It's March, aka Birthday Month for yours truly! February was a busy month, with our move to the new house, but I got plenty of writing done as well. Here are the highlights from what I put out onto the web in February:

• I started re-watching Sailor Moon and realized that the show is my morning person origin story

• In response to Age of Empathy's prompt about the returning light, I wrote about winter dog walks and trying to make peace with the cold times.

• It's been a bit since I wrote about my first boyfriend, but when I saw that The Memoirist was doing a series called "Love Stinks" I couldn't resist revisiting my first-ever Valentine

• Once upon a time, I went mall walking almost every weekend. I revisited the hobby and reflected on my relationship to malls in this essay, which incidentally was selected for Medium's new "boost" feature.

• Sailor Jupiter was my favorite Sailor Scout, and in rewatching the series I'm reflecting on why

• Now that I'm a homeowner, I'm reflecting on what our spaces mean to us and how living somewhere I love is making me a different person (kind of)

• I asked myself, what do I have to say about Star Wars? Apparently, it was time to write about my early childhood crush on Luke Skywalker.

• As always, there's plenty of new content up on Your Book Friend, as well--book reviews, bookish lists, and more.

That's all for February's highlights! A very happy My Birthday Month--er, I mean March--to you all.

August is a dark time for me as an introvert who works in Student Affairs. Orientation is a lot of sudden socialization after the quiet of summer, and it rolls right into the start of the semester with nary a day to recharge. As much as I love meeting our incoming students and feeling that start of the year energy, I also very much love the first day where I don't have to talk to anyone.

In spite of the business, I managed to keep my writing hat on for at least some of the time, which means we're starting September with another monthly highlights post.

• My book blog and website, Your Book Friend, is going strong with plenty of new reviews and weekly reading check ins. You can check it out on Medium here, or on WordPress here.

• I felt called to write a sequel to my personal essay about my boob growth spurt, specifically related to how it feels to run in the summer heat now that I've got a D cup sports bra squad situation.

• Panic! at the Disco released a new album on August 19th, and there was much rejoicing. I took it as an invitation to create my personal ranking of their studio albums.

• Half Marathon Training continues, and I've been writing weekly training recaps on my self-care blog, Running Into Joy.

• After using a Passion Planner for years, I decided to apply to be a brand ambassador--and I got in! This inspired me to start writing a bit more about how I use my planner, also on Running Into Joy. (Side note/shameless plug: If you're in the market for a new planner and want to give Passion Planner a spin, you can slide on over to their website and use my discount code AMANDAO876 to save some $ and send a little support my way.)

That's about it for this month! Not my most profilic writing month, but I'm really proud of keeping my passion projects afloat while I've been so busy at work. I hope August has treated you well, and thank you as always for being here and supporting my work. I'll see you at the end of September with another highlights post!

Hello, friends! My monthly update for April is coming a bit late because, well... I got married at the end of the month! The last couple weeks were, therefore, a blur and I started May off on our honeymoon.

Aside from getting a little bit married last month, I did manage to put out some words on the web as well. A couple of older essays, particularly the one about my weight gain and probably related bra size increase, picked up some traffic last month, which is always cool to see.

The big shift of the month is that I resumed writing on my self-care and running blog, Running Into Joy, and joined a new running-related publication, Runner's Life. You can check out my article with tips to show up race ready here.

Other highlights include...

• A rant/humor piece about an Oats Overnight ad that really grinds my gears, for some reason.

• My review of Kingdom Hearts III, which I finally started playing thanks to the announcement that KH IV is in development. You know me, always fresh and on trend.

• Seeing The Lost City sparked some reflection on my relationship with rom coms.

Now that wedding planning is over, I'm looking forward to putting up our Little Free Library and focusing in on the memoir. Hope your May is off to a good start, and I'll see you next month to reflect on how it went!

Happy June!

May felt like a thaw in more than just the weather, at least for me. The world seemed to start moving again after so much pandemic-related stagnation.

I also made a return to my former life as a book blogger, revamping my old Amanda Reads blog to Your Book Friend. Same vibes, new name.

It’s been another relatively productive writing month for me, so here are a few highlights of what I’ve been up to in the month of May.

• I posted an April 2021 reading recap over at Your Book Friend, and it became my most popular self-published post on Medium! Check out my mini-reviews for the best books I read last month and add on to that TBR (that's a friend link, just for you, non-Medium friends!) There’s also a hot-off-the-press May 2021 reading recap, as well.

• I reflected on one of my favorite travel memories for a prompt in World Traveler's Blog inviting us to consider a travel memory in the country where we were born.

• Your Book Friend launched an exciting new series--What We're Reading Wednesdays! Join us every other Wednesday to chat about our current reads.

• I wrote about the joy of anticipating my upcoming trip for World Traveler's Blog and about how my anxiety changed the experience of hiking solo for Invisible Illness

• I also started a Bookstagram account to house all my bookish posts and photos, as well as enjoy connecting with other book people

• I shared the daily three-card Tarot spread that sparks my creativity

• So many new book reviews hit Your Book Friend and my favorite bookish publication, Coffee Time Reviews. I had a great reading month and hope June carries forward that momentum!

• In non-linkable news, I started drafting my first memoir. Cue all the scared, excited sounds!

I hope you had as good a May as possible in this year of 2021, and that your June is off to a good start!

If you’re interested in a weekly update on my writing life, you can follow me on Buy Me A Coffee, where I post weekly updates every Monday.

April has been a challenging month for me personally, for a number of reasons. Yet I’m very proud to say I met the goal I set at the start of the month of publishing at least 20 stories on Medium!

With so much work hitting the internet, I’m excited to whittle it down to some of my favorite articles from the month of April. Per usual, I will break it down by category so you can find the work that most matches your interest areas.

I know they say we should fit ourselves into niches as writers, but I believe we all contain multitudes and should write about the things that speak to us. And so, without further ado, here’s some of what I felt drawn to write about this month.

Mental Health/Chronic Pain

• I reflected on the last time I rode a rollercoaster prior to receiving the diagnosis that makes it medically unadvisable for me to ride them ever again, accepted by Invisible Illness

• I penned some thoughts related to body image and diet culture in my first article for Write Like a Girl

Travel

• Remembering my cross-country Greyhound trip to Idaho and the events that transpired in the Sawtooth mountains in my first for World Traveler’s Blog

• Azula, Andy, and I went backpacking a few months ago for my very first time, which I wrote about for World Traveler’s Blog

• I returned to my Ohio roots in this reflection on my first trip to Hocking Hills post occipital neuralgia diagnosis, also for World Traveler’s Blog

Books & Reading

• I reviewed Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary for the fabulous new Medium publication, Coffee Time Reviews

• After buying yet another Reese’s Book Club pick, I went down a rabbit hole exploring what other celebrity book clubs are out there for this roundup posted in Books Are Our Superpower

• Coffee Time Reviews published this reflection on why we can never really read the same book twice

Running

• I’m back on the run after a hiatus, which is always an interesting experience, as outlined in this article

• As summer approaches, I rounded up my favorite summer running essentials for In Fitness and in Health

Identity/Self

• This reflection on my history with coffee (or lack thereof) sparked more conversation than I expected

Whew! That’s just a small sample of the things I wrote about this month, and boy does it feel good to reflect back on what went right after this past month.

Before I go, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that I’ve started a page on Buy Me A Coffee, where you can support my creative work if you feel so called. One of the perks on offer is access to behind-the-paywall friend links to all of my posts. So far, I have a whopping 0 supporters, so you could say it’s going pretty well.

Happy “it’s gonna be May” and happy reading, my friends! I’ll see you next month with my next writing recap.

The inaugural issue of The Journal of Dungeoneering for Hip and Attractive Professionals released on March 15th, 2021.

It comprises a variety of art and conversations related to the exciting world of tabletop RPGs, including my essay about finding my place at the table, Chaotic Awkward.

Check out the issue, including my essay, here.

Nonfiction essay “Cooking for One” is now available in audio format through Golden Walkman Magazine.

Listen to the podcast here.