Monday, January 4, 2016

Five Goals for 2016


Hello, fellow book lovers, and happy 2016! The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday topic this week is all about resolutions, both bookish and personal. Are you a resolution-maker? I like to set a few goals for each new year, but I don't beat myself up if I don't fulfill them. 

First, let's look back at my goals from last year and see how I did.

1. Read these (12) books. You can see the list here.
Fail. I only read 2 of them, "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and "The Thirteenth Tale." I'll just tack the rest of them on to the list below of 25 more books I hope to read this year. That's realistic, right? ;)

2. Learn to pipe frosting and get better at cake decorating.
Fail-ish. I did a decent amount of baking this year, but my decorating skills only improved slightly. But my parents got me a frosting kit for Christmas and I think that'll help a lot. (I was using Ziploc bags and some thrift store tips... yeah, that may have been part of the problem.)

3. Get better at working with yeast.
Fail. I don't think I made a single thing with yeast last year.

4. Visit two new states.
Success! I actually visited four: New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland. And I went to both New York City and Buffalo/Niagara Falls, and those places are so different they really should count as two states. (Only 18 states plus Washington, D.C., left to go!)

5. Splurge on some nice yarn and knit myself a sweater that I'll really love.
Success! I finished my BlueSand Cardigan in November.

And now, without further ado... here are my goals for 2016!

1. Try really, really hard to read some/most/ALL of these 25 popular books. Here they are in alphabetical order:

must read 2016

2. Start using my calcium bentonite clay face mask regularly! Way back in August a friend posted a funny picture of her and her boys with green goop on their faces, and reading the comments I learned that it was a bentonite clay mask she has used every week since high school. She has flawless skin, so I immediately ordered a jar... and proceeded to use it all of three times. My goal is to use it once a week. Here's a mildly terrifying picture of me the first time I applied the mask. It starts to harden up and pull on your skin, and suddenly you look like a deer in the headlights!

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3. Buy a swimsuit I actually like and feel good in. We're moving back to Hawaii for another three years in 2016 and it's definitely time for a new suit. I hate wearing swimsuits even more than I hate shopping for them, but they're kind of a necessity when you're living at the beach. Any and all suggestions on flattering swimsuits (for non-skinny-minnies) would be appreciated!

4. Finally learn the long-tail cast-on for knitting. It seems impossible that I've been knitting for seven years without figuring this out. It sorta intimidates me, which is weird because it's the cast-on that probably 90% of knitters use.

5. Get better about posting travel pictures to the blog. We had a pretty fun year full of adventures and I hardly posted any photos of our trips here! To make up for it, here are two pictures from the New York Public Library on our trip to NYC this summer. The first photo is me with Fortitude, one of the two lions guarding the library's entrance, and the bottom picture is of the stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne to write the Winnie-the-Pooh stories! They now live happily in the children's library.

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17 comments:

  1. Fantastic resolutions! :-) I hope that you achieve these in 2016.

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  2. Good luck with all of your goals!! I may have to start posting vacation/traveling photos as well. I love that idea.

    My TTT: My TTT: http://www.jacquesbooknook.blogspot.com/2016/01/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-goals-for-2016.html

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  3. I love your goals! I have the same problem with posting vacation photos; I'd like to improve that too. (Also, what fun to visit the NYPL!)

    Congratulations on knitting a whole sweater! I've got 90% of a Weasley sweater that has been languishing unfinished for about 4 years now. Maybe I'll finish it this year.

    I wish you good luck with all your goals, and a very happy 2016.

    PS. Try Land's End for swimsuits. They have a ton (or will, once the spring catalogs come out), and a lot of them are good for curvy bodies.

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    1. Thanks for the Lands End suggestion! And I can't wait to see your finished Weasley sweater. Maybe 2016 is the year to complete it, and you'll be wearing it next Christmas! :)

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  4. That's a great bunch of books for 2016! I have The Golem and the Jinni and Uprooted on my list too.

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    1. I've been meaning to read "The Golem and the Jinni" for a while, but "Uprooted" is a very new discovery. I think it will perfectly fill the fantasy craving I've had lately.

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  5. I didn't do so well with my goals from last year either, admittedly.

    I hate swimsuit shopping as well--and wearing them. Whenever I have to put one on now I remind myself that it's not about looking good, but about being able to play in the water with my daughter. Still, although reason getting back into exercising would do me good.

    Good luck with your goals this year, Lindsay!

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    1. Thank you! I think I need to change my mindset about swimsuits, like you have. When I go shopping, I can think about all the amazing snorkeling and boogie boarding I'm going to do in it!

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  6. I live vicariously through other people's travel writing, so I definitely recommend posting more travel pictures, especially of sunny climes!

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    1. I love looking at other bloggers' travel photos too. Sometimes it's nice to be an armchair traveler. We'll be moving to Hawaii soon, so you can check back in a few months for plenty of sunshine and beach! ;)

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  7. I'm fairly thin but I don't have a bikini body, and even if I did just showing that much skin makes me uncomfortable! So that being said, I think Land's End has a nice selection of tops and bottoms you can mix and match to suit your needs. Some Sears stores carry their swimsuits, which can help shopping go smoother than just looking online. I have one top/bottom combo from them I got about 3 years ago and it's been great. And then there's a website called Rey Swimwear that some super cute stuff, though I admittedly have never bought from them. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you so much for the suggestions, Amy! I will definitely check out Lands End for suits -- someone else mentioned them too -- and of course I'll take a peek at the other site you mentioned. :)

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  8. That's a great list of books you have ahead of you! I've read, and loved a number of them. I also want to read Uprooted - I keep hearing such good things about it.

    I also hate bathing suits, but recently found one I love from Chadwick's of Boston: http://www.chadwicks.com/item/58528/ruched-skirtini-by-shape-benefits

    Once again I do not have goals for the year. A year is such a long time to plan for! But I have a friend whose goal is to start every month by setting small, manageable monthly goals. I think she's onto something.

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    1. I like the idea of setting smaller monthly goals instead of major-life-change ones for the whole year. I used to make big resolutions like that but, as you can see, now I go for more fun, realistic goals.

      Thank you so much for sharing that swimsuit! I love it -- especially in the mint green color!

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  9. I love your list of popular books to get to. A lot on there that I read and liked. Tell the Wolves I'm Home I'd one of my favorites of all time. I'm starting Fates and Furious soon. Travel picsv are great and I love to love through other people since we don't travel much anymore. Good luck!!

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    1. I'm excited to see how you like "Fates and Furies"! I've had it on request at the library forever, but I think my library underestimated how popular it would be and didn't order very many copies. I'm finally next on the list, though!

      I will definitely try to post more travel pics. In fact, I was thinking about doing a couple summary posts of our last year in travel, since we really did do quite a bit of it and I always meant to share. Sorting through pictures can be so daunting, but I'm planning to get a gazillion of them printed out this month so I can do it all at once! :)

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  10. Good luck with all your 2016 goals!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/05/top-ten-tuesday-38/

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