fill in the blank friday

Okay, so it's not Friday...and okay, I haven't posted in more than a week...but after being crazy-busy for the first part of this week and battling strep throat for the second half, now is the first time I've been able to post in a while.

I'm slowly on the mend, which is good because I am extremely tired of laying in bed, I am out of Harry Potter on CD to listen to, and I'm sick of waking up exhausted and with a sore throat.

So here it is - another Fill in the Blank Friday from Lauren at the little things we do ... play along if you'd like!

1. Giving is the best thing ever. If I could afford it, every time I saw something that I thought someone would love, I would buy it for them. I feel happiest when I'm making other people happy, and I think giving is a good way to do that.

2. Receiving is nice, but not as nice as giving. I really would rather give than receive - it's more fulfilling.

3. The best gift I ever received was my autographed Luke Ridnour jersey. I was in eighth grade, basically obsessed with him (he was the University of Oregon's stud basketball player who was in his rookie season for the Seattle SuperSonics), and someone in my life knew how happy it would make me...he was right!

4. The best gift I ever gave was my present to my parents last Christmas. I found a whole bunch of cute pictures of my siblings and I from when we were little and printed them in black and white and put them in a nice frame.

5. Something intangible that I wish I could receive is the ability to be crafty. I always have great visions of things in my head that never come out quite right. I'd also like to receive the ability to be less competitive. My need to always be right isn't always the best thing in my various relationships.

6. Something intangible that I wish I could give is , without being too cliche, is love. It really is the greatest thing, and it makes me so sad to know that some people don't have any in their life, or don't feel as if they do. I wish I could let everyone know that they are loved and have worth, because from there, great things can happen.

7. The one gift I always wanted as a child, but never got, was...I don't know. Not to say I got everything I ever wanted or asked for, but I think the important things in life, like being with family, are what I remember more than the gifts I did or didn't get.

Have a great week!

♥ abigail

fill in the blank friday

I have to start this post by saying that I think that this is the most adorable picture I've ever seen.

That could be an exaggeration...but oh my goodness, it's cute!

I'm writing this from my bed at home (home-home in Eugene, not home in Corvallis!), warm and cozy and happy to have started my winter break. I finished finals on Wednesday and have been enjoying Eugene ever since. I have so far unpacked, cleaned the house, done a little shopping, cooked, baked, and been completely lazy. I love love love winter break!

Today's post is another fill in the blank friday...link up to Lauren's blog here and play along!

1. I wish I had more of a direction when it came to what I want to do with my life. The last time you checked I probably thought I had it figured out...I'm back to square one once again. I'm far too familiar with this square and would really like a change of scenery!

2. Yesterday I woke up happily in my own bed, went shopping with my younger sister, caught up with my old dean of students, cleaned the house, started decorating for Christmas, and cooked dinner for my family. It was a lovely day.

3. Today I will try to be disciplined and get my run in, finish my book (hopefully), get more Christmas shopping done, and start on my Christmas baking. I am optimistic that it will be another lovely day.

4. Tomorrow I will hang out with my family and possibly the man in my life, and then babysit some of my favorite kids from this summer.

5. Maybe I'll figure out my life one of these days. Tomorrow would be a good time to do that I think. Or today. Either. Both!

6. Someday I will be doing something I'm passionate about. Hopefully this life plan (although it's clearly not very specific) will involve a husband and some kidlets running around all over the place.

7. I love my life. If we want to be more specific, lately I love my family, baking, finishing the term strong, waking up to the sweetest text messages you've ever seen, finding cute little notes on post-its hidden around my room, and my grey boots.

Have a good Friday!

♥ abigail

contented

That is the best word to describe how I'm feeling at this very moment.

So much has been going on in my life the past few weeks - midterms, final projects, studying, dead week, finals...and here I sit...Monday of finals week, my last final project turned in, my first final complete (one to go, which I don't have to study for thanks to professors who like giving open-note tests)...content.

I am warm and cozy thanks to a working heater (it was fixed the day before the first - and potentially last - snowfall of the season last month), a mug of peppermint tea, flannel PJs (matching top and bottom, thankyouverymuch!), fleece blanket, and the soft sounds of my "Solo Piano" Pandora station playing through my speakers.

It's times like these, when the simplest of things can make me so very peaceful, that I truly feel content.

It's that same feeling you get when you're surrounded by the people you love, often just observing them and being in their presence, perfectly happy to just be there in their mere presence. It's the feeling of waking up and feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and completely ready to take on the day. It's walking outside and expecting clouds and instead finding the sun shining down on you on your walk to class. It's finding sweet notes that someone special hid days before and was anxiously awaiting for you to discover.

It's being at peace with everything around you, no matter how chaotic and crazy life can be.

I cherish and welcome moments like these, and find myself seeking (and finding) them often. Because if you open your eyes and your heart, I've learned that you can really find contentment in most things...and that is what makes life perfect and wonderful, despite everything else.

♥ abigail