February Highlights 2017

Pauses. Sighs. Scratches head. Sighs again.

How should I describe February? It was a relatively "normal" month. At least, as "normal" as my life ever gets. :) While I didn't get half as much done as I'd hoped, I still accomplished a decent amount and I'm pleased with the overall results.

~Summary~

Okay. I figured out how to describe the biggest portion of my month—stress. For the greater part of February I have been studying like crazy for my amateur radio test to get my operator license. The test was Monday night and I had the most amazing feeling going into it. Instead of being horribly nervous like I thought I would be, I had total peace. Even during the test and while waiting for the results, I wasn't very nervous. And guess what? I passed with 97%! I'm so thrilled. Yesterday morning I got my temporary call sign but I hope to change it to something more personal. I am officially an amateur radio operator! Yay!

Besides radio classes, studying, and lots of school, I've also been continuing to attend two awesome youth groups and build stronger relationships with my friends. My younger sister went to Hume Lake at the beginning of the month and had a wonderful time. While she was enjoying the snow, I had a wonderful time staying with my marvelous grandparents. I always love sitting and talking with them, and I had plenty of time to do so!

A few weeks later we went to Pacific Grove to visit with my grandparents again for a birthday. It was a nice time, and we got several more great sunset pictures. How can you not get good ones when the sun is setting over the ocean? #beautiful ;)

That's my Dad taking a picture. ;)

It was also an interesting experience in that because of all the rain and wind storms, trees were falling left, right, and center and power was out in Pacific Grove for over 24 hours! We toasted bread and heated water for coffee over the fire and managed just fine. By the time we needed to turn on the oven for our pizza, power came back on. Perfect timing. Can't go without the pizza. :)

All in all, it was a good month despite the stress. I would ask for prayers though for my Mom, who found out yesterday that she has to have some major dental work done. Thanks!

~Reading~

February started out as a very good month for reading, I was ahead in my plan for reaching 10 books despite the short month but then it came to a grinding halt as studying grew more intense. I managed to complete only three for a total of 738 pages plus about half of the book I'm in the middle of, A Time to Die, which will be added to March's book list.

1. Land of Shining Water: The Icecutter's Daughter, Tracie Peterson (331 pages)
2. Chiveis Trilogy: The Gift, Bryan M. Litfin (407 pages)
3. Ilyon Chronicles: The King's Scrolls, Jaye L. Knight (397 pages)

However, I can say that all three books were extraordinary! I'd highly recommend all of them and I can't wait to get book three in both the Chiveis Trilogy and Ilyon Chronicles. Hopefully March will enable me to get a significant amount of reading done now that the radio test is behind me.

~Writing~

While I still didn't write nearly as much as I'd hoped to, I did accomplish more than 4,000 words on my Dragon Chronicles, which is actually a lot considering everything else. I also set a record for the most amount of words I've ever written in a day—the new total is 2,612! That was a happy day. :)

I've also been continuing to edit for some friends, and I'm finding that I really enjoy editing. Another accomplishment was writing my first draft of a synopsis for my Dragon Chronicles. I'm really glad to have come up with something that I think I like for it.

~Photography~

It was a good month for photography! With all the rain, there were lots of rainbows and everything looked fresh. In addition to the sunset pictures I have above, I also got to do a brief photo-shoot with my sister and our horses.

In a "normal" year of rain, this river is half the size. (Taken in January.)

This is one of my favorite pictures I've taken! Isn't it gorgeous?

All the above pictures are © Bethany R.

~Great Quotes~

A found a few cool quotes this month that I thought you might like too.

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” -Annie Dillard

"If you ask me what book I'm reading I'll either go into a long winded and enthusiastic summary of the entire thing or just lift the book to show you the title and keep reading." -I can't find the author

I don't think this counts as a quote but . . . here it is. :)

~Blog Posts~

I managed four posts in February, the most popular of which was my January Highlights post, followed by A Question of Honor Cover Reveal and Faith Leads to Understanding. I was delighted to find that I got several new followers this month as well—welcome to the blog! I'm so happy that you found me. You helped me reach 40 google followers!

As far as other blogger's posts, I'll just mention two things here. The blog tours for both A Question of Honor and The Princess and I have begun! Both books release March 3, so if you are interested, be sure to check those out! Click on the book title to view each author's first post of the blog tour. I've been too busy to participate in either, but know that if I could have I would have! Congratulations Jesseca and Rebekah! I'm so excited for you both!

Wow, I guess a busy month calls for a long post but I didn't anticipate this being THAT long. Well, if you read all of that, thanks! I hope you had a great February and have a delightful March!

Nature Shots

I recently visited my grandparents in Pacific Grove and pulled out my camera. I only got a few photos of the ocean this time, but I got several of a seagull and my grandma's flowers. To view them larger, just click on the picture. Enjoy!

Isn't the expression cute?

I was so happy with the clarity of this one.

Believe it or not, I didn't take these in sepia. Aren't they cool?

This is probably my favorite of the flower pictures.

I like the framing and colors on this one.

All photos are © Bethany R.

What do you think? Which is your favorite? Any tips for me? Also, as a side note, now that Camp NaNo is over, if you would like to enter the writing challenge but weren't able, I will still be accepting entries for a few more days. Thanks for stopping by!

Out my Classroom Window

Homeschool is not always as easy as it may seem to other students. It, like everything, has its pros and cons. One of the most difficult elements of being homeschooled is my struggle to make really good friends because I don't see others my age nearly as often as most non homeschoolers. Mostly, I just have friends within our church and youth group. That is not bad, just not always the easiest. Even then I sometimes feel left out when they start talking about school and I have no idea what they are talking about. I'm certain you other homeschoolers feel this same way. Then, you may ask, why do you like homeschool? There are numerous reasons, most of them centering around my family. Not only do I get to spend much more time with my family, but can also travel to see family that lives farther away. I can have a Bible Class and, as I'm sure you've gathered if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, we DO take many trips. We have been able to visit Yellowstone, Yosemite, Disneyland, and the Grand Canyon on days when others are in school so it is not nearly as crowded. This brings me to the focus of my post. Because I am homeschooled, I am so blessed. Take a look at the view from my classroom window that I had yesterday.

Can't beat that! While homeschooling has not been easy, it is days like yesterday when I am reminded of just how truly blessed I am.

The Ocean Breeze - Photographs!

While at my grandparents' house, I was able to get some nice pictures of the ocean. The day that we were leaving, the waves weren't huge, but they were big! It was hard to capture the color of the water, but it was beautiful! I thought that you might enjoy seeing a few. (Some are a bit blurry because they were taken with some zoom.) Enjoy!

Also, don't forget that the writing challenge due date is this Saturday, the fifth. I'd love to have you enter if you are able!

Out With the Old, In With the New

Yesterday, my family and I paid a visit to town. Our first stop was to drop off recyclables at a recycling plant. I was amazed at the amount of recyclables there. We cashed in a lot of plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and glass bottles. (My sister and I are saving up for: me—a horse, and my sister—a surfboard.) We were very pleased with what we made. Thank you to everyone who helped us by giving us your plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans.

Sorting out recyclables for first ever turn in.

After cashing in our recyclables, we ran some errands before going to Avila Beach to boogie board. When we arrived, we “wave watched” for a bit. Deciding the waves were too small, we drove over to Pismo Beach where we pulled on our wet suits. We had trouble getting onto the actual beach though, because the “beach access” sign was misleading. We had to hike down, in flip-flops, steep dirt stairs and cross a field to get there. However, once we got there we knew it would be worth it. Quickly, we hopped into the water and my sister and I began to boogie board with the help of our dad. After my first few waves I needed a minute to calm myself down because I had been completely submerged once and kept slipping off the board and sliding against the sand. So for a while, I sat and played in the sand with the water rushing over me. Eventually, I began to boogie board again. We had a lot of fun. Toward the end of our time at the beach, I took off too soon and the wave crashed onto me! My mom said that I looked like part of the wave! I went head over heels-or . . . heels over head? I did a total somersault in the wave. It felt weird and my nose was stinging but at the same time I felt like I was flying in mid-air. Afterward, I just sat there, sort of stunned before recovering and boogie boarding some more. Then we had to leave. We decided to hike up a different, easier, path that we found. When we arrived at the car hot and tired but happy, we tried our best to wash off but still looked like we were covered in half the beach! Lastly, we went to Costco and after shopping we bought a pizza, and came home.

Posing with boogie board at Pismo Beach.

We had a fun filled, wonderful day and, although I'm still sore all over, I can't wait to do it again. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making it such a great day! (And Dad for braving the cold water without a wetsuit!) Thanks, God, for protecting us and helping us to have fun despite a couple face-plants!

From A Granddaughter's Perspective

A Sea Turtle at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

An Icelandic Horse

The last week of June- first week of July my sister and I went to visit our grandma and grandpa in Pacific Grove for 8 days. We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the nearby park. We also enjoyed staying at home watching movies and cartoons. My sister and I decided to put on a skit for our grandparents. It was about the Revolutionary War since it was around the Fourth of July. It was a lot of work writing it up, getting props, and practicing, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We also went to our grandma's church both Sundays. One day, we had the unique experience of both seeing and petting Icelandic Horses at our grandma's friend's house in Carmel Valley. At night, after my sister had gone to bed, I had some good time to talk with both my grandparents.

The Fourth of July became a memorable day for both my sister and me. It began when Grandma, my sister, and I as well as two of Grandma's neighbors went to a parade in Monterey. Afterward we went to a cafe down the street. After we dropped off the neighbors at their house, we went to the beach. There our grandma rented us a boogie board and we enjoyed using it but it could not compare to what happened next. We met a lady who was letting kids, who looked like her grandchildren, ride little waves on her surfboard and we asked if we might ride. Kindly, she said “Sure!” That Fourth of July we will never forget because it was a dream come true for both my sister and me. Sunday the 7th, our parents came up and we enjoyed our traditional pizza. Then we spent our last night before going to a coffee shop the next day and heading home.

A large inflatable birthday cake at a Fourth of July parade

Both my grandpa and I think this was one of the best trips we've had in a long time. Thank you, Grandma for setting aside your time and making this such a wonderful trip! Thanks, Grandpa for taking the time to talk to me in the evenings as well as letting me take your morning walks with you and all the other things you did to make this trip awesome! I know that grandparents are a gift from God. So, thanks, Lord!