cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

Edit 8/2/21: Done! New addition

Edit 7/5/21: Tree lighting? I need to find a hogswatch book... . 

Edit 6/9/21: Books? Books

Edit 5/3/21: Just keep reading. Mostly bonkers stuff these days because that's where my head is.

Edit 4/8/21: Getting there! 75%! 

Edit 3/5/21: Yeah, doing pretty well. Not sure what I'm going to find to cram into some of these other prompts (13/20 done), but I'll get there!

Edit 2/3/21: So I'm OBSESSED with the Wicked Villains series and am tearing through them like there's no tomorrow. I WILL find a way to get all them on this list. 

The 2021 Heaving Bosoms Reading Embrace prompts are out!

Rules? There are no rules! The only rule is "read books and put them into categories".  

The categories are (20 / 20 done):

1. Darkness Button - Captive in the Underworld by Lianyu Tan
   1. A f/f retelling of Hades/Persephone that, naturally, takes place largely in the very dark underworld.
   2. Persephone is MY GIRL in pretty much any incarnation of this story. I wanted to shake her a little in this version of it, but that's also normal. 
2. Defcon Most Extreme - A Worthy Opponent by Katee Robert
   1. When shit goes down, Tink sounds the alarm and heads in to the rescue. And then her friends come to make sure she's okay.
3. England Times America - The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe
   1. Normally I like her books, but this one just fell entirely flat for me. Not nearly enough groveling from a hero who intentionally ruined everything about the heroine's life that she'd planned. Not nearly enough of a grand gesture and I don't buy the HEA. Hmpf.
4. Furrrrrr - Byony and Roses by T. Kingfisher
   1. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Of course there's fur. No smut, just a sweet romance. One of my favorite books.
5. Ghost Boner - The Pearl by Tiffany Reisz
   1. Malcolm just keeps showing up and meddling, doesn't he? Such a naughty ghost!
6. HB Author - Desperate Measures by Katee Robert
   1. This entire Wicked Villians series is made for me. Just *fans self*
7. Holy Cats, That’s a Nice Nipple! - The Rose by Tiffany Reisz
   1. When the hero is literally a god, his nipples are verrrry nice.
8. Keep Being a Badass - A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare
   1. Hokay, so. This book. The heroine is a total badass and I love her. The hero is a dickwad and I hate him. Why, yes, the best way to prove your love is to take her away from all the things she loves to do so that you can be "together". Ugh. Just not good for me.
   2. I just want to hang out and drink tea with Susanna and have her teach me how to shoot. Maybe we can shoot Bram over the cliff. It'll be fun.
9. Lady Love - Queen Takes Rose by Katee Robert
   1. Zomg hot hot lady lovers. 
10. Morality Boner - Learn My Lesson by Katee Robert
    1. Neither Hades nor Meg have very many morals. Herc does, though. There are lots of boners.
11. Murder Smolder - Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher
    1. A were-bear nun and a berserker paladin? Hell YES there's some smoldering while murdering.
    2. Also the creepiest use of rabbits the literary world has ever seen. So good.
12. Never Seen Snow Before - The Sea Witch by Katee Robert
    1. You guys, Zuri has probably never seen snow before. Or anything. So sheltered, y'all.
13. Orgasms and Waffles - Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston
    1. When stressed, the leading lady bakes. The scene where this is introduced is completely laugh-out-loud funny. I don't remember any waffles, but there are some orgasms. And violence, because the MC is a honey badger shifter. She's awesome and I want to hang out with her.
14. Remembering Things in 2021 - Neon Gods by Katee Robert
    1. Persephone is sunny and survives by appearing empty-headed. But she observes and remembers EVERYTHING and will TOTALLY DESTROY YOU IF YOU CROSS HER. And Hades is grumpy and carries a grudge like you would not believe. I love these two and want to snuggle this book. 
15. Roll Butter - Sinner by Sierra Simone
    1. *fans self* 
    2. There's a scene in a kitchen where there is rolling and a jug of cooking oil. It's not butter and it's not the hero being economical in a weird flex, but DANG is this book steamy. All the steam. Yus.
16. Royal Boner - The Duke Who Didn't by Courtney Milan
    1. Another fantastic historical from Our Lady Of The Twitter Takedowns.
    2. This book made me really happy in the way she turned the tropes on their heads. A less skilled author would have faceplanted, but Ms Milan STUCK THE LANDING. And the crowd (inside my head) went wild!
17. The Seven Seas - Persuasion by Jane Austen
    1. Captain Wentworth, our hero, is in the Navy. That counts.
    2. Also, his title (Captain) starts with C. The Crofts also start with C. And Captain Bennick has 2 Cs. And Captain Harville. Charles Musgrove. That makes 7 Cs. *nods with satisfaction*
18. The Sheriff of My Vagina - The Commanders' Mate by Grace Goodwin
    1. The vagina alien is the Commander of the forces. That makes him BETTER than a Sheriff. A stretch? Sure, but that's what the ATB is for.
19. Traditional Naperville Tree Lighting - All They Want for Christmas by Andie Christopher
    1. I give this book 4 stars for HOT, but 3 for editing. I can overlook some typos, but when I have to stop and go back and try to puzzle out what was meant? Not good. But HAWT.
20. War Horniness - Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian
    1. This book is adorable. One of the characters has Extreme PTSD from war shenanigans. The other has PTSD from an abusive father. Together, they're a sweet cinnamon roll M/M power couple. I love them to bits.

Yesterday was quite the thing.

I worked all morning and then took off at noon. I had my inaugural visit with a new psychiatrist. My old one left that practice and my insurance insisted that I start seeing one of their people. Fine, but my records didn't get transferred to my new Dr. Argh, especially since my job with the Evil Empire is to MAKE SURE THESE THINGS HAPPEN, PEOPLE!

Luckily, we live in the future, so I was able to pull out my smartphone and tell my dr what meds I'm all on and roughly when I started each. It's super cool to be able to see this in both my dr app and Walgreens app. Super helpful!

Since I didn't know how long the appointment would be, I took the afternoon off of work. This was nice, since I was able to get a PSL and head home. I watched cartoons with Alex and taped together a couple printed patterns. I got most of a dress cut out for Emi, but I need to iron my fabric and just couldn't deal with it.

I got to hang with Emi after school and hear all about her trip to Cave of the Mounds. I got to check my work email and try to not snarl at people who ask silly questions.

Then, I got ready for the show! I ended up wearing an off-white long sleeve shirt, my Peg Leg leggings (because I thought it would be cold), one of my 32yd skirts (black on top, white ruffle, and gold ruffle on bottom), and a white corset with a little black lace and black binding (couldn't find a belt that looked right). I also put on a bunch of white eyeshadow, glitter, and a pearl choker.

I had a quick dinner with the family and then headed up into town for the show!

Side note: I didn't have to psych myself up to go to this show. I didn't worry about looking ridiculous or that I'd get lost or that everything would go horribly wrong. I think my anxiety lives in Night Vale. I'm strangely okay with this.

I found parking about 4 blocks from the theater. On the way from the car to the theater, I put on my bustle and my wrap. When I came up to the theater, I turned on the lights in my bustle and wrap.

So. Many. "ALL HAIL!" It was AWESOME and made me feel loved.

I waited in the line to get in, got anxious when RH couldn't find parking, but she drove by, gave me my ticket, and sent me in to stake out seats for us.

The crowd was super fun. There were LOTS of costumes, but only two other glow clouds. And our glow cloud costumes were WAY better. There were Eternal Scouts, Old Women Josie, opera goers, pretty sure there was a John Peters (you know, the farmer), and others I couldn't identify. The demographics of the crowd were neat. There were really young kids (10-13yo), college/grad students, professionals, and grandparent types. And we all cheered super loud when Meg (Proverb Lady) came on stage.

The show was fantastic. I was NOT a fan of the musical group for the bridge and the Weather. Just...not my jam. Good, but not what I like to listen to. The story of the show was fun, being able to see the voices was super awesome, and the live background music by Disparition was great! The story was a little short, especially in light of how many songs Dessa sang before the show started, but it was fun, suspenseful, and full of all the things that make Night Vale own my soul.

I got home about 10:50. I came in, dropped my stuff, and immediately had to start cuddling Alex. He was up crying. We walked around the house and snuggled on the couch for a bit. I got him back in bed, Downwood got a new nightlight for his room, and he was getting settled when I saw the dry, super cracked skin on his wrists and feet. I put some aquaphor lotion on, but it hurt so bad that he started sobbing again. He eventually calmed down, but not until after I laid down on the floor next to his bed so that he wasn't alone.

He fell asleep. I went to bed. He woke up crying again. I went in, got him to go back to sleep. I went to bed. He started crying. Downwood went in. Sleep. Crying. Momma in. Sleep. Crying. Daddy in. Through all this, we never actually figured out what the problem was. No words means communication is hard. No words and tears mean communication is nearly impossible.

At some point, Downwood brought him into our bed to sleep. Poor dude. Neither Downwood or I got good, solid sleep as a result.

We let Alex sleep as long as we could this morning. At the absolute last minute, I woke him up enough to ask if he wanted to go to school because it's Farm Field Trip Day. He said a sleepy yes. Then there were LOTS of tears as I got him ready. Getting dressed was hard, having something to drink was hard. Getting some lotion on the bad spots was hard. He didn't cheer up until he was in his jacket and had his backpack on and some rice crackers to munch. Poor little guy.

Kids got off to school and I got myself to work...about 30 seconds before my first meeting of the day. Now, I'm going from meeting to meeting, trying to pay attention and be my usual awesome self. I'm very tired and the coffee is starting to wear off (eeeeek).

I just have to get through 8 hours of today and then I can go home. I can make Emi a new dress for Ren Faire this weekend. I can figure out something to wear for me. I can snuggle Alex and help him feel better. I can go to Walgreens and get the new meds. I can do these things.

I'm wearing my new Night Vale t-shirt and my Night Vale hoodie. I have music and podcasts. I have some very good books queued up on my Kindle. I can do this.
 

Here's my current podcast lineup and why I like them. Just in case you're like me and like listening to fun things while commuting.

• Welcome to Night Vale - New episodes every two weeks, about 40 minutes. It's the public radio show of the Twilight Zone. I love it beyond all reason. ALL HAIL THE GLOW CLOUD!
• The Reduced Shakespeare Company - New episodes weekly on Monday, about 20 minutes. I love their stage shows and their radio show. They talk about books and theater and it's really funny.
• The Hidden Almanac - New episodes MWF, less than 5 minutes. It's sort of like WtNV, but a little more weird. History, what's happening in the garden, and which saint's feast day. It's written by Ursula Vernon, so that may tell you something. The last couple of shows have been...inspirational.
• Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap - New episodes almost every Saturday, about 80 minutes. It's a food review show where Kevin and Ursula eat the cheap, pre-packaged food and review it. They also drink (reviewing the beer and cider, naturally), swear, and generally be themselves. I want to have beers with them. They are of our people. The last 25 minutes of the most recent show made me laugh so hard that I was seriously considering pulling over to avoid a car issue.
• News in Slow Spanish - New episodes weekly on Thursdays, either 8 or 30 minutes. They read headlines, talk about world current events, and have conversations in slow, clear Spanish, usually with simplified grammar/sentence structure. It's nice for immersion and for falling asleep. I have hope that this will remind my brain how Spanish works.
• Slow German - New episodes about every two weeks, usually less than 10 minutes. She picks a topic and talks about it in German. She speaks slowly, enunciates clearly, and uses sentence structures that aren't torturous. Again, I love falling asleep to this, hoping that my brain will pick up on the word patterns and reinforce my Duolingo practice.