One Year Down, Three to Go!

As always, I'm going to apologise for not blogging in over a week. I have been insanely busy moving back in from college, working, knitting, catching up with old friends, and missing my boyfriend. It has been a great week back so far and I'm sure the blogs will only get more interesting as the summer progresses.

I can't believe my first year of college is over! It went by incredibly fast and yet so much happened. I learned so much, I met great people, and got to experience a bunch of new things and really get to know myself. I've noticed that I have become much more confident, much more social, and have become more willing to try new things (ex: ballroom!).

Looking back on this year, it is really interesting to see how much I changed. All changes have been for the better. I feel that I have matured and am starting to grasp a sense of the "real world", but am still letting myself have fun. I was able to do a little self-exploring and figure out what I want to do (never thought I would work in geography!) and figure out what sorts of people I really enjoy spending time with. My emotions have become much more under control and I am more able to clearly express them.

Physically, I lost a lot of weight, learned how to eat better foods and learned what foods I personally need and enjoy. I became more confident with my appearance and for the first time in my life, I am actually happy and comfortable with how I look.

One other thing we can't forget about college: Independence. Living without my parents was unnerving the first few weeks of school. However, after the initial shock, I found that level of independence quite enjoyable and was able to keep on top of things (with a little work and multiple schedules and calendars).

All-in-all, my first year was fantastic. I love my school, I love my friends, I love what I'm learning, and I love this opportunity to really learn about myself.

But now it is Summer.

Nothing to learn.

No classes to go to.

Nothing to do.

So, to keep myself from becoming a complete and total couch-potato, I'm going to create a set of goals to accomplish during or by the end of summer:

-Start a vegetable garden
-Start a windowsill herb garden
-Lose 10 pounds
-Bike twice per week
-(try to do) Yoga twice per week
-Do SOMETHING to keep my brain active
-Watch no more than 4 hours of TV per day
-Have fun

Its shaping up to be an excellent summer and I can't wait to see all of my friends and family throughout the upcoming months.

Until whenever!

Happy Trails! (Part 2)

I was reading yesterday's post and looking at the pictures from my hike and just realised how appreciative I am for the beautiful weather and beautiful nature I got to experience on Saturday. I love being surrounded by nature, especially in the Spring when everything is so green and alive. Being surround by so much life was incredible. Just feeling the energy coming from everything, standing still and just listening. There isn't a more exhilarating feeling in the world for me.

Happy Trails!

Ok, so this blog is a few days late. I've been super busy as the semester draws to a close, but somehow managed to find time on a beautiful day to go hiking with my boyfriend. The weather was amazing and the trail was beautiful and fairly uncrowded.

After a two mile hike, the trail ended in an amazing waterfall where we could go swimming. So we did. At least, we tried to. The water was absolutely freezing and I could only stand to dunk in and jump out onto a warm rock (after much coaxing from fellow students and my boyfriend).

After drying off, it was a two mile hike back and then an afternoon/evening filled with baking scones and ballroom dancing!

It is now Monday and that means that there are only two more days (after today) left of class! I am very excited and feel that this semester has gone much, much better than last semester. I found a major I love, I found friends I love, and I found a boy I love. It doesn't get much better than that!

Still have a TON of packing to do. Hopefully it can all get done by next week!

Until Whenever!

oh! Almost forgot! Here are some photos from the hiking trip:

Three Week Reprise (Again)

Sorry sorry sorry! I did it again! It seems it has is fact been three weeks since I last blogged. I am very truly sorry for this.

So here's what's been going on the past few weeks (in semi-chronological order):
-Paper due
-Individual presentation on one of my favorite songs (Send Me a Song)
-Individual presentation on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
-Group presentation on Bon Jovi
-Realy for Life! ( I walked 5 miles )
-Myth Test
-Business Test
-2 month anniversary :)
-ELPs Event (Rock n' Bounce)



The event went wonderfully! I tried to climb the wall, but could only get about 1/4 of the way up. My friend climbed it 12 times without breaking a sweat!

Sorry that I don't have much else after such a long break. I'll try to keep up with it more frequently!

Until Whenever!

Flower Power!

Whew! So today was a really busy day (and its still not over). I finished my business project a bit early so I'm doing the blog now.

Exciting! Tomorrow I will be doing the vlog and will try to have it posted by tomorrow night or Friday morning. Should be very exciting!

So today, with all of the projects due tomorrow and homework due and what not, it has been fairly stressful. I've just been sitting and flitting from one screen to the next, multitasking and organising and typing and editing. In the middle of frantically typing a review for Photoshop, I looked at a sprig of flowers in a tiny vase on my desk and just stopped and took a breath. That moment of just relaxing and seeing a beautiful little part of nature took away all of the panic and stress and I was better able to focus and finish 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

This makes me wonder; as humans, do we instinctively relax when we see something beautiful or when we can just stop and appreciate nature? Is this why people hike? I know that when I go hiking, my mind is completely clear and all my worry washes away. Why is this? Why does nature (in a calm state) calm us down? Even nature on a huge scale (like the ocean or a forest), a huge force we cannot be sure of and should be frightened of can calm us. The ocean is full of unknown depths and terrifying mysteries an yet we go to the beach to relax and listen to the waves. It's quite a profound concept.

Anywhos, I will be vlogging tomorrow! If anyone wants to help me with it, leave a comment or text me. Thanks!

Until tomorrow!

Happy Easter!

Firstly, today was one of the best Easters I can remember! So much fun and one of the first Easters I've really been conscience of the immensity of Jesus' sacrifice for us and his rising on Easter.

So, as stated in an earlier blog, I gave up baking and baked goods and complaining for Lent. I bet no one can guess what I did today:

BAKING!!!

Ok, so it actually started with making pancakes (which is technically frying, but baking followed soon after!

I made:
-Mint Devil's Food Cake Cookies
-White Easter Cake


Yes, they are heart shaped :P





It was so much fun! ^_^

I also made a vegetable stir fry (zucchini, carrots, onions, and green beans) which was delicious.

Later in the afternoon, my boyfriend and I dyed eggs. Here are our lovely masterpieces:

Mine:

The first heart come out so faintly that I decided just to paint a new one





My Boyfriend's:


"Semper Ova": "Always Egg"



All-in-all, a wonderful Easter.

Hope everyone else had a Happy Easter!

Until next time!

I Got Sunshine On a Cloudy Day

Hey everyone! So today was an awesomely fantastic day!

Firstly, the sun was out and shining after days of cloudy, rainy, overall unpleasant weather. While today started out cloudy early on, it steadily developed into a beautiful day!

I had a paper I thought that was due today but is now due next week, which is a HUGE incredible relief.

Spent a lovely bit of quality time with my boy-friend today. I love every moment we can spend together and, as cheesy as it sounds, everything just feels magical when he's around. He makes me so happy ^_^

I got to see the final version of my flier for my leadership group's event. It was very fulfilling seeing my flier used for an actual event. Its going to be all around campus!

On a sadder note, one of my fish died last night (Ponyo) and we thought Sasuke had died as well. BUT Sasuke lives! He is now referred to as the "zombie-fish", which I find quite appropriate. R.I.P. Ponyo.

At student-led worship tonight we had open-mic with the theme "My God Is...". I am an extraordinarily shy and quiet person and was reluctant to share, but one of my better friends, knowing how nervous I was, went up and shared to show me it wasn't s bad. So I did. And it was so worth it. I feel lighter and uplifted and it was good to be able to talk so openly in front of so many people.

Finally, on a good note, I may have a one time job constructing a social network. This may involve both computer skills and graphics design, so I am super excited about the opportunity!

RANDOM QUESTION: I know I've been slacking with the blog, so here is my question for you: In the future, would you like me to do a vlog (video (b)log). This would entail me carrying my camera around all day recording what goes on in my life and then posting it here (probably between 7 an 10 minutes long). Sound good? Maybe not? I'd really appreciate your feedback! :)

That's all for today.

Until next time!