Monthly Recap: January 2017

Hello beautiful people! Can you believe the first month of 2017 is already over? It alternately flew and dragged. I was busy to the point of feeling overwhelmed, and I'm hoping to find more balance in February. For now, here's what my January looked like:

What I Read:

• What Happens at Midnight by Laura Chapman

• On Broken Wings by Chanel Cleeton

• Sweet Pursuits by Pauline Wiles

• Three Men and a Maybe by Katey Lovell

• Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told by Deirdre Riordan Hall

• Even if the Sky Falls by Mia Garcia

• Worth the Wait by AJ Pine

• Fateful by Claudia Gray 

• London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton

• Londontown by Susannah Conway

• Skating at Somerset House by Nikki Moore 

What I Watched:

• Season 4 of Sherlock. Holy crap what a mindfuck! This season was seriously intense. I know a lot of people had issues with it, but I enjoyed it...for the most part. I feel like I spent most of the three episodes sitting on the edge of my seat screaming at the TV lol

• I started a rewatch of Supernatural. I'm several seasons behind, and it's been so long since I watched, I can't remember where I left off! Since I got season 11 for Christmas and since one of my friends is doing a rewatch, I decided to just start again from the beginning. I suck at binge-watching and don't know how some people can watch a season a day or in a couple of days. My friend and I started around the same time and I just finished season 1 and she's already on season 6 or 7!

Blog Highlights:

• I posted my 2016 reading recap and 2017 reading goals

• I shared some of my favourite books of 2016 in different lists: one for YA books, one for New Adult and Adult books, and one for LGBTQ+ books

• I reviewed 5 books: On Broken Wings by Chanel Cleeton (5 stars), RoseBlood by AG Howard (4 stars), Dreamology by Lucy Keating (5 stars), Sweet Pursuits by Pauline Wiles (4 stars), and Worth the Wait by AJ Pine (5 stars)

• I did 3 Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I meant to read in 2016 but didn't get to, and hidden gem books of the last 2 years, and books to satisfy your wanderlust.

• January was the 5-year publication anniversary of my debut novel, Blue Sky Days. I shared 5 things I've learned in my 5 years of being a published author

Bookstagram Highlights:

Follow me on Bookstagram

Goals Progress:

• Personal Goals: At the beginning of January, I set overall goals for 2017, monthly goals for January, as well as specific daily goals (separate from my daily to-do list). I need to be more active and I need to lose weight, but I didn't want to do too much too soon and then burn out like I always have in the past. I'd like to work my way up to the recommended 10,000 steps a day, but I figured going from barely any physical activity to 10,000 steps a day would be difficult, so I set a small goal of 3,000 steps a day and an overall goal of 100,000 steps in January. I hit (and usually exceeded) my daily goal every day, plus exceeded the 100,000. Yay! I also set a goal of drinking more water every day, plus eating breakfast daily - both of which I achieved. And finally, I set a goal to drink less pop and I managed to go 22 days without pop. My reward = $22 in my piggy bank!

• Writing Goals: I didn't meet my writing goal for the month. FAIL. I'm so out of practice since I didn't write daily last year, and while I did get a fair bit of writing done, I'm still lacking in motivation and energy. I AM going to do better in February, though.

• Blogging Goals: In my yearly wrap-up post, I mentioned I was uncertain about the future of this blog. I decided to get it a few months and decide from there. I set a goal to post at 15 times in January, and I exceeded that. I started visiting and commenting on more blogs, and getting a decent amount of visitors and commenters in return, which is nice. I'm going to keep it up in February, and I even have a couple new features I'm planning that I'm excited about.

What's Happening in February:

• My youngest nephew is turning 7. I can't believe how fast this sweet, thoughtful, sensitive, smart little boy is growing up. 

• The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro, sequel to A Study in Charlotte (one of my favourite books of 2016) is coming out on February 14th. So excited!

• The 2017 Love-a-Thon, an event for book lovers (bloggers, authors, bookstagrammers, booktubers, etc) is happening from February 18th - 20th. I missed it last year, so I'm excited to participate this year. Visit the link for more information and to sign up!

• I'm planning a blog re-design. I'll be leaving the colour scheme the same, as well as most of my graphics (like review ratings, meme graphics, etc), and changing up the main header, as well as maybe some of the sidebar stuff. I have an idea in mind for the header, I just need to time to actually do it. 

So, that's my month. How was yours? How many books did you read? Do you have a favourite? Do you have a blog post you wish got more attention in January? Feel free to leave a link in the comments. Also, if you did a wrap-up post, be sure to leave that link too so I can visit you!

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