feeling blue

It's just been a little bit of a rough day for me, and so I know that posting my list will help bring me out of the blues. Here they are:

179. warm, moist cinnamon toast
180. crackle and popping of bonfire
182. familiar cadence of laughter with a friend
187. tea made of pine needles and berries
191. silhouettes of evergreens, pointing up to night sky
194. ache of muscles after a day of doing yardwork
196. having a fun day - working in the sunshine with Jon, eating ice cream, watching a movie

:)

cat, splat, bat, thwack, smack, tack, come BACK! (Jon)

This is my life with my husband out of the country: 

Squeaks and me!

He's good company, and is learning that Jon is not his only snuggle buddy. He actually kinda demands a lot of attention, and is not so happy when I just wanna lie on the couch and read my book! He chirps at me until I chase him around a little bit.

176. my faithful companion, Squeaks (no, he's not a dog, but he does like going on walks in the woods)

Others from the list:

165. cuddly dog snuggled up to me with his head in my lap

167. keeping Sabbath holy

168. having a good, long toot after holding it in for a long time

169. sweet sound of small children talking

171. fun message from Michele on answering machine

173. being strong in my vegan convictions and not giving in (tempted TWICE this weekend!)

174. loving God

177. worship music

178. Daylight Saving's Time (woot! to the max!)

travel thoughts

So it has been awhile since I've last posted. In the intervening time since my last post, much as occurred. Jon and I traveled to the East Coast and visited my sister, Michele, and her fiance, Joshua. We had an AMAZING week of visiting a bunch of historic sites, eating all kinds of gastronomic delights, sharing some good laughs and sweet family time! Then, we got back and had to deal with jet lag and teaching the next day! Then, a week after we got back, Jon took off with the high school for a 16-day mission/science trip to Costa Rica! So, I'm living the bachelorette life and missing my husband LIKE CRAZY. Now you know what I've been up to, and this is why it's been forever since I last posted. During all this time, I kept up with my gift-listing, and here are a few highlights from the past 3 weeks!

A few things from our flight back East:
97. cross country flight
98. crisp, snowy mountain ridges
99. hundreds of frozen lakes
100. friendly seatmate - lady from Afghanistan on her way to visit her homeland
101. golden city lights, glowing like jewels
102. snow-blown plains

Now a few things from our amazing week on the East coast:
105. the sound of Michele's sneezes in the morning
106. the possibilities of a new day in a new place
107. the sound of breakfast sizzling in my sister's apartment
110. thick, chunky ice on pond
113. being with an engaged couple in love <3
115. the feeling when visiting a historic site
117. talking while lounging on the floor
118. the detached, excited, almost out-of-body feeling of travel
119. the centering, down-to-earth feeling of coming back to all you know and that is familiar
122. hundreds of eating options in Boston
126. enjoying the color GREEN while having a sister date (smoothie, wall, plant in bakery were all different shades of green)
131. being so tired and worn out and desperately needing sleep for another day of FUN
132. 13 postcards, carefully selected and written
133. seeing Michele in her wedding dress(es)
134. falling into the role of matron of honor
136. depth of the Word
137. brick path of the Freedom Trail
138. "you're my third redhead of the day" at Kleinman's wedding dress shop
140. lights, hustle, and bustle of NYC
141. Chinese takeout delivered to hotel room
142. sharing souls over soup
143. I <3 NY takeout bag

And now a few things from the last couple days:
144. red-breasted robins, greeting me on field
150. the inspiration to cook coming out of nowhere
156. how teaching the Bible takes away any frustration and angst I might be feeling and instantly centers me on God and his grace
157. working out
159. high ceilings
161. blending potatoes, leeks, broccoli into the most beautiful lime green
162. studying faithfulness this month in Bible class and feeling the faithfulness of my husband
163. woodsy-smelling fur of kitty after one of his forays in the forest
164. quiet moment holding kitty in front of fireplace

yes, we're sisters. (this is right before we purchased a large box of NERDS from Toys R Us Times Square)