Hello Worlds!

I wanted to start this year off on a good note. Not only with my personal well-being and mental state, but also with my reading and crafting goals.

These aren’t resolutions as I don’t do those, they are too easily broken for me to be bothered, however it is a mindset and a challenge I am looking forward to with a generous amount of excitement and just a little nervousness.

Why do this? Easy.

About halfway through last year I found myself feeling extremely anxious and fatalistic. I had trouble sleeping because of it and didn’t feel much like reading even though several of my FAVORITE authors had new books come out (which I still haven’t read). I didn’t want to do any of my crafts and the only reason I won NaNo was because I had support from a writing friend.

I started to pray about it and felt better, but I don’t always stop during the day and remember that God listens all the time and not just when I’m in bed before sleep. Thus, the feelings didn’t go away completely.

In the past, reading has always helped my balance (emotional, psychological and whatnot) because it takes me from this world to another. Effectively making me not care about a mean customer from a few days ago and all the other little things that I was blowing out of proportion and feeling the negative side effects of.

A light popped up out of nowhere and I grabbed it quite tightly last year while this was happening, and I rediscovered something I loved!

Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off series from the equally fantastic Stargate SG1 series. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed both shows until I found them on Hulu and decided to watch them because I was bored and had nothing else to do (this was a familiar feeling throughout and I tended to sleep more than was healthy just to escape).

The thing about Atlantis is that it was cancelled after only 5 seasons. The company had filed for bankruptcy and MGM stepped in but chose not to continue the series or make proposed movies to formally end the series (pretty sure I summed that up right). This has always bummed me out because we’re left with SO many questions.

Thankfully, there is A BOOK SERIES THAT CONTINUES THE STORY!!!

Okay, I should have known this before and apparently my sister actually owned the books years ago, but I didn’t know, and she no longer does. My family is fantastic and bought me most of the books for 2018 Christmas. By the time I had procured the last few I was already feeling bad and the books have sat on a shelf for almost an entire year now.

End of last year I decided that I would go on an adventure with Atlantis and SGA1 (my complete adoration of and crush on Todd had nothing to do with it. At all. I swear!).

A wonderful site (stargate.fandom.com) helped me to plot between what episodes I should read the books…which is when I discovered that the books, though numbered, are not chronologically synced to the episodes.

Which is fine.

Totally.

-_-

I tell you this because I thought ya’ll would enjoy some regular posts from me this year and since Atlantis was part of what made me feel better, maybe it’ll do the same for someone else.

Or just be entertaining for other fans or make new fans!

So, expect the second review next week which will cover Book 1, Stargate Atlantis: Rising, and episode 1. This is the only book in the series, I have been told, that is a novelization instead of original work.

Why next week instead of now?

Because this post is already longer than I thought it would be and I haven’t even told you about my cross-stitch success yet!

One of my stress relievers is crafting.

Cross-stitch, painting and drawing are some of my favorites, but I haven’t done much the last few years. I collected stuff to do but never did it. After selling off a TON of crafty supply things, I am down to just 4 boxes with 1 being for completed crafts and another having those Christmas villages you can paint that take up so much space.

This year is different though. I have already completed 2 from start to finish and have, just last week, discovered a bag with 3-4 unfinished projects. I have been chronicling my accomplishments on Facebook so if you haven’t already, check out my page, @AuthorIlleanaNexry.

And that’s pretty much it for this very long post. Sorry I don’t have a potato for you, but may your year be full of wonder and fun!