C.G.Koens's Blog, page 4

The Bookshelf: January

One of my goals for 2024, in addition to not buying any new books (no matter how sorely I'm tempted), was to read four books a month. Because one of my other goals was to scroll less and put the phone down, by January 11th, I'd already reached my "four books" for the month...and so I kept going. I'm sure other months will be less cozy and less "reading-friendly," so I shall make hay while the sun shines...or rather, I shall snuggle up while the sky is overcast and it's cold outside. 

I've kept tr...

Simple Goals Mid-Month Update

If you saw my 24 Simple Goals for 2024, here's a quick check-in on how some of those things are going. On Instagram, I simplified them even more. 

Without further ado, here's the update on my #SimpleGoals:Stop buying books - So far so good. Even though I have already added 26 books to my "Books to remember" list on Amazon for 2025 or this year's Christmas wish list. Save for a rainy day - I haven't put anything into savings, but I'm not shopping or buying either, so it's a good step towards this ...

24 Simple Goals in 2024

It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be mind-blowing or world-changing. It just needs to be something to aim for. Something to work towards. Something to help you say no when you want to say yes...or yes when you want to say no. Simple goals. 
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

24 Simple Goals in 2024Buy no new books.Read 48 books from my own shelves.Use the treadmill.Put the phone down.Clean out and pare down.Save for a rainy day.Use cash for certain expendit...

The Bucket List Cleanout

Last month I read the free ebook, 16 Rules for living with less from The Minimalists. This short book didn't take long to read and basically covers concepts related to clearing out the clutter from your house and life. I've seen their stuff before, so they're not new to me, but an idea that was thrown out there in the book caught my attention and has already resulted in, literally, hundreds of items leaving my house, bound for the firepit, junkyard, and thrift shops.

After reading about the idea ...

What's Up With The Name?

What's in a name? In this case, it's the feeling I got after cleaning out desk drawers and pen pots and finding what felt like a thousand pens - some which worked, and some that didn't. One thousand pens. And has owning all those pens stopped me from buying more? No, it has not. I continue to be drawn to them, like a moth to a flame. And, by the way, it's not my fault. As I recently learned, it's genetic.
Last year I helped my aging parents move out of their house of 28 years, and we went through...

The Restart

One of my favorite things about each day is that it's new. I haven't yelled at bad drivers; I haven't overreacted with my kids or spouse; I haven't eaten all the snacks in my secret stash and then regretted my choices. As L.M. Montgomery's famous redheaded orphan quips, "Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet?" It's the same reason I love Mondays and the first day of each month. It's a fresh new starting point, an opportunity to begin again and move past...

January (Book Talk and Whole House Purge Update)

Here we are - the first month of 2022! And...it's the first post of the 12 (minimum) I've committed to writing this year. If you're short on time or there is too much, here's the "let me sum up" version:

BOOKS: Last year my one goal was to clean off/read through "The Stack" on my nightstand, but, despite reading 72 books in 2021, only a sliver of them came from The Stack, while the rest were re-reads, read aloud to the kids, or Kindle ebooks. I give myself grace with that though, and it just mean...

The Twelve in 2022

It started when I saw a post from Jules at Pancakes & French Fries, about her goal of writing 12 blog posts this year. As soon as I read it I thought, "That's just one post a month. That's totally doable. I'm in." But what started as the number of posts I was willing to commit to writing in 2022, soon morphed into a monthly self-challenge plan, with various ideas coming in rapid succession. I don't know about you, but I need deadlines and bite-sized goals to motivate myself. 
Photo by Thor Alvis ...

Summer Stack Update (A What's On My Nightstand #WOMNS Post)

Hello all! As I mentioned in my last post (back in early May), I made the conscious choice earlier this year to spend less time online, specifically on social media, and have no regrets so far with that decision. Not only is there less drama in my life, but I have more time to do other things, like hang out with my kids and read books while they play in the pool. So far it has been a win-win. And even though I still work online, blogging got thrown into the "social media" pot so I haven't been o...

The Stack is Still Clearing (A What's On My Nightstand #WOMNS Post)

Hello friends and fellow bookworms! My last post on here went live on February 16th, and then it seems, just as in years past, despite starting out strong with my blogging goals, life took over. And while I continued to read through my list and follow my No Spend plans for February, I failed to blog about either topic (or anything else, for that matter). But since I had a moment this morning, I thought I'd at least give a quick update about what I've read since the last time I posted. 

As a remin...