego Bonsai Tree yesterday :) You can build it with green leaves or pink (like spring), so opted for the pink. I was going to go to an orchestra concert at the local university today, but the roads look awful, so I decided my ticket price was a well-spent $25 investment in the arts, but I'll stay home.
2. Tomorrow I'll be prom-dress shopping with my daughter and her friend, and also stopping at Blick Art Materials store, and probably Ulta. I think we'll kick it all off with a great brunch at First Watch. I am hardore counting on the snow stopping to match the forecast, and the roads bein pretty well cleared off. 
3. Tuesday is my son's choices for the day. He likes a good brunch too, so we may start at First Watch again, then he wants to do possibly one of the Sonic characters at Build a Bear, lunch at Chick-fil-A, and (my favorite) pick up new Lego sets to bring home!

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Depending on how long my stuff with the kids takes - or maybe later on this afternoon? - I would love to take a look at my goal list from 2024, so how it all ended, and make a new one for 2025. This year is a total trip so far, but not in a good way.
2. I've actually made a bit of progress in my office this weekend, being close to homebound with the weather. Just assume this will be on my list forever, eh?
3. One of my new habits lately is screenshotting recipes from Facebook as I scroll. I've tried a few so far, and would like to make it a goal to get the ingredients and try another one once hubs gets home at the end of the week. Never know when we'll find a new favorite!

Keep warm! Stay safe, and look out for your neighbors too :)

Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath - Book Review

Rough Magic: A Biography of Sylvia Plath by Paul Alexander
Publication: January 1, 1991
Pages: 402 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ✩✩✩✩
Sweet Spark: While discussing my first impressions once I'd finished the book, a co-worker questioned if it was Sylvia Plath who was so annoying, or her mental illness. Fair.

This was a book from my Amazon wish list, before I populated Goodreads with what I wanted to read. So around the holidays, someone purchased it from my wish list, and I finally had a little time to read something that I had sitting around, instead of the books I'm trying to read and review closer to their publication dates. Anyway.

When I first found that this was the biography that was not authorized by Sylvia Plath's estate (which is her nearly ex-husband Ted Hughes and his sister, Olwyn, who disliked Plath), I expected a little more Hughes-bashing. But really, what I read was an amazingly well-researched book about Sylvia Plath, with just a few non-flattering facts about her marriage to Hughes. This only led me to think even less of Ted Hughes, since I'm not sure what he would have found unacceptable to publish about this book. That he had a history with young co-eds early in their relationship and marriage, or that he was living with his mistress when they finally separated? Neither one really colored my opinion of Hughes, other than how his actions affected Plath's life. 

Sylvia Plath was undeniably an amazingly talented author. While she started with poetry, she also published a novel, prose, and some magazine stories. Her published works started in childhood, and she eventually strove for more success and recognition of her writing. She would certainly be thrilled at the fandom that has developed since - and possibly as a result of? - her untimely death.

Most of her life was pretty typical of the time, except for the early death of her father from untreated diabetes. Her parents were both educators, and education was also a priority and eventual career for Plath as well. The time period in which she lived also changed the path of her relationships. From her own writings and commentary from men she dated, it sounds like her desires were much more liberal than society would then allow. Most likely, this also contributed to her mental state oftentimes. 

While she most wanted to be a writer, it didn't sound like she ever didn't want to be a wife and mother too. It was a lot, but she was brought up with a respect for traditional values, and an expectation from herself and others that she would do the same. I found it striking that she went out of her way to ensure her children's safety, even when she was choosing to end her life.

Overall, the detail of the book was sometimes a lot to read, but the author obviously worked hard to get it right. The book earned 4 out of 5 stars, and would be recommended to those who want to know more about Sylvia Plath or other - especially female - artists of the time.

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - January 26, 2025: Put the Fries in the Bag, Bro

January is January-ing HARD. The kids have told me that my title phrase is too old to be said any longer, but I feel like it's my life lately. Sometimes I have something to say, but I realize that everyone is January-ed out, and what I have to say isn't going to actually help anyone. So I tell myself to 'put the fries in the bag, bro,' and just do my job and move on. It's not intended to discount me or my opinions, but not everything going through my brain needs to come out. I feel like it's been my goal for a long time to do better at flying under the radar.

But for now, welcome to my sharing space! I'm joining along for the Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer, and  Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz. This is my space, and I say what I want to! It's been a solid two weeks since I announced my plan to re-cap 2024 and set some big picture plans for 2025, but it's still on my list.

What I'm reading this week:

I just finished Let's Call Her Barbie (5 stars with a review posted yesterday), and I'm more than half way through Rough Magic: A Sylvia Plath Biography. Last night I started Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle. 

Three Good Things:

1. I finished my Lego Wildflower Bouquet a couple days ago! Now I just want to get some glass marbles for the bottom of a vase, and I can always have the flowers displayed on our stair landing. Yay!
2. I placed a Disney order (as I switch away from a Disney Rewards credit card) and ordered Legos with Disney villian icons. I think it delivers tomorrow, but I'd like to finish my Bonsai tree from last year before I start on the newest set. 
3. Weird one, but most of the books I've read this year so far have been fantastic! Fives stars for Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, The Magic Maker, and Let's Call Her Barbie. (And even one of  my last reads for 2024 - This Book Won't Burn.)

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

Absolutely nothing got done from my last list. LOL Let's try again, shall we?

1. A post to serve as a re-cap of 2024 and overview of big picture goals for 2025.
2. I'd like to consistently work overtime, for the sake of my paychecks. Hahaha... We're done with actual holidays til Memorial Day (ugh), so other than the days I've already requested off, there should be no conflicts to working more than 40 hours each week.
3. I think I have a few home decorations/candle holders for Valentine's Day. I'd like to bring those up from storage really soon, so we can appreciate them on display for a couple weeks. Hubby's and my wedding anniversary is February 16 too. He'll be out of town for work, but I'm going to a concert at a local university that day :)

Let's Call Her Barbie - Book Review

Let's Call Her Barbie by Renèe Rosen 
Publication: January 21, 2025
Pages: 432 page
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Barbie represents a lot of things to different people, but the intention of her creation was unique, especially for the time.

The book was so engaging and fun to read, and the author's notes at the end only made it better. The novel was intended as fiction, but Rosen had fully researched the characters who were based in fact. It was easy to be unsure if the story was fact or fiction in the compelling events described in the novel. Actually four or five of the main characters were solidly based on real people and potentially read events. Rosen's realistic filling in of the details classified the story as "a fictional retelling of Barbie's origin story."

Ruth Handler was a determined and inspirational woman. In fact and fiction, she refused to accept the boundaries set for women, and luckily her husband, Elliott, supported her in this. Together, they built an amazing toy company in Mattel, and when the two of them were at the helm (along with key creator Jack Ryan), the company sounded like a pleasant place for the majority of its employees.

Overall, a better ending for all of them would have been great, but reality is a limiting factor when retelling an existing story. The writing was fabulous, and the book earned 5 out of 5 stars. Surprisingly, the book was conceived and started before the Barbie hit movie. Reading the book makes me want to enjoy the movie again. The book is easily recommended to those readers who like learning more about Barbie's history, and the stories of those who contributed and participated in her creation.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my electronic copy of this book. Receiving the book for free did not influence my opinions.