Taking Stock: October

Hello friends!  I'm coming back here after weeks of personal bad news on top of national tragedies. And it's hard to know what to say or do in the aftermath of so many awful things. So I worked my way through this list from a new fave,  Meet Me at Mike's  to try and focus on the good and interesting things in my life.  If you end up taking stock, share or send me your list. I'd love to see what's going on with you. 


Making : too many fall goals. 
Cooking : from scratch! We signed up for a meal delivery service and now I actually make dinner.
Drinking : tea! It's finally cool enough to enjoy a nice warm mug in the evenings. 
Reading: I'm just about to start Brain on Fire , courtesy of my SIL. 

Trawling: the Yankee Candle website, waiting for a sale.
Wanting: to go for a hike up in the mountains.
Looking: at all my family pictures. 
Deciding: whether it's cold enough to swap out my summer scarves for my fall/winter stash. 
Wishing: I lived a little closer to home. 
Enjoying: the slow transition into fall. I love seeing the leaves change and having cooler nights.
Waiting: to hear back about a job interview. 
Wondering: what I can do to bring a little more light into the world.
Loving: my volunteer job at the library. Being in the children's department is so fun!
Pondering: on whether or not I do too much online shopping...
Listening: to Kesha's new album, Rainbow. It is so powerful, and I cry listening to it every time.  
Considering: starting a book club?????
Buying: embroidered jeans. Finally a trend I can pull off! 
Watching: Grey's Anatomy. Fictional drama is much better than real-life drama.
Hoping: to finish a sewing project and start another this month. 
Marvelling: at a serendipitous meeting at church last week. 
Cringing: at the load of damp laundry I left overnight in the washing machine. 
Needing: to start crossing items off my to-do list! 
Questioning: if I should make some cookies, even though I still have half a pie in the fridge.
Smelling: burning soap. I tried to clean a pan. It's a whole big thing. 
Wearing: my yoga pants. It's almost 5, and I still haven't actually done any yoga...
Noticing: that maybe I do a little too much online shopping.
Knowing: that it's just about time to reorganize the laundry room again.
Trouble-shooting: the hard water stains in my tub and sink. I bought these sponges to try and combat them. 
Thinking: of trying out a new yoga class sometime this month. 
Admiring: the women who've gone before me, who made it possible to even imaging working in the writing/film industry. 
Getting: excited over the new Lush Christmas releases.
Bookmarking: tulip bulbs on Amazon. 
Opening: all my windows, because it's suddenly summer again here in Utah. 
Closing: the Angry Birds app on my phone so I'll actually get some work done! 
Feeling: a bit like butter, scraped over too much bread. 

Dreaming: of repainting my whole house. 
Hearing: peace and quiet today, from both neighbors (who have been doing construction for months)
Celebrating: nothing in particular, but I'm still having pie for lunch.
Pretending: that scrolling through Pinterest is "research". 
Embracing: myself, flaws and all. 



Taken in Lethbridge, Alberta during my visit last week

My Summer Goals

For the past few years, I've been setting seasonal goals for myself. Just little things to help me enjoy the season and focus on the now. I don't usually accomplish them all, or even half, but it's fun to try and stretch myself a little. 

Since we're right in the height {or heat, rather} of summer, I figured I'd share. Here's what I'm hoping to accomplish.  

Try 5 Summer Recipes 

       Appetizer: BLT lettuce wraps {with homegrown tomatoes!} 
       Salad: my mom's potato salad 
       Main Dish: homemade Cafe Rio pork and rice 
       Dessert: homemade ice cream {maybe this one? or this?}
       Drink hibiscus mint herbal tea {found here}

Read 5 Books
  1. How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
  2. Just Kids by Patti Smith
  3. The Handmaid's Tail by Margaret Atwood 
  4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
  5. The Opposite of Lonliness by Marina Keegan 
Complete 5 Projects 
  1. Finish up my 50 States Club quilt 
  2. Donate a craft for a local refugee fundraiser 
  3. Fill a photo album with old photos 
  4. Do a fitness challenge
  5. Start on a crazy cross stitch {maybe this one?}
Go on 5 Adventures 
  1. See the solar eclipse 
  2. Go to 3 lakes  {Utah Lake, Bear Lake}
  3. Eat outside 3 times 
  4. See an outdoor movie
  5. Go camping 

Start: June 21                   End: September 4 


What Even Is My Life?!

I feel like I've been vague-posting on Facebook, and I wanted to let you know what I've been up to. There's a lot to cover, so hang on and here we go!

But before we get too far in, I just want to say thank you.  If you're reading this, thank you so much for your support! Whether it's in-person encouragement or an online boost, it means so much to me to have you in my corner. 

So, what's been going on? Long story short, I'm finally {finally!} pursuing my writing dreams. I was laid off from my office job back in February. After floundering a little bit and applying to a bunch of jobs without getting any interviews, I decided that I was going to go for it and put my college education to good use. Since then I've been writing like crazy, building up my portfolio and looking for opportunities. 

Most recently I entered a short script hosted by NYC Midnight. The draw is that you're given 3 story guidelines - a genre, a subject, and a character - and a week to turn in a 12 page script. It was tricky, and I was writing way out my comfort zone {fairy tales are hard, yo!} but I feel good about the story I submitted. If you're interested in reading it, let me know and I can send you the file. I'd love to share it and get your feedback. 

I'm still trying to figure out my next move, but I've set some lofty goals, and I'm excited to work towards them. 

Again, I want to thank you for sticking with me. And if/when I have news to share, you best believe I will be sharing it everywhere.