Revisiting my 2015 Resolutions

At the end of 2014 I made some resolutions for 2015.

Let's look at how successful I was. 

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of TGITP

I did it!!! Now I'm rewriting and editing. 

Resolution #2: Read 70 books

Finished, just barely in time! I think I'll keep this resolution for next year, 70 was a challenging number. 

Resolution #3: Write at least 1,000 words a week

This one kind of morphed once I finished the draft of TGITP and wasn't writing regularly. The 1,000 words sometimes represented the amount of time spent editing or outlining my new novel, DSF. Out of 53 weeks, I met this goal 32 weeks (school starting in September really killed my streak). 

That means I met this goal 60% of the time. Not bad, but not awesome either. It gives me something to beat with this year's writing goal, which will be in a post tomorrow. 

Resolution #4: Play an instrument once a week

About a month ago I decided I wasn't getting as much out of this resolution as I wanted, so I decided to start taking piano and guitar lessons again. It's so much more motivating to practice when you have someone experienced guiding you! Therefore this won't be a resolution for me next year, mostly because as long as I'm taking the lessons I'll automatically be held to practicing (especially since it costs so much $$$). 

But how did I do this year? Out of 53 weeks I met this goal 37 of them. That means I met this goal 70% of the time. Still not awesome, but much better!

Resolution #5: Do 5 pull-ups a week  

Yikes. This one did not do so well. Out of 53 weeks I met this goal 34 of them. Huh. Better than I thought. That means I met this goal 64% of the time. I wasn't planning on making this one of my goals for next year, but now I'm thinking maybe I should...

So there it is! I think that having a printed out, paper and pencil chart really helped me keep track of my resolutions. I'm planning on doing the same thing next year, but a little more detailed since I have some daily goals. More about that tomorrow, January 1st, 2016!

The 15 Best Books I Read in 2015

1-6.

7.

8-10.

11. 

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14. 

15.  

Here are all the "contestants":

Reading Bingo 2015

I finished! Here is the final list of what book I read for each category.

Card #1

A supernatural book without a werewolf or vampire: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

A book without a happy ending: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

A book over 350 pages: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

A book with a male narrator: Tracers by J.J. Howard

A fairy tale retelling: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

A book with a villain as the main character: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

A book with multiple povs: Wonder by R. J. Palacio 

A book published in the year you were born: Stacy's Big Crush by Ann M. Martin

The end of a series: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

A book about a historical figure or event: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (about St. Mark's Eve)

A book with super humans or cyborgs: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

A book with an unlikely love story: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

Book hangover: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

A book with a dystopian setting: Ash by Sheni Petroff

A book without romance: Cat Stories by James Herriot

A book about siblings: Panic by Lauren Oliver

The start of a series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

A book with music: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

A book set in the south: Tell Me by Joan Bauer (Virginia)

A book set in the spring: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

A book with poetry: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

A book set in the future: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

A book with a diverse cast: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

A book you judged by the cover: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

A book in third person: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Card #2

A book with time travel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

A book set somewhere you've traveled: Frostbite by Richelle Mead (Montana)

A book with a non-human antagonist: The Martian by Andy Weir

A book your fave public figure loves: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

A book being made into a movie: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

A book with a coffee shop: Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

A book with parents who are present: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

A book set in Europe: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

A book about an ancient culture: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

A book translated from another language: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

A book with a LGBTQ character: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

A book involving religion: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Book hangover: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

A book with an unreliable narrator: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

A book with elements of horror: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

A book from a debut author: The Registry by Shannon Stoker

A book with an epic monologue: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

A book recc'd by a bookseller: Losing It by Cora Carmack

A book with a number in the title: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

A book with an adopted character: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

A book by an author you've never read before: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

A book with accents: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

A book based on a true story: Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran by Kenneth Thomasma

A re-read of a favorite book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

A book set in the wilderness: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong

(Still Alive) Reading Bingo 2015 Check In

Teaching is really kicking my butt this year!

Soon I'll post an update on my New Year Resolutions.

But for now, time to check in on my reading bingo challenge and find out what I still need to read before the month ends.

The bolded categories are ones I haven't read yet, and the book in parentheses next to it is the book I plan on reading for that space.

Card #1

A supernatural book without a werewolf or vampire: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

A book without a happy ending: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

A book over 350 pages: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

A book with a male narrator: Tracers by J.J. Howard

A fairy tale retelling: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

A book with a villain as the main character: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

A book with multiple povs: Wonder by R. J. Palacio 

A book published in the year you were born: (Stacy's Big Crush by Ann M. Martin)

The end of a series: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

A book about a historical figure or event: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (about St. Mark's Eve)

A book with super humans or cyborgs: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

A book with an unlikely love story: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

Book hangover: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

A book with a dystopian setting: Ash by Sheni Petroff

A book without romance: Cat Stories by James Herriot

A book about siblings: Panic by Lauren Oliver

The start of a series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

A book with music: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

A book set in the south: Tell Me by Joan Bauer (Virginia)

A book set in the spring: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan

A book with poetry: (Crank by Ellen Hopkins)

A book set in the future: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

A book with a diverse cast: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

A book you judged by the cover: The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin

A book in third person: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Card #2

A book with time travel: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

A book set somewhere you've traveled: Frostbite by Richelle Mead (Montana)

A book with a non-human antagonist: The Martian by Andy Weir

A book your fave public figure loves: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

A book being made into a movie: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

A book with a coffee shop: (Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle)

A book with parents who are present: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

A book set in Europe: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

A book about an ancient culture: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

A book translated from another language: (Inkheart by Cornelia Funke)

A book with a LGBTQ character: Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld

A book involving religion: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Book hangover: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

A book with an unreliable narrator: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

A book with elements of horror: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

A book from a debut author: The Registry by Shannon Stoker

A book with an epic monologue: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

A book recc'd by a bookseller: Losing It by Cora Carmack

A book with a number in the title: (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

A book with an adopted character: The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong

A book by an author you've never read before: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

A book with accents: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

A book based on a true story: (Naya Nuki: Shoshone Girl Who Ran by Kenneth Thomasma)

A re-read of a favorite book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

A book set in the wilderness: The Calling by Kelley Armstrong


Only six to go!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Dog Stories, Shadow Kiss, The Wrath and the Dawn, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It's been awhile, and you can blame the start of the school year for that!

Dog Stories by James Herriot

I've always loved cat stories, so I bought dog stories from amazon. It's the first non-digital book I've bought in awhile. It was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Cat Stories. 

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Third book, read it, still loved it. The ending, though. That ending made me have to put the series away for awhile before I go on. 

The Wrath and the Dawn

I'm reading this one right now and really liking it, even though I HATE not knowing what's really going on!!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (audio)

Yup, still working my way through the series again. Actually, I'm listening to this as I type :).

Until next time!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Cat Stories, Vampire Academy, Frostbite, The Scorch Trials, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I skipped a week so I have quite a few books to post today!

Cat Stories by James Herriot

This was one of my favorite books growing up, and I decided to reread it last week. The stories were just as charming and heart-warming as I remembered.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

I'm way behind on this train, and decided to finally see what all the fuss was about. I see it! I finished this book in just a few days and immediately started the next one. 

Frostbite by Richelle Mead

Sometimes the second book in a series sucks compared to the first. This was not one of those times. Again, I finished this in a few days and had trouble putting it down. You should have seen the look on my face when my kindle died while I was reading this on the beach. So sad. 

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

The plan was to continue working my way through the Vampire Academy series. However, when I went to see Paper Towns on Tuesday with my sister, the preview for The Scorch Trials came on and I had to hunker down and plug my ears so that nothing was spoiled. After that experience I realized it was time to finally pull this one out of my virtual to-read pile. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling (audio)

The great thing about audio books and beach vacations is that I can lay back on the beach with my eyes closed and still read a good book. I just have to be careful not to fall asleep and miss something!

Until next time...

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Tell Me and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Tell Me by Joan Bauer

One of my students bought this from the book fair for me and I'm finally getting around to reading it. Even though it's middle grade I'm liking the voice a lot. I'm interested to see how the book handles the serious topic of human trafficking. 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Some reviews of this book call the author crazy, but I've only gotten a hint of that so far when she mentioned thanking items before discarding them. I guess I'm not far enough in yet to decide whether this method would work for me. 

2015 Resolutions - Update 3

It's been 6 months (27 weeks) since the New Year! Halfway there :). Time to check in on my resolutions and see where I am.

Resolution #1: Finish the first draft of TGITP

I have 5 scenes left until I finish the first draft! I will DEFINITELY, FOR SURE, be finished by this Saturday. I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME. 

Resolution #2: Read 70 books

I have currently read 35 books, so I'm halfway there! Goodreads tells me I'm one book behind but I'm halfway through quite a few so I should catch up easily. 

Resolution #3: Write at least 1,000 words a week

In the past 2 months I've missed twice, once for no reason and once because I was at a teaching conference. I'm not sure how this resolution will look once I finish the first draft. I guess it will be 1,000 words a week still, but unrelated to TGITP, kind of like my Camp Nano project. 

Resolution #4: Play an instrument once a week

I only missed once this time, for the teaching conference. I've started working on exercises to increase my hand independence (so that I can play a different melody on each hand at the same time, which is necessary for the song I'm learning) and I'm excited to say that I've already seen some improvement!

Resolution #5: Do 5 pull-ups a week  

Yikes. So I've only missed once, which is good. However, for awhile there I was doing 5 pull-ups a day. I had a routine down, but school ended and that routine died. I need to make a new routine for the rest of summer and stick with it, because I've already seen a loss of muscle definition!

Here are my spreadsheets for May and June. 

That's it! I'll check back in at the end of August, where I may re-evaluate my resolutions. 

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Ash, Throw Out Fifty Things, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Ash by Shani Petroff and Darci Manley

I actually haven't started this one yet since I finished UNTOLD this morning. My coworker's daughter recommended it to me and I'm a sucker for dystopian. 

Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke

Haven't started this one either! I'm kind of bored with THE ART OF NON-CONFORMITY so I'm switching to this for now. 

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis by Isabella Wentz

I've put this book down for way too long, it's time to finish. 

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (audio)

As I said a few posts ago I've been craving Harry Potter, and the movies just weren't doing it for me. Back to the books it is!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Untold, The Art of Non-Conformity, and Death by Food Pyramid

 Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan

Onto the second book in the series! We discuss this one at my book club next week so I needed to get on it. It's started off a little jumpy, but I'm intrigued to see where it goes. 

The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau

Just started this one yesterday so I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. The author is very blunt, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

Death by Food Pyramid by Denise Minger

Haven't read much of this one this week but I'm still working my way through it. 

Update: Paperclip Visual

Last month I tried out a new method to visually track my word count each week as motivation. It's worked really well, so I decided to make it prettier and a bit more permanent. 

I went out and got a set of clear shot glasses, and beads in two different sizes. 

The little green beads each represent 100 words (there are ten of them) and the larger red beads represent 1,000 words (I only have seven of these, since I don't typically write more than 5,000 words a week). 

I move a green bead over every time I write 100 words, until I reach 1,000. Then I reset them and move over a large red bead. 

Only 10 more scenes to go until I finish the first draft of TGITP!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Unspoken, You Can Buy Happiness, and Death by Food Pyramid

I'm writing to you from CAMT 2015 in Houston!

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I joined a book club and this is the first book we're reading. I don't think I would have heard of it otherwise! I am LOVING this main character's voice. She's funny. Not only do I laugh at her weird jokes and phrases, but the other characters laugh and it feels totally natural. Plus there's some great mystery and bad boy tension, as well as a little dab of supernatural. Mmmm. 

You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap) by Tammy Strobel

Not the best how-to minimalist book, but the anecdotes keep me inspired and in the minimalist mindset. 

Death by Food Pyramid by Denise Minger

I'm not reading this one as much as the minimalist book, mostly because it's a little heavy on the technical side for me to read before bed. However, I've already learned a lot of fascinating facts about the politics that went into creating the food pyramid. 

No audio book this week because I've had a sudden Harry Potter craving and put the first one on hold at the library. Now I'm waiting...

My Pocket Notebook

Yesterday I read "How to Use a Simple Pocket Notebook to Change Your Life" by Trent Hamm. I've been thinking about starting a pocket notebook for awhile, especially for those times when I hear a particularly beautiful sentence or good bit of dialogue and want to remember it. His post finally convinced me. 

Today I ran out to the office supply store and bought a pack of little composition books and a pack of little pens. Here's a picture of my notebook, next to a regular pen for size. 

I labeled it June 2015 (I'm thinking that when I finish it I'll add another label for the end month) and taped a straw to the side to hold the pen. 

In the back, I taped an old bracelet I don't wear anymore to use as a bookmark. I also added a few paper clips in case I have any separate papers (receipts, business cards, etc) I'd like to hold onto until I can do something with them or glue them into the notebook. 

I'll update in a few weeks to let y'all know how it's going (and if it really did change my life). 

Goal - Finish The Third Quarter

Summer break is here! And with it, a big push to finish the first draft of TGITP. I'm five scenes away from finishing the third quarter, so my goal is to do that by this Friday. Three days. I can do it! Much like my Spring Break goal I'm going to keep track of my progress on here to help keep me motivated (and give you all some insight into my writing process).

Wednesday, 1:38pm
Starting now! Today I'm going to plan the five scenes I need to write, and write one of them. I'm currently at a coffee shop with a writing group I joined. We meet a few times a week and chat and get settled for about thirty minutes, then Shut Up and Write for an hour. It's super helpful to be in a room with people who are all concentrating on their writing too.

Update: Wednesday, 2:30pm
Well, somehow I managed to add one, possibly two scenes to my to do list. However, I planned out about three and a half scenes. Not too bad for an hour's work.

Update: Wednesday, 4:13pm
Home now after running a few errands and sitting down to write. I think I'll crank out today's scene(s) and finish planning later.

Update: Wednesday, 5:30pm
Did a whole lot of nothing for awhile and then finally started. I wrote 421 and the first half of a scene.

Update: Wednesday, 7:55pm
Sitting in the Starbucks at my local Target. My boyfriend is across the table from me studying for his physics GRE. I just bought a clipfolio (clipboard on the outside with a pocket and legal pad inside, in cute, coordinating colors of course) in anticipation for editing TGITP. I figure I'll take my notes on the legal pad and keep critiqued scenes from my writing group in the folder. Ahhh, one day. Now to write the rest of today's scene...

Update: Wednesday, 8:53pm
983 words and two short scenes later.....I'm feeling pretty good about my progress today.

Update: Thursday, 9:05am
I'm at my desk, delicious cup of coconut oil coffee at the ready. The sunlight streams through the window in front of me, and my dog is curled up in her bed at my feet. Mmm. So relaxed. Time to plan out the last scene of this quarter and then write one or two more.

Update: Thursday, 10:13am
Spent some time rewriting a great scene in a book I'm reading right now, to get in the "words are music" mindframe. Then I finished planning the last few scenes of this quarter. Now time for the actual writing! (while the Dallas String Quartet version of Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This plays on Pandora...)

Update: Thursday, 10:43am
490 more words written, and 1 more scene. Two more to go!

Update: Thursday, 8:00pm
Here we go, time to hammer out the last two scenes! Throw in a word sprint or two with my critique partner and I just might make it.

Update: Thursday, 8:48pm
FINISHED! A day early too!

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Dreams of Gods and Monsters, The Total Money Makeover, and These Broken Stars

I'm back! After two weeks of finishing out the school year, I'm back to reading and writing full-time!

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

I took a break from this one to re-read The Total Money Makeover but now I'm back to it and zooming through. 

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

I re-read this one now that I'm at a point in my life where I'm ready to start saving for retirement and investing. 

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (audio)

Mmm, getting close to the end on this one and I'm feeling the anticipation...all the little hints and mysteries and starting to add up...

What I'm Reading Wednesday - Dreams of Gods and Monsters and These Broken Stars

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Back to this one after my ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES binge. 

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (audio)

Mmmmm love.