finish each day and be done with it.

This quote hangs on a clothesline of photographs and artwork in my room. I first heard it at BVS Orientation (maybe retreat?). Yesterday, I just felt awful, horrible, low, and depressed. There was a horrible miscommunication for which I put the blame on myself, I am so over the snow and the cold (BIG TIME), and I'm just feeling homesick for people (that I get to see in a 3 weeks to a month). It just ALL weighed me down yesterday. This morning, I woke up feeling better and pulled this quote down from my clothesline to read it again.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

TODAY is a new day. I can't do much about yesterday, but I am at the helm of today and everyday. But sometimes I forget that...and bad days just happen. And that's okay. Thank goodness for grace, and bright mornings, and waking from sleep.

I started reading some of Ralph Waldo Emerson's quotes on Pinterest and just fell in love with all of them. Then I proceeded to put his book, "The complete writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson: containing all of his inspiring essays, lectures, poems, addresses, studies, biographical sketches and miscellaneous works." I'm looking forward to reading that soon!

What are you trying to leave behind today? 

Prank Wars

the most wasted of all days is one without laughter. e.e. cummings

I would add to that e.e. cummings' quote that the most wasted of all communities is one without laughter. I am blessed to live in a space where my housemates are constantly laughing together - with each other or at each other in good fun. It's a joy to share crinkled eyes, heads rolled back, lines growing joyfully deeper around our mouths as we guffaw, chuckle, chortle, and giggle together. 

Recently, Tim, my housemate, has been playing little pranks on me. His most recent prank happened while I was washing dishes from my meal. He was roaming around the kitchen visiting with me and getting ready to go get Despicable Me 2 at the Redbox. I tried to tell him that there are codes online...but he couldn't find them. So, I dried off my hands and turned around to this: 

EVERY CABINET WAS OPEN! 

I am notorious for opening cabinets...and leaving them open. Tim is hilarious. I CRACKED UP. Seriously, I couldn't breathe. I am so thankful for crazy housemates who sneakily pull pranks right under my nose. 

I felt like that Mom in the Sixth Sense. You know the scene where Cole and his Mom are eating breakfast? She leaves for a second and comes back to find every cabinet OPEN and Cole in his chair.  

Speaking of ghosts, can we talk about how there's a ghost in the top left of this picture!? 

I am so blessed to live with others who love to laugh and help others laugh on a daily basis. I hope that your days are FULL of laughter and shared joy!

Knitting | Cable Knit Infinity Scarf Pattern

My sister had a very specific request for a Cabled Knit Infinity Scarf...Post-Christmas. I found the cable I wanted to create then made a simple pattern around it. I'm really please with how it turned out!

Supplies
Size 11 needles
Two balls of yarn - Vanna's Choice Mustard 170 yds each
*You'll knit using both balls of yarn at the same time.
Tapestry Needle

Pattern
Cast on 22 sitches using two strands of yarn.
Rows 1,3: Knit across.
Rows 2, 4: Knit 5, Purl 12, Knit 5.
Row 5: Knit 5, Slip 3 st to Cable Needle & hold back, knit 3, knit 3 cbl st, Slip 3 st to Cable Needle & hold to front, knit 3, knit 3 cbl st, knit 5.
Rows 6: Knit 5, Purl 12, Knit 5.
Rows 7, 9: Knit across.
Rows 8, 10: Knit 5, Purl 12, Knit 5.
Knit until desired length. I knit until I only had a yard or two left.
Bind off.

Sew ends together with invisible stitch and weave in the ends.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

Miles by Car: 12,232 miles
Miles by Train: ~642 miles
Train Trips: 1
Miles by Plane: 19,037 miles
Plane trips: 27 (including layovers)
Total Miles Traveled: 31,911 miles

I've traveled around the circumference of the Earth 1.2 times with those miles. I've listened to Shane Claiborne, rewore an Easter dress, attended rainy graduations, learned the bachata, grocery shopped, hiked to the tops of mountains, baked bread, learned how to play Contact, eaten plenty of Subway, said goodbye to our family dogs, ran 6 miles straight, been stopped by strangers, danced, sang & laughed in the kitchen, written skits, talked to crowds, discovered I'm an extrovert, driven a lot, traveled 642 miles to see a boy in a play, washed my hair with baking soda & apple cider vinegar, and played Awkward Family Photo every chance I got. 

Here's to 2014 - a year of even bigger adventures with fewer miles in between!