Throughout my 22-week-challenge I’ve been sharing some of my favorite things that I’ve been able to do along the way. Well, it’s finally time for my last official ‘favorite things’ post…enjoy! ❤
Produce From My Garden
I’ve talked a lot about my flower garden, but I don’t think I’ve said much (if anything) on here about my mostly-vegetables garden. That is not okay!
I planted kale, bell peppers (our first orange bell pepper got ripe a few days ago! it was deeelicious), cherry tomatoes & basil (caprese salads are my new fave!), strawberries, watermelon, romaine lettuce, hot peppers (Walker just pickled a jar!), lemon cucumbers, oregano, and peppermint. I also planted onions that got totally destroyed by cats a couple weeks ago *cries* so I guess I won’t be planting those anymore.
Here are some pictures from my harvests!
Lemon cucumbers have tougher skin than regular cucumbers and I’m guessing are meant to be peeled, and they’re sweeter! I loved them and will probably grow them again just because, hello, yellow. But next year I think I’ll grow regular cucumbers as well.
I feel a little bit bad for kale sometimes because it has such a reputation for being gross. But I LOVE this stuff when it’s cooked slowly in butter and seasoned with garlic salt…yum! Next year I want to plant spinach and bok choy too.
Did anyone else not know that romaine lettuce grows into TREES?? I sure didn’t! My kale is ever so slowly growing taller as well, and I’m curious if eventually they’ll turn into trees too, but this is just something else! Next year I will probably only grow one lettuce plant haha, not six.
Buy New Clothes
I already wrote about my weight gain, but what I didn’t write about was how crazy it was growing out of clothes so insanely fast. It was quite the experience!
Two things worth noting about this particular adventure:
- I CAN FIT INTO JUNIOR’S JEANS NOW!!! No more kids jeans for me!! YAY! Haha I never thought this day would come!
- I decided I’m both too young and too old to not wear clothes that make me feel extra happy, and I have recently discovered that soft, colorful t-shirts make me very happy ^_^
(& “wear more colors” was also one of the things on my 22 list. So double check!)
Get A Tan
I am a recovered “burnt chicken nugget” (as my sister Alatheia affectionately calls our family’s genetic ability to tan) so living completely indoors for the better part of 7 years did strange things to the color of my skin haha.
I’m now much more health conscious about skin than ever crossed my mind as a child, so I wore sunscreen this summer and stuff, but I still hoped I’d at least get a little bit tan by the end of it. Not because I cared what I looked like, but because I had longed to be outside in the sun for years but couldn’t due to migraines and stuff. So getting a tan meant I was well enough to be in the sun, and that’s what I was hoping for the most ❤
Drive Up A Mountain & See The View
There’s a mountain near our house that I hiked up with my youth group once when I was a teenager. It really left an impression on me and I’ve been wanting to get up there again. I think the view was even better than I remembered!
Visit Walker’s Work
Walker has worked at the same place for a year and half and I was finally well enough to go visit! Visiting his workplace for the first time is always an adventure because there are inevitably lots of coworkers to meet and talk to, so having strength for that is kind of a big deal for me.
They have an outdoor, dog-friendly seating area, so Penelope got to come with us which of course helped me a ton but also made the day for a couple of his coworkers. Penelope is just a bundle of love and affection, so she melted hearts and made quite the impression.
Something else that made quiet the impression, but this time on me, was this MAGNIFICENT cheese plate…
*heart eyes*
Walker informed me that they made it look all special just for me and that he’d never seen it prepared like that before. How sweet is that?
Try New Teas
For Christmas last year a few of my siblings got me the coolest Christmas present: a tea subscription box!! I am OBSESSED with tea. Like oh my goodness I love the stuff. I’m not supposed to have caffeine for health purposes, so getting 4 different caffeine-free types of tea in the mail EVERY MONTH was just the best best best. Tea therapy is real, and few things are more comforting when you are chronically ill than to have a flavor of tea for every pain, every mood, and every need!
Find A Board Game That Walker Actually Likes!
I love board games. Walker….not so much. Ever since getting married I’ve been trying to find a game that he truly enjoys playing. It’s been hard! Yahtzee, though not a board game, is one game he enjoys more than most, but it wasn’t until he took part in a Kickstarter this year that he found a game that he actually loves! Yay!
It’s called “Trogdor The Board Game” and is lots of fun! (And yes, I wouldn’t have heard of Trogdor either had Walker not introduced me).
Blog Regularly Without Fear
When I started this challenge I was afraid to blog. I was afraid to talk to people in general, since I had recently and over the past years gotten pretty hurt from certain people. When I got more brain damage this year, some of my friends had a really hard time accepting me that way. As a result I had a hard time accepting myself as well. One friend told me that I didn’t have brain damage but was making it up. Another friend was annoyed that I had gotten another word wrong and told me she thought that I shouldn’t talk anymore until my brain damage healed. It truly broke my heart, and for a while I shut down and closed almost everybody out. It would’ve been hard enough dealing with everything even with the support of all my friends…but without it I felt extra confused, lost, and afraid to speak.
I’m still a bit afraid to talk to people in person because there’s no “save draft” and backspacing in real life conversations…but I’ve been able to blog without being afraid, and that has been really awesome. It’s something I haven’t had in years, and I’m so thankful for how much this challenge has helped me to face that fear and come out victorious.
Until next week,
Yours Truly,
~Cassia Dee
Yours Truly, Cassia Dee 