On Being Content

Lately I've been finding myself trudging through certain parts of life and waiting for others.  Working during the week and longing for the weekend.  Wishing the weekend lasted longer.  And I guess that's pretty normal, but when have I ever been normal?  So starting today, I am making a decision to enjoy every part of my life, every day, every minute, every second.  I will find something to be happy about.  Because I don't want to spend my life waiting to live it.

via mary.fran on Flickr

via Matthew Sanzone on Flickr

via workisnotajob

via Jessica Hische

via piece of cake/peace of mind (which is a fantastic blog, by the way)

Dollar Tree/ Bookstore Haul

So my shopping trip yesterday didn't go exactly as planned.  The store I sell my books to isn't buying books this week because it's Thanksgiving week.  The store I want to sell my CDs and DVDs to just bought a bunch of CDs and doesn't have money to buy my stuff.  Then I went to Dollar Tree and got everything I wanted from there, but my reward card from my bank was declined.  I purchased the stuff anyway, since it was 5 nice looking picture frames and one nice piece of wall art for a total of $6.

the frames and art

You can't read it but it says, "Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by
the moments that take your breath away." It's one of my favorite quotes.

So I have to call and figure out if I need to activate the reward card or what.  On the bright side of that, I still have the full $50 to spend on my fairy lights for my room and on stuff from Goodwill.  Walgreens is selling the lights I want for $4, so I get to buy $46 dollars worth of clothes from Goodwill sometime soon.  That's practically enough for a new wardrobe! I usually spend about $8 for pants and around $5 for skirts or shirts at Goodwill, so I can buy 2 pairs of pants, 5 skirts or shirts (some combination of the two), a cute scarf, and probably still have enough leftover for a pair of gloves (the one-size-fits-all kind).  When I think of it that way, I'm not bummed at all. 

In other news, the bookstore was wildly successful.  I bought a hat that doesn't go in my eyes for way more than I would normally spend, but I used my rebate, so it's like free money.  It was $20 and it's made out of alpaca fur and I love it. 

the hat

I also bought some jewelry stuff, including ribbon, hemp cord in 4 great colors, and rhinestones.

the bookstore haul

And I found the coolest paper ever to use on my earring organizer.  It's about the weight of slightly thicker tissue paper, so it will be really easy to poke earrings through.  I couldn't decide between these two, so I got both.  They were only 50 cents each! One has actual sheet music pieces made into it, and the other has shiny gold colored fibers and swirls of white fibers.  I think I'll quarter them and do a checkerboard sort of thing. I'll post pictures when I finish, of course.

the sheet music paper

the fiber paper

And in other other news, I have learned to put on my makeup quickly.  It only took five minutes to do my whole face, minus mascara and eyeliner.  I didn't feel like wearing mascara today and I suck at eyeliner so I usually don't bother.  I think it turned out pretty well.  I even did a smoky eye!  Everything on my face in this picture is e.l.f. makeup, except my foundation.  I still plan to review the makeup, but haven't gotten around to it yet.  Obviously I like it enough to keep wearing it though.

the makeup and the top half of my outfit (bottom half was skinny jeans from Ross and the
brown boots from Goodwill, which turned out to be pleasantly waterproof)
camera necklace from Etsy, guitar pick skull necklace made by my awesome brother

Life has no limits if you're not afraid to get in it

Those are some lyrics from a song, 5 internet points for you if you can name it. They are completely true. Lots of times the only thing standing between you and greatness is fear. It could be fear of failure, fear of embarassment, or fear of getting injured. I conquered one of my fears today. That was the fear of using the stairs when I'm on crutches. It's still really scary and I usually trip, but I am capable of going down or up about 10 steps. This is pretty awesome because the stairs are way quicker than wheelchair ramps and it helps me not feel quite so helpless, even though I have trouble putting my own shoes on. I guess that this whole experience has taught me how to rely on others instead of just trying to do everything myself. So this is me encouraging all of you to face a fear, even a little one. You'll feel so much better after you do.

Glass Half Full

My legs are still not working, but it isn't going to help to feel bad about it. The one thing I can control in this situation is my attitude and I am choosing to have a good attitude. Two of my friends came to my room and had bible study with me and it was really encouraging. We're going to have pumpkin pie and ice cream and play Mafia (a card game) tonight. It should be fun and I'm looking forward to leaving my room. Here's a brief list of things I'm thankful for:

1. I live in the United States. I don't live in a third-world country where food and water are scarce.
2. I have awesome friends, and who cares if H put me in the friend zone? At least he is my friend. I will no longer be upset about that.
3. I have all of my mental abilities fully working, even if my physical abilities aren't.
4. I can curl up in a blanket on my bed instead of having to sit in a chair and listen to a monotonous professor.
5. I have extra time to study for my mid-terms this week. Some people skip class to study, but I don't have to. I'm skipping class because my legs aren't working but I have tons of extra time to study now.
6. I also have extra time for entertainment. I finished the book I was reading. I also watched the first Harry Potter movie.
7. I've never been abused or neglected.
8. I have the opportunity to further my education.
9. There are so many people who care about me. I have a fantastic support network.
10. Even when I feel all alone, God is with me. He helps me make it through, and I'll be stronger because of it.

That's just a few of the many things I'm thankful for at the moment. Sometimes I need a change in perspective and I need to focus on the good things instead of the bad.

Listening to this song always puts me in a good mood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73aMawhB0TE

Have a great day, everyone. I know I will.
      

Things that make me happy :)

I have two followers now! Yay, thanks for following me Lauren!

This list is not in order of how happy these things make me, they all make me really super happy in some way or another.

1. Rain
I love the sound of rain. Sometimes I like to go out when it's raining and just get completely soaked then come back in and change into comfy dry clothes and drink hot cocoa. I never use an umbrella, ever, but I do like pictures of people with umbrellas.

2. Lightning
It's so incredibly powerful and yet beautiful. I love to photograph lightning. My mom's afraid I'm going to get struck by lightning but I stay away from tall things like trees and I stay low to the ground, so far so good. I did take this picture.

3. Holding hands
I like holding hands more than kissing. I just feel such a sense of security and togetherness. It's completely impossible for me to be unhappy while holding hands.

4. Sunset
I love watching the sunset and taking pictures of sunsets. It's so unique every night and it's really cool because in some other part of the country, the sunset could look completely different, and this one is exclusive to you and the other people where you are. I feel calm and peaceful when I watch the sunset. It's a wonderful stress-melter. I took this picture, among many others. It was so hard to choose!

5. Tim Burton movies
For those of you who don't know what I mean, Tim Burton directed pretty much all of the best movies ever, at least in my opinion. The list includes, but is not limited to: Edward Scissorhands, Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas, 9, James and the Giant Peach, Beetlejuice, and the Corpse Bride. His movies are all slightly twisted while being oddly sweet, and get this, they're musicals! I don't even like any other musicals besides Tim Burton movies. At first, I didn't even notice they were musicals until my brother pointed it out, but they have awesome music, usually by Danny Elfman, so it's okay. I have a Nightmare Before Christmas purse and I named my guitar and my keyboard Jack and Sally, respectively.

That's pretty much the most unique things that make me happy. Also, hacky sacking is my addiction. It's pretty healthy, as far as addictions go. Other, more common things are friends, family, food, and of course music. I couldn't imagine life without music, or any of the other things on my list really, but if I had to pick one thing that I would never live without, it would have to be music.
What are the slightly strange things that make you the most happy?