cooking

Giving thanks for hobbies

[This is the 3rd installment in my giving thanks series.]

I suppose that giving thanks for hobbies is kind of strange, but once  I thought about it, I realized that life would be pretty dull if we didn’t have any interests aside from work or school.

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing went right? What do you do after one of those days?

When I have a terrible day, I like to go home, pull out a favorite recipe, and cook or bake something that I love.Just punching some bread dough… you know… it relieves stress..

I find a kind of peace in chopping vegetables or measuring flour. I hardly think, I just do menial tasks that I enjoy. Soon enough, I find myself relaxed, calm, and able to look back on the day and just let it go.

[Other hobbies that are cathartic for me include scrap booking, reading, walking my dog, jumping on my trampoline like a crazy person, running slowly, reading my Bible, writing in my journal, and swimming.]

The “finished project” of a task like baking or cooking is so wonderful-food! I love to pull a cake out of the oven, frost it, and then eat it. Mmmm. The feeling after a run is so awesome and I love looking back on scrap books I have made or journals I have written in.

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I think everyone would be so much more stressed out if we didn’t have hobbies or special interests as an outlet for emotions.

* So today, I am thankful for hobbies-for all the joys they bring, and for the stress relief that comes with doing things we love. *

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Are you thankful for hobbies? What relieves stress for you?

Blogging honesty

Congrats to Cait and Holly .. they won the Gotein Protein samples! Once I get your addresses I can mail em out asap!

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I have been cooking up a little storm in my kitchen lately because I only had to work a few days this week! Some foodie pictures for you all:Tofu Chili Kale chipsPeanut butter poppy seed muffins

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I have to admit that this past week I felt off.

I’m chalking it up to coming home from vacation and jumping back into life really fast. I had to work the morning after I came back (I know.. i’m such a baby!) and I was in vacation bible school skits + working in the nursery every night at my church from 6:50-9:00. I also had a really long day shuffling in and out of various doctors offices on Tuesday for my knee. (I will seriously post the update as soon as I get the result in the mail!)

I also blame it on not staying close to God. I was at church every night but hardly had time to read more than one chapter of my Bible or pray for more than 20 minutes at a time and it really effected me and my attitude. I found myself feeling sad and upset for no reason various time during the week.

So now that I have caught up with some Bible reading and prayer the past few days I feel 100x better because I reconnected with God the way I should everyday.

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It feels good to admit that no, I don’t always keep up with my spiritual life like I know I should but yes, I am trying my best 🙂 .. I love how honest other bloggers are .. it inspires me to talk about any issues I have because I know I’ll be supported by all of you amazing friends!