To say I am excited about participating in my first ever Bout of Books is putting it mildly. It admit that I set up my Declaration of Intent to Participate and this Goal Post wayy back in the first week of July might mark me down as feverishly giddy — yet I think if your going to do something in life that makes you happy, {ie: this blog!} you might as well become consumed by the things that spark a lifeblood into your regularly scheduled postings and have a wee bit of bang-on fun whilst you’re at it!”
Personal Goals and Motivations:
- Hours Dedicated to Reading (in total): 112
- Hours per day slated to Read: 16
- Starting Hour: 08:00
- Ending Hour: 00:00
- Books Projected to Read: 10
- Potential Blog Posts (in total): 20 {7 days to record my reading adventures; 1 declaration of intent to participate; 1 statement of goals and motivations; 10 books to opine and review; 1 day after recollection}
- Post my reactions to each book after I have concluded reading them, because more than anything I want to be wholly enthused about the stories, the characters, and the prose that each writer etches into their books — I want to challenge myself to read 10 books but not to the brink where I cannot fully appreciate them. I want to absorb them and allow their worlds to soak through to my mind’s eye.
- Participate in the Bout of Books community by dropping by fellow participants’ blogs, leaving encouraging commentary, and share in the joy of this intensive week of reading! As well as find challenges to enhance my experience with this wicked sweet group of readers!
- Blogs I scoped out to visit: Coffee Bean Bookshelf {ironically or not, Bree began drinking coffee with affection the same age as me (twenty-nine!) and by way of a French Press!}; Sarah Reads Too Much {of Back to the Classics read-a-along!}; Hopeful Happiness {she’s joining Bout of Books for the first time too!}; Bookish Comforts {two girls reading books together looks interesting! Oh, their into Austen & Eyre!}; I am Sam Tule {she had me with Harry Potter because despite our differences in age, I couldn’t agree more!}; My Readers Block {Iove the eclectic nature of her reading tendencies!}; Doing Dewey {Led me to Pen Pals for Book Bloggers & Austen in August!}; Afternoon Book Party {she’s a newbie, too!}; Books are Portable Magic {I like the aesthetics of her blog! Choice challenges featured! Like Get Steampunk’d 2013!}; A Blog of Books {cross-over challenges for Austen in August & Bout of Books – same as me!}; Lit Nerd {3-way tie: The Classics Club, Austen in August, & Bout of Books! Like her book choices too!}; Bookish Geek {This reader has gumpshun!}; The Tale Archives {A librarian from the Mid-West!}; A Cup of Coffee And a Book {found through Blog Nation! I love a good latte!}; Snuggling on the Sofa {oh, swoon isn’t that quite the picture for a reader? thankful to find another newbie!}; Little Lovely Books {hostess of the “New Bout of Books Blogs”!}; A Geek’s Bookshelf {scottish blogger whose also in the Classics Club!}; Estella’s Revenge {she’s in the Bout, Austen in August, & reads books that intrigue me!}, Paradise of Pages {she has such a cheerful blog!}; Sophicated Dorkiness {love the eclectic reading choices of a journalist!}; Potterhead Reviews {a little bit of everything!}; Book Pairing {wine + books = full-on bliss!}; Book, Food, & Other Things {reading Water; anxious to see their musings!}; Books & Blockbusters {Blogger dislikes WP!}; Read & Reviewed {ooh my dear stars! the cover art alone is creatively intriguing! as far as the books she’s reading!}; Leeswammes’ Blog {an aspiring writer, loves England, & lives in Holland!}; Under A Gray Sky {she has the most loveliest of weather! chooses the same books I want to read! a “Pink Carnation” fan!}; Ink Scratchers {i feel excited for “the Ghost Bride!”}; The Little Reader Library {I was curious about her take on Glaciers as it was slated to be read!}; The Book Lover’s Chronicles {?}; You Book Me All Night Long {?}; Smiling Shelves {newbie book blogger & first Bout’er!}; Curiosity Killed the Bookworm {lovely vlog! loved it!}; The Temporary Escape {lovely blogger from Slovenia!}; Mom’s Small Victories {love her premise of the blog! she rocks!}; It’s A Nerdy Thing {?}; A Bookaholic Blog {?}; Stacks & Shelves {?}; Everything to do with Books {?}; A Book Lover’s Ramblings {?}; Sharlene Says {she’s tackling War & Peace! Wicked!}; Book Nerds Book Blog {Nordic & Bi-lingual! Awesomesauce!}; Of Sunsets & Valleys {?}; Snowdrops Dreams of Books {she supports local libraries, just like me! rock it!}; Student Spyglass | Geeky Zoo Girl (reincarnated) {?}; Other Women’s Stories {anyone who appreciates Julia Child rocks!}; Paperback Daydreamer {re-joining up w/ the Bout; last was 2.0!}; Curled Up with a Good Book & a Cup of Tea {?}; I Blog for Books {?}; The Book Sphere {?}; The Book Barn {?}; Just Another Book Lovin’ Girl {?}; A Blighted One {a newbie!}; The Attic {?}; Undead Unicorn {?}; Christian Bookshelf Reviews {?}; The Writerly Reader {?}; GaGa Over Books {?}; The Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog {?}; Simply Dazee: Tea & a Book {eek! she’s reading me favourite: Cleo Coyle!}; My Seryniti {13! i’m not the only one shooting for the moon!}; Book Beats {?}; Stitch, Read, Cook {?}; The Oaken Bookcase {?}; Reading in Winter {she’s attempting 10 books, too!}; The Girl & Her Books {?}; The Cozy Armchair {gave me the inspiration to Support Banned Books!}; My Not So Real Life {?}; Love YA Books {?}; The Skeptical Reader {?}; Pearl the Book Girl {Ravenclaw evermore!}; Escape Through the Pages {?}; Let Me Dream, Let Me Stay {?}; The Writeables {?}; Miles from Ordinary {?}; In Libris Veritas {?}; Bemused Bookworm {?}; Jane’s Book Blog {?}; Beyond Strange New Worlds {?}; Teenage Years of a Teen {wicked sweet vlog intro!}; Always with a Book {?}; Little Bird Reads {?}; Booked on a Feeling {the Bout’er Cheerleader!!}; Pen in Her Hand {a writer of parapsychological suspense novels + a hearty reader!}; Vicky Thinks {Light Between Oceans + Locke Lamora!}; Heather Hearts Books {needs some cheerful notes!}; Quinn’s Booknook {she made it a sticky too! Life after Theft; The Girl in the Steel Corset; & Navigating Early!! I wanted to read those as well! Emma I’ll be adding to my Classics Club List!}; Pretty Pug {biochemist who loves to read! funky blog!}; Must Read Faster {?}; Bookworm in Barrie {a cheeky bookish badge in her sidebar that made me grin! she’s reading ARCs!}; Bookeater/Booklover {reading by surprise! seriously awesome Book Spine Poem! Tragic yet hopeful!}; Life: Merging {a blogger who knows how to draw your attention into her blog!}; Miss Reader’s Reading Adventures {a newbie to the Bout! disque dislikes me!}; The Polished Page-Turner {attempting 10 books same as me!}; Listful Booking {Time Machine & Saving Wishes!}; Read. Run. Study. {Potter! A Little Princess! Yes!}; Library of Mallory {PEI to Albert! Lovely part(s) of Canada! I like how she lists her interests and streamlines everything into her blog!}; Divergent Gryffinder {clever name of a blog!}; The Paige Turner {the Thorn Birds!}; Devouring Texts {Middlemarch + The Cuckcoo’s Calling!}; Of Nowhere Land {love the muted atmopshere of her book photo!}; Paper Riot {All Our Yesterdays seems intriguing!}; Losing Myself in a Good Book {Ooh, Jane Eyre AND Jekyll/Hyde!}; bookgoonie {Jane Eyre & the Eyre Affair! wicked!}; Books Speak Volumes {she picked “Songs of Willow Frost”, which I am keen to read myself!}; Auggie Talk {vintage vibe with lots of bookish interests}; Chels & a Book {spirited book blogger with a cool list for the Classics Club! I love Hill House because of the film of 1963}; Reading Extensively {The Sweetest Dark is intriguing! felt bad she has the flu!};… visiting a total of 108 bout’er blogs!! +note+ I dropped by ahead of time OR on Day One: leaving a comment on their sign-up pages &/or Goals Page! :) I did skip over those who are tweating OR tubing, as I knew I couldn’t drop a note; yet I did attempt to visit nearly every blog listed!! {UPDATE: weekend before the Bout, blogger starts to reject OpenID comments for Blogger blogs! Thus delaying my goal of leaving notes!! I mention which ones above!}{Disque dislikes me; I will have to read Book Pairing w/o leaving comments!}{Rockin’ out to the tunage of “KISS 108FM-Boston via IheartRadio! Perfect pulse-electric energy for leaving notes!} There are a total of: 515 readers in Bout 8.0!! I started out as #142 | moved up to: #141! Under Goals, I am #52!
- I am hoping participants of *8.0* will drop by my blog as well, and in that way, I can get to know the readers who are just as excited about this as I am! I decided to create a short list of blogs ahead of the start time in case the hours dissolve as quickly as I am thinking they will and I can simply refer back to this as a guide as ‘where to go next’!
- Challenges that whet my fancy: Book Bucket List, Pairathon, {unofficial/
Disque dislikes me!technical issues with my camera!} Book Spine Poetry, Book Road Trip, Bookish Wishes, and New Bout of Books Blogs.
- Dig into the ‘first’ book of slated to read cosies that have been on my shelf for more years than I care to recollect! In this way, I will be propelled forward to continue reading these lovely series through my local library as I only have the ‘firsts’ in my personal library! And, perhaps if I can accomplish this be twicefold inspired to read the ‘other firsts’ that are beckoning to me ever so eagerly!
- Pick up a few of the random books that I discovered whilst at a big box clearance sale that captivated my attention simply by the premise on the back!
- Read two books based on BBC mini-series in an effort to be one step closer to ILL’ing the said mini-series through my local library!
- Read at least 2 birthday books gifted to me by my parents!
Books to Absorb during Bout of Books 8.0:
- Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
- Haunted {Book One: Ghost Harrison series} by Heather Graham
- Bluebird or the Invention of Happiness by Sheila Kohler
- The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti by Annie Vanderbilt
- The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
- Death by Darjeeling {Book One: Teashop mysteries} by Laura Childs
- Murder on Monday {Book One: Lois Meade mysteries} by Ann Purser
- Thyme of Death {Book One: China Bayles mysteries} by Susan Wittig Albert
- The Lady in the Attic {Book One: Annie’s Attic mysteries} by Tara Randel
- The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
{It is my fervent hope to know my onions about these books inasfar as to have the ability to blog about them whilst maintaining a grip on the read-a-thon as the hours tick off the clock! If I am successful the titles of the novels will serve as a link to the post about them! I am hoping that as the stories settle into my creative vortex, I can bring to life my reflections by which touched my heart at the very same moment I am meant to pick up the next book in line to carry on with Bout of Books 8.0!}
Each of these books were either purchased by myself or given to me as a gift by my family. I have been itching to delve into all of them at one point or another, and sadly, time continues to elapse without my fingers ever gracing the pages of these dearly beloved books that sit in anticipation for my eyes to see past their spines and covers! You’ll duly note that the bookends {choice 1 & 10} are adapted into mini-series by the BBC and this was not by coincidence as I heavily drink in BBC dramas as readily as the next person who is caught up in life in Great Britain! Life across the Pond is ever so engaging, do you not agree?
Seven days,
168 hours,
with the prospect of 10 itching to read books to be devoured and savoured!
Ooh, let the read-a-thon be underway!
{Updates as they Post}
- Thursday: 1 August 2013, Declaration of Intent to Participate! Rock on, dear hearts!
- Wednesday: 14 August 2013, Personal Goals & Motivations! Let the hours slide me to the moon!
- [days/weekends leading up to the Bout]: dropping notes on the blogs I listed above by which I will make my rounds during the Bout as well!
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Monday: Oh, Monday, sweet Monday: ready, set, READ! Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson! Bookish Bucket List! Pairathon [I have planned what I am going to do!!] Larkrise to Candleford Paired!
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Tuesday: *UPDATED: Oh, Monday, sweet Monday!* | 4:29p posted: The Ghosts Have Arrived! |hooked up my link to Monday @ Bout of Books! #198!|shout-out to Lee Thompson Young |light a candle for tragic sorrow
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Thursday: Book Road Trip! I Spy My Bookshelves!|after 2a posted: Marching Forward with a Grin on my Face!
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Friday: posted: Murder Most Cosy – with a special shout-out to Squeesome Designs! Read to find out WHY! | Updated: Day Four, Day Three
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Saturday: Bookish Wishes! | [3a-4a: The Reading Hour | 5p-6p: The Reading Hour | <– a bit a break in Bout of Books, 8.0 programming! Stay tuned! | 10a-Noon: lesson on mystery writing | regular daily journal posting in the afternoon! In walks the Reader, Tride & True! | food poisoning + a severe migraine curbed my ability to continue
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Sunday: New Bout of Books Blogs! |a full day’s rest due to being consumed by a severe migraine! I opted out of the last day of the Bout, due to how horrid I felt! I sadly never could finish my rounds to the Bout’er blogs,…
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Monday: Oh my dear stars! It’s the day AFTER the Read-A-Thon! | The day after the read-a-thon, I was still dealing with recovering from a severe migraine, which is why I was holed up in a comfy chair, reading The Prayer Box and hoping my natural medicine would aide my discomfort and help me heal from one of the worst migraines ever!
- ???: The day I am able to finally flesh out the missing bits of my recollection journalling during the Bout itself, and am able to continue to make my rounds and comment on all the lovely Bout’er blogs that I discovered! Thunderstorms + a migraine wrecked my ability to accomplish this sooner than now.
{*NOTE: Regular blog posts un-related to the Bout are threaded underneath the Bout!! Be sure to check out what I am posting alongside the Bout! This will constantly change as the week progresses forward!}
{SOURCE: Bout of Books Badge created by Jorie in Canva to give readers & visitors who come to her blog a way to know of its existence and therefore increasing the mystery & lore surrounding it!! Seriously wicked bookish badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs!}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.
Umm…I think I just left a comment, but maybe WordPress deleted it :-/ I’m not sure…I shouldn’t try to post so late! Eek! Technical difficulties.
Love your goals! Good luck on the rest of the readathon!
Happy reading!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! I love your goals and am SO impressed with all of the blogs you’ve visited! I need to be better about that — next time it’s one of my goals!
What a shock to discover that what you thought was one book is actually an minus! Definitely a tricky start!
Happy reading!
Hallo Melissa! :) Your quite welcome, and don’t worry both of your comments came in just fine! I approved them straight-away as soon as I saw them come in! However, I wasn’t feeling very well at the time, so I apologise I didn’t get to complete my rounds to Bout’er blogs OR return replies in a more timely fashion on my own blog! You only confused me on one point: …”thought one book is actually an minus”… I’m unsure what you were referencing, sorry!
And, happy reading to you! I hope that you were able to progress through the Bout a bit easier than I did! Here’s to 9.0, eh?!! :)
Thanks for coming and checking out my blog and linking it up here! Good luck with all of your goals! I could never read as many as you do *weeps*
Regarding your question about The Thorn Birds; I will be doing a review of it as soon as I finish it :) I can notify you on Twitter as soon as it is up (if you have one. Mine is: thepaige_turner If not I’ll hop back over here and let you know) Thanks again for stopping by!
Hallo, Paige!
Ooh that would be fantastic! :) I’d love to be alerted when that post goes live! Now, sorry I’m not on twitter! I know I’m missing out on all the wicked chats going on during the Bout, but I knew I could only tackle what I can manage, which is why I decided not to get socially connected but rather to get active in the blogosphere! :) Thanks for being willing to drop back and let me know about The Thorn Birds! Your quite welcome, I look forward to returning! I appreciated your visit as well!
Ooh, my goodness, each day I wonder if I am going to get through 10 books, so don’t worry! I might have given myself a challenge that might prove a bit difficult even for me! Laughs.
Those are some impressive reading goals! I haven’t read as much as I’d like to but I do have a few more days to go and I don’t have to work on Friday so hopefully I’ll get caught up.
I haven’t read Lark Rise to Candleford but I really enjoyed the series. I was kind of sad they ended it but now the actor who plays the main character’s father is one of the main characters on Downton Abbey so I don’t mind as much :)
I hope you enjoy Lark Rise to Candleford and your other books and best of luck with your reading goals!
Hallo, Christina! Thank you for dropping by! :) I feel the same way you do! That I still have days to spare and can make up the bit of time that I lost! :) I wonder which actor from Downton was in Lark Rise!? I recently saw Series 3 {my local library purchases the series each year!}, and whilst watching the behind-the-scene featurettes/interviews, I saw a whole new side to the actor who protrays Bates! He has the loveliest twinkle in his eye when he speaks about the series and life in general! :) And, only today I learnt that Elizabeth McGovern is a singer-songwriter for the band: Sadie & the Hotheads!!
Ooh, I know, its always wretching when a series you fall in love with watching ends!! :( I have grieved many-a BBC drama!! As much as *Smash!* which was an incredible Broadway musical series on NBC for two years; the series finale was May 2013!! :( :( I still haven’t recovered from that one ending!! I felt that it was short-changed and ended far, far too prematurely! :(
Thank you for your warm regards for my goals! I am slowly making enroads towards them all! I am reading more today than I did yesterday, and as I mentioned on my Daily Update Posts, I am striving not to get downhearted about the delays, but celebrate each joy in what I do accomplish! Such as tonight, I am looking forward to the ‘bookend spine poetry!’ Cheers to you in return!
Good luck with your ambitious reading goals! I won’t be doing nearly as much reading but am still very excited for reading more than usual and getting a chance to socialize with other bloggers :)
Thank you!!! Actually, that’s the same thing I’ve been saying whenever I leave a comment on one of the Bout’er blogs!! I think I might have mentioned it in this comment stream too! I simply wanted to see how much I could focus on during a week, as generally speaking I read a bit slower than this (of course!) but when you get to block out some time and just ‘read!’ which is wonderfully actually,… I just couldn’t help but pick the books that keep speaking to me to read!! :) :)
I think one of the best benefits of all though is meeting other bloggers! :)
Can I just say WOW?! Your goals are impressive and sound so brilliant. I think you are going to have such a good week. All of that reading! I feel an Austen-esque swoon coming on…
I watched the first series of Lark Rise when it was on TV and really enjoyed it. I have always fancied reading the book but never got round to it. Maybe I should then I can do a sneaky re-watch of the series. It’s such a good idea to read books that have a mini-series attached – makes it an extra special reading experience.
I hope you have a great week, I’ll be popping back to see how you’re getting on. Thanks for listing me and for visiting :D
Hallo, Ellie!
Your quite welcome! I am still curating my list of those blogs, too! I have been popping on for [short breaks!], my last was to start to compose my thoughts on “Lark Rise to Candleford”!! I am impressed that I can generate the thoughts I want to articulate, as I am a Night Owl who was up by 7:15am this morning! Eek! I felt like I was time warped back to school! Laughs. Thank you for complimenting me on my goals! I worked especially hard to get them ‘just right!’ so that I could get the most out of the Bout! :) I blushed when I read “Austen-esque swoon”! Brilliant choice of words!!
You did!? Ooh, your lucky! I learnt about the serial whilst it was in Series Three or perhaps, Four! By that point in time, I knew it was high time I set out to find a copy of the book! Wait til you see my review! I give out a few more details in this regard! I will be posting it before I clock off — pending I get it finished! [the book / not necessarily the review!] Ooh, don’t I know it! That was why I bookended my list to include *two!* mini-series!! Cannot wait to see you return! I’ll be popping by your place as well! Rock on!! Thanks for cheering me on!
Wow you are super organised! I’ll be following you to see how you get on!
Thank you so much for saying that! :) I had such a wonderful time writing this post because it helped me focus on what I wanted to do! I look forward to seeing you come back & likewise, I hope you reach your goals, too! Seeing you soon!
you are definitely gonna be Wonder Woman this week! I wish you luck! I have to work a little in between the week but I told my boyfriend any time other than work or sleep is reading! I look forward to watching your updates! If i can even read my 4 books I will be very happy!
Thank you SOOOO much for saying my blog is cheerful! It means the world to me!! I got a big smile when I read it :)
Amber @Paradise of Pages
Hallo, Amber!
Ooh your quite welcome! Its the first thing that I observed when I was visiting you, and knew I had to put it as my ‘quick reference’!! I am still working on my “List!” as you can see! A slight thunderstorm & nethersphere clog {high traffic time apparently!} derailed my efforts a bit! And, I decided it was plumb time for *brownies!*, alongside a Hoppin’ John dinner over quinoa! You know, for “good luck!” before the start of the Bout!
OOh, *Wonder Woman!* was always one of my favourite super heroes! Bless you! And, yes,… quite! I look forward to seeing you drop by and likewise, I will be by your blog, too!! Love what you told your boyfriend! You rock it! :)
I wish I could read 16 hours a day…wonder if my boss would understand! On the days I work from home I am going to try and do something readathonish in the mornings instead of lying around in bed being lazy, either commenting or reading (or doing my update in a timely manner for once). But still, 16 spare hours would be BLISS.
I love your blog design btw.
Waving hallo, Ellie! Bless you for telling me that!! When I saw this particular theme + layout design, I just ‘knew!’ it fit my personality and the way I wanted to present my blog to the blogosphere {& world thereafter!}!! I enjoy mixed media art collages, and one of my favourite mediums to add-in are Tim Holtz distress inks — this blog of mine looks like I dabbed all those wicked inks all over the place!! Love it!! And, thankful to hear your impression!
I am thankful I have the time to devout to the Bout — as I know not everyone has holiday time they can use,… I honestly have never had this much time to just “read!” myself! I’ll be taking a few breaks though, as I wouldn’t want to wonk my legs and eyes whilst soaked into one book or another! Imagine!? 16 straight hours without movement! Oyy. I’ll be visiting blogs, leaving encouraging notes, & participating in the lovely challenges! Thanks for coming by!!
Wow you have lots of goals! And a lot of posts planned, haha. I’ll keep a look out for your posts. Good luck!
Eek, I know, Jayd, that I do!! I simply couldn’t do a Bout without going a bit over board with the experience, because as I was setting to mind my goals, I was musing about the Olympians that I love to follow during Winter + Summer events; my favourites are always the ones who go to Open + Closing Ceremonies, participate in the Village events, go to their own competitions, and walk away with this emersive yet intense adventure! I wanted that for myself, which is why I set up my Bout to reflect such an intensity of books + posts!! Clearly, when its overwith, I will have ‘a bout of books’ to recover from, but ooh! What a lovely experience full of heart-warming memories, of not just reading, but the conversations that will ignite and the readers I get to meet as I go along! :) Thanks for dropping by, and I look forward to seeing where the Bout takes you too!
One of the things that really attracted me to the readathon was the flexibility and how everyone could make it into something they would really enjoy! No problem :)
Precisely! :)
Wow! You motivated me just from your post. What a great set of goals and motivations for Bout of Books week! Really hope you enjoy the Pairathon!!
Hallo Nikki! Thank you for your kind words! :) I really am eager to see what your going to do with the Pairathon! The mere idea of your blog intrigues me, so to see what your going to do with this event makes me smile! I really wanted to make this Bout a special one! Thanks for dropping by!
*UPDATE: Saturday, 17 August, I kept trying to leave notes on your blog, but Disque was not in my favour! I might have to email you about this! Now I am worried I cannot participate in the Challenge! Double drat!
168 hours? That’s pretty crazy! I look forward to seeing how you do :)
Yes, the total amount of hours each of us has for *Bout of Books!* I am only dedicating *112!* hours per day to reading, though!! Big grins! I will admit, my goal challenge does sound pretty intense and crazy, but sometimes you have to push yourself to do something in order to conquer a goal you’ve had that feels more like climbing a mountain! All these lovely books were ones I’ve wanted to read for a long, long time!! :) Thanks for dropping by and I’ll be ‘seeing’ you soon, then!
I love how detailed your goal post is! I’m going to try to tackle mine and have it posted this weekend, just in time for Monday! So excited!
Thank you!! I truly wanted to make the Bout my own, and I knew the best way to do that, is to simply read & aspire to achieve the goals that meant something to me!! :) :) I appreciated your interest in my list, and also, that it has inspired you to create yours over the weekend! Warms my heart! I’ll click over to your blog in a moment!! Speaking of the Bout,… I am beyond excited!! Pure elation, truly, because I have all this time blocked out to READ! Cheers!