Captain's Log: February 26

 

Happy February friends!

February has always been my favorite month. Maybe it's the love in the air of maybe it's the fact that my birthday is in 5 days. Either way, I love the transition from winter to Spring, the romance, the love, and the pink and red vibes everywhere.

I talked a little bit about my resolutions last month and how I've been doing. I'm really proud to say, I've actually been KILLING it on my resolutions and plan to go into February with this momentum and continue the all around productivity I have made.

Usually, I divide these logs into what I've been reading, watching, and playing, but because I've been focusing on utilizing screen time more productively, I'll be talking more about how I've spent my time overall this past month.

It's so strange seeing this photo I used to use for my reading sections. It was taken at my first apartment when I had one tiny bookshelf from Walmart. As I write this, I'm looking at the wall of bookshelves in my office in our now 3rd apartment.  I still have that bookshelf but it's smaller than my other two and definitely more packed then it used to be.  

Reminiscing aside, I read a total of 14 books in January, which was a really great start to the year.  Some of the most standout books I read were...

• Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgewick - A story enveloped in Norse mythology about souls transcending through time and what it truly means to love someone. 5/5 stars. I sobbed at work and the writing was absolutely incredible. I listened to the audiobook, which set the atmosphere and the interwoven mythology was fascinating.

• 11/22/63 by Stephen King - We all know I love Stephen King and this book was no different. 850 pages of time travel as our main character tries to stop the assassination of JFK and attempt to do as much good as he can in the process. 4/5 stars. I adored this book but I feel like some of the end was a little...mid. I had a theory on how it would end and honestly preferred my theory. Otherwise a fantastic read.

• Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Read - A tale of two queer women training to be the first women in the program in the 1970's. 4.5/5 stars. I loved this book. I heard a lot of mixed reviews about this book but was pleasantly surprised. As a person who adores space and astronomy, and is queer myself, the setting and writing were fantastic and I definitely shed a tear.

• Don't Let The Forest In by C.G Drews - This book about two boys who have to deal with not only the monsters in their heads but the unknown in the forest. 5/5 stars. This book was hauntingly beautiful and I ADORED the writing. I'm so excited for C.G. Drews upcoming book just to experience the incredible atmospheric writing. 

• A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings - A memoir about a woman growing up and living in a fundamentalist Christian world, becoming subservient and oppressed under men. 2/5 stars. I wanted to like this book. The writing was raw and the story was heart-wrenching and I wanted to scream most of the time. However, I felt there were ties to the current political climate that were halfway explored and could have easily been expanded on and I felt the end was too abrupt. 

For more of my book thoughts, you can always follow me on Goodreads or Fable!

I haven't been watching a whole lot of TV or playing video games, though my hands are itching to go back to Stardew and try Sun Haven, as I see my fiancé playing it right now. However, I've definitely been working on my goals that I have set for myself.

Every day, I wake up and intentionally, slide my phone in my pocket, using it only as an alarm to keep me on track in the mornings. I have been doing Tagalog, Japanese, Spanish, and Klingon lessons daily, not only in various apps but with books and taking notes, studying on my own to improve my speech and grammar. I've even found myself thinking (more) in other languages and incorporating bits here and there into my daily vernacular.

I have started the process of joining a gym and telling myself that maybe walking around instead of eating Hot Cheetos might be better for me (much to my dismay) and my watch has definitely seen improvement in my step count.

Every day, I try to stick to a routine of self-care, healthy eating, journaling, reading, practicing languages, enjoying spending time talking to my family or my fiancé, and doing more hobbies instead of just scrolling on my phone. I will say it does feel somewhat easier since I have been off most social media for almost a year and I do still look at screens, though I have swapped my phone for my big iPad to make it a little more inconvenient for me to just scroll through it all day. I still love watching YouTube and movies, but as I have worked on building more of my hobbies, I realized something.

My ultimate goal is to be the interesting person I want to be. I want to learn to play more instruments well, get back into playing the piano and flute and guitar and drums. I want to speak multiple languages, be well read, be knowledgeable about random topics like botany and astronomy and the Renaissance. The other day, I actually intelligently discussed the Cuban Missile crisis and just knowing what I was talking about made me feel...accomplished and like....this is what life is about. Being, living, doing, experiencing. 

I've always wanted to speak multiple languages, so why not now? I'm planning on ordering a flute and starting to play again and eventually, once we move to a bigger place, maybe getting a studio to draw and play the drums and guitar without annoying my neighbors. 

So, I guess all in all, this past month was definitely a beginning in the best way. A beginning into what I hope to will make the journey I've always wanted. 

How was your month? Tell me all about it!

Always, Raineedayze

Captain's Log: February Wrap-Up

I talked a little bit about my month in my monthly goals post, but in short, February wasn't the most productive of months, especially when it came to free time.

With graduation looming, I am spending most of time finishing up school and related college things instead of doing anything fun. But I am told it will be worth it.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman | Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu | My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier | The Boss by Abigail Barnett | The Girlfriend by Abigail Barnett | 

This month wasn't the best reading month numbers-wise, but the overall quality was pretty good. I had planned to read 9 books, but the 5 I read were generally great. Any month when I read Neil Gaiman is a good month for me. Also, I fell into The Boss series by Abigail Barnett. It's like the 50 Shades series but with more consent and actual healthy relationships. 

The only book I wasn't a fan of was My Sister Rosa. I left a review on Goodreads that you can check out here, but in short, the book was just so dull. I'm kind of bummed it took up so much of my reading time this month.

Heroes of the Storm (PC) | Cat Goes Fishing (Steam) | Kitty Powers: Matchmaker (Steam) | Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (Steam) |

This month, I did a lot of small gaming sessions when I had free time, usually only for an hour or so. Luckily, Cat Goes Fishing and Kitty Powers, were both pretty short daily games that I could kill a few minutes with. The new Orwell game came out halfway through the month and I was able to spend a day with it. The rest of the series comes out later in March but since the game is so short, I may wait until the whole game is out to play it. Overall, the games were mostly just time-wasters and nothing I really immersed myself in.

How I Met Your Mother (Hulu) | Daria (DVD) |

Harry Potter (rewatch) | Black Panther |

The stress of this month extended to my media habits. No matter how many times I've seen it, I am always bingewatching HIMYM, especially in times of stress. 

I also picked up the Daria box set and have been rewatching the episodes with Jonathan. The show has been one of my absolute favorites for years, and I love the nostalgia. 

For movies this month, we finished up our Harry Potter rewatch and many tears were shed. I also saw Black Panther and wrote a review for it, which you can find here.

Other Cool Stuff This Month

* I turned 23!

* Valentine's Day was a thing!

* More dates!

* Healthier diet and upping my water

* Starting the process of getting back into therapy!


All in all this month was stressful, but I feel like the gave me a chance to reflect and make March even better. 


Always, Raineedayze
 

Monthly Goals Wrap Up: February

It's hard to believe we have reached the end of February. This month has been pretty insane for me and it wasn't my best month for doing anything besides school. It's been....a month.

1. Draw 4 digital pieces (and upload 1)

I actually did a pretty good job with this one. For Valentine's Day, I made Jonathan the Pokemon drawing that I featured in my Valentine's Day post. I did want to include a time-lapse, but if you read the post, you know what happened there. I feel pretty good with working digitally and hope to renew this goal for next month.


2.  Read 9 Books

Ha....Haha....HAHAHA. I totally failed at this goal because I spent the majority of time working on college stuff so my free time was extremely limited. I think I only read about 5 books this month, but I thoroughly enjoyed the books I did read. 


3. Drink a Bottle of Water a Day

I actually did  a pretty good job with this. I had been a bit dehydrated in January, so I switched to solely water this month and I can feel my skin loving this. I definitely need to be more conscious of my water intake because I actually felt really good this month.


4. Post Twice a Week

As you can tell, I was not successful in this. But I do feel the posts that did get uploaded had more of myself and were quality posts. I was able to take a look at my posting and realized that I was kind of losing myself in tags and posts I felt I "should" do. Don't get me wrong, I still love tag posts but I want to spend more time making posts unique to this blog and my own voice. 



All in all, even though this wasn't the most successful month in terms of goals, I feel like this month was necessary for personal growth and reflection. It may have been full of stress, but I can only go up from this next month.


How did your goals go this month?



Always, Raineedayze

February Mini Goals

Happy February!!!

Now, I may be a little bit biased because my birthday is in February, but I absolutely adore the month of February. Valentine's Day is my absolute favorite holiday, and I love how this month is when we actually start getting into the swing of things. January is always the trial month, but February is really where you can see how your year is going.

That being said, I spent so much time working on this list of monthly goals, and I can definitely say they build up from last month's goals. 

Last, month I focused on goals in terms of 4. I used this because it gave me a chance to complete one item on the list per week. Since most of those goals went by pretty successfully, I wanted to add a little more to my plate. February is a shorter month but I think I can handle it.

1. Draw 4 digital pieces (and upload one!)

It's no secret that I have been working hard on my art. Now that I am nearing the end of my academic career, I wanted to focus on what I actually enjoy doing and I have a huge passion for art. I want to build up my work ethic with it and hold myself accountable for completing pieces I am proud of, so hopefully you guys can see a piece this month!


2. Read 9 Books




My goal for the year is to read 100 books. In January, I read 9 books and I want to keep the streak up and stay ahead. I am nearing the end of my tenth book and one of my books came off hold at the library so I am pretty stoked to finish them by the end of the week. 


3. Drink a bottle of water a day



I have a huuuuuge issue with not drinking enough water. I really need to take care of myself because kidney issues are no joke and I have already had a few health problems stemming from my poor water intake. A bottle of water is still lower than the recommended amount, but I need to start somewhere!


4. Post twice a week

I managed to successfully keep the blog running last month, but I could feel the urge to slack off in the back of my head. I'm not sure why I have been in a super meh mood, but I want to make sure this blog is productive because I love connecting with people through it!

These are my main goals for the month and I'll be checking in with you guys later in the month to see if I was successful!

What are your monthly goals? Let's chat!



Always, Raineedayze

January Check-In and February Goals

                                

Happy last day of January!

For this post, I decided to take a look at how I did with my goals in January and look ahead to my goals for February. To read my 2017 goal list, click HERE.

Goal 1: Do Something and Do it Well
   
      This goal was all about school and work. I can definitely say I've been keeping on top of my classwork this month. That could be because it's the beginning of a new year, but I also feel so much calmer knowing that I have finished all I have to for the day by 8 p.m. and having the rest of the night to binge on Roswell. It's also nice to feel good about the work I turn in and showing off what I know I can do.

Goal 2: Do Something Active

      This goal was the tough one. I have been skipping the coffee for more tea or water and have been taking my lunch instead of buying Hot Cheetos (something my wallet is eternally grateful for). However, I still find myself eating when I'm bored or when I know I'm not really hungry. This is definitely something I have to work on.

Goal 3: Do Things for and With Others

       I did start putting down my phone more, especially when I have time with Jonathan. One thing about my new schedule is it only leaves me with a few hours to see him before I fall asleep for the night. It made me realize how precious our time is and I feel so much healthier for it. I am able to explore my hobbies and feel less tied to a false "connection" through my screen. Not to say that computer and phone time is bad, but it's nice to be around people in the real world. Which brings me to...

Goal 4: Just Do It

       I definitely started doing things I've been putting off. I started waking up earlier to just spend a few minutes to myself. I started watching shows and movies I've put off. I went to the movies for the first time in forever and enjoyed myself. I started becoming more independent by not relying on Jonathan to take me places. I've read way more books in the last month than I have in the past year. I love how I feel accomplishing this and can't wait to see what February has in store.

Goodreads Goal 

4/35 books! Yay!!

My February Goals

• Blog more and more consistently 
• I feel pretty confident in this goal despite my recent blogging hiccup. I feel with my planner keeping me on schedule and the surge of new audience members I have (I see you!) I have more of an obligation to make this blog as awesome as possible. It reminds me why I started blogging in the first place.
• Save money
• It's been super tough with all of our big holidays falling within a four month period. Between Christmas, our anniversary, my birthday, Valentine's Day, and Jon's birthday in March....it's a lot! I hope to cut back on spending and make do with what we have. I know we can do it if we try!
•  Be more independent
• It's been really tough with our conflicting schedules lately, and oftentimes because of that, I become even more dependent on Jonathan because the little bit I get from him is so precious. However, it's time I explored my own hobbies and started doing more things that benefit us instead of waiting for us both to be free. I often hold off on grocery shopping or running errands because I love going places with him or spending our time outside of the house. Yet, I don't love putting a strain on him when he gets out of work. This will be a huge transition, but I think I can do this.                         

What are some of your goals for February? How are your previous goals going? Let's chat in the comments!


Always, Raineedayze