April hurtled by me, snatching my reading time out of my hands and leaving me exhausted. Fitting this month should have so much wind. Blowing away buckets, trash cans, and small children (well, almost). Spring has finally come. The trees race each other to fully bloom first, and my yard is covered in tiny purple flowers. The flowers are so vibrant this year, glorying with us in the sunshine and warm breezes. It is a wet, cloudy spring. The clouds hug the mountains and smooth over the valley like a blanket when it rains. The rain brings up the treasures of the desert, and I love seeing all the beautiful flowers this year.
The Reading Life
Well. About that…
I only read four books this month. Which is one of my all time lows. The many reasons include a full social life, a full time job, and an unprecedented level of exhaustion.
I read ‘Apples Never Fall’ for a bookclub. Fantastic, enjoyed the characters so much! Actually, I didn’t care about the plot all that much, I just wanted to know more about the characters!
‘A Tale of Two Cities’. I have a full review of that on my blog. Suffice to say, it was my favorite read of this month. It beat out the former book by half a star. 😛
‘Letters to Malcolm’. I am on a quest, it will probably take my whole life, to read all of C.S. Lewis’ books. This was my latest read, a short one I enjoyed and, of course, learned a whole bunch from!
‘Elantris’. It took me a looong time to get around to this one. But I did. It was not what I was expecting at all! Again, I loved the unique characters. It was technically my least favorite book this month, but only because I read some truly wonderful ones.
The Writing Life
Soooo… I feel like this blog post is becoming a long list of the things I didn’t get to… But there is a reason!
When I started working full time, I intentionally decided not to worry about it for a week or two, because I would be learning an entire new routine and schedule for myself. I am so glad I gave myself that grace. This is the first day since I started where I actually have energy at the end of the work day. Yay! I did not get much writing done, but I hope to begin fitting it back into my schedule now that I am used to working again.
The Research Life
How to keep a dog from stealing food from the counter. >.> It’s called counter surfing, and my dog is a pro. Goodbye lunch… We are making progress, I think? The problem is he is sneaky…
How many people there are in the world. 7.8 billion. I looked up because a student asked me.
The Movie Life
I watched a movie! In the theater! And I liked it!
I watched Honor Among Thieves (and stayed up stupid late doing so) because my husband likes DnD, my sister loves DnD, and my other siblings are small fans. I am the only one who is pretty meh about the whole thing. But! I liked the movie anyway. It was a great romp through a fantasy world, with great characters, an interesting world, and actually funny jokes. Like really, I was laughing, not cringing. It was a great time. Definitely recommend if you like fantasy.
Something I Learned
Heated sesame oil has a unique smell, even when on my lunch. Third graders are not a fan. They now ask me suspiciously about my lunch every morning.
How was your month?
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 