Monday's Matter #3

As always let's start with some of my recent favourite reads. Renee from Mulling Over My Morning Coffee wrote this short devotional about how things don't always go according to our plan. Elissa wrote about her choice to take a nap. And Callie shared her thoughts about old school blogging. 

I'm on my third Word of the Week and I love switching it up every week. My original plan was to wait until I had made it through at least four words but I'm only starting the third week and I'm already itching to share. So far I've used Abide & Flow and this week I'm working on Spark. 

Even though this is the first Valentine's Day in two years that I've been single I am the most excited about celebrating. Mostly because I get to celebrate with twenty 5-8 year olds! I found the cutest fun patches online and ordered one for each of them (and the other leaders). My plan is to make little tags to serve as Valentines and they will be adorable. Plus, mailing Valentine's Day cards because that's a fun thing to do too. Maybe it's a consumer holiday but for someone who's love language (aside from chips & dip) involves words of affirmation Valentine's is my jam. 

For as long as I can remember I've been labeled as 'shy'. And it's only in the last few years that I've kind of embraced that label. BBC published this article about Celebrating Shyness  and it completely resonated with me. I think it's worth a read regardless of whether you consider yourself shy or not. I think it's hard for people who aren't shy to understand shy doesn't mean rude or standoffish. And I also think it's important to designate the difference between being shy and having seriously severe social anxiety. 

It also seems fitting to share my favourite Obama article, Obama After Dark. I happened to read this article while I was at camp and I related to so much of it, especially the no good decisions part. There are days when selling plain white t-shirts in size medium on a beach in Hawaii sounds like a viable career choice. 

I'm still in the waiting phase of things unfolding with the job search. And realistically it will probably be the end of January before I have a solid plan, but at least the end is (hopefully) in sight. With that in mind my quote of the week is from the amazing Julia Child. I assume she was talking about food, but I think the sentiment is transferable, especially after last week's Patience Make Pancakes revelation. 

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Epiphany Friday Favourites

It's been an odd start to the year, but I think things are (finally) headed in a good direction!

{one}

I'm going to be a little 'cryptic blogger' right now because even though I've tentatively started wandering down another path I'm not sure how it will all play out. I do know that even if it's not at all what I had in mind six months ago it feels right. And yesterday I came across this verse which kind of gave me goosebumps.

{two}

I bought Savor last year but it was March by the time it arrived and even though I would occasionally read a few pages here and there I never made a habit of it. This year I got to start from the beginning on January 1st and it's become one of my favourite parts of the day. 

{three}

Over the course of the last week I've lost track of how many eagles I've seen. During my drive home from H. & R. on Monday I spotted at least six (maybe two more but they also might have been seagulls) and yesterday I saw another one while I was driving. Eagles aren't necessarily a rare sighting around here, but close to a dozen in one week is out of the ordinary. Since one of my intentions for 2017 was to listen to the universe I'm going to go ahead and be encouraged that eagle sightings are often interpreted as a sign of new beginnings, stamina and courage. 

{four}

Monday R. & I went on an adventure and checked out a local bird sanctuary that I sort of knew existed but have never actually investigated. Turns out there are all kinds of hiking trails, friendly chickadees that will eat from your hand and so many squirrels. At one point I was standing on the trail and there were eight squirrels surrounding me. It was magical. I felt like a Disney princess.

{five}

I got the last of my 2016 photos printed yesterday so I'm excited to spend the weekend adding the final few pages to my Project Life album and getting started on 2017. I love that I've found a memory keeping system that works for me. When I counted a few weeks ago I had close to 100 completed pages! Do you know how many pages I have completed for 2015? None. I have one large Smashbook  from the summer but that's it. I don't think I'll ever be a retro-active scrapbooker but I'm happy that I have a system moving forward!

Monday's Matter #2

My weekend looked a lot like everyone else weekend. I finished up the last of my Christmas shopping and had lunch with mom. I spent Saturday night working on a service project for church and on Sunday we put up the Christmas tree and went to bed at a reasonable time. Since none of that is particularly noteworthy I'm going to go ahead and continue with the Monday's Matter tradition.

1. Let's start off with some of my favourite blog posts lately. Rachel wrote about The Importance of Feeding People Well and had me nodding along in agreement as I read. Alyssa shared how she made A Simpler 2016 and really motivated me to start thinking about what changes I'm going to make in 2017. Louise wrote about Comparing Apples to Oranges and it was a reminder that one of my worst habits lately has been comparing what's happening with me to what's happening with everyone else.

2. I'm working on creating my 52x52 List for 2017 but for whatever reason it's not nearly as easy as it was last year. I have a grand total of 10 things on my list right now...so that's going to need some work. I think I'm struggling with it this year because everything seems so unknown. I don't know where I'll be or any other details of the upcoming year. Last year I at least had an outline. This year I've got nothing.

3. Every so often Stuff Mom Never Told You does an episode that really shifts my mind into over drive. Lately they've done two in particular that have left me with lots to think about like this one on Adoption. And this one about working in the non-profit world was one part comforting (it's not just my experience!) and one part frustrating (why is this okay?). 

4. I've been really into grilled cheese lately. I'm not entirely sure where this new found love came from because typically I am totally over grilled cheese and sick of eating them all time time. This is a true testament for the food situation at camp this past summer, it's like I have a quota of grilled cheese per year and I'm just trying to make up for lost time. 

5. I started the process of setting up my Happy Planner for 2017 and it turns out it's more of a challenge than I was anticipating. I love the idea of vertical layout, but I'm not sold yet. I'm hoping it's a learning curve and once I get adjusted I'll be planning like the best of them. That's an exaggeration, there's no way I'm going to start spending $20/week on planner sticker kits. 

6. This is the quote I'm working on keeping in my mind this week:

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It's a busy (this is going to me my non-word for 2017, I've started cringing every time I see it written)  full week with a lot of family and friends and commitments. And I'm going to work on not letting all of that over shadow the reason we're celebrating. Doing my best to be patient with others (and myself), showing love and being gentle in the days to come. 

Four on Friday the Fourth

{one}
I have been eating some super tasty meals this week.

I kicked off March by eating waffles and bacon (and coffee) for breakfast. I tried a frozen butter chicken pizza which was surprisingly delicious for a frozen pizza. I celebrated 100 Days Until Camp Day with a traditional leadership training meal of perogies and a spring roll*. And balanced it all out with a stir fry full of veggies on multiple occasions this week.

*Spring rolls & perogies is ridiculous meal that happened once because the director and I were the only ones at camp for the first few days so we picked up a few groceries. When we got back to camp we realized we had bought food but not any meals. And thus, spring rolls and perogies were born. And now it's an annual event. 

{two}

I hadn't been keeping track of days before camp so when the '100 days until camp' post went out earlier this week I was taken by surprise. Since that means there's somewhere between 80-90 days before my first day of camp. Which seems impossible, but is also exciting. 

{three}

N. gave me a cat and quote of the day calendar for Christmas and on Wednesday the quote read "You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.".  Coincidently Becky Higgins shared the exact same quote which just solidified my instinct to proclaim it as my mantra for the summer. And maybe life.

{four}

A new Starbucks opened in the general vicinity of me last week but I haven't made an initial visit yet. I'm working overtime all day Sunday so maybe a carmel macchiato will be my reward for an extra day of work. Then again, there's a snowstorm coming our way so it's possible my weekend will be spent eating storm chips and watching Big Brother Canada. 

Linking up here.

Little Celebrations

Hello, Friday! I am happy to see you. It has been a roller coaster of a week around here. Monday & Tuesday I worked half days because of the snowstorm, Monday we were sent home early and on Tuesday the office didn't open until later. Wednesday and Thursday were business as usual and today is mostly business as usual, except for the Valentine's Day pizza party. There also seemed to be a lot of bad news in the air this week so it's definitely a day for celebrating the little things this week. 

{one}

Spinach and salad greens are once again readily available! There was a huge recall a couple of weeks ago and the stores were basically wiped clean of salad ingredients. Now they're back and I've resumed my salad eating ways. Greens, red onion, sunflower seeds, bacon, feta, mushrooms and balsamic = delicious. 

{two}

The days are getting longer! It's still light out at 5:30 p.m. and the sun is starting to rise before 7:30 a.m.. Even if there is 40+ cm of snow on the ground as long as the days are getting brighter and longer it feels like spring could be just around the corner! 

{three}

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I came across this quote on Pinterest and I love the sentiment. I've always been big on the wants versus needs but I like that this quote takes that sentiment a step farther. 

{four}

I finished my first Project Life layout! I decided to start with my birthday since I knew I had a limited amount of photos for that particular event. At first I was really overwhelmed and thought I had made a huge mistake. I just couldn't get it too look cohesive and had a hard time figuring out what size photos I needed to fill all the pockets. I ended up walking away from it because I was so frustrated, a few days later when I came back to it everything clicked. I stopped overthinking and it just came together. I think for a first go I'm happy with how it turned out, I still need to add a little bit of journalling but that's a weekend project. J. is gone to a work thing this weekend so I'm planning on spending a lot of time documenting January! 

{five}

Speaking of J. we will be celebrating Valentine's Day with pizza and garlic fingers, which is exactly the what I requested. If the weather cooperates we'll add skating/snowman building and a visit to the walking trails near his house to the agenda.

Linking up here, here & here.

Blogtember 2015: Wise Words

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The first time I heard this quote I was in a church basement. I was a youth group leader and our group was participating in a two week mission project in our community. I learned a lot and experienced a lot during that time but the thing that stuck with me the most is this quote. "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." Let that sink in for just a minute. It seems to me that a lot of people think that in order to do answer God's call they have to struggle and sacrifice and be unhappy. The reality is that is not the case. Yes, sometimes we struggle and make sacrifices, but God wants us to be happy! He has given each of us unique talents, passions and goals because each of us has a unique plan for each of us that requires the perfect combination of a whole lot of things. When we're following a call it's easy to focus on the struggles and completely lose sight of the big picture. The realized dream and accomplished goal mean more than what we've "missed". 

I often relate this to camp. If given the choice between relaxing on a beach or spending the day at camp, I'd chose camp every time. I don't think I'm missing out on summer. It's okay that camp isn't going to make me a millionaire, the "sacrifice" of living on a budget isn't really a sacrifice when it means I'm working at camp. Doing what makes me happy, what brings me deep gladness is exactly what God has called me to do.

Linking up with Blogtember.

Return to Stuff & Things

* I have become completely obsessed with puzzles. R. and N. introduced me to them this summer. N. always has one on the go at her cottage that everyone works on over the course of the summer. R. typically has one in her classroom that she gets students to work on when they finish their work early and one at home that she works on herself. I don't have great spatial reasoning so I always assumed that puzzles would be super frustrating for me and not at all enjoyable. Turns out I love the organization part of it all, sorting the pieces into colours and edges and finding pieces that fit together and solving the whole thing gives me a huge sense of accomplishment. Plus, turns out puzzles are great brain exercise! 

* Lately I've been watching more movies than usual. Mostly documentaries about K2 and food but I also watched Wild (not as good as the book), What to Expect When You're Expecting (Alright, but kind of dumb, Shopoholic (started strong but never did finish watching). I've also been catching up with the wider world outside of camp, which leads me to the question, am I supposed to find Amy Schumer funny?? 

* One of my unwritten goals for September is to establish a really good bedtime routine. I'm working on decreasing screen time right before sleep and replacing it with journalling and reading. 

* I ordered 160 photo prints from this summer. Last summer I was scrambling to collect photos from other people to supplement my own. This summer I grabbed a few from H. & R. but for the most part I have more than enough to create a Smash/Scrapbook documenting this summer. It seems like a weird thing to be happy about but it thrills me that I've documented the everyday and made steps towards preserving memories. 

* I don't have much else to write about today. I'm passing on today's Blogtember prompt because I don't want to make a mood board from my blog. I love my current layout, I enjoy writing posts and I'm not looking to attract the masses and gain a billion followers. 

I am linking up here & here for Stuff & Things, I've missed this link up over the summer and am excited to be back at it! 

Weekly Friday Favourites

{one}

I started watching Call the Midwife this week and I'm in love. It's been so very long since I stared watching a new show that I loved because I genuinely adored the characters and was interested in the subject. I heard about Call the Midwife a while back but since I've never been able to get into Downton Abbey I didn't think I'd be able to get into Call the Midwife. I was totally wrong and now I have a new show and it makes me so happy. I'm hoping to get my hands on the books as well at some point in the upcoming months. 

{two}

These Paper Mate Felt Tip Pens. These are my favourite pins for journalling because they come in the standard black & blue colours but they're also in some other fun colours for those days when I want to doodle or add some spunk. I've rekindled my love affair with these pens this week since I've treated myself to a new notebook and am going to become much more intentional about journaling. 

(I assure you Paper Mate does not care what I think about their pens, I bought them myself without influence. And I'm definitely not getting a cut of Amazon's profit.)

{three}

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I came across this quote during the week and I think it's a wise and valuable piece of wisdom.

{four}

This sneak peak at the 'Welcome to Camp' cups I'm making for the counsellors are one of my favourite things. I put J. to work and got him to help me fill the plastic cups with a couple camp essentials and a few goods. This afternoon I need to assemble the tags I cut using my Cricut and attach them. 

{five}

Via

I need to devote an entire post to this book. I had high expectations because I've seen so many bloggers rave about it but I was still a little worried I would be disappointed. Obviously I wasn't. I don't think I've ever read a book before this and immediately started putting what I read into practice. Not only is the book my favourite but the Fringe Hours that I am slowly discovering are equally my favourite!

Friday's Here!

I had a really solid week. I'm 98% recovered from being sick and I'm pretty much back into my normal routine. And it feels so great. I'm linking up with Oh Hey, Friday to share five things about my week. A couple of favourites, a comical predicament and some inspiration. 

{one}

Gold. I've never been a lover of gold. I have always preferred silver jewellery and was of the mindset gold stuff made things look tacky not classy. Except I bought a t-shirt at Target a few weeks ago that had some gold in it and I saw a blanket at Winners and some canvas prints with gold writing. I have to admit gold is growing on me.

{two}

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Donuts. I have a specific craving for a vanilla dipped sprinkle donut like the one pictured above. Except that every time I go into Tim Horton's to get one they don't have what I'm looking for. Sure there are sprinkle donuts but the past two weeks they've been heart sprinkles or the rectangle type of sprinkles. And by golly I want round rainbow sprinkles on my donut. I would also like a good cup of black tea along with my sprinkle donut to balance out the sweetness.

{three}

I'm waiting on some prints I ordered from Etsy and I was just matched with my Galentine's Day swap partner from the Blogging Elite. Which means I've got so much fun mail to receive and send in the next few weeks! It makes me so excited. Mail makes me so very happy!

{four}

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This quote. It speaks to me in a big way. I'm a pack rat, a borderline hoarder and have a lot of difficulty getting rid of anything that has any sort of emotional attachment. Whenever I attempt to declutter I always justify keeping things by saying one of two things: "I might need this someday" or "I can't get rid of that because...*insert random memory*". Which, for some things is crazy, I am definitely going to make it a goal to be more intentional and serious about decluttering in the coming months. 

{five}

Thursday we had a potluck at work. I made honey garlic chicken and was pleased with the outcome and nervous about I was going to transport the chicken to work. I put the chicken laying flat on the floor of the passenger side of my car and it made it safely into town without problem. Parking at work is a bit of a nightmare. It's all on street parking and with the snowbanks piled as high as they are it takes some manoeuvring to get close to the curb (snowbank) so that you don't get a mirror taken off by a passing car and also not so close that you get stuck in a snowbank. So I parked...and then I realized I had to get the chicken out.  I was optimistic at first and thought maybe I could squeeze between the snow bank enough to open the passenger door but upon further inspection there was no way that was happening. I knew what I had to do. Somehow I needed to get the chicken across the seats without tipping the foil pan and spilling sauce all over my seats. I think we all know where this story is going...made it safely over the passenger seat...did not make it over the drivers seat. Honey Garlic sauce puddle right in the middle of the driver's seat. Of course I didn't have time to clean it because I was standing on the side of the street and I had to go to work. Eight hours later I drove home sitting on a grocery bag but turned my heated seats on out of habit. 

If anyone has any advice on getting honey garlic sauce out of upholstery and/or get the smell of garlic out of my car I am all ears.  

Thanksgiving Weekend

Kelli's Picture Practice prompt this week is favourite food. My most favourite meal is donairs, followed by pizza and I love some good Chinese but none of things are particularly interesting or pretty too look at so I'm sharing the above photo of  my favourite salad. Mixed greens, cucumber, mushrooms, feta cheese, croutons and topped with balsamic vinaigrette. Seriously, delicious.

Food is the perfect segue into talking about Thanksgiving!  Thanksgiving was more low key this year than it has been in the past. We celebrate with my Mom's side of the family but a couple of my cousins weren't able to come home for the weekend so it was a smaller crowd. I filled up on mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, rolls and BBQ chicken that my Grandma makes special because I don't like turkey. Followed by the winning combination of pumpkin pie & coffee. We eat Thanksgiving at 1 so when we got home I made homemade pizzas for supper around 7, which were also delicious. I'm eagerly awaiting eating leftovers for lunch in a couple of hours. 

A friend of mine posted a quote on some form of social media and it has stuck with me. "Turn your thanks into giving" I have no idea who said it first (I'm sure it wasn't my friend), but it speaks to me. Makes me think back to my most favourite hymn (and camp song), Pass It On. It's important to be thankful and appreciate what you have but it's also important to share those blessings and use them to make the world a better place. 

That takes care of my deep thought for the day.

I have the day off today so I'm hoping to accomplish some more organizational progress with my scrapbooking supplies and watch The Little Couple marathon that's on TLC.

Hello, Friday!

1.  Camp is really only 95% over. The campers left and the counsellors are gone, even myself self and the director have gone home but there are still things to do. The director and myself are heading back up on Tuesday for the week to finish shutting down (defrosting the fridge/freezer, packing away linens, doing inventory etc.) It's left me in a weird mood though, I've started reflecting on the summer but it's really not quite over yet and there's still more that could happen. And I'm sort of re-entering the real world, but again next week I'll be back to jogging pants, rubber boots and tie-dye as acceptable work attire. 

2.

I came across this quote a few days ago and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I'm so guilty of letting myself get overwhelmed in situations or with people and details that I forget about the beginning.  More often than not the reason I start something is because I want to, because it's something I love, for someone I love and I chose to be there. But I forget, I focus so much on treading water that I forget how much I love to swim. I need to remember how much I love to swim. 

3.

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I don't think I've mentioned it this summer because there's been so many other things to mention but H. & R. & I now live in three different provinces, three different time zones and thousands and thousands of kilometres apart. And it sucks. We've always lived apart but we still managed to see each other every couple of months. It required a lot of travelling but it was doable and we made it work. Plane tickets aren't cheap and it's a lot harder to coordinate days off which means I can't say with any amount of certainty when the next time is that we'll all be together. The good news is there are group iMessages and Skype and FaceTime and lots of other ways to stay connected.

4. I need to go get groceries this afternoon and I'm currently trying to plan my route so that not only can I go to the two grocery stores where things are on sale but I can also swing by Michael's to use a 50% off coupon and make a pit stop at Subway to satisfy a craving I've been feeling for two weeks now. 

5. Getting back into blogging is high on my priority list. I had the best intentions of reading though all of the 500+ unread posts on my Bloglovin' feed but I just couldn't. I figure it's best to start fresh. So I cannot wait to catch up with everyone's summer adventures and start posting here on a regular basis once again. And to kickstart my return to blogging I signed up to participate in a Journal Swap hosted by Lisa & Nancy and I am super excited about it!

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife and Lauren Elizabeth! 

Into August

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I can not believe that this summer is basically over. 

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of tears & laughter mixed fuelled by extreme chaos and moments when you are positively certain your life must be a TV show. For example, one morning last week I found myself digging through the camp dumpster in search of a spoon that had accidentally been thrown out. A lot of our campers bring their own equipment that has been adapted to help give them independence. This particular spoon belonged to a camper who without her adapted spoon isn't able to feed herself. After tearing the kitchen and dining area apart (including the dishwasher) it was determined that the only place for it to be was in the dumpster. Luckily we found it in garbage bag #7. Not only is it lucky because the camper got her spoon back but also lucky because we didn't have to dig through the other 10 bags that were sitting in the dumpster.

In all honesty the dumpster moments are the easy moments. They are funny. You know that it's going to be a funny story to tell a little farther down the road. The hard moments are being happy for the people around me who are moving across the country for the dream job, getting accepted into their first choice school to complete their masters, falling in love; etc. etc. overcoming the feeling that I'm not just getting left behind but I'm getting lapped. I am so thrilled for everyone else's successes and happiness. The bottom line is always that you want the people you love to be happy. Even if they're being happy with someone else or being happy 10,000 km away from you. 

Five Favourite Things

Cactus

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli was one of the first books that I read that really stuck with me. More than just a favourite book the characters, interactions and philosophy of the story has stuck with me since elementary school. In a lot of ways it's influenced who I am. In high school I was lucky enough to be part of a stage production of the story with my best friends. I used a quote from Love, Stargirl as my yearbook quote when I graduated. And whenever I come across somebody who shares a love of Stargirl I feel an immediate connection to them. My love of the book has lead me to develop a serious fascination with the desert and cactus. I've been on the lookout for a perfect cactus plant to have as my own and I finally found one a few weeks ago at Wal-Mart of all places for $3.97. It now sits on my desk and looking at it makes me happy.

Sunsets

Call me a stereotypical white girl if you must but there's nothing that forces me to take a minute and bask in the beauty of nature and the world than a sunset. Every sunset is different but they're all 'God Moments' I'm so awe-struck by the perfection of the colours blended together as the sun sets. Sunsets are also one of my favourite things to photograph. I love the contrast of black shadows against a pink/purple/orange/yellow/blue sky. Someone once told me that if I was a colour I would be "sky-blue-pink", which of course is the way to describe all the colours of a sunset. I took that to heart and the nights when the sunsets on a 'sky-blue-pink' are among my favourites.

Photography

I'm not a master photographer. I don't have scores of families begging me to take their photo or companies hoping I'll photograph their latest product in the best light. But I love seeing the world though my camera lens. I have a friend who is super into photography and he's always making comments about how I don't share my photos. Every time he says it I'm confused. I share some on here but other than that I don't feel the need to fill albums on Facebook or dedicate an entire Tumblr for my photography. I certainly don't pass around my journal for everyone to read and comment on so I won't do that with my photographs either. It's something I enjoy doing, it helps me be creative and notice the things around me from different perspectives. It's for me.

Daisies

Daisies are my favourite flowers. If I was brave enough and I could convince my future husband to agree I would name a little girl Daisy-May. I'm very specific in my daisy love though, I have no time for those artificially neon coloured ones. It has to be the real thing. Yellow middles and snow white petals. The wildflower type are my absolute favourite but I appreciate the garden variety as well. 

Frozen Hot Chocolate from Second Cup

I got a little deep with my first four favourites so I'm throwing this one in here too. I love a good dose of caffeine. Hot Coffee. Iced Coffee. Iced Cap. Frappachino. They all have their place in this world. My favourite fancy coffee shop treat though is a Frozen Hot Chocolate from Second Cup. I'm not even 100% sure why this is. I don't consider myself a chocoholic, I enjoy hot chocolate on occasion when it's cold outside but I almost always choose coffee or tea. There's something extra delicious about Frozen Hot Chocolate though. Plus I rarely get to have it so when I'm in the vicinity of a Second Cup it makes the experience all the more magical!

Also linking up with Amanda at Meet @ The Barre!

Five on Friday : Favourite Things

It’s been a while since I did a Five on Friday: Favourite Things Edition but I had such a great sleep last night and woke up all refreshed this morning ready to appreciate and celebrate all the little things I’m currently loving.

Doodling

I keep referencing my re-discovery of writing but alongside that comes by love of doodling. I was that kid in school who COVERED the margins of any and all pieces of papers with drawings of notes and words and whatever else I felt like drawing. I love browsing Pinterest and admire what other people are doodling. Note how I never said I enjoy drawing…because in my mind that’s different. I spent years taking Art Lessons and learning to sketch and paint but they never really sunk in. And I get stressed out trying to make drawings perfect, whereas doodles are meant to be fun and imperfect!

 Homemade Mac & Cheese

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At the risk of having my Canadian passport revoked I fully admit I don't like Kraft Dinner. I would eat it occasionally as a kid but I would never dream of considering it something I loved. But a couple of years ago I was introduced to homemade mac & cheese. The clouds parted and angels sang! Over the past 6 months I've really perfected my method/recipe and now I just want to eat it ALL the time. Luckily I have some self-control but I have a huge craving for it right now and I think I'll make a big batch on Sunday so I can take it for lunch next week!

This Quote:

"Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It's basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating." ~Simon Pegg

This Song:

Last Kiss - Taylor Swift

Gummy Bears

Gummy Bears are kind of always my favourite but I cheated in the groceries last week and bought a tub full. Even though they definitely do not fit into my "no buying junk food in the groceries" rule. I needed a treat. I already told myself I needed to make them last because I wouldn't be buying any more but so far they're half eaten. I just can't resist their gummy goodness!

Cinq

{one}

I've rekindled my addiction with the Sims FreePlay app on my phone. I don't consider myself to be a "gamer" (although I am awesome at Super Mario Bros. and probably should have spent more time studying and less time playing Mario Party with friends in university), but I do love the Sims. I like to refer to it as Barbies for grown ups. 

{two}

I lost track of how many jobs I've applied to this week. There's still no definite 'no' with the grant, but there's also been no 'yes' and as much as I want to stay loyal to the camp I've been at for the past two years life is getting in the way. And by life I do mean student loans and car payments and the fact I don't want to live with my parents forever. If you happen to have some spare prayers I'd really appreciate a few directed that way. I need to have some sort of answer to the grant and also to find a part-time job between now and May so I can save some money and get my life together so to speak.

{three}

Sunday is my birthday and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dreading it a little. I know every day is worth celebrating, you never know what tomorrow holds and for all I know this could be my last birthday. But I am so far away from where I thought  planned to be at 24 that it's hard not to feel a little sad, frustrated and grumpy. It's my birthday I'll mope if I want to. 

{four}

Lately whenever I need a pick me up I've been reading through Daily Odd Compliments. They make me so happy. They're all so sweet but also hilarious and honest...kind of what I look for in a future husband. 

{five}

It's no secret I love Reality TV. My favourites are the classics; Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother. And I have no shame admitting I watch Honey Boo Boo, Teen Mom, 19 Kids and Counting. But I do not see the appeal of anything that contains the word "Housewife", "Kardashian" or "Bachelor". And I don't get award shows either. Who are these people deciding who was the best actor!? Or the best show!? And why are people so concerned about what dress Jennifer Lawrence is wearing? The world is a strange, strange place. 

Linking up with Five on Friday  and High Five for Friday!

Love What You Do

Hello there blogging world. I promise I haven't forgotten about you, it's just been a crazy few days (and the crazy shows no signs of stopping). I purposely took the weekend off from blogging (Saturday & Sundays posts were scheduled) and avoided technology as much as possible. Which was lovely. Monday I didn't really have anything to post about so I continued on with my limited screen time. Yesterday I was out for most of the day and I had more crazy going on so I let the day slip by. I haven't even been reading blogs (that's next on my list for today).

First on my list is to link up with Hayley & Lauren for this week's The Girl Between The Lines. This week people are sharing "The best piece of advance that anyone ever gave you." I am really looking forward to reading through everyones advice. Unlike the last few weeks where I've really struggled to come up with an answer for the prompt this one I knew right away.

Now, Steve Jobs didn't come pass along this knowledge to me personally, it's something I've always been a firm believer in. Steve just put it into better words and shared it with the masses and it sums up the reason why I think it's so important to do what you love. 

Faith, Fun & Food on Friday

{one}

I blogged back here about how much I love words of affirmation, usually I get all my word lovin' during the summer months at camp where writing "warm fuzzies" is a widely accepted & enjoyed activity. During the fall/winter/spring I rely on reading through old warm fuzzies, random messages from friends and of course your sweet blog comments! This week however I got the best surprise in my mailbox. A letter from a girl who was in the youth group I helped lead during university. We hadn't really kept in touch over the past year and although I think of her fondly I wouldn't say we were overly close during my time with the group. I never would have guessed I made any sort of impact on her life. I won't share the contents of the letter but it made me tear up and reminded me that even when we don't know we're making a difference it someone's life, we are. 

{two}

Speaking of youth and making a difference, yesterday I did something brave. I e-mailed a Christian camp in Texas to inquire about employment opportunities they have from September-April. It may not sound like a big leap of faith, but I've always said I'd love to experience living in the south and that I'd love to travel and work at larger Christian camp while I'm young. I've never taken any steps to make this happen though, because it's scary. Yesterday though I was browsing camps, (which is a pretty common activity for me) and I came across this particular camp and I just got this feeling. I can't explain it really, but it was just a huge push to send an e-mail. Even if nothing comes from the e-mail it's a step.

{three}

I've been re-watching Dawson's Creek lately, hands down one of my all time favourite shows since I first started watching in jr.high. I think it speaks volumes about how much I've changed/grown as a person that once upon a time I was a die-hard Dawson & Joey fan. There was just no other option. And now at the ripe old age of 23 (almost 24), I get it. Team Pacey & Joey all the way. I am embarrassed that I was ever 'attracted' to the whiney, dramatic and all together annoying Dawson Leery. 

{four}

Psalm 25 has been on my mind & heart a lot lately. I'm not exactly sure why but it started with a thought about footprints, steps and paths which lead to me read the entire Psalm and as I read with my Bible on my lap, highlighter in hand I couldn't decide what part to highlight, it all just feels so relevant right now. 

Especially verse 5 as it's written in The Message:  

Take me by the hand;Lead me down the path of truth.You are my Savior, aren’t you?Psalm 25:5 (The Message)

I am little to no idea what my plans are for 2014. It's incredibly scary, stressful and worrisome but it's also kind of exhilarating. Even if I don't know what my plans are, God does.

{five}

Ending things on a lighter note, it's officially Candy Cane Hot Chocolate here in Canada. And during last weekend's road trip to the City I discovered the amazingness that is the Gingerbread Donut. As depressing as it is not to have unlimited access to Vanilla Coke, cheap clothes and Trader Joe's Tim Horton's kind of makes up for what's lacking. If I could figure out a way to stock up on gingerbread donuts and keep them all year round I would be a happy person. And on a related note, putting egg nog in coffee is also one of the tastiest treats of the season! If you haven't tried it yet, make it happen. I usually just drink coffee with sugar and no milk/cream but once egg nog goes on the shelf I'm all over it. 

Linking up here! 

I Regret Nothing

I had a pretty low key weekend. So much so that when I looked at my blog calendar and say "Weekend Shenanigans Link Up" my first thought was 'what the heck did I even do this weekend'. And then I realized that the answer to that question is "Friends DVDs and Pinterest". 

I don't know if there will ever be a show as perfect as Friends. I've lost count of how many times I've seen every episode but they still make me laugh and cry. I can't even pick a favourite character because I love them all so much. I don't know if it's the writer in me or just a personality quirk but I think the key to any good TV show, movie or book is character development. And I think details and backstories are so important to character development, which Friends totally accomplishes.

Besides getting some good laughs in watching Friends I also came across some great Pinterest finds. Including these quotes. 

(via)

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I have some exciting adventures planned for the next few days so I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging this week! For now I'm off to do some laundry, make supper and hopefully get everything crossed off my to do list in time to get a decent night's sleep.

Friday Five

 

{one}

I am super excited for this weekend! I'm the one doing the traveling but it is well worth ever second of the drive to spend the weekend with one of my best camp friends!

{two}

The only thing I love more than a good love story is a love story that invovles camp. Which is probably why this story in the NY Times this week made me smile so much. 

 {three}

I seriously love Luke Bryan's new album. I've been cycling through which song is my favourite, currently it's this one.

{four}

Still no word on grant money to make my job full-time...I was really hoping there would be some news by the end of this week but no such luck! I am doing my very best to have patience and trust in God's timing.

{five} 
I've been thinking a lot about this quote recently. I don't necessarily agree with it 100% but it reminds me of someone and there's just something in my head that keeps coming back to it.
 

Twists & Turns

 Describe a distinct moment when your life took a turn...

Kids, I've been telling you the story of how I met your mother, and while there's many things to learn from this story, this may be the biggest. The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now, I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see, the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings, and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time. -How I Met Your Mother

 I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I suspect most of the posts today will be about meeting the love of your life, getting engaged, getting married, becoming a parent, losing a loved one... the big moments in life when you just know everything has changed. A few moments crossed my mind when I read today's topic:

Going to camp for the first time.

Becoming a counsellor.

Losing camp.

Moving away to university on my own.

Meeting any number of people who I know consider a close friend.

Finding a new camp home.

ect. 

But really every decision and detail of the day, the big ones and the small ones are leading me to where I belong.  So even though I haven't (to my knowledge) met the man I'm going to marry yet, or gotten engaged or become a parent there are so many other daily twists and turns that don't seem like much in the moment but it in the big picture, it's all about the details. And in the season of life I can't quite see the big picture, but I know that the details are coming together, leading me somewhere and change is right around the corner.