2024

August goals recap

Kelli2 Comments

I have been slacking on the blog posts this past month! I am going to make a recap of what I’ve been doing in August then I will make a September goals post.

Career goals

  • Give a 2 week notice to my current job —I gave my 2 week notice on August 4, and they ended up firing me on August 8. It ended up better for me because I was already working somewhere else so that freed up my schedule to work.
  • Job search — I meant this to be for me to job search for myself because I don’t need to be a waitress all my life. I looked some for me, but I was really looking for one of my friends a new job.

Social media goals

  • Publish 3 blogs + monthly goals & recap — The only thing I got posted was the goals. I slacked on posting ANYTHING else.
  • Post on YouTube 2 times — I didn’t post a single YouTube video in August. Oops.
  • Get to 185 subscribers on blog — I haven’t gained or lost any subscribers. I have stayed at 179. I was hoping to post more and gain some.
  • Get to 317 subscribers on Youtube — I have 314 subscribers… Sub to me on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@Ykelli
  • Organize my Pinterest — Why do I keep putting this off?

Personal goals

  • Do one self-care act a day — I know I did at least one most days. I forgot to keep up with it.
  • Drink 50 oz of water a day — Some days I did 50 oz. Some days I did 20 oz.
  • Plan 2 dates with Cody outside the house — If we did I didn’t get pictures of it, and my memory is bad LOL. I know we at least had one date outside the house, and we had went out shopping and had lunch.
  • Practice mediating — I did NOT do this like I wanted to.
  • Journal daily — I was doing good with journaling daily until I wasn’t.
  • Walk 3-4 times a week — I have been slacking.
  • Schedule a day to hang out with each friend — I did really good with this. I hung out with all but two.

Books goals

  • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell — I am hopefully finishing this in September! I’m currently 64% into the audiobook. If I have to go get the physically copy from the library I will finish it this month!
  • When Your Best Isn’t Good Enough by Dr. Kevin Leman — I am literally finishing this book on the day I am posting this (September 9 lol).
  • Along Came a Spider by James Patterson — I enjoyed the first book of this series!
  • The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes — LOVE this book series! I’m already almost done with the next one.
  • Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel — A good little self-improvement book. Not my favorite, but not bad.

I had such a good month even though I did not do all the social media things I wanted to do! I’m already doing better in September so go me! Here are some pictures that capture some of the reasons my month of August was so great.

July Recap

KelliLeave a comment

I thought it would be a really neat idea to make a blog each month that reflects on my goals, books I read and talk about my favorite things from the month like tv show, video game, pictures I took. It is a great opportunity to connect with you and to be able to look at this later to see what was going on in my life this month. With that being said, let me get started!

GOAL RECAP

Career goals

  • Bring home $350 in tips weekly — I did!
  • Job search — I did not… however, soon I will be starting a new waitressing job (long story), and I will be searching for a new job then. One I can use my degree with.

Personal goals

  • Publish 2-4 blog posts — Posting this reflection will make it my fourth blog post this month! I am so proud of myself.
  • Post on YouTube 2 times — I have only posted one video this month.

https://youtube.com/@ykelli?si=VmJVj5sGQb_eG2W8

  • Save enough money for PC gaming set up — I did!! I am so excited to be able to get it once I finally get my own place.
  • Keep up with finances and budget — Yes, I did!
  • Pay bills — most of them. Will do the rest ASAP.
  • Catch up on emails — Hundreds of emails later… Yes, I did.
  • Take care of mom’s dogs – give lots of love! — Always!

Health goals

  • Meditate at least 4 times a week — I know I definitely slacked on this, but I know I did do it every week… Maybe just not 4 times.
  • Walk 10,000 steps a day — I walked at least 10,000 steps 18 days out of 31… On my days off I definitely lacked steps.
  • Cardio 3 times a week — I did not.
  • No food after 7 — The people I live with wasn’t wanting to eat till 8 pm some nights.
  • Drink 40 oz of water minimum — I am so bad at this.

Adventure goals

  • Go to pool — I really wanted to do this for my boyfriend because he wanted to swim in a pool. While I did not go, he did end up going to a pool.
  • Go hiking — Sadly I haven’t made time to go hiking.
  • Do something for Cody’s birthday — We didn’t do anything too crazy, but I think he still had a good time.
  • Meet up with friends — We did! It was so good to see them again.

Social media goals

  • Get to 180 subscribers on blog — I didn’t. I hope of I continue to be active on posting, I will get more people to follow my blog journey.
  • Get to 317 subscribers on YouTube — Nope! I also didn’t post like I meant to.
  • Get to 30 followers on twitch — I meant to start streaming again, but I did not.
  • Be active on Facebook, twitter and instagram — Mostly! I was more active — just not as much as I wanted to be.
  • Organize my Pinterest — Not yet…

BOOKS I READ IN JULY

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

This book was given to me by one of my friends. She highly recommended it, and I did get some good things from it. For how on when I read self-improvement books, I am going to start writing notes from them… I have forgotten most of what I have read to be honest LOL.

Final Offer by Lauren Asher

This was the third and final book of the Dreamland Billionaire series. I loved this series and going through the journey with each brother. I love the grumpy- sunshine trope.

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

This was such a good book! It’s a mystery with a side of supernatural. It had me guessing, and then when I did know what had happened, it was cool for it to show you how things came to be. Some things are different than they seemed to be.

FAVORITE PICTURES I TOOK

I think Khloe wants to play fetch.
Cody and Stitch always chilling on the couch.
A big ol’ baby.
Fun in the sun!
Cody can be sweet (most of the time).. cats photobombed.
Nights outside..
Set up selling tomatoes!
Roasting marshmallows, being silly.
Day out with friends.. ate at Buffalo Wild Wings.
Cody and Khloe snuggling.
Wanted a cute picture.
He’s so handsome.
Thea a big baby… She pretends she isn’t.

I also have favorite pictures with some kiddos, but I don’t want to put them online!

FAVORITE TV SHOW

I haven’t watched much tv this month.. The only things I’ve really watched is Hoarders and Family Guy.

FAVORITE VIDEO GAME

I recently just got into playing Dreamlight Valley! I love it. I love playing a quest-type game. Getting to play with all our favorite Disney characters is so neat! At some point, I’ll be able to play with my friend too.

Book TBR [2024]

KelliLeave a comment

I have a goal of reading 50 books this year. I also have a goal of reading more physical books that I have already instead of only reading kindle books. In order for me to accomplish this, I made a list of books that I wanted to read this year with more than half of them being physical books.

  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
  • Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2) by Lauren Asher
  • Final Offer (Dreamland Billionaires, #3) by Lauren Asher
  • The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic by British Library
  • World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
  • I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
  • Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You: Poems by Misha Collins
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
  • The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
  • The Rainmaker by John Grisham
  • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
  • Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
  • We Used to Live Here by Daniel Hurst
  • Sole Survivor by Dean Koontz
  • When Your Best Isn’t Good Enough: The Secret to Measuring Up by Kevin Leman
  • A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #4) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The One by John Marrs
  • Keep It in the Family by John Marrs
  • The Locked Door by Freida McFadden
  • The Inmate by Freida McFadden
  • The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
  • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • 1984 by George Orwell
  • The 8th Confession (Women’s Murder Club, #8) by James Patterson
  • The 9th Judgement (Women’s Murder Club, #9) by James Patterson
  • 10th Anniversary (Women’s Murder Club, #10) by James Patterson
  • Along Came a Spider (Alex Cross, #1) by James Patterson
  • Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
  • Stone Maidens (Stone Maidens, #1) by Lloyd Richards
  • Buy YourSelf the F*cling Lilies by Tara Schuster
  • The Invisible Life of Adie LaRue by Victoria Schwab
  • Will by Will Smith
  • The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
  • Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • The New Girl (Fear Street, #1) by R. L. Stone
  • Mystery Ranch (The Boxcar Children, #4) by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Mike’s Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #5) by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Out of these 50 books, I have read 22 of them and am currently reading 3 of them. According to Goodreads, I am 6 books behind schedule, but I think I will still be able to reach my goal by the end of the year. I know I will also eventually veer off of my TBR and read some shorter kindle books — especially during Christmas season… I am a sucker for some hallmark-quality Christmas books.

Have you read any of these? Do you want to read any of these?

To December Me [2024]

Kelli2 Comments

Dear December me,

It’s you from July.. Things are not terrible right now, but they could definitely be better. I feel like all I do nowadays is work and complain about work. Work has been so stressful this past year, I hope you have had luck at a new job.

Another thing I hope you have had luck in is moving into your own house. Living with mom was fine for a while, but it is definitely time to move out. The only problem is that there is nothing available for rent around here. There is currently four people living in this house, and it is a little much. I would definitely love a bigger bed, but there is not enough room in my tiny room.

How is the family? How is Pa? I hope he is doing good. Today Pa and I picked tomatoes. We picked 19 five gallon buckets in total before Pa had to stop because his back and legs were hurting him.

I re-evaluated what goals I wanted to have for the end of the year. Have I achieved them?

  • I want to be consistent on posting on my blog and have 200 subscribers by the end of the year. I want to post at least twice a month and hopefully by December be posting at least once a week.
  • I also want to be consistent on posting on YouTube and have 350 subscribers by the end of the year. I plan to post at least twice a month and hopefully be posting once a week as well.
  • I want to be more active on twitter (I refuse to call it X), instagram, twitch and discord.
  • I want to have a new job. I think it is time for a change.
  • I want to work on my book more consistently.
  • I want to learn to manage my time more efficiently.
  • I want to form a budget plan and live by it.
  • By the end of the year, I want to have read 50 books.

It is 7 months into the year, but I really want to try and make time for being successfully productive on doing things I do enjoy while also working a part-time job, farming, socializing, etc. I am tired all of the time, but I want to make sure I do make time for other things other than a nap. Have we achieved my goals, December me?

Love,

July you [2024]

Spring 2024: Bucket List

KelliLeave a comment

We are more than a month into Spring, but I am just now making a list of things I want to do this Spring! Spring ends on June 20 so I hope I have enough time to do everything I want to.

  • Go hiking
  • Go to a farmers market
  • Fly a kite
  • Plant garden
  • Go to a baseball game
  • Watch people fish while I read
  • Go to McKay’s
  • Have a friend’s day
  • Try firehouse subs
  • Visit my old college town
  • Go to Discovery Park of America
  • Go bowling
  • Try a new drink
  • Complete a challenge
  • Declutter
  • Make photo album

This may seem like a bunch of random things put together… because it is LOL. These are all the things I want to do this Spring though. I hope I have the time! What are some of the things you want to before Spring is over?

Books Read in January & February

KelliLeave a comment

Hi! I am behind on my monthly book blog, but I am here now! In January and February, I have read 5 books in total. So far this year every book I have finished, I have throughly enjoyed! I recommend all 5 of these books.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is the first one I finished in 2024. I do have to say out of all of them this was my least favorite book, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. I don’t really like how it would bounce between time periods, but at the same time, that’s part of what makes the book. It was a beautiful story.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a reread for me. I like to try and reread the Harry Potter series every so often. It has been a long time since I have done a full reread (I usually stop after book 4), but I hope to read through the rest of them this year. This one and the rest of the series always makes me cry so it’s hard to read them, but I love getting lost in the pages. The movies left out a lot of the story. Some of the most important parts in my opinion.

I Will Find You by Harlan Coben ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am so glad that this book was recommended to me! It was a very interesting read. Fast paced – which I love. It’s about a guy who was put into prison for murdering his son… except he didn’t. We end up going on a journey with him as he breaks out of prison. This is the first time I’ve ever read a book by this author, but I will definitely read another.

We Used to Live Here by Daniel Hurst ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some people bought this house, and they were finding strange things while remodeling… I did not expect the ending of this book at all. To me it was definitely a twist that almost made me mad. The ending made me want more to the story.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to the audiobook of this one, and enjoyed it so much. It was a cute little read that’s like a hallmark movie cliche. It had the whole uptight person visiting a small town and falling in love.

Final note

I am very happy with what books I have read so far. For 2024, I have made the reading goal to read 50 books this year. According to my Goodreads, I am 3 books behind, but I think it will all workout in the end. Last year I started reading several books at once, and I usually finishing them all around the same time. In the next few weeks, I plan to post my 2024 tbr, which has 54 books on it. And yes, I know my goal is to read 50 books, but sometimes it’s hard to choose what books I want to read!

What book(s) are you reading right now? Have you read any of the ones I’ve read in January and February?

New Year Resolutions

KelliLeave a comment

My 2024 has started out with me being sick. For the past three weeks, I have not felt like being productive at all. I am normally on top of making my new year resolutions and starting to implement them to my life already. I am eleven days behind, but I am ready to start the new year.

The main New Years Resolution that I have that I want to focus on this year is to be more creative, and to have fun with it. I enjoy blogging and YouTube, but I feel as though I somehow make it into a chore. My goal is to do those things and have fun doing them.

I want to post on YouTube at least twice a month, and post on my blog twice a month as well. I hope at some point I can do both once a week, but I know if I make that my goal right now I would fail. I also really want to work on a book that I have been trying to write. I do want to do that once a week, if not more.

Onto another goal I have, toward the end of 2023, I really slacked off on going to the gym. I was busy, and honestly, I didn’t want to make the drive to the gym. The whole thing takes up a bit of time. I am going to start getting back into the gym, and even start doing more cardio and yoga on top of my strength training. I will be working out three to four times a week. I know when I am working out consistently I feel so much better than the way that I am feeling right now.

Lastly, one of my main goals is my reading goal. In 2023, I made a reading goal of 30 books, and I exceeded that goal during the summer so I extended it to 50 books. I ended up hitting my 50 books goal on Christmas Eve. I want to challenge myself this year so I made my reading goal to be 50 books. I haven’t made as much time lately to read so I really want to make more time for it like I did the first six months of last year. I’ve already compiled a list of books I want to read this year that I may share on here later.

These are my main goals for 2024. Do you have any new year resolutions? What are they, and how are you going to reach them?