Another Thanksgiving post

Guys. It's the end of November. How is that even possible?

Remember last year, how one of my biggest lessons was thankfulness no matter what happens, even for the littlest things? Well, I haven't been doing a very good job at that this year, but November has been a good reminder, because "thankful" lists have been popping up everywhere. It's a cliche thing to do, I know, but I've forgotten just how important it is, not just for one month of the year but every. single. day.

There's a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I haven't had a chance to read it yet*, but I do read her blog, and she has some really wonderful things to say. She is all about thankfulness, and she has an ongoing thing where she challenges people to find 1,000 things to be thankful for in a year. It's been an on-again, off-again thing for me, but I want to start keeping track again. It sounds so small, but it's amazing the difference it can make. I'm currently at 500, so I thought I'd start sharing a few with you guys**.

***

501. A free weekend to go hiking at Star Mountain with Mike. It's only been forever.

502. Half-price coffee (or cider!) at Inman St. before classes.

503. Accountability and reminders to make God my very first priority. So vital, yet so easy to lose.

504. A text of appreciation from my boss. (It's a small gesture, but a rare one, so it meant a lot!)

505. Conversations with random people at work.

506. Learning what it means to help someone without words.

507. Little kids. They make my life better. (Josiah, a 6-year-old, after yawning: "I am NOT tired. I was just clearing my breath. I never get tired.")

508. Sharpie pens. They are THE BEST for doodling during class. And at work. And at home. And anywhere, ever.

509. Cardigans, scarves, and boots. Fall clothes are my absolute favorite.

510. Mike spending Thanksgiving with my family.

511. Survivor nights with the best friends.

512. Soup. (Colder weather requires warmer food.)

513. Giving class presentations that are actually interesting to me.

514. The stage of life I'm in right now.

***

(I know. This is kind of a November/Thanksgiving-esque cop-out, oh-crap-I-haven't-blogged-in-forever kind of post. Except I really do mean it in the sincerest way possible. Really!)

Next up: CHRISTMAS. (I'm only slightly reallyreallysupercrazy excited. Just a little.) I have lots of post ideas, but probably zero time to actually write them. Still--I'm optimistic, so until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*There's a Christmas gift idea, if you needed one. Because I know you're all totally going to buy me gifts, right?

**Ideally on a more regular basis instead of just Thanksgiving...

Tennessee to Maine (and places in between)

Last week, Mike and I went on our biggest adventure together yet*: a 5-day road trip from Tennessee to Maine! It was full of new experiences for me, as I'd never been to the northeast at all, or on a major road trip (much less with him).

So.much.fun.

We left bright and early at 7am from Cleveland, Maryland-bound for the night. One of our best friends, Jon, is from there, so we stayed with his parents for the night. We didn't originally intend to do much extra exploring, but by the time we got close, we realized that we had made incredible time, so we decided on a spontaneous side-trip to Washington, D.C. for a few hours!

Washington, D.C.! 

Georgia & Kentucky, and now Tennessee!

Lincoln Memorial

Love D.C. at night!

I hadn't been there since I was like, seven, so it was really fun to explore the National Mall for awhile! I wish we'd had time to check out a few museums and such, too, but oh well--it's just an excuse for another adventure in the future. ;)

The next morning, we decided that, heck, we made such good time on the first leg of the trip, why not hit another city on the way to Maine? Our choice: New York City!

New York City!

I'll be honest: I was super excited about going. As a general rule, I'm not much of a city girl, but I do enjoy visiting, and NYC is one of those places that I have always wanted to visit at some point. Our friend, Chris, has been, and he basically saved our lives by suggesting we park in New Jersey and take this thing called PATH (basically a subway train from NJ to NY) into the city. Best. idea. ever. For real, if you're ever stopping by, that's the way to go. It's only $2.25 a ticket, and saves you from the nightmare of driving in Manhattan. Believe me--it's worth it.

Anyway. After taking the train to 33rd St. (as far as it goes), we decided to walk to Times Square (super limited time to see the city, so we decided walking was the best way to take in as much as possible). SO CRAZY. Anything you've ever heard about how crowded and lively and huge NYC is? All true. Trust me. It is one city I can honestly say lives up to its reputation.

After that, we decided we wanted to see Central Park. When I say it feels like a breath of fresh air, I'm not kidding or trying to be cliche. It literally feels like you can breathe all of a sudden. (Like I said. Definitely not a big-city kind of girl. Give me mountains and rivers and big open skies any day.) We only walked around the first tiny bit, but I'm pretty sure we'll be visiting again--there is way too much to see!

The little birds made me so happy :)

Since we had already been there for 2 hours and needed to get back on the road, we took the subway back to the PATH station. (Am I lame for having always wanted to ride on the subway in New York? Oh well--another thing to check off my list!) After that, it was a nonstop trip** to Harmony, Maine!

Maine is beautiful. Lots and lots of small towns and rural areas, and trees and mountains and just plain gorgeousness. (It's an interesting experience visiting Maine and NYC in one day. Talk about your polar opposites.) We got there pretty late, but the next day, we got to do some exploring around Moosehead Lake! (We really wanted to see a moose. No such luck, as far as live ones go, but we did see a dead one in the back of some hunter's truck, which was still kinda cool…)

(Random side story: Apparently cops are not the norm. We were looking around in a little shop, when all of a sudden:

"Holy s***!!! What in the world is that doing here?!"

We look outside to see them staring a police car driving through town. ? I found it pretty funny.)

Anyway. The wedding we went to was lovely, and it was good to see a few people I hadn't seen since graduation, albeit a little awkward because I knew very, very few people overall. Oh well.

On our trip back from Maine to Virginia, we really wanted to stop in Boston, but it ended up raining THE ENTIRE TIME from Maine until Hartford, Connecticut. Ugh. Our biggest adventure of that part of the trip was definitely New Jersey.

Oh my goodness. Never again.

Illegal to pump your own gas. (A little bit of shock when a random dude comes up to my car and asks for my credit card. Um, no?) Crazy drivers. To turn left or make a U-turn, you have to turn right (?). There's a town named Buttzville (yes, with a Z). There are signs all over the interstate that say "No Turns Allowed"…when there is nowhere to turn anyway, even if you wanted to. (Like, to turn, you would literally have to jump a guardrail and a ditch. Are these people insane?) Their nickname, "The Garden State," has no particular reason behind it. (Again, ?)

Lesson learned: avoid NJ at all costs on future road trips.***

We finally arrived in Virginia (staying with Jon's brother and sister-in-law this time around), and after waking up to a gorgeous sunrise the next morning...

Not. even. close.

...we headed for Shenandoah National Park to take Skyline Drive (105 miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fall perfection). So, so, so beautiful, especially this time of year! It was peak season for fall foliage, and absolutely worth the $15--even though it rained half the time we were there. Still worth it.

So! There's the abbreviated version of my trip. We're already planning our next one--it was so much fun! (And surprisingly affordable, too, if you do it right.) My only complaint is that I wish we'd had more time. 5 days was nowhere near enough!

*Well. As far as the traditional, concrete, "exploring a place we've never been" sort of adventure goes. Our whole relationship has been something of an adventure, from day one, but that's beside the point here.

**That is, nonstop minus the insane New Jersey traffic. Seriously, I hate driving through NJ.

***Sorry to all you New Jersey natives. I'm sure the state has some wonderful qualities, but forgive me, because I did not see them.

Life update

Listening to: "Babel" by Mumford & Sons

Yeah, I know--me and every other person in the world. It's a good album though, and their music is just perfect for fall.

 

I am the worst blogger ever. I miss writing, I really do. I've hardly even journaled this semester. Life has been so, so busy (which is not my favorite way to be, as I'm sure you know*), but lately, I've been trying my best to take advantage of the free moments that I have--even if they only occur in 15-minute bursts while I'm sitting at work or something. Like now.

 

So! I started grad school back in August, and I absolutely love it so far. It's work, to be sure, but I actually feel like it matters. Whereas college felt more like an obligation (enjoyable classes or not), grad school is something that I chose. I get to focus all my attention on 4 classes instead of like, 8, and they are all relevant to what I want to do. Even when they're boring (like spending 2 weeks discussing how to write bylaws), I'm still have some motivation to do the work because I know that it's actually important. So that's definitely been good.

 

I'm still working at the taekwondo academy, which gets to me at times (vacuuming workout floors and washing windows has never been a lifelong aspiration of mine), but hey--it's a job, it's flexible (which has been super nice), and I really do enjoy the people there. And even as monotonous as it can be, I have been stretched, albeit in small ways (and I've learned that it is possible to clean a bathroom in 2 minutes or less, so I should have no excuses when it comes to my own house**).

 

I've also started babysitting an 18-month-old girl every week, so that helps out with the money thing. Plus I get to be around a kid (a professor the other day referred to it as my "internship," since I'm getting a child development degree. Ha). It can be a very sleepy job at times, but she's a great kid, so that's a pretty minor flaw.

 

Coming up? In less than 2 weeks, Mike and I are road-tripping to Maine! Some friends of ours are geting married, so we're taking a few days off to have an adventure. I am super excited--I've never been farther north than southern Pennsylvania. Bonus? It'll be peak season for fall foliage when we're there. SO EXCITED.

 

Anyway, I'll leave it at that for now. Hopefully, I'll find some extra time to write a little more--I need it!

 

 

*Productivity and having a moderate amount of things to do = awesome. Busy to the extent that social life, boyfriend, and homework all have to be combined all the time and having zero time to do things I love (like writing) = not cool.

**That is not to say that I don't still find them. :) Cleaning the bathroom will never be my favorite chore. (And if never say never applies here, be my guest--the worst that can happen is that I will suddenly love scrubbing toilets and have a clean bathroom all the time!)

Just like autumn

Photo Credit: julkusiowa

Currently thankful for: Gorgeous fall weather, trips to Chilhowee to see the leaves and watch the sunset, random trips to Jenkins with good friends, good music, hot chocolate!
(Also, a sense of humor to laugh at the worst awkward situations. Seriously, my life is destined to be a sitcom. Things happen to me that happen on episodes of Friends, not in real life. Except they do happen in my life. I guess I should be used to it by now.)

As I'm writing this, I'm at one of my favorite places: a big rock on top of a mountain, overlooking a lake and a beautiful sunset, with colorful leaves fluttering around me, crunching when I walk.

Autumn is my favorite time of year.

Ironic, because not only is it the most beautiful season to me, it's also one of the saddest. Everything is dying, and I know that soon, the trees will be bare, the grass will be brown, and I'll be stuck indoors until March.

Still, without the death that autumn brings, there can be no changing leaves, no color, no bonfires or caramel apples, none of the vibrance of the season that I love the most. The best things can't come without pain.

And yes, spring will come eventually. New life always follows death. Things won't hurt forever. And I do love springtime as well. The warmth, the flowers, the green, the birds. It's a close second favorite.

Even so, there's just something special about the fall.

The more I experience, the more I go through the changes of life, the more I begin to realize: there's something special about the hardest times. Yes, they hurt so much, and no, I probably wouldn't choose them if given an option. But it's through this kind of pain that the most beautiful changes come. Somehow, the most joy comes in the times that hurt the most. Sometimes, it's not about pushing through and waiting for the hard times to be over; it's about finding the incredible joy that can only be found in them. It's something I don't understand, but it's the most special kind of joy and peace that I've ever experienced.

It's the hardest times that force things in me to die. And when they die, I learn what it means to really live. I learn to see Him again.

When I am weak, He is strong.
Whoever loses his life will gain it.
Dying, we live.

Sometimes, the beauty can only be found in the loss. Just like autumn.

Linked: A Holy Experience

Cake, classes, & flannel shirts

Listening to: "All About Us" by He Is We (featuring Owl City)

I love this song so much. I've kinda liked He Is We for awhile now, and of course, if you don't know that I love Owl City, we obviously have not been friends for very long. It's a nice combination, I think. :)

It feels like fall today! Unfortunately, I think this is because it's going to rain, but whatever. I'll take what I can get. At the very least, it's a good excuse to wear a flannel shirt.*

Anyway.

I am currently eating Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake from City Café. It is so good. City Café is a diner in Chattanooga that I, along with a few friends, went to yesterday for Audrey's birthday. They have a little bit of everything as far as food goes--also very good--but the cake! It's amazing. They have approximately 943204328 different kinds (regular cake and cheesecake alike), from Butterfinger to Coke to Raspberry White Chocolate. It was a little pricey for my tastes ($6 a slice), but since the slices are huge...it was justifiable. Besides, it's cake. How can you not justify cake?

In other news, I've just been (basically) enjoying the start of my senior year of college.** Classes are pretty cool, I got a job as a TA, and I've pretty much been living an otherwise uneventful life. God's been teaching me a lot, and I guess I'm slowly learning, as usual (two steps forward, one step back, repeat. I'll get there eventually). I could go into more detail about that, but I'll save it for another time. I'm not feeling particularly introspective at the moment. :)

In the meantime...

• Pinterest. Because I like things.
• The song "Autumn" by Ben Rector.

"So I watched the leaves fall
All of the way to the ground
And I knew that that was what love was
To die so that it could be found...

Winter's chill won't leave until
I let it lay me down
And you can't see the spring
'Til you're like the leaves
Here on the autumn ground"

• Spotify. Free music + it's legal. Enough said.

*I'm kind of addicted to flannel shirts... I'm tempted to buy one every time I see one. Unfortunately (or luckily?), I rarely have money in my bank account to act on these temptations.
** Senior year? Um, what?(!?!?!?!)