Monday, 5 August 2019

July 2019 in Review

I have seen these on various blogs and I enjoy them a lot, so I’m going to do my own. ;) I hope you enjoy. :) Fair Warning: This is going to be long and detailed, because... I’m a detail freak! 

 *note: Some of these images are not mine.*



| Happenings | 
// I recuperated from Camp and being sick and travelling. 😜
//  I learned a lot about disagreeing and arguing and letting things go and moving on this month. 
// I misspelt “people” and “favourite” I don’t know how often. *facepalm*
// I chatted a lot with friends. 💜 That’s what the summer is for, right??
// I launched my blog, obviously. 😁 I’m enjoying it so much... and I hope you are too. :) 

// I realized that college is starting soon... 😰
// My cabin mates and I discussed Bible truths often in our texting thread, which was a blessing.
// I did the heart-eyes over Rachel Tero’s calendar sheets (I love calendar sheets, people. And these ones are awesome.) I've started using these to plan my blog posts and they are amazing!!
// I read through the archives of Kassie Angle’s gorgeous blog. 💚💙 If you don’t follow her yet... DO!! (FYI... if you didn't already know it... I always look at archives).
*NOTE: KASSIE’S DOMAIN HAS LAPSED AS OF 2022 AND BEEN TAKEN OVER BY ANOTHER COMPANY. DO NOT GOOGLE IT*

 // I did Camp NaNo and wrote over 13,000 words. We had an amazing cabin... I tell you, guys, there are some amazing stories being written this year...!
// I FINISHED CHORDS, people!!! I am so, so happy... this baby was supposed to be 1,000, and instead it ended at 46,526 words. My biggest word count. Ever. (I stayed up till like 11:00 to do that but it was worth it.) I’ll be posting about this story soon. 

// I recited Psalm 19 in French and realized I hadn't forgotten most of it... It's so much more beautiful in French than in English. And for the record, I've already forgotten most of it in English... but I learned verses 1-6 it in French years and years ago and I only mess up two verses. #myheartisFrench
// I looked up a picture of calla lilies and roses to see if they mixed... (they do)... and decided I need to do that more often. I adore wedding bouquets. 

// I took a video of myself writing something and found it so, so cool to watch how I formed letters! 

// I fell in love with flip-flops again. 


// I had ice cream for National Ice Cream Day. It was actually unplanned... my father randomly bought us some. I’m ticked because I forgot to get a picture!! 
// Sunday, the 29th, I had to stay home from church and babysit two feverish kids... a new experience. I read so much I got a headache, and I totally won my 31-books-this-month goal. 
// I missed my grandparents so much... I’m so eager to see them soon! It’s been over a year since I saw them. 😕 Canada is vast, people... 
// I remembered how much I love calligraphy...

// I listened to the Messiah again with my sister... well, listened out of one ear while I read and book-journaled. It’s in my head again now... 💗
// I started a new short story whose beginning I love...

// I got my best writing compliment ever. 💝 I got a lot of writing compliments this month, and... wow. Post coming on that too. 
// I edited my Christmas story three times (and found a super cool new editing method). I also edited Chords once... and found some hilarious mistakes...





// I enjoyed making a book reading Instagram template for a new friend! 

// I ate a lot of raspberries because I constantly craved ice-cream (did you notice I love Ice Cream a lot? Like, a lot??) and when I don’t have ice-cream, I eat frozen raspberries. They’re yummy! 😊



// I downloaded a new weight-losing app recommended by a friend... We’ll see if it helps. 🙂
// I enjoyed our A/C a lot. 😜
// I baked four pies. Three apple, one strawberry. The strawberry one was a disappointment to me but a family friend ate it and won’t stop talking about it, so... I guess it tasted fine! 
// I dreamed about a Black Widow Spider that was loose in a soldiers' barracks and was biting them when they were standing in line (I totally blame Ry & Kass & their soldier stories for the soldier part...). Yeah, not fun. 

// Had some good thoughts... 



| Books | 
// I GOT MY NEW KINDLE!!! Those little devices are amazing, people. I didn’t realize it until I went for over a week without one. I’m so delighted because this one lets me mark books “read” or “unread.” I was also gifted with a lovely new case by my mother :) <3



// I did my first buddy-read with these two lovely girls! We’re almost done—3 chapters left (as of July 31, 2019). We’re buddy-reading my favourite novel (I have no higher praise...) and I’m falling in love all over again. 
I also did my first book-journaling and copied all my favourite parts down...
No kidding, the journaling of that book took up this many pages. 

// For the first time, I listened to an audio version of a book on my TBR. It was lovely to be able to be doubly productive! 

// I finished my chronological read-through of G.A. Henty’s books. Of course then I found new Henty books. 🙄 I plan to redo this soon. It was an amazing experience. 
// I posted a lot of reviews, triumphed over Amazon who had refused to post a certain review, and got properly annoyed when it took them too long to process a perfectly acceptable review. 😆 I have now reached over 200 reviews on Amazon.... which is kind of cool. 

// I was tagged to spotlight 20 books I loved on Instagram... the hardest part was figuring out people to tag, lol! 
// I took an English review and had Google translate it into French. Then I realized just how beautiful French is. It is so much more dainty and refined and... beautiful... than English. 💙❤️

// I participated in a cover reveal and a book birthday party, and got some ARCs... which is something I officially love. 
// I finished my Summer Reading Challenge and now have to figure out what to read in August before I start my Autumn Reading Challenge... 
// Found out some random cool bookish information...

// Did a poll on my bookstagam: 
Please reply in the comments if you are interested in doing a reading challenge, and specify if you’d like 26 or 30 books. :) 

Books read in July: 40.
Books reviewed in July: about 38.


| Favourite Posts Round-Up | 

~ / / ~

How did your July go? :) 
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Monday, 29 July 2019

The Cost of Exaggeration

Exaggeration. I think we’re all guilty of it. 

 I’m not totally against exaggeration. In fact, I’m quite an exaggerating person. My friends can testify. ;) But since I don’t want all those embarrassing stories to come out I don’t think we’ll ask them to. 

 I can think of several good reasons to exaggerate. (Well, more or less good ones, depending on your personal tastes and opinions. ;P) First off, it’s humorous. I don’t know about you, but reading exaggeration often makes me laugh. Well-written exaggeration can sometimes bring up the most hilarious scenarios in your mind. I like to laugh, and exaggeration is often something that I can laugh at. 

Two, it’s emphatic. Emphasis is important. I’m a very emphatic person so maybe I’m biased. Emphasis makes your stand clear and can be very useful. ;) 

But as useful (or enjoyable) as exaggeration is, it does hold some danger. Think about this for a minute...

...if everything is “soaking wet,” what will we say when things are so wet they’re dripping water?

...if every time it’s hot we “boil,” what are we going to say when the temperature rises by ten degrees?

...if everything makes us “laugh our heads off”, what is going to happen when something is so funny we laugh ourselves speechless?

...if everything is “the most adorable thing ever,” what will we say when we see something heart-melting? 

...if everything makes us “literally,” do something, how will we convey that we actually did literally do something? 

If every time something happens we “die”... 
then why are we still alive? 

Exaggeration is all very well in its place, but if we constantly use it, then it loses its flavour and weakens our words. 

What if instead, we said...

... that the towel we just used was “wet,” and that when we went running in the rain we were “soaking wet”?

... that last week was “hot” and that this week it’s “boiling” in Pennsylvania?

... that the meme we just saw was “really funny,” and that our father just made a joke that made us “laugh our heads off”?

... that the puppy was “super cute,” and that our little sister’s baby smile is “the most adorable thing ever?”

...that we “virtually hit the roof” and that our mother “literally cried with joy” at her surprise birthday party?

And let's not “die” of emotion.

If we save exaggeration for the times when we really want to express ourselves strongly, it will be much more effective. 

... Just some thoughts that I had recently. What do you think?
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Saturday, 27 July 2019

The Sunshine Blogger Award & the Liebster Award

Hey everyone! I'm here with two tags that I borrowed from a friend... and I also borrowed her idea of having a sibling answer the questions about me! I had my two oldest sisters do it, and... they sometimes know me better than I know myself. ;) 



Rules: 
  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link back to their blog so others can find them.
  • List the rules and display an award logo on your blog post.
  • Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
  • Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and notify them by commenting on any of their posts.
  • Ask the nominees 11 new questions.

Kassie posted the tag and didn’t tag anyone, so I nominated myself. xP I am using the questions that she was given.

  • Do you have any food allergies?
Ummm... cocoa upsets my stomach, so like brownies don’t sit too well with me (I eat them anyways xP). 

Lissa: No. 

Becca: No. 

  • When was the last time you had a bowl of cereal?
Uhhhh.... I don’t know?? I think I had some this week... 

Lissa: You don’t like eating cereal, so probably when you were a kid. I haven’t seen you eating cereal and milk for a long time.

Becca: *rolls eyes* I don’t know. A week ago? 
Lissa: She never eats cereal. 
Becca: Yeah, but she eats dry cereal. So yeah, yesterday morning. Or the day before that? [This was written on Saturday, July 19th.]

  • What is your favorite cereal?
Harvest Crunch because I can mix it with yogurt. Frosted Flakes when I haven’t yogurt. I don’t drink milk so I eat my cereal dry. 

Lissa: Harvest Crunch.

Becca: Umm... the religious cereal. Quaker. [Harvest Crunch.] 

  • What is your favorite flavor of chips?
Cheddar!! I love cheese. I also like the original flavour though.

Lissa: Cheese, probably? 

Becca: Oh, I don’t know. Salt & vinegar? [I hate salt & vinegar so I have no idea where she got that answer!]

  • What is your favorite meal containing pasta?
I love pasta sooo much! It would either be Cheesy Pasta Soup (aka a twist on Lasagna Soup) without onions, or pasta with cheese melted on top. I love pasta with just tomato sauce though. And I absolutely LOVE spaghetti!!! 

Lissa: Just pasta and cheese, I guess. 

Becca: Pasta & cheese. 

  • Do you enjoy cooking? If so, why?
I don’t mind cooking most of the time. I don’t like trying new recipes because I generally absent-mindedly do something wrong or forget something or... things like that. 

Lissa: Nah. 

Becca: [Because] you get to eat after? I don’t know. 

  • Do you prefer fast food or sit down restaurants?
Sit-down restaurants take so long, but they taste better. But I don’t mind fast-food, except McDonald’s sometimes gives me a stomachache. 

Lissa: Sit-down restaurants? 

Becca: Sit-down. 

  • What is your least favorite fruit?
The first that comes to mind is bananas... but it would be easier to ask what are my favourite fruits. I had some fruits I love and then the rest I don’t like at all. Same with vegetables. 

Lissa: Fruit? We don’t eat all the fruits anyway. *shakes head & contemplates* Umm... banana?

Becca: Mangoes? [I don't like mangoes either!]

  • Have you ever had food poisoning?
I... don’t think so... 

Lissa: Nnnno. 

Becca: Um, I think once. [She might be right. Not sure if it was food poisoning though.]

  • What is your favorite month of the year?
Probably late August/early September? I love when it’s warm but not hot and the trees are so golden and green. 

Lissa: I have no idea. 

Becca: *laughs* January? [It's my birthday month.]

  • Have you ever seen the US White House in person?
Nope. xP I doubt I ever will too... I expect the Canadian version of this would be "Have you ever seen the Parliament Buildings?" Which NO I NEVER HAVE, but I want to so bad!!

Lissa: *snickers* No. 
Becca: *rolls eyes* Why would you have seen the US White House in person? [We've never been even close to it, I don't think.]

I’m gonna skip the nominees because I don’t have enough followers for that. But if you want to do it, PLEASE DO! In the comments, even! :) 

Annnnnd the next tag is....
Rules: 
  • Acknowledge the blogger that gave it to you and display the award. 
  • Answer 11 questions that the blogger gave you.
  • Give 11 random thoughts about yourself.

No one gave me this award... I just stole the tag from Kassie... xP Again, I am using the questions that she was given.

  • Are you an evil author? Do you make your characters suffer?
Yes. And it totally doesn’t bother me. Which is weird because generally I hate having people hurt!! 

Lissa: Not purposely? *snickers* 

Becca: Yes. 

  • What is the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?
*thinks for a moment* *suddenly remembers and does a facepalm* There was this one time we had a celebration at church and there were bottles of soda. Keep in mind our family never gets a bottle of soda (like maybe once a year). Anyways, my little brother wanted soda and I picked up a bottle to give him some. He told me to shake it, and I—I was thinking of something else, and I did it. Someone exclaimed, “Oh, no, don’t do that!” It was too late by then. I can’t remember if I opened the bottle or not, but I was mortified. xP

Lissa: You probably said some piece of advice I gave you. ‘Cause you always take it the wrong way. [I almost did say that, lol!]

Becca: I don’t know. 

  • If you had to choose between having hair for nails and nails for hair, which would it be?
Umm... neither?! Like what??? I guess hair for nails because I like my hair and I have no nails anyways... so I could just keep my finger-hair trimmed xP.

Lissa: You’d look hideous either way. Umm... nails for hair would look kind of cool. It’s look like you’ve got armour hair. You’d probably... I guess hair for nails. 

Becca: Hair for nails.

  • Do you like to write with something to eat or drink? If ya do, what would that be?
No, it’s distracting. :) But I love to snack while reading! 

Lissa: Um... no. 

Becca: Yes... I don’t know [what].

  • Do you ever tire of life and want to simply lie in bed all day?
NO! It would be far too lonely! I got enough of that when I’m sick. 

Lissa: *to the world in general* If you do you’re pretty dumb.... *to me* It won’t happen unless you’re sick. 

Becca. Yes. *says something about recharging* 

  • What is your earliest memory? (yes, I’m making you…)
I think it was when my father baptized someone and forgot to take his keys out of his pocket so the automatic unlocked keypad thingamajig didn’t work anymore and we were locked out of our car... I was 5 or younger. 

Lissa: Ooo, hard. I have no idea. 

Becca: You getting stitches? [She’s right. I was less than 5 then. Traumatic memory, but what bugs me most is the lie one of the nurses told me!]

  • Pumpkin pie or apple pie?
Apple!! I love apple pie sooo much. Swedish apple pie and traditional North American apple pie. I love pie!! I love apples too. And I don’t like pumpkin so I don't like pumpkin pie. It's a waste of pie crust. (Which I love). 

Lissa: Apple pie. 

Becca: Apple pie.

  • Why is it that all the characters of other author’s books I’ve met always tell of how their authors make them go through terrible life situations? 
Because life does have terrible situations but God can always turn them to good, and we like to remind people of that. Besides, your stories are just like that and we can’t change it. Sorry. 

Lissa: Because they like to emphasize. It’s a matter of pride for authors how much they make characters suffer and then make the characters much better after. 

Becca: Because they think it teaches them. 

  • If you could say anything for the whole world to hear for one minute, what would it be?
I have several things I’d say. But I think this is the top thing: There’s so, so many things to worry about and be afraid of. But God doesn’t want us to have a spirit of fear. He delivered us from the biggest worry and fear by sending Jesus to save us. And He can help us in our everyday life, giving us peace and joy and letting us cast our cares on Him. Don’t let the fear cripple you, Step out in faith. It’s worth it, I promise. 

Lissa: Oh, my, I don’t know what you would say. Um... let’s see... oh, you’d probably... *she’s unpacking while doing this so she’s distracted* I have no idea what you’d talk about for the whole world to hear. If you were talking to just a bunch of authors you’d probably talk about your favourite book. I don’t know if you’d tell that to the whole world. You might, actually. 

Becca: I don’t know! I don’t know what you’d say. It depends what the situation was and where you were. 

  • Plants, games, or paint?
I don’t like gardening. I dislike painting because I can never paint what I see in my head. So games. :)  I like playing board games and card games quite a bit. 

Lissa: Games, ‘cause you don’t like your paintings. 

Becca: Games. 

  • What is the first story you’ve ever written?
My early stories were mostly plagiarisms. xP My first all-mine story was probably the one I wrote from this story prompt (scroll to bottom), set during the Sir William Wallace’s time.

Lissa: Oh my word, I don’t know. About some prince and princess stuck in a castle or something? Or a Pollyanna-type story. 

Becca: One of Gwendoline Mary. [She’s actually right—my first real story was about a girl named Mary (no Gwendoline involved—similar names caused confusion). I never finished it but it wasn’t that bad. xP]


And now for the....

11 Random Facts: 

  1. I love the water but I am terrified if I cannot feel the bottom. 
  2. I love hanging clothes up on the clothesline (unless I'm like too hot or busy doing something else, haha!) I have very particular mehods--lots of pattern making. ;)
  3. I twisted my knee when I was 12 while I was running and I just lay down and cried and moaned. Afterwards I felt so ashamed because a friend sprained his hand and didn't make a duss. 
  4. I love to watch babies and toddlers but I never want to babysit them (unless the toddler is a sibling) because they can't explain themselves to me and I hate that. 
  5. I adore calligraphy. 
  6. I have burned myself badly in the kitchen at least 3 times. (I'm sure there were more). I also burned myelf less severely and cut myself often. All in the kitchen. 
  7. I have seldom seen fireworks but I love watching them so much!
  8. I both love and hate reading translations of books (English-French and French-English) because I remember each little phrase and notice how its different. It's both cool and annoying. xD  
  9. I love to listen to Swedish. Like, people talking Swedish. (I'm also learning it (a little...).)
  10. I collect names. Girl names, boy names, full names, last names, pet names, ship names...
  11. I am allergic to dust. (Not fun). 

Lissa: 
  1. She never likes doing her hair fancy.
  2. She never makes her bed unless she really has to.
  3. If you met her, you would think that she isn’t very girly...
  4. ...But she loves pretty things.
  5. She hates having things messing up her bed. Such as teddy bears. They’re unceremoniously kicked off.
  6. It’s very easy to get her to fangirl about something.
  7. She’s allergic to painting her fingernails. [I’m allergic to the paint]
  8. She probably spends a quarter of her day reading something. 
  9. She loves poetry. 
  10. She has a great fear of getting lost.
  11. And a great fear of many other things. 

Becca: 
  1. You have glasses.
  2. You broke a wall. [She’s right... unfortunately.]
  3. You’re scared of losing people.
  4. You’re scared of big dogs.
  5. You have a lot of friends. 
  6. You’re good at knowing big words.
  7. You sometimes brush your teeth at lunch. [Gab: She does that often. Me: what??] 
  8. You keep on breaking your earphones. 
  9. You never do anything to your hair.
  10. You tend to over-exaggerate. 
  11. You always prefer good people to bad people. [Me: Doesn’t everyone??] 

I’m gonna skip the nominees again because I don’t have enough followers for that. But if you want to do it, PLEASE DO! In the comments, even! :) 

~ / / ~


I hope you enjoyed this... xD
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