Well, folks, it’s 90 degrees. Summer is here in full force! I’ve written out a list of goals I hope to complete this summer. They’re rather random and I may not end up completing them all, but I’m definitely going to try. π Enjoy!
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LEARN “TURKISH MARCH” ON PIANO
Last summer, I taught myself Fur Elise and I can pretty much play it with my eyes closed by now. This summer, I’d love to learn Turkish March, which is one of my favorite classical songs. π
LEARN “RAGTIME ANNIE” ON FIDDLE
I’ve already partially learned this one. It’s a classic fiddle tune that’s really fast, bouncy and fun to play. π
FIND AT LEAST ONE NEW MUSIC ARTIST TO LISTEN TO
Please leave some suggestions in the comments below!
EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF PHOTOS
I’d like to take my camera next time we go into a big city. I’ve seen some really cool spots for photography in some of the cities in my state. I also really want to get one of those cool view-from-an-airplane pictures when I fly this year!
BUY A NEW CAMERA LENS
I’m currently saving up forΒ this lens, and I hope to be able to buy it by the end of summer. I’m really excited to get it!Β AllisonΒ recently bought this same lens, and she’s taken some gorgeous photos with it. Click her name to check them out. π
TAKE MORE PICTURES OF MY FAMILY
I don’t take very many pictures of people even though my house is rather full of them. I’d definitely like to try to take more photos of my siblings. The challenge is getting them to hold still long enough to get a decent picture. XD
FINISH POESY’S BEDROOM AND POST PICTURES
I’m currently working on a rather elaborate bedroom for my newest doll, Poesy. It’s almost finished, so be on the lookout for a post about it soon!
POST SEVERAL MORE PARTS OF “THE SMALLONES”
I’ve already got the scripts mostly written out, so now I just need to make myself go outside and take the pictures. *glares at self*
SWAP BUTTONS WITH SOME NEW BLOGS
Please visit my button page and leave a comment if you’re interested. I’d love to swap with you!
WRITE AT LEAST 10 POEMS
I’ve become very interested in poetry (reading and writing it) over this past year. I participated in NaPoWriMo last month, and I’ve written a couple of poems that I’m rather proud of. I want to keep writing them, so I’ll try for at least 10 this summer.
MAYBE POST SOME POEMS
*trembles in terror* I’m rather terrified about this. Maybe I will or maybe I won’t.
WORK ON “AT THE END OF THE ROAD”
I’m working on a story (book? novel?) called “At The End of The Road”, which is a tentative title. It really needs some work, and I hope to tackle it soon. π
COMPLETE THE GOODREADS SUMMER READING CHALLENGE
I’ve already read 40 of 100 books. YAY! I’m pretty confident that I’ll complete this. I’ve got a ton of books waiting to be read!
GO TO A USED BOOKSTORE
We have one pretty near to us and it’s amazing. Unfortunately, I have no more space on my bookshelf. This may be a problem…
FINISH COLLECTING “ASOUE” AND “ATWQ”
Those confusing abbreviations stand for “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “All The Wrong Questions.” I’m collecting both series, which are written by Lemony Snicket, one of my favorite authors of all time. π I hope to find the rest of the books soon!
READ “LORD OF THE RINGS”
I’ve read some of the LOTR books, but I need to finish them. I also really want to see the movies.
GO TO THE BEACH
I really want to take some pictures of the beach and waves and all that stuff. I also want to add some shells to my seashell collection. π
FLY ON AN AIRPLANE
My dad, my sister, and I are taking a trip together soon and we’ll be flying for part of the time. I’m excited about that!
GO TO NASHVILLE
We might go later this year. Nashville is one of my most favorite places in the world, so I really hope we do. *crosses fingers*
MAKE SOME ATCs
I have quite a few blank ATCs already, so all I need to do is decorate them. I’d like to make some book-themed ones!
USE MY SMASHBOOK
I have a Smashbook, which is basically a really cool and unique scrapbook. It’s mostly empty right now, and I have a ton of stuff that I need to put in it that I’ve collected from my travels over the past year. π
DRAW MORE
I’ve been hand-lettering/illustrating a bible verse or song lyric every Sunday in church, but I’d like to draw some other stuff just for fun.Β I got some Prismacolor pencils for Christmas that I need to learn to use, so I’ll hopefully draw something soon!
GET UP EARLIER
I’d like to get up earlier in the mornings, preferably around 7:30. I love being awake early in the morning, but the problem is getting myself to actually wake up…. I should probably get an alarm clock. XD
GO SWIMMING
YAY! SWIMMING!Β I really want to get better at diving and treading water. π
LEARN TO USE GIMP
I’ve already begun to do this. YouTube is FULL of awesome tutorials for GIMP (which is a free image editor), and I’ve learned a lot from following along with those. I hope to become much better at using GIMP by the end of summer!
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Thanks for reading, guys! Have a great week. π
What are some of your summer goals?
YES. READ LOTR. I really like the band Trans Siberian Orchestra. They take classical music and turn it into rock. I don’t know if you like that kind of thing, though. I believe all of their songs are clean, but I’m not absolutely sure…
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I SHALL.
Thanks for telling me about them! π
-Clara β€
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LORDOFTHERINGS!!!!!!!!!!!
sorry. I just love those books. π (come on mom, finish reading them to meeeeeeee!) wimpers
getting up early is good. π in the summer, I get up a 6:00, and in the winter, 6:30-45 ish. I like to see the light growing stronger as the sun rises, and I get an hour of peace and quiet before my sibling get up. if only I was allowed to go outside when no one is up…..
hmm. that got a little carried away. π smiles nervously and yes, you should get an alarm clock. they are soooo handy. XD or use a phone, because those are harder to turn off. π
oh, and I finished reading my sister Lodestar yesterday, and she spent 15 minutes storming around the house ranting about “horrid, cruel authors!” it was so hilarious, I was able to keep myself from screaming for november. XD (WHEN WILL YOU GET HERE NOVEMBER???? I NEEEEEED YOU!!) (oh, and some money. bring that too) XD XD XD
hmmm, this is a very long comment. O_O
I will go.
Most crazily, ~Olive
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I NEED TO READ THEMMM!!
That sounds so pretty. π I wish I could go outside when no one is up, too! XD
YAY for Lodestar! That’s hilarious! Your poor sister. (COME ON, NOVEMBER!!!)
Thanks for leaving a long comment, Olive! They’re my favorite. π
-Clara β€
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Nice goals! I wish you the best in them. π
Not sure what music styles you like…but some that I love are: Toby Mac, Tenth Avenue North, For King and Country, and… The Monkees from the 1960’s. π
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Thank you, Raechel!
-Clara β€
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tobyMac. Forever. I have been listening to him since I was like, six years old, and rolling around in the car.
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My friend is like READ LOTR!!! And I’m like no??? XD I love fantasy, but not really with fantasy creatures (except for HP and KOTLC). I love your summer goals! Wow, 40 books is a lot! And YAS definitely post some of your poems. We’d love to read them! And AGAHAGGAH Turkish March is my favorite classical song ever! I never knew you played the piano, though. You must be really good if you can teach yourself FΓΌr Elise! (I could never do that, nor with Turkish March. I wish! XD )
My summer goals would probably be to write a lot (or do whatever it is that I need to with my new novel), read a lot, spend less time on the computer, and spend more time with family! Hope you are able to achieve all your goals, Clara. π
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READ IT MAYYY
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NEVEEEEEEE
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*darn it I meant NEVEEEEEER
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*darn it you meant NOWWWWWWWW (or at least watch the movies. you will cry. XD)
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XDD no I meant NEVEEEEEER. you cannot read my mind???
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Nah, I’m pretty sure you meant “I SHALL GO IT NOW.” and I totally can. I’m the dumpling master. see??? π
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well I am mango queen and queen > master
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OH BUT YOU SHOULD!! (Said the person who hasn’t yet read them.) XD
I might post some…. I get so nervous when people read my writing… π
YES, it’s so beautiful! Heh heh, I’m not that good. I just listen to the song I want to learn a LOT until I can figure it out. XD
Good luck with all of your goals! Thank you, May!
-Clara β€
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AWW I GET NERVOUS WHEN I SHARE MY WRITING TOO. But trust me, we’ll love it and shower you with compliments. β€
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IT’S QUITE TERRIFYING. Aw, thank you. β€
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I hope you can complete all of your goals, Clara! π I don’t really have any summer goals yet, because I’m focusing on finishing school. π But the main things I want to do in the summer are practice playing the violin, read a lot, practice photography, and do a lot of swimming. Those are basically the things I like to do every summer. π
I should look up Ragtime Annie sometime-it sounds like a fun tune. Recently I’ve learned Soldier’s Joy and Arkansas Traveler, and I will probably learn a tune called Liberty sometime.
As for music suggestions, I could give you a ton of(or one) Southern Gospel artist suggestions, but I don’t know if you like that type of music. Also, have you heard of Craig Duncan? He has a ton of instrumental CDs on YouTube, and they’re really good.
That’s so cool that you’re going to learn GIMP! Did you know that the logo dog for it is called Wilbur? I think he’s really cute. π
~Christian Homeschooler
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Thank you, Christian Homeschooler! That all sounds like a lot of fun. π
Yes, you should! It’s really fun to play. Ooh, I love both of those songs. π
I’ve never heard of him, but I’ll check him out. Thanks!
I’m excited about it! Aww, that’s so cute. Wilbur is an adorable name. XD
Thanks for commenting!
-Clara β€
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YOU NEED TO FINISH LOTR. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. I’m going to Nashville this summer!!!!! I qualified for the international speech and debate tournament. I’m SUPER excited!! Music. . . . um. I like to listen to Alessia Cara, Lin Manuel-Miranda (Hamilton), Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Britt Nicole, Peter Hollens, and Evynne Hollens. Hope that helps!
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I KNOW I DO. I WILL. π
Yay, that is so exciting!! Have fun in Nashville!
Thanks for all the recommendations, Elle! π
-Clara β€
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I love all your goals!π
My personal favorite artists are Carrie Underwood, Matthew West, Chris Tomlin, and then pretty much anything country or Christian. Hope that helps!
I don’t have a blog button (maybe that should be a summer goal of mine!), but I’ve added you to my “awesome bloggers” page on Purely Olivia.π
I’d love to read some of your poems! But I know how you feel. I’m very hesitant to share any of my writing.
NASHVILLE! I’ve been once and it was so, so awesome. I wish I could go back.β€οΈ
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Thanks, Olivia!
I like Chris Tomlin, too! π
Thank you so much for adding me up there! π I’ll put a link to your blog on my button page until you have a button. π
Yeah, I always get so nervous when other people read stuff I’ve written. But I should probably face my fear and post some of my poems. π
NASHVILLE! I know, it’s amazing! I hope you get to go back someday. π
Thanks for commenting, Olivia!
-Clara β€
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As for your Prismacolors, Find a photo of what you want to draw. Then pick three variations of one color, light, medium, and dark. Once you have outlined the subject you are drawing, color it in with the light variation. Then use the medium, but leave some spots where the light shows. Then use the dark variation for shadows.
Well, I basically just gave you an art lesson.
-EmeraldPhoenix
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Thanks so much for the tips! I’ll definitely have to try that. π
-Clara β€
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You’re welcome! I take art class.
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Very nice goals. I do hop you achieve them and more!
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Thank you so much!
-Clara β€
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LOTR YAS. And Rondo Alla Turca is a super fun piece to learn! I play it every now and then just because. :)) (Although my eight-year-old hands hated the octaves with a vengeance. π)
Your goals are awesome! I keep telling myself that I need to learn how to use GIMP — I’ve seen people do amazing things with it — but nope because #lazy. XDD (ALSO EXCUSE ME WHILE I FLAIL OVER YOUR AMAZING GRAPHICS OH MY GOSH CLARA HOW EVEN)
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I WILL READ IT SOON.
I would love to hear you play piano, it sounds like you’re really good. (Haha, yes!! XD )
Thanks! Yeah, I put it off for a long time, but after a while I watched a couple of tutorials and realized how easy it is to use. You should try it!
Aww, thanks so much! I’m SO glad you like them. π
Thanks for commenting, Sarah!
-Clara β€
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Awesome goals, Clara! Good luck. π
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Thanks so much, Grace! π
-Clara β€
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Yes, The Lord of the Rings is an awesome goal!!! Those books are amazing! The movies are too. π
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I can’t wait to read them! π
-Clara β€
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Nice post! I love all your graphics! I always think seasonal bucket lists are really cool. Good luck on your goals, I hope you accomplish them all!
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Thank you so much! π
-Clara β€
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Nice bucket list/goals! I hope you read LotR! And I like Hawk Nelson, in case you’ve never heard their songs. π
~Megan~
P.S. It’s not very warm here. π¦
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Thanks, Megan! π I’ve never heard of them… rushes off to Amazon Music
-Clara β€
P.S: Aw, that’s sad. You need to come over and slowly melt in the sweltering sun with me. It’ll be fun! XD (Seriously though, you’re lucky. HEAT ISN’T FUN.) π
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Hehe! Their latest two albums are more Christian than their later ones, but I like all of them. π
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Okay, cool! π (Did WordPress cut off the P.S. on the comment before this one?)
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It did! But I went back and read it… strange. I guess I could have missed it! Anyway, HEAT IS BETTER THAN COLD! You can do stuff like water balloon fights to cool you off and our old house is usually cold when it’s cold outside, but nice when it’s hot outside.
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Huh, weird! Well, that is true. Water-related things are a lot more fun in the heat. π
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I am in the middle of the 1st book of the Lord of the Rings! I hope to finish the series by the end of the summer, but I’m kinda a slow reader. π
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Love these goals!! I’m looking forward to reading your photography posts this summer. β€ I also can’t wait to see Poesy’s room!
-Sara β€
P.S. Oh my word, those graphics are SOO cool!! How on earth did you make that lovely features image?? (Or will I find out with the next DIY Design post?)
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Thank you so much, Sara!! I can’t wait to post about it. π
Aw, thanks! I’m so glad you like them. π
Well, for the featured image I used a free wood background from some site that I forgot the name of ( XD ), the fonts are from Etsy and I think daFont, and I added some dimension to the words using the layering technique from my DIY Design post about fonts. That’s about it! π
-Clara β€
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You’re very welcome! β€
Honestly, I think its the best featured image I’ve ever seen! You did a great job. π
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Aw, thank you SO much! π
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You’re very welcome! β€
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Amazing, Clara! Would you mind following my blog? The link- https://anyasblogisawesome.blogspot.com
I hope you see it! I totally love your blog, and the goals are ambitious indeed π
~Anya
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I just followed your blog, Anya! Thanks so much. π
-Clara β€
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Thanks, Clara! You’re very welcome π
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These goals are awesome!
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Thanks, Anna!
-Clara β€
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That’s a long list! Mine only has maybe one or two things on it. I did have finish reading The Mysterious Island on there, but I finished it last week. :p
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Yeah, it is! π Ooh, cool! Was it a good book?
-Clara β€
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Yes, I really enjoyed it. It is just slow for the first 150 pages. π
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All the best on completing all of those above!!!!!! And enjoy your summer! (Is it holiday in the U.S? I live somewhere else so I dunno) God Bless You!!!!
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Thanks so much!! π Summer vacation is starting soon, but my family doesn’t actually take off school in the summer (I’m homeschooled). We still get a good bit of free time, though. π
Thanks for commenting!
-Clara β€
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Oh yeah! Forgot you were homeschooled! π
I’m homeschooled too!!!!! We don’t really get holidays too. Unless we take weird holidays to go back to my hometown when schools are having exams or something.
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That’s awesome! Homeschooling is great. Yeah, that’s kinda how we are, too. π
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π
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Oh and, “God Bless You!” (Thought that was important)
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God bless you, too! π
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This post is awesome!
Lots of comments:
– If you don’t listen to tobyMac or Jamie Grace yet, GO DO IT NOW. They are literally the best CCM ever. I also suggest literally anything by Brian Tyler (which is orchestral), and the soundtrack to Little Big Planet (which is a lot of genres, depending on the song you listen to. But only if you want the same songs stuck in your head for WEEKS! All of these are quite catchy.
– I cannot wait for Posey’s bedroom! That was always something I wanted to do for my dolls but never got around to.
– I will button swap with you…how would you go about doing that?
– WHAT’S YOUR NOVEL ABOUT? I WANT TO KNOW.
– I received a set of Prismacolours at the beginning of school. They have been soooooo awesome. I have worn down the Turkish Red and the Black like crazy. And if you need more, you should check Sam’s Club. They’ve got good prices.
– Getting up early is the best thing you can do to elongate your summer! It’s totally worth it. I strive to get up at 6am every morning so that I have enough time to get everything done! π cough cough working on novels cough
I ought to do something like this. Really. Good post, Clara!
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Thanks so much, Tess! π
Ooh yes, I love tobyMac and Jamie Grace! Never hear of Brian Tyler or Little Big Planet, but I’ll check them out. π
I’ve been working hard on it and I’ll post about it soon! Yeah, it’s a lot of work, but it’s really fun to make all the little details. π
Yay, thanks! To swap, I put your button on my button page and you put mine on yours. π
I’M GLAD YOU’RE INTERESTED! It’s a historical fiction set in 1918 and it’s about these 2 girls in South Carolina and the influenza epidemic and yeah…. I’m not describing it very well. π
Prismacolors are amazing! Thanks for the tip!
Wow, 6 AM? You’re amazing! I’ve really gotta get up earlier. XD
I’d love to read it if you do! Thanks again! π
-Clara β€
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You neeeeedddd Brian Tyler. Everyone does. fangirls
Little Big Planet is a video game (I don’t really do video games but the music is so good.) I think the best part is the fact that it’s a bunch of different artists working together.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE AWESOMENESS. Hist-fict is my favourite genre. I read a lottt of it. π
And I did do a summer goals post! Yaya!
-Tess
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I really like historical fiction, too! Have you ever read Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson? It’s really good. π
Yay! Awesome!!
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YUS! I did. I thought it was so cool. π
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Awesome post! I agree with Blackiesunshine about TobyMac for sure! I really would enjoy if you posted your novel that your working on so I could read it! I also would like to use this on my own blog (Summer Goals lol) If you don’t mind π
-Miles
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Thank you, Miles! I might do a post about it soon. π
I don’t mind if you do a post like this! It wasn’t even originally my idea, I don’t really remember who started it. π
-Clara β€
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Thanks! And also, I like the Summer Goal of drawing more ;P Lol!
-Miles
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Going to Nashville sounds awesome! So do the other goals! Happy summer. π
https://tizziestidbits.wordpress.com
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These goals are amazing! You have inspired me!!! Keep up the amazing work!
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Thank you so much!!
-Clara β€
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