Can you believe January is over?!?

Seriously, we are now 1/12 of the way through the year. It seems to me the older I get, the shorter the year is. In the blink of an eye, this year will be over and we will all be onto next year’s adventures. It’s a good thing I still 11 months to complete my list. Lucky for me, I’m a planner and I have a plan to complete it! Wahoo!

January proved to be very productive in my 30 ways to celebrate 30.

So, here is an update:

I read all the time- seriously, ALL.THE.TIME. I sometimes think I need to find more hobbies but I just love reading. I am one of those people who get lost in the book. I become a part of the book and am emotionally attached to the characters. I read on my phone while I wait in lines, I listen to books when I get ready in the morning, I read paper books before bed. I read while I eat dinner, while I run or bike, while I hold babies. Really, whenever I can, I read. My only requirement- the book has to be good. If I am not hooked on a book by the first 50 pages, I read the last page to decide if I like the ending and if I want to finish it. (Sorry Kristen, I know it drives you crazy.) My biggest problem with series books is if I like the first book, I am going to read the entire series regardless of my feelings of the next book in the series. (The only series I haven’t finished is 50 Shades of Grey but that is a story on its own.)

Reading takes me on far off adventures, to foreign cities with mystery and excitement. They engulf me in fantasy with vampire, witches and werewolves. Books make me laugh and cry as I cheer for the hero and ache at their losses. I find myself blushing and cringing at awkward moments. The romance gives me hope for true love in the most unlikely of circumstances. On top of all this, I read everything; mystery, crime, romance (including smut (what’s a girl to do?)), young adult, classics, westerns, historical etc. I can usually find something in every genre I enjoy.

When I made a goal to read 30 books, I didn’t realize how much I really read. The last post was a review on 1 book- I’ve since finished 3 more and am in the middle of the 4th and 5th! Apparently I should have made this goal a little more difficult. None-the-less, I’m going to write a brief review on the books I’ve finished in the last few weeks. (If you want more in depth about any book, send me a message and I’ll fill you in)

City of Lost Souls

By Cassandra Clare

This is number 5 in a 6 book series. I ranted about book number 4 in the last post and I still am not totally in love with this series. I think I would have liked it significantly better if I had read them sporadically and not one right after the other.

Jace and Clary are still in a fight of good vs. evil and Jace is being controlled through a blood spell by a demon. So naturally, Clary follows him wherever he may go because she believes the Jace she loves is still in there somewhere. There are a few fight scenes, a lot of in the middle stuff, murder and romance. They travel to Venice and Prague among other destinations. In order of how much I like these books this would be number 2 on the list following the first one. I could have totally done without books 2, 3 or 4. There was one point in this book I literally yelled at my wall because Clary is SO stupid. I shut the book and read the last page because I was tired of it. The end is pretty good because Clary finally stops being a whiny, stupid girl and starts using her brain. Now that I have walked away from the story for a couple of weeks, I look forward to reading the final installment of this series.

Divergent

By: Veronica Roth

The reason I decided to read this book is because I saw a list of 16 books you should read this year before the movie comes out. I had seen a preview and thought it looked interesting so I picked it up.

The story is set in a utopia society separated into 5 different areas to promote stability. Each section has a specific purpose to the utopia and at age 16 you take a “test” to decide which section is best suited for you. Our protagonist, Beatrice, isn’t clear cut into any one section making her divergent (now you all know where the title comes from). This is her story about changing sections and coming to terms with the idea that everything may not be how it seems. One of the sections is plotting to take over the others and only the divergent stand in their way. There is romance and drama; a little sadness as she leaves her family, joy as she discovers her own strength and intrigue as the plot unfolds.

I enjoyed Divergent thoroughly; as soon as I finished it I started Insurgent (which is the second book in this trilogy). I am half way through and am BORED! In fact, it was bothering me so much I googled reviews on the second and third book to see what other readers had to say. The more I read the reviews, the less I am convinced I even want to finish the second book let alone the trilogy. I’m hoping if I walk away for a few weeks I will want to go back and finish it off. I guess my suggestion would be, don’t start the series without first reading the reviews. If you think the reviews sound interesting, give me a call. You can borrow my copies.

Beautiful Creatures
By: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Like City of Bones, I saw the movie for Beautiful Creatures and thought the story was really fun. I picked up the first book (in a series of 4) and couldn’t put it down! The story is beautifully written and the character development really pulls you into the story.

Beautiful Creatures is set in Gatlin, South Carolina and revolves around Ethan Wate and Lena Duchanne. Ethan tells the story of dreaming of Lena and then finally one day she shows up at school. Of course it is love at first sight! Ha! Lena is a caster (nice way to say witch) who will be claimed for the light or the dark on her 16th birthday which is just a few months away. Her family mostly becomes dark and her greatest fear is to follow. The story follows the months to her birthday and how Ethan and Lena find a way to be together against all odds. Cheesy? Yes but it is a really easy and fun story to follow.

I’m in the middle of the second book, Beautiful Darkness and have not been as drawn to this one as I was to the first. I’m hoping in the next few chapters, the story line will develop a bit more and allow the characters to continue on their journey. We’ll see, I guess. I’m hoping I don’t get so bored I have to read the last chapter.



Other happenings to celebrate my birthday:

This is my scuba instructor, Chelle

I’m officially scuba certified! I am so excited to finally have accomplished something I’ve wanted to do for ages. I’ve been trying to decide on a beach vacation and kind of fell into one today. I’m actually heading to Hawaii next week with a dear friend and am going to be able to accomplish a couple of different things on my list. Should be a riot!

As I was sitting 30 feet underwater, looking around me and enjoying the silence, I was again reminded of how incredibly blessed I am. I feel so lucky to have the opportunities and adventures I do and so glad these things are happening!

Another check on my list- Kristen and I went to lunch. I love Kristen. I cannot say enough to correctly describe how I feel about her. She is one in a million and I’m so, so, so incredibly grateful I am able to call her my sister. It is funny to me how fast we grow up and how little time we have to spend with the people who mean the most to us. It is sad it took making a list of goals to carve out an hour to spend with Kristen each month, but I’m glad it is happening now and not being postponed for another day. It totally brightened my day and week to sit and chat with her over lunch. She is good for my soul.

I finally sat down and wrote out a list of the 30 most important people in my life. I’ve created a plan to write letters and will be starting it on Sunday. My plan is to be finished with this goal by August so I am not waiting until the end of the year and scrambling to finish.

Europe plans are well under way too! I’m planning a trip to Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic for September. If anyone has suggestions on any of those places, please send them my way. New international cities, here I come!

I rode my bike/ran for more than 30 miles this month and am on a schedule for tri training. I signed up for a tri on April 26 and am looking for someone to join me. If you are interested, give me a call!

Lastly, I discovered the coolest thing to help me draw closer to God. Did you know on the LDS Gospel Library app, you can LISTEN to the scriptures? All of them, including the bible, are narrated for free. It is the most fantastic thing. I am now able to study the scriptures in the morning instead of before I’m going to bed and it is just something I feel like I should do. Now I listen to a few chapters as I’m putting on my makeup so I can contemplate what I’m learning and what God is trying to teach me all day. It is awesome! If you haven’t discovered this app yet, you should. It is free and will change the way you study the word of God. Even if you aren’t Mormon, you can use it to listen to the bible and be able to cross reference to other biblical passages at the click of a button. Try it, you will love it.

And now, my dear friends, you know how the process is going. It is interesting to me as I plan things I think back to my list and try to make plans around accomplishing something on it. It is really fun! It has changed the way I plan adventures adding much more excitement and far fewer excuses.

It is late and my book awaits- I hope your day was filled with adventure and love.

Much love to you all and happy 30 to me-

Stef