It's Summertime // June Recap

Hey all! It's that time again -- for a monthly wrap-up post. They're going up all over the blogosphere, so I guess I'd better hop into this. :P 

Honestly, I can NOT believe it's already July. It just doesn't seem possible. Wasn't it May last week? Or, better yet, January? XD 

** Life 

Alrighty, here's what's been happenin' lately! 

-- My family and I went camping for four glorious days and...ahhhh. It was blissful. :) I lazily lounged in the hammock, read several books, rode my bike, and waded in the creek. :) And of course I took pictures! ;) 

That's my...toes. :P 

-- I discussed why it would or would not be a good thing if a Certain Character cleaned a Certain Person's carpet... (This was being talked about after 11. Give me some slack.) 

-- I went swimming at least a couple of days a week (or close enough). Which means lots of bloodshot eyes and icky hair from the chlorine. XD Ha! 

-- Sweet doggies! 

The 'I'm-sleeping-leave-me-alone' pose. 

I'm not even sure what is happening here. But for awhile it sounded like he couldn't breath very well. :P 

-- I entered the adult working world! (Details on that HERE.) 

A piece of my pottery that I just had to share. :) 

-- Our church had vacation Bible school last week so that was fun. :) Tiring, but fun. xD  

-- I laughed really hard over this... ;) 

** Writing 

This month my writing totally rocked, people. I wrote....wait for it... 12,484 WORDS!!! :D That's the most I've ever written in one month. :) (About to be outdone hopefully, because I'm doing Camp NaNo for July. *hyperventilates*) 

6,780 of those adorable little word-ies were in War Tears, my main WIP. 

Aside from War Tears, I wrote hither and thither in seven other projects. ;) Including some post-War Tears stuff... ;) 

Also, today is the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo July. I'm a camper (haha!) and my goal is 30,000 words -- triple my all-time monthly high until June. So if I'm not around the blogging world much this month,...that's why. I'm tucked away in a dark corner somewhere typing my fingers to nubs. Literally. 

Also, I'm going to try and do weekly updates of how my writing is going...if y'all would enjoy that? Let me know. :) 

** Books 

The books I read/completed this month come to a grand total of 8. Whoop-di-do, that's pathetic compared to other months. :P The books and ratings are... 

Debt of Mercy by Amanda Tero -- 5 stars 

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien -- 3.5 stars -- Review HERE. 

The Winds of Autumn by Janette Oke -- 5 stars 

Heaven's Jubilee and other short stories by Faith Blum -- 4 stars -- Review HERE. 

Ruth -- 5 stars 

The Innocent by Willowy Whisper -- 5 stars -- Review HERE. 

The Old River Road by Ivy Rose -- 5 stars -- Review to come. 

The 1940s Decade in Photos: A World at War -- 3 stars 

I would have to say The Old River Road was my favorite. <3 Since I was an advanced reader, I will be buying a 'real' copy as soon as its released. :) 

Well, surprises of surprises. I only got one new book this month! O.O  That must be some sort of record for me... 

Anyway, the book is From this Moment by Elizabeth Camden, a review book from Bethany House so y'all will be hearing more about that one soon. ;) 

** Music. 

I listened to a lot of stuff this month. A lot. The songs that played on repeat (I'm dead serious) were/are... 

Diamonds ~ Hawk Nelson 

The Words I Would Say ~ Sidewalk Prophets 

Words ~ Hawk Nelson 

Jesus, Friend of Sinners ~ Casting Crowns 

In Christ Alone ~ Owl City

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing ~ Owl City

More ~ Matthew West

Where I Belong ~ Building 429

You Lead ~ Jamie Grace 

You Are I Am ~ MercyMe 

King of Love ~ I Am They 

Lift My Life Up ~ Unspoken 

Keep Making Me ~ Sidewalk Prophets 

This is Not Goodbye ~ Sidewalk Prophets 

What You Want ~ Tenth Avenue North 

Beloved ~ Tenth Avenue North 

Free To Be Me ~ Francesca Battistelli 

For Freedom ~ Avalon

Glorious Day ~ Casting Crowns 

Cinderella ~ Steven Curtis Chapman 

No Longer Slaves ~ Bethel Music 

Sound of the Saints ~ Audio Adrenaline 

See what I mean?? XD I'm expecting to listen to a lot of stuff this month too, because... writing = need for inspiration = music and movies. ;) 

** Blogging. 

Okay, so this month I'm linking to a lot of cool stuff. I actually kept track of my favorite of the awesome posts this month, so you may thank me with chocolate. Or caramel. Or gummies. I'm not picky. XD 

First off, there were some great D-Day posts at the beginning of the month. Namely... 

Jesseca Dawn @ Whimsical Writings -- D-Day: June 6th, 1944 

Emily Putzke @ Taking Dictation -- 6.06.44

Jonathan Trout's post on spiritual journaling was super inspiring to me. ^_^ --  The Benefits of a Spiritual Journal

Lauren Stoner's meditation post on enduring temptations was positively amazing -- Blessed is the Man That Endureth Temptation 

Rebekah Eddy's poem, Lady Wisdom, was so, so wonderful. :) 

Leah Good's post, A Light in the Darkness, with none other than Miss Brandi Faythe, was just...wow. <3 

Katie Grace's post on powerful writing nearly brought me to tears... -- Being a Writer is Powerful. 

Emily Putzke's beautiful short story, entitled Firefly. Considering the name, how could I not love it?? ;P 

And lastly, Shantelle's thoughts, shared in Dear Future Husband, is something that I think all girls (and guys!) should read and take to heart. :) 

** Goals. 

Last month my goals were... 

-- Read/finish at least 7 books.   //     Read 8!! 

-- Tackle this hunormous stack of research books.    //    Didn't exactly happen...but I feel like I've did a sufficient amount of research to tackle the first draft in its entirety. :D 

-- Write 100+ words everyday.        //         Except for a day or two...yep! 

And this month my goals are... 

-- Write 30,000 words in War Tears. 

-- Read/finish at least 8 books. 

-- Make curtains for my room. :) 

~*~*~* 

Well, I guess that wraps it up! :) Okay, y'all know the routine. Have you read the books? Heard the songs? How was your June? What are you doing for the 4th? :D 

Later, 

~Faith