January 2020 Wrap-Up

Hello, friends! The first month of 2020 has ended. How is your year going so far? Honestly, mine is going so well. It's a learning curve but I've never been so close to God before. <33

So let's take a look at how my January went, shall we? :)

~ Happenings ~ 

// I was supposed to start college on the 6th and I was very nervous. Turns out I can’t because of some complications, and so now I still don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing for college. Hopefully I can start in March! Until then I’m working as hard as I can on all my projects. XP
// We had two days where someone was supposed to visit the house and ended up not coming. xD

// I asked my followers what 3 things they associated with me. The answers were so fun. 

// While we're on the selfie subject...

 

I am so happy with the change MONAT is doing for my hair and face!!!! My acne is so much better and my hair is curlier, less greasy, and fuller. 

// I worked a lot on my blogs. Got a lot of posts up--all the way to June! And even some later than that, for OFBL.  Hopefully this will keep me from having to stop for college. We'll see what happens next year... xD

 // I did a lot of colouring with the Happy Colour app... it just makes me happy. <33

 

// Random IG stories... XD

 

 // Random stuff about books....

  

^^ these quotes. <33 I love Ballantyne

IDK, I just found this cool. ;)

// I reread Enemy Brothers with my dear friend Mary. We had such an amazing time. We found so much we’d never seen before, chatted long almost every day, and wound up with a video chat in which we talked for over two hours and both teared up. XD It was so much fun. We also created a Reading Guide for Enemy Brothers!!! I spent so much time putting it together and I loved every minute. The songs, poems, paintings, & other stuff pertinent to the story are all linked in it so that you can listen to or read them. I have also divided the book into its different sections (it naturally falls into certain divisions) and had so much fun finding the names for the sections! 

 

// I participated in Sarah Grace’s #LWYbirthday Instagram party! I took a lottt of pictures and haven’t yet posted them all! XD

// I tried hard to get up early. It took me all month to really get it down and I still haven't nailed it. xD  Why is it that when you make up your mind you’ll get up at 5 a.m. you immediately can’t fall asleep until 11 p.m.?! 

// I started another series all about bookstagramming tips on my bookstagram. I’m notoriously bad at keeping on with my series. I’m still working on the one I started in December!! Buttt hopefully I will stick to this one. Also trying to go back to the monthly book wrap-up on my bookstagram. I stopped not even mid-way through 2019. 😂

// I posted almost every weekday on my bookstagram & on the Instagram page of LBFJ. That was amazing & so fun!! Some of my favourite bookstagram posts of the month... 

(click on the images to read the posts)

  

  

 

// I FINALLY FINISHED HOW TO READ A BOOK. I’ve been wanting to read that book for years. Last year I got about 1/4 through and then stopped. This month I buckled down and read it and I’m so glad. It’s such a good book to read!!! It takes a lot of concentration & dedication but it’s so rewarding. I also finished 1867 by Christopher Moore, which I’ve also wanted to read for a long time! 

// January 27th was Holocaust Memorial Day, but I didn’t know and I posted about a Holocaust memories on the 24th. Which slightly annoyed me. And the 19th was National Winnie the Pooh Day but it was Sunday so I posted on Monday. XP Yes, I’m a detail-oriented person. How did you guess??? 

But I did highlight some of my favourite Holocaust stories. 

// I’ve been wanting to reread a book since 2016 and I never would because it totally broke my heart and I was so afraid of having my emotions torn to pieces again. I read the second book in 2017 and the prequel, too. The third book came out in 2019 and I never read it because I was so afraid of what would happen to the characters! But I’ve wanted to reread the series for a looong time so I finally buckled down and started it. By 23% in I was already having allll the feels. It’s an amazing book, guys. 

// I wrote a letter to myself at 25 and found an old letter I’d written when I was 13 for myself at 23. XD I’m so curious to see what it says. 

// I participated in the Read Another Page Reading Challenge! I’m almost done. :) My goal is to finish before March because #college. 

// I reread one of my favourite series... The What Katy Did Series by Susan Coolidge. I love this series so much. It’s so beautiful and real and humorous and full of amazing characters and scenery... and Katy. 💖💖

// I spent a couple hours categorizing all the 540+ books I read in 2019 and decided that from now on I’ll categorize them as I write them down in my Books Read List. XP

// I joined in a writing challenge with my writing club. We voted for a title and then we all had to write a 4-5k story with the same title. I started mine and it was like pulling teeth... but it did have a couple gorgeous lines. Finally I restarted the story, fell in love, realized my theme was way too big for 5k, struggled a lot, and decided to just turn it in because I didn’t have time to write a new story nor did I have another idea for the title! We’re writing another in February and I have barely any idea for it. #sendhelp 

 

// I decided that it was not very good business advertisement for a proofreader to always do typos. ;P So I’ve been much more careful about proofreading my Instagram posts and blog posts, though I still do a lot of Rushin (typing too fast & consequently getting typos) on text messages.

 

// I reread the Tales of Taelis series by Sarah Holman and loved them even more than I did before. 

// I texted when I was way too sleepy or brain-tired.

 

// My grandpa sent me lots of good Snoopy cartoons. ;D

 

 

*Images screenshotted; sent from Pinterest*

// I started using the Rain Rain app again. OH MY WORD IT’S SO GOOD. I’ve created a playlist now. XP

   

// I dug out my commonplace book because I had a lot of quotes from “How to Read a Book” to copy down and I found a ton of quotes from last year that were waiting to be copied down so... I’m trying to do 10 minutes of commonplacing a day. 😉 It feels so good to be back into that!

// I listened to the Messiah with my sister quite a lot but now I started tuning it out while I work and THAT IS SO SAD. 

// My birthday was the 26th and it was a Sunday, so we celebrated on Monday. Monday was lovely. I got to Skype some friends with my sister in the morning and I was able to talk with my bestie in the evening! I also received a lot of lovely cards & messages from many friends—thank you all!! So appreciated. <33 My 5-year-old sister decorated my chair to “make me love it.” We had tacos for supper (I made them into a salad 😂) with sparkling apple-pear juice, which was really good but would have tasted better uncarbonated, in my opinion! Lissa also made my dessert—homemade ice cream sandwiches. They were DELICIOUS. Also, my family counted down to my birthday with gifts, which was so nice! 

Chocolate-covered raisins, my favourite crackers, roses, a kindle book, a notepad & pen, washi tape, & stickers (not pictured).

// Apparently I love orchids and I didn’t know it. XD I also have a strong liking for these white-robed, simple, faceless Willow Tree figurines that I’ve seen around!! 

// I GOT A NEW PLANNER. I love it so much. It’s almost perfect for me and it’s sooo pretty and I’m using it so much!!! It’s amazing. 

// I drove 100% alone for the first time. In the snow, mind you. It was fun and not as scary as I thought it would be. Granted, I didn’t go far and I know that road like the back of my hand. Still. XP

// I started posting about the lessons God’s teaching me daily on the LBFJ Instagram account. It’s so amazing to hear people say that they needed to hear that. 💖

// My two oldest sisters & my mother & I went shopping right after New Year’s to spend our Christmas money. It was exhausting, but so fun! I ended up with very sore feet (I walk very hard and wear my feet off!) but I bought a lot of stuff and it was all stuff I loved or needed. Some highlights were... beautiful scenery. Lovely dishes at HomeSense (I love that style 😍 and also I love rows & rows of colour). Having fika/tea at Tim Hortons. Laughing so hard about the craziest stuff. Squealing over all the books at Value Village. 😉

// We four oldest kids also took our youngest brother out to McDonald’s for supper and we all had a blast. XD Lissa drove, not I. 

// Random... 

My friends got some bunnies and now we are all wanting a bunny SO BADLY. They’re just the cutest thing!!!

This happened almost every day... #choosejoy

Every year we put together a calendar of family pictures for the family. This year I did it. And each time I sat down to upload pictures I forgot to click the “upload” button. 🙄

Signing makes me so happy. 

This happened a lot...

Rediscovered this poem & loving it so much right now for some reason. <33

This quote by Moriah Grace. <33

~ What I Learned ~ 

• Let God have His will in me. <3
• I can make a difference if I love people & shine for Christ.
• Planting is a great way to regard daily planning!
• Don't wait for the next "tomorrow," just start now.
• What really matters isn't my projects. It's God's work.
• Things won't actually end up being as bad as I think they will be.
• Just be still & see God's wonders around me.
• It's not about me. It's about Christ.
• Starting my day with God makes it so much better.
• When life doesn't go as I planned, surrender it & choose joy.
• Enjoy the little things in life.
• Just singing can help my day so much.
• God's plans are perfect & always come to pass.
• Start things with prayer. 
• Choose happiness. Over & over & over & over.
• Sometimes when I decide people don't understand, I'm actually the one refusing to see the problems I'm causing.
• Letting it go is so necessary. 

~Reading~

Books Read: 40.

Books Reviewed: Between 30-40 books. Also updated some old reviews.

1 star: 2 books.

2 stars: 2 books. 

3 stars: 5 books. 

3.5 stars: 1 book.

4 stars: 10 books.

4.5 stars: 5 books.

5 stars: 7 books. 

5+ stars: 5 books. 

~Favourite Blog Posts~

"Thou Shalt Not" & Our Thoughts | With a Joyful Noise
2019 > 2020 | Stories By Firefly
2020: A Look Ahead | Whimsical Writing for His Glory
2020 // Just Some Thoughts & Letters | Showers of Blessings
The 5-Second Prayer | With a Joyful Noise
5 Tips For Writing Retellings | The Destiny of One
6 Research Tips | Read Another Page
9 Tips to Reach Your Goals (and a Free Printable!) | Everyday Blooms
12 Christmas Blessings | Soldier Girl Stories
12 Steps to a Better You | Everyday Blooms
19 Things I Learned in 2019 | Showers of Blessings
19 Totally Random Facts About Me | Showers of Blessings
Be A Blessing In Your Battles | Quintessentially Living
Current WIP - According to Pinterest | Whimsical Writing for His Glory
Don't Laugh At Me | Soldier Girl Stories
For All You Writers Out There | Showers of Blessings
Guest Post // Lil' Sis | Showers of Blessings
How To Choose a Word of the Year & Why You Should | 'Tis Me, See
How to Use Color-Coded Editing to do a Quality Edit for Your Novel | The Fearless Type
How to Write Grey Characters & Almost Villains | The Fearless Type
I Thought I Was Over It | Loved Before Time
If You Love It, Cut It | Professor Carol
In Your Unknowns, Know That HE is Still God | Quintessentially Living
Jumping Ahead | With a Joyful Noise
My Struggle, Your Struggle | Loved Before Time
My Top 12 Goal-getter picks | 2020 | 'Tis Me, Vee
Never Have I Ever Tag (Writer's Edition) | Mikayla Holman
Nostalgia, Episode 37 | Professor Carol
Obedience, When It's Hard | With a Joyful Noise
Porch Swing Hugs: A Short Story | Kate the Author
Research? Reading? | Read Another Page
Researching Recent(ish) History | The Destiny of One
Rosaatje | Soldier Girl Stories (a serial)
Setting Goals || Advice for Writers | Life of Heritage
Soldier Life || Captains || Episode 10 | Life of Heritage
Soundbite Or Symphony | Loved Before Time
This Moment | Loved Before Time
Traditional Maps & GPS | Professor Carol
Victoria’s Guide To Making Friends & Influencing People (Pt. 1 & 2) | Victoria Lynn
Warrior // 2019 | Victoria Lynn
What Makes Us Love Jane Austen? | The Destiny of One
What Tommy Didn't Know | Rebekah's Reading Room (a serial)
What to Do When You’re in a Slump | Everyday Blooms
When Life Gets Crazy Busy | Mikayla Holman
Where is Your Vision? || A Devotion | Life of Heritage
Who Am I Waiting For? | Loved Before Time
Writing Prompt 080 | Victoria Lynn

~ // ~ 

How did your January go? :)