Hailey Hudson's Blog, page 19

October 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

October started out busy and fun. Then my health took a really bad turn for the worse, and I was back in survival mode. The two best things that happened this month: I saw my first Broadway musical (and first musical, period) since January 2020 (and it was one of my favorite shows–cue all the sobs), and I finished writing my novel!!!

This month I’m…

Reading: Every Good Endeavor, Timothy J. Keller. Scar Island, Dan Geimenhart. Beyond the Mapped Stars, Rosalyn Eve. Hope in the Mail, Wendelin Van Draanen. The Skylarks’ War, Hilary McKay. The Secret of Nightingale Wood, Lucy Strange. A Sliver of Light, Shane Bauer. The Huntress, Kate Quinn. Food Saved Me, Danielle Walker. Tweet Cute, Emma Lord (reread). Traitor, Amanda McCrina. Isla and the Happily Ever After, Anna and the French Kiss, and Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins (rereads). Defy the Night, Brigid Kemmerer. Forever Young, Hayley Mills. 16 total.

Listening to: Maisie Peters’ You Signed Up For This album. The Little Women (2019) soundtrack and Oh Wonder’s new 22 Break album, for my novel. Alessia Cara’s new In the Meantime album. Hadestown. This acoustic worship playlist. This “autumn in New York” playlist. Lizzy McAlpine. Skinny Dipping (acoustic), Sabrina Carpenter. Sailboat (remastered), Ben Rector. The Kate and Abbie Show.

Watching: On YouTube–Joy and Jahvis videos, Cut Truth or Drink videos, Jordan Bauth (as research for a new novel idea…). 10 Things I Hate About You. Come From Away. Gilmore Girls (season four). Dead Poets Society. The Hunger Games. Spinning Out (rewatch).

Writing: I FINISHED MY YA CONTEMPORARY NOVEL (currently titled Things We’ve Lost)!!! I ended up writing about 40,000 words in a month, I think, and I really can’t say enough about how magical the process was–see below for more of my thoughts on that. I also spent time brainstorming and plotting a new novel (currently titled The Art of Staying). Outside of my novels (and work, lol), I did volunteer work with the Diamonds Conference, People Hope, and Chronic Joy. I also attended a few great writing webinars, most of them by the wonderful Nadine Brandes and Sara Ella. And I wrote letters to pen pals.

Buying: A portable Bluetooth speaker (which was literally LIFE CHANGING, I don’t know how I lived before owning this). The Little Women (2019) soundtrack piano book. A fall candle I’m in love with. Ravenclaw makeup for Halloween. A GUITAR ANDDDD A UKULELE!!! (someone take my debit card away) I’m literally the most excited, I’ve been meaning to learn to play guitar for years.

Grateful for: Talking to friends about our writing processes. Sweet compliments from a little brother-like friend. Being out in the world again. A handwritten letter from my grandpa. My other grandpa helping me with novel research. Vocal stamina. Fall vibes. Novels writing themselves in my head. Seeing a pretty pink sunrise. Being able to drive again after six months.

What did you do in October? Have you seen any musicals lately, or watched any good movies?

September 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

September is almost always the best, most full month of the year for me (I have a few theories on why) and this year was no exception. Time and experiences with old friends and new friends, plus lots of consumption + creation of art filled me up to overflowing and made me feel like myself (despite the need for a LOT of naps).

This month I’m…

Reading: House of Sticks, Ly Tran. The Invention of Sophie Carter, Samantha Hastings. Shadow, Kara Swanson. Angel on the Square, Gloria Whelan (reread). Outpost, Dan Richards. Dearest Josephine, Caroline George. The Rose Code, Kate Quinn. The Fire by Night, Teresa Messineo (reread). Love and Other Train Wrecks, Leah Konen. Instant Karma and Heartless, Marissa Meyer. Six Crimson Cranes, Elizabeth Lim. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, Dan Gemeinhart (reread). Our Only May Amelia, Jennifer L. Holm (reread). 14 total.

Listening to: Maisie Peters’ new album You Signed Up For This (NO SKIPS, SO FREAKING GOOD). Little Women (2019) soundtrack (for my WIP). Skinny Dipping, Sabrina Carpenter (and all of Sabrina Carpenter’s stuff). My “getting ready dance party” playlist. Alessia Cara’s new album In The Meantime (ALSO NO SKIPS I LOVE HER). 22 Break, Oh Wonder.

Watching: Gilmore Girls (season three). Outer Banks (season two). Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (in theaters). Cherry.

Writing: My current YA contemporary novel! Truly my happiest of happy places; I can’t describe how much joy having the cognitive function to consistently work on a novel (I got down approximately 17k words this month) has brought me. I don’t know if this one just feels extra magical because it’s been so long since I was truly able to write fiction, but I really don’t think I’ve ever had a novel writing experience quite like this one. This book has real potential, and the rest of it is already sitting inside my head–I’m just transcribing it to paper. Outside of my novel (and my paying work, lol), this month I also did volunteer work for Diamonds, People Hope, Chronic Joy, and DSN, and I wrote a few letters to pen pals.

Eating, drinking, and/or cooking: Chocolate chip brownies. Jellie Bellies. Scrambled eggs with red bell pepper and Tostitos (aka my all time favorite meal). Chicken with salad and pita chips. Sparking Ice, Truly’s, White Claws, apple cider, mixed drinks. Pan cookies. Apple cinnamon bread. Iced pumpkin cookies.

Buying: Gilmore Girls stickers. Also black jeans, a new purse, wedge booties, rings, tank tops, and generally way too many clothing and accessory items…

Grateful for: Rediscovering the outgoing, fun-loving parts of my personality. Friends who acknowledge how difficult it is for my body to do things. Top down Jeep rides. The gift of stories to help us make sense of the world. My church family. Being able to wear my rings again (because I’ve gained back the weight I lost). Baking while dancing around my kitchen to the BEST new music in a flannel and with a drink. Finally hanging up new fairy lights in my living room (after two years of meaning to, HA). Being treated by doctors who have the same conditions I do. Interesting conversations with Uber drivers. Being invited to be part of a small mentorship group led by someone I admire. Overall, I’m just so overwhelmingly grateful to be out in the world, and to be able to be in my happiest of happy places writing a novel.

I hope your September was full and magical, friends! What did you do this month? Let me know in the comments!

Never Have I Ever Tag // Writer Edition

Happy Sunday! Bree from The Long Voyage recently published an awesome blog tag called the Never Have I Ever Tag // Writer Edition, and it looked like so much fun, I had to do it. (I spent more time figuring out how to work in GIFs from my favorite fandoms than actually answering the questions, so please appreciate those.) Never have I ever…

… started a novel that I didn’t finish.

Um, only all the time? Honestly, as much as I hate to admit it, it’s more rare for me to start a novel that I DO finish.

… written a story completely by hand.

I wrote several stories by hand when I was younger. I was just looking for one the other day and couldn’t find it, so those notebooks must be boxed up at my parents’ house. One time when I was probably middle school age, I had a binder with notebook paper that I was using to write a novel titled Warsaw Children (about the Warsaw ghetto uprising) by hand. Hmm, I’d like to dig up that one too…

… changed tenses midway through a story.

I probably have at some point, but I can’t think of any specific examples right now. Normally I just stick to present tense–I’ve learned that that’s what I prefer, and even if I try to write in past tense, I find myself switching to present tense without even realizing.

… not researched anything before starting a story.

Sure! In fact, I usually just jump in and start writing, and then fill in those gaps later.

actual footage of me just jumping in with zero regard for accuracy or other details… changed my protagonists’ name halfway through a draft.

Have I? I really don’t know. I don’t think I ever have. (but also I write in first person 95% of the time so good luck if I even remember my protagonists’ name)

… written a story in a month or less.

If I remember correctly, I think there’s only been one time when I wrote a full-length novel in about a month (World on a String, spring 2018, aka one of the best times in my life). Usually I work on my novels in cycles–a few weeks here, a month the next year, another few months the following year. (It’s not very efficient and not what I would prefer, but somehow that’s what happens.)

… fallen asleep while writing.

Surprisingly, I don’t think I have.

… corrected someone’s grammar IRL/online.

Um… yeah. All the time. I might not do it aloud in person, but rest assured I’m ALWAYS doing it in my head.

… yelled at myself in all caps in the middle of my novel.

No, but I do leave myself notes for when I’m editing–things like “figure this part out” highlighted in red so it stands out.

… used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

I’m not sure! Maybe, when I lived at home and it was time to set the table or something? But not anymore. (Of course, I sadly write fiction a lot less often than I used to.)

… killed a character that was based on someone I know in real life.

Hahaha. No I haven’t. Although I guess all of my characters are at least somewhat based on someone I know in real life, so… maybe?

… used pop culture references in a story.

Yes! This is something that I’ve just been able to start doing in more recent years now that I write YA contemporary, and it’s so much fun.

… written between the hours of one AM and six AM.

Never. I haven’t even been awake during those hours in years.

… drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

Never. Sadly, my stomach doesn’t like coffee.

… written down dreams to use in potential novels.

Oh, ALL the time! I have a notebook in my nightstand drawer that’s full of them. I have some wild, crazy, vivid dreams.

… published an unedited story on the internet/blog/Wattpad.

No. I’ve published fiction online before (in secret places on secret accounts which shall not be named #fanfiction #is #embarrassing), but it’s always been carefully read over and edited.

… procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.

A long time ago, yes.

… typed so long that my wrists hurt.

Not my wrists necessarily, but my fingers/hands, yes. Gotta love that carpal tunnel life.

… spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Thankfully, no. *knock on wood* But also, I don’t really eat or drink while I write.

… forgotten to save my work/draft.

Oof. I’m sure there has been a time. I can’t think of anything specific right now, but I’m so obsessive about it that I’m sure I learned the hard way at some point.

… finished a novel.

Yes.

… laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

Oh, totally.

… cried while writing a scene.

I don’t think I’ve ever actually cried while writing a scene? But I’ve definitely done a lot of emotional squealing and shrieking. And I can get emotional reading back through my old work–diving back into that world I created and being reminded of the things I was going through at that point in my life, which always get written into my fiction even if I don’t realize it at the time.

… created maps of my fictional worlds.

HAHAHA, yes I have. I was just admiring a few of those maps yesterday, actually. If I do say so myself, I think I’m quite the artist… (I’m obviously kidding, they’re very rudimentary sketches just to help me keep things straight in my head)

… researched something shady for a novel.

Totally. Not so much recently since I’ve been mostly focused on sunny YA contemporaries, but oh yeah. The best ways to kill people, the best ways to commit certain crimes, all kinds of shady things…

dude can you imagine what Rafe Cameron’s search history looks like LOL

I tag:

Kate at Once Upon an OrdinaryHannah at Hannah Gaudette – AuthorChelsea at An Ordinary Pen

Pick your favorite prompt from this post to answer in the comments, and/or add one of your own!

Meet My WIP (untitled YA contemporary)

Oh look, it’s that time of year where I randomly pick one of the half-written YA contemporary novels on my computer and work on it feverishly for a month or two before abandoning it to my hard drive again (aka THE BEST TIME OF YEAR THERE IS).

My current target is my untitled “Hardman novel,” which was first inspired in May 2019 when I toured the Hardman Historic Site with a friend. I started actually planning and writing the novel in April 2020. Last weekend I outlined the remainder of it and wrapped up all the loose ends in the plot, and now I just have to, you know, actually write the rest of it. I’m really bad at explaining what my novels are about so here, have an official summary:

Essentially the story is about a family who lives on a property with a historic mansion from the 1800s and acts as the mansion’s caretakers. Clare, the protagonist, wants to experience something new and discover who she is away from her home, but simultaneously doesn’t want to lose everything she’s ever known–which I feel like is such a universal thing. She’s ready to get out into the world and find out who she is in relation to it, but still wants to cling to what’s familiar and safe, too. Evan Roderick is cast as the love interest because I watched Spinning Out (a Netflix original show with Kaya Scodelario as a figure skater) in winter 2020, a few months before I started planning this novel in earnest (and because hello, look at him). The novel has messy family dynamics and delicious breakfast food and the most endearing cast of secondary characters I’ve ever seen, and I’m falling in love with it all over again. The whole thing feels to me like a breath of fresh spring air, light and airy and beautiful.

My Pinterest aesthetic board for this novel can be found here, and my playlist is just the entire Little Women (2019) soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat (which is *chef’s kiss*). I expect writing to be slow going because of feeling physically miserable and having other priorities that require my energy, but I’m so, so thankful that my brain is finally functioning well enough to write fiction somewhat consistently again. It’s been a huge boost to my confidence to see that when I have the energy, I am still totally capable of writing fiction and novels and stories–ones that are really good, too. It makes me feel like myself and that is such a gift. I’ve consumed so many YA contemporaries over the past few years, I’ve practically given myself a masterclass in how to write in the genre. I feel like I have a really good handle on it and that this story and its characters are very strong.

So, that’s my current WIP and I am SO happy about it! I’d only written about 15k in April 2020, so I still have a lot way to go. I filled in all of the remaining plot holes and made a loose outline for the rest of the book, and I think that will help? Normally the way I work best with novels is that I start off pantsing it–I get inspired and write a few key scenes just to get the overall vibe of the story. Then, when/if I decide to turn those scenes into a full novel, I fill in everything else. The problem is, that means I tend to write the most exciting scenes first and then struggle to get myself interested enough to add whatever needs to come in between. I’m not sure how things will go here or how many words I’ll be able to get on the page in the next few weeks/months, or however long my interest lasts. But I’m so excited to find out! I absolutely love this story and I feel like it has the makings of something really, really good.

What are you writing right now? Do you like YA contemporaries? If I need alpha or beta readers for this in the near future… would anybody be interested???

August 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

August “slipped away like a bottle of wine,” as Taylor Swift would say…

This month I’m…

Reading: Simone Breaks the Rules, Debbie Rigaud. Harley in the Sky, Starfish, Summer Bird Blue, and The Infinity Courts, Akemi Dawn Bowman. The Whole Life, Esther Smith and Eliza Huie. Just Dance, Patricia MacLachlan. Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin Manuel-Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. The Lady Rogue (reread) and Starry Eyes, Jenn Bennett. Talking As Fast As I Can, Lauren Graham. A Sky Painted Gold and A Snowfall of Silver, Laura Wood. Tokyo Ever After, Emiko Jean. Rebelwing, Andrea Tang. The Janitor’s Boy, Andrew Clements. A Glasshouse of Stars, Shirley Marr. 17 total.

Listening to: The 1975. This “late night car ride with Jess Mariano” playlist. Sleeping At Last. Come From Away. My beach/flying playlist (mostly Venus by Sleeping At Last and Means Something by Lizzy McAlpine) and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader soundtrack. My road trip WIP playlist. This dystopian POV playlist, especially Gasoline by Halsey. Ben Platt’s new album, especially Carefully. Summer of Love, Shawn Mendes. Maisie Peters’ new album (!!!), especially Volcano and Boy.

Watching: Gilmore Girls (season three). Radium Girls. The Little League World Series. Outer Banks (seasons one and two, extremely obsessively, and every video of the cast on the Internet).

Writing: Work was insane this month. I worked way too much. It was alternately fun and stressful. I also reread old fiction, played with two new novel ideas, and finished outlining an old YA contemporary I want to work on this fall. And I did volunteer work with Diamonds and People Hope as well as writing some letters to pen pals.

Buying: Used books and beach souvenirs.

Grateful for: Growth, new experiences, and people to unpack it all with. So much new music coming out at once. An unexpected care package. Cute tubie pads from a friend. Remembering who I am. Slow work days. Friends who keep you supplied with much-needed cough drops all day long. Time with extended family.

What did you do in August? Any plans for September? Have you been listening to any good music lately?

July 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

July was a good month. As tube feeds helped my brain function better, I majorly ramped up my work schedule with a lot of fun new clients. I was able to spend more time doing the creative things that feed my soul, like singing and blogging and watching movies. And I was able to push through symptoms (lol maybe too much) and spend a lot of time with people, which was SO much fun. I’m grateful and happy that I’ve been able to handle life getting busier in many ways.

This month I’m…

Reading: The Railway Children and Five Children And It, E. Nesbit. Bruchko, Bruce Olson (reread). Blackmoore, Julianne Donaldson. Banished, Lauren Drain. The Endless Steppe, Esther Hautzig (reread). Seeing Voices (reread) and Hearing Lies, Olivia Smit. The Happiest Man on Earth, Eddie Jaku. Out of Left Field, Ellen Klages. Under a Dancing Sky, Laura Wood. In the Heights: Finding Home, Lin Manuel-Miranda, Quiara Alegria Hudes, and Jeremy McCarter. The Other Side of Perfect, Mariko Turk. (13 total)

Listening to: Come From Away (especially Me And The Sky). Mamma Mia (because it’s not July if I don’t). In the Heights. Feels Like Summer, Samuel Jack. Middle of June, Noah Gundersen. dancing in the kitchen, LANY. Missing Piece, Vance Joy. New Romantics, Taylor Swift. Watermelon Sugar, Harry Styles. This Could Be, Joel Ansett. Wrecked, Imagine Dragons. Psycho, Maisie Peters. He Will Hold Me Fast, Keith & Kristyn Getty. Sweet Dream and Shapeshifter, Alessia Cara. Painkiller, Ruel. happy to be sad, Ben Platt. Give Me The Future, Bastille. slow summer, Zachary Knowles. Tell The World, Eric Hutchinson.

Watching: The Frey Life and Jordan Bauth on YouTube. Gilmore Girls (season three, but only like two episodes, lol oops). Black Widow (first time in a movie theater since December 2019 and first time seeing a new Marvel movie in theaters since July 2019–and it was SO. FREAKING. GOOD). In the Heights (FINALLY).

Eating and/or cooking: Cheerios and almond milk. Ham sandwiches on a pretzel bun with Popcorners and plums. Vans PB&J bars. Italian ice. Pan cookies. Izze sparkling lemonade. Pretzels. Peaches and granola. Chess squares.

RIP my favorite spatula

Writing: Now that my brain is functioning, I dived into marketing again and things exploded. (This happens every single time. I don’t know why I’m always surprised.) I started working with a ton of new clients and it was all I could do to stay on top of emails and phone calls. I also redid my website (which had been SORELY needed for a very long time) using Aly’s new Genius Portfolio WordPress plugin, which is an amazing tool for freelancers that makes it super easy to showcase your work!

Outside of work, I volunteered with the Diamonds Conference and People Hope. Sara interviewed me about freelance writing for her YouTube channel. And I wrote 40 letters and received 22.

Buying: A bunch of unnecessary stuff at Target, as one does.

Grateful for: Spontaneous phone calls from friends. Sitting in the movie theater watching the Marvel opening sequence (it had been a LONG time, and there’s no feeling like it). My brain functioning well enough to do high-quality work and to sing and to think about big topics. A random cash tip from a client. A toddler at church running up to me and giving me a big hug. WordPress support (lol). A Ziploc bag of cookies with my name written on it that represented so much more.

What did you do in July? Any summer highlights? Have you read any of the books I read this month?

2021 Mid Year Book Freak-Out Tag

I stole this tag from Bree, who apparently stole it from Cait, haha. It looked like so much fun!

How much have you read?

I had to go and add it up, but apparently I’ve read 93 books so far this year (January through June).

What have you been reading?

I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction? But I go through phases that last a couple of days or a couple of weeks each, so who really knows; I cycle back and forth between genres a lot. I know I’ve been reading a pretty good amount of middle grade.

Best book you’ve read so far in 2021?

I thought about trying to answer this, but considering I can’t even pick a favorite book from each individual month, it’s really just impossible. Sorry.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2021?

Mister Impossible, hands down. The whole concept of that series has absolutely captured my imagination; the characters grab you and don’t let you go. Reading this book gave me the same feeling I got reading The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan over and over as a twelve-year-old, and that’s a precious feeling that I haven’t felt in a long time. Maggie Stiefvater is brilliant and this book gave me lots of fodder for that rich inner life.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to?

I want to read Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. I got it from the library recently, but then it was due before I had a chance to start it. I’ll try again soon.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

I have several–in July alone we’ve got The Whole Life Book by Esther Smith and Eliza Huie, Shadow by Kara Swanson, and Hearing Lies by Olivia Smit!

Out of your comfort zone?

Ooh, I really like this question and had to give it some thought (apparently I don’t read books that are out of my comfort zone that often? But also, I like to think I have a pretty large comfort zone). A book I’ve read this year that was out of my comfort zone was A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver. I don’t normally read poetry, but I enjoyed it!

Biggest surprise?

I like this question, too! A book that surprised me was Left Turn to the Promised Land by Rachel Starr Thomson (gifted to me by Mikayla). Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations for this book. I thought at best, I would enjoy reading the story. But as someone who is chronically ill and runs her own writing business, the book spoke to me so much more than I expected.

New favorite author (debut or new to you)?

Isabel Ibanez, who wrote Woven in Moonlight (which I loved) and Written in Starlight (which I liked); and Kate Albus, whose 2021 debut A Place to Hang the Moon made me cry “MORE THAN I CAN PUT INTO WORDS” (according to my review).

Underrated gems you’ve discovered recently?

The Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda was great! Really solid WWII fiction. I haven’t heard anyone else talking about it at all.

Rereads this year?

It feels like too much work to count up how many of those 93 books so far have been rereads, so you’re not getting a straight answer on this one either. If I had to estimate, though, I’d say honestly probably 75% of the books I’ve read this year have actually been new to me. I have a running list of books and series I want to reread, but I’m not making much headway on it (which is good though, because normally I’m so busy rereading books that I’m super behind on new releases).

Book that made you cry?

Something you should know about me (and probably do know, if you’ve been here for a while) is I cry a LOT at books. I’ve cried at so many books this year–probably almost all of them, honestly. But one that sticks out in my mind is The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff (according to my review, I was crying by page 55). Mosquitoland by David Arnold and The Line Tender by Kate Allen are two other books that come to mind here.

Book that made you happy?

I reread Six of Crows, which is one of my all-time favorite books in the WORLD, this spring for the first time in a few years. I read it over the course of a weekend while simultaneously watching the Netflix show and it was the most perfect thing in the world because I could see and hear the cast in my head, so it was an even better experience than before. It made me so, so, so happy.

Most beautiful book you’ve bought or received so far this year?

Dust by Kara Swanson and Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibanez both have gorgeous covers.

Goals for the rest of the year?

I don’t set reading goals. I just want to enjoy a lot more good books!

How is your reading year going? Can you choose a favorite book you’ve read so far this year? Any new authors or new releases you’ve discovered? Tell me all the bookish things!

June 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

June was absolutely insane. This month felt like it lasted an entire year. I’m not sure how to sum it all up, but I guess I’ll start at the beginning. The first week of the month, Dad and I took a quick trip to New Orleans for a wedding. It was so nice to get a little change of scenery (although I still don’t know what cocktail attire is).

The following week, I was in the hospital for a few days (and then at my parents’ for a few days) after having surgery to place a PEG-J feeding tube. I knew there was a pretty good chance I would be getting a feeding tube this summer, but I did not know it would be happening right then until two days ahead of time. The recovery process was painful and it was more difficult for my body to adjust to the tube feeds than we anticipated, but things are moving in the right direction, and I can’t describe what an amazing feeling that is. I hope my feeding tube will be a helpful source of consistent, high-quality nutrition and an additional tool for symptom management, and I’m thankful for my supportive medical team and the welcoming tubie community.

The last week in June, Hanne and Grace Anne came to visit Atlanta for two nights, which was absolutely the most fun ever! We shopped for stationery and books, hung out in our fancy hotel and talked for hours, hung out at my apartment, had a picnic and photoshoot in Piedmont Park, and more. This trip was 5+ years in the making and I think it was the best two days I’ve had so far this year.

Other random things I somehow managed to do in June: three doctor’s appointments and one infusion; two voice lessons; met Kenna at the park one day and hung out at her house another day, plus a couple of FaceTime craft sessions; went to a cookout with family friends; went to lunch with my pastor’s family and Margarita after church one day; and we celebrated Joshua’s birthday, Father’s Day, and my grandmother’s birthday.

This month I’m…

Reading: Sing Me Forgotten, Jessica Olson. Take Me Home Tonight, Morgan Matson. Dove, Robin Lee Graham. Set Fire To the Gods, Kristen Simmons and Sara Raasch. Dark of the West, Joanna Hathaway. Hope Heals, Jay and Katherine Wolf. Last Chance Books, Kelsey Rodkey. Hope in the Dark, Hannah Wright. 10 Blind Dates, Ashley Elston. We Were Liars (reread) and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, E. Lockhart. This Light Between Us, Andrew Fukuda. The Day the World Came to Town, Jim DeFede. Genesis Begins Again, Alicia D. Williams. Orange for the Sunsets, Tina Athaide. 15 total.

turned out to be a timely read on one of the most difficult nights I have ever had.

Listening to: In the Heights. Groundhog Day, Em Beihold. brutal, good 4 you, and jealousy, jealousy, Olivia Rodrigo. free love, HONNE. Keep It Gold, Surfaces. Halfway Up, The Brook & The Bluff. Paper Rings, Taylor Swift. The playlist Hanne and Grace Anne and I made for their trip.

Watching: The Frey Life and Life With Stripes on YouTube. Gilmore Girls (season 3). Bringing Up Bates.

Eating and/or cooking: Animal crackers. Chicken sausage with roasted sweet potato and zucchini. Chips and salsa. Luigi’s Italian Ice (I forgot how much I love this stuff! I also discovered they have a ton of other flavors I didn’t know about and now I have this whole elaborate system where I’m trying and ranking them all).

Writing: Outside of work (where very little went on this month because my brain wasn’t functioning), I did volunteer work with Diamonds, Chronic Joy, and People Hope. I also wrote 38 letters and received 25.

Buying: Lots of adorable tubie pads. A tiny bowl and some Rifle Paper Co notecards from La Bella Maison. A rolling cart and some other medical storage items. Lots of gorgeous patterned paper.

Grateful for: Roly polys. The time and space to make medical decisions on my own terms. A friend who has been consistently there for me with specific advice and encouragement while going through a similar, but much more difficult season herself. Being able to breathe without pain and even sleep on my stomach! Naps. Feeling excited about future plans / about life in general. Spending so much time with people, and getting to have some fun and beautiful life experiences after a long time. The enormous relief of my body being adequately nourished.

What did you do in June? If a friend visited your hometown for the first time, what would you show them? Do you like Italian ice? Come chat with me in the comments!

May 2021 Monthly Wrap-Up

In May I enjoyed working with a lot of new clients on some exciting projects, and I was also able to spend a lot of time with my family. This month I had three voice lessons and went to two of Joshua’s baseball games. I had a four-day at-home medical test in addition to three doctor appointments and one infusion, and struggled with losing more independence because of my health. I also fit in quite a bit of fun stuff in May: I spent a day with Grace Anne (!); we had a family Mother’s Day dinner; Brooke and I went out for coffee; I went to graduation at Joshua’s school, spent the night at the house, and Dad and I went to a Gwinnett Stripers game; I went to a fellowship lunch at church; Andrea came over; we went bowling with the Coxes; I went to my pastor’s house for lunch with some friends after church; and my family came over here for lunch on Memorial Day.

This month I’m…

Reading: Fighting Forward, Hannah Brencher. Everything that Burns, Giselle Trelease (DNF). Kate in Waiting, Becky Albertalli. Fully Alive, Susie Larson. Love A La Mode, Stephanie Kate Strohm. The Queens of Animation, Nathalia Holt. Girls’ Club, Sally, Sarah, and Joy Clarkson. Call Down the Hawk (reread) and Mister Impossible, Maggie Stiefvater (reread). 100 Days of Sunlight, Abbie Emmons (reread). Beyond Awkward Side Hugs, Bronwyn Lea. Kisses and Croissants, Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau. The Beauty in Breaking, Michele Harper. Ballplayer, Chipper Jones. Keep My Heart in San Francisco, Amelia Diane Coombs. 15 total.

Listening to: fire, Jordy Searcy. Supply & Demand, Wilder Woods. We Do Not Labor In Vain, FAITHFUL. whywhywhy, MisterWives. City of Angels, Damian McGinty and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. Another Place, Bastille and Alessia Cara. Funeral, Maisie Peters and James Bay. Float, HARBOUR. The Wire, Patrick Droney. survivin’, Bastille. Halfway Up, The Brook & The Bluff. Range Rover, Ben Rector and Steve Winwood.

Watching: The Frey Life and Colleen Christensen on YouTube. Gilmore Girls seasons 1 and 2. Thor Ragnarok (re-watch).

Eating and/or cooking: Pulled pork with butternut squash zig zags. Trader Joe’s soft baked peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Banana bread with extra banana. Pretzel bagels with scrambled egg whites. Tostones. Mini PopTarts. Chicken and rice bowls with homemade pico de gallo (my current obsession).

Writing: This month was my last month with a client that’s made up almost half of my monthly income for going on two years now. After phasing them out, I jumped back into the swing of marketing, and things kind of blew up (it was one of those months where I’d groan and say “can people please stop offering me work” every time I opened my inbox). I ended up working with 12 clients total this month (counting retainer clients, old clients, and new clients) and making more money than I’ve made in a long time. I was able to work on some really exciting projects for dream clients like Chewy and Healthline. It was stressful and physically difficult, but made me feel excited about my career in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. Outside of work, this month I wrote 30 letters and received 24. I also did volunteer work with People Hope, Diamonds, and DSN.

Loving (this section is BACK!): Morning Brew and Marketing Brew. Everything that Made Me Happy in April, Tea Stained Adventures. I Ate the Shawn Mendes Bowl the Way Shawn Mendes Intended, Vulture. San Francisco Giants Outfielder Drew Robinson’s Remarkable Second Act, ESPN. The Youth Prepare for #Summer2021, A Glorious Summer They’re Unlikely to Get, New York Times. Costume Designer Mitchell Travers Teases IN THE HEIGHTS Looks, Talks Eye-Popping Career & More, Broadway World. Etcetera #15, A Farm Girl’s Life.

Buying: Birthday washi tape. Silly Putty. Two floral masks (lol, right before restrictions started easing). A Six of Crows laptop sticker. The Frey Life’s new “Take the Next Step” t-shirt. A new journal. A computer (that was not in the plan for this month, but it had to happen and I love my new-to-me MacBook Pro).

Grateful for: Broadway is coming back! Seeing a doctor who has some of my same medical conditions. Friends who can spot when I feel like bursting into tears even if I think I’m hiding it. My library buying all the books I ask it to (still not over this!!!). Needing less sources for a project than I thought. Baseball and vaccinations. The little girls at church making me cards. Summer storms.

What did you do in May?

My Journaling Routine + The Four Types of Journals I Use

I’ve always loved to journal, from the green folder I started scribbling in when I was 10 right up to last night when I sat on the couch in front of Gilmore Girls writing my way out of a tired week and a prickly mood. You know when people ask what one item you would grab if your house was burning down? My answer is ALWAYS my filled journals. They’re irreplaceable and I regard them as one of the most valuable things I own.

I searched my apartment looking for all of the filled journals I could find and came up with 26, including my current journals (although only six of those 26 were main journals). Just for fun, I decided to put them on the scale. They weighed 12.40 pounds!

My journal routine has taken some time to nail down. For several years, I would write what I did each day in one journal, and then I would use another journal to take notes on sermons and write out prayers and things like that. But over the past few years, I’ve fine-tuned the different journals I use and what I use them for. Currently, I write in the following journals on a regular basis:

One Line A Day journalGratitude journalBullet journalJournal

(Yes, I’m aware I have a lot of journals–I always have trouble picking and choosing which ones I’m going to pack for a trip and which ones I’m just going to catch up on when I get home. I used to take brand-new blank journals to Colombia because I was scared of taking a filled journal and then losing my luggage or something.)

I typically end up writing in at least one of my journals every day. I treat journaling the same way I treat reading: I don’t force myself to journal, it just naturally happens. I thought it would be fun to do a quick breakdown of my current journals, what I use them for, and what I like about each one. Let’s get into it!

One Line A Day journal

I’ve been using a One Line A Day journal (Amazon) since February 2019, and I absolutely love it! I normally catch up on this journal every 2-3 days and write a few quick lines about what I did each day. It creates a Timehop-like situation that’s a fun throwback (well, sometimes–other times it just brings up bad memories, lol). It also comes in handy as a fast and easy way to find exactly what I was doing on a certain date if I ever need or want to know.

Gratitude journal

I’ve been writing in a gratitude journal for about six months. My only stipulation for myself here is that I have to write a minimum of one thing I’m grateful for each day (specific things–tangible ways I saw God’s goodness in my life that day). Some days I write multiple things, but I add at least one each day. The notebook I use for this is a notebook my dad got from his work.

Bullet journal

Hanne made me a bullet journal at the beginning of 2020, which I absolutely loved! (The journal itself came from Michael’s.) She made me monthly spreads for each month in 2020, including things like monthly goals, books I read that month, and a log of my medical appointments. Now, I primarily use my bullet journal to keep track of letters I’ve mailed and received. However, I’ll sometimes also use it to make fun lists–mostly lists related to books, like books I want to reread or books I own and need to read (ha. That one is pretty long).

Journal

I saved the best for last: my journal journal! I use my beautiful leather-bound journals to write about whatever’s happening in my life that I need to process. Often, I’ll brain dump into my phone notes during the week, and then on the weekend I’ll sit down and transcribe things into my journal. I normally end up writing in this journal once a week–sometimes more often.

I used to treat my leather-bound journals the same as my One Line A Day journal; I’d essentially transcribe my daily to-do lists into my journal. But ever since I started just writing here and there about what was on my mind (which I think was sometime in 2019) instead of worrying about getting down every detail of every day, journaling has been so much better.

I’m almost done with my current journal, and as I was looking through my empty notebooks and journals, I realized I don’t have one to use next (I do have blank journals, but no leather-bound ones like I use for my journal journals–I’m very picky about what type of notebook I use for each type of journal, lol). So, I think a trip to Barnes and Noble is in order… which makes me extremely excited because the journal section at Barnes and Noble is my favorite place in the world!

It’s taken me a few years to sort out all my journals and their various purposes. But I really like the journals I’ve settled on! Outside of my journals, I have lots of other notebooks I use to record various writing things, work things, chronic illness things, etc–these are just my personal journals. (I’m definitely not lacking in journals and notebooks, lol.) Journaling has always been a natural part of my life and looking back on my old journals is so much fun!

Do you journal? What types of journals do you use? Let me know all about your journaling routine in the comments!