house sitting

Did I mention I was housesitting last month?  Yep, that happened.  Also, no blog posts were written then.  Funny how that works. 

It was a good month.  I enjoyed having a place to myself, a kitchen of my own, and a huge bed to hog.  On the other hand, I missed hanging out with the family I live with.  I guess what I can take away from the experience is this: It's all about perspective.  No matter what stage of life you are in, find something about it that is extraordinarily enjoyable, and hang on to that.  I guess I already employ this life strategy on a regular basis, so it was just another opportunity to practice it. 

Some other things discovered while housesitting:
-minerally water makes my hair less curly
-Being left handed/right eye dominant is not ideal for target shooting
-I can survive without regular internet access
-I can still read a cookbook-including using the index!
-One should still walk, even if there is a vehicle readily available.
-If you want to get invited on the next family trip to Hawaii, one should not be such a responsible housesitter.
-Someday, I want a kitchen of my own.  I can do fine in other peoples' kitchens, but if I had my own, I would be able to set it up how I want it.  That would be awesome.

thirst for adventure

I have been feeling restless. The excitement of a new job has melted into day to day life. The people I see, the food I make, the home I keep, have all turned into something, well, uninspiring. Is it the curse of winter? Maybe. Could my busy schedule have something to do with it? Probably.

Would an epic adventure solve all my problems? Likely not. Sure, it would temporarily quench my thirst for adventure. Depending on the adventure, it could make me content to be in PA for a good long while. But it wouldn't rid me of the restlessness permanently.

I have decided on two solutions.

One: Get some sunshine. How? A weeklong trip to California should do the trick. Even if it is rainy and muggy most of time, I think it will be a good 40 degrees warmer than I am used to, and the moisture will do my dried out Alaskan winter skin some good.

Two: exercise my imagination. I used to fabricate the most incredible creatures from a simple inanimate object. I could apply this attitude toward work, chores, and fun. I shouldn't have to go somewhere to find an adventure, I should be able to create it wherever my imagination goes.

the end of a break?

Has it really been almost a month since I have written?

As an on and off blogger, I feel that it fulfills my duties to be here and absent at will. As someone who knows how awful it is to watch their favorite blogger disappear into the busyness of real life, I can relate. Who am I kidding? The only people who fit into the latter have my phone number and can get an update on my life if they decide to call. Regardless, I have decided to try to be a little better about blogging.

Why? Several reasons...
1. so you can shamelessly keep up with me without having to actually talk to me. You know you love it.
2. Writing is enjoyable. From random strings of thoughts to well thought out topics, writing is the best outlet I have found to unwind, sort out thoughts, and otherwise express myself.
3. To re-read in the future. I really enjoy going back and reading blog posts. Whether I go back to read a correlating date (two years ago today), a specific trip (time in Africa) or a random topic, I find it amusing to see what I wrote. Some of it I wonder why it ended up being posted. Other stuff I realize was a pretty neat thought. Much of it stirs memories of adventures. All of it good to remind me of who I am.
4. To activate my imagination. Sometimes, it takes a healthy dose of imagination to make a day to day life interesting. But the most mundane day can turn into an incredibly daring tale of adventure and romance with a little imagination.

Sometimes words will fail me. Sometimes there will be plenty to say, but no time or energy for typing them. But I don't want to have to say that I didn't try.

busy busy!

I got back to PA 2 and a half weeks ago, and haven't stopped moving since. From going to friends' house for dinner and a movie or games to having large groups of people over, I have hardly have time to unpack and get laundry done! I enjoy being busy. I would rather have that then not enough to do though.

In addition to being a social butterfly, I have started helping out with AWANA at church. Its really nice to have something in the middle of the week where I see everyone. One of the local high schoolers wants to start an orchestra. Naturally, I will be leading the cello section. Actually, not only will I be leading it, I will be teaching all the participants how to play cello. I guess 12 years of playing cello qualifies me to teach it? Good... I think I need to get in contact with some of my old teachers.

And everything is in the midst of working full time, upkeeping my apartment, and taking care of a very demanding cat.

NaNoBloMo.... whatever it is

Well, there's a thing in November dedicated to writing. From blogging every day, to writing a rough draft of a novel in a month, everyone from the novice blogger to the published author have an excuse to ignore responsibilities and write write write. As much as I dislike responsibility, I thought it would be a great excuse. Until it got to be a third of the way into November and I hadn't written anything. Oh well, there's always next year, right?

busy busy busy...

who would have thought working 6 days in one week would be so crazy? Well, I guess I didn't really think before offering to take a co-worker's shift. In light of not having anything else exciting to share about this week, I will leave you with a few things to do:

-be adventurous in the kitchen
Find a meal you have never made before, find a recipe, and make it. It is liberating. I find myself not making things because I have never made it before. But the recipes tell you what to do.
Or, if you have conquered all the meals you care to eat, go without a recipe. Throw random vegetables in a pasta sauce. It won't alter the flavor enough to keep the family from eating it. Or if it does, its only one meal.
Make something from scratch. Sure I like to buy things all made up in a jar. The best foods come from you controlling what goes into it. If I can't pronounce something on the list of ingredients, I don't know that I want to put it in my body.

-shake up the old 'do
Part your hair differently. Let it air dry instead of blow drying. Find a different product to put in it. Let it go all natural. Or for the truly radical, get it cut. Just find something a little different to do with it.

-pray purposefully and dangerously
A lot of people don't really know what they are asking for when they pray for a virtue, such as patience. God generally gives the petitioner an opportunity to stretch their current level of that virtue. I jokingly say that I don't pray for patience anymore, cause I don't want to have to practice it. Or maybe someone asks for guidance, but doesn't like the direction that they are given. Prayer isn't effective unless you know that it will be answered and you seek the fulfillment of that request. A couple friends of mine have requested prayers for boldness. That is a dangerous request, asking God for an opportunity for them to exhibit their boldness. And I am excited to pray that for them. My current request is for discernment. A line has been drawn with some of my friends, a very clear line between those who are living a life in love with Jesus, and those who are not. I want to know how to encourage the former, and witness to the latter. It's a bold prayer. It's a dangerous prayer. And it's a fulfilling prayer.

Its definitely spring!! Spring is the season of new growth, of things changing. Maybe that's why I feel the need to shake things up a bit!

if looks could kill...

... I would choose an icy stare. And the death would feel similar to this icy mass falling on your head.

Remember last week, when we had a day off and sunshine? Well, this is what I woke up to the next morning:
There is about 6 inches of fresh snow. The wind was blowing from the right all night, leaving fun drifts and sideways snow accumulation. I didn't know snow could accumulate like that.