Monday, November 28, 2011

mambo #9

and by "mambo," i mean mindful monday. same diff.

i've taken a liking lately to posting quotes that other people took the time to think up and write down. saves a lot of time and effort (two things I'm short on these days!).

just like there's a song for every mood, lately there seems to be a sticky note for every one, too.

in light of my waning Rhodes disappointment, here's where my introspection led me on this post-Thanksgiving family:





Happy Monday! Go read a book!

chalkboard wisdom

Yes, it's 3:15am.
Yes, I still have ~20 pages to write.
Yes, I smiled when I walked into one of Stetson's old computer labs and saw this mystery quotation scribbled on the board.

Three cheers to random acts of kindness!

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Monday, November 21, 2011

a very mindful monday (#8)

My new mantra:
easier said than done...

As many of you might know, I was in Birmingham this past weekend for a chance at a Rhodes Scholarship. I failed at achieving this goal, and it was a little harder to take than I was expecting. Ultimately, I must simply look ahead to the great adventures that I know God has planned for me, but yesterday at least, it just felt better to sit down and cry, if only for a second. This Monday, I'm mindful of this experience, naturally, and how grateful I am for the sea of support that envelops me every single day. How appropriate for this holiday season!

Encouragement is what I'm most thankful for today, because it is the very thing enabling me to overcome this disappointment that I didn't anticipate feeling. Whether from my home priest (this week's sermon, so I hear, was a great one about being thankful), friends, family, professors, signs in a store, church marquis about Thanksgiving, or Mr. John Mayer himself, I've been bombarded by uplifting thoughts. Hopefully they'll sink in soon ; )  <--that's supposed to look like a winky face, but it kind of just looks like a cross-eyed smiley face, haha

This song came on when I was driving home from the airport, right when I realized I had run out of quarters and cash on the turnpike. The lyrics were spot on, more than you know. It was like John was singing directly to me (yes, we're on a first name basis); there may or may not have been tears. Ima let you guess.

When I was looking through pictures I had taken while exploring Birmingham before the interviews, I found this one. In light of the blessings I have (like having been accepted to med school), it couldn't be more perfect.
In hindsight, I really wish I had bought a few of these cute pieces!

So be encouraged this Thanksgiving season. You are loved, you are blessed, and you are a beautiful gift from God in my life. Thank you!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Waiting for Rhodes

Scratch that whole thing about sticky notes-- I'm just going to post signs. All the time. I don't think I'm even going to write anything anymore. If someone else has already said it (better than I can), why should I bother? Exactly.
Much needed encouragement as I sit in the waiting room. 4 hours till GO time!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

stickys that stuck: 1

Earlier this week, I walked into the office space of Stetson's Center for Community Engagement ("the CCE")-- a place I spend a lot of time --only to discover that someone(s) had covered the walls in sticky notes. So this post starts a series of my favorites. (Yes, I stood there and took pictures of them with my phone. Don't hate) I'm just going to post them occasionally, one at a time, whenever I so desire, so don't look for them on a certain day of the week or something. It's all up to my discretion. mmm...So much power!  Anyway, here's sticky#1
yep, that's my shadow in the background.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

lists of lists

I'm a list person. Here's a list of some I currently have going:
  • books i want to read / books i've read
  • movies i want to see / movies i've already seen
  • wines i like / wines to try (and beer i like / beer to try.  don't judge.)
  • things i've never done (look for this in a future post, based on this...)
  • places to eat in deland/gainesville/tallahassee
  • favorites: tv shows, songs, books, movies, blogs, recipes, places, quotations, bible verses, etc. (See what I just did there? I made a list within a list of lists. I think I have a problem...)
  • deland auto shops (yeah...i've had some car troubles in my time at Stetson)
  • recipes to try
  • places i want to visit
  • vocab words i want/need to learn 
  • things I want to accomplish in my "free" spring semester.
  • and of course: a to-do list. an ever-lengthening, sometimes daunting to-do list.
Interestingly, the one list I don't have going right now is a wishlist for a fast-approaching holiday season. Woops! Any recommendations for what should make it onto that list for [a recently graduated] gal?

Monday, November 14, 2011

PS-



“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”-Howard Thurman

MM #7

Seven. The holy number. The day of my birth. The day of my brothers' births. The number of Snow White's Dwarfs. (okay, that last one's not very important) So yeah, seven is a favorite number in the Harper household.
case in point...

Seven is also the number of times I've attempted this whole Mindful Monday thing. I decided to start it as a way to keep myself in check and conscious of my thoughts/actions/emotions. It's been good I reckon; maybe not as earth shattering as I was anticipating though. In any event, today is Monday. It's a good one: Beautiful weather, beautiful people, beautiful God.

On the to-do list: finish college! T-minus 35 days. Wowzer. I've been chipping away at all the things I need to get done before the ol' graduation (the figurative one that is; I won't walk until May), but mostly I've just been distracted by baking. Woops. I'll leave you with my new obsession, which was BOGO at Publix today:
mini chocolate chips!
Happy Monday, indeed.


Monday, November 07, 2011

MM #6

Well, there is certainly noise, trouble, and hard work goin on 'round these parts, so 
here's to the hope that peace joins the brigade! Cheers!

Alright, confession time-- I was gonna do a whole thing with the usual I'm-busy-but-trying-to-make-it-work spiel (which I may or may not have just spelled "schpeal"). Then I decided to go against the grain and offer some silly commentary to even sillier Cross Country photos [from my last NCAA race that took place last week]. Running pics never work for me. Or when they do, only my leg shows up in the picture. Great.  And THEN, I realized that the words "copyright protected" actually apply to me, so out the window that plan went.

So now I'm back to boring ole nothins. Today wasn't much of a Mindful Monday, anyway, since my brain was totally spent on a Genetics-test-gone-awry. Oh well. Here's a video Zack had me watch the other day. I love this guy's late night talk show interviews.

Dum Dum Girls

not entirely sure what this song means, but i love it. [i also won't vouch for the video, nor these girls' outfits...]



Challenge: Can you make a list of your top 10 favorite songs of all time? I tried once. I decided to stop when I reached 37.


Thursday, November 03, 2011


current tally of engaged friends/siblings/cousins/etc:  9.

yikes. i think double-digits will just push it over the edge. slow down, people!

: )

pumpcakes and a pacman pie!

yummm...
 good thing Sabrina and I ate the pumpkin pancakes before the cookie monster did!



nothin like a little mid-morning bake sesh!
Thanks for the inspiration, Christina and Katie! Happy Thursday, y'all!

Tuesday, November 01, 2011

mindful monday #5 / a week in pictures

This past week was a great one, full of great news and excitement, family, cross country, and more. It has made me incredibly thankful for everything God has blessed me with, and incredibly happy for the life I've been given.

So here's my week in pictures, minus a few, since it's technically not mindful monday anymore and I want/need to go to bed-- maybe I'll add more later this week : )
engaged!


last race ever...


go Hatters! (and no, I'm not bald, it's a headband)
 (okay, so that's a way shorter compilation than I even expected, but it turns out some pics I was planning on posting haven't been uploaded yet. woops. In any case, thanks for looking.)

Happy Halloween!