2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

 For rules and challenge details click on the picture or visit this blog


Last Year I read 78 books this year I am shooting for 85 so that puts me in level Out of Breath.

Levels:
     Getting my heart rate up – Read 1–5 more books
     Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books
     Breaking a sweat – Read 11–15 more books
     I’m on fire! – Read 16+ more books

1. Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
2. Crossed by Allie Condie
3. Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
4. Persuasion by Jane Austen
5. Home Improvement Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris 
6.  Strange Brew
7. Atonement
8. The Last Unicorn
9. The Red Sun Rises
10. The Giver
11. Prince Caspian
12. The Silver Chair
13. The Last Battle 
14. An Apple for Creature 
15. My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
16. Reached
17. Shadow of Night
18. Out of Oz
19. Blood Brothers
20. Hush Hush
21. Crescendo 
22. The Book Thief 
23. Al Capone Does My Shirts 
24. Chains of Frost
25. The Princess Bride
26. Bonds of Fire
27. Bloodfever
28. Corsets & Crossbows
29. Switched
30. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
31. Snow White Blood Red
32. The Fault In Our Stars
33. Silence
34. Fablehaven
35. Ender's Game
36. Doll Bones
37. The Daughter of Time
38. Finale 
39. Fangtastic
40. Matilda
41. Re-Vamped
42. Brother Odd
43. Airman
44. Hyperbole and a Half
45. Fallen
46. Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
47. Night Fall
48. Rise of the Evening Star
49. Grip of the Shadow Plauge
50. Ties That Bind
51. Uganda Be Kidding Me
52. Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel
53. Vampalicious
54. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest 
55.  The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Volume 1
56. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
57. Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea
58. Twilight The Graphic Novel Volume 1
59. Twilight The Graphic Novel Volume 2
60. Blood Memories
61. Coraline Graphic Novel
62. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
63. Bone Volume 2 The Great Cow Race
64. First Love
65. Hamlet Graphic Novel
66. A Mercy 
67. Beezus and Ramona
68. Rose
69. Rock Jaw Master of the Eastern Border
70. The Little Prince Graphic Novel
71. The Alchemist
72. The Graveyard Book
73. Persepolis
74. The Halloween Tree
75. If I Stay
76. Out of Boneville
77. Ramona Quimby Age 8
78. Eyes of the Storm
79. The Five People You Meet in Heaven
80. Old Man's Cave
81. Home
82. The Dragonslayer
83. Ghost Circles
84. Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
85. Crown of Horns
86. Treasure Hunters 
87. The Hobbit
88. Keys to the Demon Prison
89. Odd Hours
90. Torment
91. Persepolis 2
92. The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Volume 2
93. Pride, Prejudice and Zombies Graphic Novel
94. The Sea of Monsters Graphic Novel
95. Ramona the Pest
96. The Death Sonnets
97. Killer Files: Abduction and Murder in South Carolina
98. Forgotten Girl: Season One - Episode 1(Steampunk OZ)
99. The Time Traveler's Wife
100. Fangirl 
101. This Doesn't Happen in the Movies 
102. Spurs & Lace
103. The Universe Doesn't Give A Flying Fuck About You

2014 Reading Challenge TBR Pile

Just click on the picture to be taken to the blog hosting the challenge or click here

This challenge runs from January  1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.  If you want to enter just go to the blog and sign up (you don't have to be a blogger but you do have to review the books you read (on your blog, Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari).  Only books released in 2013 or later count nothing in 2014 or ARC's for 2014. 

Levels:

(how many books you're planning to read for this challenge in 2014) Remember you can go up levels but not down

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - First Kiss **  This is where I am now
31-40 - Sweet Summer Fling  * This is where I am now
41-50 - Could this be love? 
50+ - Married With Children

I am going to start with 11-20 books A Friendly Hug level.  That way I can move up if I need but it's not too far out so I don't get stuck.  

1.  Atonement 
2.  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
3.  The Last Unicorn
4.  Prince Caspian 
5. The Cuckoo's Calling 
6.  Crossed
7. Forever Odd
8. Home Improvement Undead Edition 
9. Strange Brew
10. The Silver Chair 
11. The Last Battle 
12. An Apple for Creature 
13. My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding 
14. Reached 
15. Out of Oz
16. Hush Hush
17. Crescendo 
18. The Book Thief
19. The Princess Bride 
20. Corsets and Crossbows 
21. The Fault in Our Stars 
22. Silence 
23. Fablehaven 
24. Ender's Game 
25. Doll Bones
26. Finale 
27. Matilda 
28. Brother Odd 
29. Fallen
30. Charlie Bone and the Time Twister 
31. Rise of the Evening Star
32. Grip of the Shadow Plague 
33. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
34. Blood Memories (Vampire Memories #1)
35. The Graveyard Book 
36. The Alchemist
37. The Five People You Meet In Heaven 
38. The Hobbit 
39. Keys to the Demon Prison
40. Torment

2014 WORD OF THE YEAR

So this took me longer then it has ever.  I did have a vague idea of what I wanted but couldn't find the word I wanted for it because "me" just wasn't the word I wanted.  This past year I have seen a major change in myself in a short amount of time.  I have lost 42 pounds, that's a serious amount of weight but it doesn't make me where I want to be.  It did show me though how much I have lost myself since we have moved to Maine.  So with that my Word of the Year (W.O.Y.) for 2014 is EMPOWER!!!!!

 I am thinking that this is the year for wooden blocks now it will be finding them if not I will have to find something different. I want to EMPOWER myself to find Me again!  To get myself closer to my weight goal and make better choices for myself.  To find my happy inside me again and not this funk I have been in.  I want to EMPOWER myself to bring back my creativity and make time for the things I love doing again. 

I know becoming a Mom, and a Caregiver have pushed my onto the back burner, but the longer I let it go the harder it is going to be to try and find me again.  I have lost sight of what is important to me and what makes me who I am.  So that lead to my thinking of my 2014 word needing to revolve around ME.  But me being me I couldn't just choose me because it didn't feel right.  I needed something that called to me as MY word, my strength through the fight to find me.  I needed a word that could bring me to my core and help me rebuild what has been broken and lost.  I needed a word that made me feel strong and that I could accomplish this, I could find me again and be happy with myself.  And with that it came to me, I needed to EMPOWER myself to find the change to bring me back.  So with that I will find myself amongst all the chaos and retrieve what has been lost and broken to rebuild the new Empowered Me!!!!

The Scale is my Friend

So before I refused to own a scale the freaking thing scared the hell out of me.  I wasn't doing anything right and the numbers kept growing and growing.  Now that I have a better idea of what is right and what really needs to be done I weigh myself every Monday unless it's weigh in day (the end of the month regardless) and I am so proud of the difference I have been seeing.  I got on the scale this morning to see I am under 170.  I am 4 pounds away from my first goal, 4 pounds and I will weigh less then where I was when I got pregnant with Kyrie.  It's been a hard road to take it all off, and it has taken huge improvements and lifestyle changes from my end but I am doing it!!!!

#79 Do Something Special and get a new bag

I got a Grace Adele bag.  A black one.  It feels great having a new purse and doing something for ME!!

Visual Motivation

I saw a version of these on pinterest but wasn't happy with them because they said Pounds Lost.  I never want to find those pounds again so I didn't want to do lost.  Pounds destroyed sounds better because those suckers are NOT coming back.

Awakening

It's amazing to see what motivation can do.  I have been working hard this year on loosing the weight I gained from moving to Maine, on taking off the pregnancy weight from both girls and trying to reach my healthy weight.  I have been making progress with a little set back at first but with encouragement from Seth, I got through the upset that came with gaining muscle when I was trying to take off weight.  I have come to see the people who care notice and help.  Little things make a huge difference.  I saw a friend yesterday that I haven't seen in about a month and she told me I was the incredible shrinking woman.  The people at Church have noticed the difference and always have encouragement and support for me through my struggle.  I get that it is my battle, no one can fight it for me.  That I have to do it myself but it's nice having support in my corner to help me get there.  Seeing the difference just from July is overwhelming.  In July my Mom bought me a shirt and I needed to take it back but never got around to taking it back.  Just to see I tried it on and now it fits.  It is absolutely astounding how many people try and hurt you along your path to a better you.  Who constantly try and break you.  It's crazy how those people call themselves your family.  But I am working on getting over the fact that some people just suck.  They can't seem to be accepting of something that is different from them, they can't build you up even if you build them up.  I'm okay with it now or trying to be.  I have spent too long crying over people who don't deserve to have me be a part of their lives in the first place, so now I am letting it go along with my weight and emerging better for it all.