Bibliosphere

 My county library is probably one of the most awesome library systems (I am super biased though) and actually is one of the busiest systems in the country. I love the system dearly. I love going to their events and often bring along a friend. For the first week of the year, I brought her to our newest library building for a Vision Boards workshop. I didn't think we would spend the whole hour and a half, but sure enough, we didn't roll out until just before the end of the workshop. I spent a lot of time combing through the magazines, picking just the perfect images and text for my board. I focused on my hobbies, especially cooking, things I want to do this year. I unfortunately didn't include a lot of art items, just based on what the magazines had, but also got a lot of cool foodie stuff and them some other pretty things.  Overall, I don't have one concrete vision for 2024. I have some resolutions, sure, and I have my goals. But I'm trying not to set the bar too hi

St Baldricks February Challenge is almost here! While the fundraiser technically takes place on Facebook, I've made the decision to do an actual fundraiser page, on St Baldricks' website. You can find it here .  I'm honoring children close to my heart, but I'd love to honor more. If you have a child (or adult survivor) you'd like me to add to my page, please comment. Kids can't conquer childhood cancer alone, but we can help them.

 To track my reading, I use an app called StoryGraph. I highly recommend it as an alternative to Good Reads. It has lots of neat features and has great data visualization, perfect for your inner nerd. This year, I read more than I have probably since high school (if we're only counting reading for fun). While I've always appreciated nonfiction, it's become my one and only reading genre. Within nonfiction though, there's tons of options. I developed a taste for memoirs this year, reading 11 of them. I also read some poetry for the first time in quite a while, and got back into audiobooks (arguably the best format for memoirs, as often the author reads them). For 2024, I set my goal at 52 books for the year. I'm already on track, with two books finished in the first week of the year. Wish me lots of cozy books, lots of learning, and lots of enjoyment out of books.

 January is National Blood Donor Month! Cue celebratory emojis for all those who donate blood! But, in all seriousness, there is a nationwide blood shortage in the US, the lowest number in 20 years (a 40% drop). That's a huge issue, not just for the childhood cancer community, but for many medical communities. My brother had many units of whole blood and platelets during his treatment, an amount I have since given back through donation. The need is greater than ever: every 2 seconds someone needs blood. Most needed? Platelets or red blood cells from those with type O blood (either Rh).  I was a gallon grad, someone who donated 8 units of blood prior to graduating high school. Later in college I started doing platelets. Then I went to camp one summer and moved further from the blood bank and just stopped. I asked them to stop calling and they were respectful. Early in January, they reached out. It's been 6 years. But I had been thinking about this for months, how I should start

 Martin Luther King Jr weekend is a national weekend of service. There are many fabulous ways to give back to the childhood cancer community. Our kids need all the help that they can get. Here are a few ideas to get your started: Raise awareness, either on your own or working with a community organization. Raise money for a childhood cancer charity or donation fund Participate in a Curesearch Walk or Ultimate Hike Shave your head (or volunteer to help) at St Baldricks Volunteer at your local hospital on the pediatric floor Volunteer as a patient advocate or educator at a local hospital or nonprofit Create art or game kits for childhood cancer patients Create a meal train for a local family whose child is undergoing cancer treatment Volunteer to write guest posts or content for nonprofits Volunteer to use your skills sets with childhood cancer nonprofits There's tons of ways to give back and I hope that you'll consider some!

 Ok, so I invented this the day before I left for Wisconsin to use up what I had. It was delicious and concocted purely on the fly.  Ingredients: 2-4 oz whole wheat rotini (can sub other pasta) 1 cup baby bella mushrooms, cut into 4-8 pieces, depending on size 1 medium shallot 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided Sea salt Fresh cracked pepper 1 clove garlic Asiago cheese, shredded, for serving Chopped fresh parsley, for serving And here's how you make it: Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. While it's cooking, thinly slice the shallot and break apart the slices. In a small to medium pan, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil. When hot, add the shallot, seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook approximately 5 minutes, until tender and beginning to brown. Add the chopped mushrooms to the pan. Drizzle with additional olive oil, to coat the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. With one minute left to go on the pasta, add minced garlic to the mushrooms and shallots. Cook

 I've been in the market for a new car, and on December 17th, my parents found the perfect one. Similar size, lots of great features, reasonably priced. So we cancelled my plane ticket last minute and I drove to Wisconsin with my old car, transferred it to my parents, got my new car, and drove back with my mom. Here are the highlights: Overall, the drive to Wisconsin was uneventful. I stopped at 1 Costco (Coralville, IA) on my way there, which was surprising to my parents, and also they have an enclosed parking area, which was weird. I tried very hard to stop at rest areas for a walk, but also, I like to just power through honestly. On the way home, we spent much time playing with my new car's features. It has sensors galore, a navigation system, and a CD player (yes, this is exciting). In Wisconsin and much of Iowa, unfortunately we went through the bulk of a snowstorm. About an hour in, the car beeped and said it couldn't use the sensors. When we stopped, the entire front

 I'm going to do some posts that give readers a background on childhood cancer throughout the year. My goal is to do at least a few related posts every month, for sure the awareness days and months, and then some other information, news, etc.  First, let's dive in to what types of cancers occur in children. There are many types of childhood cancer, hundreds in fact, especially when you consider subtypes. But which are the most common? In order of most to least common, by percent of childhood cancers, they are: Leukemias - 31% Brain and spinal tumors - 26% Lymphomas - 10% Soft tissue sarcomas - 7% Neuroblastoma - 6% Kidney tumors - 5% Bone tumors - 4% Germ cell tumors - 3% Retinoblastoma - 3% Liver tumors - 2% Other cancers - 4% According to the Children's Cancer and Leukemia Society from the UK via MacMillan Cancer Support ( x ). All childhood cancer is considered rare, with only a few hundred per million diagnosed annually. But if you add that up over the span of a childho

 2023 has come and gone. My goal for this year was simple: have better work-life balance. While some seasons were better than others, I feel like I accomplished my goal. So here's some highlights from my year: I started out slow with minimal activities in winter, although I was dating someone so there were a few outings. Also in the winter, I took up cooking as a hobby, spurred by the decision that I finally needed to listen to my doctor and address some health issues with lifestyle changes. I went to Seattle area in March! My dad's family still lives there, so I visited, the first time visiting on my own. A month later, I bought my digital step counter and joined my health insurance's app, so now I'm extra motivated to move my body, eat healthy, and take care of myself. We had record snowfall this past winter. Seriously, some ski resorts had over 800 inches, including a snow storm in April. Also in April, my work bestie moved back east to be with her family. We sen