Solo

This week alone I saw two engagements and one pregnancy announcement pop up on my Facebook feed. All from girls the same age (or a year younger) than me. I am really happy for those people and I wish them nothing but the best, that doesn't mean I don't feel a twinge of hurt/jealousy whenever another announcement comes rolling in.

Once upon a time I met a boy who was a few check marks short of perfect…except for one glaring problem, he wasn't ready to be in a relationship. Which I calmly accepted and let myself hope (and pray) that at some point the timing would be right and we could be together. Then he met someone else, who he was ready to be in a relationship with and I spent a month  far longer than I would like to admit bursting into tears when I saw photos of their adventures and listening to Taylor Swift while I tried to process my feelings towards the whole thing. Things are better now, I'm a little less emotionally fragile and when I step back and take myself out of the equation I really do want him to be happy. 

I get discouraged pretty easily when it feels like everyone else in the world is in a serious relationship, two steps away from marriage but I know that I would rather be single than be with someone just for the sake of being with someone. 

It's hard to be confident and okay with this whole season of singleness thing when I have such a strong desire to be married and have a family. I trust that there is a reason God's current plan for me doesn't involve being in a relationship. I have don't have much of an idea why that is, but if I let myself believe that it's something I'm doing wrong I get angry and bitter. And nobody likes the angry bitter single girl. Including myself.

If you want to read more about my thoughts on being single check out this post.

Linking up with Bailey Jean for Blog-Tember! 

Coffee & Prayers

{one} 

I'm in the market for a new Bible. My current "all-purpose" Bible was given to me at the beginning of an LIT program I completed at camp when I was 16. It's very much highlighted and bookmarked and noted and has seen better days. I'm sure I'll save it forever but I feel like I'm in a phase of life where I need to start fresh. If you have any suggestions for a translation or specific Bible I should get I am all ears! I have been using God's Word translation but I'm open to change. I already have a copy of The Message that I read on occasion but would prefer something else for daily use.

{two} 

I posted yesterday on Instagram about my deep love for Salted Caramel Mocahs from Starbucks and I'm going to post about it again here. I know everyone goes head over heels for Pumpkin Spice this time of year but the PS Bandwagon is not one I'm interested in joining. I so rarely go to Starbucks but I had an appointment yesterday and picked some up on my way home. It's been a long week and I'm starting to feel the stress of not knowing what's around the corner. 

{three}

Somewhere along the way between April & Now I lost my planner. It wasn't so bad during the summer because the days schedule was always posted on the door and when I had errands to do during break I made a to-do list and got things done. Now that I'm back in the Monday-Friday real world I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing each day. I was trying to plan blog posts last night and realized I had nowhere to write them down. I'm way too cheap to buy a fancy Erin Condren planner or any of those other brand name books that cost an arm and a leg. So fingers crossed I can find something cute & cheap the next time I'm at Wal-Mart. 

{four}

I'm doing an Online Bible Study with Love God Greatly on Esther which prior to this month isn't a book of the Bible I've read a whole lot. I do feel like it's perfect timing though so much of the lessons we've covered so far is about trusting that God has you where you need to be. It might not be where you want to be but there is a reason why. I struggle so much with journalling and really making a specific time to pray and reflect during the camp season it's one of the biggest challenges I've found working at a secular camp. It's been lovely to get back into a routine of journalling every day and having time to really reflect opposed to a quick prayer before bed. 

{five}

One of the best things about working from home is waking up at 8:30, putting on a pair of jogging pants and checking my e-mail on the couch while I drink my coffee. My brother broke my favourite coffee mug earlier this week and now I can't seem to find another one that holds just the right amount of coffee. There are a million coffee mugs in the cupboard though so I refuse to buy a new one, but it just isn't the same. Please tell me I'm not the only one with an unhealthy emotional attachment to which mug I drink my coffee out of in the morning.

     

I Confess...

//I am way over due for a confession session so without further explanation here's a whole bunch of things I need to get off my chest...

//The other night I found a bag of gummy worms my Secret Friend gave me during the last week of camp. I proceeded to open the bag and eat so many of them that I gave myself a stomach ache.

//Adjusting to the real world after four months of camp is hard. I can't seem to sit at my computer to write end of summer reports for longer than 30 minutes before I have to wander around and check things out. I'm not sure if I'm expecting to see my cats doing arts & crafts in the dining room (I'm working from home) but I just can't stop doing rounds.

//I've been sleeping with a thousand blankets to stay warm even though if I closed my window and wore pants instead of PJ shorts.

//I struggle to sleep in a double bed by myself because there's just so much room and I'm a small person who does not need that much room to sleep. Especially when one considers my love of small spaces and sleeping jammed against the wall and into as many pillows/blankets as possible.

//Last week one of our tasks during camp shut down was to tie-dye some new curtains so that they'll be ready to go in the cabins next summer. In the process I stepped in some dye and the bottoms of my feet are still purple.

//I'm not ready for summer to be over. I can feel the cold creeping in and to combat the chill I've upped my coffee intake.

//I have major "forever alone"/single girl anxiety but every now and then I let myself get carried away pinning wedding ideas and baby photo sessions on my secret Pinterest boards. Lately I've been getting way carried away, but it's just so hard to resist the perfectly rustic/DIY wedding favours and babies in guitar cases.

//I just ate cookies for breakfast and justified it by promising I'd eat a big salad with lots of veggies for lunch.

ISFJ

I know that there are people out there who think "Personality Types" is a bunch of bologna. Everyone is a little bit of everything depending on the circumstances. It may be true that some people are a little bit of everything sometimes, but not me. I'm an ISFJ through & through. 

Pinterest

I relate to being an introvert. I love my friends and really value continuing family traditions but at the end of the day I need alone time. I need to be able to sit alone with my thoughts, doodle in my sketch book and put the day into words in a notebook. If I go too long feeling like I need to be around people I start to feel really overwhelmed, which leads to anxiety and we all know that's a bad scene. I appreciate when people recognize my hand work, but I don't like to be made the centre of attention, which explains my love of warm fuzzies. I'm pretty observant when it comes to how other people are feeling but I don't always let on that I know what's going on with someone because I figure if they wanted to talk to me about it they would. Along the same lines of being observant when it comes to people, I have a really good memory for little details about people. Favourite colours, songs, movies, names of first grade teachers, if you mention it to me once the odds are pretty good that I'll remember. And if I ever have to buy you a present you better believe that I'll use one of those details to craft some sort of thoughtful and personal gift. 

I'm a total rule follower, even if I don't necessarily agree with them. I read somewhere that ISFJs value lists and organization so much because it helps them make sense of all the information they store in their head. I love to-do lists and colour-coded organizational systems but my systems don't always make sense for other people. The way I group things together is rarely logical to anyone other than myself. 

When I believe in something or someone or get involved with something I stick with it, even when it may be best to walk away. That all circles around the responsibility, patient, devoted, dependable, loyal and honouring commitment traits. 

Overall I think it's a pretty good personality to have, there are a lot of downsides to being so attentive and sensitive and introverted but everyday I figure out more ways to use my strengths to my advantage and overcome the hard parts!

What's your personality type? Head over to Brave Love and link up with Bailey Jean to share yours!

Summer Jams & All-Time Faves

For months it's been on my list to join Kelli at Just Beachy for her Picture Practice link up, but I always forget until it's too late. I remembered this week though and it just so happens that the topic for today's Picture Practice is "The Sky". I love sunsets, which means I have a lot of sunset/sky photos in my archives. I don't get a lot of down time during the summer but one of my favourite things to do is take a few minutes at the end of the day to watch the sunset. 

I don't like to do anything while watching a sunset except be in the moment and watch the sky, but the rest of the day I'm pretty much always listening to music. 

I can spend hours crafting the perfect playlist to fit my mood and I love discovering new music to add to my list. I always feel a little anxious when I recommend music to others though, I'm worried they'll judge my taste or think I'm a crazy person. And what I listen to totally depends on my mood I spent a lot of time this summer bopping around to Timber  although mostly in the car or when I was alone because let's face it, it's a terrible song and totally not camp appropriate. I also listened to My Lighthouse by Rend Collective a whole lot this summer. Everyday by Buddy Holly was also a popular song this summer, in large part because one of our male staff played it on his guitar daily (if not hourly). And way back in April or May H., R. & I decided that Be Okay would be our song of the summer so we listened to that non-stop as well. 

In addition to all those songs that will go down as "Summer 2014" songs I also have a few all-time favourites that I've loved for a very long time and will continue to love for a very long time. 

All-Time Favourites

Konstantine - Something Corporate

The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists

Slide - Goo Goo Dolls

The Luckiest - Ben Folds

Left & Leaving - The Weakerthans

What songs will forever remind you of summer 2014? Do you have any all-time favourite songs that you'll love for as long as you live? Go ahead and link up with Bailey Jean for Blog-tember and share your music tastes!

Sunday Social & Blog-Tember Five

5 Things About Me

• I'm an extraordinarily sentimental person and have a really hard time letting go of clothes/mementos/random souvenirs etc. 
• I love candles, but I'm so cheap that I hate spending money on something I'm literally just going to burn.
• I'm a planner by nature and not knowing how the next year of my life is going to play out is scary.
• I have major anxiety about turning 25 in January. 
• I love my job as an assistant camp director, but my real dream job is to be a stay at home mom (but still involved in camp).

5 Favourite Things About Blogging

• Having an outlet to write and share photos.
• Interacting with other bloggers.
• Finding inspiration reading other people's blogs
• Learning new things
• Participating in swaps! 

5 Things I'm Doing Before The Year is Over

• Redecorating my bedroom
• Organizing all of my scrapbooking supplies
• Downsizing my wardrobe
• Learn a new recipe
• Finishing some scrapbooking projects that have been 'in progress' for years. 

5 Favourite Fall Fashions

• Leggings
• Boots
• Scarfs
• Hoodies
• Flannel 

5 Favourite Beauty Products
I don't have a whole lot of brand loyalty when it comes to make up so in general terms by must have products are…

• Mascara
• Eye Liner
• Concealer
• BB Cream
• Lip Chap

5 Favourite Books

• Stargirl - Jerry Spinilli 
• The Princess Bride - William Gold
• Campingly Yours - Thomas C. Adler
• The Perks of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chobsky 
• Little House on the Prairie Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder

Linking up with Ashley & Neely for Sunday Social and Bailey Jean for Blog-Tember!

Right This Second

Linking up with the blog-tember challenge to share what I'm up to at the moment! 

…reading Sleepaway: Writings on Summer Camp by Eric Simonoff

…watching Re-watching Grey's Anatomy  I'm on the second season and Denny just arrived at the hospital, I'm preparing myself for the heartbreak that's ahead!

…trying to figure out how to go about unpacking my bags post-camp.

…eating I just finished eating pepperoni pizza for supper. Now I'm looking ahead to chips & dip as a snack later when ooVoo-ing with H. & R.!

…pinning Scrapbooking inspiration and gallery walls.

…tweeting not much of anything! 

...going to spend the day with a few friends from Seattle! What a treat!

…loving I got a Project Life "Dear Lizzy" Core Kit on clearance for $14 today at Michael's! 

…discovering it's hard to figure out when you need to stay loyal and stick it out or let it go and start a new chapter of your life. 

…enjoying a cold glass of pop!

...thinking "Is 6:00 p.m. too early to put on P.J's?"

…feeling excited, optimistic, hopeful and determined that things are going to fall into place. 

…listening The opening credits to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network

…thanking technology for making it possible to spend Saturday night with H. & R. even though we're in three different provinces and three different time zones. 

...starting to