Friday, May 31

Today was, again, super hot. But instead of hammocking, I went on a picnic with my friend! It was splendid to catch up with her over some delicious food (see below), and honestly it wasn’t that dreadful in the shade. I absolutely love spending time one on one with people. It’s just nice to be able to talk and hear each other … and then to be able to be silent and just enjoy the river (we also went on a delightful walk).

(Also, I’ve clearly been reading Anne of Avonlea now because I’m still using big fantastical words … perhaps this will subside when I finish the rest of the books … we shall see.)

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Thursday, May 30

Today was absolutely scorching. It was SO HOT. And me, being silly me, decided it was an excellent opportunity to go hammocking. In the heat of the day.

Not my best move ever, but it was still glorious. Until the shade moved. I read Anne of Green Gables, and now I find myself inserting words like “dreadfully” and “terribly” and “awfully” into random sentences like Anne did. Oh dear. Nonetheless, I love the book and Anne’s adventures. They bring laughter, and I always eagerly await my favourite parts in the book, just waiting in suspense to read about them. Waiting for her to make up with Gilbert at the end is almost agonizing!

Now that I’ve read the first, I am compelled to move onto the other 7. Ugh. Waiting for House of Dreams and Rilla of Ingleside = painful, but sooooooo worth it. All the books are so lovely :]

Wednesday, May 29

Today was … bootcamp, book making, and fellowship. While I enjoyed fellowhsip the most, I feel like you might enjoy bookmaking more.

A while ago a friend asked me to turn a paper back Bible into a pink hardcover for her. I obliged and it actually turned out pretty nice. Her friend then saw it and wanted one TOO. So … the first mentioned friend designed the covers, but I rebound everything. Apologies because you cannot see the headbands and the endpaper fastenings and stuff … but you get the general idea? It’s kind of fun to do the transformation actually … and it only took an hour today! I surprised even myself. So without further ado …

THE PURPLE HAND-BOUND BIBLE

Tuesday, May 28

Today I watched Mary Poppins! I always forget how pleasant it is to watch Disney movies when you’re older. There is still the mystery and magic of childhood, but you actually understand all the jokes they’re making…

For example, I FINALLY understood all the puns they make when they’re at her uncle’s house floating on the ceiling. Like … wow. It was actually pretty funny. Not that I remember any of them now…but it was good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I forgot how much of a lady Mary is at different points. Everyone loves her (setting unrealistic expectations for my life!) and that white dress … man if I lived in that era, I would want me a dress like that. Heck, I kind of want one now….alas. Perhaps I shall just embrace my inner “Anne with an e” and imagine it. Yes, I think that will do quite nicely.

Monday, May 27

Today at work I had one kid who was just in prime form. Hilarious. What happened:

Me: So for this song we want it to sound sad. What makes you sad?

Student: I don’t know … uhh … CUPCAKES!

Me: What?

Student: Yea! They’re a fraud of muffins!

Me: *starts laughing*

*Five Minutes Later*

Student: It was the battle of 1820 when they invented the cupcake to battle against the pita.

Me: WHAT?

Student: Half the times I don’t even know what I’m saying…

Being completely honest … this kid made my day. Here’s hoping he made yours!

Sunday, May 26

Today was really quite uneventful. I spent most of the day just researching/typing up notes for my bootcamp presentation (more on bootcamp on my other blog). It was actually kind of stressful, but I think that is just my personal problem because I always freak out when something isn’t done at least 24 hours in advance. less than 24 hours and I feel late. Beneficial for handing projects in, not beneficial for working with other people.

Also, I am getting sick. Which is ridiculous because it’s May. Who gets a cold in May? Apparently this girl does.

Saturday, May 25

Today was so long and I’m exhausted. However, I’m only going to talk about the latter half of it.

I performed with a friend at their church’s coffee house tonight, and while I was seriously second guessing it the whole way there, I’m glad I went. It was extremely uplifting for me to be around brothers and sisters and to be able to worship from my seat instead of on the stage. It is sort of nice to not know everyone in attendance and to be able to just be yourself. I also rather enjoyed getting to spend some time with people I don’t always get to see since they live farther away.

All in all, walking away from tonight I am reminded of how close God is to me. That he never forsakes me, even when all feels lost or when I’m walking through a time of turmoil and darkness. He is always by my side. What faithfulness!

Friday, May 24

Today was the first day I was tired of sitting in my room. I was tired of the same scenery, and I was ticked I couldn’t go for a walk because it was cold outside. So …… I treated myself out for lunch! I was also fighting being depressed because, honestly  you can only be alone so long before it starts to get to your head.

I ended up going to the mall and sitting in the food court with my Bible. It wasn’t the best food I’ve ever had, nor was it the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in … etc. etc. But there was something extremely calming about sitting alone and reading through Psalms as I ate. I had especially been struggling with my decision to stay home this summer instead of camp today because posts were starting to pop up on Facebook about people arriving or getting ready to start training. Saying goodbye to one part of your life is sometimes difficult purely because the unknown is scary. Psalms reminded me that I find refuge in the Lord.

I spent a while pondering what it means to be surrounded in the steadfast love of the Lord, and it brought much peace to me. May it do so to you too!

Thursday, May 23

Today I worked on making a gift for my friend (who has coincidentally become my pen pal) as she is moving to Indonesia to teach for two years! I’m super excited for her … except she’s leaving to go to Indonesia. Indonesia is very far away you know. My postage costs are going to go up! All…..like few dollars … so not a huge deal.

Anyway, her mantra lately has been to “be brave” and to trust God as He leads her onto these adventures. So … I made her a bookmark of it!

On the note of pen pals, I’m a rather large advocate of letter writing. I think that letters are a fantastic way to A. Keep in contact with people, B. Make people feel special. Keeping on contact via email is nice, but I always feel like i have to respond right away or I’m doing something wrong. Yes, I have to wait for a letter, but I know when I get it it will be full of all sorts of updates and not just small chatter. Also, you can include cool things in letters, like bookmarks!

I actually keep a box of all the letters/notes I’ve been sent or given. It’s super special to me, and sometimes I sit down and go through it. Those mean so much to me, and I can open the box and look at them. Re-read all of them. There are no junk fliers or work documents, it is just correspondence and encouragement. And I love that we can do that with the written word.

And that is enough of my ramblings on letter writing! So stop reading the blog, and go write someone a letter :]

Wednesday, May 22

Today I conquered a great fear of mine. I took the bus!

Ok, so it isn’t a huge fear, I don’t freak out at the thought of riding a method of public transportation. On the contrary, I find it relaxing to not have to really worry about driving/road conditions, and know I can’t do anything to rush the trip. It is a conquering-fear type thing because when riding the bus near my house, I had to fend off a rather overly-persistent guy who basically asked me to move in with him. I was 18 at the time (not that asking now would make it any less creepy), and, to be honest, it set a bad taste in my mouth for bussing around. Therefore, I’ve opted to get a ride from my parents when at all possible, even if it means getting somewhere a few hours early.

Anyhow, I took the bus and, as freaked out as I was, I ended up leaving an hour too early, and took an hour earlier train downtown, and got rained on. Le sigh. BUT the rain wasn’t very heavy, and I got to walk through the beautiful park I found last time I walked to Bootcamp-Small Group on a Wednesday.

Overall, it was not a horrible bus experience, and I think I might take it more often now.