1. Happy New Year!
2. The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepare annual reports for blogs. I’ll share a few bits for this blog:
- The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 34,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 13 sold-out performances for that many people to see it. *thanks for visiting everyone!*
- Most viewed posts – The Other Typist: The Ending; Books to Make You Cry; Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears; Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett and my initial review of The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell.
- What were people searching for when they found me? the other typist ending, books that make you cry, chuck and blair, and the other typist ending explained. *lots of love for The Other Typist here*
- Who showed me the most love? Rory, Annabel, Christine, Bonnie and Lianne – thanks girls!
3. Reading Challenges – I added two more: Australian Women Writers and What’s in a Name. But that’s it.
4. I love New Year’s Eve. I love the sparklers, I love the LED and glow-in-the-dark accessories, I love the countdown, I love the crack of fireworks and I love how thrilled my kids are by the prospect of a post-midnight bedtime.
For the first time in many years, we spent NYE in Melbourne – a brilliant night with great friends, delicious food (butterflied lamb on the barbecue, Not Quite Dora’s Dip, Ugly But Delicious Dip, grape ‘salad’) and jugs of Sangria. When my friend Justine asked if I needed a ‘cardie’ and I thought she said ‘Bacardi’, things really took off.
If you’re not sure what the label on my glass says, it’s ‘Try me! I flash!’ #woo-hoo
5. I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions that don’t involve more books, beaches or salty snacks, however, I am considering a Fitbit. More a NYP* than a NYR. Will I become totally obsessed or will it give me the shits?
6. I got a new laptop for Christmas (bought for me to take to uni so that I don’t look like a total nuffy-mature-age-student… Although I’m fairly sure I’ll be {and look like} a total nuffy-mature-age-student regardless of how I take notes in lectures. Oh wait…. Do people still take actual notes in lectures?).
7. This nail polish. 
8. I’m sure you’ve been wondering about my new mattress. Well the first night was HORRIBLE. It didn’t help that it was also 32 degrees and I was completely stressed that we’d spent thousands of dollars on something that seemed to be too firm.
The second night wasn’t much better – still hot and I had a sore back (was it from the new mattress or was it a result of carrying the old mattress down the stairs? I don’t know – why not stay awake all night stressing about it and throw in some worrying about how much the new mattress cost and was it worth it, while I’m at it?).
Third night – slept like I was in a coma, didn’t feel husband move once, am totally in love with my new mattress.
9. Counting down the days until I’m here again:
So, Fitbits, New Year’s party accessories, reading challenges and mature-age students… Any thoughts on those topics? Feel free to comment or post your own random collection of thoughts, just as Bookishly Boisterous would have us do.
* New Year’s Purchase as compared to a New Year’s Resolution. In my experience, NYPs are much more fun than NYRs.
Happy new year Kate!
And Happy New Year to you as well 🙂
As a fellow mature student, I can confirm most people take notes straight onto laptops/ipads etc. I’m the Luddite with pen & paper, I hope it makes me look eccentric & interesting rather than just ancient, but I fear the latter is the reality.
I think I’ll be using pen and paper for lots of it – I can write faster than I can type!
Happy new year! I found you through ‘The Other Typist’ and I’m so glad I did. I’m hosting book club this month and that’s my book choice. I’ m hoping eveyone loves it and is baffled by it as I was. I’m planning on giving my book buddies your blog address too-I know lots of them will love your book choices and reviews.
Best wishes and fun reads in 2014!
Excellent book club choice! It’s one of those books that you want everyone around you to read so that you can really dissect the details.
Happy New Year!
It must be glorious to celebrate New Year’s in the summer. We have fireworks and what not here, but it’s so frigging cold that you’re bundled up in ten layers trying not to slip in the ice and snow – takes a bit of the fun out of it.
I finished up graduate school in 2009 and still took notes.
2014 is the year of no challenges for me.
I also spent a fortune on a mattress. Best decision ever and money well spent. I spent a fair amount on my bed frame and do regret that, but the mattress…no. The first three years of marriage my husband and I were fairly poor and slept on a futon. I still have nightmares.
I should add that everyone else still took notes too. My brother is a sophomore now and hauls a spiral bound notebook to class.
Although I don’t always find cooking a roast in the middle of summer fun on Christmas Day, I do LOVE having a summer’s NYE – staying outside on a balmy evening until well after midnight is lovely.
Think I will still be relying on a pen and paper lots of the time. It’s how I work. I actually ‘wrote’ (literally) my Master’s thesis. I like to see my revisions on paper when I’m writing something important. When it comes to note taking, I’ll always be faster at writing than typing.
2013 was my year of ‘no challenges’ – I coasted through and didn’t push myself on anything. At all. I think this year will be different – changing things up and looking forward to it. Apart from returning to study, I have a new work project that, if it all pans out, will be really different to the sort of stuff I’ve worked on in the past.
I’m still looking for a new job, so I’m hoping for a change this year. And then I get scared about changing jobs. It’s a vicious cycle really.
I don’t know what I’m going to do with the blog this upcoming year. Still trying to figure it out. I do want to design a header, but only because I’m really weird and particular about aesthetic things for myself (yet I don’t really care what anyone else’s blog looks like – it’s all about content – just a lovely double standard for myself).
Good luck with the studying and new work project!
“…don’t know what I’m doing with the blog…” – hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop blogging??!
Nope! I just usually have “x” goal in mind, but this year…no particular plans. I will probably still try and have two review, one “other” post per week, but other than that…
Phew!
My husband has a Fitbit and when he’s deciding to be motivated by it it works; when he’s accepting laziness it’s more like an accessory. I used to wear a pedometer (until the battery died) and I found it incredibly helpful.
I’m a regular at group training (my gym is about 100m from my house so if I don’t go, my trainer catches up with me pretty quickly!) but I thought FitBit might be a good motivator for days I don’t go to the gym.
Happy New Year! Love your blue nail polish in that photo 🙂
I still take notes in lecture, lol. It just helps me retain the stuff I’m learning in class 🙂
Yay for reading challenges!
That blue polish was my favourite for 2013 (Mecca Cosmetica Cobalt).
I retain more if I write as well. I think the laptop will kick in when I’m studying away from home and making notes for essays etc.