My 2021 Goals

It’s taken me awhile to really think about what I want to achieve in 2021. Usually January would be a productive month for me as I’m determined to start the new year off right, but I have to admit that I’ve been pretty lazy this January. And I’m okay with it! I’m really trying to be kinder to myself and not push myself when I really don’t feel like it.

Having said that, I feel like my rejuvenation period is reaching its end and I’m ready to focus on some new things. Here are some goals I would like to achieve this year:

• Obtain my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification- This is not 100% official yet, but I am pretty sure I’ll be signed up to do this very soon! Stay tuned!
• Run the San Antonio Rock and Roll Half Marathon- I really wanted to run a marathon this year but with COVID ruining official races and with my decision to just completely stop running last November and December, I quickly realized that would not happen. And it’s okay! But I really would love to run this fun half marathon in December and hopefully get my fitness level back on track so that I can run a full marathon sometime next year (let’s hope the vaccination schedule goes well enough that races can resume in the latter half of this year!).
• Read 70 books- Last year I read 65 books (and I truly met that goal right in the nick of time on New Year’s Eve!). This year I’m upping my number to 70. Eventually I would love to get to a point where I can read 100 books a year! My reading goals always seem like a lot but I ALWAYS reach them. I consider it a true testament to what I probably have to admit is my all time favorite hobby.
• Perform once by the end of the year- I’d be happy doing open mic night but something more serious than that would be even more awesome!
• Continue learning Italian- My Mawmaw and I both started learning Italian on Duolingo at the beginning of the pandemic because we really hope to go to Sicily next spring (2022). She’s definitely kicking my butt and is way ahead of me- she’s kept up a pretty steady streak! I’d like to be more consistent with my Italian this year so that I have a decent grasp on it by the time we go next year.
• Make a cookbook recipe once a week- I have so many amazing cookbooks and yet I find myself turning to Pinterest recipes more often! I want to utilize my cookbook more (and just cook more in general) so my goal is to make one recipe per week from a cookbook (and so far so good!).
• Use heat on my hair as little as possible- I got my first curly cut this past December and just learning how to take care of my curly hair has been a little life changing! I haven’t used any heat on my hair since then (except to diffuse my curls dry on a low setting every now and then). I know eventually I’ll break this streak when a special occasion comes up, but my goal is to not use a straightener, curling iron, or hair drying brush on my hair at all this year unless absolutely necessary.
• Find a volunteer organization in San Antonio- I could do so much better when it comes to giving my time back and helping others, so I hope to find a good non-profit to do that with this year.

I’m sure there are other things that I’ll think of that I want to do this year. But for right now, I’m keeping my goals simple and straightforward!

Until next time,

Zoe

101 in 1001 (#2)

Back in 2016, I created my first 101 in 1001 list (basically 101 things I’d like to do in the span of 1001 days). I organically completed some of the tasks but I didn’t really keep up with the list very much. I’m not sure why, but I feel compelled to create another one. I took some items from my previous list, some items from my 30 before 30 list, and most of them are new things I’ve come up with. So without further adieu, here is my second list of 101 things to complete before May 3, 2023 (I technically created this list on August 5 and am just now sharing it!!).

Financial

1. Pay off my student loans. (Completed this in September!!)
2. Go an entire month without spending my personal fund.
3. Save up 6 months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund.
4. Write a will. Not fun to think about, but necessary for all of us.

Fitness

1. Successfully do an unassisted sit-up. As I’ve said before, I am weaksauce.
2. Successfully do 10 consecutive push-ups. See above.
3. Run 3 half marathons.
4. Run a full marathon.
5. Go paddleboarding.
6. Get my yoga teacher certification. I hope to do this before the end of 2021!
7. Buy a bike.
8. Join a running club.
9. Get to my goal weight.
10. Go skiing.

Travel

1. Travel out of the continent at least once.
2. Travel to the west coast. I would love to do a road trip up and down the coast of California!
3. Travel to New England. We have friends that recently moved to Connecticut so really hoping we can visit sometime soon!
4. Try an experiment in “The Lonely Planet Guide to Experimental Travel”. This is such a cool book with so many fun ideas!
5. Spend a weekend in a city I’ve never been to.
6. Take a completely spontaneous weekend trip.
7. Go to Vegas.
8. Go on a long road trip. Drove from Houston to Durango, CO during Christmas break- 16 hours one way so I think it counts!
9. Go on a trip with my girlfriends.
10. Visit Sicily with my Mawmaw. My grandma’s grandfather immigrated to the US in the early 1900s from Sicily and it’s always been a dream of ours to travel there.
11. Visit West Texas (Big Bend, Marfa, etc.)
12. Renew TSA Pre-check and add on Global Entry. TSA Pre-check has been worth every penny!

Hobbies

1. Read 150 books total.
2. Create a songwriting routine.
3. Perform at an Open Mic Night.
4. Start/join a band. Any takers?
5. Expand my vinyl collection.
6. Improve my Italian on Duolingo.
7. Produce a demo album.
8. Stay consistent with recording our podcast.
9. Read House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. I’ve been wanting to read this book forever and have never taken the plunge (it’s a long one).
10. Finish a journal. I actually completed a journal earlier in 2020 as part of my 30 Before 30- I want to finish another one now!
11. Go to 10 concerts. COVID-permitting 😦

Fooooooood

1. Go an entire month without fast food.
2. Go a whole week without eating out.
3. Take a cooking class.
4. Throw a dinner party. Hopefully it will be less awkward than Michael and Jan’s 🙂
5. Bake a cheesecake from scratch.
6. Successfully make macarons.
7. Learn to make homemade sushi.
8. Grow my own herbs.
9. Buy an air fryer. Everyone and their dog has raved about this mystical object- time to check it out for myself! (Bought one in September and it’s as good as people say it is!!)
10. Cook a perfect steak.
11. Go pescatarian for a month. I wish I had the guts to do this full time, but I don’t think I could ever give up Raising Cane’s chicken fingers.

Random

1. Get new glasses.
2. Have a spa day. Massage, pedicure, manicure, facial…the whole nine yards.
3. Attend a wine/paint class. Weirdly enough, I have never done this. I know it’s so 2013 at this point, but I still want to do it, dammit.
4. Pull an all nighter (for fun, not study related).
5. Leave a 100% tip for excellent service.
6. Go skinny dipping.
7. Go to a comedy show.
8. Finish watching the TV show Supernatural.
9. Meet Jensen Ackles in person. A girl can dream, right?
10. Refine my wardrobe. Always a work in progress but I made bigger strides this past year than any other time before
11. Dress as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader for Halloween. This is the most frivolous thing on this list probably, but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this!
12. Get another tattoo.
13. Vote in the 2020 election. And not for Donald Trump, OBVIOUSLY.
14. Vote in the 2022 election.
15. Embrace my natural curls and get into a good curly girl routine.
16. Become less non-confrontational. I’m not sure what this looks like yet, but I know it needs to be done.
17. Organize my work computer. I am so type A but for some reason, my work computer is a big ole mess. Time to clean it up.
18. Join a volunteer organization. Any suggestions?
19. Find out my blood type. It’s pretty sad that I don’t already know this.
20. Design a Shutterfly photo book with all of my European vacation photos. I’ve been back from this trip for a year and a half and STILL haven’t done this! Time to bite the bullet!
21. Host/go to a Friendsgiving.
22. Go a whole week without social media.
23. Throw a huge 30th birthday party for myself.
24. Buy my parents an expensive dinner.
25. Buy a round of drinks for my friends at a bar.
26. Start/join a book club.
27. Send Christmas cards each year. (Did not happen in 2020- better luck in 2021!)
28. Host a game night.
29. Do an escape room. I’ve done one before but it’s been years and they’re so much fun!

San Antonio

1. Go out on the St. Mary’s Strip. This is an infamous strip of bars and clubs in SA and I know I need to experience it firsthand!
2. Find a core friend group in San Antonio.
3. Celebrate Fiesta!
4. Go to a First Friday event in Southtown.
5. Visit every brewery in San Antonio. Here is a list of them all and I’ve crossed out the ones I’ve already been to: Weathered Souls Brewing, Freetail Brewing, Busted Sandal Brewing, Ranger Creek Brewing, Roadmap Brewing, Dorcol Distilling + Brewing, Longtab Brewing, Blue Star Brewing, Dos Sirenos Brewing, Alamo Beer Company, Back Unturned Brewing, Kunstler Brewing, Mad Pecker Brewing, Black Laboratory Brewing, Islla Street Brewing
6. Dance at Pearl Park during DJ Night in the summer
7. Happy Hour at Tower of the Americas
8. Go to DoSeum during a ReDo Party. DoSeum is the children’s museum in SA and ReDo Parties are their adults only nights!
9. Go to a MobileOm yoga class.
10. Go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
11. Bike along the Mission Trail.
12. Go to drag brunch at Paramour.
13. Take a weekend trip to Fredericksburg.
14. Try 10 new coffee shops in San Antonio. Here are the ones I’ve tried so far since writing this: Press Coffee, Shotgun Roasters, Sip
15. Go to a local farmer’s market.
16. Go to Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.
17. Eat at one local restaurant per month. We try to do this anyway, but we are also absolutely NOT immune from the convenience of chain restaurants! We need to do better.
18. Explore all the areas of Breckenridge Park (including the zoo).
19. Find a regular trivia bar to go to.

Living

1. Keep a succulent alive for longer than a month.
2. Get a dog.
3. Have one date night each month.
4. Decorate our apartment.
5. Plan a surprise date for Greg!

2020 Goal Recap

Sigh…is it an understatement to say that this has been a shitty year?

I probably can’t say much about 2020 that hasn’t been already said. I actually went back and read through my goal posts (pardon the pun) from this past year and they made me pretty sad. Reaching my 2020 goals did not go the way I had planned (and the fact that I stopped making posts about them entirely halfway through the year is proof more than anything, as I love the document EVERYTHING). For recap, here are my 2020 goals and how they ended up:

Fitness

• Complete 30 yoga classes in January: Met the goal. Thank goodness this happened before COVID!
• Half marathon training/run a half marathon: Again, I ran my half RIGHT before COVID hit big time, thankfully!
• Sober January: Did it last year, won’t do it again this year.
• Continue to engage in fitness well past January: I did pretty well with this goal…until November hit. November and December were my laziest months fitness-wise in years.
• Run an official race every month: Didn’t happen past March. Thanks, COVID!

Personal/Hobbies

• Pay off my student loans: This was definitely one of the biggest things that happened this year- if nothing else, I am officially debt free and it feels good!
• Write one song per month: Sadly, I did not achieve this goal. I will say that I had a lot more creative moments this year, especially in the back half, than in the previous few years. Lots of little song ideas and blips, just not a lot of full songs. I’m hopeful that my creativity will continue to spark in the new year.
• Bake something twice per month: While quarantine got a lot of people in a mood to bake, it really didn’t do that for me. I did some baking throughout the year but don’t think it averaged out to twice per month. Oh well.
• Curate my closet: I actually ended up hiring a personal stylist to help me with this halfway through the year. My closet isn’t 100% where I want it to be yet but it’s a lot closer, so I’m happy about that.
• Read 65 Books/Complete the PopSugar Reading Challenge: I did read 65 books (finished my very last one on NYE!) but I fell a little short with the reading challenge. There were a couple books on my list that I just could not for the life of me get into/finish. I probably read 47-48 books out of 50 from the challenge, so I feel like that’s pretty good.
• Travel to 2 new places: I did go to Breckenridge, CO this summer which was super fun (and I’d never been there before)! Other than that, I didn’t really get to visit a new place but again- I can blame COVID on that. I feel fortunate enough that I got to go to CO twice this year!
• Spend less time on my phone: Ummm…next.
• Work on my “30 Before 30” list: I think a few of these things happened, sort of. I paid off my student loans, I explored more of San Antonio, I took a semi-spontaneous trip (Greg and I decided to drive to Colorado for a few days after Christmas), and I dyed my hair pinkish red. I wish I could have done more (especially since I turn 30 in less than a year) but I am glad I got to mark a few things off my list this year.
• Go on a date for each successful month: We kind of abandoned this halfway through the year but we still did have some nice dates!

It’s really easy for me to look back on this year and get down on myself because I didn’t achieve all my goals (and I’m a super goal oriented person- where are my fellow enneagram 3s at?!). It’s also easy for me to be very bitter about this year and all my cancelled plans and opportunities. I’m an optimistic person though and I constantly remind myself how much worse others have it than me- and oh boy, did a LOT of people have a really bad year this year. I’m thankful that I am alive, my close family members are alive, that no one close to me lost their job or anything else significant this year. For me to have these blessings is huge- for everyone else I’m close to in life to have them is monumental. I am an incredibly, incredibly privileged person and I don’t take that lightly. But I want to remind others- and myself- that it’s okay to mourn a little for what you may have lost this year, even if it is isn’t significant in the grand scheme of things. I also have to remind myself that it is OKAY that I didn’t meet all my goals in what has been an unprecedented year (sorry to use that cliched word, but it does perfectly describe 2020). It’s okay to give myself grace. I am not less of a person because I stopped working out in November and December or because I wasn’t as creative or inspired as I envisioned myself being throughout the year.

2020 is over…that doesn’t necessarily mean the world’s suffering due to COVID, racial injustice, and a plethora of other things is over. However, I do want to look forward with hope and excitement that better things are coming.

I’ll write a part 2 on what I hope to achieve in 2021!

Until next time,

Zoe

The Best Books I’ve Read This Year (So Far)

As I’m sure many readers will agree, this year (while tumultuous in many ways) has been great for knocking some books off of our “to-read” lists! I wanted to share some of my favorite books that I’ve read so far this year with all of you today:

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson- I have had this on my “to-read” list for YEARS. I should have read it a long time ago. Bryan Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative which aims to defend many vulnerable populations. This book centers around his work fighting for people (mainly Black people) who have been wrongly or unfairly imprisoned. It made me angry and sad to read about just how unjust our “justice” system is, but it gives me a glimmer of hope knowing people like Mr. Stevenson are out there using their knowledge and power to fight for what’s right. This was a hard read, but one everyone should journey through.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin- Greg and I finished watching GoT this year and we absolutely loved it (I think I am in a very small minority when I say that I didn’t hate the ending). I decided to read the first book at the beginning of this year and it was really fun! I would read a chapter or two before bed each night because it is so long. I have to say I’m really glad I watched the show before I read the book- it made it a lot easier to keep track of the characters since I was able to visualize them in my head. I am excited to read the next installment (even though I’ll know exactly what happens since the show did such a good job keeping up with the books that have been written).

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens- This is a beautifully written book, one deserving of all the hype I think. It’s a story about Kya, a girl who grows up in the low country of South Carolina in the marsh, pretty much raising herself. I think Owens was successful in weaving together several genres (suspense, coming-of-age, and romance) to create something unique and fresh. This has been a very popular book over the past year for good reason!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman- We read this for my work book club and I absolutely loved it. It seems like it’s going to be really quirky and off-the-wall, which it partly is, but it’s also a very emotional novel about depression, trauma, and friendship. Eleanor is one of my favorite characters I’ve had the pleasure of reading about this year. I think this is a book for everyone.

Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller- Brock Turner raped Chanel Miller in 2015 behind a dumpster in Palo Alto, CA. This is Chanel’s story. While most of the book centers around her rape and the trial that followed, Chanel provides such beautiful detail about her personality, her accomplishments, and her life. She is a complex human being, just like every other human being that is raped or assaulted. I wish every single rape survivor could get an opportunity to share their story like Chanel has- I wonder if it would make rape culture any different than it is now.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles- It’s hard to say what my absolute #1 favorite book I’ve read so far this year is, but this book is definitely vying for that spot. I have always been in love with New York City and Rules of Civility is a perfect snapshot in time of the city in the 1930s. Towles is one of the most talented contemporary authors I’ve read- his descriptions of setting are beautiful and breathtaking. I don’t even know what else to say about this book except that I love it.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore- This book has such a unique premise. Oona’s birthday is New Years Day, and starting from the year she turns 19, she wakes up at a different age of her life each year at the stroke of midnight. So instead of going from 18-19, she goes from 18 to 51…and so on and so forth. It’s so fun to jump back and forth in time with Oona. Even though she is physically a different age each year, she is mentally still very young and she has to figure out each year of her life with the help of her mom and some other supporting characters. While you definitely have to suspend your disbelief on this one, it’s a really fun read.

What are some of your favorite books you’ve read this year?

Until next time,

Zoe

Monthly Goal Recap: May 2020

As if 2020 couldn’t get any crazier or worse, it seems like shit really hit the fan in May. The coronavirus is still going strong and now we add some very sobering and heartbreaking moments of police brutality against BIPOC to that mix. It feels almost wrong to think of anything else during this time and I’ll definitely be incorporating awareness and action to my goals this month.

Fitness

• Continue to run: I did okay on this goal- having the treadmill has definitely helped. I completed 10 runs this month and also added in a little HIIT so I feel good about my fitness right now.

Personal/Hobbies

• Write one song: Another month gone by with no new full songs written 😦 I have been getting up early in the mornings to write, though, and I think that is helping me get my creative juices flowing at least.
• Bake 2 new things: This month I baked garlic bread and blueberry muffins from scratch- so I did good here!
• Work on my “Curated Closet”: I actually bit the bullet and decided to hire a personal stylist! I really just want someone to come take a look at my closet and help me figure out how to style pieces I already have. She’s coming in a couple of weeks and I am so excited! I’ll update how that goes next month.
• Keep reading books: I’m a little behind on my reading goal for the year because the book I read at the beginning of the month took me awhile to finish. Here’s what I read this month:
  •  A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (4/5)
    
  • Ghosted by Rosie Walsh (3/5)
  • Once and For All by Sarah Dessen (3/5)
  • Followers by Megan Angelo (2/5)
    
• Go on a monthly date with Greg: We decided to get up early one Sunday morning and ride bikes around Southtown. It was really fun!

Here are my goals for June along with a couple of exciting life updates at the end!

Fitness:

• Continue to run
• Attend 3 yoga classes per week- My studio has opened back up and I could not be more excited!

Personal/Hobbies

• Get up early on weekdays to do something creative: Instead of trying to keep up with the goal of writing one new song per month, I think just trying to stick with a creative routine will be more fruitful. I’ve been doing it for the past week and it’s been great!
• Bake one new thing: 2 would be the ideal but 1 is good enough for me!
• Keep reading books
• Date night with Greg 
• Be intentionally anti-racist: I have a lot of work to do in this area- everyone does. You don’t just get to decide you’re not a racist and move on with your life in the way you’ve always lived it. I plan to start reading the book “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo this month with my friend Andrew as well as digesting some of the resources on this list. Additionally, I will sign petitions if I haven’t already, donate what I can, and educate myself on who plans to run for various offices this fall so that I can be prepared to vote for someone who is willing to enact change.

A couple new updates…

One- we are moving! We just signed a lease on an apartment in Southtown (aka a sort of hipster part of San Antonio). It’s within walking distance to several restaurants, breweries, and bars as well as the river walk! It’s a super cute place and I am literally counting down the days til we move.

Two- I launched a podcast last month with my friend Andrew! We started recording in April but finally got our shit together and published everything in May. It’s called “From A to Z” and each week we pick 2 albums to discuss- an older one and a newer one- and give our ratings for. It’s been SO much fun! Click to listen on Apple Music or Spotify.

Until next time,

Zoe

Monthly Goal Recap: April

Weirdly enough, April felt like it flew by to me even though we spent pretty much every day at the house, only leaving to run essential errands. I think it’s because work was SUPER busy this month (April is always a crazy month in admissions). I’m interested to see what May is like. Here is an update on my April goals.

Fitness

• Continue to run: I think I’ve done pretty well with this! I went on 8 indoor runs and 2 indoor walks this month. Not as many as usual but I’d say for coming off of my half-marathon it feels pretty good to me. I did take an entire week off of working out this month- no running, no yoga, nothing. I was so exhausted for some reason and I just needed a full week of rest. It was definitely worth it. I feel like the treadmill is helping me quicken my running pace a little bit which is nice. I don’t know if I’ll ever go on a run longer than 30 minutes on the treadmill but it’s all good. I’m excited for the world to open back up so I can do my long outdoor runs again but the treadmill will suffice for now.
• Attend 15 yoga classes: I actually did not reach this goal. 😦 I did 8 yoga classes during the month of April. I really haven’t done any yoga at all for 2 weeks and I’m not sure why. I think I just really miss doing it at in person classes- I don’t feel like I get as much out of it at home. I’ll probably continue to do some one-off classes here and there but I’m not sure I’ll set any more yoga goals until the studio opens back up.

Personal/Hobbies

• Write one song: I unfortunately did not write one full song this month. However, I did come up with some little ditties on my piano and was able to play around with some Garage Band preloaded tunes on my new Macbook. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent exploring the new features this month. So yeah- didn’t meet the goal but I feel like I’ll start having some ideas soon.
• Bake 2 new things: I don’t think I baked two new things, but I do know I baked muffins twice this month so I’ll count it! I need to get back on track next month.
• Work on my “Curated Closet”: I spent an evening trying on clothes and putting together outfit combos this month which was so fun! I’m going to try not to spend a whole lot of money on clothes in the next few months now that I have some outfits to turn to.
• Keep reading books: I was thinking about it and I’m not sure where the whole “7 books per month” thing came from so I’m not going to hold myself to that goal. My overall goal is to read 65 books this year and according to Goodreads, I’m on track. Here are the books I read this month (full reviews on Goodreads and shortened reviews in the previous post I made):
  • The Alice Network by Kate Quinn (3/5)
  • Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (2/5)- am I the only one who just isn’t a fan of this author?
  • The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (4/5)
  • Know My Name by Chanel Miller (5/5)
• Spend less time on my phone: I downloaded TikTok this month. That probably tells you all you need to know about how this goal went.
• Go on a monthly date with Greg: We ordered takeout several times this month and called it a date 🙂

I have a few small, soft goals for May but I’m trying to give myself grace considering the state of the world. Here’s what I would like to do:

Fitness:

• Continue to run

Personal/Hobbies

• Write one song: 
• Bake one new thing: Keeping it small 🙂
• Work on my “Curated Closet”: I barely got through a tenth of my wardrobe when I put together outfit combos last weekend, so it would be fun to keep working on this and seeing what I can put together with what I already own.
• Keep reading books
• Work on our to-do list with Greg: Greg just finished a grad school class and has a few weeks off so last night we made a list of things we’d like to do together in our spare time. It’ll be fun to work through this!

Until next time,

Zoe

What I’ve Been Watching/Reading/Listening To During Quarantine

Even though work has been busier than ever lately (more to do with the time of year it is in Admissions than anything else), I of course have had a ton of extra free time these days because I can’t go anywhere on the evenings or weekends. To be honest…I’m not complaining at all. I feel like I’ve been going, going, going nonstop for months and it’s been nice to have some free time at home. Also, I just feel grateful that I get the privilege to stay home at all. There are millions of people out there who do not have that luxury and are risking their health to go to their jobs so I try to remind myself of that when I start feeling a little antsy.

One perk of getting to stay at home is that I’m now able to catch up on all the books, music, movies, TV shows, and Youtube videos that I didn’t get around to before. I wanted to share with you all the things I’ve indulged in. So without further adieu…

BOOKS (you can read my full reviews on Goodreads):

Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark: I’ve been listening to the My Favorite Murder podcast for about a year now and I enjoy it (to an extent- listening to stories about murder for hours on end takes its toll). I liked this book because it was more about their lives and experiences vs. their passion for true crime. It was a fun, quick read!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: This book has rave reviews and I think they’re well deserved! It’s the perfect mix of romance, mystery, and coming-of-age. There’s also some great courtroom drama at the end which I’m a sucker for. I loved this one!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman: This has been my favorite book I’ve read in awhile. It seems kind of quirky and offbeat at the beginning but ends up tackling some very real issues such as abuse, mental illness, and loneliness. I think the writer did an excellent job at creating a very real character. I highly recommend this one!!

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: This is a historical fiction book about a group of female spies in German-occupied France during WWI. It’s based on true events and while parts of it certainly were interesting, it was not my favorite book. It felt way too long and some of the writing just wasn’t great in my opinion. It took me a long time to read because there were days that I just didn’t feel like picking it up.

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney: I am just not a fan of Sally Rooney, I’ve decided. Her books can best be described as “tepid”. And this one in particular had characters that really got on my nerves. I know a lot of people love her books but they are not for me!

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion: This was a really raw, honest portrayal of grief. Joan Didion is a fantastic writer and she provides insights in this book that are so perfectly worded, I don’t know if anyone else could say them any better. Not the lightest book ever but a good one.

Know My Name by Chanel Miller: Any review I can give this book wouldn’t do it justice. The author is the woman who was raped by the Stanford student in 2016 (you know the news story I’m talking about). Just read it, please.

MOVIES- These are all pretty random, but they’re what I’ve watched! I’ve been watching a lot more TV than movies so there aren’t many on this list.

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse: This was so surprising and delightful! I don’t have kids of my own so I’m not really up to date with the latest kids movies and kind of let this one fall by the wayside despite all the rave reviews. Greg recommended it to me so we watched it and it was SO good! First of all, the animation is so unique and fun to watch. I can’t really describe it- it’s almost like comic book style on acid? Also, the story was super cute and wholesome. Even though this is marketed as a kids’ movie, I definitely think it’s enjoyable for adults as well.

Road to Perdition: This is a super random one but Greg picked it one night and we went with it. It’s from the early 2000s and it stars Tom Hanks, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, and Paul Newman (yeah, it definitely doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test, lol). It’s kind of a gangster movie and not something I’d ever pick on my own but I actually enjoyed it. The cinematography and music really elevated it, in my opinion. Not like my favorite movie ever but enjoyable enough for a Friday night!

Midsommar: I LOVED Florence Pugh in Little Women (unpopular opinion: I liked her even more than Saoirse Ronan) and heard some good things about this movie so Greg and I decided to check it out. Ummm….it was not good. I’m not super squeamish in movies (like, I legit enjoyed the first couple Saw movies) but there was one scene in this movie that I could not stomach. Really there’s no plot here- it’s about a group of college kids who go to Sweden for a festival that turns really dark. There’s a lot of weird, shock factor stuff in here which I really just cannot stand in movies. In a way it reminded me of “Spring Breakers” because there was no plot but lots of shock to keep people interested. Some people call this art- I call it a gimmick. Not my cup of tea. I would NEVER watch this again and I really can’t recommend it. Not even the cinematography could save it.

TV SHOWS

Tiger King: I mean, at this point who HASN’T watched this? It’s wild and it’s crazy. I totally think Carole killed her husband. But even if that’s true, she’s still one of the most tame, moral people on the show and if that doesn’t tell you what kind of people are on it, then I don’t know what will!

This is Us: I kept up with This is Us pretty diligently during the first 2-3 seasons and then kind of stopped watching during the middle of season 3 because I got so busy with grad school. I decided to re-watch the series from the beginning and catch up completely. I lost a lot of hours of my life doing this but it was soooo worth it. This is such a great show, probably one of my favorites of all time. All of the actors are incredible, the writing is so creative, and the whole thing is just a great watch from start to finish. I can’t wait for season 5!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Greg and I have been watching a couple of episodes of this before bed each night for a good laugh. It’s like Seinfeld on steroids. The people on this show are horrible, horrible people. We’re only on season 3 and I’m interested to see how the scripts and storylines evolve as time goes on. The show is still running today but there’s no way that they’re still saying and doing some of the things they said and did back then, even with the premise of them being horrible people- some of the stuff they used to do would NOT fly now. This is the TV version of Cards Against Humanity so if you are easily offended, I’d proceed with caution!

Good Girls: Greg and I have been keeping up with this each week. It’s a fun show about 3 female friends who get into the money laundering business- NBD. The hijinks they get themselves up to are oftentimes really hilarious and outlandish. I think the 3 female leads (Christina Hendricks, Retta, and Mae Whitman) play off of each other so well and that’s really what makes this show shine.

Little Fires Everywhere: I read this book by Celeste Ng a couple years ago and absolutely adored it. She has a gift for creating really complex characters and showing you enough of them that you can sympathize with all of them, even if you don’t agree with them. I know Reese Witherspoon played a huge part in making this miniseries a reality (aside from her starring as one of the lead characters) and as much as I love her, I don’t think the show is working. The characters in the book are so nuanced and written in a way that you empathize with all of them. The characters in the show are very one-dimensional. I stuck with it til the end because it was kind of like watching a trainwreck- in my opinion, the whole thing was not done well at all but I know a lot of people really like it.

The Bold Type: I just started watching this and am only on season one, but so far I’m enjoying it! It’s about 3 best friends who all work for a Cosmo-like magazine together. It’s perfect for anyone who likes The Devil Wears Prada, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, etc (*raises hand for all of those*). I do think the storylines wrap themselves up way too nicely and quickly and as much as I love Melora Hardin as Jacquelyn, the editor-in-chief-, I also think her character is unrealistically nice (she’s no Miranda Priestly). But overall, it’s a fun show to watch.

Never Have I Ever: I just started watching this last night and so far it’s really cute! It’s about an Indian girl growing up in Sherman Oaks California with her mom and cousin (her dad unfortunately passed away about a year before where the show starts). Mindy Kaling is the executive producer and apparently it was inspired by her own adolescence.

MUSIC

Here are some fun albums/playlists I’ve been turning to during quarantine:

I Really, Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Like This Playlist: A nod to the iconic song by Carly Rae Jepsen. This is my “indie/alternative pop” playlist that I’ve been working on for months and I listen to constantly.

After Hours- The Weeknd: Loving this new album from the Weeknd! It’s been said that this album embodies all the sounds he’s experimented with in the past and I have to agree!

Manic- Halsey: It took me a really long time to warm up to Halsey but I actually really love this new album by her! It could do without a few of its tracks (mainly the interludes) but otherwise this is very solid.

YOUTUBE

I’ve gotten way more into Youtube this past month (and TikTok, but let’s not go down that rabbit hole today- I could write a whole thinkpiece on it!). Here are some channels I’ve been enjoying:

Natacha Oceane: I LOVE this girl! She is a health/fitness youtuber and she is just so cute and real. She has a killer bod but she does a great job at explaining the realistic things she has to do to maintain that bod. She is all about moderation in diet and doing the things you love as workouts. I’ve watched many of her videos and I just adore her! Her videos where she does fitness/health challenges are especially entertaining.

Bon Appetit: This is a very popular Youtube account and for good reason! The videos are just so much fun. I love the “All the Ways You Can Cook a ______” videos (they’ve done chicken breast, salmon, steak, burgers, etc). I’ve actually learned quite a few things from these videos!

The Running Channel: I will watch anything related to running! This is just a great channel with some really lively personalities.

Vogue: Who doesn’t love 73 Questions? I could watch these all day. Obviously I love Taylor Swift’s, but Saoirse Ronan, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Daniel Radcliffe, and Daisy Ridley are favorites, too!’

Well, if that doesn’t give you recommendations then I don’t know what will! I hope you enjoyed reading this! Let me know what you’ve been reading/watching/listening to in the comments!

Until next time,

Zoe

Monthly Goal Recap: March 2020

Well, well, well…March ended up taking a turn for the unexpected, didn’t it? It is crazy to think that 3 weeks ago I was getting ready for a bachelorette weekend with some of my best friends (which thankfully I was still able to squeeze in) and 2.5 weeks ago I was relegating myself to staying at home all day, every day for the near future. Needless to say, COVID-19 has altered a lot of people’s plans and so much more. My goals are pretty minuscule in the grand scheme of everything that’s going on, but I figured I’d recap them anyway just to keep track of them for March. So without further adieu…

Fitness

• Run a half marathon: Definitely one of the highlights of March (and it literally feels like a lifetime ago that I did this even though it was less than a month ago). It actually went better than I expected on every single level. I ran the whole thing without stopping (except for quick power walking at the water stations), I set a new PR (2 hours, 36 minutes, 34 seconds) and I was only sore for a day or two afterwards (and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I walked around a lot at the rodeo the night of the race- I think I set a new personal record for most steps taken in a day!). The day was beautiful and the course was pretty flat. It was honestly so amazing and I’ve looked back on it fondly several times over the past few weeks.
• Quicken my 5k pace: I set this goal because I was supposed to run a 5k in April (this weekend, actually, on April 4). Sadly that got cancelled, but I still tried to run a little in March just to keep up with my fitness. I’m not sure I’ve been very successful in quickening my pace (and I technically have just been going on 3 mile runs, not full 5k runs). My fastest 3 mile run this month was actually the first run I went on after my half marathon and it was a 34:04 pace. My fastest 5k ever was the one I ran in January (31:19) so I still have a ways to go. I do think my fastest times will always be at actual, official races because my adrenaline is so high at them due to the fun atmosphere.
• Attend 10 yoga classes: Another goal that was made much more difficult by the fact that BSY had to temporarily close halfway through this month 😦 However, I subscribed to their on demand video service and their instructors have been live streaming classes on Instagram every day! So I try to take those classes several times a week and I’m absolutely counting them towards this goal. Therefore, I’ve done 17 yoga classes this month and more than exceeded my goal!

Personal/Hobbies

• Continue paying off student loans: We were able to put a really big chunk of cash towards my balance at the beginning of the month which is nice. We are extremely lucky in that both of our jobs are pretty secure during this time, but we’ve decided to kind of halt paying off more than the minimum payment going forward and put money we’d normally allocate to our student loans in our emergency fund until the COVID-19 situation gets better. Our hope is that we never need to use it and that once this is over we can take it and put it back towards student loans!
• Write one song: Unfortunately I did not fully meet this goal this month. I did come up with a new concept for a song and wrote a first and second verse and chorus but the song isn’t fully finished. I am really vibing with what I have written though, and hope to finish it this month and write something else new, too (since I have a lot more time now).
• Bake 2 new thing: This month I baked banana strawberry chocolate chip muffins (which were delicious) and I tried my hand at making Everything Bagels since I can’t really find them in stores right now. The muffins weren’t too far out of my comfort zone (I make muffins all the time!) but I’d never made this particular recipe so I’m counting it as a new thing, haha. And the bagels turned out surprisingly good! Not quite as good as TJ’s but I’ll be flexible for now 🙂
• Work on my “Curated Closet”: I bought a few new things to add to my wardrobe this month- a cute mini dress from American Eagle, a super comfy snake print dress from Stitch Fix, and a beautiful floral midi dress from Cotton On. I just ordered a pair of high waisted denim shorts from AE a few days ago but now I am really trying to put a hold on spending and ordering for the time being. I think this will be a fun month to start playing around in my closet and experimenting with new outfits!
• Keep reading books: I came so close to finishing 7 books this month- I finished 6 instead. Here they are:
  • A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (5/5)
  • The Farm by Joanne Ramos (3/5)
  • Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (4/5)
  • Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (3/5)
  • Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (5/5)
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (5/5)
• Spend less time on my phone: Haha…epic fail. During quarantine, my phone has been practically attached to me.
• Go on a monthly date with Greg: Like I mentioned before, Greg and I went to the rodeo the night of my half marathon. We saw Maren Morris and she was freakin’ PHENOMENAL. Not only did she sing and play guitar flawlessly, she was 9 months pregnant and in a beautiful sequined bodysuit the whole time. Her voice is so strong. She’s definitely and inspiration for me! It was a fun date overall- Greg’s first (and my probably 20th, haha) at the rodeo.

I am still setting goals for April, even with everything going on. Here they are:

Fitness:

• Continue to run: Greg and I are hoping to purchase a treadmill this weekend because the trails have unfortunately just gotten way too crowded (which kind of defeats the purpose of quarantine/social distancing). My only goal here is to run on it- no distance/speed expectations for me. I usually HATE running on a treadmill but I know I need to keep up with my running, so I’m willing to be flexible.
• Attend 15 yoga classes: It would be great to do yoga at least every other day this month, if not more!

Personal/Hobbies

• Write one song: Hoping to finish my March song and write a new April song!
• Bake two new things: Technically I’ve already baked one thing this month (espresso chocolate chip cookies- they are yummy!). I think it would be fun to try my hand at cheesecake this month. I’ve never baked one before!
• Work on my “Curated Closet”
• Keep reading books: I think I can attempt 7 this month since I’ll be stuck inside!
  
• Spend less time on my phone: I am slowly phasing out apps on my phone a) for my own mental health and b) so that when I pick it up out of boredom I don’t find as much to keep me entertained on there. I’ve already deleted reddit and imgur. Haven’t pulled the plug on Pinterest yet (it is handy to have on there for recipes and such). Not sure if I’ll ever delete Instagram, although I have culled down who I follow. I’ve tried the screen time function for a long time but it just doesn’t work for me (I mean, the ability to ignore the limits you set for yourself is just way too easy) so I’m hoping getting rid of apps will be more effective. There are soooo many other things I could be doing during quarantine than scrolling through my phone.
• Go on our monthly date: Tomorrow Paesano’s (a restaurant I’ve always wanted to try in San Antonio) is doing a pop up deal- 2 pasta dinners, garlic bread, dessert, and a bottle of wine for $50 that can be picked up curbside. Our plan is to order that, get dressed up a little, and do our April date night inside. Super low key but that’s about all we can do during quarantine (and I think it’ll definitely be a date to remember!).

Until next time,

Zoe

Monthly Goal Recap: February 2020

I’ve seen so many memes lately about how January dragged on but February flew by and I have to say….I TOTALLY AGREE. I mean I get that February is a tad shorter in general but it is insane how quickly it went by and now we’re already in March! I’m using that as an excuse for why this blog has been a barren land for an entire month. That’s okay, right….right? 😉

Here is my goal recap for February!

Fitness

• Attend 15 yoga classes: Well I’m glad I made this a soft goal because I did not achieve it! I only went to 9 classes this month 😦 However, with half marathon training and some travel I feel pretty good about that. I went 2-3 times per week each week which I’m okay with.
• Half marathon training: This was the toughest month of training because my runs just kept getting longer and longer with my longest capping out at 10 miles. For the most part my runs went really well. I did slog through a few of them but I had to remind myself that not every run is going to be my best one ever. I run my half marathon on Saturday and overall I’m feeling pretty zen about it.
• Sober January: I went almost the entire month without drinking any alcohol. I slipped up one day when I had a work event out of town. I didn’t have a run or yoga class on the calendar for the next day so I think that’s okay! I will say that there’s no way I could have met my fitness goals (especially my runs) if I drank like I typically do this month. I also lost 5 pounds and I’m sure not drinking empty calories from alcohol contributed to this! I won’t be giving up drinking forever of course (in fact, I have plans to go out with friends tomorrow) but I will think twice about how often I drink, especially if I know I have a workout the next day.
• Run an official race: This month I ran a 5k at a brewery. It was a very casual event (it wasn’t even timed). I probably ran 75% of it and walked the other 25% which I feel good about considering it’s the first ever race I’ve done where I’ve actually consumed beer DURING the race.

Personal/Hobbies

• Pay off my student loans: We paid off quite a bit of our loans this month! They’re almost halfway paid off from our starting point so I am really beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
• Write one song per month: Done! Like last month, I spent this month finishing a song that I’ve been working on for the good part of a year. I’m starting to run out of unfinished songs so I guess I’ll have to come up with a new one from scratch this month!
• Bake something new twice per month: This month I made Texas shaped sugar cookies and, for the first time ever, I made croissants! The Texas shaped sugar cookies turned out super cute (duh) but didn’t taste the greatest. They were just kind of bland, but tbh, most sugar cookies like that are. Making the croissants was an interesting process. They take a long time- pretty much a whole day to make with overnight chilling. I was really worried that I didn’t get the dough to be thin enough so at the end of the entire process I put them in the oven and prayed for the best. While they turned out a *tiny* bit thick, that didn’t end up being the issue. The issue was that they baked for too long and all of the bottoms ended up entirely burnt 😦 We’ve been cutting off the bottoms and just eating the rest and they taste amazing! So next time I’ll know not to bake them for so long (and also I’ll be putting chocolate in them next time, haha).
• Curate my closet: Last month I finally got to go shopping and incorporate new things into my wardrobe which has been so fun! I purchased some snakeskin boots, white tennis shoes, wide leg crop jeans, a wrap top, and a midi skirt in February. I actually have a few items on their way to me in the mail right now. It felt really good to purge my wardobe and subsequently add some things to it. I’m not sure if I’ll continue doing posts about this process, though. It’s been hard to write about and I haven’t taken many pictures. Perhaps I’ll do a “before” and “after” type post when I’m through with the entire process.
• Read 65 books/Complete the PopSugar Reading Challenge: My goal this month was to read 7 books but sadly that did not happen. I completed 4 books instead. Almost all of them were not exactly my cup of tea and they took me awhile to read because I just didn’t care to pick them up. Also, I’m in the process of reading the first “A Song of Ice and Fire” book and while it’s really good, it’s also super long (like 800 pages) so that’s taking awhile, too. Here are the books I completed:
  • Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (5/5- so good, would highly recommend, definitely one of the best books I will read this year)
  • Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (3/5)
  • 20-Something, 20-Everything by Christine Hassler (3/5)
  • Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes (3/5)
• Travel to 2 new places: Again, that didn’t happen this month and probably won’t until May, when Greg and I go to Minneapolis.
• Spend less time on my phone: Much like last month, I didn’t do great at this. Still really trying to figure out what will work for me when it comes to less screen time.
• Work on my “30 Before 30” list: Again, didn’t accomplish anything on this list this past month but I still have time.
• Go on a date for each successful month: Since Greg and I both were able to complete most of our goals for February, we are going to the Houston Rodeo together for our date on Saturday! We’re seeing Maren Morris and I’m super excited. I just hope I’ll be in okay condition after having run the half marathon that morning 🙂

Here are my March goals:

Fitness:

• Run a half marathon!: Enough said!
• Quicken my 5k pace: I’m going to take a break from running for one week after my half marathon but for the rest of the month, I am training for a 5k that I’m running on April 4. My goal is to focus on my pace and try to quicken it!
• Attend 10 yoga classes: Since I’ll be traveling a little more this month I think 10 is a realistic goal for me.

Personal/Hobbies

• Continue paying off student loans
• Write one song
• Bake two new things
• Work on my “Curated Closet”
• Keep reading books: I’d like to get back on track for my goal of reading 7 more months
  
• Spend less time on my phone
• Go on a date to celebrate our success: Not sure what our date will be in April yet! Any suggestions?

Aside from reaching my goals, I spent a lot of time this month watching Good Girls on Netflix with Greg. It’s really entertaining! Also we’ve gotten sucked into Love is Blind. So stupid…but so addictive. I recommend for a rainy afternoon with your favorite snacks and a bottle of wine!

Until next time,

Zoe

Monthly Goal Recap- January 2020

If you read my first post of 2020, you know I have a lot of goals for the year. I feel like this blog is going to be a great place to keep my progress organized, regardless of if people read these posts or not! Without further adieu, here’s how I did with my goals this month:

Fitness

• Complete 30 yoga classes in January: I did it! I completed my 30th and last class on Friday morning, January 31st. This was such an incredible experience, one that really pushed me to my limits. I have so many things I could say about my relationship with yoga, but I will save them for their own blog post.
• Half marathon training: I did pretty well at meeting this goal! There were days that I’d get really tired this month, days that I had a run AND a yoga class planned and I’d force myself to pick at least one of them. Yoga won every time in the spirit of the 30 day challenge! Overall I skipped 3 runs this month and went on 9 runs so I think I did okay- I didn’t skip any long runs and those are the most important ones, in my book!
• Sober January: I went almost the entire month without drinking any alcohol. I slipped up one day when I had a work event out of town. I didn’t have a run or yoga class on the calendar for the next day so I think that’s okay! I will say that there’s no way I could have met my fitness goals (especially my runs) if I drank like I typically do this month. I also lost 5 pounds and I’m sure not drinking empty calories from alcohol contributed to this! I won’t be giving up drinking forever of course (in fact, I have plans to go out with friends tomorrow) but I will think twice about how often I drink, especially if I know I have a workout the next day.
• Run an official race every month: Done! I ran my fastest 5k ever on Sunday, January 19.

Personal/Hobbies

• Pay off my student loans: We had to take a bit of a detour from this in January due to us having to buy a new (to us) car for Greg unexpectedly this month. However, we still paid our minimum payment and we only were set back by a month, so we should still be able to pay them off entirely by the end of the year!
• Write one song per month: Done! I finished a song I started working on last month. I’m not sure I want to share it with people or not. I’m trying to become more okay with the idea that I don’t have to share every single song I write. Maybe I will later, maybe I won’t. Hopefully February’s song will be more share-able 🙂
• Bake something new twice per month: This month I made shortbread and banana bread from my new cookbooks. I’ve made banana bread before but not the recipe in Mary Berry’s book and honestly I can’t say it was my favorite recipe. It wasn’t as moist as I like my banana bread. The shortbread had the potential to be very good but I baked it for too long so it was a bit more crispy than I anticipated. Fortunately we had some Trader Joe’s cookie butter on hand and putting it on top of the crispy shortbread really elevated it (it almost made it taste like the Biscoff cookies they give you on airplanes!). I think I’ll try that shortbread recipe again in the future to see if I can get it right.
• Curate my closet: I’ve slowly but surely been working on this! I actually wrote a post about the first step. I didn’t make as much progress on it as I would have liked because I felt like I literally spent the entire month wearing workout clothes! Maybe I’ll feel a little more inspired and motivated next month.
• Read 65 books/Complete the PopSugar Reading Challenge: I made some great progress on this goal by reading 7 books! Here are the books I’ve read and my ratings for each of them (You can read my full reviews on my Goodreads page!):
  • Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham- 4/5 (Adorable book from an actress I so admire!)
  • The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai- 4/5 (Really great fiction about the AIDS epidemic in Chicago in the 80s)
  • Modern Love edited by Daniel Jones- 4/5 (If you liked the Amazon series, you will like this compilation!)
  • Normal People by Sally Rooney- 3/5 (Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it)
  • The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe- 4/5 (A really sweet, thought-provoking memoir)
  • All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood- 1/5 (I doubt I’ll read a worse book than this one this year)
  • Social Creature by Tara Burton- 3.5 (Easy, enjoyable psychological thriller)
• Travel to two new places: This is a yearly goal so I didn’t have to do it this month. Sadly I did not travel anywhere new this month but I officially booked my flight to Minneapolis so at the very least I’ll be going there in May!
• Spend less time on my phone: I did okay at this goal. According to my Screen Time app, I’m spending a little less time on my phone every week but I’m still averaging about 2 hours and 45 minutes per day which just sounds ridiculous to me. I’m going to keep working on this!
• Work on my “30 Before 30” list: I didn’t accomplish anything on this list this month but that’s okay. I’m not anywhere near 30…yet 🙂
• Go on a date for each successful month: While Greg and I can’t say that we were 100% perfect this entire month with our goals, we are taking on a “progress, not perfection” mentality. I’d definitely say I’m better off now than I was a month ago! So we are celebrating by going to The Melting Pot next Friday 🙂

 

Here are some goals I’m setting for myself for February:

Fitness:

• Continue training for my half marathon: This is going to be a tough month- I have my longest runs still ahead of me! But I am so excited for them. Sidenote: yoga has really helped my breathing while I run! There is a noticeable difference and that of course makes the runs just a bit easier.
• Attend 15 yoga classes: I don’t want to fall off the wagon just because January is over! This is really a soft goal, as I don’t know how many classes I’ll realistically be able to attend with all the half marathon training but I would really love to attend 15 if I can!
• Run an official race: I’ve signed up for the Freetail Beer Run which is next Saturday! It’s not a timed race (you’re supposed to stop every kilometer for a beer sample, haha!) but I consider it official all the same.

Personal/Hobbies

• Continue paying off student loans: Excited to put a big chunk of change towards my payments this month!
• Write one song
• Bake two new things
• Work on my “Curated Closet”
• Keep reading books: I’m currently reading “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson and “A Song of Fire and Ice” by George R. R. Martin, and I have a feeling they will both be 5 star reads when it’s all said and done.
• Spend less time on my phone
• Go on a date to celebrate our success: If we make more progress this month, we are planning to go to the Houston Rodeo to see Maren Morris in March (the night after my half marathon!).

One more thing I just have to mention because it took up a significant chunk of my January: Greg and I finished watching Game of Thrones for the first time ever this month (we actually finished the last episode last night). I just have to say…wow. It was as amazing as everyone told me it would be. I put off watching it for years because it just didn’t seem like my type of show. Besides Harry Potter, I’m not really into the fantasy genre or medieval stuff. And it admittedly took me awhile to get into it once we did start watching it (a friend of mine recommended using subtitles and once I started doing that it made a world of difference). By season 3 I was pretty interested and by season 5 I was hooked. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I would put it in my top 10 TV shows of all time (and maybe even my top 5). It is just that good. And I didn’t hate the ending like everyone told me I would 🙂 Having said that, it’s fun to be reading the first book right now. The TV show follows the book pretty faithfully!

Anyway, that’s all I have for today! How did you do with your January goals? Do you have any goals for February?

Until next time,

Zoe