1 Jan 2015

Happy 2015! Resolution Review.

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Happy New Year!  I have a feeling that this is going to be a bang up year!  Before moving onto new resolutions I wanted to take a day to reflect on how I did with last year’s.    If you don’t remember what they are you can see them HERE.

 #1: Read an average of 2 books/month and 3 classics.

photo taken from cnet.com

My husband was so nice to buy me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and I am in LOVE!  It has significantly better battery life and allows me to backlight it when I’m sitting on the dark end of the couch. 

 
January:
   * Me Before You- by Jojo Moyes
   * And the Mountains Echoed- by Khaled Hosseini (Book Club)
   * Silver Linings Playbook- by Matthew Quick
   * Eleanor & Park- by Rainbow Rowell
February:
   * Great Expectations- by Charles Dickenson (Classic #1 of 3)
   * The Art of Racing in the Rain- by Garth Stein
   * Into the Darkest Corner- Elizabeth Hayes (Book Club)
   * Things We Set on Fire- by Deborah Reed
March:
   * Lost Memory of Skin- by Russell Banks
   * Prince of Tides- by Pat Conroy
April:
  * The Kite Runner- by Khaled Hosseini
May & June- NONE!! (unless you count 1/2 of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn  &  1/2 of As I Lay Dying).
July:
  * Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls- by David Sedaris
August:
  * Incendiary: A Novel- by Chris Cleave
September:
  * The Good Sister- Drucilla Campbell.
  * Ordinary Grace by William Krueger (Book Club)
October: NONE
November: 
  *The Things They Carried- Tim O’Brien (Classic #2 of 3)
December:
  *Bridge to Terebitha- Katherine Paterson (Classic #3 of 3)
  *An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
  *Hollow City- Ransom Riggs
  *Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It- Kamal Ravikant
  *By My Mother’s Hand- Henry Melnick (Classic #4 of 3)
  * Virtues of Oxygen- Susan Schoenenberger
  *Re’And- Victoria Easter Wilson
 
Also read but not sure which month:
*Prodigal Summer- Barbara Kingsolver
*Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children- Ransom Riggs
* Collected Works Vol. 1- Mary Oliver (Poetry)
 
If I counted right that makes 26 books.  Just over my goal of 2 books per month.  Not an easy task when things get busy, but really easy to make up for when you get your hands on some good ones.  I am on Goodreads for those of you that would like to follow me there and see my ratings on these titles and more. 

 I was terrible about attending book club, which is unfortunate because it’s such a lovely list of ladies.  I hope to better about making it a priority in 2015. It’s been more difficult now that it’s not the same day of the month. 


 #2: Pay more attention to how my children “tick” (…)-  
I’m not sure if I’ve succeeded in this or that my children have become more assertive in their differences and strong in their personalities.  Just recently I’ve found the secret to comforting Bear (she is a bit more “sensory sensitive” and a TIGHT hug works wonders). I’ve found sure fire ways to cheer them up, make them laugh, engage their interest and pinpointed their strengths and weaknesses.  Does that mean I’ve got it down? Hell no! A work in progress as is anything else in life…

 #3-#7: 
Royal suckbomb.  Moving on…

 #8: Continue to build and flex my culinary muscles (…)
Hmmm.  I’m not a master chef, but I have constantly been creating new things.  Let’s see, there was the night that kids asked for 2nds of cabbage rolls.  CABBAGE ROLLS! There was the wonderful indian meal complete with naan that tasted like it came straight from the restaurant; the delicious currant jelly meatballs that now top my husband’s list; and don’t forget the fact that I not only got my husband to try brussel sprouts (my favorite veggie) but he LIKED it!   Oh yes, there have been some utter failures and the kids hated a great deal of it including the couscous, but you’re bound to have that. 


 I’m not sure yet what my goals are for this year.  I will be sharing them here once I’ve had a chance to solidify them.  I would love to hear what’s on your list to help inspire me!