Well, well, well... It's that time again. There's monthly highlights/recaps/wrap-up posts popping up all over the blogosphere (my inbox is proof) so I reckon it's my turn.
I'm really not sure what I did this month other than stay semi-caught up with emails/blogging. I mean, I didn't read (much), I didn't write (much), so what did I do?
Let's find out.
The Ups and Downs of My Crazy Random Life...
>> First off, I spent the first week of August camping with some awesome friends! :D Somehow, though, we managed to hang out together a whole week and not take a single photo. O.o BUT, thankfully we did use their GoPro quite often for...stuff... ;) Here's a couple screenshots from that...pardon the extreme fuzziness.
>> August is usually 'garden month' for us. We're usually about drove insane with produce coming in like crazy. This August...wasn't that way. Our garden did pitifully. :P I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...
>> Apparently it rained a lot...as you can see by the squishy mud in this photo of...my feet. And my purple crocs. XD
>> I took pictures of doggies... :)
<3
>> I rearranged my bookshelf my color...I'd saw it on Pinterest, and then a friend mentioned doing it and...I just had to. :P
It was super pretty, but having all the series divided up drove the perfectionist in my C-R-A-Z-Y!! So I changed it back within a day or two. ;)
>> Mom and I went to a Tim Hawkins concert. Guys, I can't BEGIN to tell you how hard we laughed or all the hilarity we heard. XD IT WAS AWEOME, PEEPS. So then, we got out of there at like 10-ish. And when we got home (close to 11) our twin seven year-old cousins were there...and remained until after 12. I'm pretty sure we were all falling asleep during church the next morning. :P
>> I started an American Sign Language class! So excited for an awesome year. :D Finding out I already knew one of my classmates was certainly a plus... B-)
>> My summer work study at the Art center ended... :( I hate to see it go, but it's been an awesome experience and one I'll always remember. :)
>> And lastly, an exciting something that happened just yesterday... I GOT MY LICENSE PEOPLE. O.O *shrieks*
The Books I Read, the Books I Got...
>> I found an AWESOME new (well, new to me. :P) used bookstore. Eeps! I'm so excited. XD They literally have books stacked in every nook and cranny... #happybookworm #whereallthemoneygoes
>> I got 12 new books this month! Yay! :D Here's they are... (You know you want to see 'em.)
(Unless otherwise noted they're from the bookstore mentioned aforhand. ;) )
Small Town Girl by Ann H. Gabhart
Jonas & Olivia by Victoria Minks -- Giveaway win. -- Review HERE.
Once Upon a Summer by Janette Oke
The Winds of Autumn by Janette Oke
Winter is Not Forever by Janette Oke
Roses for Mama by Janette Oke
Heart of the Wilderness by Janette Oke
Drums of Change by Janette Oke
Revel Knox by Michael Shank -- Giveaway win.
Pony Pals: The Wild Pony by Jeanne Betancourt -- Giveaway win.
Journal (It's so cute. It still counts. Okay.)
Although acquiring books went splendidly, reading books did not. I only read five books this month...coming to a dismal, measly 779 pages total. :(
Aren't those covers lovely, though?
I read/finished...
Summer of Dreams by Elizabeth Camden -- 4.5 stars
With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin -- 5 stars
The Lady of the Vineyard by Kellyn Roth -- 4.5 stars -- Review to come with the blog tour. :)
This Hostile Land -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
I Survived: The Nazi Invasion, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis -- 5 stars
The Words I Wrote, the Stories I Formed...
Well.
Writing didn't go so well this month.
After writing over 30,000 words last month, I didn't even hit 6,000... And the depressing part is that less than half of that was in my main WIP! -_-
In War Tears I wrote 2,755 words. And in 6 other 'projects' combined I wrote 3,237. Coming to a not-so-grand total of...5,992 words. Bleh.
(Okay, so maybe that's pretty good, but compared to what I'd hoped for...yeah, not so good. XP)
Movies, Songs, All the Cool Stuff...
>> PEOPLE I SAW STALAG 17. Like, what even?! It was soo, sooo, soooooo good! I'll definitely be watching it again, and probably getting it myself. ^_^
>> The songs of the month were...
In the Mood ~ Glenn Miller
Moonlight Serenade
Brothers ~ Dean Brody
Dear Younger Me ~ MercyMe
1945 ~ Jamie Gracs
Drops in the Ocean ~ Hawk Nelson
You're Not Alone ~ Owl City, ft. Britt Nicole
Greater ~ MercyMe
You Are ~ Colton Dixon
Kings & Queens ~ Audio Adrenaline
Some of these were carry-overs from July, because I apparently forgot this segment in that post. :P
The Blog Posts I Thought to be Awesome...
Emily Ann Putzke got to go Flying in a B-17 (I'm so jealous. XD)
Jesseca's guest post on Blessing's blog was...just...so good (in other words, go read it.)
My Goals for September...
>> Start school. (Rather inevitable, don't ya know.)
>> Read six books. (Hopefully.)
>> Hit 65k with War Tears. (Fingers crossed.)
>> Finish two short-stories. (Have to. The contests have deadlines, don't ya know.)
>> Make curtains for my room. *cough* (Yeah, I still haven't did that...)
~*~*~
Your turn! Go ahead and tell me how your month was. :) Have you did these things, read these books, hear the songs, saw the movie, wrote the words? (okay, that last one would be awkward.) Tell me alllllll.
~Faith
FIRST COMMENT! Well, hopefully. ;) If i can keep it short enough to post before anyone else does. ;P
ReplyDeleteI got "One more Sunrise" this month, too!!!! We should try and read it together this next month. :) It looks really good!
Ahh, yesssss!! Stalag 17! I ADORE that movie. I can't remember the last time I've laughed to hard!
Oh, your corn harvest! I'm sorry, that picture made me laugh so hard! It's just . . . hilarious. You think it'll get you though the winter? xD
Oh, you wrote more than I did this month! *high five* awesome job!
I need to go and listen to some of those songs. The titles sound super interesting!
Aww, thank you for sharing my guest post. I . . . didn't even add the "blog" section to me review post. *headesk*
YES!! Hit 65K!!! :D
I've read three of those books, seen he movie, and I'm pretty sure we used a lot of the same words in our writing. Just about different things. B-)
*was just the first commenter on your August review post as well*
DeleteYes, we should try to read "One More Sunrise" together!!! That would be a lot of fun. :) And it sounds amazing!!
Stalag 17 was...just...so good. :P Tucker is watching another POW camp movie right now...set in the Pacific though. I'm not so sure about it yet though. ;)
Hahahaha, I know right. XD It's so pathetic!! Um...yeah...doubt it. :P Dad planted some in the other garden, but I'm not so sure it's going to make anything... Mom teased him and says he'll be picking it on thanksgiving. ;)
Thanks! *high five*
They're good!!! One of them should sound familiar... ;)
You're so welcome! ^_^ I enjoyed your post immensely. Haha, I hear ya. This post was supposed to go up Wednesday...then yesterday...then about an hour ago and I backdated it. ;P
I hope I can!! :)
Hehehe...we probably did...just different David's... B-)
Thanks for commenting!
Yes, at the end of the month there are always a ton of these highlights posts up, but it’s super fun to read them all. ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, that first picture is super pretty! :D
I’m so glad you had such a fun time camping! :) Wow, that fire tower looks really high!
That’s so disappointing when you put a lot of work into a garden and it hardly produces anything. But that’s great that you got some things. We didn’t do a garden this year, but we did grow some tomato plants. We have a couple small apple trees too. :) This was like the first year that we actually got some apples from it. :)
That’s so cool that you rearranged your bookshelf by color! :) One time I thought about doing something like that. It looks really cool, but I think having all the series mixed up would drive me crazy too. ;)
I’m so glad that your Sign Language class is going well so far! Already knowing someone is always nice. :)
That’s so great that your work at the Art center was so much fun!
CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING YOUR LICENSE, FAITH!!!! :D That is just sooooo exciting. I was actually thinking about that the other day because a while back you mentioned that you might get in the end of August! :D :D
Book shopping is just so. much. fun! :) I really ‘need’ to go book shopping again sometime soon. ;)
It looks like you read some good books! I read “With Every Letter” this month too. ;) I’m still so happy with how good it was!!
What is Stalag 17 about?
Greater, Kings & Queens, Dear Younger Me, and Drops in the Ocean are all great songs! I don’t think I’ve heard any of the other ones you mentioned, but I’ll have to look them up sometime.
All of those sound like great goals for this month. :) What color are your curtains going to be?
I had a ton of fun reading all about your month, Faith!! : )
Hahahaha! It is a lot of fun though, isn't it? I always know it's the end of the month just by that. :P
DeleteCan't take the credit for that one...I found it on Pinterest. It's so pretty! :)
Yes, we did!! The fire tower was pretty high. We didn't mind though. :P
It is disappointing about the garden. But, at the same time, it makes less work canning and preserving too. ;) Isn't it exciting to get apples from your own trees?! :D
It was a lot of fun to do and super pretty, but...yeah. The mixed up series about drove me insane. :P
Thanks! Yes, it is nice. :)
Yes, it was just amazing!!! :D
THANK YOU A ZILLION, REBEKAH!!!! xD I was super nervous, but it turned out not being NEAR as bad as I was expecting...and I did it! ^_^
Oh yes. We allll need to go book shopping very often. ;)
Yes, they were all great! :D Wasn't it?!?? Eeeps!! Tom and Mellie were just the cutest!!! <3
Stalag 17 is about a bunch of American guys in a German POW camp during WWII. It's got some serious parts, but there's a ton of comedy too. :D I watched it mainly for War Tears research, but now it's one of my favorite movies. :)
Aren't they great? Yeah, I expect that most anyone reading this hasn't heard two of those songs...I was listening to 1940s stuff. ;) Hehe.
My curtain is going to be a blue/purple/green print. I've had the pretty fabric for quite awhile, just haven't made them yet. :)
I'm so glad you enjoyed, Rebekah! :-) Thanks for commenting!!
Glad you had fun camping! That fire tower is HIGH! Oh my. I’m not much for heights....XD You’re a brave one!
ReplyDeleteAw, bummer about your garden; I’m sorry. My Mum and I have been noticing that all around...this year has been a small harvest-year. Our garden hasn’t been as overflowing as most years. But we’ve still had a fair amount of tomatoes. It feels unending, but I know we’ve always had so much more in years past. (Quick note, how are there no weeds in that corn crop?! Weeds nearly overtook our small corn plot...)
Do you guys do a lot of canning or anything? Or are your tomatoes mainly for eating right away (BLT’s. Amazing. <3)
Cute pics of your doggies! :)
Oh wow, that’s a beautiful photo of your bookshelf all colour-coded! It looks just like Pinterest! But yeah, I would have a hard time separating series...I couldn’t do it, honestly! XD Maybe I’m a bit OCD when it comes to my books. ;)
Ah!! What fun, Faith! I love Tim Hawkins! I’m so glad you got to go. I’ve never been to one, but I love watching his dvds. Lots of fun. =)
Yay!! Congrats on starting the ASL class! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. My elder sister took a lot of ASL classes, and I did for a month or two, but I didn’t stick it out. =/ I failed to stick it out in a couple things when I was younger...^.^ But I know the alphabet and a handful of other words. It’s very cool!
And a huge congrats on getting your license!!!! That’s so fantastic!! :)
Yay for books! Always. :D You found some good finds! Journals totally count. I love journals. Have may too many probably, but who’s counting?!
I’m sorry you didn’t get to read as much as you had hoped, but each of the ones you read look great! I can’t wait to read “With Every Letter”! I hope I get to it soon.
Best wishes on this month’s goals! =D
I think I’ve made this comment long enough...sorry for its length!
Haha, yes, it was high! Heights have never bothered me (I'm the child known for walking the ridge-beam and climbing up on the roof just to escape a little bro), but others of the group remained on the ground. ;P
DeleteHmmmm, so maybe it's not just us with the small crop, huh? Ugh, tomatoes. My least favorite. ;) We had like 100 plants one year... -_- (Weeds? Haha, I hasn't even noticed that. Well, Dad didn't till that part so that's not the reason...maybe their just not showing up in the picture? I honestly don't know. XD We do have weeds though – promise! Haha!)
Yes, Mom does can. A lot usually, but all we canned this year was pickled beets and apple butter. This year the tomatoes were just for eating. (BLTs are amazing...but I skip the tomatoes. :P)
*smiles*
Yep. It was hard to separate the dear series... They didn't like it any more than I did. :P Hehe, I think I'm a little book-OCD too...but only in that area.
YES!!!! Seeing Tim Hawkins live was AWESOME!!! XD We seriously laughed until we hurt.
Thanks! :) Yes, it is very cool! Hehehe, I hear ya. I've had many 'fads' like that. I've started to teach myself ASL (like that was gonna happen...) more than once. But now with the class, I have to stick with it. ;)
Thanks!!! *grins*
Eeeeek! Yes, I did! I need to go back to that little shop soon... ;) Me too! Journals are lovely. ^_^ Oh, I'm certainly not counting.
Yes, they were all really good. Oh, you MUST read "With Every Letter"!! Gaahhhhhhhh. It was so good. Like A-Distant-Melody-kind-of-good. ;P
Thanks again!!
Oh, no worries. I love long comments, they just take me a little longer to get around to relying too. ;)
Thanks for commenting!
:D Haha, well good for you! The views from up high places really are beautiful. I just hate the trip up....
DeleteHaha! I share your..."enthusiasm" for tomatoes - though I love eating them, I do not care for the growing and harvesting of them. ^.^ (That's too funny. I'll take your word for it!)
Oh apple butter sounds good. :) We do quite a bit of canning. Mostly tomato products. We're done for the year though!! Yay! :D
(Oh really? I know several people that do that...funny note to add, is that I skip the pork-bacon. BUT add beef bacon instead. :D Or turkey bacon, but it's not the same tasting, really...we've discovered that beef bacon is very similar to pork bacon, so that's good!)
:D
I bet!!
I hope the ASL class is going really well and helping you stick to it!
*Huggles journals* I just started a new one which meant I got to choose which one...so hard, yet fun to do!
Yes, I MUST!!!! There are so many books I need to read. Need more time! XD Or to read super fast...
:)
Ahhh, yes. The trip up. ;) In this case, the stairs weren't too bad, but the hike from where we parked was like...uphill. I enjoy hiking sometimes, but others? Naw. ;)
DeleteHehehe, I hear ya! You may have the tomatoes. I don't care for them unless they're cooked in something (like, they're part of the dish) and even then it's more of a tolerance than a 'like'. XD
Apple butter is pretty good, though I prefer applesauce. :D Whew, aren't you glad canning season is over?! I know I am. ;P
(Haha, I joke that I'm having a BLM – bacon, lettuce, and mayonnaise. Oh really? That's so cool! I don't think I've ever had beef or turkey bacon. ;))
:)
It is, thanks! We actually have fall break from ASL this week.
Ahhh, so awesome! I know it was difficult decision though. :)
Haha, me exactly!! Unfortunately I'm not that fast of a reader...meh.
So sorry for the late reply! This comment got buried in da inbox. XD
So good to hear about your August! Sounded like so much fun! Congrats on your license!! And Tim Hawkins!!! So cool! I love his one sketch when he talks about the funeral and Smarties 😂
ReplyDeleteI need to do my own month recap...its just gonna be real late:P
Thanks, Lauren! :D Hahaha, yes, he's great! Hmm, I haven't saw that one...I'll have to look it up. :P Smarties -- of course you like it. XD
DeleteHehehe, better late than never, huh? ;)
Thanks for commenting!
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 8:20)
ReplyDeleteYou've gotten so much awesomeness done this summer! Your writing has been awesome, and your characters even more endearing than they were before. Keep up the good work!
However, there is one character who feels he can quote the above verse quite literally. He has not been saved from his enemies. But we do still want to learn more about him! :)
Aww, thank you so much for your sweet words, Jess! :) Wow, I love that verse! That character is going to have to quote it to his friend, that other character, sometime. ;)
Delete