april goals

with february and march come and gone, april had another 6 goals i set out to complete. i wanted to challenge myself more this month and so i gave myself some more difficult goals to work on.

since april is finished it’s time to talk about the progress i made (or didn’t make.)

finish a book

this month, i was excited to read marzia bisognin’s dream house. i’m a huge fan of marzia and so when i discovered that she had a book, i bought it immediately. i wrote a whole review already on the book, so i won’t over explain what i thought of it. the book has a fun spooky sense of mystery in it and it also wraps up very nicely. i started out reading this book slowly because i had a hard time getting through the beginning, but once i got half way through, i couldn’t put the book down. the ending was calming and euphoric, and i would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light fantasy story.

complete a puzzle

anyone who knows me knows that i love puzzles. between moving a year ago and my part time job, i never was able to sit down and do another puzzle. i realized this had to change, and i needed to start doing things i love again. being able to put together something piece by piece and make a mess into a finished product is one of the things i love the most. this puzzle was given to me as a house warming present from a good friend, and i wasn’t able to put it together until now. although i’m not a huge fan of disney, the artwork in this is moving and beautiful.

bake a pumpkin pie

i finally stepped out of my comfort zone and attempted a pumpkin pie. i wrote a detailed blog post about how it went here. i’ve been wanting to make pumpkin pie for a while – ever since bae requested it. i could never motivate myself to just do it, for whatever reason i was nervous and i felt that maybe i would screw it up – even though i made the apple pie just fine. i finally bought the ingredients and focused on the task at hand. in the end, it turned out pretty good, and for a first attempt, i was very pleased.

learn katakana

i have to ask myself, will there ever be a month where i don’t fall short on one of my goals? with everything going on this month, between the stress of my second job, and trying to balance relaxing (so i don’t get too overwhelmed) i became lazy and just wouldn’t pick up my books to learn katakana. i still have hiragana down really well, in fact i can read it almost perfectly now and i do practice reading it whenever i can. i just need to push myself and dedicate time to sit, learn, and practice.

fold lucky stars

when i was in the philippines last september, i picked up these strips of paper that you fold into stars. i remember my sister in law used to have a giant jar full of these paper stars when i was little, and i always wondered how they were made. when i stumbled upon the small kit, i bought them, excited to finally have stars of my own. once i got home, i was so busy and overwhelmed that they just sat in the container on my desk, and i never had the drive to really start them. this month, i finally sat down and dedicated myself to folding my cute little stars, and i was so excited once i got the hang of it. the packet of paper yielded less stars than i had hoped, so i finished a lot more quickly than i had anticipated. either way, i’ve put them in a tiny jar to add to my collection of decorative knick-knacks.

paint nails once a week

several years ago, i signed up to be a julep maven. basically, it’s a subscription for a monthly box where you get nail polish or other beauty products. i love painting my nails and getting new colors every month. over time, the colors started getting redundant, and as i grew busier, the amount i would paint my nails decreased greatly. about a year ago, i finally unsubscribed. i wish i had done so sooner, because as much nail polish as you see here, there was just as much thrown out – which is such a waste. i was tired of seeing the colors sit there neglected, so i finally started painting my nails again! the third week of this month, i slacked a bit only doing a oxygen clear coat since there was so much drama going on, but i’ve been good about painting my nails regularly again. i hope this is a hobby i can enjoy and do more of.

may goals

i’m excited to start may with a new set of confidence. i hope this will finally be the month were i don’t fall short on any goals. since i’m no longer working two jobs, i should be able to make great progress! i can’t wait to share with you guys next month on how everything went.

i’m always looking for monthly goal suggestions, so if you have any fun ideas – let me know, and i’ll put it on my list. ❤