Challenges and Goals

So I'm linking up a few days late on this topic -- challenges and goals. I'm going to write a few reflections on 2018 and then write a few hopes for 2019.

My main goal for 2018 was to complete a Project 365 since I was sad about the lack of pictures I took in 2017. Well, I was going strong on this until mid-June and then it all fell apart :( You can see my posts here. I am going to try to do another one in 2019. As with last year, my goal is to take more pictures.

June 9. 2018 -- Since we didn't celebrate Father's Day last year, and Rachel's birthday was on Father's Day this year, I surprised Dave with an early Father's Day celebration this day. Dave loves breakfast so I made this delicious frittata. Yum!

This was my last photo a day post for this year :(

I also wanted to blog a little more than I had in 2017. Again, I was doing okay with this until about July. (WHAT HAPPENED THIS SUMMER?!?!?!) and then there was blog radio silence. Thankfully, I feel like I have gotten back into the blogging habit this past month with #AMonthofFaves so I am really hoping I can continue this trend.

 

image from here

 

I will write more about this on Friday, but 2017 was the first year I'd tracked my reading progress. I read 175 books in 2017. I honestly had no idea how much I read so to have an actual number was a surprise. This year I have also been tracking my reading and, although I didn't set a goal, I am happy with how much I've read. I will reveal my actual number of books read on Monday (last day of the year!) because I will likely read another book or two before then.

 

image from here

One of my big reading challenges this year was that I hit a MAJOR reading slump from mid-September until mid-October. It made me sad that reading was such a chore. Instead of diving into great books I was reaching for mindless reads. While there is a time and a place for mindless reads, I wasn't happy that for about a month, they were all I could consume.

 

image from here

(Can I just add that I LOVE that when I Googled "slump image" this was the first thing which came up!!! Don't tell me it's a freaky Google algorithm reading my computer usage, tell me the whole world means "reading slump" when they Google "slump image" because, really, what other kind of slump is there?!?! Ha!)

For 2019 I am setting four big goals and then I am going to commit myself to smaller monthly goals. I find life is more manageable that way.

My four big goals are:

1) Complete a Project 365. See above...

 

image from here

2) Read through my whole Bible in one year. I have set this as a goal and never completed it. This year I want the Bible to be one of the books I read this year. I am especially excited about this because I have my grandma's old Bible and it is neat to run across verses she underlined and to feel connected to her that way.

3) Write more book reviews on the blog. I have posted every book I've read since October 2016 over on Instagram, and before that I was doing mini-reviews on Fridays for the previous year. You can see them all here. However, Instagram isn't a great platform for reviewing books in depth.

My friends Emily and Allena (you can see their blogs in my links on the right) post reviews of every book they read on their blogs and, while I don't think I will do that, I get so many great reading ideas from their reviews. And don't get me started on all the other people's reviews who also influence my reading! I want to give back to the book community by reciprocating. And no, I don't want to go down the Goodreads rabbit hole, so publishing more reviews on the blog feels like a good compromise.

The last book I reviewed on the blog.

4) Read out loud to the kids more. I started reading The Secret Garden to Rachel in April and we are slowly making our way through it. I started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with Sam in 2017. I need to finish these books and then find something else to read with Sam. I just started the Harry Potter series with Rachel so that will keep us going for awhile :)

I will write more about my first set of monthly goals in early January. But until then, this is a review of 2018 and a preview of some of my goals for 2019.

Thank you to Kimberly, Andi, Tamara, and Tanya for this #AMonthofFaves linkup. Have I said yet how much I will miss it in January???