Letter #3 (Dear Therapist)

I forgot to include the suggestion boxes last time. I assure you that was entirely accidental, and I really do want your suggestions! I went away for the weekend just after posting (only about 15 minutes later, in fact) and I wasn't able to correct the problem before a bunch of people submitted.

New? I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.


Dear Therapist,

I'm not really in the mood to talk with you, right now. In fact, I'm not really interested in talking to anyone. I'm just in one of those moods, where I'd rather curl up on the couch with a book instead of doing anything productive.

(yesterday) Happy Friday!

(yesterday) Happy Friday!

My week was pretty stressful and tiring. I have to admit, though, I really enjoyed most of today (Saturday). I was finally able to go to the library as you suggested. A few times I became tense from all the people there. But, I did have fun browsing the books and reading in such a lovely space. I read most of Gentleman Corgi: A Memoir. I will try to make a trip to the library part of my weekly routine.

Evidence of library visit.

Evidence of library visit.

What is going well in my life? Huh...let's see...well, my job I guess. I've already gotten a few promotions, so I guess my bosses are pretty happy with me. This week I got a "thank you" from someone in the office as an urgent package came for them, but their name was smudged. I hunted them down, so the package was still delivered on time. Outside the office, I try to fill out some reports every evening. They don't pay me extra to do this, but it needs to be done.

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Here's my journal from the end of the week. Thursday was a bit rough. I had utility box problems, and I couldn't sleep because of a rat making noises. So, I called the Landlord. When i finally went to bed, my neighbor started being noisy.

I was exhausted on Friday, so I wasn't very productive in the evening. I feel asleep on the couch, and on the kitchen floor! I didn't get to file reports or finish the laundry. :(

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Dear Therapist (Letter #2)

I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.

Dear Therapist,

I have started implementing your suggestion to track my emotions. While I was looking up ways to track emotions, I uncovered this thing called a Bullet Journal. Have you heard of it? Anyway, it's like a to-do list, a planner and a regular journal. I'm using it to keep track of what I need to do, and my emotions. Like this:

Sunday Bullet Journal entry.

Sunday Bullet Journal entry.

A lot of the Bullet Journals are very beautiful, decorated with stickers and drawings. I'd love to be able to do that, but I don't have the time or the talent.

You asked me about my dream job. Well, I really don't know. I would have loved to have done something creative...writing, painting, sculpting, music, but I have absolutely zero talent for those types of things. When I was a child, I really wanted to be a veterinarian. I'm definitely not smart enough for that, though!

View from my hallway.

View from my hallway.

Here are the other pages of my journal with my other emotion trackers:

Monday

Monday

Tuesday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Wednesday

Yeah, Wednesday was a little bit stressful. The utility box has been acting up in my apartment. I keep losing power, and it keeps sparking. I think I also have a rat problem. I called the landlord, which was also pretty stressful.

Fried utility box and dripping pipes. UGH!!!

Fried utility box and dripping pipes. UGH!!!

I got a promotion. I'm now an office assistant. I'm in charge of supplies, so I get to make important decisions like how many boxes of paperclips we might need in the near future.

Since things were pretty stressful, and I got a promotion, I rewarded myself with some pizza.

Pizza!

Pizza!

I'm an awful cook, so this was a pleasant change of pace!

Anyway, that's all for now, I'll write again soon.

I'm overwhelmed by all the people who want to help Kaye! This is going to be a wonderful experience, and I'm so excited! Thank you for participating. Every response means so much! <3

Dear Therapist (Sims Bujo & Self-care Challenge)

I suggest you start this series at the beginning here.

Dear Therapist, 

First off, I'd like to apologize. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be writing really. They just told me at the clinic that I should submit at least one entry to this address per week. I'm not even sure if I started the entry correctly.

The clinic assigned me this task because I've been feeling sick a lot recently, but they can't find any disease or anything. I was told it is because of my anxiety and depression. I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical. I think I'm doing okay. Sure, life has been hard lately, but I'm managing. It's not like I've attempted suicide, or had some sort of mental crisis. I'm fine. But, I'm willing to try anything to make myself feel better. And, it can't hurt I guess.

I live in a small apartment in San Myshuno. I moved here recently when I got a job in the mailroom of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. It's not great, but it pays the bills. I pretty much spend most of my time by myself sorting mail. I like not having to interact with strangers. I live by myself- no roommate, no pets, no boyfriend. It can get a bit lonely, but it suits me fine.

I don't have time for much of a social life. I don't know where all the time goes, but I always have things to do. On the rare occasion that I have some time, I like to read. 

So, I guess that's it for now. Oh, they told me I could send photos. I'm not sure what photos you'd want, so any suggestions for the future would be welcome.

This is me in front of the elevator at my apartment building.

This is me in front of the elevator at my apartment building.

And this is my hallway.

And this is my hallway.

This is my living room.

This is my living room.

And that's my kitchen down there.

And that's my kitchen down there.

Alright...that's all I have. Let me know what I should do next.

Thank you,

Kaye

A/N: The Bullet Journal will show up in the next post.

New Bullet Journal Challenge with a Self-Care Twist!

Because of my ongoing love for Bullet Journals, I've decided to do another attempt at a Bullet Journal challenge. Thanks to a lot of encouragement from the Sims 4 forum community and some readers, I've come up with a story idea that I'm super enthused about.

I'm going to take my original "If My Sim had a Bullet Journal" challenge idea and add to it a separate but related Self-Care challenge. As someone who has made a lot of progress in dealing with anxiety and depression over the last year, it is something that I am very passionate about.

Here is what I'm doing for this challenge:

1) I've created a Sim that has three traits that might cause her to become tense. For example, if my Sim had the "ambitious" trait she might become tense if she hadn't been promoted for a while. I'm specifically not going to tell you which traits she has. 

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2) Next, I created a list of 10 rules that represent her anxiety and depression. These are self-imposed rules that she has established for herself that set unreasonable expectations. In my personal experience, a lot of anxiety stemmed from the demands I was putting on myself. Once again, I won't be sharing what exactly these are, you'll see why in a minute. 

3) In order to eliminate these rules, she has to earn satisfaction points (a mechanic already in the game). When she hits a certain level of satisfaction, she can spend the points to earn a reward trait (in game) and eliminate one of the rules that I set. 

4) With all the rules she has, earning any satisfaction will be very challenging, and that's where her online therapist will come in. YOU, my dear readers, will play the therapist. Each week, you will be encouraged to comment with suggestions on self-care activities my Sim can do. We will have a poll that will determine which self-care activity she explores that week.

5) Since you don't know the rules or traits, there is a bit of a mystery here in terms of what she needs to do. You can use the clues from her letters to you and her bullet journal to help you decide how to best help her.

There are SO many suggestions you can make for self-care! OH so many that are entirely doable in the game. Keeping track of emotions? Sure! Gratitude log? Sure! Day off? Sure! Adopt a cat? Sure! Writing out her goals? Yep! Travel? Of course. Spa day? Sure thing! 

You can also ask her questions to find out more information, and she'll address them in subsequent letters.

So, what do you guys think? I'm excited!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 28 (Saturday)

It's a day off for Edith! She is hoping to spend sometime with her boyfriend and her good friends today.

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Edith had a weird dream.

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She dreamed a vampire crept into her bedroom while she was still asleep.

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He hypnotized her, and made her walk into her office (why she has no idea).

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He bit into her neck and then disappeared.

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Leaving her passed out on the floor.

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Edith awoke a bit groggy, but didn't think anything more about her dream. She met the Avant Gardes for a group hangout at their favorite coffee shop.

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They chatted in the main area while everyone ordered their drinks, and then dispersed.

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Edith and Gunther went into the club room- a private room in the back of the shop designed for the meeting of clubs.

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Yuki joined them. They read, and chatted about what they were reading. A nice pleasant afternoon.

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In the evening, Edith gave Anaya a call to see if she wanted to do dinner together.

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She was game, and they met at a restaurant.

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They had a wonderful time talking over dinner and drinks. It was nice to some one-on-one time with such a close friend.

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After dinner, they ordered a chocolate cake. Why not?

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Edith is now entering the middle portion of her young adult life. It's time to make some changes to the Bujo and reevaluate our goals. I'll be adding extra collections to this slowly over time.

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So far, other then the cover page, we've setup a section to record memories, and we've begun a level 10 life spread.

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Here's Sunday's plan.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 27 (Friday)

Work was on Edith's agenda for the day, but she has tomorrow off. Edith has been happy with her work situation but feels she needs to publish more works on her own in the future.

In this photo, you can see the list of royalties she is receiving for her book so far.

After work, Edith was surprised by a visit from Paolo and Gunther. Edith (and I) love how the two most important men in her life, at present, are becoming friends. In this photo, I feel like Gunther also wants to be in on the hug. Gunther would like to as the Sims 4 team at EA to add adult group hugs.

Why do we bother with the meal planning, Edith? She was supposed to have pan-fried tilapia tonight, but instead with have this meatball. And she ended up not even liking the meatball. Made it'd taste better if she got the gross half-eaten oatmeal off the table?

Okay, Edith, my dear. Let's add "clean the apartment" to our daily spread for tomorrow, k?

I'm not certain if this is a reaction to the meatball or the apartment cleaning plan.

Here's a stalker-like photo...peering into Edith's office. She's typing to her new penpal, and swearing at her neighbors because they are being too noisy again.

Pleasant dreams, Edith.

I'd love to hear your ideas about Edith's spread! Do you want to see more? A more detailed daily log? More journaling? Let me know!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 24 (Tuesday)

Welcome back! 

Tuesday's plan was to work from 8am to 4pm, have dinner (garden salad), work on her writing, and then call a few friends.

When she arrived home, Gunther was there. He always knows when she's having a bad day and shows up for some fun after work! Edith and Gunther played some chess for awhile.

After which, he kept her entertained while she made dinner. Despite the fact he had no plans to stay for dinner.

After Gunther left, Edith took a shower. She relaxed with some television (the classics station).

While she was watching, she called Paulo and they chatted before she went to bed.

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Wednesday is more work with Grilled Cheese for dinner, and her plans are to do whatever she feels like doing.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 23 (Monday)

Before we check in with Edith today, I just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by my website thanks to the link in the Bullet Journal July Newsletter. I appreciate you checking on my Sims challenge, and I hope you continue to check in. Also, if anyone has any spreads that they'd like Edith to try out, please let me know! We are Bullet Journalers so tweaking is always happening! Should she have more detailed spreads? More actual journaling? More collections?

Edith's plan for Monday was pretty simple...work, dinner, writing and some phone calls. Of course, we've already seen how those plans can go astray!

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At work, Edith was promoted to Regular Contributor at work! So, of course, the Avant Gardes took her to the nightclub to celebrate!

After sharing some fries with Maaike at the bar, while they waited for everyone else to get there, they spent the evening dancing. 

Edith ran into Paulo, her newest crush! They took a selfie together. When are these two going to start dating?!

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Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 20 (Friday)

Friday was a day off, but after last night, Edith had planned to take it easy.

Here is Edith's plan for the day.

Edith journaled about her experience last night.

She was inspired to do some writing, but Jesminder and her husband were being noisy, so Edith was getting frustrated.

Later in the day, Gunther came over to play chess, and Jesminder popped over for awhile as well.

After Gunther left, she took a nap and followed that up with some reading and telephone conversations.

Her final bujo summary.

Sorry about the fuzzy quality of the last photo, it was taken in haste.

Thanks for reading! Please leave comments, questions, and suggestions for Edith. I love chatting about the Sims!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 19 (Thursday)

Edith thought Thursday was just going to be a typical workday, but she was pleasantly surprised....

She started off the day by getting inspired before work. She played around with the lump of clay she keeps in her apartment to get her creative juices flowing.

She made a lovely statue.

After work, she practiced a bit of chess....

...and did some painting.

She made the Pho she had planned to have for dinner that night. After dinner, she planned to read and go to bed early.

However, Maaike invited her to go out to a club in Windenburg. Edith was in a good mood and she was off of work tomorrow, so she agreed.

She ran into Marcus and he introduced her to some of his friends including this guy Paolo, whom she immediately hit it off with. They all chatted outside the club for awhile before heading inside.

The Avant Gardes had a great time hanging out with Partihaus. Edith danced with her crew.

Despite being excellent dancers and a bit intimidating, the members of Partihaus were actually very nice and welcoming.

Edith kept her eye on Paolo the whole evening.

They chatted inside, as best they could...despite the short time they were together, they were starting to form a deep connection.

Edith felt super confident and had an amazing time.

The club was just so energetic and vibrant. She stayed there as late as possible before heading home and crashing.

The completed daily bujo.

Tomorrow's plan.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 17 (Tuesday)

Edith's Tuesday plan:

She had another simple day planned, which was a good thing given how busy she's been the last few days.

Reality caught up with her. Upon arriving home from work, she passed out on the couch. She woke up and showered.

Instead of the taco casserole she had planned, she ate a microwaved pastry. She went to bed feeling very unsatisfied, but too tired to care. 

Here's Tuesday's completed entry.

Some more scribblings from Edith.

And, finally, the quickly written plan for tomorrow.

Note: I made a spreadsheet with a way of calculating crushes based on a variety of factors. Travis wouldn't be my first choice, but he is winning for Edith which is why he is our prime target.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 16 (Monday)

Here was Edith's plan for Monday.

She had a fairly simple and quiet day planned...work, dinner, whatever she felt like doing, call one of her friends...maybe call Travis, maybe do a little writing and then bed.

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She got home crazy late on Sunday evening thanks to the promotion party, and when she got home she really wanted to bathe before going to bed. Just after midnight, Don called with his own offer to celebrate. Edith was too tired and had to work in the morning, so she declined.

She was pretty stressed when she came from work on Monday. She was pleasantly surprised to find Gunther waiting for her at her place. He let her vent for awhile, he's quiet an active listener.

When she started feeling a bit better, they watched a movie, "Simder". 

It was a total snooze fest for Edith, but between the movie and chatting with Gunther during it, she was distracted enough to start relaxing again.

After Gunther left, Edith purchased a Chess table. 

The night was still young and she was a in great mood now, and she totally forgot she had to work on Tuesday, so she went out for a night on the town!

Edith went to the karaoke bar that's right across the street from her apartment. She met one of her coworkers there, and enjoyed her favorite cocktail while chatting with her and some other people she didn't really know.

Travis showed up and they had a great time conversing about a wide variety of things, and they even flirted a bit. After he left Edith was even more confused.

So she belted out a pop song before heading home.

Here is the completed Monday daily spread.

And below it, we have some doodling as Edith tries to figure out what the deal is with Travis and if she should try to pursue a relationship.

And finally, a plan for Tuesday!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 15 (Sunday)

Sunday was another work day for Edith. She had a simple plan for the day.....

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But that plan had changed by the time she got home that evening. She was promoted to "advice columnist". And her co-workers wanted to celebrate her success by taking her out to the Oasis Dust Bowl.

Her promotion also came with a new chair for reading.

Gunther was the one to coordinate the celebration and met her outside the bar.

She enjoyed some dinner while chatting with all her co-workers.

Edith's co-workers!

Edith was pleasantly surprised to find Travis at the bar. After their meeting at Singles night, she was developing a crush on him, and she new he was on the market which increased the appeal. She was under the impression, after their great conversation the other day, that they were on the same page. She did a bit of playful flirting and then asked to exchange phone numbers.

Rejection.

We were both so shocked, that we forgot to take a screenshot!

Luckily, Gunther was nearby ready to swoop in and take some silly selfies!

Sunday's recap.

Looking towards Monday!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Week Three Setup!

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Here we have Edith's filled in Week 2 Checker Life Check. Green is the best category, so she did quite well in week 2.

Here is her Week Two spread at the end of the week. She experienced a lot of happiness this week, but was also uncomfortable and tense more often than we'd like. She needs to seek out new ways to feel inspired, since that didn't come up often and she's trying to be a writer!

She improved her charisma, cooking, fitness, wellness, writing and dancing! She also learned many new recipes.

She has a new financial spread. She is trying to save up $900 (in addition to her regular savings goal) to purchase a shower/tub combo...so she has the option of taking a shower or a bath, instead of just a bath.

Here is her Week Three setup. I didn't write down all her work times yet, since I think she'll be getting a promotion on Sunday. Her goals are very similar to last week but with her total whims and total savings higher, obviously. She also wants to turn one of her friends into a "good friend" this week.

And finally, here is our plan for Sunday!

If you have any ideas for spreads that you'd like to see included please let me know!!! If you'd like to see more information, more journaling, etc...we can expand!

Thanks for reading!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 14 (Saturday)

Edith also had Saturday off. She had been looking forward to Saturday all week - Singles night at the bar! Her love life was lacking, despite the fact she already knew she wanted to settle down and have children in the near future.

First, she needed to do some apartment cleaning! Oh Edith, what a mess!

Before going out, she relaxed on her computer for awhile. She did some research on vampires, as she had heard that supposed sightings of vampires were increasing. 

She went to a club meeting, where she enjoyed some coffee with Gunther. 

She then went into the club's designated area to work on writing. It was inspiring to work in a different setting. 

She got to the bar a bit early for singles night, and quite hungry. So she had some french fries while waiting for more people to show up. 

She hit it off with two new guys- Travis and Johnny who she convinced to join her on the dance floor. Don was also there, of course, and joined in. There was a stranger with interesting fashion taste who leered at them disapprovingly while they danced.

Travis and Edith did chat alone for awhile in the corner of the room, and she made another friend!

Here's Edith's completed Saturday daily spread, plus a new savings collection. The next post will contain her new weekly spread and updates to the monthly pages!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 13 (Friday)

Edith had Friday off from work, and she had a really busy day!

Maaike called and asked if she wanted to go to breakfast at Villa Bovine.

It was a weird choice, as it turns out, as they don't really have a breakfast menu.

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They had a very pleasant conversation.

Edith ask Maaike what she knew about Gunther, but despite him being in the club, she didn't really know him that well yet.

Their breakfast choice was fruit and yogurt parfait with tea. They both loved it and were super excited about it.

Edith heard some commotion behind her. In this lovely and quite fancy restaurant, some parents were laughing and looking on as their child did this...

Edith pondered how she would be parenting the situation differently. Edith certainly doesn't mind messes, but there is a time and a place.

After breakfast, Edith went to a yoga class. While she is definitely improving her abilities, her low level is still quite obvious.

She was definitely shaky while trying to do the moves. Fortunately, the other person in her class was not suceeding either.

Eventually, they both exceeded their ability levels and came crashing down. 

Edith went to the library to do a bit of reading. She chose "Fitness Vol. 1", and this attracted the attention of Marcus (the overly fit and confident dude at the gym). They got to chatting and she ended up helping him resolving a problem he was having with a friend.

In the evening, she went to the spice festival where she was able to harvest some fresh produce.

She also met this guy Masato who was cooking food on a grill. 

She chatted with him and Cherish for a bit, before Don spotted her (he works at a food stall) and joined them. 

Hanging out with Maaike and Don had raised her relationships with them both enough for her to consider them "friends". 

Tomorrow was another day off!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 12 (Thursday)

Thursday was another day working as an article writer at Walrus Books.

After work, she sent out her second book for self-publication, Abby the Kitten. 

She did some reading. 

And then watched the World Culture Network (possible her favorite channel, as she seems to request it often). 

She ate Franks n' Beans for dinner.  Overall, a quiet day socially, but very productive in her career.

Updated daily spreads!

Updated weekly spread.

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 11 (Wednesday)

Wednesday was a much needed day off for Edith! 

She started the day off with some tidying up.

While eating oatmeal for breakfast, she was texting. She seems to be texting all the time, but I have no idea to whom.

Next it was off to the sky gym. Sure, this was to get a workout in, but...to be honest, she was hoping to meet some hot guys.

She did meet one hot guy, but he was a bit old for her taste. He was also a bit, um...self absorbed?

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Edith then met up with the Avant Gardes at their usual coffee shop. The Barista was dressed very....creatively.

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She did a little bit of reading at a table with Hugo, who was doing his homework, and Gunther who was also reading. Edith had a cup of coffee while she read.

Then treated herself to some cannolis...she did go to the gym afterall, right?

She followed it up with another beverage later.

She came home in a great mood...filled with confidence. She had made a new friend...previously, the members of the club we just acquaintances. Gunther was also a co-worker, but after some deep and interesting conversations, she felt more connected to Gunther. She felt confident she had made a friend.

She watched a bit of the World Culture Network to chill out. I think this might be the only channel she finds tolerable.

She decided to cancel the mac n' cheese plan...too rich after her indulgences at the coffee shop. She opted for breakfast instead.

Updated Bullet Journal!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 10 (Tuesday)

Tuesday was another work day for Edith. Her plan was to go to work, have a garden salad for dinner, and then focus on her own needs...something she had been ignoring the past couple days.

After work she was feeling really tense, so she had a bath with a lavender soak which made her feel much better.

She then spent sometime reading on the couch.

Her garden salad was better this week than last week. Her skills in the kitchen are improving...the right amount of dressing is key.

She wanted to do a bit of socializing, so she knocked on Jesminder's door and they chatted for a bit. Edith talked to her about the Avant Garde. Jesminder is very nice, Edith loves the way she dresses.

Here's Edith's completed daily spread for Tuesday. It was a bit of a boring day because of work. She has Wednesday off, so hopefully that will be a bit more interesting.

Thanks for reading!

Edith's Bullet Journal: Day 9 (Monday)

Edith worked from 9am to 5pm on Monday. She made samosa for dinner, a recipe she learned from one of the food stalls.

She wanted to relax, so she watched television while she ate. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a channel she enjoyed.

After dinner, she finally got to do some writing. She finished her children's book and published it herself.

Here's her completed daily for Monday!