Mindful Ramblings 010 // Shopping for Dad, Tie Dying, and Watching Disney's Luca

Image by Liana Mikah

Surprise, surprise I actually had a pretty good week. Mainly thanks to the long weekend. I had a long day of shopping for my dad's presents for father's day. Another one on Sunday where I went in the pool, had some veggie hotdogs, and tie dyed. The next day was cleaning, blogging, and watching Luca with a friend.

Father's Day

Shopping for father's day was like having amusement park lines without the actual rides. So many people on the streets and I had to find the perfect apron for my dad cause he's messy when he eats so it felt appropriate. I got this cool indoor plant for him too that has black and light green leaves as well as a bottle of wine he loves. My mom and I went to about seven shops and it was horrendous but nice to be with her.

On the actual day I got to go in the pool, eat some veggie hotdogs (Field Roast has some spicy and delicious ones), and tie dye. Well not only me... my mom, tia, tio, little cousin, and dad got into the mix. My dad of course was being obnoxious and dropped basically all the yellow on to his shirt! He wasn't paying attention. It was a lot of fun and we are going to try to do it again soon. I like how mine came out. I still need to wash and dry it but it's got pink and purple vibes which I've been liking lately.

Watching Luca

I watched Luca with a friend. It was the perfect summer movie to watch especially after being in the pool the day before. I loved Luca's mom and her dolphin impression, Giulia was the best, and the whole beach atmosphere was relaxing. I do wish the movie had more moments in the water or by the ocean. I think if the days were longer between them meeting each other and the race I would have enjoyed it a little more. It goes in an unexpected way towards the end that I'm curious to see what others think about. Overall, worth watching.

Running a 5k

Two weeks ago finally came the day where my 5k training would come in handy. I'd only train for as much as 1.5 miles in total which is only half the race but I was a lot more comfortable going longer periods of straight running without stopping than I have ever before. My parents would drive ahead of me and stop so I could get a sip of water from time to time. I didn't expect it to be that hot at 8:30 a.m. so I was dying from the heat. Towards the end my phone was glitching because of the few drops of water that fell on it so I was freaking out. It took what felt like forever to get it working again because I was not about to run those miles again. I was almost there when I realized if I really go for it I would be able to run a 5k under 40 minutes. I know that is slow but I've never been able to do it before. I was able to get a time of 39 minutes and 53 seconds. 7 seconds under 40 minutes. Woohoo! My last best 5k time was 41 minutes 33 seconds It doesn't seem like I've progressed much but I haven't consistently run since then which was wow... four years ago. I want to do my next race in October. I want to do a Halloween race. But that overly ambitious side of me wants to run 6.058 miles because I signed up for a virtual race four years ago. I paid for the race, got the medal, and never ran the race. I want to do it. And I want to do it before I go to Universal. So... do you think I can run 6 miles in 2 months? Eh. I'm just going to go for it. 

Drawing

I've been drawing again which I haven't done in the longest time. I'm trying not to jinx it but I am making the effort to make some little drawings that are easy and cartoonish. I've drawn three cats, two frogs, and Coraline. I have a bunch of art inspiration on my Pinterest if you want to take a look.

Books Read

In the last two weeks I've read 5 books and DNF'd 1. The DNF'd one I will be making a review on because I just don't get how that's considered a YA book.

• Wondercat Kyuu-Chan Vol. 1 - Hinata finds a cute cat who is free to adopt. They have slice of life adventures together. Very cute manga for kids but those titles for each page were annoying.

• The Forest of Stars - Whimsical, dark, sad, circus vibes. Going to be posting a review soon.

• Summer of Salt - Magical island, sisters, and mystery. Loved it. My full review.

• Wilder Girls - Interesting premise, dark, and could have used with a better romance/characters. My full review.

• The School for Good and Evil - A reread of a fantastic fairytale about beauty, choices, and friendships. My full review.

• House of Hollow - Interesting characters and premise but tedious. Not a YA book. I will fight you on that when I review this DNF'd book in July.

Want to Read

• Reaching for Sun - This was recommended on a book blog that is no longer active. I've wanted to read it for years and it feels like the perfect time. 

• An Age of License - I've been thinking about Lucy Knisley's book Relish a lot lately and I just wanted to read another graphic novel of hers. I like her art style and I love memoirs.

• Finlay Donovan is Killing It - Currently reading and looovvving it! I am 40% through and I am so hoping it continues with its amazingness. 

• Garlics and Sapphires - (not pictured) This one I'm going slow with. I'm 17% in so far. My mom doesn't like my book club pick so that sucks but I want to get more into it because foodie memoirs are the best.

Last Week on the Blog

• Book Review: Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno // Magical Summer Days and the Bond of Sisterhood

• Book Review: Wilder Girls by Rory Power // A Story of Friendship on a Dystopian Island

Blog Updates

I got a new profile image by artist Ellie Grace. It's a cartoonish image of me. I could not pull off that tan (maybe in summer) or makeup look but the curls and glasses are so me. I had such a great experience with her and it kicked off some other changes you will be seeing soon...

I also added my pages tab back with a new About Me page, new e-mail, and links to reviews by genre.

Next Week on the Blog

• A book review of The Forest of Stars by Heather Kassner

• A quarterly reading stats wrap-up for April - June

Artist Feature

I can't believe I haven't featured Bao Pham's art. I have two of their art prints featured below. The one with the sunflowers and the one with the water lily. I found him on YouTube originally. He has wonderful art that I actually own!

How has this Summer been treating you?