the joys of being a senior

Yes, being a senior at Purdue has been extremely rewarding!  Since I have so much extra free time, I have really enjoyed my last year here at Purdue!  Truly, I am enjoying my purdue moments one at a time.  Take a look at some of the best moments I have had so far!

Traveling has been a huge part of being a senior!  I have had the privilege of traveling to see Oliver Winery with some great friends!

I have also had the opportunity to see some of my family in Chicago.  I even got my hair done by my little cousin.  She is so talented.

Speaking of traveling.  Trent, Zach and I will be attending the 45th Hilly Hundred this coming weekend.  Right before this I will be helping my family move into a new house.  It still boggles my mind that I will never be in my old house anymore.

Being an RA has been quite an experience this year.  I have really enjoyed having more free time to make some interesting bulletin boards.

Weekends spent doing simple enjoyments are just wonderful.  Scrabble at Greyhouse.  Lunch at Lafayette Brewing Co.  Breakfast club with some amazing friends.  It has just been so wonderful.

Oh!  Take a look at there right here!  Heather Hemmeger did some amazing photos of Trent and I.  I really appreciate them and right now Trent ant I are calling them our "senior pictures [of college]."  Seriously, take a look at them.  Heather is a great photographer!

Life Goes by so Fast!

My Grandma is a wonderful woman who has been through a lot.
I am so very proud of her and I hope she know that her family loves her very much!

This past weekend my family lost two members.  My Great Gram passed away at 93+ years of life.  She lived a long life and I will miss having her around.  I am so thankful that she no longer has to suffer here on this earth.  It was so painful to visit her at the nursing home in West Chicago.  There is something about nursing homes that saddens me.  It is like a place for the elderly to just wait for God to take them.  It scares me.  Anyways, we also lost my Mom's Dad to Cancer.  I only met him a few times, but it was still sad to see someone who was relatively young pass away.  This weekend was a great time for my family and I to get together and remember those who passed.  

These were some of my last bulletin boards and I love them very much.  The top one is all about Toms Shoes!!!  I love this company and like to wear my Toms whenever I get the chance.  A lot of people tell me how cute the shoes are and it is an opportunity for me to share what Toms is and how awesome they are!  Just today I told a lady I work with what they stand for and she was so interested. 

The bottom board is all about cycling!  One of my many passions/hobbies.  I loved making this board and hope my residents enjoy it as well :]

Also, I started to read Catching Fire on Trent's Kindle and I loved it so much that I finally gave in and bought a Kindle!  Call me crazy, but I am so stoked for it to arrive!

Have a great week and never let life pass you by.  Enjoy every moment and never take life for granted.

More Adventures!

This weekend was full of bike polo!  As we were riding around this weekend we discovered there was a bike polo tournament going on this weekend.  It was so much fun just to watch the game and learn more about it!

 I also got to decorate a cake this weekend.  I took my girls to cake decorating where we got to learn certain techniques!  We also were able to bring the cake home with us!

Oh, Trent inherited an orchid from me.  Apparently I was killing it so he is going to revive it!

Turning the Big 2-1!

Can't believe this day has come!  It was a wonderful 21st birthday surrounded by friends and family :]  

Made it to Harry's and took the Birthday shot with Brian :]

I also made my first alcohol purchase!  I didn't want to spend too much money so I bought a cheap wine (Barefoot) but it was actually not too bad!

$5 Wine!

The Little Things

This weekend I was finally able to try out a cafe that I have been looking forward to going to, Soho Cafe.  It was such a quaint cafe with local art surrounding the walls.  Their Chai Latte was fabulous and definitely on the sweet end.  Soho was such a great experience because they give you your latte in a unique mug and top it off with an interesting design using their cinnamon/nutmeg.  I loved visiting that place and look forward to the next time I will be there.

Also, this weekend I went home to visit my brother and sister and kind of be their "mom" for the day.  It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed spending time with them.  My mom went to Chicago for the night and my dad was called in for a trip.  I always love seeing my family and I am sure they like seeing me too!

This weeks new project is going to be changing up my keyboard on my mac.  I bought these cute hand rolled tapes from etsy and I plan to cover my keyboard with them.  I found the idea on pinterest and am looking forward to finally getting the project done!  With the leftover tape I will have, I am going to use it for my card making!  I think it will add a nice touch to the cards I make.

The Joy of Walking

Oh, the joy of having a dog.  One thing I hate about being at Purdue is not having the luxury of walking my dog on a regular basis!  Well, Natalie's Second Chance allows you to go to her place whenever they are open and grab a dog to take them to the park or on a walk.  It is a really great service she is doing to the community of Purdue.  So many students miss their animals and the joys that come along with that, but Natalie allows us to have those joys for a few hours a day!  We really enjoyed walking Nila around the park and we think she did too!

Visiting Home

Wow.  It had been awhile since I had gone home to my lovely family!  It was quite a jam-packed day.  Trent and I left Purdue around 8:00 in the morning and arrived in Carmel around 9:30.  I got to see my brother play basketball at the high school and he did a wonderful job!  I also go to meet my mom's dad, whom I have only met three times prior.  It was nice to see him, but also may have been my last.  He was diagnosed with stage four cancer and may only have one to two months to live.  How tragic.  Anyways,  I got to interview my grandmother about her past and then enjoy a delectable meal that night with all of my mom's side of the family!  It was a great and adventurous day.  One of the best parts was spending time with my baby, Branson.  I miss him so much while I am here at Purdue and wish he could be here with me.  I always enjoy those few moments I have with him!

Valentines Day: A Day to Celebrate Love

What a wonderful weekend it was, celebrating Valentines Day.  We had to do it early because I have 3 exams this week and it just wasn't going to work out on the actual day!  Anyways, since I have a record player now, Trent decided to get me a wonderful vinyl:  Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago.  It was just a great surprise and very fitting, since Bon Iver won a Grammy this weekend!

A Week Full of Dexter

This weekend was spent watching Season 6 of Dexter.  It had quite a few plot holes, but overall was very suspenseful and meaningful.  It talked a lot about religion and it intrigued/engaged me the whole time.  I am sad that I have to wait almost a whole year to watch season 7.  This cliff hanger is going to be hard for me.

Crazy Indiana Weather

I am enjoying this crazy Indiana weather and am not complaining!  Last weekend we threw a party and Trent taught me how to make a classic sidecar with a mango twist.  mmmm was it delicious and Stacy really enjoyed trying it!  The best part was putting the sugar on the rim of the glass.  I think it was a great choice of drink (at least the mango part) since the weather has been quite summer-ish lately!  

Stay warm my friends and let's hope this fifty degree weather stays here :]

Enjoying Weekends

This weekend was spent with friends and I truly enjoyed it.  Coming back from Puerto Rico was difficult not only because was it cold here in Indiana, but I had to catch up on a lot of missed classes.  The weekend was a great time to just catch up on me and enjoy life.

Friday, Trent and I went out to dinner at Hisei and ate on the floor!  Headed over to campus house afterwards to enjoy a hilarious show, Mr. Pharmacy, where Michael Kim won crowd favorite!  Afterwards, Stacy, Katie, Trent, Huy and I enjoyed a wine night at Katie's apartment!  It was super fun and we just got to let go and enjoy the night.  That morning I saw a cute snow bear that someone had made!  The next day was a lazy day where Trent and I made Ginger Molasses cookies for a Chinese New Year dinner that we were going to that night.  The dinner was delicious and I tried Vodka infused Gummy Bears for the first time.  Later that night I just hung out with the RAs until around 2 AM and we just talked about life and enjoyed time together.  On Sunday I go to see RAIN:  A Tribute to the Beatles, which was an amazing treat!  Definitely felt like we were experiencing that era with all the other old folks around us :]

A Puerto Rican Adventure

January 12-16 my family and I took a trip to Puerto Rico!

This is a picture of us on top of a peak in the Rainforest El Yunque!  The hike was very rough on us, but completely worth it.  You could see for miles and a cloud was going through the peak.  While in Puerto Rico, we stayed at a resort like hotel and really enjoyed it!  The beach was phenomenal and it was sunny with a high of 85 every day.  There was also a casino in the hotel, so I got to experience my first round of roulette.  It was a great get away from America and I really enjoyed my time with my wonderful family!

A walk in Happy Hollow

Trent and I got to enjoy a nice winter day by taking a hike through the side of a valley!  At first we were just expecting it to be an easy stroll through the park, but little did we know that this would be a hike.  We definitely were not wearing the proper attire, but that made it so much more fun!  At the bottom of the valley there were frozen "mini" waterfalls that were just breathtaking!

What a wonderful way to start out this fantastic New Year!

This weekend my wonderful family and I are traveling to Puerto Rico, so I will have great photos for next week!

A Photo a Week

This year, 2012, I am going to try and remember the year by posting a photo each week and describing what that photo meant to me.  It will help me try and remember what I did that week and why I enjoyed it!

Enjoy