A chatty sit-down update on writing and my publishing goals/plans
A chatty sit-down update on writing and my publishing goals/plans
Updates on the current state of the draft, my life (and mental health), and decisions regarding my indie publishing career.
How I’m working through edits, managing my time, and prepping to embark on an indie publishing career.
Plus, thoughts on past edits and the direction of my upcoming contemporary romance series.
I’ve been physically and mentally exhausted over the last few days. Life is life-ing and my body is going through it. I had too many tasks and chores to take care of this weekend, so the Sunday post fell by the wayside, but I wanted to share this tiny bit of hope that found me today.
I have two orchids in my shower, they’ve been with me for years, and they usually bloom once a year. I hadn’t given them much thought until I saw this tiny, baby bud starting to form.
I don’t know why, but it brought me a little bit of joy. I hope it brings you a little bit of joy too.
A small, slightly spendy grocery haul from the Fresh Market… #vlog #lowbuyyear
A small, slightly spendy grocery haul from the Fresh Market… filling in the gaps before the big shop and trying to make the most of what’s in my pantry and fridge before spending on more groceries.
Transitioning from January to February on the vlog
Transitioning from January to February on the vlog
Join me for a chatty, productive vlog, featuring an impromptu lunch date on campus, girl scout cookies, tea time, thoughts on niches, content, and the current direction of the channel.
Plus, details on my new substack, and a totally unplanned book haul (it was for a good cause!), with a side of existential dread on the current state of things 😅.
My love languages are time and touch, my partner’s are gifts and service, all this to say that Valentine’s Day (and birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries) is always an interesting time. This year, I’m deep into my low buy, and gifts are one area that I’m working on. I don’t want to engage in hyperconsumerism, and I know that we both have more than enough, so I’ve been focusing on experiences.
He’s been meeting me halfway. This year’s surprise was a luxury dining experience (which was lovely and not a little intimidating). However, as a gift person, he can’t help but gift an object in addition to the experience. I appreciate every gift, even as I stifle the thrifty girl in me who can’t help but cringe at the expense. It’s the challenge of having different values when it comes to objects and money–it’s not always easy, but after 16 years, I’ve learned to accept and appreciate (and only cringe a little). Relationships are hard. They take work. Understanding where he’s coming from (and how my own history colors my view on gifts) has helped as I try to balance living with less and appreciating the gifts that come into my life.
For more, subscribe to the blog.
You can also follow my “quiet days” YouTube or follow me on Substack.
Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.
Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
I’m stuck.
The events of the last two weeks have taken a sledgehammer to my carefully laid out writing goals. Try though I might not to get sucked into the spiral of bad news, bad thoughts, and bad dreams, I can’t help it. I’m in that weird place between needing to know and knowing that there’s not much I can do. It’s also been a week at work, so I’m feeling extra vulnerable. As an elder millennial, I’m definitely part of the generation that always feels on edge about the future. I’m a generally optimistic person (or, at least, I try to be), but there are no guarantees in life and never does that feel more true than right at this moment.
One thing I noted during the course of my low/no buy, I never feel like I’m doing well. All my needs are met, but I always carry this sense of dread that I’m one stumble away from total disaster. Partly, it’s the ghost of growing up poor. Partly, it’s the very real truth that most Americans are one emergency away from total disaster. I’m doing fine. I know I am. My financial advisor tells me I’m doing fine.
It doesn’t change anything. I still carry that seed of dread.
So, here I am. Trying to keep the anxiety at bay, resisting the extremely counterproductive urge to buy stuff I don’t need for a hit of dopamine (the only thing I need is a new pair of shoes), and moving today’s to-do’s to tomorrow.
The growing list:
and those are just the personal tasks.
I’ll get to them. It’ll be fine. These are the small things I can control, I’ll take them one at a time. It’ll be fine. For now, I’m reading The Stand-in by Lily Chu, cozying in bed with the cats, and not worrying about it.
I’ll get unstuck tomorrow.
Tonight, I’m going out for ice cream. 🍨
If you’d like to follow me on this journey, stick around and subscribe. 💗
You can also subscribe to my “quiet days” vlog series on YouTube or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com. I also post about my writing process on Substack. For more, visit my linktr.ee
Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
It’s time for the first budget review of my 2025 low/no buy… it’s been a good one.
It’s time for the first budget review of my 2025 low/no buy… it’s been a good one. 😁
Some small wins:
📱switched my phone plan to mint at 50% for the first year for $180 – I was paying $90 for 1080 a year
🍲 stuck to the dining out budget and fast food plan 🙌🏻
Total saved: $573 (after much recalculating) – a big win!
🎥Quiet Days in 2025 vlog playlist
*I may get a small credit or kickback if you sign up using my links*
reflections on movement and aging well
I turned 40 last year, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned as the daughter of two senior parents with complicated health issues, it’s that movement is essential to positive health outcomes. No, movement isn’t a cure for everything—medical care is crucial and should be a human right, but we all know how that is going, at least in America. But back to movement… I have a complicated history with movement. I hated the run laps around the gym/sit-ups/public shaming of childhood gym class. I also had a weird history with medical professionals that convinced my mom that exercise was bad for my back. Hello, spina bifida occulta. Yes, I have a bad back, not engaging in core exercises was probably not the best idea, but here we are.
My love of movement started in my 20s, when I started with walks around campus, which later morphed into interval runs, 5ks, yoga, and Pilates at home (thank you, local library DVDs). Enter full time employment, long commutes, and hours of sitting at a desk for work and creative pursuits, and my relationship with movement started to look a little different. It became harder to run every day, so yoga for more than 20 minutes a few times a week, or do more than catch a few minutes of walking during my breaks. I have a love/hate relationship with my office—it’s beautiful, the location gives me ample opportunity to walk in nature, but my 2-hour commute is a killer for movement. Over the last 10 years (wow!), it’s done a number on my physical wellness. Add several injuries over the last 4 years (I am the Queen 👑 of stupid falls), and I hit 40 feeling like I was never going to get my stamina back.
So, last year, I made it my mission to do something about it. I started lifting weights… light weights at first, because a shoulder injury in 2020 led to a biopsy that led to an “inconclusive” discovery, and 5 years later, I’m due for my yearly check-up to make sure nothing has changed.
All that to say, my right shoulder has been through it and I still don’t know why it likes to hurt on occasion, though I now know how to recognize the signs to prevent further injury.
Last June, I started doing Lift with Cee’s full body lifting workouts, using 5 and 8 lb weights, and struggling to complete some of the moves.
Nearly 7 months later, I’m up to 15s and 12s, using the 8s and 5s for the moves that trigger the shoulder twinge, or when that luteal phase is hitting hard. I’m lifting 3 days a week and I have seen the changes in my body, but the greatest change is knowing that I’m taking steps towards ensuring that I can continue to be independent as I age. I hurt my knee last April (like I said, lots of injuries), and being able to bend into a squat has been such a blessing. I’ve done physical therapy for the shoulder and the knee, and both times, my main goal has been to be able to get back to a place where I can continue to engage in movement without pain.
My dad had hip surgery when I was in college, so about 18 years ago. Because of complications, he never fully recovered. His arthritis has only gotten worse and he has reached a stage where he is in near constant pain and severely limited in his mobility. Anything can happen between now and the time I reach my dad’s age, but I know that the best thing I can do to prepare for that is to keep moving and build strength to support my already genetically messed up joints.
Here’s to aging well 🥂
If you’d like to follow me on this journey, stick around and subscribe. 💗
You can also subscribe to my “quiet days” vlog series on YouTube or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com. For more, visit my linktr.ee
Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
all the books I read and listened to between Oct and Dec 2024… a reading recap
Disclaimer: The cake rating is my totally subjective, entirely arbitrary rating system. If I finished it, you can assume I enjoyed it regardless of the rating. 5 🍰‘s generally mean that I absolutely loved it and will/have purchased a copy for my personal collection.
Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey 🍰🍰🍰
See Rebel Yule for my sudden desire for holiday reads. A sweet, Christmas-themed workplace romance with a grumpy sunshine pairing. If you like a second-chance-at-life-after-serving-time arc (her), this one might be for you.
The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again, Vol. 5 by Hitsuzi Yamada 🍰🍰🍰
This series continues to be adorable. I’m taking my time reading the volumes I’ve collected (and have the last two releases on my wish list). If you’re looking for a cozy read about an anthropomorphic cat who takes care of his human, look no further.
Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum 🍰🍰🍰🍰
A cozy read set in a Korean bookshop. This book has been on all the lists and for good reason. As I usually find with Korean (and Japanese) lit, lessons on life and philosophy are woven within the cozy vibes. Highly recommend if you want a quiet, meditative read.
The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling 🍰🍰🍰
An unexpected Christmas book from a series I associate with Halloween shenanigans. The Ex Hex is one of my feel good faves and this was a sweet winter addition to the series.
Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score 🍰🍰🍰🍰
Picked this one up on a whim after seeing it at the library. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was sucked in from the start. One thing I’ve learned over the last year: I’m definitely a small town romance girl. If you like a found family, second chance at romance, somewhat enemies to lovers, with a side plot of intrigue, TWNGO might be for you. It’s on the long-side of contemporary, which might be a plus if you ever found yourself wishing your romance was longer.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton 🍰🍰🍰
I started this series with book 2, which may have ruined the experience of book 1. It was fun, but the charm of book 2 stole the show for me. Flying houses, secret witch societies, pirates… dastardly deeds. It’s a silly romp.
Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
This book has been recommended on all the anti-fascist reading lists and for good reason. It’s an incredible piece of historical analysis and a reflection current affairs. Not a light read but an excellent work if you want to understand the strongman playbook that we’re seeing in action.
Trigger warning for all kinds of abuses. If you can think of it, the people referenced in this book probably did it. You will need to read/listen to something lighthearted after this one.
Rebel Yule by Kate Meader 🍰🍰🍰
I’m not usually a holiday book girlie, but the times called for some holiday cheer this year. This was my second Kate Meader books this year and it was a nice little treat. The narrator did a Norwegian accent for the MMC that was pretty endearing. A sweet little story that was just what I needed this year.
The Dragon’s Bride by Katee Robert 🍰🍰🍰
So… I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not a monster romance person, but I was intrigued by the demon that strikes the series of bargains that serve as the catalyst for this series. I’m adding that one to by TBR (it’s The Demon’s Queen, in case you’re wondering).
Sex and the Psychic Witch by Annette Blair
It was a little too of its time… maybe I’ll try it again at a later date. Just wasn’t hitting for me.
📖I track my reading habits on LibraryThing and Storygraph.
💜For more, subscribe to the blog. You can also follow my “quiet days” on YouTube. Visit my linktr.ee for socials, or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.
Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
Come along for a Hot Pot dinner for two with appetizers and a boba for him 😊 As part of my “Year of Less” project, I am trying to stick to two planned dates per month as a way to enjoy dining out, and keep the cost within reason, while making it feel special.
Total cost for this date (including tip): $59.59
What’s your favorite cheap date?
marginalia and such 