To read is to live.

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." - Sir Richard Steele

What? That's not an iPad!

My reading goal is simple: to read twenty books by the end of the year. I love reading, so the goal as written shouldn't be very hard for me to accomplish. I have decided to create a list of the twenty books I want to read, in order to give me some direction. It isn't complete, so if you have any suggestions please post in the comments section!

1. The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
2. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
3. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Secrets - J.K Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling
11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
12. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
13. Lamb - Christopher Moore
14. The Book of Negroes - Lawrence Hill
15. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

What books would you recommend I fill my final five spots with? Or maybe there is one on my list that shouldn't be? I'd love your opinions!



My Goals

Something that has been very hard for me to admit, in this time of self-reflection, is that I don't have any goals. I'm not striving towards anything, content with moseying through life without a sense of purpose.

Well, that all changes now.

This list is not exclusive. It will change. A lot. But, I'm okay with that. As long as I keep building upon what I've set out to do, I'll be happy. Mostly, I'm hoping that accomplishing these goals will lead to me discovering new things that I'm passionate about and those things will then lead to new goals. 

So, here is a quick overview of the goals I've come up with as of right now. I will go into more detail about each goal in their own posts.

1. Make 26 new, different, or challenging recipes before I turn 26.

This is the main reason for my starting a blog, other then the whole accountability thing. I want a place to post the recipes I've tried, the changes I've made, and the successes (or failures) I've had. I love to cook and bake, so I know I am going to have a lot of fun during this process. 

2. Running! 

My 26x26 list is chalk-full of ridiculous recipes, from puff pastry to baked Alaska to the perfect vanilla cupcake. I need to keep active during this process and I've decided that running is what I'm going to do (along with some supplementation, but I don't know what that will be yet). A loves to run and I love discovering things that we can do together, so running it is!

3. Reading.

I love to read, but find myself picking up my laptop or the TV remote more often then my Kobo. So, I'm challenging myself to make reading my first choice instead of something I only do in the bathtub!

4. Learning to sew.

Pretty self-explanatory, but something I've been "meaning to do" for quite awhile. My mother-in-law (MIL) gave me a sewing machine two years ago, and beyond the short tutorial she gave me I have never used it. 

This is where I sit so far. Like I said, I hope to gradually add more things to the list but I'm happy with where I sit right now. It's going to be an adventure, and I hope that you'll all be along for the ride!