Hello, friends! Happy September (a week late but anyways). August wasn’t quite the month I was expecting, but it was good :)
FYI... this post is picture-heavy. You are warned ;)
~Happenings~
// Celebrated my bookstagram birthday! My little book nook Old-Fashioned Book Love is now over a year old. Technically, its birthday was July 31st but I forgot lol. I learned quite a bit from that little bookstagam... and oddly, the biggest lesson was to swallow my pride. This is something I’ve struggled with all my life... and I’m trying to defeat. 🙏🏼
// Speaking of birthdays, we celebrated my little sister’s 11th birthday! She’s my special buddy. 💕She’s growing up so fast! <3 Lissa made her a beautiful cake...
Isn’t it lovely?! And it was super good. I love Yellow Cake!!
// WE WENT TO THE LAKE!!! I love playing in the water but we haven’t a pool so we only get to do that when we go to a lake or a hotel. We weren’t able to go all July because we were sick all the time, so I was so excited to go to Lac Taureau early in August!! We had a blast. It’s gorgeous there...
And I believe I taught myself how to swim! I can float and I was always trying to swim... my parents tried to teach me but I’m absolutely panic-stricken when I’m out of my depth. This time though, I’m pretty sure I was swimming! I’m eager to go back next year and try again :D
// I blogged a lot. Well, I didn’t post more posts than usual but I got almost every post for September and August written. 🙌🏼
// I started school. Not college, yet, but I’m preparing for college by doing grammar. It’s a lot of fun!
// We got a nest of wasps under our front porch and had to make a sign...
// I wrote a short story sequel for Chords and started a short story prequel too. And another random bit of flash fiction which I’m completely loving. So, besides editing, where I don’t count my words for some reason, I wrote over 5,000 words this month. Not bad ;) I've been sprinting a lot with Kassie & Ryana Lynn which is amazing! And those two, with Hannah, helped me brainstorm and turn this story into a short story a little longer than I expected ;)
// We took a walk in the woods to take school pictures. It’s so beautiful there!! There were wayyyyy too many mosquitoes though... so the picture plan kind of failed. xD
// We also went to the Zoo with my uncle and cousin. It was so much fun! I’m not an animal person generally but I loved seeing the exotic animals. Elephants, lions, jaguars (the tiger was sleeping! 😢), the colourful birds, the cute meerkats and red panda, the beautiful fish... 💚 Touching the sting rays was so much fun too! And the jellyfish were so cool!! They have a small amusement park in the zoo and Lissa & I rode the Ferris Wheel. I used to love it. This time I almost panicked and vowed I’d never do it again. But I think that if I do it several times in a row I’ll enjoy, just like before. ;)
// I read a lot of good posts on Instagram. If you’re on there, you should definitely follow Quintessentially Living. Her posts are A M A Z I N G. And if you aren’t, I still suggest hopping over sometimes and reading her posts because they are really SO good and helpful!
// Just hung out and played with my littlest brother. 💙 He is growing up so fast!!
// I forgot a book outside one evening so I ran out to get it and ran back up the porch steps... you know what came next. It hurt. I skinned AND bruised both shins, bruised my left knee, and scratched my right foot twice. It hurt, but mostly it looked so bad it totally grossed me out. I can handle blood, but I cannot handle bruises. My sister had to put the bandaids on for me because I was almost crying with disgust. I must have bruised my bones because they still hurt!
// I did a lot of driving practice. I also flunked my driving test.
// I took a lot of sky pictures... 💙💙💙
// I fell really behind on the August Scripture Writing Challenge but caught up in the end and finsihed a little before August ended! :)
~Bookish Stuff~
// I got to reread my second favourite book AND my favourite one. (Well, actually, I never did read my favourite one cover-to-cover... 🙈 I mean I didn’t read all the exercises and I skipped some parts... I basically just read my favourite parts lol. But it is PHENOMENAL and I’m so eager to actually read the whole thing and learn more! I haven't finished it yet... its 590 pages long, peeps!
As for the second favourite, it is also amazing. Daniel Boone is definitely a hero of mine... I’ve always loved this era and this book is full of amazing anecdotes. And it’s so well-written!
// I read several ARCs. It’s officially fun. 😁 I’m so eager for them to come out/glad they are out!!
// I buddy-read again... twice! I read my first John Buchan book with this amazing girl (it was really good!!). And I think Hannah & Ryana Lynn & I are going to start a perpetual buddy-reading, lol! We picked a new book even before we finished Kidnapped... xD
This poem came to mind when we read Kidnapped... <3 I love it so much!!!
Random chatting about Kidnapped.... xD
And about The Thirty-Nine Steps ;) ;) .
// I caught up on my reviews, finally! I posted a whole bunch, wrote a lot, and got the quotes for almost every one. Reviews are like laundry... there’s always a new one appearing just when you’ve clean your list out! 😆
// I *coughs* downloaded a lot of books. But I only bought one (and it was $1.14. Well, I did buy another but it was a birthday gift). The rest were all free! 😄 I named my Unread Books collection and my sister found it hilarious.... xD
// I finally reached 300 books read!! I’m hoping to reach 400 this year now. 😁😁😁 That would be SO cool!!
That feeling was so crazy!!
// I went to the park with my family and took so many beautiful bookstagram pictures!
// And I participated in my first book tour which was so cool!!
// And I participated in my first book tour which was so cool!!
Books finished in August: 53.
Books reviewed in August: 55.
Reviews published in August: I'm not 100% sure, but it's over 50.
~Instagram Posts I Loved~
"Soaking in these last, few bittersweet days..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"This has been a summer of learning to balance adulthood..." by @rebsjoy.
"Sadly, we usually *are* ignorant of..." by @amandateroauthor.
"New beginnings. It’s like there’s an underlining of fear..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"This has been a summer of learning to balance adulthood..." by @rebsjoy.
"Sadly, we usually *are* ignorant of..." by @amandateroauthor.
"New beginnings. It’s like there’s an underlining of fear..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"The warm breeze caresses my skin...." by @Jesus_andbooks.
"I find it very hard to be still...." by @thereforeihavehope.
"Take heart in this..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"Take heart in this..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"This is one of the saddest verses to me...." by @amandateroauthor.
"The underlining of fear, it has so much to do with ourselves...." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"What counsel are we listening to?" by @amandateroauthor.
"Change is hard..." by @abiandtheroots.
"I've been trying to work myself up to sharing about my WIP...." by @Jesus_andbooks.
"Who are we exalting?" by @amandateroauthor.
"The reason behind why I started my blog is..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"Here's how I gear up for the next week..." by @abiandtheroots.
"Truth be told, I often feel a little anxious at the turn of each season...." by @thereforeihavehope.
"Here's how I gear up for the next week..." by @abiandtheroots.
"Truth be told, I often feel a little anxious at the turn of each season...." by @thereforeihavehope.
"Do you ever feel kinda of discouraged and..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"What always catches me is Jesus’ limitation in this command..." by @amandateroauthor.
"The road map for this part of our journey..." by @lizz_bethj.
"A stone lay in the hollow..." by @thereforeihavehope.
"I’ve grown to realize that being a good person..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"Ever have those mornings where you’re just like..." by @amandateroauthor.
"Ever have those mornings where you’re just like..." by @amandateroauthor.
"I've been trying to be more intentional in spending time in my Bible..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"This is the perfect list for any believer to follow...." by @amandateroauthor.
"Ya know when life is so busy that you can hardly..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"The Lord says, 'Be still.'..." by @sipofteawithu.
"Summer of twenty-nineteen. I don’t think I've ever..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"Summer of twenty-nineteen. I don’t think I've ever..." by @quintessentiallyliving.
"You ever have those lessons..." by @amandateroauthor.
~Blog Posts I Loved ~
The 10 Book Questions Tag | Soldier Girl Stories
Bridgers, Because Luke 10 | Soldier Girl Stories
Bury My Heart // 5 Missionary Biographies | Life of Heritage
DIY 12 Ways to Stay COOL in Summer | Life Without a Latte
DIY 12 Ways to Stay COOL in Summer | Life Without a Latte
Epic Tattered Wings Post | Soldier Girl Stories
I Drive Your Truck | Soldier Girl Stories
The Music Tag | Soldier Girl Stories
How did your August go, friends?? :)
Sounder!!! <3 I loved that book! The lake pictures are so gorgeous. So...what does the danger sign say?? Aww, I'm so excited for all your short stories!! I'm with you on the ferris wheel...I rode one when I was little and loved it, but then once I was older... X'D The zoo pictures are great though!! WOW! And I thought I read fast!! That is incredible how many books you've read! And aww, I love that picture of OTBLT. *heart eyes* Great post, Katja!! I love reading your wrap ups!!
ReplyDeleteYes! Isn’t it good?! Thank you! It was beautiful there! Haha, it’s says “Danger: Wasps. Please go around to the back.” Aww, thanks! You’re so sweet <3 Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one! I want to tu it again now though... Oh, thank you! ^_^ Haha! I was surprised myself! Ohh, I’m glad <3 I love it too! Thank you, Kass! I always look forwards to your comments <3 Thank you for commenting!!
DeleteGreat post as always! Lovely pictures and update! And I was pleasantly surprised by a few of those favorite posts ;) It means so much when I hear from you girls about your thoughts on the posts! I'm already looking forward to next month's post!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, Ry! Of course ;) you are a great blogger! I know, same here ^_^ Oh, thank you!! You’re so seeet and supportive <33
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