Safety
Dec. 31st, 2025 01:32 pmNew research reveals a brighter side of ADHD, showing that adults who recognize and use their strengths feel happier, healthier, and less stressed. People with ADHD were more likely to identify traits like creativity, humor, and hyperfocus as personal strengths. Across the board, using these strengths was linked to better quality of life and fewer mental health symptoms. The study suggests that embracing strengths could be a game-changer for ADHD support.
This is not new, nor is it news. Being yourself is good for you. Pretending to be something you're not is bad for you; over time it tends to wreck your health and can kill you. See Prolonged Adaptive Stress Syndrome and ADHD Burnout.
Therefore, pressuring or forcing someone to behave against their nature is abuse.
Be yourself. Don't apologize for who you are. Find your strengths. Especially with neurodiverse people, there is usually something you excel at that "normal" people suck at. Capitalize on that. You deserve to be healthy and happy.
Dreamwidth Book Club
Dec. 31st, 2025 02:28 pm
We are currently voting on the book for January 2026 here: https://bookclub-dw.dreamwidth.org/995.html
Birdfeeding
Dec. 31st, 2025 01:17 pmI fed the birds. There was a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches waiting. I refilled the suet cage.
I put out water for the birds.
EDIT 12/31/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.
I've seen a cardinal.
EDIT 12/31/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
EDIT 12/31/25 -- I did more work around the patio.
As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
Links: Fashion, Nail Polish, & More
Dec. 31st, 2025 07:00 pm
Hello! It’s our last Links of 2025! Can you believe it?
Thank you all for joining me once again on Wednesday afternoons to partake in internet goodness and weirdness.
To cap off my winter vacation, I’ll be seeing the Backstreet Boys and I’m so excited. What’s bringing you joy to close out 2025/kick off 2026?
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I may have shared this before, but oh well! My friend introduced me to Vintage Dusties. The account revives vintage nail polish shades. It’s so soothing to watch and is available across several social media platforms, depending on what you use.
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If you have a Threads account (I think you need one to view?), I loved this thread of people bragging about their accomplishments this year. I always get a little sentimental toward New Years!
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Sarah: I’m featured in this week’s What in the World podcast from the BBC, where I’m talking about romantasy!
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And if you want a good cry, I recommend the _boringbb_ account on Instagram. The creator would take her grandmother’s fashion sketches and turn them into outfits for her. Sadly, her grandmother passed earlier this year. Both the garments she makes and the relationship she had with her grandmother are so beautiful.
View this post on Instagram
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Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!
Rest, Greenhouses, & More
Dec. 31st, 2025 04:30 pmAll Superheroes Need PR
RECOMMENDED: All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens is $1.99! We ran a positive guest review of this one:
All in all, this book was a fun romp. There were some truly wild moments of alien biology I won’t spoil, but they were more amusing than horrific. Roland and Vanessa’s tension and chemistry was truly delicious. Their physical relationship was a bit of a slow burn but well worth the wait.
He’s a villain looking for a hero rebrand. She’s the marketing genius who can make it happen in this fantastical romantic comedy by the author of the Beasts of Gatamora series.
Over two decades ago, forty-eight young, gifted superheroes fell to Earth and were eventually marketed as opposing heroes and villains. Now, one exceptionally gruff bad guy is looking to hop teams. Hello, PR director Vanessa Theriot.
His real name is Roland Casteel a.k.a. the Pyro. First, swap that with the less incinerating the Wyvern. Next, put him in spandex to highlight that near-godlike body. Finally, give that hero in training a heroine—if Vanessa will play the part in a pretend romance guaranteed to make the city swoon. She’s game. As shy as Vanessa is, it’s her job to be Roland’s very own Lois Lane. Who knew that fake dating would change their worlds?
But falling head over heels for real makes for a dangerous shift in the narrative. A monstrous supervillain is bringing out Roland’s bad side again. This time, it’s to save a woman who, against all the odds, is becoming the human love of his superhero life.
The Enchanted Greenhouse
The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst is $5.99! This came out over the summer. It continues Durst’s cozy fantasy Spellshop series, but with a different main character. I’ve heard this series is mainly just vibes. Have you read this or book one?
New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel set in the world of The Spellshop! Follow her to The Enchanted Greenhouse, a cozy fantasy nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love.
Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.
This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.
But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.
This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.
Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.
Fated Blades
Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews is $1.99! Lots of Andrews fans here! This is book three in the Kinsmen series, which I’m not familiar with. Do these have to be read in order? Would love to know!
An uneasy alliance between warring families gets heated in this otherworldly novella from bestselling author Ilona Andrews.
At first glance, the planet Rada seems like a lush paradise. But the ruling families, all boasting genetically enhanced abilities, are in constant competition for power―and none more so than the Adlers and the Baenas. For generations, the powerful families have pushed and pulled each other in a dance for dominance.
Until a catastrophic betrayal from within changes everything.
Now, deadly, disciplined, and solitary leaders Ramona Adler and Matias Baena must put aside their enmity and work together in secret to prevent sinister forces from exploiting universe-altering technology. Expecting to suffer through their uneasy alliance, Ramona and Matias instead discover that they understand each other as no one in their families can―and that their combined skills may eclipse the risks of their forbidden alliance.
As the two warriors risk their lives to save their families, they must decide whether to resist or embrace the passion simmering between them. For now, the dance between their families continues―but just one misstep could spell the end of them both.
Rest is Resistance
RECOMMENDED: Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey is $2.99! Carrie and Shana jointly reviewed this and gave it an A. Sarah also selected it as one of her favorite reads of 2023. Needless to say, this comes highly recommended!
Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace of work –– feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its virtuous benefit. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy.
From the founder and creator of The Nap Ministry, Rest Is Resistance is a battle cry, a guidebook, a map for a movement, and a field guide for the weary and hopeful. It is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action and manifesto for those who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.
Looking Back
Dec. 31st, 2025 11:44 amThings I tried pressure canning in 2025 are beans, Chicken Stew, Mince Meat, Pot Roast, Sloppy Joes, TeriyakiChicken, BBQ Pork, cold pack plain chicken, also beef, Beef Bolognese, and corn. Mostly I continued my normal schedule of preserving fruit with jams and jellies. Some produce came from the farmer's market. I haven't tried the mince meat yet. The chicken turned out dry. The Sloppy Joes were wonderful for days when there was no time to cook. Just heat and eat. Those I will make again. Part of the fun was creating our own Worcestershire sauce. As of late, the store-bought variety is starting to add allergens that affect my family. So we learned how to make our own.

There is a lot of stuff in the freezer right now. I was very thankful I'd frozen asparagus, yellow beans, and spinach. There were power outages at food distribution centers that caused no frozen produce in the stores at all. Later in the year, there was a week that subzero temperatures froze most of the produce coming out of California. You should have seen the oranges and zucchinis. We had to rely on what we grew.

It is an ongoing journey to eat what is in season and save for when nothing is available. In theory, it's a hedge against inflation, but only if you grow it yourself. The snow is 10" deep at this point. The ground is thoroughly frozen. It's 18 degrees. Plans and ideas are percolating. We'll see what 2026 brings.

















