Rest & Remembrance

Lately, life has been pretty good. Work is going well. I've been doing some serious de-cluttering and redecorating in my bedroom. Christmas shopping hasn't quite started yet, but I've been brainstorming some gift ideas. Even though life has been good to me lately I've started to feel very busy and in need of a serious day of rest. Thankfully that is exactly what today had in store.

It's Remembrance Day here in Canada so I started the day off at church to honour our veterans and show my thanks for the thousands of people who are still sacrificing things in their own lives so that the rest of us are free to make choices and experience life. 

After church I spent the afternoon visiting and drinking tea. And while the rest of the family had fishcakes for supper I enjoyed chicken strips & french fries. I tackled one more decluttering project and added some books that I don't consider to be favourites and didn't hold any sentimental value to the 'Donate' pile then declared the rest of the evening was for relaxing. 

I took a long, hot shower got into my pyjamas and am happily sipping on hot chocolate while I catch up on blog reading and Criminal Minds. And I already feel better. 

I hate getting so far behind with blogging but I'm still working on cementing a daily routine. I also haven't invested in a new laptop yet so I'm relying on my much less portable desktop for most of my computer use. I know I'm going to buy another Mac but I've had a hard time decided how much internal storage I need. I think I've finally determined that the best option (and the smartest) is to buy the standard MacBook Pro along with an external hard drive to store all of my photos.

Now that I've updated you all on the not so fascinating aspects of my life I'm off to put pen to paper for some old fashion journaling time before snuggling under the covers for what will hopefully be a good nights sleep.

40 Days of Life

I was going to post about my weekend at home but then I realized I need to recap and reflect on Lent! I loved the idea of doing a Lenten Journal but I missed the boat on ordering one online and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in stores. So I got out my markers and felt tip pens and got crafting! 

First I found a weekly template that was meant to be used for to-do lists on Pinterest. I used this one and you can find the free PDF download here. I did some quick math and printed out enough sheets for the entire season of Lent plus extra to keep going. Then I hole punched the whole works and put them into a duo-tang. 

My goal was to take 10-15 minutes each day and fill in the circle for the day. I didn't give myself any rules about what could and could not fill a circle. Some days it was full of random doodles, others a verse, sometimes a single word and sometimes a combination of everything. I used the "Notes" section of the page to add in any extra prayer requests for that week or praises as the week went on. 

I'll be honest and admit there were nights I missed, but I made a point to catch up the next day. I never let myself get more than two days behind and for the most part I stayed on top of things. Overall it was a positive and productive experience. So much so that I am going to continue with it, it really doesn't take that much time and I really like having that quick snapshot of each day. 

Honestly it's hard for me to believe that 40 days are over. It's one of those things that seemed so long at the beginning but in retrospect went by fast. It has become part of my routine though and I am so happy that I was able to fully establish a meaningful and positive new habit during Lent!

Brave

Happy New Year Friends! I am can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for me and my blog. 

I'm starting off 2014 with another edition of The Girl Between the Lines link up with Hayley & Lauren. The prompt for this week is the question, "What is one thing you will do differently in 2014? Why do you want to change that one thing?" 

My answer to this question is simple. I want to be brave. 

It sounds simple enough. But even just typing the word brave increases my anxiety. Being brave means taking risks, stepping outside my comfort zone, trying new things, saying yes, not making excuses. Being brave is everything I am not. I like to play safe, I know the boundaries of my comfort zone, I'm happy with routines and sometimes declining a social event because "I have family stuff" really means "I would rather watch DVDs in my sweat pants because I don't really know anyone else who will be there." 

I've been thinking a lot about Texas over the past week and the more I think about it the more I am able to talk myself into the idea of going. And if it the camp in Texas doesn't work out, I'm opening up more and more to taking the plunge and moving somewhere exciting for a few months or a year. And the more I open up to it the more panicked I get, because moving is stressful. And there are so many logistical things to figure out, working visas, making enough money to live in wherever place plus pay student loans and other bills, making new friends, not getting murdered...

In the middle of it all I also remind myself that not so long ago an 18 year old me went off to university hundreds of miles away from home without knowing anybody. And that worked out pretty well. I have no idea why 23 (almost 24) year old me can't seem to make a similar leap of faith. If I did it then I can do it now. 

In the past five years my faith in God has only gotten stronger, I'm certainly more mature than I was at 18, in some ways I'm a lot more comfortable in my own skin, I have a much better understand of what I want in life and yet I'm so scared to make any major changes. Which when I think about it is a waste. I fully admit to being  unhappy with my single-ness. If life was going according to my plan at this point in my life I would either be a newly wed with plans to become a mom very soon or I would at least be in a very serious/committed relationship and making plans to spend the rest of our lives together. That's not where I am though. I'm single. And being single means that right now in this moment, in this big picture my only real responsibility is myself. When I make decisions I don't have to consider how it will affect my husband, I don't have to turn down opportunities because I want my children to go to a certain school or be near their grandparents. I am one. 

So in 2014 I'm going to be brave. I'm going to choose adventure, step outside my comfort zone and use this season of singleness to its fullest potential because someday (hopefully) I'll be a wife and mother with responsibilities that don't allow me to pick up and move to Texas if I so desire. And I'll be happy then, but I also need to be truly happy now. And in order for me to be happy I need to make some changes and all of those changes require me to be brave. 

Show Love

Long before I started blogging myself I read blogs so I know that this time of year it's pretty common for bloggers to choose a word for the upcoming year. Focus on that word and make it a theme for the 12 months ahead. I knew it was something I wanted to do in 2014 and I've been thinking about which word to choose for over a month now. I narrowed it down to five and carefully considered each one before making a decision. 

Humility 

Grace

Joy

Love

Peace

Humility. For awhile this was the word I was stuck on, but then I also wanted to be more confident. That led me down a very confusing train of thought about balancing being confident and being humble. For a few days I thought that I'd made a decision and in 2014 I would spend time discerning how to improve my humility and also improve my confidence. Then I thought about it some more and decided that challenge may be a little advanced so I moved on to the next option.

Grace. It's part of my blog name, it's one of my favourite words, I would totally use it as a name for if it wasn't for every third kid being named Grace/Gracie. It seemed like a good choice, until it seemed too easy. Not challenging enough. Still one of my favourite words and concepts but I wasn't sure how to really make it into a theme for the whole year.

Joy. Focus on finding joy in the little things, being joyful in all situations and circumstances. It's pretty straight forward. I wasn't feeling it though, it seemed like a word I had to consider because it "make sense" but when I really thought about it I couldn't get myself excited about making it my word.

Love. There aren't many things in this world that are better than love. God's love, romantic love, love between friends, family, loving the little things. Lots of options for love. But again, it just didn't feel right. Somehow declaring that my word of the year would be Love felt flat and boring. 

Peace. I'm a worrier by nature. Anxiety is something I am extremely familiar with. I could use some more peace in my life. I couldn't sell myself on it though, like love, it felt like a word I was only considering because it I should be, so I moved on.

Which left me with all the words on my list crossed off for one reason or another. So I looked at all the words I had originally written down and tried to find a commonality between everything. After a few minutes something jumped out at me and I knew almost instantly without having to spend days mulling it over that my 'word' for 2014 would be a (short) phrase.

What I like about this phrase is that it's short enough to be easily remembered, vague enough that it can apply to all situations and yet specific enough that there's no questions about the focus. Show Love. I think it does a good job of encompassing a lot of the aspects I was trying to focus on with each of the words I was originally considering. I can show love by bringing joy to others, by being gracious, by being peaceful, praising God, by being humble, there are so many ways to show love. To myself, God, friends, strangers, the planet. I'm really looking forward to challenging myself to showing love over the next twelve months. 

How will you 'Show Love' in 2014? I'd love to know what word you chose for this year!

Things To Do

I already blogged about my Blog Goals for 2014 back here and shared my tips for how to set goals on Hayley's blog over here, which means it's now time to share some more general goals for the upcoming year. I'm not much for "New Years Resolutions". I work better with short term goals but I do have a few projects that I want to work on all year long.

The first one is The Empty Shelf Challenge since my bookshelf is already pretty full and I do occasionally read ebooks I decided to make an empty shelf on Goodreads to keep track of my 2014 reading. I'm hoping to read at least one book a month. It doesn't sound like a lot, and it's not but I want to be realistic and lately my reading has been lacking. I either race through a book in under a day or it takes me six months to get through two chapters, there's no happy medium. I definitely want to read more than 12 books this year but making it so I read at least one a month should motivate me to read at a steadier pace. If you're curious about what I'm reading you can check out my empty shelf here.

I also want to journal everyday. I'm going to take a Smash Book sort of approach to this and rather than worry about filling pages with daily ramblings I want to focus on recording prayers, quick thoughts and little momentos from each day. I've kept a prayer journal before and I've kept a classic journal/diary before I want to some how combine the two and make a point to write or doodle or glue in something every day this year.

Complete a Photo A Day Challenge. I've decided to follow through with the Delight and Be 365 Challenge. I've only recently gotten involved with the Delight group but I am so excited about it and I plan on blogging more about it in the new year!

I try and set some sort of goal that falls under each category of physical, mental, spiritual, social and emotional but this year there seems to be a lot of overlap about which category my goals would fall under. So I will just say that I'm going to make a conscious effort to read books from all different genres  and journal about Jesus, Vanilla Coke and finding a job in a somewhat equal balance.

I'm linking up again this month  this year with Erica to share my goals and blog about my successes (and failures). 

I know that as the year goes on I'll have smaller goals and already I know that some of them will be to try new recipes, complete a Bible study and save money. They don't feel like "New Years Resolutions" to me though so I will save them for when they're more relevant.

Blogging Goals 2014

Continue posting 20-25 times a month. Everyone has a different "schedule" blogging MWF, M-F, ect. I've discovered the best method for me is not to commit to blogging specific days but just to posting 20- 25 times during each month. The exception is going to be May-August. If I'm at camp this summer I know I won't be able to post multiple times a week. So during those months my goal will be to post 2-3 times a week.

Sponsor 6-8 Blogs over the year. I sponsored my very first blog this month and had such a great experience working with Hayley that I want to do it again! That being said I definitely do not have any sort of budget for blogging, so spending even $10 a month on advertising is out of the question right now. I figure I can budget to buy some advertising every second month.

New Blog Button. My sad little blog button is just that, sad. I used my very limited photo editing skills to whip it up on PicMonkey but when I compare it to others, well...I need a new one. 

Participate in a Giveaway. I'll be honest, I don't like the idea of "buying" followers and I would much rather have two readers that read my posts, comment regularly and who I have connections with than 10000 followers who just pressed follow because they wanted to win something. But I also want to experience everything in the bloggy world and I know it can be a great way to make connections with other bloggers so I figure there isn't any harm in trying it once! 

Write A Sponsored Review Post. I've signed up for quite a few of the blogging review program sites (I am positive that is not the correct term, but I have no idea what it is) like Influenser and BzzAgent but I haven't been offered any freebies or product reviews yet. I have no plans on turning this into a review blog but again, experience everything, try things at least once!

Reach 50 Followers on GFC & Bloglovin'. This is pretty self explanatory. I'm going to keep writing whether I have 5 or 50 followers but it's nice to have readers and the more the merrier! 

Plan. I invested in a 2014 planner specifically for blogging, now I just need to use it. I want to sit down at the beginning of each week and have a rough idea of what I'm going to blog about each day, which link ups I want to participate in ect. I'm not going to force myself to stick to a really tight schedule as far as posts go but I do want to take some of the "last minute-ness" out of blogging. 

*New Layout. This is a lower priority goal because even though I don't LOVE my current layout like I did in the beginning I don't dislike it, I just would like to have something new. Again though, blogging budget is pretty much non-existent so we'll see.

What are your blogging goals this year? Anything I missed?!

If you're curious about how I went about setting these goals head on over to Hayley's blog A Beautiful Exchange where I'm guest posting today!

'Twas The Day After Christmas

I had such a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. God is good. 

Christmas Eve we had supper at my aunt & uncle's before church then we went to church where my cousin's baby was baptized. Afterwards we all went back to my aunt & uncle's and just enjoyed each other's company. Watching the excitement of my three year old cousin A. was the absolute best. We had given baby M. a present for her baptism and didn't want A. to feel left out so we brought a little something for her too. (And by little something I mean a single Christmas ornament that we found at Wal-Mart for under $5.) When she found out she was allowed to open it then she carefully but enthusiastically tore off the pink paper and squealed with delight and yelled "A decoration!" then she ran around the room to show everyone her new "decornation" and simultaneously offering up a "sank you". I also loved watching her in church as she proudly stood up on the pew, hymn book in hand and sang her heart out. I am so thankful for her and pray with every fibre of my being someday it's my little girl keeping everyone entertained Christmas.

Christmas Day we opened presents and I was seriously blessed. My biggest surprise present was a Magic Bullet Deluxe set with a bunch of different blades and attachments for the cups! I haven't gotten a change to try it out yet but I see A LOT of smoothies in my future. And homemade salsa. And iced coffee. I may even attempt to recreate Second Cup's Frozen Hot Chocolate! 

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I also got an amazing gift from my friend who I met through church back when I was in university. We send each other a Christmas package and I was so excited when I opened this on Christmas morning. At this point you all know how much I love words of affirmation and I love how much thought went into this gift. I'm using a lot of willpower not to read all those little notes right away but I really do want to save them and read one each day in 2014. I've also been thinking about how I need to get back into journalling with a real pen & paper. The next time I'm in town I'm going to pick up a notebook and for each day of 2014 I will glue in the quote I pick from the jar each day and scribble down a few words about the day, draw a few doodles, and by the end of the year I'll have an amazing scrapbook. I think I even have a blank Smash* Book that might be perfect for this project. That's a post for another time though...back to Christmas!

I got some great new clothes including this hoodie that has been on my wish list for months! 

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I also got some new make up, a supply of body washes & lotions to last well into the new year and a few gift cards to spend once things quiet down a little. 

And of course the kitties got some new toys too. 

We enjoyed Christmas dinner with my Dad's side of the family and then spent the evening with my mom's side. I can't put into words how thankful I am to have so many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. And that family really is a priority. I can't imagine growing up without cousins and aunts and grandparents, but I know that for so many it's hard to imagine growing up with that kind of extended family. Mine certainly isn't perfect and there was the usual arguments about how many chairs we need and the uncles probably had one too many glasses of homemade wine but that's life. 

I'm off to spend the rest of the day enjoying the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives marathon on the Food Network making homemade pizzas for supper and visiting with a family friend this evening. I hope everyone is enjoying time with family & friends!