List Your Accomplishments

Here goes...

I've graduated from university 

I've survived by myself in a third world country for over a year

I've always owned my own cars

I have no debt

I've traveled 

I've climbed a mountain

I've invested in causes, and people I believe in

I've been vulnerable  

I've told people how I feel

I've stood up for myself

I've asked for help when I couldn't deal by myself

more to come...

List #3

I think this list is my favorite so far. I've loved to read ever since I was a little kid. It's so fun to think back about all of the great books I've read over the years. I remember reading The Wind the Willows on my parent's bed when I was kid. I remember the first time I read To Kill a Mockingbird, and thinking it was the best book ever (spoiler alert). When I was living in Uganda I binge read books set in the Carolinas, because I missed the landscape so much. Reading a good book has such a way of transporting you to a different time or place. I can get so attached to characters in a book, and I've always thought about how awesome it would be to name your children after your favorite book characters. So without further ado...

My Favorite Books

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Lord of the Rings

The Hobbit

Everything is Illuminated 

Many Waters

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wind in the Door

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Persepolis

Serena 

The Cove

Blue Like Jazz

Through Painted Deserts

Gone Girl

The Chronicles of Narnia

Til We Have Faces

The Fault in Our Stars

Pride and Prejudice

Feed

Brave New World

The Little House on the Prairie Series

The Poisonwood Bible

The Lacuna 

Persuasion 

Johnny Tremain
The Harry Potter Series
The Phantom Tollbooth 

There are so many more books I love, and I can't wait to read more favorite books in the years to come. 

List Numer Two

Better late than never for list number two! 

I was scrolling through this Instagram account and I read this quote "I'm definitely on the brink of needing to decide what I'm going to do." Unsettlingly enough this seems to be exactly where I am in my life right now. So, this week I'll be listing the things I want to add to my life.

Now I realize these things will take some work to add to my life, but I'm willing to do the work, and admitting it is the first step, right?

 List of things I want to add to my life

I want to add a good routine to my life, I know I would be way more productive if I implemented a few routines into my daily life. 

I want to add more intentionality to my life. I wise friend once told me to step with intentionality while hiking a mountain. I think this is a principle I need to use more in my daily life.  Actually making the things I want to be a priority in my life a priority.

I want to add more graciousness and kindness to my life.

I want to add more self reliance and confidence to my life.

52 Lists

I have never, ever been accused of being a very organized person. I not a slob, but at 26 I have accepted that my natural tendencies are more on the messy side of the spectrum. I do, however, love making lists. I used to fill tedious hours at work making lists of movies I wanted to see, my top ten favorite books, etc etc. Even now, the notes app on my phone is full of lists, and every Sunday I make a list of thing I want to accomplish for the week. 

So, when my sister received Moorea Seal's book of 52 list (one for each week of the year), I decided it would be fun to work my way through the book as well. I'll be posting my lists on here, because I don't own the book (my sister does), and this way I can share my lists with the (very few) people that read my blog. 

So here goes...

Things That I Am Grateful For:

1.  Friends. Even though a lot of my close friends don't live anywhere near me, I have been so truly blessed with the amount of amazing people God has placed in my life. They have encouraged, supported, and prayed for me on countless occasions, and I am seriously overwhelmed at how blessed I am. 

2. Amazing Autumn Weather. I have lived all over the place in the last three years, and it is difficult to beat the fall weather in North Carolina. Not too hot, not too cold, mostly sunny, and with beautiful foliage. 

3. Technology. I love how modern technology allows me to stay connected with all of my people all over the world. As I am typing this sentence I am messaging my friend in Kenya. I am able to maintain so many long distance friendships because of how great technology is today. I can't imagine trying to keep up with friends in Africa, Europe, or even in a different part of the country 50 years ago.

That's all I've got for now, there are a million more things that I am thankful for, but listing them would take awhile to list. Until next week...

Summer Song

This song seems perfect for the middle of spring/beginning of summer.

Enjoy!

What I'm Listening To...

I will alway love Daughter. I listened to this song on repeat the other night, it's just so beautiful.

If you haven't seen The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby you should go watch it right now. Son Lux does the soundtrack, and it is brilliant.

How can you not love a little Trampled by Turtles? I'm a sucker for slower songs, so this is one I really like.

An Afternoon at the River

For those of you that didn't know, for the next two months I'll be living in Chile, in a lovely town called Chillan hanging out with my very dear friend Jodie. Jodie and I have been doing a bit of exploring, (mostly around Chillan) and yesterday we took the pup pups to a nearby river for an afternoon swim. 

Although it may not look like it, the water gets a lot deeper, and wider to the left of the photo. This particular river was super rocky, and once the worrier in me pushed past the fear of falling and knocking my teeth out, we had a really great time floating, and splashing, paddling around. 

We saw a bunch of these little guys scuttling along the rocks on the river bank, or nibbling our toes in the water. They reminded me so much of the hermit crabs my sisters and I used to have (R.I.P. Hermie). Fun fact: Chile doesn't have any poisonous snakes or bugs or really any creature that can hurt you (praise praise!), this news came as a huge relief to me, as I am always in a mild state of fear that I will die from a snake bite.

I look forward to sharing more of my adventures in Chile with you, so stay tuned!