2018: Here we go!

1 January 2018: As I alluded to yesterday, I haven't decided on a blog theme this year. I've been thinking about it for awhile and nothing really came to mind. So instead, I am simply going to aim to post something every day. That's enough. And I have a feeling that the previous three themes that I've done--"a year of thanks," "one good thing," and "listening"--will provide some guidance, almost like templates.

So here we go...my first post of 2018 is a combo "one good thing"/"thanks" post. I am so thankful for these amazing friends who helped me welcome the New Year.

Above and Below

4 February 2017: "You have to roll a four or higher to get two lanterns." --my friend Josh trying to explain the rules of Above and Below to me this evening.

Learning a new game can be tough, especially when it's one as imaginative and involved as this one was, but--fitting in with this year's blog theme--careful listening (and a patient teacher!) led to a lot of enjoyment. It's a very cool game with so many possibilities. After spending most of the day grading, an evening of fun, games, Anna, and Josh was quite good for the soul!

A deep bench

27 December 2016: My trivia team was down to just two members for tonight's game--just my friend Amy and I. Everyone else is out of town for the holidays. So I called upon my friends Anna and Josh and they joined us for the night. And having them play with us was delightful. We did pretty well (tied for second place with a bunch of other teams) and, more importantly, just played a fun, relaxing game. And it's good to know our bench of trivia players is a bit deeper than we thought!

Do you wanna build a snow globe?

17 December 2016: Today's good thing is this super-cool snow globe I made at Anna and Josh's house tonight. That's Jayne from Firefly chilling in there. Pretty darn cool.

More early b-day fun...

8 August 2016: Sometimes I just marvel at how blessed I am when it comes to my friends. I feel like wherever God puts me, I end up meeting people who bring joy and light to my life. Two of those people are my friends Anna and Josh--who I first met when they were students in my classes, who actually started dating in one of my classes, and who got married about a year and a half ago. Monday's good thing comes straight from them. It's this box of goodies that they gave me for my birthday.

There's a cute little notebook, two hilarious magnets (love them both, but especially "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad."), and two Heidi-specific candles: one called "The Scarlet Letter" and the other "Walden Woods." So yeah, awesome gift from awesome friends.

Wedding of the year...

21 May 2016: Two of my favorite people, Hannah and Cory, got married yesterday. It was a wonderful day.