January In Numbers

Is it just me, or was January forever long??  I mean, I was looking through the pictures in my phone from last month and some of them seem like they were taken so long ago.  Regardless, I still had a good month and I’m excited to share it with you!

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5 – Basketball games.  We signed my son up for basketball through the city and this is his second round.  (We did a round in the fall.)  He’s definitely improved in the last few months, but we are looking forward to the warmer weather so we can spend more time outside practicing.  My husband wants to get a basketball hoop so the kids can play and practice, but I’ll admit that I’m excited to get a hoop too because I played basketball growing up and it’s fun to shoot baskets.

2000 – Followers on Instagram.  In January, I reached 2000 followers on Instagram and I have to tell you that it makes me so happy!  I know that Instagram isn’t just about the numbers and I want you to know that it really means a lot to me when someone chooses to follow me.

1 – Girls Night Out.  I had the chance to go to a fun girls night out event hosted by my friend Natashia over at Canary Jane.  The event was held at the Close To My Heart (a scrapbooking and craft company) headquarters in Pleasant Grove, UT.  I was able to meet up with some blogger friends and just enjoy a stress free night.  We ate yummy treats, chatted, crafted and enjoyed some fun swag, including a new swimsuit from Kortni Jeane, some samples from the Dollar Maxi Pad Club, a $25 gift card from Jane.com, as well as some other great gifts.  I brought some of my delicious zucchini brownies to share with the ladies who attended and they were gobbled up!  If you haven’t tried them yet, you are definitely missing out.  *wink*

2 – Books read.  One of my goals for the new year is to get back into reading on a more regular basis.  I absolutely love reading, but just haven’t had the time for it.  To make my goal more achievable, I put together a reading list for myself so that I would be able to read at least one book a month.  This month I actually cheated a little bit because one of the books on my list came available at the library and I’d been on the waiting list for a few months so I decided to read it anyway.  The first book I read was My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashton.  It is hands-down one of my top 5 favorite books.  You can actually read my review of it as well as some book club discussion questions here on the blog.  The next book I read was Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor, which is a sequel to Strange the Dreamer.  If you’re looking for some new book recommendations, definitely check either of these out.  I’ve also included my reading list for 2019 below if you want to check out the other books I’m going to be reading.

6 – Girls at a unicorn birthday party.  My oldest daughter turned 7 in January and I’m still in a little bit of denial.  How is it possible that it’s been 7 years since I became a mom??  She asked for a unicorn birthday party and since we didn’t do a party for her last year, I agreed.  She invited 5 of her friends from school and all of them were able to come.  It was a little crazy and there was a lot of screaming, but more than once I heard the girls say that it was “the best party ever!” so I must have done something right.  My daughter loved it and it was so cute to see her with her friends having such a good time.  (You can find the post about her unicorn birthday party here.)

14 – Instagram posts.  Another goal of mine for the year is to be more consistent in my Instagram posts.  This month I posted almost 50% of the days in January, so I’m feeling pretty good about it.  One thing that I love about Instagram is that it gives me a chance to engage with you on a more personal level.  It’s fun for me to hear from you when you comment on my posts or reply to my stories and I always try to reply back.

10 – Months old.  As I write this, my baby is actually closer to 11 months than she is to 10 and I honestly can’t believe it.  I knew the time would go by more quickly with her since she is our third baby, but I don’t think I was prepared for how fast!  She is developing the cutest little personality and is truly a joy.  Her brother and sister love her so much and it sometimes makes my heart burst with love when I see them playing together, or when they do silly things to make her laugh.

6 – Nights I was in bed by 11pm.  Along with reading more books, another goal I set for myself this year was to try and go to bed by 11pm so that I could start waking up at 6:30am to start my day.  And let me tell you, it is a lot harder than I thought it would be!  I didn’t realize how much I count on that extra hour at night to feel like I’m getting things that I both want to and need to get done.  However, I have noticed that on the days when I actually  went to bed by 11pm, I felt so much better and more energized the next day.  I’m recommitting this month to do better!

49 – Episodes of Meteor Garden (2018) watched.  Okay, this one is a little bit embarrassing to admit.  49 episodes watched in one month.  And actually, it was more like 3 weeks.  My sister suggested it to me and I kind of shrugged it off because based on her description it didn’t sound like something I’d want to watch.  But my sister knows me better than I know myself sometimes and after the first episode I was hooked!  (It’s available on Netflix.)  I’m not sure how much to say about it because I feel like it wouldn’t really be a good explanation, but the basic plot is this: it is based in Shanghai, China at Mingde University where Shancai is a first year student.  Due to some unfortunate circumstances, she draws the (unwanted) attention of Daoming Si who is a senior and one of the most popular students at the school.  The show follows their relationship through ups and downs, making you laugh and cry and get angry.  The other thing I should mention is that the entire show is in Mandarin Chinese, which means you have to read the subtitles.  This was one of the things that originally turned me off from wanting to start watching, but I found that I didn’t mind it and you can still watch the show and get to know the characters really well while reading the subtitles.  Also, the songs are totally going to get stuck in your head and you might have weird dreams about meeting the characters on your upcoming trip to Hawaii.  (Yep, it’s true.)  But seriously, if you start watching it and need someone to discuss it with, totally email me or message me on Facebook or Instagram!

And now, bring on February!  As my son keeps reminding me, it’s the shortest month of the year and I have a feeling it’s going to go by quickly.  Especially since we’ll be celebrating both his birthday and my baby girl’s birthday in March.  But first, we have Valentine’s Day and I have some fun content planned this month that I know you’re going to like!