Monday, February 29, 2016

Goodbye February

February is my favorite month. Name, placement, number of days, weather, you name it. It's just the best. And I can't believe it's almost over, but at least we got an extra day of it's awesomeness this year :)

I may have taken this picture in January . . .

Life

The biggest thing that happened for me this month was my mom went to Mexico for a week. That left me in charge of holding down the fort, writing, and working. Thankfully, my awesome grandmother dropped all other engagements and came to help out. She's the only reason I cracked a schoolbook that week :)

On a less happy note, our oven went out. Since it's itty-bitty, we wanted to replace it with something bigger. We finally decided what to do, but the new oven's not coming in until mid-March and it's going to require cutting our cabinets up quite a bit. So it's been an adventure to come up with only crockpot and skillet meals.

The other super awesome thing was that an adorable little girl I babysit found two purple mushrooms in her garden bed and picked them for me! Isn't that awesome? For a girl who wouldn't touch snails (which were everywhere), I was very impressed. (Yes, we washed our hands afterwards). Aren't they beautiful?!



Words

~Vocabulary~

pablum: n. (also pabulum) bland or insipid intellectual fare, entertainment, etc.

I had never heard of this word, but I find it very fascinating. Doesn't it just ring of the days when everyone used big, fancy words? I mean, you almost need a dictionary just for its definition!

~Quotes~

"I believe in the proximate correctness of the date of our Saviour's birth. I believe he always comes in winter. And then let Winter reign without: Love is king within; and Love is lord of the Winter."

"Winter is only a spring too weak and feeble for us to see that it is living."

Don't those just sum up February? There's St. Valentine's Day which is all about loved ones. And then there is Groundhog Day; the day when we trust an animal to predict the weather, because February never can decide whether to be winter or spring.

Books

So the only book I started and finished this month was Adela Cathcart Volume 1 by George MacDonald. I started it on a whim and blew through it. That was the source of both my vocabulary word and quotes above :)

I started Proofreading Plain and Simple by Debra Hart May. But I haven't made it very far and the library will want it back soon . . . 

I also started Sentinel by Jamie Foley again, because I thought it would be a good one to read aloud to my hoard of brothers. The 12 and 9-year-old, in particular, are really enjoying it.

Writings

This is as much for my benefit as it is for yours, so bear with me :) 

~Words: 10,714~

I had no idea it was that many. I feel better now. Especially since I'm pretty sure that's about 1/4 of my book so far. *cheers*

~Chapters: 3~ 

Three. Not too bad, since I would ideally get out one a week. I'm rather impressed. *pats self on back*

~Progress Update: 65%

I know I'm over half-way now. I just haven't outlined what happens next, so I'm not really sure on percentage or anything. (I know what you're thinking: but you put 65%. Well that was an educated guess.)

~Biggest Problem: Consistency~

Oh, consistency. I wrote a lot more words than I realized, but I know for a fact that I only wrote about 7 days this month. This is why I'm doing the 300 for 30 Challenge from Go Teen Writers. I can get a lot done if I just sit down and write. 

Overall, not as bad as I thought. But still not fantastic. I am determined to do better in March! And now that I'm actually tracking that sort of thing, I will pay more attention and hopefully be more productive. I will not let the fact that I will be extremely busy doing a choir tour over Spring Break deter me. Besides, Kansas is where my novel's set, so I can at least do some more research, right? :D

Goals

I have 5 goals for March.
1~ Write at least 4 chapters
Surely I can manage this? It's only one a week.
2~ Read at least 3 books
I'm taking suggestions.
3~ Finish editing Katie's book
(I'm not sure how practical this is, because she has to send me the last 2/3 still.) 
4~ Reach 25 followers
I'm counting on y'all to help me with this one.
5~ Blog at least 5 posts
Brace yourselves. If I get going, I may flood your inboxes.

Pretty simple, huh? Well, we'll see. I'll revisit these goals at the end of March to see how I did. And Happy Leap Day! Check out Google's adorable memento if you haven't. And also go read Katie's hilarious post to know how to celebrate. I'm ignoring her advice altogether and just eating chocolate :D

~~~~~

How was your February? What are your goals for March? Did you enjoy monthly wrap-up posts, or find them boring (be honest)? What writing and reading goals have you set (because I have no idea how I match up)?

27 comments:

  1. Ooh, I'm doing the 300 for 30 challenge too! I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up. :P

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    1. Yeah, I'm glad it's only 300, because it will be a challenge to get to some days! :)

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  2. Sounds like you had an excellent February!
    That's great that you're doing the 300 for 30 challenge- I've done the 100 for 100 challenge several times, and it's always helped me. I'm not doing the 300/4/30 one because I need to focus on editing, but best of luck to you!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah! Yeah, I'm going to set editing aside for now and try to plow through my first draft :D

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  3. Yay! A monthly recap! I honestly adore when people do them (as if you couldn't tell; I just put one up on my blog this morning).

    Those purple mushrooms are awesome! I never knew mushrooms could be purple O.O So. Cool.

    I can definitely relate to you in terms of reading. I seem to have hardly any time to read anymore. I finished a whopping three books. :P My bookish heart is less-than-thrilled.

    Also, I have to tell you that I love February as well! By far one of my favorite months :) Everyone probably thinks it's odd that I enjoy it so, but I just can't help loving it.

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    1. Yay! I read yours and really liked it. But of all the blogs I stalked yesterday, you and Katie were the only two I saw with wrap-ups. Mine was kind of late, but oh well :P

      I know! I'm so sad that I don't get more reading done :( And, yes. February is the best.

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  4. Anytime someone says "Book suggestions?" I'm just like, "Ooh, Ooh, pick me, pick me!"
    So here's a few of my suggestions:
    Dystopian: A Time to Die and A Time to Speak by Nadine Brandes
    Classic: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    Historical: Chasing Jupiter by Rachel Coker (but get the box of tissues!)
    Fantasy: Resistance and the King's Scrolls by Jaye L. Knight

    And your February sounds amazing. Just FYI, I love the idea of a monthly recap. So much so, that I'm probably copying. :P It's a grand idea. Probably not till next month, so stay tuned... ;)

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    1. Haha! Thanks for the suggestions. I'll see which ones our libraries have. I think we have to go today to return books, so perfect timing! :D To Kill a Mockingbird is one that I'm in the middle of. It's been excellent so far. I'm really enjoying it.

      Yeah, I think monthly recaps are awesome. It just adds some organization and overview for people who don't read all your posts can get the basic details and know when to expect them :P I will definitely stay tuned. I'm working on reading your history of posts right now :D

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  5. good luck on accomplishing everything!! and wow...i hope your oven comes soon!

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    1. Thank you! Yeah, the oven . . . It's not that big a deal. We just have to find someone who can make the cabinets look nice. We're replacing our separate wall oven and stovetop with a range, so they'll both be out for a while I like to cook, so it's kind of fun :D

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  6. Oh, consistency. My writing has the consistency of the Ohio February Weather (which is ranges from negatives to 60s). There are days I'll write over 5000 words...and then weeks I won't open my MS at all. Ah, such is life. I'm also doing the Go Teen Writers Challenge in an attempt to get back into more of a writing schedule.

    Enjoy your ovenless adventure! Something perhaps to add to a novel some day? So glad you've joined the blogging community!

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    1. Yep, it's bad news. Hopefully we'll both feel better about it after this month!

      Haha, true. Ovenless could create some interesting circumstances.

      Thanks, I'm loving your blog, too! :D

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  7. I'm the queen of NOT being consistent. But I applaud you for getting those 10,000 words, during non-Nanowrimo months, I can barely get out 5,000 a month.

    Ah finally, someone published a goal list in which the goals are somewhat ACHIEVABLE. Lately, I've been seeing many lists where the goals are a little far-fetched. But I wish you the best of luck on these goals, I believe in you :P

    That word is so interesting, another word to add to the little dictionary in my head!

    ~Noor

    p.s- just followed, welcome to the blogging community!

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    1. Yeah, I've actually never tried NaNoWriMo, because November is like the worst possible month for me. And I'm just a really slow writer. But maybe next time :)

      Thanks! Yeah, I was trying to challenge myself just a little, but not too much. I don't like unreached goals :P

      Thanks so much for the follow! I'm excited to keep up with you.

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  8. Okay, 10,000 words is REALLY awesome. Especially for only writing 10 days out of the month. SO I applaud you! :D
    AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO READING FIVE CHAPTERS THIS MONTH! *dances around*

    Heh... we'll see if you can finish it all in March. No pressure if you can't! I want to have sign ups in March, but I can waste time asking people their opinions on how they want to do the beta-ing process. And I may not get you chapters fast enough... So we'll see. Don't worry. :)

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    1. Thanks, Katie! I really have no idea how it happened . . .

      Well, I just finished chapter 11 and it was awesome. And now I need more ;)

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  9. Hey, my mom went to Mexico this February too! It's hard being the mom, isn't it? :P
    Good luck with all your goals this month!

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    1. Yes! I was always cleaning, cooking, changing diapers, helping siblings with school. I don't know how she gets anything else done!

      Thanks!! *crosses fingers*

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  10. It was awesome! I am doing the 300 for 30 challenge as well! And I'm excited for you and Katie, I emailed her and just gave some encouragement, saying I was super excited!

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    1. Yay! More challenge peeps :D How sweet of you! 1 chapter down, 19 to go ;D

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  11. I loved reading through the post. :) Month-in-review posts are my favorite. I should get one up. Sometime. I'm hoping to get one posted on Friday. I originally planned to do one on Monday.. .but I decided a post about Leap Day was more appropriate. ;P
    Hmm, book suggestions? "Interrupted" by Rachel Coker, "Remembering You" by Tricia Goyer, Any book by Sarah Sundin. . .they're all WWII historical fiction, though. Just 'cause that tends to be what I enjoy reading the most. ;)

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    1. I'm so glad you liked it, Jesseca. I'll keep an eye out for your post ;)

      I love historical fiction, too! But I can't think of very many I've read from WWII. Can't wait to check these out!

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  12. Hi Abi! I tagged you for the Get to Know Me Tag! I thought that you might want to do it, but you don't have to, totally up to you! http://theartofwritingforhim.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-get-to-know-me-tag.html

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    1. Oh my goodness, thank you! I love tags (at least I think I do). I will definitely do this. <3

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    2. :D I thought that since you're semi new to the blogger world, this would be cool!

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  13. My mom went to Africa so I know how hard it is to get stuff done, your grandma sounds so nice.

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    1. Oh wow! My mom's not a big traveler, but her three sisters are, so they went to Cancun with their mom for her birthday :D It was a long overdue girls' trip. What was your mom doing in Africa?

      And yes, all of my grandparents are pretty awesome ;)

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