It is the last day of August, dear reader! Where did this month go? All I know is it went by too quickly, and I think getting COVID contributes to me feeling that way. The universe definitely threw me a curveball, but I am recovering. Not as quickly as I want, but it does not seem like the universe cares what I want these days. HA! Please do not smite me universe! I promise I will not dwell or hold a grudge. Instead, I will wrap up my August challenge and let you know how I did August 25th-31st. This past week was more about getting back on track.
No book reviews on Goodreads. I am disappointed that I did not write one book review this entire month. I guess my heart was not into it. Therefore, I am taking my friend Liz’s advice, and I will be clearing the decks.
As for building on my habits I started in July, I met my water goal 4/7 times with an average of 60.0 ounces of water consumed over the course of the 7 days. My water consumption dropped on Monday with 56 ounces, picked back up to 64 ounces for the next 4 days, dropped again on Saturday with 48 ounces, but back up today with 60 ounces. For the month, I drank an average of 61 ounces of water.
Out of the 7 days, I consumed NO added sugar except 1/2 tsp of sugar in my morning coffee, 1 tbsp of honey in my afternoon tea, and 8 ounces of Sprite that I drank with my pizza on Wednesday. That left me with 6 days of no added sugar (the sugar in my coffee and honey in my tea is negligible). Much better than last week. For the month, I consumed added sugar on 12 of the 31 days.
My walking streak started again on Sunday, August 24th. My walking has been at a moderate pace while recovering from Covid. I am still dealing with a cough and sinus congestion. Thankfully, the stiffness in my knees has gone away. For the month, I walked 26 days of the 31 days.
Now, for my new habits, I caught up with my JOY List! As for grounding, I did none last week. For the month, I have 31 entries in my JOY journal. I participated in grounding 2 days of the 31 days.
While weight loss was not a part of this challenge, I weighed myself on August 1st (160.5 pounds) and again this morning (158 pounds) for informational purposes.
ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear
I read Chapter 15 ofAtomic Habits this afternoon. One of the takeaways that resonated with me has to do with the cost of your habits on your overall well-being. James Clear states, “The costs of your good habits are in the present. The costs of your bad habits are in the future.” Basically, when you make a plan to improve your life (get healthy; meet a personal goal; start a business), you are making plans for your future self. In order to stay the course with the habits to achieve whatever it is you are striving towards, the habit needs to be satisfying. I still need to read Chapters 16 and 17, but those two chapters will have to wait until tomorrow.
Overall, I am pleased with my progress last week as well as my accomplishments this month. August’s challenge was about pushing myself a little bit more. I will continue walking daily, striving to reach my water goal each day, keeping track of my daily sugar, dairy, and gluten consumption, and recording in my JOY journal. I have decided I will not be grounding which I do not think is my thing, at least not right now. Since September 1st falls on a Monday, I have decided that I am going to time track the first week and go from there. I am using this first week to also clear the decks of my Goodreads account. My readalong of Atomic Habits will be completed in September as well. Autumn is just around the corner, and I am looking forward to preparing for a new season. Dear reader, what did you accomplish in August? Happiness!
“To get a habit to stick you need to feel immediately successful – even if it’s in a small way.” ~ James Clear, Atomic Habits
Today is the last Monday in August, dear reader! And, I have a bunch I want to accomplish before closing out this month for good because last week I hit a HUGE stumbling block. Remember last week when I mentioned that I was struggling with hayfever and dealing with an itchy throat and hoarseness, which I thought was odd, since I had been on Claritin for almost a month. Well, it was not hayfever but the dreaded coronvirus instead. UGH! The dreadful beast finally got me after all these years. I started feeling worse Monday evening (ran fever; slept poorly; miserable night). On Tuesday, I slept all day (extremely tired; ran a low-grade fever early afternoon; felt miserable). I started to worry that perhaps I had run myself down and was developing a sinus infection, so I drug myself out of bed and drove myself to urgent care where I received the sad and shocking news that I had Covid. Admittedly, I was also quite annoyed because it messed up the remainder of my week. So, let me update you on how I did last week (August 18th-24th) with my August challenge despite the setback.
No book reviews on Goodreads. Who knows if I would have written any reviews even without being sick? My track record says NO.
As for building on my habits I started in July, I met or surpassed my water goal 5/7 times with an average of 65.7 ounces of water consumed over the course of the 7 days. My water consumption dropped on Saturday with 60 ounces and even lower on Sunday with 52 ounces. Hydration is super important during an illness. While I am feeling much better, I must continue striving for 64 ounces of water daily.
Out of the 7 days, I consumed NO added sugar except 1/2 tsp of sugar in my morning coffee, 1 tbsp of honey in my afternoon tea, and 1 small bag of Buc-ees Beaver Nuggets with milk chocolate (spread out over three days). That left me with 4 days of no added sugar (the sugar in my coffee and honey in my tea is negligible). Not perfect but better than the previous week.
My walking streak ended on Tuesday, August 19th when I could not go for my morning walk. Yeah, I am bummed because I was doing so well with my walking up to that point. No need to dwell on it. I started walking again yesterday morning with a moderate walk (30:10). My legs felt stiff, especially around my knees. Once warmed up, they felt better. It was also awesome to stretch after my walk.
Now, for my new habits, I need to catch up on my JOY List! I am sure it is no surprise that I did NO grounding last week.
ATOMIC HABITS by James Clear
I read Chapter 13 ofAtomic Habits last night and Chapter 14 this morning. One of the takeaways in Chapter 13 that resonated with me was the Two-Minute Rule. I was familiar with Clear’s story about Twyla Tharp because I read her book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life back in 2022. “Habits are like the entrance ramp to the highway…Habits are the entry point, not the end point. They are the cab, not the gym.” (pages 160, 162) James Clear claims, “You’ll find that nearly any habit can be scaled down into a two-minute version.” (page162) This rule just might get me to finally incorporate strength-training into my week. And, it might also help me with grounding.
In Chapter 14, the focus is on a Commitment Device, automating good habits, and making bad habits difficult. Basically, “A commitment device is a choice you make in the present that controls your actions in the future.” (page 170) Reading How to Break Up With Your Phone by Catherine Price and participating in her challenge back in August of 2020 made it more difficult to get sucked into the social media vortex. That book/challenge was my commitment device. Perhaps, it is time for a reread. I found myself this past week spending too much time scrolling through social media. Being sick last week was not a good enough excuse. I could have read more or watched a tv show/movie I have been wanting to watch.
Last week was a massive disappointment for me only because I had high expectations for the last two weeks of this challenge. Even though my walking streak ended, I started a new one. Even though, I did not write any book reviews, I probably would not have anyway. Even though, no grounding took place, I am willing to give it another shot this week. I was still successful in other areas of my August challenge and have one more week to finish strong. Dear reader, how do you handle a stumbling block that knocks you off track? Happiness!
“The more you ritualize the beginning of a process, the more likely it becomes that you can slip into the state of deep focus that is required to do great things.” James Clear, Atomic Habits
March was a MARVELOUS reading month for me. I read six short stories for The Week of Weird Readathon and completed eight books. Of those eight books, I read five for Middle Grade March. Both readathons were new reading adventures for me. I read quite a few new authors and discovered new middle-grade favorites. In addition, I completed The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson which I had been buddy reading with my sister Rachel since January. I completed Tranquility by Tuesday by Laura Vanderkam which I had been reading since January while also participating in Vanderkam’s Tranquility by Tuesday Challenge. Lastly, I finished Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier which was the January/February selection for the FOMO Book Club.
The Week of Weird Readathon
I have been wanting to read more short stories ever since devouring three collections by Joe Hill back in the spring of 2020. These collections are Strange Weather, Full Throttle, and 20th Century Ghosts. For those of you who do not know, Joe Hill is Stephen King’s son. He is a fantastic writer, and his books and short stories are wonderful! I sprinkle short stories into my reading life sparingly, so when The Week of Weird Readathon was announced by Crystal @ fiberartsy and Jason @ Jason’s Weird Reads, I was excited to add a few of them on my March TBR. There were five reading prompts for inspiration. I read a few of the stories and listened to a couple on the podcast, Levar Burton Reads.
Old Weird:Read a weird fiction story or book published between 1910s – 1970s.
New Weird:Read a weird fiction story or book published between 1980s to the present.
Out of This World:Read a weird fiction story or book featuring science fiction elements.
The Dark:Read a weird fiction story or book featuring supernatural or horror elements.
Flora and Fauna:Read a weird fiction story featuring nature.
For Old Weird, I listened to Levar Burton read “Childfinder” by Octavia Butler. This story was my introduction to Butler’s work. It is about a rogue telepath that defies the establishment to protect telepathic children who have not yet tapped into their abilities. It was a good story; however, I felt like it was the prologue to something bigger. 3.5 stars
For New Weird, I read “Afterlife” by Stephen King. Anyone who has followed me for some time knows that Stephen King is my absolute favorite author, so it should be no surprise that one of his short stories made this list. Bill, an investment banker, dies and ends up in a purgatorial waiting room of sorts. He meets Mr. Harris and is given the opportunity (again, because he has been there before) to choose between two doors. Bill can choose to relive his past life with no previous memories or choose finality of existence. It is an interesting dilemma, and I was surprised by Bill’s decision. 4 stars
For Out of This World, I listened to Levar Burton read “I Was a Teenage Space Jockey” by Stephen Graham Jones. This story was my introduction to Jones’s work. Two 6th grade Native American boys spend Halloween evening in a video arcade and have a surreal experience while playing Galaga. I loved this nostalgic story centered around these two characters. 5 stars
For The Dark, I listened to Levar Burton read “The Story We Used to Tell” by Shirley Jackson. This story was my introduction to Jackson’s work. Katherine visits her friend Y at her late husband’s family mansion. During the visit, they come upon a creepy painting in one of the bedrooms that disburbs both women. The next day Y goes missing and is later discovered inside the off-putting painting by Katherine. This story was incredibly dark and eerie, and I loved the goosebumps it gave me. 5 stars
For Flora and Fauna, I listened to Levar Burton read “Cricket” by Kenneth Yu. This story was my introduction to Yu’s work. (I thought I had listened to another story of his, but that story, “The Paper Menagerie” was actually written by Ken Lui. HA!) Richard and his family were tasked with caring for his mother until her death. He held a grudge against his siblings for this arrangement, perceiving it more as a burden then a blessing. After the elderly matriarch’s death, a talking cricket mysteriously appears, dispensing wisdom to Richard and his wife Lucy. This unexpected guest intrigues Lucy, entertains the couple’s young son, but angers Richard. Lots of great messages in this short story. 4 stars
I read an additional story that could pretty much fulfill all of the reading prompts except New Weird, and it was “Colour Out of Space” by H.P. Lovecraft. An alien entity comes to earth and lands near a farm where it destroys the family who owns the farm as well as anything living in direct proximity of the farm. This descriptive story is scary, ominous, and exudes dread. If you read this short story, dear reader, make sure to check out the movie with Nick Cage afterwards. It was a terrific film adaptation. 5 stars
Middle Grade March
The Middle Grade March Readathon on BookTube was hosted by four lovely ladies, Krista @ Books and Jams, Amanda @ The Curly Reader, Katie @ Life Between Words, Jenna @ Jenna Reads n Writes (Instagram). As you know, dear reader, I enjoy reading children’s literature, and I read some fabulous middle-grade books throughout the month of March. There were five reading prompts for inspiration plus a group read, A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga.
An award winner, but not Newbery (The Voyage of the Frog by Gary Paulsen)
A Sci-fi/Dystopian book (A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga)
Sky or Sea on the cover (Odder by Katherine Applegate)
Book with a neurodiverse character (Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling)
Book published in the last year (Odder by Katherine Applegate)
The Voyage of the Frog ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Rover’s Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Odder ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Vacancy (Chills, Thrills, & Kills Book Club selection for March) ⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5 stars
Even though I enjoyed everything I read for Middle Grade March, my absolute favorite story was Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. It was heartfelt, humorous, and had wonderfully written characters. I fell in love with the spunky main character Aven Green. Dear reader, if you want to hear more about my thoughts on any of the books I read during Middle Grade March, please check out my Middle Grade March wrap up video. It also includes my thoughts on Vacancy by K.R. Alexander which was my March book club selection for the Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club. I also hosted my first book giveaway on my channel. Since I loved Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus so much, I gave away 6 copies to readers who expressed interest. I have 3 more copies to give away, so if you are interested, dear reader, please leave me a comment on this blog post, and I will enter you into a drawing. Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 7th at 11:59 PM.
FOMO Book Club
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier was the January/February book club selection for the FOMO Book Club. This online book club is run by three brilliant British booktubers, Alice @ Alice and the Giant Bookshelf, Gemma @ Gem of Books, and Jack @ Spread Book Joy. I must confess that Jaimaca Inn is my first Daphne du Maurier story, and I was not disappointed by this classic tale. Jamaica Inn gives off gothic vibes with its suspenseful atmosphere, gloomy and dark setting, and mysterious characters, including Jamaica Inn.
Despite her naïveté and lack of good judgement on occasion, I really liked the protagonist, Mary Yellin. She is young and inexperienced; however, I admire her sagacity, determination, and courage. After the death of her mother, Mary leaves her home in Helford to live with her Aunt Patience, her mother’s sister, and Uncle Joss at Jamaica Inn. Soon after her arrival, she is disheartened to learn that Aunt Patience has married an unsavory man, and Jamaica Inn has unpleasant secrets. This novel is considered romantic suspense, but it is my kind of romance. While I was not too surprised by Mary’s decision at the end of the novel, I did enjoy all of the twists and turns, the mystery surrounding Jamaica Inn, and Daphne du Maurier’s storytelling. 4 stars for Jamaica Inn!
Buddy Read
Back in January, my sister Rachel and I started the personal development book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Caring): A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson. Yes, I covered up the expletive so as not to offend anyone; and, yes my sister laughed at me and pointed out it is just a word. Personally, I do not think it was necessary for Manson to use this word to effectively get his information out to his readers. However, he probably would not give a f*ck what I think anyway.
Once I got passed the cuss word in the title and the first chapter, laden with foul language and crude examples, I actually learned some valuable information that I could apply to my own life. There were quite a few takeaways from this book, but a few that really resonated with me included: happiness comes about through problem-solving, there is value in suffering, distinguishing between good and bad values, failure is a way forward, and the “do something” principle. I personally like how instead of looking for motivation to inspire action, you can take action to inspire motivation. Manson states, “If you lack motivation to make an important change in your life, do something – anything, really – and then harness the reaction to that action as a way to begin motivating yourself.” This self-improvement book earned a solid 3.5 stars.
23 for 2023 List
Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam is #20 on my 23 for 2023 List. I was not planning to read Vanderkam’s book until the summer; however, she hosted a Tranquility by
Tuesday Challenge in January, and it became the perfect time to dive in and get reaquainted with a few of the rules to see if they could help calm the chaos in my own life. My plan is to write a separate post specifically about my overall thoughts about this book and my experience with participating in the challenge. As I have mentioned in a previous post, I was excited to read Tranquility by Tuesday because I was one of the 150 participants in her time study to gather the data for this book. A couple of the rules had become habits or modified habits during the original time study, but most of them had fallen by the wayside and were forgotten. However, after reading the book (which I thought was fantastic) and completing the challenge (which I thought was eye-opening and fun), I am excited about how most of these rules can become effective habits in my life over time if I intentionally put them into practice. 5 stars for this personal development gem.
As you can see, I had a productive month of reading, dear reader. If you want to hear more about my thoughts on this book or the other books I read in March, please check out my March wrap up video.
My sister and I are taking a break in between now and June. Rachel is an actuary and started her busy season at work at the end of March, and I have commitments in April with Old School April and in May with Zombiethon. I have been reading a bunch in April. I finally got around to reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The Chills, Thrills, and Kills Book Club chose a rockin’ selection by Grady Hendrix. And, I finally finished reading Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley. Hopefully (always hopeful), I will be writing a post soon about what I read in April. Lots of terrific reads to share with you!
Lastly, do not forget about my book giveaway. Leave me a comment on this blog post if you are interested in a chance to win a copy of Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. Giveaway ends on Sunday, May 7th at 11:59 PM. To see my current book reviews or books I have read in the past, follow me on Goodreads at Katherine Loyacano. Happiness!
“Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” ~ Vera Nazarian
"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny." ~Gandhi
Run/Walk Schedule
Week #1: Walk 30 minutes a day, at least three times a week.
Week #2: Continue week-one workout but pick up the pace, pump your arms. Break a sweat!
Week #3: Walk 10 minutes. Run 1 minute. Walk 2 minutes (repeat this 3-minute session 5 times). Walk 10 minutes.
Week #4: Walk 10 minutes. Run 2 minutes. Walk 1 minute (repeat this 3-minute session 5 times). Walk 10 minutes.
The Kat Files 