Hey, guys!
I know, technically I still owe you a wrap-up for December but can we just pretend that I wrote one and you’ve read it and everything is fine? Thank you.
Okay, so what has been going on in my life? Let me think…
♣️ I’m still struggling with the aftermath of my myocarditis. Yesterday I was at a specialist who stole a lot of my blood and did quite a lot of tests and I was super tired afterwards. I still have to go back in two weeks to have some more tests done but that’s fine. At this point I’m more annoyed that it’s taking me so long to mend and that I still cannot walk or stand for longer than ten minutes because I get dizzy and sick, my heart hurts in my chest and my left arm gets all numb. But I’m positive that I will get through this. No worries.
♣️ I got medication for my depression and anxiety. Which is normally not something I would tell on here but here we are. I was extremely reluctant taking the stuff and kept putting it off and off and was scared of it. When I finally started to take them, I felt nauseous all the time but now I’m glad that I took that step. I feel so much more stable now and I’m actually amazed. Is this how you normal people feel all the time? No second-guessing your every move and word and thought? No constant crying and panicking and doubting and overthinking and stressing, stressing, stressing? Your head doesn’t scream fear, fear, fear all the time? I honestly forgot how that felt like. And I’m so glad that it helps me getting better and making progress with my therapy because I can finally be a bit more open and constructive. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.
♣️ Everybody around me seems to be catching covid. Not me though. Which is great. Although I’m wondering if it’s just a question of time.
♣️ I’ve started to art again. My sister gave me a set of acrylic paints for christmas which was super sweet of her and I love them. I haven’t painted in quite some time and it makes me really happy. I also got a tablet for the first time ever yesterday and first thing I did was install Procreate. I’m not completely sure about it yet but I will just watch tons of videos and then I’ll dive into it. I’m really excited to revive this hobby. (I’m not really good at painting but I enjoy it. That’s the most important thing.)
♣️ I bought too many ebooks again this month. Somebody stop me. Seriously. I have more than I can possibly read. Dammit, Marion, what are you doing?
♣️ Totally not important but it’s finally snowing here a bit. Which makes me really happy. We live right next to a popular sledding hill and I love watching all the children (and dogs) go completely crazy with speed and joy when going down the hill. I also love the drama that sometimes takes place. Last weekend one of the children got run over by another kid – seriously, it’s basic etiquette: you don’t walk up the slope right in the middle, you take the sides – and suddenly the two mothers that were there with them started a shouting match. It was really entertaining to watch, especially when you can’t quite understand what they are saying but you can tell from body language that there might be a fistfight breaking out. Would you have been #TeamKidThatGotRunOverBecauseHeWasBeingaDumbass or #TeamKidWhoDidNotWatchOutProperlyAndDidTheRunningOver? Everybody was fine btw and the kids were already sledding and having the time of their lives while the mothers were still arguing.
| Symbol | Meaning |
| 📱 | ebook |
| 📖 | physical copy |
 | audiobook |
| 💥 | graphic novel |
| 🐣 | Middlegrade/Children’s Fiction |
| 🐥 | YA |
| 🐔 | adult |
| 👽 | science fiction |
| 💗 | romance |
| 🐉 | fantasy |
| 🧟 | dystopia |
| ⏰ | contemporary |
| 🔎 | mystery |
| Title | Author | Series | Genre | Medium | with me since? | Reread? | Rating? | Cover |
| Eva Evergreen – Semi-Magical Witch | Julie Abe | Eva Evergreen #1 | 🐣🐉 | 📱 | 5🦊 |  | ||
| Awkward | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #1 | 📱 | 02.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | |
| Brave | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #2 | 📱 | 02.01.2022 | NO | 3🦊 |  | |
| Crush | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #3 | 📱 | 02.01.2022 | NO | 10🦊 |  | |
| The Darkest Minds | Alexandra Bracken | Darkest Minds #1 | 📱 | NO | 4🦊 |  | ||
| The Captain’s Log | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #2.5 | 📱 | 17.01.2022 | NO | 2🦊 |  | |
| New Girl | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #1.6 | 📱 | 17.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | |
| Time Capsule | Svetlana Chmakova | Berrybrooks Middleschool #1.5 | 📱 | 17.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | |
| Rasmus und der Landstreicher | Astrid Lindgren | 📱 | YES | 5🦊 |  | |||
| Allergic | Megan Wagner Lloyd | 📱 | 12.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | ||
| Be Wary of the Silent Woods | Svetlana Chmakova | The Weirn Books #1 | 📱 | 14.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | |
| Snapdragon | Kat Leyh | 📱 | 17.01.2022 | NO | 4🦊 |  | ||
| Sorceline | Sylvia Douyé | 📱 | NO | 3🦊 |  | |||
| The Love Hypothesis | Ali Hazelwood | 📱 | NO | 3,5🦊 |  | |||
| Frostheart | Jamie Littler | Frostheart #1 | 📱 | 01.01.2022 | NO | 5🦊 |  | |
| Das schräge Leben des Ben Polar | Adriana Popescue | 📱 | YES | 3🦊 |  | |||
| The unforgettable Logan Foster | Shawn Peters | 📱 | NO | 5🦊 |  |
Most of my books this month were graphic novels but they absolutely count! No graphic novel erasing here! Furthermore, if you wondered why I gave 10 Foxes to “Crush”….I have read this gn 10 times this month. Front to back. It’s just so cute. Unbelievably cute. Immensely cute! I absolutely love it and while I’m not gonna count how often I will still read it and not track every time on Goodreads but still. It’s so cute. I love it so much. All the stars.
I don’t think there are many this month, if I remember it correctly. Jupp, just one review of an eArc. But that’s okay. I’m just gonna get back into it. I vow to do better in February. In the meantime, have a look at this if you haven’t already.
So, I was not blogging for the first half of the month, apparently. I don’t know how you guys muster up the motivation to go back to blogging after the holidays.
My Goals for 2022 // Reading, blogging, living
Books I didn’t read in 2021 // Will I read them in 2022?
And this is the end of the wrap-up! This is always the point where I vow to do better in the new month, but we’ll just see how that will work.
It sounds like you had great progress in January! I hope you continue you manage your anxiety and depression well. They are hard things to deal with, and I’m glad you found medications that help you.
I would be #TeamKidWhoWasNotCapableOfTurningAndDidTheRunningOver… 😉
Thank you so much for your kind words, Nicole! Today is a bit harder but I will power through. I just can’t wait for this week to be over, it seems to drag on and on and on.
I hope you had a great month too! I wish you the best for February. 🙂
<3
Hope the tests end soon and that you’re able to get more answers and rest. Glad to hear that you got medication. And yay for art and a bunch of reading! Hope your February is a much better month and take care 🧡
I’d say January was already better. Much better than December and November and October. I’m happy to be a bit more stable. And I will be so glad when the tests are over. At the moment I’m just a bit annoyed. I hope you are doing well too, Sumedha!
So good to hear your medication is helping you feel better. And the sledding drama sounds so entertaining 😆
It reallly was. There is always so much going on on this hill in the winter. I love it. And thank you. I hope I can continue to get better.
Everyone around me seems to be catching covid, too 😭 Which sucks because a) I finally have some time I could spend with people, but everyone I know is sick and b) I don’t want to be next!!
I’m really glad to hear your medication is making you feel better, though, Marion! It’s great that you’re getting the help you need 💙
And I would totally be #TeamKidThatGotRunOverBecauseTheyGotDistractedAndDidNotPayAttentionToWhereTheyWereGoing – but I still think that’s preferable to doing the running over, because then I would feel so horribly guilty!