How is it that we’ve already welcomed a new year? Did we press fast forward or something cause it feels like 2018 could have used another week.
Anyway, it’s officially time to say goodbye to 2018. It’s been quite the year with some glorious highs and some difficult times. However, there I’m not going to dwell on the negatives and instead want to spotlight the brighter achievements of 2018. To start, I started a new job at my local library and so far it’s been a great experience. I’ve also made a start on my driving lessons with the hopes of passing by spring this year. Personally, one of the ultimate highlights of 2018 was my trip to Canada. That first solo trip is always daunting and there was a lot of doubt at times, but I can honestly say I had the time of my life during that month. I met some wonderful people, had some incredible experiences, and learned a lot about myself along the way. It feels like an age since that trip, but it has definitely made me hungry to do more traveling. I’m excited to ring in this new year. It’s going to be slightly chaotic since I’m starting a third job, but it’s also a new experience which is very much valued.
Now, on the blog, I decided to take a step back over December. I had a week off from work and I decided that I needed the time to relax and enjoy the festivities with my family. I didn’t finish a book in December, most of my time was occupied by family and Netflix, but I did make a start on Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris. If you’ve ever read a Brandon Sanderson novel, then you will know that they are quite the undertaking. Nevertheless, I am enjoying the book and am hoping to finish the book in the coming weeks.
Top Ten Tuesday
11th December: Christmas Classics
25th December: Bookish Wish List – Christmas Edition
Waiting on Wednesday
5th December: 99 Percent Mine
12th December: The Patron Saints of Nothing
19t December: The Merciful Crow
TV and Film
2nd December: Another addition to my ‘What I’ve Been Watching’ feature and here I spotlight the latest TV shows I’ve been watching.
Discussion
For my final discussion post of the year, I decided to spotlight the pros and cons of reading a series.
Favourite Posts in December
Nyx @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books explains why she doesn’t do rereads.
Holly @ The Fox’s Hideaway spotlights the importance of girl-power stories.
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction wants to know if you’re an email hoarder.
Trang @ Bookidote provides some essential blogging tips.
Angela @ Musings of a Literary Wanderer asks how you define success as a book blogger.
Beth @ Reading Every Night wonders why reviews are so hard to write and so unpopular in the blogging community.
2019 Goals
I’m not the best at setting goals and following through on them. A lot of the time I forget about them because I rarely write them down. Other times I get consumed by life obligations that I just feel unmotivated to even think about the goals. I like to be realistic with my goals, even though I am a hopeless dreamer at heart. However, I have a small list of blogging and personal goals I’d like to meet in 2019. They are;
- Pass my driving test – My instructor is happy with my progress so hopefully, I can pass in the Spring.
- Travel to at least 2 destinations – I’m likely to take city breaks this year just because I have so much going on that I need to prioritise, but I still have a desperate yearn to travel.
- Try and find a work/life balance – time management seems to be the key to this and I need to remember to shut off once I finish work and have some ‘me’ time.
- Trust myself and take chances – I’m terrible for doubting myself and am even better at talking myself out of things. It’s a habit I am trying to break and have slowly made progress on that front. It’s easy to let fear stop you from taking chances and I tend to think about others before myself, but from past experiences, I’ve learned that taking chances often comes with great rewards and some surprises along the way.
On the Blog;
- Be more engaged – I’m the first to admit that my engagement levels on the blogosphere have taken a hit, especially on the blog hopping front. It’s my goal to improve on that this year. It might not be consistent, but I do want to make more of an effort.
- Read – Reading took a big step back in 2018. I read 11 books which are not the best, but I also know that I wasn’t in the mood to read and the last thing I will ever do is force it. So, I want to read more books this year, but I won’t force myself to do so.
- Relax – Blogging is a hobby, not an obligation and I need to calm down and not let the pressure of blogging and everything that comes with it get to me. I love blogging and the community it creates, but I also know that sometimes I need to take a break and focus on me or just have lazy weeks. Blogging should always be about fun and I never want to stop having fun on this blog.
I hope you all have a wonderful New Year.
What was your highlight of 2018?
What are your goals for 2019?
My Midnight Musing 
Congrats on 2018! You have some great goals for 2019! I hope you pass your driving test soon!
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Thank you. I think once I pass my driving test I’ll get more freedom with my time so the plan is to pass in the next four months.
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I can agree that your thoughts are most likely true.
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I’m really happy to hear about the positives and your achievements for 2018, I hope you’ll succeed at your driving lessons, too! I remember really hating these, but I was proud once it was all done haha 🙂
Best of luck for your 2019 goals, I hope you’ll be able to read a little more and most importantly, that you’ll relax. It’s so easy to let some pressure get to us, at times and we need to remember to have fun 🙂
Sending you tons of love ❤
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My driving lessons are going really well, so I’m aiming to pass by the end of April. I know once I do pass it’ll free up some time so I can relax a bit haha.
Fingers crossed I seem to have gotten my reading mojo back so I’ll roll with it and see where it goes. If not, there is always Netflix haha.
Hope 2019 has been kind to you so far. ❤
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Yay! I’m glad to hear that 🙂 And yes, there’s always netflix, thankfully haha 🙂
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These sound like great goals! Good luck with your driver’s! I’m sure you’ll do great 🙂 Work/life balance is so key…my word for the year (you’ll see what I mean in my bullet journal post if you read it) is BALANCE. I was going to choose PATIENCE, but I think BALANCE will lead to more PATIENCE.
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Thank you. I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made so far so hopefully, I can pass before Summer.
I’ll definitely check out that post. I’ve been trying to sort out the layout for this month in mine haha. I love that Balance is your word of the year and I definitely think having a good balance in life will lead to more patience.
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There is nothing wrong with spending the holidays with family and Netflix. I am pretty sure that’s what I’ve done as well haha and as for your 2019 goals, I am in absolute favour of all of them. You deserve a break and while traveling has its own perrils, it’s such a great experience each time.
Sending you tons of love ❤
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I think the holidays are designed for Netflix and chilled family time. I was so well rested that getting back into the daily grind has just been a drag so far haha.
I think I’ll come to need these city breaks just so I can stay sane haha. Just a heads up a trip to Berlin looks to be on the cards at some point, so I’m relying on you for advice on the best places to see/do.
Hope 2019 is being kind to you. ❤
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This first week of work was dreadful for me tooooo 😦 Ugh, I need more chill time. But YAAAS to you visiting! I have no advice whatsoever though. I am terrible at this, because I just know movie theaters and my way from and to work.
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Taking a step back can sometimes be hard to do. But if you know in your gut it’s what you have to do, then do it. You have to give yourself space to live your best life, you know? Best of luck with that and all your other goals (especially your driving test; those can be so very stressful)!
Eleanor | On the Other Side of Reality
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I could not agree more with that. I think it’s healthy to take breaks just so you can recharge the batteries and focus on some ‘me’ time. Thank you so much. I hope 2019 has been kind to you so far ❤
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That trip to canada sounds awesome and it’s great that it inspired you to do more travelling 🙂 I think these are some fantastic goals as well!
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Canada was great in proving to myself that I can do this solo and it was the most freeing experience to just follow your own path and trusting your instincts. I just need to continue reminding myself that I did it and I had the best time. I am so desperate to do more traveling now. It’s good for the soul haha. Hope you’ve had a brilliant 2019 so far! ❤
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So glad that the job at the library is working out well for you! And I hope you manage to pass that driver’s test soon. Sounds like you have some great plans set up for 2019!
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I think once I pass my test it’ll free up more time for me to relax. So far, things have been slightly chaotic.
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Those are all very attainable bookish goals. I agree, if you are not in the mood to read or blog, you should never force it. I feel like that makes things much worse in the long run. Cheers to 2019 and good luck!
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Thank you. My philosophy is definitely to do what I can when I can and when I feel inspired. At the end of the day it’s all about having fun.
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