September/October Life 2017

Personal Life// At the beginning of September I moved to a new apartment which was a majorly positive change. I'm struggling a little to get out of the work-place bubble. I really miss being involved in Guiding but the closest units are about 45 minutes away and that's just not practical in winter. A coworker/friend is determined to set me up with someone, the first guy hasn't worked out because he moved out west for work (much like most males in my dating age bracket). Now she has someone else in mind so stay tuned for those developments. 

Hobbies// I've managed to catch up as far as mid-June in my Project Life album so that's coming along. It's been awhile since I've done any pretty planning in my planner but I did buy a new sketch book and have done a few pages of what many would consider 'art journalling'. Books have been gathering dust in favour of re-watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix. I usually read about one book a month but could (and should!) be reading more.

Career// Some days I feel like it's starting to come together. Other days that statement couldn't be farther from the truth. 

Spirituality// I still really like the idea of Bible Journalling but haven't done a darn thing to make that a reality. I'm still journalling and keeping a gratitude journal with an acceptable level of consistency. Recently I discovered a really great podcast that I've been trying to listen to and reflect on at least every second day.  

Health// It's ironic that one of the reasons I'm spending some time blogging this afternoon is because I've somehow acquired a cold and lack motivation to move from my couch. I was in a good rhythm for a while with eating & sleeping & hydrating and then I made a hard left. Now my sleep schedule is inconsistent, I've been eating weird meals and drinking too much coffee and not enough water. 

Goals// I've been doing some research on 'goals' versus 'intentions' and it's really changed my perspective on the whole topic. The difference between setting a goal to practice self care implies that there's a time limit on it and once it's achieved it's done. Having the intention to practice self care implies that it's not just something you do and is done but something you are constantly considering when you're thinking about goals. Moving to a new apartment was definitely a goal because now it's accomplished and it's not something I need to think about again for a while. All that to day I'm doing some reevaluating on what are my goals and what are my intentions. 

I have some drafts kicking around that I'm going to attempt to edit and get published this week. First though I'm going to eat some soup and watch an episode of Grey's before summoning all the motivation to move off the couch. 

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Currently: Catch Up Edition

Since I missed four months of 'Currently' posts it feels fitting to resume that tradition as I dip my toes back into the blogging world. 

Reading... I just finished reading 'The Firelight Girls' and am about to start  The Secrets of Midwives.

Playing... I haven't really been playing much of anything. 

Watching... I re-watched a lot of How I Met Your Mother this summer. Lately I've been watching a lot My 600 lb Life and awaiting the start of a new season of 90 Day Fiance. 

Trying...  To get everything unpacked and organized, finish my Project Life album from the summer and fill in the gaps of the one I've been working on all year. 

Cooking... Summer is always the worst season for cooking, although since we had a lot of kitchen struggles this year I did spend a lot of time there. Lasagna for 60 anyone? 

Eating... Nothing particularly noteworthy, mostly I'm just enjoying eating on my own time and eating things I want to eat. 

Drinking... I drank a lot of dark pop and lime this summer. 

Calling... Still trying to work out paperwork and final pays from the office job I had last winter/spring. It's just as much of a nightmare as it sounds.

Texting... H. & R. and N. 

Pinning... Project Life Freebies, especially printable labels. 

Going... No plans to go anywhere any time soon.

Loving... That the ice cube tray is always full and I no longer share a bathroom with 25 other people. 

Hating... It's back to being dark out at 8:00 p.m. and that makes me sad.

Discovering... I really do know myself better than anyone else. 

Thinking... Right now I'm primarily thinking about lunch. 

Feeling... Peaceful. Content. 

Hoping (for)... A really stellar interview, followed by a job that doesn't end in four months.

Listening (to)... H. got me hooked on Apple Music so I've been re-discovering some old favourites I had forgotten about and happily singing along to some recent country hits. 

Celebrating... There's a lot of fall birthdays in my life. 

Smelling... Nothing in this moment, but I was just thinking I should see what candles are stashed in my candle drawer. 

Ordering... No ordering for this gal. There is absolutely nothing I need. 

Thankful for... Endings & Beginnings.

Considering... How to make blogging part of my routine again without making it feel like a chore. 

Starting... To blog again! 

Finishing... Project Life Album for the summer! 

Blogtember 2015: Farewell Coffee Date

Today, I am breathing a huge sigh of relief as I wave goodbye to Blogtember 2015. My goal was to participate in 20 of the 30 prompts and I surpassed my goal, once I hit publish on this post I will have participated in 23 of the Blogtember prompts and blogged 26 out of 30 days in September.

I met a lot of talented, creative and lovely bloggers through Blogtember and found some blogs that I'll continue to follow. I'm also suffering from serious blogger burnout. I think what contributed to blogger burn out the most was that about once a week I found myself writing a post for a prompt that I didn't feel overly passionate about writing. I was able to skip some of the prompts because I had only committed to 20 in the first place but I think a smarter choice would have been to really think about the prompts farther in advance and figure out which ones I really wanted to write. And then if that wasn't enough I can create some of my own prompts to get to the number of posts I want to publish. 

September was a bit of a roller coaster. I felt like I took on a lot and had a lot on my mind. I still have a lot on my mind and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. I feel like I'm about to enter a season of change and I have a lot of beginnings and endings happening all at once. September was a month were I felt a lot of anxiety about a lot of of different things, which was exhausting. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with that better in October but I know that I definitely need to make some adjustments. October is going to be a big month for goals, but I'm saving that for tomorrow. Today I'm giving myself a high five for Blogtember and then I'm going to take a break! 

Blogtember Challenge!

Tomorrow is the first day of another blog challenge hosted by Jenni at Story of My Life! I participated in her Blog Every Day in May Challenge...up until I went off to camp and fell off the face of the blogging world. This time around it's a Monday-Friday challenge and is the perfect way to stay motivated and keep up the blog.

Here's a preview of the topics I'll (hopefully) be blogging about this month and the "rules" of the challenge. 

Here are the rules:

1. There really aren't any rules. If you miss a day, you can make it up or skip it. The blog police will not come knocking.

2. I will be including a linkup option at the bottom of my post each day, so you are welcome to leave your links here for others to peruse, as well. 

3. You can still post other things every day, too. I plan to do normal outfit posts, life posts, around-Austin posts, and sponsor posts just like usual.

4. I'd seriously love you if you also include the "Blogtember" button (below) either on your sidebar or at the end of your posts, but again, the blog police will not come knocking. My main goal here is to get us all back to the basics of blogging, not to gain a million new readers (though I wouldn't mind that). 

5. Here are the topics. You can be as creative and awesome or as boring and bland as you like with these. Take 'em and run with it. Use creative post titles. Interpret each "prompt" however you like. There's no wrong way to do it. Have fun.

Tuesday, Sept. 3: Describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.

Wednesday, September 4: If you could take three months off from your current life and do anything in the world, what would you do? (bonus points for fun photos from Pinterest, but don't forget to cite the source!)

Thursday, September 5: Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered. 

Friday, September 6: A story about a time you were very afraid.

Monday, September 9:  short personality test and respond to your results. (at the end, find the detailed profile of your personality account - click "click to view" under "You" and "self awareness and personal growth." You can even google your type and find more info on it!)

Tuesday, September 10: Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn.

Wednesday, September 11: Share links to your favorite online shops, preferably with a few photos of your favorite items in each shop.

Thursday, September 12: Discuss ways that blogging or social media has changed you.

Friday, September 13: A self portrait

Monday, September 16: Write a public love letter to someone in your life. (It doesn't necessarily need to be romantic.)

Tuesday, September 17: A memory you would love to relive.

Wednesday, September 18: Only photos

Thursday, September 19: Creative writing day: write a (very short) fictional story that starts with this sentence: "To say I was dreading the dinner party would be the understatement of the century."

The story does not necessarily need to have a conclusion - you can leave your readers wishing for more!

Friday, September 20: React to this term: comfort. 

Monday, September 23: A "life lately" post. What you're up to, how you're feeling, how you're doing on your goals, etc. Bonus points for great photos!

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

Wednesday, September 25: Write about a time you screwed up - a mistake you made. 

Thursday, September 26: Go to a coffee shop. Order a favorite drink. Write about what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Or write about anything you'd like! Bonus points for including a photo from the coffee shop. (I recommend downloadingOmmwriter and bringing headphones along!) *if you can't make it to a coffee shop, at least leave your usual space and write someplace new.

Friday, September 27: An anonymous letter to your Facebook friends. Be as snarky as you'd like. (but don't include people's real names.) 

Monday, September 30: Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it's special.