TGIF

This is a snapshot from the passenger's seat during our morning commute. Isn't the city grand? We won't be glimpsing this view tomorrow, though, because it's Friday!!! Time to stay home and sleep in. Josh and I spent our week unpacking more boxes, cleaning, and arranging furniture in our new home. We even managed to escape IKEA without spending all of our money. ;) We are hosting a little St. Paddy's celebration tomorrow (yay!) and I'm attempting Irish soda bread for the first time. Am I the only one who freaks out a little before trying a new bread recipe? It's such a gamble... but so cathartic and so very worth it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Any plans?

Morning, v.4

I received the new issue of Kinfolk on Wednesday! It's been resting safely on my coffee table, waiting for the weekend to arrive. This morning, I am curled up on the couch in my pajamas to enjoy this magazine properly with a fresh cup of joe. I am in my happy place.

Did you know that Volume 7 is an ode to ice cream? Yeah. I love these people.

Morning, v.2

Saturday mornings are my favorite because I don't have to be anywhere. I can simply sit and sip my cup of coffee, enjoying for the first time in six days just being in my home. Today, this sipping and sitting involved listening to Christmas music! I would normally be appalled at myself, but somehow, it just seems right. Especially since the weather outside my window is cold and gray.

When do you usually break out the Christmas music?

Morning, v.1

Saturday morning solace. Today, I can sip my coffee, listen to folk music, and just breathe.

When fear strikes

It is a chilly, rainy day here in Chicago.  I am at home, using my only sick day, taking long naps interrupted by comically urgent hustles to the bathroom.  Josh left for a trip last night.  I have spent evenings away from him before, but last night was different, stark, restless.  I laid in the dark for hours before finally dozing off around four o'clock.  A night like that will make you feel pretty pathetic.  Something about that empty bed knotted anxiety inside me, and I was beleaguered by the realization that, if this arrangement were not temporary, and Josh never came back, I just couldn't do it.  I couldn't go on alone.

Last night was a brutal reminder of how easily I succumb to fear.  I battle a dark distrust of my God, a paralyzing anxiety that He will rip Josh from my life at any time, leaving me alone with a gaping emptiness.  If I lost him, would I cling to my God, or curse His name?  Would I press on, or would I crumble to pieces in an empty bed?

When the world comes crashing down around my feet

And I can't see ten feet in front of me

Jesus, I know that You are strong when I am weak

So please help me allow You to be my everything

No matter what this day will bring, I will lift my hands and sing

Oh, be my everything

I'll make my life an offering, in You alone I believe

Oh, be my everything

- Everything by Telecast

Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief.

Fridays

I like Fridays.  I have time to breathe on Fridays.  I slept in until 10:00 am, went to class, ate lunch, and came back to my apartment two hours of free time.  Free time!  Time to complete homework, sip coffee, listen to First Aid Kit (I'm still obsessed), and catch up on emails.  And, in this case, to post something rather meaningless and fun.



I wore my red shoes (again) today.


 
My assigned reading for drama class has been utterly fascinating.  Check out The Empty Space by Peter Brook, Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle, and The Actor's Art and Craft by William Esper and Damon DiMarco.

I was washing my hands in the bathroom and realized, "Hey, there's two of me!"  Wouldn't that be a nightmare?  There's my pointless photo (or, based on my recent post, my narcissistic photo) of the day.

Well, I'm off to work soon.  Happy Friday!

Quiet Days

The spring semester has yet to begin!  Though my every evening is spent at work, my mornings are filled with sleep and quiet lounging.  Free time is lovely, and I am trying to savor it.

(I am addicted to Panera sandwiches.)  Both of my roommates have returned to Chicago, and the apartment feels normal again.  I relish alone time, but it is admittedly wonderful to be greeted by two sweet friends when I walk in the door!

All those dishes... we are definitely back to normal!  Despite my general laziness, I demonstrated mild productivity by ordering some textbooks.  They arrived from Amazon (in six packages) yesterday.

Isn't that an awesome reading list?  The literature course is designed to study the "idea of forbidden knowledge and how uncontained curiosity can lead to the monstrous." It will be undoubtedly interesting, and I am stoked!

A Non-Manic Monday

Most Mondays are dreaded days.  Blissful Saturday and restful Sunday are over, papers are due, and the bedside alarm blares too loudly and too early.  The coffee is too weak and my eyes are too puffy, and I sit in class as sociable as a bump on a log.  Ah, but today, today is a different sort of Monday.  The semester has not yet begun, and I, for the first time in seven days, do not have to trudge off to Panera for another busy shift.  Oh, what bliss!

 Yes, I am proudly using my roommates' leftover Styrofoam plates.  Why dirty a perfectly good dish?  Aside from my diligent creation of a new Grooveshark playlist (inspired by Kelly Ann's post), this morning has been perfectly lazy.

I packed up most of my Christmas gifts already, as most of them cannot (or should not, at least) be used until my wedding in June.  My sister bought me the adorable blue rug pictured above!  I hated to tuck it away, but it will soon find a home in different apartment.

Speaking of the wedding and such, I have a date with Josh tonight!  We received a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory, and we decided to redeem it on my long-awaited day off.  I will probably order a light dinner to save room for a very large, decadent slice of cheesecake.  Yay!

The Ocean Blue

I leave for Chicago on Saturday!  I have completed my final shifts at Second Go-Round and Panera Bread, and I have said my bittersweet goodbyes to dear friends at church.  Remaining are three days of sweet freedom!  I plan to rest, pack, watch re-runs of "The Office," spend time with family, and...

Leaving for college has heightened my appreciation for these beautiful beaches!  My family is blessed to live only fifteen minutes away from the ocean.
 

Relaxing on the sand this afternoon, sipping a massive cherry limeade and listening to music, I felt at peace.  This summer, though mostly consumed with long shifts and sporadic wedding planning, has truly been a wonderful season.  Josh and I created some fun memories before he left in July, and I also enjoyed some get-togethers with high school friends!  It has also been a blessing to live at home for three months.  I will miss my family when I return to the Windy City.