February Intentions

 Well the thirteenth month of 2020 just ended, ha ha.  My husband and I decided that for once January did not last 34234234234 years, so I guess there is that! Some positives, my father has received both shots of the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine and my mom has had one shot of the Moderna vaccine.  My dad hit two weeks post second shot yesterday, and this coming Monday my mom gets her second.  A little breath is being released there!

For January I had a few intentions..

"The biggest that is taking the most effort is healthier choices time.  My intention for January is to drink 100 ounces of water a day and hit 10,000 steps a day.  So far I've checked that off every day.  I am keeping accountable to myself by recording in Fitbit and posting my completed steps on insta. "

I made it about half way through the month and fell off the water bandwagon.  I just have such a hard time drinking ANYTHING.  It takes me all morning and sometimes afternoon to finish my tumbler of coffee and I just don't feel thirsty and chugging water is so gross to me.  So bad bad bad me.  I also fell off the bandwagon of posting my steps to insta halfway through the month but I finished January with at least 10,000 steps a day so go me!

"Reading wise I went through the year and put down some books that I want to complete during certain months, but with the caveat that if I get to them sooner, that's great, I just needed to work on clearing off some already purchased books and already chosen book club books.

For January, I need to complete Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlin, White Fragility, Nobody Will You This But Me (library dependent) and My life as Villainous by Laura Lippman.  "

I finished all the books except Nobody Will Tell you Thinks BUt Me, but I am on the waiting list! I read nine books overall.

"I also have a list that I'm tackling throughout the year and my first big project on there was locating a spot for my file cabinet that was homeless for a year and going through boxes in our storage area to throwing stuff away.  This I have started. "

I am almost done working on this.  I just hate it.  And I hate being in the basement.  But I have thoroughly cleaned two cabinets and re organized the kitchen set up.  Soooo some stuff got done!

Some basement finds!

February Intentions

Follow a couch to 5k plan I found.  Do that M, W, F.  Hit 10,000 steps on Thursday and Friday.  Don't keep track on Saturday and Sunday.

Finish the filing cabinet.

Read - Brown Girl Dreaming, Homegoing, The Stonewall Reader, and The Dearly Beloved (library dependent).  

Share information about Black History Month and learn more myself.

What are your February Intentions? How did you do on your January Intentions?

What I read in January

I started 2021 off with nine books read.  My favorite were The Wedding Date, Yes, We (Still) Can, White Fragility, and My Life as a Villainess.

The Wedding Date is a hysterical romance.  Alexa meets a guy in the elevator and within an hour she’s going to be his wedding date and it snowballs from there.  Great dialogue, quick movie plot and a very enjoyable read.

I honestly had to wait until the election was over to read Yes, We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer.  It is an engaging read about his time working in politics, mostly for President Obama.  If you listen to Pod Save America or read Alyssa Mastromonaco’s memoir, I would recommend it, even though we are FINALLY passed that presidency, it’s a great read that you can breathe a tad easier reading.

White Fragility is a look at how racism is imbedded into all of society and how white people can get butthurt.  May I recommend it to all the people who just can’t dare to be any more politically correct? Cuz, people this is for you.  Think through history, real history, and take a look at how we are living in a society designed for white people and how that can affect people deemed as other.

My life as a Villainess is an essay collection by Laura Lippman who is one of my favorite authors.  If you have no background on her, I’m not sure it will be your cup of tea, however, check her books out and then head to this one.  Especially, if your inner thoughts turn a bit towards mean.

Keep this To Yourself is YA and it had potential but it never hit it for me. I kept trying to think if it was a YA vs adult read thing, but I think it just didn't hit it for me. I did like that they lived in Camera Cove and was of course thinking Cabot Cove ala Murder She Wrote.

The Distant Dead was decent but it was just sad. Great writing. Nothing wrong there.

The Silent Sister was our book club pick and while I typically love Diane Chamberlin, I felt this one had too much going on for it, too many plot lines and too many ways to try to say 'gotcha!' to the reader. Necessary Lies is still probably my very favorite by her.

Did you read anything amazing in January? How are your reading goals shaping up? For my goals, White Fragility checked a box and My Life as a Villainess checked a box I had for myself.