Well, hello! I can’t believe we’re already 5 months into the “new” year, this year is flying.
Today as I finished a bunch of cleaning, I was wondering what to do with myself (a rare moment), and decided I would post a bit of an update on how the year is travelling, and what I’ve been up to.
To be honest though, I’ve spent the last few days weighing up whether I actually keep going with my blog. My writing is sporadic at best, and recently I realised I’m now spending $45 a month keeping it going. That’s a lot of money over the course of the year, especially when everything is just so damn expensive these days.
Ultimately, I’ve decided to keep going for now, but look for cheaper hosting options. I do love writing, and there’s so much history on this site. So many stories of past relationships, my journeys, key moments in my life, and letters to my son. It’s nice to look back on from time to time. And where else would I keep going with my 52 in 52 list? So, a newfound dedication to try and actually use my blog a bit more, and rediscover why I started writing in the first place.
So, a migration may happen sometime soon to cheaper hosting, and I’m committing myself to writing at least once a week. Baby steps. And if you see the odd ad on here, please don’t hate on me. I’m just trying to recoup some costs.
Anyways, back to the 52 list.
52-in-52 update
Even though I haven’t been writing, I have been ticking off some of my 52s!
Use The StoryGraph app to track my reading
I’m a sucker for stats, and using Storygraph has been really fun. You get a monthly wrap-up graphic, and then ongoing stats covering things like the mood of books, pace, average pages, fiction/nonfiction, and genres.
Fun fact, I’ve been reading a lot of romance this year….not something I expected. And fantasy behind that! Not sure I even know who I am anymore. I blame Prime Reading, which is included with my Amazon Prime membership. There’s a various assortment of books available, and it would seem that I’m a sucker for a cute cartoon’ish cover that’s easy to read at the end of the day.
I’ve started tracking how many pages I read each day now so that I get even more monthly stats. I’ve definitely made a much bigger effort to get back to reading this year, and even treated myself to a kindle holder and page turner. Unfortunately the holder died after a few days (it just twists and falls over) but the page turner is amazing! It has a remote, so I can prop my book up on the treadmill and read as I’m walking, or if I get another holder, I can lay in bed with my hands under the cover to stay warm while I read. Admittedly that meant I kept falling asleep while reading (while the holder worked) but so worth the purchase.
Finish a Television Series
I’ve actually made the time to finish a few series this year! Well, seasons of a series… but I’m still counting that. So far I’ve finished:
- The White Lotus – omg Season 1 was fantastic
- Reacher – I love the Jack Reacher books, and I think that Alan Ritchson did a phenomenal job of bringing the character to life, even down to the way he spoke.
- Cobra Kai – randomly decided to show my son the original Karate Kid, which meant I discovered this entire new series existed on Netflix, and it’s great! Though my husband is slightly confused at my sudden desire to watch karate.
- The Residence – super fun murder mystery.
Plus a few smaller ones shows, but these are the main ones I’ve started on.
I’ve started a list of shows that others have recommended – Severance, Gentleman Jack, Yellowjackets, to name a few. But if you have any more suggestions feel free to pass them on!
See a Live Performance
I went with friends recently to see Anh Do in standup, and he was fantastic. It was a mixture of laughing and crying, sad and happy tears.
For those who haven’t heard of him, Anh Do is a Vietnamese-Australian comic. His show covers everything from his family stowing away on a boat to come to Australia, the various crazy shenanigans he got up to as part of The Footy Show, and things he’s achieved since. He and his family have achieved some incredible things, and truly, Australia is so lucky to have call them our own.
I also managed to go see a band with my sister, The Hard Quartet, featuring the lead singer of Pavement. It was such a great night – you can see it as part of my “One Second a Day” video for January (another 52 in 52).
And a few more …
I’ve also crossed off a few more 52’s, or they’re in progress.
- My “One Second a Day” video is coming along nicely, and I’m really, really loving doing this project again.
- Take a bath (done – with rose petals, it was heavenly)
- Dance (I did a dance workout, and while I was hilariously awful, it was so much fun)
- Buy a new smelly candle (I was actually gifted some gorgeous candles this year, including the candle with the wood wick that crackles, they’re my absolute favourites).
There’s still a lot of items left to tick off, but my goal of rediscovering the joy is well underway.
I truly can’t believe how fast this year has gone, but it feels like it’s going well.
I’ve taken a big step back from social media, although I still find myself doom-scrolling on reddit a bit. However Facebook and Instagram I turned off notifications, and really, Facebook almost just feels like a photo hosting service for me these days. They’ve made it so much harder to find your friend’s feeds, and when I open it the feed tends to be the same people each time. So I’m not as great as posting on people’s updates as I might have been in the past when I used it more prolifically.
At some point I wonder if I’ll leave Facebook altogether, or just really tune right out. I’ve got a task for myself to go and download all the photos just so I know I have a backup.
So….that’s my start to the year. I hope you’re all doing well!
Just a favour to ask, if you read and enjoy these posts, I’d love to hear it. It would be nice to have a reminder that these blog posts serve someone other than myself, ya know? Just at least while I try to justify the costs to myself, because if no one is reading it, then I may as well just keep a diary.
Gosh, am I growing up? Is this what it’s like? When you try to justify all the money you spend? That doesn’t sound fun at all. Time to go do something wreckless!