Dear Adventure Avenue,
Every year, I like to write out my goals on this blog as a way to keep track of each goal. Every month I update my progress on here and provide commentary on how I’m doing on that goal.
1. Read 50 books this year. Of those 50 books, I want to read 4 French books. Two goals in one.
In August, I finished reading Cabin which I got from the library. I also listened to The Wedding People by Alison Espach. I could not stop listening to this one!! It is full of dark humor, but I felt it was a compelling narrative about human nature.
I’m currently reading Dune and Outlive on my kindle. I’m also currently reading Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton.
This year I have read:
- Reconnected by Carlos Whittaker
- Eragon by Christopher Paolini
- Taming 7 by Chloe Walsh
- Rich AF by Vivian Tu
- The Royal Librarian by Daisy Wood
- Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
- Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
- The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking.
- The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer by Dan Buettner
- The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
- Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
- Icebreaker by Hannah Grace
- Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
- The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
- The Day the World Stopped Shopping by JB MacKinnon
- Home and Hand Made by Melissa K. Norris
- Magnolia Table, Volume 2: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering
- A Healthier Home
- Accidental Shepard by Elise Greensfelder
- When In Rome by Sarah Adams
- Becoming Trader Joe by Joe Coulombe and Patty Civalleri
- How to Win at Travel by Brian Kelly
- Until the Streetlights Come On by Ginny Yurich.
- Everything I Want to do is Illegal by Joel Salatin
- Damn Delicious Meal Prepby Chungah Rhee
- The English Understand Wool by Helen Dewitt
- George Washington’s Secret Six
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
- The Thursday Murder Club
2. Go to one new Coffee Shop a month. I’m doing this one with a friend and am so excited to complete this one!
In January, I went to Restoration Hardware’s rooftop cafe. The views were great!
In February, I went to Lulu’s Cafe in Fullerton, California.
In March, I went to Rendez-Vous Cafe in Corona Del Mar, California.
In April, I went to Tru Bru Organic Coffee Roasters in Orange, California.
In May, I went to Coffee Dose in Costa Mesa, California.
In June, I went to MoonGoat Coffee in Costa Mesa, California.
In July, I went to Cafe the Scoop in Long Beach, California.
In August, I went to Huckleberry in Santa Monica, California.
3. Exercise 2025 minutes. (That’s about 169 minutes a month).
In January, I did 40 minutes of strength training with weights, 22 minutes on the bike, and I did 70 minutes of yoga. In January, I did 132 minutes.
In February, I did 40 minutes of strength training with weights, 22 minutes on the bike, and 73 minutes of yoga. In total, I did 135 minutes in February.
In March, I did 42 minutes of strength training, 238 minutes of riding the peloton bike, 113 minutes of yoga, and one (free) 45 minute Purple Pedal class. In total, I did 438 minutes.
In April, I did 40 minutes of strength training, 232 minutes of riding the Peloton bike, and 61 minutes of yoga. I also did a 3 hour long hike in Big Bear, but I don’t think I’m going to count that in here.
In May, I did 25 minutes of strength training, 31 minutes of riding the Peloton bike, 80 minutes of yoga, and 30 minutes of swimming.
In June, I did 60 minutes of swimming, 22 minutes on the bike, 90 minutes of strength training.
In July, I did 18 minutes of strength training, 23 minutes of Yoga, and 32 minutes of riding the peloton bike.
In August, I did a LOT of traveling (so LOTs of walking) but not a whole lot of structured exercise: I did 22 minutes of strength training.
In 2025, I have done 1,398 minutes of exercise.
4. Strength train with weights 40 minutes a month. (This goal counts towards goal #3)
In January, I did exactly 40 minutes!
In February, I did exactly 40 minutes!
In March, I did 42 minutes.
In April, I did 40 minutes!
In May, I didn’t quite meet my goal this month and did 25 minutes.
In June, I helped my friend move and did a ton of lifting. I estimate I did about 80 minutes of active lifting. Plus, I also did 10 minutes of strength training.
In July, I did 18 minutes of strength training.
In August, I did 22 minutes of strength training.
5. Decrease number of photos on phone from 11,124 down to under 8,000 by posting travel pictures 3 times a month (and then deleting them afterwards).
In January, I was down to 11,094 pictures and videos. I posted one blog post this month for this goal – My Restoration Hardware Cafe Post.
I’m at 11,364 photos. I posted two blog posts in February – Star Wars at the Frida Theatre and Paseo in Downtown Disney
In March, I had 11,635 photos. I did post two new blog posts in March: LuLu Coffee and Los Rios Tea House.
In April, I had 11,751 photos. I did post a few blog posts: Rendez-vous cafe, Grand Prairie Home2 Suites, Hard Eight BBQ, one about a German restaurant, Disneyland Star Wars Nite, and Tru Bru Organic Coffee Roasters.
By the end of May, I was up to 11,917 photos and videos with no new blog posts.
By the end of June, I had 11,805 photos and videos on my phone. I posted the Irvine Regional Park & OC Zoo, my MoonGoat Coffee review, and my visit to Historic Main Street District Grapevine Texas.
By end of July, I had 11,991 photos with two new blog posts: Cafe the Scoop and El Dorado Regional Park.
By end of August, I had 12,819 photos. (Did I mention I traveled a LOT in August).
6. TOP Secret Goal
Phase 1 is RESEARCH.
I’m almost out of the research phase!!
7. Make my Disney pass “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). This means I need to spend 82 hours at Disneyland, and it is assuming a 1day ticket is $119, the cheapest option outside of any specials they run. Based on a 10-hour day spent at Disney and that ticket price, I calculated that one hour at Disneyland is equal to $11.90.
In January, I went to Disneyland 4 times and was there for 18.25 hours and I spent $36.25 on parking.
In February, I went to Disneyland 2 times and spent 10 hours there. I spent $10 on parking.
In March, I went to Disneyland 1 time and spent 4.5 hours there.
In April, I went to Disneyland 1 time and spent 8.5 hours there.
In May, I went to Disneyland 3 times and spent 18.25 hours there. I also spent $26.25 on parking.
In June, I didn’t go to Disneyland.
In July, I didn’t go to Disney because my pass was blocked out.
In August, I went to Disney twice – once using my pass and once using a free ticket I got for donating to (and participating in) the CHOC Walk. In total, I went to Disney for 18 hours and spent $0 on parking!
In total, I spent 77.5 hours at Disney!
Until next time,
A
PS
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