Sunday, November 21, 2010

Update

Well life here seems to get crazier and crazier every week.  I wouldn't change one second of it! Lots and lots has been going on around Biola and in my life since the beginning of this month. Here's a few things I've been doing:
-November 7 was MIDNIGHT MADNESS! It was crazy, super fun, I got to dance(kinda!) and there was red and white confetti! It was pretty much High School Musical Biola edition:)
-Because we won 2nd place for our door for Candyland, we got a really cool cupcake maker! It's a little oven type thing that bakes 6 cupcakes in 10 minutes...right in our room! It's really exciting! :)
-No Sugar November has not been as bad as one would think.  (It was a bit more of a challenge at Chrysalis but I survived!) I'm going to get frozen yogurt with Ari in 10 days! I went to the gym everyday this last week.
-I've been having lots of lunch and dinner dates which is one of my favorite parts of college!
-Chrysalis was absolutely amazing! The Holy Spirit did SOOOOOO much work in just 72 hours(as usual!).  I had so much fun being weekend coordinator with the fabulous Stephanie Sharp:) Although I've never been so exhausted after working a weekend before! Despite my exhaustion, I loved every moment of it!!
-The homework never seems to end! I've been reading, studying, and writing papers like there's no tomorrow.  Very much looking forward to Christmas break! Unfortunately, Thanksgiving break will only be an excuse to go home, not to stop doing homework:( Mom wants to do crafts while I'm home, I  must write 4 papers and study for 2 tests. I will do both!
-On Tuesday night the caf served a Thanksgiving dinner.  My floor wore Indian headbands and went as a "family". 'Twas lovely! The caf was CRAZY CROWDED!!
-On Wednesday my floor had a worship night and bonfire out on McNally field!!! It was soooooo much fun! :) I've been wanting to go to a bonfire so I got to hang with my Soul Sisters, listen to Ari play guitar and sing(SO AMAZING!), worship, and smell the fire. Such a great night!...Then I stayed up until 3am studying for a test! hehe
-This past Friday I went to Disneyland with my roommates and our RA Kelsey.  It was so much fun and super magical! Going to Disneyland at Christmas time definitely puts you in the Christmas spirit!
-Soooo yesterday my roommates, Hannah and Ciara, and I had a lovely day of bonding and spending time together:) We went to the library for 5 hours to study and get work done, went to the football playoff game to watch some friends play, and then went to WalMart to get some decorations for our room. We came home and put lights up(SO MAGICAL!) and painted on stockings all while listening to Christmas music and had the virtual fireplace burning. We will be decorating our door soon:)
-I taught 3rd graders today at church. They are definitely not my grade.  It makes me so sad how important "stuff" is to those 8 year olds.  Today they said they are thankful for their iTouch and the internet.  What about family, a warm place to sleep, or health? So sad.  I think I like the little ones better ;)
-My beautiful friend Sarah "flo" Martin will be coming to visit me tomorrow! I am so very excited! Then she is taking me home Tuesday afternoon for Thanksgiving break.  I can't wait to see my family, hopefully some friends, do crafts(and write papers!), and eat delicious food!!

I hope life is treating you all well as you prepare for the upcoming holiday season! Find joy in all God has blessed you with and all you do. Be thankful for the loved ones in your lives.
In His Unfailing Love,
Amanda

Friday, November 5, 2010

The Crazy Life...and Candyland!!

It has been WAAAAAAAAAY too long since I've updated! Over two weeks! So sorry. My life has been C-R-A-Z-Y, to say the least.  Here are some things that have been going on here:

1.)We had Torrey Bible Conference at the end of October, that was a nice way to mix up the routine of classes and somewhat relax from our normal schedule. Every student is required to attend eight conference sessions.
2.)We had Candyland which was sooo magical and super fun but OH SO MUCH WORK! I will talk more about that later.
3.)We had midterms the last two weeks of October so there was lots and lots of studying, tests, papers, and work in general.  Since then the work has not slowed down and I don't feel like I will ever have a handle on my school work!
4.)I started helping with Sunday School this last week.  They are going to move me around a bit to see which age group I do best with/and enjoy the most.  I also started helping elementary school kids with their homework for two hours on Tuesday.  I really enjoy it!
5.)Things have been so busy that if I don't put something, including dinner dates with friends and naps, it's not happening!
6.)I hosted two students for 3 nights last week for Biola Bound which is a preview program for out of state students. I love my job! And I have two checks to deposit this week:) It's pretty cool getting paid to do something I absolutely love!!
7.)I've been working events with The Event Society. We had the Golf Tournament last week and the Provost Installation this morning.  It was really cool to see lots of important Biola people. (and dress cute and professional! hehe)
8.)Midnight Madness is on Sunday night! It's the biggest pep rally of the year and I'm so STINKIN excited! There is going to be so much school spirit! And it's going to be all red and white like High School Musical and I get to be in it!! AHHHHHH it's going to be sooooo magical!
9.)I've been kind of trying to start figure out my schedule for next semester. It's going to be a lot of work! But I'm going to attempt to take 18 units to get the most bang for my(well mom and dads) buck!
10.)Some girls on my floor are doing "No Sugar November". It's going to be rough but I'm actually really excited! We started Monday.  And I've been working out this week and have a new found love for the eliptical!!

Now onto the most magical way to spend Halloween!!
Every year for Halloween, the dorm I live in, Alpha, is transformed into a magical land of wonder! Every door is decorated with something that matches the theme of each floor.  Our floor was Mr. Mint Goes to Hollywood. We were the only floor that had something on every door and had the most participation.  We also decorated our whole floor with red and white streamers and candycanes and such! It looked so cute!! We chose UP for our door and built the house and had real balloons and we won 2nd place! Our prize was this really cool cupcake maker that makes 6 cupcakes in 10 minutes and all the ingredients to go with it! I'm so excited to use it...to make cupcakes for other people. (because of No Sugar November and because I love to share yummy food with people!)  Our door looked super cute but took so much work.  I went to bed at or around 4am everyday because I was working the door then had homework.  I loved Candyland so much but it was a lot of work! Our floor really pulled together and everyone helped make it look great! I am definitely looking forward to be a part of it next year.  The day of Candyland(Sunday 10/31) was insane! The lobbies were complete transformed and looked nothing our lobbies and had huge murals and trees and stuff set up for games! About 800 kids and their families came through to trick-or-treat.  The kids were so cute and it was so magical to see all of them:) I really enjoyed it!

Here's our door: