An Update of Sorts

*ruefully counts how many impromptu, unannounced blogging breaks I've taken over the past few months* 

*grimaces* 

*wonders who even reads these random musings anymore*

Sooo, hello, all! I haven't forgotten about this little nook of the blogging world and hopefully you guys haven't, either. At some point, I'd love to get back into posting regularly w/ book reviews, devotions . . . anything other than updates. But for now, this is my season of life, and I still enjoy hopping on here occasionally to give you all a glimpse of what I've been doing. (Especially since my writing assignments for English class always have to be formal, formatted in MLA, and checked over thoroughly for typos/grammar flaws. Writing informal, life update blog posts is a breeze compared to that. 😉) And because you're reading this right now, I guess you're continuing to enjoy my (somewhat disorganized) musings. 😜

The past few weeks were BUSY, to say the least. With my final math exam and last writing assignment in sight (session A of my semester @ Regent ends Saturday), things are finally beginning to wind down. Then . . . guess what. As it turns out, Regent has a limit of 7 credit hours per semester for early college program students, and I've already used 6 of those hours. So, after Saturday . . . no more school until January, 2022! *confetti* 🥳🥳🥳 I hope to pour my free time into doing ministry activities, like volunteer work, facilitating a Bible study at our church, and babysitting for a family we know with 4 kids ages 4 and under. And, of course, I want to do plenty of helping out @ home w/ chores and school for my sibs. Maybe now would be the perfect chance for me to finally apply myself to learning how to cook something other than eggs or cookies. 😁

My family and I spent a weekend visiting Connor @ college (we couldn't wait for Thanksgiving break to see him again 😄). He gave us a thorough tour of campus. We walked 5 or 6 miles one day, and it was great. The weather was absolutely beautiful, we all went out to dinner, and the younger kids, especially, clung to Connor and were upset when we left for home. It really helped us mentally to get to see him and know where he lives and what he does on a day-in, day-out basis.

Then my sweet, dear Ethel Mae turned into a biting, scratching kitten who didn't like to be held and could be violent at night (she liked to pounce on my face) and when she played. So, we unfortunately had to take her back to the rescue center also. 😢 They let us swap cats again, and we came home with a 12-week-old tabby I named Shalom, which is the Hebrew word for "peace." As of right now, she seems to be very promising: gentle, sweet, playful, and she loves loves LOVES to cuddle. Third time is a charm, right?

Isn't she beautiful? 😍

I'd love to know: what have YOU been up to?

Blessings,

Ellen S.