I really love personal stories. As you probably know, I’ve been on a medical memoir reading binge for the last few months. Memoirs in general really scratch my “personal story” itch, of course, because memoirs ARE a personal story! But inside these medical memoirs, my favorite parts are the patient stories. I love to read…
I don’t know if this is a universal experience, but it’s pretty consistent for me: when I am feeling really mad or really sad/discouraged, at that moment, I find myself thinking that I will feel this way forever. Like, “I will never calm down from this. I will never feel ok.” I feel pretty silly…
I can’t think of a whole lotta things I’ve bought that I’ve regretted. This is probably because I tend to think very long and hard before I buy something (sometimes too long and hard!) If you had asked me this about ten years ago, I might have said, “this house”. We sold and bought at…
I don’t know if “doubt” is the right word, because I feel nearly 100% sure about this. So, there is a company I recently heard of, called Black Oxygen Organics. It’s an MLM-style company, and basically, they sell glorified dirt. Their products are made from “fulvic acid-rich mud”, found somewhere in Canada. They say, among…
This is probably because of the family I grew up in, but I generally think that I am capable of almost anything I put my mind to. I don’t think my parents said this in so many words, but it was sort of in the air in my childhood home; this idea that with effort,…
When I first read this prompt, I took it to be asking, “What feeds your soul?” Then I wondered if it was instead referring to actual food; but since soul food is a particular Southern cuisine, I discarded that idea. So, what feeds my soul? faith encouragement from other Christians reminders of truth from fellow…
I do not even know where to go with this prompt; the options are endless! For starters, my inspiration for what? And even if I choose a “what”, then there are multiple sources of inspiration for that “what”. Maybe I’ll start with something more specific: what’s a source of my inspiration for blogging? The dictionary…
Hmm. How about a bulleted list? some typos/grammar issues (like when people write “viola” instead of “voila”. It makes the sentence so funny! Or when a sign says something like: We sell “fresh” food. Taking the quotation marks literally makes the sign humorous.) really bad singing really bad instrumental music (like some of those middle…
There are exceptions, of course. But generally speaking, I read a devotional out loud to Mr. FG (New Morning Mercies). I do not pay attention that well when someone reads to me, so it works better if I’m the reader. Then one of us prays (we alternate days). After that, we either go for a…
Helping people. No matter which personality profile I use (Enneagram, Myers-Briggs, etc.), I always end up in a category that likes to be a helper. Sometimes my personality type is actually called “The Helper”. I’m not a take-charge-and-lead type of person (too much responsibility!) but I do get a lot of joy out of being…
As you all know, I’m working on getting my nursing degree, with the thought that I’d probably like to work in the NICU, labor and delivery, or mother and baby care. However! I want to stay open about what type of nursing I will do. I know that it can be hard to find openings…
I wish that I could be good at being spontaneous. I am really, really, really not good at spontaneity. And this is even more true if the spontaneity is coming at me from someone else. Sometimes, even when it seems like I’m being spontaneous, I’m actually not. For instance, sometimes I “spontaneously” suggest an after-dinner…
I feel frustrated when people take things too personally by putting the worst construction on someone else’s words or actions. If you’ve barely seen someone all day, you could say, “Wow, that person ignored me all day.” Or you could think, “Wow, this person was so busy, I barely saw them today.” ____ In another…
Sometimes these prompts are not enough to warrant a whole post, so here’s a roundup of some short ones! How my career makes me feel Gonna go with blogging here: it makes me feel happy. The fact that I can sit here in my house and type things that make a difference in other people’s…
Ha, this is a funny prompt because…I AM going back to school for something. I’m currently working on the last four prerequisites for the nursing program, which I hope to join in two years, which is also when Zoe graduates from high school. When my kids were younger, I often said, “Well, if I had…
Positivity is probably the most prominent of my personality traits. Why would I say that this is a prominent trait? Well, a lot of people have told me that it’s something they appreciate about me; that being around me or reading my writing or watching a video of me talking sort of makes them feel…
Well, one thing that comes to mind is this: the idea that zodiac signs have anything to do with people’s personalities. This just really does not make sense to me, particularly because I see plenty of people who share signs but who are extremely different types of people. For instance, my older brother’s birthday is…
My grandma, my dad’s mom. She died suddenly in late 2001 after an aneurysm, so it’s been almost 20 years now. I know that by now, the odds of her being gone would be really high, but in 2001, none of us expected to lose her. What really sucks about the timing of her death…
A previous prompt asked for three, which I listed here. So I guess I should think of a fourth now! Hmm. This is sort of related to the first one in my previous list, but it’s more general: I get annoyed when things take way longer than they need to. This could happen because people…
The last person you hugged Mr. FG, before he left for work this morning. And before that, Sonia and Zoe, last night before they went to bed. I hug the three of them every day! The last picture you took On my phone, a photo of my desk. On my actual camera, a photo of…
I love to learn things! So I can think of multiple answers to this prompt. An obvious one: I am going back to school. For the next four semesters, I’m doing pre-requisites, and after that, I plan to join the nursing program. That’s definitely a mind-expanding thing to do in my 40s. Another: I’m casually…
Catfish. When we were at the food pantry on Saturday, they sent home two 2-pound bags of frozen catfish fillets with us. I’d never had catfish before, but on Monday night, I breaded and fried one bag into fish sticks, using a Cook’s Country recipe. And despite the fact that I: patted the fish dry…
I actually saw this prompt on Twitter but I thought it would make a fun post. So. 1. Babysitter I did a lot of babysitting when I was a teenager, and this was probably my first paid work. I babysat for my neighbor, for families at church, for Bible studies, and so on. 2. In-Ground…
homemade yeast bread This is my culinary specialty, and since homemade yeast baking isn’t a universal skill, people tend to remember that it’s something I do. being cheerful It’s the tagline of my main blog, so I’m definitely known for this online. But people who know me in real life would also describe me this…
This is not the most recent time, but it is what came to mind for this prompt. A little while back (before Covid, so it was a while ago!), Mr. FG and I stopped at Walmart to buy something. (Which is a little odd. I almost never go to Walmart because I just don’t like…
I was listening to the How to Money podcast the other day, and the hosts were talking about how planning a trip is really half the fun of a trip. I could NOT disagree more. I really, really hate planning trips. And this is especially true for a trip that requires a lot of decisions….
Like a lot of other people in Christian circles, I’ve been listening to the current podcast called The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. I listen with great interest because while I didn’t go to Mars Hill, I am a church person, and I knew about Mars Hill while it still existed. Anyway. Several times…
Sometime in the last year, I heard a sermon on forgiveness from Tim Keller. There were lots of helpful nuggets in there, but there’s one in particular that has stuck with me: To have a more merciful attitude toward someone who hurt you, remember that the character flaw that hurt you is often going to…
When I was in my mid-20s, in the space between Lisey’s birth and Sonia’s birth, I had my tonsils out. They’d been causing problems since my childhood, but much to my parents’ chagrin, I never qualified for the military’s health care system’s tonsil removal standards. (Obviously, routine tonsil removal practice has its flaws. But I…
I don’t think this would be draining to everyone in the world, but it is definitely draining for me: being around someone who is easily offended and reads things in a negative light, rather than giving giving the benefit of the doubt. If I had a personality that was less in tune with other people’s…
