Hello Monday

   Happy Monday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

Korean Food - Y'all, I love Korean food. I may or may not be super sad that there are at least 3 good Korean restaurants in the city (possibly even more) where I'm currently living but there will be absolutely zero near me when I get back home to Alabama. Boo. 

Job Search - No news yet... I'm still applying for various teaching and non-teaching jobs. And I'm trying to think positively and be patient while I wait to hear back from someone :) 

Meal Prepping - I typically make one or two things on the weekend to eat off of throughout the week. That way I have lunches already ready for the work week and too... If I get home from work during the week and am too tired to cook, I won't have to. I'll just need to throw a bowl in the microwave. Easy peasy. Anywho - This week, my schedule will be a bit different, so I won't need to prep as many lunches. So instead, I dished out the last of some leftover pasta for one day and the last of some leftover tacos (minus the tortillas since I'm out) for the other day. And that's all I'll need prepped since I won't be at school the rest of the week. I also made a big batch of scrambled eggs, so I could have breakfast already made for a few days.

Days Off from School - Wednesday is a national holiday in Senegal, so we don't have school that day. Then I'm taking personal days on Thursday and Friday, to finally finish the big sort/purge/pack of my apartment. I hate to miss school for this, but y'all have no idea... This has taken me so much longer than I thought it would. And while occasionally I start to beat myself up for how much stuff I have, I realize... I first arrived in Senegal in 2009. So that means, it's taken me close to 15 years to accumulate all this stuff. It's not going to disappear overnight. So I need to give myself more grace. Anywho - I'm planning to have a garage sale of sorts at the end of the week, to invite fellow staff members/friends over to buy my stuff (or just to take a lot of it for free so I can get rid of it). Help me pray I get as much as possible gone. I really want to be done with this so I can focus my energy on the last few weeks of teaching and various events with my students and to saying good goodbyes to all my students and friends and places that have held my heart for so long.

Home

Doctorate - I'm still doing my research and chatting with the representatives from the doctoral programs I'm interested in at various universities. Most have a deadline coming up in the next couple weeks. So I know I need to make a decision soon. At this point, I'm praying God makes the needed decision abundantly clear.

Ice Cream - A friend and I went out for lunch after church yesterday and before we left, we each got a couple scoops of ice cream to go. Y'all, I'm in my "saying goodbye to people and places" time of life, as I'll be moving soon. So bear (bare?) with me. But going for ice cream brings back so many memories of times here. Trips with friends, trips with my fellow AGWM-ers, field trips with students, quick stops for ice cream after a stressful day of teaching, celebrations at the end of the school year with fellow teachers before we flew out for the summer, making milkshakes with friends, all the jokes that went along with finding obama ice cream for sale (it's a real flavor here and is so so good), long chats with friends while eating ice cream trying to beat the heat for a few minutes, and so many more memories...

My Parents - Had my dad lived, my parents would have celebrated their 40th anniversary yesterday. They were such a great example of a loving relationship and how to overcome difficulties and to rise above, all while serving the Lord and following the call to ministry for the entirety of their married life. I'm so grateful for the lessons I learned from them. If you're reading this, and think of it, say a little prayer for my mom. 

Lesson - This time of life is often overwhelming. Packing up your life after so long is difficult. Saying goodbyes is difficult. Etc. Etc. But this weekend, God and I had a heart to heart and it was like the light switch finally flipped on and I realized... When I'm feeling overwhelmed by the big to do list (and it sure is an ever growing list), I need to stop, take a breath, and focus on one thing at a time. I need to make it through one day at a time. Sometimes one hour or one minute at a time. 

And I guess that's about it for today.

What's on your mind today?