2021 - The End

 

Well, the first half of the year was promising. Then, oops, I did it again. Stopped tracking my intake. Forgot about fasting. Slipped up on the exercise. I struggled with my monthly updates, and didn't even get up posts for October, November or December. I am still wearing my Fitbit (steps, active minutes, sleep) and weighing everyday, so some of the stats are there in my digital cloud.  My little excel file of facts and stats (requiring some manual work on my part) is eerily empty there at the end of the year though. I just never got around to updating and entering information. Alas ...

So here's a look at what I DO have from the last three months of the year ...

BOOKS

October 2021 ... 22 books. The six at the top are part of the "Middle Falls Time Travel" series (there have been some in previous months, and a couple more coming). Each feature an individual who dies at some point, and "resets" to an earlier point in their life. Often this occurs multiple times, as the characters try out different life options. Always an interesting "what if" imagining. The Queen's Gambit ... I'd watched the mini-series, and it seems like it was quite true to the book. As I listened (included in Audible Plus) I would visualize scenes from the show. Oracle was made for Audible, hard not to imagine Joshua Jackson as the MC, as he was narrating and his voice is distinctive. I really liked 180 Seconds, and 3:00 am was short, very unique - I'll be continuing on with that series. All were audiobooks. A couple were holds come in at my local library, some were KindleUnlimited, others were Audible Plus.

November 2021 ... 20 books. Finnikin and Immortal Rules were old favorites I read years ago, and did a re-read (well, listen ... all audiobooks again this month). These were ones I actually spent Audible credits on to purchase and keep (ones I KNOW I like).  The cartoonish covers (top right) were all contemporary, one more "MiddleFalls", some paranormal/apocalyptic, and the bottom row were all "realistic" and or "historical" although Dovetail had a touch of mystical mystery. 

December 2021 ... 24 books technically, although several where quite short, and one was a DNF (gave up after a couple hundred pages, it was 600+ and I wasn't liking it). Whisper/Weapon, a duology was a favorite (Australian author, not at my local library, but included as part of AudiblePlus), finished up the 3am series and liked it ... not so much the same author's "Unforseen". Finished up the "Middle Falls" included in AudiblePlus (12 books total). My Audible subscription is ending, so I was really trying to take advantage of AudiblePlus books (21 of the 24 were included). I borrowed a couple from the library, and got one in exchange for a read/review. 

What I was Watching ... my son (who does a lot of treadmill in the home gym) and I have talked quite a bit about how some shows can be much more motivating for exercise (whether it's getting us down to the gym at all, or energizing us to run instead of walk). With me being "off" these last three months, I didn't spend as much time in the gym, and didn't get through as many series/movies as I might have otherwise. Some of what I watched, was upstairs (not exercising) ...

I wrapped up my Hulu subscription (I like Hulu, but will only splurge sporadically then binge) by watching "The Split" which was intriguing. My son subscribed to a Paramount free trial, so I squeezed in a season of The Good Fight (season 4). Super political! We requbscribed to AppleTV as Hubs wanted to watch The Morning Show (season2) and I got him to try Ted Lasso (I'd watched the first season, we rewatched it together, then watched season 2) - he loved it! I don't know that he loved "Schmigadoon" (I'd watched it down in the gym myself, then we watched it together, it's short) but he did give it a try. I'd started Physical when we had AppleTv in the spring, and finished it up. Hubs and I watched The White Lotus (that was weird) and then I watched season 17 of Grey's Anatomy (while I was down with a cold). 

Movies ... LOVED Tick Tick Boom. King Richard, Finch and Swan Song were good. Gave a couple Christmas movies a try (ehhhh). A Silent Voice is not my normal viewing choice, but #4 had to write a "movie evaluation" for his English class. As I usually help him some with work like that, I had to give the movie a go.  Red Notice ... ehhh, not a fan, felt stupid/silly. Hubs and I watched Dune and the new Matrix (Dune was pretty good, Matrix ... no). 

Family Stuff ... I kept up with my monthly recap/collage (on my family blog)

So - that will be my wrap up of the last three months. Hoping to get back on track with the whole "New Year" and resolutions type thing, finally getting over my cold, getting back to routine. Back to fasting, back to counting calories, tracking (and inputting) exercise. Setting a "10k a day" challenge for myself ... wish me luck!

2021 - #JenBsBooks

 

I slipped up in a lot of things this last year, especially with food/fitness and weight loss ... but BOOKS? I had a good book year. My eyesight has gone downhill these last couple years, and it's really impacted my "reading" reading. While I got in a few books with my own eyes and imagination, almost everything was audio. I kept good track on GoodReads (and I LOVE their end of year stats!) I made monthly collages (you can see them on the monthly recaps, or I compiled them HERE) and intended to make a stat spreadsheet ... but I did get off-track on that at the end of the year.

... another look at my generalized GoodReads ratings/reviews ...

... as mentioned, I was extremely Audible this year ;) I'd only had a 3-month trial membership previously (in 2020), but when a $99 12/month, 12/credit deal was offered at the start of 2021, I figured I'd give it a try. Unfortunately these stats don't show the whole picture, as I listened to a lot from my library (Libby/Overdrive) as well. Almost any book I received as an advance review copy WAS through Audible though, as well as any KindleUnlimited books (there were a couple KU deals I grabbed during the year). So even though this may not reflect ALL my audio, it's still super interesting to me. I'm trying to remember Dec 7 ... I do know that was a bad night of sleep for me, and I turned on an audiobook while I was laying awake for a while. So I started early (midnight?) that day.

Here's a look at my books (a GoodReads reflection) ...

TV Recap ~ 2021

As I did monthly posts throughout the year, I mentioned some of what I was watching ... but it wasn't a complete collection. To keep everything easily tagged (as "Television") and together, I figured I'd make a single post about what I was watching TV/Series wise (there is a  separate Movie 2021 post). 

For the first few months, my monthly posts would mention what I was watching at times, 

but didn't include any images.

I remember "Bridgerton" was getting quite the buzz ... I liked it fine. Haven't read the books it's based on yet. I'd really liked "The Haunting of Hill House" so I thought I'd like "The Haunting of Bly Manor". I did NOT. It had several of the same actors, but the story wasn't there, and I despised the main girl and the 80s dress (high waisted jeans, the hair). Really  had to push to finish. We got Disney+ to watch The Mandalorian (first two seasons, Hubs and I upstairs) ... I know we were slow to jump on the bandwagon, but it actually might have been watched in 2020? Writing this up in retrospect, I'm not sure. But while we didn't keep Disney+ all the time, we got it again and I watched WandaVision (and then I did watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, forgot to grab an image of that), and The Right Stuff.  Another one that Hubs and I watched together upstairs was Peaky Blinders (S1).  At some point, HBO Max was again included with our AT&T phone, so that opened up more possibilities ... West World (S3) was top on my list ... it had been so long, I had to watch recaps of S1 & S2 before watching S3. His Dark Materials, The Undoing, True Detective (S3) and The Head (murder mystery in the arctic, liked it but the ending was too out there). Dickenson was on AppleTV. Just okay for me, finished the first season but didn't feel like continuing on. 

In Summer (May, June, July, August) ...

Watching on a variety of streaming services ... Bloom was interesting, reminded me a little of Glitch (coming back to life rather than just returning to youth). I liked Devs. For All Mankind was one that really ended up catching my interest. I watched S1 and will continue on but took a break for now. On Disney ... Big Shot. Cute enough. The Watchmen ... Hubs and I had started it a while back but hadn't finished. I restarted. Weird, but interesting. Mare of Eastown was good. The Girlfriend Experience was just ehh, and I actually disliked The Mosquito Coast on AppleTV. Also on AppleTV, Physical ... which was crazy and fun. I was okay with the 80s hair here, and it was interesting from a Zumba standpoint. I'd watched the first few episodes, then we finished up our free AppleTV trial. Later on in the year, when Ted Lasso came on with new episodes, we re-subscribed and I finished up the season. Finally ... CougarTown. I'd watched Seasons 1-4 ages ago on DVD. I'd seen there were more seasons, but wasn't sure where they were available. When they hit AmazonPrime, I started watching again, but this was my "weight workout" show, which means I'd only get in one episode or so a week. So to get through the final two seasons (13 episodes each) took a while, but the show made me laugh.

For the rest of the year ...

Continuing on with some series I was already invested in ... Season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. It kept me coming back to the gym! My son (on my Amazon account) signed up for Paramount+, so I got back to The Good Fight (S4). I'd taken a break from Grey'sAnatomy after Covid became a storyline (I was living it, didn't need to see it in my show at the same time). Enough time had passed that I got back to it. Loved some of the cameos in Season 16.  Also on Hulu ... The Hot Zone (liked it), Nine Perfect Strangers (didn't like it), The Split (it was good), and Only Murders in the Building (a little ... maybe a LOT too corny). Hubs wanted to see the second season of The Morning Show so we got AppleTV again and watched it. I'd already seen the first season of Ted Lasso, but I got Hubs to watch, and then we watched the second season together. Love Lasso! I also adored Schmigadoon! Hubs and I also watched The White Lotus (that was weird!), The Boys (S1 & S2), and Cobra Kai (S1 & S2). 

So while I may have spotlighted some of these series in the monthly recaps ... I wanted an annual look at the television series that kept me entertained and exercising throughout the year. All in one place for quick review. #JenBsTV

#JenBsMovies 2021

I'd asked the boys to write up their movie memories from 2021 for the family blog ... I created a collage of mine, only to realize it was just partial (the second half of the year). I've tried to keep a list on IMDB to track my movies and TV series, and using that I was able to augment the first collage I made.

I use my movies for motivation and entertainment while working out ... all of these were watched while walking on the treadmill or hitting the elliptical machine. 

We had Disney+ again for a bit ... so the year started off with a bunch of Disney shows. Some were repeats (Invincible, Miracle, Iron Will, Glory Road, Journey of Natty Gan, Ever After) but lots of new ones.  Soul was good, I really liked Clouds. I didn't care for the live action Lady and the Tramp, nor Black Beauty.

... on other platforms, I caught up on the Godzilla/Kong movies, four of them! Went on a "based on a true story" binge (second line from the bottom) and watched several with #4 as he had them in his film studies class (the last five films on the bottom row). While they were okay, they weren't really my preferred types of movies, and it really does make a difference in energy and willingness to get in an extra workout.

The second half of the year, I ended up watching five movies on the road, during a family trip to Seattle. Four (on the bottom row) were watched with Hubs. All the others were watched while working out.  The top row were movies I had seen previously (Dead Poet's and ET were part of #4's Film Studies). The anime movie A Silent Voice was also for #4's school/English.  Into the Woods, In The Heights and Tick Tick Boom were musicals. I LOVED the latter.

Quite the variety. I'm not super picky with the movies I watch while working out. I just keep my ears open for shows people are talking about, see what's available on our streaming services, and just give them a go. 

Self-Sabtoging September 2021

I've really lost all motivation, which is obviously noted in the numbers. The lack of calorie counting, the uptick on the scale. The days I counted I kept calories in check ... those ZERO days are NOT zero calories. Probably 3000. Just not tracked. Not counted ... but obviously they still add up. A lot. I didn't  even get to this monthly recap until oodles after (it's end of November now ... things have not improved). I didn't gather all the graphs and charts because ... why? But I still figured I'd add the monthly numbers up for my own records. Mark the decline. Odd, as September is often one of my more motivational months in years past. Getting back on a school schedule is good! And I have less on my plate this year (#4 is still online-schooling, but I'm not nearly as involved as the last two years, #5 has an early drop-off and late pickup, with less trips in-between). Just a bit of a "nothing really matters" attitude ...

 

One area I have NOT been struggling in is books ... almost all audio, as I do other tasks.

 A good majority here are from Audible's PLUS program. My Audible membership is up in January and I don't plan on renewing. I've only used 2 of my 12 credits so far (I'm perfectly fine borrowing rather than buying, there are few books I want to own and re-listen to). I do like the sales and PLUS program, but have a hard time justifying the cost when I have so many other books at my fingertips (library, etc).

Down in the home gym ... this is what I was watching while working out. 

Had a HULU special, so got it for a month. #4 has been happy to have it, watching the anime offerings (he's actually been running on the treadmill, not just walking like me). I have to go with the "no commercials" option as I've been so spoiled by other streaming services. I can't stand ads breaking up the shows. While I like Hulu, again, it is difficult to justify the $13.99 monthly cost ongoing. We'll likely resubscribe here and there. It really is interesting how much motivation a show can bring. Handmaid's would get me excited to hit the gym again. Nine Perfect Strangers was an ordeal to get through (I know, I can just stop watching, but I have this need for closure. Ironically I read the book and didn't care for it either, not sure why I felt like the show might be better). Murders was cute enough, lots of big names, but really just okay. I liked Hot Zone. 

The three movies were DVDs from the library - Concussion I had seen before, but #4 was doing a paper for English about concussions in the NFL, so it seemed like a rewatch was recommended. The other two (also "based on a true story") were previews from the former DVD that looked interesting, so I then grabbed them. 

 

... and finally, the monthly photo recap featuring the family!

Recap HERE.

August 2021

 

Not only were eating/exercise not great during August, but September is almost over and I haven't even finished up my monthly post yet. And just so you know ... September is even worse weight-wise :(

Weight, had a little drop but then back up. Fasting hours haven't been great, and I've struggled to keep up the motivation to keep a record of caloric intake (you can see I missed a day there, and there were some general estimates where I wasn't really tracking well). 

Steps and Sleep ... sleep seems okay.

I did keep up my 10k streak at least, but nothing close to a 30k day. #4 son has been crazy with the steps though! Zumba, elliptical, treadmill throughout the month. Lots of ping pong and pickleball. Only two weight sessions.

What I Watched While Working Out ...

Back to HBO (Hubs figured out how to get it included on our phone plan), watching a couple series there. Mare of Easttown was pretty good, I wasn't exactly sure where it would end up. Limited series, wrapped up, not really set for a follow-up. Hubs and I had tried Watchmen a while back, but had only gotten a couple episodes in. I actually had to try and figure out what I had seen and where I was, but needed the refresher. STRANGE series, and I guess it ended at the one season. It did catch my interest and kept me coming back though. A couple movies, one old (Confessions - cute, I'd seen it before. Lots of good music in it) and new, Reminiscence ... this was weird. I liked it okay. Very film noir (I'd piggy backed some of my son's classes last year, one being film studies, thus the reference there). Seemed to have a couple references (both the leading lady, and the rooftop laundry line) to The Greatest Showman. Now CougarTown ... that one has been going on for a while for me. It's my "weight workout" show, one that I don't really have to watch closely, one that I'm okay only catching a couple times a month. I really enjoy this crazy, wacky show. So silly. In the last year or so I think I've finished up season 5 and season 6 ... which wrapped up the series.

Books ... 17 for the month. Mostly audio. I just have much more "ear" time than "eye" time. And my eyes are not going great, I should get in and get checked. It's that time ... I guess I need glasses (it's been a good run, I've outlasted all my siblings!) 

• The Martian - I've heard the Ray Porter narration is better than this Wil Wheaton narration, but other than some "Ready Player One" flashbacks (he narrated that as well) I thought it was good. I had seen the movie some years ago, which I'd really liked, so I did have a basic idea of the storyline going in. Lots of science/physics/chemistry stuff mentioned (but as I went through chemistry and physics with my son during online learning, it was interesting to me to catch some of it). This was included temporarily in AudiblePlus, so I wanted to get the listen in while it was free for me.  4.5 stars.
  
• The Midwife's Revolt, Our Own Country and A More Perfect Union - Historical fiction in early-America years featuring Abigail Adams. A trilogy of sorts, books 1 and 2 have many of the same things happening at the same time, but two different character perspectives. The final book is several years after book 2 ends. The first was my favorite I think. These were included in KindleUnlimited (both text and audio). Four stars for the first two, three stars for the third book.
  
• The Bright Side of Going Dark - cute contemporary, duel POV, featuring a "social influencer" as one story line (turning off her phone, as the title suggests). Kindle Unlimited (text and audio). 4 stars.
  
• The Invisible Life of Addie Larue - heard SO much buzz about this, and I did like it. The title character and the basic premise of "living years unchanged" resembles "Age of Adeline" (although the similarities end there). Borrowed from my library. Julia Whelan narrating. 4 stars.
• Hope (by Marc Levy) - I've read a few by this author (several included in KU, text and audio) and this was a favorite. A romance wUnbith a little futuristic sci-fi thrown in. Can you preserve a person's soul? 4 stars.
  
• Confessions of a Jane Austin Addict - this one didn't do it for me. Time travel, modern JA fan transported back into P&P times. Library borrow. Two stars. 
• Pride and Premeditation - another "Austen-esque" story that didn't quite do it for me. P&P retelling, murder mystery. I'm not sure why Elizabeth was so young in this (just 15).  Library borrow. 2.5 stars.
  
• All That's Left of Me - For some reason I thought this was going to be a fun/light "wishes come true" story, but it was pretty heavy (trigger warning, sexual harassment/rape). Does make you think about what would happen if what you wished for came to pass. KindleUnlimited, text and audio. 3 stars.
• The Rose Code - WW2 drama ... there's been lots of buzz about this book too, maybe my expectations were too high? It was good, but felt a little over-the-top with all that happened (the spy story). Two timelines, both in the 1940s (during the war and after). Three POVs, although all third person, one narrator. 3.5 stars.
• The Girls in the Attic - WW2 drama, included with Kindle Unlimited (text and audio). Good narration with "German accent" (as the characters are German). I wasn't sure where the story was going, it kept me guessing. 4 stars.
• The Second Blind Son - 2nd in a series, and it had been a while since I'd read book one (The First Girl Child) and I didn't really remember it. But reviews said this was more of a companion book than a sequel. Overlapping timelines, different perspective ... so I figured it would be okay if I didn't feel fresh on the first book. While I've loved many of this author's other works, this series is just so-so for me. Fantasy. Included in KU with text and audio. 3 stars.
• The Coldest Girl In Coldtown - for some reason the "cold" in the title always made me think of "Warm Bodies" and thus zombies ... but this is vampires. Interesting premise (turning "cold" but not yet a vampire) but the "cold" is more related to the MC broadcasting blogger news.  Liked it but didn't love it, not sure I'll continue on with the series. Library borrow. 3 stars. 
• The Wrong Unit - my one "read" for the month. It was fine, but didn't keep me hooked and I struggled a bit to get through it and was relieved when I was done. Futuristic sci-fi/robots and some crazy technology and world happenings. 2.5 stars. Kindle Unlimited, text only (whispersync audio was available for $7.49 but this was short, or so I thought!)
  
• Leaving Blythe River - I've read several by this author, and they are a little hit and miss for me. This was a miss. Shifting time frames, and it just wasn't believable at all (for a book that's supposed to be on the realistic side). Searching for a father lost in the wilderness. Included in KU, text and audio. 2 stars.
• Sooley - John Grisham in a non-courtroom novel. This didn't FEEL like a novel at the start. The way it was written, and narrated, it sounded so similar to "The Boys in the Boat"  and "Unbroken" ... I had to stop and Google to see if this (the character, the story) was real.  While loosely based on a real person, this was fiction (with some situational facts, the war, etc) and ... depressing! It left me down, but 3 stars for the writing. Borrowed from my library. 

 

 

As far as family ...

We had birthday week (two boys at the end of August, one first week of September), the start of school (a sophomore, a senior and one SLCC/Skydiving). #2 and his wife had a Hawaii getaway, and Hubs hit the red rock of Moab in the RZR. For me, it was Zumba, pickleball and Pokemon with #4. Speaking of #4, he's been doing great with his exercise (jogging on the treadmill in addition to our pickleball) and has been getting some driving in (finally!) Haircuts, a good watermelon summer, and lots of food.

When Hubs was young, his family would find caterpillars and watch them turn into monarch butterflies. Monarchs have really been struggling for survival in today's world, and while Hubs has wanted to share this experience with the boys, we've not been able to find caterpillars, haven't seen a monarch in the wild in years and years. We've had a patch of milkweed in our flowerbed in the hopes that someday a butterfly would stop by. It finally happened. I can't believe the luck that I had just arrived home and looked over and saw the small flutter and recognized it immediately. I got a video to share with Hubs, and noticed as Mrs. Monarch made a stop on one of the small shoots. She left us an egg! So even though the boys are older now, we've been watching our little egg hatch and "Pilly" eat and grow!