Halfway Day (July 2nd) has come and gone, and it is time for me to evaluate my progress on my 26 for 2026 List for the second quarter (April, May, and June) of this year. The past three months flew by, and I feel like I have barely made a dent in my list. However, I felt the same way when I did my First Quarter Review and was surprised by how many aims I had started. Very few of my aims are one and done, so I have to realize that most of them will take longer in general to complete. Out of the 26 items on my list, I have started 12 aims or activities and completed three activities.
I completed my first activity, #22 Vincent van Gogh Conqueror Challenge, during the first quarter on Monday, 30 March (Vincent van Gogh’s birthday). I received my medal later in April, and it is absolutely beautiful. It also opens and includes three mini cards of Van Gogh’s paintings. I love it!
On May 8th, I completed #4 Dermatology Appointment. And, on June 19th, I completed #13 Massage. I am thrilled to have checked off both of these aims. My dermatologist biopsied two moles (one was fine; the other had precancerous cells). She also recommended that I get my thyroid tested based on my skin check and concerns. My bloodwork was scheduled for July 9th, and a follow-up appointment with my dermatologist has been scheduled for mid-November. The massage was AMAZING, and I would love to get another one later in the year.
12 Items Started
- Alphabet Adventures (books, movies, outings, restaurants, etc.)
- Clutter Clear 123 (bedroom closet, kitchen, and scrapbook room)
- Finances 101 (create budget/track book spending)
- Home Library (complete organization)
- Kat’s Novel Adventures (film/release 26 videos in 2026)
- Lunch Dates with Friends (6 in 2026)
- Out with the Old/In with the New (update wardrobe)
- Scrapbook Sessions (scrapbook 26 times in 2026)
- The X-Files: Season 1 Rewatch with Barry
- Unhaul Books (donations, giveaways, and Pango)
- Writing Sessions (write 26 blog posts in 2026)
- Zero to Well-Read Podcast
I continue tracking everything I am doing for my Alphabet Adventures. In April, I went on 2 major outings that also included mini outings for Old School April (Lakeside Mall and Colonial Lanes). In May, I went to our local movie theater with my hubby to see Hokum. In June, I attended a 3-Day Workshop at the Columbia Theatre, a Junk Journal Class at the Albany-Springfield Library, and the annual TAC Scrapbooking Event at the Airport Hilton.
For Clutter Clear 123, I decluttered half of my scrapbook room, so that I could prep and pack for the TAC Scrapbooking Event. I still have the other half to declutter and organize. I have done NOTHING in the kitchen or my bedroom closet.
As for Finances 101, no budget yet, but I am still keeping track of my book spending. I spent a total of $351.85 on 38 books for myself/channel. I bought 10 less books and spent $83.38 less than I did the first quarter of the year. I spent $102.27 on 12 books for gifts. I bought 16 less books and spent $37.29 less than I did the first quarter of the year. However, I spent more on books for my son Andrew. I am not sure how many books he purchased overall, but his total came to $315.93 ($172.87 more than last quarter). A few of the books that he purchased were for theological study. I continue to keep track of how much money I am saving by using my libraries as well as how many free books I am receiving from friends, Scholastic, and the FOTL store.
My Home Library is still a work in progress. I am hoping to make HUGE strides in July.
I filmed/released 5/26 videos (3-April/2-May) on my YouTube channel, Kat’s Novel Adventures. I released the same number of videos as last quarter, bringing my total for the first half of the year to 10/26 videos. As for Scrapbook Sessions, I had 4/26 at the TAC Scrapbooking Event I attended in June with Donna, Heather, and Kelsi. This brings my total to 8/26 scrapbook sessions for the first half of the year. As for my Writing Sessions, I wrote 6/26 blog posts (1-April/5-June). This brings my total for the first half of the year to 9/26 blog posts.
I had 2/6 Lunch Dates with Friends. I had lunch with WYES-TV friends (Kelsi, Michelle, and Robin) at Deanie’s in May. Donna, Heather, Kelsi, and I had lunch together three times during the TAC Scrapbooking Event. We went to Zea’s Rotisserie & Bar, Don Jose’s Grill, and LaSalle Restaurant and Bar at the hotel where we were staying/scrapbooking for the event. This brings my total up to 4/6 lunch dates with friends for the first half of the year.
Barry and I did NOT watch one episode of The X-Files: Season 1 during the second quarter which makes me unhappy. Therefore, we are still at 1/24 episodes. If Barry does not step up during the third quarter, I will complete season 1 on my own. I also did NOT unhaul any books or listen to another episode of the Zero to Well-Read Podcast.
Regarding my other projects for the year, I continue to move at least 26 minutes every day for the #Move26in26 Challenge. I am still on track with my Goodreads Challenge. I read 26/100 books (April-June) which was one less book than last quarter. So, for the first half of the year, I have read 53/100 books. However, I am still extremely behind on writing my book reviews.
As for YouTube, I continue to host my weekly Wednesday and Saturday sprints. I am also keeping up with buddy reads, book clubs, and the 2026 Read Your Bookshelf Challenge. I cohosted Old School April in April and hosted Zombiethon in May. I also participated in week one of the Summer Spooks Readathon during the last week of June. I started two summer readathons in June, Summer Book Bingo and Big Book Summer. As you can see, dear reader, I spent a good chunk of the second quarter on YouTube-related activities, mainly surrounding reading. With that being said, I did watch a lot of movies for Old School April and Zombiethon for my Alphabet Adventures project. I watched 26 movies (one for each letter of the alphabet) for each event. It was challenging, especially the 26 zombie movies.
Well, dear reader, that is my second quarter review of my 26 for 2026 List and the other projects I am participating in this year. I have 11 aims that I have not even started yet. I have thought about them from time-to-time, but I have not made the time or effort to execute any of them. We are at the halfway point of the year, and I need to kick it up a notch if I want to complete the aims that I have started and make some progress on the aims that I have not started. I remain optimistic. Let me know in the comments, dear reader, how your first half of the year went. Happiness!
“Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.” ~ Robert Collier
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The Kat Files 