I’ve been a bit inconsistent with blogging lately, and truly I did plan to post a few more times in December but we got INCREDIBLY busy (surprise, surprise!!) and then we spent most of our Christmas vacation battling a brutal cold/sinus infection/ear infection plague in our house. We are fortunately all much better now, and looking back I can actually appreciate that we were forced to have a lot of unplanned downtime while off work, so it was OK, but basically I had a nap almost every day and went to bed early whenever I could.

Some highlights of Christmas holidays include a week long visit with my brother, who lives in Calgary, some time with my new baby niece (although she was sick and learning to breastfeed etc etc too), seeing some friends, delicious dinners with my in-laws and parents, lots of board games, some wine, some sweets, some shopping, a bit of reading, Gotham, some purging and organizing, and (a bit) of exercise in there somewhere. On the final weekend before coming back to work, I also won $80 playing poker with Brian’s friends! #awesome #beginnersluck

I found out before Christmas that my job will be switching to 60% (part-time) until June. At first I was a bit disappointed about this, but I have embraced the extra time I will have with our kids before Molly starts school in September. Starting January 18, I will have Mondays and Fridays at home (i.e. super long weekend!) I am planning to use this time to get our house more organized, take the kids to fun events at the library and other play places, and really get our meal planning under control. I’m really excited about this change for now!! #askmeagainin2months

I was a bit disappointed to miss my Goodreads goal of 100 books last year, but I was pretty close and I honestly just lost interest in reading a bit in December with too much other stuff on the go. I’m back at it now though and I’m so excited to make myself some new reading goals for the year. Towards the end of last year, I was hesitant about my feelings towards the Goodreads book challenge, because it’s just a number, and quality/enjoyment is more important to me than the number, but I set my 2016 challenge to 100 books again because I like how it keeps me on track a bit. If I don’t meet it again, that’s OK.

Some other book/reading goals for the year:

• Complete another reading challenge. I’m planning to do Erin’s challenge and I will post my preliminary choices later this week.

• Focus on quality over quantity. I’m not going to pick shorter books just so that I can get to 100. I won’t finish a book if I’m not enjoying it just because I chose it for a reading challenge or it counts towards Goodreads.

• Listen to the Harry Potter books on audiobook &/or re-read the entire series and blog about my thoughts. I really want to think more deeply about this series and it’s been a couple of years since I re-read it all. I also got the illustrated Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone for Christmas from Brian and it is beautiful!!!

• Read some new-to-me authors and some other books by favourite authors

• Read all of Jane Austen’s books

• Knock out at least 20 books from my Goodreads TBR list 🙂

• Read 5 non-fiction books

• Try to finish the Semi-Charmed Winter Book Challenge, but if I don’t finish it (running out of time!), try to still appreciate the variety of books I read for it

• Write more reviews on Goodreads & really put thought into the books that mattered to me (i.e. write down quotes I liked, try to remember favourite characters, etc)

Anyone else have any reading goals for themselves this year?!

I also have a few “life” goals for the year, which I will talk about in more detail soon, including:

• Finish all 5 races that I am currently signed up for (5Ks and 10Ks – first one is at the end of the month)
• Participate more on social media (especially Twitter and Instagram)
• Spend less time scrolling through Facebook
• Unsubscribe from any newsletters I am constantly finding myself deleting
• 100% organize our house using this method here & the principles of KonMari
• Strive for better physical and mental/emotional health by continuing with my yoga class, running, and eating more vegetables
• Keep a daily journal of 1-2 highlights of each day or funny things the kids say (this binder is easily accessible, and so far, so good!)
• Write more (blogging, journaling, just for fun). My brother gave me this book —> for Christmas and I can’t wait to delve into it a bit more
• Learn more about photography (Brian bought me this e-book for Christmas and I love this post too with a lot of resources), blogging, and cooking.