Yesterday, Zoe and a friend wanted to go see a movie that I was not at all interested in seeing. It was showing in a shopping center, so I bought them their tickets and then took myself over to Starbucks, where I got an iced tea. (They are both 15, in case you are worried…
A way that I relaxed recently
A rapid-fire prompt catchup
Y’all, I apologize for all the issues on this blog recently. I think they are all resolved now (new posts are showing up, comments are showing up, etc). If there are any more issues, though, please do let me know so I can get it fixed. Because of the blog problems, I got really behind…
The last party I attended
I don’t know if it was exactly a party, unless a whole weekend can be a party! I’m getting a new sister-in-law this month, and I spent the past few days in New Hampshire with the bridal party for a bachelorette weekend. (I promise it was extremely calm..we’re all Christians and we are all married…
3 things I want to do before the end of the year
I’m sure I can think of more than three. But I will try to stick to the prompt. paint my bedroom I have had this on my to-do list for eons and I have never gotten around to it. But I am so freaking sick of the mid-2000s burgundy and I am dying for a…
Something you don’t understand
Here’s one that came to mind: creating an echo chamber around yourself by excluding everyone who disagrees with you. I don’t know if this often happens in real life but it definitely does online. And I see this behavior on both sides of multiple issues; it does not seem like a left/right or conservative/liberal thing….
My superpower
I mean, I don’t think I have anything that technically qualifies as a superpower. And neither do you, probably! I do joke about something being my superpower, though, and I think I might have written about it here before: my internal compass. For whatever reason, I have always had a pretty accurate internal compass, even…
Something that is annoying to me
Oh man. I have mixed feelings about these types of prompts; writing about something irritating or annoying can shine a spotlight on that irritation and make me think even more about how irritating it is! Plus, focusing on irritations makes me focus on things outside of my control, which is not super helpful. But I’ll…
Something I did that made me feel smart
When I stroll through my memories to think about times that I felt smart, there’s a common theme. I have felt the most smart when I have been faced with something cerebrally challenging or confusing, but I hung in there and kept working at it until I figured it out. This often happens when I’m…
My favorite thing to cook
Well. My favorite thing to “cook” doesn’t really involved cooking at all; I much prefer to bake. And if I am going to bake, I like to bake bread. This is less about the process than it is about the end result, though! I’ve written before about how I cook because I like to eat,…
My number one priority
If I were to answer this in a big, overarching sort of way, I would say that my priority is to honor God in the way that I live my life. As I’ve been thinking about personality types and the varying ways God has designed people, I’ve thought about how much that impacts how we…
Something that always makes me smile
What always makes me smile? Multiple things come to mind! Also: my default is to be smiling, so it’s not like the bar for making me smile is super high. Nevertheless, here are a few notable things that make me smile. kittens Is it possible to see a kitten and keep a solemn face? I…
A behavior I need to let go
The first thing I thought of was this: my tendency to mentally get out of the moment and into the future. Is that a behavior? It’s kind of more a mental habit, but I guess it could fall under the “behavior” heading. Anyway, the reason this is a problem is that I end up borrowing…
Something life would be sad without
My goodness, there are so many things that come to mind because there are so many things that bring joy to life in this world. How would I choose just one? To name just a few: sunshine season changes (prevents boredom!) hugs from people I love books God’s unconditional love heavy cream chocolate the internet…
Something about me that others don’t know
Geez. I’m not sure what to say here! If you’ve read all of my posts here and on my main blog, there’s an awful lot you do know about me. Let’s see. I think most people that meet me don’t have any idea that I am a classically trained pianist. (though you all already know…
My biggest time waster
I know I’ve shared this on my main blog, but maybe not here: my worst time-waster is Instagram. I never waste time on Pinterest (I hardly use it!) Facebook isn’t at all addicting (I basically only have pages and groups related to my blog, so there’s almost no feed for me to see.) Twitter isn’t…
A book I’m currently reading
Right now, I’m working through The Coddling of the American Mind. I cannot remember where I heard about this book! Maybe on a podcast? In a blog post? I wish I remembered. Anyway, I got it from the library, and I’m about a quarter of the way through. Basically, the book’s premise is that we,…
Something someone did for me recently
This is indirectly for me, so I’m not quite following the prompt. You know how it goes…my blog, my rules. 😉 So, you know Sonia and I got vaccinated through the vet hospital already, right? That left Mr. FG and Lisey to still get shots (Zoe is too young). They both are eligible now due…
Something that makes me feel brave
As I understand it, feeling brave is not the same as feeling unafraid. I think bravery is in play when you do something despite feeling afraid! Something that helps me feel brave: pep talks and encouragement from people that I trust. In some areas of life, it is very, very easy for me to sink…
A sentence that describes the last week
Last week was good, but busy. And that is why there were no posts here all of last week! I spent an afternoon with a friend. I helped my pregnant cousin two afternoons. I did a whole bunch of biology homework (I got a little out of my routine, so I ended up doing two…
The last time I felt appreciated
The first thing that popped into my head was that I have felt appreciated by a number of blog readers recently. I’ve gotten some emails and comments from people letting me know that my main blog has been a source of encouragement and calm and cheer in their lives. I feel a combo of honored…
A time when I was lucky
Technically, I don’t believe in luck; I believe the unexpected good things that happen to me are blessings from God. But in casual language, I do use that word. For instance, I might say, “Oooh, lucky me!” but I don’t literally believe that things happen to me because of luck. So! Here’s an unexpected good…
A place where I’d love to live
Obviously, I haven’t been all over the world, so my range of thoughts here is somewhat limited. But if I had to choose, based on where I’ve traveled, I think I’d like to live in California, north of LA, somewhere between Santa Barbara and Monterey. I like warm weather and sunshine, and California definitely checks…
The last time I got angry
I don’t know if this is precisely the last time, but I’m going to roll with it. A few weeks back, I read several news articles in a single week that followed the same pattern: a man had sexually harassed/abused women and/or girls underneath him (in an organization of some type), and when his behavior…
I should have spoken up when…
I saw this prompt and found myself making a wry smile because I could basically say, “I should have spoken up All of the Times in My Whole Life.” Speaking up is not at all my forte, which is no surprise to you if you have read this blog for any length of time. I…
I’m saving up for
We have a lot of savings accounts, and most of them get automatic monthly deposits. Long-ish Term: our retirement nursing school for me higher education for our kids future replacement vehicles Shorter Term: annual auto insurance auto maintenance/repairs Christmas future vacations future home repairs/maintenance self-employment taxes Basically, my goal in saving is to prepare for…
How I provide value every day
This is sort of a funny prompt; I don’t think I’ve really thought about my life quite like this. I mean, it’s sort of a common concept in business; it’s normal to think about how you might provide value to your employer, or about how your small business might provide value to a customer. I…
Something that gives me energy
Sunshine! I feel so much more sluggish when the weather is rainy and/or cloudy. But give me a sunny day and I feel perkier both physically and mentally. Sun is good any time of day, but my very favorite sunshine is the early morning variety. I like mornings anyway, because they feel so full of…
I’m looking forward to…
…spring break! Sonia and I just finished our second big biology exam, and now we get a week off from biology and our biology lab. I’m doing well in it, but this class is legit a lot of work, and it will be nice to have a breather. Will I possibly use some of the…
The last time I was frustrated at work
I’m going to edit this and replace “work” with “school”. I mean, I’m self-employed and I am the only employee. I can only get so frustrated! But school has offered up some frustrations. The most recent one: Last chapter, we had something like 5 practice assignments due. They all had the same due-date (Saturday) and…
My favorite thing about my neighborhood
Probably my favorite thing about my neighborhood is that it does not have a bunch of rules. Prior to this, we lived in a townhome community where you had to ask permission to even plant a shrub in your front border. I understand the need to control the community more tightly when the houses all…