Dear Adventure Avenues,
This is the year of books – at least it is for my goals! Not all my goals are related to books, but there are 3 that are at least book adjacent. Then I also have a movement goal, two decluttering goals (one physical, one digital clutter), one blog goal, and one fun goal!
1. Read 24 books in 2024
In September, I almost finished The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon from the Outlander series (this is book 5), but didn’t end up finishing til October (posting goals a little late this month).
I finished reading A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson for book club. And proceeded to read books 2 and 3 of the series: Good Girl Bad Blood and As Good as Dead. It is a young adult series, so go into it with that expectation and you will really enjoy them like I did! I started watching the Netflix series at book club, but it wasn’t as good as the book.
I also listened to I’m Glad by Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy which was a tough read due to the abuse the author endured from her mother. I also finished listening to Stuck with You by Allie Hazelwood, the 2nd installment in Loathe to Love You, but I listened out of order so I’ve now listened to all of them. I also listened to The Millionaire Next Door which was a bit of an old-timey listen, but the psychology behind how people become and stay rich was interesting.
I’m still reading I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi on my kindle. I also started reading the Boys of Tommen’s first book, Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh on my kindle.
This year I’ve read:
- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
- Madame de Pompadour by Nancy Mitford
- In the Weeds by B.K. Borison
- The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs by Joel Salatin
- Switch on your Brain by Caroline Leaf
- The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
- Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
- Have I Told you This Already? by Lauren Graham
- Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
- Really Very Crunchy by Emily Marrow
- Marie-Antoinette – Reine de la mode et du bon goût
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
- Funny Story by Emily Henry
- Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
- Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
- Argylle by Elly Conway
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson
- Girls that Invest by Simran Kaur
- Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
- The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
- The Rules of Royalty by Cale Dietrich
- Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood
- The London Bookshop Affair by Louise Fein
- A Bold Return to Giving a Damn by Will Harris
- Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
- Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood
- Financial Feminist
2. Read 4 books in French
Last year, I had a similar goal, but not a solid number of books to read. I’m hoping with a specific number, this goal will be attainable.
I finished reading Marie-Antoinette – Reine de la mode et du bon goût, my first French book!
No new French books.
3. Participate in at least five library activities.
I have already joined two library challenges and finished one.
In May, I visited a Friends of the Library bookstore and bought a book!
In June, I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie to watch for book club (it wasn’t available for streaming) and Girls that Invest to read.
In July, I joined an adult summer reading program.
In August, I went to the library to claim my reading program prize which included a $2 certificate to use in their bookstore. While I was there, I also checked out Whisky in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon. Their Friends of the Library Bookstore unfortunately wasn’t open when I was there, so I went back to return my book and use my certificate. I got two books: Triple Chocolate Cheesecake by Joanne Fluke and Old Town in the Green Groves. The latter is a Little House spin off, which I like to collect.
The book by Joanne Fluke had a heartwarming story to go with it. As I was browsing the mysteries, an elderly woman came up to me with this book and asked if I’d read it. I’ve read the author, but hadn’t read this particular one. She said she’d read them all and recommended this one, so I couldn’t say “no” to a good book recommendation! This exchange made my day and wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone to the library.
In September, I didn’t do any library activities.
4. Write and post 3 family recipes
I wrote down one family recipe in June: Mom’s Easy Pasta Bake.
In September, I wrote down Mom’s Easy Balsamic Pasta Salad
5. Move for 2024 minutes. This includes yoga, riding the Peloton bike, Pilates, etc.
In January, I did yoga for 25 minutes and rode the peloton bike for 93 minutes for a total of 118 minutes.
In February, I did yoga for 65 minutes.
In March, I did yoga for 72 minutes and rode the peloton bike for 125 minutes.
In April, I did yoga for 44 minutes, rode the bike for 128 minutes, and did Pilates for 7 minutes.
In May, I did yoga for 73 minutes and rode the bike for 45 minutes.
In June, I swam for 20 minutes, did the treadmill for 30minutes, 12 minutes on elliptical, 35 minutes on the Peloton bike, and 97 minutes of yoga.
In July, I did 83 minutes of yoga, 52 minutes of swimming, and 23 minutes on the Peloton bike.
In August, I did 208 minutes of yoga, 35 minutes of Pilates, 10 minutes of swimming, 23 minutes on the Peloton bike, and 17 minutes on the Wii playing Wii Fit Plus.
In September, I swam for 20 minutes, 22 minutes on the Peloton bike, 84 minutes of Yoga, and 40 minutes of Pilates.
This year, I have moved for 1,490 minutes. I need to do about 180 minutes in October, November, and December to cross this goal off my list.
6. Finish Decluttering 1000 items. As of January 6, I had decluttered 389 items.
I decluttered 34 items in January.
I decluttered 44 items in February.
I decluttered 15 items in March.
I decluttered 12 items in April for
I decluttered only 4 items in May
I decluttered 31 items in June for a total of 529 items decluttered.
I’m crossing this one off my list as I have stopped tracking items leaving. Anything that leaves is usually something being sold on Poshmark or Mercari, and it’s not a priority for me.
7. Offload photos so my camera roll has less than 5000 photos. I’m starting off with 11,790 photos and videos.
In January, I had 11,717 photos and videos on my phone – Progress!
At the end of February, I had 11,651 photos and videos on my phone.
At the end of March, I had 11,631 photos and videos on my phone.
At the end of April, I had 11,532 photos and videos on my phone.
At the end of May, I had 11,459 photos and videos on my phone.
At the end of June, I had 11,347 photos and videos on my phone.
At the end of July, I had 11,516 photos and videos on my phone. All the trips I took in July really increased my photos and videos. After I create blog posts for them, I will delete the pictures I don’t need.
At the end of August, I had 11,510 photos and videos on my phone. I’m still working my way through my July photos.
At the end of September, I had 11,664 photos and videos on my phone. I had an exciting Disney experience that I still need to write about (and share the photos)!
8. Go to Disney enough times to make my Disney Magic Key “worth it”!
I have the Enchant Key which is the second tier and means I can go on some Sundays and most weekdays (but due to work, I’ll only be spending weeknights). I calculated an hour at Disney would ‘cost’ $10, meaning I would need to be at Disney for at least 85 hours. Not a bad goal to have!
In January, I spent 23 hours at the parks! (over 3 days and only spent $15 on parking!)
In February, I spent 24.25 hours over 3 days at Disney! I paid $43.25 on parking (though some of that was a gift card).
In March, I spent 12 hours over 2 days at the parks in March and didn’t spend anything on parking!
In April, I spent 31.5 hours at Disneyland and California Adventure! This included 8 hours at a special ticketed Star Wars Nite event. I spent $52.50 on parking, half of which was paid on giftcards.
In May, I spent 13.75 hours at Disneyland and California Adventure and didn’t spend anything on parking!
In June, I only went once because my pass is blacked out as of June 6 til August. I spent 5.25 hours at the parks and didn’t spend anything on parking.
In July, I didn’t go to Disneyland because my pass was blacked out. I look forward to going in August!
In August, I went to Disneyland two times! I spend 13.5 hours there and didn’t spend anything on parking. It was really hot when I went, so a inside the park Starbucks iced tea was a must both times!
In September, I went to Disney three times! I spend 18.75 hours there and didn’t spend anything on parking.
In total, I have spent 142 hours at the parks! This goal can be considered complete, and I still have until January!
Until next time,
A
PS
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