You would have thought I’ve done nothing all week except gather nuggets from the Internet based on the long list of goodies I have to share with you. But I did! I’ve got two books to share, a powerful writing prompt to face your fears and a few things I’m learning in the kitchen, too. 

What I'm Reading:

It was a great week of reading! I read a powerful self-help book on the power of living more by doing less and read a middle grade novel to celebrate Middle Grade March, too.

The Joy of Missing Out by Tanya Dalton

This was a delightfully inspirational, yet highly practical, book that has the potential to change your life. Really. From taking the time to decide what you really want your life to look like to creating the systems and routines in place to make time for those passions, Tanya walks us through the journey step-by-step complete with complementary videos, tools and even some beautifully lettered quotes throughout. I have more sticky flags and ear-marked pages (I ran out of flags!) than in any other book I’ve read. I’m ready to do the work, cultivate a life I love and finally understand the joy of missing out. You won’t be disappointed.

The Jigsaw Jungle by Kristin Levine

I’ve loved everything Kristin Levine has written, especially The Thing I’m Most Afraid Of. I couldn’t wait to start this book and when I opened the first page, I knew I was in for a treat. You see, the book is written as a scrapbook: a series of emails, phone calls and video transcripts, text messages, directions, receipts, voice memos and notes to the reader. It’s literally a puzzle for the reader to put together alongside the main character, Claudia. Claudia’s father suddenly disappears and she spends part of the summer at her grandfather’s house trying to put the pieces together of what might have happened and where he might be. Her investigation begins with a puzzle piece her father left behind for her and as she tries to piece everything together, she meets a new friend, helps her best friend adjust to a new family situation, mourns the loss of her grandmother, reconnects with her grandfather and learns that the joy in life is in the jumble, not the perfectly placed pieces. The book ends with an invitation for readers to tell their own story, the perfect way to end…..and begin.   

What I'm Writing:

I tackled some big writing in my notebook this week, sparked by listening to The Goal Digger Podcast with Jenna Kutcher (who was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert of Big Magic). So, what was this big writing prompt?

Write a letter to your fears. 

Wait. What?! I know. It might seem odd, but the idea is to name your fears so they are less….fearful. And writing a letter to your fear makes it more approachable, more tangible and more conquerable. In fact, Liz Gilbert even recommends THANKING our fears for wanting to protect us, but we are moving on anyway, thank you very much. 

So, that’s what I did. I chose a fear (yes, I have many) and wrote a letter to it. And you know what? It helped. It really did. Do I still have that fear? Sure do. But do I feel like I’m a smidgen more in control of it? Yup.

It’s worth a try.

What I'm Learning:

One of my goals for 2022 was to finally learn how to cook. I mean, I can get by with kid-friendly meals, but not much else. =) So this week, I spent some time exploring easy-to-create dinners, aka sheet pan meals. 

I tried this one and it came out perfectly: Easy Chicken and Potatoes. Here are a few others i hope to put into my meal rotation:

What I'm Loving:

I’m loving SO MANY THINGS this week! Here are my finds:

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?