Saturday 15 April 2017

I'm Baaaaaack...

I'm not dead. 

At least I don't think I am ;) Still kicking around in this part of the country. Recovering from the past few months of utter craziness. Enjoying the beautiful spring weather. ๐ŸŒธ ๐ŸŒผ Living life to the fullest (as much as possible anyway ;)

What have I been doing, you might ask? Short story - LIFE. The long story...well, it's a really long story. Haha, I'll attempt to do a really quick (who am I kidding...this is probably gonna get kinda lengthy) several-months-wrap up post cause goodness it's been awhile since I've done that. But before I do, let me give you a sneak peak from the photo-shoot I had with Sweet Pea. Because it's random and also cause she's just utter adorableness. (Those of you from Facebook have probably already seen the rest of the photos ;)) 

*happy sigh* Her eyes.... ๐Ÿ˜

Ok...where should I start? Guess it wouldn't hurt to just dive in somewhere. It's kinda messy...hopefully I don't leave you all in a confused jumble of events. 

Teaching Online 
So some of you might remember the online school I'm teaching at right now. It's been going really well and I've made some great connections through there! And the head of the school is one of the sweetest people on earth ๐Ÿ’œ  Our Facebook group has grown immensely. In the past 4 months since it was started, it has reached over 500 people! We're all so awed at how God has worked in this and we're really hoping to be able to make an impact on the homeschooling world. Of course, things are never absolutely perfect, so prayers for guidance would be very much appreciated! Added busyness as courses for next year are already in the works, and online summer camps are approaching, which is gonna be super exciting! It's so amazing to see all the different talents people are bringing to teach. And the fact that some of these teachers are kids themselves just makes it even more awesome! :D 

School and Exams and all that fun stuff but more importantly the exams ;) And I'm finally done piano!!!!!!!! 

Ya know that saying "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"? Well...that kinda applies to this situation. My mind was willing to do all sorts of stuff...but well yeah. Turns out in reality, you sometimes can't do everything. I um, well, I have a hard time saying 'no'. I also daydream too much about things I should be able to do. Combine those two and you rapidly get an overload of things. Now also combine that with bad time management skills and you get...*shudders* Utter disaster. Last semester seemed to be going fairly well, things flowed in a timely manner and I thought I had finally mastered time management. Yep. Nope. I didn't. Second semester rolled around and with it a ton of hectic-ness. Online school closed down and we had to go looking for new courses. Which meant I ended up adding more to my course load than what we had originally planned. And then the teaching position came up. And work at Tim's was still going too. At the beginning, it didn't seem too bad. Chemistry, ASL, Baking, World Pastries, Writing a Research Paper, Piano, Biochemistry... it was busy, but not TOO bad. But then exams struck. Dun dun DUNNNN. And ohhhh myyyyyyyyyy was that awful. In March there was the exam for Grade 12 Biochemistry. Thousands of notes. Sitting in one place for hours at a time. Bucketfuls of tears. And then right after that exam was over, my attention was then moved to my driving exam. I'm an awful driver btw. Never really been that confident to begin with, so yeah. Lot of driving lessons that sometimes ended in feeling utterly hopeless in the situation. Finally took the exam - and failed again *sigh*๐Ÿ˜‘  So yep, still have a driver's exam on my to-do list. But right after the driver's exam, my focus then turned to the piano exam looming ahead. That was during end of March and beginning of April. It was dreadful. Consequences of not consistently practicing was extremely long amounts of time on the piano. And by long I mean looonnnngggg. 

Would ya look at all that piano... xD 

Anyway...lesson learned. Try to avoid overloading on school. And procrastination is not a good thing. But then we already knew that, didn't we? ;) The actual piano exam went fairly well - for the first time ever, I had my exam in the nursery room of the church. Which meant I had a huge tiger grinning at me the entire time. It was interesting. But when I finally stepped out of that building I wanted to run around and dance and jump up and down. Cause it was finally all done!! And I don't mean just the exams. I mean I. am. finally. done. pianoooooooooo!!!!!!! *throws confetti* *squeals* *hugs self excitedly* Seriously, days after the exam, I would still squeal with joy at random parts of the day because of how excited I was. Ask my sister. Or my friends xD 

And then of course there was just life in general that keeps a person so crazy busy ...
See, when you have exams going, school for some reason doesn't just stop until after it's over. Nope, it keeps going. So does life. There were a couple times in the past few months where I seriously thought I was gonna drown with all the stuff I had to do. The only thing that kept me going was my family and friends. Without them and their prayers, who knows where I'd be right now!

Of course there was also the funny parts of life for which I'm so thankful for :D

Me: Toblerone, can I have a hug?
Toblerone: Sure
*gives me a hug*
Toblerone: Can I choke you?

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Maple: *bark*
Toblerone: Woof!
Maple: *bark*
Toblerone: Woof!
Maple: *bark*
Toblerone: Woof! Woof! Woof!

Me: ๐Ÿ˜‘ ๐Ÿ˜‚


~ * ~ * ~ * ~


#eightyearoldwisdom

Did a ton of baking...











Did not do a lot of reading :/ 
The only books I think I read in the past few months was The Reluctant Godfather (Allison Tebo), Courageous Love (Susan K. Marlow), Destroy (Tricia Mingerink) and Rosemary Cottage (Colleen Coble). 4 books in *counts* 3 months ๐Ÿ˜ฎ Wow, that's awful. Guess I know what I'll be doing in the summer ;)

Listened to lots of music
I have created Youtube playlists. They are sooooo helpful and way less distracting too. And I discovered a new artist. Francesca Battistelli! (Tiger Lily says her name sounds like a brand of pasta...but her music is amaaazzzing) These songs were great stress-relievers for some reason while I was studying for all my exams. And I even ended up choreographing a country dance to the song Run to Jesus. It's so much fun and spinning and tapping really brings the stress levels down xD

Run to Jesus

Lions

Strangely Dim

He Knows My Name

We are the Kingdom

More Than You Think I Am 

                                         
I am Yours 

Oh yeah, and I may or may not have turned 17 
My birthday fell on the same day our Awana lesson did, and my dear friends planned a little surprise party for me. It was so very special and ahhhh....love them all so much! ๐Ÿ’–

Talking about friends
We had several get togethers with family friends of ours. Well some of them weren't really get togethers...but it kinda counts. Ski trips, people. So. much. fun! Liv came with us on one of our ski trips and she musta brought a good report back to her family cause they all ended up coming with us the next time. Friends just make things so much awesomer for some reason...I wonder why?

Another time we got to get together with one family we hadn't seen in almost a whole year! So it was lovely getting to see them at one of the girls' adult ceremony. (Turning 13, woo hoo! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ) There were some great games we got to play, and we got to catch up on stuff with each other. Also Odelia may or may not have hinted I should get back to blogging... so you have her to thank for that๐Ÿ˜‰

Then just this past week, we had our friends over for the day. We kinda made it into a half surprise party/half family get-together. The planning that went into it was so much fun. And slightly nerve-racking. DO you know how hard it is to keep a secret amongst two big families who combined, make about 20 people?? It's hard, I tell ya! But we managed to make it work and Victoria didn't suspect a thing until we threw balloons in her face and nearly blasted her ears out with party blowers ๐Ÿ˜Š The rest of the day consisted of making pizza, walking in the forest, and JAMMING!! ๐ŸŽถ ๐ŸŽธ Seriously, it is SO much fun jamming with the Nickersons. I think we're all just connected with our love for music :) For once, we actually practiced a song instead of jumping from one song to another to another and we focused on fine-tuning. We're so close to done, and the recordings on the phone are ahhhhh! So good! And it's funny and so cool seeing how far we've come. Before it used to be just piano and vocals, and now it's grown to include whistle, fiddle, guitar, and drums...I'm still trying to wrap my head around it :D

(just as a side note, I'm having waaaayyy too much fun with the new emoticon box in Blogger. As I'm sure my post is probably showing :P)

Oh yeah and we've discovered the power of FaceTime xD Bad hair days galore, I tell ya ;) But it's so much fun and kinda makes up for not getting to see each other in person every single day ๐Ÿ˜Š

Aaaannnndddd I'm thinking I should probably end this post now
If you've all managed to reach the bottom...I'm impressed ;) Thanks for reading through all that! But to let you all know - I've missed you all sooooooo much! *hugs* So glad I'm gonna be able to get back into blogging, though I probably won't be able to post as much as I'd like. I'll try to not disappear for two months though *guilty grin* :D

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend! Christ has Risen!


23 comments:

  1. You're back!!!!!!!! I have been thinking of you these past few weeks and wondering how you were doing. I was going to email you after my crazy two weeks, but you posted. :) Yay!
    That picture of Sweet Pea is ADORABLE! Absolutely precious.
    Wow, you have been busy. And no, you shouldn't try to do everything! Been there, done that, learned my lesson. Too much is too much. :) If you say yes to some things, you MUST say no to others.
    Anyway, glad you made it back to the blogging world. :D

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    1. Awwww you were? That's so sweet of you, Rebekah! I've missed you so much!! :D Haha, thank you for the advice! And yep, unfortunately you just gotta say "no" sometimes :)

      Thank you so much and hope you have a wonderful Easter!

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  2. Ahh, Blessing, you're back �� *sigh of contentment*

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  3. YAY!!! Hi, Blessing! I missed ya. :D
    I am happy to hear your school all has gone well! You did great. :) As you already know. ;D
    AND ALL THE BAKE GOODIES. Wow. You're making me hungry! You look like a fantastic baker!
    And Lions, by Skillet.... oh, gosh. Skillet is SO good!
    God bless, Blessing!
    -Ang | thepeculiarmessenger.wordpress.com

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    Replies
    1. Angela! Hi!! Awww I missed ya too! Haha, thank you so much! Glad you liked em ;)
      And Lions! YES! Soooo awesome! To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of all the Skillet songs..some of them are a little too much for me. But the songs like Lions, or Stars - eeks! Love them :D

      It was sooo great hearing from you!

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  4. Welcome back, girl! You have been missed!! ;)
    Aww, your lil' sis is precious!! <3 Yep, I've saw some pics on FB. XD
    And your baking pictures are just like...gorgeous. Amazing.
    The header!!! O.O Is it new or have I just missed it somehow?? LOVE!!!

    Great post!! ^_^

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    Replies
    1. Ahhhh....Faith!! *hugs* (Although it's not like we haven't been "seeing" each other most every Friday ;)) Awww thanks! And yes, the header's new. Decided it was probably time to get rid of the winter heading considering spring's been here for awhile now ;) Thank you soooo much and SO glad to hear from you again! (btw, I LOVED the first part to your latest story. Can't wait for the next part!! :D)

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    2. *hugs* Hehe, exactly. The only way I've known you hadn't totally hopped planets. ;P

      (Aww, thanks so much!! Hope you enjoy the rest of it!! <3)

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  5. WELCOME BACK, BLESSING!! It's so good to hear from you again! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my friend! *throws confetti* Glad your day was special! :D

    Your baby sister is cute beyond words!!! And your photography skills are excellent. Thanks for sharing that sneak peak with us. :)

    Wow you HAVE been busy. Life is crazy, isn't it? Hope your driver's test goes perfect the next time! Hang in there. You can do it!!

    "Toblerone: Can I choke you?' Haha. Aww, your brother's adorable.

    WOW! I am SO impressed by your baking skills. Did you decorate that cake all by yourself? That's amazing. And those cupcakes! They're so cool! I especially like the one with nest of eggs on top. That's just really creative. <3 :)

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    1. Awww...thank you so much, Miss March!!!! So glad to be back :D Ooohhh...love the confetti ;) Hehe, Sweet Pea says "thank you" :D And yep... just a slight bit busy ;) And thanks for the encouragement on the test! <3 Mm hmm! Decorated the cake with lots of sugar, time, and love. LOVE decorating cakes, so it was more fun than it was a chore. Thank you so much! And it was lovely hearing from you again!! <3

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  6. Welcome back, Blessing!!!! :D :D I’ve missed you!! <3
    Aww…Sweet Pea is sooooo adorable!!
    Wow, all of the treats you made look really good! You are definitely a good decorator. :)
    I read “Courageous Love” too. =) It was so good!!
    I love your new header! It’s so good to have you back!

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    1. Hi Rebekah!!! Aww...I missed you too! :) And thank you for the compliments! :D Wish I could mail you some of the goods...but I'm afraid they'd probably be not-so-good by the time you got 'em ;) Thanks again!

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  7. Welcome back to the blogging world, Blessing!! Sounds like you've been having lots of fun!

    Aww, I can sympathize with the driving stuff... I'm not a huge fan of driving (changing lanes is the worst), but I know I need to work on it because I do want my license! (I haven't taken the test yet.)

    I saw some pics on FB of the baby! She's sooo cute!!

    And that decorating--wow! That's talent! :)

    Glad to see you back to blogging! :D

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    1. Hey, Olivia! Haha, yep...lots of fun ;) YES, oh my goodness, changing lanes used to be an utter nightmare for me. I would unconsciously swerve into the lane while checking my blind spot...NOT a good thing :P I think the worst thing for me is backing into a parking space and observation. Sometimes I think I live in a bubble...and thinking that while driving ain't a good thing. At all xD But yes - that license! Hope you do well on it when you take it!!!

      Hehe, thank you so much!

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  8. Finally...... Glad you're back, Blessings!!

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  9. OMGUAC you made all those desserts??!! Duuude that's pretty lit. xD You're very gifted! I enjoyed reading this post a lot, I can totally relate.

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  10. Tag you're it!!
    The Liebster Award:
    http://akansasfarmersdaughter.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-liebster-award.html

    P.S - WELCOME BAAAAAACK!! :D

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  11. Welcome back :) I may have been "away" as well for a few months....so don't feel bad. :D
    Wow, sounds like you have been doing a ton of studying!
    Your little sister is SOO adorable!!!
    I got my permit a few weeks ago and driving IS SO hard!! I can't even figure out how to turn yet :P
    Happy (late) birthday!!!
    I haven't read Courageous Love yet...I REALLY need to go and buy that book :D
    All those cupcakes and food! You made them?!?! They are sooo good! They're like professional, I kept thinking they were off the internet! Wow!

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    1. Hehe, thanks, Rebekah ;) You got your driver's permit? Congrats!! :D And hehe, yep, all self-made :) Thank you so much! :D

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Finally, brothers (and sisters!), whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things
~ Philippians 4: 8