it's wednesday, and what a beautiful wednesday it is.
despite the biting cold air, the sun is shining and mittens are being worn.
well...not right now, mittens make it somewhat difficult to type, regardles...

this week has been refreshing so far.
i just finished a book called "the shack" this morning and it's been encouragement that i've very much needed...it's spurring me on anyways.
it further stirred the desire in me to be more like Christ. it painted such a beautiful picture of my Savior, his true desire for us, his dismay with institutions and how real he truly is....
i pray that i will daily become more like Christ, knowing that my mistakes will only bring us closer together...
eek....thank God for mercy and grace.

...on another note.
i walked into my room after my first three class this morning with a wrapped package on my desk chair...
my roommate gave me a late birthday gift!!!
i don't know about you, but i think late birthday gifts are such a joy, they're like an extension of the excitement of a birthday.
and you'll never guess what the gift was...The ReadyMade book on how to make {almost} everything!!!
this book is going to set me up for quite an adventure, so many things that i can make for my house/apartment next year!!! eekkkkk!!!!

well, i must go. econ is calling my name (although i would prefer to ignore it)
so get out...enjoy this day, silly!

"you're nobody till somebody loves you...
...you're nobody till somebody cares..."

i've been on a bit of a frank sinatra-dean martin kick lately...
thank you, arin.
listening to frank and dean's dreamlike voices makes me long for christmas-time.
their's is perfect cuddling music...give me a fireplace and i'll be quite content.

i had oatmeal for breakfast this morning...glorious.
it made me a little weary for home though, because i like to eat oatmeal, or any breakfast food really, with my mother.
we're both morning people....my mother is lovely.
you should meet her, really. i think you'd like her too...

it's beautiful and sunny today...and i just realized that my blinds are closed...with the lights in my room on. what a waste!
i'm going to fix that....
done and done.

i need to find a lid for my saucepan.
yesterday i was making chai and i had to borrow an unknown person's pan to cover the pan.
hmm...i should get on that.
my roommate and i are going to make some pumpkin bread this week. yay.
i've recently been purchasing a few kitchen necessities here and there...in excitement of having my own kitchen to cook in next year. eek!

oh my word...it's thursday!!! eek!

i'm quite excited to be venturing home today, i know i spoke of my excitement in my prior post...but i just wanted to take this opportunity to remind you.

i got out of work early today because there was nothing left to do...my boss was probably a little shocked at my excitement and exclaiming, "that's fabulous!!"

despite the dreariness that meets your eyes when you glance out the window...i feel it...it's gonna be a good day.

i've found myself quite distracted this week.

not with the normal emotional toil that i put myself through, but with baking.

i've been finding so many new baking blogs and new recipes...i'm overflowing!!!

i cannot wait to try them all out....people just don't seem to understand my excitement when i giggle over seeing a beautifully decorated cupcake or fabulously random combination of a cookie.

thoughts have even been rushing through my head along the lines of ...maybe i could just drop out of school and open my bakery now...you see it just poses a problem when i want to bake all these things and i don't want to eat them...because as much as i love to bake, i don't truly enjoy eating the baked goods, i just love sharing them with others...oofff...i just get so excited when i think of all the possibilities...

let me just share with you some of the recipes i'm intrigued by:

zucchini, cranberry, walnut & white chip cookies

vegan gingerbread muffins

bailey's irish cream cupcakes

pomegranate-green tea cupcakes

pink lemonade frosting...

baking ... it brings me so much joy... i think it may be my spiritual gift, and a way that i worship my creator. he's given me this passion for baking...and i can share it with others, while sharing conversations and walking through life with them...so many images of future dreams pop into my head when i think of baking...and someday having my own bakery...

if you ever need a pick-me-up in the form of a cupcake, muffin, cookie, or just licking the batter out of the bowl..let me know, we can spend an afternoon together...baking

...with some hands to hold...

so...right about now i should be working on ... more like completing a paper that is due in my social work 100 class this evening. with nearly one whole page completed....i seem to be losing momentum. so i thought that doing some writing that i actually enjoy may once again spark my interest in finishing my paper...we'll see how this goes.

i'm sitting in the library, and despite the fact that i don't often make the venture over here to complete my homework, i very much enjoy sitting around in here. i may need to make a habit out of this. plus the cafe here in the library has some pretty decent coffee...always a plus...even though they no longer take the free tall beverage coupons...but that's a different story for a different day.

fall break is this weekend, and i am soooo ready for thursday afternoon to be here. i haven't been home since school started and i miss it. quite a bit more than i expected. i miss my grandparents...surprising as it may sound... i've recently decided that i need to truly get to know them better. you never know how much longer you have with someone you love and they have so many stories, so much experience that i want to soak up...i'm truly sorry for being distant and somewhat uniterested in them in the past couple years.

with fall break also comes time spent with friends. people that i can bounce my thoughts and ideas off of. God has blessed me with some of the greatest people in my life and i would just like to take this opportunity to say I really love you guys and I hope that my actions and words show that.

most importantly, this weekend i will get to hang out with my mom, brother and sister. it excites me to think of the shenanigans we will get into. eek. how lovely.

ultimately this weekend will be spent enjoying fall and it's chill that welcomes coffee, tea and some time by a fireplace.

when the stars go blue...

so this thursday my brother took me to a ryan adams concert at the murat in indianapolis.

quite possibly the best birthday gift i will receive this year, or ever for that matter.

i think my brother has a gift for knowing exactly what to give someone.

although ryan adams is one of my favorite musicians, it has been a while since i've really listened to his music...i was re-awakened to ryan's musical genius...and my heart is still ringing from his performance.

it was lovely...i am still a bit saddened by the fact that he didn't whip out a harmonica...but no matter, it was still great.

i've recently been in a mood to cook and bake.

i've been drifting through amazon.com looking through the vast amounts of cookbooks that one could purchase...

it makes me so happy...thinking about baking.

i get so excited thinking about when i'll have a kitchen of my own and i can just bake and cook for everyone that i love...it'll be great...

but for now...i'll just have to settle with the lovely kitchenette here in my dorm...

someday...such a fabulous thing to think about.