Daily 5 - Day 308

Today's Daily 5:

1. hugging a baby through most of house church
2. encouragement from friends as I pursue this crazy, sudden journey of studying
3. rooibos tea
4. magic bags
5. a novel to read and take a few minutes away from studying and relax
6. home-made brownies at house church
7. nachos, and baby cucumbers dipped in baba ganouj for lunch
8. having a place other than grandma's to study at 
9. offers of help from knowledgeable friends for if I get stuck on various study topics
10. finding a book I'd been talking about with a friend at a used bookshop today unexpectedly, for an affordable price, so I can send her a copy.

Rainy Thursday

It's raining.  Again.

It's done so every day this week, and the forecast isn't particularly bright.

I'm wrapped in a blanket again, sitting in my corner of the basement.

It feels as if it has been weeks since there was sunshine.  I think it's only been four days, but it feels like weeks.

I'm fondly remembering moments from other places and times.  Moments full of laughter and joy and hope and peace.  Full of family and friends that are really family.  Full of sunlight.

I'm learning to, that some things just haven't changed since high school.

The same units I found boring in biology then are the ones I'm finding boring now. 

I spent most of the day yesterday reading about the chemical level of organization, and making notes.  Today is the cellular level of organization.  I found them boring in high school, and they're still boring now.

I did, however, manage to get two sections of statistics out of the way already this morning, and that pleases me greatly.

So, I'm sitting here with magic bags and a blanket, listening to the rain hit the ground outside the window above my head.

And I'm off to read about cells.

Wishing you a lovely Thursday, and hoping at least some of you are enjoying sunlight!

Daily 5 - Day 307

Today's Daily 5:

1. These two posts, here, and here (read them in that order) about trust on Kirsten's blog.  I've been quietly enjoying her blog for a while (loved the series about becoming Catholic for so many reasons), but particularly enjoyed reflecting on these latest two posts, especially given my own journey these last several years.  In fact, I think I'll have to find time to write a post on trust one of these days.
2. A mug of lemon-mango tea as I studied in the cold basement today.
3. The memory of a lovely, special, sunny day by Lake Huron with a dear friend a few weeks back.  I'm savoring memories of sun right now, since we've had almost two weeks of rain, and it poured again today.
4. kit-kat bars
5. butter chicken for supper.  I'm learning to like curry!  Maybe India (a place I've dreamed of traveling to) really will be doable someday!

Study Space

I have spent the day (since about 9:30 or so this morning) sitting here:

This is it.  My study space in mom and dad's basement.  (I've also spent a large portion of today wrapped in a thick blanket, since it's rainy and cold here, and the basement is therefore quite chilly.)

This sign used to sit in my office.  It seems more appropriate hanging here, where I see it every time I look up from my textbooks and have to smile.  Because my dreams came suddenly and unexpectedly, when I was ejected from the office that the sign used to sit in.

Curly Girl Designs put out a mini-calendar, and I ordered it at the beginning of this year, because I love the artwork it contains.  I smiled when I pulled it out of the box of things I brought from my office and turned to the month of June.  It reads, "She packed up her potential and all she had learned, grabbed a cute pair of shoes and headed out to change a few things."  The smaller print reads, "Her heart glowed with a degree of happy assurance."  I find it so funny, these little, odd timing things.  These moments where it somehow seems perfect that this would be a quote for the month in which I make some life direction altering decisions.

Here you can see the calendar, with a couple of gifts from a dear friend.  The cross reads "Hope" in the centre, and the book is a Catholic prayer book, an antique one, in Spanish.  A gift from a friend who knows my heart deeply, knows my dreams of South America, and each time I pick it up, cradle it, read a prayer within it, my heart leaps and prays and dreams of things to come.

And these?  These are the textbooks consuming my time at the moment.  Just in front of them, where you can't see it, is a notepad, also emblazoned with the word "hope".  A gift from a different friend, and my way of tracking the many things that must be done each day and week.

I've sat here all day, covering material that is sometimes fascinating, and sometimes incredibly boring.  I've sipped tea and eaten lunch and checked emails.  And I've studied.  A lot.  In the moments when I forget why this seemed like a good plan, to spend my days in a basement, reading and making notes, forcefully stuffing huge amounts of information into my brain in a short amount of time, I pause and re-read my own words here, or the comments so many sent me there, or by email, and I am reminded that though duckless, I am learning trust, and that I feel a deep peace, and that this is a step towards God's leading.

And somehow, that makes long days wrapped in a heavy blanket, cramming knowledge into my head, so much more doable.

Daily 5 - Day 306

(I just finished another post, so if you haven't seen that one, scroll down when you're finished with this one...)

Today's Daily 5:

1. Hanging out at the zoo with F. and baby A.
2. A peacock with it's tail feathers up - don't see that very often
3. laughing at a lion with F.
4. really diving into studying, starting to feel that "learning groove" that I love come back to me
5. knowing that I have a "secret stash" of mini almond joy bars from my recent trip through the states tucked away where I can find them when I really need a study boost
6. a ride home from mom and dad's tonight, instead of the bus or walking through the rain
7. still loving my iphone
8. got some great photos today, using dad's very nice digital SLR
9. learning the clear difference in definitions between anatomy and physiology (never really thought about the difference before today, but anatomy refers to structure, and physiology to function.)
10. loving having a schedule right now that fits my sleep schedule better.  can stay up a bit later at night and sleep a bit later in the mornings
11. fun emails from a few different friends today (and if you're one of them, the responses are coming tomorrow!)