AUGUST 2020

AUGUST IS ALMOST OVER. 

IT'S ALMOST SEPTEMBER. 

MY TIME OF THE YEAR IS ALMOST HEEEEERE. 

Buuut we'll try to refrain from screaming too much about that yet. At least until the end of this post. xD Because today we're not looking forward but looking back on what happened in August!

Reading was... rough this month. As of the time I'm writing this, I've only completed one book. And with school starting (spoiler alert for later in the post), who knows how my reading life might look in the future. But I have to keep reminding myself it's okay. (Even though after being ahead all year I'm now one book behind on my Goodreads goal... *twitches*)

The book I finished was Chasing Shadows by Ashley Townsend, and I'm currently reading Defying Shadows, the last book in the trilogy. Will, guys. That is all. 

Writing just... hasn't really been happening? There have been a few days when I've sat down and gotten some words down/edited, but for the most part I just haven't made the time. (Note I didn't say I haven't had the time... I just haven't made the time. #writerprobs) And again, with school, who knows what will happen in the coming months. But I'm still excited about my story... which is weird, because why am I not working on it more if that's true. xD But oh well. 

I also realized that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING FOR NANOWRIMO. *panics*

Yes, I am still planning on doing it, even though I know I'll be crazy busy with work and school and also trying to find time to breathe, but I can't just not do it. Maybe I'll fail miserably, who knows, but it wouldn't be November without at least an attempt, right?

Buuut... should probably start deciding what I want to write. xD

So, yeah. The big thing: I STARTED COLLEGE. 

I'm only a week in so far. I've tried not to expect too much of myself this past week; just getting a feel for my new routine and letting things fall into place. I can't really say how I feel so far, other than WEIRD. It's been four years since I was in school, guys. And, oh yeah, I didn't step foot into a classroom for any of that. So. xD 

Aaaand I also never thought that I would be starting college in the middle of a pandemic. Hello, masks, the back-to-school fashion trend of 2020. lol this is SUCH a weird year

I made a college playlist, which I've been listening to almost constantly. 

My bullet journal theme for this month: Descendants. (August 2nd marked a year since the premiere of D3, so I thought it would be fitting.)

As you can see I didn't do much with my writing log page... but I still like it. xD (even if those apples do look super funky)

Not gonna lie, I planned to do more involving the theme... but I'm pretty happy with what I did do! (The song lyrics I featured are from my two favorite songs of the trilogy.)

In other news, I started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender!!

This was long overdue. I'm only a few episodes in (and I'll probably have to stop soon to wait for new episodes to be put up on YouTube lol) but I love it so far! Aang is the cutest, and I have laughed out loud so many times already. I'm compiling a list of quotes that will 100% somehow be involved in a blog post soon. xD

Guess what, guys?? WE'RE ONLY THREE DAYS AWAY FROM MY BLOGIVERSARY!! I'll be filming my Q&A vlog soon (so, if you didn't submit questions... too little too late, sorry xD), and I can't wait to celebrate two years with you all! *blows kazoo*

All in all, August went by really fast. But it was good, too. I made an effort to read more (I didn't say I was successful... I said I made an effort xD), became a student again, got some new books. And now I look forward to September with VERY, VERY MUCH EXCITEMENT. 

I hope you all had a great August! Here's to September!! Here's to autumn!!! *cheers way too loud*

How was your month? Who started back to school (college, high school, whatever)? Do you know what you're doing for NaNoWriMo yet? And most importantly, WHO'S AS EXCITED ABOUT FALL AS I AM???

A LETTER TO MY FUTURE SELF

 Dear future Emily,

Hey there, it's me- you, two days before your first day of college. Everything's finally come together, and there's no turning back now. I have no idea what to expect, how I'll cope, or how crazy my life is about to get. I'm scared and excited, and still trying to figure out if I feel like I belong in this season I'm in. Still unsure how- or if- this degree I decided to go for is going to benefit me.

But you. You've been there and back again. It's all over where you are- the homework, the tests, the awkwardness. The six-day work weeks I'm already dreading. I don't know if you're still at your current job or have finally moved on to a better one, but I do know that you're one step closer to wherever you're going. 

It seems so far away from here. It's hard sometimes. 

I know life is about to change. Another jewel is about to be added to my Adulthood Crown, pulling me even farther away from childhood and lack of responsibility. Things are probably going to be really tough. I'm probably going to cry. I'm going to wonder what my life is even good for when I have to come home from work and almost immediately leave for class. I'm going to scream and throw things in frustration because when did life get so hard. I'm going to wish I was a kid again. 

Look at me, predicting these things when you're looking back on them as a distant memory! None of it seems so big to you now, does it? In fact, I'll bet when you're reading this it will feel as if all of it only lasted for a moment. 

I know that's how it feels when I think about graduating high school four years ago. I was terrified- I mean, absolutely terrified. Of getting a job, of not knowing what the future held. To the point of wanting to curl up and watch the world go by. 

But I made it. And so have you. 

I sometimes regret waiting four years before taking this step, because the "future me" reading this letter could have been me now. I could have been done with all of this stress and worry and craziness. 

But you know what? I don't think I would have been ready then. I'm ready now. No, that doesn't mean I expect to be flawless. Or even that I'm fully prepared. But I know I can get through it, because I've gotten through obstacles before. They've caused tears and fear and unmeasurable pain, but I've gotten through them and I'm better for it. 

And you're better for what you've been through, too. This new venture is not the end of life as I know it: it's another stepping stone. A push out of my comfort zone. I will overcome it. And when you and I are the same person, I'll look back and wonder where the time went. 

Thank you, future Emily, for not giving up on me. I knew you could do it. 

A small golden leaf, fluttering nervously at the tip of a cottonwood limb. All its life it's waited for this season- for its chance to shine, for its full potential to show in stunning beauty. Now it's on the edge of that potential- and all there is left to do is let go and fall. 

But it's afraid. It knows this is what it was meant for, but what if it messes up? What if it embarrasses itself, isn't capable of going on like all the other leaves have? Crippling fear slowly eats away at the little leaf's excitement and confidence.

So still it hangs on, unwilling to detach itself from its branch- its safe place, its whole life. From here it can tentatively reach out to the world beyond, but the branch will still be there to pull it back in when it gets scared. 

"I know I have to go!" the little leaf cries. "But I don't know if I'll make it out there! I'm scared!"

But because the leaf wants to live, it has no other choice. If it stays, it will wither and die, having accomplished nothing that will last. It will be safe, but it will never be more than an ornament. What a shame it would be if it finally reached the season it has been waiting for, only to turn back because it's afraid. 

So as the wind blows, making the lea quiver and encouraging it to move forward, the leaf takes a deep breath. It places memories of its safe place in a corner of its mind- but not too far away. It's still shaking with nervous anticipation. But it knows the next season cannot come to pass if it doesn't let it. 

So the little leaf lets go. The wind carries it away- farther than it's ever been from its branch, but not too far.

The season has come for letting go and falling into the unknown. But slowly, the fear will die and make way for success.

-written in autumn of 2016-

CHARACTERS IN QUARANTINE TAG!

 Happy Saturday, everyone! 

Well, let's be honest: it's been a while since anybody's really talked about quarantine. At least to the extent we were a few months back. (Remember my post "The Quarantine To-Do List You've Been Waiting For"? That seems like a looong time ago, doesn't it?? O_O)

BUUUT today we're hopping back on the quarantine train! Because I'm behind on tags and need to do this one before it's irrelevant. xD (hopefully it'll be irrelevant soon enough!)

A couple months ago Catherine tagged me for the Characters in Quarantine tag (thanks, Catherine!), and I LOVE the idea of this one! It's exactly how it sounds: you share what your characters would be doing if they were quarantined. Easy enough. xD

So, I'll be doing this one with the characters from Roots to Claim. Buut I'm also putting a little twist on it, because as of right now there are really only three characters that matter a lot in this story (hehe yeah I have problems), so this would be a REALLY short post if I just left it as is. So, in addition to sharing what my characters would be doing if COVID existed in their world... I also decided to write each of them into a scene set in our world! You'll see them dealing with a few of the typical problems brought on by corona. This was a ton of fun and I hope you get a giggle out of it. xD

That being said, on with the tag!

ARCHLAN

Sits around depressed because he can't see his girlfriend. Goes on long rides on his horse daily to keep from losing his mind. Climbs trees and does everything he can to stay in shape so he can get right back in the swing of things when the Jays (the band of thieves he's a part of) are able to go back out. After a while, he embraces the solitude and spends much of his time bonding with the trees.

"Yes, Rian, I sanitized every surface." Archlan leaned his forehead on the wall in front of him, suddenly realizing that he had not sanitized that surface. Oh, well. 

"Archlan, this is serious!" Rian scolded him over the phone. "It's bad enough I can't see you right now. I at least want to know that you're safe."

"Don't worry, the evil germs are being kept at bay," Archlan said wryly, wondering if COVID-19 could be caught through your forehead from germs on a wall. 

"Archlan." Rian's warning tone made him stand up straight and sigh. 

"Okay, okay. I promise I'll be careful. Stop worrying, okay? I'll be fine."

"What a rotten turn of events, huh?" Rian's tone shifted a bit. "I need all these people to go back to work so we can get back to work."

Archlan gripped the phone a little tighter. A dangerous virus was going around and all Rian could think about was the fact that they were not able to break into people's homes and rob them? "We'll be fine. Remember, we had that great run just before everything shut down."

"I know. That's why I'm not having a panic attack yet." She gave a hollow laugh. "Well, anyway. I'll let you get back to your cleaning." 

I already told you I cleaned everything. 

"I'll see you..." She hesitated. "Hopefully soon. I love you."

"I love you, too." He hung up and turned around, surveying his house. Was there anything he had not sanitized?

A rustling sound came from behind him, and he turned to look. A tree limb was twining in through the open window, reaching for the doorknob. It brushed the knob with the tips of its branches. 

"Oh, yeah. The doorknobs." Archlan grabbed his bottle of Lysol and glanced at the tree hesitantly. "Uh... thanks." Still took some getting used to.

The branch slowly retreated back outside as Archlan approached with the disinfectant and a paper towel. "You didn't have COVID, did you?" Archlan muttered to the tree as he wiped the doorknob clean. 

KENNETT

Stays secluded in his castle, rarely leaving his room. Stays deep in magic meditation all day. Probably wouldn't even know that COVID was a thing if not for his psychic-esque abilities, because his life literally has not changed at all since quarantine. #introvertlife

Kennett opened the pantry door and pulled the string to turn the light on. He had been shut up in his room for two days without eating, hoping to latch onto a glimpse of the future. He wanted answers. How long would this virus last? How many people would get sick? 

When would the stores restock vienna sausage?

He groaned when he saw that his supply of go-to quarantine food- or everyday food, if he was being honest- had not magically replenished itself overnight. Was that too much to ask? He could receive prophecies and see the future, yet not conjure up processed sausage in a can for lunch? 

"Guess I'll check again," he muttered, reaching for his phone on the counter. He hated using this thing- especially when unwanted friend requests popped up. How had he created a Facebook account, anyway? And who wanted to be his friend when he only knew two people? 

But it was the only way to get his food delivery, so he kept it. Except sometimes it disappointed him. Like right now when what he wanted was still out of stock. 

Would it be irresponsible to use his abilities to look into the future and find out when it would be available again?

Oh, well. He had some Ramen noodles on the way already- a product of yesterday's unfruitful search for his preferred sustenance. And this was far from the longest he had gone without food- though usually it was because he was deep in magic, and not because his pantries were empty. 

Maybe he should go for a walk for a change to distract himself. One glance out the window immediately changed his mind. He always got strange looks from the neighbors when he went out- everyone thought he was just the weird hermit guy. Which, well, he was. But they didn't have to make it obvious.

His stomach growled. Suppose it's time to do something. He sighed and picked up the phone he so hated, wondering for a moment if he had even added any contacts. He certainly didn't know anyone's number by heart. 

But the person he needed popped up immediately, the first name on the list- well, there were only two names, but still. 

"Archlan, hello. Ah..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm afraid I... didn't prepare ovely well and ran out of food. I hate to ask, but would you, ah, happen to have anything extra to get me by until another delivery comes in? Yeah. Yeah, that's perfect!"

It was not perfect. He had tasted Rian's cooking once, and the frozen dinners she had apparently stocked Archlan's kitchen up with did not appeal to him. But he hid his disdain.

Rubbing a hand over his forehead, he shook his head. Had it really come to this?

"Thanks a lot, Archlan. I appreciate it. I'll return the favor someday... what? Yes, I think I have some disinfectant you can use. Why?"

QUINARD

Has no house and the inns are closed, so he sleeps outside every night. (Doesn't mind, though, because he enjoys being in nature.) Writes depressing songs about pandemics and practices them for when he can start traveling again. They probably go like this:

Shut the door on the world

Light a candle in the dark

The monster crawls in unwanted

Just a touch can light a spark

Distance brings us tears

When can we come close?

How did this get here?

On and on the darkness goes...

Misses people, but it's not primarily the interaction he longs for: it's being the cause of smiles. 

"Hello, everyone. How are you doing today?"

"Fine, thanks." Quinard gave his boss a wide smile through the computer screen. The other members of the Zoom meeting offered similar sentiments. 

"All right, well." Amos straightened a stack of papers in front of him. "Let's get started, shall we?" 

And then the conversation descended into the terribly boring black hole that Quinard had come to despise. Why did they need to talk business over a computer screen? Why not just work individually for a while? Maybe it would strength their work ethics. 

"Quinard? Any thoughts on this?" 

Quinard cleared his throat and realized he had been staring off into the corner of his kitchen. "I'm sorry, sir, what?"

Amos glared at him. "Pay attention, everyone. This is important."

He continued speaking, but Quinard only saw his lips moving with no sound coming out. Quinard frowned and leaned forward. "Uh..." He looked at the other people on the screen. "Can anybody else hear him?"

Amos stopped talking, appearing miffed that Quinard had interrupted him. Quinard pointed at his ears and shook his head. 

Realization dawned on Amos's face, and he squinted at the screen in front of him. Quinard grinned. This could take a while. 

"Well, then." He shrugged, observing the rest of the people in the meeting. Nobody was attempting to carry on the meeting. So Quinard reached around the arm of the couch and picked his lute up off the floor. "How about some entertainment while we wait?" He struck a chord on the instrument and hummed to pick up the key.

Rhett, the office grouch, looked at the ceiling and groaned. Lissy, the office flirt, giggled and leaned forward on her hand to watch. Amos looked infuriated that Quinard had so casually brushed off the interruptment. 

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Quinard said, pointing to his ears and shaking his head again. "Maybe try again in a minute." He began strumming out a slow, haunting melody. "Wrote this one a couple days ago." And then he sang about viruses and isolation and empty store shelves. 

Amos's face grew redder with every note. 

Oh, dear. My guys are having a bit of trouble this quarantine, it seems. (Although Quinard seems happy enough...) Hopefully Quinard's boss can get his volume back soon, and Archlan can clean his house to his girlfriend's standards, and Kennett can find some vienna sausage. xD

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed that tag and the spin I put on it! Listen, I think it's awesome and hilarious how this whole virus/quarantine thing hit and what do we writers do? We make a writing exercise out of it. xD (I bet Tolkien didn't know what his characters would do in quarantine.)  

I'm not tagging anybody, but if you want to steal this, feel free. xD

Before I go, just a reminder! My blogiversary's coming up, and I'm doing a Q&A. If you haven't yet, you can drop your questions HERE for me to answer in an upcoming vlog. Can't wait to see them! :D

And that's it! Everyone have a lovely weekend, and don't forget to sanitize your doorknobs! ;)

So, those of us still in quarantine, how are you doing? Who do you relate the most to in quarantine, Quinard, Archlan, or Kennett?? 

ASK ME QUESTIONS (TWO-YEAR BLOGIVERSARY EDITION)

 Hey everyone! You may have noticed it's not my regular posting day. You may not have. Either way, you're here now. wheeere am I even going with this

ANYWAY. Yeah, you guessed it: I'M HERE TO COLLECT YOUR QUESTIONS! My two-year blogaversary is coming up on September 1, and I'm doing another Q&A to celebrate! 

So, this is the place to drop all your burning inquiries! Ask me about my writing, books, movies, music, coffee, bullet journaling, tips for world domination- WHATEVER. Hit me up in the comment section, and I'll answer them all in a vlog to be posted with my blogaversary celebration! (maybe this year it'll get posted on time lololol hahaha -_-)

Aaaand that is all! I can't wait to see all your questions! :D Hope everyone has a lovely rest of your week! ♥

A REVIEW OF THE WARDEN OF THE WEST MARCH BY M.L. LITTLE

 Happy Saturday, everyone! 

A few months ago on the blog I reviewed The Book of Secrets by M.L. Little, a wonderful fantasy story that quickly became one of my favorites. I shared how much I loved the family aspect, the setting, and, well, just about everything.

Recently I got the opportunity to read The Warden of the West March, the next book in the Seventh Realm trilogy! A huge thanks to the author for sending me a free ebook in exchange for a review. :D And, well, yep, you guessed it. That's what I'm doing today: reviewing The Warden of the West March!

Spoiler disclaimer: I won't be spoiling anything specifically from this book, but of course if you haven't read The Book of Secrets you might not want to read this review. Just a heads-up. 

And let's get started!

(WARNING: Emily's book reviews are quite unorganized and really just a word dump of all her thoughts on the book she is reviewing. Please excuse her.)

It's been three months since the June battle against Bellica, and nothing has changed...or has it? Unrest grows on the streets as deceit divides Elowyn's family and the Stone of the Seven Realms has gone missing. Worse still, she is betrayed by one she considered a friend, and the enemy comes after her.

Halfway across the country, Gabriel struggles with the weight of the enormous secret he and Elowyn share. There is no known way to kill the monster-king of Bellica...but if Gabriel can do it, it will erase his deepest guilt. As their threads intertwine, the enemy makes its way across the sea once more, and this time, Gabriel and Elowyn may find themselves powerless to stop it.

Bold and surprising, seeped through with the humor of its predecessor, this sequel to The Book of Secrets reveals the deeper story below the surface.

Okay, guys, from the first line I was immediately sucked back into this storyworld. I just LOVE the setting that the author has created, with magical elements and mythical creatures and treehouses, but also a smattering of modern objects, such as telephones and cars. It WAS a bit easy to forget that these things existed in this world at times. There was one part in particular where one of the characters pulls up to a castle in a car, and I was kind of thrown because my brain told me they would be in a carriage or something. I was so caught up in the fantasy aspect. (Also, I think I mentioned this in my first review but I have to say it again: this world is really similar to the world in one of my own books, so that's kind of cool.)

There are also stuffed nullians and dragons, which I need immediately.

I was quickly reminded of the slightly eerie feel this world has, with Rex Bellum and everything.  I LOVE that aspect. That was one of the things that gave it a bit of a LOTR feel to me. You know the delightfully eerie atmosphere when the hobbits are being chased by the Ringwraiths? That's what I'm talking about. And it's great. (except here the characters are being chased by nighthags instead... equally creepy, though. ;))

I absolutely LOVED getting back to the Draven family and our precious little siblings. ♥ I was pleased to find that I enjoyed them and their dynamics just as much in this book as I did in the first one. They were the same adorable brothers and sister and I love them so much. The dialogue was just as entertaining, too, and made me laugh out loud like the first one did.

One of my favorite things was that the Dravens' father, Darius, and older brother, Dale, had a bigger part in this one! I loved them both in the first book and I was excited to see them more a part of the story the second time around. 

"Red-faced, dripping sweat, and wielding a frying pan, Darius yanked Hollis and Patch halfway up the stairs. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" he roared. "IF WE WEREN'T ABOUT TO DIE, I'D KILL YOU!"

Another character I was happy to see more of was ELOWYN! My girl! I liked her in the first book but didn't really click with her until West March. Now I adore her, and her and Gabriel's dynamics are great. (I'm not going to go into detail because #spoilers, but that *ahem* plan they came up with?? Had me greatly amused XD)

Here's a quote that shows a bit of Elowyn's heart:

"Settle. You cannot save the whole world when the world's gone as mad as this."

"No, but we can save the bit of the world that's come to us."

I LOVE this. Elowyn wants so badly to do what she can to help, even if it might not be much. She doesn't want to just sit still and let the world fend for itself.

I loved that the POVs were half-and-half between her and Gabriel, and their reunion was EPIC. I was practically cheering. I love these characters so much. 

And let me just say, you're going to be feeling bad for said characters a lot. I think they had it even worse off in this book than in book 1. I mean, it was like they couldn't catch a breath before something else happened. My poor babies! :'(

One thing I wasn't really crazy about: (okay, I lied, there IS a bit of a spoiler here, so you might want to skip to the next paragraph) the way Brim was portrayed. Am I wrong, or is he supposed to be kind of the Jesus-figure in this world? They talk about his returning and setting things right and everything, which is, you know, great and everything. I have no problem with that. But Brim is also a wizard, and when Hollis and Patch are visiting with him in his house, they see a bunch of bizarre, magicky things; and Brim even makes a (humorous) remark about turning Hollis into a mushroom. I wouldn't be bothered by all this at all if it weren't for the Jesus-parallel. (Maybe I'm the only one seeing that parallel and that's not what it's meant to be at all? If you've read the book I'd love to hear your thoughts!)

*wracks brain* I really need to either start taking notes or reviewing books immediately after I finish them. xD But I'll just wrap up this (disaster of a) review now (and to think I learned how to write book reviews in school...) with a summary: I loved The Warden of the West March. If you enjoyed The Book of Secrets, I think you'll be satisfied with this one. And I can't wait for Third Winter's War! :D

If you didn't know, The Warden of the West March just released this past Thursday, so you grab yourself a copy! And if you don't have The Book of Secrets, grab a copy of that, too! Trust me, you're going to want these on your bookshelf if just for the covers alone. ;)

Have you read The Book of Secrets? Who's your favorite character? And who else wants a stuffed nullian?? *raises hand* (and for those of you who don't know what a nullian is... go read The Book of Secrets XD)

JULY 2020 // I'M BACK

I'M BACK!

Yep, my hiatus is over and it was lovely. Just taking a few weeks off from the stress of having a blog post written, formatted, and posted on time was just what I needed. 

BUT I'm happy to be back, and excited for the posts I have planned. First up: a look at what's been happening in my life while I was (semi)offline. 

I read three books this month: 

The Warden of the West March by M.L. Little // I got an ARC of this sequel to The Book of Secrets, which I reviewed HERE. I'll be reviewing WotWM soon, too, so I won't say much about it. But I definitely enjoyed it! (And psst, it releases in less than a week! Mark your calendars for August 6th!)

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie // I read this before, years ago, but I didn't remember much about it and after reading Dust, I really wanted to read it again. Wow, guys, Peter Pan is a little psycho child. xD 

The Crownless King by Kara Linaburg // *muffled screeching* Another much-anticipated ARC and HI just over here trying to recover. SUCH a beautiful story. I might review that on the blog, too, so stay tuned.

Overall, it was a great reading month! And all my ARCs/review books are officially behind me. For now. xD 

Camp NaNoWriMo, baby! 

Well, I'm not gonna lie, this Camp was a struggle. Usually during any NaNo event I try to write at least a little every day. (That 30-day-streak badge is so satisfying.) Well, pretty early on this month I decided not to make it a big deal... which is fine... but it turned into a month-long procrastination session. Oops. 

It's typical Camp fashion for me to drag my feet until about the last week of the month, then panic and realize how close the end is and lose my mind doing everything to make my word count. Well, this time was no exception. But I was a little worried there for a bit thinking I might not make it. I haven't "lost" a Camp yet and I didn't welcome the idea of starting now. xD BUT long story short emily you've already talked about this for two paragraphs how is this story short I powered through at the end and I MADE IT! I passed 30k on the last day of NaNo with an hour to spare. #whew

yeah... I'm a mess

(this is honestly a miracle because FOR SOME REASON I decided to do a healthy eating challenge for the month of July... which included drinking only water except on weekends. which means... no coffee five days out of the week. and no tea. during a NaNo month. WORST DECISION OF MY LIFE.)

Where does that put me in terms of book progress? Well, I edited/rewrote 30,000 words this month. Which, counting what I'd already done before Camp, means I'm about halfway through the book. And while I'd like to say my goal is to finish it by the end of August... well, that's probably not going to happen. So I'm going to shoot to finish it before November, when the craziness of NaNoWriMo starts. Ideally, I'll finish in September so I can spend October preparing for whatever project I end up doing in November. But we'll see.

Aaand a very exciting writing-related announcement: My story, The Hero of Parker City, was chosen for the Havok Season Three: Bingeworthy anthology!! 

I'm SUPER excited (pun partially intended; have you read The Hero of Parker City? ;)) and I still can't believe it's happening. I'm so honored and thankful to be a part of another Havok anthology and WOW I can't wait for release day. 

Anybody want to guess what my bullet journal theme for July was? Anyone?? No?? it's literally in header for this post

YEP, IT WAS CAPTAIN AMERICA. Because what else. And I had fun with this one. 

This page is in major need of updating xD But I kinda like how it turned out?

And on the Fourth of July I made this fruit pizza. 

And proceeded to play the Captain America theme music while I dramatically took it out of the refrigerator to present to my family. Because I'm just like that. xD

Remember a few months ago when I said COVID canceled some long-awaited plans of mine? Well, those plans were rescheduled, and they finally happened, and here is what they were: going to Cape Comic Con in Cape Girardeau, Missouri- and meeting Austin St. John, who played Jason in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! 

I haven't talked about Power Rangers much here, but I grew up on it and it's one of my favorite things. So yeah, meeting the original Red Ranger was preettyyyy cool. 

On that same day, we took a little trip to Metropolis, Illinois. I've been there a few times before, but my mom was the only one in our family who'd never seen it, so since we were semi-close, we took her there for the afternoon. 

Usually when we go there, the Superman Celebration is happening. This year it was just a random day and it was really weird. I kept crossing streets without paying attention because I'd never been there when the roads were open and I kept forgetting this is an actual town. xD 

We also went across town to Fort Massac State Park, which is a cool place to visit. 

(and don't worry, we were safe all day! we wore masks when we went indoors anywhere, carried disinfectant with us, and used so much hand sanitizer it's not funny. xD *laughs anyway*)

Yeah... nothing to see here. 

So, July was a good month. And now I'm ready to blast into August because YOU KNOW WHAT? FALL IS SOON!! yes it's a month away but it's SOON And I am sooo ready! Excuse me while I spend the entirety of August preparing for sweaters, pumpkin spice, an excessive amount of coffee and tea, and *cough*NaNoWriMo*cough*. (Also, I started thinking about Lord of the Rings and realized I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to read the books this fall. Because for me cool weather and LOTR seems to go hand in hand and I just... I want to experience them together. xD But we'll see how that goes because deciding to read LOTR is QUITE the commitment. Anybody want to do a buddy reading? hehehe)

Also, just thought I'd mention, next time I do a monthly wrapup I'll officially be a college student. o.o So... yeahhhh.

Okay, wow, that was quite a long monthly wrapup post. I guess being away for a month left me with lots to say. xD If you made it this far, I have a question for y'all! As I mentioned last time, my blogaversary is coming up! (does anyone else struggle with the spelling of "blogaversary"?? because I'm not sure what the standard spelling is and I'm pretty sure I spell it differently every time. xD) And of course we have to celebrate. I'm leaning toward doing another Q&A, but if you guys have any other ideas, let me know! :D 

Aaand this post is finally over. xD Have some chocolate for finishing. Here's to a great August!