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Monday, January 19, 2015

2015 Reading Challenge

In 2015 I've decided to read more. My lovely friend Rebakah wrote a post on her 2015 reading goal of reading 50 books! My abilities is not quite up to par with reading 50 books this year, but I will be participating in the same reading challenge with her, Modern Mrs. Darcy's Reading Challenge. The goal is 12 books from 12 different categories for each of the 12 months. I'm hoping that maaaaaybe I'll be able to finish early and maaaaaaaybe get to 20 books in 2015. We'll see! 




Here are the categories and the books I've designated for each:

  • a book you've been meaning to read -- Tables in the Wilderness by Preston Yancey
  • a book published this year
  • a book in a genre you don't usually read -- (potentially) The Green Mile by Stephen King
  • a book from your childhood -- (potentially and taking cue from Rebekah) The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  • a book your mom loves 
  • a book that was originally written in a different language -- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  • a book "everyone" has read but you -- The Giver by Lois Lowry 
  • a book you chose because of the cover
  • a book by a favorite author -- either A Year of Biblical Womanhood or Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans
  • a book recommended by someone with great taste -- Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
  • a book you should have read in high school -- (potentially) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 
  • a book that's currently on the bestseller list -- either Wild by Cheryl Strayed or I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai 

And here we go! I finished The Giver on Friday, and I just started The Ocean at the End of the Lane. 

Do you have any reading goals this year?

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Participate and Simplify

We are currently 13 days, 2 hours, and 25 minutes into 2015.

I'm feeling rather hopeful about this year. The months leading up to it were filled with a lot of new and wonderful people and experiences.

This Mary Oliver quote to the left is my ambition, the mindset that I want to chase.

I've decided upon two words to help me flesh these out this year.

Participate and Simplify.

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In 2015, these are some of my aspirations.

I want to meet more people and make new friends. I want to further develop the friendships I have. 

I want to have as much fun as possible. 

I want to find a like-minded community of people.

I want to set priorities. I want to find simplicity and develop minimalism.

I want to be more aware. 

I want to be the one who shows up.

In short, I want to participate.

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On a more detailed scale, here are my other 2015 aspirations: 

I want to create a budget.

I want to get rid of more clothes and things.

I want to give up solo Netflix binges. I have two or three TV shows I keep up with, and I want that to be it.

I want to downsize what I spend my free time on. I have the tendency to pick up hobbies like pebbles on a beach. I want to give up some of the smaller ones and focus on the ones I enjoy more.

I want to act. Procrastinating is a sorry excuse for spending time, and I need to stop being lazy and giving into it.

I want to start reading a book or two a month.

In short, I want to simplify.
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These are my probably over-ambitious hopes for 2015. It seems like a lot, but my life has been heading in this directing for a couple months now. This is my way of honing in on what I think is important right now, to Participate and Simplify.

There was a lot of change that led up to 2015. I'm sensing that it is going to be a full year. I have a lot of hope and anticipation and I'm looking forward to tackling it moment by moment, one day at a time.

It is now 13 days, 3 hours, and 19 minutes into 2015. What are your aspirations for this year?