A Month in Review-July 2022

Yes, I chose to do the old Ben "hello there" instead of the famous young Ben "hello there". XDD

Happy end of July my peoples! July was decently busy, but also relaxing and calm at other times. So with that said, let's get into all of the updates. XP

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 Reading

I read....2 books this month. *coughs* I know that's not many books BUT in my defense (I'm just saying this for me XD), I've also been alpah/beta reading for friends too. *ignores the glare coming from my Goodreads 2022 reading challenge bar that states I'm 3 books behind on schedule*   

~Nova by Chuck Black

~Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris 

Writing

Writing was quite enjoyable this month. Even though I slowed down a wee bit because of school, I'm still sticking with the 100-for-100 and new story ideas are always popping up. 😆

~Something that I'm kinda excited about (okay I'm REALLY excited) is that I reached 10,000 words in the Go Teen Writer's 100-for-100 Challenge!!!

I also haven't missed a day so far AND we're over halfway through so things are looking pretty good! XD

~So now I am at...14,369 words on my 100-for-100 WIP!! 

~Even though I'm trying to stay focused on my WIP for the 100-for-100, some plot bunnies have decided to enter my little brain and I've gotten pretty excited about them so I'm trying to work on those in my spare time. XD

Life

~As I mentioned above, I started school back (yes I KNOW our school year is weird XDD) so I've just been getting back into the routine of the school year. 

~During a long car ride one afternoon, I did two new things: 

1) I started watching The Chosen. Even though I'm only on episode 4 it's so good already!! I highly recommend watching it!😊

2) I also tried a new food called The Banana Chip (they're dried bananas). I found them quite delectable and they're much healthier than actual chips. XD Go try one.

~One Friday, I decided to help a friend out with an end-of-summer-party for some kids. I went into it thinking that it would be a fun time filled with water games and getting to hang out with cute little kids. 

Yeah. I was so, so naive when I decided to do that. I had no idea what was in store for me. 

Soon after I got there, I was just sitting at a table waiting for my cue to help set up some games outside. The room was quiet and peaceful. 

And then The Mass of Children arrived. 

These tiny elementary kids came into the room screaming and yelling and running around and I was just like 

As I was trying to become accustomed to this new version of loud some of the tiny humans crowded around me and plopped down on the chairs next to me. One boy, whom I have officially dubbed Little Peanut (because he reminded me of a peanut for various reasons) noticed me sitting on the other side of the table and decided to make me his Target of Conversation.

Little Peanut stared at me with the Look of Skepticism. "What are you doing here?"

I gave him a friendly smile. "I'm here to help with the water games and hang out with you guys."

And that sparked Little Peanut's interest. He proceeded to talk a mile a minute about how he was going to soak me with the water balloons, squirt me with the water guns and take my hat off and pour water over my head. 

I kinda snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure you will." I didn't say it in a mean way, I just knew that he was going to forget about me, his threats, and this conversation in about five minutes. And it seemed pretty likely since a second after my response Little Peanut completely ignored me as A Friend of His and he started arguing about whether or not I could suspend him if he did that. 

Welp. I was soon called outside for Duties and for the next hour in 90 degree heat I helped set up games, tents, and filled kiddie pools with water.  

By the time everything was ready and The Mass of Children ran towards me screaming and yanking off their shoes to play in the water, I was hot, tired, and sticky from the heat. As the kids started throwing water balloons and were yelling at each other I stood in the middle of them, trying to make sure that no one got injured and was overall trying to establish a sense of order. 

And then...Little Peanut saw me. And in his hand he carried a bright neon water gun that had to be at least as tall as him. 

As soon as we caught each other's eyes I knew that Little Peanut has most certainly NOT forgotten about our little conversation.

And thus Little Peanut squirted me with that water gun and drenched the front of me. 

So the Big, Great Moral of this Story is this: NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE MIND OF A CHILD AND HIS THREATS PROMISES BECAUSE HE WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T FORGET THEM.*

Relatable/Memes/Quotes 

I found this saved among many other pins on my Pinterest board (thus it clearly does not belong to me, all copyrights or whatever go to the nice human who made this) and thought it was a nice piece of encouragement. <33

If you're going through anything hard right now, just remember that God's got this and is making you into a beautiful masterpiece. Don't give up hope. Just like the butterfly, you will survive the darkness and emerge from it stronger, braver, and changed for the good. 💖

*Disclaimer: in regards to the Story of My Encounter with Little Peanut, any facts, dialogue or the amount of water in which I was sprayed with (and let's be honest it was actually really refreshing) may or may not have been changed a bit because of sarcasm, my Dory brain, and the effort to tell a good story* 

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How was your July? 

Ever had the great pleasure of being sprayed with a water gun? 

Have you seen The Chosen?