Goals Shmoals

So, what ever happened to my goals anyway?  I did quarterly check-in posts in 2012, and then monthly in 2013 - never with consistent success.  I intended to make some new 2014 goals and then continue the monthly updates, but then I just didn't.  And I'm okay with it.  I'm actually doing better with all my "goals" without them being articulated.  Apparently I just rebel against authority, even my own.  (I'll be like "I'm going to do such and such thing this year" and then I'm like "No one tells me what to do!") 

For example, reading 50 books a year has been my goal for the past few years.  I've just barely met it, usually reading a short book in the last couple days of December.  This year, I didn't make an official goal, but I've read 40 already.  That's ridiculous.  I always thought people were crazy when they said they read 100 books in a year, but if I keep up this rate, I'll be at 80.  And I don't even read super fast or spend all my free time in a book.  So I now believe the 100-books-in-a-year readers. 

Another often missed goal for me has been exercising on a regular basis.  I would set reasonable expectations like 3x a week and completely fail.  So I decided that I should try to workout every day.  Every.Single.Day.  And I did for all of January.  And now even when I fail, I'm at the gym 3-4 times in a week.  So failure now is really success.  And since I didn't officially make a goal of working out every day, it's not really failure.

These 2 things really work together, because I read while I'm riding the bike at the gym.  I don't like exercising, but I like reading.  If I make myself go to the gym, that's an hour of free reading time!  I'm bribing myself a little bit, but it works!       

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I haven't completely abandoned self-improvement activities, but I just no longer set myself up for failure.  Halfway through the year seemed like a good time to do that.  And now you know the amount of trickery that is required to get myself to do things!
Dress: Old Navy (option, option)
Scarf: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Sandals: Carlos Santana (option, option)

Literary Junkies and a Maxi Dress

 

It's time for the Literary Junkies link up again. I'm so bad at answering these questions each month!  

What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.
Some of My Best Friends are Black by Tanner Colby - this was a recommendation from one of my friends.  The subtitle is "The Strange Story of Integration in America."  He is basically looking at four areas of American life (work, school, church, neighborhoods) and how we are still pretty separated based on race.  I'm only a few chapters in, but so far it is very interesting. 

Who is your favorite book character and why?
I hate picking favorites!  I tend to like books where the characters aren't super likeable, so this is tricky.  Thinking about the past year or so, my favorites are probably Hazel and Gus from The Fault in Our Stars.  I just liked them and how they interacted with each other.

What would the title of your memoir be?
Probably "Just Another Smith" or something equally un-clever.  Although after reading a few really boring memoirs in the past few years, I've actually thought maybe people would like reading about my life.  I mean, if people liked Eat, Pray, Love, they would pretty much like anything, right?! 
 
What book or series do you remember reading as an elementary/middle school age?
As a kid, I READ ALL THE BOOKS!  I was very into the Boxcar Children series, and then I started reading the Babysitters Club and a lot of the different series by Christian authors.  One of my favorites from the church library was the Sadie Rose Adventures.  I remember walking out of the library on a regular basis with a stack of books so high I couldn't see over them.  

Go check out the other book nerds here!

About my outfit...  
Usually when Marion announces the Trend of the Month, I have to plan an outfit for it.  This time, I was actually wearing my only maxi dress on the day she posted the theme.  I mean, I can pretty much read minds.  Her link-up goes live tomorrow, so you still have time to join in on the fun! 

Dress & Belt: Old Navy
Cardigan: Gap
Sandals: Carlos Santana    

  

Zebra Style

I wore this to church and lunch on Anniversary weekend.  Dressing for church has been tricky this summer, since John and I are teaching Sunday school for the 3 year old class.  Pants would be great, but I don't really like pants and don't have very many options (since I don't buy them!).  Longer skirts and dresses seem to work pretty well. 

I didn't realize when we were taking pictures that my dress pockets were gaping open.  I thought about photo-shopping them out, but I figured I should just keep it real!

I'm guest posting over here today, with tips for what to pack on a cruise!  Now that I think of it, I bought this zebra dress in 2008, just a few weeks before I went on my first cruise!  This was one of the dresses I wore for dinner on the boat!   

Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Gap
Belt: Limited
Necklace: made it
Shoes: Carlos Santana
Sunglasses:  Fossil

Vacation Date Night

Old Navy Dress and Flip Flops, Charming Charlie Scarf

On the Sunday we were in St. Croix, their annual triathlon was happening.  This meant we weren't able to leave our resort most of the day, because the roads were closed.  No problem!  We just took it easy and then dressed up and went into town for dinner.  This is what I wore.  This dress is just super easy and was also no problem to pack.  Perfect for vacation.  We went to a restaurant called "Angry Nate's" in Christiansted, and sat outside, because it had finally stopped raining!

I mentioned that it rained quite a bit while we were there.  I was pretty content just sitting on our balcony and watching the rain and the ocean.  Here's my view: 

I think I will wrap up vacation posts tomorrow and be back to OOTD posts! 

Zebra Dress

Remember when I wore this zebra skirt and I said it was really a dress?

Well, here's the proof that it is, in fact, a dress! 

I've had this dress for a few years, and I've only ever worn it with flip flops.  I just wasn't sure about heels with a maxi dress, but I think it is the right decision.  I also think I would like this outfit better without the cardigan, but April is a little early for strapless dresses, even if it was 90+ degrees on the day I wore this. 

Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Shoes: Steve Madden

Zebra day

It's the last day of the ABC Challenge!  I can't believe it is over.  I jumped in kind of late, since I was also doing the Winter Challenge, but it has been so fun to follow along with the prompts for each letter, and see what other bloggers come up with.

So, Z is for Zebra!  I have exactly 1 Zebra print item in my closet, and it is a strapless maxi dress.  Not the best for a rainy February day.  Since I'm on a shopping break, I couldn't go out and buy something new to wear, so I had to get creative. I folded my dress in half to make a skirt! 

At first, I had it so the bottom of the dress was my skirt, but then I flipped it, so the top of the dress is forming a little cuff at the bottom.  I liked it better this way, plus now I can use the pockets!!

I felt a little lumpy, with so much fabric folded and bunched around my waist.  I also had to be careful about the inner layer shifting too much, and sneaking out the bottom.  Overall, I felt a little ridiculous throughout the day, but I think it looks pretty cute in the pictures.

Special thanks to Kayla for hosting the ABC challenge.  It has been tons of fun, and I've found some great bloggers to follow! 

Sweater:  Express
Cami:  Gap
Skirt (dress):  Old Navy
Boots:  Target