Small Joys Volume 9

I'm going to make an attempt to post Small Joys on Fridays once again, like I used to do back when I first started them.  This has been a fairly busy week in Indianapolis for me compared to last week!  Can't wait to share the joy that's been part of my week :)

No. 1: Job Interviews!  This week has been fairly fruitful on the job front.  I've had two phone interviews and one in-person interview.  Both resulted in secondary interviews, so I'll have one next week for a smaller hospital up here (but very close to my home :)) and another at a slightly bigger hospital that's about 20 minutes south of here the week after Thanksgiving.  I got a really great feeling about the one today and think that the organization would be an incredible one to work for;  I also think it's a job that I would learn a ton from!

No. 2: Visits from good friends.  One of my dearest friends, Lindsay, drove up from Louisville yesterday to spend some time in Indy and to see my new apartment! I had such a lovely time with her around the town.  We went shopping and even added some things to my registry so that we could play with the registry gun some more :)

No. 3: A beautiful Kitchenaid mixer! So, Lindsay walked up with a nicely wrapped box that she said I could open inside.  After chatting a bit and catching up on different things going on, I opened the gift to find the gorgeous aqua Kitchenaid mixer that I had registered for.  I am overwhelmingly grateful to her and her husband, Landon, for their very generous gift and I really can't wait to use it.  I have lots of holiday baking plans to use all of this down time for (assuming I don't get a job before then!) and hope to use it for many years to come in baking adventures.  Lindsay wrote in the card that many memories were associated with her own Kitchenaid from her mom and that she hoped I'd have fun with memory-making as well.

There she is!

No. 4: Christmas decorations.  I've joked for months about putting up my Christmas decorations as soon as I moved to Indy, but for some reason, I just hadn't quite gotten around to it yet.  Lindsay commented on this as soon as she walked into my apartment yesterday, so after a bit of shopping and lunch together, we came back here to put up my Christmas tree.  I'm sitting next to it right now, fully lit, and am SO happy that we did this.  It brings a whole new element of "small joy" into my week.  

No. 5: The gym.  I'm so thankful to have a gym right downstairs in my building-- definitely the closest I've ever lived to a gym before! Most days I try to go to do a few interval workouts on the elliptical or the stationary bike, and lately I've just been coming back to my apartment to do abs and arms.  I'm always self conscious about weight training in the gym for some reason, and this gym has a window that opens into a very open area of the apartment complex, so I prefer to do that sort of thing unobserved! I've already lost a few pounds since moving here, whether that's from eating healthier with Scott or working out I cannot say!  

No. 6: Friendsgiving.  Last night Scott and I went to a Thanksgiving dinner at the dental school with a bunch of his classmates from third year; we almost didn't go because he wanted to study instead, but I'm SO glad we went.  It was so fun to see some familiar faces of friends I've met on past visits here, and it was equally nice to meet some new friends.  I'm a huge fan of friendsgiving; we actually did this last year but called it Asian Thanksgiving, and maybe you'll remember that Scott made a giant turkey that was served bedsides plates of sushi at his friends' house.  Here's the pic if you've forgotten what that Friendsgiving looked like

No. 7: Facetime and Skype.  Oh, these have quite BIG joys lately, allowing me to keep in touch with family and friends while giving virtual tours of the apartment as well!  I'm ever so thankful for technology.  The same technology that helped Scott and I to make it through almost 8 years of long distance dating will now help me to keep these long distance friendships and relationships with family going strong!  

No. 8: City lights.  One of my favorite things to do at night is to just leave my blinds open to watch what's going on outside of my window.  It's nice to sit inside to watch rush hour traffic instead of actually sitting in it!  The lights on the buildings outside are mesmerizing, and though I much prefer natural God-created beauty, I can appreciate the beauty in something made by man as well.  

No. 9: Working heat.  When I first moved in I couldn't figure out what was going on with my heat, but finally, all has been fixed and I can sleep through a night without piles of blankets on.  I know so many are not able to find a warm place to sleep at night, and I know for that reason that I am to be very thankful for this warmth.  

No. 10: New Girl.  Can't. stop. watching.  I've seen all of the episodes at least twice, but while I've been home cleaning and organizing, why not watch a little Schmidt?  I tweeted a favorite Schmidt quote and the official New Girl twitter page tweeted me back the other day-- small accomplishment in fame-hood in the social media world. :) 

Aside from these things, I've still been enjoying cooking and baking, daily quiet time (stemming from Romans this week, loving wisdom from Paul!), appreciating the quiet moments, and making this apartment feel like a home.  

Lots of love and hope you all have a beautiful weekend! Hope you find moments of joy in the little things as you head into the holiday season.  

Grace & peace,

C