Family Photos 2021

Back in November, we took our annual family photos for our Christmas card. We originally planned to to take the photos during golden hour (1 hour before sunset) the day after Thanksgiving. It looked like a beautiful day in the morning then all of the sudden as we were getting dressed, the wind picked up so much that the photographer called and said he didn't think it would be a great idea because the photos wouldn't turn out great. We agreed and rescheduled for the following Tuesday. 

This short notice rescheduling was actually a blessing in disguise, we got to try on our outfits as a dry run and the original clothes we picked out did not look great together. SO, we went back to the drawing board and figured out what we were going to wear. 

These photos ended up being some pretty awesome photos and the weather cooperated. We were sad there was no amazing sunset like last year but we were so happy with the photos overall. 

I shared what our Christmas card photo was on Christmas (here) and now here are some other favorites from that day

Location: Bamber Lake
Photographer: Noah Schaffer Photography

To see our 2020 family photos, click here.

Does your family take photos each year for Christmas?

[[photographs are moments in time you want to keep forever.]]

2021 Book Reviews

 AH! 2021 was a huge year for me, reading wise. I surpassed my reading goal of 25 books by reading 47 books. I couldn't get enough this year and I found some really amazing books.

Libby was the MVP again this year. I was able to find such fun and engaging books that I would never have found in the library.  Once the library opened back up, I still choose Libby over an actually book. There were a few books I got from the library since they were not available on Libby.

A fun discovery with books I found this year was audiobooks. I've listened to some audiobooks in the past that were on cds but let me tell you, audiobooks were game changers this year. I listened to them on walks, at the gym and where ever else I could. Between Libby and my wireless earbuds, it was perfect. 

I previously posted here  about the first 6 books of the year. They were:

How to be an Artist by Jerry Saltz⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silcon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert*⭐⭐⭐⭐
Southern Lady Code: Essays by Helen Ellis*⭐⭐⭐⭐

(*audiobooks)

Here are the rest of the books I read in 2021:

You Know I'm No Good by Jessie Ann Foley⭐⭐⭐⭐
Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent⭐⭐⭐⭐
To Siri With Love: A Mother, Her Autistic Son and the Kindness of a Machine by Judith Newman⭐⭐⭐
The Inheritance Games by: Jennifer Lynn Barnes⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ask Again, Yes by: Mary Beth Keane⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Single On Purpose: Redefine Everything. Find Yourself First by John Kim⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Twenty by James Grippando⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Rationing by Charles Wheelan⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner⭐⭐⭐⭐
Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith⭐⭐⭐
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult⭐⭐⭐⭐
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn⭐⭐⭐⭐
Of One Blood: Or, the Hidden Self by Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins⭐⭐⭐
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hola Pai: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer⭐⭐⭐⭐
We Can Only Save Ourselves by Alison Wisdom⭐⭐⭐
With You All The Way by: Cynthia Hand⭐⭐⭐
The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten⭐⭐⭐
Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me About Caring for the Living by: Robert A. Jensen⭐⭐⭐
Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11 by Joseph Pfeifer⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fault Lines by Emily Itami⭐⭐⭐⭐
Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight⭐⭐⭐⭐

The following books were all the audiobooks I listened to. I highly recommend these books to be listened to- they really bring the story alive and I don't think I would have liked these books if I had read them. 

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite⭐⭐⭐⭐
No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy Seal by Mark Owen⭐⭐⭐
Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry⭐⭐⭐⭐
Impostor Syndrome by Kathy Wang⭐⭐⭐
Ring Shout by P. Djli Clark⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter by 50 Cent⭐⭐⭐⭐
Influence by Sara Shepard⭐⭐⭐
Frontier Follies: Adventures in Marriage & Motherhood in the Middle of Nowhere: Ree Drummond⭐⭐⭐
11/22/1963 by Stephen King⭐⭐⭐⭐
The First Husband by Laura Dave⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Husbands by Chandler Baker⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Still Lives by Maria Hummel⭐⭐⭐
Instamom by Chantel Guertin⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cul-de-sac by Joy Fielding⭐⭐⭐

Phew! That is a lot of books read (for me!)-22 audio books and 25 books

I truly read a wide variety of genres- YA, romance, Nonfiction, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Humor, and Self help. I love finding books that I wouldn't necessarily pick up but end up really loving!

If I had to choose a top 5 for favorite books I read in 2021 they would be:  (in no particular order)

1. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
2. Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
3. The Husbands by Chandler Baker
4. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
5. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This was really hard for me to pick because I truly did love all the books I read this year- thy were so diverse and intriguing. I struggled only through a handful, some of the story lines were dry but interesting enough that I decided to keep reading. Some of those "dry-er" books actually ended up being really awesome, others not so much. 

Click here to follow me on Goodreads. 

How many books did you read this year? Which one was your favorite?

[[Reading allows you to be transported to a different world, from the comforts of your home]]

2021 by the Numbers

Hello!

Happy 2022! ( I totally wrote 2021 first and then realized we moved on to 2022. Does this happen to anyone else, the first few weeks of the year?) 

I am doing a fun post today where I go back and gather some data from my year and see how my year rounded out. 

Let's dive in:

133 days spent working in office

40 times I went on walks

15 times I went paddleboarding

10 visits to the Gravity Vault

8 dates went on

4,114 photos on my camera roll (including screenshots)

70 times I went to the gym

35,730 reps completed

510 average reps per workout

11 average exercises per workout

68 blog posts written

47 books read

113,984 minutes spent listening to music on Spotify

7,011 miles driven

584 average miles driven a month

23 restaurants I ate at

47ish bottles of hand santizer used

16 doctors appointments

4 squirrels I talked to

7ish plants killed (not intentional)

3 houses toured in hopes of buying

365 days of day dreaming

and on to the data you can't measure with numbers:

So many  adventures I went on

A lot of memes sent via text and instagram

Infinite number of times I whispered "what the hell..."

The limit does not exist of the number of sunset photos I took

and finally,

Too many times I wanted to give up but I am really glad I didn't

_______

A big thanks to Google, Libby, Spotify, My Buick App, my calendars/planners and my gym workout cards for keeping all this data for me. I love looking at my numbers for the year, I think it shows you concrete evidence of what you did during the year, while you may not realize it. 

Thanks for taking this fun trip down memory lane with me!

Do you compile your data  from the previous year to see what you accomplished?

[[Look back only to see how far you have come. ]]

New Years Eve

Another year coming to a close, another year starting. As we leave 2021 behind, I like to think we have all grown in different ways this year. We have seen good and the bad; we have each have experienced our lowest lows and our highest highs. We have gotten through it all and we have learned from it all. I am looking forward to this new year with optimism, gratitude and excitement. I want this year to be the year, I am stronger, joyful and intentional and 

I will be sharing my goals for the year, my word of the year and my mantras for the year in the next few weeks.

As the clock strikes 12 tonight, lets take a deep breath and hope for the best; what is for us, will come and what isn't for us, will pass us by. 

Happy New Years Eve friends!

See you in 2022!!

[[wishing you nothing but beautiful moments, treasured memories and all the blessings a heart can know]]

Dear 2021

Dear 2021, 

YIKES! You were a lot! I know you got off to a rough start, and I know I cried about how rough you were on New Years Eve last year but looking back, you showed me a lot about myself that I didn't think I would ever realize without going through such a weird year. 

You showed me that I am strong, brave, determined, honest, loving, goofy, proud, vulnerable, grateful, thankful, honored, hardworking, flexible, open, adaptable, considerate, empathetic, persistent, sincere, unassuming and kind. 

All these things I have experienced this year, have shaped me into the person I am today. I know there is a quote that says "Compare yourself to who you were a year ago and revel in your evolution." Looking back at where I was a year ago and where I am today, I would say a lot has changed but also a lot has stayed the same. The good things stayed and the bad things went away. I have been cultivating who I want to be for years now and I think I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel- who I am to become, the real me. 

A high school teacher once told me I'm an "isle of hope in a sea of dispair". I honestly didn't understand it at the time but 15 years later, I love that. These past few years have been beyond crazy and  looking back, I wouldn't change it for the world.

I learned so many lessons this year and they included: trusting your feelings, your gut  and following your heart. It is totally okay to feel all your emotions at the same time and do not feel bad about speaking your truth and your mind. Some people might not like it but you will find your tribe who will like what you have to say. You are you, never change. 

I am so thankful to my readers, this blog has been such a bright spot in what was a crazy fun year. I am so looking forward to all the posts that are to be written in 2022. I hope to enhance WGJ more and find more opportunities to promote this and take it to the next level. 

2021, thank you for all the wacky and wonderful days you provided. I cannot wait to see what 2022 brings. 

[[everything in your life is a reflection of a choice you made.]]

WGJ Favorites 2021

 From all my playlists, I pulled out the 12 songs that were my absolute favorite this year. 

WGJ Favorites 2021

Line by Line- JP Saxe, Marren Morris
That's You- Drew Baldridge
Apex- Ky Rodgers
Sunday Service in the Sand- Brian Kelley
Consecutive Days Alive- Justin Moore
So Far So Good- The Tuten Brothers
"Beer Beer, Truck Truck"- Geroge Birge
Dirt Road Down- Travis Denning
Follow Me- Nelly, Chris Bandi
Darlin'- Triston Marez
Voices- Jana Kramer
Sweeter- Leon Bridges, Terrace Martin

Listen Here.

In case you missed any of this years playlists:

January. February. March. April. May. June. July. August. September. October. November. December.

Here is my year of playlists in numbers:

237 total songs
226 unique artists
236 unique songs
48  repeat artists
31 songs with more than one artist
19.75 average songs in playlist
1 hour 4 minutes average time of playlist
75 songs appearing on my Spotify top songs list

I hope you had as much fun as I did with the music.

[[life is precious]]

Dear December

Hi December!

Woah! December you came in quick and strong. You had a lot going on this month!

Lets start off with the first weekend.... Kyle and I went to Asbury Park for dinner and an overnight at the Berkeley Hotel. We went to Porta for dinner. I love their White Door Sangria and of course their pizza. We ran into some friends of Kyle's and the atmosphere was perfect. We walked back to the Berkeley Hotel to our room that was on the top floor directly in the middle of the building- the best one in my opinion. 

We settled in to watch some Netflix and I ended up falling asleep. HA! We had plans to go back out but sleepy over here changed them. We got up the next morning and went to breakfast and went to see the Wooden Walls Christmas Tree. I had been talking about this Christmas tree for a while now and I was so excited to see it! 

Later in the day, we took a road trip to Kennett Square, PA to experience A Longwood Christmas. I was here a few years earlier and it's been on my mind ever since. It was a brisk night and Longwood Gardens was decorated impeccably. There was so much to see! A "fountain show" that was actually lights set to Christmas music, beautiful  poinsettias and all the beautifully decorated Christmas trees. I had ALL the heart eyes. It was the only thing I wanted for Christmas and Kyle delivered. We even took our first photo together, causing a traffic jam on the cutest but most congested Bridge within Longwood Gardens. 

I promptly fell asleep on the way home, leaving Kyle to navigate the two hour ride by himself. Oops! At this point my flare from last month, has subsided but I wasn't feeling 100% just yet.  I seemed to catch a cold right after Longwood and it lingered for about a week. It was frustrating and annoying. It also didn't help me get into the Christmas spirit. 

After a the cold went away, it was mid-december and I was in Christmas mode. Kyle quickly found out a dirty little secret of mine- I judge people's christmas lights VERY harshly. He was a bit shocked by this revelation. 

I was invited to an Christmas linner (late lunch, earlier dinner) at a restaurant West of where I work. It was a fun evening getting to chat with everyone I haven't really interacted with since before covid! I really enjoyed it! The bread was so yummy and so was the food. It was such a fun hidden gem. I ended up meeting Kyle after the linner to go climb in Brick. Maybe I had a few too many glasses of wine but it totally made climbing so much fun. Ha 

Christmas was a sweet and quiet. Kyle and I spent Christmas Eve together and then I spent Christmas day with my parents. We love our quiet holidays together. The day after Christmas I went for a walk with Adrienne at Double Trouble State Park. It was an unseasonably warmer than normal and it was a beautiful day! It was really nice to catch up with Adrienne. 

New Years Eve came quick after Christmas and it ended quietly and  without any craziness. Which is exactly what I like.2021 was a crazy year filled with lots of adventures and ups and downs and overall a great year. I hope the New Year brings fresh perspectives, a renewed sense of purpose and lots of adventures. 

[[Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom and experience can instill in us- Hal Borland]]

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas filled with family and love. Christmas is always a favorite day of mine, to spend with my parents and reminisce on Christmas' past and to be grateful for what we have and what we can give. 

Enjoy your day and remember the reason for the season.

[[When you choose joy, you feel good and when you feel good, you do good and when you do good it reminds others of what joy feels like and it just might inspire them to do the same.]]

WGJ vol. 24

I have kept up with the monthly playlists now for 2 Years! How exciting is that?! The grand total of playlist I've shared is 27 (24 monthly playlists, 1 valentines playlist and 2 year favorites)

I am so excited to share with you this month's playlist. It is another eclectic mix that makes me smile when I listen to it. There are some old friends, new friends and good head bopping tunes.  Enjoy!

WGJ vol. 24

Lucky for Me- Eli Young Band
Sweeter- Leon Bridges, Terrace Martin
Love Don't- Ryan Griffin
Bite Me- Avril Lavigne
Alive- O.A.R.
about me.- PJ North
Think of You- Mayday Parade
Sing  to You (Acoustic)- John Splithoff
Hell of a Year- Parker McCollum
Darling- Halsey
All About It- Dylan Marlowe
Doin' This- Luke Combs
Stop Draggin' Your Boots- Danielle Bradbery
Light Me Up- Hudson Moore
If You Love Her- Forest Blakk
Memory- Kane Brown, blackbear
Easy on the Eyes- Texas Hill
Memorize You- Laine Hardy
Love Myself- Andy Grammer
Prayin' For You- Tucker Beathard
I Wanna Be Your Tonight- Joe Nichols
She Likes It- Russell Dickerson, Jake Scott
Cover Girl- Tyler Farr
Waiting For You (Acoustic)- Russel Dickerson

Listen Here.  

[[Music makes life more interesting]]

Diary #24

Woah! Can you believe I have been posting my photo diary for 2 years now? I love sharing what I see on a daily basis. While most time its beautiful sunsets I see out my window, I love finding unusual things to share and keep. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. I am so excited to see what I am going to find in the new year. 

What did you see this month?

[[There's room for everyone on the nice list- Elf]]