March 2020 Recap

So, March happened. As I'm sure you know, it hasn't been a great month for anybody. But for the sake of honesty, we're going to talk about it anyway.

What I Did

• I had my first jury duty, the same week that America started going haywire. Just doing the jury duty sent my anxiety skyrocketing, especially the day I had to spend 10 hours in the courtroom just for most of the 90 people in the room to not be chosen. On top of that, everything started shutting down that day, so I was a mess.

• I've just been struggling, guys. It's hard for me to wake up every day and be positive when I don't know what's going to be announce each day. My job is shut down and I don't know when it will be reopened. I can't go to church or even get out of the house unless it's too a nature trail or for a drive. Events I was looking forward to are canceled or delayed. It's not been the best month for mental health.

• But through all of this, I've been doing my best to remember that God is in control. He knows what's going to happen and it's all accord to his plan. I don't understand it and neither does anyone else. But we will all get through this and come out the other side, even if it's not as soon as we might like.

• My sister turned 20 this month, though. Unfortunately, that was also the day I was at the courthouse from eight in the morning to almost six in the evening, so I missed most of it and was in a horrible mood. But I hope she had a good day anyway and we did go out and get coffee the next day.

• But to off-set all the bad, here are a few good memories from this month. Getting to play more games and learn some new ones with my siblings. Having extra writing time. My mom making us a special Saint Patrick's Day dinner. Spending time outside. Seeing so many people helping and encouraging one another. Having technology to still be able to worship with other believers even though we're apart.

Read

(On the upside, I've had a lot more reading time. On the downside, the library is closed until at least May 3rd and I'm almost out of books.)

The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines- Mike Madrid (3 1/2 stars)

Winter- Marissa Meyer (5 stars)

Slay- Brittany Morris (3 stars)

American Royals- Katharine McGee (4 stars)

Abby in Wonderland- Sarah Mlynowski (4 stars)

Avalon High- Meg Cabot (3 stars)

Spinning Silver- Naomi Novak (5 stars)

Persuasion- Jane Austen (5 stars)

Infernal Devices- Philip Reeve (3 1/2 stars)

Aru Shah and the Song of Death- Roshani Chokshi (4 stars)

Watched

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (not the best, but still enjoyable)

X-Men First Class (well done, and a good cast)

Clue (hilarious, highly recommend)

Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Swap (surprisingly good Disney Channel movie once you get past the beginning)

Bad Hair Day

Adventures in Babysitting

On the Blog

• My most popular post this month was the first part of my 2019 movie thoughts, closely followed by my villain post.

• On Instagram, I participated in a Middle Earth March bookstagram challenge, so head over there to check out all my fun Lord of the Ring and Hobbit themed posts. It was tons of fun.

Writing

• As I said last month, it turns out I'm going to completely re-write the second book in my Wonderland trilogy. It wasn't the best month for writing, but I got it completely re-plotted and outlined and I think *crosses fingers* it will work better now.

• Also, I decided to join Camp NaNoWriMo next month to get a good start on the new draft! I'm looking forward to it, since it can't be canceled. If anyone is looking for a cabin to join, I created one called the Inklings and I'd love more writers to fill it up. Comment down below if you're interested.

Art

• Having all this free time has also given me more time for art. To start off with, I did this self portrait for a profile pic on my art Instagram. (And if you're interested in that, my handle is rachel.e.art.)

• I made this little piece because I was feeling down and wanted to play around with pink and yellow. I love how it came out and it makes me so happy to look at.

• Then I finally finished my Gandalf drawing. I'm pretty proud of this one and think it looks a lot like him.

• Finally, Tombow offered a code for a free workshop of theirs, so I got one on handlettering. It was fun to do and I feel a lot more confident in my handlettering with brush pens now. So I made this little quote to practice.

April Thoughts

• Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen in April. We could be stuck at home for the whole month for all I know. So I'm just going to work on trusting God and taking things one day at a time.

• My goal for Camp NaNoWriMo is 30k, so I hope to write at least one thousand words a day and get a good start done on the draft.

• I hope to get some more art and reading done. Maybe I can finally get through all my TBR stack once I run out of library books.

• I'll keep looking for sparks of joy and light in this dark time, and I hope you can find them as well. I look forward to the day this is all over and I can see everyone I love again.

What's one good things, big or small, that happened to you in March? How are you spending all your extra time? Tell me in the comments.

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