What I focused on in September:

1. Releasing Where Dandelions Grow 
2. Getting settled into my new part-time job (Working at a coffee shop)
3. Visiting family in Florida

   

Birthday Challenge Update

Y’all. I’m going to have to do a whole blog post about this sometime since you’ve been on this year-long journey with me…. But let’s just say that I did pretty bad on the challenges this year. Oh well, folks.

Reading Update

This month was strange as far as reading went – I started multiple books, and even got pretty far into several of them, that I then stopped reading because 1) They weren’t worth it or 2) They weren’t interesting or 3) They had content I didn’t agree with. Because of that, and not being prompt with marking the books I did read on Goodreads, I feel like I am missing a book here or there from my list….

Fiction: 4
Nonfiction: 2
Book Reviews: ???
Audio Books: 3

Traveling

Nights Gone: 14 – Unless you count camping back in our woods, then 17
New States or Countries: None

Goals

If the Lord wills and I live, in September of 2017 I will…

1. Get settled into my new part-time job/learn the ropes – YES
2. Stay caught up with work for my other part-time job – YES
3. Fill out/answer/write all my author interview and “Behind the Scenes” posts for the release of Where Dandelions Grow blog tour by September 22nd – YES
4. Finish preparing for the release of Where Dandelions Grow – YES
5. Release and Celebrate Where Dandelions Grow September 26th-30th YES – (except I took the 30th off and finished it October 2nd)
6. Read 4 non-fiction books – I read 2 non-fiction books that I remember, but I really feel like I read at least one more, I just can’t remember what or where. #oops
7. Write 10 book reviews – I actually lost track of how many I wrote, but I don’t think I succeeded. (As of October 2nd I am caught up with writing book reviews for the books I’ve read.)
8. Have focused family time while visiting my grandparents during the second half of the month – YES

What I’ve Been Learning

So. Much.

And that about sums it up.

One of the biggest things I spent the month learning was about my new job at the coffee shop. Learning what different drinks are. How to make various drinks (coffees – which I don’t make a lot of – smoothies, teas, etc…), sandwiches, wraps, and salads. Also those other important things like working a cash register, the proper way to wash dishes up to code, where everything belongs, how to restock the kitchen, and, well… You get the point. I’ve even found myself going over the steps as I fall asleep at night or when I wake up in the morning. #ThanksBrain

Time management is another one of those things that I worked on a lot this month. Trying to figure out how and where to fit in my writing along with the rest of life. (Short story: This morning – October 3rd – I rushed around like crazy so I could write and publish a blog post before leaving for work…. Then when I checked the computer this evening I discovered I hadn’t hit the final publish button to make the post go live. So oh well.)

Also, I’ve been working on remembering to stop and think through why I do something before I do it. So much of what I do is automatic, but that doesn’t mean it’s good – or the best. I want to stop being on auto-pilot and be intentional.

Along with being intentional, I’ve begun working on not filling my moments so full. I have the habit of pulling out a book to read (or something else to do) if I have a moment here or there. But sitting and being still, or thinking, or praying, is all so important. So, I’ve begun making the choice to not fill each moment. It’s good for me.

How to do a proper book release. And what things I need to change in order to make it go better. And that book releases are tiring but in a good way. And that sometimes people aren’t on time and that can be frustrating. But sometimes I’m not on time either, and so giving grace is pretty wonderful.

One day when we were in Florida I was blessed to get to visit some good friends of ours who are in their 80s-90s. They were missionaries all of their lives and have the most amazing stories to tell. The lady and I sat down together and she let me video her while she told mind-blowing stories for nearly an hour. It was such an encouraging, eye-opening, and faith building time.

Other 

Y’all. September. Seven hundred and twenty hours of life lived, experienced, filled, and packed away into my memory bank. I think back to the beginning of this month and it feels like it was so far away. It was beautiful. Glorious. Busy. New.

September started out with our county fair – something that I’m not a big fan of because it’s not really my cup of tea, but I went along a couple of times anyway. (And might have ended up sitting in the grandstands reading a book while my companions watched the truck pulls, etc… But at least I was part of the group.)  Still, even though I don’t particularly like the fair, I still have good memories of hanging out with my family there.

And speaking of good memories – one of the most grandest and wonderful parts of September was getting to camp out for a few days. If you know me, then you know that’s pretty much the background music to my life – being out in nature, campfires, relaxing under the stars, delightful conversations, the whole shebang.

As mentioned previously, I began working at a coffee shop the last day of August, so September was full of learning moments and fun and driving long distances. (Which is where audiobooks come in.) I also bought a car, so that was a pretty important thing to do. (Since my other parttime job is within walking distance and my dad had a car I could borrow pretty much whenever I needed it, owning my own car wasn’t incredibly needed before this.)

I also bought a car, so that was a pretty important thing to do. (Since my other parttime job is within walking distance and my dad had a car I could borrow pretty much whenever I needed it, owning my own car wasn’t incredibly needed before this.)

Not only was I busy with working at the coffee shop, plus my writing (with a new book being released!), but I also had a really busy week with my other part-time job. And I spent the second half of the month in Florida with relatives. (Including some who’s apartment suffered damage due to all the hurricanes.) So, September was jam-packed full. But wonderful.

The book release was wonderful. And involved a lot of celebrating. And a lot of work. And a lot of tiredness when it was over.

Oh, haha. I totally forgot. But I also had a birthday. I’m now a quarter of a century old. Pretty crazy, right?

What were some of your highlights for September?