How is it already April?? I honestly have no clue how March got past us. It went by so fast.
Highlights & Lowlights
// I basically took an Instagram hiatus again because I was so confused about what I wanted to do. I still need to write out my new plan, but I think I have a good one, and I’m eager to dive back in!
// I participated in a lot of cover reveals, haha! And now I have several ARCs waiting… And I also won giveaways! I make it a point to enter each one I can, and apparently it pays off lol. I’m so excited to dive into the new books I got! 🙂
// I began Spring 100! It’s not going so well because my lungs act up when I’m sick or have allergies, but so far I’m on track, haha. (I’ve been surprisingly healthy so far, but the Cold of the Year just struck ;P).
// A sweet church friend and I had a “girl-date” in a park one night…it was so good! It was pretty much out of my comfort zone (it was 8 PM by the time we finished our supper, and pretty dark) but I enjoyed it so much! We had some good talking, and I was able to make friends with her dog… really the hugest thing I’ve ever seen, but apparently she loves me, because she had a kissing fit and apparently she isn’t like that normally, haha! The experience really helped me get over my fear of dogs a little.
Last week, I was walking for Spring 100 and when I turned around to head home, I saw a lady with her dog and son. The puppy was trying so hard to get to me, and the lady told me that since they’d turned onto the road, it had been fighting to catch up to me. I petted her a bit and she fawned over me, and I’m left wondering if apparently dogs have a thing for me now?? ;P
// I’m still teaching the kids! It’s really fun and I’m wondering about pursuing that as a job option. For now, I’m pretty busy at home, but once we move and are settled, I plan to dive back into building an editing business + finding a job. I feel so motivated and really miss editing, haha.
// A sweet friend sent me a Morse Code bracelet… without knowing how much I love Morse Code bracelets… in the exact colour that matches my ring… which she also didn’t know… It says “Keep Writing, Lestrade” and honestly its one of the best gifts I ever got <33
SPEAKING OF MY RING, I am so super careful of that thing (take it off so often so I don’t muck it while working) and yesterday the band decided to snap… so I’m hoping the jeweller will fix it. ;P I also totally forgot what the aquamarine meant and fell back in love ❤
// I also read through my old Instagram posts and man… I’ve changed… but I also love those things. They’re so raw and real and ME. I really miss journaling/chronicling my life on IG and so bad want to dive back into that!
// I haven’t been cooking anything special really ;P but my siblings, to my surprise, have decided I am the best cook and get sad when I’m not making the meals, lol!
// My fav freelancer influencer followed me on IG, answered my comments, encouraged me in my workout journey, and was just generally a bit of sunshine in my life ❤
// ALSO HAILEY ROSE GOT ACCEPTED INTO NURSING SCHOOL AND I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS TO HAPPEN FOR LIKE 10 YEARS AND I AM SO ENCOURAGED AND HAPPY ABOUT ITTTTT
// I know I’m sharing about other people right now but it impacted me so Imma share anyways.
I’ve followed sweet Ash and her amazing dad for many years and I instantly missed him when I heard this… but I was also SO encouraged by how brightly his faith and the faith of his family shone throughout this trial!! What an example ❤
// I asked my friends what they thought my name would be if they didn’t know. The results were so cool! Beth (x2), Sarah, Heidi, Evangeline, Sharon (x2), Laura, Beth, Jennifer, Katherine (x2), Esther, Mary, Patience, and Abigail. What do you think??
(Speaking of my name—I actually discovered a fictional book with a character names KATJA… and she isn’t the villain, as far as I know!! That’s so rare, hahaha!)
// I accidentally taught my little siblings “Rule, Britannia’s” chorus and they sang it ad nauseum, according to the rest of the family… especially since they sang it wrong!
// While I was sick, I watched The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) with Leslie Howard and then The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937) with Barry K. Barnes. Both have some content (like the book) but I enjoyed them so much! The Leslie Howard movie is pretty accurate to the book. For most of it, I was just like “I know I’ve seen that face somewhere” and finally realized it was Sherlock Holmes I was thinking of, because Leslie looks like Ronald Howard, who plays Sherlock Holmes in the 1954 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Turns out he’s Leslie’s son. Anyways, it gave Scarlet Pimpernel a Sherlock Holmes “vibe” which I enjoyed, haha. The Barry Barnes movie was fun; it was very different from the book and struck me as pretty unrealistic, but it was still fun. The thing that annoyed me most is how the French talk like Brits and can’t pronounce any of the French words right, lol.
I also watched A Tale of Two Cities (1935) with Ronald Colman. It was surprisingly accurate to the book; the ending made me SO HAPPY; and the whole thing made me wanna reread ATOTC… which I did. And loved it all over again… ❤
// And I discovered where guinea pigs, aka chochons d’Inde (pigs from India) in French, actually come from. They’re from the Andes and they’re called Indian in French because of poor old Columbus’ confusion. That at least makes sense, but no one knows why the English decided to call them pigs from Guinea…
// And to finish March off in style, I got gum stuck in my hair for the first time. L’Oréal Paris suggested peanut butter or olive oil, then went straight to haircuts. Their suggestion for gum stuck near the roots of your hair was a pixie haircut, which might be drastic but “is all the rage in 2019.” Fortunately, we had olive oil and a comb, and that did the trick. I’m not impressed by 2019 styles.
// Basically, March was just a time of resting, playing, and helping around the house, and I think I needed it. I feel rejuvenated 🙂
Mixed with this lol.
Reading
It was actually a great reading month! I still need to catch up on reviews, but I got over 31 books read. It was less than I usually do, but it felt good to slow down. I have decided I am not doing any more reading challenges than the ones I create myself, and I am only reading what I feel like—and mostly old favourite rereads. The stress that melted at that!! Ahhhhh ❤
I also “got into” popular Christian Fiction (a little… even if I found typos in two this month lol).
Favourite Book of March: Lighten Our Darkness by Sarah Brazytis!!! Oh, how I loved that book!! Full review here.
Least Favourite Book of March: I actually had a great reading month with a 4 or 5 star average. The most disappointing book of the month was my reread of The Great Lab Escape which I didn’t really enjoy this time around… I guess I’m too old. :{ But it’s still good.
My Other 5-star Reads (and rereads!) of the Month:
Romance’s Rest by Erika Mathews (8/10 hearts)
Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery (10/10 hearts)
I Wish That I Had Duck Feet by Dr. Seuss (5/10 hearts)
What Was I Scared Of? by Dr. Seuss (5/10 hearts)
Too Many Daves by Dr. Seuss(5/10 hearts)
The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss (6/10 hearts)
A Sidekick’s Tale by Elisabeth Grace Foley (7/10 hearts)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss (5/10 hearts)
On the Edge of the Fjord by Alta Halverson Seymour (8/10 hearts)
The Tangled Skein by Alta Halverson Seymour (8/10 hearts)
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (8/10 hearts)
Star of Persia: Esther’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith (5/10 hearts)
Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely by Holley Gerth (9/10 hearts)
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (9/10 hearts)
The Accidental Cases of Emily Abbott by Perry Elisabeth Kirkpatrick (9 stories, ranging from 5/10 hearts to 7/10 hearts)
Self-Publishing Simplified: A Comprehensive Guide to Producing, Launching, and Marketing a Profitable Book (7/10 hearts)
Blog Posts
I’m getting back into reading blog posts! Here are my two favourites.
Songs, Verses, & Poems
This song strikes me so much every time… ❤
For some reason, this song was in my head a lot this month ;P
I also discovered this channel! She sings SO beautifully and she does such great hymns, too…
As for poems—I rediscovered this poem and I wanna memorize it ;P However, I’ve also been really in love with Gertrude Grace Sanborn’s poetry lately…
Hard is the pathway of training,
Stern is the way He may use
To take our dim eyes from the earth things,
To make us His own will to choose.How often or hands seem to cling to
The bubbles and toys of this sphere,
But a wonderful wise overseer
Will give us of things far more dear.He sits us in Heavenly places,
Enfolds us around with His care,
Bestows on us gifts for His glory
That we may be used everywhere.He lets us see failure in others,
~Gertrude Grace Sanborn, With Tears in my Heart, published by The Bible for Today press.
Permits us to weep over loss,
And does all this while He is turning
Our eyes from this world to His cross.
The Bible verses that really stood out to me this month…
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: for Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”
Psalms 112:4 & 18:28.
Writing Update
There wasn’t much writing done this month. I finished final edits on The Colour of Nativity and sent the book to final readers. I also made a family tree for the various families (at last!!) and drew a map of Kalsyia (also at last!!). Inkarnate and Family Echo are FANTASTIC, y’all!!
In April, I intend to do final proofreading (listening to the book aloud—WHICH IS SO SURREAL—and then reading it). I’ve been mulling over a publication plan and one of my April goals is to make that happen! I’d also like to start redoing the edits for The Colour Red. Aside from editing, I began some short stories (two of them belonging to the Colours of Life Series) and worked on some other projects I had. Moving forwards, I plan to edit every week but free-write every Thursday in another project so I don’t lose my creativity!
In March, I participated in the KDWC April Camp.
And in April, I’m participating in the Glory Writers’ Writing Camp. I am NOT participating in NaNoWriMo or having anything to do with that; there is a Slack-Group-only option, and I am only participating there.
What Did I Learn in March?
My feelings in March are kinda summed up in the following texts I sent a friend:
“I’m feeling very unsettled right now…. Like I am seeing myself change and shift and I’m not sure what’s happening with me and to me… It’s very odd, too, not to have any strong emotions. I’m not depressed or angry or scared all the time… Almost like I’m numb to emotion, and it’s weird. But I feel like I’m just in a waiting, quiet-change season preparing for a big new one (which is creeping up on me…). Maybe that’s why I’m not reading much or talking to people. I feel very indifferent to everything. Almost isolated, like… There’s nothing happening. Just mundane things. I’m basically just *existing.* no big plans. Just tired. Resting, maybe.” Or, as she pointed out, maybe just healing…
I definitely have drifted from people but I now feel much more motivated to hop back into the friendships. I didn’t interact much online, but I laid the groundwork, and it feels good.
“It isn’t bringing me much closer to God though. I don’t know. I’m not excited to read the Bible and I don’t really find any new stuff anymore. I talk to him more though. Not praying, just talking. But it reminds me of Memory’s Mind when Kethin realizes he has to keep seeking God and doing good even in dry seasons because Jesus is enough. But I have gotten better at just talking to Him throughout the day and telling Him about the stuff going on—praying about my problems and receiving peace about what I should do.
And I have much more faith… I know He will work and it’ll all be okay, and I’m just resting in that… I still have my hopes and wishes but I’ve really released it to God… like really honestly opening my hands to Him and saying “kay, Lord, I’m willing to let it go or take it, whichever You want” and it ended by freeing me. When I get down to brass tacks and consider NOT doing something and my heart has a fit, I know that my desire is really on it and might skew my perspective. When I can honestly say “I’m willing to NOT do it if God wants” then I know that I’m not doing what *I* want but I’m open. I don’t know if that makes any sense but it’s been my journey lately. ;P
I also feel more courageous and motivated to move forwards, but I also know that right now my place is serving at home and it isn’t less, even if it feels that way and people act like it is, lol.
Monthly Goals
How’d I do on my March Goals?
Keep atop of schedule/list.I basically failed that…- Read.✔️ I could have done better, but it wasn’t bad.
- Listen to lots of good music. ✔️ ditto.
Exercise.Unless walking counts…- Eat & drink well. … eh. I didn’t do so bad??
- Continue to change. ✔️
- Work on getting job. ✔️ I found my current job and we’re all good ❤
- Get closer to God. ✔️
And here are my April Goals.
- Prepare Nativity for publishing.
- Create a publication plan.
- Write 500+ words every Thursday.
- Read 31 books.
- Get back to staying atop of laundry and cleaning and cooking.
- Keep on track with Spring 100.
- Get closer to God. ❤
- Work on resetting my Instagram & blog.
How’d March treat you all??
Little Blossoms for Jesus 
Walking totally counts as exercise! In fact, it’s supposed to be the BEST exercise.
How did I not know that Ronald Howard was Leslie Howard’s son? Wow. That makes so much sense — I totally see it. Haha! Learn something new every day 😀
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Haha, thanks!
Ahh, I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙈
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Did you ever get my email about CON? I never got a reply, so I wanted to make sure. Sounds like you had a good month, aside from the gum in your hair!
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Yes, sorry! Just answered :{
It was a fairly good month, yes, thank you 🙂 hope yours was too!
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