I woke up today in one of my ‘I miss Caleb’ moods, and it seems that I’m just bitter about everything. Though none of them are rainbows and butterflies, most days being away from Caleb are tolerable. Eventually I get into a groove and keep myself busy enough that I don’t have time to sit around and dwell on how long it’s been since we’ve last seen each other or when we’re going to see each other again. Yeah, I’m always thinking about these things, but if I let it consume my entire being, I would absolutely lose my mind. Every once in awhile, though, I get into a little funk where I think, ‘Why can’t I just have dinner with my husband tonight?’ or ‘I want to snuggle, dangit!’ and I get all sulky. (This would be a moment when Caleb would put on his most adorable face and, in fact, say ‘Don’t get sulky,’ because he knows how mad it makes me – haha.) I know that it’s only a matter of time before Ranger School is finished, my school is finished, and we can be in Savannah together, and it will be a grand adventure. Right now, however, it sucks.

Okay. Now that all of my whining is out of the way, I decided to perk myself up today by posting a few of my favorite things that always manage to cheer me up when I’m sad. The idea for this kind of came from NYLON magazine’s monthly feature of ‘Bag Check,’ and I think that I might make this a weekly thing. It’s important to look around and really notice the things that I’m fortunate enough to have and to appreciate them. This is my attempt to boost my sour mood into a super-ultra-mega-fantastic mood! Here goes…

I’m sorry that this is kind of blurry. My scrapbooks are therapeutic, I’m telling you. The bottom one is a special one for Caleb and me, and the top book is a collection of the bridal shower photos from a couple of weeks ago. Even though scrapbooks are a time-consuming, sometimes expensive hobby, I know that years from now, I’m going to be able to hand off all of my scrapbooks to my kids, and they’ll see a timeline from high school to recent pictures. Hopefully they’ll appreciate that as much as I anticipate them to! My luck, they’ll say, ‘Yeah, that’s great, Mom!’ whilst rolling their eyes and bobbing their heads to their blaring stereos. Teenagers, I tell ya.

This is an accumulation of the most random junk that I could get my hands on. My owl journal, of course, because my journals are where it all goes down, if you will. One can never be as honest and straight-forward as when he or she is writing to him or herself. I threw in my Listography book because it’s so fun to look at it every few months and to laugh at what I wrote earlier and to update it according to my current lifestyle. Candies because I’m a candy troll, and let’s face it, WHO DOESN’T LOVE AIRHEADS?! Come on, now. Those bracelets were in my stocking from my in-laws this past Christmas, and I find them very bohemian-chic. The little jewelry box is a gift from Caleb. It has his dog tags inside. :] Oh, and NYLON magazine ’cause it’s my fave!

A good chunk of my books are at my apartment in Columbus, but the majority of them are here at my parents’ house. Again, my collection of books is like a timeline. I’ve got books from elementary school all the way up through college. I can’t make a list of my favorite things without including my literary babies! Hello! English major! That little turtle was mine when I was a baby, just in case you were wondering.

I am very much in love with my collages. Having most of my favorite people in one spot all of the time!? Awesome.

Riley girl, of course, because just look at her! She’s precious, and she gives the best hugs.

You are now looking at the greatest cat of all time. This is my Missy, and she warms my heart every single day. I dare you to find a cooler cat. Here’s a hint – you can’t. Okay, maybe you can, but not to me. Missy Noodle is my one and only. In fact, she’s lying at my feet right now because she loves spending time with her momma.

Tea time! I don’t think that I go even a day without drinking tea of some sort. It’s lovin’ for the soul, I’ll tell you that, and drinking it out of a mug that changes to the Wolfman when it gets hot makes my tea-loving life infinitely more exciting.

So there you have it, my friends. I’ll be updating soon. What are some of YOUR favorite things?

xoxoxo
Ash

P.S. Can I just say that the weather is absolutely GORGEOUS today?