Top 3 in 2023

 2023 wasn't just the year I finally read 100 books in 365 days, it was also the first year I really embraced not finishing books that I wasn't loving. Some of these I quit within a few pages, some closer to 100. I felt so empowered! Why waste time with a book that I didn't like or that didn't come to me at the right time?! Life is too short and my holds list is too long for that. Obviously borrowing books from the library instead of spending money on a book helps make the DNF (did not finish) decision that much easier, but I really encourage you to quit books that are making it harder for you to want to read. 

Of the 112 books that I did finish, it was so hard to pick my favorites. There were several series that I fell in love with and individual novels that I couldn't put down. If I looked at my list again, it might change, but for today, here are my 3 favorite books from 2023.

Nora Goes off Script by Annabel Monaghan:

I loved this book so much! It was a book club pick and the fourth book I read in 2023. You know when you read a book and you want to crawl into it and live it? That was this book for me. I also did not predict how any of the conflict would be worked out, which was so refreshing. I think I might have even cried, something that I don't do often while reading anymore. 

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown:

This was another book club selection, this time for July. How did it take me so long to read this?! I realize that I don't even have to recommend this book, because it's on so many people's radar, but it's so good I had to include it anyway. I really like nonfiction once I start a good one, but I almost never pick it over fiction. This story reads like fiction. It is fast paced and ok, maybe I do get emotional more often that I thought because this book had me tearing up by the epilogue. The history is local to me, but I really didn't know any of the details. The story is so amazing and the author knocks it out of the park, so well researched.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt:

Talk about heart warming. This novel takes place in a fictional area near where I went to college, so it was easy to visualize. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and I loved the quirky points of views. I just really really loved this sweet story and can't recommend it enough. 

Ok now I want to write out all of my honorable mention book recommendations from 2023. There are just so many amazing books out there!

100 books in 2023

It took me 14 years, but I finally completed my 2010 goal of reading 100 books in 365 days. 

When I began this blog, it was as a way to stay accountable with my resolutions and goals for each year. Some of those goals I kept and others I only made progress on. The big goal 14 years ago was to read 100 books in 365 days. I've always enjoyed reading and this was a way to challenge myself to read more. 

Well, 2010 ended with me reading only 73 books. Every year that has past I've thought back to those 73 books thinking, "that's the most books I'll ever read in a year. There is no way I'll ever read more." It was easy to think that as years past where I finished 20 - 30 books. And you know what? I was ok with that. I was enjoying having my reading goal be 1-2 books a month without any pressure.

I should mention at this point that in 2022 life changed a lot for me. We adopted our sweet daughter, Zinnia in May and I left my job to stay home with her. 2023 started and I set my goals like I do each year. Using a goal planner that I especially enjoy. I set my 2023 goal at a manageable 30 books. 

Turns out it's actually kind of hard to hold a baby while she naps and flip the pages of a book at the same time, so I began using the Kindle app on my phone to read books whenever she fell asleep on me. This was a game changer. Instead of scrolling social media, I started plowing through books. 

As with most years, I started off strongest in the winter months and as the weather improved and Zinnia started taking fewer naps, I read a bit less. But those first few months put me far enough ahead!

In the end I read 112 books and listened to 4 audiobooks! 

These are screenshots from the The StoryGraph app. It tracks your books and show you what you've read in graphs. It also has a great content warning section that I've started checking out before starting a book.

Pain in the Back

The past two weeks I've been trying to get over a back injury. Well, more like a back tweak. I haven't been able to do much more than just get myself ready in the morning. Thankful I have a loving husband that made sure our house was in order and who plugged in my heating pad for me. Needless to say I am now super far behind on my garden! All those plants from the nursery, all those seedlings I grew, and all those dahlia tubers I divided are still waiting to be put into the ground! It's totally stressing me out, but the good news is that nature is behind this year as well. I am comforted by this quote:

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished"

So, I'm not going to hurry and risk hurting myself. I'm going to try to let some stuff go and just slow down. All of the things that are supposed to get done will get done eventually. It's not about my time, it's about God's timing and right now I'm apparently supposed to slow down.

How about a few little book reviews! I'm not sure if this is fair, but I'm going to review the sequel even though I never reviewed the first book.


After You- Jojo Moyes
It was painful getting through the second book. The cliches, the awkward story, and the forced relationships. I mean there was no part of me that believed these characters. Lou was the root of all her problems. Any connection I felt with her in the first book was nowhere to be found in the second. Basically, don't waste your time with this forced sequel.
Today Will Be Different - Maria Semple

After you is the sequel to... wait for it... Before you. They both take place in England and are about a woman named Lou. I don't really want to go into too much detail here because it would be spoiler alert city, but there were some controversial themes in the first book. I enjoyed parts of it well enough that I picked up the second book to see where they would go with the story.

Lately I have been giving myself some grace about finishing books that I'm not enjoying, but there have been a few sequels lately that I've just pushed through and Today Will Be Different is another one of those. Although it isn't technically a sequel, it takes place in the same world as Semple's other novel, Where'd You Go Bernadette? There is a moment where one of the characters recalls meeting Bernadette, and all of the readers rejoiced! Mostly because Where'd You Go Bernadette? had characters who were funny and enduring. 

I felt like through most of Today Will Be Different, Semple was trying to capture some of the magic from her other novel. The main characters share many of the same traits but they fall flat in this second attempt. They are neurotic and amusing, but never enduring. It was almost like the main character, Eleanor, knew how intolerable she was and just couldn't help herself. If you spend most of a book cringing instead of rooting for the main character, you have another book worth skipping.

Grow Grow Grow!

Prepare yourself for a lot of photos of dirt and small plants! In an effort to keep my gardening costs down a little bit this year, I decided I would give growing seeds another shot. This is something I've tried in the past with mixed results. But this year, I am all in. 

I chose a mix of flowers and veggies seeds, got a little seed starting kit, and some soil.

Alyssum, Zinnia, Columbine, Lupine, Sweet Pea, Poppy, Zucchini, Tomato, Beans

I covered them with the plastic lid and placed them in my guest room with the curtain open. The plastic lid was key. It created a little greenhouse effect.... the good kind.

In just a few days there were little seedlings sprouting from almost every spot!
I had no luck with the Columbine. Maybe they were dud seeds?

These guys were magical to watch burst out of the soil.

Their first day outside!

I had so much fun with the first batch, I decided to start another batch with the leftover seeds and some found objects! It worked too!

Now I just need to figure out where I want these guys to go! They are ready for the ground.

I have a few places in mind for my little farm, but I'm a little undecided. The weather lately has been so weird! Usually I'd be digging up my winter garden (daffodils, bluebells, etc.) but everything is a month late! It feels wrong to dig up flowers that are still blooming or haven't started blooming yet. If I don't get some of these seedlings and my dahlias in the ground soon I won't have blooms this summer when I want them! We are probably past the last freeze, but I'm going to wait one more week before I really get planting. Maybe I'll start another batch of seedlings this week to keep me busy!

2016 in Review.

2017. 2017. 2017. 2017. Sorry... I'm trying to get used to typing it. I feel like I just got used to 2016 and now it's history. And WOW! What a history 2016 made. For so many people all I heard was how hard/miserable/sad 2016 was. I'll admit that I'm inclined to see 2016 through the lens of those people. There were some hard moments. Some times when I was sick/tired/miserable but I have to admit that there were some other moments that were just out of this world. So those are the moments I'll hold on to when I look back at 2016. So here is a little year in review. Pretty much just the highlights.

When your husband tells you the weather report and tells you to pack your bags for your birthday, you get pretty excited!

When you end up at the Happiest Place on Earth... 

You pretty much can't smile any bigger.

Did I mention that it was my 30th birthday?! It was basically the best day ever. Somehow the park wasn't too overcrowded and we had such a blast! I felt like a princess and people were even calling me princess! 

When we got home I was able to celebrate with friends and family as well. It was a great party, but the highlight was absolutely when everyone sang me happy birthday. I don't think that it was recorded, but to me it sounded like the most harmonious version ever sang by a bunch of people who can't carry a tune!

I reorganized my living room into a dream reading room!

I planted these...

And they turned into these!

We spent time in Yakima with my oldest brother, Marcus and his wife, Tamara! We tasted delicious food, drank delicious wine, and played Trivial Pursuit!

I had probably my best crop of tomatoes ever and...

Holy smokes! Raspberries! Which made delicious jam!

No Hawaii for 2016, instead we spent a week in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Caught some sun, saw one of the wonders of the world, and watched one of my besties, Nicole get hitched.

At least once a year I like to go out camping with my family. This year it was at our family friends' property. I got my fix of s'mores, ladder golf, and spike ball.

In September we got the chance to go back down to Southern California for my college roommate, Jenna's wedding. Seriously, 2016 can not possibly be that bad. We went to Disneyland twice. TWICE! I mean no joke, multiple days in 2016 were spent in Disneyland. I have nothing to complain about ever. (Also, best husband ever, right?!)

Our traveling wasn't done for the year though... In October we hopped on a plane (well... many planes)

for Uganda and Malawi. Pictured here is Peter. The little boy my parents sponsor. He was so sweet and adorable!

I've been working at Children of the Nations (COTN) now for a little over a year. Traveling this time to Africa was so different from our trip in 2013. Not only was it planned so much better, but I felt so much more invested in the stories of these children and students.

Each time I've been in Africa (twice now) I'm amazed at how close I feel to God there. In a place that has seen so much pain and suffering the way that the people worship and the stories they tell, it's so obvious that God is moving there.

In the last two months of the year, Brian got the flu and I got something pretty close to the flu, so everything was kind of a blur. We enjoyed as much of the season and family as we possibly could though!

So yeah, maybe everyone should do a quick look back on 2016. Try not to pay attention to politics or things that happened outside of what you can control. Life is pretty amazing in those little moment and a year shouldn't just be judged by the headlines.

The Year of...

According to the Chinese calendar, I was born in the year of the lion.  I'm not really sure what that means, but it sure does sound ferocious. So I guess I like that. I could look up what 2017 is supposed to be... but I'd rather just give it a fun name! 


2017 the year of the daffodil. 

The daffodils I bought in 2016 bloomed in 2017!

Doesn't sound ferocious does it? That's OK though, daffodils may not be ferocious, but they sure are determined. Their bulbs get planted in the fall. They spend the entire freezing cold, wet, and miserable winter in the ground. The whole time they are just waiting for the right time. The right time to make their way above ground and bloom. They are determined to make it through whatever is happening around them and in the end they bloom with a bright hopeful flower. Daffodils are one of the first signs of spring, and to me that means they are flower of hope for the future. So yeah... not ferocious... but I'd take determined any day.
2017 Resolutions
#2: After spending much of the last month of 2016 with a terrible cold, I'm needing all the extra vitamin c I can get! So far I'm knocking this one out of the park. Every day of 2017 I've had an orange. 
#3: I miss running. My knee is still holding me back from it, but I can still get moving and history has taught me that the best way to get motivated to get moving is to sign up for a race! I've already had a few friends volunteer to join me too! I may be walking, but it's something!
#4: Now that I'm working a schedule that is pretty much 9-5 (and not at a restaurant), I really need to plan my meals our ahead of time.
#5: Why do I need to check my phone every ten minutes? The answer is that I don't. So, baby steps with this one, but I deleted the Facebook app from my phone a few days ago. So far it's been pretty freeing! 

#1: Read at least one book a month.

#2: Eat more oranges.

#3: Walk or run a race.

#4: Meal plan.

#5: Be on my phone less.

#1:I was pretty horrified when I was trying to remember back to how many books I had read in 2016. Seven.  I haven't kept a list any where so it could have been a few more, but probably not even ten. The past couple of years I've been slowly slacking on reading but this is such a low for me. I'm really hoping that I not only reach my goal of 12, but that I surpass it.

Looking at Resolutions.

There must be something about January.... Something about this month that makes me want a fresh start. Something that makes me want to get moving, get creative, and get stuff done. I've noticed that as I get further into the year I get a little worn down and my energy and awareness for these things starts to lag. A few things that this obviously manifests itself in are my blogging and my reading. So as with every January for the past 6 years I'm going to give it another go. 

With blogging, with reading, and with the resolutions that started it all. 

Looking back on the past couple of years worth of new year's resolutions, I mostly see success. Where I maybe didn't reach my goal, I still made an effort and something about me was improved by challenging myself. 

Let's take a quick look back.

2010:

#1 is: Be Fearless....No matter what, don't be afraid to do anything that makes me happy.

#2 is: Travel more

#3 is: Read 100 books

#4 is: Drink more water

2011:

#1: Give more

#2: Read with meaning

#3: Take more photos and learn more about photography

#4: Run a half-marathon

#5: Eat clean

2012:

#1: Run a FULL MARATHON

#2: Make chores a priority

#3: Save Money

#4: Eat out less often

2013:

#1: Run for fun. Don't get injured. Run another half-marathon.

#2: Read for fun.

#3: Show more love. 

#4: Plan a trip somewhere I've never been.

2014

#1: Read 30 books.

#2: Stretch.

#3: Sign up for a race.
#4: Blog at least once a week.

It's probably hard out in blogland because you didn't know me before 2010, but I can tell you that working on these resolutions made me a more healthy, thoughtful, and adventurous person. When I began blogging I was probably drinking around five Diet Dr. Peppers a day (minimum), I wasn't exercising, and I ate microwaved dinners regularly.

No I didn't succeed at them all. I didn't end up reading 100 books in 2010, but I did read 73 books and that's pretty much incredible if I do say so myself. I did run a half-marathon in 2011! I actually ran two, then ran another in 2012! I've traveled to many new countries (and continents) and I've greatly improved my eating and water drinking habits (No more diet soda and I don't even own a microwave any more).

Looking back at these resolutions makes me excited about what the future will bring. Maybe in a few years I'll look back on this blog post and be amazed at how far I've come. 

Daisies on the last day of 2016

The last few days of 2016 I spent cleaning my house and getting my fridge full of food. I love waking up in the new year to a clean house and a healthy meal. It's like the ultimate reset. All the dirt is gone and I'm ready to start fresh. I couldn't pass up these daisies at the grocery store. Not quite ready to bloom in 2016, but watch out 2017!