Category: Monthly Recaps

Monthly Recaps

March Monthly Recap

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Hello, everyone! Thank you for your patience! Last month, I remarked on how quickly my month went. March did not go as quickly. It seemed like it was taking forever to get finished! I’m sure it was mostly because I was ready for spring break.

Books

This month I finished At Home in Mitford. I LOVED IT! It was such a great book! It had a little of everything I love added in- romance, mystery, and a little adventure. Like I’m sure I said before, it’s a great book if you want to read a relaxing novel. Yes, I did say adventure and mystery, but you need at least a little action, right? Otherwise, it would be a little boring!

I also finished the second book in the series, A Light in the Window. It was just as good as the first, with a little romance and mystery sprinkled in.

Finally, I started the third book in the series. I’ll let you know what I think about it when I finish it.

Writing

So, this month, I got quite a bit of writing done. I wrote almost every day, adding to my book. For my story of the month, I have decided that I’m going to add on to the short story I did last time. But, I am going to do it in a separate post so I can write more than I usually do. Sorry for the delay!

I’m also going to do a new thing next month to help me track my writing. Whenever I write, I’ll set a stopwatch so I can write down in my bullet journal for how long I wrote each day. I’ll add up my time for each week and compare. Then, I’ll add my weekly times together to get my total writing time for the month. It’s just something I wanted to try.

Bullet Journal

So, this month, I decided that before each monthly recap, I would go ahead and get next month’s title page, overview, and trackers done so I can share pictures for next month. For April, I decided to do something spring-ish. I decided on the theme “Secret Garden”. And without further ado, here is my title page.

Next, I did my monthly overview with vines and flowers to complete the “Secret Garden” theme. I have a section for notes on the left page as usual with another section for goals underneath it. On the top left of the right page, I have a section titled, “books”. Here, when I finish a book during April, I write the name down so I don’t forget about it when it’s time for another monthly recap. To the right of that, I have a section titled, “writing”. This is where I will write down the amount of time I wrote each week. Underneath the section for books, I have a section for my blog. This is where I can plan out a post for each week. Underneath the section for writing, I have a section for memories. This where I can write down memories I don’t want to forget. I haven’t decided what to do under the section for my blog yet. I will probably do a quote.

Next, I did my sleep log. Of course, the tree and owl are there to contribute to the theme.

Next is my habit tracker. Nothing new here!

All of these pictures were taken while we were staying at a cabin in Cumberland Mountain State Park. I really enjoyed my spring break! What about you? What did you do for spring break?

Well, that’s all for this week! I hope you come back next Thursday to read my story! Comment or email me if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 ESV

Monthly Recaps

Monthly Recap: February

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My Bullet Journal Weekly Spread

Hello, readers! I’m glad you’re back! Today I’m just going to do my once-a-month recap that tells you what my month looked like.

Books I Read

This month, I finally finished up The Chronicles of Narnia, and I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed it. I’ll be doing a review on this series soon.

I also started a new series recommended by my mom, The Mitford Years. I am in the middle of book one, and I love it! This is a very relaxing series, which is definitely a change of pace for me!

Writing

This month, I got a few chapters done. You may be thinking, “Only a few chapters!? I thought you loved writing!!” Yes, I do love writing. But I also needed to focus on my schoolwork, which took up a lot of my time this month. But I also made an important decision.

I’ve been wondering for a while now if I should publish my recently-finished book (just as an e-book). I couldn’t decided, because I was afraid. I had no idea what others would think- if it was weird or just not a good story overall. I finally decided that this summer, I’m going to try to publish it. I’ll do whatever I need to do (look over it, give it to someone else to critique, etc.) to get it out there.

If you have any experience publishing an e-book and have any advice, please let me know in the comments.

A New Journal

This month, I started something new to help me focus on my daily Bible reading. I’m calling it my Devotion Journal.

Basically, I do my Bible reading, and then I write down a summary for each chapter. And then I can also add any prayer requests or interesting facts that I learned. I suggest doing this because it can help you understand what you’re reading and help you learn from it.

Bullet Journaling

This month, I tried several new weekly layouts, just trying to find what really works for me. The one that I had been doing in January just wasn’t working. It felt too cramped. So then I tried one that divided each day into sections. It was too strict. Finally, I found the one that works (see the picture at the top).

First, I drew a line down each page that was about one-third of the page. Then, I drew lines for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday daily sections on the first page. I then continued the lines over to the second page as well. Those would be for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Saturday and Sunday is one daily section split in half). I did this that way because I didn’t want to have different sized sections, plus I don’t use my bullet journal much during the weekend.

On the left page, I have my study chart, habit tracker, and health tracker. My study chart is something new I’m doing to help me see when I studied in each subject.

On the right page, I have a section for notes, goals, and a stress key.

My Story of the Month

It was time.

I was ready. I was born ready.

We were going to win.

“Christy! Are you ready?”

I jumped up off the bed when I heard my mom calling for me.

“Yeah, coming!”

I began to search my room for my helmet and riding boots. I found them in the corner of my closet. I pulled on my boots and stopped in front of the mirror. My chin-length blonde hair was tangled, my mascara was smudged, and my riding uniform was wrinkled. I sighed. I had gotten ready too early, and I had fallen asleep on my bed while I was waiting to leave.

I grabbed my mascara and hairbrush and stuck them in my bag as I rushed down the hall and outside onto the driveway. I halted when I noticed a blue truck in the driveway.

I stared in wonder as a handsome guy hopped out and slammed the door. His brown hair was combed to the side, and he wore a gray t-shirt and jeans.

“Surprised?” Derrek asked as he walked over to me.

“Yeah. Usually my dad drives me to the race.”

“We worked it out,” he said glancing as the short man standing in front of the barn.

Dad waved, and he waved back cheerfully.

“Well, come on! Let’s go!” He took my bag and put it in the back as I ran to the passenger’s side and hopped in.

When we got to the stables, I couldn’t get out of the car. My legs felt like jelly.

“Hey, it’s ok. You’ll do fine. I know you will. You and Chester have been training for a long time. You’ll do fine.”

I looked over at him and sighed. “But what if he falls? I mean, what if he slips on the track? It’s been really rainy lately, and-”

He put a finger to my lips. “You’ll be fine. Now get out there.” He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then got out of the truck. I followed.

Two hours later, I was sitting on top of Chester, mere seconds before the gun shot. Then, everything was a blur. I could only focus on urging my horse on, telling him to go faster.

I didn’t see the rock.

And neither did Chester.

The last thing I remember seeing was the muddy ground.

I’m just going to take a second to explain this story. If you couldn’t tell, Chester and Christy were in a race, and because of a rock in the path, Chester fell and Christy is now unconscious. I don’t really know anything about horses, but I would love to be able to ride one. I just thought I would try out writing a story about a race.

And that is the end of another monthly recap! Let me know if you liked my story and if you have any experience with publishing an e-book. How did your month go? Was it as busy and filled with homework as mine was?

Thank you for reading! Happy writing!