just like everyone else you know, christmas is probably my favorite time of year. i love the extremely butter or sugar-centric homemade food and the festive bell-heavy jingly music. but most of all i love that feeling you get when you finally find the right gift for that particularly hard friend or family member to shop for. this year i was feeling particularly challenged when shopping for my loved ones, and then it finally dawned on me. i'll just make everyone's gifts! i started by doing some facebook stalking to find specific personal quotes for each of the people i was creating them for. then i designed a poster to not only match the person i was giving it to but to also match their personal space i thought they might put it in. i'm not going to lie, they turned out pretty alright if i do say so myself.
for my little sister i went fairy tale themed:
for my dad i used a quote that his father used to say, which he got from his father.
my mom has this saying up in our kitchen, so i thought it appropriate to put more of her personality into it
and for my brother, i knew it had to be sports themed in some way.
seeing my designs printed out was something entirely new for me, and it was absolutely thrilling. i think i might have started a trend here.
wanna know something i'm weirdly good at? i've probably already written about this a time or two but i have this habit where i'll write a blog post at some stupid hour at night and because it's so late and i'm so tired, making useful revision nearly impossible, i have the good sense to save my post as a draft, telling myself i i will revise and post it the next day. aaaand i never do. the following writing is the product of that. i wrote this all last sunday and even though the context in which it was written isn't exactly relevant anymore i still feel like the post itself says something important therefore i'm sharing it with you all anyway.
so about two minutes ago, as i was in my kitchen putting away my unsuccessful attempt at no bake cookies, i started thinking back on thanksgiving weekend that i was lucky enough to spend with my family and i felt compelled to write a little something about just how much i really do have to be grateful for.
family: i love having extended family whom i love and actually look forward to spending time with. i know so many people who either hate or don't feel comfortable with their aunts, uncles, grandparents or cousins. i love that, through out my life my immediate family has made it a priority in my life to forge friendships with my extended family. i'm also grateful for such an enjoyable immediate family. weston is such a kidder. brooke is the epitome of being a carefree child. christee is the best example. my mom is the most giving and service oriented person i know. my father is such a personification of integrity and such a great example to me of who i want to become. and, of course, jesse is my best friend.
our little family photoshoot that we did over thanksgiving break. jesse made a guest appearance. it was a holiday miracle!
i'm grateful to have been blessed with the gift of perspective. i have no doubt in my mind that that's why i was able to avoid making some of the bad choices i was faced with in high school and why i can so easily handle hardship now. i know that all the uncomfortable situations i find myself in are but a small moment. now if only i could apply that same thought process to binge eating half set up no bake cookies i'd be set.
i'm grateful for my roommate and friend, katrina. i know so many people who end up hating their best friends after living with them but i can honestly say, even after a year and a half, i've never regretted living with katrina. not even for a second. if anything i'm pretty sure she got the short end of the stick. i'm always joking about how i feel way bad because my bad habits are rubbing off on her like when she wakes up late for class (not that, that happens, because katrina's perfect, right terina?). she's taught me how to prioritize and that i should probably attempt to be more of a perfectionist. also that i need to learn to be cleaner. (don't worry trina, my mom sympathizes with you there.)
trina, i bet you didn't know the little gem on the right existed, did you?
i'm grateful to know who i am, who i want to be and to have a plan on how to get there. there are so many unanswerable variables out there that make life hard and i can't imagine trying to tackle all those while not even knowing myself or what i truly wanted.
i love that my list of things to be grateful for is full of people. i'm always joking around that my life is so easy and that i never have any right to complain but it's so true. my life is easy. and i love it.
remember back when i told you "what i know" by parachute was my current favorite song? well they have another one that just won't leave my head. it's called "something to believe in" aaaand basically i love it. so here you are. enjoy.
