PIZZA.
(remember last monthly highlights? you all said it was appropriate to shout pizza for an intro, so I went ahead and did it.)
// I'M PRACTICALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL. I basically am except for a few assorted corrections and tests. But I'm good with saying that I'm done. And ohhh it feels so good to be away from the evilness of fall, winter, and spring. I'M FREE. FOR A WHOLE SUMMER.
// I started the show Falling Skies! It's basically an alien apocalypse show that has super strong family relationships and wonderful characters. <3 *is so excited to watch all of the seasons*
// I've been listening to lots of Twenty One Pilots. (surprise? no? didn't think so.) I've found a couple of other artists that I've been listening to more as well, too. Truslow, and NF. (links lead to my favorite songs of theirs)
// LOTS of grad parties. (which means lots of good, junky sweets. mmmm...) I can't help but simultaneously wish that I was graduating, and also hope that I never graduate because life after high school is scary.
// CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR FINALLY CAME OUT. *screaming* I may have already seen it three times, and am planning on a fourth in June. It's that good, you guys. The feels kinda killed me.
 |
| trying to act cool with the sis |
// Speaking of Civil War, this is an actual thing that happened in youth group, and it was epic.
Murf (my youth pastor's nickname): *is wearing a Captain America sweatshirt*Murf: *takes it off*Murf: *is wearing a Stark Industries shirt underneath*Murf: DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE SIDES.
I love my youth pastor. I think I've only seen him without a superhero shirt once. He literally wears one all the time. He's basically a superhero himself by now and it's awesome. xD
// I've officially started my job at Starbucks! I finished training, which is kind of terrifying, because I don't know if I'm completely ready? I've worked on the drive thru a couple times. It's actually quite fun punching the orders into the point of sale system. xD I work again tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes! *crosses fingers*
// And life is just... exploding, all of a sudden? There was a time in May where I only read 20 pages in seven days. ACK. Editing, working 20 hours a week, finishing up school, blogging... it's crazy and I think I might go insane.
-
Only bought one book this month: Bruiser! It's a fabulous and very feelsy book and also has pizza mentioned on the first page. So.
And the main reason that I bought it... (other than it being a fabulous book) ...is because I got to meet the author! (picture below) There was a teen literature conference one Saturday near me, so I went and was able to meet Neal Shusterman and Leigh Bardugo. :D
Also this happened one night while reading:
*reads 10 pages*— Katie Grace (@KatieGraceWrite) May 19, 2016
Clock: 12:14
*reads 30 pages*
Clock: 12:14
*reads 50 pages*
Clock: 12:14
Me: WOW I READ FAST.
Clock: *is broken*
.-.
It made me laugh once I got over how tired I was going to be the next morning. :P
Total of the month:
It's my lowest month of the year, but it's also been the busiest month. Hoping June will be better.
+ 'the adventures of superhero girl' which would not fit into this picture.
Favorite: Unwind! After Aimee and Anna continued to shove it in my face, I finally read it. And loved it. *hugs the book*
Honorable mention: Hawkeye. <3 It's the "all new hawkeye vol. 5" and OH it is gorgeous. The parallels and the story and Hawkeye... you all need to read it.
Disappointment: This Shattered World, Jerk, California, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. All of those I rated two stars. I had hopes for higher ratings... but oh well.
Best cover: None of them are my favorites, but I really like River Secrets. The soft illustrated art and the pretty text suits the story. <3
-
WRITING. (or should I say editing? heh.)
Well, editing has been happening this month. I waited a week after May started and then dove into all of the beta edits. And quickly realized that my hope of finishing the edits by June is a very big task.
So I'm hoping now to finish by mid/end of June before Camp NaNo begins. Ack, it's a lot of work and petty things I need to change. Which I suppose is better than huge plot things, but yet means that it's very time consuming.
Also on a random note... I'm SO very thankful for my beta readers! SO SO SO SO SO THANKFUL. <3 <3 It's crazy how awesome you guys were and all the work that you put into my book. (I mean, wahht? I can't even imagine.) Seriously. You deserve all the hugs and pizza. <3
Hopefully I can find time amidst the craziness in June to edit. *pumps fist tiredly* LET'S DO THIS.
Also, speaking of writing... I signed up for Realm Makers! Will I see any of you there?
*this section was very random and incoherent but it's not an official post by me unless a little bit like that*
-
-
// another blogspot design post! (probably the last one in a long time.)
// and two other posts that I will keep a surprise because surprises are fun. (now I feel like I'm setting these posts up to be I'M GETTING PUBLISHED or something crazy like that. I'm merely keeping them a surprise because I am, not because their topic is super special. Sorry. xD)
-
// katie grace
Have you discovered any new music artists lately? How was your month? Did you finish school?
And if you're graduating... CONGRATULATIONS. *confetti*
Wow, May seemed to go sooo fast! Ooh Realm Makers is a conference I've heard SO MUCH about, along with so many other interesting sounding ones. BUT THEY'RE ALL IN AMERICA! *sobs*
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've barely been getting ANY time to read lately, which is so sad. There are so many books I want to read, and I own a ton that I can stare at every morning on my bookshelf but I'm still just slowly working through the finale of a series. (which is looking like it will ruin the previous eight books. Nooooo)
(P.S. Also, maybe I should mention, the picture at the beginning of the post says 'June Highlights' instead of 'May') :D
DeleteTHAT'S SO SAD. Even though Australia seems super cool, that'd be really hard to be that far away. :/
DeleteRIGHT? *grumble* I have tons of books from the library and on my shelf, and I just don't have enough timeeee. *sigh* What series are you reading right now?
Heh. Yeah. I just realized. *headdesk* Oops.
I knoooow, it hurts so much to hear about all these conferences which I can't go to!
DeleteI've been reading the Time Riders (by Alex Scarrow) which I borrowed from the library. For the first eight books I loved them all but the last book is ruining everything. I am sooo annoyed at it. Annoyed enough that I'm going to go add a note on every review on goodreads saying that I don't actually recommend them for such-and-such reasons. I'm dispairing at the loss of such a cool series!
*CRIES BECAUSE I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET LEIGH BARDUGO last year on June 29 but I got sick and didn't go ;(* I'm happy for you though!
ReplyDeleteAh just two days ago I lined up to meet Jennifer Niven. I'd read her All the Bright Places and while it's not the best book, it wasn't the worst either, so I chose to just have it signed since she was in the country ;) That makes her the ninth author met and seventh signing I attended!
I watched Civil War twice, you probably know, but I watched X Men: Apocalypse thrice! It's tied to Divergent to the movie I watched the most number of times while still in cinemas :P
And your job in Starbucks... awesome!!! Except I don't think they have my favorite drink in the States... Chocolate Chip Cream? It's the only Starbucks drink I order whenever we go to Starbucks.
Writing for me isn't going as planned. I said I wanted two drafts by the end of summer... and I have a vague story idea and 0 words written and school starts in 15 days for me. I'm not ready *sobs*
AWW NOOO. *sadness* I hate it when things like that happen. -.^
DeleteOoh, that's so awesome! NINE authors? EEP. I've heard mixed opinions and reviews about that book... Though I accidentally discovered the spoiler about what happened/who died. So, not sure if I'll read it. :P
THREE TIMES? Aah! I still have yet to get into the X Men world. I'd assume you'd recommend it, though?
Thank you! Are you talking about a frappucchino? There's a double chocolatey chip creme based frappacchino here, but not sure if that's what you normally have.
*pats and hands chocolate* IT'S OKAY. You can start writing now, and there's always the school year, and next summer, and the rest of your life. xD I HOPE YOUR SUMMER WAS STILL ENJOYABLE AND AWESOME.
I discovered the song Never Forget You by Zara Larsson, but no new music. xD And I do math and grammar through the summer, but yes! I'm done!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I'll have to listen to that.
DeleteEw math and grammar. *shudders*
Your month seemed pretty awesome! :D This whole last month, we've been going to graduations, too. I had some mixed feelings about some of my best friends leaving high school without me, but I was very excited for them! But I do look forward to graduating next year! ^_^ Oh! And we watched Captain America, too! XD #teamcap Who do you like more, Sam or Bucky?
ReplyDeletedarlinginspirations.wordpress.com
Next year already? How exciting! :D *confetti*
DeleteBUCKYBUCKYBUCKYBUCKYBUCKY. All the way. Except Sam is really awesome. He's hilarious and fdsajfl;dj. The "can you move your seat up" scene with the two of them is just perfection. I really hope we'll see more of BOTH of them together in the next movies. :D
Which one do you like more?
*sneaks into comment* I KNEW you'd say Bucky XD.
DeleteYESH you actually yelled PIZZA for an intro! *fistbump*
ReplyDeleteI wish I was graduating too! *is very jealous* I don't know how I'll make it through another three-ish (four-ish?) years of school!!
YAY you got to watch Civil War! *cheers for you* Once my brother is old enough, I am SO watching all the Avenger movies with him *nods*. Also, your youth pastor is awesome :D.
*gasps* You officially started working at Starbucks?! AHH, that's SO EXCITING!!! Punching in orders sounds like it would be very fun XD. *crosses fingers with you*
Clock: *is broken* Okay, that whole deal made me laugh so much XD. I so would have done something like that! :D *hurries to make sure her clock is in working order*
Ooo, I get hugs and pizza! *happily accepts* YOU'RE SO VERY WELCOME!!! I loved reading Song Of The Desert SO VERY MUCH!!! I sure hope it gets published soon so EVERYONE CAN READ IT! *whispers* and so I can buy it and pet it and put it on my shelf and stare at it ALL day.
*sends you extra pizza to help with your editing* because pizza makes everything better! :D
I'M STILL SO JEALOUS OF EVERYONE GOING TO REALM MAKERS!!! There shall come a year when I am finally able to go ... but it is not this year :(.
And I'm SO excited for all the fun posts you'll be doing in JUNE (wait, what?! how did we get to June ALREADY?!).
New artists? Well, I've been listening to Owl City, for King and Country, and Nicole Norderman a good deal (and that's just to name a few!). But mostly, I just listen to the music playlist which my sister is always adding too, so I never know what I'm going to get :D.
*fistbumps back*
DeleteAck, doesn't graduating seem like SUCH along time away? *cries* Noooo schoollll.
YES! You need to watch all the Marvel movies and tell me all your thoughts. *nodnod* I'm watching them in chronological order this summer and it will be great fun. xD
I'M SO GLAD YOU BETA READ IT. You are seriously amazing and ahhh. *flailing* I'm so very happy. :')
ACK THAT WOULD BE SO AMAZING IF YOU WERE ABLE TO COME TO REALM MAKERS. o.o Someday we will meet at one and it will be awesome. :D
Ooh, Owl City is good! I haven't listened to a LOT of their songs... but I do like the ones I have listened to. :P
*randomly jumps in on comment* I love for King and Country! I'm super excited for their new album!
DeleteWAIT.
DeleteNEW ALBUM? O.O
Yeah, graduating either seems REALLY far away or REALLY close. Depends on what mood I'm in XD.
DeleteYou will get ALL the thoughts when I watch the Marvel movies :D. Ooo, chronological order? ALL the movies?! Wow, that's going to take awhile :D.
YES, WOULDN'T THAT BE SO AWESOME?! Someday it SHALL HAPPEN.
One of my favorite Owl City songs is 'Hot Air Balloon'. That tends to be playing a lot around our house lately XD. And WHAT for King and Country is coming out with a new album?!
YESSSSSS, CIVIL WAR!!!! I like how your youth pastor won't choose sides. XD
ReplyDeleteYESS. It was so great. xD
DeleteJune highlights? Don't worry you look like you've been busy. Your youth pastor (aka superhero) sounds really cool! And yay realm makers!!!! We need to assemble the bloggers to all meet each other when there!!!!
ReplyDeleteYeaaaah. Oops. I messed up on that. :P
DeleteYUUS. I'm super excited to meet you and take pictures! :D
Don't worry i've seen worse mistakes in my posts
Deleteand YASSSSSS it will be awesome!
OH my word. I just laughed from your twitter post --- soooo me! Hey, you got a lot of reading done. ;) I wonder how much stuff we would...or wouldn't...get done if the clocks were always stuck?!
ReplyDeleteGreat month.. I KNOW- SUMMER IS SO...FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Right?? I got a lot farther in my book last night than I intended. Which was... good, I guess? xD
DeleteSUMMERRRRRRR. FINALLY. AHHHH. I don't like the hot weather, but the lack of school more than makes up for it. xD
Wow, sounds like a pretty eventful May!!! And isn't no school awesome??? **leaps** ;)
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what you use for your book collages?? I've been using PicMonkey, but you can only do a certain number of books so I wasn't sure what you used?? Thank you!
I love reading all the monthly highlights posts from bloggers!! <3
*leas with you* YAY FOR NO SCHOOL AAHHHH.
DeleteI just take the image from Goodreads and keep it easy. :P
Isn't it awesome? It's so much fun to see a glimpse into other blogger's lives. :D
Sounds like you had a fun May! (oh, and I think you meant to say 'May Highlights' in the post header. ;)
ReplyDeleteAhhh you're going to be meeting Aimee, Hannah, and Caroline! You must FLOOD that post with pictures, 'kay?
My May was pretty quiet. Like you, school is finishing up for me. (yay!) Now I can focus more on preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo. Are you going to be doing it?
As for new artists, my dad bought three of I Am They's songs, and we basically killed them by listening to them all over and over and over and over again. xD BUT SERIOUSLY. Look them up. Our favorite songs of theirs are 'From the Day', 'We Are Yours', and their cover-type thing of 'No Longer Slaves.' I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THEIR MUSIC. :P
And I echo what Hannah E. said -- monthly highlight posts are so much fun to read! :D
(sigh. Yes. I did mean to and it's fixed now. :P)
DeleteYESSS I AM AHHHH. I'm so excited. xD Hopefully there will be lots of pictures! Between the four of us we should remember to take some. :P
Camp NaNo! Blergh. Yes, I'll be doing it. But I'm not looking forward to it just since I'm editing The Sand Dragon's Song and it's such a mess. *cries* SO MUCH WORK TO BE DONE IN THE SUMMER.
Huh, I haven't heard of them. *listens to 'From the Day.' I like it! It feels very banjo-y and campfire-y for some reason. :P
I AGREE! :D
SQUEEEEE yes, you must remember to take photos. :P
DeleteAhh, the woes of editing. But I'm happy that you're starting to edit TSDS! (even if you're not. xD)
YES! I love the country-ish feel of I Am They. :D I love listening to 'We Are Yours' and harmonizing with it because HARMONIZATION. <3
Oh, and you have room left in your Camp NaNo cabin? Cause I don't have anyone to join yet. :P
DeleteI finished school. And am starting again today. lol! Summer school is the worst.
ReplyDeleteFalling Skies is awesome! I've only watched the first two seasons but I love it and can't wait until I have time to rewatch the entire series.
Aawww. Ugh. That's just horrible. *sends cookies t cope*
DeleteEEK. Yes, isn't it? I'm on the second season and loving it so far.
Cookies!! Almost as good as pizza. ;)
DeletePizza is important and it is totally acceptable to always yell.
ReplyDeleteAND YESSS, SCHOOL IS OVER. TIME FOR ALL THE READING AND FALLING-SKIES-WATCHING AND BLOGGING AND GENERALLY FUN FLAILY THINGS.
I've been listening to so much TOP this month it's glorious. TOP is life.
Yes mwahaha. Pizza. <3
DeleteRIGHTTTT AHH. SO EXCITED TO WATCH FALLING SKIES WITH YOU AND AIMEE AND DIVE HEADFIRST INTO THE FEELS. xD
TOP is definitely life. I just wish I could go to a concert of theirs. *sobs* There would be so many tears, feels, and happiness. xD
That is so cool that you got to meet the author!! I am officially done with school myself!!! YAY!!
ReplyDeleteI love starbucks!! Maybe I can see you work there one day :D
http://thecountrygurl.blogspot.com
It was very exciting. :D
DeleteEEK. Starbucks is very exciting. And that would be awesome. xD
I'M SO CLOSE TO BEING DONE WITH SCHOOL. WHY MUST MATH EXIST. >.<
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I was absolutely cracking up at your tweet. xD
Sooooo many grad parties. I love them! I just hate that everyone is graduating haha. I'm definitely not ready to be in that position!
Good luck on your editing! I reallllly need to get back to writing....*stares in fear at middle section of book*
I agree with you. WHY DOES MATH EXIST?!?!
DeleteLET'S JUST SIGN A PETITION TO DEAL AWAY WITH MATH, OKAY? MATH IS STUPID AND IT MUST BE DESTROYED AT ALL COSTS.
DeleteRight? We'll just not be ready together. :P
THANK YOU. I'll see how it goes. It's scary. xD
Ughhh, those bothersome middle sections. *hands chocolate* YOU CAN DO THIS, GRACE. I HAVE ALLLL THE FAITH IN YOU.
I don't finish school until mid-July (UGH) But at least I won't be wasting my time swimming, and writing, and reading and drawing all summer. *cries*
ReplyDeleteEwww, that's far away! :/ You can do it!
DeleteYou and I have had opposite months, essentially: yours crazy and mine chill. :D Also, side note: your graphic says "June Highlights," not "May Highlights." :(
ReplyDeleteI never did get around to watching Falling Skies, but I always thought it looked interesting. Your youth pastor story amused me greatly! And how did I miss that Twitter post?! That is hilarious!
Somehow, you were way busier than me, and you still read one more book than I did! I was feeling fairly impressed with myself until I came over here. *maturely sticks out tongue*
Ahh, chill months are awesome. *nodnod* And I realized after lots of people pointed it out. :P *headdesk* SIGH. Just proof that my month has been crazy and playing with my mind. :P
DeleteI really like it so far! I definitely recommend it. :D
Ooh, you read 12 books? That's still awesome! And I do read very fast, so... *hides at your tongue sticking* *holds up hands in defense* :P
Oh, I completely understood! My blog post today gave me a whole host of formatting problems. Such is the life of a blogger. :D
DeleteWell, maybe I'll just have to rent it, then. :)
*looks apologetic* *hugs*
I'm a little late for commenting, but when I received the email, I noticed it said 'June Highlights', too XD
ReplyDeleteBUT YEAH. PIZZA!! Sounds like you had a fun May... I only read 7 books, wrote 1,300 words, and was mostly not busy. Although I did sprain my ankle. ): That was not fun.
SIGH. It's fixed now. Oh dear my mindddd. :P
DeletePIZZA. OH NO YOU SPRAINED YOUR ANKLE?? That doesn't sound fun at all. o.o Is it okay?
XD
DeleteYeah, my ankle is good, thanks. :P But I have to wear a wrap and do exercises. I'm SUPPOSED to be going to PT, but mah doctor hasn't called the therapy place yet.
Your youth pastor is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the job! Hang in there--even though it may feel like life is exploding. Also, Falling Skies is pretty good. I just finished it a while back.
ReplyDeletePizza is (almost) ALWAYS and appropriate intro. It sets up common ground. (or a fight ground. Either way)
ReplyDeleteYay for finishing job training! I'd be so nervous working at a coffee shop, even though I have one near me, and I'd like to apply. How does anyone remember how to make all those drinks?
I recently discovered Bethel Music. I love just about all of it. It's definitely a different kind of music, most of it's longer, but its just beautiful. Listen to the live version of "No Longer Slaves."
School is never done. Being homeschooled, my mom or me can just decide "Oh, well, you're behind in Math so doing Geometry all summer would probably be good."
I was reading back on the posts you wrote about beta readers... thank you! I sent my story to a friend of mine this week because I need help (let's just say I've read my WIP too much?) and those posts really helped.
Jeneca @ Jeniqua Writes
IT'S JUNE ALREADY WUT
ReplyDeleteand i loved that tweet. it was so funny
I love NF! He did a concert in my town but I didn't get to see him, unfortunately. I recently discovered Jordan Smith. I like him. No, I'm not a quite done with schoolwork but I'm getting there :) I'm excited abt all the graduations coming up haha
ReplyDeleteand how on earth do you read that much ? I read 6 books.
It's so cool that you work at Starbucks! I wish I worked at a coffee shop... :)
"Oh Lord" was my fave song this month! It's so cool that you like it too :)
ReplyDeleteWell May pretty much flew by for me also. GRAD PARTIES THOUGH LIKE SERIOUSLY GUYS. We're not even done with them yet. (just curious was May 21 a popular date for anyone else? THERE WERE LITERALLY LIKE AT LEAST FOUR HERE IN COLORADO XD) but yes more junk food yay XD
ReplyDeleteI'M BASICALLY DONE WITH SCHOOL ALSO but yeah we do school through the summer (literally THE ONLY downside of homeschooling XD).
Oh oh oh oh, I graduated!!!! *accepts confetti* Yeah, I was all like "Yay no school!" Then Mom made me order lunch and I was like "No, I can't be an adult yet!!!" I'm telling ya, it's scary.
ReplyDeleteI canmot tell you how cool it is that you work at Starbucks. I have one that I've thought about working at, but the hours can be crazy, yes? How high stress is it? (I think drive thru would freak me out.) But again I'm happy for you!
I need Camp NaNo tips because I'm doing it in July and I haven't even chosen a story yet D: But I would like to begin another WIP since my current one will be all drafted soon *sniff*
I'm happy that I graduated school! Yeah! *throws confetti in the air* I hated that place! :D
ReplyDeleteFor once, I ACTUALLY have plans this month. yaaaaay
Read more (buy books and use library)
Practice piano
Practice cooking
learn how to drive
Learn languages. Yeah mann
Good luck at your new job!! I'll be getting one soon (ugh) and I don't think I'm really NERVOUS, but I also am in a way because me in social settings is usually a weird, awkward mess. So. There's that.
ReplyDeleteThis has been quite a lovely month for me! I finished school the first Friday in May, then the week after that I went to Florida for graduation and spent almost a week there. It was a fantastic vacation and I was super sad to come home. But now I'm enjoying to its full extent staying home and doing whatever I want for a while before I get a job because yes, life after high school IS scary. -curls up in a ball- Pray for me. xD
Wow! It sounds like you're crazy busy! I know what that feels like. Oddly enough, I find that I thrive when I have LESS time. Hope the same happens to you!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on graduating!
Hey Katie! I nominated you for the Infinity Dream Award on my personal blog Sincerely, Allie (www.sincerelyallied.blogspot.com).
ReplyDeleteAllie D.
www.alliesblogdesigns.blogspot.com
www.friendlovesatalltimes.blogspot.com
www.sincerelyallied.blogspot.com
www.spreadingmyjoy.blogspot.com
YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!! CAN'T WAIT. ALSO SHANNON HALE BOOKS <3
ReplyDeleteALSO MESSAGE ME ABOUT JERK CAUSE YOU KNOW.
I love starbucks toooooooo. Lucky. Do you get to drink tons of coffee? Do you have to wake up insanely early?
ReplyDeleteSchool is out (Wait I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL FOREVER) (wait nevermind, I might be going back? WHAT?) I don't know.
I saw x-men apocalypse instead of captain america WHAT? WHY?? b/c I didn't want to wait until 10:30pm to see Civil War....but by the end of June I must go see it. Hard with kiddos and stuff....
BTW x-men apocalypse was pretty awesome. I'm more into x-men anyway but that's just me.
Aww I miss youth group days.
I should probably end the rambling lol ttyl
*chants* FALLING SKIES FALLING SKIES FALLING SKIES FALLING SKIES
ReplyDelete*coughs nervously at all the comments I never answered*
ReplyDeleteSorry, guys. I can promise that I read them all xD