July 2019 Recap

Summer is almost over. Honestly, I'm glad. I have decided I prefer the routine and steadiness of all the other seasons to summer. Although some fun things do happen during the summer months. I shan't rant about it anymore and will get started on the recap instead.

What I Did

• I got a bad cold for over a week, and my family's been sick for most of the month, so that's put a damper on summer plans. I'm finally getting over it, though.

• Continued working like crazy. We have a lot of comings and goings right now as some of our younger associates are leaving for college. Also, we already got fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving stuff in and I'm screaming on the inside.

• We got to go to the 50th anniversary celebration of the Apollo missions in DC. They projected the rocket on the Washington Monument and had a really cool video of the whole mission played three times every night. It was such an amazing feeling getting to relive the rocket launch and landing that I obviously didn't get to see the first time.

• Had a fun 4th of July doing face painting, fireworks in the driveway, and watching Lindsey Stirling on the Capital Fourth.

• Went to the pool a couple of times, which gave me a chance to try out my new swimsuit.

Read

The Belles- Dhonielle Clayton (3 stars)
The Penderwicks- Jeanne Birdsall (5 stars)
Lulu the Broadway Mouse- Jenna Gavigan (3 stars)
Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury (5 stars)
Hope Nation- Various Authors (5 stars)
Dragon Pearl- Yoon Ha Lee (3 stars)
Flame in the Mist- Renee Ahdieh (4 stars)
The Death Cure- James Dashner (4 stars)
Sal and Gabi Break the Universe- Carlos Hernandez (5 stars)
Animal Farm- George Orwell (4 stars)

Watched

What a Girl Wants (a great comedy)

Downton Abbey (at last, we have finished the show! I enjoyed it so much)

The Patriot Games (a pretty tense thriller)

Karate Kid 1-4 (I enjoyed all of them and thought the sequels were all pretty good)

Unicorn Store (a kind of out there movie that I connected with for some reason)

On the Blog

• My most popular post this month was, surprisingly, my post on writing lessons from Push. Who knew that would be so read?

• Over on my Instagram, I'm hosting a bookstagram challenge for August, so you if you want to join, head on over there. I'm looking forward to it.

Writing

In spite of my illness, I did manage to get through the rest of my character editing for New Magic. Hooray! Which means I'll let it rest for a month or so, then head to the next round. I think it's coming along okay, although I'm constantly plagued by doubts.

I am also working very hard at not starting work for NaNoWriMo yet. I just really have the urge to write something. Maybe I'll try a short story.

Art

I finished my first LoTR drawing! Here's Frodo in all his glory. I think it came out pretty good, even if I wish his face was a little better.

Other than that, I did some different sketches, but that's about it. It was hard to get to art because I was sick.

August Plans

• First off, I am going to a young adult retreat next month and I am kind of freaking out over here. Not only am I going to a place where I don't know anyone (except my pastor), it's also all the way in North Carolina. But I'll probably have a good time.

• I want to get back into exercise and stretching. I haven't done much of either this month and I can feel how it's affecting me.

• I hope to draw Sam and maybe Gandalf next month.

• I also want to either write a short story or work on implementing beta feedback on my other novel. Or possibly both.

How was your July? Do you have any vacation plans? Tell me in the comments.

Suggested Posts:

Best and Worst Books of 2019 So Far

Why You Should Read the Classics