February Highlights 2019

Holy March, Batman!

Okay, no, it's not March yet, but it's darn close, and February went by really fast. Maybe because it's short. I don't know. But here we are, and it's time for another monthly wrapup!

READING

Soo... I made a goal of reading six books this month. I wasn't sure I was going to meet it, but I just realized that if I count The Radiant Road as a February book, I did it! So.. I mean, I started it in January, but I finished it in February, so that counts, right? Right? (Also, when this post goes up I'm still reading the sixth book, Where There's Hope... but I'm determined to finish it!)

This month I read two fiction books, both which I enjoyed (not quite what I'd hoped they'd be, though); and four nonfiction biographical/inspirational books. (I'm not sure if those are the right words for them. :P) Although I was familiar with her story, this was my first time reading any of the Elizabeth Smart books. She's such a strong person; she's been able to leave behind everything that happened to her and move on with her life, and yet still use those things to encourage and inspire others.

WRITING

Um...

Me, to my WIP.

Words written this month: 23

LIFE

Surely you knew I was going to talk about him again.

This month, I got my puppy Xander! And guys, he's already grown so much!

Xander the day I got him

Xander a few days ago. Not such a baby anymore. :(

Look at him. He's already losing some of his puppiness. I tell him to stop growing at least once a day, but he's not listening.

Seriously, though, I love this dog and although I'm excited to see what he looks like full grown, it's also a little sad seeing him get bigger.

Also this month, the new Kim Possible movie premiered on Disney Channel. Y'all, a lot of people were dreading this movie, but I was excited for it ever since I first heard about it! Kim Possible was part of my childhood and I thought the idea of this movie was pretty cool. And I ended up really enjoying it!

It got me in a nostalgic, old-Disney mood, and I'm probably going to try to rewatch the animated series soon.

BLOG

Here's what I talked about on the blog this month:

Let Life Interrupt
Five Of My Favorite Fictional Couples
Language of Worlds: Quinard

Aaand that was my February! I hope you guys had a good month and March will be even greater! (oh, and *cough*mybirthdayisinmarch*cough*)

How was your February? What's your favorite thing that you did? Any plans for March?

Language of Worlds: Quinard

Happy Thursday!

One of my goals for February was to finish the first draft of my NaNo novel, Roots to Claim. But I've been having a hard time really getting into it and doing any writing in it, even though I only have a few chapters left to go. So this week, I thought I'd hop in on the latest Language of Worlds linkup by Liv K. Fisher, and hopefully get inspired to dive back into that story!

(Thanks to Liv for hosting this linkup! You can find her original post HERE. This part of the linkup runs through the end of February.)

I decided to do this post on Quinard, who's my dark-minded little ray of sunshine (yeah) and a rock in Archlan's life. I'm still getting to know Quinard myself, so I'll really have to dig to answer these questions. But I can't wait for you guys to meet him!

QUINARD

1. In five words or less, how would you describe your character? Cynical, loyal, good-natured, easygoing, selfless.

2. When do they see an opportunity for self-improvement? I think Quinard would want to change how he sees the world and other people. Like I said above, he's pretty cynical about the world around him, seeing mostly the darkness instead of light. It doesn't take much to break the ice with him and become friends, and that's when you see the other side of him (the loyal, selfless side). 

3. How do they view themself (good, evil, neutral, etc.)? Oh man, that's an interesting question. I think given his general pessimism he'd see himself as neutral instead of good.

4. Is there a story that inspires them? What is it? Quinard is inspired by all the stories he hears around him, whether it be from his own life, or current events. He writes songs about all these things; that's what he loves to do.

5. What proverb or quote they identify with? “I like beautiful melodies telling me terrible things.”
― Tom Waits

I have no idea who Tom Waits is but I was looking for a quote for Quinard (haha the alliteration) and when I saw this one I immediately knew that was his quote. The first time Archlan meets Quinard, Quinard is singing about the villain who's going around wreaking havoc on all the villages, and when they become friends it's kind of a joke between them that Quinard only likes to sing about dark 
things.

6. What does their standard day look like? Waking up, having a quick breakfast, then saddling his horse up and packing his lute and taking off across the countryside. He'll stop at the next village he comes across, sing on the street corners with his lute case opened up for donations, then pack up and move on to the next town.

7. When they picture their ideal day, how does it go? Pretty much what his standard day looks like, although he gets pretty lonely and would secretly like a friend to share his time with.

8. Do they have a favorite memory? If so, what happened? Hmm... am I allowed to take a rain check on this one? Like I said, I'm still learning about Quinard and his story, so he hasn't really shared any of his memories with me yet. (Stubborn characters.)

9. Where do they see themself in five years? Doing what he's doing right now, traveling around playing music.

10. What is their life dream? To make a difference in somebody's life with his music.

Aww, I love Quinard. And I do kind of want to go write now, but unfortunately the part I'm in the middle of writing has nothing to do with Quinard. xD

Well, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know my precious boy! Wish me luck finishing this book!

Have you participated in Language of Worlds? Who's your favorite character in your current WIP?

Five Of My Favorite Fictional Couples

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I was kind of excited when I realized that Valentine's Day fell on my weekly posting day this year, because I had already planned a Valentine's post and it just seemed perfect that it would go up on February 14. And what better to talk about today than my favorite fictional couples?

I love a good couple (or, as the cool kids call it, a good ship). And there are plenty of cute or loveable couples in fiction. But it takes more than just "cuteness" to make a really great couple; so here are five of my favorites!

PETER AND GWEN (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN AND THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2)

My love for these two falls on the actors just as much as the characters. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone have such fantastic chemistry, they're both ridiculously likeable, and simply adorable together. They play off each other so well; I mean, that scene in the school hallway in the first movie? It's so realistically awkward.

And Peter and Gwen are also great characters. Because even though they're teenagers still in high school, you can tell they both have a good head on their shoulders, and they're responsible and smart. But not in a way that makes them seem years older than what they are.

RYAN AND MOLLY (THE BRIDGE)

I talked about these guys in December. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) Whether you're talking about the book or the movie, I just love Molly and Ryan. They care so much about each other and sacrifice their own feelings for what they think is best for the other. It's just so easy to see how much they love each other. (Even if it takes SEVEN YEARS for them to come around and actually admit
it.)

JAKE AND BRIELLE (ANGEL EYES TRILOGY)

(unfortunately I don't have a cute GIF of these two.)

I talked about these guys a little bit too, in my review of the Angel Eyes trilogy in January. Another couple that obviously cares so much about one another.

I liked that it was no secret that Jake and Brielle were attracted to each other physically and Brielle even acknowledged the human desires she felt at times, but they purposefully set boundaries and saved that part of their relationship.

More than that, though, they cared about each other's lives and souls. They grew in the Lord together and fought spiritual battles together. They were just great.

CHARMING AND SNOW/DAVID AND MARY MARGARET (ONCE UPON A TIME)

"I will find you. I will always find you."

I kinda got chills typing that. I had forgotten how sweet and cool their story was. From meeting in the Enchanted Forest and having a literal fairytale romance, to being inevitably drawn to each other in Storybrooke (although PSA: affairs aren't cool, guys)-- it's just one of those relationships that's set on a rock, and you know it will never shake. These guys are the real deal.

FLYNN AND RAPUNZEL (TANGLED)

Speaking of the real deal! Y'all, Tangled is the absolute BOMB and Flynn and Rapunzel are the greatest so of course I had to include them here.

I think part of what I like about them is that their relationship is different from all the other fairytale relationships where the guy saves the girl. I mean, let's be honest here: I have NO problem with that scenario. I'm a sucker for a good old cliche fairytale. But I like how, while Flynn definitely helps Rapunzel out of her situation, she pulls her own weight (and the weight of her hair-- ha) and stands on her own two feet through the entire movie. And yes, he does end up ultimately saving her in the end, but hey, she saves him too.

Flynn and Rapunzel are just so funny together and although they're one of your whirlwind, happens-in-a-day things, it works for them. Partly because they just went through so much together and did discover in that first day how much they genuinely cared about each other.

Plus there's also the fact that they only fell in love on the first day; they didn't actually married for years! "...after years and years of asking and asking and asking..."

Aaand that's all I have for today! There are still plenty of other couples that I love so maybe I'll do a part 2 of this someday. ;)

I hope you guys have a great Valentine's Day and spend it with those you love! Whether it's your significant other, your friends, or your family, just spread some love today. Even if that just means eating chocolate in your room and watching a good romcom. ;)

Who's your favorite fictional couple? What are you doing this lovely Valentine's Day?

Let Life Interrupt

I got a puppy this Sunday.

He's 1/2 Husky, 1/4 German Shepherd, 1/4 Labrador. (At least from what the owners of the parents told us.) His name is Xander.

I mentioned before that my first dog, Shadow, passed away in October. He was eighteen years old and I had had him since I was two years old. (That's a LONG time to have a dog.) So, I really didn't remember what it was like to not have him.


But I knew that I wouldn't want to wait long after he was gone to get another dog. Not to replace him, of course. I couldn't ever do that. But simply because I didn't want to be without a dog for very long. And also, because it had been so long since I had a puppy of my own; I've never actually been able to choose one for myself, name him, raise him. Heck, I barely even remember the first few years I had with Shadow!

Long story short, my best friend sent me a picture of some puppies a friend of hers had and asked me if I was interested. I told her yes, but by then she thought they had all found homes. I was disappointed, because these puppies seemed perfect, based on what I was hoping to eventually get. But I told God that I would wait for Him to bring the right opportunity to me, because I didn't want to rush into anything.

A few days later my friend sent me another picture of one of the puppies and said they had one left-- a male, like I wanted. I thought-- that's my opportunity! And I grabbed it.

And so the last few days of my life have consisted of being chewed on, telling Xander not to chew on me, cleaning up messes-- and falling absolutely in love with this  (not-so-little) little guy.

So you know what? I was kind of distracted this week. I didn't accomplish a lot of my daily goals. I slacked off on drinking as much water as I wanted, working out, and keeping my room totally clean. I hardly looked at my current WIP at all. Plus, I kept forgetting to sit down and plan out this week's blog post.

And that brings me to what I want to say today: Sometimes, you just have to let life interrupt.

I was really starting to feel discouraged at times this week, because while I loved playing with Xander and getting to know him and watching him settle into his new life, I felt like I was failing in all other areas of my life. Each day my goals were going unchecked, and you should know that there's nothing I hate more than unchecked goals!

But here's something that, even as I work to put more effort into accomplishing my goals, I have to remember: LIFE INTERRUPTS. And if I'm doing my best to stick with my goals and work hard the rest of the time, if something gets in the way every now and then, it's OKAY! Whether it be simply spending simple time with your family, or getting a new puppy that requires your undivided attention, it's okay and not a waste of time to take a break from all your hard work.

You know what I'd be missing out on if I took the time out right now to do all the things on my checklist? I'd be missing out on my puppy's growing-up stage, on bonding with him and building a relationship that will last for years to come. I'd be missing out on the training, the playing, all those things that I won't ever be able to get back when he grows up. (He'd also be driving my mom crazy and I don't think she'd appreciate it.) Also, I just said goodbye to my last dog a very short time ago, so I definitely want to spend all the time I can with Xander starting now.

So, yeah, right now I'm distracted and occupied with caring for this needy little beast. My story sits untouched and my current read is sadly neglected. My fitness goals are sliding a little farther back. My blog post is rather last-minute. But in years to come, I won't regret all that. I have time to rebuild on those things and catch up on what I've missed, but I won't ever get back this time with Xander.
This, right here, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Just remember, whenever something comes up that maybe keeps you from your goals, relax and allow yourself to enjoy it. If you've been working hard, and this is something that is worth putting other things aside for, you have nothing to feel guilty about. You're not a failure for slowing down to enjoy your life. Check your priorities. What will you wish you had taken the time for years from now?

Of course, there are some things that I still want to make time for every day. For example, I've also been struggling to devote as much time to my Bible reading and prayer time, which isn't okay for me personally and I want to work on doing that regardless. You shouldn't neglect your health, and your mom probably won't like it if you "forget" to do the dishes. And I know there are some of you who have deadlines and responsibilities that have to get done. That's a bit of a different story, but I still encourage you to find ways to slow down and take time for less pressing things when you can.

Look around today and see the opportunites worth seizing, the moments worth slowing down and breathing in. Push that to-do list aside, just for a little while. I bet you won't regret it.