Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's Eve + 2014 Goal Wrap-Up

Mom explaining Monopoly Deal to those who had never played.
My first time playing Ticket to Ride! This is the board mainly cleared off, but it was pretty full! (365/365!!!)
Emily being...Emily.
Settlers of Catan. a game I've been wanting to play FOREVER. It did not disappoint.

Overall, New Year's Eve 2014 was a good one! We had a peaceful night with some friend just eating pizza and snacks, then playing the games pictured above. I really enjoyed the two new games I played, and I'll definitely be doing a little more research into the strategy behind Catan before I play again.

Now onto how my goals for the year did!

1: one self portrait (per week)
Success! 
week forty-nine | week fifty | week fifty-one | week fifty-two

2: compose photos (every day)
As far as I know. This is the epitome of this challenge for me: never taking pictures when I should, then not knowing if I really did complete the challenge or not!
338 | 339 | 340 | 342 | 343 | 344 | 345 | 346 | 347 | 349 | 350 | 351 | 352 | 353 | 354 | 356 | 357 | 358 | 359 | 361 | 362 | 363 | 364 | 365 - which is at the top of this post!

3: read the Bible (every day)
Nope. 

4: journal (daily)
Nope.

5: blog (daily)
Nope! This post is being written twenty-four days into January. Crazy, I know. Anyhow...

6: walk
Still no walking specifically for exercise, but that's fine by me.

7: bike
Nope.

8: 52 projects
Nope! I don't know how many projects I actually finished in 2014, but I blogged 26 of them. I know I finished more than that, but that number is pretty perfect to me because that's half of my goal!

9: 52 books
Once again, I forgot to do a wrap-up at the end of the month, but, thanks to goodreads, I know I figured it out and I read AT LEAST 50 books this year. I may have lost a few in there somehow, but it was at least 50!

10: experiment with photography
Nope. I've been too busy this month!

11: make six new meals for the family
Nope! Now that I'm home I want every meal to be made by my mom. I do have one dish I want to make for them before I leave, so hopefully I'll get to that.

12: learn to play the keyboard
Nope.

13: at least one photo book
Nope.

14: travel
FINALLY GOT TO FLY AGAIN. It had been way too long. I absolutely love flying, and love that every time I want to go home I'll just have to fly. (;

Overall, the year wasn't too bad. I definitely won't be setting such specific goals for 2015, however!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

An Evening of...

my baby,

a silly little sister,

& looking at lights in a neighborhood's town square-ish thing we didn't know existed.
364/365

That honey mustard at Texas Roadhouse wasn't too shabby either!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Monday, December 29, 2014

Nothing New

363/365

"Rachel bought yarn? Tell me something I don't know!"

There are reasons! There are projects to be made! When I will get around to knitting these projects, however, is another story...

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Self Portrait (52/52)

362/365

The last self portrait for the year! I can hardly believe it. I'm not totally pleased with the shots I got because I know I could have done much better had I put in even a little more effort. I really enjoyed this challenge, however, so I will be continuing it. This week's self portrait is me, finishing up my first fair isle project for a Christmas present for Diana, my best friend.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Surprise Renovation

361/365

When I came home last week, my family had a surprise in store across the hall from my room: a bathroom remodel! I won't lie, I was disappointed to not have had a formal goodbye with our old bathroom! Can you tell I'm sentimental? It's been fun, however, to see the progress. They started it sometime around Thanksgiving, and worked hard to finish it before I got home, but it didn't quite pan out how they would have liked, so it is still under construction. It's so great, however, that all my mom's dreams of this bathroom are finally being fulfilled! I know she really appreciates you, daddy. (:

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Friday, December 26, 2014

A New Favorite

360/365

Once upon a time, big sister and I got the Winona Ryder Little Women VHS for Christmas. Yes, VHS. We would watch it from our bunk beds in our shared room, and I haven't seen it since our copy disappeared. Enter Amazon Instant Video. We bought the movie through there, so now it's really accessible for all of us. We watched it tonight, and I think it's my new favorite movie. I'm so thankful I can watch it anytime now, because I already want to watch it again!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Christmas Day

359/365

Ah, Christmas Day! Probably my favorite day of the year. This year was especially wonderful because I got a ball winder + scale for yarn, which means things are about to get a whole lot more precise in my world! Jenna put a bow on her head, too, which means Christmas was complete. Also, how cool is our Christmas tree? It switches between white and LED lights, which is a fun twist!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve

358/365

Christmas Eve, after work and the candlelight service, looked a little like this: delicious soup made by mama, catching up on Advent, and snacks while watching our Christmas Eve tradition, It's a Wonderful Life! Also, how cute is my baby boy while peeking over my book, begging for a piece of our snack, Texas Trash.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

In Which I Attempt to Wrap Presents

357/365

I may be artsy, but that doesn't mean I can wrap presents! I only wish we had more bags to stuff things in, because my wrapping has only improved slightly over the years. However, I did well enough to get the job done. A little close to Christmas, maybe, but at least it's not the morning of.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Back At It

356/365

Today began a (mostly) full week of work at my store here. I'm so thankful for a team of managers who are more than willing to bring me back on despite my short amount of time here. It's weird to be back after having worked at a different location, but it's fun to compare the two. For now, I'm enjoying being with the people I've come to know and love over the last year!!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Self Portrait (51/52)


I'm home this week! What better way to celebrate than to hug my Pillow Pet? Well, I can think of a lot of things to do, but this was the easiest self portrait to set up, so it is what it is. (:

- rl

Saturday, December 20, 2014

What I Imagined

354/365 (photo by little sister)

As I've dreamt of coming back home, this is basically what I imagined: relaxing nights at home with  my family. After a day of work, there is nothing better than coming home, eating a meal made by my mother, and expressing some creativity through a puzzle.

It's such a bummer every night couldn't be like this.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Friday, December 19, 2014

Day with the (Little) Sister

353/365

Today I picked little sister up from school, then we ate and met up with a cyber friend. Then, no outing is complete without the two of us making a trip to the library. Brianna felt ridiculous walking around with an armful of books, but most of them were Ellen Hopkins, which means they are 500+ pages, but they're all poetry.

I'm so looking forward to plenty of time with my family while I'm home!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Thursday, December 18, 2014

A Day with Metro

352/365

Today I joined my dad on the Thursday outreach he does at work down in Dallas. The second picture is my favorite, because I felt like my dad was smiling a majority of the time. This is the work he does best. His gentle yet firm spirit/demeanor is just right for his work at Metro Relief.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Home At Last

351/365

This is my bed! At home! In Texas! 12 hours ago I was walking to pick up popcorn with a friend, and now I'm unpacking my things 900 miles away for three weeks at home. My family met me at the airport, where we hugged a lot. We had dinner at In-n-Out, then came HOME. My baby (aka dog) didn't jump for joy, but his tail showed that he definitely missed me a little bit. There are so many changes around here, it's going to be weird to get used to them all!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Final Day

350/365

Today was my last day in my little single dorm room! I enjoyed my semester here, and will miss the sweet set-up Leslie helped me with before Missions Conference. You better believe I'll be suggesting the same layout to future occupants, which will be easy because, when I come back in the spring, I'll be hauling all my things into the room right across the hall!

Only a few more hours until I head home now! I can't wait!!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Monday, December 15, 2014

Packing Things Up

349/365

This is the result of half a day of packing up my room. Switching rooms next semester means I have to have everything cleared out for my RA to check that there was no damage. Today I finished the semester (!!!!!!!!!), cleaned a little, then worked. Now it's definitely time for bed, seeing as I have loads of packing to get done tomorrow!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Self Portrait (50/52)


We've finally hit 50 self portraits for the year! Only a few more to go! How is that possible!

I wanted this self portrait to include my friends, but completely forgot. Today involved eating some deep dish before going home for the semester, then studying for our two finals tomorrow morning. I don't feel great about either of them, but I've done my best, and I would have to do very poorly to fail. Ds get degrees. I'm ok with that sometimes.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Weird Pains

347/365

I've started having a weird pain in my right foot. It feels like a muscle is being pulled, more than it should be, each time I move it. Oi. This is me icing it, because you could argue it was slightly swollen, while listening to music and reading the latest Christy Miller book! It's so, so wonderful, y'all.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Friday, December 12, 2014

Friday Night in the City

How do I spend my last Friday night in the city before Christmas break? Stay in the dorm, of course! (Not pictured) Marika and I watched Gilmore Girls, then, because I was feeling sleepy at 9pm, I watched some YouTube and knit:


while making mac and cheese:


Followed shortly by popcorn (day nine of mater's presents!) with Leslie while watching Sherlock:


and working on a tad bit of homework/consuming candy:

346/365

Sherlock season three, y'all. It's been too long since I watched this season and I had ALL THE FEELS. Best show ever, for sure.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Proving a Point

345/365

Tonight I attempted to prove to Ally and Laura that I do know how to cook by making dinner for them after they got off work. I'm not sure my plan worked, but we all ate and it was good. It was more of a "wing it" meal because there was no recipe, just common sense items.

Nearly four months of college cafeteria food has me more than ready for homecooked meals. I already sent a list of things I've been thinking of to my mom a few days ago. I'm so ready to be home! I'm also really excited to fly solo. I was talking to a girl on the floor today and she said how much she has found she really enjoys flying on her own. I told my mom the other night that I'll finally feel like an adult when I fly on my own. Slightly unrelated, I really hope I can get a window seat!!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Quiet Night

344/365

Tonight is all about movies with accented men. Ireland and Christmas knitting: a night in. Don't worry, mom, I did some homework too. Studying? That's a different story. I've been waiting until the last Old Testament class to find out a more specific list of things we need to study.

ONE WEEK, Y'ALL!!!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)