AUGUST 2019

GUYS.

GUYS GUYS GUYYYYYYYYYYYS.

IT'S. ALMOST. SEPTEMBER.

*cue week-long screaming*

Y'all should know by now how much I stinking LOVE FALL and I am SO PSYCHHEEEED because it's almost heeeeere!! do I have an unhealthy love for fall? not at all. I would just live in it forever and not bother with anything else and be happy.

BUUT ANYWAY. I'll try not to shriek too much in this post. (We'll save that for the next monthly wrap-up. xD) For now I'll focus on August and the things that happened therein!

READING

This month I read Anchor in the Storm by Sarah Sundin, the second book in the Waves of Freedom series. Remember how last month I only read one book and it was the first book of this series? Well, this one was pretty much the only book I read this month. xD It's not that I'm not enjoying them. Really. I'm just STRUGGLING right now, okay?? (Also at the time of writing this I'm reading the third book, so we'll see if I actually finish it before September. I'm going to try my hardest because I want to start fresh and read ALL THE AMAZING BOOKS in FALLL.)

WRITING

I sadly didn't get a lot of writing done in my WIP Fall Into Time this month, like I'd hoped. I was going strong at the end of Camp NaNo last month and I wanted to keep going and finish my draft. BUT I think I'll be able to jump right back in in September, AND I have been writing other things! If you read last week's post you probably know that I'm going to have a story published in Havok next month. I've been having fun getting back into writing short stories like I used to do when I was younger.

LIFE

The first week of the month Descendants 3 premiered, which was fantastic and I'm kind of still reeling from it. I'm still trying to decide if I want to write a review on that, but for now you guys can go read my post I wrote about why the Descendants trilogy is so important to me.

I had a sleepover night with my best friend who hadn't seen the third Descendants yet and we watched ALL THREE MOVIES in one night! We ate pizza and made brownies and stayed up WAYYYY too late and it was fantastic. I forgot to make sure the DVD was in the box when I brought it, though, and after we'd watched the first two movies I opened it up and no DVD. I had left it in my DVD player at home and while my house is only like 5 minutes down the road, it was after midnight so I couldn't go back and get it.  Well, we weren't gonna stop there, sooo I had to BUY the thing on YouTube. I was so mad. xD But watching all three movies back-to-back was pretty awesome and now I kind of want to do it again. o.O

So much love for these guys AND THIS NUMBER.

I finished watching Lord of the Rings with another friend, and OH MY HEART. That ending just gets me every time. *cries*

Yes, they get TWO gifs.

I got a letter this month from the young girl I sponsor from the Philippines, and it just warmed my heart. She was telling me about some things she was doing in school, and she said this:

"I know I will be able to reach my goal. I want to make you and my parents proud of me. This is not impossible because I have a sponsor like you who has a big heart to help me reach my dream."

This made things so real. Like, I am making a difference in somebody's life across the WORLD, who I've never met. And she is telling me how she wants me to be proud of her?? I was seriously so humbled and touched.

BLOG

GUYS. "ohmygoshisshegoingtostarttalkingaboutfallagain"

THIS IS THE LAST TIME YOU'LL READ A NEW POST ON THIS BLOG WITH THIS DESIGN.

As you might know (because I've talked about it like eight times) my blogaversary is September 1 and I'll be posting my Q&A vlog AND debuting my new blog design that day! Eeeep, I'm so exciteddd! :D Wish me luck and say a few prayers that I'll be able to get everything up and running smoothly. :)

How was your August? Any plans for September? WHO WANTS TO BE EXCITED FOR FALL WITH ME???

DON'T HOP BELIEVING (The Frog Prince flash fiction!)

Happy Thursday! *ignores the fact that it's Sunday*

Hehe. Heh. Sorry I'm late with my post this week! I'm seriously slacking, not just on my blog but other things as well. Reading, writing, Bible reading, and everything else are struggling. :/ I'm hoping to get myself together in this coming week, because this feeling of not doing anything and letting time run away with me STINKS and I really want to try to be more organized.

BUT ANYWAY. This week, late or not, I'm bringing you guys the next installment of The Adventures of Trentley and Jynnia! (not an official title xD) If you didn't know, there's a new fairytale featured on The Fairytale Central every month, and Arielle posts a writing prompt inspired by that fairytale on her website. I've been writing short stories tying these prompts into the very strange journey that my cute little couple Trentley and Jynnia have been having, and it's been quite an interesting ride. xD

Here's the prompt, and you can find the original post HERE:

Last month I made a little fun of myself because of how goofy my story was, but I think this month's is even goofier. xD But I'm letting myself just let go a little and have fun because that's what these prompts are for, and really, what else could you do with fairytales besides have fun??

I do apologize in advance, though, for this story's awful title.

Anyway, on with the story!

      *** 

Jynnia and Trentley sat staring at each other in the middle of the woods.
"I can't believe I'm in love with a bear," Jynnia said.
Trentley scratched his ear with his paw.
"How are we going to get you back to normal?" Jynnia said. "Getting rid of some crazy long hair is one thing, but this?"
"That dumb dwarf said there are jewels everywhere," Trentley said. Jynnia just could not get used to seeing her boyfriend's voice come out of a bear's mouth. It was slightly more growly than normal, but definitely Trentley's voice. "Maybe we'll come across one before long that will help us fix this."
She sighed. "We'll figure something out." For the hundredth time since Trentley's transformation nearly a week ago, she began to reach out to touch his face. But that felt far too much like petting a dog, and she was not a fan. She pulled her hand back.
"Jynnia, I've been thinking." Trentley slowly lowered his large body to the ground and rested on his fluffy side. "All those gems can't stay strewn throughout the world. Bad things could happen. Well..." He paused.
"Bad things already have happened," Jynnia finished his thought.
"Yeah. And I think--"
"Shh!" Jynnia held up a finger, zoning out.
"What?"
"Shh!"
She listened carefully. "I thought I heard a voice," she said, so quietly it was barely even a whisper. She stood and looked from tree to tree, searching for any movement. They had been especially careful of any passersby lately; if anybody came across Trentley unawares, they could shoot him.
Trentley sat upright, his ears flicking. "I heard it too," he whispered. Strange to hear a bear whisper.
Jynnia held her palms toward him to keep him from moving. "I'll go check it out," she said. "Make sure they don't see you."
She quietly stepped through the woods, avoiding every twig and leaf she could. She peered through the trees, squinting. Searching for a person walking--
"Hey."
Jynnia jumped and looked around. The voice sounded as though it was right beside her, but she saw no one.
"Down here."
Oh, no. If that didn't sound like a line from a fairytale.
Jynnia slowly dropped her gaze toward the ground, her heart pounding in anticipation of what she might see. Her eyes stopped on a shiny green frog slightly bigger than her fist.
She made an odd noise between a gasp and a scream. 
"What, you're not afraid of frogs, are you?" The frog actually opened its mouth and spoke.
"N-no. I'm just... not accustomed to talking to animals."
The frog laughed. "You could have fooled me. I've seen your little predicament. Your boyfriend's a bear."
She glared at him. "How did you know that?"
"I'm a frog. I hop around."
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, so, uh-- what do you want?"
"I have a proposition for you. See, I used to be a person."
Of course you did.
"A fairy, actually. And I got in a fight with another fairy and, well, he won. And now I'm stuck like this."
Jynnia blinked. "Okay..."

"Okay, and the only cure is to be kissed by a beautiful girl."
Jynnia rolled her eyes. "Are you really about to ask me to kiss y--"
"I'll turn your boyfriend back into a human."
She stopped. "Can you do that?"
"Of course. I can break other people's spells, but I can't break a spell on myself." He sighed. "Which is why I've been a frog for two years. Lucky no one's stepped on me, you know? And those birds, I hear they've got a--"
"Okay, okay!" Jynnia held her hands up. She looked at the frog and tried to keep her lip from curling. "I'll... kiss you."
"Yes!" The frog leaped into the air and did a spin. Oh, brother.
"Jynnia? Are you all right?" Trentley called.
Jynnia glanced back in his direction. "Let's get this over with," she said, and knelt to hold out her hand. The frog jumped into it.
Standing, Jynnia sighed deeply. She couldn't believe she was about to do this. But she held the frog close to her face, tried to ignore the fact that he looked like he was smiling, and closed her eyes and kissed him.
She felt a very strange sensation. The frog fell out of her hand, and she felt very tense, as if something was preventing her breathing. She opened her eyes to see a pair of feet in front of her.
"What on earth?" She tried to turn her head but found that she had mobility in her neck. "What did you do to me?" she demanded.
But the frog was gone. In his place was this giant pair of feet.
Jynnia could not look up, either, so she turned around. That was when she realized she was sitting very close to the ground and had webbed feet.
She screamed, but it came out sounding less shriek-y and more croak-y.
Trentley emerged through the trees. Trentley! He was no longer a bear! Jynnia wanted to rejoice, but she was a frog.
"Jynnia!" Trentley looked around. Feeling very wobbly and strange, Jynnia hopped up to a tree trunk to see better.
Trentley's face grew angry. The frog-turned-fairy had pointed ears, shoulder-length blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and boyish features.
"What have you done with her?" Trentley growled, and this time it wasn't because he was a bear. He tackled the fairy.
"Trentley!" Jynnia shouted as loudly as she could. She hated talking. Her lips felt slimy. "I'm down here!"
Feeling like a total idiot, she started jumping up and down.
Trentley looked at her, and horror darkened his face. "Oh, my goodness," he said. "What happened to you?" He turned to glare at the fairy again.
"He was a frog!" Jynnia said. "And he said if I kissed him he would turn you back!"
"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that you agreed to kiss that frog?"
"It seemed like a good idea at the time."
"In that case, I'd hate to hear your definition of a bad idea."
"You know he can hear you, right?" The fairy stood and held his hands up. "Allow me to make the proper introductions, since nobody's asking. My name is Paxton. I'm--"
"I don't care! Look what you've done to Jynnia!"
"I'm sorry! If I would have told her the consequences, she wouldn't have kissed me."
"Yeah, and I wouldn't have had to kill you," Trentley growled, making a move toward the fairy again.
"Stop, stop!" Paxton held his hands up. "I can take it off of her."
"Yeah," Jynnia said, remembering. "You said you could take curses off other people. Why didn't you tell me that to begin with?! Then I would have still done it for you."
"But maybe you wouldn't have!" the fairy said. "Well, anyway, let's just get all of this behind us." He faced Jynnia and closed his eyes. Sleek wings they hadn't noticed before unfolded from his back and gave one shake, shedding glowing, sparkling dust. It floated over to Jynnia and surrounded her, and in a moment she was human again.
"Jynnia!" Trentley cried, taking the step forward to embrace her. Jynnia was glad to embrace Trentley, too, without fur getting in her way.
"Don't mind me," Paxton sighed.
"How did you come to be a frog, anyway?" Trentley asked, turning around.
The fairy sighed impatiently, as though this were the tenth time he had been asked and not only the second. "You see, apparently it's frowned upon to make people you don't like into frogs. At least that's what that other old fairy thought all those ages ago when I turned that silly prince into a frog and he had to sleep for three days on a princess's pillow--" He laughed, slapping his knee. "If only you could understand how funny it was, how he was so desperate."
"Wait," Jynnia said. "You're... that fairy?"
"Why did you turn the prince into a frog?" Trentley asked.
"Because he was a prince," the fairy said dryly. "I was jealous. Anyway, moving on. Long story short, the other fairy was apparently a friend of that prince's, and when he found out what had happened, he went searching for me. And a couple of years ago, he found me." Another sigh. "And a long two years, it was. But now here I stand, tall and two-legged once again." He took Jynnia's hand and bowed, kissing it. Jynnia yanked it back and Trentley glared at him.  

"Wait, I thought you had to be hosted by a princess for three days, not just kissed by a girl," Jynnia said. 

"Yes, well, magic changes over the years."
"Well," Jynnia said, drying the back of her hand on her clothes. "Thanks for, uh, saving me, but we should really be going."
Paxton nodded and shook out his wings again, and they began to slowly flap back and forth. "Glad I could be of service. And I should thank you for returning me to my natural form."
Jynnia held back a laugh at his calling being a fairy "natural form", but she smiled and copied his bow from a moment ago.
The fairy saluted with one finger and lifted off the ground, and a moment later was flying away through the trees.
Jynnia sighed. "Well, that was fun," she said. "Thank goodness neither of us are animals now."
"Yeah." Trentley took a deep breath. "Jynnia, I was trying to tell you earlier. I think we should search for all the jewels."
 "Seems like we don't have to search for them. They're finding us on their own pretty easily." Jynnia wiped her mouth, still feeling the sticky wetness that had coated them a short time before.
"Yes, well... I want to find them all and keep them from messing up other people's lives," Trentley said. "We've seen the strange things they can do. I don't want anybody else to have to go through that."
Jynnia laughed. "So, what we're the sacrifices?"
Trentley smiled. "If you want to look at it like that."
They began walking throught he woods, arm in arm. Now that Trentley wasn't a bear anymore, they could show their faces in public.
"We didn't find a jewel this time," Jynnia said suddenly. "How did that happen if there wasn't a jewel?"
Trentley thought a moment. "Well, we know now that the jewels cause fairytale-related events to happen, but we also know that those fairytales actually happened. So maybe we don't need the jewels around to meet up with the people that were involved in those stories."
"So why did we happen to meet up with Paxton?" Jynnia wondered.
Trentley laughed. "There sure are a lot of questions, huh?"
"You bet."
"Well, what do you say while we try to come up with the answers, we go find some jewels?"
Jynnia squeezed his very human-like arm and grinned. "Let's go!"

      ***

Well, at least nobody ended this story as an animal or anything.

I hope you enjoyed this weird little chapter of Trentley and Jynnia's story! If you don't really know what's going on, don't worry because I don't either. xD

A couple things before I go! You might remember a couple weeks ago I said I had some exciting news but I was waiting to tell you. Well, now I can finally share it! I'm so excited to announce that I'm going to have a story published on Havok!

You can read my story Fly on the Havok website Tuesday, September 17th. I'm so thrilled to be a part of the Stories That Sing theme and I can't wait for you guys to read it! :D

Also, just a reminder that you guys can still ask me questions for my Q&A vlog! If you missed it, the post is HERE. You have until Thursday, the 29th, to ask away.

And I think that's all! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

What do you think of Trentley's decision to find all the jewels? Do you think we'll see Paxton again? Most importantly, HAVE YOU WRITTEN A STORY FOR THE PROMPT? Link to it in the comments so I can read it. :D

Ask Me Questions!

Hey guys! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday evening. 

I'm working on my new blog design today (yayy!!!!!), but I thought I'd leave a quick post here for questions. I announced a couple weeks ago that I would be doing a Q&A vlog for my 1st blogaversary coming up on September 1. I asked for questions at the end of my July wrap-up post, so I wanted to make an official post specifically for this. Just in case someone who missed the first one went looking and couldn't find it.

If you've already asked me questions, you DO NOT have to ask them again. Don't worry, I already have all your questions written down and raring to go. ;)

That's all I have for today's little pop-up post! Have a great rest of your Sunday and hope Monday morning sees you smiling!

Got any questions for me? Ask them in the comments and I'll answer them in my upcoming Q&A vlog!

Why Descendants Means So Much To Me

This month, one of my favorite movie series-- and stories-- came to an end.

Today, I want to talk about why the Descendants movies mean so much to me. I know, I literally just talked about Descendants a few weeks ago. And yeah, it might seem kind of silly to be talking some kids' movies like this. But now that the third movie has premiered and the Villain Kids' stories are officially over (at least onscreen), I'm feeling pretty sentimental and I want to share my thoughts.

(prepare yourself for a gif dump because I do what I want)

Four years ago when the first movie was on, I liked it a lot but didn't fall in love with it right away. It was a cute movie, with some super likeable actors, and it broke some stereotypes. I loved the idea of Evie ditching her need for a boy and discovering her love and talent for chemistry and sewing. The movie had great messages, but nothing really struck a chord with me on a personal level.

Then two years later the second one came out.

Honestly, Descendants 2 blew me away. No, not in the same way Lord of the Rings would. And there are probably some people reading this thinking "man, this girl's really got to raise her standards."

But this movie totally surpassed all of Disney Channel's standards! I love a lot of Disney Channel movies, specifically musicals, but this was the first one that really deeply touched me. As a writer, I found inspiration in the deep storylines and the character relationships.

And I have to stop there for a minute to talk about the relationships. These guys care so much about each other. There's Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos who have grown up together and been through so much. Mal and Evie are power best friends. And then there's Mal and Ben, who are possibly THE cutest couple I've ever seen in my life. I LOVE watching their relationship grow in the second movie, and it's so obvious how much they care about each other. OTP, guys. OTP.

IN WHICH BEN IS THE MOST PRECIOUS HUMAN

And then. Then there was that finale.

I've already talked more in depth about this in my other Descendants post, so I'll try not to stay here too long. But this song inspired me as a person and even as a Christian (even though its intended message is not religious in any way). We can make change, guys. We can do so much if only we're bold enough to start.

And now we move on to Descendants 3.

I was already somewhat emotional going into this movie because of Cameron Boyce's death a few weeks before. That and knowing that this would be the last movie gave it a very melancholy feeling.
I was going to post a full review of this movie, but I decided that this post was more important for me to write and I didn't want to drown you guys in Descendants posts. If any of you would be interested
in a full review of Descendants 3, though, let me know and I might still do it!

Anyway. I've only seen it twice so I'm not as familiar with it yet. But Descendants 3 builds on those relationships and shows our characters doing things that are important to them, to change the world around them. (It also has some darn good musical numbers, but I digress.) And again, this movie has a song that speaks to me in a big way. "My Once Upon A Time" tells Mal's story of hard decisions and thinking she was in the right only to discover that she was being selfish and everything crashed down around her. But in this part of the movie, she sees her mistake and realizes she can still make it right.

Here's what this song says to me. It says that we're all in control of how we live and that we have the power to make the right choices.

Life is not a storybook, but life unfolds in chapters
Turn the page and start to make amends
There's no prewritten guarantee of happy ever after
Step into your greatness before your story ends

I think this part is especially poignant in light of the premature death of one of the stars of this movie.

Start living the way you want to now. Start treating people right and showing love now. Live for God to the fullest now. Don't wait until it's easy or convenient, or you have more time. I'm talking to myself, guys, and hoping that if someone else out there needs to hear it too that it might help them. I am so guilty of everything I just said. But I'm trying to get better.

So overall, what do I get out of these movies besides some great entertainment and fantastic music? A taste of the kind of characters and relationships I want to write. Inspiration and encouragement for building your own future. Most importantly, a reminder of the change we can all make.

I get that these movies might not be for everyone. I grew up watching Disney Channel, so this kind of thing has always been near to my heart. And maybe my bias has me seeing things that aren't there. But as readers and writers, we are always talking about how stories can affect us and even change our lives. And I really felt the need to share how these stories are changing me.

Goodbye Mal, Jay, Evie and Carlos. You're special and your story has been quite a ride. I'll miss you and I'm sad to see you go.

And once more for Cameron-- I wish it hadn't taken your leaving this world to make us aware of how special you were. But I'm sure you and your loved ones would be happy to know that something good has come out of this tragedy. I continue to try to live in a way that people could look back on with admiration if I left this earth.

Now, I want to hear from you guys. What's a story, song, or anything that has unexpectedly inspired you? What change do you want to make in the lives around you? Also, who would be interested in a Descendants 3 review?

Bestiary Tag!

Hey guys! Hope you're having a fantastic August so far! Mine's been pretty good, and in fact I have some exciting news to share with you guys. Not just YET, though. You have to wait. ;)

But anyway! Today I'm doing a super fun tag that was actually CREATED by the awesome Victoria at Wanderer's Pen. Thanks for the tag, Victoria! :D

So basically this tag is dedicated to mythical creatures, which is totally awesome and makes me really wish dragons were real. But who doesn't, right?

Anyway. Until we can figure out a way to make that happen, we can just enjoy these questions and pretend.

1.) What is your favorite mythical creature? I'd love to be different and say something really out of the ordinary, but I'm going to have to go with dragons on this one. Dragons are AWESOME, guys.

2.) When was the first time you heard of this beast? I have NO idea, lol. I'm sure I already knew what dragons were at this point, but honestly, the oldest memories I can think of containing dragons are of the old kids' show Dragon Tales. I used to watch it ALL the time and I still bug my family with the theme song on a daily basis. xD

3.) What is your favorite portrayal of this creature in media? I love Smaug in The Hobbit. He's MASSIVE and super cool-looking and just plain intimidating. He's not exactly the kind of dragon I'd want to know personally (unless, you know, he's my friend), but man, he sure can tear things UP.

4.) If you could shapeshift into a mythical beast what would you pick? MERMAID. Mermaid, mermaid, mermaid. Guys, I've wanted to be a mermaid so bad since I watched H20: Just Add Water. I mean, I would basically give anything to be a mermaid. Can I be a mermaid?

5.) What mythical beast would you love to have as a pet? Probably a pegasus. When I was little I had a whole stable with all these imaginary horses (embarrassing, I know) and some of them were pegasi. I used to think it would just be so awesome to be able to ride a pegasus through the sky.

6.) What is your favorite mythological story surrounding a fantastical beast like in Greek Mythology, Egyptian Mythology, etc.? I can't really answer this question because I don't actually know much mythology. Shameful, I know. I guess that's something I'll have to educate myself on. *sigh*

7.) What mythical creature would terrify you the most if you encountered it in person? Cerberus would be pretty terrifying. Or a werewolf. Or a yeti. (Does that count? xD) Basically all the furry things with way more aggression than furry things should ever have.

8.) What is the most unusual mythical creature you've ever heard of? Can we talk about the chimera for a minute? Because that thing is MESSED UP. It's a lion with a goat head on its back, guys. And a tail with a snake's head. What the heck???

9.) What uncommon mythical beast do you wish you saw more of in books and movies? I would love to see more phoenixes, because they're super awesome and I think the only one I've ever seen was in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm sure they're more common than I think, but they deserve to be better known. Also, the manticore is pretty darn killer?? Let's have more manticores. *runs off to put a manticore in a book* As long as its head isn't too man-like. The pictures I saw showed more lion-like heads than man, but if it's just a straight-up man's head I'm putting it up there in the terrifying category. xD

10.) If you could create a mythical creature what would it be? How about some kind of wolf-dragon thing? Like, let's have a big wolf with dragon-wings and fire breath and UHHH it can also clamp its wings down and swim faster than a torpedo. Wow. This thing's fearsome. xD

And that's all the questions! That was a ton of fun, and now I totally want to write more mythical creatures into my books. Although *wink, wink* my current WIP Fall Into Time has gryphons, unicorns, AND dragons. Go me!

Now it's tagging time! I tag:

Faith @ The Writer's Song
Nicole @ Legend of a Writer
Lila @ The Red Hooded Writer

I hope you guys enjoyed my ramblings about mythical creatures! If you've done this tag, leave the link in the comments so I can read it! :D

Also, just a reminder: My blogaversary's coming up, and you can go to last week's post to ask me questions for my Q&A vlog! Do it! *whispers* Dooo it!

Have you done this tag? What's your favorite mythical creature? Have you written any stories with mythical creatures?

JULY 2019

JULY. Or, the point at which the year is officially more than halfway over.

Also the second point at which some of us crazies decide to write a book. (And we're not done yet! Hehehe... hehe... *looks pointedly at November*)

ALSO THE POINT AT WHICH PEOPLE LIKE ME REALIZE THAT FALL IS REALLY REALLY CLOSE AND AHHHH I'M SO EXCITED!

I'm gonna go scream in a corner with a sweater and a cup of coffee and you guys can read this monthly wrapup post until I get back. xD

READING

Oof, it was another rough reading month. I actually didn't realize how awful it's been until I wrote this post, but I only read ONE book this month. *is ashamed* That book was Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin.

*WILL get through this reading slump in August*

WRITING

Camp NaNoWriMo, y'all! And I won!!

This month I worked on Fall Into Time. My goal was only 20k, but I got into a really good writing groove, which I feel really good about! I was doing some HARDCORE pantsing, though, and my characters hate me for it. Seriously, I just keep plowing on through by doing awful things to these people. xD I feel like I'm getting somewhere with this story, though, which I've been struggling with since I started back on it a couple of months ago. And these characters... *cries* They're so precious.

I also wrote a flash fiction that I really liked... I submitted it somewhere, but if it doesn't get accepted, I might share it with you guys sometime in the future. If you'd be interested in that. ;)

LIFE

So there was the Fourth of July, which was good. Just a typical, chill celebration at home for us, ending with me and my three adult siblings out in the yard playing with sparklers. *shrugs*

And then there was the Fifth of July, which is indeed not a holiday BUT the day when I backed my car into a truck when leaving work!

Yeah, that was NOT a good day. Don't worry, everything's fine and my car's already been fixed. But UGH. I just cringe thinking about it. *dies*

I started watching Lord of the Rings with a friend of mine who's NEVER SEEN THEM and UGHHH I love these movies SO MUCH. I love them more every time I watch them. I just can't even explain it.

Actual footage of me with the Lord of the Rings movies

Aaaand the monthly picture of my son dog! (I'm a parent, guys. You're getting a monthly picture until he's at least a year old.)

You can't exactly tell how HUGE he's gotten here, but look how cute he is. xD

My family has started the journey through the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Agent Carter and going allll the way to Endgame.

I still haven't seen Endgame (or a bunch of the movies leading up to it) and I'm so scared.

BLOG

So.

You guys.

My blogaversary is coming up ONE MONTH FROM TODAY.

And that means EXCITING THINGS!!

First of all, this blog is going to get a makeover! I don't love my color scheme anymore; I just find it hard to coordinate with all my post graphics and things like that. And I want my blog header to be not just a stock image, but something uniquely my own. So look forward to the big reveal coming September first!! (It's not my regular posting day but I want to do it on my official blogaversary.)
Aaand there's more!

To celebrate, my blogaversary, I'M DOING A Q&A!!!

AND IT'S GOING TO BE A VLOG!!

Surprise!!

So I'm going to leave you guys here and let you give me allll your questions! They can be about anything-- writing, books, me, my life, my dog, WHATEVER. Ask as many as you want and I can't waiiiit to answer them!

That's it for today! I can't wait to share my new blog design and Q&A with you, and I hope you have a great August!

How was your July? Any big plans for August? Did you do Camp NaNo and if so, how'd you do? And don't forget to leave your questions for me in the comments!