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LeeAnn's avatar

So taking photos for other moms so they could actually be in them... actually brought tears to my eyes. I feel that so much! What a simple, but super-meaningful kind gesture! I just love it! Keep up all of your hard work. Also (I'm almost 41 and super out of shape...) I think I might make it a goal to be able to do a pull up by the time I turn 50!

Thank you for being amazing! Love you, bye!

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Steph's avatar

Book recommendations

The Last Mrs. Parrish

The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

Beautiful Little Fools

And remember, your good deeds and kind acts don’t have to be big. Small is good. The taking photos so moms could be in them was amazing! Just keep a tally on the notes app on your phone.

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Candace's avatar

If you haven’t read it, an interesting and heartwarming book is “Remarkably Bright Creatures”

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LL's avatar

Have you ever read The Silent Patient? I recently read it and it is SO good!! I know it isn't the newest and latest book out there by far, but just wanted to recommend it. :)

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Lori Medalis's avatar

You want a great read? Look up Autism Out Loud!! Made #7 on the NYT Best Seller List This Week. It gives 3 different views of Autism through 3 different Moms View of what their Son with Autism is Like. It’s a Great Book and You Will Fall in Love with Kate & Cooper, Carrie & Jack and Adrian & Amos!!! You can’t

help it!!

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Cindy Ojczyk's avatar

I'm reading Sandwich and just finished reading The Way It Always Is - highly recommend.

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Trees From Stone's avatar

I turned 50 in 2021 and decided to ride 50 miles on my Peloton to mark the occasion! It took 3-4 months to work up to the mileage but I did it! 50 miles in 2 hrs 41 min! Also, LOVE the photo idea! We are UO annual pass holders and I spend a lot of time waiting for my kids to get through a ride… it will be my mission to take pictures!

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Erika Stucker's avatar

I love this, very inspirational. Thanks for putting yourself out there and showing us all how small simple ideas can make a real difference. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress! You got this!

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Kathleen Gonzales's avatar

I love your goals! You have inspired me to do something similar as I approach my 65th birthday. Some books I have enjoyed this year include The Midnight Library, The Serviceberry, The Reading List, and The Plan : Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius. An oldie but a goodie is Agatha Christie's And then There Were None.

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Jen's avatar

I love reading. I read about 105 books a year. You have some I've loved, like The Women. Here are my 2024 favorites:

The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family

The Third Gilmore Girl

A Calamity of Souls

Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (a memoir having nothing to do w/ vampires)

When We Believed in Mermaids

The Frozen River

Real Americans (by Khong)

By Any Other Name

Sisters Under the Rising Sun

James

The Berry Pickers

The Women

My Beloved Monster: Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me

Romney: A Reckoning (I don't agree with his politics but it's an incredibly well-written book.)

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Vesna Nixon's avatar

I’m in the same boat turning 50 at the end of the year. It scares me. Your goals are really motivating me! Let’s go!!

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Taryn's avatar

Kim, I’m right there with you! I’m a year behind you but I’m following along. Your mindset is awesome, it’s not all or nothing, just keep trying. We GenX women need to stick together. Also, when did your Boy get so tall?

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Rodolfo Paiz's avatar

One suggestion: treat your progress as a scoreboard, not a goal. If your GOAL is 50 of something, and you end up at 47, you're going to feel like you failed and that is ENTIRELY preventable suffering. But if it's a SCOREBOARD, every point is great. And the more points you get, the better. But you simply cannot fail, and that removes a lot of stress from the equation.

Try to get "one or more" points per week... ideally more. And if you miss a week, simply acknowledge it and get back on track. Then watch your score improve! Growth, success, and happiness are all built on positive evidence... the scoreboard works much better than the goal.

As for books, James Clear's "Atomic Habits" would really help make this journey easier.

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Bryna Messmer's avatar

Or book club just read Marilyn Simon Rothstein's Who Loves You Best. It's a cute story and a quick read. The author came to our book club and it's really sweet!!! I have to promote her ❤️

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Denise's avatar

THE PAGE TURNER, THE GRIFFIN SISTERS' GREATEST HITS, THE LOVE HATERS, BEACH HOUSE RULES, AUSTEN AT SEA, and HER KNIGHT AT THE MUSEUM are books I recommend. A few have not been released, but I have read (ARC/ARE) and reviewed all of them.

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Kelly's avatar

First off, I enjoy your podcast, videos and other things you and Penn do. I listen to the another podcast and instead of resolutions they make a checklist for the year. I have 25 acts of kindness this year on my list. Congratulations on recognizing that moms miss out on being in pictures and reaching out to moms to see if they want their picture taken with their family.

I have had more reading on my list for the last few years. A few top books that made my list so far include: "The Lies We Leave Behind", "Brooke Shields isn't allowed to get old", "The Nightingale", and "The Women" (which you already read). I like listening to autobiographies especially if they are read by the author. ("Born a Crime" was excellent.) Jimmy Buffett wrote a book years ago called "A Pirate Looks at 50".

Wishing you an amazing Year 49.

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