The Corner of Summer // May Wrap-up

June??? Already??? I'm quite certain that I just wrote my April wrap-up last week. I mean, there's no possible way we've already lived through 31 days of May (and 2 days of June. Pardon my tardiness). It's just not possible. 

But. 

Since it is kind of hard to argue with a calendar, we'll just go with it. XD *clears throat and dives into this thing* 

First off, aren't the blue evening skies in the above photo absolutely gorgeous? Yep, that's the view from my porch. B-) 

>> Life

~ May started out kind of strange. I mean I was living in a homeless shelter. What do you expect but crazy? 

~ Mothers Day dawned bright and glorious... With one exception -- little brother woke up sick. We'd all had a cold, but apparently he was still not well. :( So needless to say Dad and I were the only ones in church that morning. ;) 

 Yours Truly on Mother's Day afternoon 

~ On our way home from that afternoon, I had this conversation with Dad... 

Me: What are those purple things? *pointing out the car window* 

Dad: Weeds. 

Me: *gasps* No kidding. Don't they have a name? 

Dad: If they do I don't know it. 

And then he has to go and drag out this ridiculous grin like he's world's finest comedian. ;) 

~ I took pictures of dogs... (When do I not? ;)) 

And flowers... 

~ Oh, and I did a photoshoot!! More on that later, but here's a teaser for ya... B-) 

~ I realized that someone by the name of Britt Nichole had 'saved my pin on Pinterest'. THE Britt Nichole is spelled without the 'h' (Britt Nicole) but still. It was an interesting moment. ;) 

~ Mom and I went to a cooking show with friends from church. About halfway through it I noticed the shoes of the man two rows up from us...so I had to snap a quick (and quiet!) picture. :P 

~ Strawberry pudding!!! :D 

~ Overhearing this brief bit of dialogue...

Tucker: Dad, are you taking the Isuzu? 

Dad: Yeah, I'll watch the movie. 

Well, that changed a lot as it traveled on air across the front yard... :P 

~ I moved back into my room!! Hooray!! XD Here's a nice photo of me moving books in. Mom would have to take the picture when I'm standing on my head... :P 

~ I got windshield wiper fluid in my eyes. And all over my face. And in my hair. Before you start laughing and assuming the worst, let's make one thing clear. It. Was. Not. My. Fault. Actually, Mom did it. ;) I was climbing into the car and she was trying to clean the windshield... Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time! 

~ We planted our garden! Make that gardens. Tucker and I planted four rows of potatoes here, and there's a row of sweet potatoes there now. :) 

~ I sat cross-legged in the floor in front of the stereo while eating Nutella out of the jar (it was almost empty!) and listening to Love Calling. Don't judge me. 

>> Writing

Writing... Um, yes. More like, um no. I don't really have any writing news at this time... I'm trying to get gearing up for Camp NaNo in July. And someday soon I'm going to reveal some epic book-y news (well, it's epic to me. Y'all might be bored to tears, but we'll just have to wait and see. XD), but that's about it. 

My word count for this month was 8,632. Pretty good, huh? But... I wrote in 14 different projects/fanfics. XD Yeah, I may or may not have problems. (I do, I do.) 

Also, I found this post very encouraging earlier this month. :) 

>> Music

Ooooo, one of my favorite sections. ^_^ I listened to lots and lots of music this month. My favorite songs throughout the month were... 

God is on the Move by 7eventh Time Down 

You Loved Me Anyway by Sidewalk Prophets 

Light up the Sky by The Afters 

He Said by Group 1 Crew 

The Broken Beautiful by Ellie Holcombe 

Beautiful by Dan Bremnes 

I Need a Miracle by Third Day

Save My Life by Sidewalk Prophets 

Breathe by Jonny Diaz 

What Did He Die For by Twila Paris

Diamonds by Hawk Nelson 

Name by Nicole Nordeman 

>> Books

Book haul time! :D With Janette Oke, Sarah Sundin, Tricia Mingerink, Wanda Brunstetter, and Cara Putman -- this will be fun. *nod nod* 

I got a total of 12 books this month. (I really need to start setting limits for myself... ;) Do y'all see that happening? Yeah, me neither. B-)) 

I won a ThriftBooks giftcard so I spent that on... 

Dana's Valley 

A Woman Named Damaris 

A Bride for Donnigan 

Too Long a Stranger 

The Bluebird and the Sparrow 

Julia's Last Hope

Canteen Dreams 

Sandhill Dreams

Shadowed by Grace 

The Lopsided Christmas Cake 

I also got Deny from the author's website. (As in my copy has been signed by the awesome Tricia Mingerink! *crazy grin from a happy bookworm*) 

Annndddd I got Anchor in the Storm from a super sweet friend. ^_^ 

As far was reading goes, I read/completed 11 books this month. :) And they were...

Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke -- Five Stars 

A Woman Named Damaris by Janette Oke -- Five Stars 

Who was Anne Frank? by Ann Abramson -- Four Stars 

Faith Under Fire by Steve Rabey -- Review HERE. -- Five Stars 

The Sparrow Found A House by Jason McIntire -- Review HERE. -- Five Stars 

The Soldier's Bride by Rachelle Christensen -- Review HERE. -- 2.5 stars 

The Bluebird and the Sparrow by Janette Oke -- Four Stars 

Deny by Tricia Mingerink -- Five Stars 

Defy by Tricia Mingerink -- Five Stars 

Letters From a Scatter-Brained Sister by Amanda Tero -- Four Stars 

Finally Home by Deborah Raney -- Four Stars 

My favorites would have to be Deny and Defy though almost all of these books were utterly amazing. Finally Home was really good too, a short story set in the '70s and centered around a Vietnam vet. :) 

>> Movies 

I only watched two new-to-me movies in May. They were Meet Me in St. Louis and Sergeant York. As far as re-watching goes, I saw Return to the Hiding Place, The Redemption of Henry Myers, and 23 Blast. All super amazing. Go watch theeeeemmmm. 

'"Meet Me in St. Louis" is a classic MGM romantic musical comedy that focuses on four sisters (one of whom is the nonpareil Judy Garland) on the cusp of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The film spotlights the sisters' education in the ways of the world, which includes, but isn't limited to, learning about life and love, courtesy of the prototypical boy next door. In the end, love -- accompanied by song, dance and period costumes, all in glorious Technicolor -- conquers all.'

I enjoyed Meet Me in St. Louis. It was funny, sweet, and entertaining. :) 

'A hillbilly sharpshooter becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI when he single-handedly attacks and captures a German position using the same strategy as in turkey shoot.'

Sergeant York was a movie I would not have watched had Tucker not picked it up at the library. It was pretty good, and it was fun to learn about the guy who won the Medal of Honor, but it wasn't a favorite movie for me. ;) 

>> Blogging 

I was a really pathetic blogger this month. I did 9 posts, but several of those were tags (which I'm still behind on, by the way). ;P

I'm not going to link to anyone else's awesome posts because we might be here all day (and I have things to do). So let's just say that everyone's Memorial Day posts were amazing. :) 

Oh, and I added some new pages to the blog!! :D Now, along with a stories page, I have an About Me page and a page for my WIPs. :) Check them out and let me know what you think! 

>> Goals 

*gasp* A new addition to my monthly wrap-ups! ;) Actually, this one may only stick around a little while... But I have some goals for June so I might as well share 'em. :D 

-- Read/finish at least 7 books. (May not sound like much compared to other months, but I have a lot of other stuff to do in June.) 

-- Tackle this hunormous (it's like huge and enormous...together. XD) stack of research books. In other words, prep for Camp NaNo in July. :) 

-- Write 100+ words everyday. (I'm participating in Go Teen Writers' summer challenge. :)) 

How was your May? Have you read these books? Watched the movies? Heard the songs? How is writing going for you? Are you ready for summer? 

And while we're on the subject of awesome stuff, hop on over to Emily M.'s blog and enter to win some super cool keychains!!! :D 

~Faith