photo credit

 

Have you started thinking about Christmas yet? The process of decking the halls, giving gifts, holiday meals, and generally being merry? Of course, the true joy of Christmas has little to do with the things I just mentioned and everything to do with Jesus...

Christmas always seems to bring more. More fellowship, more food, more time off, and inevitably, more stuff. Even if you don’t receive a lot of tangible gifts for Christmas, chances are someone in your house does {like your children} and if you don’t have any children, you’re probably buying many things for other people’s children, which means you have to have somewhere to store those gifts until the big day.

I’ve been thinking a lot about friendships lately….relationships and connections…community and belonging… all these very natural and inevitable desires we have simply because we’re human. We’re created this way. To want interactions with others.

I haven’t gained or lost a friend lately…I don’t think. Maybe friendships have been on my mind because I marvel at how my children can make friends at the park, in Payless, or the doctor’s office in 1.4 seconds. How my son has a “best friend” who isn’t related to him or imaginary. Maybe it’s because now that I’m thirty-something, I see that my friend circle is more like a semi-circle. I’m ok with that. But with so many things vying for our time and energy, friendships, just like any other relationship require work and effort to maintain.

 
Peer groups aren’t just for children and adolescents, they are important for adults as well. They give us an outlet by which we gain perspective, insight, and knowledge as we venture through life at about the same point on our journey {give or take…of course this varies}. Peers give us that connection and community we crave and can offer advice and affirmation as we do the best we
can to live a happy, fulfilling life.

Because our peer relationships often get put on the back burner, I thought it’d be fun to purposefully peep out our peers with some simple tips to get us feeling good and friendly! You down, Homie?

In my Five Days of Fall series, I talked about attending a fair, carnival, harvest festival or something similar as a way to embrace Falls arrival. The State Fair just wrapped up around these parts, and I’d bet the biggest attraction for most adults is the cuisine! {Can I say cuisine? That word makes me think of fresh food meticulously prepared using only the finest ingredients that’s garnished with other fresh leafy herbs just before serving on nice plates. State fair food is greasy, fattening, and slightly unsanitary at best. I’ll just call it food!}

 

Is it the last Friday in October already? Yep! So that means this is the final installment of Feel Good Friday. Remember, the point of this series was to get in a better place…a place of gratitude and giving, as we enter into the holiday season. Naturally, however, the habits and strategies discussed and started this month would be beneficial to continue well after the holidays are over. They should be woven into our lives on a regular basis.

Are you a list maker? Do you make to-do lists and then reflect on how much you still have to do at the end of the day? Do you sometimes criticize yourself for not getting more done? If so, this tip is for you!

Feel Good Friday Tip #4:  Keep an ‘I Did It’ List

The logic here is quite simple. At the day’s end, instead of feeling like a loser for not doing more, applaud yourself for what you did do and write it down on your ‘I Did It’ list! Whenever I wallow in this space…this space of thinking of all the things I was able to do that day, I immediately feel good! Like, literally a rush of goodness surges through my body because I feel accomplished. While I may not have done it all, at least I was able to (fill in the blank). And my accomplishments are not always grand…I celebrate little things like finally washing the rugs in the bathroom or making time to write a friend back or taking the children to the park. All of that makes me feel good!

Do you do this? Do you focus more on what you didn’t do than on what you did do? If so, I challenge you to keep an ‘I Did It’ list and really feel the goodness that comes from celebrating progress, one baby step at a time. 

Click here to print an ‘I Did It’ list to use for a week. If you feel better by doing this, come back and print it again and again and be sure to leave a comment below!

If you missed any of the Feel Good Friday posts, click the links below to catch up on the good feelings!

 

Feel Good Friday Tip #1

Feel Good Friday Tip #2

Feel Good Friday Tip #3

 

So, about that apple recipe… I went back and forth on what to make and finally decided on making Apple Butter! Have you ever heard of that? I had not…I mean, I have seen various recipes online and read other blogs raving about it, but it always seemed odd to me. What exactly would I do with this Apple Butter if I did make it! Well, let me share some things with you since I did indeed make a small batch yesterday. {I was only able to make half this recipe because 3 of my apple went missing...}

I am not a natural decorator. Meaning…I can just look at a room and tell you what it needs and where to place everything. I have to find inspiration elsewhere, and then I can incorporate my own style and taste. When I said I was going to make a Fall wreath in my Five Days of Fall series, I went straight to Google for guidance! There are so many options out there! At first, I thought I wanted to make a burlap wreath but then I saw this one (on this amazing blog…talk about creativity and craftiness!!!) and decided to make it instead.

 

Check out the link above or click here for step by step instructions!

 

 My supplies after a trip to Michael's.

 

My wreath...but I thought it needed a few more berries at the bottom.

 

 

 There, all done!

 



Having never made a wreath from scratch before, I was pretty proud of myself! Who cares if I copied the entire idea from someone else?! And, if you don’t have a Fall wreath and like the one I have shown today, then please, let’s keep the copying going!

 

Now for the pumpkin...we didn't do much with pumpkins growing up in my family. There was no carving or picking out pumpkins every year. I knew this was something I wanted to do just because of all the fun my children had visiting the pumpkin patch last year. Plus, pumpkins are relatively cheap and definitely speak to Fall and this time of year.

 

Once again, Google showed me there are countless ways to decorate a pumpkin...without carving it! You can stencil it, put ribbon on it, or adorn it with a variety of other things. But when I saw this pumpkin decorating kit at the Dollar Tree, I knew this was the way to go!

 

 One pack of foam stickers from the Dollar Tree.

 

One small pumpkin from the grocery store.

 

One decorated pumpkin!

Did you make a wreath or a pumpkin? Send me a pic! I’d love to see it!

 

You may remember from my Five Days of Fall  series (Try it Edition) I mentioned making a hearty soup as one of the things to try now that Fall is here. Well, I did! See below for recipe!