BOOK REVIEW: Everything Everything

Hello All,

Guess what? I finished another book! Yup I've been a reading fiend lately. For those of you who may be interested that means I've read 7 books (As Old As Time, When It Happens {No review}, Since You've Been Gone, Just One Day, Anna and the French Kiss & The Hating Game) out of my goal of 15! That means that I am 47% of the way towards my goal and two books ahead of schedule. Now that all those boring stats are out of the way let's talk about the most recent book. Was it everything?

The seventh book I read this year was Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon. This book wasn't orginally on my To-Be Read List mainly because it was so hyped up and I often avoid books that are too hyped. That is until they get made into movie, then I have to read them. Which is why I decided to read Everything Everything. And for all of you who haven't seen the Everything Everything movie trailer yet I'll add it right now.

Looks cute right? Plus I love the male actor (Nick Robinson) from his days on Melissa and Joey. So, I had to see but I wanted to read the book first because 8 out of 10 times I feel the book is better then movie. So, one day when I was at Barnes and Noble buying a different book I decided to pick it up.

Everything Everything follows the main character Madeline who has SCIDs which basically means that everything and anything can make her sick. Because of that her mom keeps her indoors in order to keep her safe. One day a boy named Ollie moves in next door and almost imedatily Madeline is enthralled. They start a relationship via emails and IM. The more Madeline gets to know Ollie the more she wants to get to know the rest of the world. 

I read a few reviews on Good Reads where people stated that they feel that Madeline is a very selfish character.  But I didn't feel that she was. Instead I felt that she was a character who was too sheltered and never got a chance to make her decisions. I didn't fault her for being selfish, I actually loved that she had a selfish feeling to her. 

There was a plot twist to the novel but I guessed it about one hundred pages in. I didn't want to believe that it could be the actual twist. And then it was and I loved it! It made sense with the rest of the book and instead of being angry about the twist I had a feeling of empathy towards the situation. I'm trying to be vague so I don't give it away.

My least favorite part of the novel was the ending. It went by way to quickly and I wanted to know more about what happened next. I had more questions about where the characters lives will go from there.

Overall I really enjoyed the book. It doesn't surpass The Hating Game for me but I still really enjoyed it. On a scale of 1-5 with five being AMAZING and one being horrible I rated this book a 4.20. I would recommend the book to the typical I love cheesey Young Adult book readers. 

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Have you read Everything Everything? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

BOOK REVIEW: The Hating Game

Hello All, 

I'm chugging along with 2017 reading goal and I am 40% done with it! That's right I've read 6 books out of my goal of 15. (Read reviews: As Old As Time, Since You've Been Gone, Just One Day, Anna and the French Kiss) Recently I have been super into reading, the 45 minutes to an hour each day that I have set aside to read is a time that I look forward to, especially with this last book. So, without further ado let me tell you about what has been my favorite book so far this year.

The sixth book that I read this year was The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This book followed the narrator, Lucy who is the executive assistant of the co-CEO of a large publishing house. She spends most of her day playing "games" like the Staring Games with other executive assistant, Josh. And she believes she knows one thing, she HATES Josh. But after the announcement of a potential promotion the two start being push together more often and Lucy starts to question just how much she really knows. 

I discovered this book thanks to Gabby from gabbyreads on YouTube.  In a few of her videos she raved about this book and since almost every other book I've discovered from her I loved I decided to give this one a shot. And I was hooked by the end of chapter two. 

First is that I loved both the characters. Lucy was confused and self conscious about the changes in her relationship with Josh without be obnoxious. And Josh felt like a much more likable verison of Christian Grey from the widely popular book series Fifty Shades of Grey. He has his demons and was distant without having the slightly abusive feeling to him. 

The romance was the perfect pace, the feelings at least from Lucy's side (the only side we truly get to see) felt natural. One of my favorite things about romance in books is when the moments between the two romantic leads give me butterflies. So many of the moments between Lucy and Josh gave me intense butterflies.

The one of the things about the book that I didn't like was the timeline and the pacing. It often felt like the interview for their big promotion was coming up quickly  but then all the sudden it was still over a week away. I would often get confused by that. But if we're being honest I might have been missing reading the time line. If you have read the book or if you do let me know if this something you struggled with.

The other thing that I didn't really like was the ending. Yes, the book and the loose ends were tied up nicely but for me the moment fell pretty flat. Especially after so many of the moments throughout the novel gave me butterflies. I just didn't experience them in the last chapter and I feel like with this book I should have.

Overall on a scale of 1 to 5 I rated this books a 4.75. I highly recommend this book to just about anyone especially if you like contemporary romances.

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 Did you read the hating game? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments down below.

*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

BOOK REVIEW: Just One Day

Hello All,

I have officially finished book 4 of my 2017 reading goal! In case you've missed the reviews so far this year you can catch them there ---> Since You've Been Gone & As Old As Time (I didn't write one for the second book I read because I was so busy right around the time I finished it). According to Good Reads I am 27% of the way through my 2017 reading goal of 15 books! But that's not why you guys came here, you came here to read a book review so let's get started.

The fourth book I read this year was Just One Day by Gayle Forman (I added the Good Reads link because it tells you places where you can buy it).  Which follows the character Allyson through one year of her life. It starts at the end of her summer trip the summer between high school and college. The biggest and most exciting summer of your life. On the last day of the trip she meets a Dutch boy named, Willem and the two of them go to France for just one day. The next morning she wakes up and Willem is gone and she spends the rest of the year attempting to find Willem again as well as find the girl she was that day in France. 

This book has been on my To Be Read list for such a long time. Mainly because I loved the books If I Stay and Where She Went by the same author, Gayle Forman (You can read the joint review I wrote here). I had heard in a few different places that these books was not as good as the fore mentioned novels. But I still wanted to give this book a chance. And to be honest I agree with the opinion I've seen floating around the internet. 

I guess I should start with my biggest issue, I didn't like the main character of the novel. I felt like she spend the majority of the novel complaining instead of doing something about her issues. She also came across as very judgy in my opinion. In fact I think the only character she didn't judge harshly was Willem. 

After reading the back summary of the novel I knew that the majority of the book would follow Allyson life post the day with Willem but she spend 100 of the 360-some odd page novel with Willem. Which was good to build the love connection between Allyson and Willem but it made the rest of the book feel rushed. There were pieces of her life post that day that I would have loved to learn more about. 

The ending to me also felt like it drew on forever. Like I kept thinking I was at the end and there was still like twenty more pages. Maybe if I had liked the character more then I would have like how drawn out it felt but I just wanted her to figure it out what she wanted.

As much as I didn't like the book I do plan to eventually read it's sequel, Just One Year which follow Willem through the same year. Maybe I'll like Willem more. Although I won't be reading it right away because I need a break from these characters.

I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to. I don't want to say no one because there is a very huge chance that because I didn't like the main character I wasn't able to see the positive side of this book. I feel that this book has the potential to be read by someone at that exact time in their life when they need to read it and have the message help them through whatever hurdle they are struggling with. So, maybe I would recommend it to anyone who is sitting on the edge of who they were and who they are going to be, people going through a huge life change.

I like to rate the books I read on a scale of 5. I've gone back and forth about what I was going to rate this book and I have decided that this book is getting a 3.25 on my scale. The writing was good and the story was a good concept I just didn't love the other elements. 

Have you read Just One Day? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below.

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*This post was not sponsored by any of the linked sites. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own 

and I was in no way compensated for mentioning them ***

BOOK REVIEW: As Old As Time

Hello All,

This year I made a Good Reads goal of reading fifteen books over the next twelve months. And I am excited to be able to say that I have officially finished the first book! And since I love to share my opinions on books and movies on this lovely blog I decided I would review it!

The first book I read this year was the novel As Old As Time by Liz Braswell. Which is the third novel in Braswell's series A Twisted Tale. I have not read the first two books in this series though because I believe that they are all stand alone books that have the common theme of re-telling traditional Disney movies. 

In this case the book re-told the story of The Beauty and the Beast which is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. The twist in this novel is that the Enchantress who be-witches the Beast is actually Belle's mother. Together Belle and the Beast have to break the curse and try to uncover the mystery of the real reason the Enchantress cursed the beast. 

This novel is broken into three parts. The first part is written in Flashbacks where we see Maurice and Belle's mother meet and fall in love. But it also re-tells the first part of The Beauty and the Beast. The re-telling is pretty much exactly what we see in the animated classic. During this part I question whether I wanted to put it down and give up or continue on. 

When I got to the second part I was glad I did. This is when the novel starts to twist on the original story and bring life to a new story. I was also really excited for this part because I was hoping to get a better idea of why Belle and the Beast were such a perfect match (But more on that later). While at the same time keeping to the original story when we saw what Maurice was going through.

The final part of the novel was a little bit of a let down. By this point I had pretty much guessed why everything happened the way it had happened. And was even disappointed by the answer to one of the mysteries. The last chapter of the book made want a sequel though because Braswell left it open for Belle and the Beast to start a whole new adventure. But from what I've seen online there doesn't seem to be a sequel in the works. 

Now the piece of the book I was most excited about was to really get to see what made Belle and the Beast such an amazing couple. I mean in a book that is almost 500 pages long we had to get an in-depth look at the characters. But in that regards I was disappointed. I learned a little more about Belle as a person. And good amount more about the Beast's past. But I didn't romantically ship them. I didn't find myself hoping they'd get together...I would have been just as happy to see them shake hands and go there separate ways. That was something that disappointed me to no ends because they are such an iconic Disney couple. 

Overall I rated this book a 3.75 out of 5. It was very close to making it to 4 stars but the slow start and the lack of romantic connection between the leads did hurt it in my ratings. With that being said I know everyone has their own taste so I would recommend this book to people who like fantasy or fairy tale novels and someone with an open mind when it comes to telling the story in a different way. Although I WOULD NOT recommend this book to anyone who is a big fan of Disney's Beauty and the Beast and who wouldn't want to see the story change. 

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Have you read As Old as Time? If so, did you enjoy it? How would you rate it? Let me know in the comments down below. 

What's in my gym bag? {Literally and Figuratively}

Hello All,

A couple of weeks I wrote a post talking about what's been going on currently in my life (Check it out here). In that post I mentioned that I've been working out a lot recently. I know that I've talked about it multiple times on here and then "fell of the wagon" so to speak. But a few weeks a go while I was at the gym I thought about all the things I would tell a friend if they told me they wanted to start going to the gym but had never been. And then I was like I could share it on my blog and maybe it'll help someone. 

With this post I wanted to tell you guys not only the physical things I bring to the gym, or use right after the gym. But I also wanted to tell you guys about the mental and figurative things that I think about before, during and after the gym. 

1. Good sneakers

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This probably seems super obvious. But what some people don't realize is how many different types of sneakers there are out there. When I was getting my shoes about a month and half ago I knew I wanted running sneakers so focused on finding the running styles. But there are other types so think about what your work outs are going to consist of before shopping for sneakers. Personally I am a huge fan of the Nike Brand, I feel like my Nike sneakers last a long time and are great quality. But I highly recommend find the brand and the shoes that work for you and your style. 

2. Comfy gym clothes

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Again this one is pretty obvious. Since starting at the gym I've seen so many different styles and people feeling comfortable in different styles. For me personally I I like wearing shorts and tank tops. I like shorts because I feel like they fit me better then work out leggins (I don't have a butt to keep them up, lol) and I don't have to adjust them as much. As for tank tops I like that there's nothing on my arms but I also feel like I look cutest in them, which gives my confidence, which I feel like makes my workouts better because I feel like "I'm yup I got this." Also when I pick out my tank tops I like them to have motivating sayings on them because every time I look in the mirror it motivates me. For the most part I've bought most of my workout clothes at Target, their Champion brand. 

Before we move on I just wanted to share a tip that I've learned at big breasted women. I've learned that by layering a typical everyday bra over a sports bra I feel like I gain more support. :) 

3. Headphone and music player

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This is another one that is probably pretty obvious but music has been my life saver at the gym. Especially when I'm running. Instead of focusing on the fact that I'm running or that my joints are sore or whatever makes running hard I focus on the words from the music. My playlist is pretty varied to, it goes from Iggy Azalea's Fancy to Britney Spear's Work It B*tch to even some old Disney Channel because the beat is awesome. Basically my rules for my work out playlist is that it needs to have a good beat, I need to know the words and fun. I especially like the ones about pushing yourself or working harder to better yourself. I recommend finding out if your gym has wifi so you can create gym playlists on Spotify so you don't have to pay for the songs.

4. Water Bottle

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Another obvious is water because you need to stay hydrated. I drink a lot of water when I work out and on the car ride home. I love using reusable water bottles because they are easy to refill, cheaper then constantly buying bottles at the grocery store and easy to add ice to. I also like ones that are insulated so that they don't sweat and get condensation everywhere.   And aren't those water bottles above adorable.

5. Face wash and/or make-up wipes

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In case you didn't know working out with make-up on is a really bad habit and horrible for you skin. It causes more make-up to get into pores which could cause acne. I highly recommend at least wiping your make-up off with a wipe before starting your work. I also love to wash my face with face soap as soon as possible after I work out. My personal favorite face wash is the Clean and Clear brand.

6. A plan

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One of my work out goals is to be able to run a 5k! So, I found the couch to 5k plan (shown above) as a way to start working towards that goal. For the first few weeks I changed the plan up a little to work better for me but as I get deeper into the plan I'm realizing that I have to follow it more to the T. I also like to plan out what work out I'm going to do each day. I spilt my workouts by days, i.e. arms, legs and abs. At the beginning of each week I chose what days I will be going to the gym and write down in my planner which day its going to be. Coming from some who is planner I like to know what day I'm working on.

7. A place to record your progress

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I'm one of those people who like to see how things have changed. So, I use to things to track my progress. The first one is the app, My Fitness Pal, which has the ability to track what foods your eating, some of the exercises you do (I'll be honest I have a hard time finding some the exercises I do on there but I do track my cardio) and weight loss. I mainly use the app to track my weight lose. Each week I weigh myself and add it into the app so I can see the progress. One of my favorite feature is it has the option of adding in a picture next to your weight lose so you can see the progress. I personally like to add a picture every five pounds. The other way I track my progress using my notes on my phone. I keep track of what I'm lifting during each session at the gym. That way I'm consistent with my workouts and I can make notes of when I want to add weight to what I'm lifting.

8. Flexibility

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Like I said above I'm planner but I also need to know when to go with the flow. My goal is to go to the gym 5 days a week but I also know that sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes I change what day of the week I'm going to the gym or add it to a different day. Sometimes my workouts don't always go as a plan. I find is espcially hard to run when it's humid out. So, although I go in everyday thinking I'm going to run a little better then the time before it doesn't always work that way when it's humid so I have to change it up and maybe run a little less.

9. Positive Attitude

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Working out is hard! There's no doubt about it. And although it doesn't ever get easier you do get more practice and a better understanding about what your body can do. Because it can be hard sometimes I highly recommend going in with a positive attitude. If you think its going to be a bad workout then your aren't going to be as motivated. But if you go in thinking "I can do anything" then you can. Also I love the quote above, I think that every time I'm disappointed with my time or distance.

10. A goal

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I feel like when your first starting out if you don't have a goal your aren't going to be motivated to keep going to the gym. It doesn't have to a goal that is completely set in stone. You don't have to say I'm going to lift x amount of pounds or have an exact weight in mind but maybe you have something small in mind. For me my goals are to get to the gym 5 days a week, get to a healthier weight and run a 5k. And those 3 items get me the gym every time.

And that's what I what has motivated me to go to the gym and pushes me each time. If you're a gym goer what are things that help motivate you? Let me know in the comments below.

*This is NOT a sponsored post, All opinions are my own and products mentioned are ones I truly use and believe in***

Currently - July 2016

Hello All,

I know, I know I've been missing for awhile. But what else is new here? I could come up with a list of reasons why I haven't been here but I'm not going to bore you with those. I made a goal for this week (the week of July 11th) to blog for at least 10 minutes everyday so I can try and get some cool post up for you guys. 

I figured since I have been "missing" on these parts for a while I would start this up with a currently post, so I can give you guys an update on all the haps in my life. So, let's get started!

Currently I've been...

...binging Friday Night Lights on Netflix

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For those of you who have never seen it, Friday Night Lights is about the town of Dillon, Texas, their football team and the lives of the people connected to the football team. Its a show a lot of people had recommended to me and I finally got around to watching it. I absolutely love it! I'm almost done with the series and I'm on the final season. And if we're being honest I will probably re-watch it as soon as I'm finished with it. My only problem with it is that it only takes place during Football season and because of that not every storyline gets wrapped up and leaves me with a few questions. The show in general has made me want to move down south and raise a bunch of boys who play football. 

...watching The Bachelorette (ABC), Scream: The TV Show (MTV) and Big Brother (CBS).

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This wasn't a show that I watch religiously but over winter break I binge watched the most recently season of the Bachelor (ya know the one where Ben told 2 girls he loves them *Insert eye roll emoji here). At the end of the season when they announced that JoJo was going to be next Bachelorette I knew I had to watch it. Mainly because I love her and she seems so sweet. And yes, I know you can't judge someone by how a reality show portrays them but I love her anyways. 

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I love the Scream movie series (the first one is my favorite) so when MTV announced that they were going to make a TV series based on it I was intrigued. The first season got me hooked and I was beyond excited for season two (which I have been enjoying). My favorite characters are Audrey and Noah (both of who are slightly suspicious). As of right now I have no idea who this season's killer is. 

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If y'all have been around these parts for a while you probably know I LOVE Big Brother and watch it every season. In the past I have done weekly recaps on here but those are a lot of work and I just don't have the time to write them. Although I am brainstorming another way to share my love of a Big Brother on my corner of the internet but it might take some time before ones published. What I will say about this season is one of my favorite in a long time. I think this might have to do with the returning houseguests (Frank (BB14), Nicole (BB16), James and Da'Vonne (BB17)). I feel like when they bring back houseguests the game gets moving a little sooner because they already understand how to play. And for those who are wonder I am on #TeamNicole, #TeamCorey and surprisingly #TeamPaul (even if he was the jerk the first few episode). And my pre-season picks to win (before I knew about the returning Vets) this season are Paul for the guys and Michelle for the girls.

...reading After You by JoJo Moyes

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After You is the sequel to Me Before You. I'm only about 30 pages into and haven't gotten hooked the way I did to Me Before You. Although it takes time for me to get hooked to books sometimes so I'm still determined to finish it. 

...planning a new vacation!

My mom and I are going on a vacation in January and I'm super excited about it. It's one that we have been planning since I started college since it was going to be my graduation celebration. I'm not ready announce it quiet yet (its still over 160 days out) but I wanted to drop a hint. So I found a picture (which was taken by me) and cropped it so it wouldn't give it away but you'd get a hint. 

...getting excited about graduating and my future.

Throwback to my High School graduation circa June 2012

This is it folks, the light is at the end of the tunnel and graduation is coming up! I believe, I'm like 97% sure that I am graduating in December! The reason I say I'm 3% unsure it because things happen. If you guys remember I published this post over two years ago talking about changing my major. I went through a hard time when I realized that I didn't want to be a teacher (my original major) and had no clue what I was going to do. I think I may have found my correct path. I'm going to do a whole post about it, life update style, in the next couple of weeks.

...running 3 minutes straight!

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Recently I've decided to go back to the gym (at least in the summer I'm going 5 days a week!) and I've lost 4.5 pounds (as of July 11th). But the thing I'm most excited about is that I can run for 3 minutes straight. I've always wanted to run a 5K but I've never been a big runner. So when I returned to the gym about 3 weeks ago my main goal was to start running. I based my running plan on the couch to 5K (I post it down below). But changed it up a little to work for me. I've been going but by 15 second increments every few days rather then 1 minute increments. But I follow the how many minutes to walk when I hit the new minute. i.e. I'm currently running 3 minutes and walking 5 minutes on either side of the running. I also have a 5K goal but more on that when it gets closer.

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...playing Best Fiends on my phone

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While the rest of the world is chasing Pokemon I have been trying to kill slugs. I heard about this game through a lot of YouTubers and thought it sounded fun. It is a lot like candy crush where you're matching (what looks like fruit) and you built your team in order to kill slugs. I love it and I'm completely addicted. I recommend it for anyone who enjoy(s/ed) candy crush. 

And that's what's been going on in my world. What has been going on your guy's world? Let me know in the comments down below!

My 2016 Goals {Introduction}

Hello All,

I can't believe that's in 2016 already! For the last two years (2014 & 2015) I have come up with a list of goals to try to accomplish in the the new year. I focus on goals rather then resolution because I'm not looking to change myself I am looking to make a my year a memorable year. Every year I share my goals in the beginning of January and then check-in at the end of March, June, September and December so I can see how I am doing on those goals.

1. Go to the gym 2 times a week

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Most years I make a goal to start eating better and going to the gym. But this year I'm going to focus on going to the gym. I feel like 2 times a week is a manageable number of days to go to the gym every week. Plus I can work it into my schedule and maybe even work up to going more then twice a week. In the past I have enjoyed going to the gym but was bad at keeping up with it.

2. Either cross or start planning to cross 3 items off my Bucket List

Like a said above I want to make my years memorable and I want to live a life where I collect memories instead of things. So, this year I want to try and complete 3 items off the list. And if I can't complete them I want to at least start planning the items, like planning a trip. I think that this goal is should be pretty accomplishable. Actually looking over the list again I can tell that 3 items is very much accomplishable. 

3. Finish 1 Blanket for my 180 Blanket for 180 Days

Every year the number of blanket I want to make goes down but this year I am determined to finish at least one blanket. I really want to do something good in the world with my talents and I have the talent to make blankets so why not make blankets for sick kids.

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't for School

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I love to read books and I read almost every night before I got to sleep when I'm home. In 2015 I got so close to finish 6 books but came up one book short. This year I want to try and finish the 6 books. In fact its less then a week into the year and I already finished my first book (keep an eye out for the book review). 

5. Start Recording My Budget

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I found a format on Excel that helps you keep track of how you're spending your money. This year I really want to do a better job of keeping track of how much I'm spending and where. Because in the next year I would love to work towards buying a new car and start planning my first European adventure. 

6. Get My Room At Home in Check

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At this time next year I will most likely be moving back to my mom's house, pretty much for good. Because of that I want my room at home to seem just right so I can enjoy it when I'm living at home again.

7. Go on 5 Blog Worthy Adventures

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I love sharing all the adventures I have on this blog. And this year is bound to packed with some awesome adventures. I can't wait to share all of them with you guys!

8. Work my butt off at school

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I only have two semesters left in college and I want to make them count. I want to get the best grades that I possibly can and I want to make sure that I'm proud with how I leave school. I learned a lot this last semester about putting school first and I plan to bring that into this coming semester.

9. Come up with fun content for the bloggy and my YouTube Channel

I feel like sometimes I let my blog and especially my YouTube channel seem like my lowest priority. And although I have some priorities that come before these outlets they are both still really important to me and I want to come up with some really cool content.

I think this year I'm going to end my goals with a solid 9. I think that all of these goals are manageable and trackable. I am so excited about 2016 and I have such a good feeling about this year. 

What are your goals for 2016? Let me know in the comments below.

2015 Goals Wrap-Up

Hello All,

Happy last day of 2015! This year as been crazy and I honestly didn't pay much attention to my goals over the past year. But it was a good year and I proud of all the person I became over the last 12 months. If you are interested in where this and would like see where it all started you can see the first post here, you can also see the check-ins by clicking on the following months: March 2015 and September 2015. 

Not Even Attempted

In Progress

Completed

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

I did a get job for about the first three months and then it completely fell off the track

2. Cross 3 Things Off My Bucket List

I crossed nothing off my bucket list this year. I focused on school this year and didn't do anything huge, bucket list worthy. Although I have decided to add 1 thing to my bucket list, I have decided that I would like to take a tour at all 7 Ivy League schools. I was able to take a tour at Harvard this past summer, so I am 1/7 of my ways through crossing that off my list.

3. Finish 2 Blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days

I started a blanket but haven't finished it yet. Although I'm thinking about working on it some over this break.

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't For School

I read 5 books this year. I would say that its pretty damn close to perfect. I'm also about a quarter of the way through the current book I'm reading so I would say that its about 95.25% of this goal could be crossed out. You can read the book reviews by clicking on the following links: Six Months Later, Gone Too Far, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, PS I Still Love You and The Third Twin.

5. Blog Twice A Week

I worked really hard on keeping up with this for the first month of the year. And then I realized that I didn't like working on schedule. I have found that when I try and force myself to get two blog posts out a week they aren't as good as they should be. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

This year I found a template I liked but wasn't good about keeping up with it.

7. Stop Procrastinating

I was awesome at not procrastinating this past semester. I got most of my work done before schedule. Most nights I didn't have to do homework after about 4:30 PM so I had my nights off and I was a lot happier that way. Although at times that meant spending hours in the library.

8. Become a Neater Person

I'm actually pretty proud to say that I have become a neater person. This semester I have found that most nights before I go to bed I'm putting things away  and making sure that most things are in its place. I have found that this has made me less stressed.

9. Go On 4 Blog Worthy Adventures 

I went on so many fun and exciting adventures this year and it was awesome! You can read about the adventures by clicking on the following links: Disney with my friends, Tori visiting me at school, Hiking with my Roommate, Boston Day 1 & Day 2, Pumpkin Picking.

10. Work on my Novel More

I haven't worked on my novel at all. I actually started working on different writing project and I'm pretty happy about the work I've gotten done on it. 

And those were my 10 goals of 2015. I only crossed one thing off my list but I made head ways on a lot of my goals. Things haven't been perfect but I'm happy about the headway I made and I can't wait to see where 2016 takes me.

BOOK REVIEW: Six Months Later

Hello All,

Remember at the beginning of the summer when I set a goal to read at least 4 this summer? No, well check it out here. The reason I am saying this is because in just over a week I already finished my first book! (I finished this book on May 15, about a week before I posted this post.)

One of my favorite things to do after finishing a book is writing about it. Or sharing about it, so today I'm going to do a book review.

The first book that I read this summer was Six Months Later by Natalie Richards. This book is about a girl, Chloe, who falls asleep in study hall during May of her junior year and wakes up November of senior year in the same classroom but at night.  She has lived a whole six months period without remember any of that. Not only that her whole life has done a complete 360. She has almost perfect grades in schools, amazing SAT scores, she dating the popular guy, you know the type that every girl in the school is in love. But she also has a new emotional connection with bad boy and she's no longer talking to her best friend. With the help of the bad boy Adam Chloe must discover the secrets of her missing past but also figure out how she lost her memories.

Now comes the honest part. From about chapter 4 to chapter 30 I couldn't put it down. In case you were wondering there are about 33 or 34 chapters in the book.

For me the beginning of the book started out really slow, at first I had a hard time connecting with the main character. She never really relished in the fact that she was "popular" instead she pouted was negative from the start. I mean I know if I went to sleep one day and then woke up six months later that I'd probably freak out too. But I feel like I'd spend around 24 hours enjoy the unrealistic successes that happen when you lose 6 months. I would take the time to young dating the hot popular guy and having the perfect grades. 

Then I hit the middle of the book and it got really good and interesting. At times there was some parts that were really predictable but moved at a really good pace. Also there weren't too many stereotypes or characters that you see time and time again.

But then we got to the end. Chloe figured out the mystery and then the book start to move at snail pace which I didn't like, it felt like the author was dragging out the end of the story. But then got to the last little bit and tried to throw to it all together and I feel like I was left with a few questions about the Chloe's future. 

Although I didn't love the ending I really liked Natalie's writing style for the majority book and I am currently reading another one of her novels. For a recommendation I would recommend this book as a beach read. Although the story has its exciting moments it was a really easy read which would be perfect when your just relaxing.

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Have you read Six Months Later? Tell me what you thought about it in the comments below.

2015 New Year's Goal {March 2015}

Hello All,

Can you believe its the last day of March?! I can't believe it! Since its the last day of the third month of the year I figured I'd do a check in of how I've been doing on my New Years goal this year.

Key:

Hasn't even been attempted

In Progress

Completed

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

One of the first things I did when the semester started was join my schools gym. I try and go must Tuesdays and Thursdays. I feel so go when I go. I'm slowly working my way up to running so maybe just maybe I can run a 5K sometime in the next 12 to 18 months. As for the healthier I haven't been doing so great with that. That is going to be one of my major summer goals, I want to do some research and find some yummy recipe.

2. Cross Off  or start planning 3 items off my bucket list

I could see a few of the items on my bucket list getting crossed off this year but I'm not sure if any of them are going to be.

3. Finish and Donate 2 blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days Project

I haven't even worked on one blanket yet this year. I don't really have time during school to crochet. Hopefully I can bang out 2 blankets this summer. 

4. Read 6 Books That Aren't for School

Much like above I don't have a lot of time to read for fun during school but I did read 1 book that I didn't mention on the blog because well it was Fifty Shade of Grey. Unlike the rest of the country I was not overly impressed and never finished it, I read probably about 95%. On the plane ride I worked on finishing the book I've been reading for about six months Gone Girl. I am so excited for summer so I can read a lot, like every night a lot.

5. Blog twice a week

I worked really hard on that goal in the beginning of the year but then school (the first priority, ALWAYS) started getting crazy with all the snow days that I lost track of blogging twice a week. I'm hoping this week will get me back on a track. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

I'm going to start doing research on it and start my budgeting practices ASAP. I have learned my lesson one too many times. Plus I want to start saving for Mac book and my own DSLR camera.

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7. Stop Procrastinating

I am the queen of procrastination but I'm trying not to be I promise.

8. Become a Neater Person

I have worked really hard on this but some days are harder then others.

9. Go on 4 Blog Worth Adventures

If I do say so myself I would say that my most recent spring break trip was a pretty awesome blog worth adventure. I have some other ideas of cool day trips and such to go on. Hopefully (fingers crossed) they will work out.

10. Work on my Novel.

Not to sound like a broken record its pretty hard to work on a novel while you are doing work for school and hanging out with your friends. But come summer I will have more time to write, read and focus on that.

And that is how I'm doing on my goals this year and I must say I'm pretty damn proud of how I'm doing. If you set goals this year how are your goals going? Let me know in comments below.

2015 Goals and Resolutions Introduction

Hello All,

Last year I created a list of goals and resolutions that I want to try and complete during the 12 months of 2014. And for the first time I was able to work and feel good about how I did with my goals at the end of the year. Probably because I made myself check in with the goals every 3 months. But whatever the reason I decided I wanted to do it again this year. 

1. Start Exercising and Eating Healthier

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I'm taking this goal off of last year's list. Reason being is one that I want to be healthier. I have a good immune system and rarely get sick but I want to make sure that I'm healthier all around and taking care of myself to the best of my ability. But also this year I went through the most moments (days sometimes week) of feeling like crap about how I looked and felt. This year I want to make that I feel good, if not great about myself rather then bad. 

2. Either cross or start to plan 3 things off my bucket list

I had a lot of fun this past year working on crossing things off my bucket list. Last year I was able to cross 2 things of my goals of 3 things. I still feel like 3 things is a good goal so I'm keeping the same number to see what I can cross off this year.

3. Finish 2 blankets for my 180 Blankets for 180 Days Project

Last year my goals was to complete 2 blankets but I realized that was too lofty of goals considering how much I do in life. But I still want to try and complete a couple this year and I don't think 2 is too insane of number to try and complete. 

4. Read 6 Book That Aren't for School

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I love to read. Last year I was able to read 5 books, my goal for this year is to read one more book then last year. Plus the sequel to my favorite book that I read in 2014 has a sequel schedule to be realized in early June so I'm excited to read it. 

5. Blog at least twice a week

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 Last year I was blogging about 5 days a week and I loved it. But eventually life got in the way and I had a lot of writer's block. This year my goal is to try and make sure that every week for the next 52 weeks has at least 2 posts going up per week. 

6. Create and Live By a Budget

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College can be a difficult time with finances. I want to start habits now that can help me in the future when I'm on my own and eventually one day when I have a family. Plus I just don't want to be broke. 

7. Stop Procrastinating

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Last year I found a way to organize that I like. Now I just need to keep up the organization and stop the procrastination. I put things off, to the point that I put off doing things that I want to do. This year I want to stop procrastinating and doing things early on.

8. Become a Neater Person

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I have found away to organize my school work and my list so that everything gets done. This year I want to make both my dorm room and my bedroom at home neat. I want to be one of those people that make their beds everyday and everything has place. 

9. Go on 4 totally awesome, blog worthy adventures

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I love doing things. Going places and having new experiences. This year I want to go on 4 blog worthy adventures whether its a road trip, day trip or hike somewhere. I just want to experience new things and see what happens. 

10. Work on my novel more

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That's right ladies and gentlemen I'm working on a novel. Back in my junior year of high school I started to write in. During the summer before my freshmen year of college I finished the first draft. From page one to the cliff hanging ending because I want to write a series. Recently I went and printed all the pages to that I could edit and revised it. I'm not sure what I want to do with it, if I ever want to try and get it published or just get it to the point where I'm sure that its the best possible copy of the book I'll ever write. Either way I want to work on it and see what happens.

And those are my 10 goals/resolutions for 2015. I feel like they are reachable and I'm excited to see where this year brings me. 

What are your goals for 2015? Let me know in the comments below!