Watt's Up? May Edition

My friend and fellow blogger, Cassie Creley, recently wrote a post that shared snapshots of her life from the past two months. I thought that was a cool idea, so I borrowed it and present to you snapshots of Watt's been up this month! The prompts I used were taken from this post by Gillian Parlane.

READING: I finished reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok this month and discussed it at reading club. Dad and I also recently finished reading one of my favorite childhood books, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brian, and we are now reading The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts.

LISTENING: Mom and I enjoy listening to Sinclair Ferguson's Things Unseen podcast on Monday through Friday. The episodes are usually no longer than 7 minutes, but they are rich. I also have been enjoying listening to songs by Keith and Kristyn Getty, especially their album, Facing a Task Unfinished. 

LEARNING: I've begun taking my first college class, Introduction to Nutrition, from Sophia Learning. I also got my driver's permit this month and am learning how to drive!

DECLUTTERING: My family and I are currently going through homeschool curriculum and books to sell and donate. I'm also hoping to go through some of my clothes soon.

MAKING: Ben helped me make raised beds for a garden. We used old pallets, straw, and dirt. We're growing lettuce, green beans, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes.

ENJOYING: I've been enjoying eating meals on our deck with my family. Sometimes I'll also shoot bubbles with our bubble gun, and I enjoy watching the stream of bubbles float through the air. We also enjoyed visiting the lovely Hershey Gardens this month. The header photo for this post was taken there.

FEELING: In the past, I’ve struggled a lot with feeling emotionally numb when faced with anything sad. I learned this year that this is a symptom of dorsal vagal shutdown, and I’ve been feeling more appropriate emotions lately and crying more easily, which is a good sign that my nervous system is moving towards a healthier state. I’ve also been feeling a lot of emotions of excitement and happiness lately.

PLANNING: I'm making plans to attend Liberty University Online (LUO) next year, and I am planning what classes I want to take and transfer. LUO only requires that 30 of my credits come from them, so I plan to get all of my general education and free electives from Sophia Learning. I am considering becoming a Christian counselor.

LOVING: I'm learning to love my body. For years, I blamed my body for hurting and destroying me and considered it to be my enemy. However, I now see it as my friend. I realize now that my brain/body was simply doing its best to protect me from what it falsely perceived as threats due to past trauma that led to an overactive limbic system and that my body didn't mean to harm me in any way. I'm thankful that my body kept me alive until I figured that out, thanks to the Dynamic Neural Retraining System and Sarah Jackson's RESTORE, and that with this new mindset and with brain retraining combined with somatic exercises I'm experiencing an amazing recovery. 

PRAYING: It's such a blessing to be able to pour our hearts out to God. No need is ever too small for Him. Some things I've been praying for recently are for direction, wisdom, and further healing in my own life, as well as lifting the needs of friends and family members and praying for salvation for those who are lost.

DOING: I’ve done a lot this month. Besides what is mentioned elsewhere in this post, I also made a public profession of faith at church, visited my grandma in Kittanning, PA and went to Buttermilk Falls afterwards, visited the Flight 93 Memorial, got my first professional haircut in 7.5 years, and hosted a hymn sing.

EXERCISING: Mom and I completed the 100 Miles in Spring walking challenge on May 6th, but we are still walking daily. In fact, this month, we camped overnight in the Laurel Highlands and walked/hiked 5 miles in one day! Pascal, our dog, went with us and even took a swim in the Youghiogheny River. We've begun riding our bikes around the neighborhood, too, and we hope to go on a bike trail soon.

EATING: I've added chocolate back into my diet, and it's delicious. I've also begun eating white potatoes again and ate some potato chips for the first time in 8 years while we were camping. I've even had salsa with tortilla chips. But don't worry, I'm still eating plenty of food that is widely accepted as healthy and still have a green smoothie every morning.

WEARING: On the way to Hershey for Ben's graduation from medical school, we stopped at a Goodwill, and Mom found me a denim skirt. It fits me perfectly, and I love wearing it! I've also been borrowing my mom's clothes lately, especially for church. We're roughly the same height and weight, and it's nice to be able to share.

BUYING: A friend gave me a Target gift card for my birthday a few years ago, and I finally used it to buy some fun things for our camping trip, including a caterpillar that lights up when dropped. I dropped it from my bunk in our cabin at bedtime and left Ben thinking that he had dropped his flashlight and that it was acting goofy. He soon figured out that it was his sister playing a prank. Leave it up to me. 😉

What are some of your May snapshots? Share in the comments!