Wishing on a Dream Room, Summer, and a Few Fun Things

Lately I've desired to do or have quite a few lovely little things (not all of them are little though). I've been dreaming of summer, how I want my room to be, and a few fun things to do. So here's my late winter wish list!


Summer: I absolutely love winter. As in very much so. Not to mention I haven't had the chance to go skiing yet! But this year more than ever I can't wait to feel the warm sun on my skin, to swing in a hammock on a warm, breezy summer day, and to sit in a sun room that's not ten degrees. I can't wait to wear shorts and tank tops on a super hot day with perhaps an iced latte using my mom's new machine for it while lounging by the pool or in the hammock, reading a nice big book. I refuse to be stuck inside this summer. Therefore, I need to bust my butt with schoolwork so that I don't have too much to do this summer (because it's looking like my whole summer might be playing catch up).


To make my dream room: There's so much I'd love to do but almost all of it is little things in my eyes. Basically I need to do some major thrift shopping to find the perfect items!

1. Paint my room, preferably a light vintage pink- this is a pretty big project, but my mom said it will be done!
2. Taller, bigger bookshelves- this is kind of a must since my bookshelves are very full and half my shelves are make shift from cardboard boxes. Those books need to be placed on a real, nice shelf!
3. My reading chair- just recently I saw on a booktuber's channel her reading chair, and the more I think about it, I would love to have one of those big, comfy armchairs as my reading chair rather than the butterfly chair I have right now. This won't be too big of a deal until I paint my room, and my current chair won't match. So I'll be looking around at the thrift shops for the perfect chair! :)
4. The floor- all right I'm not actually planning on replacing the blue carpet anytime soon because it's quite expensive to do that, but I hope that in the next three or so years that it's done.
5. A side table for my reading chair- I have a box with blankets in it that I was thinking of using as a makeshift side table, but I would love to go thrifting to find a really great side table. That will also mean that I'll need a...
6. Vintage stand up lamp!- It'd be super cool to have this next to my future spiffy armchair. Another thrift item (unless Mom lets me steal the one from downstairs haha!)
7. Candles- I've been itching to be allowed to light candles in my room, beautiful fragranced candles. It just seems absolutely dreamy, and easy!
8. Curtains- This is going to be so hard! I would love to have lacey, light and airy curtains, but I also need curtains that are thick enough so no one will see through them from outside. Hm... I'll thrift around for a bit on these, but I may end up also looking in department stores. :(

Things I want to do in the near future!


Camp NaNoWriMo: I've created a novel, but I'm still a bit undecided whether I'm going to even do Camp NaNoWriMo. I'm terribly behind in schoolwork. I'm incredibly ahead for my reading goal of 50 classics this year (15/50), so taking a month where I only read two or so wouldn't be that big of a deal. It's the schoolwork that determines this one. Even if I do Camp NaNo, my goal won't be to finish a novel but rather to just write everyday in April on this idea I have. The writing could be planning out events, rambling about anything from the point of view of different characters, or legit writing chapters. Whatever I feel like as long as I'm writing.


Doing my hair: I want to do my hair more often. I've been loving braids and buns, so we'll see. It's nice to actually do my hair every now and then rather than just brush and run! :)


Weeding my clothes: I desperately need to get rid of everything I don't really wear. In return I'd love to buy some basic clothes I find I'm lacking like white and plain black shirts.


Listening to soft jazz music playing in the background while I read late at night: the only thing missing is the candles! :) It's an absolutely dreamy, lovely thing to do. I really enjoyed it last night. Almost like I was on vacation for a bit.


So there it is! My wish list right now. There's a lot that I can do easily. I'm so excited to get started! This time of year when we've been given a taste of Spring only to have Winter claim the throne again is just the time of year everyone starts dreaming up things and going on Spring Cleaning mode. I can't wait for Spring and Summer! We've had a rough winter that is beginning to overextend its stay. I'll enjoy the beauty while it lasts though because come summer I'll be dying for fall and winter. Ciao!

Holy Camoly! I Read So Many Classics in February!

     So maybe people don't say holy camoly anymore. Too bad. I do. For some reason in my childhood I picked up loads of outdated phrases that I've continued to use to this day like oh shucks!, Geez Louis, nice goin' Melvin (from a Detroit Zoo commercial when my dad was a kid), and numerous others. But I like them so I'll keep saying them. :)
     Now to the point. This last month I read a 19 books. One was a kid book and quite a few mangas, but they still totally count as books... right? ;) The main focus though is that I read 10 classics this month! That's a huge jump from January's lonely Treasure Island, the only classic I read that month. Of course, I had been reading a few massive classics that month which I finished this month. All right, I only finished one seeing as the other was Les Miserables, and I did not finish reading that this month. In fact, I barely picked it up. As for the books I did read, I am so excited to share them with you!



Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling- I decided to read this real quick one night, didn't even pick it up until midnight! Then later that week I found out it was a Harry Potter marathon week. How awesome that I got a head start without even knowing it. :) (though I didn't end up reading much Harry Potter haha)



Emma by Jane Austen- I absolutely loved this book! For years I have avoided hearing anything about who ends up with who in this Austen classic. I must admit that despite my efforts some names trinkled down. Mr. Knightley and Emma, two main characters. Even with only a few known details I managed to guess a lot of what would happen early on in the book. It was so much fun to read this book. Especially because I was going to go from Pride and Prejudice to Sense and Sensibility to Mansfield Park. However, getting to Mansfield Park I just couldn't get into it at the time. Picking up Emma, however, was so wonderful and beautifully written, as always by our dear Jane Austen.
P.S. The Harry Potter marathon really prompted me to finish this book in the first week of February since I figured that it connected so much to Harry Potter, being J.K. Rowling's favorite book and model, that I ought to read it quickly.



Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen- Finishing Emma the first Thursday of the month I was in such a Jane Austen mood that less than an hour later I picked up Northanger Abbey! I read for a few hours, put it down to go to bed, woke up, and immediately picked it back up again. I loved reading all Austen's opinionated rants that filled a page here and a page there. Quite different from the other novels I've read by her. I loved this one just as much though! While reading this book I developed a queer habit, capable because the book was quite small and therefore light, that I would pace about my room whilst reading this book. It certainly added to the excitement of the novel! After all that Austen in February, I am so excited to read the last two books by her!



Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky- I will admit that I started this one way back in October, read everything but the last 150 pages, and didn't pick it up again due to the holidays. However, after adding two more books to my "have read" pile, I was feeling the motivation to plow through the rest of this amazing classic. I must also admit that before I read this book I thought it would be quite the punishment (haha okay not that funny of a pun, bare with me). I thought this book would be one of those hard to read and hard to understand classics. You can imagine my surprise at finding it so easily read and engaging! I was pulled into the story quickly, and I loved that I could actually notice the literary devices being used, especially the foreshadowing! I really enjoyed Dostoevsky's writing and just picked up Brothers Karamazov to read this year.



Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister and illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith- This one's the childrens book. I read quite a few kids books, but I've only counted this one in my personal reading since I picked it up just for me. I loved the illustrations and the story was so cute about a boy that believes in magic and travels to the place Between where magicians pull the rabbits out of or the things and people that they make disappear. Very cute.



The Time Machine by H.G. Wells- Before reading this I had read The Invisible Man by Wells, which I loved. I have to admit that in the hour it took to read this book, I didn't actually like it that much. I felt like it certainly wasn't character driven (something we're so used to these days yet wasn't a staple and sometimes a common do-not-do for some genres in the past- think mystery, maybe science fiction, ect.). It wasn't just that, though, which may be excused based on the grounds that maybe that was common practice at the time. I just felt like the story wasn't told very well. There certainly wasn't much in depth talk about the science. The time traveling itself and the places he went to and what happened there just weren't very engaging to me. They could have been and the ideas are magnificent, but the story itself wasn't written well in my opinion. Definitely not a favorite of mine nor, in my opinion, Wells greatest work. However, it is worth the short read I suppose just to see the story in its raw form as it finds its way into many modern day allusions to it.



Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper- Once again I was feeling incredibly motivated, and seeing as my room was running out to place my read books due to a stack of American Literature books I have on the same shelf, I decided to read this book since it's also for school. Having at this point gotten very used to reading straight through even the boringest books or lengthy passages, I decided to read straight through this one. I'll admit I had picked this book up last year and could not get into it for the life of me. I was rather curious why people love it so much. And now I know. It took me 150 pages to get into this story. Yes, 150. With most books I would never give them that many pages, but I had to read this for school and so I stuck with it. At that point, halfway through the book, I was sucked into the story. I could barely put the book down, and when I got to the end I tried not to cry. Then I just let myself delve deeper in and shed a few tears. I had completely fallen in love with the characters, even some that I didn't realize I had fallen in love with until the end. I cannot express how glad I am that I stuck through the first 150 pages because this book was so amazing! I would love to reread, in fact probably will soon! I want to read the entire Leatherstock Tales, but unfortunately, they aren't all easily found in book format unless you want to pay $50, which I don't, though I may seriously think about it- that's how much I loved this book.



Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card- I read this book because I loved the movie. As usual, the book blew the movie out of the waters. This book was so complex. The ideas and feelings brought to the surface so deep that I can hardly form solid opinions about this book. One thing I do know is that it isn't just a kid's book. This is a book for all ages to read. I also know that I will reread this someday because right now I don't know exactly what to say about it. Therefore, I will only leave this with a high suggestion to read the book! By the way, would you consider this a classic? I have counted it as one towards my goal of 50 classics because it had a huge influence on science fiction novels, or so I'm told. Let me know what you think.



Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card- I picked this one up a day after reading Ender's Game. I went into it knowing it would be different than Ender's Game since EG is more of a prequel to this book that was Card's original idea (as he says in EG's intro). For others that are going to read this after Ender's Game, know that it is like a totally different story. The characters are different, there's obviously a different plot, and Ender is 35 years old, a lot different from his six year old self. Even though I felt like Ender was probably similar to how he was as a youngster, I felt as though we don't get to know everything about him, almost as though we aren't really in his brain, even though sometimes we are. The younger characters were more of a focus to me, as well as the pequeninos, the new alien species. So even though others say they thought this was boring compared to Ender's Game, I actually thought it was better. Seriously, I thought this was a lot better than Ender's Game. I can't quite describe it but being in the minds of other characters was great. I can't wait to read Xenocide which picks up right after this book. I have a feeling I am going to become a major Ender fan with all the books I get to read. :)



A Place Called Home by Jason Grant- All right, this one was just because of all the pretty pictures inside it. :)



War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells- This was a lot better than The Time Machine. I must admit I was expecting little green martians in flying saucers. The aliens in this book were much different than that! Trust me, Wells goes into the anatomy of them, and their machines are quite interesting. It was a fairly good book, though, again, I liked Invisible Man more. I would love to watch the movie sometime. But back to the book! The characters in this book seemed more real than in Time Machine, and it's incredibly interesting to hear the main character's thoughts as he battles with issues of surviving and humanity all while worrying if his wife even exists and how to get back to her. As for the plot, well the aliens fighting the army seemed real enough for the time I suppose (a radio reading of the story led thousands to panic!), but today we would probably be able to wipe out the attacking aliens. Not to mention I would imagine aliens to be higher advanced in technology and inteligence, though this would likely be due to the advancement of today's technology. Overall it was a great book! The battles inside the main character's thoughts were the most interesting to me as he struggled through changed and dangerous lands.


Vampire Knight Volume 17 by Matsuri Hino- I read the first 16 volumes way back in December so I was a bit lost when I picked this one up, but that doesn't change the fact that I love this series! I completely recommend this manga series as one of my favorites. There are only two more left! Yay! I don't read much manga so I'm not much interested getting into manga series that go on forever that I could never catch up to. This is a great series though, seriously. Read it! I still can't decide if I like Kaname or Zero more. Hm.. Till the end then!



Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit Vol. 1 and 2 by Quin Rose- You know how I just mentioned I wouldn't be that interested in reading a forever long manga series. Well this is the exception. I would absolutely love, completely flip out, if I knew the Alice in the Country of Hearts series would never end! (This includes Alice in the Country of Jokey and Alice in the Country of Clover.) These two volumes that I read are an offshoot of the series with the idea of what if Alice fell in love with Elliot March, the mad hare. I love his character and this was a funny mini series. I did feel that this offshoot had a lot more sexual references than the other ones or was dirtier but wasn't over the top like a lot of manga, and I still loved the story and of course, the characters. :D



Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party Volume 1 and 2 by Quin Rose- Okay, the Mad Hatter is one of my favorite characters so I loved this manga! Out of all the offshoots I've read, this was my favorite so far. There was action, romance (of course), and the loveable characters as always. :) It was just amazing!



Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame- I actually did quite a long book review on this which you can find here! P.S. I loved this book!



The Princess Bride by William Goldman- I read this on recommendation from a friend, and though it was a bit odd of a book, I loved it just as much as the movie. :) Some of the characters I liked better than the movie, some I liked better in the movie. Overall by blending the two I loved all the characters. The movie was incredibly accurate to the book without the extra journey of the narrator, which makes the book unique from the movie. Not to mention the book ends totally different. The adventures don't end, and I loved that! I get the perfect romance ending in the movie and a more realistic ending (as far as fantastical adventures go) in the book.



Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne- (Warning: Prepare for rant on my opinion on major science theory halfway through paragraph. I couldn't help myself, sorry. haha) This was my first Jules Verne novel I've ever read. I decided it was about time. I must say it was not a disappointment! The book was very heavily written on science topics to educate the people while still maintaining a high adventure and growing characters. The main character begins as a young boy and grows up into a man by the end of the book. Their journey to the center of the earth reveals the kinds of ideas people had back then regarding science and the earth. It was particularly obvious the discussions on Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Obviously today we know a lot more in the science field and genetics and even time frame of the history of humans. Things that are revealed in question in the book, are common knowledge today. I for one don't think that science can at all support Darwin's Theory anymore, though most people have not been revealed to the modern science world since kids are still taught that evolution is fact rather than just a theory. It baffles me that teachers don't even teach the evidence that goes against evolution. I mean really, when you learn one side of an argument in order to support yourself you have to at least know the other side. Teachers really ought to share all the major science points and what today's science has revealed in those areas. It almost seems that instead of teaching and giving us knowledge they just want to give us exactly how to think. Let the science speak for itself. Give all sorts of theories, but don't favor one over the other while teaching and let the science speak for what it possibly true and what is in no way possible. I love science so it was really interesting to read Jules Verne's book even if we now know that most of it isn't true. I can't wait to read more of his books!



     So that's it! Whew! One update in case you didn't catch that from my intro is that I have definitely changed my reading goal this year from 25 classics to 50. Therefore I am over 1/5 of the way done! I have read 11/50 classics this year so far, and I think I'll probably end up getting around 75 done. If by June it's looking like 100 is possible, then you betcha I will be raising the bar! I look forward to all the classics I'll read this March. I've already started Watership Down. It is so fantastic that I will definitely do a full book review on it! Until next time! I'll be discussing the idea of planning what you read. Look forward to it soon!

Whimsical and Nerdy Goals (I can dream right?)

     Two days ago I posted 30 Fun Goals for 2014 mostly covering music, books, writing, and various little things I've always wanted to try. This year is looking to be quite the busy year full of school, work, and, hopefully, personal growth. However, despite my wonderful list I've made, there are a few other little goals that are either insensible or I simply don't have a lot of time for this year (though, I'd love to get through these goals- except maybe the first haha). I'd love to share these whimsical "goals" because they show a bit of insight into the nerdy me:

1. Play more video games: especially Minecraft, Lego Harry Potter, and Infinity Blade. Plus I would love to check out Shadows of Mordor when it comes out (geeky side right there. Love LoTR and the graphics on that game look great, exactly the kind I like)
2. Dress more artistically at least a couple times a week- this is a big one, that I will in all honestly likely dip in and out of it throughout this year. I just need to get up the guts to wear what I want to.
3. Buy Harry Potter Wizarding Collections (this will likely never happen considering it is $400! But my little fan heart can dream, right?)
4. Sew my own dresses, at least a simple black one that fits me perfectly and attractively and can be used at most seasons of the year (we're talking Michigan seasons here haha- cold!)
5. Learn to skateboard- childhood dream right here :)
6. Do more DIYs. This is a biggy seeing as I have many little things I want to do, particularly concerning my room: curtains, painting my room, artwork or display wall, and the list goes on.
7. Discover more music- indie, folk, ect. I love music and really hope to add a few more favorite artists this year
8. Buy or make more flower crowns: I love these so much! I own one, but I'm hoping to buy a really big one someday :)
9.  I must go to the Renaissance festival. There's no doubt about it, this must happen. I'll likely go with just my friends this year. Last year I went with my family, and it was so much fun! But the big thing about this year is that I want to finally buy a corset, and I would love to buy a cloak. And a sword and armor, but those won't happen. ;)
10. Read 100 books this year!

     Obviously these don't take priority in life. I mean seriously, more video games? ;P But some, like sewing and dressing more to my taste are ones that I would love to build into this year. If I don't, then these are taking top priority next year!

Listography

     I love lists. I mean absolutely love making lists! If you've seen much on my blog, you'll know that I attempted (and still am attempting) to make a list of 1000 things I'm thankful for on a day to day basis, the little things I notice every day. It's the little things I love to be thankful for, because they always add up and they keep me focused on God throughout the day. :) So today when I was at Goodwill, I noticed a small little book called Music Listography: Your Life in (Play) Lists, and my heart fluttered a little. The event was maximized by the fact that my mom had just left me at Goodwill alone so she could go home and turn the oven off which she had forgotten about (my oh my!).
     So there I was, all alone, a grown up girl shopping at Goodwill, and suddenly, a little treasure is seen tossed into a box with Christmas gift bags. It's part of a journaling series involving writing lots of lists, which I mentioned I love, right? ;) I quickly snatched it up, hardly believing my eyes. The unbelievable part was that it was brand new- absolutely no marks in the baby. I continued around the store, eventually finding an adorable tea pot candle holder and a little box featuring ladies and gentleman out on a lawn wearing wonderful hoopskirt gowns and suits. These last two items are part of a bit of myself I lost back in Austen land.
     But the adventure wasn't over yet. Oh no, it had hardly yet begun! Upon looking once more, hopelessly at the book section in our Goodwill, which any citizen around here will tell you is lacking good books, I found, believe it or not, another Listography book unscathed! This time I barely sighted it as it's shy, bland spine was hidden amongst all the large magazines. It was Listography: Your Life in Lists. Basic but still thrilling to me. Upon walking back to my mom, elated with the day's discoveries, I eventually, somehow, made my way back to the pitiful book section of our Goodwill and... found another Listography book sitting face up on the middle shelf! This was the prize and glory of all the ones I had found thus far. It was My Future Listography: All I Hope To Do In Lists. The reason this particular one is my favorite comes from the joy I have in writing out ideas for the future in the format of our beloved lists. It seems it was meant to be. Of course whenever I find a great part of a series, I always wonder if I missed the rest, but in this case I don't think I did.
     It is quite exciting, and I can't wait to start writing some lists. I have a list from each journal that I have marked top priority, kind of: Top Soundtracks (Music), Things I Want to be Knowledgeable About (Future), and Professions I Would Love to Try Out (Life). I'm really into activity kind of books right now, for teens and adults. This Christmas I'm asking for a lot of Kerri Smith books. Remember Wreck This Book, Explore the World, ect.? Those are the ones. They look like loads of fun for whenever I get bored to just kind of pick one and go with it. Tell me if you know of any other fun activity books! I would love to hear of some more!
     Some last few notes. I discovered 52 Lists earlier this year and forgot to keep printing them out. I plan on doing some sort of project with those as well, only I need to keep them in a binder seeing as the ones I do have are all wrinkly now. :( Another quick note: my mom actually ended up telling me she had bought me one of the Listography books from Goodwill for Christmas. Turns out there were duplicates. I felt so bad, but at the same time it felt like Christmas early. I felt so loved from my mother who had known just the sort of thing I would like. Suddenly the list books I own feel like a heart felt gift. I could see she had been so excited about giving it to me, and then here I pick out the same ones when the two of us go shopping. So sad, and yet so thrilling to know she was thinking of me and knew me so well and loves me. It wasn't the gift that mattered, it was the heart, and getting just the heart and not really the gift made it so much more pleasant and enjoyable. :) My heart flutters with joy every time I think that she knew I would want these.
     Perhaps next post I will post my Christmas list, which is almost entirely books. ;)

I Should do this... but I Want to Do...Balancing the Two?!?!?!

Goals for 2014 to do a bit of everything

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      I feel like I've been missing out on life lately. I've missed doing fun little things that I really enjoy. I haven't been listening to the music I really like. I haven't been reading YA romances. I haven't been spinning in circles, laughing. All my life has been lately is very serious stuff. My focus has been feeling guilty about not getting much homework done, doing my best at work, and feeling guilty about not reading enough classics. I guess I'm tired of feeling guilty about things that are fun and not bad when I should just enjoy them; laugh with the earth, dream, dance, dwell on pleasant things. Everything that I should be doing I fool myself into thinking I really want to. And I guess in a way I do. I want to read more classics. I want to listen to classical music (I really do like it). I want to do really well at work and constantly be working hard and getting lots done. After all I would love for the library to be clean and organized. I want to eat healthy because I like fruits and veggies. I want to do my homework because I like learning.

     But I also want to listen to Katy Perry, Lyric Everly, Jenny and Tyler, The Vespers, and Disney songs. I want to wear dresses more often. I want to dream of pretty little things: cute tea cups, flower fields, and a good book. I want to go back to my love of bohemian style.
     Basically my life isn't very well balanced with things I want to do and things I need to do. So here are some simply written goals for 2014:

1. Wake up earlier
2. Listen to fun music more often
3. Do more homework
4. Read more good books: a mix of classics and YA
5. Do my devotions each morning or night
6. Drink more tea
7. Write in my journal more often- this is a big one
8. Attempt to write more blog posts (:P haha)
9. Evaluate when I really need to be on the internet and when I could be doing something better, but yes, let myself go on the computer a little bit each day.
10. Print out more pictures and things I find from the internet and build an inspiration collage on my wall

    Then there are a few things I really want to do soon to feel more at home in the kind of room I want to live in:

• Paint my room. What color should I paint it?
• Completely organize my closet
• Draw with the new media I just got for Christmas

Memories of Disney, Burnt Pizza Bagel Bites, and Sisters Who Thankfully Don't Complain

     Well, this day went by without much happening. I didn't record a list of what I was thankful for throughout the day, or better worded I just didn't find much. The day wasn't a bad day, but rather it was just one of the many good days that fill in between the really good days and the bad days. I did reflect a lot on Disney since I found a post about character interaction. :) The only true event of the day was when I was babysitting my sisters and burnt dinner. I was just thankful they didn't complain about it. haha :)

April 22, 2013
287. Seeing a bird get a worm (the bird was a robin)
288. Memories of Disney :D Just remembered being in Epcot and seeing Jasmine and Aladdin leave their meet and greet to go on break. We were in the market center and the two ran and skipped through there holding hands. They climbed over the fountain and laughed and smiled and seemed totally in love. It transformed the whole minitown to seem like we were really in the movie. It's one of my sweetest memories. :)
289. More memories of Disney- holding Prince Erik's arm for a photo (he offered it to me hehe) :) and Flynn Rider winking at me as he passed in the parade! Yep, those two are the hottest princes. haha!
290. Burnt pizza bagels
291. Not complaining sisters

Warm Sunlight, Joyful Children, and Fun Times With Friends

     This Sunday began with really enjoying the morning sunlight as I ate breakfast. Amidst all the turmoil of getting the family ready for church, I stopped and closed my eyes, letting the sun warm my eyelids. It's a beautiful feeling that I can't help but be thankful for every time. The rest of the morning went by smoothly as we all got ready for church. Today during church time I was filling in for Mrs. Richardson in the toddler room. I love the little kids. :) They are so cute! Time in the toddler room went well. Jess H. and I were the only people in there. I enjoyed working with her, of course. ;)
    When we got home, we did something we rarely do: we watched TV. Shocker, right! My family sat down and watched some dirt bike racing. :) Right after that I watched bull riding. Oh my goodness I love it! One of my favorite memories was a visit to Murray, Kentucky where a number of our relatives live. While down there we went to the town rodeo. Lots of cowboys, cute guys, and plenty of excitement from the bull riding. I must add that it was rather scary that someone had to be taken to the hospital for a neck or back injury (he went flying up in the air before coming straight down, hard). Other than that moment, the night was spectacular, and I would love to go again!
      Besides watching some cowboys compete against the bulls, I also laid down to take a nap. However, I decided I could be doing something far more productive than nap (despite being extraordinarily tired). I think that is a great mentality to have all the time and hope to keep it in mind whenever I feel like being lazy. So up I got and did various things like school work and stuff for the missions trip meeting for that night.
      There were many fun memories made this night at the meeting, but I've written about them in my list of thanksgiving. Therefore, I'll let you read them there. :)

April 21, 2013
271. The sun glistening off the water
272. Warm sunlight on my eyelids
273. Frozen puddles in the backyard, sunlight sending thousands of glittering reflections of light
274. I don't have to dress up today since I'm in toddlers/nursery (thankful 'cause I haven't shaved!)
275. Little boy saying "Woo-hoo!" to the news his parents will be here soon
276. Little girls with long, beautiful blonde hair
277. Watching dirt bike racing with my family (on tv)
278. Bull riding- it's awesome
279. Cowboys haha oh yes
280. Chocolate chip cookies made by Kaity :)
281. Choosing to get up and do something rather than take a nap (Defeating laziness!)
282. The internet is funky sometimes and won't load instructional work out videos (because I'm still lazy haha)
283. Finding 52 Lists challenge. I'm 15 weeks behind, but these look really fun to do. :)
284. Jess H. and I got the highest scores for memorizing verses. Jay then said, "10 points for Gryffindor!" Jess and I replied in sync, "Ravenclaw!" It was so awesome!
285. Acting totally mature with Tori JK! We are so immature sometimes haha
286. Tori and I scattering each other's prayer cards so that we can get the spot we want for ourselves. And stealing the other person's. It was all very funny. We were so mature. lol NOT! But it was fun :)

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      I notice I am incredibly behind, but I'm trying to catch up :) Funny story about looking back at this day as I wrote it in my journal. I numbered 284 as 214 and proceeded to write 215, 216,a nd so on until 330. Today I caught the mistake and renumbered them all. Number 300, or more correctly 370, is about reaching 300 things I'm thankful for. It's quite funny. But alas, I'm not quite there in sharing with you all. We'll get there sometime ;)

I'm a Ravenclaw!, Chatting With Sisters, and Cold, Beautiful Bike Rides

      Well, this was a day of me looking up a whole bunch of stuff dealing with Ravenclaws. Yep, the Harry Potter house for intellectuals, aka nerds. I pride myself in being a Ravenclaw. No, I'm not always the smartest person. Honestly, I'm more book smart than street smart though. The big reason that screams "Ravenclaw!" is that I love to learn. Seriously, I get thrills from it. Just talking about science makes my blood tingle. And my normal go to activities involve reading books, looking up literary techniques, and reading encyclopedias or dictionaries (yes I have done both, though not all the way through or very often). Occasionally I'll watch a TV series like Merlin or Sherlock. Ok, those are the only TV series I've seen. Yep. I do watch movies with my family, but I don't watch TV. Ever really. The previously mentioned TV series I borrowed DVDs or hunted them down on youtube when they were up (Merlin has since been taken down).
      I love history and English literature. I hate math, but to compensate for that downfall I should let you know that it is my goal to learn to enjoy math while I am homeschooled. So yes, I am a nerd. Even amongst the nerds of a school, I am a nerd. Before leaving the public school systems, everyone figured I would be their Val Victorian. At the time, that was the last thing I wanted because you have to make a speech. Since then, I have given my first speech... to four hundred people. Yah, crazy! I enjoyed it though and didn't get nervous at all. Funny.
      Anyways, the point is that though I may not have all the terms memorized of things or the biggest vocabulary (note the usage of the word things haha), I am a Ravenclaw. Or a Gryffindor. But that's a really long story with a lot of reasons behind it. Just know that if I wasn't placed in Ravenclaw, I'd be in Gryffindor. To give you an idea of a bit of me, my sister says I'm a mixture of Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger. Not a part and part but whole and whole mixture.
      Besides my Ravenclaw obsession today, my sisters each ended up in my room at some point and one on one we talked about really random things. Then later in the evening, we all went to McDonalds for ice cream, despite it being freezing cold (we wore gloves and scarves!). The bike ride was beautiful, and I do believe the cold heightened the beauty of the outdoors. :)

April 20, 2013
240. Snow on the ground and all water frozen
241. French toast and Greek yogurt flavored with honey and strawberry
242. Laundry
243. After most snow has melted, the grass lays green as ever, robins hop around in the backyard, and glistening white snow hugs the tree bases and fence sides.
244. Eating cinnamon tortillas with my family
245. Knowing I'm a Ravenclaw, but if I had to be placed somewhere else it would be Gryffindor.
246. My scores for each house are as follows:
             Ravenclaw- 92
             Gryffindor- 85
             Hufflepuff- 74
             Slytherin- 57
247. Being an extrovert and introvert
248. Harry Potter's influence on culture (the positive influences)
249. I enjoy history :)
250. Routine homework assignments: classes I always know what is expected of me
251. Science textbooks to cuddle up with and study for upcoming tests :) (and yes, this has been a very long ongoing joy of mine. I like to say it's the biggest proof of being a Ravenclaw)
252. Chores like doing the dishes and laundry
253. A sister that wants to help me with chores (Carris)
254. My younger sister, Carris, wearing a pretty, white, and flowy blouse
255. Kaitlyn coming to give me a hug
256. Kaity lying on my bed, chatting with me
257. Spinning the globe to see where we would live (Kaity and me)
258. Question game with Kaity in what we want to do in the future
259. The biggest $1 ice cream cone. It was easily 6 inches! My sister, my quirky little sister, Carris, ordered this at McDonalds. haha
260. Outdoor smell of leaves burning in the cold air
261. Frequent snow drifting in the air
262. Living in a world with alien-like beauty
263. Wearing my USA scarf
264. Church bells ringing
265. Cold, cold bike rides
266. Rosy red cheeks
267. The bright white moon high in the air against a brilliant blue sky
268. The colorful sunset: a bright orange and dark purple
269. Carris wanting to borrow my cassette tape iPod touch case. She is so hipster! haha
270. Finding part two of Urban Renewal in the newspaper (it's a series about what Fenton used to be and how it was destroyed and what it will be)

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      I seem to have forgotten to include something in this list. During our bike ride, I was riding along and bang a few feet to my right a rabbit began hopping away. It nearly gave me a heart attack suddenly seeing a flash of fur. Carris and I laughed long and hard about it. :) It's a great memory now, but I guess it won't be in my little journal. :( Maybe I'll add it later as forgotten thanksgivings, the ones I didn't write down but meant to (there are a lot more, though not as cool as this one).

Recognizing What I Have, Living Healthy, and One Great Big Happy Family

      The day before this was awful, but this day was wonderfully light and happy. I wrote basically all I would write here in the list. I'll let the list talk for what happened in the day and an update on how making a list of a thousand gifts is impacting me. :)

April 19, 2013
223. Delicious, full breakfast :) (eggs, bacon, and pear)
224. Running the whole distance. True, it was just one street, but there were many times I felt like quitting and didn't. It's just the first day of working out/ running.
225. Healthy, delicious lunch
226. Wearing a new, pretty dress I haven't worn before
227. True Star health- a really good, free program!
228. Clean shaven legs rubbing together
229. Searching all over the kitchen for the little popcorn bowls (which were hidden across three different areas!) :)
230. Singing Mary Poppins songs with Kaity
231. Laughing at the scare I had walking into my room to find Dad in there talking on his phone (I might have screamed haha)
232. Berry smoothies
233. Hugging Carris and her hugging me :)
234. Comfy clothes
235. Soft hugs (with Mama)
236. Cracking ice as it hits cold water
237. Memories of when I was a little girl and Dad and I would compete with who loves who more. It always began with "I love you to the moon and back" and then "the sun and back" "the stars and back" and "this much!" (with my arms held out wide as could be. My dad would then put his hands back to back and say it was infinity. "I love you more than infinity." My brother and I both would participate in this. Oh how I love my dad! and childhood memories :)
238. Realizing through this journal that life is so full of happy little memories. All the things I dream of having: a quaint lifestyle, quirky and fun things I do- I have that, it's just a matter of seeing it and embracing it as my life. It's the bike rides to McDonalds for ice cream, the walks to the park, the shrieking of laughter on the tire swing with one of my best friends. It's singing songs with my siblings, hugs, purposefully working on building good relationships. Oh, yes, I have indeed acquired that life I dream of when I think of a good book and a cup of tea. I have only to find joy in each moment by being thankful. I will (and have) have my mess ups, but all the other moments in between are wonderful. (even if I don't drink as much tea as I would like to ;)
239. Stealing m&ms to eat with popcorn during a movie (we watched Mirror Mirror as a family)

Oh Weather, More Groceries, and Dinner Out (Oh, and One Tiny Weensy Major Mess Up)

      The most exciting moment of today was taking a bike ride, and right when we got home, the hard winds started blowing. Seconds after I got up the stairs into my room the storm hit. Great gusts of wind sending the rain in crazy directions, whirling around in spirals all over the place. It was beautiful to view from my window, but I'm so glad we missed it in our bike ride, though rather narrowly! The rest of the day went well. My mom went grocery shopping and brought home all sorts of yummy, healthy foods.
       I also had a break through with my reluctance to help Kaity. Almost every time I'm asked to help Kaity I dread it a bit. Most of the time I never think of helping when not asked, but I have in the past a few times. Then there are times where I know someone needs to step in, and I don't want to be that person. Only thing is, sometimes I'm the only person that can step into the middle of a fight and start helping Kaity. It's hard, really, really hard, to get involved when I don't want to, when a fight is happening. Most of the times I ignore it, but this morning God kept saying "You are the only one that can help this right now, so get up and go do it. Building relationships is more important than an extra half hour of sleep." So what could I do but get up.
       I didn't want to. Oh no. I wanted to ignore it all and sleep. You see, I had no idea how in the world I would handle Kaity when she's screaming and mad and grumpy at everyone. I totally had to trust God that he would help me respond in a Christ-like manner. In the end, all smoothed over, though I did mess up a few times by yelling at my mom (I was upset that she was yelling, though that's no excuse. I felt awful about it after).
       Later that day, when the kids got home, things went downhill fast! My mom was at conferences, which meant we were in charge of Kaity. The quick version of the story is that Kaity didn't want to do her homework and no amount of coaxing or promises could get her to leave the TV. I quickly became frustrated and angry. I let it out, it all out. Oh it was so awful! I wondered where was that patience I had had earlier in the morning! I couldn't hold myself in. And then after I gave up on her, more correctly properly removed myself from the situation, I heard Carris back talk Mom (later when Mom had gotten home). All those times she's done it have upset me, and I let them build up and that day let it loose when Mom left. Arg, it was bad.
         When Mom came home she left the house with Kaity to have the girl work on her homework away from everyone else. After apologizing to Carris (I apologized to Kaity too), Dad took the four of us to dinner. That whole evening I just felt like killing whoever talked to me (yah, it was bad). Eventually I calmed down and enjoyed dinner a bit. :) Especially the display of my incredibly dorky dad. I think the part I was most upset about the day was that I couldn't control a situation, but I think I've learned to let go and let God control it. I can't do anymore than respond in a Christ-like way. I can't blow up like I did. I need to have patience and wait for the other person to calm down, and I need to just keep responding in love even when someone else is blowing up or seriously ticking me off. So today I learned there are times to get involved and times to stay out of it.

April 18, 2013
208. Just catching the warm, breezy weather before a storm, a really big storm
209. Went for a bike ride in nice weather. I realized I better soak up all the good weather now before its blistering hot and over 100 degrees
210. The sound of crazy strong wind blowing in a storm
211. Being focused on homework
212. Getting over the hatred of doing something and doing it because I know I need to. Once I do that I can attack the situation with the right attitude. It works miracles, seriously. Lately I have been slowly getting myself to help with Kaity even when I don't want to or more, when I'm not asked. This morning she and Mom were fighting about her getting ready. All I wanted to do was stay out of it, despite knowing I could be of assistance. When I did get my butt out of bed and help, everything instantly smoothed over and proceeded to finish up quickly. How is it that I'm good at something I hate doing? Lately, I've been learning to come with the right attitude and to come. The rest I leave up to God, and honestly, I need His help with the attitude too. haha I'm just so thankful to be doing/ behaving right in at least one relationship in my life all because I've taken to heart what God wants of me.
213. Seeing the change (a positive one) in my relationship with Kaity.
214. Celery with peanut butter
215. Mom coming home with all sorts of yummy food (she got hummus and almonds and chai tea!)
216. Really quick storms. One minute dark and strong winds, pounding rain, rolling thunder, and lightening: five (or ten) minutes later and there are bright skies, soaring birds, and light clouds, and no rain. so cool.
217. Flickering lights due to storm (probably wires shaking)
218. Cute pictures drawn by Carris
219. Dinner at Pizza Hut with Dad, Kagen, and Carris
220. Pizza Hut breadsticks in marinara sauce
221. An embarrassingly dorky dad (haha)
222. Diet Pepsi

Pleasant School Days

     A pleasant school day can just be a normal one with the window open and a walk. Seriously, that's all it takes to turn a normal day into a pleasant day. :) I love to hear the sounds of outdoors even more than music sometimes (though I do need me some classical music). Today wasn't much other than homework, a walk, and church. Yet, today was lovely. My mom and I went for a quick walk that left my muscles burning. I say it was quick because we walked fast to get all around town and back before having to pick Kaity up. It was crazy. haha. Funny quote by my mom, "Speed walk without looking like your speed walking." Oh it was great to get outside. It was a very windy, chilly day, but it was perfect. We also had youth group. It went well, as usual. During small groups we all split off in groups of 2-3 to pray, and I really liked that. :)

April 17, 2013
199. The sound of water rushing out of a gutter
200. Bedroom windows cracked open to let in a small breeze
201. Itchy sweaters
202. Getting homework assignments back with 100% correct :)
203. Muscles burning during a work out
204. Kaity's hair flopping in the wind
205. Little moles scattered on my arms
206. The smell of strawberry-banana yogurt
207. Praying in small groups of 2 or 3

Family Walks to the Park and Shelving Books- Two Wonderful Things

     I love when the weather is perfect for a family walk. :) This day I didn't get a whole lot of homework done, but I did make it down to the library to shadow Meri for a few hours. I do believe I will love this job! I enjoyed putting the books back and checking them in. Someday I'll have the whole library memorized, but for now I've been running through a mental map of the library. It's pretty small so the biggest concern is where different types of books go. I've learned so much more about the library in one day than I found out in ten years! I can't wait to know where everything goes. :)
      The rest of the day consisted of a family walk to our wooden park. I got to watch the sunset (or at least the beginning of it) through the woods surrounding the park. It was absolutely beautiful! We played tag, went on the muddy tire swing, and I wrote down many small things I was thankful for. Bonus points for remembering to bring my journal! The only downside of the whole trip is that we didn't get to go on the boardwalk. I was really looking forward to the sound of the river rushing over rocks and trees. So before we left I ran down to the river and stood there for a second just listening to the beautiful sounds of nature. I'm sure if people were watching they would have thought me crazy to just stand there with a smile on my face listening.  I had to run back in order to catch my family before they left!
      It was wonderful to have those few moments of just being alone with nature. I smile even now thinking about it (and it's been a week!). One thing I really need to do is just stop and listen every now and then. I forget how much it rejuvenates me. The only other thing I wanted to mention is that my relationship with Kaity has been budding lately. It's so great to feel a difference. The only change is me, and it's been wonderful seeing the results. :)

April 16, 2013
177. Shown around the library by Meri
178. Beautiful green grass and blue skies
179. Working with Kaity on her homework
180. Sitting on the couch with Kagen and Kaitlyn. Three siblings all cozy together. :)
181. Running out to meet Dad at his car
182. "Storming" Dad's car. Kaity made a real good "attack" by jumping in the car and closing all the doors. ;)
183. Walking home from the library all alone, just like it'll be with work
184. Feeling a difference on my side of a sibling relationship as I try to respond better. It's going well. So far. :)
185. Birds on a wire
186. Three sisters on a tire swing, one brother pushing
187. Tag with the whole family
188. The sunset through a thickly wooded area, all the trees yet to grow their leaves
189. A sister full of energy- Carris
190. A daughter calling for her father to push her on the tire swing and he gladly comes and does it. (Kaity and Dad)
191. A mother watching as her kids grow up to be 'too old' to play on the playscape
192. Pink skies
193. Window reflections of a family of six taking a walk
194. A little sister really wanting to do safety patrol- Kaity
195. Running to the river to hear its beautiful sounds before we had to leave the park
196. Walking with my arm around my mom because she's cold :)
197. Linking arms with Carris and Mom.
198. The first flowers to bloom, dainty little purple flowers scattered in our front yard :)

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       Yes I realize I am a whole week behind! It is my goal to at least play catch up only every other day or three not seven. However, since this blog is mostly for my own use right now I will be posting all last seven days individually as planned. So sorry for inconvenience.

Perfect Spring Weather and Trips Around Town

     Today was wonderfully warm, though a bit windy. I managed to get out twice! My mom and I went for a long walk around town to stretch our legs, and later I went for a bike ride with my youngest sister and my dad. I also found out today my official start day for work. :) All in all it was a wonderful day, though I wish I could have gotten more schoolwork done. I really enjoyed this evening as I helped Kaity get all her homework done quickly before we went for a bike ride to McDonalds for ice cream. :) The weather was nearly perfect for such a cool dessert. The only down side of this evening was the spotting of the first mosquitos (the worst part of Michigan). :( We raced home and happily went to bed (there was only one little spout before bedtime). Other than that not much happened. I do, however, resolve to get a lot of schoolwork done tomorrow!

April 15, 2013
161. Finally finding out when I start work! It's coming up so soon!
162. Walks on warm days
163. A nice, strong breeze that's not quite cold but tugs at my hair. It feels good :)
164. Clearing out my email box (yikes!)
165. Bike rides on warm evenings in the spring
166. Quick trips to McDonalds for ice cream
167. Ice cream with my chatty sister, Kaity
168. Kaitlyn finishing her homework with smiles all around
169. Going to bed in shorts, finally!
170. Seeing five cranes fly across the stormy sky while eating our ice cream as the first drops of rain drizzle down
171. Passing messages with my sister via sticky notes on doors
172. Seeing my sisters embrace lovingly (and dramatically) before they go to bed :)
173. Really messy buns ;)
174. A nearly clean room due to doing laundry
175. A drying rack that we finally acquired, and I used it for the first time today :)
176. A father that is strict and reminds me of his authority and my place to obey and honor him. He genuinely cares that I am doing the right thing. All of this I am reminded of when he came to me firmly saying that he might ground me if I can't be more responsible with my homework and that I need to send my letters out. At first I was upset. This was because I knew I was in the wrong and should be doing what he's commanding I do. Once he left I realized I should be thankful, no, I am genuinely thankful to have a dad like him, especially when he cracks down on me about responsibility. Tomorrow I will get lots of homework done!

70th Birthdays, A Great Church Family, and Beautiful Nights

     I have a really great church family. I know I've remarked how thankful I am to have a youth group focused on following God, but truly I must note that my whole church is really focused on Him. Speaking of my church, our senior pastor, Pastor Jack, just had his 70th birthday. And yes, we made a fairly big deal out of it. Everyone sang Happy Birthday, and they brought in a cake with candles on it. :) After church we all had chocolate cake, and let me tell you, that frosting was amazing! I might have had two pieces of cake. haha! We ended up standing around talking until well after 1pm: church ended at 12. When we finally left, my dad, Kagen, and I went to a Chinese buffet. That was possibly not so cool since I didn't feel like eating a lot. Even now my stomach twinges at the idea of so much food. Upon returning home I promptly went to my bed and napped for three or four hours. I got up and had dinner, and the night proceeded on.
      As night fell, I noticed quite unexpectedly the chirping of birds. Off I went to explore our backyard for the source of the sound. (I have been known to go in our backyard and just stand there smiling as I take in God's beautiful creation.) This particular night all was beautiful, albeit a bit chilly. The robins made all sorts of beautiful song as they chattered away. In the distance was the rumbling of a train on the railways and over the cold air came the loud, clear horn. Yes, it was a beautiful night, even without seeing the moon. I came in all smiles and read the newspaper, both sides up while lounging in a big comfy chair. I felt quite cool. All I was missing was a pipe. ;) Once I finally got to bed, I realized I hadn't written anything down I had been thankful for and quickly turned on my reading lamp in order to scratch down the pleasant list. Here it is: :)

April 14, 2013
151. A church that is really focused on God and following Him
152. Being old enough to be invited to Ladies Events at church. I'm quite looking forward to an upcoming one :)
153. Really good frosting
154. Naps :)
155. All the different notes a robin sings in his song in the evening. It was beautiful to step into the backyard into a world of song. I couldn't help but be drawn out there when I heard a few birds singing. Despite the cold and wind (bringing in a storm likely), the birds gave a wonderful concert that left me smiling
156. Cold, windy nights bringing in a storm (likely)
157. The distant sound of a train rattling on the railways as it makes its way to some far away place, blowing its horn loud and clear across the small town
158. Reading the newspaper. Holding both sides up while sitting in a big, comfy chair is quite fun
159. Pictures of old downtowns and town gatherings
160. Clean, soft hair

Constant Changing Weather and Waiting Out the Storm Inside Others To See the Rainbow at the End

     Saturday had every kind of weather one can imagine. One minute it was chilly but nice, the next snowing (in April!), then it was warm and sunny with white fluffy clouds, and finally it turned dark and rain began again. Yah, that's Michigan for you. No two hours were the same when I looked outside. My mother even remarked that every time she and my sister, Kaity, came outside of a store, the weather was different. They were shopping all day at tons of stores: that's a lot of weather changes. Nonetheless, the events inside were fairly peaceful. We lounged around for the most part, watched a movie or two, snacked, and watched my brother and Dad play StarCraft. My dad's mom from Kentucky called, and let me tell you that Grandma Carol can talk for forever. :) It was nice hearing her voice again, though, and we chatted about numerous things. Other than that, the day was fairly boring. We did end the day with Oreos, and Oreos always make a day better. ;) They are especially wonderful when sharing them with one's youngest sister over fun little conversations. The moment was furthered rendered special since she had moments before been telling me to leave. I waited out her anger and what do you know, but she lightened up a bit and soon we were laughing and smiling. :)
      One of the biggest things I kept thinking about while writing this list of things I find to be thankful for each day is that I was hardly ever (read never) thankful when things were stirring in the Griffith household. In fact, I hated it when a fire started raging. My youngest sister is know to be a bit crabby sometimes and Saturday was no exception when she came back from shopping all day long. I kept searching for something to be thankful for so I wouldn't get really mad at her. I found that in between her grumps she was incredibly joyful, all smiles, and it was so sweet that I was able to focus on that. :) As for all the other things I found, here's the list for Saturday:

April 13, 2013
129. Long conversations with distant grandmothers
130. Snow drifting and dancing in the air
131. Bright blue patches of sky between dark rain clouds (or snow clouds, I guess)
132. A world finally getting some color in it after days of dreary, rainy days. The colors: a fairly bright green of the recently watered grass, red of the robins searching for food, white of the snow, bright blue of the sky, dark grey of the snow clouds, and brown of the woods.
133. The beautiful oddity of green grass of the Spring with bright white of dancing snowflakes.
134. I suppose now I'm thankful for the week of rain God sent us; it livened everything up, bringing life. I just hope it doesn't rain as much anymore
135. Bright outdoors
136. Swooping birds
137. Drifting clouds
138. Strong winds that shake trees
139. Beautiful poetry
140. Quotes. Just came across this one:
             "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

by Mary Oliver          

141. White puffy clouds against bright blue skies :)

142. Writing with a pen. No, it's better called recording life with a pen. I'm recording my in the small things, in the events, in the people, in the feelings, in the everyday life through giving thanks and recording it in this journal. I'm thankful for writing with a pen. :)

143. Seeing Kaity's happy little moments in between her grumpy ones. Even on evenings where she's being incredibly grumpy, verging on unbearable, she has moments of happiness.

144. Fun, little conversations with Kaity over Oreos and milk

145. Carris' creature concoction with a bunny slipper, flowers, and who knows what else. (it was cute)

146. Kaitlyn's pink rosy cheeks, just like a baby doll's.

147. Mom combing my hair

148. For clear commandments in the Bible that relate to issues like homosexuality and abortion. Both are wrong according to the Bible and I will stand by God's Word.

149. Penguin PJs ;)

150. Cluttered desks

A Fun Day of Shopping, Pizza, and Movies

     Well, Friday was a wonderful Friday. I must admit waking up close to noon was not so pleasant, but the rest of the day was exactly what Fridays should be. :) After returning library books in Fenton (Linden Library isn't open on Fridays!), my mom and I hit a few stores. We visited FARR (I think that's what it's called) where everything is pretty cheap, and they have some pretty nifty stuff. Next we stopped by Goodwill where I found a drying rack. Finally! We have been in need of one too long! Upon returning home, I immediately wrote my mission trip letter for funding, which I still haven't finished. Later that day, my sisters left for an all-nighter and my parents went on a really long date. Yah! That meant Kagen and I had a pretty quiet house to ourselves. Read: relaxation! With permission and funding from our parents, we ordered pizza and sat down to watch not one, but two movies. We went to bed pretty late, but it was a great evening. I must admit I wrote my list of things I am thankful for after the day finished, but I still like every single thing on there. :)

April 12, 2013
118. No pain when I wore and took off my retainer after not wearing it for months
119. Laughter with my sister, Kaitlyn, for she wore two socks on one foot so she could have an extra one, just in case. haha!
120. Deep dish, pineapple-bacon pizza. yum!
121. Finishing things, more correctly, actually getting around to doing them, just doing them
122. Coffee house music
123. 50c books (or was it a quarter)
124. Days so long, I can hardly remember the beginning
125. Dinner and 2 movies with my brother. Had the house to ourselves: sisters at all night and parents on long date. We ordered pizza (which he failed to speak up that he doesn't like deep dish and he wouldn't say what he prefers over pineapple-bacon, just that he does prefer something else. The pizza we ordered was deep dish pineapple bacon. My brother loves me too much, wouldn't let me get anything other than what I liked.) We watched The Incredible Hulk and then Inception
126. Listening to my iPod with my mom in the car and singing along with the songs
127. High heels ;)
128. Perfect purses, staple purses, in really good condition at Goodwill

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      This list does not follow my day chronologically at all. I do prefer when I write things down as the day goes, but all the same yesterday went tremendously well. Off I go now to enjoy the rest of today. :)

There's Only So Long One Can Stray From the Path Before They Lose It All Together

     When I do my devotions daily, I tend to live more fully for God. Makes sense: constant reminders and direction tend to keep us on the right path. Sometimes though, I drift away from my devotions for a few days. Then those few days become a week or so. And time keeps lengthening. In the first few days I'll feel a bit of guilt, always meaning to get around to them. Then the guilt is slowly forgotten, but there's still a miserable feeling that I usually shrug off as having to do with something else. Deep down, though, I know that miserable feeling is because I'm not actively seeking God but rather drifting away.
     Likewise, once I slow down on giving thanks and being content, I become discontent and miserable. Giving thanks brings joy, as does living for God. Thursday was a day that God brought me back, thankfully. I had been writing off my miserableness as being from the rain (which is indeed very miserable), but there was another reason I was miserable: I hadn't done devotions in almost a week. Awful, right! In the past I wouldn't have thought much about it, but this time, I wasn't going down without a fight. Due to an upcoming missions trip, we have to do devotions everyday. After a few weeks, it really makes a difference to take even one day off.
     I've learned that there are times where we have to choose what we want or what God wants for us. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we always want what God wants for us, but often we let ourselves follow different directions. Doing devotions daily, responding in love to my siblings every time, honoring and obeying my parents. Those are all things that I struggle with daily. It's hard to make the right choice every time, but it really makes a difference to be trying or not trying.
     This day I reflected on a lot of things. Funny enough, I wrote for number 109, "Reflections, they're beautiful". At the time I was talking about reflections on water, but life reflections are beautiful too. Often times the results of them are far more beautiful if you let them change you.

April 11, 2013
105. A flooded back yard
106. Rings forming on the water with every drop of water off the trees into the massive puddle (aka a mini pond) in our backyard
107. Big, black birds hunting for worms in the backyard. Suddenly, the light catches their feathers around their necks and a beautiful blue appears before my eyes
108. A great, big strawberry. The first bite always reminds me of summer
109. Reflections, they're beautiful
110. A father that reprimands me and points out my flaws and points me towards God's Word
111. A mother that keeps trudging, even when she feels like quitting because it's so hard
112. For the awful feeling when I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, when I've ignored God too long, or when I'm slipping back into my old way of life or haven't been actively seeking God. That awful, sick feeling brings me back to seeking God because there is only ever one things to do: read the Bible. Life has so much more meaning when I seek God's will and to live a life in obedience and honor of Him, sometimes I forget, I wander down a path of not doing my devotions and then not caring and getting depressed. Getting back in God's Word is always what I know I need to do. It's nice coming back, and I have to thank God for the Holy Spirit which provides that awful, guilty feeling when I start to stray.
113. The Holy Spirit
114. Reminder that this journal is keeping track of what I first offer thanks to God. I pray I keep that the focus and keep giving God the thanks (for everything)
115. My mom's modest whisper, "Oops, scuse me. That might smell." after her quiet, airy fart
116. Laughter with my mom (see above incident)
117. I have put my life in the hands of a beautiful God. His power and the awe I have in the face of his creation. I serve a mighty God.

Where Does The Focus Lay?

     Wednesday was yet another rainy, dreary day for the most part. As days continue to be so miserable, it becomes harder and harder to find things to give thanks for. Despite waking up early, there were only a few things I took note of this day. Most occurred before lunch, after lunch I was tired and unfocused. However, the day was a fairly pleasant day, just not one that is described well. There weren't many specifics to the day, it just went by normally. It wasn't really a bad day at all, quite pleasant really. This day was hard to focus on being thankful and joyful in everything, but the end of the day was great. Youth group went really well. Okay, it went the same as usual, but today it was really obvious that we are all growing. As a whole, our youth group really wants to follow God. It's pretty amazing. That night kind of brought my focus back. Thankful for that. :) As for the whole day, here's the small list of things I could pinpoint to be thankful for.

April 10, 2013
100. Watching the sky turn from dark to light in the morning. :)
101. Watching hail bounce off the deck into the air two feet high!
102. Noticing the grass is getting greener, must be all the rain ;)
103. Knowing exactly what to eat for lunch, it's a great feeling and leads to a great lunch :)
104. A youth group that is striving to be more Godly, to follow the Spirit, and dig in deep in the Bible

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       I'm apparently not very good at doing daily posts. I would still like to write about each day separately though and will try my best to keep up.

A Day So Empty and Yet So Full!

 

     Tuesday not much happened. It started raining halfway through the day and rained all through the night (on and off of course). I finally came to terms that it's going to rain all week long. My window has more raindrops on it than I can count. Despite nothing happening yesterday, I found the day was quite full of little things that I truly am thankful for. :)

April 9, 2013
73. Pools of water reflecting the trees, the many trees of the small wood
74. Showers to wake me up and feel clean
75. Open windows that bring in a bit of light
76. Black and white pictures
77. Ability to make things with my hands that express something about me
78. Eraser whales ;)
79. My go to comfy zip up jacket
80. Basic PB&Js (J being jam not jelly)
81. Renew button for when I don't feel like going out to return a book since it's raining
82. Raindrops on the window
83. A dull, nearly colorless world outside. Grey skies, forlorn trees with leaves yet to grow, a single evergreen tree and one red robin are the only color in the pictures. Dead grass, a white house, leftover foliage decaying from last fall. Winter is slowly leaving, but spring has not yet come forth in her full glory. One day, the rose bush below my window will have little buds that will blossom into beautiful roses, but right now all is sleeping. The rain is bringing new life to the picture outside my window, and so I will let it rain and let the days be miserable. For soon May will bring flowers. For now I will be content with the morning song of the chirping birds and the afternoon music of rain, constant rain though always changing its pattern. One moment fast and heavy, the next light and barely noticeable. It will rain all week, my mother said. I have now come to accept that. In a way this lonely, dreary world is beautiful, despite the rain.
84. Dreaming and making plans for my blog
85. Improper table manners, oh my we are a funny family
86. Watercolor skies with all shades of blue, white, and grey
87. The "nice jacket" joke with my dad (we both have the same fuzzy guy jacket. It was too cheap and too comfy for me to pass it up)
88. Spartan cheese sticks. So good! Like mini blocks of cheese or long cheese cubes.
89. Chocolate chips :)
90. The sounds of many different kinds of birds chirping
91. Mist, shrouding the bare trees far off
92. Quick walks (a little past the driveway and back) due to sudden downpours of rain
93. A breath of fresh air, of air right after it rains. The smell of wet earth and life.
94. Learning to let little kids do it their war, especially when writing a story with very little time to do it. (I'm tutoring my sister, Kaitlyn, and it's very hard not to point out a better way to phrase something)
95. Lightening and mighty thunder, it's much more exciting than constant rain and drizzle ;)
96. Being wanted, no, needed to keep the peace. So thankful for my ability to work with Kaity on her schoolwork, despite the strain it puts on my patience.
97. Finally understanding the need to pace. A burning itch swells up, pushing you to move in order to pass time and so one paces back and forth as they wait, wait for someone to be done or wait for an idea to come. For some time I paced, until my dad said it was affecting the atmosphere of the room. Kaity could feel my impatience, and so I needed to calm down. Nonetheless, I learned what it was like to need to pace. It was always something I wondered at in books and movies. haha ;)
98. The sound of rain, it's really quite pleasant. :)
99. Getting paid to "tutor" (help) Kaity with her homework. Everyone knows all I have to do is sit there and occasionally encourage her to keep going. Of course, it usually becomes a grueling two or three hour event. Got $20 for it. Now this is something I can do (certainly over babysitting her)

Rainy, Dreary Days aka Reasons to Wear PJs All Day!

     If anyone knows me, they know I don't like rainy days very much. They make me feel so tired and dreary and nothing ever gets done. How am I suppose to find things to be thankful for on days like that? It was cloudy and glum all day long. The only good thing, is that my mom totally understands the need to wear PJs all day long. :) Yes being a homeschooler, that is an option everyday, but typically I get up a dressed and ready for the day (helps make the day more productive). On days like yesterday though, absolutely nothing gets done. Not even a good book could interest me, trust me I tried. Not having any interest in reading is a bad sign you guys.
     So what did I do all day? Well, the day began by waking up at 12 in the afternoon. Yah, seriously. I usually wake with natural daylight if I forget to set my alarm, but no, there was no daylight Monday. Thus the reasoning for a late awakening. The day then proceeded with only breakfast, no lunch, and lots of movies and YouTube. Like I said, nothing every gets done on dreary days. I ended up lying down for an hour because I wasn't feeling good. And then, I went to bed early after drinking some hot cocoa. Yah, real productive... not! I did have a small portion of dinner with my family, but other than that the day was slow and lonely and dreary, much like the weather! Thunderstorms are better than dreary, rainy days. My goodness! Well, despite all that, I found a few things to be thankful for.

April 8, 2013
68. Having the right to feel tires and wear P.J.s all day due to the weather being rainy and dreary
69. Watching movies
70. Hot chocolate
71. My really big, super cozy wool blanket
72. Going to bed early so I can dream for longer before I drift to sleep

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      Yep, lazy day. But finally I am caught up on sharing my lists of what I'm thankful for! Hopefully I can stay caught up! I also have plans for random posts other than these.