Saturday, December 30, 2017

Christmas, a Laptop, and a Blog Party // December Recap

Y'all...2017 is coming to an end. And I'm kinda excited for next year and I kinda don't want this year to end. But I'll save all that for my next post and just get on with this one. xD



\\ Life. \\ 

>> The bro and I took pictures of each other with the creepy lil' Santa to celebrate December.




>> I slept in. A lot.

Me: *wakes up* Oh great, it's probably something insane like 9 o'clock.
Me: *sits up* *sees clock* 9:04?! Darn it!

But, ya know, maybe I needed the sleep because I sent this to a certain person the night before... 




>> There was sparks flying out our chimney one night. No big deal, right? Yeah, that's what I thought...until Dad sent Tucker for the water hose. (Spoiler: We all survived.) 


>> I fell down the stairs to the basement and was sore for a week. I'm not even kidding. 


>> I was crowned the Queen of Christmas. 




>> I decorated my bookshelves with Christmas lights. Allllll the heart eyes. <33




>> I discussed Christmas contemporary music with Dad. 

*Drummer Boy by fK&C comes on*
D: I'm not sure about this group just yet
Me...I like that song.  


>> We got like 13-14 inches of snow. And had apparently been indoors too long by Sunday afternoon. 

Dad: How much tree has our water drunk?
Mom: *replies without even catching it*
Dad:....I think I said that wrong.
Me: *chokes on coffee*


>> I acted like an immature little human over a cup of bad coke. 

In the car on the way home from Wednesday night church....
Tucker: I'd kill for something to drink right now.
Me: *looks down at cup holder* oooh, I have coke from Chick-Fil-A! *grabs it*
Tucker: *glares at me*
Me: *smirks* would you share with me?
Tucker: *doesnt even bother answering*
Me: *drinks coke and eyes him* see, I have this sudden, really bad cold. *coughs harshly*
Tucker: I'll drink without the straw.
Me: *pulls up lid and coughs into cup*
Tucker: I'll drink from the other side.
Me: *pulls lid all the way off and continues fake-coughing* I'll even lick it. *licks the rim*
Mom: *rolling her eyes at her supposedly-almost-adult-daughter*
Tucker: I'll drink from the other end of the straw.
Me: *pulls straw out and licks the other end*
Tucker: ....I'd still drink it.
Me: *takes another sip* it's actually watered down from the ice and not very good.

End of matter? No one drank the rest of it. 


>> Christmas happened! Which meant lots of epicness including a Christmas play at church, a blog party (more on that in a sec), and a laptop from my parents. O.O Yeah, they're kind of awesome. 


>> Another moment of craziness... 

Mom: Where's *youth leader* tonight? 
Tucker: He has an absent tooth.
Me: Abscessed. 
Tucker: That too.



\\ Books. \\ 

So...I kinda read a ton of books this month except they were mostly more like short-stories, but I'm still counting them because I can. #logic


When I Fall in Love by Melissa Storm -- 2 stars 
The Art of Thankfulness by R.A. Rooney -- 4 stars 
Christmas by the Sea by Beth Wiseman -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
The Christmas Star by Ace Collins -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans -- 3 stars 
As in Olden Days by Jesseca Wheaton -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
The Proposal by Becky Wade -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
Ephesians -- 5 stars 
Christmas Smiles by Rebekah Morris -- 4 stars -- Review HERE.
The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
Red Boots by Kate Willis -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
Titus -- 5 stars 
Esther Ashton's New Dress by Kelly Roth -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
Haywire Christmas by Jenni Hunt -- 4 stars 
Mistletoe Mistake by Lynette Sowell -- 3.5 stars 
The 12 Cats of Christmas by Perry Elizabeth Kirkpatrick -- 3.5 stars 
Christmas Eve at the Backdoor by Rebekah A. Morris -- 5 stars -- Review HERE.
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber -- 3.5 stars 
Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix -- 4 stars 


Sooo...I got some books for Christmas, and I bought some books myself. (And only one was from a Black Friday sale. Mwahaha, look at me being all smart and responsible.)



\\ Writing. \\ 


I wrote a little over 3,000 words this month...which sounds super lame, but then I remember that I wrote like 28+ blog posts....I don't feel so bad. xD

I also started a new story/book, a sort of sequel to "A Soldier's Freedom", which is fun and sweet and adorable and YAS. ^-^



\\ Music & Movies. \\ 

I watched lots of Christmas-y ness! And some not. xD

Love's Christmas Journey 
Silent Night 
Waltons Christmas (S5)
Sweet Nothing in My Ear
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Lost Without You, Higher Ground, and Home Again)
Dashing Though the Snow
WCTH Christmas: The Wishing Tree
Christmas in Canaan & Christmas Comes Home to Canaan
It's a Wonderful Life



\\ Blogging. \\ 

>> The 12 Days of Christmas blog party happened! It was sooo much fun. :D Find all the goodness here


~ Favorite Posts of the Month ~
*Not including 12DoC posts*

Living for the Other Side // You Can't Be Everyone's Favorite Sauce

Novels, Dragons, and Wardrobe Doors // Her Son, Her Savior & The Faith of the Carpenter

More Precious Than Gold // Seasons of Life: Winter


Apples of Gold // I came. I saw. I judged.



\\ Goals. \\ 


~ December Goals 

>> Read 12 books.      Nailed it xD

>> Edit through chapter 25 of War Tears.      *dramatic coughing* Erm, no. I didn't even touch that messy ol' book this month.

>> Finish writing the second Christmas story, edit the first.     I edited the one (and let y'all read it!), but I still haven't finished the other.

>> Stay caught up with emails.     Pretty much. ;D

>> Host the 12DoC blog party.       Yup!!

>> Participate in Liv's Little Women Read-Along.       ...no. I'm still only 1/4 through the book, but I still plan to finish.

>> Have a very, Merry Christmas!      Yup! :)


~ January Goals 

>> Read 8 books.

>> Finish editing part one of War Tears, start part two, and send part one to my alphas.

>> Stay caught up with emails.

>> Survive school.

>> Rewrite/edit a short story from last year to, hopefully, publish soon. (By the way, anyone interested in beta-reading that in a few weeks? :P)

>> Write 1-2 short stories for a contest.

>> Finish a beta-reading project.

>> Take a break from blogging. (Yup, that's right. Other than a few posts next week, I'm taking January off from blogging. I'll be back with a recap around the end of the month. ;))

>> Host a bookstagram challenge! (This is gonna be a lot of fun, y'all. :D Also, for anyone who doesn't have Instagram, I'm going to be adding my pictures to a page on this blog sporadically. ;))



How was y'all's Christmas season/December? :D Any thoughts on what I should add to/take away from these monthly wrap-ups in the new year? 
~Faith

17 comments:

  1. YOUR BLOG LOOKS SO CUTE!!!!

    And your month sounds awesome. The soda story is pretty much me and my brother. XD

    And can I just say that I feel honored that one of my posts was your favorite. <3

    What's the short story about because I just might be interested. ;)

    I hope you have an awesome hiatus and an amazing new year! <3

    ~Ivie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THANK YOU. xD I'm working on a header right now, but I love these colors. :D

      Haha, siblings. *shakes head*

      I love your blog! <3

      Hehe, that would've been helpful, huh? :P It's called "Love Needs No Words", and the blurb is listed near the bottom of this page: http://fireflysstoryspace.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

      Thanks so much, Ivie! <3

      Delete
  2. Haha!You and your brother really sound like my family. And your dad with the tree question! Also a family thing!

    I love these wrap ups! I might need to try that out on my blog!

    I am very interested to see how War Tears will turn out. Is it a possibility for publication in 2018? *silently begging you to say yes *;)

    Enjoy your break!

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    Replies
    1. Haha, they're kinda awesome. xD

      Thanks, Ryana! They're alot of fun!! :D

      Aww, I appreciate your interest! <3 Yes, I'm hoping for a 2018 release for War Tears...maybe late summer. :P

      Thanks!

      Delete
  3. I love your new blog look, Faith! It’s very bright and cheery. It’s so fun! :D
    Fun Santa pictures. He is a little creepy, isn’t he? ;)
    I love your Queen of Christmas picture. :) And the bookshelf lights are just too fun!
    So much snow!! So did you have 13-14 inches of snow on the ground at once or was that just the total amount of snow that you got during the month?
    Wow, you did read a lot of books this month! I read quite a bit too. A lot of mine were short ones too, but they still count. ;) *gasp* No picture of the books you got this month? ;)
    Christmas movies! :D I really like that Waltons Christmas from season 5! I watched it on Christmas Eve. Oh, did you like Sweet Nothing in My Ear?
    I look forward to seeing those pictures from your Bookstagram Challenge!
    Lovely wrap-up, Faith! Nope, I don’t think that there’s anything you should take away and I can’t really think of anything you should add. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Rebekah!! I really like it. :D
      Hehe, very. ;)
      *grins* I can be goofy when I want to, hehe.
      Yes, we had 13-14 inches on the ground at once and then that light dusting on Christmas morning. ;)
      Eeps, yep!! Hehe, of course they count! *wink* Hehe, I was wondering if anyone would catch that... To be honest, I forgot about it until late last night and I couldn't get good lighting. They're in the month-in-books picture though. ;)
      It's so sweet! Yes, I enjoyed Sweet Nothing in My Ear. I actually had to watch to for an ASL assignment. It wasn't a favorite, but it was pretty good. ;)
      Yay! :D
      Thank you, Rebe!! <3

      Delete
  4. Nice new blog look! I loooove the colours :)
    And those lights along your bookshelves!!!! SO pretty. I wish I had a huge bookshelf like that, with lights...and how about I just come there and move in? ;)
    The Instagram challenge sounds fun and I'd take part except I only have IG on my computer and it is VERY fickle about posting pictures to it...it got rid of the app I had for it, and yeah...
    Nice wrap up, and I hope you have a good blogging break!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rae!! I'm so super thrilled with how it turned out. :D
      EEPS, thanks!! Hehe, sure, come on down. ;) ;)
      Aww, that's unfortunate!
      Thank you, Raechel! Have a great month. :)

      Delete
  5. Lol, Faith you are so entertaining! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. All the Christmas books and movies yes *heart eyes*

    I'm so excited for the Instagram challenge! I can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had a great Christmas/December!! Happy New Years and I hope you have a great 2018!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your quirky dialogues make me laugh! Happy 2018!

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  9. Hope you enjoy these books. Well I am also a story reader and love to reading the novels and books. But most of the time I read Free ebooks in PDF online

    ReplyDelete