As I sit here, consuming too much coffee ice cream and enjoying the gentle breezes of summer (which has FINALLY decided to show up) I feel like I should wax poetic on this introduction. I should contemplate the many mysteries of life, like why do birds sing and how fast do stars die and why does my friend think a gorilla is a sasquatch...but I won't. Why?
BECAUSE I'M HERE WITH SO MANY EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!!
A special thanks to the five girls who sent in questions for my Q&A video, it was fun to answer them, and MAN did you give me some hard ones! (But no math equations so thank you so much for that.) I hope you all enjoy my answers and find them helpful and informative. I'm hoping to do another one soon, closer to my birthday, so keep an eye out for that link. ;)
I know that this monthly wrap-up post will be different than most, but I thought I should acknowledge a couple very important things going on in my life:
1: I'M AN AUNTIE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!!
That's right, my friends. My older sister told us last Saturday that she was expecting. I don't know if the baby is a boy or girl yet, since Sarah is only like one month in to this new adventure...BUT...*deep breath* I've been freaking out in a good way ever since I heard the news! I think I'm more excited about this little human than my sister is. XD
2: I'm having another book-signing at the end of June!!!
A little less world-shattering after becoming an auntie, but exciting news none-the-less. I'm hosting a book-signing for "Sleeping Handsome" and "Thoughts in Verse" on June 30th, 2018. If any of you are local (or even up to a couple hours away) you should TOTALLY try to make it to my house for that! I wish all of you could come and hang out with me, but I know due to location that most of you won't. :( If you CAN make it, let me know and I'll give you directions. (Psssst, there will be free cookies... B-)
NOW. Since all of you have probably skipped to this section already, here are the winners of my giveaway!
Grand Prize Winner:
ABIGAIL MCKENNA
*confetti shower*
You get a signed copy of "The Princess and I" AND a cute set of silver earrings. :)
1st place winners:
Abigail Harder,
Kaitlyn Krispense,
Ashley Nicole, and
Becca Wall
You girls get a signed copy of "The Princess and I"!!!!! *happy dance*
2nd place winners:
Ashley (of precious moments fame),
Bethany R., and
Rebekah Ashleigh
You girls all get a signed copy of "Sleeping Handsome"!!! Congrats!
3rd place winner:
Deborah C.
You win a copy of "Alice and Alyssa" WHOOP, WHOOP!
4th place:
Faith Potts
You win a copy of "The Silver Flower" *hugs*
A HUUUUUUGE congratulations to all of you! Thanks so much for the amazing group of followers you are! As I've said before, and will say again, I wish I could give all of you free copies of all my books...but I can't. :(
To those of you who won, please email me with your address and I will get those signed books out to you ASAP! :D
If this post seemed short to you...that's because it was. :) I'm hoping to get into a better blogging rhythm during summer, but we'll have to see how that works out.
Until next time, let everything you do be done for the glory of God!
Some of you may have seen that my youngest brother had his appendix rupture a couple days ago, probably from prayer requests on various social media sites. To say the least, it was a frightening situation. One of those scares where your heart skips a beat and your lungs refuse to work properly for a couple seconds.
William stayed by Sam's side throughout most of his hospital stay (coming home for nights and Sunday church). It was so cute watching him worry about his little brother. These two have always been really close, and it was during this time that that really showed. :)
It started on Wednesday afternoon, January 17th. Sam complained of an upset stomach and was kept home from prayer meeting that evening after vomiting a couple different times. At first, we thought it was just the flu bug, assuming he had caught it from our cousins who had barely recovered the week before. However, as each day went by with no improvement, Mom's worries steadily grew. Sam wasn't able to eat anything, and couldn't keep any liquids down. He complained of severe pain in his mid-section, and could hardly walk upright. With these symptom's in mind, Mom did some research and finally came to the conclusion that it might be appendicitis. She immediately called our Urgent Care and scheduled an appointment for Samuel on Saturday morning, January 20th. After an ultra-sound confirmed her fears, Sam was taken by ambulance to Mary's Bridge Children's Hospital where he was to wait for surgery.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the rest of the family had to go about our daily Saturday business. Nerves were stretched to the breaking point while we waited for news...any news...from Mom. I took the boys to a basketball game, and Margaret made sure the house got clean with the other kids' help. Prayers for Sam's safety had already begun, multiple family's from church and other friends came up to us during the basketball game to say they were praying and ask if they could do anything to help. It wasn't long after this that I got the text that nearly made my heart stop. Sam's appendix had ruptured. It was at this moment when it really hit me that Sam could DIE. In the back of my mind, I knew a lot of people survived a ruptured appendix, but after what happened to the Houston and Simao family last year, I had this terrible sinking feeling that we were next. When our Assistant Pastor and his wife heard that turn of events, they went all the way out to the hospital to give my parents and Sam a visit. The next couple hours were probably the most nerve-wracking, frustrating hours of my entire life. Sam, our little ray of sunshine, our precious red-headed caboose, was mid-surgery in what could easily turn into a life-threatening situation. And I could do nothing about it. There was no way I could help him. No way I could ease his pain. Helpless and fearful for his life, us kids at home tried to carry on with normal life. It was easy for my mind to fill with all the 'what if...' questions. What if Mom hadn't brought in Sam when she did? What if Sam's appendix had ruptured earlier? And of course the unspeakable question on my mind: What if Sam didn't make it? Prayer and support poured in from our amazing friends and family, reminding us that we were not in this struggle alone. Saturday night, after dinner at our cousin's house, we learned that Sam was out of surgery and doing ok, despite a few complications that would keep him in the hospital for several more days. I could almost feel the tension dissipate after we heard the news. It was like our family let out a collective sigh of relief as the invisible burden lifted off our shoulders.
William read basically the entire Wingfeather Saga to Sam while he was laid up. :)
Sam is still in the hospital recovering, but almost back to normal. He was thrilled to be placed in a room on the fish-themed floor of the hospital, and declared that the pancake he ate Sunday morning was "the best breakfast EVER." (This pancake was the first food he had eaten in four days, so it's no wonder it tasted so great.)
We look forward to having our little guy back at home, and continue to praise God for his wonderful mercy toward us and our little brother.
God is SO good.
Our family had planned to be on a vacation at Cannon Beach this week, but because my younger sister was having a surgery on her foot, we ended up canceling a month ago. Pastor Miller was able to step in and preach on Sunday morning so Dad didn't have to worry about a sermon AND a sick son. Despite the weekend being as busy as ever, we were able to cover all the bases and people stepped in to help us where help was needed. I'm still overwhelmed by how we were able to make it through the weekend. It's almost like God knew this was going to happen or something.
And I can't say how thankful I am to all of you who prayed with us through our trial and continue to pray for Sam's speedy recovery. He has no idea how much he is loved, but we do, and I wanted to tell all of you on his behalf that we are so grateful for your support and love and prayers.
Even though surviving the removal of an appendix is a common thing, even after they ruptured, I will always consider Sam's story a miracle. Truly, God IS our refuge and strength, our very help in times of trouble. Whom shall we fear? God is on our side. With Him for us, who can stand against us?
Until next time, let everything you do be done for the glory of God!
Let's take a moment to acknowledge the elephant in the room (or should I say...camel? Donkey? Sheep? No? Ok. Never mind):
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!
I have to admit something...I was incredibly busy this weekend with several out of town relations arriving and the ensuing chaos. So, I missed one of the posts I was GOING to write and schedule for you all yesterday. Sorry about that. That's the bad news.
The GOOD news (besides the gospel, which I guess will also end up being a part of this post...but not for that reason) is that I'm going to try to kill two birds with one stone and do both subjects at once. Fun, right? *laughs nervously* We'll see how this goes.
Why IS Christmas such a big deal to me? I love this holiday for a lot of reasons. It is by far my favorite holiday. Let me clue you in on what makes me feel this way about the season:
First, this is one of the very few holidays left that still has remnants of the biblical story behind it. Yes, many people have tried very hard to push this remnant out by bringing in other traditions like Santa Clause and the whole push toward satisfying your fleshly wants and desires by appealing to the "it's all about me and what I get" idea. HOWEVER, go to any store and you can probably still find nativity sets for sale around this time of year. Secondly, I love this season for the decorations. The lights, the trees, the sparkles. *happy sigh* No other holiday that I know has such amazing decor to accompany them. The best thing about the decorations? They all have meanings and messages behind them that point to Christ...or can if you use your imagination a little bit. ;)
Thirdly, can we all just take a moment to appreciate the wonderful TASTES that come around this time of year? Gingerbread cookies, peppermint bark, eggnog lattes...the list could go on but it's making me hungry. You get the picture. Most of my favorite treats and goodies are directly associated with Christmastime. Fourth, I love getting gifts for people. This is not a "look at me, so good at giving" point either. The act of going out to shop for friends and family at a store (or online...Amazon has saved my bacon several times this year) is something I look forward to every year. The look on their faces when I get them the perfect thing makes my year. :) Don't get me wrong, I also love getting gifts FROM people. I'm a normal person after all. I've already had some gifts given to me that made my season a whole lot brighter. ;) Fifth, I love Christmas because of the music. I could elaborate on this point, but you already had a whole post about Christmas music...so I'll just leave it at that. ;) Sixth, and lastly, Christmas seems to bring out the best or worst in people. This is kind of a mixed blessing of the holiday, and the part I love is (obviously) the fact that it can bring out the best in people. To see people going out of their way to help those in need, or just make someone's day with little things like smiles and a handshake or word of encouragement. It inspires me, as well as many other people I'm sure. So if you were one of those people who gave any kind of helping hand to others this Christmas, GOOD FOR YOU! You remind us that God is not done with this world yet.
Believe me, I have plenty more reasons why I love Christmas so much, but I'm sure you have better things to do since today IS Christmas after all, so I'll keep this post short by moving on to a few family traditions. ;) Next, let me give you a few Eddy family traditions that have been going on in my life for as long as I can remember:
~ Gifts / Stockings ~
We give gifts on Christmas. Christmas Eve, (usually) we have my mom's side over for a party, and Christmas Day, we do our own family gifts. Mom and Dad get stuff for us kids, us kids fill our parents' stockings. (Thanksgiving our family does a sibling gift exchange where we all draw names out of a hat and buy that sibling a gift...hence no gifts for siblings at Christmas.) We do it that way because there are twelve people in our family (13 if you count my oldest sister's husband) so if we all got each other A gift...I'm not even taking into consideration the fact that there would probably end up more than one gift per kid...that would make *insert mathematical moment while I figure this out* 169 gifts. So we don't. Makes sense, right?
~ The Christmas Music Playlist ~
This "tradition" was started by my dad. About the time November rolls around, he'll begin sneaking in soft Christmas music, a playlist made of his favorite Christmas music, on our family speaker in the living room. Little by little, he incorporates it more and more into our background noise and then at about Thanksgiving Day its become an official part of our lives. By that time, I've basically had the songs and artists memorized and could tell you who was singing what on any of the given 50-100 songs. :)
Now you know where I got that part of myself from. Thanks, Dad. ;)
~ The Advent Calendar ~
If I remember correctly, my grandma handmade our advent calendar that we bring out every year and put together as we count down the days until Christmas.
The calendar is made of cross-stitched holiday picture squares (a sleigh, a bell, a candle, etc.) and each day, a child gets to choose a picture and snap it onto the calendar. December 1st is the start, and it begins with the youngest child, up through the oldest that wants to do it (usually we stop at around age 13 or 14 and just let the little kids do it more often). It's always fun to see which picture ends up landing on Christmas (often the bell or candle) and who ends up getting to choose for that coveted day. ;)
~ The Manger / Christmas Tree ~
Depending on the year, our family will sometimes get a Christmas tree to decorate. On the other years when for some reason we aren't able to get a tree, whether because we just didn't have time or for other reasons (for example, the Christmas tree farm we used to go to had a disease and all their trees, or at least most of them, died or looked really bad) we have a manger we put our gifts around with a baby Jesus doll laying inside wrapped in a dish towel. So maybe not the most realistic picture of the nativity night, but hey, its the best we could do without a real baby Jesus.
So, one of the problems with having a birthday a day before the last day of the month is that it makes it so I have two blog posts very close together. But that's ok, right? I mean, your weekend wouldn't be complete without a monthly overview of August from me, right? *cough* ANYWAYS...
(Plus, if you make it through to the end of my ramblings, you'll find a lovely surprise...not that I'm BRIBING you or anything...)
Summer is almost over guys. *distant weeping* Flip-flops, sunshine, and extra time to spend with friends and family is morphing into boots, rain, and school. But, some of that won't be so bad...and when has a little rain kept me from wearing flip-flops? Maybe my favorite season is over...but my next favorite season is just around the corner with awesome fashion changes and, let's face it, who doesn't like a good pumpkin spice latte? :P (Except those of you who don't like coffee...but you're crazy anyways, so whatever.)
With college life driving me slightly insane, I figured it was time for a little update on how I'm still alive and surviving. (Which goes to show, if I can do college and a writer's life at the same time, SO CAN YOU SO NO EXCUSES.) Let's jump right in, shall we?
~ Life ~ August started out kind of normal, but that changed the second week with our VBS program at church. Despite new management from a younger couple, it was pulled off extraordinarily well. I enjoyed every minute of taking "my kids" around to all the activities and having a whole week where I saw my friends every day. Exhausting, yes, but SO MUCH FUN. Amidst babysitting and helping grandparents and family, I've tried to read, write, and do college...not all at once, I promise. It's been hectic, but I've learned a lot about life as an adult.
Us girls headed out to Port Gamble, location of the best UK store I've ever been too. There I ordered more Scottish fudge and English crumpets.
Crumpets are EXCELLENT when topped with some butter and raspberry jam/lemon curd. :)
Besides that, we took pictures by flowers ('cause why not) and ate ice cream ('cause DUH).
Our family went to the Kitsap County Fair, along with cousins and "my girls" that I babysit. :) Loads of cheap, free stuff and bags of cotton candy later, we headed home after a fun-filled day petting various animals (we did not pet the tiger...much as I wanted too.)and eating junk food.
Yeah, I got within five feet of a live tiger. Totally not freaked out by that look in her eyes.
No trip to a fair is complete without cotton candy. ;)
My brothers discovered and bought (I'm not kidding) two pet sugar gliders that were being sold there, and although one of them died a few days later, which was very sad, the other one is still alive and as adorable as ever.
Guys, these pets are seriously amazing. Look them up and sigh with me over their incredible cuteness. We're hoping to get poor Max another one soon since apparently these critters have a decent warranty.
Last week our family went to Northwest Trek and came within ten feet of a bunch of cool animals like bison, mountain goats, wolves, cougars, skunks, porcupines, lynx, beavers, golden eagles, bobcats, black bears, elk, and caribou. Though the day was a particularly hot one, we still enjoyed getting close to some of God's amazing creations.
After that we met and hung out with a local pastor's family who lived in the area. Yeah, we never turn down a chance to spend time with other likeminded Christians. ;) Besides...pizza and hilarious fellowship made a perfect end to our day. :P
Lastly, I kinda had a birthday...in case you hadn't noticed. XD Still feel like an eighteen-year-old. That probably won't change for another couple months. But I think I'll get used to being nineteen eventually. The scariest thought is that I'm turning twenty next year. Like, HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE??!!!? *freaks out* Ok, deep breath...that's not happening for another year. I've got time. (I got a fidget spinner for my birthday. That's really the only reason I put it in the title. I didn't realize how fun those things could actually be! I can kind of see why they're popular?)
Go Huskies! ;)
Well, August was definitely no less busy than any other month of this year. It had its moments of relaxation...though few and far between. Its been crazy, but fun. Am I looking forward to having a little more structure in my life since the school year is starting for our family? Actually, yes. Despite being a naturally NON-structured person, nothing helps keep priorities straight like a schedule. So maybe I'll actually get some decent writing done this month...along with studying for college classes and doing my job well and spending time with family and making some kind of dent in my TBR list and...ok so I guess we'll have to see. ;)
~ Writing ~ Well, as you know, I got to 20,000 words in my current WIP, "A New Name"...well, that number has changed. Not by much...but every little bit counts. :) I'm at close to 25,000 now, and I'm hoping to add 10,000 by the end of this month. I actually know where I'm headed next with the plot, which gives my writing a HUUUUGE advantage. Nothing like knowing where I'm headed in a book to keep the words count building at a steady rate. I'm hoping to give y'all snippets at roughly every 20,000 words, but we'll have to see if I can keep to that schedule.
~ Editing ~ Well, due to an insane life recently, I haven't gotten nearly enough time to spend on hardcore editing. I'm hoping to get Ocean Mist edited by the end of fall, and ready for publication in time for Christmas, but that's only a hope at this point. Due to some medical issues with grandparents, our family is being stretched a bit thin. Prayer for us and my grandparents would be appreciated. <3
~ Reading ~ *distant, maniacal laughter* Let's just say reading is not really happening for me right now. I'm in middle of, like, five different books...non of which I've had time to finish. I finally got my review for "London in the Dark" up on Amazon and Goodreads, and I started a book called "Story Thieves" which I picked up kind of at random at the library. So far its been an pretty good read...but I need to finish it before it's due. *gulp* The other book I'm in middle of is "The Old-fashioned Etiquette of Falling in Love" by Eric Ludy (he also wrote "When God Writes Your Love Story"). Guys, its AMAAZING. I've only gotten in about five or so chapters and I love it! The way he writes is so much fun to read and his sense of humor is awesome! Definitely recommend it, even though I should probably wait to do that until I've finished reading it. *whistles and looks into sky*
~ Music ~
~ Quotes ~ I'm going to give you some of my favorite quotes from my WIP, "A New Name". Let me know which one was your favorite! :)
This last one made me laugh. Hope it makes you laugh too. ;)
~ Goals Reached ~ 1: Write five chapters in "A New Name" (Well, so I didn't FINISH writing five chapters...but the fifth chapter is STARTED. That counts, right?) 2: Read 5+ books HA. Yeah, nope. 3: Visit the Scottish/Irish/English store in Port Gamble again Done and DONE. Got me some Scottish fudge and crumpets. ;) 4: Write a poem/compose a song I did write a poem. On Evangelism. It'll be posted on here sometime this month probably. ;) 5: Finish surviving my eighteenth year! ;) YES. I DID. Barely...but I DID. XD
Heyyy...four out of five! Not bad...not bad at all! ;) Wish me luck for this month's set of goals! I set myself some hefty ones.
~ Goals for September ~ 1: Write 10,000 words in "A New Name" 2: Read 5+ books 3: Take (and hopefully pass) 2 college CLEP tests 4: Keep up better with out of state pen/email pals 5: Do some hardcore editing on "Ocean Mist" Speaking of my birthday...we were, weren't we? Well, even if we weren't...I'm hosting a giveaway!!!!! *fanfare, confetti, and the works* I'm giving away one copy each of three of my books: "The Silver Flower", "Alice & Alyssa", and "The Princess and I". You're welcome to enter any and all of the giveaways ONCE. And please, feel free to share about this giveaway. It'll only help. ;) So without further ado...
~ Giveaway ~ That moment you've all been waiting for... (Or, you know, you might have just scrolled to the bottom, skipping every golden word I've typed before this...in which case, shame on you! Go back and read EVERYTHING ELSE. Then come back and enter this giveaway. ;)
Our cat decided to pose right next to my books while I was trying to take pictures of them...so helpful, Mouser... >_<
I'm going to give you the link to each Rafflecopter giveaway (still haven't figured out how to embed these thingies into my blog) and let the fun begin!!!
All three Giveaways go through the end of September. I'll announce (and afterwards email) the winners during my monthly overview post. So hurry and enter and share with as many people as possible. Let's see how many entrees I can get, k? :P
Until next time, let everything you do be done for the glory of God!
WHY? My favorite season is almost over! Sunshine, flip-flops, vacations, extra time with friends...its all coming to an end in one short month. *distant sobbing* I don't even feel like giving you a decent introduction to this post so HERE have the title picture instead and just keep reading while I go off into a corner and mourn the thought that summer is leaving us soon.
Life: Oh, where to start. Well, first of all, I was so busy that I never got around to the June monthly recap, so I'm doing a double header today. That in itself tells you all a little about how my life has been. I guess we'll start with June. Ready? June:
So proud of this dude! :D
Da 456 Gang rides again! ;P
That month started off with my younger brother graduating from high school along with two of his friends. Boy, nothing makes you feel old like having a younger sibling achieve a milestone like that!
The very next week our family loaded ourselves into our big white van and headed down to Eastern Washington for our church's summer family camp.
Have I mentioned how GOOD Columbia River Guest Ranch food is?
Our family preformed the play "The Ugly Ducking" by A. A. Milne. If you haven't heard of or read that play...go. and. read. it. NOW.
Scattergories. Poor Grace. XD
Paddle boating, being dumped into the Columbia river WITHOUT any say in the matter by two friends, riding down a slide made out of bumpy black tubing, hide and seek tag in the dark, volleyball, ping pong, swimming, running around buildings and throwing balls over the top, Scattergories and Apples to Apples late into the night, fresh early mornings to read our Bible and escape the heat of the day, foosball, pool...I could go on for a lot longer. But, to keep this post within reason, let me just sum it up: it was SO MUCH FUN. And, I didn't get burnt to a crisp OR eaten alive by the bountiful amount of mosquitos, which means it was a success. ;)
The hat store...always a fun photo opp. :D
I think some of us may have had too much sugar. *cough*
On the way back, we stopped at Leavenworth (along with two other families that we're really close too) and went around that town shopping and eating ice cream. Two of my favorite things to do! XD
Some of the families from church, including us, also went down and spent the day at Enchanted Village/Wild Waves. Basically the only amusement park we have in Washington. ;) That was a ton of fun. For the first time in my life, I actually did some of the water slides they had there. THAT was...quite the experience. :P
Our weekly summer activities started off with our Field & Fellowship and Volleyball & S'mores happening every Tuesday morning and Sunday night after the evening service respectively.
These two cuties are my job. If I had a dream job, this would be it! :D
I started doing my new nanny/babysitter job with the two little girls on a regular, weekly basis. This oppretunity has been gallons of fun and excitement since I've also been keeping an eye on the family's three dogs and two horses. Let's just say I'm kept on my toes. ;P
My Eddy grandparents celebrated their 50th anniversary! So privileged to have these two as an example. :)
This is before we painted and pulled carpet.
This is after. (The floor is now painted, fyi)
My two little brothers pulling up staples.
To top it all off, us kids had a room remodel. Or, to be more accurate a ROOMS remodel. Like, it started with us girls' room being repainted and having the wallpaper and carpet removed...then morphed into us switching bedrooms with the boys, and them getting our freshly painted room. (Not that I'm bitter about this or anything. ;P) It all worked out though. Us older girls ended up with the bigger room while the older boys and younger boys split the two smaller rooms (which had been what us girls were doing) and everything is sort of getting back to normal. I don't have to do my hair and make-up on my knees in front of a mirror propped up against the wall waiting to be hung, for example. :P
July:
This month started with a wedding. Our family is very good friends with another pastor's family in Bremerton, and their oldest daughter got married and now lives with her new husband in Canada! :)
The fourth of July happened. That was exciting. I love sparklers. ;) We actually blew some things up. I'm not kidding. Also, just a quick shout out to my adorable cousin who is posing in the picture above. Could we just take a moment to appreciate his cuteness? XD
On a sadder note, the following week we said our goodbyes to a different friend, my brother's best friend, who is going to college in Colorado now at the Air Force Academy.
Things began going down hill after that...
-- My car broke down and ended up costing a lot more to fix then I had thought it would.
-- A dear woman who had been fighting cancer for over three years went to meet her Savior.
-- I had no time to write or read anything except school work during Camp NaNo.
HOWEVER. Good news, guys. Don't stop reading now!
-- My car works now! (And it's so awesome having my own wheels again, I tell you!)
Matilyn's fifth birthday party! :)
-- My oldest young charge had her fifth birthday!
This beautiful beach... <3
Some are born selfie takers, some achieve selfieness, some have selfies thrust upon them.
Not sure if this was a giant hammock or not...but we treated it like one! ;P
Found this beautiful stuff at my new favorite shop in Port Gamble. ;)
YASSSSSSS
Reader, writer, musician. Also a giant teddy bear? I named him Pancake.
Just the necessities, right? :)
Yes, we had a hot tub. BE JEALOUS.
So glad we could all make the trip and spend time with these awesome grandparents! :) We are so blessed!
-- Our family and the Eddy grandparents were able to go down to Quilcene, WA where we stayed in a lodge and had a week to celebrate my youngest brother's eighth birthday. Kayaking, seal-sightings, and enough time for me to actually get some decent progress in books I was in middle of reading AND writing. (More on that later.) Also, I discovered my new favorite shop in Port Gamble. Scottish fudge, guys. SCOTTISH FUDGE. Need I say more? *endless fangirling*
-- Last month ended with another birthday party, a wedding, and me completing my freshman year of college!! *cue confetti and the whole works*
So yes, the last two months were crazy busy and kind of sad and depressing at points...but God is good. He gave me subtle encouragements either through friends or small accomplishments that kept me going and kept me smiling. :) I can't wait to see what August holds! :D
Writing:
Guys. I actually kind of got something done this month! Not really enough to record in Camp NaNo (for one because I had no time to update my profile so #ifailedsortof) but I got a ton of brainstorming and outlining done for my book "A New Name"! At the last week of July, I had about 12,000 words written...by the end of the month? 20,000, people! Yes, you read that right! "A New Nane" has been by far the most challenging book for me to write, but it has been so much fun, and well worth the effort I've put into it. I can't wait to share some snippets with you all and spread my excitement! :D Coming soon, I promise! ;)
Reading:
*cough* Well, I'm counting college class books in the mix because otherwise my reading would look a little ridiculous. BUT. I have started some delightful stories that I hope to finish in the short break between college tests. Here's some titles and pictures of the covers I could find.
Official CLEP Study Guide for College Composition
REA Study Guide for College Composition
The English Handbook
Handbook of Grammar and Composition
Ace the CLEP: Technical Writing
For the two cover pictures, reviews to come on Goodreads and Amazon. ;)
Editing:
It's going pretty well. Some of my wonderful team have finished, and there's a lot of work for me to do, but I'm hoping to have "Ocean Mist" ready for the public by the end of this year! *crosses fingers* Also, be in the lookout for beta-reader sign ups for "Alice & Alyssa"...that is coming up soon as well. ;)
Music:
Quotes:
These were all found in various shops around Port Gamble.
Me. In four magnets. XD
#writer :P
Goals Reached:
1: Read 5+ books IF you count college books, then yes, I completed this goal! *fist pump* Whoohoo! Go me! ;P
2: Write five chapters in "A New Name" YES I DID IT, I DID IT!!! I was on a roll! Hopefully I can recreate that roll this month. ;)
3: Write five essays Thanks to my College Composition CLEP, I did that much and MORE. ;) I think I wrote a total of ten or eleven essays for that test.
4: Finish outlining "The King's Cousin" and "Silent Voices" Nope. But I started outlining...which is sometimes the hardest part for me. ;)
5: Begin editing "Ocean Mist" Double thumbs up on this one. I certainly BEGAN...I just need to CONTINUE at this point. 6: Finish a short story Sadly, no. It was a good thought, though, right?
Goals for August: 1: Write five chapters in "A New Name" 2: Read 5+ books 3: Visit the Scottish/Irish/English store in Port Gamble again 4: Write a poem/compose a song 5: Finish surviving my eighteenth year! ;)
So, now it's YOUR turn! (If you haven't already posted your end of the month post. ;) How has your summer been so far? Any family vacations? If so, where'd you go?
Truthfully now...have you missed me posting on here more often? ;P
