so close!

i am so incredibly close to being home! 9 days until my arrival back into the wonderful Canada. I am especially excited because it is 22 degrees out right now.. definitely not Christmas weather. I got into the holiday spirit when i was home for thanksgiving and now it has slowly faded away. i'm quite looking forward to some cold and rain and snow!!

i have now finished a 15 page paper, a 10 page and i am almost done an 8 page, all in my hardest subjects. so after this just a couple easier papers, then finals, then freedom!!!

1. friday night was pillow/paddle exchange, where i made my little a pillow with our names and letters on it, and she made me a paddle. it is SOO beautiful. it has a whale on it!!!! BRILLIANT. i obviously freaked out. now my roomies and i have hung our paddles proudly on the wall of our family room so it's the first thing people see when they walk in to our house :)

2. Saturday morning was initiation for all the gamma phi newbies, so my little got initiated and i got to give her her first sweatshirt with letters. i was so nervous that our sweatshirts weren't going to turn out well, but i'm super happy with them and she loved them so it was quite great. after initiation we had all the gamma phis over to narnia, our home, for breakfast in our backyard. the yard was FULL of girls, it was insane. afterwards we took narnia family photos next to our famous lamp post :) i love my roommates so much!

3. my stunning date and i at semi-formal on saturday night! we had a fabulous night, it was so much fun. we basically just danced like idiots all night which was obviously a ball.

4. max and i have started to figure out our christmas plans and i am so so stoked. ahh.

5. my mama arrives on sunday!! yaaay :) :)

love,

halee

hell week(s)

my mother has warned me if i don't start posting to my blog, no one will ever read it. first of all, i think she is the only person who actually reads it. and second of all, i only ever started it to help remind myself what i'm thankful for. but in honour of my wonderful mother, i am going to try and post more regularly!! school is absolutely destroying me right now, never have i had so much work due. i could dieeeee. luckily only one more week, and then finals and then home!!

1. tonight is pillow/paddle exchange! i made my little a pillow with our letters and names on it, and she's giving me a paddle :) and then tomorrow morning is initiation! and i get to give her her first sweatshirt with letters on it tomorrow. so exciting.

2. in just over a week my mother will be here!! we're driving up together and i am SO stoked.

3. tomorrow night is semi-formal and i am taking lauren as my hot date. we are also going with taylor my roomie as our last hoorah because she is going on semester at sea in january and i am going to miss her SO much.

let us hope i make it through the next week and a half!
love,

halee

up in the air

you will NEVER guess where i am writing this from.. my air plane!! free wifi!? so cool.

i'm very sorry to anyone who reads this blog regularly (aka my mom) that i have not been posting anything. school and life have been inane, and now i am on my way home for a wonderful wonderful 6 days.

1. i made it through this past week, which was full of things due and commitments and exhaustion. and a lot of baking? for classes. weird.

2. i have a really wonderful week ahead of me including: seeing my friends and family, hp 7, thanksgiving!!, date day with my mum and grandma on friday, canucks game, and family christmas dinner with my ADORABLE cousins. this also means max is meeting my grandparents twice in one week, and i'm quite looking forward to it :)

3. my fantastic week starts in just a few short hours!!!

4. there is going to be snow at home.. kind of a big deal.

love love love,

halee

8 days 17 hours 50 minutes

1. harry potter comes out soon, and i'm especially stoked because there was a marathon of all the movies this weekend which i obviously watched. so now i'm definitely in the hp mood. i'm hoping to see the new one with my family and/or max when i'm home.

2. i'm watching "Sarah Palin's Alaska" ... it is HIILARIOUS. and so fascinating. she tries to tie everything back to her political ideals and policies. for instance, a man writing a book about her just moved in next door to her house so her husband put up a 14 foot fence. she explained that the fence was representative of america protecting its borders... so very interesting to watch. it basically seems like a tourism promo for Alaska. but it's working, my lifelong dream of traveling to Alaska has been renewed. so beautiful.

3. i am home in less than 9 days!! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE MY MOTHER!!!!

love,

halee :)

the mountain goats

1. a couple months ago i found a beautiful dress at urban outfitters that i reaaally wanted, but it was $68. due to my profound bargain hunting skills, i got it today for $15. so thrilling.

2. i have fantastic roommates. they are so much fun to be around, and i love spending time in our home. AND tonight when one of my favourite bands was here and no one else was going, chelsea came with me :)

3. i saw the mountain goats tonight and it was AMAZING. it was just the main singer, and his acoustic guitar. it was a really intimate show, and he told stories and explained a lot of the songs. such a neat experience. and check out these lyrics : "Let me praise You for the good times, let me hold Your banner high until the hills are flattened and the rivers all run dry." so good. the best part? the concert was $8. for some reason my school brought them here to play. i paid $170 to see them this summer at sasquatch!

4. I AM HOME IN 11 DAYS!! AHHHHH :)

love,

halee

it was a blustery day in the hundred acre wood

finally my computer is fixed!! all i had to do was get rid of safari and download google chrome. so it turns out there was actually something wrong with my browser. NOW my internet browser is floral!!! like floral wallpaper patterned. i could die. every time i go on the internet i get excited.

1. last night, my little and i went and painted pottery at a place about 15 minutes away. it was so much fun. i would definitely say that painting pottery is a big hobby of mine and now i want to do it again like next week. i'm so excited to go pick up what i made and see how it turned out. plus, we found a vegan restaurant for her because the school caf has very limited vegan options and it's all deep fried. so she really liked the place we went, which is awesome because it means we can go back lots!

2. i stayed up until 2 reading for my anthro class because we were supposed to have a quiz this morning, arrived at class, quiz is moved to next tuesday. huge bummer! but this means i wont have to cram next monday because i've already read the book. also, once this day is over no more exams until finals. i have an exam in a couple hours, and then a paper due tonight and then freedom!! i can't wait to sleep tonight. so exciting.

3. i am home in 12 days!! and i have the best ever visit planned out. lots of family time, obviously lots of max time (sorry mom, i promise you'll see me too), thanksgiving, christmas dinner with my grandparents, and a date day with my mama! so stoked.

4. my grandparents stopped by on tuesday night on their way to palm springs and we had a lovely dinner. also, i cleaned my house all day in anticipation of their arrival so my place is unusually clean :)

it is SO windy here right now, i feel like my garage/house might blow over at any time. oh my.

loveeeeeeee

halee

finally!!

so my computer has basically stopped working which means no blog entries. i'm going insane without a computer. i'm in the library right now and it's so very cold.
1.i’m sleeping at night!! yaay! i have a wonderful counselor who has given me some relaxation tips and deep breathing techniques. my sleep is still a bit restless, but at least i am not having nightmares. it’s progess.
2. my little is sis is amazing and wonderful and hilarious and awesome. we went to a concert last week and got to meet the guitarist of our favourite band. and hold the hand of the lead singer (while he stared into my eyes and sang to me…) once my computer stops hating me i’ll upload photos!!
3. i had a sweet halloween weekend last weekend! i watched NCIS and scary movies all weekend with my roomies, and baked many cookies and other treats. i am OBSESSED with NCIS. i didn’t even like watching tv a week ago and now everytime NCIS is on i must clear my schedule. it’s tragic, but at least i’m content.
4.taylor, my roomate who got in a really bad car accident a couple months ago, is starting to walk!! since Tuesday she is allowed to slowly start putting weight on her foot. she’s been in a wheel chair since the accident, and she still will be in it for a while longer but shes starting to be more mobile which is SO exciting.
5. i have decided i am going to start going to rock harbour regularly. it’s the church that i go to sometimes here. my problem is, i reaally love my church at home, and i’ve been going there on and off since grade 6 so i feel a real attachment to it and it seems no other church is as great (except for st. andrews wesley, which i would go to every Sunday if i could afford the gas money to downtown vancouver. for now i have to settle for midnight mass every christmas.) anyway i have decided that even if it’s not peace portal, rock harbour is still pretty great and i am going to start going again! luckily my roomies go (we actually got our house through someone at the church) so i will always have someone to go with. i’m pretty excited :)
6. midterm grades so far- 84, 91, 93, 94. and a B in anthropology (she didn’t tell me the number grade?). I am kind of upset about anthro but she said i still have an A in the class thank goodness. i have one more midterm to get back so fingers crossed!
7. we started decorating for christmas yesterday. which means my backyard is the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. SO magical. (yes, i know it's early to decorate but we were really excited.)
8. in less than 3 weeks i will be home with my family and my boy. i cannot wait. life is so good!
i love everybody!!!
halee :)

ah life!

today was one of the most difficult days i've had in a very long time. i feel like now, when i am the very most busy and stressed, is the most important time to keep remembering what i am grateful for!!

1. i went to the health center this morning to talk to a doctor about my sleeping problems. the nurse recommended going to the counseling center and scheduled an appointment for me for tomorrow to talk to a doctor about getting a mild anti anxiety medication. i freaked out. i went to the counseling center, and they currently have a wait list. so unless it is an emergency i won't be able to talk to anyone for a little while.

of course i came home and sobbed my eyes out. i am feeling really uncomfortable about the thought of being medicated. i don't think i need it, but at the same time i've been getting only a few hours of sleep a night for a month and a half. it's not even just that, it's also the feeling like there's something wrong with me if i am taking some medication. i am having this internal back and forth struggle, and i am reaally upset about it. the part that frustrates me the most is that i've honestly never been happier. i don't understand where all these nightmares and sleepless nights are coming from because i am so stoked on life right now.

then of course i get a voicemail after class from the health center that they're worried about my high blood pressure and will i go back in later this week so they can check that out. aaah.

HOWEVER, as soon as i arrived home my mother comforted me, reminding me that i need to do what i can to try and be happy and healthy. and then max made me feel so much better :) he assured me i am not a crazy freak psycho, and that if it helps me sleep then i should do whatever i can. i am SO thankful for having an amazing support group, i honestly don't know what i would've done without my friends and family today.

2. by the time i was supposed to go to my first class i was a tragic disaster, so i emailed my prof saying i was having a bad day and i wouldn't be able to make it in to class. pretty soon after she responded asking if everything was okay, and was there anything she could do to help. it was so so nice to read! i am so lucky to go to such a great school where i have relationships with my professors. i was so complemented that this amazing woman took the time out of her day to make sure i'm alright.

3. 94% on my social work midterm ! :)

i am now drugged up on nyquil with the hope that i can get a descent nights sleep. just one night, that's all i ask!!

thanks to all my family and friends who tolerate me when i'm going insane, i have never felt so cared for :) LOVE

halee

i'm alive!!

1. i made it through hell week! 2 midterms yesterday and a paper due. that's 3 midterms and about 4 assignments total this week. but i am alive!! and most importantly, i think i did well! i have 2 papers due on monday but other than that the next week or two should be a bit less insane.

2. i didn't make it to the health center today, but it's alright because i slept in! i had an awful sleep last night but from about 7:45am-11 i slept quite nicely. i LOVE not having Friday classes, i am so thankful for this day off. (my big friday plans including baking cookies for myself, and going to the dollar theatre-alone- tonight to watch inception again. to me, this is a perfect friday).

3. somehow in the chaos of this week i have been managing to spoil my little pretty well :) she's happy, i'm happy!

4. max and i are going to the aquarium when i'm back in November. disneyland, the aquarium... we go on the best dates.

happy friday!!

love,

halee :)

crafting

today i am thankful for

1. my house/life has been invaded by crafting. i am making my little all sorts of treats that involve painting and scrapbooking and everything in between. it is glorious!! so much fun. having a mum who owned a craft business for 25 years really paid off. and she is so proud. so it is a win/win. plus, i think my little is pleased with all the crafts and goodies i have made for her! and all the baking. :)

2. i have 2 midterms tomorrow. after 7 pm tomorrow i will be done 4 weeks of misery!! finally.

3. my nightmares are getting worse and worse. i've prayed about it, i've meditated, i've done deep breathing exercises, i've visualized, and i've prayed a whole lot more. unfortunately sleep is now something i dread, and don't get much of. the good news is, i have finally decided i will do something about it. i'm going to go to the student health center on friday and see what they can do for me. i cannot wait for restful, peaceful, enjoyable sleep!!

love to everyone,

halee :)

p-r-i-d-e in the house of gphib :)

i am thankful for :

1. my amazing little! she is wonderful and clever and beautiful and hilarious and silly. i am truly honoured to be her big sis, and i cannot wait to reveal myself to her next week! right now is spoil week, so i am basically baking and crafting all week. goodbye money, hello extra pounds!

2. 91% on my psych exam. yaaay!!!

3. i am SOO grateful that my 8:30 am class is cancelled tomorrow morning. sadly this does not mean i get to sleep in, but it does mean i get to get alot of stuff done. such as finalizing my internship in january. so stoked! God is great.

LOVE,

halee :)

singing in the rain

2 midterms this week. one tomorrow. studying= life. (with obvious breaks for alot of eating, which is also life)

1. i am thankful for a lovely weekend, including crush party last night. lauren wore the V for Vendetta mask, and I was the guy from a clockwork orange. everyone thought i was charlie chaplin. i don't understand how he is either a hero or a villain. oh well! we had a wonderful time at the party, and i got to make some new friends as well.

2. i'm thankful for my amazing sisters. tonight at sisterhood i was greeted by so many smiling faces. they are always so supportive, and they are ALWAYS there no matter what. i don't know where i would be without these beautiful ladies, and i am so thankful to God for putting them into my life right when i needed them the very most. in a place so far from home that could be (and has been) veeery lonely, these girls make me feel like i am a part of something and like i belong.

3. tonight i just might get a call saying i have a "little sis", a girl i get to mentor and care for. i feel so lucky that i might have the opportunity to help someone else fit in, especially since i had such a difficult time and i know how hard first semester of your freshman year can be. fingers crossed i get a little, and that i do a good job!

goood night world, i love everyone :)

halee

whales and rain!

it's been raining here lots, feels like homeee :) i love it! it's kind of a wimpy misty rain but i'll take what i can get.

1. i am so so thankful for all my whale related possessions. yesterday i had some phenomenal whale finds. for a dollar each at target! truly thrilling. my whale-dar never fails me, if there is something whale related to be found, i will find it!!

2. i am super grateful for my wonderful roommates, and how much fun we can have doing nothing. i got to spend my evening working on my new whale puzzle with my roomies, hanging out and doing nothing. then, the kogi truck was coming to Orange at 10:30 so we went and waited in line for an hour to get korean BBQ. basically it's a truck that travels around LA and you know where its going to be everyday because it posts its location on twitter. isn't that crazy? so cool. anyways there were a ton of people there so we ended up waiting for quite a while. then we came home and watched a couple movies. overall i would say a great night :)

(we got really bored in line, dancing was necessary)

3. my bieber bandz came in the mail last night.. i simply love them. i am at the point now where i'm proud of my bieber fever. max hates it, my mother laughs at it, and all my friends agree with it. there could be something so wrong with me, but i don't even care!!

tonight is crush party, i think we've decided on lauren as hannibal lector and me as the guy from a clockwork orange. who said there has to be a hero and a villain?

have a wonderful weekend!!

love,

halee :)

i heart google voice

finally thursday night!! this morning i woke up at 6 to study for my anthropology quiz, went to class from 8:30-9:45, did psych homework from 10-12:45, had class from 1-2:15, did soc homework from 2:30-3:45 and had class from 4-7. AHH. sleep will be so wonderful tonight!

1. i am so thankful for google voice these days. it's kind of like skype except for i put in the number i want to call, and it calls my cell phone and connects me to that number.. best of all it is FREE to call Canada!! so i can call maxwell every night for free. what a blessing!

2. saturday night is our first gamma phi event of the school year!! i'm taking lauren as my date to crush party, and the theme is heroes and villains. we were going to be taylor swift and kanye, but i just found out my roommate and her boyfriend are doing that!! so i am not entirely sure what we'll do, but i am sure it will be awesome. my suggestions? bambi and a hunter, the guys from clockwork orange, or the bates guy from psycho and someone in the shower. we'll see! it's going to be so much fun.

3. i got a few A's today on different quizzes/papers i got back in different classes. this is a wonderful feeling because i am studying my bum off and finally i am seeing results! in previous semesters i had to get my pesky general ed math and french out of the way which basically meant no matter how well i was doing in other classes, i was still struggling in those even with tutors. now that i'm done and i'm taking all sociology, anthropology and psychology classes i am finally doing well across the board!! yaay :)

have a beautiful evening, it's almost the weekend!! (and i CANNOT wait to sleep in tomorrow)

love,

halee

(p.s. i have the most wonderful boyfriend in the whole world, and it goes without saying that i am thankful for him everyday!)

i don't like capital letters.

maxwell says i have poor punctuation, the truth is i hate capital letters. teachers would get mad at me for not capitalizing my name until in grade 8 Mr. Ison told me i was just like e e cummings, and as he is one of my favourite poets, i have embraced my capital-less writing :)

1. they sang two of my favourite songs on glee!! river deep mountain high, and lucky. last year my roomie and i would burn CDs for our drives, and then we would choreograph dance routines whilst driving. by far, our fiercest combo is to river deep mountain high. i thought they did an amazing job!! and then of course how can you beat lucky by jason mraz and colbie caillat! one time my mum told me that song reminded her of her and my dad because they are best friends and they're so blessed to have on another. since then i think it's just the cutest song ever. love the lyrics.

2. one more midterm down!! i had a super tough critical thinking midterm today but i think i did okay, thank goodness. once this week and next week are over, my hell weeks are over!! until a few more weeks when final prep begins... aaah

3. today is a canucks day!!! tonight i spent the evening at the anaheim ducks stadium watching them play the canucks!! it was highly emotional for me because i was super patriotic, and when they started singing "O Canada" i cried!! obviously i also belted my face off. i was so so proud to be able to sing that song in my hockey Canada gear! :) there were soo many people in canucks jerseys, i even went up to one girl who was from vancouver which was so cool. and we had our star struck moment, the girl who plays steve carrell's girlfriend on the office sang the star spangled banner?? it was sweet. i LOVE the canucks, and even more importantly i love Canada. also, i found out that im going to be going to a canucks game with max when i'm home in november! and probably going out for dinner with his mum first which will be so much fun. i am a lucky lucky lady !!

good night everyone, have beautiful dreams :)

love,

halee :)

homesickness!

today i am especially homesick because maxwell was here for the weekend and left last night, and i am starting to miss my mother alot! when i go home in november, it will be the longest i have ever been away from my parents and home! ah. however i have much to be thankful for :)

1. i am so thankful that i got to have such an amazing weekend with max!! we got to go to newport and huntington, and disneyland and california adventure! as well as eat dinner at my favourite restaurant and explore orange a little bit :) we had such a lovely time and i am super grateful that he was able to come down. especially because it meant missing his family thanksgiving dinner!!

2. i am grateful that i have pretty much the best mum in the world that doesn't get sick of me calling her everyday! she's there for me unconditionally and i don't know what i would do without her support and advice. she's my best friend and i love her so so much :) i am also so lucky that her and my dad had a long distance relationship between Socal and B.C., so she knows exactly what im going through and she doesn't put up with my complaining!! PLUS, my parents sent down some amazing gifts with max, and my mum got me a whale necklace. best mom ever.

3. i live in such a beautiful place, with such great people. my roomies are so wonderful, and i have never felt so at home so far from home. last night when i was super down, chelsea took me to starbucks and bought me a coffee, and they were all so supportive! i am lucky to have such great chill, friendly, beautiful to live with.. they even like my whale bathroom!! :)

(sorry you're not in this photo tball, i still love you!)

thanks for reading, have a fantastic day ! :)

halee

halee blogging is just silly

when i was about 9 years old, my mom saw something about gratitude journals on Oprah and decided that every night at dinner we as a family were each going to write down 5 things we were grateful for. she bought us really cool journals and for about 3 nights we kept our journals, before they were buried under homework, dishes and everything else and eventually forgotten. of course i thought it was silly and that i didn't need to write things down to appreciate them.

now that i'm 2,000 miles away from home, missing my friends and my family (and most especially tim hortons) i find it super easy to forget how lucky i am and just get stuck in a difficult and frustrating place being homesick.

soo that all being said, i have decided to start keeping a blog of all the things that i am grateful for! i figure in the act of writing it down it will help me remember how truly blessed i am, and help me avoid that pesky homesickness that so often controls my attitude!

i am doing it in blog form so my mother can look on proudly and see that her gratitude journal efforts were not completely wasted! :)

thanks for stopping by!

halee