I’m back from my trip to Galveston Island, Texas with my sisters. I had almost more airline delays than I could handle in this one little trip, but I had a blast with my sisters! Galveston is such a cute, historical island for exploring and relaxing – the perfect getaway for the holiday weekend.
This post has two parts: first, I am reporting my progress on my July goals (which isn’t much yet since I was traveling most of last week) in connection with the Weekly Wishes link-up hosted by The Nectar Collective, and second, I’m checking in with my Month 2 update for the Semi-Charmed Summer 2014 Book Challenge.
First time at the pool this summer – Galveston, July 5
July Goals
1. Read three books. This is the one goal I was able to work on while traveling. I finished The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, and I thought it was fantastic! I thought it was so good, in fact, that I rated it 5 stars on GoodReads – a rare thing for me to do.
2. Organize my jewelry. I have not done anything for this organizational project yet, but I have started getting ideas from different people.
3. Revamp my blog design and layout!! Daniel is out hiking the Appalachian Trail right now, but he comes back tomorrow. And, we are actually not traveling this weekend (for once!), so I think we may work on this then.
4. Write all of my posts about our Europe trip that I have planned… and post them! I’ve started my third and final post about our trip to London, and then I’ll do some posts on Paris. I think I can still have all of these completed by the end of the month.
NEW GOAL:
5. Explore SkillShare classes and start working on one. I want to be a life-long learner. To me this involves reading fiction and non-fiction, traveling, working on a language with my Duolingo app, watching documentaries, working on playing an instrument (for me, this would be piano, but I haven’t played in years), keeping up with current events, and taking classes just for the sake of learning. I’ve done a decent job of being a life-long learner in some of these areas, but I want to work on the areas I’m neglecting. Hopefully, signing up for SkillShare will help me to grow and work my brain! Do you have any class recommendations? I’m interested in so many different things, but I imagine I would want my first class to be related to developing my blog since that is currently my main hobby.
Semi-Charmed Summer 2014 Book Challenge: Month 2 Check-In
I have had a lot of fun doing this summer reading challenge! I’ve made okay progress this past month, but I’m still behind. I’m not going to get mad at myself if I don’t complete the challenge on time, but it is definitely still a big summer goal of mine!
Finished Books:
5 points: Freebie! Read any book that is at least 200 pages long.
— Someday, Someday, Maybe, Lauren Graham (344 pages, 4 stars) [from Month 1 update]
25 points: Read a book written by a blogger.
— Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, Shauna Niequist (252 pages, 4 stars) [blog] [from Month 1 update]
15 points: Read a historical fiction book that does not take place in Europe.
— Out of the Easy, Ruta Sepetys (346 pages, 3 stars) [set in the United States]
20 points: Read a book that was/will be adapted to film in 2014.
— The Fault in Our Stars, John Green (318 pages, 4 stars)
20 points: Read a book with “son(s),” “daughter(s)” or “child(ren)” in the title.
—The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards (401 pages, 5 stars)
PREVIOUS POINTS: 30
TOTAL POINTS: 85
Currently Reading:
15 points: Read a book another blogger has already read for the challenge.
— The Light Between Oceans, M.L. Stedman (352 pages, rating TBD)
What are you reading this summer?