a recognition of myself.

i need to remember to write. 

not only is it like therapy to me, 

but i just don't want to fall 

out of the practice.

i already feel rusty at just 

simply writing my thoughts down.

i always have myself. 

i always have a pen and paper.

i always have books and stories

and movies and shows on netflix. 

i need stillness and quiet

and a recognition of myself.

to have those things

is to have peace. 

a milestone.

listening to: beach house, specifically, the devotion album from 2008, which is probably my favorite. beach house has got to top the list of my favorite things to listen to on an overcast, rainy spring/summer day. you should try it sometime.

yesterday was my very last day of class. my last time to walk the halls of the allied health building as a classroom-only student. my last time to congregate with my classmates in that setting. true, in december, we will all be together again for graduation, but, you know, yesterday was kind of a turning point, a big deal, a milestone. 

and then, there's the fact that justin and i have a son coming into this world at the end of august. 

there is so much to celebrate right here in this moment. so that is what i am going to do.

photo: hydrangeas | lowe's home improvement | greenville, nc | may 2016

winter break.

chilled air
scarves, tights, boots
endless time spent wrapped in a blanket, on the couch
winter break

for twenty-sixteen: words.

As my mini series of goals, resolutions, etc., for twenty sixteen continues today, I thought I would share five words that I want to focus on for this year. These are words that I hope to embody as I make my way through this new year.

1. warm - having, showing, or expressive of enthusiasm, affection, or kindness. 

2. interested - showing curiosity or concern about something or someone; having a feeling of interest. 

3. industrious - diligent and hard-working. 

4. resourceful - having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. 

5. calm - (of a person, action, or manner) not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other emotions.

What words do you wish to embody this year?

See my resolutions here.
See my goals here.

for twenty sixteen: goals.

Though I wrote about my resolutions on Friday, I wanted to share my more specific goals today. These are the five things I most want to achieve in the year to come!

1. get fit and stay that way

2. read at least 12 books

3. grow my hair out

4. crochet 5 scarves

5. purge my wardrobe

What are your goals for twenty sixteen?

See my resolutions here.

the sunday currently, volume 120.

hello from the TSC headquarters

Hello and welcome to the first 2016 edition of The Sunday Currently! I hope you are all enjoying the remainder of this holiday weekend. In the coming week, I will be sharing more in my 2016 Resolutions Series, which I am excited about!

reading The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling). I devoured The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins, while I was visiting Shreveport. It reminded me a lot of Gone Girl in style. I enjoyed it, and it was suspenseful, which is something I've realized lately that I like in a book.

writing in my travelers notebook lately. I need to do a post on it, since I got it for Christmas. I absolutely love it. Here's the one I got. I have four pocket-sized Moleskines in there now. One for lists/plans/notes; one for my journal; one for my gratitude journal; and one for my health journal. I'm really enjoying it so far.

listening to Justin Bieber's new album, which is part of my hello 2016 playlist, which I'm currently working on building. I will share it when it has been completed. I think I'm really liking JB's new album, actually. I've never been a big fan before, but I'm kind of excited about this. 

thinking and talking a lot about the future lately, with Justin. There's a lot on the docket for 2016, and I can't wait to share the journey here. 

smelling like one of my Christmas gifts from my parents and Kara, which is Chanel Chance. I'm a little bit in love with it, and a bonus is that the smell of it reminds me of Christmas in Shreveport with family. 

wishing to stop being so lazy! I've been really lazy ever since we returned from Shreveport. I'm planning to change that this coming week, as it is the last week before spring semester starts! I have a lot I want to accomplish this week. 

hoping to get everything accomplished on the list I'm forming in my head. I need to put pen to paper, because then it will be even more likely to get done. 

wearing workout clothes, since we just came home from the gym and the grocery store. Also, a very warm, black, puffy North Face jacket that I love.

loving all the time that Justin and I have gotten to spend together over the last few days. We've watched a lot of episodes of The Sopranos, and last night we watched Rocket Science, which was pretty good. We have also been slowly chipping away at the housework that I did not accomplish before our travels. But, like I said, this coming week, I'm going to be productive and get it all done.

wanting clarity on a lot of things. I need to pray more, as well as be more open-minded. 

needing to continue drinking water, and actually, drink even more. I'm getting back into the habit, thankfully.

feeling calm and rested after my workout. It is truly amazing how much better working out makes me feel.

clicking through my updated list of blogs to read. I'm excited to keep up these reads and draw inspiration from them throughout the year.

What are you doing? Link up & share below.

for twenty sixteen: resolutions.

1. make - and maintain -  a home cleaning routine
2. make dinner at least three nights per week
3. put health first
4. read and write obsessively
5. love the best i can

for twenty sixteen.

here's to a bright twenty sixteen!

Happy new year! For the first week of twenty sixteen, I will be sharing a mini series about my goals, resolutions, words, books, and more. What do you have planned for the coming 365 days? What do you want to accomplish or read or write or listen to? Please do share. Here's to the brand new year!

joyful shreveport.

Well, our Christmas vacation in Shreveport was over in a flash. 

We ate lots of delicious food, spent lots of time with family, went shopping, and saw a couple of our friends. As always happens on these visits, we didn't get to see everyone that we would have hoped to have seen, but that always seems to be the way of it when we're in for less than a week.

This trip was a joyful one, however, filled with memories I know we will never want to forget. And while I'm glad to be settling back into my home routine, I am already missing Shreveport and all that place means to me.

You may have noticed, too, that I didn't blog one bit while there either - I know, slacker. Sometimes you just have to "unplug," right? I am happy to be blogging again, happy to be home, happy to be settling in to see what twenty-sixteen will bring.

on calling somewhere home.

happy first-day-of-winter

I've thought a lot about starting a new blog in the last year. Many times, I feel somewhat self-conscious over the blog name "siddathornton," because I feel like it is a made-up word that isn't exactly natural. In addition, over the last couple of years, I have fallen completely in love with camellias, and I have come up with a few blog names that follow that theme, that I actually really like. 

Every time I try to "make the switch," though, I hesitate. 

This blog has been my home for four-and-a-half years so far. There are some very fond memories that are attached to this blog. And I don't want to let go of them. In fact, some of my most favorite blogs over the years have "re-branded" themselves - some more than once - and I always feel a little bit sad when they make that choice. 

Call me a sentimentalist, but I find something very comforting about consistency, even loyalty, when it comes to our blogger-homes. I've come to identify with the name "siddathornton," and I like to think that it has become a part of me. 

For that reason, I feel - at this moment - that I will never (hopefully) change the name under which I blog. Sure, this space has been quite the fluid representation of myself, but it has always retained the same essence. For now, that is what I cling to, what I call home here on the vast internet. 

As far as hosting, however, I am singing a different tune. I am seeking something other than Blogger, and I would love any suggestions you have for me. WordPress? Weebly? Squarespace? What should I do?

home for the holidays.

before the trimmings

There's nothing quite like the time leading up to when we get to travel home to be with family for the holidays. There's a spark in the air, an energy. Everything looks brighter and more festive. 

In the time we've lived over here in North Carolina, I've grown very fond of travel. There's something magical about starting out in one place and ending up in another. Add to that the little details - the wool carry-on bag that I've grown to love even more than when we picked it up in a shop on a sleepy Saturday; the buzz of the airport, with hundreds - or is it thousands? I've never been good with numbers - of people, all going to different, interesting places; watching the planes take off and land in a peaceful, amazing little dance... There is so much about travel to love. 

There's also something so renewing about this time of year. Of course, there is the New Year right around the corner, getting ready to usher in twenty sixteen. But there's just something special about feeling like everything is a little celebration. Nothing is too small to indulge in, nothing is too mundane to be exciting. What a truly wonderful time of year. 

And when we arrive in our beloved hometown, I'm hoping for lots of things, but especially long talks sitting on the cold, comforting wood floors of the Ontario House; the click-click-click of my DSLR and phone cameras, paving the way for memories made and kept; endless cups of coffee enjoyed; long, long talks about the future and where that may take us; but most of all, just love. Love of family - is there anything more fulfilling in this world?

Here's to the holiday season.