Sunday, September 23, 2012

The First Day of Fall :)

September 22 is one of my favorite days because it marks the beginning of my favorite season:):):) Yesterday was a great day! I even wore an orange shirt to celebrate the new season! I woke up early (a tad earlier than I would have liked but it was good to get up and get going) for football practice. This semester I am on an intramural flag football team and I am so excited! Then I went to the gym with a friend who is on the team and we worked out for a bit then went to the caf and had a lovely lunch together. My friend Courtney is also an RA this year and it was great to get a spontaneous meal with her. We shared about our experiences so far and had great conversation. When I got back to my room, my roommate was cleaning and so cheerful! After a lovely shower I did some homework and talked about music with Janine as we both buzzed about room. For dinner, my beautiful friend Reylena and I went to Chipotle and split a burrito bowl. One of my favorite things! Reylena was my first friend at Biola and it has been such a joy to walk through this season in life with her sharing in the joys, trials, and experiences of Biola. Reylena is also an RA and it was great to connect with her. Her and I have not been able to catch up in awhile and it was just wonderful to talk to her:) Although we do not see each other as much as I would like, every time we come together we are able to catch up, meet each other where we are, and just love. Love each other and to be loved by one another. Earlier this week when I was thinking about fall coming and how excited I was and that I wanted to celebrate in some way, I thought of who I would want to share it with. Reylena I knew would appreciate my love of the season and be a complete joy to bake with, plus I missed her so much! So we made plans for dinner and a little baking! After dinner at Chipotle we went to Walmart to buy the ingredients for pumpkin muffins! Gluten free of course:) When we got back to her room, we put on aprons and started mixing all the stuff together. Fun fact: Rey likes aprons so we had great fun wearing them! We made the muffins in my cupcake maker which was great fun! After our first batch, we decided peanut butter makes everything better so we mixed some peanut butter in the batter. That made them so good! And we added honey and lots of cinnamon! They were delicious! Every batch we made was a little different but they were all so good! It was the perfect way to ring in the season and so delightful to get to spend time with Reylena. Both our lives are so busy we only get to see each other every couple weeks and only if we pencil each other in a week ahead of time! I am so blessed by Reylena and so very excited for fall to finally be here. Although it is still in the 90s, I will pretend it is really the fall season here in So. Cal. I'm looking forward to going home soon and celebrating fall with mom:)
Lovin fall and all things pumpkin,
Amanda

Here's some pics from our adventures last night!
I just LOVE this girl:)

Mixing it all together!

The first batch with no pb.

Rey wanted to add some peanut butter.
(The flash was a little bright for the mood lighting we had)

Some of the finished product!


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

One Month In!

I've been at school for just over a month and I feel like it's been so much longer than that! With RA training, decorating the floor, students moving in, planning events, classes, and TONS of homework already, it has been crazy! But crazy seems to be the word that best describes the college years for me. Always on the go! But oh so blessed by the friendships, late night conversations, classes, chapels, and opportunities that I have had. Classes are super busy already (what happened to that nice little easy transition into school with no tests for the first month?) and there is always something going on! We've had an All-Hall, which is an a whole dorm event, a floor meeting with the girls on my floor, a floor event where we woke up the girls at 6:30am for worship and pancakes, I got a new bike (that I LOVE to ride), Nationball is tomorrow night (the CRAZIEST and sweatiest dorm event of the year), I start observations for my teaching classes next week, and I'm going to Spanish church for a class tonight to list a few! One thing I am so thankful for this semester is to have no classes on Mondays and Wednesdays:) It is nice to have two days a week to schedule meetings, appointments, and observations. I am loving getting to know the girls on my floor and love living with my amazing roommate! I am so lucky to have incredible friends to share in life with. I love going to chapel, my classes are great, and the weather is a little toasty but I can't wait for when it cools down and is absolutely beautiful. It's great to be on campus and in this place I love. I am so thankful that the Lord has provided a way for me to be here again for another year. I'm learning a lot and can't believe I'm a junior! When did that happen? The Lord has been teaching me a lot in the last month. Again I can't believe it's just been a month! I miss my family and can't wait to see them soon! Grandma Sue is coming to visit next week and I am very excited to see her! FALL is also coming soooooon! That I am so excited about:):):) Fall is my favorite season and I love all things pumpkin so I can't wait to smell and taste the season of fall! Well I must get back to writing my paper that is due tomorrow night! Sorry this post is a bit scattered;)

Happy in this place,
Amanda

Just a little bit of what I've been up to:)

Sigma Staff at Community Commissioning :)

Lindsay and Aubrey at our Toga All-Hall

I found a new path to run that is BEAUTIFUL!

Lovin my new bike:):):)

Matt and Sarah got engaged on Labor Day!!!!!!

I love sitting by the fountain to study!

Grace's roommate Jess, Grace, and my roommate Janine got up at 6:20am to wake all the residents up and Jess and Janine made pancakes for everyone! Best roommates ever:)

Last weekend I was REALLY wanting to bake something so I went to Julia's apartment to make gfree peanut butter cookies! 

My roommate Janine and I moved our couch and hosted the first Chip Chat for our floor. Complete with chips and salsa of course:)


Sigma Staff

I am very blessed to work with an amazing staff in Sigma as an RA this year. The people I work with are so fun to be around! Last month we went to the park and took some staff photos. Here are some pictures of our beautiful staff :)






This is our favorite picture of our staff:) It is so fun to work with these people!


The girlies!

                                                                            Da boys

The night before all the girls pulled out their dresses and coordinated and then picked outfits out for the boys. It was so fun!




This is me and my floor partner Grace. This is my favorite picture of us!

Blessed by this beautiful group of people,
Amanda