Advice from Miss March: Ten steps for a smooth and sensible romantic relationship.

Before I met my husband, and before I had ever been asked out on a date, I had many ideas for what dating would look like some day in my future.  I had observed other people's relationships over the years and I must confess I found some of them to be rather uncomfortable.  People in love can be so silly, you know.  And so I was determined.  I would not be that way.  When my time came, I would be sensible.  I would not allow "falling in love" to change who I was or to make me behave in that giddy, "head in the cloudsy" way that I had observed so many other couples fall prey to.  

I was a sensible person after all.  A very sensible person.  And so why should I not remain so?  Honestly! It only made sense!  Based off of my knowledge of my personal character and preferences, how could I act otherwise?

And so today I set before you "the proper and sensible way to date, get engaged, and get married" (as I would have seen it back in the day when I personally knew nothing whatever about it, 'hem).

1.

  

There is no logical reason to see each other every day.  Set yourselves a date night, once a week, and that should be plenty of time for the two of you.  Because you're a sensible couple! Just because you love each other doesn't mean you have to act like you always want to be together.  I mean, honestly.  What sensible person does that?

2. 

Sitting close together on the couch is so out of the question.  Be reasonable.  You must each sit at opposite ends of the couch so that you can properly see each other and thereby have a proper conversation.  Because everyone knows you can't talk comfortably with someone when you're sitting with your head on his shoulder!  That's just weird.

3. 

Holding hands all the time, just to hold hands.  How revolting.  This goes strictly against the sensible rules and must be avoided at all costs.  No one enjoys seeing two people glued together at the fingers.  So please, limit hand holding to only when it's necessary (which, come to think of it, is actually pretty much never), so yeah, just skip it all together.

4. 

There is absolutely no need for you to stay up late every evening you're together just talking, talking, talking.  No one can actually have that much to say to another person, can they?  You'd think you were seriously interested in getting to know each other or something.  

5.  

If you happen to work together, and therefore see each other every day at your job, do try and be sensible about things.  Don't sit out in one of your cars and talk after work...especially if you already have plans for getting together later that afternoon.  I mean, that's ridiculous!!  It makes you look far too wrapped up in each other, and is just...well, not in the least bit sensible. 

 

6. 

When you miss seeing each other for one day, don't even consider allowing yourself to walk around looking like a little puppy dog who's lost his best friend.  That's just pathetic.  You've survived without each other up until this point in your lives, surely you can survive one more day alone!

7.  

Don't get ahead of yourself.  You may both be fully convinced that you're going to get married, but trying to figure out a wedding date before you're even officially engaged will only muddle things.  (I'm speaking particularly to you, bride-to-be!)  Such an action will only lead you to stress out about the proposal needing to happen soon so that the wedding date you hoped for can go through, and that's just, well...it's like starting at the end in order to get to the beginning, and everyone knows that's totally nonsensical.  And yes.  Not sensible at all.

8.  

When the proposal does happen, keep it simple.  No need to go all crazy about it.  If you truly love each other no amount of fancy frills and doodads will make that any plainer.  And spending lots of money for a single event like that is not a "sensible" person's way of doing things since everyone knows sensible people are always penny-pinchers. 

**Note:  Just for the record, I don't actually think it's wrong to do a fancy proposal; or that "sensible" always = penny-pincher.  But growing up, in my mind, saving money was always the better option over spending it, and I also never liked the idea of an elaborate proposal.  So that's where that's all coming from.** 

9.  

Engagement is not a time to let sensibleness fail you!  Preparing for a wedding can be totally simple, easy, and stress-free, if you'll only let it be.  No need for extravagance.  Don't waste time on trying to create a dream scenario.  The point is to get married.  Do it as simple and cheap as you can, and don't worry about it having to be perfect!  Above all, enjoy your time!  Wedding planning is totally doable and not something to be overwhelmed about.

10.  

As  a sensible couple on your wedding day, ignore all the clinking glasses.  Kissing on demand is so cheesy, and what's so great about kissing anyway?  Sure, you may want to do it once in awhile as a married couple, but it's certainly not something you'd enjoy doing so much that you'd want to do it on demand, endlessly, in front of a whole bunch of people!  That would clearly, and unmistakably, be sensibleness gone out the window!!

*****

Well, there you have it!  I hope these ten easy steps will help you to navigate through the complicated process of a romantic relationship and bring you through it happy and secure in the knowledge that you chose to do it in a sensible and dignified fashion.  

As Don Lockwood would say:

But, Miss March, now you must tell us; when you were "navigating through the complicated process of a romantic relationship" how well did you end up following your own advice?

Well, it stands to reason I followed it perfectly, does it not?

Ha!  I wouldn't go so far as to say that!  In fact, from my observation, it stands not to reason at all, but rather falls flat upon it's face.

Very well.  I'll admit, you do have a point there.  It seems my younger self had no idea what being in love would actually be like and therefore made bold statements directly from her inexperience.  And it seems my older self did in fact fail to live up to those standards quite perfectly. 

Here's the run down for you since you seem to think it so important:

1.  Fail  

For starters we worked together so we saw each other pretty much every day at work, but aside from that I confess we did get together pretty nearly every evening as well.  In fact, we didn't set a "date night" for the week, but instead set a "non-date" night in an attempt to be more intentional about not neglecting the other people in our lives.   (And I confess, even that was not fully successful all the time.)

2.  Fail

Oh naive younger self.  How little you knew of such matters.  Talking with your significant other as your head rests upon his shoulder is entirely comfortable and worth doing whenever you get a chance.  ;)

3. Partial Fail 

*coughcough*  I have to admit, my younger self would have been very disappointed with the amount of time I spent holding my future husband's hand.  Still, I think we succeeded in not being entirely glued together at the fingers; leastways we didn't hold hands so much when we were around other people.  And I still hold it to be a good policy to keep displays of affection to a minimum when in the company of others.  It's just more comfortable for everyone, I'd say.

4. Fail

This was not so much an actual opinion of my younger self, but I thought I'd include it anyway.  And well, yes, we failed this one, too.  What can I say?  When you're in love every moment is precious, and every parting is sad.  And when you're already a night owl, staying up late just comes with the territory.  

5.  Epic fail

Ridiculous, I know, but we did this quite a lot.  It was just too hard to leave work when you knew the other one would be finishing their shift soon and that there was potential for a little conversation.  Like I said, when you're in love every moment is precious.  :)

6. Fail

Well, perhaps I felt like a little puppy dog who'd lost his best friend!  What else was I supposed to do?  (For those of you have yet to experience being in love, be warned.  The desire to be together all the time is a very real thing, and it is quite easy to feel forlorn and mopey when you're not together.  Not saying that's the proper response, but it happens.)

7.  Fail

Haha, well I definitely would come under the category of one who got ahead of herself a little.  Still, as it turned out, it wasn't enormously stressful, and it all got figured out in the end, so if you're one of those couples that's sort of "engaged" before you're actually "engaged"...don't worry too much about it.  Those things just tend to happen sometimes.

8. SUCCESS!

Oh, we were very sensible when it came to the proposal.  My younger self would have totally and completely approved.  It was simple, to the point, and very, very sweet!  (I cried.) 

9.  Fail

I confess I rather strongly disliked wedding planning.  It was not because I had high standards for how my dream wedding must be, or because I was spending above and beyond my means; it was because I didn't know what I wanted, and was trying too hard to spend next to nothing...which, you know, really isn't possible especially when you're planning to have a meal and inviting more than 100 guests.  So yeah, for some people wedding planning is not stressful but for others, it just is.

10.  Success?

Considering that we didn't have any glasses to clink at my wedding, I'm assuming that means I succeeded at this one?  Still, it is a fact, that the lack of clinking glasses does not necessarily necessitate a lack of kissing.  How do I know this?  My dear friends, what a question!

*****

Well, I think that about sums this post up.  I hope you found some enjoyment either in the "good, sound advice" or in my failure to follow it.  Whichever it is, if you find yourself someday soon entering a romantic relationship, I wish you all the best.  Be prepared for it to be a very different thing than you ever imagined it to be.  Keep high standards for the important things, but be flexible and gracious with yourself if you find you're not entirely sensible all the time.  I mean, I know, this is a post about ten steps for having a sensible relationship, but let's face it.  Love isn't really a sensible thing, now is it?  Does it even really make sense?  I mean, why do people fall in love anyway?  So weird.  

Just in case you cared to know...I'm a mommy

(Just thought I'd tell you that.)

12 Delights of Christmas Tag

I was just saying to myself the other day that I wished someone would tag me because I really needed an idea for a post...and also some insensitive to write it!  And now, what do you know?  My dear friend, Gabby, has gone and done exactly that!   Thank you, Gabby!!! So much!

Gabby (who blogs at this lovely little spot) tagged me with an original tag by Heidi (whose blog can be found here).  It's a lovely Christmas tag.  Perfect for this time of year!  And so without further ado, I present to you...

1.  A favorite Christmas tradition?

Exchanging names with siblings and then going to the store all together and trying to buy presents for each other without letting the person whose name you drew know that you have them or what you are getting them.  Makes for some very interesting situations.  

A sibling standing at the end of the isle, staring straight at you, provokingly, as you try to search for the perfect gift.  "Shoo!  Go away, sibling, go away!"

Or learning the tricky art of shuffling around the store attempting to hide what you've chosen without actually putting it inside your coat because, well, obviously, you don't want someone to think you're stealing it!  That would be awful!  "No, officer.   I wasn't stealing it.  I was just hiding it for a minute!  That's all!  Honest!"

2.  Say it snowed at your domicile, would you prefer to go out or stay curled up inside?

Stay inside, surely!  It's so much fun to stay cozy and warm inside and watch the snow falling so prettily outside your window.

3.  Tea or hot chocolate?

Hot chocolate.  

4.  Favorite Christmas colors (i.e. white, blue, silver, gold, red and green etc)?

I lean more towards a combination of red and gold, rather than blue and silver.  The blue and silver tones are really pretty but I like the warmer colors best.  

For example, the ornaments on our Christmas tree

5.  Favorite kind of Christmas cookie?

Iced sugar cookies are one of my favorites!  They're so good!

6.  How soon before Christmas do you decorate (more specifically, when does your tree go up)?

I'm not sure.  I think growing up my family used to put the tree up about three weeks before Christmas (at least that's one number that sticks in my head), but it was sort of different from year to year, so I really can't say for sure.  This year my husband and I went out and bought our little tree the last weekend in November.  I have no idea if that will become a traditional time for us or not.  We shall just have to wait and see.

Our first Christmas tree.  How do you like it?
My husband christened him Henry.  I don't know why.

7.  Three favorite traditional Christmas carols?

"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", "Joy to the World", and "What Child Is This?"

8.  A favorite Christmas song (i.e. something you might hear on the radio)?

"White Christmas"?  Maybe?  I don't know.

9.  A favorite Christmas movie?

It's a Wonderful Life.  

10.  Have you ever gone caroling?

I have.  Not very often, but the last time I remember doing it was for my grandparents several years ago.  We used to go over to their house every week for supper, but at the time we hadn't seen them for a couple weeks because my grandpa had been in the hospital.  We dropped by one evening and started singing outside their back door.  They were in the middle of a game of SkipBo and were quite surprised and pleased to see us there.  I remember what a joyful thing it was to go inside and give them hugs and spend that little bit of time with them.

11.  Ice skating, sledding, skiing, or snow boarding?

I'm going to go with sledding as that is the one option out of these four that I've ever done.  And also the one option that I feel more confident in doing without inflicting too great of bodily harm upon myself.

12.  Favorite Christmas feast dish?

The dessert?  (Does that count?)

Thank you again, Gabby, for tagging me!  It was great fun!  And thank you, Heidi, for creating this tag!  I enjoyed it very much!! :D

And now for my nominations.  

I tag:

Cordy

Anna

Miss Woodhouse

Jem Jones

Merry Christmas, everyone!  

I hope this Christmas season proves to be a joyous one for you all!!  

Miss March's Love Story (in a nutshell)

Hello dear readers,

I always feel when I've been gone from blogging for a while that in order to get back into it I must give an update on my life and what all's been happening to me during my absence.  But, dear me, there's so much to tell that, that idea is just a tad bit daunting!  

Let's see, the last real update you got from me was back in February and the update before that was all the way back in June of 2019!  Both of which posts -- though "updates" -- were, I must admit, rather sneaky and secretive as I didn't mention a word of my future husband who was in fact on the scene when both of those posts were written.  So I think what I'll do is simply fill you in on the large blanks I left in 2019 and 2020.  I shall try not to be too verbose.  

Basically, here's my love story.  In a nutshell.

End of February 2019: I got a job at Chick-fil-A.  Oddly enough my first day on the job happened to be a snow day.  We closed up the store at 10:30 in the morning, and not having been trained yet on any of the cleanup tasks, I was sent back to help with dishes as that was the easiest thing for me to do.  There was a young man also on dishes.  He showed me how to rinse the dishes before handing them to him to wash, and I thanked him for his instruction by spraying off the dishes as thoroughly as I could -- and spraying him multiple times in the process (which was an accident, truly)!  He was very kind and friendly and asked me what sort of things I enjoyed doing.  I told him I liked to read.  He asked me what sort of books I liked.  I said mostly fiction, and further informed him that I was at that time currently reading "The Secret Garden".  I then turned the question back on him and asked him what he enjoyed doing.  He said he also enjoyed reading, and that he was currently reading a science fiction book (which I had never heard of but which he said was very good), and that he also enjoyed reading theological books sometimes.  We talked about school.  How I had gone to a six month Bible school and only stayed three months, and how he had started a four year Bible school, but only finished out the first year.  We found we could relate.  And I found myself feeling rather pleased that I had been able to have such a pleasant conversation with a total stranger, and a guy stranger at that!  :)  

The following month brought me in contact with Joey on a regular basis, as he was a fulltime employee in the kitchen and I a fulltime employee out front.  However, there was no opportunity for further conversation except those little snippets we were able to have when I waited on him for his break or when we waited outside the building at 5:30 in the morning as our leader opened up the place.  And these were so short that they could hardly be called conversation.  Still...it was enough that I began to get the idea that Joey was interested in talking with me further.  Especially so on that particular week when he asked me two different times whether I had read anymore of "The Secret Garden" (because, poor man, that was all he had to go on!) and I had to tell him twice that "no, I hadn't been doing any reading lately."  After the second inquiry about my reading habits I went home and made myself read some because I felt it would be too embarrassing if he asked me a third time and my answer still remained the same.  I needn't have worried though.  He didn't ask again.

I was at this point fairly certain that he was interested in getting to know me, but the difficulty was that I didn't feel particularly attracted to him myself.  He didn't quite match the ideal man I had dreamed up in my head.  Though oddly enough, despite this apparent "deficiency" on his part, I continued to think about him quite a lot and I had a growing desire to be friends with him.  (Fickle, Miss March!  Haha!)

March 27:  On this particular day I found myself hoping that Joey and I would get off work at the same time and happen to meet up as we walked out to our cars, so that we might have the opportunity to talk for a bit.  However, things did not go according to my plan as the day got quite busy and I ended up leaving work a half hour later than scheduled.  As I walked out to my car I found myself feeling very disappointed knowing that Joey must have left already.  And that's when I finally acknowledged to myself that perhaps I was a little interested in this man.  Though I knew so little about him.

I reached my car and immediately took in the fact that Joey's car was still parked in the row behind mine.  He hadn't left!  There he was, sitting in his car!  In fact, he was getting out.  He had something to say to me!  "I have a question for you," he said walking toward me.  I turned and met him in the middle of the parking lot.  "I was just wondering if you might like to go out for coffee sometime."  He was nervous.  I could tell.  Oddly enough, I felt perfectly calm.  I'm horrible at handling new situations and I freak out over ridiculous things, but here I felt quite at ease and almost as if I'd expected this to happen.  I told him I would be happy to go out with him and asked him what day worked for him.  He was not expecting me to so readily agree to a date and found himself at a loss how to answer the when and where questions.  Both of us were a bit at a loss, I must admit.  We agreed on a Monday, but then decided to contact each other by email and figure out the particulars.  Somewhere during that short conversation I happened to mention that I didn't actually like coffee.  He admitted that he didn't actually like it either, which made us both laugh, and thus the voluminous email chain that began that very day bore the subject "Not Getting Coffee".  Which is a great motto, I think.  :)  

April 1:  Our first date!  (We've since laughed that April Fool's Day was a very fitting day for two fools like us to begin dating! ;))  We met at 3:00pm at a small coffee shop/restaurant (but did NOT get coffee, mind you) where we sat and talked for a solid five hours.  The second date was set for the following Saturday and that evening we talked for 5 and 1/2 hours.  It really was wonderful how much we found to talk about, especially as we were writing emails every day, too.  Our third date was on April 11 and that was the day Joey asked me to be his girl.  I very gladly said yes.  The following months were a joyous time of getting to know one another.  Going out on dates, or staying home and spending time with each other's families.  We wrote emails every day for two months and spent long hours talking in person as well.  It didn't take long for us to realize that God was bringing us together and that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

August 10:  Joey proposed!!  I accepted!  And the official engagement period began.

Engagement felt quite a bit different from dating. It seemed like almost every week there was some major decision to be made.  And I must admit, I rather hated wedding planning!  (Because I'm such an indecisive person and there's too many decisions involved with wedding planning!!  Haha.)  We definitely both grew a lot during that time, and it was lovely to see how the Lord continued to draw us together and teach us how to love and care for one another, especially through difficulties.

March 24th 2020:  Our wedding day!

Our wedding date changed multiple times throughout our engagement.  First in our initial enthusiasm we wanted to get married in October.  However, that didn't sit too well with certain members of our family, and for good reason.  It really was moving things a bit too fast.  Secondly we wanted to try for December but I had a sister who was expecting a baby that month and as she was going to be one of my bridesmaids that wasn't going to work super well.  So we settled on February.  Later on March was suggested in order to accommodate our pastor a bit better, and in the end we simply landed on April 4 in an attempt to have everything covered!  But was that the end?  No!  That was not the end!  The Coronavirus hit and everything went haywire.  Just a couple weeks before the wedding our guest list of 150 people had to be narrowed down to just our immediate families.  The church where we were to hold the ceremony closed and was therefore no longer available to us.  So we had to have the wedding ceremony and reception at my parent's home.  And since it was just our families involved now we decided "Why wait till April 4th?  There's been so much stress with the constant news and changes regarding the virus.  Who knows what might happen in another two weeks?"  So Friday evening (March 20th) we decided to get married the following Tuesday (March 24th).  My family was amazing in pulling it all together last minute, and despite the disappointments of  not having our wedding as we had originally planned -- with all our friends and relatives present -- it was still a beautiful and lovely and special day!  And we were married!  And that's what mattered!  

The sunroom mostly set up for the ceremony

Dining room set up for the reception.  

Close up of the table, and view into the sunroom.

The dessert table.  My sister made the cake!  It was delicious!

And a picture of the happy couple.  :)

THE END

Just in case you cared to know...I'm married.

 

(Just thought I'd tell you that.)

 

What ho! What ho! What ho!

What's up, my friends?

Long time no talky.

I do hope all is well with you.

This year has been quite a busy one for me...but then really (come to think of it) what year isn't busy? 

 

This past year I worked my first full time job ever.  That was something!  I gained quite of bit of confidence from working that much, and quite a bit of money, too.  (Well, a lot of money for me at any rate.  ;))  I also gained a lot of exhaustion, but I won't blame that entirely on work because that wouldn't be fair.  (I regret to inform you that I still have not mastered the art of getting to bed on time on a regular basis.  *sheepish grin*) 

 

I made some new friends in 2019...for whom I am very grateful!

 

I also traveled to see my two very dear friends, Olivia and Natalie.  We stayed at Olivia's house this time, and had ourselves a delightfully fun week.  That was back in May.

 

Love these two so much!

 

I became an auntie again!  Twice actually.  To an adorable nephew and an adorable niece.  I now have three nephews and two nieces, and am very much looking forward to more in the future!!  :D

 

My family moved from our home of seventeen years!  We didn't move far, but it was still quite an upheaval, especially as that was the longest we had ever lived at any one place, and for many of my siblings it was the only home they'd ever known.  It took us a while, but I think we're all pretty well settled into our new home now.  It's weird whenever we drive by the old place though.  Sometimes I still feel twinges of sadness.  There were a lot of good memories in that home!

 

I acquired a new sister-in-law as of January 2020.  She is also the good friend who traveled with me and my sister to England, Ireland, and Scotland back in January 2019.  She was dating my brother at the time, but little did we know as we went sight-seeing around Europe that just one year later we would be able to officially call one another family.  :)

 

So yeah, that's a bit of my year in a nutshell.  There's much more I could say of course, but I think any more details will have to wait for another post.

 

To finish up...I changed my blog look again.  I'm rather happy with it.  It's a simpler, less cluttered look, and it feels fresh and airy.  I like it.  What do you all think?



 

And now, tell me what you've been up to! 

I'd love to hear from you!

 

Four years of blogging // Plus a random life update because...why not?

Hello, my friends!  I find myself once again in the position of feeling that perhaps an explanation for my absence would be in order at this juncture...but on the other hand we've all been so busy lately and the blogging world isn't the happening place it used to be and I'm afraid I've sort of created the habit already of not being a very regular blogger, so perhaps in the end you all really didn't notice that I've not been around much so...whatever.  I really didn't need to say all that and you really didn't need to hear it, but I did and you did so let's live with it and move on, okay?

What I really came here for today was to commemorate the fourth year anniversary of Sunshiny Corner!  Yes, the dear little place that you've all grown so found of (or perhaps sick of...or indifferent to...or whatever it may be) is now a whopping four years old.  And when I say whopping I mean that as if four years was a very long time indeed.  But honestly, when I really think about it, it doesn't seem all that long at all.  In fact, it seems like it ought to have been longer than four years ago that I published my first post.  Time is a funny thing.  It really is.

But anyway, it's that time of year so I should do my typical blogging stats, I suppose.  (This is mostly for my own sake because I like to keep records of things.  Not that I've actually gone back much and reviewed these records, but still I may want to someday.  You never know.) 

*****

Pageviews:  45, 495

Number of Posts Published: 151 (Wow!  I only wrote ten posts this past year.  I hadn't realized.  But that settles it, my whole spiel at the beginning of this post was totally unnecessary.  I should be explaining my presence in the blogging world, not my absence.  Good grief.)

Top five most viewed posts: 

Living in a World where Love Comes Softly (What to expect and a bit of friendly advice): 575 views

Why Frodo is NOT a weak character: 363 views

The Long Awaited, Greatly Anticipated, Ask Me Anything Answer Post // Part 1: 244 views

Ask me some questions and I'll tell you some lies: 215 views

Two Years of Blogging: 213 views

Followers: 65

*****

All right.  So.  Yeah.  That was cool.  *shrugs* 

Happy birthday, Sunshiny Corner.  We're all very thrilled about this grand event.  We really are.  In fact, the more I talk about it the more thrilled I become...so thrilled in fact that...(excuse me, I just had to yawn for a second)...  

Where was I?  Oh yeah, we were celebrating.  Nice, well, that was fun.  

....

Now onto the random life update.

So.

What's been going on in Miss March's life this past year?

Well, quite a bit actually.  In fact, this has been a most eventful year indeed.  Let's see if we can't sort of split it up by month or something and give this post the bit of structure it is thus far sadly lacking.

May 2018:

NATALIE AND OLIVIA CAME TO VISIT ME!!  And it was one of the grandest, most amazingly fun times of the year.  (See our group post here for further information.)

June 2018:  

Dear me, I'm not sure what happened in June.  Let's just say it was mostly a combination of working at the motel during the day and watching Boy Meets World during the evening.  That's probably pretty accurate.  :P

July 2018: 

More twenty hour work weeks at the motel (oh so long, so hard, haha!) and more late, late nights of Boy Meets World (oh so long, so fun!).  Also...my niece was born!!!!  Super fun times! :D :D

August 2018:

"More work at the motel?  More Boy Meets World?"  Why yes!  However did you guess???

September-December 2018:

1) I got facebook and made a step toward the modern age.  (Don't worry though, it didn't last long.  I got rid of it at the beginning of 2019 and settled back into my previously old-fashioned ways.  And I feel much better about that.  ;)) 

2) I flew out of the country for the first time in my life.  I went to a Bible school in England with a bunch of perfect strangers.  I learned to talk and initiate conversations with said perfect strangers.  However, I also found homesickness to be a very real thing, and making friends (real friends) a very difficult thing.  I wanted to go home.  I didn't want to do this school thing for the next six months.  But I doubted myself.  Would I be forever branded as a quitter if I didn't finish?  Would I be making the wrong decision?  I have a tendency to worry that the thing I don't want to do is most likely the thing God wants me to do and vice versa.  So it was a struggle.  Many days and nights of crying and asking God, "What should I do?  Should I go home?  Should I stick it out?"  And yet my heart just kept crying out to go home.  And so I finally made the decision.  I would go home for Christmas break as planned, and then not return for the second half.  And oh my! There was huge relief in making that decision.  I had a sense of God saying to me that it was okay.  And a huge, huge sense of His love and care for me in that moment which was truly beautiful and encouraging.

Of course...haha, once I'd made my decision then I started to make some real friends.  Which sent me into a bit of a tailspin, second guessing myself again since I was now finding that being at school was not quite so unbearable as it had been before.  Did that mean I should actually come back for the second half????  (Oh the agony of self doubt!) But in the end, God gave me peace in only attending school for three months, and looking back on it now I am so, so grateful that things worked out the way they did.  I can see His hand in it all the way.  And I don't regret those three months of school either.  Just because I didn't finish doesn't mean the time I had there was wasted.  Oh indeed not!  I truly believe I grew a lot in those three months.  I see it as having been a really great time of learning to lean on God and trust Him even during those confusing times when you have no clue what it's all for, or where you're headed.  I'm also so grateful for the friendships I made there.  So yeah, that was my September through half of December. 

And then I came home. 

January 2019:  And then it was time to look for a job!  (Oh joy!  Oh ecstasy!)  So I put in an application to a Christian theatre nearby and I had an interview but before I heard back...it was time for some more traveling!  My older sister has always wanted to go to England and she and her best friend had been planning a trip for several months.  I decided to tag along.  So the three of us took a nine day trip to England, Scotland, and Ireland.  We stayed three nights in London, three nights in Edinburgh, and three nights in Dublin, and oh my!! It was such an amazingly fun time.  From taking long extensive walks from one part of the city to another--seeing places I've only ever read about in books or seen in movies--to eating picnic suppers on the floor of our hotel room and staying up late for our nightly viewing of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, to just talking and laughing and greatly enjoying one another's company.  It was wonderful!  And I'm still kind of amazed when I think about it.  I've been to England, Scotland, and Ireland!! Those have always been the three countries that I wanted to visit, and I've done it!  Wow.  Life really does take you places you never expected to go.

February 2019:  When we got home from our European tour, I found that I had not gotten the job at the Christian theatre.  Which was disappointing.  (Rejection is never a fun thing.)  But whatever.  You kind of have to just take it on the chin, and move onto the next thing.  So I did.  I put in an application to Aldi and Chick-fil-A and got interviews for both places.  Chick-fil-A, to my utmost surprise, called me back and offered me a job the same day I had my interview.  So I took it.  A full time job.  I, Miss March, (the one who has stressed out so many times over the few little hours I was working outside the home) have my first full time job!  And wonder of wonders, it hasn't really been all that stressful!  Not like so many of my others jobs anyway.  Though I think I've come to realize that the reason my other jobs were so stressful was probably greatly owing to the fact that they were part time jobs and so I wasn't there often enough to really become proficient at the work.  Anyway, I've been at Chick-fil-A for two months now and it really has been a great place to work.  My managers and coworkers are all super encouraging and supportive and that helps a lot.  So yes, I am grateful for my new job. (For the reasons mentioned above...and other reasons, too.  ;))

March-April 2019:  March and April and have actually been rather eventful in and of themselves, but I'm afraid that's going to have to be a story for another day, because goodness! This post is long enough already, don't you think? 

So yeah.  That's a bit of an update on my current life situation.  And now I want to hear from all of you!  How have you been?  What have you been up to?  I feel like I haven't heard from a lot of you in a long time.  Let's talk, shall we?

Most sincerely yours,
Miss March (a.k.a. Alyssa)

I guess this is good-bye

Good-evening, my friends.  I'm just popping in to say that I'm going to be taking an indefinite break from blogging.  I've been very sporadic about posting lately and I'm feeling sort of out of the loop and am just not sure how to get back into the rhythm of it.

I'm leaving for school in less than three weeks, and I really have no idea what sort of time I'm going to have for blogging and all that while I'm there, so it'll just be easier to leave with the expectation that I'm not going to be blogging at all and then maybe surprise you all with a  post if I find I have the time and inclination for it. 

School aside, I've also just been feeling really insecure about my blogging abilities lately.  It's probably mostly due to the fact that I haven't been around as much so I'm feeling disconnected from everyone, but in all honesty I'm just way too good at thinking negatively about my writing and worrying that nobody really cares to read what I have to say...or that I'm getting boring because I write the same sort of things all the time and people are probably getting enormously sick of my pathetic sense of humor and yada, yada, yada. 

I know it's mostly just lies, but I still can't seem to keep myself from getting down about it far too often.  And add to that the fact that I have so many posts I want to write but not enough energy and drive to actually write them, and you've got frustration, people.  And stress.  And a recipe for a very grumpy individual.

So, right.  I think it's time I just stepped away from it all.  For a season at least.  I'm definitely hoping to be back before too long but we'll have to wait and see how it goes.  Love you, guys.  Thanks for putting up with me for the past three years.  I'm going to miss you.  And please don't forget me.  I think that's one of my main fears, that I'll step away for a time and then come back to find that everyone's gone.  Please don't be gone.  Because blogging just isn't much fun without our little chats. 

Very sincerely yours,
Miss March (a.k.a. Alyssa)
 

What's up with Miss March?

Nothing much actually, but let me tell you about it anyway because I sort of kind of promised you an update post and when I sort of kind of promise something I sort of kind of like to follow through on it.  If you get my drift.  And besides, I'm just sort of in the mood for writing right now -- even though I sort of kind of don't know what I want to write about, so yeah.  I guess we'll just sort of kind of have to wait and see how this post ends up.  (Does anyone else have a deep feeling of foreboding that this post is headed down the cuckoo lane?  Again. Whatever does happen to be up with Miss March, one thing is clear, she still hasn't mastered the art of writing a sensible, straight-forward, "no nonsense about it" post.  *shakes head wearily*  I honestly don't know what to do with her sometimes.)

 

But anyway, let's get down to business.

 

What's up with Miss March?

Dun, dun, dun, dun.

 

• She's tired.  (But you all knew that already.  Duh.)

• She has a cold, which came on quite suddenly two days ago and which has been making her poor little nose run and run and run.  (Miss March: Well at least one part of my body is getting some exercise, am I right?  Hahaha.)

• Her humor is very bad today.  (Yes, I am referring to the above mentioned "exercising nose" joke.  Seriously, that was just plain weird.  And I'd like to take this opportunity to say I'm Alyssa right now.  Not Miss March.  And that in fact Miss March has no connection to me whatsoever at this present moment.)  (I think I just disowned myself.  Can I do that?  Huh.  That's cool.)

 

Okay.  Switching gears here as I find I've somewhat stalled on this one.  That happens sometimes.   You start a post and somehow it just doesn't get chugging in the right direction, and the only thing for it is to slam on the breaks and see if you can't get this things straightened out. 

 

It is a true and honest fact that I was headed down the cuckoo lane when I began this post, but I think I unearthed a bit too much dust on that very dusty old lane and consequently befuddled myself.  Which is not altogether pleasant when one wishes to understand what one is talking about and yet realizes one doesn't comprehend oneself at all.  If you get my meaning.  (And if you do, please be so good as to pass it along to me because I'd like to get it, too.)  In other words, I am now making an attempt to get out of the fog and be sensible.  (Good luck with that, I say.)

 

...Recalculating...

 

...Recalculating...

 

(Okay, we're officially switching this over to a "lately I've been" post, just to keep things simple.)

 

Lately I've been...

 

~Reading~

 

Sadly, not very much.  I'm currently working my way through Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott, though I confess my progress is very slow indeed.  That is not the fault of the book however!  I've read it before and it is a very good book!  I'm just having a hard time concentrating on books in general these days.  Sad, but true.

 

~Watching~

 

• Boy Meets World--  I've been watching A LOT of this.  Like all summer long.  And even earlier than that.  We're into the seventh (and last) season now, and while I'm sure it will be sad to come to the end of it, at the same time it'll probably be a good thing because...well...I'm not one to obsess over things (coughcough) but I'll admit I have been spending quite a lot of time on this show.  (Okay, so I've probably watched every episode at least two or three times, but hey!  I had a legitimate reason for it!  Not all my siblings were able to watch it the first time around and someone had to keep them company while they caught up!) 

• Growing Pains-- (Apparently I'm really into watching sitcoms right now.)  This one started because my brother and I were watching Fireproof extras and were suddenly struck with the thought that, "Hey!  We never tried that show that Kirk Cameron starred in when he was  younger.  Let's do it."  And so we did.  :)   It's a fun show though not quite as interesting as Boy Meets World. 

• Random episodes of Full House because, why not?  :P 

• Newsies--  (The original film, not the Broadway version.)  I watched it for the first time last summer when I was visiting Natalie, and then, what do you know??  Natalie sent me my very own copy just this past week!!  I've watched it two times since and I think  I can safely say that it improves on further acquaintance.  :)

• Disney's Moana.  In general I'm not a huge fan of new animated films, so I dragged my feet about watching this, but in the end decided to be nice and not put up a fuss since my older sister had been wanting to re-watch it for quite awhile.  It was actually not half bad, and I admit I enjoyed it.  I don't see myself re-watching it a whole lot, but...I didn't hate it.  And that's something.

~Enjoying~

 

• Holding a newborn baby again!!  Yep.  Big news, guys!  I'm an auntie again!!  *grins*  And even bigger news...IT'S A GIRL!!!  We haven't had a baby girl in the family since I was born (and you know how long ago that was), so you can imagine our excitement.  And she's adorable, let me tell you!!  So cute and beautiful and precious. 

 

I'm watching a movie which explains my dead-pan expression,
but never mind about me, look at the baby!  Isn't she so sweet?

 

• My family.  'Cause seriously!  Who wouldn't enjoy them?  They're so much fun! 

 

~Learning~

 

• Sort of kind of how to use facebook.  Yes, I'm on facebook now, but only because I needed it in order to connect with fellow students and hopefully find someone to travel with when I go to school...oh wait!  You didn't know about that, did you?  Oopsie. 

 

Well, I guess that's all, folks.  Thanks for sticking around and taking the time to read this.  Sorry it's such a jumbled mess.  It's definitely not the polished sort of post I would have liked it to be, but I'm running short on time and really should be heading to bed. 

 

Oh! But about school.  Right.  I guess I should tell you about that, shouldn't I?  ;)  It's true.  I'm going to be attending Bible school this fall.  It's just a six month course (not even that actually as it only runs from September 21st to March 15th with a three week break in December for Christmas), but it's still longer than I've ever been away from home before so yeah...it should be interesting.  I'm excited about it, though I'm sure I'll probably freak out a bit as it gets closer.  After all this will be my first time flying out of the country.  (The school is in England,  by the way, which is extra exciting since I've always wanted to visit England.  :)) 

 

So yeah, that's that in a nutshell.  And now I really need to get to bed.  Sorry again for the disorganized state of this post.  Hopefully next time I'll have something more worthwhile to say.  (A far-fetched idea, I know, but one can still hope.) 

 

 

Goodnight all!