Update to January Readings

Remember when yesterday I said I wouldn't be finishing Burned by Ellen Hopkins in January because I was only 3/5 of the way through it? Apparently I underestimated myself.
Last night I started reading and then next thing I knew I was almost done! It helps that her book is written is a totally different format than regular novels so it doesn't take long to get through the book at all!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Another teenager falling in love storyline but with some strong added extras to the plot that make it pretty good! And an ending that really makes you go 'holy crap! i wonder if she does it!' The only downside was sometimes the format taking away from the book, but thats pretty much it.

And that means I finished 3 and a half books in January!
Lets see what February brings!! 

January Book Recap

It's Friday!!!!!!!!! Just had to get that out there.
More importantly it's the end of January. My goal is to post updates as to how I'm doing throughout the year on my book reading resolution every month.

I'm off to a really strong start actually! In January I read 2 full books, plus half of another, plus 3/5th of another. Let me explain-I cheated and started my resolution early. I started Great Expectations around Christmas so by the time January actually started I was almost half way through it. And currently reading another book (which I don't think I'm going to finish tonight so thus will carry over into February).

I'm proud of myself so far! I admit the next 2 months may be more difficult as I think I'm either working or have other plans every single weekend which are big reading times for me. For about a week or so this month I would get up a half hour early just to be able to sit in bed and read for a while. I actually really liked that. It was a nice calm way to start my day.

Here are the books I finished/started in January:

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: I read this one years ago in high school and remembered I liked it, but didn't really remember why. Reading it again I remembered why! Such a great book! Good story, great characters, and some fun twists!

Wild by Cheryl Strayed: Another memoir of hiking a 1,000+ mile trail. Except this time it was the Pacific Coast Trail as opposed to the Appalachian Trail like other books I've read. I'm not going to lie, I thought I would enjoy it more than I did. Her time hiking I enjoyed, but her life off the trail through flashbacks I didn't really care for. Granted I'll probably still consider seeing it in it's movie form starring Reese Witherspoon that comes out this year.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: Also a book being made into a movie this year. Although I don't think I'd care to see this one in theaters. I liked the book as a whole, but the end was a little lacking for me (and not in the way the author probably hoped for). While I liked the book, I don't think the movie will have the same effect.

*Not Finished Yet*
Burned by Ellen Hopkins: A very easy read so far-although it takes a minute to get used to her writing style where every page is almost more of a poem format. Jury is still out on the book though since I haven't finished yet!

From shattered to rebuilt

a few years ago I lost someone close to me.

not through death, not through distance, but because of actions of stupidity.

because of bad decisions.

a few years ago a friendship was ruined.

and it shattered me.

it made me look at my life.

it made me take stock of what was important and how i was living.

it made me realize i didn't like myself anymore.

and it made me change.

the person i am today is not the person i was before.

as for the friendship-it was built back but on shaky ground.

it went from tolerating, to talking, to joking.

but there was still the awkwardness in the room at times

the unspoken elephant of the day our friendship was originally shattered.

but we never addressed it.

until now.

finally the time came to talk.

to tell each other what we've both felt for a while.

to be able to say those words "I'm sorry".

to be able to say "it made me change".

to realize that its both of us who have changed.

that we are both stronger and more confident in who we are.

i'm sad we missed out on those few years, but i'm beyond thrilled we made it past that trial.

to discuss it and move on.

to understand the thoughts from the other persons point of view.

to finally be able to know that it's settled.

to be confident in our relationship.

and know for sure that i have my friend again.

Welcome to the Polar Vortex!!!!!

That was what was in all caps and large font on the homepage of CNN's website yesterday. And it's pretty much true. (Props to whoever came up with "polar vortex" by the way-very science fictiony and dramatic!)

But seriously-it's the coldest blast of temperatures to hit the USA in a while out there. Here in North Carolina we got down to about 7 degrees last night, with a windchill of at least -6! AND THIS IS NORTH CAROLINA!!!! My friend in Wyoming wasn't making a big deal over his -12 degree weather (not sure what the wind chill would have made that!) and instead went outside to test if you throw water into the air in that temperature if it will freeze before hitting the ground-spoiler alert-some of it did! Another friend posted a screenshot of his phone reading a -42 degree wind chill in his area! So I guess I can't complain to much about my -6 degrees!

All of this is to say that I don't want to let excuses keep me from my goals this year.
(didn't see that switch coming did ya!!!)
See normally Tuesday's I always go to the gym super early in the AM since I have a church thing Tuesday evenings-typically my goal is to be at the gym by 4:30am. Knowing what the weather was going to be like last night and into today I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to skip the gym today! But seeing as how my obnoxious sinus infection kept me from the gym for a few days already in 2014, I knew I shouldn't skip more days when I don't have a good reason. And so I set my alarm for 4:10 this morning-promptly checked the weather upon waking up (which is how I know it got down to at least -6 degrees with the wind chill) and bundled up! My greatest concern was my car turning on honestly-Sally, aka my car, isn't used to that type of weather. But she started, I took it easy on her, and as always she got me where I needed to go.

So I learned a few things this morning-1) I can properly layer for colder weather than I can ever remember experiencing, 2) the gym is remarkably empty on a morning like today, and 3) I can never say it's to cold to go to the gym again unless it is at least -10 degrees!!!

Happy 2014!

So far all 2014 has brought me is a sinus infection....well at least I think it's a sinus infection-going to the doctor today to see what their opinions are.

Started feeling bad in 2013, to the point that New Years Eve meant me attempting to go to sleep early and being grumpy when a random watch started beeping just after midnight (seriously! I hadn't worn this watch in literally months and suddenly it come alive and wants to celebrate the new year! I guess it's better to have inanimate objects come alive to celebrate instead of to haunt).

Other than that, the start of a new year also means more New Years resolutions to make and hopefully not break! This year I've decided to make a resolution that really shouldn't be that difficult. I want to read at least 1 book a month. (Children's books don't count.) I love to read. I love escaping into another world and getting lost there for hours. There have literally been days where I spent 8 hours reading and when it came time to stop reading and go out to dinner it took me a while to transition back into the real world! But I find that parts of the year I just drop the ball on reading. Suddenly it will take me months to finish a book because I claim I don't have the time. And that's a lie. There's always time. I just use it to sit mindlessly in front of yet another NCIS marathon on the USA network instead. With this resolution I'll be forced to at least do a book a month. Ideally it would be great to do more than a book a month.

There are other things I'd like to accomplish like donating blood 6 times this year and getting involved in new social things more. But I feel as those will be ongoing things. And things I may not have as much control over (case in point-I actually was scheduled to donate blood today but thanks to the extreme stuffiness that's not going to happen).

So here's to a new year! I can't wait to see what else 2014 has in store for me!!!

So long 2013!

I don't know if I'm the only one-but it seems like 2013 just flew by! I feel as though so much happened this year, but that it was all in a blink of an eye.

I welcomed a new nephew and a Goddaughter, traveled internationally, reconnected with old friends while making new, found I had strong opinions on topics, got comfortable sharing personal information with people, got to enjoy watching almost every sport of the London Olympics, plus watch Wimbledon matches live and in person, celebrated the weddings of friends, and of course had some other fantastic experiences. There were ups and downs, but I'm happy when I look back on everything that the ups are the only things that come to mind.

In regards to my 2013 New Years Resolutions, I succeeded in some of them. My primary goals were to do something good for others through donating time or money every month, as well as to read the entire Bible. I'm very happy to say that I completed the Bible on December 26th! Growing up in the church I thought I knew most of what was in there but there were definitely things I learned! And surprisingly parts of the Bible that I really enjoyed and didn't think I would, and parts I was bored with that I thought I would enjoy. I don't claim to be an expert and in no way shape or form can I quote different passages now that I've read the whole thing, but am happy that I did it. As for helping others, I feel like I did some things, but not sure I did as much as I would have wanted. I managed to donate blood 5 times (so close to the max of 6!), and volunteer with my church, help donate to things friends were doing, started supporting friends in Cru, continued to support Vican and Dar El Awlad, bought things were proceeds went to charity, and a few other things here and there. I guess if you spread it out I would be able to say I succeeded, but I guess my vision was for it to be loftier. To make a bigger impact on myself and those around me. Perhaps that will just have to be a lifelong effort. To be willing to volunteer and step up when needed as opposed to just a resolution for 1 year.

Overall it's been a good year.....but I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store!

Babies Babies and more Babies!!!

About 2 years ago I officially entered into the stage of life where all my friends started having kids. Which is fine because I absolutely adore kids! I admit that sometimes I feel left out as the one still single and trying to figure out life while most of my friends and married and starting to pop those cute little tykes out. But the beauty of it is that I still get to see these adorable kiddos and as soon as they start fussing or pooping hand them right back over to their parents! I'm super excited because next week I get to see one of my good friend's brand new little boy PLUS see my youngest 2 nephews! And before that one of my dearest friends is finding out the gender today of her next little one and my first Godson/daughter!

I should probably also point out that I'm one of those American girls who loves the Royal Family in England and was checking Twitter every few minutes over the past few days to find out about first the birth and then the naming of Prince George! As I joyfully made the announcements to my friends as soon as I saw them online they mostly just stared at me like I was crazy. I don't care-I love me some royalty!

While surrounded by all this baby news I stumbled across an article about another famous family who's kids have kept me captivated in the past. The wonderful Duggar family of TLC fame. I LOVE the Duggars! I've watched their show for years and think they are great. They may be more religious than I am and the girls enjoy skirts a whole lot more than myself (who only wears them for weddings and the staff Christmas party), but seriously-they are a very strong family who love each other and who teach their kids incredible values. Every kid learns the value of helping others, working hard, and doing what's right. I see nothing wrong with this. But apparently a lot of people have issues with their family. Mostly due to the size. Michelle and Jim Bob have 19 kids (the fact I can name them all shows my fandom). Even I'll admit that is an INCREDIBLY large family. But you know what-so what?!? Today's day and age teaches tolerance and acceptance of differences between people, and yet this family gets attacked because the parents are just really good at reproducing?!? I don't get it. The one other common complaint is that none of the children have fully enrolled in a college. They've pursued other licensing tracks and started their own businesses instead. I see no problem with this either! I've linked the article below. The main reason I liked it is because it gives an interesting twist to the debate and the criticism about the Duggars.

Click Here for the Article entitled "My Body, My Choice" or as I like to call it- Don't Hate the Duggars

Sidenote: The article comes from what appears to be a Pro-Life website. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions regarding the pro-life vs pro-choice debate and this is not my way of endorsing one belief or another whatsoever! In fact, I had never even heard of this website before a friend on facebook posted the link to this article.