Reflecting On My February Goals and Looking Ahead To March

  Somehow, it’s already March.  I honestly have no idea how we got here already.  It feels like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year, and now I’m looking forward to afternoons on the screened porch and planning our summer vacation.  Where did the time go?  It’s time to look back on my goals for February and think about what I want to accomplish in March.

Since this is the first time I’m talking about my goals for the year on here, let me go over my thought process a little bit.  I broke my goals into four categories: media consumption, adventures with LO, journaling and personal curriculum learning (something I’ll go into more detail on later on in another post).

Media Consumption

• 26 in 2026 - Since I knew LO would take up a lot of my time, I knew I had to be very mindful with the books I picked for this TBR if I wanted to be successful and finish these books.  I broke this into three categories: series I want to finish, new releases and backlist books.  I read five books off this list in January, which is absolutely insane.  I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think I might actually be able to finish this list for the first time ever.

• Movies - Last year, I set a goal to watch 2 new movies a month, and I did it!  Sometimes I watched movies with B and sometimes they were movies I watched on my own.  It was a great way to expand my horizons and watch new things.

• TV Shows - Speaking of watching new things, last year I noticed that I was watching the same TV shows and docuseries over and over again.  It got to the point that I could recite lines from various true crime shows, which is a bit much.  I don’t have an exact number when it comes to how many TV shows to watch a month or anything, because it depends on how long the series is.  All I knew is I wanted to watch more new TV shows, and I’m doing that.

Adventures with L.O.

One of the biggest concerns B and I had with me staying at home with L.O. was me becoming a shut in who never leaves the house, so I challenged myself to take L.O. on two new adventures each month.  Ironically, I find that I get out of the house more with him around, which is great.  Sometimes, we have our favorite spots that we go to over and over again, but I’m still trying to make sure we’re going to new places as well.  I brainstormed a list and everything.  Once the weather gets warmer, I can’t wait to try out some of these adventures.

Journaling

• Mom Journal - I bought this adorable little journal from Barnes and Noble with a bunch of prompts and questions that I answer about my life for L.O. to read when he gets older.  There are 11 chapters, so my goal is to complete one chapter a month so I’ll be done by the end of the year (with one month as a bit of a buffer).

• Junk Journal - I got into junk journaling last year, but I kind of fell off a little bit as life got in the way.  I have so many memories that I want to put in my junk journal, and I desperately want to catch up.

Personal Curriculum

Like I said, I’m going to go into much more detail about what personal curriculum is and what I’m doing with it in a later post.  Basically, I’ve created (with the help of ChatGPT to come up with the questions) various topics I want to study and how to study them. 

February Goal Reflections

Now that I’ve gone over the general overview of my goals for the year, let’s take a moment to break down what my goals were for February and how I did on each of them.

Books - I did read two more books off my 26 in 2026.  Both were new releases that were highly anticipated.  I do think the backlist section of this TBR will be the most challenging.

• The Astral Library by Kate Quinn - Down on her luck, Alix stumbles upon the Astral Library and is given the opportunity to live inside a book of her choice.  It doesn’t take long, however, for the library to come under attack, forcing her to fight back and protect not just this library but libraries in general.  I enjoyed this book a lot and thought it was a wonderful ode to books and the love of reading.  I do think it could have been fleshed out more, but as long as you’re there for a good time, you’ll enjoy yourself.

• Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake - the second book in the Clover Lake trilogy, a series of three interconnected standalones.  Down on her luck (I’m noticing a pattern here) April Evans takes a job teaching art class at a nearby resort that’s just opened.  Unfortunately, she’s teaching with Daphne Love.  Several years ago, April was engaged to Elena, who cheated on her with Daphne (who had no idea that Elena was engaged).  Now, both women have to find a way to overcome their past traumas of being manipulated by Elena while also trying to learn who they are as individuals.  I absolutely loved this book.  I’ve never read a trope quite like this before, and I thought April and Daphne’s shared past added a whole new layer to their already complex story.  Ashley Herring Blake does a great job at pairing lighthearted romances with heavier subplots.

Movies - I cut it close, but I did manage to watch two new movies this month.  I am determined not to break my streak for this goal.

• The Hate U Give - I honestly can’t believe it took me this long to watch this movie.  I read the book ages ago, and it’s actually the book that completely changed my mind about audiobooks.  This movie follows Starr, a young black teenager who sees her childhood best friend gunned down by a police officer and is forced to deal with the fallout.  It’s beautifully done, and I cried many times.  I highly recommend it.

• The Jungle Cruise - This movie had a lot of potential.  The beginning had some great nods to the original attraction (the backside of water is always a classic) and really captured the spirit of Jungle Cruise.  I also really liked Trader Sam.  She was hilarious and absolutely perfect.  With that being said, as the movie progressed, it deviated from the original source material and, honestly, it tried to be too much like Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl instead of being its own movie.   

TV Shows - This was also a goal I cut very close, but it’s honestly not my fault.  I had to wait for the second half of Bridgerton season 4 to come out so I could watch it.

• Mindhunter - I started this show in January but technically finished it in February.  This Netflix show follows Holden and Bill, two FBI agents who put together what eventually becomes the BAU.  As someone who loves true crime, I had very high hopes for this show.  It was good, but I wasn’t absolutely head over heels in love with it.  I wish I could articulate why, it just didn’t completely do it for me.  I know I’m in the minority though, which is fine.

• Bridgerton season 4 - I am absolutely obsessed with Bridgerton.  With that being said, this might be my favorite season yet.  This surprised me, because I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Benedict.  I loved seeing the upstairs/downstairs dynamic.  I thought Benedict’s story arc was fabulous, and he showed so much growth.  I also found the dynamic between Lady Danbury and Queen Charlotte to be wonderful and complex.  Both are characters I adore.  I also loved Eloise’s story.  As someone who is also reading the books, the TV show has done a great job at laying the foundation for her story.  Now, the second half of the season, I binged it in a day.  I won’t have any spoilers, but I will say that it destroyed me emotionally even though I knew what was going to happen.  They did a great job, and I can’t wait to see where next season takes us (although I have a pretty good idea who will be the main focus).

L.O. Adventures

• Our first adventure was to the Friends of the Library Bookstore.  It’s a cramped, dusty space with books crammed into every nook and cranny.  Basically, it’s a pain to navigate with a stroller.  I somehow managed to make it work, though.  L.O. slept the entire time, which was fine with me.  I grabbed a disturbing number of books for him and a few for me as well.

• For our second adventure, L.O. and I went to the Amish Market.  Again, this is a space that isn’t necessarily ideal for a stroller, but that’s life.  What I love about the Amish Market by our house is that it’s a huge space with a bunch of different stalls.  You go to the butcher, get what you need, pay and then move on to the bakery where you do the same thing.  It’s almost like an indoor farmer’s market but with a wider range of food and all run by the Amish.

Journaling

• Chapter 2 of mom journal - I’ll admit, this was definitely something that fell by the wayside until the very end.  Thankfully, this chapter was fairly short, and I was able to get it all done in just a week.

• Junk Journal - This didn’t happen at all.  I’m currently working on doing a complete craft room cleanout, and I’m hoping once I get that taken care of, I’ll be more inspired to create because I’ll have a more dedicated space for it.

Personal Curriculum

• I managed to finish Exploring The Great Gatsby and the Jazz Age, which was a module that tied in various Gatsby retellings, the original text, the three movie adaptations and seeing the musical at the Hippodrome Theatre.

• I continued Flanagan Gothic, which focused on rewatching The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Fall of the House of Usher in preparation to see Carla Gugino, Henry Thomas and Katie Parker at AwesomeCon.  I added a bit more to this module by deciding to watch Midnight Mass as well.  I’ve seen all the shows except Midnight Mass in the past.

• I continued Behind the Mask: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Spectacle and the Modern Musical, which focused first on reading UnMasked by Andrew Lloyd Webber and then watching a series of movie adaptations of his musical.  The original plan had been to finish this module, but it definitely wasn’t something I could do if I was doing one movie/movie series a week.  I watched the two movie adaptations of Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita, along with the corresponding lessons and reflections.  I’m almost done though.

• I really got into Imagineering and the Making of Disney.  This is an absolute behemoth of a unit.  I spent a lot of time adding to and building this out, and I’m going to be working on it for quite a long time.  I don’t mind though, I’m a Disney adult.  For this unit, I read Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, watched The Imagineering Story episode 1, Behind the Attraction season 1, episode 1 (Jungle Cruise) and the movie The Jungle Cruise.  It seems like a lot, but it isn’t compared to what I have in store.  I’ll probably do an entire blog post about it at some point.

• I started Regency Romance: Love, Constraint and Social Power, which is a module that focuses on reading a range of romance novels first set in Regency England, then moving to Victorian England and Belle Epoque.  Basically, it’s my way of leaning more into my Bridgerton obsession.

So, what worked and what didn’t?  With the exception of Mindhunter, I very much enjoyed the media that I consumed.  I’m a little on the fence about my current read for the Regency romance module, but that’s life, not every book is going to be a winner.  I had a great time taking L.O. on adventures and can’t wait for adventures we can take in warmer weather.  I do wish I had taken time to work on my junk journal, but I think that’s going to move to the back burner until I get my office under control, which is going to take a while, unfortunately.

Looking Ahead to March

Now that I’ve taken the time to look back on everything I accomplished in February, it’s time to think about what I want to do in March.

Books

• White Rose Rebel by Janet Paisley - This book follows Anne Farquharson, who rallies her clan to fight against the British in the Jacobite Rebellion.  I’ve had this book forever on my TBR, and as someone who loves Outlander, this sounds perfect for me.  

• Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano - Are the Finlay Donovan the most realistic books out there?  No, definitely not.  Do I have a good time every time I read them?  Yep.  That’s why I keep coming back.  They’re hilarious and just so much fun.  I’m intrigued to read this new one through the lens of a mom.

Movies

Honestly, I’m keeping this one a bit more open.  I’ll see what movies catch my eye.  I’ll probably go see Hoppers, the new Pixar movie, when my mom has L.O. on a Tuesday afternoon.  As for the second movie, I’m not entirely sure.  B wants to see Project Hail Mary, and we’ll have to see if that happens.  I also have a few new to me movies to watch for my Andrew Lloy Webber module, so those are possibilities as well.  When you see what they are, though, you’ll understand why I might not want to count them.

TV Shows

Again, I keep this a bit more open based on my mood.  I do know for a fact that B and I will be starting Midnight Mass soon, and we’ve talked about watching season 2 of Interview With The Vampire, but that depends on our mood.  Jumping right into that from a major binge of Mike Flanagan’s work seems a bit intense.

L.O. Adventures

With the weather warming up, my tentative plan is to take him to the outlets nearby to walk around.  As for our second adventure, I honestly have no idea.  I think I need to brainstorm a few because the rest are very much outdoor-heavy ones.

Journaling

As I said, I think my junk journaling is going to have to take a backseat while I get my office under control.  I do want to continue with chapter three of my mom journal, which focuses on  my childhood.  I want to be better about not putting that off until the last minute.

Personal Curriculum

• I will definitely be able to finish my Flanagan Gothic module.  All that will be left is watching Midnight Mass and seeing the panel at AwesomeCon, which is on March 13th.  This will be completed, I’m almost in the home stretch.

• I also will finish Behind the Mask: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Spectacle and the Modern Musical, not because I have any major capstone event for it in March but simply because I am determined to finish it.  The last two lessons before the final “capstone” focus on Phantom of the Opera and Cats.  Now do you see why I’m hesitant to use the movies for this as my “two new movies for the month”?  Yes, I’m making more work for myself, but I just, I can’t count Cats.  At the moment, I’m just waiting for some DVD holds to come in from the library so I can finish this one.

• Imagineering and the Making of Disney will be here for a very long time.  I don’t even know how much I want to accomplish; I guess modules two and three, which include eight and ten lessons respectively.  That seems like a lot to bite off, but let’s say that’s my goal.

• I will be able to finish Regency Romance: Love, Constraint and Social Power, as it involves reading one romance book a week (usually on my Kindle) and then answering some questions.  This was the first module I ever created, and I kept it very simple.  I’m going to be honest, though, I may put a pin in this module and come back to it later.  I’m having way too much fun with some other, bigger ones, and this one just isn’t holding my attention like I thought it would.  We’ll have to see.

• Plot twist, there’s a fifth module I didn’t even mention before.  A little backstory: I reread The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo every single January and have done so the past few years.  Why?  It’s my favorite book, and if every single book I read in January is garbage, at least I started off the year with one five star book.  After reading Evelyn, I had this urge to reread Daisy Jones and the Six, and I also wanted to try out Malibu Rising again to see if I like it better the second time around.  At that point, I’ve read three out of the four in the Famous Four, so I figured I might as well reread Carrie Soto Is Back too.  Why not?  I thought it would be fun to do a module for this as well.  This is probably my most chill module to date.  I’m listening to Daisy Jones right now (because it’s far superior as an audiobook), and then I’ll watch the TV show (it’s a rewatch for me, so it unfortunately doesn’t count for my TV show goal).  Once I finish all that, I’ll probably take a break for a while.  Malibu Rising is definitely more of a summery book anyway.  Like I said, this module is probably the most chill out of all of them, I’ll finish it when I finish it.

So that’s it, those are my goals for March.  Looking back, it seems like a lot.  When you really break it down, however, a lot of it is watching movies and TV shows, which I tend to do anyway while L.O. is asleep.  I’m just more aware of the media that I’m consuming.  And honestly, I don’t even really miss my comfort shows.  I’ll go back to them one day, but I’m enjoying finding new things to love right now.  I’m excited for everything I have going on in March and can’t wait to check in at the end of the month to see how I did.