Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

Happy New Year!!!!

After what seems like a never ending year, we have finally entered into 2017! There were a handful of posts and videos I had planned on creating for the end of the year but time got away from me and here I am writing this instead.

What I'm aiming for this post to be is a collective of things I liked about 2016 and my hopes for the future.

2016 Reflection

Yes, 2016 has been a long and rough year but I've had some amazing times this year and I don't think they should be blanketed under the ideation that this past year has been nothing but horrible.

This past year I have met more authors than I ever thought I would, I have been to some amazing events (musicals, sporting events, book events), and I've even been able to meet some of my best internet friends in real life! I've gotten to travel, granted not very far but more than I typically do in a year. I've gotten closer to some friends and made new ones along the way. My signed book collection is vastly growing and I love it! My Funko PoP! collection is also getting out of control but I love that as well. The Blues finally got a Winter Classic, and in their 50th year no less! Last, but certainly not least, I've rediscovered some of the things I love that had gotten away from me (crochet, sewing, crafting ect...).

I read about 92 books this past year, a handful of those were rereads and the majority of them were audiobooks. Yes, that is less than I read in 2015 but I'm okay with it because I haven't been feeling like reading lately and I've been extremely busy.

I started keeping a spreadsheet of all the books I read but gave up on that sometime in August, so sadly I don't have any specific statistics that I wish I had.

I went to BookCon for the first time this past year and completely loved it!! Unfortunately I don't think I can go in 2017, although I had initially planned on it, but I am planning on going to YALL Fest and SEYA Fest instead.

I became a season ticket holder at The Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis and have enjoyed the shows so far. Can't wait to see the rest of the shows and renew our tickets for the 2017-2018 season.

Other than big events this year has also been great with getting to know my friends better as well as making some new friends along the way. I was also able to meet up with some friends I don't see very often, which it's always nice to catch up.

All in all, 2016 was pretty great for me when I take a step back and appreciate the positives. While I had some great times in 2016, I'm more than excited to start a new year.

To the Future

I'm feeling inspired for 2017 and I hope that feeling continues throughout the year. I feel like I was in a slump pretty much all throughout 2016, in both reading and making content. Yes, I read near 100 books but as mentioned most of those were audio books. I've noticed that a lot of my free time is taken up my mindlessly looking at my phone for hours on end and I'd like to change that. The following are things I plan on doing to have a more positive and stress free year.

1. Focus more on reading physically.
           I'd like to take at least half an hour a day to read in either a physical book or an ebook. I've set my Goodreads goal at 12 and I'd like that number to be met by physical books.

2. Utilize my ereader and tablet more.
            I have a handful of ebooks that I have yet to read and I really do enjoy reading on my ereader. Also want to use my tablet more for blog posts. I don't get on my laptop all that often and using my tablet will help me keep up with posts.

3. Set time aside for hobbies.
            I've rediscovered my love for crochet and I have a few projects in mind for the year. More on those later. I also want to color more and start sewing again. One last hobby I want to focus on is gaming. I got a Xbox for Christmas and I want to make time to play games on it as well as some of my new 3DS games (still need to finish Pokemon Moon).

4. Less time on my phone.
            I'm going to try and incorporate techniques I used in college to stress less and spend time on other things. I'm going try and be off my phone no later than 8pm, earlier would be nice too, and completely stay off it on most Sunday's. Now if I'm going to be out or have something planned then obviously I won't stay off electronics all together, but for the most part I'm going to try and stay off my phone and computer on Sunday's and use that day to focus on reading and other hobbies.

5. Do what makes me happy.
          Simple right? I pretty much already do the things I enjoy, but this year I want to focus more on the positives of things and less on stress. I want to stick to my plans and if I have a certain time blocked out for myself I want to stick with it and not be so easily distracted by last minuet plans or social media.

Basically I want this year to be less controlled by technology while also utilizing the technology I'e been neglecting. Sounds crazy! Overall I hope this is a reading and hobby filled year! I also have at least three small trips planned, maybe four, and hopefully it will be another great year for author signings.

Hope you all have a fantastic 2017!

Until next time,

<3 Gina