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