What I Focused on in November:
1. Family time – visiting grandparents in Florida, Thanksgiving, and staying with my “adopted” mom, talking late at night, and just hanging out
2. Getting back into the rhythm of blogging, taking Instagram pictures, and working on writing, etc…
3. Youth Camp – I attended as staff, plus did a fair amount of computer work for it beforehand

Reading Update:
Fiction – 4
Nonfiction – 5
Audiobooks – 2 (?)

Traveling:
12 Nights. New places? None.

Goals:
1. Walk 20 Miles (bonus 30 miles) – YES & YES
2. Track all money spent – YES
3. Thanksgiving with family – YES
4. Stay with skunk mama – YES
5. Review 4 books – YES
6. Read 3 non-fiction books – YES
7. Cook at Youth Retreat – YES
8. Blog 4 days a week – YES
9. Beta Read twice a week – NOPE
10. Edit 3 times a week except for last week – NOPE

What I’ve Been Learning:

November is always one of my favorite months, and this year was no exception. Looking back I see it as the month where I began to find my new normal. After the craziness of the first ten months of the year, I started settling back into life and discovering the joys of this season of my world.

A lot of what I learned during the month wasn’t anything I consciously decided to work on learning, it was mostly little things that I took note of in my life and realized I needed to change, work on, add, or eliminate from my everyday existence.

I also got back into the rhythm of reading nonfiction which was a lot more fun than I had realized it would be. Bless Your Husband and Unexpected Blessings were both great reads that covered a lot of information that I’d already heard, but they pulled it together nicely. Winning the Battle for Your Mind, Will, and Emotions was very beneficial to me and continues to be. It reminded me of how important our thought lives are, and how much control we really do have over our lives. (Or at least control with how we handle what goes on in our lives.) Unimaginable and Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts were my two favorite reads of the month and opened my mind to a new set of thoughts which then in turned help change little day-to-day things in my life.

In addition to reading books, going to Camp proved to be a great learning experience for me. For instance, faceplanting in ice cream while hiding in a pantry actually works wonders. Highly recommend. I also realized (once again) how much I love people. Like, a whole, whole lot. But I also not only crave but actually need alone time. Having a way of escape (aka an apron) is something of a necessity to me.

Learning about myself and reading books that deal with human feelings, thoughts, and actions as a whole is something that has helped me a lot in life. Being able to gauge what’s (probably) going on in certain situations – especially when I’m not in my comfort zone – is really important to me.

My comfort zone is small, so I have to bust out of it a lot, and I do. Also, although it’s slightly terrifying, being outside of one’s comfort zone kinda provides a rush and can be very beneficial.

God is totally fantastic and amazing. I knew that, of course, but November reinforced it. I was praying about several specific things, and those prayers were answered beyond what I had imagined. Not totally what I was imaginaing, but better than I could have wanted because guess what? God knows and sees everything. I’m still in awe that the God who knows everything from beginning to end pays special attention to my life. So cool, right? I’m also rather convinced He has a sense of humor.

Other:

Y’all. I love my family. And by “family” I mean both those who are related by blood and those who have become family to me and will push me into a pantry and tell me to calm down when I’m completely freaking out in public.

November was a hugely wonderful month for me. It was cozy. Gray. Filled with blankets, car rides, airplane rides, kitchens, and swinging late into the night. November was filled with people, like, huge amounts of people. And so it was good but exhausting. And rather memorable.

I started out the month in Florida, bopped around in Ohio, then ended the month in Tennessee. Sometimes my life amazes me.

Camp was fantastic and so far outside my comfort zone that I followed my few comforting people around like a little puppy dog, and found a few more people who I felt free to freak out in front of, then commenced to freaking out quite thoroughly. It was probably enlightening to anyone who happened to be in the vicinity.

What was your favorite part of November?