Journaling in July week 2
Posted on by Debbie

Journaling in July Week #2

#JournalinginJuly – My Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of my #JournalinginJuly posts. I’m joining Sue at Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond, for a month of writing daily journal prompts. I’ll be linking up my weekly posts each Saturday throughout July. Feel free to join in – the link is open to everyone.

This week there are lots of FAVOURITES!!

So without further ado – here are my responses for the second week of #JournalinginJuly

7. My favourite quote and why

Sunday 7 July

Our family motto is ‘To travel is to live’ – a quote from Hans Christian Anderson – so it goes without saying that it’s my favourite quote!!

Our family is into travel in a big way after we took our three young daughters on a year-long Teacher Exchange and saw a different side of the world. We moved from a small town in Australia to live in Cheddar, a small village in the South West of England for a year and travelled extensively, and on the cheap, for most of our holiday time. We’ve also hosted Youth Exchange students and learned the value and importance of moving outside your comfort zone.

Now that we’re retired and have a daughter living in England, we have lots of time for travel and adventure.

8. My top 5 favourite books and why

Monday 8 July

So far this year I’ve read over 55 books and these are some of my favourites so far, in no particular oder:

  1. Call me Evie – J P Pomare
  2. The Orchardist’s Daughter – Karen Viggers
  3. Scrublands – Chris Harmer
  4. The Mother-in-Law – Sally Hepworth
  5. Hope – Terry Tyler

I’ve linked to the Goodreads information, so if you’re interested in reading more about these books just click the title.

Why do I say they’re my favourites?

They’ve kept me reading, entertained me, taught me things, helped me escape for a few hours, taken me to new worlds, made me think, laugh or cry – there’s so many reasons why I love books!

I’ve also enjoyed these books in recent weeks/months:

I wrote a post at the end of last year where I listed my 5 favourite books and the twist was they all just happened to be Australian. I really enjoy keeping a track of my books using Goodreads and set myself the challenge of reading 55 books in 2019. I’ve already done it!! But I’m not stopping now 🙂 I wonder how many I’ll get up to by the end of the year.

9. My favourite place

Tuesday 9 July

This one is so hard!!! I have been to so many fabulous places around the world I can’t pick a favourite.

At the moment, as a relatively new grandparent, any time I spend with my granddaughter is special. I also have another grandchild on the way in England which will mean a different way of grand parenting, plus lots of travel (see Day #7 response)!

So for this response I’m going to share a photo, which I have approval to use, of my granddaughter Emilia welcoming me back after a month away. She was so excited to see me she had to pull my hair, which to be fair, I had put in her way. I might add, she had a very firm hold on my hair and enjoyed pulling it and getting my reaction each time.

It’s a favourite place to be.

With Emilia – a favourite place to be

10. What my favourite day would be

Wednesday 10 July

I have had one of my typical ‘favourite’ days today. Despite having a mild sore throat it’s been lovely and relaxing.

We’ve been away again for a few days so being home in my own bed was bliss. I slept in, finished my book in the warmth of my bed and didn’t do much of any consequence. It was overcast and cold outside so I had no desire to go out until absolutely necessary, so I didn’t!

Wednesdays are good fun as we have the Midlife Share the Love linkup #mlstl where midlife bloggers share a post and other bloggers read, comment and share their post on their social media networks. It’s always a good variety of posts to read and share. I don’t usually sit and go through them until later in the day, or even in following days, depending on my busy schedule 🙂 but today I just felt like taking it easy, so I did!

I read, commented and shared away to my heart’s delight.

I’ve done some washing, cleaned up and had endless cups of tea – it seems to help ease my throat. I’ve chatted to my daughters, shared a photo on Instagram and my Facebook page for #WordlessWednesday and started reading a new book.

I popped into town and got the essentials, it’s also local paper day today so it’s a chance to catch up on the weekly news, most of which we know already, living in a small town!

Then dinner out with friends tonight – it doesn’t get much better than that!!

11. What brings me joy?

Thursday 11 July

Family jumping for joy
Our family jumping for joy

What brings me JOY?

In one word – FAMILY.

Also see entry above for Day #9 for my favourite place 🙂

This made me laugh though – JOY stands for Just Older Youth!

Joy
Joy

12. Who inspires me?

Friday 12 July

As I’m sharing this #JournalinginJuly journey with Sue, I am going to say that Sue, from Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond, inspires me.

Sue is always so encouraging, supportive, clever, active and leads by example. She is a real inspiration and I’m thrilled to have met up with her twice now in real life, as well as having lots of chats as we blog away.

Colourful Bloggers Sue and Debbie
Colourful Bloggers Sue and Debbie

As well as responding to the daily prompts on her blog, Sue is also featuring guest posts from other bloggers – she’s very generous like that! I can’t tell you how much Sue inspires me, I am always blown away with her energy, creativity and activity levels.

So far she’s had Jennifer from Unfold and Begin talking about journaling and this week Molly shares her thoughts and ideas. They give very different suggestions and share their thoughts on journaling which is perfect for Sue’s #JournalinginJuly theme this month.

13. My favourite time of year

Saturday 13 July

When it’s Spring, my favourite time of year is Spring.

When it’s Autumn, my favourite time of year is Autumn.

I love Summer and I mostly enjoy Winter, except if it’s too wet, grey and miserable.

But having said all that, I’d have to say I’m an Autumn girl through and through 🙂

Self portrait in Autumn
Self portrait in Autumn

Journaling – what works for me?

What I have found works for me, is to set a time to write my responses and a time limit. I usually have some idea of what I want to write and I try not to overthink my responses. Once my time limit is up I quickly edit the writing and I’m done.

I’m interested to know how you write.

What is #JournalingInJuly?

Sue and I are looking at this month as a challenge to extend our creative writing and get into journaling. Having a daily prompt helps to get me to focus and I’m enjoying the process. Here are the daily prompts.

I hope you enjoy my Week 2 recap post and if you’re keen to get involved leave a comment or linkup with Sue and I using the link below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=ef8b06cc10bc6002458d

Here are my posts so far in case you missed them:

Journal ideas in July

Journaling in July Week 1

Next Saturday I’ll be responding to the prompts for Sunday 14 July through to Saturday 20 July.

Have a great week ahead and happy journaling 🙂

Deb xx

Sharing with the weekly Midlife Share the Love linkup #mlstl – lots of great posts to read!

Visit Deb’s World’s Instagram for photo updates

You can also find Deb’s World in lots of other places – stay in touch by clicking any of the buttons below.

38 Replies to “Journaling in July Week #2”

  2. Your quote about travel is perfect and how I think of you and your family from all your blog posts! Love little Emilia pulling your hair. She looks so serious as if to say, “You are staying here!”

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  3. It’s a lot of fun reading your journal responses, and really helps to get to know you a bit better, even if it’s from the other side of the world. Family time is top of the list for me, too…loved the photo of you and Emilia! I love the colors and scents of Fall, too. 🙂

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  5. I was supposed to start journalling but got behind before I knew it. I guess I can still start.

    I’ve read a few of the books on your list.

    I love winter and hate summer (I get hot easily). I should also mention I love the Xmas holiday time because we’ve got permission to frivolously drink and have fun. I’m not a fan of Xmas day itself but I love the laid-back and festiveness of that time of year!

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  6. I loved your journalling again this week Deb – you’re always so positive and upbeat (and I especially liked that you gave a shout-out to Sue for all her efforts with her blog) It’s wonderful when bloggers take the time to support and encourage each other – that’s why I enjoy #MLSTL so much too.
    I laughed at your hair pulling pic (who else – other than a grandbaby – would get us on our knees with our hair in a mess?) xx
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

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    1. Hi Leanne, thanks very much for your kind comment. I think we need to support each other and it’s why I enjoy #MLSTL so much too. I thought you might appreciate the hair pulling shot, isn’t she cute?? Thanks also for sharing.

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  7. Love the photo of you and Emilia, haven’t bubs got grips of steel especially when holding clumps of hair! I am definitely an Autumn girl, not too hot not too cold, just more settled weather to enjoy. Have a good one 🙂

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    1. Yes she had a good handful of my hair and wasn’t letting go!! I’m not doing winter too well as the weather has turned miserable and I’m not into miserable….and my throat hurts 😦

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      1. Oh that’s no good regarding the sore throat. Lots of lemon in your tea 😊🙃 We have been munching Vitamin C tablets not sure how effective they are! We are now having quite a few wet days here too. Keep warm Deb and keep treating yourself with things that make you smile🌼

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  8. I enjoyed reading your #journalinginjuly favourites post. I’ve read a few of the books on your list and they are also favourites of mine. I met Christian White when I was blogging for the Bendigo Writers Festival at the time of the release of Nowhere Child. I agree with you that Sue is an inspiration

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  10. I enjoyed reading your favourites, Deb, and love the photos of you and Emilia and your family jumping together. You know you’ve got me at the quote “To travel is to live” 🙂 #mlstl

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  11. Love everything about this post and the parts of your life you’ve shared. I’m not surprised to see how much we seem to have in common. I can see why Sue is your inspiration, mine too! I also saw your current books and the one by Toni is fabulous! I haven’t been on top of the journaling as I had hoped but the prompts spark my thinking. Here is my link from my post. https://secondwindleisure.com/2019/07/12/blue-july-squares-surfs-up-in-hilo/

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    1. Thanks so much Terri, we do have lots in common and I love gaining that from my blogging experience. I think at least if the prompts spark your thinking, then that’s enough. I enjoyed your post and am glad you posted it in the linkup!

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  12. Hi Deb,
    I like Wednesdays, too, hump day and #MLSTL day…I try to read my favorite bloggers regularly, but I have found some new favorites there, too.

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  14. Hi Deb, I’ve been with my daughter and grandsons today so just getting to the posts now. Thank you my friend for your beautiful words about me and I really enjoy our friendship. I enjoyed reading all of your thoughts from the prompts this week and just noticed that next week seems to be all about ‘favourites’. I’m enjoying the challenge and having you along with me, perhaps I should continue it.

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    1. Hi Sue, what a lovely way to spend your day! It was my pleasure to include you as someone who inspires me! Yes next week has a few more favourites but not as many as this week! It’s a fun challenge to do and I’m thoroughly enjoying it too. Thanks for your comments on my responses, it’s a fun way to write about different things for a change.

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        1. Yes this week has lots more thinking and writing but it’s been good fun. I’ve not been feeling well so haven’t ventured out too far over the last few days. Always enjoy linking up and reading what everyone is sharing!

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  15. I love your response to your favourite time of the year. I think I’d probably say the same except I really am not a fan of summer – until I can’t wait for it to be summer, that is! Sorry for the late entry, I forgot to press publish!

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  16. We are very similar in many ways in that we enjoy life and family…I write in my diary every day so I suppose that is a form of journaling as I list things…Lovely post, Debs enjoy your weekend :)…

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    1. Oh thanks very much for your kind words Carol. I think as I get older it becomes more about the simple things. I always enjoy reading your posts too and enjoying family and life is a priority. You are indeed into journaling! We’re expecting snow this weekend so staying warm and cosy is top of my list!

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      1. Snow??? Is that norm for July where you live? We are having our wet season but still it is warm and sunny most of the time and even the rain is warm…haha..Stay warm..Soup and stew weather for you then 🙂 xx

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  17. I can relate to so much of this. Travel, joy, family … the simple things in life bring me joy too and journaling about them is such a wonderful way to relive them. And be grateful for all we have. Another beautiful post Deb. Have a great weekend. xx

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    1. Thanks very much Miriam and I can understand how you can relate to it too. The simple things in life are not to be overlooked I’ve decided. I’m enjoying looking at what I’m thinking as I respond to the prompts and sharing my thoughts this way. I’m sorry to hear about Lamby! xx

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