Friday, August 1, 2014

Currently. July 2014

Things I am:

Obsessing over,

Working on, 
Thinking about, 
Anticipating, 
Listening to,
Eating,
Praying for,
Reading,
Happy about,
Wishing.    

Wow. July zoomed by awfully quickly. Can't believe its time to do this again...

Okie doke:

1. Things I am obsessing over:

  • Making the most of this summer. The absolute most. I want to be outside. Or inside. I want to be with people. Or not. I want to eat good food. Or just eat salads. I want to read books, see movies, walk, talk, take pictures, stay up late, sleep in, see new things, go places... Yes. I am obsessive about having a good summer.
  • Still a little bit overly fond of certain aspects of Northern England. That accent slays me. (If I ever actually meet someone from that corner of the world, I'm going to ask them to say many words with the letter U in them. Like. "Pump up the shut in grub under the country umbrella because love understands and ugly bumblebees are much too cumbersome." I don't care that it doesn't make sense.) My table mates at a recent wedding were from Wales and had family in Manchester. Random encounters like this just fuel the fire. 
  • Compared to others, I am not, NOT, obsessing about the upcoming Outlander series on TV. I am merely looking forward to it. Oh My Goodness, there are obsessed fans out there. Last weekend was Comic-Con and It. Was. Nuts on the internet. My feeds are still full. People are buzzing. (Ohhh buzzing. And bussing. And bust. Good U words. I'll have to add a second sentence for that Northern Englishperson to say.)
2. Things I am working on:
  • I am working on getting back into walking. I hurt/pulled/snapped something on the back of my calf earlier this month, and haven't walked hard for about 3 weeks. The pain. Oh the shooting, blinding, awful pain. But I did a hill-walk tonight and it was good. So Good. Summer evening walks are the best. I really should move to a country that has more than 8 weeks of summer weather. 
  • Pffft. That No-Bread, No-Chocolate-Bars-Through-The-Summer thing? I stopped working on that two minutes after I mentioned it. I am a loser. A loser of everything but weight. So I'm not working on that anymore. 
  • And I'm working on This Thing. It's a God Thing. About a month ago at church there was a sermon on preparing yourself to have conversations about your faith. Know how to share it. Know how to defend it. Know why you believe. Know what you believe. Be ready to have intelligent conversations about it. He mentioned a website with short videos that we should visit. He warned us that we will be challenged on our faith, and we needed to be armed. I nodded and agreed and made a note to check out that website and never did. Then two weeks later I had to defend my faith intelligently and totally blew it. And was kicking myself that I hadn't gone to that website and figured a few things out, so that I could be smart about my beliefs. But two weeks passed AND I STILL HADN'T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. And then I got a random text message from a young (mid-20's) friend who asked if I could do her a favor? She and a guy were writing a book and they wondered if I'd read and review each chapter? They were hoping I'd give them detailed feedback on both content and style. The topic of the book - Knowing What You Believe. The guy? Is the SAME GUY WHO MADE THE VIDEOS ON THE WEBSITE THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO VISIT. Hahahahaha. WHEN GOD WANTS YOU TO DO SOMETHING - HE WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET THE MESSAGE. Loud and clear. Sometimes you're not sure what God is saying. Other times? Oh my goodness. It's like He's got a megaphone and He's sent a detailed set of directions. So. That's what I'm working on this summer. 
3. Things I am thinking about:
  • I am thinking about taking some of my 'house money' and buying a few things for the cabin. Like new beds. 
  • I am thinking about my life. And how it must look from the angle of people peeking in via this blog or facebook. I make assumptions about people based on their online activity... strangers might be doing the same about me. Am I giving an accurate portrayal of life as a divorced mom with insecurities and hopes? How important is it that I share the truth? Who cares? Am I just sharing the best version of my life? Will my great, great granddaughter, the one named Kate, will she even be interested? 
  • I am thinking about that production manual that I was planning on writing this summer. It's not done yet. I am thinking I should giddy up. 
  • I am thinking about genetics. And how we pass down more than just our hair thickness and eye-colour to future generations. We pass down traditions. And culture. And beliefs. And what the heck am I intentionally passing along to my (future) grandchildren? My Omi's name was Elizabeth. She has a granddaughter, (my cousin, Ellie) named after her. And a great granddaughter (my cousin Tim's daughter) named Ellie. And a great, great granddaughter (Sadie Elisabeth) with her name as well. Besides her name, what has she passed down to us through the ages? A fierce love of family. An independent spirit. An unbelievably strong work ethic. Her unwavering faith. WHAT AM I PASSING ALONG?
4. Things I am anticipating:
  • Celebrating a few birthdays
  • Squeezing the life out of this summer. More evenings at the beach. More Friday night adventures. More laughing with friends. More time spent on decks and patios. 
  • I am anticipating a longing to buy school supplies to hit me at the end of the month.
  • Taking another couple thousand photos this summer. 
5. I am listening to:
  • The fridge hum. And the clocks in this house tick and chime. 
  • And I WOULD be listening to All My Favorite Songs if I'd set up my You Tube playlist gmail address to sync with my Blogger gmail address. But I have too many gmail accounts and I can't listen to tunes and blog at the same time. I really need a sound system that is one step removed from my laptop. Seriously. My whole life is in my lap. 
  • Creationfest is on right now. I had taken these days off (Thursday and Friday) with hopes that I'd be able to talk someone, anyone, into going with me. Everybody in the whole wide world is doing super fun things with their children this weekend. So I am Not listening to live music at a festival right now. In case you were wondering.)
6. I am eating:
  • Well. It's 2 am. And I went for a long walk at 11. So I came back and ate some tiny tomatoes. 
  • And some carrots.
  • BUT I was craving a Frozen Nestle CRUNCH chocolate bar. And a generous helping of Tuna Casserole. Neither of which I had.
  • So I had a slice of peach pie with vanilla ice cream. 
7. I am praying for:
  • SO, so, so many things to pray for these days. Friends' whose parents are having a health crisis. Friends' whose kids are having a health crisis. Friends who are discouraged. Friends with broken hearts. Friends who needs jobs. Friends who ache for peace in their lives. Friends who physically ache and need healing. Friends who are struggling in their relationships. Friends who are struggling financially. Friends who are just tired. Friends who need friends. Friends who need clarity. Folks planning weddings. Folks who just got married. All the new babies. And their parents. 
8. I am reading:
  • I am re-reading the Outlander series in anticipation of reading BOOK 8 (the latest release) before Christmas. I am half-way through Book 4. (But keep going back to where ever Jenn is, and re-reading 10 - 15 pages whatever section she's in, so we can talk about it.)
  • I stopped in at Nuggets last weekend with (1/2) my writing group and picked up a few books. Can't remember what they are. Too lazy to go looking. Might update this section later this weekend. If I remember.
9. I am happy about:
  • OK. I'm happy about this ... Earlier this evening, I started a Facebook conversation with my boys. (Asking about this weekend/Drew's birthday.) Then I went for my walk. I wasn't wearing much. And what I had on, didn't have pockets, so I held my phone in my hand. And while I was walking, my phone would vibrate whenever one of them would add a comment to the thread I started. It was just the best feeling to be outside, in the warm, summer, evening air, alone with thoughts and dreams in my head, and my kids' conversation buzzing in the palm of my hand. They were talking to each other, and I could physically feel it. All kinds of awesome. 
10. I am wishing:
  • For 31 days of sunshine this month.
  • For answered prayer.
  • For peace in the middle east. 
  • For wisdom.

Shalom,
xo





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