A.D. 2012

My year in pictures :) 

I cannot believe that it was only a year ago that Chester left us to conitinue training. Now, he has graduated and is actually a service dog! Never thought I would see the day.

Highlights of February: Lots of fun! I got two fish (that died in 2 weeks) 

We had a girls night to see "The Vow"and a floor event that included Scottish dancing. 

March-April: Ayumi and I started to collect recyclables. I am sure we only earned about 3 dollars but hey, that buys something at Java 101. 

We also formed an adventure crew that included trips to Moss Lake and Whiskaway Falls 

May: Saying goodbye to the wonderful floor-mates for the summer. Weird. It seems like I have known them for a lifetime but we have only said goodbye for one summer. 

June-July: Included lots of camp stuff. Going to the beach... finding trees that had faces. 

And Camp. It was a really great summer! :)

August: Road trip with the sister! Climbing Angles landing and making it across the country in the TOYota :)

August also found me leaving to start my sophomore year of college

 

September-November

Roommate Love :)

Making Pie :) 

Beautiful Sunsets :) 

Sister Love :) 

It was a long semester, but filled with some really good times. 

December: Exams conquered. 

Home for Christmas. Family. Friends. Snow. 

It was truly a wonderful year and I am so thankful for all the opportunities and the things that I have learned. 

Now to 2013, I am looking forward to all that God has in store for me this year.

 We didn't have a white Christmas, but we got a White Boxing Day! 

Seeing how it is only the day after Christmas, I think it is safe to say:

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone !!! :) 

 

<3

Christmas at School

Well first it doesn't really feel like Christmas. 

Finals might have something to do with that.

But I think the biggest thing is that it was bright and sunny today, no cloud in sight, and there has not been a speck of snow stick on the ground. 

But there is Christmas music playing throughout campus... most of the time

Java has Christmas decorations hanging

and even our small quad is decked out with Christmas decor. 

Snowflakes are hanging from our ceiling....

4 gingerbread men, a gingerbread house, snoopy, and Christmas lights hang in our window

And a Christmas tree with a never ending supply of chocolate help us to remember what a wonderful time of year it is! 

Oh and of course my to-do list: 

Also hanging in the window, I may have been procrastinating but I needed to write everything that needed to be done down, why not make it merry? :) 

t-9 days and I will be home for Christmas break!! 

Watching Airplanes

Family Reunion was fantastic! 

3 lovely days with the family and then headed back to school.

Well what was supposed to be 12 hours in travel time turned to 24 hours... 

I am getting a bit tired (been up since 5 this morning)

But on the upside I have finished a paper and a book for school

and have made some friends at "Coffee People", they have some yummy Chai. 

Now to enjoy that Chai and read some Sherlock Holmes. "The Hound of The Baskervilles"! 

It is nice getting to read for fun :) 

A New Look

We are in the process of re-arranging our room. 

Right now it looks like a tornado came through and sent us all over the rainbow, but I think it has a lot of promise :) 

This weekend was very welcome. 

Nice and chill.

 My roomies decided that we need to have some bonding time, especially after the hectic couple of weeks we have had. 

What is on the list for tonight, one may ask, well:

-Finish our re-decorating/re-organizing

-Watch a chick-flick

-Maybe paint some nails

-Nice Talks

In the words of Olivia, "we are such girls" yes, yes we are. 

Sometimes you need nights like this though :) 

Pictures to come of our room (before and after!) 

We started to get a bit of snow today! Little bits falling from the sky nothing too noticeable  but I cannot wait for snow!! :) 

Hope you are having a wonderful Saturday!

A Sushi Adventure :)

We have been planning a sushi day for some time. Well last night it finally happened!!! 

There were a group of us who decided that this experience was needed. 

At 5 o'clock our adventure began :) 

8 of us. 2 cars. Loads of fun!

- We're going to sushi guys, rain or shine!

We hit the rain part and if it had not been for electronic maps and help from a gas station we probably would not have found Kuni's!

We finally got seated and since it was such a small place they had to split us up into two tables

but we were still close to each other!

I had an eel and avocado roll, a salmon piece, and vegetable tempura.

It was really yummy! :) 

My table!

(Oh and the couple behind us got engaged!)

The sushi crew!

My wonderful roomies <3 

It was a great night full of  new experiences (I stuck a huge piece of raw salmon in my mouth), laughter, and friends.

It was a unanimous decision that we should make this trip again :) 

 

Autumn

Living in Western New York has really helped me appreciate this time of year! 

The pumpkin spice lattes, vibrant leaves, apple crisps, cool air, and everything else that reminds you of fall! 

"Tomorrow is always fresh. With no mistakes in it" ~Anne Shirley

Doesn't this picture remind you of Avonlea? 

A Saturday Adventure took us out in the crisp fall air to do some hiking.

Yes I live near this place! 

With weather and scenery like this who could not conquer mid-terms? :)

<3

So This Is Love

Love (IIIl) by: George Herbert

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
        Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
        From my first entrance in, 
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
        If I lack'd anything.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here;"
        Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah my dear,
        I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
        "Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
         Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"
         "My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."
         So I did sit and eat. 

She's Official... Well Almost :)

It was a gorgeous day outside! 

(My desk is a window seat, I love it !) 

Not only was it beautiful weather but I thought hmm what a wonderful day to declare my major :D Well practically declare it, I just need one more signature and I am officially a Psychology major with a minor in Intercultural Studies :)

Somedays I feel like a college student =]

Sophomore Year Is A Go!

After a fantastic summer filled with camp, road trips, friends, and family I have arrived back to school safe and sound.
We now live on the 4th floor so moving in was kind of a work out, but that is okay work outs are great for us! The first day of classes is over and my planner is color coordinated. Assignments are already written out but fun is being planned around them! 
My roommates are amazing and I feel as if this is going to be a wonderful year :)
Stay tuned for some adventures from 4th Old !!

<3

Thunderstorms to Study By

Last night we had the most EPIC thunderstorm ever!
Sammy came into my room and we were writing our papers together.
At about 11 o'clock we decide to take a study break.
Our breaks include racing across the quad barefoot in our pj's, telling funny stories, eating sweedish berries, turning up the sound to a favorite song. Good study breaks!
Well the first one we took we raced around the quad, it had been raining, but it was not anymore.
At about 1 o'clock (yes that would be a.m.) we were kind of falling back asleep.
Sammy said "Katie you wanna go run?"
I said, "yeah, give me ten minutes.... woahhh do you hear the rain outside?!?"
"Precisely why I asked if you wanted to go run."
"Let's do it!" 
In less than 2 minutes of racing around the quad, rain literally blinding our eyes, lightening striking right above us and screaming from the thrill; we arrived in the stairway looking like drowned rats.

it was a pretty epic way to wake up :)  

Bitter Sweet

" I think my professors are trying to kill me!" A comment that has been heard a lot lately.
This week is going to be pretty HECTIC! But that is why I got all the fun in this weekend while I still could :)

Friday I went to town with Ayumi. We did some shopping and went to the young adults group at church. Whenever Ayumi and I drive somewhere it is an adventure. I think I am cursed or something because no matter where I go, I somehow get lost. The night was then complete with watching A Knights Tale it's a pretty funny movie if you have never seen it.
Saturday I woke up early to attend an event that I have never had the privilege of attending--or even being in for that matter. A horse show! I had to ride in it for one of my classes and was told to come at 10ish. I went up a bit early to see some of the people before me. But it ended up that I could have slept a few more hours and seen plenty because I did not ride until around 2. That is okay though, I got a nice sunburnt face and I even placed in the event!! I have a ribbon to prove it :D My horse is named Art and we rode in the walk, trot, canter flat class. It was very intimidating because there were a lot of people who were in classes above me. It was a lot of fun though, and a good experience!
Later on that night I went to an Old English Dance. That is right, Pride and Prejudice style! It was so much fun and everyone dressed up for the occasion. I wish we danced like that more!

It was a great weekend and it is crazy to believe that we are done in a week...

Today was the last day of classes and a couple were very bitter sweet to leave. It is strange how you can spend a year in the same seat of a French class around the same people and then one day you are just done. That is life I guess. But it truly was a fantastic first year in both classes and in everything else that I was able to have the opportunities to do.

Now on to Finals!

This Moment :)

Lately I have to keep telling myself to enjoy the moment I am in. I found a quote (I am not sure who said it) that has just reminded me not to focus so much on my future plans that I forget about what is happening right now. I put it on one of my favorite pictures from the road trip my dad and I took in December.

So true and a good reminder for me!

So this is what is happening RIGHT now :)

Reading: Just finished Wuthering Heights and will be mostly reading my philosophy and development text books for the next month... not Francine Rivers, but they could definitely be worse!

Listening: to Nora Jones, Dean Martin, Brad Paisley, and a few disney songs in the mix. Got to love Pandora!!

Thankful for: The wonderful Easter break we just had and for safely returning to school. Also very thankful that I did not get chopped up by the wood chipper this week while I chipped wood and that the craft barn did not collapse on me while I was cleaning it out.

Hoping that: The sun comes back soon!!

Anticipating: Well short term, I am very exciting to go to the young adults group at church on Friday and for movie night with friends :)

Cooking: Well... ya gotta love the cafeteria!

Baking: I did just bake a orange cranberry coffee cake. It wasn't too bad if I do say so myself

Watching: Revenge (new episode tonight!), Once Upon a Time, and Castle.

Homework: yupp I have a lot of that!

Words of Wisdom: "You can't leave footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?" - From the book "Go For It" by Jo Ryan.

That's all for now folks. I hope your Easter was wonderful :)

By Your Side ~ Tenth Avenue North

Why are you striving these days

Why are you trying to earn graceWhy are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run
And I'll be by your sideWherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

Lyrics from: http://www.6lyrics.com/by_your_side8-lyrics-tenth_avenue_north.aspx

Responsibilities of Owning a Fish..

On Friday, Ayumi and I took a trip to town. I impulsively bought two gold fish (I have been wanting fish for some time, to make our room complete). 

May I introduce Maple (the really orange one) and Cuba (the one with just a speck of orange on his head). 

They really are cute.

Ayumi even liked them... I had to tell her fish were friends not food though. 

Now with this whole fish business I thought it was going to be easy. Right. Fish are supposed to be the easy pet. 

But apparently this is not so. 

It is very easy to kill goldfish if you over feed them, or you under feed them, or if you don't clean their water enough, or if you leave them by an open window and they get hypothermia. It is all a very touchy business. 

Hopefully I will learn all the ways not to kill the goldfish before they die on me. 

This weekend a few of my friends and I also took a trip to some waterfalls that are close by... the water was really cold, it numbed my legs after awhile! A couple of us went swimming, and a few of us fell while climbing through them. 

The falls are very beautiful. There is a dam above and then four big waterfalls are layered on top of each other. There are 3 above this one that we walked up too. 

And then last night there was the International Student Association Banquent. 

The theme was: Corazón Latino!

It was good to have some guacamole and spicy food :) 

We dressed internationally because it was the international banquet. 

Jane and I both wore wrap around skirts that she got from Kenya. They are so fun with all the color!

I like spontaneity. 

Spontaneous: Arising from a momentary impulse

This weekend was very spontaneous! 

Until next time then! 

Maple Tree Inn + Moss Lake

We took a trip to Maple Tree Inn last night. It is a wonderful place that serves all you can eat pancakes, with real homemade maple syrup. It is only open about 2 months out of the year so the place was packed! We had ten people and had to be split up into two tables. Thankfully they were like right across from each other, so we didn't feel the loss too bad. Anyways:

It was DELICIOUS!

Of course since it was all you can eat we had a competition. Our table won :D

Jordan did however get 18.5 down. 

Between the 10 of us we ate about 100 pancakes. Yes.. 100

Needless to say, next time we go I think I am going to eat until I am happily full and not stuff myself :) 

Today after church a group of us went to Moss Lake! It was a beautiful day!! And with the time change we had a lot of daylight to climb trees and run through the forest. 

Moss Lake gets it name from the multiple feet thick moss that lies on the outskirts. 

 We were warned most earnestly not to step on the moss from one of our upperclassman, he said it would suck you in if you stepped on it... still not sure if that is true, but I stayed away from putting the my whole weight on just in case. 

It reminded me of the swamp from Lord of the Rings.

It was a wonderful weekend!

Spring is almost here I'm thinking :D

<3

There Really Is No Place Like Home

Burnt Out

Two words that would have described me two weeks ago.
I was exhausted and needed a break.
Thankfully, the school must have needed a break too because February Break finally came and I was able to go home.
Sleep
Family
Friends
a little bit of work
reading for pleasure
playing the piano
eating yummy food

I love being home.

Motivated and Awake are two words that describe me now :)

And the two words that I have for the rest of the semester:  Bring It 

"You have flowers waiting for you in the campus store" The e-mail said.

I go and sure enough these lovely daisies are waiting for me <3

"Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?"

-Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

Why yes, in fact I think daisies are very happy flowers:)

Thank you Mom and Dad for the beautiful flowers!! They make our room so much brighter <3

50 Cents

The Following events really happened... 
"I bet you 50 cents that it will happen." Says Ayumi with a smirk.
"Deal!" I say, then think for a second and reach to my coin purse to see if I have 50 cents "..well..."
"Yeah, actually 50 cents is a lot! I mean I could  buy a bag of popcorn with that!"

Deal is off.
Oh the priorities of a college student (not that making bets is a priority, but rather popcorn was the first thing that came to mind when we thought of saving $0.50.

Thought of the day:
God is the owner of our lives. God is good and God is Holy.
If God desires that I be His and wholly His, and if God desires to communicate the message of the cross through my life, who am I to deny by what means God desires to do so. 

SuperBowl 2012 :)

NY Giants, you got this tonight !! :)

My sister sent me a teaser commercial for the superbowl, and it was pretty hilarious!

Hopefully there are other good commercials this year!!
Well, 3 more weeks until Spring Break! A lot to do between now and then though. Papers to write, exams to take, and fun to have. It is insane how fast this semester is going by (let alone this whole year!)
We had a concert Friday, night a Christian band called "Out of Hiding". It was really fun and good to worship with friends and classmates. This whole week has been challenging in a spiritual aspect, in a good way. It was really a fantastic week of chapel speakers and everyone had a challenge to give and a message that needed receiving.
Saturday night we had our movie night and watched "Much Ado About Nothing". Shakespeare is funny when he isn't tragic, actually I take that back, he is tragic even when he is being funny. But it was a good one.
And Superbowl tonight! It has been a good weekend :)

9 o'clock on a Saturday Morning

This morning our wonderful R.A made us breakfast!! Pancakes, freshly cut strawberries and pineapple, and Simply Mango Juice :) It was delicious and definitely worth getting out of bed at 9 o'clock for.
We all walked into the kitchen looking like zombies but by the time we got food in our stomachs we were pretty chatty.
After our fantastic breakfast a few of us went down to the "Women of Faith" Bible study that we have once every month. It was really good! One of our professors talked to us about Luke 9: 51-62. And how God doesn't want second, third, or fourteenth place in our lives. He wants to be #1.
It was very relaxed, all of us being in our pj's, coffee in hand, listening to a woman much wiser than ourselves. I was very thankful to have been able to go this morning.

Saturdays are pretty nice.
They are relaxing.
You can stop in on people and say hi.
Have conversations that take time.
Sit listening to music while getting ready for the day, again taking time.
No real deadlines to get work done, you've got all day to do it after all and even tomorrow if necessary.
No one looks at you funny if you take naps on Saturdays.
I think it's obvious to say... I like Saturdays.
HA on that note I also like taking my time. I'm not lazy, I just like to chill sometimes.
Or maybe I just miss Mayberry...

And now to get that work done... or maybe take a nap we'll see which one wins out :)
<3

Ephesians 6:10-20

 ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore,having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, makingsupplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV