I have high expectations for 2022. I know it’s already February 9th, six weeks into the year. However, it’s not too late to start with grand expectations. Like the quote above implies, shooting high may mean you don’t make it, but at least you got somewhere.

But before we get to my 2022 blog plans, let’s talk FEBRUARY. It’s Happy-Birthday-to-me month. 🙂 So … I’m giving you gifts. I will choose one commenter from each week this month (last week included) to win one e-copy of any of my single-author titles (those written solely by me). This month has four weeks, so that’s four books to win. All you have to do is comment each time I post (once/week) and your name is entered. You may win more than one book in the month, but your name is only entered once per week. Last week’s winner is Kendra, because she was my only commenter. 🙂

I shared my 2022 and January bujo pages last month. Some of you may not be interested, and that’s okay, but I want the non-artistics in our world to know creating a bullet journal doesn’t have to be art heavy. Truthfully, it doesn’t have to have any art at all. I’m not an awesome artist. What you see is the extent of my ability. I still try though, cuz I like it.

So here’s February …

My whole year is going to be zen tangles in one form or fashion. One, I love them, and two, I find them super relaxing–most of the time.

So hearts. I did not freehand these. I have a stencil for both the large and the small. If you look closely (I’m admitting mistakes here, people), you’ll see that my February is straight, but I really should have curved it to follow the design behind it, but I did the letters first and then worked around it. I didn’t realize how weird it looked until I colored the design. 😮 I used a ruler in some places, but mostly for the zen tangle designs, it’s freehand–done with pencil first and then traced over with a black pen. I don’t intend to color in any more of the designs. I like the month title to stand out, even if it does look goofy. You and I are the only people seeing this anyway. haha

My verse for this month is Proverbs 2:1, “My child, listen to what I say and treasure my commands.”

My handwriting is a work in progress, though I think it’s easier to read in person rather than in this picture. I’m forever writing in half print and half cursive. I wish it were neater, but it’s not about perfection.

Next are the calendar pages.

I’ve blurred out information that I put in before I took the picture, but you get the idea. All of these hearts are freehand, as you can tell by their inconsistencies. I’m still working on what I should add to these pages to fill in the space. Or should I make the calendar bigger? For now, having next month’s events and my books read list here works.

Last year–or was it two years ago? I can’t remember.–Anyway, in some previous year, I created a yearly page for the books I was reading. I got to about 80 and gave up. I’m hoping by doing it monthly, it won’t seem so daunting of a task.

As an aside, I read somewhere that a good goal for 2022 is 22 books. I read that many in January. HAHA I only have three listed so far in February, but I have read several more that I haven’t sat down to add to my list.

If you do a bujo or some other type of calendar/diary/journal, what do you include on this page?

And if you can’t tell, reds and pinks are my colors for February.

Next is …

My gratitude and words written page. I’ve covered my gratitude list. Though it’s not super private, I’m comfortable sharing.

Again what you’re seeing is simplicity at its best. A couple hearts, a straight line down the middle of the page, the dates with their corresponding day of the week, and the titles written over a scribble. The horizontal pink lines on the left page denote weekends.

And then on the right, I decided to add a motivational quote about not giving up by Winston Churchill. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”

After the last few years of struggling to write, I thought this would be appropriate to keep me moving forward. I can say that I have, possibly, finally, gotten over the hump of a slump–or a mountain, it seems, in my case. The story I’m working on is getting fleshed out. I know where I’m going and sort of how I want to get there.

What’s your favorite quote or Bible verse for when you’re feeling defeated and blah?

Okay, one more set of pages.
This is two weeks of my weekly layouts.

They are done slightly different, but not so much that it matters.

I don’t add tons of stuff to these pages. One, I live a boring life and my weeks are pretty laid back; and two, I live a VERY boring life and nothing’s going on. haha

I enjoy making them anyway.

The big hearts show the actual dates of the weeks, and the little ones just say “weekly.”

The boxes on the left of each page are the days of the week, and the two larger boxes are for notes/menu/tasks. Obviously, I’m super busy. HAHA

I wanted to add one final picture here, ‘cuz mistakes y’all.

See those lines circled in yellow? Those are my pencil lines. I forgot to erase them. Obviously, I struggle with staying on the lines.

And that concludes our BUJO tour for February. I will have a couple more weeklies to make, but they will look exactly like these. I may change up my design for March though. I get bored easily.

And now … drum roll, please … my blog schedule for 2022

Week 1 – bujo pictures and a real life tip (keep reading to find out what this month’s is).

Week 2 – devotions and worship, alternating

Week 3 – recipe of the month; My guest chef and I will alternate months.

Week 4 – author sharing week. I will have guest authors post about themselves or their writing. If I don’t have anyone scheduled, then I will post a review.

Week 5 – Serial story. There are four months with five Wednesdays. I also plan to post part of the story on an occasional Saturday on the months without a fifth Wednesday, but that will be as the story unfolds and unscheduled. My plan at the end of the year is to have a semi-long short story (~30k words) that I can then make into a book. 😉

Before we start the serial story, I want to know what genre you prefer: historical, contemporary, or fantasy/supernatural. Or I suppose, I could create a story that combines all three, but I’m leaving it up to you. If you don’t comment, I will choose. Of course, whichever one you choose will contain romance. 🙂

And now, last but not least, a real life tip:

My husband is tall (6’4″). I learned early on in our marriage that he pulled the covers from the foot of the bed so he’d have room for his feet. I HATE having the covers untucked on my side, so I was constantly remaking the bed, because when he pulled out his side, he inadvertently pulled mine out as well. THEN I got smart. I tuck in my side per usual, but I leave his side untucked. No yanking for him. No rolls of sheets at my feet for me.

Win-Win.

Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win. And don’t forget to let me know what kind of story you want to read here.

Blessings,