Wednesday, December 4, 2013

taking stock


I saw this list titled "taking stock" a few days ago on one of my favorite blogs and thought it looked like such a fun way to kind of document what life is like right now.
I warn you, it is a novel, but I loved doing it and look forward to looking back at it years from now when things are so different.

Making : Christmas gifts. To me, there is nothing more fun than giving a handmade Christmas gift...unless they turn out terribly. In that case, there is nothing worse.
Cooking : enormous chocolate chip cookies until the cows come home because they're just that good and I'm a sucker for a late night cookie and a big glass of milk. It is impossible for me to go to bed without some sort of treat. My 50-year-old self is probably cursing my name because I'm guaranteed to have type 2 diabetes in no time with this diet.
Drinking : Loads of Kroger cherry pomegranate Crystal Lite. It's kind of impossible for me to have water with dinner right now.
Reading: a parenting book. Well, I've been meaning to read a parenting book but I have yet to crack it open. In the meantime we are reading lots and lots of children's books from the library, like the one about an anaconda at the zoo that ends up eating 9 children and their teacher but then a little girl uses a stick to pry it's mouth open and all of them come out miraculously unscathed. It's Minnie's favorite and I think it's weird.
Wanting: too many things. I feel absurdly materialistic right now. I think I need to go on a total spending and social media fast for awhile. Ironic that I'm currently writing on my blog that I should be on a social media fast? Yes, definitely yes.
Looking: for a really great pair of leather booties{Speaking of wanting}. I have been on a quest for months now. I've even ordered two different pairs and returned both. Life is hard, let me tell you.
Playing: Boggle. For about six months straight Robert and I played it nightly. Total nerds, I know. {I beat him twice in a row tonight. This girl's still got it!}
Wasting: Time playing Boggle.
Sewing: A new snuggly blanket for Lou bug. I wanted gray but the softest material was black. Julia says it looks like she's going to a funeral. At least she'll be warm on her way.
Wishing: Robert didn't have to go back to work tomorrow. Is it a wish if I think it every single night?
Enjoying: An entire bag of white fudge Flips in one sitting. See what I said about the diet thing? Not my strong point.
Waiting: To go to Texas and see my sister and her family!!! I'm literally counting down the days. Like "I should probably make a paper chain because I'm thinking so much about it" kind of counting down the days. 
Liking: the cold weather. Weird, I know. It just makes our house feel so much cozier and makes me feel less lazy on the days when I don't leave the house. "It was too cold," is a totally legitimate excuse.
Wondering: if this little family of ours will ever not be sick this winter. Minnie, then Robert, then Lou and now me. Blah! I'm on the up and up, thank goodness, but Lou has got some kind of insane cough. It's pretty pathetic.
Loving: The tiny little Christmas tree we just put up and a pair of tiny little hands that helped hang ornaments for the first time.
Hoping:
The Christmas Jello Jigglers Min and I made before her nap turn out. The bagger at the grocery store gave her a little Christmas Jello mold today and Min was beaming when we got home and I told her we could make some Jello to put in them. "I want to make..." is one of her most used phrases these days. She wants to make everything! Can't wait to see what she thinks of them.
Marvelling: at how sweet Minnie is becoming with Lou Lou. Soft kisses, high-pitched hellos and sweet hand caresses across the cheek. One of my most recent favorites was when Minnie picked up a little toy Lou Lou dropped and Min carefully placed it back in Lou's hand and said, "There you go, Lou Lou!" and gave her a little pat on the head. My heart!
Needing: a better pair of winter boots...or thicker socks. These ridiculously long and skinny feet of mine are going to get a beating this winter without them.
Smelling: Laundry detergent. There is not a better smell in my book. We just switched to a new one {Oxyclean if you can believe it} and it's working some kind of magic here at our house.
Wearing: a momiform. Seriously, I have about two outfits on serious repeat. You may think less of me after reading this but sometimes I wear a shirt all day, sleep in it, and then I'll continue wearing it the next day as well. I know, I'm gross. But like I said, some days I just don't go anywhere and I feel totally justified because it didn't get dirty. Right? Ok, you can judge me.
Following: good examples. I have been overwhelmed by the actions of so many good people around me lately. Perhaps I shouldn't say I'm "following" them per se, but rather that I'm trying to follow them. There's nothing that brings me closer to Christ than seeing someone living a Christlike life.
Noticing: the changing seasons. I've mentioned this before, but in the moments that I sit down to nurse little Lou, I often find myself just looking out the window and thinking about life and the world in a very slow way. I see the same trees day in and day out and I watch their leaves slowly change color, and then drop, and now I watch the branches collect snow. It's pretty magical to watch the world do it's thing.
Knowing: that there is so much good ahead. I am excited about my life. About our life as a family. The minute details of every day are not always so thrilling, but I have a deep rooted knowledge that life is generally good and that although there will be difficulties ahead, there is so much to look forward to.
Thinking: about being me. I feel like social media and the world in general is kind of turning everyone into the same person. Everyday I see what everyone else likes and somehow it seems I like a lot of the things they like too. Do I really like them or am I just liking them because everyone else does? It's tricky. Once again, probably time for a little social media fast and some reevaluating.
Feeling: Merry. Everyone just seems a little cheerier with the new fallen snow, the Christmas music in every store and scarves around their necks.
Bookmarking: Paint colors on Pinterest. Robert and I have been on Zillow constantly the last couple months scouring the area for houses. We will be in the market in no time {we've already been to a few showings...gah!} and I can't wait to have a space to make my own. Living rent-free for 2 1/2 years has been a serious blessing, but it is going to be fun to have our own house.
Opening: A bag of white fudge Flips...again! See, I told you.
Giggling: At almost everything Minnie says, except for "No." That is not funny. Everything else, however, is. She tells me that I'm a princess about ten times a day {I'll take it!} but when I tell her she's a princess she says, "No, I'm Minnie!" She also tells me diapers are for babies, but when she doesn't want to take hers off after a nap she tells me they're for big girls {pronounced big "gouls". Blasted r's! They're so hard.}.
Feeling: grateful. Yes, I am also tired and a little stuffy and anxious about a million things {I'm kind of an anxious person in general these days} but gratitude trumps them all. It just does.

5 comments:

  1. I love how many of these revolve around food. Just like a good Mecham girl. I hear ya on day 2 on clothes. Enjoy this phase of life because when Minnie starts school, you're gonna have to change, cause her teacher will know your secret if you show up too many times in the same outfit. I truly miss never leaving the house. Truly! I keep telling Matt I wanna take the kids out of preschool, but he says it is all for selfish motives. Maybe it is, but I have heard that a happy Momma = a happy home. I am just thinking of the greater good of the family. :)

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  2. I ADORE your blog! I feel the exact way you do about much of this list. Food included. I'll start watching what I eat at the beginning of the year ;)
    And the whole social media thing. Speaking to the choir girl! I have had to scale back on how much I read. Nothing is worse than feeling bad about myself for not being as good as "that" person who is only showing what they choose. It's a slippery slop I tell ya. Although I do love my blog. And yours. Can't wait for you to get your own place. That's going to be a dream!

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  3. I'm with ya on all these! Clothes for two days, social media fasts, the newly fallen snow, watching siblings interact, listening to 2-year-olds talk, feeling like life is so so good. It really is!! How blessed are we?! Oh and when did your sis move to Texas?! I thought she was in Canada?

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  4. Yep, we're pretty much the same person. And boggle! The best game ever. We love the app letterpress too, Nick and I would stay up way too late playing that when we first got it. I've been spending way too much time on Zillow too, not that a house is anywhere near our future. It's just fun to dream right? :)

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