Friday, July 1, 2016

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

12 comments:

  1. I really can’t believe that June is already over either! The time is just flying by!
    Your family camping trip does sound blissful. :)
    That is such a super cute way that you painted your toes! Whenever I paint my nails, I just do all the same color, or alternate colors every other nail! But that is so cute. Hmm…I’ll have to paint mine like that sometime. ;)
    Oh, your dogs are so cute. That is a very interesting way to sleep, I can see why it sounded like he couldn’t breath too well. ;)
    I love that piece of pottery! It’s so pretty and I love the colors! :)
    That quote is so funny! :D
    Out of the books you read I have actually read none of them. ;) But I do plan to read “The Winds of Autumn” sometime after I get around to reading “Once Upon a Summer”. ;) I’ll have to read “The Old River Road” sometime, and I’ll be looking forward to your review of it. :)
    Most of the songs that you listened to a lot this month I’ve heard too. :) But there is a couple that don’t sound familiar. “What You Want” is so good! :)
    Oh, you’re planning to make curtains for your room? How fun! :D
    My June highlight post will hopefully be up tomorrow. I was planning for it to be up yesterday, but that didn’t happen. ;)
    I had a lot of fun reading about all of you June fun, Faith! :)

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    1. It is!! And flying time is scary. Like, why must it be like this?!? ;P
      That camping trip was amazing. :) Just what I needed!
      Aww, thank you Rebekah! ^_^ I used to always do all one color or alternate colors (except one time I did each toe a different color and a man at church jokingly told me it looked like a traffic light. :P) But then I saw someone with it like this, so I've been doing it differently now. :)
      Yeah, I'm not sure what he was doing...making an interesting wheezing sound for sure!! :D
      Thank you! I love the colors too. ^_^ Most of my pottery is greens and blues. :P
      Haha, isn't it?!
      That's a first, huh? ;) If "Julia's Last Hope" has been started sooner and made the list, you would've. :P Yeeeessss. The Seasons of the Heart series is SOOOO GOOD. :) "The Old River Road" was...amazing. I absolutely adored it. <3
      Yeah, some of those sounds aren't too popular, but most of them are. ;) I love "What You Want"!!! :D
      Yes, I am!! I've had the fabric for awhile but haven't gotten around to doing it yet. ;P Excuses, excuses...
      Ooo, I just saw your highlights post, so I'll be over to comment soon. ;)

      I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Rebekah!! :)

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  2. Sounds like you had an awesome June!! What a coincidence, me and my family went camping, too!!! I love camping!! <3 Fun post, Faith!! :D

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    1. I did, thank you! ^_^ Really? Did y'all have a good time? Haha, so. do. I. Camping is my happy time. ;) I'm so glad you enjoyed, Morgan. Thanks for reading! :)

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  3. Great recap post, Faith! I really enjoyed it! And that piece of pottery is gorgeous!
    Love that pin. XD
    Wow great job on writing so much!! That's fantastic! And I hope Camp NaNo goes really well for you too. :)
    Have fun on the curtains. :D
    Happy Fourth!

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Raechel! :D Thanks! ^_^
      Hehe, isn't it great? ;)
      Thanks; I'm so thrilled! Day two and Camp is going great. So excited!!! XD
      I haven't did any sewing lately, so this will be good for me. :)

      Happy fourth to you and yours! :D

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    2. :)
      That's just smashing! I want to get back to writing...can't seem to settle on a story though. ^.^
      :)
      Thank you muchly!

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    3. I'm sure you'll get it. ;)

      :-)

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  4. HOW *is* it July?! I have absolutely no clue either. Some days it feels as if the summer can't pass slowly enough, and others I blink and suddenly it's almost the fourth!

    It's been such a busy and emotionally exhausting summer for me, and I only read TWO books in June! *shields eyes in shame* (I usually read between 8-10.) Truth be told though, it felt nice to take a step back and focus on my family. Reading is supposed to be fun, not a chore, so I'm hoping to get back in the swing of my regular reading routines this month.

    Can I just say that I adore your playlist?! Marvelous! My favorites are Casting Crowns and Francesca Battistelli. :) Happy July and Independence Day, Faith!

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    1. I DO NOT KNOW. It doesn't seem real. -_- Yes, exactly! Like, how can today been the fourth??? O.o

      Awww, don't feel bad about only reading two books. Enjoying life is more important. Oh, yes, absolutely. Reading should be fun, not something you dread doing or falling behind in. :)

      Yes, you may say it. ;) I LOOOOOVE Casting Crowns. :D I've recently been loving Francesca Battistelli too. Especially If We're Honest and Free To Be Me. <3 :)

      Thanks for reading, Emily! Hope you're having a lovely fourth!! :D

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  5. Awesome! Glad you had a great month!! Your dogs are so cute! Amazing job on your pottery piece!! Also I love the quote about moms finding things SO TRUE. And I hate when I can't find something and Momma finds it in two seconds. And it happens to me with my friends moms too lol.
    Way to go on your writing!
    Thanks for highlighting my post!

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    1. Yes, I did! They are adorable. <3 Thank you so much, Lauren! :) Hahaha, isn't it awful??! Yeeeeessss. And then Mom is like "you look for things like your father does". Umm. What does that mean? -_- LOL.

      Thanks, Lauren! And your welcome – I loved it!

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