A Good Break, A Needed Break

It's been tough guys. Since the last time that I've posted a series of events overwhelmed me and made last week not so good. I know, no excuse for not posting, but it was a tough time. Yesterday we got the day off from school however (for Easter) and that made things a lot better. PS: how great is it that I get a break for Easter?! 

+1 for Private Christian College.

Anyways, this four day vacation has really been needed. I need to catch up on homework and some alone time has been really nice. Hopefully I can get my homework done so I can do some crafting, but in the meantime I've been procrastinating doing this...

After my churches Good Friday service my friends and I painted nails. I'm digging this design and the colors, futuristic-color blocked-in colors... pretty much the epitome of fashion this spring. Yeah, that's how fashion forward I am. And yes, I do give lessons.

I also tried this last night. Sock curls, it kind of works, but since my hair isn't THAT long I think I need a smaller sock. 

But on that note: ISN'T MY HAIR LONG?! I'm having a whole lot of love for my magical hair growth pills right now - to see the effects go back to some of my posts from this summer, or for that matter look at the banner of my blog! My hair is definitely growing at the speed of light, I can practically hear it growing. 

Today promises to be a good day too. This morning I when I looked outside I was greeted by sunny flowers. I now know why people are so excited when spring comes after a long winter - not that we had winter here according to locals, but for a California girl, this spring is nice.

See? (But don't be fooled, it's still pretty cool outside... oh say in the 40's?)

I even got to make oatmeal for breakfast, and don't tell me you're not jealous of my oatmeal because this was pretty dang good. Nutmeg, cinnamon, almonds, raisons, granola.... it was pretty good guys.

On that note, homework calls. I also don't have any more pictures to describe what else I've been doing. Never fear though, a long weekend almost guarantees I'll post once more. Maybe. In college, all bets of work are off, but I'll try. 

Hope you Saturday is as glorious as mine is shaping up to be. 

"Where in the world..."

"... has that girl BEEN?!" is clearly what you are all wondering. And I do apologize. I have been MIA for just a little bit too long and I have been getting 'Fat Friday' jokes one too many times, not to mention any names. But in my defense...

I had to go across the country to find snow.

And to travel way too many hours in a car in a way too short period of time.

And to suddenly go from being average height to short.

And to board with cousins and attempt to ski again. Backwards.

And to make pasta primavera and breadsticks. From scratch. 

And to make cappuccion-chocolate cupcakes and homemade frosting. Again from scratch.

And to eat meat for the first time since Lent began. (And really just to eat real food again for the first time since Christmas break.... kidding. Kind of.)

And to add to the collection.

So, in my defense, I have been rather busy. Midterms and catching up and experiencing lack of sleep also haven't helped much, but I do hope that you'll forgive me. I am however back in school mode, sort of, and will be better. . . until finals come. Never fear, you still have 8 weeks of constant me to look forward to. 

I'm A Pin-er

What is the right way to say that I am one who pins things? As in, pins things on bulletin boards? I am not quite sure. Regardless, you all need to check out Pintrest. I don't know if you've heard of this latest hipster fad, but it is actually pretty great. I mean, I like it. Mostly it's great because you can find things like this... which actually sums up my life right now. But with midterms. And really, just a lot of extracurricular stuff in general.

But in all seriousness, life is pretty fun right now. I AM super busy, but I have the feeling that it is all worth it. And even though some days I just want to curl up with hot chocolate and read a book of MY choosing or do an art project that I PICK, I can't really imagine my life being any less active than it is right now. And hey, you can't really complain when you are getting more sleep than last semester, fitting in decent workouts, and get to draw for homework. The job is also going well and not TOO much of a time commitment, though it does sometimes put a damper on Friday nights - though I have successfully been making up for those on Saturdays.

In other news I ventured into Boston this weekend for an art midterm and an unexpected adventure, I was able to go to the mall and share some really special quality time with a friend, and I am SUPER excited to see my fantastic family in a week in a half and to hit the slopes with them for the first time! All in all, hectic, but wonderful as I live out this [extra]ordinary life.

Winter Activities Are Just Better In The Cold

It's true. There's just something about winter activities that are better when done in an actual cold environment than in 80 degree weather. Yes, I've heard Santa Barbara, you're weather has been 'nice'. Well MY weather has been wintery AND I get to see the sun. 

Some fun updates for those back home...

My new Toms (along with about 10 other packages) FINALLY came after a rather complicated order, return, and reshipping. They're not as fantastic as the original ones I ordered (which they were out of by the time by return was processed), but they fit this time, they are comfortable (as always), and they support a great cause. So even though I will NEVER order online from them again, I will certainly continue my patronage via their retailers. Because, let's face it, ONE for ONE is a great cause that can save lives. If you don't know what I'm talking about then click here, because it's a cause I fully support.

In other news, I got to go ice skating yesterday. It was a lot of fun, though I am certainly out of practice. But hey! I only fell once, and despite a potentially bruised tailbone (again), it's all good.

Kellyn on her brand new ice-skates!

Maria owns her own pair as well - fancy New Englander friends.

Don't be fooled, we were tired as ice-skating is apparently a good workout.

Worker, Worker Bee

Hello friends and family, congratulate me, I have my first (official) job and it's right here at Gordon College. I even get a super cute uniform. That's a little sarcastic. But I'm still really excited to be.... serving food in our cafeteria, Lane. Sounds fun right? Actually I don't think it will be that bad, I'm even a little excited. See?

That is the hat. It's pretty cool right? I hope I get to keep it, even if it is a little big.

It even has our snazzy Gordon College logo on it. Bam!

Reasons for getting myself a job:

1. Mostly so that I can get a job in the summer and put THIS job on my resume.

2. I get paid. Welcome to minimum wage world. Dang it.... if I had a car I could totally make more money babysitting. On the other hand.... kids aren't my thing.

Ok, 3. I only work 2 days a week. Really 1 and 1/2. I work Fridays and every other Saturday - so really, it's not too bad. 

4. I might meet new awesome people who also work in Lane.

5. I GET to work Fridays. Didn't think that would be a reason DID you? Well it's true, then I don't have to stress about homework due the next day. Smart right? I think so.

Those are pretty much my reasons and I think they're pretty good ones. Plus, it's not like the job is hard. And (shhh) I'm pretty sure I get to take free food after as left overs. Score.

Here's a normal picture for the family too even though I've only been away for about a week - but I know you miss my face. :)

Other updates? Nothing really significant. I have been going to the gym and starting to get in a regular routine for my days. I try to go to bed early, I'm making some new friends, and overall this semester has been a lot better than the last, maybe because homework isn't so bad yet? I probably just jinxed that. Or it really could just be because I don't have Philosophy anymore. HA! Take that Philosophy and I'll take that passing grade as I smirk at NEVER having to take that again.

Some Photographic Scenes

Apparently my room has become hang out central - a typical night.

Evans window decorating!

Just trying to be racially diverse

The Chaos.

Favorite neighbors!

Masterpiece is complete! And if you're wondering, ours was totally the best window.

There was also an ugly Christmas sweater contest!

And I even got into the spirit by (kind of, sparsely) decorating by dorm room.

Here's to finals week and lots of painful studying and a 6 hour plane ride home.

Busy Busy Bee

These past few days have been so hectic for me! This is kind of surprising because my class load/ homework schedule is actually not that busy - I have just been busy with some other fun things!

The busy-ness started almost the moment that I got back on campus, well, really the airport. I had the opportunity to take a town car back to Gordon! It was quite the experience, but I am not sure that it is quite worth the $$$ that was paid. Though the driver was efficient and didn't crash, he wasn't by my baggage claim and he didn't carry my bag for me. Rather disappointing I must say - mostly because I didn't get to see him and take a picture with the sign that said VANDERARK on it. Boo. Life's tough sometimes. After I got back on campus I watched Letters to Juliet - dumb movie? Some might say so. It was cute but predictable. Monday and Tuesday were mostly a blur of trying to finish homework, my weekly trip to Lynn, and thinking about applying - and actually applying - to some jobs for Christmas break. This is where it really gets exciting people.

The only place that I actually finished my application to was Macy's, all of the others required in-person applications or were way too complicated - though I am still looking. However, the really exciting news is that I got an email from Macy's today saying they want to interview me... problem: I don't live in SB right now. I live in MA.

Upshot: I might have to fly to SB for an interview.

Upside? Everything seems like it will line up for a trip to SB and back. My schedule seems to accomadate this flight reasonably well and I wouldn't have to miss classes.

Downside? I have to got the week before finals. This means less study time.

Upside? My class finals don't seem like they'll be that hard.

Downside? I'll probably be tired.

Upside? I don't have finals on Monday so I could have a day of recovery. Plus being on a plane for about 12 hours forces me to study for 12 hours.

Downside? I might not get the job and it might be a waste of money.

Upshot? I still want to try.

However, we will have to see if this all works out. I really hope that it will, but it would be appreciated if you all kept me in your prayers for whatever may be in my future.

In other, less exciting, news I attended a talk on Hinduism today and got to go to the mall to play "Where in the mall is my RA?" Both were fun but I will start by talking about the Hinduism talk.

It was a very interesting "lecture" and very informational. The point of it was basically to teach students about the basics of Hinduism. Though I cannot sum up all the points here, and I'm sure you can find a good summary online, it was very intriguing and I am glad that I went. Though I do not necessarily agree with all the points that were stated - or think that they made sense - I think it is valuable to educate oneself on the going-on's of this world and to give oneself a more "global" outlook on life. This includes learning about other religions. I am looking forward to more talks like this at my school and I am excited that Gordon provides these opportunities for its students.

The RA scavenger hunt was also a ton of fun. Though I did not originally plan on going - even though I really wanted to - I happened to miss my OT discussion group (by accident!!!) and so decided to go. I am really glad that I did. It was basically chaos around the mall where different teams, by floor in our dorm, darted around and tried to find our disguised RA's. I have to say, there were some pretty great costumes - but my group managed to find them all. Hurrah! I have to confess that I take a little bit of pride in being able to find 3 of the RA's (out of 6) - really I found 4 but 1 of them had already been found. Mostly, I take this as a good indication that I might be successful in the line of work that I want to do. Anyways, we get free ice cream and that's pretty fantastic. Plus, we didn't have enough drivers so I got to drive to the mall! Massachusetts is terrifying people. Especially at night. Especially when I am driving my RD's car and she is right in front of/next to me. Especially since I've only driven once or twice in the last 3 months and both of those times have been in California where drivers at least follow some rules. Regardless, I managed NOT to crash the car or scare any of the people inside (besides me). All I can say is thank you God for not letting me crash (not like it was close at any point!) and thank you that I was able to help people get to the mall safely. Also, thank you for me not having to drive the scary, falling apart car, because I was supposed to originally. And thank you for nice RD's who trust me enough - apparently - to drive their cars.

In other news I got a 98 on my last old testament exam - significantly better than I was expecting. I think I should study more often. Like for finals.

So yes, it has been a couple of very good days and, in the spirit of past Thanksgiving, I am very thankful for them. Sorry this is such a word heavy post but I have been too busy to take pictures lately! However, despite lack of pictures, I feel as if all of this needs to be recorded. So here I am, at 1 in the morning, recording my thoughts for all of you.

Good night all and I will try to be better at updating more frequently so as to avoid these word heavy posts. :)

My Mega Weekend

Well Friday started out with my Old Testament Exam #2. Definitely think I did better than the 1st one, but that is still to be determined... one can only hope. Regardless, I came out of class feeling exuberant and just really happy. Happy that it was the weekend, happy that I finally got to take a break before homework 24/7, and happy because it was a Friday. So I was on my way to lunch when I saw some dorm mates who asked if I wanted to go to the mall in 15 minutes. Why not? It was after all the weekend! 

So, in our infinite wisdom, and because none of us have a car, we waited for the shuttle to come pick us up. And waited. And waited. The shuttle finally arrived and the driver yelled at us to "Hurry up! I'm 15 minutes late!" He then proceeded to close the door on us and start the bus while we were still on the front steps. Nice move Gordon?

Anyways, after a really long journey and some rather unusual stops and doublebacks our crazy driver, and I do mean rather out of it driver, dropped us off at the North Shore Mall. This is quickly becoming my favorite mall - and it's not even in Boston! Long story short we spent 6 hours at the mall, enjoyed a lovely non-lame (I mean Lane) food dinner, and had a lovely time.

When all was said and done we got back to Gordon about 8:30pm only to come back and do this!

Blacklight party! No, not what you are thinking grandparents, despite how I'm dressed. Our school has been in full Homecoming swing this whole week and has fun events every day - this was Friday's event. Totally sponsored by the school and actually a really lame dance. But I did get told I was a really good dancer so on the flip side... I was okay with that. And besides, my outfit was awesome and I got to hang out with my friends. AND I wasn't doing any homework :)

Elaine and I. Spent a lot of time with this girl this weekend :)

So we basically stayed up really late and then woke up the next morning to find Homecoming still in full swing! Actually, I woke up at 6am to wild chanting outside my window since I am facing the quad. Great times. Anyways, after a late start we ventured outside. Sadly, we only got to enjoy the activities for a little bit because we both agreed that we had a ton of homework to do. (3 papers by Monday people! That's at least 8 pages!) However, as the day was a beautiful 80 degrees we took at study break at 4pm and went to the bookstore because we heard that they were having a sale. Well, as much as bookstores can.

Guess who finally got their first Gordon themed apparel? They are amazingly comfortable and I think I pretty much haven't taken them off since I've gotten them. Good buy Krystal.

What else? I apologize for how long this post is - I've just been doing so many small things! I love having friends who 1) work in the cafe 2) steal free food and 3) give it to me because they've already gorged themselves on french fries. Yummy!

It's mashed potatoes if you can't tell = very, very happy night.

Also making for a very, very happy night is finding time to knit. As I have finished most of my homework I allowed myself some relaxation time tonight. 

And look! I've progressed!

A little misshapen and uneven but I'm getting back in the swing of knitting. I've also never changed colors before so this is kind of a big deal people. Actually, this is really impressive because I haven't knit for a great number of years and I just started this on Friday. Yeah. I'm that good.

In conclusion: a very fulfilling weekend. A few practical jokes, a great trip to the mall, a little bit of stressing, finishing a lot of work while taking a lot of breaks, and a lot of laughs. Oh, and I pretty much ate really badly this weekend. Fun stuff college.

Leaving!

Well, almost. Leaving on Tuesday, so soon! And I have like a million gazillion things to do before then. But I'm so excited! Thought I'd share my joy with the rest of the blog world :) Next time promise, I'll tell you about the new super cool phones that I can't figure out.

Done

Well I was done on Thursday actually. But it's really just been a whirlwind of activity until now. And really, I still have like 50 things to do before next Tuesday - when I leave for Europe! So an update on what my last few days have been like:

Thursday: Graduation and Gradnite

Friday: Sleep, Decorate, and Family Party

Saturday: wake up at 4:40am, Garage Sale that got rained out at 12pm, and babysitting in Los Olivos until 11pm. Driving in the rain on San Marcos Pass sleep deprived.

Sunday: Sleep, sleep, sleep. Clean. And more cleaning.

Monday: Errands and visiting with grandparents. Oh. And getting a new phone. Finally.

Tuesday: The checklist begins and business continues. Haircut (hopefully) and ring pickup :)

So I've had a busy last few days. Just maybe. Good news is garage sale was successful and operation 'get rid of stuff' was too. Or it will be because we still have to get rid of everything we didn't sell. But that's coming up! Also good news is that I now have a phone that works and my dad is finally in the 21st century. But more on that later... enjoy the pics of graduation :)

^ at 2am in the morning = kind of awesome ^