january, february, & march highlights, ft. a tiny vlog || getting my driver's license, turning 18, + ALSO starting college???

April Wrap-Up

Good morning, Dragons! *waves* *yawns* I'm really tired... which may or may not be from staying up late during our congregation's gospel meeting (but yes, oh yes, it's been so worth it). (Lord willing, more on the meeting during the May Wrap-Up. 😉 )

LIFE

• I got a new laptop. My old one, Nameless (*coughs* Yeah, I never really thought to name him...), went kaput, so I got a new one named... *drumroll* D'artagnan! And I'm in love. A half-decent camera, a working disc drive, great speakers, and a six- to twelve-hour battery life... *sighs dreamily* ❤
• Thirty-four days until summer! *straightens bowtie* 😏
• Our congregation had a bonfire a couple weekends ago! I meant to grab my camera on the way out the door, but... I forgot. *shrugs*
• My grade gets a week off from school, soon! *cheers* We're one of the only grade levels that doesn't have SBAC testing (thank God), so, even though there'll be a bit of homework, still -- no classes!
• I memorized the Unit Circle... -_- Surprisingly, I aced that part of April's math test. Still not sure how I managed to do that.

IN THE THEATRE

*sings* Matildaaaa! In our school talent show, our theatre company performed When I Grow Up. I honestly remember nothing from being in the actual show. I remember the other acts and whatnot (and also getting yelled at for pacing prior to the show... our sound board director/assistant stage manager knows that pacing prior to a performance = Liv might die. 😛 ), but I remember little else.

*sniffles* And this is our director's last year at MEA before she leaves for college! *wails*

(On a less sad note, here's the song we performed, with the original cast of Matilda doing it... and in case you were wondering, the answer is yes, we did all sing with British accents. 😉 )

BOOK HAUL

I can't not have collected more books this month, now could I? (Don't answer that.)

Books I collected:

• The Hagenheim series (books one through five) by Melanie Dickerson
• The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson
• Maggie's Hope Chest by Amanda Tero
• The Blades of Acktar series by Tricia Mingerink
• How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

READING CORNER

So my goal of finishing all those books I mentioned last month didn't actually work... I finished two out of three of them, one of them being Laura Story's book, which I set aside for the time being, since I'm trying to get through a massive pile before Realm Makers, this summer.

Books read (not including academic reading):

• The Sound of Diamonds by Rachelle Rea Cobb
• The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie
• Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

What I'm currently reading:

• Halayda by Sarah Delena White
• Scarlet Moon by S.D. Grimm
• Bellanok by Ralene Burke

Oh! Speaking of Halayda, I joined the Fellowship of Fantasy book club! And it's fantastic, ya'll -- I highly recommend it! It's amazing, and it covers indie Christian fantasy, and there are so many perks. Check it out on Facebook here!

MOVIE THEATRE

• Death Comes to Pembereley (2013). I've seen this miniseries before, but my, it's so good. It's like The Princess Bride -- each time you watch it, you learn more about the plot/storyline.
• Ella Enchanted (2004). I haven't seen this since I read the book... and the movie's as bad as the Percy Jackson films. So many inaccuracies!!!!
• The Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). It's still my favourite HP movie. The characters, the magic, everything... Gaaah!

MUSIC ROOM

I listen to a lot of different types of music, so here are just a few highlights:

• Brittany Jean
• Megan Rae
• Ministry of Magic
• The Hamilton soundtrack
• The Once Upon a Time: The Musical Episode soundtrack

THE BAKERY

So I might have developed a cookie-baking addiction... Hee hee hee. I made two batches, one of which was a no-bake (and a total fail), and the other which was an already-tested batch of deformed, sugary, peanut-buttery goodness.

I also found a new mac-and-cheese recipe! It's vegan and not terribly difficult; you can check out the recipe here.

WRITING DESK

Camp NaNoWriMo and that 10k I was aiming for did not happen. I'm hoping to play catch-up in May and June. I seriously overestimated the time needed to dedicate to finishing my outline.

I did finish the map for And Did the Waters Tremble's world, though!

BLOG POSTS

ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE...

The 2017 Goldstone Wood fan art contest is live! There are so many gorgeous pieces; voting for only three was definitely a challenge! (You can check out the submissions here.)

Here was my entry:

It's nowhere near the others in skill, but I've had the idea for several months, and it was fun to finally do. 🙂

GOALS FOR MAY

• Read three (or more 🙂 ) books.
• Finish outline.
• Write 5k.

~

How has your April been? What books did you read? Did you participate in Camp NaNoWriMo?

❤,

March Wrap-Up

Howdy, Dragons! As those of you who've been around awhile may recall, I took a blogging hiatus for the month of March. And though I love blogging, (*breathes*) I'm SO glad I did. The month was certainly easier than February (which is basically my least favourite month in the entirety of the year... plus I got sick, so my brain = fried), but whew, was it a whirlwind!

LIFE

• The Magic Flute tech week and performances happened. I've been having nightmares about something going terribly wrong during the shows, ever since. 😉 Still, I can't believe it's over...
• My grandparents came to town! Which technically happened before the performances for The Magic Flute, but they were able to see a show, which was awesome!
• I turned sixteen! It's still kind of crazy and unbelievable. The fact that I'll be a legal adult in two years makes me want to run and hide is insane.
• One of my best friends flew in! We were born a year and four days apart, so we got to celebrate both our birthdays!
• I have a new fountain pen, courtesy of da bestie! With twenty-five ink cartridges, twelve of which are all different colours. O.O  (Can you tell I'm geeking out?)
• We went to Universal Studios (or, more importantly, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter)! (*drools*) And it was magical, guys. Particularly the Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey ride. I was even able to snap some pictures of Hogsmeade Village!

Hogsmeade Village.

Street signs.

Hogwarts Castle, plus a slight view of the Weasleys' car, crashed in the Forbidden Forest.

Inside Professor Sprout's greenhouse, in line for The Forbidden Journey.

There was also a Hogwarts choir (which, unfortunately, I didn't get great pictures of), and butterbeer (BUTTERBEER, folks. Oh my goodness, it was wonderful! I'm pretty sure it was just vanilla ice cream mixed with cream soda, but still, it was fantastic. I can totally see why it's such a big deal in the books, now).

My dinner. Just because.
(BTW, pizza is an excellent restart after having been up for nineteen hours, with just a couple short naps hither and thither...
JUST KIDDING. We actually fell asleep as soon as we were finished. 😝 )

Other life things:

• Only sixty-eight days 'til summer! (*coughs*) Not that I've been counting down since day one-hundred-sixteen, or anything.
• Speaking of one-hundred-sixteen days, only that much until Realm Makers! (*squeals*) I am so, SO excited!! As of right now, I'm scheduled to take a class for teens from Jill Williamson (!!!!), as well as four classes on worldbuilding, plotting a bestselling series, developing character motivation and goals, and successfully self-publishing books. (Have I already mentioned that I'm excited?)
• Also, I'll be working with the MEA Theatre Company, again! Lord willing, we'll be delivering a musical piece in the school's talent show. 😄

BOOK HAUL

Ivy Rose's novella Left to Die was on sale for Indie e-Con, and since, a) she is at the top of my most fantabulous authors ever list, and b) I've been drooling over the book since its release was first announced, I snagged it as soon as possible. 😉

I also received a few books for my birthday! Waking Beauty by Sarah E. Morin, The Hive by John W. Otte, Paper Crowns by Miriam Neal, and A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn. ☺

READING CORNER

Uuum... I think the only books I finished this month were Kate Willis's Enjoy the Poodle Skirt, and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the latter of which was for my English class. Only two. (*blushes*) Yeah, and I'm also (still) reading way too many books, right now. There's The Sound of Diamonds by Rachelle Rea Cobb (which is totally awesomesauce, for the record), the When God Doesn't Fix It memoir and study guide by Laura Story and Jennifer Schuchmann, The Guardian Duke by Jamie Carie, Scarlet Moon by S.D. Grimm, Bellanok by Ralene Burke, and I Don't Wait Anymore by Grace Thornton. (*cues Mr. Darcy's voice*) "I shall conquer this, I shall!"

MOVIE THEATRE

Aaaah, I don't even know how I had time to watch anything, especially six whole movies over the course of spring break, alone (two of which I watched twice, *cringe*, *shriek*, *gasp*).

• Beauty & the Beast (2017). We almost didn't see it due to the politics surrounding it, but when friends invited my parents and I to join them at a drive-in theatre on my birthday, we decided to give it a go. The, ahem, "stuff" was really subtle. Had I been a couple years younger and oblivious to the situation, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have noticed it. There was a ballroom scene at the end, but it was literally blink-and-you'll-miss-it.
• Zootopia (2016). I first saw this movie last November, and it's so great. For one, Mary Margaret from Once Upon a Time. Need I say more? But the way it managed to address real-life issues while still being a fun kids' movie was amazing.
• Arrival (2016). I need to read the book that this movie is based off of. The movie seemed to have a slow start, but when everything fell into place... WOW. Just wow.
• Doctor Strange (2016). This story was pretty wack, and I was kind of uncomfortable with the atheistic view regarding multiverses and whatnot. Also, Benedict Cumberbatch as a bratty neurosurgeon with a US accent is totally weird (what has happened to you, Sherlock?). Still, the movie was well made.
• Moana (2016). Not my favourite Disney princess movie, but it was still pretty great. I find it really cool that a teenager did the title character's voice. ☺
• Pete's Dragon (2016). My dad and I stayed up late watching this, last night, after my mom went to bed. I think he liked it more than I did. The setting was cool, but my dad and I both agreed that the plotline was predictable. Nonetheless, I'm sure a younger audience would enjoy it.

WRITING DESK

I've joined Camp NaNoWriMo! I know that I won't be able to write an entire novel at any given point during the school year, so I've set a goal of ten-thousand words in progress on And Did the Waters Tremble. I'm hoping (*crosses fingers*) to have the first draft all finished by the end of the summer.

BLOGGING

• I was a part of the cover reveal team for With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand
• I went on hiatus
• I announced my blog move
• I wrote my first post here

Book-wise, I reviewed:

• For Elise by Hayden Wand
• Storm Siren by Mary Weber
• Enjoy the Poodle Skirt by Kate Willis

ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE...

I haven't spent a ton of time in the blogosphere this March, to be honest. But from what I have read, there's the annual fan art contest for Anne Elisabeth Stengl fans, as well as a lovely post from Hannah Williams concerning why Beauty & the Beast is not a beastly tale. ☺

Hopefully I can catch up on the rest of my post-reading, soon!

GOALS FOR APRIL

1. Survive my third-to-last month of my sophomore year.
2. Make a map for And Did the Waters Tremble.
3. Add ten-thousand words to the story, itself.
4. Finish reading The Sound of Diamonds, When God Doesn't Fix It, and maaaybe The Guardian Duke?
5. Actually do some of the When God Doesn't Fix It workbook.
6. Bake something sweet.

~

So! How has your March been? Have you ever been to Universal Studios? What are you currently reading? How about some of your goals for April?

❤,