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Hello there, and welcome to my latest 2021 goals update. I hope your summer has been going well! Over here, we’ve been watching the Olympics, picking berries, and enjoying patios in the nice weather.
A few times a year, I give a brief update on how my New Year’s goals are going. I write these mostly for myself, as well as to share with anyone who is curious.
It’s now been about four months since I quit my full time tax job in order to fully commit to running Fueled By Wanderlust. Since then, I’ve been on four amazing trips, one of which was a fun girls trip to Charleston with my mom. I also accomplished a secret personal goal of mine, which was to take my first solo trip.
One reason why I hadn’t shared that one is because it felt super personal. Another reason is because at the beginning of this year, I tried to create goals that couldn’t be easily derailed by the pandemic. That’s been a great strategy, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to make these times feel a little less uncertain.
With that, below is my summer update on how all of my goals from the beginning of the year are going.
My 9 New Year’s Goals for 2021
1. Learn How to Make Cream Puffs – Done
I finally got around to making cream puffs, and it was a great success. I found a really simple recipe to try in a cookbook I already own. Ironically, I bought this book to make pie several years back, and I’m mostly using it for other recipes.
The end result was beautiful golden pastries with plenty of “puff”. These bad boys did not last very long in our house!
2. Meditate More
I had been doing very well with daily meditation earlier this summer. It actually was helping me feel calmer, but whenever I start to feel better, I seem to stop meditating. I’m feeling somewhat less calm these days with the state of the world, so I probably should add meditation back into my routine.
3. Read 12 Books
I am always behind on this reading goal, but nonetheless I have managed to read a few books so far this year. Here’s the list:
- Big Magic (I’ve read this twice now)
- All the Light We Cannot See (a novel that largely takes place in WWII France. The end was sad, and I actually shed a tear)
- Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown (after watching all the existing seasons of The Crown, this book helped fill the void. It’s an autobiographical novel by Anne Glenconner, lady in waiting to Princess Margaret. It was actually quite riveting!).
- The Universe Has Your Back (with my new life as a travel blogger, I deal with uncertainty on the daily and am constantly questioning myself. This book helped me learn to let go of what I cannot control).
- Conquering Mountains (a book all about solo female travel. It is written by Kristin Addis, creator of one of the top solo female travel blogs in the United States).
4. Continue Studying French
My French learning has once again been put on hold. However, it’s because I’ve been studying Greek in advance of the Greece trip we have planned. It’s such a fascinating language, and totally different from any I’ve ever learned.
I’m not necessarily digging too far into Greek, and just want to learn enough basics to get by. This is also what I did for our trips to France and Italy and it served us well.
5. Make Another Layer Cake From Scratch – Done
This is technically already complete because I made a chocolate layer cake for my birthday. I’d really love to make another one though.
6. Pick Blueberries – Done
We finally made it to Baumhart Berry Farm on time! It turns out that July, not June, is blueberry season. It was actually an unseasonably chilly day, and felt more like we should be picking apples.
That said, I made an amazing pie from the blueberries and it is one of my favorite memories of this summer. We also made it back to pick blackberries, and I made a delicious blackberry cobbler that my hubby is obsessed with.
7. Stop looking at my phone during first half hour of the day
This one is a fail, plain and simple! I really don’t like how much influence a small device has over me, but here we are.
8. Post One Blog Post a Week
I’ve been doing very well at this goal, ever since I turned my travel blog into my full time job. This is even with doing several guest posts and updating old posts. I’ve only missed a week or two here and there, but otherwise consistency has been very good.
I do have to say, it has been hard to find my proper rhythm since quitting my old job, but I hope I am starting to find it.
9. Buy a new camera lens – Done
I didn’t just buy one new camera lens. I bought two! One of them is a 50mm lens that I think will be good for more general use. It’s very sharp and I’m loving it so far.
That other is a zoom lens, which is awesome because I didn’t have anything like it previously. I had a lot of fun playing with it at the Isle of Palms in Charleston.
• • •
While going into this summer I thought we’d left the madness of 2020 behind, it appears we’re not quite done yet. On my worst days I wonder if we’ll be stuck like this forever.
That said, on most days I try to make the best of everything. Having fun goals for things like reading books, baking, and learning foreign languages truly helps!
