Lizzing Life

#Booktok for those of you wondering, is the side of Tiktok where people post reading recommendations, reviews, and memes.  It's become so popular that Barnes & Nobles bookstore dedicated a few display tables to books that are going viral on the app. I came across a few videos last summer and I enjoyed most of the books I could get my hands on. Now that I've been back on unemployment, I've gone through a HUGE book binge.  In the past I would leave B&N with arms full of books but due to my Kindle addiction and my unemployment budget - I've managed to get by with the Overdrive App that hosts the LA Public Library digital collection. I've actually maxed out the number of holds I can claim ( only  15!?!). Since the new year, I've read over 20 books based on booktok recommendations but here's a recap of just the best ones...  "Alone" because we're still in a pandemic...

These days when you hear about Oxford you might think about the first COVID Vaccine. One year ago it was just a city full of history that I couldn't wait to explore. After three and a half days in London , Mom and I were on a train headed out to Oxford. We had no set plans for the rest of the day we arrived so we were going to put our bags down and walk around. I had my eyes set on Oxford mainly because of the history and prestige. It’s been used in the Harry Potter movies and the setting of some of my favorite books. I was excited to see the different Colleges and famous Libraries in person and Mom was along for the ride (since I took care of the planning). Coronavirus news was focused around the cancellation and postponement of the Six Nations Championship (rugby) and there had been comments about age being a factor in the worst cases. After the day we arrived, we only had one full day in Oxford before we would head home.

   One year ago,  early 2020, things were going pretty well. (2020 and "going well" in the same sentence!?!) I had just wrapped up a job and had been talking with my mom about going on a trip to London before my next show.  I told her that she should come with me since I am semi-hesitant to travel alone abroad. Mom and I have done mini-vacations before- We did a weekend trip to Maine at the end of summer 2019 and the last visits she took out to LA we drove to vacation spots like Palm Springs, Laguna Beach, and Big Bear.  But one year ago I wanted to Travel Travel and then mom said the magic words.. "Well, If you plan it.." so of course I jumped on the opportunity! This blog post covers the first part of our trip in London and I'll write another post to cover Oxford. 

     I love getting snail mail - all my grown up friends with families (or furbabies) send new "Happy Holiday" cards and I stick them on my fridge.  I never got into sending stuff like that but imagine this post as a letter inside a card that I would send:     Happy Holidays!     I'm sitting here remembering that I have a blog that I've neglected all year. Liz, you've been alone in lockdown, why haven't you updated regularly? Well, it's been a hell of a year and it's been hard to do much more besides take things day by day. And that's OK! (I've learned to be kind to myself) ... let me explain.

All those books I put on hold at the library finally came through in August and I read some really great books over the past month.  I think finally I burned through all the terrible contemporary romances and got to the good stuff. I even found a new book series to obsess over!

I cut the cord in July, downsized with an Apple tv, signed up for Youtube TV so I can get live & DVR for just the channels I was watching regularly. Still have Hulu, Netflix and HBO. I'm still on FUNemployment. Trying to keep the "Fun" by binging on some excellent TV (some new and some just new to me).