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101 in 1001: Beginning

Abi Leah15 Comments

Hey, everyone! So today I’m going to start a new project for myself called the 101 in 1001. It’s basically a list of 101 things that I want to do in 1001 days (2.75 years). I wanted it to end on my 21st birthday as a little “birthday present” for myself, so I’m going to start today!

101in1001

Start date: Friday May 11, 2018
End date: Friday February 05, 2021

A healthy lifestyle

  1. Eat gluten free for 2 weeks
  2. Work out twice a week for three months in a row
  3. Eat meatless for 3 months
  4. Take dance lessons
  5. Become plastic free
  6. Go to bed by 10 every night for 2 weeks
  7. Get up at 5 every morning for 2 weeks
  8. Go through my clothes and donate what I don’t wear
  9. Learn 5 new recipes
  10. Go through all of my photos and purge the duplicates
  11. Spend at least 15 minutes outside every day for a month
  12. Bike somewhere (anywhere)
  13. Go skating again
  14. Delete unwanted emails
  15. Make an emergency kit for the car
  16. Run in a race
  17. Complete a 30 Day Squat Challenge
  18. Go a day without my phone
  19. Go a week without my phone
  20. Go a month without social media
  21. Complete 10 random acts of kindness
  22. Try to go “car-less” for a week
  23. Volunteer at an event
  24. Be able to do a split
  25. Work out in the morning for 2 weeks

For family and friends

  1. Quilt a blanket for my aunt
  2. Take a trip with my mom
  3. Send 50 handwritten letters
  4. Send a “just for fun” package to my friends
  5. Throw someone a surprise party
  6. Sing around a fire pit with some friends
  7. Go to 5 sports games
  8. Finish the 2017 scrapbook
  9. Have an early morning Bible study outside
  10. Visit a high school friend at college
  11. Give someone a handmade gift
  12. Send birthday cards
  13. Take my sisters on “sister-dates”
  14. Volunteer with my family a Saturday morning
  15. Start a future hope chest
  16. Reconnect with an old friend
  17. Start a birthday tradition

Exploring the world

  1. Go to a drive-in/outdoor movie
  2. Go camping
  3. Take a roadtrip
  4. Visit a city I’ve never been to before
  5. Go to a flea market
  6. See a shooting star
  7. Watch the sun set, stay up all night, and then see the sun rise
  8. Play an instrument on the beach
  9. Have a picnic
  10. Explore downtown Charlotte
  11. Study abroad
  12. Speak French with a native
  13. Go horseback riding
  14. Go on a spontaneous trip
  15. Learn sign language (enough to have a small conversation)
  16. Become fluent in French
  17. Find a church by the university
  18. Go sailing
  19. Go to a lavender farm
  20. Learn to identify 5 constellations

A little bit of me

  1. Read the entire Bible again
  2. Memorize 25 Bible verses
  3. Read every Jane Austen novel
  4. Finish watching all of the Doctor Who seasons
  5. Watch 20 documentaries
  6. Complete a 30 day photo challenge
  7. Have a photoshoot
  8. Vote in every election
  9. Sew a quilt for myself
  10. Put $5 into savings for every goal accomplished
  11. Fill a sketchbook with doodles
  12. Visit my high school teachers after I graduate
  13. Paint on a canvas
  14. Memorize a chocolate chip cookie recipe
  15. Learn a poem by heart
  16. Attend the midnight premiere of a movie
  17. Read a book in a day
  18. Celebrate Easter really big
  19. Read 5 classic novels
  20. Update my makeup
  21. Have a spa day
  22. Spend an entire day watching Disney movies
  23. Build a blanket fort a read under it all day
  24. Sell something on Etsy
  25. Buy something from Etsy
  26. Make a new vision board
  27. Make a reading corner

Scribbles and words

  1. Write 5 more poems
  2. Journal every day for a month
  3. Compose and write down 2 new songs
  4. Write 3 “How-to” blog posts
  5. Write 10 more devotional blog posts
  6. Write a letter for myself to open when 1001 days are over
  7. Guest post for another blogger
  8. Map a book I love
  9. Reach 500 followers on my blog
  10. Write a wishlist of places I want to visit before I die
  11. Go to a book signing
  12. Write a new list when the 1001 days are over

I am so excited about my goals for this list! I will be sure to share an update every couple of months but you can check my progress on the “101 in 1001” page located at the top of my website.

Have you ever done a 101 in 1001 challenge? If so, how did it go? If not, would you want to do one? I can’ wait to hear from you! Have a great day. :)

signi

Eighteenth Birthday Giveaway Winners!

Abi LeahLeave a comment

Hello, everyone! It’s the day you’ve been waiting for! The day I announce the giveaway winners!

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Congratulations to Hannah W and Aria H for winning the giveaway!

I will be sending you an email which you will need to respond to within 48 hours in order to receive your prize.

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway! I hope you all have a great day!

signi

Seeing God in the Everyday

Abi Leah2 Comments

Godintheeveryday

I pulled into my parking spot and turned off the engine. From where I sat in the parking lot at school, I had a perfect view of the sunrise. Shades of blue merged into purple and pink. Thin clouds raced across the morning sky as birds happily chirped in the cool air.

I watched as the sun rose all too quickly and the sky turned blue. As I continued my school day, I remembered the beauty and wondered how amazing God is! Later, that night, I opened my Bible and read the words that perfectly expressed the awesome beauty I felt only a few hours before.

How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory!
How plainly it shows what He has done!
Each day announces it to the following day;
each night repeats it to the next.
No speech or words are used, no sound is heard;
yet their message goes out to all the world
and is heard to the ends of the earth.
God made a home in the sky for the sun;
it comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom,
like an athlete eager to run a race.
Psalm 19:1-5

I’m sure I’m not the only one to wake up some mornings feeling completely away from God. It can be difficult seeing Him work in life when we’re going through the motions and routines.

But, as Psalm 33:6 reminds us, God’s hand is shown throughout all of creation, in the beauty of His created world.

This week, I’d like to challenge you to look for God’s hand in the everyday things such as the sunrises, callings of the birds, and even in the beauty of human life.

signi

Eighteenth Birthday Giveaway! (CLOSED)

Abi Leah19 Comments

Hello, everyone! How are you? So today is my eighteenth birthday! Yay! I wanted to do something special to celebrate so I am hosting a giveaway.

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Just like the past two giveaways, there will be TWO winners.

What You Can Win

One person will win this “beauty set.” This prize includes one pair of pink floral socks from Forever 21, one marble necklace also from Forever 21, and one oatmeal, milk & honey bath bomb.

The other person will win this “study set.” This prize includes one mini pink binder, one Dare To Dream marble notebook, and one marble pen.

How To Enter

This is a Raffelcopter Giveaway! Click here to enter.

The giveaway is open from February 4 to February 18, 2018. There are six ways to enter with a total of 8 entry points. Any questions? You can read all of the Terms and Conditions here or email me at happilyabi@gmail.com.

I’m really excited for this giveaway! I hope you have a great day! Good luck :)

signi

Photography: Snow

Abi Leah11 Comments

Hello everyone! How are you? Did you get any snow this week? I did! It snowed on Wednesday so the schools were canceled. Life in the south :)

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The two days off from school were much needed. To celebrate, my family and I went down to the park to go sledding. It was so much fun! It was also so beautiful seeing all of the trees covered with snow.

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In the park, there is a bridge over the little stream. The sound of running water was calming. With the snow, it was even more beautiful.

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There’s something about fresh snow that makes time seem to stop. It’s peaceful and perfect for hot chocolate and reading. :)

Did you get any snow this week? If so, how did you spend your snow day?

signi

Liebster Award

Abi Leah6 Comments

Hello, everyone! How are you? I’m doing pretty well! The second quarter ended yesterday and I finally get a chance to breathe after all of the assignments. Yay! I was nominated by Bella from the Dancing Damsel for the Liebster Award! Many thanks to her! Be sure to check out her blog and her version of the post here.

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The Rules

  1. Acknowledge the blogger who tagged you and display the award button.
  2. Answer the 11 questions the blogger asks you.
  3. Give 11 random facts about yourself.
  4. Nominate 11 blogs.
  5. Notify the bloggers of their nomination.
  6. And give them 11 questions to answer!

Questions And Answers

  1. What are a few of your goals for 2018? – I actually just posted a blog post on my 2018 goals. You can read it here.
  2. What’s a song you’ve had on repeat lately? – I love listening to “Well Done” by Carly Bannister. Both Carly and her sister Ellie Holcomb performed at Windy Gap at the beginning of the school year and it was amazing! You can listen to the song here.
  3. If you write, what’s a current WIP about? – I haven’t really been writing recently so I’ll skip this question. :)
  4. Do you have any siblings? – Yes! I have two younger sisters who are amazing! I love them so much. :)
  5. Sweet, salty, or sour? – Sweet! I love all kinds of desserts, especially if my mom or sister made them.
  6. Which book do you wish would be turned into a movie? – I would be so excited if The Selection series became a movie! It would be amazing!
  7. What’s a word you always misspell? – I also misspell “misspell”. I forget there are two “s”s.
  8. If you could live in only one city or town for the rest of your life, what would it be? – I’ve always wanted to live in London.
  9. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? – If I could have a superpower, I would want to have the power of teleportation. That way, I could just “poof” myself somewhere instead of having to drive.
  10. What is the best and worst movie you’ve ever seen? – The best movie I saw was Wonder Woman. It was so good! I don’t know the worst movie that I saw.
  11. Why did you start blogging? – I had been thinking about starting a blog for a while before I finally did start writing. It wasn’t until a lot of my friends started blogs that I decided it was finally time. I started Life as a Homeschooled Teen in November of 2014. It was a way for me to practice writing and I continued by adding more posts about life. And now here I am. :)

Tag! You’re It!

  1. A Day in the Life of Anonymous Me
  2. Call Me Ash
  3. Day Dreamer Teen
  4. Dreamers and Dancers
  5. Elsie LMC
  6. Georgie Grl
  7. It’s Louises Life
  8. Joy Unspeakable
  9. Linds 4 Dance
  10. Livalittle Blog
  11. and You!

Questions For You

  1. What are some of your goals for this year?
  2. What are you looking forward to?
  3. What cheers you up?
  4. Give one piece of life advice.
  5. What is your favorite pizza topping?
  6. If you had to move to another country for 10 years, what are some things that you would miss?
  7. What comes to mind when you hear the word “rabbit?”
  8. What is your most reccommended book?
  9. Do you have a bullet journal?
  10. Tea or coffee?
  11. How would you describe your style?

Thanks again to Bella for tagging me! Be sure to check out her blog and I hope you all have a great day! :)

signi

My 2018 Goals

Abi Leah12 Comments

Hello, friends! You have survived the first week of the new year! Yay! How has it been so far? My days have been pretty crazy as my second quarter of school ends this week and we are scrambling to have enough assignments in the grade book.

2018goals

It’s that time again to reflect on the past year and make goals for the future. 2018 is going to be a big year for me, as it is the year that I graduate high school and enter the world of college. While I am very excited for this year, I know it’s going to include lots of scary and uncomfortable changes. But that’s what life is full of! So the best thing is to make this year a great year. You with me? Here are my 6 goals to make this year great.

1. Grow in my devotion to God.

Every year I have had a different theme representing who I wanted to be and focus on for the year. Last year, my theme was peace and the year before it was hope. This year, my theme is devotion. As I looked back on 2017, I noticed how my relationship with Him has faltered a bit due to doubt and personal struggles. What I realize now is that I was resisting God because I wanted so desperately to be in control of things in my life. But, I’m not in control, God is. This year, I want to work on growing closer to God and trusting in Him for my future.

2. Keep my family relationship strong.

My family isn’t perfect but they are wonderful and I love them. We are already seeing the stress that senior year brings but I don’t want that to hinder our family relationship. This year, I want to continue to keep our relationship strong, even while I’m at college.

3. Stay connected to my friends.

I have been so blessed to have great friends who are very involved in our community as well as each other. But that also means that we are constantly busy. While we may not be around all of the time, I still want to stay connected to my friends and keep my relationships with them.

4. Finish Senior year strong.

Senioritis is real. I didn’t realize how real it was until I got my first acceptance letter. Although there is a lot of pressure among my senior class to give up and stop caring now that I’ve been accepted to college, I need to continue doing my best work in class and outside of class. To do this I will:

  • Set priorities
  • Stay organized
  • Stay motivated

5. Invest in myself.

I believe that a healthy mind and body leads to healthy relationships and a happier life. This year, I want to really make an effort to invest in myself. This can include getting back into photography as a creative outlet, writing music as a way to de-stress, and learning to say no when I am stressed and in need of rest.

6. Invest in my blog.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have noticed that I took a couple of breaks this year. Part of that was because of my sanity, the other part being health-related. While I don’t know what this year will have in store for me, I want to put in a greater effort to be involved in this lovely blogging community. Specifically, I’d like to:

  • Host a giveaway!
  • Comment on 200 posts through the year.
  • and Host guests for collabs!

So that’s what my 2018 looks like! What are your goals for the New Year? Are there any things that you are really excited for this year?

signi

Looking Back: 2017

Abi Leah5 Comments

Hello, everyone and happy New Year! This year has flown by so quickly! Time really does fly when you’re having fun, or just busy. :)

lookingback17

2017 has been a crazy year for me. Between all of the travels and my surgery and starting Senior year, I’ve been busy! But I wouldn’t change that business for the world! It makes life interesting. :)

In the beginning of the year, I wanted my theme to be growth. But as life continued, I found that my theme was becoming peace. Peace in my school decisions, peace about the future, and peace about who I am, were all really important for me this year.

Popular Posts

christmaswish17blogiversarytf-er-headermarchmemories

I posted a list of some things that I Want, some things that I Need, some things to Wear, and some things to Read for my 2017 Christmas Wish List.

Link: here.

 

This year I celebrated 3 years of blogging! I talked a little bit about all of the changes on my blog and how I came to be happy with those changes.

Link: here.

 

This summer I took a trip to Europe with my family to visit my grandparents and cousins. It was so much fun and we took so many pictures.

Link: here.

 

March was a particularly good month for me this year. My family hosted quite a bit of people and we did some traveling too. I also worked on memorizing Bible verses and worked on my photography.

Link: here.

 

 

2017 ended pretty nicely for me too! My sisters and I hosted a group of girls for a New Year’s Eve party. Ending and starting the two years with my friends and family is a blessing and I am so grateful that we had that opportunity.

So, how was your 2017? What were some of your favorite parts/memories? I hope that your New Year is just as great!

signi

Exams Are Over! + Recent Posts I Loved

Abi Leah2 Comments

Hello everyone! I survived my exams! I’ve gotten two of my six grades back and I did pretty well so that’s good! While I was gone studying my head off, some of my favorite bloggers posted some great posts that I wanted to share with you! So here are some of the recent blog posts that I loved. :)

examover-recent

Four Reasons Why You Should Be Writing In A Journal
by Specsclad

START

Specsclad started her 25 Days of Self-Care Blogmas posts this December. One of my favorite post from this series so far was her Four Reasons Why You Should Be Writing In A Journal post. (But the rest of her posts have been great too!) I think it’s really nice that she decided to take a different perspective on Blogmas and do the Self-care theme. Be sure to check out her post here and her blog here.

Peru – The Highlights
By Silke

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Silke from Belgenius wrote a post recapping her trip to Peru. I loved seeing all the pictures she took and reading her travel tips. The pictures are really beautiful. Be sure to check out her post here and her blog here.

November – December Illustrations
By Tabi

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Tabi from Busy Bear posted some of her recent drawings from November and December. I love all of her drawings (who wouldn’t?) but I especially loved the one of the whale. It’s so cute and happy! Check out her blog post here and her blog here!

Those were just some of the many posts that I had to catch up on after my break for exams. Be sure to check out these three amazing bloggers’ blogs! I hope you all have a great 2 days until Christmas!

signi

30 Things I’m Thankful For

Abi Leah4 Comments

Hey, everyone! Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Have you started making your shopping list? I’ve been planning with my family and I’m really excited to spend the holiday with all of my relatives. I always look forward to Thanksgiving day. Speaking of Thanksgiving, there are so many things to be thankful for! Here are 30 Things I’m Thankful For.

thankful30

  1. God who has saved me despite the many times I’ve failed.
  2. My family who drives me crazy but I still love them.
  3. Friends who are open and accepting no matter what. The ones who encourage me to be my best every day and help me back up when I fall.
  4. Teachers who work with me to help me get better.
  5. Pastors who will sit with me and walk me through things I may not understand.
  6. Sunday School Leaders who have prayed for me and my family week after week.
  7. Military Families and others who work to keep our country safe.
  8. The changing of the seasons and the beauty that comes with each one.
  9. Vacations and the chance to have a break from the business of life.
  10. Flowers which always cheer me up.
  11. Surprise snail mail from family and friends.
  12. Heaters to keep my home warm.
  13. Socks to keep my feet warm (and for sliding around the floors).
  14. Education and the opportunity to learn.
  15. The wonderful food that my mom makes for me every day!
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  16. Cameras and the chance to capture memories in a photo.
  17. Dishwashers! Because who wants to wash all of those pots?
  18. Sunday afternoons full of rest and reading.
  19. Little handwritten notes left in my lunchbox.
  20. Happy moments with family and friends.
  21. Clear nights full of stars and wonder.
  22. The experiences, both good and bad, that have helped me grow into who I am today.
  23. Failures that have helped me learn from my mistakes and encouraged me to do better.
  24. Technology that allows me to communicate with my family all across the world.
  25. Comfortable beds to sleep in!
  26. Family traditions and the memories that come with them.
  27. Books that come with great adventures!
  28. The authors who have inspired me to write.
  29. The many people who love me and pray for me.
  30. All of you who take the time to read my posts! Thank you so much!

What things are you thankful for? What are you looking forward to the most this Thanksgiving? I hope you have a great week!

signi