Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023

Hello everybody and happy 2023, nine days late! I am so amazed that we are already more than a week into the new year. It seems like 2022 went by in a blur, and now, we’re stepping into 2023. My 2022 was pretty good, and in today’s post, I’ll be looking back over 2022, reviewing my goals, looking up at 2023, and sharing my new year’s goals!

I made a few goals at the end of 2021, and I’ll go over them now, reviewing which ones I completed and which ones I didn’t do so well on. Honestly, I half forgot about these goals and didn’t follow them throughout the year a lot.

~ Blogging-related ~

• Get 100 followers.

Yes! Thank you, guys! My current total following count is 175 followers. I cannot believe that I made it this far, but I know that I wouldn’t be here without y’all. I am so happy to be here!

• Plan and schedule more posts.

I guess. I think that I did write more posts in advance this year.

• Do a few collabs.

I did, and they were so fun! You can check them out here.

• Have fun blogging!

Yes, I am! This year has been my third year of blogging, and it was very fun. I love blogging: sharing about the things I love, interacting with other bloggers, and reading other’s posts!

~ Writing-related ~

• Finish the first draft of my contemporary novel.

No. I just kind of scrapped that book, because I realized the lack of a plot. I might pick it up again, but probably not. I didn’t plan the novel much, and I kind of just didn’t enjoy writing it.

• Finish the first draft of my dystopian novel.

I did! Then, I wrote the second and third drafts. I feel like I got really far with this book this year!

• Write at least 1,000 words a day.

No, not really. Some months I wrote more, and other months I barely got any writing done.

~ Reading-related ~

• Read at least 60 52 books.

Starting out the year, I was aiming to read 60 books. About halfway through the year, I changed it to 52 books because I realized 60 wasn’t going to happen. I ended up reading 55 books, so about in between.

• Finish the LOTR series.

Yes, I finished the series this past fall. I loved it, and I don’t know why it took me so long to read it.

~ Running-related ~

• Enter another race.

I did! I entered a race in our local fair, and finished first for the females in my age group, although I was the only one, lol. It was a lot of fun, though!

• Run at least 200 miles.

I ran about 186, so I was soo close!

~ Life-related ~

• Start waking up earlier.

This has changed throughout the months, but overall, I guess I completed the goal.

• Make a better schedule.

Like with the previous goal, it’s changed throughout the year. I think that this is something I still have to work on this coming year.

• Write in my journal every day.

Nope. I didn’t do that a lot, definitely not every day.

Goals for 2023

• Finish my new book’s first draft.
• Improve my schedule.
• Get 300 followers on Books and Hooks.
• Read one classic a month.
• Read one spiritual book a month.
• Read at least four books a month.
• Improve with piano.
• Continue my Duolingo streak throughout the whole year.
• Do a gratitude jar every day.
• Run 223 miles (at least).

In 2022…

• I posted 74 posts on this blog and wrote 44.5K words overall.
• Some of my favorite posts I wrote were Organizing my Yarn/Crochet Shelf, The Music Loving Writer’s Tag (Original), My Favorite Book to Movie Adaptions, How to Start Crocheting: A Collab With BetsyJane, and The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys: Book Review.

In 2023…

• I plan to post consistently.
• I will continue sharing the same types of content I’ve been sharing, although I will probably be doing more crochet-related posts, and book reviews as well.
• I want to reach 300 followers, which may be a bit ambitious, but I guess we’ll see!
• I will try to post once a week, although breaks will be taken.

That’s all for today! How was your 2022? Did you hit your goals? What are some of your goals and plans for 2023? I’d love to chat in the comments! Also, be sure to comment and ask me some questions on my latest post, and I will answer them soon! I hope everyone has a blessed week, and I’ll be back with the Q&A in a few days! Bye for now!

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Monthly Wrap-Up: December 2022

Hello, welcome back to my blog! I hope you are having a wonderful day today! ☺️ Am I the only one who can’t believe it’s the final day of 2022?

In this post, I’ll be wrapping up December: talking about what I did, the books I read, which goals I accomplished, and sharing photos from my month! Let’s dive right in!

Books I Read

I feel like I had a really good reading month! This was probably due to the fact that I was trying to hit my 2022 reading goal.

By Your Side by Kasie West was a reread for me. I listened to the audiobook while I helped clean my little sibling’s room. This was the first Kasie West book I read, last year, and maybe my favorite, although it’s hard to rank her books! They are such cute, quick contemporary books that are easy to read, yet are still wholesome.

Far From the Tree by Robin Benway was my second book of the month, borrowed from the library. Although there were some aspects I did not like, I was able to overlook that and appreciate other points of the story. I liked it fairly well, although I was a bit disappointed with the ending for some reason.

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys was just…amazing. Her books are always very good, informational, historical fiction novels, but they still are interesting and easier to read than a history textbook. This Ruta Sepetys book was no different; I learned a lot about a time in history I rarely hear of, 1989 Romania. I really hope she writes more amazing YA historical fiction novels!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson was very interesting. It’s not a genre I would normally be picking up, but my sister and I read it together so we could discuss it afterward, and I thought that it was a very thought-provoking book. I feel like the story didn’t really revolve around the characters, but more the question of how far is too far in medical science. It definitely made me think of things I’d never considered before, and I like that.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen was the third Jane Austen book I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it! Although it is an older book, I was able to follow along pretty well, and may be one of my favorite Jane Austen books so far.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was a book I was assigned to read for school, but I actually enjoyed it a bit. I found it very fun at points, yet I didn’t see a very clear storyline in it.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han was another reread of the month. I remember really liking these when I read them last year, but this time, I feel as if I don’t as much. I was getting fairly annoyed by Peter Kavinsky, and just some things in the story.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han is the second book in the series. Again, it wasn’t as good as I remember it being the first time. One thing I do enjoy from these books, though, is the sister relationships!

Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was the perfect Christmas read! This was actually my first time reading it, though I’ve watched the movie multiple times. I really liked it! I like the story overall, and many of the descriptions throughout the book.

Stranger Things: The Other Side by Jody Houser is a comic book about the tv show, Stranger Things. I enjoyed it, although I don’t usually read comics. This is one of my favorite shows, and I read through this graphic novel in one sitting!

Today, on the last day of 2022, I am reading The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. I am probably going to finish it today, as I have only about 150 pages left in it as I am posting this. I think that it’s very well so far, and contains many good quotes.

Crochet Projects

This month, I got a few Christmas decorations finished, as well as many of my Christmas presents, despite my resolutions to get presents finished early this year! 😅

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

DIY Book Tree: BetsyJane’s Blog Tour

The Christmas Tag

Five Last-Minute Gift Ideas: Collab With Diamond!

Merry Christmas // A Christmas Poem

Reviewing December’s Goals

• Go to bed by ten each night. Not every night, but I do feel like I’ve improved my sleep schedule this month.
• Bake some Christmas cookies. Yes! My family and I made many Christmas cookies and treats this year! I’ll add pictures of some of them at the bottom of the post!
• Complete my reading goal. Yes, this year’s goal was 52 books, and I finished with 55 books read this year. (If I finish the book I’m currently reading today.)
• Practice the piano every day and learn some Christmas songs. Nope!
• Make a Christmas music playlist. I added some new songs to a playlist my sister made last year, so kind of, I guess.
• Go thrift shopping. I did go thrift shopping a couple times this month, mostly to buy Christmas gifts and decorations!
• Get some more yarn. I did! I mostly needed to get some to make some presents, but I also bought some Christmas colored yarn and made myself a hat!
• Decorate for Christmas. Yup!

Goals for January

• Get into a new running routine.
• Post weekly on both of my blogs.
• Create a new schedule.
• Drink eight cups of water a day.
• Write every day.
• Get new glasses.
• Go through my clothes and get rid of stuff.
• Read a classic.
• Journal every day.

Pictures From My Month

My nails!

Truffles!

Buckeyes!

It snowed!

🤍

My cat, Luna! 💕

Icy frost on the window.

Peppermint meringue cookies!

Chocolate white chocolate cookies!

Gingersnap cookies my brother made!

Fudge!

Soup! 🍲

I’m the only one in my family basically that likes the Little Debbie brownies, and everything else thinks that they’re gross. Am I crazy?

What Happened in December?

• The main thing in December was Christmas! Although I didn’t get to go visit relatives due to some sickness going around, I had a fun Christmas with my family!
• My mom graduated from nursing school as well this month.
• I did a lot of baking, decorating, and crocheting this month!
• For Christmas, I got a notebook from my sister, and I have started to write another book! It is a contemporary novel, and maybe I will write a post about it soon.
• Now, I’ve started planning out my January and 2023.

That’s all for today! How was your December? Do you have anything exciting going on in January? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Check out for a post next week for a yearly wrap-up and an overview of my 2023!

Merry Christmas // A Christmas Poem

Hello and merry Christmas, everyone! How is your Christmas day going?

I am having a lovely day so far, just relaxing and spending time with my family. I am not going to do a big post for today (and I’m not sure I’ll post anything tomorrow) but I thought that I’d pop in here and wish everyone a joyous Christmas day!

I also decided to share a little poem, written by my younger self. Keep in mind that I was probably about seven or eight when this was written and I didn’t know a lot about poem writing, so it’s definitely not the best, but I just wanted to share something about the true meaning of Christmas, and why we celebrate this lovely season. Enjoy!

When fall is gone, and winter’s here,

I know Christmas is very near.

We put up the tree, and light the lights,

Whose soft glow looks so pretty in the dark night.

On Christmas morning, you may see

Many gifts under the tree.

But, make sure not to forget:

The reason of Christmas is not the gifts.

Jesus was born on Christmas night.

In a world full of darkness, He became our light!

This is a beautiful thing to remember. Sure, presents are exciting, and baking cookies are fun, and all of these festivities seem to spread the joy of Christmas.

But, what are we really celebrating? Jesus’ birth! The coming of our Savior! To me, that is more exciting, more joyful than anything else. Just something to reflect upon.

Merry Christmas again; I hope your day is full of love, peace, and joy, family and friends!

Monthly Wrap-Up: November 2022

Hello everybody!

Today, I’m here with a wrap-up for the lovely month of November. Let’s just get right into it!

The Books I Read

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was my first book of the month. I took a bit of time to read it, as with the Lord of the Rings series, but I liked it very much.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson was my second read. This one was amazing! My sister read it before me, and she loved it. I thought she was hyping it up too much, but she was not! I loved the mystery elements a lot, so this one is easily a five-star read for me.

The Midnight Dancers by Regina Doman was my final book of the month. I previously read Doman’s other books in the Fairytale Retold series and loved them, and I liked this one a lot. It might be my favorite of the series, but it’s hard to tell. They are great Catholic fiction. Five stars!

Crochet Projects

This month, my main crochet projects have been little things, such as keychains, hats, and other small projects! I’ve also started on some Christmas gifts! 😁

Blog Posts on “Books and Hooks”

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Sunflower Crochet Keychain Pattern

A Random Saturday In My Life

I Finished Draft Two of my Novel + New Posting Schedule

What’s Your WIP Writing Tag: Dystopian Novel

Reviewing November’s Goals

Finish the second draft of my dystopian book. (Write 2,000 words a day.) As y’all probably know, if you’ve read my past couple of posts, yes, I did finish it! I’m super happy about that! I wrote every day for the first…maybe half of the month? Then, I took a small break before going back through it for a third time. I’m probably going to put this project aside for a little while, while I take a small break from writing. I’ll also be planning out the second book in this duology soon, too!

Run 10 miles. No, I didn’t get around to this. I think I went on two or three runs. For some reason, I find it harder to run in the cool weather, so getting out there in the winter is a bit of a struggle. I still love running, though! I might go on a run tomorrow, too, and it’s still not the end of November, so…

Go on a walk every day. I did this successfully for about the first half of the month, and then I started missing some days. Overall, though, I think this was pretty successful!

Re-decorate the walls around my bed. Yup! I just took down some pictures and put up new ones, and my sister and I put up some hanging fairy lights!

Start getting up early and make a schedule. Umm…😅 Not really.

Less screen time. I don’t feel like I went on screens any less, but also not really any more than before.

Drink more water. I think so!

Plan and schedule posts for the month in advance. I feel like I wrote more posts in advance this month, which I’m happy about, so yes!

Try out a new bread recipe each week. I did this for the first three weeks, and I made some Italian bread the first week, whole wheat bread the second, and for the third week, I made some French bread! I didn’t make any for the final week with Thanksgiving and all, because I had a lot of baking as it was. I did make rolls for our Thanksgiving dinner so I think that that almost counts.

Goals for December

Go to bed by ten each night.

Bake some Christmas cookies.

Complete my reading goal.

Practice the piano every day and learn some Christmas songs.

Make a Christmas music playlist.

Go thrift shopping.

Get some more yarn.

Decorate for Christmas.

Pictures From my Month

I like how the lighting in this one turned out!

Italian bread! 😋 I didn’t get photos of the other ones, because my siblings devoured them to quickly!

I love this book! It did annoy me not knowing who was who, but it was also great, and I loved finding everything out!

I made some cheesy bread sticks twice this month, and they were amazing! Recipe here. (Definitely recommend!!!)

Reading + rainy days are the best!

Broccoli from our Thanksgiving! It was so good!

And, our pumpkin and cherry pies!

Here’s the cherry pie! My brother made it, and I did the lattice topping. It turned out super yummy.

My dessert plate! I should have also taken a pic of my dinner plate, but everything was too good!

Peppermint mocha. ☕ Yum!

And last, but certainly not least, my sister’s and my book tree! I love how it turned out!

What happened in November?

• November was a pretty good month, but I don’t feel like a lot happened!
• I got sick. Mostly just an annoying cough, though, which wasn’t fun, but not too bad either.
• I mostly got a lot of walks in and wrote a lot, at least in the begining of November. I loved going on a walk, and thinking about the book a lot, then coming back to write.
• We also had a great Thanksgiving, with a lot of yummy food.
• On Friday (Nov 25) we got a Christmas tree! My family always goes and hunts for one, which is actually pretty fun.

That will be all for my November wrap-up!

How was your November? What fun plans do you have for the upcoming month? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all having a good start to your week, and I hope you have a good week until I’m back on Monday!

See you later! Bye!

~ Rebekah

P.S. Please comment with any winter/Christmas related posts you’d like to see on my blog!

Things I Want To Do This Fall

Hello, hello, hello! Happy October, and welcome back to my blog! ☺️

As you read from the title of this post, today I’ll be sharing some things I want to do this fall! It’s going to be sort of like a fall bucket list!

Here we go!

🍂 Drink a pumpkin spice latte

I’ve never had one, because I didn’t used to like coffee, but I’ve been drinking more coffee lately! (Especially iced coffee!) Pumpkin spice lattes sound so good! My mom also said that it’s similar to chai, and I really love that, so I definitely want to try one!

🍂 Thrift some cute fall sweaters, and dresses

Thrift shopping is so fun, and I need some more sweaters and dresses for the cooler weather! Do you guys enjoy thrift shopping?

🍂 Go on a hike

I really enjoy hiking, but I feel like my family is just so busy in the summer, plus it’s very hot! I hope to go on some hikes this autumn.

🍂 Make these pumpkin bars

They look so yummy and fallish! I hope that I can make them sometime soon! I am excited to try a new recipe out!

🍂 Bake some fall themed cupcakes

I used to bake a lot of cupcakes (mostly during the quarantine, I think, because we were stuck at home) but I haven’t made a lot recently. I want to make some fall themed cupcakes, though. I would love it if you guys could give me some ideas of what flavor they should be in the comments!

🍂 Make caramel apples

I love how so many of these are about food! 😄 But, yes, I really want to make caramel apples this year! I’ve wanted to make them for the past year or two, but just never got around to it. Hopefully, I can this year!

🍂 Finish “The Return of the King” by J.R.R. Tolkien

I’ve been working on this series for a long time, and I’m now about halfway through “The Return of the King.” I’m really getting into it, which makes my sister happy, because she is a massive LOTR fan. I think I’ll finish it in October.

🍂 Take some pictures outside

Some beautiful fall photography!! 🍁 The leaves are starting to change colors, and it just looks so lovely.

🍂 Donate to Warm Up America

I heard about their organization a while ago, and I’m always thinking “I should donate some crocheted things sometime” but I never really get around to it. I think that autumn is a good time to donate to them, because winter’s coming up, and people will need warm blankets, hats and scarves for those colder months. Autumn’s also a time I think about all the things I’m grateful for in my life, which leads me to think about those people that don’t have all the things I do.

🍂 Finish a knit project

I actually made a knit pumpkin a few days ago, which I’m really proud of, because it was my first knit project! I want to practice knitting more this fall and winter, and I hope to find and make a cute pattern! Check out this post of BetsyJane’s if you are thinking about learning to knitting!

🍂 Start on Christmas gifts early

I usually crochet a lot of gifts for my family and friends. But, most times, I wait until the last minute, then I’m trying to finish crocheting gifts the night before Christmas. I want to plan my gifts more in advance, and start on them earlier.

🍂 Start a gratitude jar

I think that this sounds like a really nice idea! I feel like, sometimes, we focus too much on all the negativity in life. A gratitude jar sounds like a good idea to think about and acknowledge all of the blessing in my life!

🍂 Post weekly on my other blog

I Have not been very consistent on there, and I’m going to resolve to post once a week!

How’s your autumn going so far? What do you want to do this fall? I’d love to chat in the comments!

That’s it for today’s post! I hope everyone’s having an amazing Monday!

See y’all on Thursday!

~ Rebekah

Crochet Flower Chain: Beginner Pattern

Hello and happy Monday! How’s the start to everybody’s week?

As I mentioned in my last post, today I am posting a crochet pattern! It is for an easy, quick, and simple crochet flower chain! 🌸

Made using Lion Brand Coboo yarn! One of my favorite yarns!

You can make this chain as long as you want, and use it for many different things. You could turn it into a garland, a bracelet, a curtain tie, a clothing accessory, a headband…so many possibilities!

Materials

• Yarn (the size and amount depends on what you’ll end up using it for)
• Coordinating crochet hook
• Yarn needle

Instructions

1: Chain 5. Slip stitch in the first chain to create a loop. *Chain 2. Do 2 double crochets, a treble crochet, and two more double crochets in the loop. Slip stitch in the loop.*

2: This creates one petal. Repeat the instructions between * four more times to create five petals, and to finish your first flower. The stitches will get a little crowded toward the end, but that’s okay.

3: When you’ve finished this flower, you’ll want to chain 10 or 15 ( depending on how far apart you want each flower to be). Then, you’ll slip stitch in the fifth chain from the hook, creating a loop.

4: Repeat the stitches between * five times into this loop to complete your next flower. Then, just keep chaining 10, slip stitching into the fifth chain, and completing the stitches between * five times into this loop. When you’ve made it your desired length, fasten off, weave in the ends, and you’re done!

As you see, this pattern is super easy! You really just repeat a series of stitches for each flower, and make as many flowers as you desire.

I hope you liked this pattern! Do you like crochet? Will you be trying out out? I’d love to chat in the comments!

Have a wonderful day and week, everybody! ❤️

~ Rebekah

Answering Y’all’s Questions

Hello! I’m back with a new post this week! I’m going to be answering the questions you guys have asked in this post!

Thanks so much to Addie and Maggie for asking some questions! Be sure to look at both of their blogs, because they share some great posts!

Let’s get into the questions, now!

Addie’s questions:

1. Have you ever been out of the U.S.? If so where did you go?

I actually haven’t ever. I think it would be really fun to travel sometime, though! I just don’t like plane rides.

2. Do you have any pets? (you may have answered this question before I just can’t remember lol)

I think I did before, but I don’t mind answering it again!! I have a cat named Luna! 🥰 Here is a pic!

3. What’s your favorite hobby?

Uhhhh…this is a hard one, considering the fact I have so many hobbies! 😅 Writing, crochet, and running have to be my top three. I don’t think I can choose just one!

4. If you could live anywhere you wanted in the world where would you go and why?

I would really like to visit Italy or France! If I had to choose one, though, it would probably be Italy! I’d love to go there for many reasons, one being the food! Pasta, pizza, gelato…yum! I don’t know if I’d like to live there, but just for a visit would be fun! To live…I’m not sure! I don’t have a very good understanding of different places, because I haven’t traveled a lot, so I don’t know if I would be able to answer that!

5. Any college/future plans?!

It’s funny you ask this because it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. I plan to become a doula when I’m out of high school, and then maybe go to college to become a midwife if I like that career area!

Maggie’s questions:

1. Would you rather visit a library or a bookstore?

I like them both for different reasons! I love bookstores because I can actually buy the books, whereas at a library I’d have to return them in a few weeks. I also really like the library, especially if I don’t have any money to spend on books. Overall, though, I’d have to go with a bookstore!

2. What’s your favorite savannah animal?

Elephants! For some reason, I’ve just always loved them, and I don’t know why, but that’s definitely what I’d choose for this question!

3. What are a few countries you’d love to visit?

Like I said earlier, Italy and France are two countries I’d love to visit! I also really like Ireland!

4. Do you prefer lemonade or tea?

I like both, but lemonade is my favorite!

5. What were some of your favorite games to play when you were little?

When I was little, I really loved to play Monopoly and Risk! I love the games that rely heavily on strategy, instead of just luck. These games sort of combine the two, so I really enjoyed them! I also liked Scattegorites, I think, though that was a bit later.

6. How would you describe your art/decorating style?

I like really simple and cute decorations that are bright and cheerful! 😊

7. Do you prefer drawing or painting?

I don’t do much of either, because I’m not the best at it, but I do like drawing better.

Thank you all for reading! And, thanks again to Addie and Maggie for asking some questions! I had so much fun answering them! See y’all Thursday!

Bye!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: August 2022

Hello! Welcome or welcome back to my blog! How are you doing?

Today I’ll be wrapping up my August, considering the month is over. Now is your last chance to ask me any questions on this post, because I’ll post the answers on Monday, probably!

Books

The only book I finished this month was We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han. It is the third book in the summer I turned pretty series. Despite my higher ratings for the other two books, I did not enjoy this book. I just found it very annoying, and I didn’t like the ending.

Writing updates

Considering the fact that I was traveling during the first half of the month, and I was in sort of a writing slump, I didn’t get a lot of writing done. I worked on Old Hopes and New Beginnings a bit and picked up the second draft of my dystopian book, and I’ve started writing it again! And…guess what? I’ve come up with (yet another) book idea. Now, I really want to write it, but I have to finish one of my other books first. 😣

Crochet

I have started working on some fall projects!! Yay! I made some decorative pumpkins (here’s my pattern) and some other autumn decor!

Running

Again, I was traveling, so I didn’t run during that time. I did get quite a bit done in the latter part of the month, which was great. I also did a 5k race, which was lots of fun!! My time was a little under 30 minutes, which I think was a pretty good time for me!

Posts

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2022

I didn’t set any August goals, so I’ll just go right into listing my September goals. (I can’t believe it’s September already!!! 😮)

September goals

• Write 1,000 words every day
• Practice Spanish lessons every day
• No phone on Mondays and Fridays (except for texting friends and doing Spanish lessons)
• Follow schedule
• Get up early & go to bed early
• Read five books
• Post a crochet pattern
• Drink more water
• Post twice a week

Important events in August

• As I have mentioned a lot, I was visiting family during the first half of the month, so that was quite fun!
• One weekend, my dad and brothers traveled a bit, so my sisters, my mom, and I had such a fun time! We did some shopping, got snacks, and had chick flick movie nights!
• Our fair happened, which was lots of fun!

My little brother did this puzzle while on our trip, and he wanted me to take a pic!

We got frosties on the way back from our trip! I loved the strawberry kind! It was nice and refreshing for the hot summer day!

Yummy dinner!

Just some flowers! 🌼

You won’t understand how hard I was gripping my phone while taking this photo. 😅

My younger brother found this praying mantis. It was really cool, actually!

Crocheting with lace weight yarn is tedious, but I really love it!

Post run m&m snack!

Going on a walk!

I really like how this photo turned out, with the setting sun!

Foggy morning runs!

I started rereading one of my favorite books, “The Hunger Games!”

Fall projects!

Smoothies!

I love this homemade artisan bread! Recipe here.

Thanks for reading! How was your August? What books did you read? What are your September goals? I’d love to chat in the comments! Everyone take care, and have a good rest of your week and weekend!! Also, please comment if you have any post ideas you’d like to see on my blog!

~ Rebekah

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2022

Hello, y’all! I’m back!! How’s everyone doing?

July’s monthly wrap-up is quite a bit late because I was on a trip visiting family and I decided to take a short blogging break while I was there. Now, I’m getting caught up and doing my monthly wrap-up!

Check out this post, where I asked y’all to ask me questions, and I’ll answer them sometime next week!

Books I Read:

Wait For Me by Caroline Leech was the first book I finished this month. It was a pretty good historical fiction novel. My sister had recommended it to me after she finished it, and I enjoyed it as much as her. It’s a historical fiction book set during World War Two. Some historical fiction that I’ve read has been quite action-packed, with lots of stuff going on. This book, however, wasn’t. It was slower, but not boring. I rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Waking Rose: A Fairytale Retold by Regina Doman is the only other book I read in July. Regina Doman writes amazing books. I have read two of her previous books in the fairytale retold series, The Shadow of the Bear and Black as Night. They are all good books for Catholic teens especially because Doman incorporated a lot of Catholicism into these books. It was a 5/5!

Writing updates

I wrote a good amount in “Old Hopes and New Beginnings” my contemporary novel, though not as much as I would have wanted. I was hoping to finish the book this month, but it feels like I’m not even very close. I am at a little over 57,000 words, and I was aiming for 60,000 words for the first draft, but I am pretty sure it’s going to be longer than that.

Crochet

Not a lot of crochet, but I did finish a crochet top which I am really excited about! I have pics down below!

Running

I got a lot of running done, though!! I am so proud of my running last month! I followed my 10k training plan, and I ran seven miles as well! When I started running a few years back, I couldn’t even run a whole mile without stopping. I never would have imagined going seven miles. But, here I am!

Posts

My One Year Blogiversary 🥳// Comment Some Assumptions // Blog Redesign

Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2022

Summer Aesthetic

The Music Loving Writer’s Tag (Original)

Reacting to and Answering Your Assumptions About Me

Taking a Short Break + Ask Me Some Questions

Reviewing my July goals

• Exercise every day I think I did! At least most days. There was one day where we went to the store, and I didn’t get to exercise, but we did walk around quite a bit, so I guess that sort of counts. I think I did pretty good with this one!
• Get caught up (at least a little bit) on tags, awards, and nominations on my blog Uhhh…not really 😅
• Write for 20 minutes each day Nope, but I did end up writing pretty consistently!
• Make a schedule I did! I made a morning schedule, because I felt like I needed to be more organized!
• Hydrate more, because it’s getting super hot Yes! I am working more on that! It had definitely been very hot here, so hydration is important!
• Do a 10k run Yup! Like I said earlier, I followed and completed my 10k training program!
• Post a book review No, I didn’t.
• Take more walks, and enjoy nature I feel like I really did this in July more! I tried to get outside, and take more walks and bike rides this month!

Important events in July

• In July, I didn’t have a lot going on. There was a lot of time with family, walks and runs, and finishing up my schoolwork for the year.

Pictures from July

The crochet top I made!

Constructing the top!

Chocolate chip cookies 😋

A picture from one of my walks

My cat, Luna

I love taking the dogs on my walks with me!

Fireworks from the 4th of July

Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is having a good start to their week! What’s been going on in your life lately? What posts would you like to see in the future on my blog? I’d love to chat in the comments! I hope that you have an amazing day, and a good week! I’ll be posting on Thursday (probably an August monthly wrap-up). Bye! 💕

~ Rebekah

Reacting to and Answering Your Assumptions About Me

Hello everybody! I hope you are having an amazing day!

A couple of weeks ago, I reached my one-year blogiversary, and I asked for y’all to comment with some assumptions you had of me! Today, I’ll be reacting to these assumptions! 😃 Thanks to everyone who commented with their assumptions! I had such a fun time reading them, and answering them!

Heidi’s assumptions:

You enjoy road trips

I do! I love traveling, as well as going on fun road trips! There’s just something so exciting about them, even if I am crammed in the car with my siblings for hours. We can usually find some fun things to do, and activities to keep us occupied! I can’t usually read in the car very well, or crochet because I get car sick, but I love to listen to audiobooks and music during car rides!

You like to hang out with friends often

I would like to, but most of my friends don’t live super close, so I don’t see them a lot. I do like talking to them, though, and talking to all of my blogging friends on here!

You like Mac and cheese over pizza

Mac and cheese is really good, but I still like pizza better! Pizza is one of my favorite foods, if not my overall favorite! 😋

Briar’s assumptions:

You like the color blue

Yesss! Blue and yellow are my favorite colors! 😊

You own a cat

I do! Her name is Luna, and she is adorable! Here are a few pictures of her:

I went on my photos app to find a picture, but I couldn’t find one that was from the past three years. I realized that most of the pictures I have of her are on my camera, so I went outside and took a few pictures! Isn’t she so cute?

You like alpacas

I guess I do. I’m not super into them, but they are cool!

Maggie’s assumptions:

you love puppies and kittens!

I do! They’re adorable! 😍💕

you like neutral color palettes

I do like neutral colors! They are one of my favorite color palettes. However, I do really like pastels and blues as well!

you’d love to go canoeing

I love canoeing! My family has a couple of canoes, and I love going out on the lake with them! It is always a chaotic thing: my brothers intent on crashing into the other boat, or one of the little kids crying because we’re drifting too far from the shore, but it is a really fun thing, and definitely a great family bonding experience! 😃

you’re more of a saver than a spender

Absolutely correct!

you like butterflies

Yes, they are very pretty!

Victoria’s assumptions:

You like birds

Yes, birds are really nice!

You like cute animals

Doesn’t everyone? 🤔

You prefer pop music to rock

Yes! I don’t really enjoy listening to rock unless I’m in the right mood, which isn’t that often. Rock music just isn’t my favorite. I don’t totally know what is considered pop music, but I listen to Taylor Swift a lot, and she does pop music I think.

Your favourite ice cream is strawberry

Strawberry ice cream is nice, (especially the kind with the chunks of strawberries 😋) but my favorite is probably mint chocolate chip, or some type of chocolate fudge ice cream!

You don’t like math

I actually usually enjoy math! I used to like it even more before I started algebra and geometry, but I still like it quite a bit! (Yes, I know it’s weird.)

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed today’s post! Were you surprised by any of my answers? Are there any more assumptions you have of me that I can answer in the comments? I’d love to hear from y’all! 😀

See you in a little while! Have an amazing day!

~ Rebekah