Why Did I Think This Was a Good Idea?

4 February 2022

Competing against other people has never really motivated me. But competing against myself? Yes, please! I love to challenge myself to do more, to go further (read more books – HA!).

In September, I challenged myself to walk at least 3 miles every day. And I did it! And then kept walking all through October and November.

This year, I’ve challenged myself, as I wrote about in my ongoing TBR saga (and again here), to read nearly 200 books (that I already own) before I buy another new one.

In addition to my self-imposed reading challenge quest, I also said I was challenging myself to get back into some sort of regular fitness schedule. I stated that I was going to rotate walking with rowing, swimming, and yoga. (On 1 January, I really did write that was going to do this.)

But before I knew it, I was looking at the last weekend of January and I realized that my intended fitness schedule fizzled before it had even begun.

Why?

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My Approach to Jigsaw Puzzles Part 2

2 February 2022

On Monday, I started a new puzzle, Neuschwanstein Castle in Winter, a 1000 piece puzzle by Eurographics. Since I get questions on how I work puzzles, I explained and showed how I approach starting a puzzle.

But in that video, I only got as far as separating all the pieces with the border pieces ready to be put together. I didn’t explain how I work each puzzle section. And I promised to show the finished puzzle.

Well, I finished the puzzle today. But instead of just showing a photo of the completed puzzle, I decided to continue the video to show the various stages of my puzzle progress. From completing the border to putting in the last piece.

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A Question About My Puzzles & Legos

24 January 2022

If you follow me on Instagram, you see a lot of posts of jigsaw puzzles and legos in my feed. (And if you don’t follow me, why not?!)

A follower asked me what I do with the puzzles and Lego sets once I have put them together. A great question! And I thought this video would be better (because visual) instead of text.

It’s a vlog!

Do they still call them vlogs?

Terminology tangent aside, my skills of video taking and movie making are rather rudimentary, so please don’t judge. Although I did have a lot of fun making this.

I also have to give a shout-out to Frostbeard Candles. If you notice, you will see several in the video. Not only do these booklover candles have fun names like Trashy Romance Novel, Darcy’s Parlour, and Cliffs of Insanity, they also smell amazing. (Not an affiliate link, just my honest opinion.)

If you work puzzles or put together Lego sets, what do you do with them once they’re finished?

Update on 100 Books in 2022

13 January 2022

Last week I wrote about my 2022 reading challenge. I admitted that I have 112 unread books sitting right here on my bookcase that I have not read. And that I self-imposed a book buying ban until I get to under 20 TBRs.

Well, I might have maybe, just slightly underestimated how many TBRs I really have. My underestimation maybe, might have been just a wee bit off by nearly 50%.

Let me explain.

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A Year of Puzzles: Top 12 of 2021

12 January 2022

I did my top 12 books of 2021 and now it’s time for my 2021 puzzle wrap-up!

a majority of my puzzles

While I have been documenting my puzzles through photos on Instagram, I had not kept any kind of master list. Since my puzzle collection has expanded a bit a lot, I finally decided to catalog my puzzles, past and present. So over my winter break, I made a master database of all my puzzles going back to 2016.

Yes, that’s right. I dug through my photos both and through my Puzzle Warehouse account. Of course, I have a few puzzles that I cannot remember which year I completed them in and I’m sure a few are missing from the list, particularly from the earlier years as I didn’t regularly take photos or post my puzzles back in 2016. And any prior to 2016 are lost in the vague recesses of my memory.

Needless to say, I have done a lot of puzzles since 2016.

But let’s talk about the puzzles I completed in 2021!

Continue reading “A Year of Puzzles: Top 12 of 2021”

A Year of Books: 100 Books in 2022

2 January 2022

Yesterday I looked back on what I read in 2021. Today I’m looking forward to what I will be reading in 2022.

I set my annual reading goal at 104, which breaks down to 2 books a week. Even though I read 165 last year and 235 in 2020, 104 will keep me reading without making it too difficult to achieve.

But my big challenge, my biggest challenge this year is that I’ve put myself on a book buying ban.

What?!

That’s right. I will not buy any new books . . .

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Reflections and Aspirations on 1 January

1 January 2022

January first. Another new year. In some ways, 2021 seemed to last forever. Maybe it just seems that way because the days of 2020 and 2021 blurred together in seemingly endless restrictions and social distancing.

Then again, it seems like we just celebrated the 2021 new year, hoping for better days. In some ways, that did happen. In some ways, 2021 was more of the same. Regardless, while the days may have dragged, the months seemed to fly by as the weeks were marked off. And now here we are on the cusp of a new year.

For me, the first day of the new year means making plans for the new year as well as taking time to reflect back on the prior year.

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