dear friends, hey, how are you? It's been a long time since I sat down and actually truly blogged. the last few posts I put up were interviews/guest posts - nothing wrong with them, of course. but I haven't actually talked with you in so long. so here, you deserve an update ~
I was inspired by Grace Anne's latest post, quarantine diaries vol. 1, and will be doing something of the sort. wow, has it really been one and a half years since I wrote A RECAP POST?? how's that even possible?
I have not been counting the days I've been inside. not totally housebound, of course. just not going into town. days feel like all days have always felt. school. family. writing. art. walks in the park. unfortunately, something happened with my online school's website and course content was lost. so I've had more free time on my hands than I expected ... some things that have been happening ~
DOING:
x art. I've been learning to paint skin tones through this video. a new favorite artist I've discovered is Tara Spruit. and I'm working my way through Dixon Drawing Class taught by Heather Dixon (yes, the author). I'm also doing a Top Secret art project right now which I'm super excited for that I'm sure you all will be hearing about more in the near future!
x nanowrimo. which I've failed AGAIN, but oh well. I don't think I'm really the Nano type of person? for once in my life, there's something I cannot do FAST. and that is, write. however, I've had a lot of fun with my cabinmates, and my wip is really exciting me more as I keep writing it.
x video calls. ironically my social life has become even more social with the quarantine - I used to video call people one every few months in the past, and now it's like, once a week (if not more). it's certainly fun and great to connect with others but sometimes I feel ... introverted ... like, wow, video calling so much is tiring. let's take a break.
x working for havok!! I was recently accepted to the havok team and am currently working as a submissions manager of sorts - going through stories and replying to emails! I abosultely love the work and the environment and can't wait to learn all the things!!
WATCHING:
x Netflix, what else. we recently got an account thanks to friends who decided to share theirs with us!! and so, we've been watching all the things. namely ~
- Our Planet. it's narrated by David Attenborough and feels exactly like Planet Earth by BBC so we love it. 5/5.
- Mary Poppins Returns. it was fun, but once again, I thought the filmmakers were trying too hard to follow the plotline of the original and bring back all the nostaligia. still, it was entertaining. 3/5.
- Sahara. a never-heard-of-before Canadian animated movie about a snake and a scorpion. it was, frankly, really really good for a movie not produced by one of the giants (Disney, Dreamworks, etc etc). in fact, the music was even better than a lot of Disney's latest ones. 4/5.
- Peter Rabbit. hilarious. exciting. decidedly a comedy that I loved, even though I generally hate comedy (the reason I didn't hate this one was because the rabbits were the main characters). it was pretty deep for something so funny. 4/5.
- The Croods. I really want that saber toothed tiger as my pet, enough said. 4/5.
x Anne of Green Gables ~ the Good Stars and Fire and Dew. this was a Canadian PBS two movie series. definitely not as good as the famous trilogy made by Kevin Sullivan. not terrible, but it certainly left out a lot of my favorite parts and changed things. 2.5/5. (got this one through Hoopla.)
x Chopped. only recently did I and my siblings discover the world of COOKING SHOWS and we really really like Chooped, way too much, I think XD it gets to be a bit much if you watch over two episodes a day though, so 4/5. (this was from Youtube.)
x Jessethereader because my favorite booktuber whom I watch with dedication XD
READING:
x Les Miserables with Hannah Rodriguez - I'm in awe over Hugo's DEDICATION TO DETAIL.
x God in My Everything - a book about how we can learn from the ancient monastic life. heard about this from Kaylan Mah and love it so far.
x Wolf by Wolf and Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin. I listened to 23 hours of audiobook in four days and was destroyed by this duology. I've never read anything like it. now I'm listening to Fleurie's album, Love and War, to try and recover from it.
x How We Rise. I am so excited for the release of Brooke's book!! I already have review of this one up on Goodreads so read it right here to be convinced that you need it!!
x next up on my list is the audiobooks for the Illuminae Files and I am excited. Nicole Dust keeps talking about these so HIGH TIME I actually read them.
EATING:
x err, double fudge cookies :)) smoked fish. waffle cones that I made. smoothies.
x I'm unused to talking about food on my blog so I'll stop right here ...
MOMENTS:
x finding that you can schedule gmails to send out at basically any time in the future and preparing a "time capsule" email to send out to my squad (the Dimension) in 2030.
x playing online games with my overseas cousins because we're stuck at home (we never did this before)
x writing to Ryan Graudin about how much I liked her books and hearing back from her that it was just the encouragment she needed wowowow
x doing a little photography project where I collect cool photos and try to replicate them (still working on this one)
x getting a new laptop - I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT.
x going outside and photographing the gorgeous cherry blossoms that grace our streets at this time of year <333
THINKING:
x about how blessed we that God is our Father and taking care of us and that if we belong to him we cannot fail at life because it's not we who are doing things in our own strenght anymore but he is doing things in and through us.
x how I think I have a sort of wrong view of the world - thinking of things as "the world". "The world" doesn't experience anything. It doesn't suffer. It doesn't feel. IT'S THE PEOPLE and they are individuals. I think that by calling the people elsewhere "the world", and calling all the masses in a country by the county's name ("China is doing this", "America is doing this", "England is doing this") makes me duller to feel for the people. I'm trying to learn to imagine others as people - not as a generalized population. That what has happened to "the world" happened to one person. and to another. and to another. and to another. and to another.
x increasingly thinking about the purpose behind why I do things ... trying to set motivations right.
with all that said, I hope you all are doing well! let's chat below about how YOU are doing. what have you been watching/reading/doing/thinking lately??
stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all <3
~ lisa
ps. for all my writer friends, here is a publisher hosting a novel competition that you all should check out if you have a complete manuscript xx
ps. for all my writer friends, here is a publisher hosting a novel competition that you all should check out if you have a complete manuscript xx
Can I just sob that my book is here in this post? *sobs*
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the most aesthetic people I know when it comes to blogging. Your blog is an I N S P I R A T I O N. I love this so much. <3 <3 I hope May brings more fun things, more books to be crushed over, and more joyful times and memories as well as lessons. I especially love how you say there are people, not worlds, experiencing the pain.
stay amazing!
~Brooke
love you too Brookie, though saying it is a far too small reply to your beautiful and encouraging comment 💛💛💛
DeleteHAHA YES THE ILLUMINAE FILES!!!! (if you're fine with *cough* violence and some *cough* crude references and *cough* lots of cursing then GO FOR IT.) I hope you enjoy it! And if you do please message me because I don't know many people who have read it. XD
ReplyDeleteAnd you hearing back from Ryan Graudin is INSANE and so cool!!!! :D
It was so nice to hear a life update from you! I'm glad to hear that you're staying safe and doing more with art and reading ALLLL THE THINGS. <3 <3 <3
I'll 10/10 hit you up when I'm done with Illuminae !! Always need another fangirl tbh haha Thanks for the lovely comment, Nicole !!!
DeleteHold onnnn. I’m About to write some of those for in the future emails to myself. That’s some crazy stuff
ReplyDelete👏👏👏 love that xD
DeleteEnjoyed this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, dear V.
DeleteGlad to hear you're getting through this lockdown stuff well! I also love your thoughts of thinking of the world as individual people and not just masses. Hope you have an amazing month of May!
ReplyDeleteHi fellow Canadian, hope you're doing well in quarantine too!! Thank you for reading and commenting 💛 I hope your may is amazing as well!!
Deletelove this post! also, i love how aesthetic your blog + posts are! ♥️
ReplyDeletehope you have a lovely May! <3
aw Allison, I appreciate that so much! thank you!!
Deletesame back atcha!!
Love these styles of post. My siblings and I love watching Chopped too.
ReplyDeleteTHANKSS!! yayy isn't Chopped stressful tho lol??
DeleteFun post! And thanks for sharing about the novel competition ;)
ReplyDeleteMB: keturahskorner.blogspot.com
PB: thegirlwhodoesntexist.com
yay, you're welcome for that :))
DeleteYAY WELCOME BACK!! I adore this post and hearing all the things you've been up to! (although I already knew quite a few of them, naturally XD XD)
ReplyDeleteI really need to read Wolf by Wolf as soon as possible MEEP.
ack thanks so much Lila, you're so sweet <3 YES YOU RLLY DO. yell at me and Faith when you get to read that book!!
DeleteCongrats on Havok!! That's such a cool thing to be able to do! And oh my gosh, Chopped is so much fun. I used to watch cooking shows nonstop in high school. I don't have the patience to make anything more complex or time-consuming than a fried egg, but I just really like the DRAMA of the competition shows and the chill + chatty hanging-out-with-a-friend vibes of the daytime shows.
ReplyDeleteLES MIS IS SO GOOD. It's one of my top few classics and all-time favorite reads. "I'm in awe over Hugo's dedication to detail" is a very kind way to describe that book though, lol. I confess to skimming the 100-page tangents about Waterloo and the Parisian sewer system. What part are you at?
I hope you have (had) a good May!
- Eleanor
ELEANOR hi. oh I relate so much about food cooking competition shows! they're such a blast - who knew XD although, would I really dare to eat what they came up with? probably not!
Deleteahhhhh (ok but I skimmed that too lol). I'm about 30% through, I think (wayyyyy behind my schedule but I'm catching up!!) if you want to chat about the book when I'm done let me know! I'd love to!
thank you so much, I have had a really good month, and I hope yours was too!!