Fortnightly Update #42: Life, The Universe, and Everything

It has been a good two weeks. I have yet to enact my plans for world domination, but those things take all sorts of time, and so far I haven't lost any of mine. My plant minion army is progressing steadily, although I have thrown it a few wrenches by clumsily dumping over one of my units of tomato seedlings. It's been raining here, and I must admit the earthworm per square foot ratio is grossly abundant.  

Recent Acquisitions (or the Piling of the-Piles):

the-pile Additions:
Won/Bookmail:

Future Shock (Future Shock #1) by Elizabeth Briggs

Future Threat (Future Shock #2) by Elizabeth Briggs 

I think I signed up for these from one of Shelf Awareness's newsletters, but I'm not sure- but they arrived quickly and I hadn't expected them. These are both YA, but futuristic YA with time travel elements, and I hope I'll enjoy them as much as I like the covers. The third book in this series is being published April 1st of this year.

Leia inspecting the book mail- it met with her eventual approval

the-invisible-pile Additions:

None!

Currently Reading:

Eight Simple Rules for Dating a Dragon (The Embraced #3) by Kerrelyn Sparks

Expected publication: March 27th 2018

I'm hoping to read and review this before its publication, but who knows if I'll make it!

Finished These Books:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm feeling much more book-blogger-ish now that I've finally started reviewing books again, starting with this one, which was my second five star read of 2018 (and I've only read three books so far, so...).

In My Life:

Let's address the black hole in the room: Stephen Hawking. 

Stolen from Barnes & Noble's FB

When I first started having trouble walking (and as I began to mentally adjust to it) I looked for examples of people who kept going and loving life with their disabilities to model myself after. Stephen Hawking was one of those people- and as much as I hate to inspiration-ize him- looking at his life and how he kept pursuing his passions with significant disabilities? It helped me a lot, especially when his disabilities (physically, at least) were more limiting than my own. I will miss him.

In addition to Stephen Hawking's death, lately I've acquired another issue: eating.

My brain-shaped Irish Soda Bread

If you know very much about me, you'll know I'm a fan of food- specifically baked goods like bread and cake. For St. Patrick's Day I made myself a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and fully expected to enjoy it. Although it tasted good (really good, actually), I could barely swallow the small pieces that I was able to eat. Once my mom got home, I asked her if it was difficult for her to swallow. It wasn't.

I've actually had this problem for a while now (a while being since July, at least), but I've been putting off going to the doctor over it, because, well.... doctors and I have issues, for one. Secondly, even if I have had issues swallowing, it didn't seem to affect my weight (which I knew would be thrown in my face to discredit me). I've actually lost approximately 30+ pounds since October, so I suppose that theory is also out the window. 

I've finally decided it's to the point I need to re-see my doctor (which I hate doing) because people in my syrinx group have told me that there are no real home remedies for this sort of thing other than avoiding sticky/dry/dense foods, and it can get dangerous (you can get aspiration pneumonia). My least favorite pastime is visiting with my doctors or being tested for things by them because I also have lovely memories of spending most of my teen years waiting for a cure that never came. But still, as I regret to inform myself every time my symptoms worsen- doctors are my only hope for a semi-normal life, so I must see them sometime.

In other news, my new Kindle Fire cover matches my bathroom decor. I only found that out when I brought it in there for the first time. Ah, mint green, violet, and white make for a relaxing retreat.

Also, this pup:

...is ten human years old. She acts more like she's six human years old. For her birthday, she received a nice stuffed log with three little chipmunks. Leia promptly commandeered every chipmunk, and left her with the log. Luckily, Torrie is not one to complain, though she did begin dismantling the log.

If you were wondering what picture guest comments on my blog end up with, it's this one- Gustave Doré's Depiction of Satan from John Milton's Paradise Lost c. 1866. That's not because I think my commenters are evil, but rather because this is the only Victorian-esque public domain image I had on my hands when I set up my Disqus. I am taking suggestions for any public domain image to use as a "guest commenter" image, and I will host a poll during my blogiversary month to see which one is favored. Since my blogiversary is in April, if you have a suggestion, please comment it below (public domain images only)!

Here are some more illustrations that I favor:

"The Raven" by John Tenniel, from "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, in which I am the man standing at the window, and the commenter is the raven, disturbing my reverie.

"Geraint and Enid Ride Away" by Gustave Doré from Idylls of the King by Tennyson, in which I am the Ent-ish tree in the background, clinging to the hill while the commenter rides away with their true love on a feisty-looking mount.

Have you gotten any book mail lately? Which images do you suggest for the guest commenter avatar?