I mean out of the 4 or 5 I’ve even used..?

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Daily writing prompt
What is your all time favorite automobile?
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Toyota.

I just got a Prius and so far this is my favorite car, though it is a little slow, but it has so many cool features.

I’ve preferred Toyotas since my family used to own a blue Sienna minivan, and it lasted the longest of any of our cars that I can remember, and it was so roomy.

I’ve driven a Honda the past several years and while it’s a good car, and works well, I feel like they are smaller and less durable than the Toyota’s.

Of course a Prius is basically like the fancy car for poor people compared to some of the really big name brands, but I don’t really care. I’m not sure what the fuss behind Mercedes, Ferraris, and whatever else is up there really is. If the car runs, why pay exorbitant amounts of money for something that just has a few more bells and whistles you don’t even need?

I mean even a cheap car now has a Bluetooth link and rear cam and that’s about all I care about. That and a CD player because I’m an old woman in a young woman’s body.

So yeah, I’m a simple person. My favorite automobile is the one that gets me where I need to go, in the best way.

(Also that gets like 50 miles to the gallon because I have a long commute 5 days a week most weeks. Yay!)

See you all on the flipside–Natasha.

Christmas has changed for me (in a good way).

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It’s that time of year again.

I’m waiting for my family to get ready so we can open presents, since, you know, that’s how we do.

I thought I’d write a short post about how Christmas has changed for me a bit this year.

We still did all the same things, but I felt like I wanted to do them myself more this year.

The last few years, I’ve kind of lost my enthusiasm for a lot of the things I used to like as a kid. I didn’t want to decorate the tree, listen to the music, or do cookies and lights and all the other stuff.

I’m not sure if it had something to do with my dad moving out, and the subsequent depression and anxiety that followed for a few years, or if it was as I’ve become an adult, I don’t have the same childlike enthusiasm as before, so I didn’t see a point to it all.

This year though, I found myself wanting to do those things again. And I did, I actually helped do a lot more than before. I set up the tree, and my sister and I made cookies since our mom had to work.

My sisters and I have all had to step up more and more often as our schedules get more busy and our mom’s does too. We’ve taken on more and more responsibilities.

That stressed me out more last year, but this year I felt more into it.

But I really think the change is more of tied to my new job somehow. I’ve noticed I’ve become a lot more productive even at home, since starting it.

It’s hard to believe how much of a difference it makes but because at this job I’m treated like an adult (instead of a student like I was at the last job), I’ve grown to see myself with more self respect.

It’s not that I didn’t try to be a good worker at previous jobs, but I felt always lile I was treated as beneath my boss, even when they were nice to me.

This job, even though I’ve made mistakes, sure, everyone does, I’m never belittled or treated poorly. So I’ve gained the ability to be able to offer solutions to problems and enact them myself. And instead of getting in trouble for doing things differently than the others, I’ve been told it’s good that I came up with my own approach.

I now understand why people find good work environments make such a difference. While I coudl survive in a bad one, if I had to, the good one makes you feel more like a person.

And carrying that self respect back home, I also made more contributes to the household budget (small ones but I tried) and did more chores and stuff. Because now I feel more like an adult.

I’m 26, I’ve been an adult for several years, but the mindest just wasn’t fully thre for me. I mean, I’ve not been immature, but I guess it was more of not feeling like other people gave me credit for it. That feels different now.

It shifts, really.

To cap it off, I bought my second car (first one I’ve paid for though) this month, and that was another milestone.

I also wil file taxes for the first time next year. Yay…

But actually, making enough income to even need to worry about filing was something I prayed about. I don’t relish the idea of paying them, but if I’m finally not under the poverty line, then that’s good. (I know you can file even if you are, but I made a few thousand at most the year before this so it was literally pointless to even bother with that. This is the first year I’ve made more.)

I think also, as I’m older now, I’ve realized that I won’t always be able to do all this with my family.

Not that I’m planning to move out, get married, or anything else any time soon. But it will happen eventually.

I know everyone says that, but, I think it is true. Maybe it’s just a phase of life to realize that. Kids are always looking forward to the next thing, which is not bad, they have their whole life ahead of them.

Elderly people tend to look behind them, though some of them don’t, but many live in the past.

I’m not sure there’s any one age where you decide to live in the present, at least not universally, but I think that’s kind of what I’ve been thinking.

And Christmas is the time to think about present, right?

Ha ha…I know, bad joke.

But at the same time, I mean…yeah, the holidays are kind of what let us slow down and see where we are right now.

Maybe that’s why God commanded so many of them in the bible. A lot of people don’t know this, but Celebration is actually considered a spiritual discipline by the Christian church.

Because it is a discipline, isn’t it? It takes work to make celebrations. And it’s something I’ve never been very good at. I was an anxiety ridden teenager and child, and as an adult, I’ve only made steps outside that in the last couple years.

So I understood why it’s actually an act of self will to celebrate.

But if you do, if you build up tha muscle, eventually you’ll come to see why it matters so much.

Feasts, dedications, festivals, they help us remember the good things that happened in the year.

Gretchen Rubin, author of the the “Happiness Project” wrote in her book that “the days are long but the years are short.”

That’s so true.

We experience the present as a long time, day by day, but it drops away from us into the past so quickly. The older I get, the faster it goes.

I’m not really sad about this. I think change is important and it’s often fun, and good. I’m not as afraid of it as a I was as a kid.

But nonetheless, we can miss what’s good in our lives if we never pause to think about it.

Every book and movie about Christmas feels like it’s about that, doesn’t it?

Maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe it’s something that humans just know, deep down, about holidays.

And remember that in the Bible, the angel told the shepherds “Peace on Earth and good will to men”. Designating the birth of Christ as the time to celebrate and have good will to each other.

So I have good will that all of you will have a good Christmas.

And even if you are dealing with some tough stuff this Christmas, try to find something to celebrate.

(I get to have a dentist appointment tomorrow that I didn’t want, and that’s just the beginning, so no, my life is not perfect right now, but, I’m not letting that steal my joy.)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight, day, and whatever is in between.

Until next time–Natasha (do you know that name means Christmas? Fitting right.)

A not-so tough question…

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Daily writing prompt
Who are the biggest influences in your life?
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The top influences in my life?

My sisters are probably two pretty big influences. We have each other’s backs, and we ask each other for help about anything from fashion to finances.

There’s also my favorite books, which have shaped my views on pretty much everything in life, especially ones by C. S. Lewis.

And of course, the biggest influence of all is my faith, in Jesus Christ. Which runs through everything I do and believe.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas Eve–Natasha.

To be honest…yes.

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Daily writing prompt
Are you a good judge of character?
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I am very good at reading people’s behavioral patterns. I can get a feel for what they probably will and won’t do.

Has given me some trust issues with people who take offense to that, though.

But it’s a useful thing to be able to do. I usually nkow who to ask for a favor, who will come through for me, etc.

I generally can get a read on people within 5-10 minutes of meeting them, and the more time I know them, the better I can predict their trustworthiness.

Which is a skill I thought everyone had till I realized the amount of times I’ve seen people put faith in someone who is abusive and toxic, no matter how many times they’ve proven to be that way. So I guess it’s not universal.

It can be frustrating to be intuitive around people who are not that way. Things that seem obvious to me often seem like I’m making snap judgments to people.

I’m not infallible though. I have been wrong, or I’ve failed to listen to my instincts and still trusted unworthy people, or maybe been too harsh on others.

I think it’s like predicting the weather. We’re pretty good at it now, but there are always slight changes or shifts that make us often wrong or at least slightly off from what really happens.

People can always surprise you, but if you’re good at judging character, you are surprised less often.

Case in point, I remember there was on actor who was accused of sexual harassment and after I looked into it and his actions and personality, I didn’t believe it was true. Though people claimed there was a lot of evidence. Later he was found innocent by the court.

Of course, maybe it’s not always provable, but, by and large, I can guess when someone is innocent and when they’re not.

I’d be curious to know if other people have the same mixed reception of this gift that I do, and if people tend to get mad at you for it or just to be confused as to why you don’t like something or someone even if you’ barley know them.

Thoughts?– Natasha

Is it a cliche?

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Daily writing prompt
When are you most happy?
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Sounds cheesy, but I think it’s when I’m doing something to make other people happier. Maybe because I don’t always focus on if I feel happy because of something, it’s easier to be a third party observer.

I feel like happiness is better if you’re sharing it with someone else.