The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It’s a chance to share News. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.
What happened this week?
Today is the last day of 2023 and I am happy to see this year be over. 2023 was such a difficult and stressful year for me. I have told you about some of it already, but wanted to add a few more details. I got diagnosed as autistic this year and while that has really changed my life for the better with me better understanding myself and how my brain works, the diagnostic process was an absolute nightmare. The people I had to talk with were not empathic or neurodivergent affirming and the whole process was super stressful.
Then there were my boyfriend’s struggles with his new medication which gave very alarming heart related side effects, which was super worrisome. Then there were issues with our drain in the kitchen getting clogged twice as it didn’t get fixed correctly the first time and it taking long to fix both times, as well as other smaller things. And then there was a lot of financial stress as well, luckily our financial situation improved and after that I realized how much stress and worries about our financial situation I was under. After that I just collapsed, felt burned out and have been dealing with that for the last month or two. I cleared my schedule as much as I could and I feel as I am slowly doing a bit better, but I plan to take the first few weeks of 2024 easy as well so I can hopefully recover and start to feel better.
So that was my 2023, luckily I have read a lot of great books this year and am posting about some of my favorites in my top 15 ebooks post, my top 8 audiobooks post and my top 10 books with neurodivergent main characters post. I hope you check them out! I really enjoyed compiling these posts and looking back at all the awesome reads and listens of this year. The ebooks and neurodivergent main characters post have a small giveaway attached to them as well.
So now about this week. I tried to take it very easy this week and I had some nice relaxing days. Then overdid it and was super tired again for days. Then our fridge and freezer combo was having issues with it being the right temperature sometimes, but then being too warm other times and we decided to buy a new one as our current one is not reliable anymore and it’s pretty old already. I don’t like new Year’s Eve due to the fireworks, so today will be tough for me.
What did I read this week?
This week I blogged about:
– Lola’s Ramblings: Top 15 Books of 2023
– Lola’s Ramblings: Top 8 Audiobooks of 2023
– Lola’s Ramblings: Top 10 Books with Neurodivergent Main Characters
What to expect next week on the blog:
– Review: Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day
– Review: Moment of Tooth by Lindsay Buroker
– Review: A Bid to Rule by Novae Caelum
Tours open for sign-up on Lola’s Blog Tours:
– Review Opportunity: Brooke’s Win-Win Pony by Susan Count
– Review Opportunity: Adventures of Takuan from Koto by Ryu Zhong
– Review Opportunity: Notes for Neuro Navigators by Jolene Stockman
– Cover Reveal: Eat Dessert First by Michelle Paris – 12 January 2024
2023 had some great things for me with my Scotland trip, but I’m ready to see how a “normal” year will be in 2024, and I hope that maybe I can get some changes with my job, so I’m with you on ready for this year to be over. I would love to get a new fridge with an ice maker, but I have such a small spot for mine, I am good for now since it works. Plus of course I’d have to have someone run the water line to even get an ice making fridge. Here’s to a good 2024 for both of us. Happy New Year!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Weekly Wrap-Up #150 – December 31st, 2023
That’s awesome you got to visit Scotland this year, I’ve visited the country years ago and it’s such a pretty country. I hope you can make some changes with your job in 2024. I didn’t really want to replace out fridge, but we kinda had to now it’s no longer working well. Happy new year and here’s to a good 2024!
I hope 2024 is much smoother for you. My daughter just got her autism diagnosis the day before Thanksgiving and it was not a bad process once she was actually scheduled for the testing. I wish you some rest and relaxation. Thanks so much for participating in the Top 10 posts.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…2023 Library Love Year End Savings #LibraryLoveChallenge @angels_gp @BooksofMyHeart
Thanks! I hope 2024 is a lot smoother. I am glad to hear your daughter’s diagnosis process wasn’t too bad once she was actually scheduled for the testing. I think the place I went to just wasn’t the best fit for me, but I couldn’t really tell beforehand. Thanks for hosting the top 10 posts, I had fun participating in some of them.
I imagine it must be such a relief to finally have a diagnosis, but it sucks that the process was such an ordeal. I’m sorry you had to deal with that. I’m happy to hear you’re planning to take the first few weeks of the year easy. Self-care comes first and I hope you feel better soon! I hope 2024 is a better year for you. Happy New Year!
Haze @ The Book Haze recently posted…Sunday Post | An Ice-Skating Christmas Day
It really is a relief to finally have a diagnosis and have a name for it, but I really wish the whole process would’ve been less stressful. I hope I can take it easy these first few weeks of the year and that that helps.
I’m sorry this year has been so rough. While I’m not autistic, I understand what it’s like to be around and talk to people who aren’t affirming in your diagnosis. I’m glad the process is over so you don’t have to deal with that anymore. I hope you can surround yourself with neurodivergent-affirming friends and family. Happy New Year!
Jenni Elyse recently posted…Sunday News #49
I am sorry to hear you also have experiencing with being around people who aren’t affirming, that’s really tough. I am glad the process is over and I hope 2024 will be a better year.
Yeah, you had some stressful times this year, but I’m so glad you got the disability process worked through and your boyfriend found a good supplement. Hopefully you can relax a bit here at the beginning of the year.
Happy New Year, Lola!
Sophia Rose recently posted…Top 10 Books I Want in 2024 #Top10of2023 #Top10 @SnyderBridge4 @sophiarose1816
I am really glad this year is over and hopefully 2024 is less stressful. Happy new year to you too!
Happy New Year! That’s awful though about the way you were treated. I feel like we still have such a long way to go with acceptance. And medication issues like that can be a nightmare too! I’m wishing you a better 2024. Fireworks can be stressful too. Even the animals don’t like them sometimes!
Sigils and Sushis looks fun!
Greg recently posted…Song of the Week 162
The whole process was just so stressful and horrible. I definitely feel there’s still a long way to go with acceptance and udnerstand of so many things. And then I see how understanding and accepting everyone has been here in the comments and that makes me happy and gives me hope. I feel bad for all the animals who struggle with the fireworks as well.
Happy New Year!!!
I am so sorry to hear that this was such a rough time for you though. I hate that for you. 2023 was a year I am ready to put behind me too, not that it was all bad, my reading was the best its ever been, just everything else was not so good. haha Silver linings right? Hope 2024 is a much better year for you and brings in peace and joy for you.
Lover of Romance recently posted…Weekly Recap (Week 1) 2024 Reset + Happy New Year
My reading has been really good in 2023 as well, so that’s definitely a good silver lining. I am sorry to hear 2023 was a year you’re happy to put behind you as well. I hope 2024 is a better one for you!
Here’s hoping 2024 is more peaceful for you! Sounds like such a rough year.
Hope you enjoyed the books you read this week!
Nicky @ The Bibliophibian recently posted…Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post
Thanks! It really was a rough year, but hopefully 2024 will be more peaceful.
Sending big hugs! I also suspect that I’m neurodivergent, but I don’t want to go through the diagnostic process. I feel you. It is stressful. But I’m already close to 50 years old, so I don’t see how it’ll change me to get a diagnosis, so I just move forward. It would be different if I was younger or needed medication. I’m glad to hear you’re doing better! Burnout is very real and it can be even worse for neurodivergent people. Take care of yourself.
S. J. Pajonas recently posted…2024: The Year I Embrace What Makes Me Unique
After having been through the diagnostic process I can definitely understand why you say that, it was one of the most stressful things I’ve done. Luckily there are some excellent resources online as well as stories by people who are neurodivergent that can help with self diagnosing if you’re interesting in that. It really helped me a lot to understand my brain better and be kinder to myself knowing where some of my struggles as well as joy come from. Getting late diagnosed seems to be quite common nowadays as I’ve read lots of stories online from people getting diagnosed later in life. Burnout is tough and I hope I can do better soon, but I think I just need some time to recover from this year.
I’m sorry the process of getting a diagnosis was such a problematic one. I hope you have a much less stressful year ahead.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Happy Raturday!
Thanks! I hope 2024 will be much less stressful.
I can see why you’re happy to say goodbye to 2023! Glad to hear you got your diagnosis squared away, though. Hopefully that’ll help things going forward. I do enjoy seeing “top reads” kind of posts too! I’ll check yours out. 🙂
It’s been such a relief to have the diagnosis, just a shame the process was so stressful. Thanks for checking my top reads posts, I really enjoy looking back on my favorite reads of 2023.
I’m sorry that 2023 was so stressful for you. I’m heading over to check out your favorites posts. Wishing you a peaceful and happy new year!
Diana @ Book of Secrets recently posted…THE WINTER SPIRITS: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Bridget Collins and Others
Thanks for checking out my favorites posts, they’re always so fun to write! I hope 2024 will be less stressful than 2023 was for me.
I hope this year is much better for you and that the fireworks weren’t too rough on NYE. We had so many go off by us in Chicagoland!
Victoria A Hamel recently posted…What I’ll be Taking into 2024
There were a lot of fireworks here on NYE, it was not a good day for me, but I am glad it’s over again for another year.