Friday Five {#4}

Friday Five

Five things that mattered to me this week!

1. I'm blogging at you live from my OFFICE (I have an office now?) in my brand new apartment!* Brett and I moved into our new place (in the building next to us... >_>) on Tuesday and I finally finished unpacking and cleaning everything this morning/afternoon. The new place had a spare room, and I decided to turn it into a little office! It's nice having a desk again!

2. Noble and Jeff are coming up tonight for a weekend visit from Jersey! It's always a great time seeing them, so I'm pumped!

3. Yesterday I was offered a GA in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership at Bridgewater! I'm beyond psyched to start this GA. My friend Joanne had the same GA during her time at Bridgewater and loved it, so I'm sure it will be an awesome experience!

4. Tomorrow I'm running the Superhero Scramble! Slightly terrified. If I never update this blog again, you'll know why... x_x

5. Happy National Doughnut Day! *hops in the car and drives to Dunkin' Donuts*

*I'll post an apartment tour entry in the next couple days!

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

June Book Club Selection: A Dog's Purpose

For the month of June, the fiveleveninety book club will be reading A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron! Much like The Wednesday Letters, this book has been a part of my collection for a few years without once being cracked open. (The water stains at the bottom of the book itself suggest that I've had it since I spilled water all over my window sill, where I used to keep my books my sophomore year in college - 2009. Yikes!)

"All dogs go to heaven... unless they have unfinished business here on Earth. 

This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, A Dog's Purpose touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? 

Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of eight-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures, Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog.

But this life as a family pet is not the end of Bailey's journey. Reborn as a puppy yet again, Bailey wonders - will he ever find his purpose? 

Heartwarming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A Dog's Purpose is not only the emotional and hilarious story of a dog's many lives, but also a dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds between man and man's best friend. This moving and beautifully crafted story teaches us that love never dies, that our true friends are always with us, and that every creature on Earth is born with a purpose."

Being a dog lover, I knew that this would be a great read (whenever I got around to it), and what better time to read a fun book like this than summer time! Let me know in the comments if you're reading along or if you've read this book before and what you thought of it!

For my review of last month's book, The Wednesday Letters, click "Read more"!

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. :)