Waste Not Reading Challenge Update 2!

Jessi B.1 Comment

 

WNRC Update 2!.jpg

When I started this challenge, I didn’t realize there was a huge event set for the first weekend of July, August, and September! Fourth of July, GenCon, and this month it’s Labor Day weekend! Geez, I should’ve looked at my calendar better.😀

So keeping in mind that today is the official first day of the Labor Day weekend, I would like to do a quick summary of how my progress has been going with my books.

The second book I read for this challenge was Bear Daughter by Judith Berman. Now that I’m done with it, I have started working on reading Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. (The link is to the Amazon listing of the book.)

What have you learned from this book?

In Bear Daughter I learned a lot about the myths of west-coast Natives. Which really is exciting for me because I personally rarely see fiction written about Native culture. I love learning about Native American cultures, and so many people seem to just don’t care or want to work with it….so I really love this. Sorry, minor rant…Anyways!

In Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, I have not really learned anything too educational. However, it has been making me feel reassured about me leaving my old job to search for a new one. So, that’s good I guess.🙂

Has the reading a page everyday helped you get into the book?

I can say that I’ve been averaging about a page a day, though I haven’t been reading everyday….but writing a reminder in my planner has been helping me a lot!

Dear Daughter Part 3
Dear Daughter Part 2
Dear Daughter Part 1

 

Have you changed anything about the way you’re keeping track of your progress?

Progress on Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas
Reading Progress for Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas

I’ve tried adding comments, as you can see above in the Dear Daughter progress. It was fun writing my thoughts about it. However, I realized after my first one that since I am posting my progress with the books for you all would see them, I could potentially spoil a book for you. And that’s never fun.

Bear Daughter might have been the second book I read for this challenge, but it’s the first one to get 5 stars! Judith Berman did a wonderful job with this book, and is one I really recommend. This is the first book that I want to keep in my collection to share in the future with my friends and family!

Now to find a place to put it where I won’t lose it as I read through the rest of my collection.😀

How has your reading been going? Have you been able to read a page everyday? It’s never too late to join the fun!

Monthly Round-Up: August 2016

Jessi B.2 Comments

14138363_1127374910675516_1048267653_n

Oh dear…it seems that I went quiet for a while there. Let’s catch up real quick before we get to what I’ve been up to on the internet this month.

First off, I moved from living in an apartment to being in limbo. Well, not true limbo, but it’s the best way to explain my situation. I’ve been living with my fiance’s parents as we work through trying to setup for a future. He’s off getting training for a new job, and I’m about to leave my old one.

It’s tough writing this. I loved working in that chemistry lab, but since I’m a biologist by passion, it’s time to move on. I need to find my calling. And I think I’ve found it, but it’s going to take a bit of work in my spare time to get ready for it.

So yeah, that’s the chaos I’ve been dealing with these past months. But with the free time I’m about to get with being in a break between jobs, I plan to work hard on completing some personal projects that I’m excited to share with y’all on here!

And with that thought, let’s look back at what I’ve been up to to help improve my drawing and crafting skills!

What’s Happening On The Blog!

I found an app that I’ve really fallen in love with. It’s so easy to doodle on it. I’m going to go out and buy a stylus to help make it be easier for me to draw on it. I’m so excited to start drawing some of my projects on it! The picture for this blog post was even created with it! How cool is that?!

Lost in Purple
An example of what I was able to make with the app!

What’s Happening Elsewhere?

On Instagram I’ve started doodling some sweethearts to practice my drawing skills. I also shared a few photos of my cosplays that I wore at GenCon this year. Of course they were both different versions of Unity, one of my favorite characters from Sentinels of the Universe.🙂

Yep. That’s all I’ve been up to. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve been busy…

However, I have in reference to the Waste Not Reading Challenge, completed a book and started another one. I plan to post more about this Saturday, so stay tuned!😉

Well, that’s about all I have for this monthly round-up! Thank you all for reading and may you have a great month ahead!

 

 

Simple Advice Worth Remembering

Jessi B.Leave a comment

I want to say that everyone has a moment of doubt.

Where you’re just starting to get into something your friends have done for a while. Like crafting or creating art. You see their beautiful creations and look at your….mess. It was one of your first attempts and yet it seems like pure trash compared to theirs.

If you have ever had one of those moments, I want to let you know that I understand. I have had moments of doubt in my abilities when comparing them to others. There are so many talented people out in the world, that I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with the thought that I will never get to making stuff that beautiful.

Have you ever felt like that?

During one of these times of doubt, I decided to get on Pinterest. As I was scrolling through the collection of posts, I found this quote below. And it hasn’t left my life since. It was one of the best pieces of advice I had ever seen, and I wanted to share it here on the blog.

13699495_10205100477629953_1012030557_o.png

Think about it this way. It’s like a 3-year-old comparing their accomplishments to a 7-year-old. Or a tadpole comparing itself to a frog. You’re just beginning to learn the trade. With experience and hard work, you’ll reach to be their equal when comparing their middle (or when you first noticed them) to yours.

That’s the way I think about it. I will get there to being a person who can create beautiful creations, but it’ll take patience and passion. So don’t worry about being jealous or envious with how much they’ve accomplished. Just enjoy their work, support them, and use that energy otherwise wasted on negative thoughts on having fun!

This is just some food for thought I’ve been thinking about, and I wanted to share as we start our week off.🙂

 

Waste Not Reading Challenge Update

Jessi B.1 Comment

Hi guys! So as of today it’s been two and a half weeks since this challenge officially started.  While thinking of how setup this post, I got the idea of sharing the questions I was asking myself as I was writing it. I officially finished my first book, Steeped in Evil by Laura Childs.

 What have you learned so far from the book?

Honestly, I learned a lot about the variety of tea you can make. By page 66 I already had learned of about three new flavors of tea I now want to try. At the end of the book Laura had a couple of ideas for tea parties listed in the back. Which I thought was a fun little idea, especially if someone was reading this in a book club, because then they could pick one of them to have their meeting inspired by.

Has the reading a page everyday helped you get into the book?

Well, I’m having problems actually reading everyday, but yes. Because I’m trying to encourage myself to read, it’s been helping me actually sit down and read. And once I got started into the book, I got addicted and flew through it!

Have you changed anything about the way you’re keeping track of your progress?

I must admit that I’m still having trouble making sure I get at least a page read each day. So I have also been reminding myself to read by adding it to my planner as things to do.

Steeped in Evil reading progress
My Progress Reading Through Steeped In Evil (Recorded in Goodreads app)

How far have you gotten in your reading? Have you been able to read a page everyday?

 

Monthly Round-Up: June 2016

Jessi B.Leave a comment

I was swept away in the chaos of change this past month. I almost don’t want to write this post, because it’s just proof of how little I’ve done this past month online.😦 With having to move from my apartment and watching my fiance leave for two months for training for a new job, well my life has been hectic.

However, I have been working on my Waste Not Reading Challenge, which was created for myself and any other book lovers out there that never have time to read. I’ll be creating a round-up post for that here later this week.

What have I been doing though behind the scenes? Well, as of about a week ago, I created a website specifically for all things related to Boards & Crafts. I will still keep the post I’ve already made on here live, but will be transferring them to the new site as well. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s getting there.

On YouTube I’ve done two videos with Board Game Blender. A best of the month video and a tutorial to make your own bags for Sheriff of Nottingham if yours are ever broken or lost.

 

That’s it for me! Hope y’alls past month treated you well, and that this next one will be filled with adventures! Now I got to start prepping for GenCon!

How I’ll be doing the Waste Not Book Challenge

Jessi B.1 Comment

A quick update on my life before I get into the real reason for this blog post…..I’m moving! It’s not too far from where I live now, though I might end up moving again in the upcoming months so I’m having to decide what I would like to unpack at my new place and what I should keep in storage. I have been so focused on packing and organizing, I didn’t realize until today that I forgot to write-up some blog posts and keep this website up and running. It’s almost been an entire month of me being silent!😦  All I can say is thank you everyone for being patient with me!!!

Now to get back to the topic of today’s ramblings. I would like to show anyone who’s interested how I plan to keep up with the Waste Not Book Challenge!

Do you remember the rules of the challenge?

  • Read each day, even if it’s just a page. 
  • Figure Out What To Do With The Book. 
  • Save A Quote. (Optional)

Pretty simple, right?

On the sidebar of this blog I added a new widget for Goodreads. This website is how I plan to keep track of my reading progress. Most of these books that you’ll see me reading for this challenge have fallen into my hands by friends, family, and impulsive buys. So it’ll be interesting to see how I end up ranking them. How do you plan to track your progress?

I also plan to create some fun posts of some of the quotes from the books I read, and from y’all, to post on here and maybe even social media.

At the end of it all, this challenge is for you and me. To help get through all those books we’ve collected and have yet to touch. With that being said, it’s nice to have someone to share your progress with. So if you use twitter, instagram, facebook, or pinterest, I would love to see your success in progressing through a book! (You can use the links at the top of this site to find my accounts, or look at the bottom of this post where I will list them to make it easier.)

You can tag your post with #WNRC, or #wastenotreadingchallenge along with my account because I would love to share your progress with you!

If you would like to learn more juicy details for this challenge, head >here<.

It’s not too late to join in and try this challenge for yourself!

 

Facebook: ArtsyRobot

Instagram: @artsy_robot

Pinterest: ArtsyRobot

Twitter: @Artsy_Robot