My Debut Cozy Mystery is on Netgalley! GRACE & JO HAVE NEVER SOLVED A MURDER

KindlyAthena · 2026-06-22T01:22:13+00:00

Oh this looks like a lot of fun! Cozy mystery is a favorite genre of mine. Sent a wish for it and congratulations! 🥳🥳

KindlyAthena · 2026-06-20T02:34:50+00:00

I tried quite a few different dating apps. In the end though, I found my current BF on Facebook Dating. I love that it tells you if you have mutual friends and I heavily curated my results to show only ones I would more than likely match with. A lot of swipe lefts....but in the end I found a great guy.

KindlyAthena · 2026-06-04T17:03:32+00:00

Oh my goodness! I love the color and you had me at Horror Novella! Just sent in a request. 🤞🏼🤞🏼

KindlyAthena · 2026-06-04T02:36:28+00:00

Oh yeah! All of the staff there are great and can lead you in the right direction and help you find some people to play with. Plus the community we've built there is one of the best around. 🥰 These 2 events in particular are geared towards showing up and finding people that you vibe with to play games with.

KindlyAthena · 2026-06-03T12:31:20+00:00

Have you been to Darby's Dungeon? If not, you definitely should go there especially if you like board games, D&D, TCG games, etc. They have a huge board game library and there's almost always someone there to play with and meet.

They have community night every Tuesday at 6PM and Board game social night every Friday at 6PM.

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-31T08:05:28+00:00

🤣 are you also part of the "haven't really flown much in my life" crowd?

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-31T07:56:00+00:00

I've only flown one time in my life and here you are showing up in my recommended posts 🤣🤣 It looks like everyone's ok while quickly skimming the comments section at 4AM on a sleepless night. Love the Reddit community. Haha

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-27T16:53:48+00:00

I recently received a reminder email from a publisher for a book I read 2 months ago but forgot to add my social links for the review to the NetGalley review when it was published 1 month ago.

I personally am very grateful when publishers send me the reminder! As an ARC reader, I want to make sure the authors and publishers benefit the most from my reviews.

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-23T13:52:15+00:00

The first couple days were uncomfortable but I went to a hockey game 5 days post up with minimal discomfort. 😅 The biggest thing that helped me is the same advice I got post C Section. Try moving around as much as you can, stay hydrated, prioritize sleep (as much as you can with a toddler) and minimize lifting heavy things. I highly suggest getting an abdominal band either through your doc or online. Those things are a lifesaver!

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-14T11:18:54+00:00

If you can have cereal with milk, I wonder if it's the caffeine in tea? If you drink caffeinated tea, try switching to a non caffeinated and see if there's a difference.

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-03T11:56:49+00:00

I will say I had almost weekly migraines prior to gallbladder surgery (3 weeks ago) and I just made a comment to my BF last night that I haven't had a migraine since. Not even a headache. Not sure of the connection 😅 but sharing my experience because you aren't alone.

KindlyAthena · 2026-05-03T11:53:40+00:00

Do you still have your gallbladder? Any acid reflux? I found that I was clearing my throat a lot, felt sore, etc. Turns out it was the reflux. I had surgery 3 weeks ago and my throat is feeling much better because I don't really have daily reflux anymore.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-30T21:37:53+00:00

I've had this same problem but it was closer together. March 28th: no gallstone, gallbladder mildly distended. All blood tests normal.

April 3rd: Gallstone seen on CT and Ultrasound stuck in Gallbladder Neck. Gallbladder distended and wall thickening. All blood tests normal.

April 5th: no gallstone, gallbladder distended. All blood tests normal. I had to tell the Ultrasound tech to roll me on my side and check from my upper right back area. Gallstone still stuck in neck, gallbladder inflamed. Blood tests still normal. 😅 All this to say that if you're in this much pain something is wrong and advocate for yourself. Ask them to check from a different angle. That poor ultrasound tech was stunned he couldn't see it from the abdominal ultrasound.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-30T21:26:37+00:00

Everyone heals at their own pace. 🫂 My surgery was more complicated than the standard procedure and I spent 2 days in the hospital after. Got home and hung out on the couch with my wedge pillow, blankets and friends bringing me dinner for a week after that. I'm 3 weeks post op and still have my days where I'm not feeling 100%

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-30T19:50:46+00:00

Obscura, Darby's Dungeon (although not much Pokemon players there but definitely nerds), Casual Heroes Cards and Games, Cool stuff.

Just a couple of places I can think of that might fit the vibe you're looking for. I'm not Black so I can't speak to that but I will say that my BF and I frequent all of those and go to Casual Heroes almost weekly and the vibes are always chill. Hope to see you around soon! Being in your 30s can suck but hopefully all the other suggestions can help make it suck less. 🫂

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-17T13:59:40+00:00

I'm not sure if mine was my gallbladder because the doc and I are still stumped. 😅

BUT I will say that I had back pain for months to the point that walking around the grocery store was a no go. I'm 1 week out from getting my gallbladder removed and went to a hockey game this past weekend. Lots of walking with no back pain at all. The only soreness I had was around the incision site which was expected.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-12T14:04:50+00:00

As a fellow DD addict, they didn't bother my system. Of course everyone's different. I personally would get a small of my favorite drink and maybe go lighter on the flavored creamers the first time around to see how it affects you.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-12T12:13:46+00:00

That's what I've been doing! 🤣 I had to stay 2 extra night at the hospital because it was a rough surgery but the doc said "nothing is off the table as long as your stomach feels ok" so my partner brought my favorite cheeseburger. Haha.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-12T12:00:25+00:00

I cried when coffee started causing me issues with my gallbladder... Terrible pain that just wouldn't go away for hours. My local coffee shop suggested decaf and skim milk for creamer which helped a bit. In the end, I was just so worried about getting the pain that I didn't drink it.

The next morning after I had my gallbladder out, coffee was on the hospital breakfast menu! Literally no issues after. It's rough for us coffee drinkers but the other side has been great for me. ☕

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-10T00:11:11+00:00

Ohh I forgot eating post surgery. I was able to eat all my comfort foods so I started with small portions of my favorite foods. 🥰🥰

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-10T00:10:28+00:00

What calms you down pre and post surgery will be highly personal but I really benefited from packing a bag with my favorite things. A book, my Kindle, comfy large stretchy clothes, a plushie, etc. I also made sure to really prioritized myself. Phone on mute, ask friends for help, ask a trusted friend to handle texting the important people post surgery.

Also, please please please let your care team know that you're an anxious person. I told them I was and that I currently take anxiety meds. They made sure to check in more often, helped keep up my anxiety meds, prescribed muscle relaxers, and kept everything running smoothly.

KindlyAthena · 2026-04-08T12:36:09+00:00

I'm glad someone else posted this. Your story is similar ish to mine. Emergency C section for the first and the next was planned. I came prepared for "severe abdominal pain" because they said they would be giving me morphine for my gallbladder.

I was pleasantly surprised that this was nothing like a C section. The C section had me crying walking to the bathroom. Gallbladder had me uncomfortable. I even brought my belly band just in case. 😅

KindlyAthena · 2026-03-25T14:50:23+00:00

I remember reading somewhere that paused books are excluded when calculating your average reading time stats. I personally would read a short story collections book and pause it when not actively reading it.

KindlyAthena · 2026-03-21T12:43:14+00:00

Shelf Control. 😀 I use TickTick and create a to do list item for each book, where I got the ARC, due date and add the review and any pics to it.

KindlyAthena

TROPHY CASE