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I have always loved music. I have always turned to listening to music when I was stressed and needed to relax. I have a massive CD collection and tons of tunes downloaded on iTunes. And I have great respect for the talents of my musical friends. So I started thinking it would be cool to make some beautiful music myself. I had played clarinet in grade school and through my freshman year of high school and then took piano lessons in high school, but didn't stick with it. When I started thinking about taking up an instrument again, I thought about piano, but more and more, I have grown to love the acoustic guitar sound! So in February 2011, I bought a guitar and some books, and started teaching myself.
I absolutely LOVE playing my guitar! It is so therapeutic after a long day to sit there and play music. I especially love playing hymns and Christian songs. You just can't be in a bad mood when you're playing and singing "Jesus Loves Me," or a great hymn! Deciding to learn guitar was a good decision for me. I think I really needed something else in my life--a hobby, a way to relax etc. And I am excited about how I will be able to incorporate guitar playing in my ministry (playing for my shut ins or for kids at school).
Many days, my first thought upon waking up is, "When can I take a nap today?" Now once I get going I'm usually fine, and I usually don't have time during the day to take a nap, but sometimes that moment in the morning of thinking of future sleep enables me to get up. Naps can be very refreshing. I used to always take a Sunday nap, but alas, even my Sundays here of late are too busy for napping it seems. But once in awhile, when I do get to lie down for a bit and take a nap--well, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing! I love sleep! I think everything should shut down for an hour or so in the afternoon so everyone can take a nap. (I think countries that do this have the right idea). Talking about napping makes me think of the Seinfeld episode where George is so tired at work and has his desk modified so he can take a nap under it every day. That always makes me smile.
Walking is one of my favorite forms of exercise. It's nice to walk with someone else, but I really enjoy walking alone too. I love listening to music (on my iPod) as I walk. And as I walk I think about stuff. Lots of times I play out scenes for something I'm writing. Or since I analyze myself, others, and various situations to death, walking time provides ample opportunity for this. Another great thing to do while walking is pray.
I have always loved reading! My mom read to me often when I was a child ( I especially remember the Ramona books), and as I got older she encouraged me to read. I remember one time when I was little, the library had a reading program and you put a sticker on a chart for each book read. I filled quite a few of those charts! As a kid I loved reading Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew etc. Now I enjoy reading a variety of things. I love to read fiction (Stephen King, Christian fiction, all sorts of novels). I am into reading literature, some of which I read years ago, and some I have never read. I also like to read history because I feel like I didn’t retain a lot from the history classes taken in schools since you are rushing to go through in several weeks time stuff that happened over hundreds of years. I also like reading books that have to do with entertainment—TV, movies, and so on. And I love reading theology. I am usually reading several books at the same time—some theology, a novel, something else.
I go to the library occasionally and check out books, but I really like to buy books. The problem is, I have so many books, they have pretty much filled all my shelves at home and at my office at church. But that won’t stop me from buying more books. I actually can get overwhelmed in a bookstore, but overwhelmed in a good way. I stand there and look at all those books, and am so excited about the possibilities. Each book offers an opportunity to learn or to be entertained or to be challenged in the way I think. Books can take you to another world. Writers are pretty amazing, and I hope someday I can write a book that will make people say, “Wow!” In addition to reading books, I also read magazines (Time, Entertainment Weekly, Good News, Lutheran Witness, etc.). And I enjoy some online reading--my friends' blogs, and also other random blogs. It's cool to read people's stories or their opinions about things. The Internet offers many possibilities for learning about various things, and I often can find articles about things I'm interested in and do research for the book I'm trying to write.
I remember when I was little going shopping with my mom, and today we still enjoy our shopping trips. We always have fun together, and we seem to always have something comical happen or have some adventure. I love going to the mall, and also stores that are unique in nature, whether it be a grocery store like Trader Joe’s or a store that sells collectibles like Coca-Cola stuff or movie/TV memorabilia or a store that sells all games and puzzles. I also enjoy trips to Target or Wal-Mart occasionally, and I love bookstores. And I love stores at Christmas time, with all the decorations and fun Christmas stuff they have. Shopping is a fun activity to do with my mom or a friend because we can chat while looking at stuff. Sometimes my mom and I have had quests going from store to store looking for a particular collectible item. A good quest is fun once in awhile. Though I like to buy myself something occasionally, I also love buying gifts for others. I love finding something I know a person I care about will like.
People blog for all different reasons. I have blogged to keep a journal for myself about what was happening at a particular my life and to update people on what’s happening in my life. This particular blog was inspired by my boyfriend Chris who has a similar type blog. This is a great way to celebrate all the blessings God gives. As I make all these entries I am thankful for the many many ways God blesses us and makes life interesting for us. And I hope it’s fun for the people who happen to read this blog to see this stuff, maybe be exposed to some new stuff or be reminded themselves of all the blessings they have.
I have always loved to take pictures, and scrapbooking is a really fun way of creating a book of memories. I have done a few scrapbooking type projects for friends, but my biggest project has been scrapbooking the trip to DisneyWorld that my mom and I took in 2006. I took over 500 pictures, and my mom took quite a few pictures too. And with Disney, there are so many special Disney papers, stickers, etc., it is really a lot of fun. I am almost done with my second scrapbook of that trip, and will probably do a couple more scrapbooks of that trip. I do not really consider myself a crafty, artsy person, but scrapbooking is a way I can be creative, and I really enjoy laying everything out and later looking back on completed pages.
I have really loved writing fiction since high school. I wrote several short stories then. And I started a lot of things I never finished. I took some writing classes in college and wrote a few things. Currently I am working on writing a novel. It is my dream to get it published. There's a long ways to go before there's even any possibility of that, but it is my dream, and I need to keep working at it. I like writing relationshippy kinds of stuff--stuff about friendship, family. And I love writing "wounded characters," people who have been hurt or experienced significant loss, and maybe feel they can't trust and have to put up walls. I like to write the story of how that character changes, usually as a result of someone caring for that person and helping them to break down those walls. And the novel I am writing now is ultimately about someone coming to faith in Christ. The main character is someone who prides herself on her strength, but stuff happens that eventually brings her to the realization that her own strength is not sufficient. It is fun to create something. My favorite part is playing out scenes in my head. Wherever I am, I can have a little movie in my head whenever I feel like it, playing out scenes, fine tuning dialogue and so on. The physical writing or typing is difficult sometimes, especially because I am a perfectionist. And I love writing dialogue, but descriptions are challenging for me. Writing is pretty cool, and I hope I can press on with my novel. I already have ideas for other works too!
It is so awesome to be able to sleep in. I love days when I don't have to set the alarm clock, and I can stay up late the night before if I want and sleep as long as I want. Saturday is typically a day (usually the only day) when I could sleep in, but it has been hard lately with everything going on to even have a Saturday to sleep in. But when I can...Ah, it's nice!
This exercise equipment provides a great workout, and was an excellent purchase. I decided to get this one day after trying on clothes and the clothes not fitting well! "The Gazelle mirrors natural walking motion - the suspended exercise is like walking on air." It works upper and lower body. And I like it cause I can set it up in front of the TV and watch it while doing my workout. So far I've done over 195 miles on my Gazelle.
I have always loved music. I have always turned to listening to music when I was stressed and needed to relax. I have a massive CD collection and tons of tunes downloaded on iTunes. And I have great respect for the talents of my musical friends. So I started thinking it would be cool to make some beautiful music myself. I had played clarinet in grade school and through my freshman year of high school and then took piano lessons in high school, but didn't stick with it. When I started thinking about taking up an instrument again, I thought about piano, but more and more, I have grown to love the acoustic guitar sound! So in February 2011, I bought a guitar and some books, and started teaching myself.
