One of my new life resolutions this year was to read more books. I set a realistic goal of 12 books this year, which equals out to one per month, and so far, this is the only new life resolution that is actually going well! If I can make it to 25 – the goal I set on Goodreads – then that would be even better, but I’m trying to stay realistic. Here are the books I’ve read so far in 2019.
For some reason, March feels like a great month for me to participate in a photo-a-day challenge. I’m sure it’s because it’s the official month of Spring, and the weather is starting to warm up and everything just feels so nice.
I participated in a challenge last year and documented it in my personal Instagram account but I’m very new to this sort of thing so I didn’t share it to my blog or my blog’s Instagram account, and I probably didn’t even do it right to begin with, but anyway.
I like having the prompts to help nudge my creativity. Sometimes, the prompt is very literal so it’s easy to snap a picture and post it, but other times the prompts are more abstract so it takes a lot of thought, cleverness, and imagination to get the right shot. You can end up with some really great photos that way! So, I’m going to participate in a photo challenge this month and post photos both here and on the blog’s Insta, and I’ll try my best to also post last year’s photos here for reference!
Here’s the challenge prompt I’ll be following this year:
Be sure to follow along here, on Instagram, and my Facebook page!
“Yes, your workplace is sexist. If you’re interested in learning more about things like the gender pay gap and glass ceilings, then this podcast is for you. Jeannie Yandel and Eula Scott Bynoe break down how sexism works in the modern workplace. And with help from some badass experts, they bring you real tactics you can use to fight back.” I’ve been completely aware of some of these issues for quite some time but often I feel helpless to do anything about them. That’s where this podcast comes in, and is the reason I love it so much: they actually give you some solutions to these issues! And the solutions feel completely doable. This podcast might change your life and your world… or at the very least, your sexist workplace.
2. Lore
Lore is one of my never-miss shows. From the website: “Lore is an award-winning, critically-acclaimed podcast about true life scary stories. Lore exposes the darker side of history, exploring the creatures, people, and places of our wildest nightmares. Because sometimes the truth is more frightening than fiction. Each episode examines a new dark historical tale in a modern campfire experience. With more than 19,600 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts and over 155-million listens, that’s clearly a good thing.” What I enjoy most about this show is the history it presents. That’s actually what I love about most ghost stories, ghost walks, etc.; I like learning about the thoughts, culture, and life during the times of these tales, and the host does a good job of weaving history within the macabre.
3. Spooked
Spooked is a production of WNYC’s Snap Judgement. If you like the sound and feel of Snap Judgement and want to hear some ghost stories, then Spooked is for you! This one is my all-time favorite but it’s only out for 13 weeks of the year – the weeks leading up to Halloween! It just finished its second season and if I’m being totally honest, the first season was much better. But it’s still worth listening to if you’re like me and can’t get enough of those spooky tales year round.
4. The Longest Shortest Time
This is “the parenting show for everyone with stories about the surprises and absurdities of raising other humans—and being raised by them. The Longest Shortest Time is an award-winning podcast about parenthood in all of its forms. But you don’t need to be a parent to listen.” As a new parent, I like hearing all of the stories of parenting fails and wins, and I take comfort in knowing that I’m not alone out there, trying to raise a little human.
5. Hidden Brain
Per the website, “Hidden Brain helps curious people understand the world – and themselves.Using science and storytelling, Hidden Brain reveals the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, and the biases that shape our choices.” I find the majority of these stories so fascinating. They touch on some topics that I’ve sometimes thought about and wondered why it is, and other topics that I never really thought about and didn’t know I was so interested in. For example, one episode explores the psychology of why we like surprise endings. I mean, how interesting is that?!
I’ve been thinking about this here blog for the past few weeks. It seems I’ve developed a blogging pattern that consists of getting really energized and having a lot of ideas, and all I want to do is sit and write and share with you, but then I lose steam and feel like nothing I write about is very interesting or worth reading so I disappear for a week or two until I get energized again. I don’t like that pattern and I’m sure it certainly isn’t fun for my readers, but impostor syndrome and feeling like a fraud is really hard to shake. If you experience it, you know what I mean!
But I’ve really started to evaluate my role as a blogger — or, more accurately, my desire to be a blogger — because I was watching Instagram stories the other day and I found some of them to be riveting. And that made me wonder what it is about these stories that caught and held my attention, and I realized that it’s because I could relate to them in some way; my stories aren’t that much different from theirs. So maybe what I have to share really is *that* interesting… or maybe not since it’s already been done. Are you catching on to my thought process here? It’s exhausting to think this way all the time.
I’ve been thinking about the blog because I want to write more consistently. But blogging takes a lot of work and effort. Sometimes I feel that if I spend too much time blogging then I’m not being truly present in my life and I’m missing out on time with my son. But then I’m neglecting my blog and my passion. So how do I find that balance of being present in each moment but still devoted to blogging about those moments? How do you other bloggers do it? A few of the bloggers I really like have given birth recently and I love seeing stories about their beautiful new babies. I have a baby, and I’m sure that sharing stories about our day and the silly things he does would be pretty entertaining.
Anyway, this post has been a draft for a while now. Why? Because it wasn’t finished. It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t have the right pictures. I didn’t think anyone would care. Any maybe no one does care. Maybe I’m yelling out into the void. But if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one there to hear, does it still make a sound? You betcha. So, I’m pressing publish and making my sound. I just hope there’s someone out there in the forest who wants to hear it.
When you ask someone who their heroes are, they’ll probably answer with super inspirational people who’ve done amazing things for humankind, like Martin Luther King, Jr. or Mother Teresa. And, of course, those are awesome heroes to have and I’d jump on that train any day. But if you ask Nikki Crews who her heroes are, she answers with the two most awesome blonde women in the world: Shakira and Leslie Knope!
Listen, I will drop everything to sing and dance along to a Shakira song AND most of the time, I’m quoting the greatest show to have ever existed: Parks & Recreation.
About Me
Hi, I’m Nikki. This is where I blog about my life and personal style. I’m a wife and mom, public health professional, sushi lover, wine enthusiast, and coffee snob. Welcome to my little corner of the world where I try to lead by example!