I don’t comment on here a lot. Mostly read and enjoy. Am needing prayers for my dad. He is back in the hospital (was in before Easter also) for another blood transfusion and antibiotics. Can you please pray specifically for healing of his legs? He is in a lot of pain. His name is Darrell. He is the only grandparent that came to all my kids stuff (including many years of soccer that he still doesn’t understand). Thank you!
We had a big storm roll through here last night and my power was out for around 18 hours, so guess who gets to replace a whole fridge worth of food this weekend? On the plus side, I'm looking forward to getting together with some friends tomorrow, and hopefully hitting up a record store for Record Store Day on my way home.
I work for a non-profit veterinary clinic and we got news this week that we got a contract with the city that will allow us to take over a second location. I think we're hoping to get at least partially up and running in the next month-ish, so it's going to be a big change in a short amount of time, but it's also exciting to be involved in a period of growth.
My joy has been becoming a grandmother for the first time! My daughter and her husband went through fertility treatments to become pregnant so his birth has been extra emotional. I was able to stay with her for a few days and I'm so glad. They are all three doing great. My son-in-law has endeared himself to me even more by taking care of his wife and his baby in ways I didn't know men did. It's easy to focus on my little guy instead of all the craziness of the world. I don't even know how to talk about it.
The Andrew McCarthy of the Whatever the Problem, It’s Probably Solved by Walking piece is 80s teen idol Andrew McCarthy, who is now an author and travel writer!
Hello everyone!! I’ve been fighting a cold? Sinus infection? Virus? Something this week so it’s been a bit rough.
But my treasure is a grilled cheese fest I’m going to this Sunday in my hometown!! Cannot wait to feast on all different grilled cheeses made by some of my favorite local restaurants/bakeries/coffee shops!!
I studied creative writing under Wendell Berry at the University of Kentucky. Here's my FIRST DAY …
Creative Writing with Wendell Berry (part 1)
Since I was three years old and read “The Little Engine that Could,” I knew that I wanted to write stories and books that encourage people. Much later, a student at the University of Kentucky and a brand new Christian, I had just dared to follow up on my passion by switching my major from engineering to English. It was time to choose classes for my sophomore semester. I want God to confirm my decision, I thought. (Okay, I was young.) So, I opened the course catalog and put my finger at random on a page to see what came up. My finger had landed on Creative Writing, a two semester course under Wendell Berry. The class had a limit of only thirteen people! I literally ran to the registrar’s office and signed up.
On the first day of class, we thirteen students gathered in the appropriate classroom and waited to begin. Mr. Berry stood before us—with a Bible in hand. He read John 20:1-16. I’ll quote verses 15-16a from my ESV Bible:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
A total hush filled the classroom. I was entranced, thrilled. Then Mr. Berry gave us our first assignment: “Write 300 words on any subject. Write exactly 300 words. No more, no less.”
I hurried away and filled up a paper with about 320 words, thinking, It’s just a little over … He won’t care. I made all A’s in high school. This is going to be great!
Ha! He flunked my essay. A succinct “F.”
That’s when I first humbled myself and began to learn how to write.
Happy Friday, friends! We made it! It isn't really a Friday for me since I'm working all weekend- I'm a little bit nervous about it, I've never worked a full weekend and everyone keeps telling me how crazy the library gets on Sundays.
🎂 My SIL is an absolute delight and made sure I had a wonderful birthday complete with cupcakes to share at work. The family I was close with in NC sent a Polo of all the kids singing happy birthday and it's precious.
😎After a couple days of 30s-40s we're back in the 50s. I can handle that for another month, but snow flurries are unacceptable. We've been going on lots of walks lately and it's getting me excited for the summer.
🌘I went to a workshop for Solar Eclipse at Libraries (SEAL) on Wednesday, and while it wasn't stellar I am excited for next years eclipse! There will be a smaller one in the fall and then the big one in April so start making your plans!!
That's all from me friends, have the best weekend!
I want to share that I’ve had a great reading week! “Great” in that I both was able to spend a lot of time reading, AND the books were thought-provoking. This week I finished 4 Essential Studies (a book about teaching English), The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which I can’t stop thinking about, and The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which is the April book club pick for the student-led book club at my school.
A great reading week was a treat after reading several so-so books in a row. I’d love to know if anyone else has read anything curious or fantastic lately!
This is a busy time for us with baseball season starting up for my son and all the end of school and graduation stuff coming up, plus throwing in a short trip to Nashville to see Taylor. I keep saying one thing at a time, one event at a time to not get too overwhelmed and ahead of myself.
My oldest went to her Senior prom last weekend and it was a delightful time helping her get ready and seeing her all dressed up. Then early this week, I sent out most of her grad invitations. And, my middle turned 16 yesterday. So lots of emotions here.
For my daughter’s 16th, we’re having Alice in Wonderland style tea party tomorrow afternoon at our house. We have some really cute tea pots and decor and food/desserts we’ll be making. However, the weather has decided to take a turn so we’ll probably be moving it indoors which isn’t quite as “whimsical” but we’ll make it work.
I haven’t been in the comments as much lately. Hi everyone! Things have been crazy. BUT TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. I am turning 25. For a long time as a teenager I wasn’t sure I would live to be 18 so this is a big milestone for me. My birthday plans are as follows:
Breakfast with one of my besties
A Small Shop Crawl where I visit my fav local businesses
This evening, my bday party where everyone has to come dressed in a Harry Styles-inspired outfit
Ending the night at Quarters, an arcade bar near my house.
If anyone has advice they wish they knew when they were 25, I would love to hear it. In the meantime I will be having a great day! 🥳
Happy Friday everyone! In very low stakes yet still emotional for me, the 40+ year old, 12 foot tall rhododendron in our yard sadly & suddenly died over the winter. Being feelings repressed, I think I invested a lot of my sadness over actual things into this poor tree dying. :( But in a moment of in-your-face type symbolism, the previous owners had planted a white flowering dogwood immediately behind it that is the smallest, most spindly thing you have ever seen due to not getting much light. I've never seen more than 3 flowers on it. This year, it has at least 20! I am excited to see what this little dogwood will do. And now I can pick out some fun shrubs to plant in front of it.
Continuing plant corner, and for any other plant lovers in Lancaster, I checked out the Hosta Hideaway in York Springs and got some really interesting big blue hostas I haven't seen anywhere else and am really excited about - definitely worth a visit if you also love hostas. :)
Thank you for the link to the interview with Wendell Berry. I was one of his students when he taught creative writing at UK. He especially insisted that I write from my heart—which after many years and several published novels later, I STILL have trouble doing.
Am I depressed or is my nervous system reacting accordingly? Why not both?
Work has been rough the past couple of weeks with being short-staffed and trying to plan our summer reading kick-off. It's just a lot and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.
My treasure this week is that I got to see Taylor Swift on Saturday! It was a dream, the show was incredible, I am obsessed. My highlights were Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems, All Too Well, and the staging for Tolerate It. At one point during the night, she said this tour had become her entire personality, and honestly, same.
Guys this has been a week. Like, where did it go? Why do I feel pulled in 25 different directions, even though my kids play 0 sports? Make it stop. On the other hand, times like these make me realize how much I numb out when I feel this way, and I am getting quicker at recognizing that. So, bright side, I guess.
🎸 The Steven Curtis Chapman concert was a DELIGHT. He’s still got it, which is a feat at 60 some years old and having been singing for the past 40 or so years. Highlight: his band was 3 guys, 2 of which were the dudes who wrote the song “I want to write a banger like Steven Curtis Chapman” and they were a hoot.
🚫 I deleted both my Facebook and my Bookstagram IG account and it is helping my temptation to numb out in stressful times so much.
🗣️ I was asked to speak at my church’s women’s weekend this weekend, so The Bible Binge’s “Nos of Sermons” couldn’t have come at a better time! 😂 Prepping for this talk has been fun and made my mind work in ways that have been dormant for a long time. Ts and Ps appreciated.
📚 I finished the most recent VanderBeekers book and loved it. If you need a heart warming series with a fun family where things wrap up nicely (not nearly, but nicely) by the end of each book, I cannot recommend this series enough.
🥘 I am on a Half Baked Harvest kick and have been loving it. Her honey mustard salmon with Caesar veggies was a hit, even with my kids.
🐰 We had a belated Easter celebration with friends last weekend and I made strawberry pretzel salad for the first time (it was a staple on my childhood Easter tables) and it brought back so many memories, plus tasted amazing.
I will be happily living vicariously through all of your Eras adventures, so please keep those thoughts and recaps of the concerts coming! ❤️
😭 That James Baldwin quote. I need to read his books, but where should I start? Anyone have any ideas?
❤️🩹 The Tuesday thread about Devotionals That Aren’t Dumb & Studies That Don’t Suck was so nice, and totally in my wheelhouse as my own personal life is still as messy as all get out. If you want devotional recs and Eras tour recaps, I’m your girl. Vulnerable personal essays on my life...eh, I’m cooling on that. But this non personal stuff is where I’m currently shining!
✨ The Eras tour was absolutely fabulous and I wish I could go back! I feel like I struck a good balance between taking pictures and some videos while staying present in the moment. Taylor absolutely loves her fans and it shows. Share your favorite moments with me if you’ve gone! I am personally an All Too Well and Champagne Problems and Bejeweled girlie. I am also willing to discuss the shiny wristbands we got at the door.
💃🏻 This week was the first week post Instagram account purge where I wasn’t constantly reaching for that button and constantly longing to log in, and it’s still a little hard, but I know that just like Facebook, eventually in a few weeks or months, I won’t reach for it anymore at all. I also found a great habit tracker app called Way of Life that is helping me keep track of my goals. Not only can I track healthy habits, I can track unhealthy habits, and once it goes on a while, the app will create charts to track my progress, and I am so excited!
I don’t comment on here a lot. Mostly read and enjoy. Am needing prayers for my dad. He is back in the hospital (was in before Easter also) for another blood transfusion and antibiotics. Can you please pray specifically for healing of his legs? He is in a lot of pain. His name is Darrell. He is the only grandparent that came to all my kids stuff (including many years of soccer that he still doesn’t understand). Thank you!
We had a big storm roll through here last night and my power was out for around 18 hours, so guess who gets to replace a whole fridge worth of food this weekend? On the plus side, I'm looking forward to getting together with some friends tomorrow, and hopefully hitting up a record store for Record Store Day on my way home.
I work for a non-profit veterinary clinic and we got news this week that we got a contract with the city that will allow us to take over a second location. I think we're hoping to get at least partially up and running in the next month-ish, so it's going to be a big change in a short amount of time, but it's also exciting to be involved in a period of growth.
If you're actually in the market for a robust shoe, these are a little pricey but worth it: https://www.salomon.com/en-us/shop/product/outpulse-gore-tex-lg8182.html#color=67471
My joy has been becoming a grandmother for the first time! My daughter and her husband went through fertility treatments to become pregnant so his birth has been extra emotional. I was able to stay with her for a few days and I'm so glad. They are all three doing great. My son-in-law has endeared himself to me even more by taking care of his wife and his baby in ways I didn't know men did. It's easy to focus on my little guy instead of all the craziness of the world. I don't even know how to talk about it.
The Andrew McCarthy of the Whatever the Problem, It’s Probably Solved by Walking piece is 80s teen idol Andrew McCarthy, who is now an author and travel writer!
Hello everyone!! I’ve been fighting a cold? Sinus infection? Virus? Something this week so it’s been a bit rough.
But my treasure is a grilled cheese fest I’m going to this Sunday in my hometown!! Cannot wait to feast on all different grilled cheeses made by some of my favorite local restaurants/bakeries/coffee shops!!
I studied creative writing under Wendell Berry at the University of Kentucky. Here's my FIRST DAY …
Creative Writing with Wendell Berry (part 1)
Since I was three years old and read “The Little Engine that Could,” I knew that I wanted to write stories and books that encourage people. Much later, a student at the University of Kentucky and a brand new Christian, I had just dared to follow up on my passion by switching my major from engineering to English. It was time to choose classes for my sophomore semester. I want God to confirm my decision, I thought. (Okay, I was young.) So, I opened the course catalog and put my finger at random on a page to see what came up. My finger had landed on Creative Writing, a two semester course under Wendell Berry. The class had a limit of only thirteen people! I literally ran to the registrar’s office and signed up.
On the first day of class, we thirteen students gathered in the appropriate classroom and waited to begin. Mr. Berry stood before us—with a Bible in hand. He read John 20:1-16. I’ll quote verses 15-16a from my ESV Bible:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
A total hush filled the classroom. I was entranced, thrilled. Then Mr. Berry gave us our first assignment: “Write 300 words on any subject. Write exactly 300 words. No more, no less.”
I hurried away and filled up a paper with about 320 words, thinking, It’s just a little over … He won’t care. I made all A’s in high school. This is going to be great!
Ha! He flunked my essay. A succinct “F.”
That’s when I first humbled myself and began to learn how to write.
Happy Friday, friends! We made it! It isn't really a Friday for me since I'm working all weekend- I'm a little bit nervous about it, I've never worked a full weekend and everyone keeps telling me how crazy the library gets on Sundays.
🎂 My SIL is an absolute delight and made sure I had a wonderful birthday complete with cupcakes to share at work. The family I was close with in NC sent a Polo of all the kids singing happy birthday and it's precious.
😎After a couple days of 30s-40s we're back in the 50s. I can handle that for another month, but snow flurries are unacceptable. We've been going on lots of walks lately and it's getting me excited for the summer.
🌘I went to a workshop for Solar Eclipse at Libraries (SEAL) on Wednesday, and while it wasn't stellar I am excited for next years eclipse! There will be a smaller one in the fall and then the big one in April so start making your plans!!
That's all from me friends, have the best weekend!
I want to share that I’ve had a great reading week! “Great” in that I both was able to spend a lot of time reading, AND the books were thought-provoking. This week I finished 4 Essential Studies (a book about teaching English), The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which I can’t stop thinking about, and The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which is the April book club pick for the student-led book club at my school.
A great reading week was a treat after reading several so-so books in a row. I’d love to know if anyone else has read anything curious or fantastic lately!
This is a busy time for us with baseball season starting up for my son and all the end of school and graduation stuff coming up, plus throwing in a short trip to Nashville to see Taylor. I keep saying one thing at a time, one event at a time to not get too overwhelmed and ahead of myself.
My oldest went to her Senior prom last weekend and it was a delightful time helping her get ready and seeing her all dressed up. Then early this week, I sent out most of her grad invitations. And, my middle turned 16 yesterday. So lots of emotions here.
For my daughter’s 16th, we’re having Alice in Wonderland style tea party tomorrow afternoon at our house. We have some really cute tea pots and decor and food/desserts we’ll be making. However, the weather has decided to take a turn so we’ll probably be moving it indoors which isn’t quite as “whimsical” but we’ll make it work.
I haven’t been in the comments as much lately. Hi everyone! Things have been crazy. BUT TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. I am turning 25. For a long time as a teenager I wasn’t sure I would live to be 18 so this is a big milestone for me. My birthday plans are as follows:
Breakfast with one of my besties
A Small Shop Crawl where I visit my fav local businesses
This evening, my bday party where everyone has to come dressed in a Harry Styles-inspired outfit
Ending the night at Quarters, an arcade bar near my house.
If anyone has advice they wish they knew when they were 25, I would love to hear it. In the meantime I will be having a great day! 🥳
Happy Friday everyone! In very low stakes yet still emotional for me, the 40+ year old, 12 foot tall rhododendron in our yard sadly & suddenly died over the winter. Being feelings repressed, I think I invested a lot of my sadness over actual things into this poor tree dying. :( But in a moment of in-your-face type symbolism, the previous owners had planted a white flowering dogwood immediately behind it that is the smallest, most spindly thing you have ever seen due to not getting much light. I've never seen more than 3 flowers on it. This year, it has at least 20! I am excited to see what this little dogwood will do. And now I can pick out some fun shrubs to plant in front of it.
Continuing plant corner, and for any other plant lovers in Lancaster, I checked out the Hosta Hideaway in York Springs and got some really interesting big blue hostas I haven't seen anywhere else and am really excited about - definitely worth a visit if you also love hostas. :)
Thank you for the link to the interview with Wendell Berry. I was one of his students when he taught creative writing at UK. He especially insisted that I write from my heart—which after many years and several published novels later, I STILL have trouble doing.
Am I depressed or is my nervous system reacting accordingly? Why not both?
Work has been rough the past couple of weeks with being short-staffed and trying to plan our summer reading kick-off. It's just a lot and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.
My treasure this week is that I got to see Taylor Swift on Saturday! It was a dream, the show was incredible, I am obsessed. My highlights were Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems, All Too Well, and the staging for Tolerate It. At one point during the night, she said this tour had become her entire personality, and honestly, same.
Guys this has been a week. Like, where did it go? Why do I feel pulled in 25 different directions, even though my kids play 0 sports? Make it stop. On the other hand, times like these make me realize how much I numb out when I feel this way, and I am getting quicker at recognizing that. So, bright side, I guess.
🎸 The Steven Curtis Chapman concert was a DELIGHT. He’s still got it, which is a feat at 60 some years old and having been singing for the past 40 or so years. Highlight: his band was 3 guys, 2 of which were the dudes who wrote the song “I want to write a banger like Steven Curtis Chapman” and they were a hoot.
🚫 I deleted both my Facebook and my Bookstagram IG account and it is helping my temptation to numb out in stressful times so much.
🗣️ I was asked to speak at my church’s women’s weekend this weekend, so The Bible Binge’s “Nos of Sermons” couldn’t have come at a better time! 😂 Prepping for this talk has been fun and made my mind work in ways that have been dormant for a long time. Ts and Ps appreciated.
📚 I finished the most recent VanderBeekers book and loved it. If you need a heart warming series with a fun family where things wrap up nicely (not nearly, but nicely) by the end of each book, I cannot recommend this series enough.
🥘 I am on a Half Baked Harvest kick and have been loving it. Her honey mustard salmon with Caesar veggies was a hit, even with my kids.
🐰 We had a belated Easter celebration with friends last weekend and I made strawberry pretzel salad for the first time (it was a staple on my childhood Easter tables) and it brought back so many memories, plus tasted amazing.
I will be happily living vicariously through all of your Eras adventures, so please keep those thoughts and recaps of the concerts coming! ❤️
😭 That James Baldwin quote. I need to read his books, but where should I start? Anyone have any ideas?
❤️🩹 The Tuesday thread about Devotionals That Aren’t Dumb & Studies That Don’t Suck was so nice, and totally in my wheelhouse as my own personal life is still as messy as all get out. If you want devotional recs and Eras tour recaps, I’m your girl. Vulnerable personal essays on my life...eh, I’m cooling on that. But this non personal stuff is where I’m currently shining!
✨ The Eras tour was absolutely fabulous and I wish I could go back! I feel like I struck a good balance between taking pictures and some videos while staying present in the moment. Taylor absolutely loves her fans and it shows. Share your favorite moments with me if you’ve gone! I am personally an All Too Well and Champagne Problems and Bejeweled girlie. I am also willing to discuss the shiny wristbands we got at the door.
💃🏻 This week was the first week post Instagram account purge where I wasn’t constantly reaching for that button and constantly longing to log in, and it’s still a little hard, but I know that just like Facebook, eventually in a few weeks or months, I won’t reach for it anymore at all. I also found a great habit tracker app called Way of Life that is helping me keep track of my goals. Not only can I track healthy habits, I can track unhealthy habits, and once it goes on a while, the app will create charts to track my progress, and I am so excited!
💕 Happy Friday to all!