Happy Monday!
When the air is smoky from wildfires, these are the type of sunset photos you get! The funny thing is, the air didn’t seem overly smoky – I guess a little goes a long way.
It’s a little bit past mid-year, so I recently reviewed my 26 for 2026 list of things to do. I accomplished some things, failed at other things, and some things are still in process. For some of the things I’ve failed at, I tell myself, “You should have known not to put that on the list!” Oh well, live and learn! Here’s my accounting of what I’ve succeeded at and what I’ve failed at. Here goes:
**Do a slow read of Count of Monte Cristo (1900 pages divided by 365 = 6-ish pages a day!) SUCCESS! I did a slow read for quite a while, but then I just wanted to finish it, so I did. When people ask what my favorite movie is, I used to always say, Count of Monte Cristo. But now that I know the movie is pretty far off from what actually happens in the book, I’m not sure. Well, OK, I think it’s still my favorite movie, even with the additional knowledge that it’s not true to the book.
**Read an actual paper book at least once a month (get your reading stamina back in shape!) I’m on track…maybe one month behind, but I’ll catch up!
**Attempt to make macarons. I have not tried this YET. I’m not going to even attempt this while traveling, so when we get home in October, I’ll hopefully get to this. Maybe I’ll set a reminder in my phone to do this. Scheduling is life!
**Visit 26 NEW places. In process! With traveling to Southeast Asia earlier this year, and now on our RV trip, I think I’ll accomplish this one!
**Take a daily photo for at least 1 month (better if more!) Not yet. This is something I could easily do if I’d just remember. Again, maybe I’ll set a reminder on my phone. August is coming up. That should be the month!
**Deep clean an entire room. Nope. Not yet. I guess I could choose a room in the RV to deep clean! Hmmm….
**Do the Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors challenge (at least 15 of the 52). Nope. Haven’t done a single one! Will I? Can I commit? We’ll see.
**Get family photos taken. SUCCESS! They turned out great. I have to thank my daughter-in-law for suggesting and scheduling the photographer. Otherwise, this one may have failed. But I’ll take the success, any way I can get it! :o)
**Read/listen to at least 52 books. In process. I’m at 43 of 52. I think I’ll probably succeed.
**Do a random act of kindness (multiple times). In process. I’ve done at least one! As we travel, we do our laundry at laundromats. Usually, they are in the campgrounds where we are staying, but one week, the campground didn’t have a laundry, so we went to a nearby town to do it. Some of the people doing their laundry seemed to be down on their luck. So, I sneakily stacked enough quarters for a load of laundry on top of 3 or 4 washers, when no one could see me doing it. As I sat waiting for my clothes to dry, I watched to see if anyone would use those quarters. One guy looked at the quarters, but left them there and put his own money in. I’m not sure what people thought. I’ll never know. I just hope someone who needed a free load of washing done actually used the quarters. And I hope the manager didn’t scoop up the quarters and add them to their coffers! :o) Oh well, I tried.
**While traveling, mail a book to “A” (granddaughter) with accompanied audio of me reading it. DONE! SUCCESS!
**Plan an anniversary dinner while in Singapore. FAIL. We did eat dinner, but it was not planned, and it was at a burger joint in a mall. I won’t count that as a success!
**Research all-inclusive resorts for a possible family Christmas trip. FAIL. We won’t be able to get everyone together this year, so I haven’t even tried this. Maybe next year?
**Design and print out the 2025 photo pages. Nope, not yet.
**Track your steps. FAIL. My watch does this, but I haven’t been intentional about it.
**Track your sugar intake. BIG FAIL. It’s hard to do! Any suggestions on how to make it easier?
**Track protein and fiber. FAIL! Same complaint as above!!
**Attend at least 5 live performances. SUCCESS!
**Finish reading all of Susan Meissner’s books. Almost! I’ve read all of her books except a children’s book that I just need to get from our library when we get home.
**Complete a writing course. No. And I’m not really in the mood anymore, so…???
**Consistently use weight training app. FAIL. What can I say?
**Systematically keep in touch with friends and family while traveling. Mostly fail. It’s sporatic, so I clearly don’t have a system.
**Plan activities for family get-together in Yellowstone so it’s memorable. Mostly fail, but my daughter-in-law said she’d plan some activities, so it’ll likely happen – just not by me. Do I count that? Probably not huh?
**Work in your art journal and your junk journal regularly. Nope – not regularly.
**Take vitamins daily. Not daily. I usually only remember if I see my hubby taking his! Ha!
**Make two more Retirement Journal versions (Southeast Asia and NW RVing). SUCCESS! I have a journal for the Southeast Asia trip, and I’m caught up on our RVing journal. Yay!
Phew! That’s it. I’ve made a few reminders in my phone, so we’ll see if a few more get completed before the end of the year.
I hope you all have a fabulous day and get to do or learn something NEW today!
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