Learning | Living My Full Life

I’m not sure what it is about the changing of the season from summer to fall, but it always makes me want to sift though my belongings and decide on what I no longer use. My focus the other day was on my jewelry.

See all the jewelry in the above picture? I gave it all away and man did it feel great to do so! I have owned some of those pieces since middle school, and I was ready to part with them because I don’t wear them enough to justify keeping them when someone else could be enjoying them.

I posted the photo on Facebook Marketplace and they were picked up by a very thankful woman the next day. I did something similar with a toy of Sadie’s in June and it felt just as wonderful. I’m sure I could have sold the jewelry or the toy, but I’ve been so incredibly blessed to have everything I need and more, so why not pass on the blessing, you know?

Onto a few favorite things from this week!

My sister made my bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapeño poppers recipe, except she used gypsy peppers in place of jalapeños! Have you ever heard of gypsy peppers? I hadn’t until she sent me the photo, haha. She said they’re kind of like a mild banana pepper.

I know I’ve mentioned that I was on the quest for the perfect water bottle for the longest time, but have I ever discussed my search for the best ponytail holder? My hair is slightly crazy. It’s curly, frizzy, unruly, and when I’m not in the postpartum hair loss phase, it’s fairly thick. I used to iron it with a clothes iron, but that’s another story for another day. I just let it run wild now.

I’ve used the invisibobble brand for over six months, but now I’m onto these and loving the fact that they’re cute, don’t leave dents in my hair, and don’t stretch out easily. Also, they come in a ton of different colors and don’t break the bank. The eight-pack I have cost $10, so it was $1.25 per hair tie. Not too shabby!

Another favorite as of late has been doing crafts with Sadie during our homeschool time each weekday. We worked on making jellyfish in a different color each day and I snapped the photo below earlier this week because it made me smile.

We actually do “school” in mine and Jimmy’s bedroom so our closet door is just casually decorated in primary-colored paper plates made to look like jellyfish. Each night before we go to bed I’m always like “Jimmy, the jellyfish are watching us go to sleep…” haha.

My cousin generously passed on her daughter’s farm-themed dollhouse to Sadie and she has been enjoying it so much.

I could watch her play all day. She pretends her animals are doing different things and acts out little scenes. It’s so precious to see her imagination at work! I remember my dollhouse being one of my favorite toys as a child, and seeing Sader Tot play with hers brings back such happy memories for me.

Okay, this post is getting long. I have just two more favorites to share and then I’m signing off!

Midnight Sun. I have to know: were you a Twilight fan? If so, Team Edward or Team Jacob? I can vividly remember not being able to put Twilight down during my junior year Spanish class. My teacher was literally like, “Allie, can you please stop reading?” lol. When I saw that Midnight Sun was coming out, I was super pumped! I just started reading it, but so far it has been everything my teenage Twilight-obsessed self dreamed it would be! And since I know you’re totally wondering, I’ve always been Team Edward 😉
Prismacolor Colored Pencils. I’ve seen these colored pencils for years and always wondered if the quality justified the price. I finally caved and decided to try them out. They’re very nice! The color is so rich and I hear they’re great for blending, but haven’t tried yet. I definitely recommend ’em if you’re into art supplies!

Tell me a recent favorite of yours!

What’s the last thing you gave away?

Things I’m learning

1. Act like the person you want to be.
We are all growing, learning, and changing every day. I’m not who I was a year ago, and I will continue to change. I know the person I want to be, and I’m continually working on being that person. I want to be someone who is faithful to God, mentally strong, loving, selfless, and balanced. Am I that person every day? Nope. Not at all. On the hard days, where I feel like I make every mistake in the book, I’m learning to act like the person I want to be. It’s like the “fake it till you make it” concept.

I have learned that trying things–whether it’s becoming a better person, learning a new hobby, etc.–is about consistency, not perfection. We’re never going to be perfect or do things perfectly, but we can consistently try, and that’s what counts. We all have rough days, but keeping the big picture in mind is what it’s all about. If we’re trying our best, one mistake or bad day isn’t the end of the world, it’s simply a learning experience.

2. Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.
I suppose this is something that I have learned before, but I continually learn it in different ways. I’m someone who like to have well-laid plans. For the day, week, month, year, etc. It feels comforting to have an idea of what’s happening in my life, what I’d like to do, and know that it’s all written down in my trusty little planner.

For example, just a week ago, I mentioned in this post that Jimmy and I knew in 2016 that we’d be working, getting a puppy, and staying involved with our church. Guess what? We’re not getting a puppy. Unfortunately, some circumstances happened that were out of our control and led us to have to make a decision about whether or not we should get the puppy we’ve been planning on taking into our home for a few months. After prayer and thinking the circumstances through, we decided that God has other plans.

We wrote something down in pencil and God erased it. I don’t know why, but I trust Him. Sometimes time will tell, sometimes things just don’t work out and we won’t know why on this side of heaven. We never know what God has in store for the future, but we can trust that it’s going to be much better than anything we could have planned ourselves!

What have you been learning lately?