1. my God. i grew up in church, participated in all of the youth activities, volunteered in the nursery, enjoyed bible studies, and saw myself as a strong christian. most people go through a point in life when they are no longer made to do things that once fit into the routine of your family. when you grow up, move out and are making a life for yourself, you let go of things that were once a priority and start to notice that you make other things that once took a backseat in life, your priority amongst all others. i strayed from church for a few years after i graduated. i'd go every now and then, but for the most part, i was slowly letting go of what i had. after a few ups and downs, i found myself feeling the ever-present need of being in church, needing a church family. i started visiting a few churches and after a while i found one that completely wrapped me up and made me one of their own. after about a month of attending services and getting back into my bible, my job changed the schedule where now i have to work on sunday mornings, strongly disturbing my soon to be routine that i had missed so much. although i can no longer attend church services, i am greatful to know my God will not give up on me. he has overseen the many, many struggles and tragedies my life has held and never once did i feel alone. he raises me up even when the weight of the world wants to hold me down.
2. my family. of course family is a favorite, who doesn't love the feeling of being in a family. my family consists of not only blood and marriage, but of friendships as well. if you are in my life, you are in my family. i will do whatever i can to help you, from helping furnish your living space to being there for you to vent all your frustrations out on. you can expect a gift on all holidays and my opinion even when you don't want it. not everyone is fortunate enough to have brother and sisters, and when you're an only child like i am, you depend on your friends to be the closest things to siblings they can. i am beyond blessed with the family i have.
3. speaking of family, my pups are family too. as long as i can remember, i've always had a pet. they are the final element to complete a family. whether i live alone or with not, molly and mya will always be there, every step of the way. no one is every as happy to see my as those girls are. and i am always just as happy to see them.
4. the fact that i am not who i used to be. when i was in high school, i loved who i was. i was different, i hung out with different people and i did different things. looking back, i know now that what should have been the best times of my life, were in reality, the saddest. i love who i am now, i love the somewhat normalcy my life holds, i love the job that i have and that i'm fortunate enough to be able to help those who need it most, although i lost friendships after high school, i love that i have gained such beautiful souls as friends in my life now that i can only be thankful for my past because it brought me to my present.
-blah! so much seriousness...so not what i intended-
5. cooking. i loooooove to cook. i may not be chef material, but i love being in the kitchen. don't get me wrong, i can whip up some pretty amazing things, but i cannot stray from a recipe. i can't go into the kitchen and just make whatever you want, i have to have step by step, explain-what-a-pinch-is, vegetable oil or olive oil directions. i always have a plan b if my recipe doesn't go as planned, but there is nothing better than spending hours in the kitchen preparing a meal that tastes and looks like a $50 way-too-fancy restaurant meal.
6. funky, crazy, doesn't-go-with-anything nail polish. pretty much sums that up.
7. ranch dressing.
8. reading. i've never been much of a reader until the past couple of years. however, now i can't read enough. there's nothing better than getting so deep in a book that once it ends you sort of feel like your living the lives of the characters. driving your car through town now feels like i'm on some sort of life or death mission, even looking in my side mirror feels dangerous. walking through the grocery store feels like i'm dodging the eyes of people who are after me. (i can't be the only one who feels this way...but if i am, it's alright to judge me.)
9. hot hot hot hot showers. i want to get out of the shower and my skin be so red it looks like i'm sunburnt.
10. any kind of adrenaline rush. i'm not an adrenaline junkie, however nothing beats the feeling of your heart about to burst out of your chest right before the roller coaster drops off, or right after you severely swerved to miss the dog that ran out into the middle of the road directly in your path.
11. anything handwritten. i know i've mentioned my love for handwritten things in a past post, but no present or proclamation of feeling can be more meaningful to me that something i can keep for years and years to come. i love writing to people as much as i love to receive them. with the world being so technologically sound these days, no one really writes anything anymore. it's all emails or text messages and cards simply consist of a signature. that breaks my heart.
12. my ability to separate myself from the real world. notice i didn't make any of that bold? it's not a favorite i'm particularly proud of being proud of. at work, i deal with people who are going through the toughest, most depressing, most angry, most tragic times of their life...being able to separate myself makes me able to stay calm, stay rational and get you all the help you need. absolutely love my job.
13. blogging. i may not have followers or comments or anyone to read what i write...but it doesn't stop me from writing. there's no purpose behind it, there's no specific fulfillment i get from it, i just like to do it.
the list could go on forever, but for now i am finished... work beckons me, the apple i finished 30 minutes ago is browning, i need to feed the dogs and my laptop is getting so hot my legs are burning.
cheers.
