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Musings of a Distracted Mama | Books, Crochet, & Journals

@musingsofadistractedmama

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MN | Crafty Bookworm📚
Mama to 3 | Nearly Empty🪺
Self-diagnosed ADHD
‘Easily distracted’ since kindergarten🤣
Find my journals:@cottagecollagestudio

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What better way to celebrate National Read a Book Day than to share my new book room with you!

I finally put the books on the shelves last night! This was a true labor of love…my love of books and being surrounded by them and my husband’s love for me — working so hard to DIY this room and make it absolutely perfect!

This book room is my version of dopamine decor and I love that there is still room to add a lot more books.

I will spend hours in here doing my granny hobbies, escaping reality by reading amazing stories, and sharing it all here on booksta! 😍

PS. A whole progress—before/after post will be coming soon…. by @musingsofadistractedmama

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a year ago

Hiya! I'm just starting in on this most recent version of my #booksta journey. I'm a stay-at-home mom with a nearly empty nest, a busy hard-working traveling hubby, and I'm a part-time content creator.

As I get used to the idea that I only have one kiddo at home now (instead of 3) and much fewer activities scheduled on our calendar, I decided to dive back into hobbies I've always enjoyed but maybe didn't have time for in the last decade or so.

While I plan to post about my hobbies on a whim, book reading is always my mainstay. So I figured I should somewhat explain how I rate the books I read.

Here it goes! Swipe through to read what MY particular ratings are. Everyone is different but I tend to rate the books I read against each other--as in, 'oooh that one was more spicy than the last one.' And since I've read enough smut (and other genres too 🤣) to feel like I have a pretty good handle on the breadth of it all. This is the system I've come up with. Totally my own thoughts on what I read. Hope you find them helpful to you if you're looking for a new book. And maybe you can enjoy all my other random hobbies along the way as well. ❤️

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out! 😊

And if you happen to be an author and write similar books to what you find here, I'd be happy to have you reach out to chat about ARC reviews. 💖

#starthere #meetthebookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreader #bookreadersofinstagram #bookreviewer #bookreviews #madm #spicybooks #arcreviewer #arcreader by @musingsofadistractedmama

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2 years ago

👋 Hey there! I've wanted to post about randomness for a while. And for whatever insecure reason, I don't want to be the TRUE me on my regular socials. So I created this little space for myself. While I will chat about my true feelings on things and it will be very REAL, I like the idea of keeping it anonymous overall so I can post without my MIL, mom, kids, etc reading every little thought I have.

Ironically, I feel like this place for me will be more true to who I am than my 'real' social accounts. 🤔 Isn't that a bit sad?

At any rate, I hope some people find this account entertaining and will engage with me here.

I've gone through a bit mental health wise in the last year and it came to a breaking point with me googling "why can’t I get anything done, even though I really want to?" and the interwebs spit back ‘ADHD’ at me. So I looked into it and holy sh*t. Sooo many things fit the bill for me: time blindness, procrastination, hyperfocus, distractedness, trouble sleeping, rejection sensitivity, and inability to get myself to do things I KNOW I need to do. And dude. I'm a 47 year old female. I've lived my whole life with these issues thinking I'm just lazy or weird, and feeling overwhelmed with the world around me.

I love to hide out in my hobbies! Reading has ALWAYS been a thing for me. A way to escape the real world. I even had a book blog 20 years ago when book blogging was JUST becoming a thing! I spent the last 21 years focused on my kids and my youngest is now 14 the other two are in college. And I'm married to my college sweetheart - 23 years of my Happily Ever After.

Besides books and my family, I must have coffee every morning, complete the Wordle of the day, and partake in my current ‘Hobby-of-the-season’. Because of my self-diagnosed ADHD -- I tend to hyperfocus on a hobby - dive all in, buy ALL the supplies, learn everything, get decent at it, then promptly drop it like a hot potato and move on. So currently I love all things crochet, Broadway, and house plant-related as well as all the Smut books and Rom-Coms. We shall see how long it all lasts.

Thanks for stopping in! Give me a follow if you feel distracted enough to do so! 💖
#booktok by @musingsofadistractedmama

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2 years ago

Working on TWO @knitsirdar CALs at the same time. 1) the Pumpkin Spice blanket by @spitspotstitches and 2) the Day Tripper blanket by @katiejonesknit.

I took a couple months break from crocheting and it was time to jump back in. The movement of my hands leads to the calming of my mind. Can’t wait to see how these turn out!

🏷️: analog time, cozy hobbies, crochet, yarn lovers, craft hobby, granny square, calm the mind, quiet time, summer fun by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

It may be summer and 90+ degrees around here in MN, but it’s fall here in my book/craft room! A new @knitsirdar and @spitspotstitches CAL is happening!! And I’m super excited about it!

🏷️: analog hobbies, crafty girls, crochet along, crochet-a-long, yarn lovers, cozy hobby, homebody, craft fun, book room by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

Y’all! I did it! I finally actually completed a journal page!

Journaling has always appealed to me — the pretty pages, the stickers, the idea of tracking my reading life like some organized person. And then my ADHD brain shows up, I do it for three days, and the journal joins the graveyard on my shelf. Story of my life.

But this one? I actually finished a whole spread. For Breaking Point by @bookishh.mads, because this book absolutely wrecked me — slow burn, fake dating, he falls first, and I didn’t even mind waiting until 92% for the spice. I usually hate slow burn. I don’t do patience. But I was so sucked in by these two characters and what they were going through, the wait just made sense.

This book is not your normal fun sports romcom, it has so much depth, the characters go through devastating things and come through on the other side. It is so beautifully written. I cried at the funeral scene like an idiot and I am not usually an emotional person. That scene made me think of the movie Steel Magnolias and where Sally Fields character loses it with her friends after the funeral. I cry every time I watch that. It’s just so real and authentic.

Grayson and Bella are living in my head rent free.

I may only have one journal spread done it’s a small win, but I’m taking it. 🙌📖

Oh and I updated it since I took this picture. I don’t know what I was thinking originally. Because Grayson gives almost all the green flags and the angst is off the scale for what these two go through!

#booksta #romancereader #bookjournal #adhdreader #cozyhobbies by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

Mama treated herself to a new toy! I’ve decided to jump into the world of book journals. And I felt like I needed this adorable little HP Sprocket printer to help me along the journey. Can’t wait to play with her!

I feel like she needs a name! What do you suggest?? 🤔🥰 Do you junk journal, book journal, or have other cozy hobbies?? by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

I visited Asheville, NC and the surrounding area for a girls weekend with my high school friends. We were celebrating 20 years of girls trips! I definitely recommend letting the trip make it out of the group chat!

One day we visited this adorable little town, Black Mountain and visited all the amazing little shops. I fell in love with @sassafrasonsutton! What a lovely bookstore! It spoke to all the cozy hobbies that live inside of my brain! If you’re ever in the area please go visit Sassafras! They literally had all the things!! You will love it!

#analoghobbies #booksta #bookstores taken in Asheville, North Carolina by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

Ok, yea, can we have more book adaptations please!!! And not just college/new adult. Can we please have like small town, all the different aged characters - the essence of Gilmore Girls and One Tree Hill but with a little spice in there too??

Yes, I got sucked into Off Campus. 😂 But it’s because it brought back the moments of my youth I loved in tv shows! The scene of Hannah walking out of the building and Garrett leaning against his jeep. Sooo Sixteen Candles. The toxic relationship of Garrett and his father - so Dan and Nathan from One Tree Hill.

We need a Virgin River type show but less sweet and more spice! I need another Hart of Dixie type show but with spice! Let’s see a Sparrow Falls TV series or a DC Stars TV series. We don’t have to stick to these young’uns. How about Windy City as a TV series?

Us 40+ers need a Grey’s anatomy but sports world based! Spinoffs for all the sports like in @aklandow_author world! ALL of her books interconnect! So many characters, side stories for days! It would be perfect!

So many movies and tv shows are stale nowadays and I feel like nothing “new” gets made. It’s all reboots or Marvel Chapter 93. Screenwriters, there is an entire world of romance books out there that would make amazing tv shows and movies! And they already have a following and built-in audience! Dive in!!

What book series would you want to see on your screen?? by @musingsofadistractedmama

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3 months ago

Ok, so. Admittedly I just threw this post graphic together because I wanted to post and I didn’t want to wait. And I have ADHD and if I don’t post now, I never will. So you may have to deal with some lame graphics from me in order to just get my thoughts out there. 🤣😂🤣

Sooo, I read Safe Haven and Safe Keeping by @kristenproby recently and really enjoyed them. She has a HUGE backlist. Do I just keep moving forward and read her new one coming out - Pretty Little Scars? Or do I start with her Big Sky series. Kristen Proby fans, educate me!!! by @musingsofadistractedmama

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4 months ago

Soooo, I got distracted…again. lol! Haven’t posted in awhile. But, I have still been reading. 50 books as of June, right on schedule for completing my 100 book goal for the year!

Things I’ve been distracted by lately,
🍩 Princess Donut - have you fallen down the Dungeon Crawler Carl rabbit hole yet??? It’s pretty crazy!

™️— bookish trademark drama. Oh wait, can I use the word Bookish? Or is that one trademarked now too? 🤣

📝 — book journals. I’m diving into this world. Will share soon.

🏠 — parenting adult-ish children through mean girls, housing changes, injuries, graduation, fender bender accidents. Ya know, the usual. 🙄🤣😊

Meanwhile, still always reading through the chaos. 😍 by @musingsofadistractedmama

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4 months ago

Almost done with this colorful 🌈 blanket! This is how I’m spending my afternoon escaping into the therapeutic rhythm of crocheting and listening to a book. Trying to quiet my mind.

Dealing with parenting my young adult today and being far away as a mom when things aren’t going well for them. Sigh. Looking forward to the years when they will be dealing with other people whose frontal lobes are fully formed. 🥺 Though I suppose some mean girls never grow out of the immaturity, do they? 😔 by @musingsofadistractedmama

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7 months ago