April 2018 Goals

April 2018

Made by Emmastudies.com

Revisiting January 2018…

  • Read 3 books – nope
  • Complete my Library Journal/BL reviews queue – ugh 50/50
  • Assemble the bookcase – Done! Which was a nightmare and involved damaged parts and return/refund policies
  • Confirm new insurance with my practitioners – Done!
  • Sign-up for a YMCA membership and start going – Done! And I’ve written about loving it
  • Submit paperwork to attend ALA Midwinter – Done! #MW18 was great
  • Host my friend KW on his work trip – Done! It was lovely having a friend in town
  • Go through the last three moving boxes -…

April 2018

Happy April!

What I Read Last Week – 3/14/18

Happy Pi Day!

Lately – 3/9/18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odE1x9nPyAs

Pale Beneath The Tan (Squeeze ) – The Front Bottoms

We were graced with exciting news this week that the Grandma series will actually be a series. I would’ve been perfectly happy with just Rose, but hearing this track and other mastered will be awesome. 

listening :: to re-vamped The Splendid Table (which is inspiring my creatively and thoughtfully in so many ways) and the also re-vamped Live From Here with Chris Thile (formerly A Praire Home Companion);

reading :: NYT Mini Vows column, and getting through my library stack this weekend;

drinking :: Gatorade (see below: loving);

feeling :: inexplicably muddled;

loving :: applesauce (reunited because of a minor bout of food poisoning), phone calls with friends, and the Marinara Timer Chrome extension;

looking ahead :: to a bit of hopeful-not-destructive weekend rain, some St. Patrick’s Day plans, and just being.

What are you guys up?

What I Read Last Week – 2/28/18

Cold Little Heart – Michael Kiwanuka

These are actually a bunch I’ve had in the queue for awhile, but I am still happy to share them.

Have a good day

 

Love List – 2/26/18

Kacey Musgraves has a new album coming out on March 30! I am very happy with these two teaser tracks. 

^I love these wreaths. I couldn’t resist the seasonal cheer. They are from Michaels and were both discounted at 40% off when I purchased them separately. Don’t be a dummy and always wait for the Michaels inevitable sale. 

Justin portable charger – I too often forget that I own this. I use it while traveling (when I remember to charge it), and I used it over the weekend when I went to the gym with a precariously low-battery cellphone (Thanks, Apple) – my workout worked-out because of it.

Audiobooks – With half marathon training has come more time spent at the gym and exercising – which is my prime time for audio media consumption! I used to be an avid commute listener to podcasts, but my current commute requires more alertness and my podcast line-up got a bit stale, so enter audiobooks. My first was The Magnolia Story (which will be a whole post within itself) and now I am on to When Dimple Met Rishi. The narrator is so critical for an audiobook to be enjoyable, and these two crushed it. Real thanks to my library’s subscription to Hoopla for this love. 

Lately – 2/23/18

The Wolf – Mumford and Sons

watching :: the Great British Bake Off remains to be my jam (or perhaps my choux:p);

reading :: Sarah Dessen’s Once and For All and some new-to-me blogs;

drinking :: iced tea, to-go;

sewing :: some new projects;

thinking :: career development strategies, learning management systems, and chocolate;

loving :: East Beach Tacos, friends’ successes and Instagram stories (never was one for reality TV but welcome to the new paradigm);

looking ahead :: to Stay Sweet, a brow appointment, the Broad Street 10-Miler (of all the lotteries to win…), and just this weekend.

What are you guys up?

What I am I Reading – 1/17/18

One of the nice parts of joining a gym is that I have access to cable television again. (I have a television, but do not have cable.) I’ve been runited with good ol‘ HGTV and the posse there. When I couldn’t get enough of Fixer Upper I ended up finding the hosts’ (Chip and Joanna Gaines) book The Magnolia Story on Hoopla and listened to that over the long weekend. As a fan of the show, I loved the book and found that it provided more depth to the pair. That being said, they stay very solidly in their schtick. Other things

The Rumpus | The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Care You (Not new, but an article I like to re-read every so often)

Grub Street | Milk Bar’s First-Ever Investor Calls Christina Tosi ‘Martha Stewart for this Generation’

Bon Appetit | Thank You God, for Black Thanksgiving

New York Times | Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Celebrate 70 Years of Marriage

NPR | ‘I’m an American’ Radio Show Promoted Inclusion Before World War II

NJ.com | How This New Jersey Town Realized it had a Multi-Million Dollar Rodin Dust

Washington Post | Two Dying Memorists Wrote Bestsellers About Their Final Days. Then Their Spouses Fell In Love.

Food52 | The Lady Falcon Coffee Club: Home of Rule-Breaking Blends

New York Times | Raising a Truly Bilingual Child

What are you reading?

 

 

 

 

Love List – 1/15/18

A week ago my community was rocked by a devastating mudslide, directly caused by the Thomas Fire. While I am safe and sound, 6 miles away from me lives were lost and many people are without their homes. So this week, hug your family and support others in any way you can.

United Way of Ventura and the United Way of Santa Barbara

Foodbank of Santa Barbara County

Sutthithepa Family Recovery Fund

Love List – 1/8/18

Charisma – Pianos Become the Teeth released this track ahead of their full album release for Wait For Love (2/16). They’ve transitioned remarkably from their early, scream-o years into equally thoughtful but more melodic.

Happier in Hollywood – I am a regular listener of the Happier podcast with Gretchen and Liz, but for whatever reason I put off listening to this companion podcast – featuring Elizabeth and her writing partner Sara. Maybe it needed to come to meet at the right time (I listened to Happier while in NJ and Gretchen lives in NY; I picked Happier in Hollywood living in SB and Liz and Sara live in LA.) In any case, this is a delightful listen.

Moleskine monthly and weekly calendars – I love the pocket size of these planners and that the weekly’s page spread has dated grids on one side and a page on the other. (Sometimes there are things I want to accomplish in a week, but necessarily a specific day!)

The Great British Bake-Off – While home-capative during the Thomas Fire and I was reacquainted with my Netflix account and have fallen deeply in love with this show. It’s the perfect white noise and the creation of “puddings” has hypnotic qualities.

Prince Harry/Meghan Markle Royal Engagement – While you should never bind your happiness up in other people (because, ugh people are messy creatures), I am very looking forwarding to another Spring royal wedding.

FitBit Charge 2 + YMCA – For Christmas, one of my relatives very generously gifted me and my younger sister FitBit fitness trackers. Then, the YMCA ran a special with a discounted January membership rate plus waiving the joiner’s fee on their open house day. Done and done! I had been eyeing both purchases for a while, but couldn’t commit to the hefty price of either. (wtf, joiner’s fee?) This combination is a great start to 2018.

2018 Goals and January Goals

We have a bit of catching up today. I have so many words to share with you. My employer was closed from December 23 – January 1 for a combination building maintance/holiday break, so I traveled home to New Jersey for the first extended time since I moved to California (nearly!) a year ago.

That all said, these are a bit late —

18 for 18

  • Take a Spanish language class
  • See the Santa Barbara Fiesta parade
  • Take a NJ/PA trip
  • See a professional play
  • Celebrate K+F’s wedding
  • Call LB, LC, and Mike O. 3x a month.
  • Call NS 1x a month
  • Read American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld)
  • Catch-up on The Austen Project books
  • Plan a vacation
  • Join a museum/social group
  • Earn the Stadia Board ranking with USGS National Map Corps.
  • Sign-up for a LAPL card
  • Camp the Channel Islands
  • Read 50 books
  • Get a fire extinguisher for my apartment
  • Pay off my rogue student loan and pay off half of my alternative student loan balance
  • Replace/Invest in my footwear – (those $12.99 Target flats are no longer cutting it, no matter how cute/cheap they are)

My word of 2018 is Celebration. I know, “How hard is celebrating things” but for me it is kind of difficult. 

2018 Races

And as for January 2018…

  • Read 3 books
  • Complete my Library Journal/BL reviews queue
  • Assemble the bookcase
  • Confirm new insurance with my practioners
  • Sign-up for a YMCA membership and start going
  • Submit paperwork to attend ALA Midwinter
  • Host my friend KW on his work trip
  • Go through the last three moving boxes

 

Go forth and be awesome.