29 Things I've Learned in 29 Years

Hi! With my birthday less than 24 hours away, I thought I'd share some things that I've learned. I first saw this when Jenna Marbles did it for her 29th birthday a few months ago, but I've seen it a few more times from different bloggers since then. I couldn't immediately recall 29 lessons, but I thought it'd be fun to see if I could get through it. Some of these are deep, some of them are not. All of them probably sound cliche, but whatever. Anyway, here are 29 things that I've learned in 29 years. 

1. That saying "The largest obstacle in your way is you" is sometimes just a bunch of malarkey. 

2. You should always be your best friend first. 

3. Keep the pain and struggle of your life off of all social media, unless you're using it to inspire. 

4. Being so afraid of success that you fail to try at all is the exact same thing as failing. 

5. A quarter-life crisis is a real thing, and if it happens to you, it'll pass. 

6. Accept that where you're killin' it in an area, someone will always do it better. And there's nothing you can do about it. 

7. Your vision and plan for your life may (and probably will, in some form) differ from what you actually experience. 

8. It's a bit of a shock when you no longer know the current lingo. 

9. There will be a day when getting out of bed causes fireworks to explode in your body. 

10. Never seek validation from others that you're incapable of giving to yourself. 

11. When you learn to choose your battles, the amount of wisdom you gain every time you exercise that grows tenfold. 

12. Whether you like it or not, you do eventually end up sounding exactly like your parent(s).

13. It will always hurt you more than others to hang onto pain you were caused. Let it go.

14. It's extremely important to understand, appreciate and enjoy the value of alone time. 

15. You should never compromise who you are for someone else's benefit, whether that 'someone else' is a friend, a spouse or a relative.  

16. I now get excited about new household appliances. 

17. Your stomach changes and evolves as you do, and some of those things you loved to eat when you were younger may not agree with you later. 

18. Love, in any form where it is pure and honest, is beautiful. 

19. You can't run from yourself, no matter how hard you try. 

20. Your family may suck sometimes. Love them in spite of that, even if you have to do it from a distance on occasion. 

21. You're never too old to learn, and it's never too late to explore life. 

22. The nerd adage of "Those who bullied you at some point will work for you/nerds finish first" isn't always true, so don't bet money on it. 

23. Sometimes I DGAF. And I love it. 

24. Nobody will ever compare you to others as much as YOU compare yourself to others. Stop. 

25. Your personality is ever-evolving, and it's important not to unintentionally put yourself in a box.

26. At some point, you'll have to confront all that ugly adult shit nobody warns you about ahead of time: the 401k, health and dental insurance, a living will, all of the adult things. They're important, and they're necessary. Get that shit done early.

27. The cartoons you grew up watching take on an entirely different meaning as an adult. 

28. I grossly underestimated the beauty of a bomb ass nap. 

29. Finally, I learned that the number 30 follows 29, always has and always will. And that scares the shit out of me.

So those are some of the nuggets of wisdom I've picked up throughout my life. There are tons more, but most of those have been the most beneficial for me. What are some of the more important lessons you've learned? See you soon!

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My Birthday Wishlist

Hi! This week I took a page out of my other blog's book and decided I'd talk a little about my birthday wishlist. Over on ATV, the month's theme is my birthday so it's quite self-indulgent, but I'm having fun with it. lol I didn't get to focus on the current things I'd like to have though, so that's what I'm going to be talking about today. I have some things that I've had my eye on for awhile now, and if this was a perfect world, I'd be able to have all of 'em for my birthday. It's not a perfect world, however, and I'm broke. So I thought I'd show you some of those things and enjoy some online window shopping. 

1. Skyrim: Legendary Edition for PS3

Gamestop

I own the regular version of Skyrim and have been playing it for around 4 years or so. Skyrim players, you know that's a lot of logged game time. Dawnguard, Dragonborn and Hearthfire have all been out for somewhere around 2-3 years, and I got all of those when they were released. When I got a new PS3 this past summer, I accidentally deleted all three DLCs because I deleted the profile that I downloaded the content onto. Once I realized that that was the reason why I'd lost my stuff, there were tears. The first time I got these, they were as birthday gifts so I didn't have to pay for them. Now, I could either pay upwards of $40 to download them again or I can just get the Legendary edition of the game, which thankfully includes all three DLCs. I haven't been able to play Skyrim since I realized the content was gone so this is a mistake I'm desperate to correct. 

2. Mobile-compatible Camera Lens Kit

Amazon

It's been a long-standing goal of mine to up my photo game, especially if I expect this blog to ever go anywhere. I can't even begin to afford the type of camera that I would like to have and I'm trying to utilize the materials that I do have, which brings me to this mobile photo lens collection. The collection has several different attachments that you can snap onto the back of your phone as well as a tiny tripod for some stability. This would be so useful when I have to take product photos and need to be able to position the items without moving the camera. I love a good practical gift, and this would be one of them for me. 

3. Dunkin Donuts Caramel Iced Coffee & Burger King's Ham, Egg & Cheese Croissan'wich

This is probably one of my favorite breakfasts ever. Ever. It's become a monthly treat to take myself to breakfast at least once (breakfast is my favorite meal lol), and I usually get this. Nope, not the healthiest meal in the world. Don't care. (This directly contradicts a conversation I had with my mom and uncle in which I said I'd like to try to eat healthier this year, but I digress.) It tastes fucking fantastic. I don't know why, but I've noticed that when I have this breakfast, I feel like my day starts off on the right foot. I eat while I check emails and work on blog posts, and I usually end up getting a lot done. So basically, in addition to filling my tum and caressing my soul with goodness, it also helps with my productivity. What I'm trying to say is that I should have this everyday.

4. Cheetos Crunchy Jalapeno Cheddar chips

Frito-Lay

My sister turned me on to these last spring, and I've been hooked ever since. With all the gut troubles I have, I really should be staying away from them but I just can't. They aren't sold at the stores near my house so I can't have them as often as I'd like, which is probably a good thing, but when I do get a bag I usually eat myself to the point of intense gastrointestinal distress. I don't intend to do that on Saturday, but I don't intend on ending my day without at least a taste of these chips. lol 

5. Dynasty Warriors 8 for PS3

Gamestop

This game has become such a thorn in my side. The Gamestop closest to my house has had one copy for over a year now, and it taunts me every time I go in there. It knows another visit to this store will pass in which I do not walk out with it, and it laughs at me. I want this game so badly it's ridiculous. It would be awesome to finally have the damn thing, if only so I can replace this game on my wishlist with another one. lol 

6. A 2-in-1 tablet & laptop

Walmart

I think maybe a 2-in-1 would help with editing and uploading my photos and give me a larger screen to work with than what I currently have going on. If I can insert the photos into blog posts from the device I'm working on rather than waiting for it to sync with my cloud then hopping on the computer to add them to the post, it'll take a lot less time than it takes me now. My current laptop is on its way out, so this would also be a good replacement until I can get another one. There's no way in hell I can even begin to afford it in the foreseeable future, but if I were to have the money, I'd probably stick with something like this RCA Viking Pro 2-in-1. It's under $200, it was well-rated online, and operates with Android Lollipop, which is the operating system on my phone now. I'd love to have something like this for working on my blogs. 

7. Walmart's General Tso's Chicken

Source

There are a number of things that I love about good ol' Wally World. One of the main things are these General Tso's boneless chicken pieces from the deli. They're sweet, spicy, sticky, and amazeballs. This is another usual monthly treat since half a pound of them only costs a couple bucks. Sounds like a nice treat for a birthday lunch. Or a snack. I want them, end of story. 

8. A new Nexus phone battery

eBay

I am in desperate need of a new battery for my Nexus since it is the primary thing I use for many of my reviews. I've needed a new battery for nearly 3 years now, but over the past year or so it's gotten much worse. It charges fairly quickly, but it also dies just as quickly so when I'm not using it, I have to keep it on the charger. It's a massive nuisance and I'd like to finally get it out of my hair.

9. Unlimited access to books and makeup (LOL)

This doesn't need a photo. I just want someone to tell me I can buy any book, anywhere, anytime I want and never have to pay for it. I also want this same person to tell me I can have all the makeup I like, however much of it I like, regardless of where I buy it from, anytime I want. Sounds amazing.

So that's some of my wishlist. I don't often have a wishlist at all, but this was fun to think about. I tend to think my day is cursed in some way, and my worry over the day not going the way I'd like is usually what consumes any thoughts I have concerning my birthday. The main thing I want is just for the day to go well; most of the time my birthday ends up getting ruined by someone else's actions or external drama so I'm really hoping that the day goes smoothly. For the past few years, I usually end up being exposed to a cold on my birthday and going down with it a couple of days later, so that's another thing I'm hoping to avoid. Honestly, if I can have both of those things then I don't need anything else. 

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Creating Seasonal Bucket Lists

Hi! This week I wanted to talk about something that was fairly new to me but has turned into lots of fun. Last summer, I wanted to do something new that was blog-worthy, so I created a summer bucket list. I have a general bucket list that I update yearly, but I've never broken it down into seasons before. I looked online for inspiration and was really pleased to find so many other people taking on a seasonal bucket list. I skimmed any articles I read for pointers as I was starting out and just tried to figure out what I wanted from the experience on my own. I enjoyed the experience immensely and have decided to continue doing it. I've since finessed the way I like to build seasonal bucket lists, so I thought I'd share some tips here if you'd like to start one of your own. 

1. Keep your eye on affordable activities in your area

It's one thing to develop a bucket list full of things you've never done before, but it's another if all of those activities are $10 and above. It's tempting once you get into the spirit of the bucket list to try and do all the things, but having fun isn't always cheap, especially depending on where you live. Unless you're filthy rich, you'll be broke by the end of the month and in debt by the end of the season. If you don't get out often, this will be a good time to discover what there is to do in your city that costs little to nothing, and it gets you out of the house.



2. Try doing things you've never taken an interest in before

If every item on your bucket list was full of things that you either already like or have already done, there wouldn't be much point in making a bucket list, right? Try things that are offered for the season, like outdoor events if you're doing a spring or summer list, but that you would normally ignore. Some of our more fun or enlightening experiences come from places we wouldn't normally expect it, and keeping your mind open to new adventures may help you discover hobbies or interests you didn't know you liked.



3. Don't overwhelm yourself with items

The largest mistake that I made with my first season-themed bucket list was putting too many items on it. There were 50-some items on that list, and when I made it, I was expecting my summer to be jam-packed with fun and new adventures. Summer always brings out the wanderlust in me, so I set the bar way too high. A lack of income, reliable transportation and recurring health problems put me in check real quick. lol So don't overwhelm yourself with trying to cram tons of things on your list--a simple list full of both smaller and larger items will keep you busy enough.



4. Add activities or events that embody the feel of the season

One of the most important things to help you have more fun with seasonal bucket lists is to add activities that embody the feel or spirit of the season. For example, when I was trying to develop a fall bucket list, a few of my items explored the tastes of the season, like finally trying the much-hyped PSL from Starbucks and drinking apple cider. A winter list would have consisted of hot drinks that I normally don't drink, finding a public place with a fireplace that I could hog for a couple of hours, or something along those lines. The point of the seasonal bucket list is partially to keep you in the spirit or feel of the season you've created the list for. This is another way to open your mind to new experiences.



5. It's okay to add a couple of things that are probably unattainable, but fun to think about

My summer bucket list last year was extremely unattainable and ultimately ended up backfiring by overwhelming me. At the same time, I purposely added a couple of things that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to end up doing because just seeing those items on the list kept me in the mindset of the season and the fun I wanted to have. Take one of my items from last summer, which was to hit up a water slide. There aren't any water slides around my house, so this one was obviously not going to happen. But I added it because for me, it was one of those quintessential fun, playful summer activities and that was the feel I was going for when I created the list.



6. Figure out what inspires you for each season and go from there

One of the reasons why I wanted to start doing seasonal bucket lists was because I wanted to remember why I used to love each season. I wanted to regain that sense of enjoyment in the simpler things, find the things that make each season beautiful in its own way. So what inspires me for spring? The fact that after months of having to stay holed up in the house and largely away from large groups of people (I have the FML-worthy pleasure of being a raging hypochondriac with health anxiety and having a compromised immune system), I can finally feel the sun on my face again. After months of clouds and winter (for Texas, anyway) weather, the sun just seems a bit brighter and the atmosphere seems to come back to life. So during the spring, I'm going to want to try outdoor activities that I've never tried so that I can enjoy the warmer weather and nature. The need to explore always kicks in during the summer, so I'm going to want to do activities that take me on mini-adventures.



7. Have a healthy mix of smaller and larger things

Once I started creating lists, I realized just how quickly time actually passes by. When you only have three months to do a list of things, sometimes it can seem like much more time than there really is. But when you factor in things like scheduling, convenience, health, weather and the like, you have a lot less time than you think. Before you know it, the season is winding down and it's time to make a new list. Combining larger and smaller seasonal things goes back to not overwhelming yourself. You want to have fun with your list, not become a slave to it, and if your list is full of bigger items that require more of your time and effort, it can be daunting. Mix it up with smaller items that would be fun to try, but don't require as much.



8. Allow room for seasonal fails

I don't know about you, but despite the frustration it usually causes, I love a good fail. They're funny, they remind me that I should never get a big head about, well, anything, and they're good practice for showing me how to do it better the next time around. Take my first seasonal bucket list, which was last summer. For all intents and purposes, the entire alone was a seasonal fail and at first it was pretty discouraging, but then I realized that I just needed to learn how to do it properly. I just wrote down a bunch of stuff that sounded fun to do during the summer, most of which I knew as I wrote I wasn't going to do, then proceeded to let most of the summer pass me by. I overwhelmed myself, I didn't do a ton of research on what was even feasible for me to do, and I didn't think about time constraints. So when August came and I realized I hadn't even crossed off half of the items I'd added to the list, I was discouraged and a little disappointed in myself. Here I was trying to be a fun blogger, but I didn't even do a summer bucket list right. I felt like I had to eat my words and admit defeat and I hated that. The beatdown I gave myself over it was pretty funny because the issue in itself was rather dumb, but I'm a perfectionist so stupid things like that really do get me down. It was said meltdown that helped me not only realize the level of seasonal fail I'd just hit, but it also helped me come up with this list so that I could do better the next time.

So those are some of my tips. The goal was to give a little direction for those who are just starting out but still allow you to personalize them for where you live and make a list that's truly your own. Of course, don't be afraid to Google lists if you need a little help; you'll find that many of them, especially the summer lists, have some of the same items on them. There are family lists, which look like tons of fun if you've got a group of rowdy kids expecting you to find something for them to do (as many kids often do, lol), there are couples' lists, and there are #ForeverAlone lists for gals like myself. Just have fun with your list. It can be hard sometimes, especially in current times, to try and enjoy just being alive. For me, that's another thing that seasonal bucket lists and lists in general help me to do. They give me new experiences, they open my mind, and help me enjoy just being alive to breathe in air, whether it's a frosty air that chills my lungs or a hot, desert-exclusive air that makes me choke on dirt. lol I hope these tips have helped you a little if you're new to creating seasonal lists. If you decide to create one, tell me what you plan to include!

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RRNT Reading Challenge 2016

Hi! For this week's post, I was originally going to make a post about creating seasonal bucket lists. But a few days ago, I decided to take part in a reading challenge and thought I'd post that today instead. I've taken part of three annual reading challenges now, but they were historical romance challenges hosted by herding cats and burning soup. This year I wasn't sure whether or not I was going to do one, but then I came across the #BustleReads Challenge and decided to try something new. The aim of the BustleReads challenge is to bring more focus to both female authors and authors of color, which I liked. I was going to take on this challenge in its entirety, until I saw that there were two other major reading challenges being hosted this year. BookRiot has the Read Harder Challenge, and PopSugar has the Ultimate Reading Challenge, both of which also sound like a lot of fun. 

It would be ideal to take on as many reading challenges as I can, and while some of the challenge entries are on every list, it would be a bit daunting, even for someone that reads as much as I do, to try and finish them all this year. Since historical romances are one of the genres I read the most often on a normal basis, I wanted to do something different this year. So instead of trying to do all of the challenges, I thought I'd tweak all of the lists and compile something that I liked. Many of the entries are from all three collections, but there are a few of my own entries sprinkled in there. I review books quite frequently and don't mind going outside of my normal reading preferences for that, but for leisurely reading I hardly ever read anything outside of my comfort zone. So for my own entries, I tried to include things that I normally wouldn't read. The links above will direct you to the parent challenges, if you'd like to look through those instead. But if you're interested, here's RRNT's.

Challenges 1-9

Challenges 10-18

Challenges 19-27

Challenges 28-36

I'll be doing this challenge on Instagram so make sure to follow me on there if you'd like to see what I choose. If you'd like to partake in this challenge, you can post the entry you chose along with the book on social media using the hashtag #rrntreads so I can see what you're reading. Again, if you'd rather look through and/or follow the parent challenges that I got most of my entries from, they're in the links above. Happy reading!

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2016 Goals

Hi and Happy New Year! In what I'm hoping will be the first in a weekly series of "Things" posts that I wanted to do for the blog this year, I wanted to share the goals that I have for RRNT. I come up with a list every year, but last year I was on timeout and wasn't sure when I'd come back, so I didn't really have any goals except to come back. I wanted to make some goals this year though, both to make up for last year and to keep me in line. I don't know about you, but goals help keep me structured because they serve as a constant reminder of what I'd like to improve. I already did a similar post for my goals concerning ATV, but here are my goals for RRNT this year:




1. Be more active on social media

2. Stick to blog schedule

3. Sharpen my reviewing skills

4. Strengthen my photography skills

5. Apply for more reviewing positions

6. Be more consistent with posts!

7. Build up posts in all of the site categories & resume series

8. Grow my audience!

1. Be more active on social media

Even though I have a few social media accounts, I don't often use them for myself. My lurker status is on point, but my actual use of these sites is not. Due to a number of reasons, I don't post nearly as often as I should, and this affects my ability to properly promote myself. Most bloggers worth their salt have a consistent social media presence and I know that I'll need to have the same, in some fashion, if I expect to grow my audience at some point during my blogging career. I want to be taken seriously as a review blogger and get my name out there, but I know I'll have to get over my insecurities in order to feel comfortable enough to do so. 

2. Stick to blog schedule

I decided to make a blog schedule so I could keep track of the things I wanted to review and try to establish some sort of posting schedule for myself. Since I run two blogs, I try to schedule things throughout the week, so I can post on each blog separately rather than trying to toss together two posts to go live on the same day. A schedule helps me keep everything on track, but I didn't stick to it this year. If I stick to it and remain consistent, I think I'll be able to put out more content that I'm satisfied with and make sure that things don't just suddenly drop off, which is another of my main concerns with this blog. 

3. Sharpen my reviewing skills

Last year, I was able to figure out exactly how I wanted to review the majority of the products that I review on the site, but in most cases I ended up not doing it. I try to remain aware of what types of reviews I like seeing as a consumer and mix them with a thorough, first-hand account of what I thought as a reviewer. I've figured out what works for me, but I still have some tweaking to do, mainly in terms of length and the photos I include, and this year I'd like to improve both of them to provide a better reading experience. 

4. Strengthen my photography skills

For the longest time, I assumed that I wouldn't be able to put up decent product photos on here because all I had was my phone. I kept comparing myself to more established bloggers and their photography skills, beating myself up when I came up short. You can't really be a review blogger if you don't show off the product, but you also don't need an expensive DSLR to give the audience an objective, accurate visual of a product. Last year was about learning how to get around the obstacles I had and working with what I had, and this year is about putting the things I learned to use. There's no reason why I can't put out good photos of the products I review; I just have to fully utilize the resources that I do have at my disposal. 

5. Apply for more reviewing positions

A lot of the reason why I don't apply for more reviewing positions now is because I don't want to direct traffic to a site that I feel isn't up to par in terms of its design. The new design is done completely by me so it probably still won't be the epitome of professional chic that I'd like, but it'd certainly be better than the half-finished design I've been rocking for awhile. If the design issue is taken care of, at least for now, then I'd feel more comfortable and confident when looking for reviewing jobs and more prone to apply for them. 

6. Be more consistent with posts!

I've struggled with post consistency since I changed the focus of this blog from soap operas to reviews. Finances do a lot for the consistency of a blog, and while at one time I figured I could keep reviews going based on products I already had, most people don't want to read a series of old reviews. So I scrapped that idea and tried to allot a monthly budget for me to try new things. That hasn't worked quite so well either, so sometimes weeks will go by without a peep from me. I'd like to be more consistent this year with the frequency of my postings. 

7. Build up posts in all of the site categories and revive old series

Since I decided to combine a couple of the site's categories, I've had to go through the others and was able to see which categories need more of my attention. I'd like to balance out the numbers a bit and give people more to go through than just the categories with more than a couple of reviews. That brings me to the DIY section of the blog, which is so dry right now it's not even funny. I really enjoyed the Pinterest Project when I started it a couple of years ago, but I discontinued it when my finances didn't allow me to buy enough supplies for a monthly project. If I brought it back with the challenge that the project must be something I can afford, I think I could build that section of the site up rather quickly. I would also like to bring back the SBS, which I'm working on. I like that there's a bit of everything on this site, and I'd like to make sure I keep it that way rather than only focusing on a couple of review categories and ignoring the others. 

8. Grow my audience!

I've been a review blogger for nearly 5 years now, but I only started to look at this as a serious thing 3 years ago. Even after I started to take blogging more seriously though, I never did anything to promote myself. I eventually bit the bullet on ATV and there's a steady number of views on there now, but it hasn't trickled over here yet so I guess I'll have to bite another bullet. lol I'd love to have more readers, mainly so I can start mixing in review requests with what I choose to do on my own. There are many review jobs that I don't qualify for because of my low audience, so if I grow the audience, I can get more jobs, which results in more reviews that I get to post. It'd also be superb if I could finally talk to someone else on here for a change. lol

So those are my goals for the year. Originally, there were 5 goals but while writing, I ended up adding on 3 more, so now there are 8 goals for both blogs. Many of them are the same goals, though, so if I buckle down and keep a fire under my ass, I think I can accomplish them this year. Here's hoping that I can. I'm going to try to keep this series going; I've already got a few months' worth of post ideas in my notebook. I figured if there's a week where there isn't a new review, I could still post something so the blog doesn't die off. They're on an array of subjects, but they're all geared to help you get to know me a bit better so I hope you enjoy them. See you soon!

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