Hello everybody!!! Right now I am in the car with my grandparents, on the way to my cousin’s house in Georgia!! If you don’t know, my cousin Kenna lives there and I decided to travel with my grandparents down there to celebrate New Years with her! I haven’t seen her since November, so I’m really excited. We have some fun things planned, and I can’t wait! Right now I think we only have one more hour left. So far I haven’t done much in the car, which is surprising because it’s been 4 hours, sooo how am I not bored of listening to music?? I guess I just love Ariana Grande that much. Anyway after I write this post I think I’m going to read because I’m still working on a Christmas book called All I Want For Christmas. It’s not that it’s bad or anything, but for some reason I just haven’t been reading it that much. But I do really want to get it finished before the new year because it is a Christmas book, and not to be Scrooge-y or anything, but I want to start off 2021 with some good ol’ self help books.
I think that reading self improvement/health books is good to read in January because it is the time for setting goals and working on being your best self. In this post I’m going to be listing the self help books I want to read soon, plus a bonus fudge recipe!! (That is, if my phone doesn’t die.)
SELF IMPROVEMENT BOOKS FOR THE NEW YEAR:
Live by Sadie Robertson- I’m super excited to read this book because it’s all about living (derr) your life freely and not being held back by stress, which is exactly my cup of tea. Some of the things this book talks about is how to replace temporary highs with the promises of God, how to dream big, and how to celebrate and live in the moment. It sounds really fulfilling and I think it’ll be good for anyone who feels like they’re always stuck accomplishing to-do lists and never having fun, maybe don’t even know HOW to have fun.
Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequest- This book is for anyone who feels like they’re always planning ahead or trying to fill their life with accomplishments and are always getting things done. Of course, those things are always good, but sometimes they take us out of the present and make us oblivious to the things happening right in front of our eyes. The Princess Switch taught be a quote (lol) but it’s actually really good; Life is what’s happening when you're too busy making other plans. I feel like that summarizes what this book is trying to make you aware of, that sometimes we need to be present over perfect.
Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire by Jen Hatmaker- When I first saw this book I was like okay this looks like exactly what I need. I’ve never been particularly bold, I’ve always been quiet and agreeable. This summer however, I’ve learned a lot of things about how being quiet and agreeable can be boring and dull. Sometimes we need to have fire, we need to speak our mind and not let anybody bring us down without a fight. (Disclaimer for my mom: I’m not advertising talking back 😉) Because I know that I don’t want to spend my life on the sidelines, especially since I’m going to be moving to New York in 5 years. This book I’m the most excited for and I can’t wait to read it!
You Got This by Caroline Foran- I saw this cute book in a bookshop in Savannah. It stood out to me because like the book mentioned above, it was all about finding confidence. I think that this book will teach me how to control fear and not let it stand in the way of my goals. It will be an assuring book that will bring anyone confidence that needs it.
happier now by Nataly Kogan- Around the time when the seasons change and daylight savings is in effect, my mood starts to change. It may be the lack of sun, or it just might be this year and all the COVID stuff, but I’ve been finding myself frequently bored and...stuck. At one point, I wasn’t feeling happy. That’s when I found this book. I also discovered ways to improve my mood- running, meditating, God, and just relaxing. I want to read this book to be my happiest self, so I don’t have to feel pointless ever again. I’m not saying it’s bad to feel those things, but it should be something we’re aware of so we can control our emotions in a rational way.
And now on to the part we’ve all been waiting for…it’s fudge time!!! Every year at Christmas, it is my family’s tradition to bake cookies and treats. But we don’t stop at sugar cookies, we make peanut butter balls, sandies, and my personal favorite: fudge. Fudge is heaven in dessert form. It’s rich chocolate squares that taste SO good. This year my Grandma helped me make some fudge squares and gave me the recipe to post on my blog!! Shoutout to Grandma!!! 🤍
Ingredients:
3 cups white sugar
¾ cup butter
⅔ cup evaporated milk
1 (12 oz) package semisweet chocolate chips
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream (aka fluff)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Mix sugar, butter, and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
Bring mixture to a full boil for five minutes, while at the same time stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and thoroughly combined.
Beat in fluff and vanilla
Transfer fudge to pan and let cool before cutting into squares
I’m telling you, you absolutely need to try this recipe!! It’s my favorite thing; I already ate a whole box of fudge lol. So anyway, now we’re about thirty minutes away from Kenna’s house, and I’m going to get some reading done. See ya next time!