Snapshot 4/30/20 // “In Which I Wish I Was Animated”

Currently listening: “Yellow” – Coldplay
Currently watching: Hey Arnold!/ Invader Zim/ Yu-Gi-Oh! GX/ School Rumble/ Naruto
Currently playing: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Currently reading: The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

So March was bad but unfortunately April was worse. Much worse. I don’t even want to discuss it because I think we all know the news is doing enough of that. So, instead, I want to focus on the nicer aspects of April. As we all know, April showers bring May flowers and let me tell you guys, I am so ready for flowers.

April Goals:

1. Continue researching, world building, prewriting, plotting, and outlining my WIP! Check. Still more work needed to be done but I did do this.
2. Keep my desk clean! Check. Check. Coming along nicely, and almost done sorting and organizing.
3. Stick with my blog posting schedule promise! Check. Check. Check! As you can see I HAVE STUCK TO MY SCHEDULE! GO ME!
4. Become more interactive on Twitter! Check! I’m definitely posting more and reading more on Twitter.
5. Make submissions again with my writing! CHECK. Now to see what happens lol… but I’m proud of myself for at least submitting again, no matter the results! Failure is just as much a part of writing as success.
6. Change my profile pic! Check.
7. Be less stressed out! Okay so. Half a check? I was much more stressed out this month than any other this year but on the bright side I’m coming down off of that mountain and each day getting better at bringing that stress level down.
8. Practice the piano and my violin again! CHECK, CHECK! Yesss, and I’m loving it ❤

May (the month with just the flowers that will bring the stress mountain alll the wayyyy downnnnn) Goals:

1. Continue researching, world building, prewriting, plotting, and outlining my WIP! This one is staying on here, and spoiler alert may be on here for a few more months but eventually it will turn into WRITING THAT DANG FIRST DRAFT.
2. Become EVEN MORE interactive on Twitter! Okay so, as you guys may or may not have noticed I do things slowly but I do DO them. It just takes me some time to build a habit so this goal and a few others are going to be repeats and they may appear for a while but this is just… how I work? (*shrugs*) If you’re on Twitter let’s connect! My handle is @jaiiiilynn4
3. Continue making submissions! Rejection or acceptance, at least I’m trying right?
4. Continue practicing the piano and my violin! Nothing brings my stress level down lower than music. This goal is STAYING.

What I Read:

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–The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne with decoration by Ernest H. Shepard. I love Winnie-the-Pooh. I really do. My mug I use every day is a Winnie-the-Pooh mug with him, Piglet and Christopher Robin looking over a bridge at the river down below. So what better way to spend time in a crisis then indulging in the sweet, nostalgic tang of honey and wisdom. Everyone should read this. It’s lessons are so simple, so simple, that they are often overlooked a lot by people today. In this busy world we are always trying to move faster, better, stronger. We forget so often to live in the present moment. Pooh doesn’t though. He takes his time, he makes mistakes, and he learns at his own pace. The stories were made for children but adults can appreciate the clever wordplay layered throughout the Hundred Acre Wood. Also, side note, Disney really pepped up Eeyore because in the book he is SO much more depressed. He broke my heart and the ending also broke my heart. It wasn’t necessarily sad because it did leave room for hope but it ends with an experience every child goes through when eventually it’s time to grow up. Some of us though… 😉 can always stay a child at heart no matter how old we get.
–King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. Okay, okay. Where is the second book already??? I NEED it. Leigh Bardugo’s writing never fails to amaze me and on top of that this is a book all about Nikolai, ahem, one of my favorite characters of all time. Yes the book is a little more slow paced which may not be for everyone but I’m here for it. Everything connects and picks up where Ruin and Rising and Crooked Kingdom left off. The story resonance is fantastic. This book even made me fall in love with Zoya. I know. I know. Now she is one of my favorite characters and I have no regrets. The book is great and I don’t want to give any spoilers away but we do see a lot of familiar faces. Most welcome, and some not lol. This book is highly recommended for anyone who needs to return to the Grishaverse or anyone who is as desperately in love with Nikolai Lantsov as I am. Along with Nikolai and Zoya’s storyline, Nina returns and has her own arc running throughout the book as well and let me tell you I am here for it. Her story is continued and so far I agree with how its proceeding.
–Neon Genesis Evangelion: 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1 by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. When I am sad I have two ways of coping through reading. This month I went both ways. Eva is dark, and philosophical. It was an anime that I put off for a long time, one that I had even written off years ago. Last year, I gave it a chance and I fell in love. It’s not for everyone, but it has some of the most relatable characters I have ever seen. When times are dark, I sometimes go for that apocalyptic vibe so this year I decided to read the manga and it brought back so many memories. If you are looking for something deep, and dark and so, so human I highly recommend checking it out.
–Fruits Basket, Vol. 2-5 by Natsuki Takaya. The other way of coping when I’m sad is to read books with fluffy, contemporary, soft vibes. So after the religion that is Evangelion, I did a 180 and went to Fruits Basket. It’s a manga series I read for the first time in high school, and I hated high school, but Fruits Basket (Furuba, as fans lovingly refer to it) made it better. The romance is gradual, the growth from chapter to chapter is incremental but believable, and the characters just make me want to give each and every one of them a hug, lol. Even Akito and sometimes Shigure… sometimes. It’s a classic, I believe, that a lot of people have heard of but if you haven’t and are in need of a hug from a book I highly recommend, lol. The lessons it teaches are all just so positive and healthy. It gives all the feels.<3

What I’ll Be Writing:

• Poetry- posted every Wednesday
• Living Life vignettes- posted every other Friday
• Alternate Reality flash fiction collection- posted the last Tuesday of the month
• Snapshot! monthly recap- posted the last day of every month
• Announcements- posted as needed

All of my writings are independent of each other and stand alone so no need to read any of the previous work to understand. If you want more information about any of the above, you can check out the About page on my site or just click here.

April Round Up of Awesome Posts from Awesome People:

• CW @ The Quiet Pond “Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera – An Analysis of its Fantastic Socio-Political Themes; A Metaphor for Classism, Institutional Control, and the American Dream [Not a Book Review]“
• Anonymously Hal “Breathless“
• Luna @ Luna The Blog “Poem #327“
• Mitchel David Ring @ The Light Is On “Freefall“
• Mary Drover@ Mary and the Words “#Marywrites: Research“
• Madeline Bartson @ Happy When Writing “3 Steps To Stop Procrastinating And Start Writing (No More Excuses!)“

My Round Up of April Posts:

• “Broken Bones“
• Living Life #26 “Do It.”
• “Trouble“
• The Sunshine Blogger Award
• “This Easter“
• “The Lady In Black“
• Vignette #27 “The Last Bouquet”
• “Mother”
• Flash Fiction – “Swarm 2020”
• “Pretty Girl”

I don’t think I’ve watched as many animated shows at any other time in my life than I’m watching now. Hulu is a God send. I’ve got Hey Arnold!, Invader Zim, Naruto, School Rumble and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX all going at once. #Noregrets. Before you jump to conclusions I’m just going to say yes I do watch all of them at the same time.

… (*cricket chirp*)

Just kidding! But now I do believe I hear them calling my name! Which one shall I pick now…

What have you guys been watching/reading lately? Do you have any comfort shows/reads you go to when life gets rough? Let me know in the comments below!

Till next time,