I WENT ON AN ACCIDENTAL HIATUS BUT NOW I'M BACK // oops

Well... hey, guys. 

It seems my entire existence here anymore is just returning from hiatuses I may or may not have meant to take. XD

It honestly feels really weird that I haven't blogged consistently in so long- since probably June? Certainly since before Realm Makers. Which, I meant to take a little bit of a break around that time to get ready for RM and just enjoy it (which I absolutely did, but you already knew that). But then as soon as I got home I got sick, and that paired with the overall trying-to-recover-from-a-writers-conference thing totally wiped me out. I don't think I've EVER slept as much as I did the three or four days following RM. 

Aaand after that I just kind of never got back into the groove of blogging. I totally meant to, I just didn't. xD But honestly? I kind of don't regret it. I've definitely missed being here and talking to you guys, but at the same time, not having to worry about getting a blog post ready allowed me to have a really chill rest of my summer. I was kind of dreading going back to school, simply for the reason of not having as much free time. So, I was soaking up every bit I could, and it was honestly fantastic. I wrote some, spent time with family, read some great books...speaking of which, here are the books I've read recently! (I'm actually making PROGRESS on my TBR!! WHAT IS THIS FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT)

-This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti // I can't remember if I ever really talked about this book here, but it was such an excellent reminder of the spiritual battle that we're fighting every day, and how truly powerful prayer is!

-Warriors Against the Storm anthology // You guys, this is SUCH a good anthology. I've read several Havok anthologies and of course they're all great and contain some amazing stories, but THIS anthology... it's just so special. I loved every story and I can just feel the heart and the work that all the amazing authors put into it and just AHHH. So good. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it!

-Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) // I FIIIINALLY read this one, and GUYS. This series is SO. GOOD. I guess I'd forgotten just how good it is and how much I love all the characters because it's been so long since I read book 3, but man. This was an incredible finale, and now I desperately need TLC turned into movies.

-Dancing Realms series by Sharon Hinck // I read the first book a while back, but I finished the trilogy up recently, and it is such a beautiful, beautiful story! What a stunning world, and an important theme of trusting God with our lives. 

-Shadow by Kara Swanson // I got to read an ARC of this one and WHEW. It was such an excellent closing to the duology. My only complaint is that there are only two books in the series!

-Sand Castle Dreams by Taylor Bennett // I read Porch Swing Girl a while back, so it was high time I read book 2. And I think I forget sometimes how much I enjoy reading a good contemporary! I especially love the dreamy Hawaii atmosphere, and the rawness of Olive's struggles and growth.

-The Peasant's Dream by Melanie Dickerson // The final book of the Hagenheim series! *weeps* I started reading Melanie's books back in 2013, so it's been a long journey with Hagenheim and the beloved family whose story we've followed all these years. It was bittersweet saying goodbye. < 3

-Third Winter's War by M.L. Little // Umm... yeah. I might not ever recover from this book. Review coming soon. ;)

Currently, I'm reading an ARC of United We Fall by Brooke Riley and it's not running short on pain, folks. 

I'm now finishing up my third week of my third semester of college, and WHEW. I get the feeling this semester is just going to fly by, and I'm totally here for it. xD My classes are all pretty easy so far, and I have two literature classes, so that's fun. And I only have to go to one in-person class a week, which I'm ridiculously happy about. So far my workload has been remarkably manageable, and like I said, I just think the next couple of months are going to feel really short. 

Something else that happened recently that I failed to post about: MY BLOGIVERSARY! On September 1, this blog turned three years old. *proud, happy tears* And there's no big celebration or Q&A video or even a solo anniversary post this year, because I fail at life, but just know that, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate every single one of you and your support means so, so much. < 3 These past several years of finding a place in this community have been full of blessings beyond measure and I can't begin to explain how grateful I am. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

Some things I'm planning/hoping to do this coming month or so...

-Submit a short story to an anthology

-Start posting to my YouTube channel again (probably sporadically, but oh well)

-Make major progress on Once Upon (so I can start shifting my focus to planning a new project in October because umMMMMM NANOWRIMO IS LESS THAN TWO MONTHS AWAY)

-Embrace autumn to the ABSOLUTE fullest (YOU GUYS YOU GUYS IT'S SEPTEMBER IT'S ALMOST FALL AND I AM THRIIIIIIVING)

-Start watching Avatar: The Last Airbender again (I started watching it a year ago and got through 7 episodes before I had to stop because I couldn't find the rest of them on YouTube, but now I own the whole series on DVD so !!! I'm excited to get back it!)

Who knows how much of this I'll actually accomplish, because plans made after ten o'clock at night aren't often conquered. XD But I'm excited to try, anyway!

As for blogging: Hopefully I'm back, for good this time. xD I can't promise I won't ever randomly wake up on Thursday morning and realize I didn't plan a post and then give up because by then it's too late anyway. BUT with my schedule being so low-maintenance as of late, I think that if I can just get back in the habit of posting, I'll be able to maintain a somewhat normal blogging schedule again. Maybe that will end up being every other week. Who knows. But we'll see. xD

ANYWAY. I'm so glad to be back, and I'll talk to you guys in the comments! < 3

*offers celebratory return cake* How have you been, guys? Have you watched/read anything good lately? What are your plans for this fall? And who else is morphing into fall-crazy mode like me??? (I'm not kidding, guys, I don't think I'm as fanatic about ANYTHING as I am about fall. xD I literally go crazy this time of year just being so happy about all the fall things.)