Counting My Blessings: Day By Day

28-Day Challenge

Day 15:: Thursday, July 1st, 2010: Post Splurges. I’ve been avoiding the blog for a while now, and now have ideas for about half a dozen posts.  I’m also trying to train myself into reading anywhere.  Today I had to water the garden and read about 20 pages of “To Kill a Mockingbird” (required summer reading for school) with a hose in my hand. =)

Day 14:: Wednesday, June 30th, 2010:  HALFWAY MARK!!  Two weeks down, two to go.  Also, books.  I have a mad love for books.  I was flipping through all my “to-read” books on Goodreads.com and complained to my mother how there’s not enough me to read all these books I can’t wait to start.

Day 13:: Tuesday, June 29th, 2010: New Music.  I bought Regina Spektor’s two albums, “Begin to Hope” and “Far”, and I love her style.  It’s unusual and plesantly strange and original.  Her voice is also beautiful.

Day 12:: Monday, June 28th, 2010: Unexpected surprises.  I had the hardest time sleeping and picked up a book that a friend of mine has been telling me to read for a few months now.  I was skeptical.  The book was long (500 large pages with small print) and the style was something I wasn’t used to, making it harder to read.  But I fell in love with it after a couple dozen pages.  It’s fabulous; Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.  Check it out.

Day 11:: Sunday, June 27th, 2010: Laid back Sundays are best.  I slept off some of the pain of my sunburns that I got at the pool party yesterday.  Believe me, they are PAINFUL.  But at least I can recuperate without much to do today.

Day 10:: Saturday, June 26th, 2010: Pool parties and friends! My youth group helped some church friends move into a new house and we were rewarded with a swim in their pool and pizza!  We had a lot of fun.

Day 9:: Friday, June 25th, 2010:  Easy babysitting=easy money.  I put the 3yo to bed at 2 and that parents didn’t get home until almost 5. So I sat around and watched cable TV for almost 3 hours.  Doesn’t get much easier than that. =)

Day 8:: Thursday, June 24th, 2010: Psalm 18.  There’s a post about it.  my devotionals were on the “flop” side and I was getting kinda frustrated.  So I decided to pick up where I left off in Psalms for my AWANA reading.  I read Psalm 18 and felt this little reminder that God’s watching out for me. Read the post, I don’t want to give it all away right here.

Day 7:: Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010: Tornadoes.  I know it sounds crazy, and don’t get me wrong: I DON’T enjoy the results of tornadoes and the damages and death that it sometimes causes.  I DO love camping out in the basement with books and ipods and being forced to get along with my family for a few hours.  I like the suspense of waiting to find out if the tornado is going to hit us or pass by.  (So far, we’ve gotten lucky.)  I finished reading a book out loud to my two younger siblings and then worked on finish the novel I was reading personally.  It’s a fun time.

Day 6:: Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010: Good books.  I stopped by the library to drop off some videos and other books and picked up a novel a friend from school had recommended to me.  I stayed up til almost midnight reading it and made it through about 200 pages of it.  Mmmmm…nothing tastes better than a good book.

Day 5:: Monday, June 21st, 2010:  Little Kids.  My church’s Vacation Bible School program started today and I was helping out with songs and with some of the younger groups.  After we had worn out all activities and still had 10 minutes left, the group leader (also one of my friend’s mom) asked if the kids had a favorite song we could sing.  She was looking for song along the line of “Jesus Loves Me”, “This Little Light of Mine”, and “Amazing Grace”.  We got two requests that forced us to hold back a fit of giggles:  “Fireflies” by Owl City and “Katy Perry” (I guess she was speaking in general).  Hehe.

Day 4:: Sunday, June 20th, 2010:  Fathers and Shopping.  Of course, it’s Father’s Day.  We got Dad a lawn chair that has a foot rest and head pillow.  Mom hid it in the garage under some blankets and we played “Hot and Cold” and had him search the whole house for it.  Pretty funny.  And I got 2 new dresses at JC Penny’s that are very cute and pretty.  whoo-hoo! =)

Day 3::Saturday, June 19th, 2010 : Friends and Family.  I went to a graduation party for two of my cousins today and had a ton of fun a with everyone.  Some of my younger cousins I hadn’t seen in a very long time, but we re-connected instantly and my 10yo girl cousin even called me “The Greatest of the Older Cousins!” haha.  Plus, another “older” cousin and I have a mutual friend (even if I know him through her) and he showed up today at the party.  I hadn’t seen him in about 14 months and it was fun talking with him.

Day 2::Friday, June 18th, 2010 : Having a Job.  Some might not say it’s a “real job”, but I love my job.  I babysit on a regular basis and I worked 4 days this week. 9 hours total.  My two munchkins are the greatest ever and it’s wonderful playing with them so much. 

Day 1::Thursday, June 17th, 2010 : Motivation.  It’s day one and I’m excited to be doing this.  I’m nervous and anxious and scared and a lot of other feelings too, but I’m most looking forward to finishing and looking back at accomplishing something.

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Mon.  August 10th, 2009:  Comments.  It sounds a little funny, but seeing comments from people on here and my facebook and anywhere else is so much fun!  I love getting comments…

Sun.  August 9th, 2009:  Reminiscing.  My youth group and I had a presentation at church about the trip we took to Mississippi.  Even though it was only a month ago, remembering and seeing everything we did still gets me.  And to quote my father, “Wow, your life looks so much more interesting when it’s put to a soundtrack!”

Sat.  August 8th, 2009:  Being a superhero.  When mistakes are made, and time is of the essence, that’s where I come in. 

Fri.  August 7th, 2009:  People whom you unexpectedly appreciate.  We went to my Spanish teacher’s house today for a fiesta and I realized just how much I admire her.  She’s one of the coolest people I know and sometimes I can’t help but want to be like her. =)

Thu.  August 6th, 2009:  All Nighters.  I went to the church tonight and stayed up the whole night with some girl friends of mine.  We had a blast playing all sorts of random games and watching chick flicks!!!

Wed.  August 5th, 2009: Those little suggestions you say in jest and then end up doing them.  My dad had a meeting at church after youth group and two of my friends live just down the street from the church.  So I joked and said that I should just crash at their house next time my dad has a meeting…turns out I didn’t have to wait til ‘next time’.

Tue.  August 4th, 2009:  Ambitions.  I was talking with my mom about the boy next door with diabetes and the processes his parents go through to make sure he’s stable.  We started talking about ways it could be made easier and how I could contribute to that someday.  It ended with me saying, “Or we could think way far into the future and just create a cure for diabetes; period!!  And that I would happily take part in!”  Someday, I hope to.

Mon.  August 3rd, 2009: Craziness.  Some friends and I did a video shoot today.  Took us some 4 1\2 hours to finish.  But the things that happen in a hot (not to mention non-working) bus with 7 girls….hahaaaaa, it’s hilarious.   Not to mention the craziness of running around to different places all day. hehe.

Sun.  August 2nd, 2009: Happiness.  I went to a bridal shower today.  Toilet paper dresses, not being able to say the bride or the groom’s name (and the creativity people use to avoid it), good food, good times…it’s just so fun.

Sat.  August 1st, 2009:  Duets with two year olds!!!  I rode home with a friend and her two kids today and her 2 (almost three!!) year old was asked to sing to a song.  He answered “Can Kathleen sing with me?”  I happily obliged and we had a great time singing together!  Hehe, a dynamic duo!

Fri.  July 31st, 2009:  Being kept on your toes.  Babysat today…and the security system at the house was on the fritz.  So poor me had to figure out how to handle two kids and a LOUD box (which I had not the slightest idea how to disable)…TWICE!!!  Thankfully, the mother called after the first time and told me how to disengage the alarm.  So I knew what to do the second time! 

Thu.  July 30th, 2009:  Cities!  Went into Chicago with some friends today.  I love the city.  It’s just beautiful, the buildings, the people, the events, the performers, it’s all just fascinating!  =)

Wed.  July 29th, 2009: Driving.  It sounds weird, but just riding home from youth group with just me and my dad, clocking in hours for my license, and listening to Alison Krauss is just a ton of fun.  haha.

Tue.  July 28th, 2009:  Ice Cream.  I went with the family on a  bike ride to Oberweis for ice cream.  We always seem to run in to people we know there.  We saw a girl my mom works with and also some church friends!  And, in all seriousness, I am utterly convinced God created Chocolate and Peanut-Butter ice cream.  It’s heavenly.

Mon.  July 27th, 2009:  God’s little pick-me-ups.  Bad day.  So I spent the afternoon at a friends talking about everything from speculation on school to methods of story writing.  Then came home and showered and had another long talk with another friend about grammar, punctuation, and…standards in dating and kissing.  Absolutely riveting.

Sun.  July 26th, 2009:  Writing and silly games.  I got to work on my novel again, it was nice getting lost in the words.  We also played a crazy game at youth group….Chinese Pictionary.  It was like a crazy version of telephone, but with pictures turning into words and back into pictures and so on.  The results were hilarious!!

Sat.  July 25th, 2009:  Girl Talk.  I had an interesting conversation concerning “girlish” content with one of my friends after a night out at Giordano’s.  Hehe, it was quite memorable.

Fri.  July 24th, 2009:  Spur-of-the-moment outings and songs that make you suddenly find yourself smiling.  We were going to stock car races last night but due to thunder storms and tornado watches, it was canceled.  So instead of driving an hour back home, we spent the evening bowling at a nearby alley.  Not what we planned, but it was a great night.

Thu.  July 23rd, 2009:  My blog.  I woke up this morning with an extreme appreciation for my blog.  I’m not really sure why, but I think I just like getting my thoughts down and knowing that it can be encouraging to other people. =)

Tue.  July 21st, 2009:  “Park-hopping”, “Flower Punting”, and “Weed Wading”.  Yeah, you never know what’s going to happen when you get a group of my friends together!
Wed.  July 22nd, 2009:  Laid-back days of nothing in particular….  Just getting to relax after going, going, going. oh yeah.

Mon.  July 20th, 2009:  Reunions!  Caught up with some friends I hadn’t seen in 4 years!!!  Plus, getting to go babysit and see my boys again.  A week and a half from them is too long.

Sun.  July 19th, 2009:  Long-awaited Hugs.  Seeing those you missed…a lot. ?

Sat.  July 18th, 2009:  MONSTER!!  And getting hyper!  14 hours in a van with a dozen other people will drive you a little crazy. =)

Fri.  July 17th, 2009:  Knowing it’s not good-bye.   …And that the friends we made are ones we will see again, even if it means waiting ’til we reach eternity.  MISS YA’LL DOWN SOUTH SOOOO MUCH!!!!

Thu.  July 16th, 2009: Singing in the car, Riding in beat-up trucks!!  My friends and I would belt out praise songs in the car on the way to our Bible Clubs…so fun!!!  Plus, you’ve never experienced the South if you’ve never ridden in an old, doorless, banged-up “pick-em-up truck”.  You can’t have much more fun than that!!

Wed.  July 15th, 2009:  Testimonies, Prayer, and the Power of God. Wednesday night services in Mississippi are always such a blessing.  Hearing about how God has completely turned lives around in SO encouraging.  Prayer Time every night with the other girls in the house was fabulous as well.  God works in amazing ways through less than amazing people.  Amazing, isn’t it?

Tue.  July 14th, 2009: Roommates and the crazy things that happen in a house full of girls.  Not to mention the lengths we went to make sure the house was ‘roach proofed.

Mon.  July 13th, 2009: New People, New Christians.  The youth group in Mississippi was phenomenal.  God willing, those friendships will last forever!  Plus, the Bible Clubs were VERY successful, even on the first day!!!  We had many of the kids accept Christ!!

Sun.  July 12th, 2009: Sundays and spectacular sermons.  I got a page or two of extremely encouraging quotes!

Sat.  July 11th, 2009: Housework, making breakfast with friends, and funny quotes!!!  Found 9 cockroaches by Saturday night in the house.  Many screams were head from where 7 girls were staying.  Made pancakes that morning with a friend and she looked at the batter and said, “It’s supposed to be lightly slumpy!”  heheee.

Fri.  July 10th, 2009:  Road Trips\Missions Trips!!  Leave it to me to be waaay too hyper at 4AM.  I think a few people wanted to strangle me. =)

Thu.  July 9th, 2009: Anticipation!  Early get-ups are goodbyes tomorrow!!  Yay for waking up at 3:30AM!!

Wed.  July 8th, 2009: Packing for road trips!!!  I leave to Mississippi for a week on friday morning!!  LOTS of stuff to pack and not a whole lots of room, but it’s still fun getting it all together.  I think packing my carry-on is the best part.

Tue.  July 7th, 2009: Shopping sprees!!!  Went with Mom and my bro to Wal-mart and Khol’s.  Got a new CD, new swimsuit, new hoodie, new shorts, new purse, and new pencils!!!  =D

Mon.  July 6th, 2009:  Best friends.  I had some long talks about random things with a few very good friends tonight.  It’s one of those nights where I can’t help but contentedly sigh over how much God blesses me with amazing people in my life.

Sun.  July 5th, 2009:  Delayed enjoyments.  The fireworks for my hometown were canceled due to rain.  So we got to enjoy them tonight with some friends!!  Oh, and glow sticks are something I’m thankful for as well–WAY FUN!!!

Sat.  July 4th, 2009:  FREEDOM!!!!  We so often don’t realize how much we owe to our Almighty God and our country.  THANK YOU GOD FOR AMERICA.  THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR US.

Fri.  July 3rd, 2009:  “Dates” with the boys I babysit, a 4yo and a 2yo.  Their parents had a date that night so I went over and had a great time with the boys.  The 4yo is so sweet–we’ll sit on the couch and he comes and snuggles up next to me.  Plus, if I’m not stroking his arm or holding his hand or something, he’ll pick my hand up and move it to show me how he wants his “dosage of endearment”.  SO CUTE!

Thu.  July 2nd, 2009:  Re-decorating!  I redid the cover of my Bible Study binder today.   I don’t consider myself skilled in the artistic areas, so I can’t help but smile when I look at it–it’s so pretty!!! =)

Wed.  July 1st, 2009: NEW FAMILY MEMBERS’!!!!  I found out a friend of mine accepted Christ yesterday!!!  I am SO thankful to know that I have a new brother in Christ and will see him in eternity.