February 2020 At a Glance

If only. 😂

February is about to be BUSY! I have quite a few things planned including two out of state trips, a 10k, a half marathon, a full marathon, and two readathons! 💀 I am actually so excited. January was a nice relaxing start to the new year and I am now rested and ready to take on a jam-packed spring. We're going to be pretty much full-force at work until the semester ends in May, but I have a lot of fun personal life plans on the horizon as well. Here's what's going to be happening this month!

FEBRUARY PLANS

7-10: New Orleans, baby!

9: Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon

10-16: ContemporaryAThon Round 6 (TBR to come later this week!)

15-16: February Read Your Face Off 24 Hour Readathon

21-24: Disney Trip!

22: Disney Enchanted 10K

23: Disney Princess Half Marathon + Magic Kingdom!

FEBRUARY TBR

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

November Road by Lou Berney

The Oracle Year by Charles Soule

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Meet Cute by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor

The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

continuing from January reads...

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story by Aaron Bobrow-Strain

What are your plans for this month?

January 2020 At a Glance

HAPPY 2020 EVERYONE!!!

We're now in the roaring 20's which is so fun to say!! I am hopeful and optimistic that the new year will bring new, fun adventures and positive steps forward in my life. If you're interested, I did post my goals for the new year a few days ago and you can find them here. I'm ultimately trying to take life as it comes and trying not to control things too much (so basically fighting all of my natural instincts 😂) but it's always good to have some kind of direction and goals to work toward. Ultimately I just want to strive to be a happier person this year, and have everything I do help me become that person. Here's hoping! 🤞

If you haven't noticed, I did update my layout once more! I'm not planning on changing it monthly anymore. As fun as having a new layout every month was, I wanted to create a new look that could work all year long. I'm loving the new, bold look of this layout and I'm excited for it to stick around for a little while. Let me know what you think!

JANUARY PLANS

I don't have a ton on my plate this month, which I'm actually very thankful for as February and March are going to be so crazy with running and travel, and April is *always* insane with work. Starting out 2020 on a calmer note is going to be a blessing! I am planning to participate in Read Your Face Off 24 Hour Readathon on the 18th & 19th and I hope you're able to join us as well. 🤗

JANUARY GOALS

-We're coming to the end of my training cycle! I missed a few workouts in December so I'm hoping to finish the cycle strong and put it all out there to have the best race possible down in New Orleans.

-Start journaling more regularly & manage stress and negative emotions instead of ignoring or pushing through them.

JANUARY TBR

This is a BIG ol' TBR to kick off the year, but I like to have a lot of options to pull from (then, based on my recent reading habits, not get to any of them 😂). I have a couple of reading goals I'm trying to meet each month so I made note if a book would qualify for one of those goals. I'm excited to dive into these books and hopefully I can make time for as many of these as possible.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi

All That She Can See by Carrie Hope Fletcher

Bunny by Mona Awad

Scythe by Neal Shusterman (lots of folks suggested this should be at the top of my TBR pile when I posted it on Instagram!)

Talking to Stangers by Malcom Gladwell (Currently reading)

The Marathon Maniacs by Malcom Anderson (Currently reading)

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano (December 2019 BOTM box pick)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (re-read)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (re-read)

December 2019 At a Glance 🦌 | Blogmas Day 1

Happy December, first day of Blogmas, and last month of the 2010's! 

It's pretty apparent that 2019 has been an extremely challenging year for me and I'm hoping to end it on a positive note and move on to the roaring 2020's 😊 I'm really looking forward to the holiday season this year and doing all of the Christmassy things. I've already decorated the apartment to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, it doesn't include a full-size tree this year but I decorated our living room and even put some lights outside on our stoop for the first time! I love coming home to see our colorful lights outside our door. Here's a snap of our mini tree and our stockings hung up (the other two are for our roommate and his girlfriend)!

I also, of course, updated my blog layout for Christmas! I've really enjoyed "decorating" for the holidays over the last couple of months and for the end of the year I wanted to go with my favorite member of the Christmas decor family - lights! I'm thinking in the new year I'll be going back to a more neutral layout and maybe even changing things up a bit. We'll see! 😊

I know I haven't shared my bullet journal online in a LONG while, but I'm actually really excited with how my monthly spread came out for December and I wanted to show it off! Christmas time always makes me think of Harry Potter (let's be real, most things make me think of Harry Potter 😂) so I really wanted to do a ~Christmas at Hogwarts~ theme. However, I wasn't totally confident in making it work with a calendar spread and the amount of time I was willing to put into drawing a Hogwarts scene didn't bode well for what the end result would be, haha. So I used this illustration of Hedwig as inspiration, and this is what I came up with:

What do you think? 😊

December Plans

-Happy Holidays Half Merrython on the 1st (today! Hopefully I'm done running by the time you're reading this 😂)
-Chicago Marathon 2020 lottery results are announced on the 12th - cross your fingers for me! 🤞
-7 year anniversary with Brett on the 14th
-Traveling to Florida on the 21st to spend Christmas week with my family

December Goals

-Again, continue to hit all of my workouts for NOLA! I'm really happy with how November went so I'm hoping to continue to ride the wave of motivation.
-I want to do well with Blogmas without burning myself out like I did with BEDA. I'd love to have at least something to share with you every day, even if it's a couple of snapshots off my phone!

...aaaand that's all the pressure I'm willing to put on myself this mornth and I think that's perfectly fair 😂

December TBR

My TBR is a little eclectic this month. I'll be participating in the 'Tis the Season-a-thon which starts tomorrow (see my TBR blog post for the readathon here), and for the rest of the month I took to Twitter to help me decide what to read! I had folks give me some random numbers that correlated with my TBR shelf on GoodReads. I wound up getting 21 different books to read (which of course would be impossible to accomplish 😂), so I divided up the books into 3 ~mystery piles~ of 7 and had everyone vote!

Turns out everyone voted for the most unique pile of the bunch with a mixture of historical fiction, sci fi, horror, and a YA contemporary set during the summer (which will be really interesting to read in the middle of December 😂). I really enjoyed doing this to pick my TBR for the month, though! I have books in this stack that I don't think I would have reached for if it hadn't been for you all, so I definitely want to do this again for future TBRs.

These are the books that you all picked!

The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobb

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

Insomnia by Stephen King

 (and my 'Tis the Season-a-Thon  TBR if you were curious!)

Us Against Them by Fredrik Backman

North by Scott Jurek

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

November 2019 At a Glance 🍂

It's truly insane that it is November again. I feel like the first three quarters of 2019 went by at a pretty normal pace, then as soon as we hit mid-September the weeks have been FLYING by! I can't believe that we're in the month where we have Thanksgiving and have to think of Christmas and New Year's plans. We're at the end of a decade (!!!) and 2020 is literally right around the corner. Insane! Excitingly, with the end of the year comes a lot of fun plans so I'm looking forward to all the craziness the holiday season will bring. 

With the new month, comes a new festive layout! New England is in full-fall-bloom right now and we're gearing up for the coziness of Thanksgiving, so I wanted this month's layout to really reflect some serious fall vibes. I think it perfectly fits this transitional month between Halloween and Christmas and it just feels oh so cozy! Here's the before and after:

Last month's ~spooky~ layout...

...and this month's cozy layout!

November Plans

-Volunteering at the Ocean's View 5K and Half Marathon over this upcoming weekend with Cassie
-Attending a wedding next weekend in Maine with Brett
-Seeing New Found Glory at the Paradise Rock Club on the 17th
-Local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning
-Thanksgiving with Brett's family

November Goals

-Continue to hit all of my workouts for NOLA, Princess, & LA training #Sub5orBust
-Get back into the swing of reading regularly. I feel like I don't really make time for it anymore and I've been really slumping in the reading department as of late. I'd like to incorporate it back into my daily routine somehow!
-Continue working on my mental health. I feel like my anxiety is truly impacting every facet of my life right now and I'm just so exhausted, but I really do want to keep making small steps every day to feeling better.
-Actually make plans for Disney! My trip with Cassie for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend is just under 4 months away and we still don't have anything beyond our races figured out. 😂 Classic. It'd be great to actually buckle down and figure things out once and for all so we know what we have to look forward to!
-Participate in the 100 Miles in November Challenge! Cassie invited me to join in and now I am fully signed up for the challenge hosted by Angie at Angie Runs. Wish us luck!

November TBR

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero (I NEED TO FINISH THIS FINALLY OMG)

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

November Road by Lou Berney

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Wundersmith by Jessical Townsend

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

Severance by Ling Ma

Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 19-21 by Hiromu Arakawa

Autumn by Ali Smith

Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

What do you have going on this November?

October Projects

It's the last day of the month and that always makes me think of all the thinks that I want to accomplish with the fresh new month ahead of me. PLUS tomorrow is October which is one of my very favorite months of the year, which really has me motivated to take advantage of fun seasonal activities that are in abundance this time of year. I thought it might be helpful to write down all the things I'm interested in accomplishing next month and see what was actually able to get done at the end of October.

Entertainment

• Blog post: October 2019 Reads
• Shane Dawson's new YouTube series #tea ☕
• Watching the latest seasons of The Good Place and The Challenge... obviously

Creative

• Finish my turtle paint-by-number
• Participate in Inktober and draw every day

Fitness

• Exercise 3-4 times per week on an every other day schedule (MWF, with at least one weekend day)
• Oktoberfest 4-miler on the 6th
• Newport Marathon on the 13th
• Rec. indoor volleyball begins on the 16th!

Home

Invest in some more furniture, specifically a dining set, another small couch for our back room, another bookshelf (in desperate need, let's be real), and a comfy reading chair. This will be a multi-month project, but I really want to make our space a bit more functional now that we're much more settled.

Seasonal

• Carve a pumpkin
• Decorate for Halloween
• Partake in an Oktoberfest party
• Drink a Pumpkin head with a cinnamon sugar rim

November 2018 Reading Plans

The last quarter of the year always FLIES BY! I swear we only just started the academic year yesterday, and now we're knocking on November's door. Where does the time go? Anywho, since a new month is right around the corner, it's time to talk about the books I will be focusing on in November. I've put together a combination of books I'm currently in the middle of, books for different reading projects I'm working on, and books that I want to read because they're seasonally appropriate (I mean, there's a book called "Autumn" and a book called "November Road"... can I honestly read these at any other time this year? #nope). Let me know what you're planning to read in the comments. I always love seeing everyone's monthly TBRs! :)

Autumn by Ali Smith

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke
Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson
November Road by Lou Berney
A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk
Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam
Night Film by Marisha Pessl

March 2017 TBR!

Another month, another TBR! This month I'm planning on participating in 3 different readathons (I'm insane, I know) so for this TBR I only discuss my monthly goal books. I will be talking about my TBRs for two of the three readathons I am participating in in separate videos so be on the look out for those, but for now these are the books that will be fulfilling my monthly goals for March. I hope you enjoy this quick TBR and I will be seeing you again for more of my reading goals for the month in a TBR video very soon! 2017 Goal Picks
Infinite Jest goal: Read 10 pages each day in March Non-fiction: Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick Diverse: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King Classic: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury TBR Jar: Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

November 2016 Goals

Happy November! We're quickly heading into the holiday season which is so crazy and I'm actually pretty excited for it this year! Of course it will be crazy and busy but I think it will be a lot of fun this year so I am definitely looking forward to it! I mean, what's not to love? Family and friends, new Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls, delicious food, amazing sales... It's going to be awesome. I have a quite a few goals for the month of November so let's jump right in!

1. Exercise 3x per week

After my marathon I EMBRACED THE LAZINESS and basically didn't move my body at all for three straight weeks. It's time to get my booty back in gear! I would like to exercise at least three times a week this month and the exercise can be anything - lifting, biking, running, yoga, etc. I don't think that is totally doable. Time to not be a lazy person anymore!

2. Get all TBR books read

I have quite a few titles on my TBR list for November and I'm hoping to get to them all this month! I have scheduled everything out on my Google Calendar and it's looking like if I give myself about 3 days for each title (save for the graphic novels which I can usually get through in one or two sittings) I can get through all of them! You can find my TBR on my blog here!

3. Register for all winter running events

I have a couple of running events that I want to take part in this winter - I want to attempt the Winter Wonder Miles, 200 mile challenge hosted by Will Run for Bling and my Mom wants to run the Hot Chocolate Run for her birthday (which I guess is technically fall but we'll pretend it's winter) so I will be joining her for that! I want to get all registered for these this monnth so I will be ready to go for the Winter!

4. Have a great #BorrowAThon

The first readathon I'm ever hosting, the #BorrowAThon, is this month and I am so nervous and excited about it! I hope everything goes well, those that are participating have a good time, and I accomplish reading a lot of borrowed books! Check out the BorrowAThon Twitter for more details if you're interested in finding out more! All updates will be posted to the Twitter page!

5. No book buying until Black Friday

I'm going to try my darnedest to hold back from book buying until Black Friday this month when there are crazy sales EVERYWHERE. I'm planning to spend November 25th by buying books and watching the Gilmore Girls revival and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. It's going to be amazing.

What are your goals for this month?

Click "Read More" for an update on how my October goals went!

October 2016 Goals

Happy October everyone! It literally feels like I just sat down to write out my September goals. But here we are in yet another new month and it's time to set a new handful of goals to keep ourselves motivated as we head into one of the busiest times of year! October is always an exciting month for me. For the last 3 years it's been the month I've run a marathon in. It's the month we celebrate Brett's birthday. It's the month of my favorite holiday - HALLOWEEN! And it's the month to cozy up, enjoy the changing colors of the leaves, yummy warm food, football, and scary movies. I really love October and I'm pretty positive it's tied with July for my favorite month of the year! <3

1. No book buying!

September.... I went fairly crazy in the book buying department. It seems like with every paycheck I was perusing Book Outlet for new deals and filling up my cart to the brim with new reads. I feel like I'm in a place where I should cool it when it comes to book buying for a while and focus on the books that I have unread on my shelves. I have plenty! I do have a couple of pre-ordered books that will be coming throughout the rest of the year but no more book buying at least through the month of October (save for books I plan to purchase as birthday gifts for others)!

2. Finish the Green Mountain Marathon

Gah! The Green Mountain Marathon is happening in just 5 DAYS I'm feeling super nervous and not really feeling all that prepared, but I'm pretty sure that's how I feel before every marathon that I've run. Again, the goal is to finish. I was toying around with the idea of hitting a sub-5 hour marathon this time around but considering how the tail end of my training has gone (read: not great because September eats my whole life every year) I'm again, just shooting to finish. (Though beating last year's PR of 5:08:24 would be icing on the cake!)

3. Read 6 books

I have 6 books I want to finish this month (which does not include the books I plan to read for the readathons I have planned for October):

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  

A reread originally intended for Tackle Your TBR

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Originally intended for Tackle Your TBR

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Buddy reading this with Shannon!

What the Dog Knows by Cat Warren

A non-fiction study of dogs who work with police and in other investigative capacities

Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath

For the PopSugar prompt "A murder mystery"

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

This has gotten such positive reviews AND it's about monsters so totally appropriate for October

4. Participate in Inktober

I'm going to try my hardest to participate in Inktober this year. Inktober is a month long challenge that prompts you to create one drawing using ink each day. I've been sharing my drawings on my Instagram so make sure you're following me there to see my progress! I'm not sure if I'll complete all 31 days, but I'm definitely going to try to do as many days as I can!

5. Participate in SpookAThon & BookBuddyAThon

These are the two readathons I will be participating in this month! SpookAThon will be taking place from October 17th to October 23rd and encourages you to read (you guessed it) spooky books! There are a few prompts to this readathon which follow the theme of reading thriller/horror novels and include:

-Read a thriller
-Read a book with red on the cover
-Read book with a spooky word in the title
-Read a 2016 release
-Read a book with a paranormal character/creature

BookBuddyAThon is a readathon that you participate in with a buddy! My friend Shannon and I will be participating together. This readathon overlaps with the SpookAThon by two full days and will be running from October 22nd to October 28th. There are also several prompts for this readathon which include:

-Read a book with a title that starts with the same initial as your book buddy's name (since I'll be reading with Shannon I have to choose a book that starts with 'S')
-Buddy read a book with your book buddy (We'll be reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn throughout the month and have chosen to count it as our buddy read for this readathon as well!)
-Read a book with pictures in it
-Read a book that you really want to read
-Read 5 books

TBRs for both of these readathons will be going live the week before they begin, so be on the lookout for those! I'm looking forward to another month filled with reading and getting to know people in the bookish community!

6. Prepare and officially announce BorrowAThon

I've been mentioning this in my YouTube videos and very briefly in my Reading Challenge Update that I posted last week but I am hosting a readathon in November called BorrowAThon! You'll be getting all of the information about this readathon on both this blog and my YouTube channel this month but please go follow the BorrowAThon Twitter page for more information for the time being! :) Hope you can all make it in November!

And those are all of my October goals! I hope you all have a fabulous month and accomplish everything you want to in the first official month of fall! <3

To read my update on my September goals, click "read more"!

September 2016 Goals

September is upon us, y'all, which means my schedule is about to ramp right back up at work. (Who am I kidding - it already has!) While I do have some goals that I would like to accomplish, I want to give myself a bit of wiggle room this month just in case "me" time becomes a bit sparse, which it often does in September. Let's hop right into the goals, shall we?

Reach the 18-20 mile mark in my marathon training - We're coming into the final stages of training which means it is time to put some serious mileage down. I've reached the 15 mile mark and have felt pretty great about my training thus far, so I'm hoping to make another really solid push this month so I can feel great come race day in October!

Read 7 Books - I have quite a few books picked out for this month! Although it is going to be fairly busy month for me, I do think that this goal is possible. I've been really in the reading groove lately and have been connecting so well with the online reading community which has encouraged me to read even more! I am currently in a readathon which will help boost my numbers and encourage me to set aside time for reading, and I'm also buddy reading with my pal Shannon for one of these titles! All of which make me think that I'll be able to reach my goal. Here are the books I'm hoping to read in September (PopSugar Reading Challenge prompts are in italics):

The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane

The first book you see in a book store

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

A book that was an Oprah's Book Club selection

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A book that is being made into a movie in 2016

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

A science fiction novel

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

A National Book Award winner

Mr. Smith Goes to Prison by Jeff Smith

A political memoir

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

A book recommended by a family member

And that's all I'm going to put on myself this month. I think these are totally attainable in one of the busiest months of the year for me, as long as I stay diligent and consistent! I'll be updating you come October. (And I honestly can't believe that we're a month away from it being freakin' October. WHAT.)

What are your goals for September?

Click 'Read More' to see my update on my August Goals!

August 2016 Goals

Happy August, everyone! Alas, it is the last month of the summer and the last month before another crazy busy year begins. I've really enjoyed the summer and am not looking forward to seeing it go, but I'm feeling like I'm just about ready to take on the year. These next few weeks are critically needed but once they pass I'm hoping I'll be in a good place to take on the 2016-2017 academic year! Now, onto my goals for the month...

Read four books - I have four books I want to read this month, and I'm actually already reading all four of them! I have a vacation at the end of the month and I am planning on reading until my eyeballs fall out. I can't wait. This month I'm hoping to finish reading Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (I'm listening to the audiobook on my commutes), The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson, Sick in the Head by Judd Apatow, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Register for the Green Mountain Marathon - With how good I'm feeling in my training lately, the time has come to officially register for the Green Mountain Marathon. It's always a great (and scary) feeling when you're officially registered and really lights a fire under you. I'm looking forward to this fall and hoping it's my best marathon yet!

Get special events for first two months of the semester ready to go - This is a work goal - I'm responsible for our special events calendar that is planned by our office so I would REALLY life to get all of September and most of October good to go before September 1st, so I'm able to just focus on working with my students - the most important part of the job! I'm pretty sure I can make it happen. Just gotta stay focused!

Complete a painting - I haven't painted in a good long while and I figure my vacation would be the perfect time to pick up the brush again!

WATCH AS MANY OLYMPIC EVENTS AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE - Guys. The Olympics officially start tomorrow. And I am SO EXCITED. The summer games only come around once every four years and I love them so much that I really want to watch as much as possible before they're over yet again. I'm especially excited for my favorite events - the gymnastic and swim meets, the track and dive meets, and all the sports you don't typically see on TV like fencing and weight lifting and synchronized swimming and the marathon, of course! I cannot wait for the events to get started!

And those are my 5 (yikes) goals for August. I'm really looking forward to having this month to gear up for the school year and to squeeze every last drop out of summer that I can! I hope everyone has a fantastic August and make sure to click "read more" to get an update on my July goals!

July 2016 Goals

The New England humidity of mid-summer has reared its ugly head here in MA recently and while I'm a huge fan of hot weather, it's making me want to do nothing else but lay in front of a fan!  I am super excited it is July, though. Brett and I have already had a fun weekend filled with a Weezer/Panic! At the Disco concert and a visit to New Hampshire for Fourth of July Weekend. I'm currently importing all of the footage from last week to post a vlog up tomorrow of all the festivities and there's a solid hour and 20 minutes to sift through - that's how you know it was a good weekend! This week has also been packed with visits with both new and old friends which is always so fun! We have so much more planned for July and I'm SO looking forward to it! :)

A lot of my goals for July are similar to the ones I had for June. I really like most of what I had set for June and thought I could stick with a similar mindset for a busy but fun month ahead! It doesn't make for a very interesting blog post, I guess, but at least I'm working toward something, right? :P

Read at least 3 books - Summer is the best time of year to read and I've really loved taking advantage of my slower schedule to pick up a book and explore new titles. I would love to read and finish at least three books again this month!                  

Get up to half marathon distance in my marathon training - I'm doing pretty well and continuing to be pretty consistent in my marathon training so far this summer. What's even better - I now have a training buddy! It's made a world of difference to have someone that will keep you accountable and that you don't want to skip out on. She is also running an October marathon so we are aiming to do our long runs together each weekend. I'm sure we'll reach 13.1 by the end of the month!

Continue meatless weekdays - I really enjoyed doing this (more about this in my June update below) and hope to stick to this as closely as possible through July!

I will be giving you an update on how these went next month!

Click "read more" to get an update on how my June goals went!

June 2016 Goals

Happy June everyone! It has been a while since I've posted personal goals here on the blog. I did monthly goals when I first started this blog back in 2013 (wow!) and I switched to semester-ly goals when I started grad school, but I gave myself a break over the last year to just be present and enjoy my life outside of school and my first year as an honest-to-goodness full-time professional adult-type person. Now that we've had about a month to take a breather from the craziness of the school year, I thought it would be a good way to structure my slower summer life a bit by setting some new goals and sharing them here!

Keep a vegan/vegetarian diet Monday-Friday

If you've been reading along with my blog or watching my vlogs through 2016, you'll know I've been more conscious about what I'm eating when it comes to meat and dairy products. It's mostly for health reasons, but also for moral reasons as well. I'm generally a pretty tired person and it's so annoying to me when I want to get 100 things done but all I have energy for is to zone out in front of some Netflix. Your body does have to work harder to break down meat and dairy products, expending more energy that you can be using to do other things! I decided I'm going to take a crack at cutting out meat during the week to see how I feel. Hopefully it does bring me more energy and better health!

Read at least 3 books

I'm in the middle of two reading challenges (which I'll be giving you all an update on later this month!) and I have some more spare time to sit down and read during the summer so I need to embrace it! I just asked for some recommendations for books to listen to on my runs and my lovely Facebook friends gave me a bunch of titles to check out. If you have any books to recommend, please leave the titles in the comments! I would love to check them out.

At least 5,000 steps a day

This goal doesn't really have any rhyme or reason other than making sure I get my body moving every day. I spend a lot of time on my butt and as I mentioned in my first goal, I can generally be a very tired person. Hopefully setting this goal will make me feel more energized an motivated to move around every day. I am training for an October marathon for the 4th year in a row so I'm hoping that 5,000 won't be too tough to attain, especially on days where I actually have a training run scheduled. I just need to make sure I'm still moving on my off days!

Join a local running group

Danielle, my friend from work, and I are both training for an October marathon ad have decided to be long-run buddies once our training runs get up into the double-digits for mileage (honestly it makes all the difference to have someone you can run with!). I'm super pumped about that, but I also want to find a group in the area that consistently meets and runs for fun. This is something I've been wanting to do for months now, but now that I have some more free time during the week to commit to a group I felt like this was perfect time to try a few groups out. I've already scoped a few out on MeetUp so I'm planning on attending a few of those events and maybe making some new running friends!

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I have a lot coming up in June that I'm very excited about! Brett will be officially done with grad school by the 18th which of course calls for a big celebration, and I also will be moving back in with him at the end of the month after a year and a half of living apart! We are so excited to start another new chapter of our lives and see where the journey takes us from here! The summer time is always such a wonderful time for us - we're both a lot less busy, are able to spend more time together, and are generally far happier because of it. Add in these two milestones and it makes for a wonderful season ahead! :)

I will be giving you an update on my goals at the beginning of July to keep myself accountable. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful June and that you've just as excited about summer as I am! <3

December Goals

Can you believe it's already December? 2013 has flown by!
Time for one last set of goals to finish out this year strong!

1. I already have 3 occasions that I'm planning to wear one, so I don't think that this will be too much of an issue!

2. We're having a Christmas party on the 20th and our apartment needs to look the part! (Aaand it's also pretty great to pretend you're living at the North Pole during the month of December.)

3. I mean... no pressure.

4. This may be a struggle... Due to my hectic schedule (and admitted laziness) I have not been running as much as I need to in order to be prepared for a half marathon. I'm just hoping that some of my pre-Hartford training is still sticking with me! 

5. What better time to go on some new kitchen adventures than the holidays?

6. Always does the trick to get me in the Christmas spirit!

7. Even though I'm usually on a pretty tight budget, I always try to donate something to a toy drive for children so they can have a happy holiday as well. This year, I'd really like to make an effort to give a little more. Change in the Salvation Army buckets every time I see them, Toys for Tots, donations to food pantries... any time I see something, I'd really want to make it a point to give something to those that need it more than I do!

Hello, November!

And hello, blog friends! Life has been super hectic for the past few weeks, and as a result, I was sick for a solid 6 days. Yeah. It wasn't fun. But I woke up this morning feeling like a million bucks! (WITHOUT having to use any meds to do so!)

For the month of November, I'm not going to make a goals post. My main goal this month is to just catch up on all of my school work and focus on finishing the semester out strong! But now that things have settled down a bit, I'll have more time to blog (and READ blogs, which I miss so much!) - and I have so much to write about! A little preview of what's to come...

- Photos from Brett's birthday!

-I just returned from my very first NACA Northeast Conference!

- My Erin Condren Life Planner finally came in the mail. Video review!

- A big announcement in my grad school life!

Stay tuned... I'll be writing soon! :)

October Goals

1. Finish the Hartford Marathon - I've been training for this race for months and I would be over the moon to finally reach my goal of finishing this race!

2. Order a new 2014 agenda - It's funny to think we're coming into the end of the year, isn't it? That means it's time to order a new agenda for 2014! I've had my eyes on the Erin Condren life planners for quite some time now, and I can't wait to finally get my hands on one!

3. Organize Home Office - Since we moved in to our new place, there's been a constant pile of things in the corner of my office. I know I want to keep everything, I just need a means of organizing it. Im hoping to get a nice system of bins and shelves going! Time to look for some office inspiration...

4. Finish Student Development Presentation - In one of my courses we have two major assignments - a presentation (one person a week will present) and a paper on a seperate topic. Well, I'm the lucky one who drew the presentation that's on the same day our paper is due. Oy. They're not due until November 25, but I'd love to get the presentation out of the way so I can focus on the paper. #gradschoolproblems

5. Save, save, save - The holidays, and a few loved ones' birthdays are coming up, so I need to start saving for gifts!

6. Give Brett a Great Birthday! - One of those birthdays belongs to Mr. Brett! His birthday (the big 2-5!) is at the end of this month and I want to make sure it's as memorable as the one he gave me. I have so many ideas and I can't wait to share them with you (after his birthday, of course!).

What are your goals for the month?

September Goals

The semester has officially started, so my life right now is crazy! For this month, I decided not to give myself any tangible goals. I already have so much on my plate, so I'm more focused on not completely losing my mind for the first few weeks of school. That way I can find a routine and go from there!

P.S. It's my first day of grad school today! (How excited do I look?)

I've started a Tumblr as a portfolio of sorts for my time in grad school.

If you're interested in reading more specifically about my jobs and grad program, head over to HESA Life!

August Goals

This month I'm just going to focus on a.) fitting in/settling in at the new job and b.) staying on track. I have a lot of things going on right now and I just want to make sure I'm staying on top of everything before I fall behind and stress myself out even more.

Believe it or not, the coffee goal is a part of this. I find that if I drink too much coffee I get into my own head and think of a million and one things that aren't pressing matters and manage to get myself flustered. I'm going to try and drink water or something else instead of that extra cup of coffee every day. (Plus, I'll be healthier! :D)

And of course, an update on my July goals!

1. Wasn't financially able to register for Hartford, but I'm aiming to officially claim a bib this month!
2. I only managed to read 1 book (the book club book!) during July.
3. Completed!
4. Completed! I do a lot of walking outside when I'm around campus, and if I'm not walking, I'm out running!
5. Completed/In-Progress. I definitely started preparing for the fall in July, but a lot of my preparations are still in my mind. This goal will continue throughout the month of August.

July was an iffy month in the goal department. I transitioned to a new job which definitely took priority over my more leisurely goals!

July Goals

I've finally returned from my vacation and gotten back into normal life with normal working internet! HOORAY! Here are my goals for the month of July...

I feel like this is a good balance between relaxing summer goals and productive professional and personal goals. Definitely feeling confident about this month!

Last month I only set two goals for myself - to read 2 books and to complete every obstacle at the Superhero Scramble. I completed my reading goal with A Dog's Purpose (review coming tomorrow!) and Whiskey Sour (the first book in an awesome murder mystery series - can't wait to read the others!). I didn't complete every obstacle at the Superhero Scramble, but I can definitely say that I at least attempted all of them and gave them my best shot (more detail here) which I'm proud of. I'd say that my June Goals were a success!

I'm happy to be back blogging again. Things got hectic there for a bit, but a good hectic. I have so much more to blog about, so keep your eyes open for more posts coming this week! :)

June Goals

I'm currently enjoying this lovely summer morning on the deck of my family's house in NH, enjoying a nice cup of coffee (it's still cool enough to drink it hot at 8AM), listening to the birds wake up and my dogs incessantly whine while they impatiently wait for my parents to come home from a morning fishing trip. The deck of this house is one of my favorite spots in the world. I've spent many summers out here reading a countless number of books, chatting with my family while we eat deliciously BBQ'd meals, and enjoying the scenery of my parents' ever-growing jungle of a deck garden. When I'm out here, I can't be anything less than happy. :)

It's officially the first of June, so that means it's time for some goal setting! May was a lot busier for me than I had anticipated at the beginning of the month, and I completely forgot how stressful it is to adjust after the school year is complete. Many other things in my life took priority over the goals I set for myself last month, and as a result, I didn't complete one of them. To be honest, I was pretty discouraged and disappointed in myself after having such success in April, but I realize that when you set goals for yourself, you're not going to win them all. It's okay if you don't do as well as you'd like, as long as you keep working. I still ran and I still read (though not as much as I aimed to) and unfortunately I wasn't working enough to reach my financial goals this past month. But it's okay. I'm still working towards those goals, even if it means I can't reach them within a month.

Because of my results from May, I'm only going to set two goals for myself this month:

1. Read 2 books

2. Complete all of the 20+ obstacles in the Superhero Scramble on June 8 

I think those are two pretty reasonable goals, and I'll be able to spend much less time stressing out about not reaching my goals and more time focusing on things that matter. :)