BEDA Day 30

Well, it's the last day of BEDA. Can you believe it? It's nice that I'm going to be free from writing nonsense every night at 9:50. :)

Since you put up with my blog for 30 days, I thought I'd share some blogs that I read and love. They're really, really great.

ZenHabits: This is the blog that started it all. I stumbled across this one by pure chance while searching for help on learning a language. Here, the author Leo Babauta talks about simplicity, mindfulness, and his and his family's journey in minimalism, unschooling, and happiness. It's very inspiring.

Mnmlist: This is by the same author as above. It talks more about minimalist (obviously). He keeps the theme very, very simple and it gets you thinking about your own materialism and dependence on external things for happiness.

Elise Blaha enJOY it: While this isn't the normal type of blog I read, I do enjoy Elise's humor. She is a military wife who is in love with scrapbooking and all things paper. She's very energetic and positive, which is always lovely to read. :)

Advanced Riskology: Here, Tyler Tervooren helps others take life-changing risks, from quitting their corporate jobs to moving to another continent. He also shares stories about his own amazing risks.

Minimal Student: Jessica is a student from Britain who took the initiative to move to Japan to teach the language, all while keeping very few possessions. She does post infrequently, but her archives are full of bits of wisdom that you mightn't expect from a young lady.

PostSecret: I don't know how you haven't heard of this already if you haven't. This is a site where this guy, Frank Warren, gets mailed thousands of handmade postcards from people all over the world. People pour their hearts out on these postcards, revealing their innermost secrets, anonymously. One day, I'll send my own secrets there, but for now I'll just read the Sunday Secrets every week. :)

Bryarly Bishop: This girl I originally found on YouTube (by the same username). She is sweet, hilarious, and very eloquent. Her writing is really funny and definitely relatable.

A Marvelous Adventure: I just recently found this blog, so I don't know what it's all about, but I love what I know about it so far. Renee, a 16-year-old, talks about "The pursuit of knowledge, happiness and good coffee." :)

The Hayleylujah Chorus/ hayleyghoover: Also a girl that I found on YouTube. She is very widely know for her beauty and hilarity. She's all over the internet. Check out her videos, too, if you'd like.

Those are most of the blogs that I read. I hope I made them sound as amazing as they really are. I read these blogs on gReader on my phone.

I'll post some time soon on here. Look out for part 2 of my short story "A Dancer's Devotion" tomorrow on my short story blog! Thanks for reading, guys. I really appreciate it. ♥

BEDA Day 29

Life. It happens.

BEDA Day 28

Hey, y'all. How are you doing? I'm just peachy. :)

I had my first traffic today, which was AMAZING! For y'all who don't know, a traffic is when you drive around with a drivers' ed instructor on the streets and you get a grade for it. I got a C, which is pretty standard for one's first traffic. :) I thought it went real well.

Also, I helped out with the freshmen boys' volleyball tournament, which is always fun.

And, lastly, it was my cousin's 4th birthday party today! Very, very fun.

Overall, 'twas an incredible day!

Thanks for reading. :) Talk to you tomorrow. ♥

BEDA Day 27

Well, ahoy there! How are you doing?

This day was incredible. Of course there were low points, but the high points were amazing! I got to talk to some people that I normally don't talk to anymore, got an A on an oral exam for French that I've been practicing for, and got a chemistry test over with! Huzzah!

Also, it was senior night for the boys' volleyball team that I manage tonight. 'Twas quite fun and slightly controversial. :) I learned some new things (not concerning volleyball) and had quite a good time.

Oh, goodness, I'm glad it's Friday.

Talk to you tomorrow.♥

BEDA Day 26 (Yesterday)

Ohmygoodness. I am so sorry! I didn't even realize I forgot to post until this morning! I was so pooped yesterday, and I needed to sleep. On this day, I learned some new Polish (more on this later), went to chemistry tutoring, and had a really bad stomach ache. And, yet, it was an overall good day. :)

Talk to you in 10 minutes or so. ♥

BEDA Day 25

Hey, y'all! Since the moment I woke up, I've been working on some crazy work that I had to get done. I'm almost done now! I had my first driving accident with the garage today, so that was fun. Plus, I had a cheeseburger. Gripping stuff, huh?

Talk to you tomorrow. ♥

BEDA Day 24

Hi, guys. :) How are you on this fine day? Today I ate too much food and had a basketball game. It was very fun.

Talk to you tomorrow! ♥

BEDA Day 23

Hey, y'all. How was your day today? Mine was rather strange. I don't really want to talk about it on here, but just know 'twas quite the odd day.

UNRELATED:

As I'm sure most of you know, I play volleyball. I definitely don't consider myself to be even near the best, but of course I'd like to improve. I was talking to my friend today, who is also a volleyball player, and he said that beach volleyball can be the best thing you can do in order to get better. That sounded like a really good idea to me, so I thought I'd share the with you. Beach volleyball? Me? Yeah.

UNRELATED:

Have you noticed how much waste we produce? In my AP Environmental Science class (from now on called APES) we just finished a unit on waste management. Remember I told you I finished a project for it yesterday? Well, we had to document how much waste (kitchen trash, plastic, glass, metal, paper, etc.) our family created. While I already knew we generate a lot of garbage, I didn't realize it was this much! Over 11 days, my family (of 3 + 1 dog) generated over 17 pounds of unrecyclable garbage! That's insane. I do recycle and have for quite a while, but 17 pounds? Really?

In APES today, we watched a rather old video - think late '70s - about producing less waste and recycling the waste you do produce. I don't know about you, but I ADORE old '70s-type movies like that. It was this guy with bright yellow hair talking about rinsing out and bagging up our glass 7Up bottles and walking them over to a local recycling center with our families. If that's not adorable, I don't know what is!

So, anywho, I'm going to start really focusing on using the heck out of what I already have and not buying new things unnecessarily. As you may know, if you've read my blog for quite a while, I am very intrigued by minimalism and zero-waste. Now, I'm going to actually apply everything that I've read about the subjects to my actual life! I'm super excited!

So, I'll update y'all on that as it becomes relevant. Thanks for reading. :) Talk to you tomorrow. ♥

BEDA Day 22

Hey, y'all! I had a most excellent day today. :) As soon as I woke up, I worked on a project for AP Environmental Science that had to be wrapped up. I must say that I am thrilled with the final product. :D Then, I kind of lazed about; went driving for an hour, which was satisfying; and now I'm working on finishing another project, this one for English. Sure, I shouldn't have lazed about, but this project is going to get done one way or another.

I don't have school this Tuesday or Wednesday because of ACTs, so I'm looking forward to relaxing, getting ahead on my work, and writing.

I hope your day was even lovelier than mine was. Talk to y'all tomorrow. ♥

BEDA Day 21

Hey, y'all. I knew there was a reason I had an alarm set for 9:30. Sorry, again. On the plus side, I had a really good day today! I'm currently practicing French, in case you were wondering. :)

Talk to you tomorrow. On time. Promise. <3

BEDA Day 20

Hey, y'all! Now, those of you who know me in real life may know that I am a generally positive person. I'm always smiling and I keep an optimistic outlook. That's what I'm going to talk about today. :)

I wasn't always like this, nor am I now. Over the years, I've trained myself to see the bright side first. For example, at the very beginning of this school year, I chose to pick out everything I liked about my teachers. Sure, there were things I wasn't used to, but by focusing on the positives first, I was able (and still am) to keep a good attitude towards them and appreciate their different styles of teaching and knowledge.

I get excited about little things that others don't seem to. Personally, I think this is because I find wonder and magic in these little things. Different languages, accents, silly faces, cheesy jokes, goofy dance moves, and passionate people all make me ecstatic! I love that other people can have that effect. Some people say I'm weird or crazy just because I do find wonder in places other people don't, but I say it makes for a happier life.

I make it a point to learn everyone in my classes' names and to talk to them, because I feel like everyone should be included. I go out of my way to help people, because I truly want them to be happy. Yes, this makes me a doormat sometimes, but when people are genuinely happy because of something I did, it's worth it.

So, yes, I've been compared to sunshine, I've been told I never stop smiling, and people say I'm the nicest person they know. It's all from years of conscious practice of being nice and truly caring about people. :)

Have a lovely day. Talk to you tomorrow. ♥

BEDA Day 19

Hello, all. Today I'm going to talk about my fitness.

I definitely consider myself an athlete and pretty fit overall, but I'd love to exercise more. I've been playing basketball, volleyball, and bowling for as long as I remember, plus soccer softball in there. Now, I only play volleyball and basketball.

Normally, I eat very, very unhealthily and I don't work out at home. It kills me. In today's society, it seems like doing the easiest thing is acceptable, regardless of the consequences. But, I'm changing that for myself. I've always noticed how people get weaker and less healthy as they age, and I never want to be like that. I don't want to hobble around and have all these health problems. I noticed that I eat unconsciously, even if I'm not hungry. I overeat consistently, my stomach always hurts, and I feel bleh quite a bit.

So, what am I doing to change that? I'm consciously asking myself if I'm truly hungry or if I'm just bored. I've been doing little exercise-y things, like crunches, pushups, planks, and running. Plus, I'm helping to manage boys' volleyball at my school, so I get to run around and shag balls and play.

I want to work on the quality of what I'm eating, as well. I've been keeping a food diary for the past few weeks (for a different reason), which is making me more conscious of what and how much I'm eating. A few months ago, I would eat fried chicken tenders with ranch and a big ole' chocolate bar every day for lunch. That's awful! Now, I'm bringing a sandwich, crackers, a few cookies, and a piece of candy from home. Honestly, that's not much better, but at least I'm working on it! Plus, it's cheaper. I'd definitely like to start incorporating more fruits and vegetables into my diet. Fun fact: I'm addicted to chocolate. I don't just really, really like it; I get withdrawals. I gave it up for Lent twice, which was really tough, but I did it. That lets me know that I don't absolutely need it for my survival, like it seems right now. :P

But, for now, I'm just working on feeling better and being more active. :) I just want to feel good.

Talk to you tomorrow! Thanks for reading. ♥

BEDA Day 18

I am so sorry! I fell asleep at, like, 9:30 yesterday. Quality post today.

BEDA Day 17

Hey, y'all. If you've not already, please check out my first short story, A Dancer's Devotion. :)

So, how've y'all been? I've been just peachy. Today was a good day and, somehow, I don't have a lot of homework. :D

Since I have 7 minutes still, let's talk about you. Although I'm very proud of the readership here, I would adore there being more of you. I know I don't always write quality posts, but I'm working on it. It would mean the world to me if you'd subscribe and/or share my blog posts, if you think they're worth it. Truly. The world. &^)

Alrighty, then. I shall see you tomorrow, with an actual post of quality. ♥ Thanks, as always, for reading.

BEDA Day 16

Dear lovelies, I still have homework to do. Did you check out my FIRST EVER SHORT STORY EVER yesterday? I think you should. It's called A Dancer's Devotion. Check it out, yo. Th-th-th-that's all for now folks. ♥ Talk to you tomorrow.

BEDA Day 15

I just put up my first short story! It's called "A Dancer's Devotion," and I'd love if you checked it out. Thanks! ♥

BEDA Day 14

Short post today, cause I'm going to see Jersey Boys tonight! Look out for my first short story tomorrow!

<3

Travel

One of the two main things I want to do in my life is travel. (The other is write.) Planning for other places, packing, driving, taking a train, taking a bus, taking a plane; it's all a blast!

Some Places I've Been
-Minnesota (loads of times)
-Florida (once)
-the Bahamas (it was cold, oddly enough)
-Washington, D. C. (plus the four states around it)
-Wisconsin
-Michigan
-Texas
-Tennessee
-New York
-New Jersey (briefly)
-Illinois
-Kentucky
-Missouri
-Canada
-Nevada

Those are the ones I remember, at least.

Some Places That I'd Like to Go
-England (going this summer)
-France
-Spain
-Italy
-Greece
-Poland
-California
-Massachusetts
-North Carolina
-New Hampshire
-Louisiana
-Montana
-North Dakota
-Pennsylvania
-Connecticut
-Hawaii
-Maine
-Rhode Island
-Australia

As you can see, I want to go pretty much everywhere. I love traveling and foreign places thrill me. Other languages, accents, new places. Amazing. :)

Alright. My deadline is coming up. See you tomorrow. ♥

Things

Hey, y'all. :) So, lately I've been thinking about things that I'm good at, things that I'd like to be good/better at, and things I'm not so good at. Unfortunately, there are a lot more of the latter two than the first, but I'm all about improvement! Let's just dive right in, shall we?

Things (I think) I'm Good At
-math
-remembering French rules/words
-reading
-being excited
-positivity
-making plans

Things I'd Like to Be Good/Better At
-writing
-speaking French
-speaking Polish
-keeping things neat and tidy (love those words)
-managing money
-eating more healthily
-exercising more
-time management
-being a leader

Things I'm Not So Good At
-sticking to a plan
-time management
-eating healthily
-keeping things neat and tidy
-keeping in contact with certain people

This is just a short list of thoughts, but I'd like to expand on them later. Thanks for reading! ♥

P.S.: Look out for my first short story on the fifteenth on my short story blog!

BEDA Day 11

Studying for a 14-chapter APUSH midterm. Sorry.

A Poem

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I procrastinate a lot,

Sorry.

:P

Just a Quote :)

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Thoughts on My Style of Clothing

*note: I'll add pictures eventually.*

Now that I've given you a mini-rant about trends that I don't like, I thought I'd write about styles I do like. Keep in mind that I have a very limited sense of fashion and am just writing about what I'd like.

I don't really follow trends so much, nor do I have a specific style I go for. You know how some people dress mainly sophisticated, trendy, country, girly, casual, fancy, bright, quiet, or sporty? Well, I dress in a combination of these. It honestly depends on how much time I have to get ready, what I feel like wearing on a given day, and what's clean. It's rather varied. For example, I'll wear skinny jeans, a tank top, a sweater, and my FOMS (fake TOMS) on Monday. Then, jean shorts, a t-shirt, and gym shoes Tuesday. A skirt and shirt on Wednesday, t-shirt and shorts on Thursday, and a sweater and jeans on Friday. As you can see, there's quite a range. :P

That's not to say I don't like set styles; I just like variation. I would like to change my wardrobe up a bit to more of things I feel good wearing, like certain dress styles, different types of shirts, and more daring pieces, but I'm slowly building it. Some new types of pieces I'd like to try are cut-out dresses, bright tights, classically designed dresses, sweetheart necklines, cardigans, jean vests, button-downs, and jean skirts.

I'm constantly inspired by looks I see on other people, and I try to channel them in my own style sometimes. I find I'm more comfortable and confident when wearing particular types of clothes over others. Many I time have I completely messed up on an outfit, but it's all a learning process, you know? Fashion will always be a fun thing for me, and I'm lucky enough to be able to try out new things and have the not-so-occasional disaster outfit.

Well, thanks for listening to me ramble on about clothes. :) I appreciate it oodles. ♥ Talk to you tomorrow.

Really?

2 days in a row? Nonsense. I promisepromisepromise a post of quality tomorrow ON TIME.

BEDA Day 6

Oh, shoot! Whoops! I forgot to post today. Sorry, guys. :( I'll have a post of quality up tomorrow.

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Downtown Adventures

'Ello today. :) On this fine day, my sister met me to go downtown. We took the train, which is always superfun, but we made it even more eventful. Instead of staying in our crowded car, I decided we would run out of the car at each stop until we got to a less crowded car. Honestly, it was so exciting! I don't know if you know, but train cars have one door at the back and one at the front. Well, at one point, we ran out of the back door and into the next door, only to realize that we were in the exact same car! Priceless. We (or, at least I) cracked up for about 2 straight minutes after that. :D

So, when we got to the town of down, we went on a quest for Topshop. So, many a modern teenager with a smartphone, I typed the shop name into my Maps app and tried to direct my sister and I there. Now, I don't know if you have this problem, but my phone's Maps app is a tad unreliable when it comes to direction. Not, like, turn left on Mainstreet, then right on Michigan. But, like, the direction the GPS thinks you're facing. S0, when I use this app, I need to make sure that I'm actually walking towards the street on which I need to turn. Long story short, we ended up walking in a big circle, only to have to walk for more than another half hour to get to this store.

I'd never been to Topshop before, but I've heard things about it. In my mind, it was expensive, but beautiful. Honestly, it pretty much lived up to my expectations. Sooooooo very expensive, but sooooo lovely, as well. I tried on 2 dresses, a skirt, and 1 pair of gorgeous wedges. We only went to window shop, but I wasn't going to spend $120 on a diamond-y dress that I would never wear, anyway.

I was thinking about it today, and I'm not sure if I understand today's "hip" style. I've always thought, Okay, ugly is in. I thought that all these swanky designers and shops carried ugly shirts, bulky sweaters, horrid shoes, and overalls, because ugly is cute. But, it hit me today that maybe I'm the only one that thinks this stuff is ugly, and everyone else likes it because they actually think it looks good. For example, one trend I don't understand is wearing calf-length socks with heels. To me, it looks very second-grade and strange, especially if the heels are open-toed. Especially if the wearer is also wearing jeans rolled up to almost knee-length. Especially if the wearer is also wearing a chunky, gaudy sweater and chunky jewelery and a bun in her hair. I'm sure some people like this kind of style, but it looks absolutely ridiculous to me. Or, maybe the point is that ugly is cute. Who knows?

Now that I've gone on a mini-rant, I'll just summarize the rest of our adventure. My sister and I took a different train line than we normally do. Plus, we made a transfer, which is new for us. We stopped by this little place called Sacred Grounds Bakery and Cafe. Very wholesome, very pure. I got this teensytiny chicken caesar pasta salad and strawberry basil water. Both were good and rather cheap, which surprised me. I would definitely love to go back there. :) In the end (more like a half hour into all the walking), my feet were (are) killing me and I'm superdeeduper tired. But, what else is new? :P

Alrighty. Talk to you tomorrow, old chumps. ♥

Hurr

In keeping with the time restraints on this post, I'll make this short.



I got my hurr did. :P It's absolutely nothing like what I asked for, but I adore it nonetheless. I'll post another picture after I wash it for the first time, because it's going to look different. Lovelovelove it!

BEDA Day 3!

Some guidelines.

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Rules and Words

Well, howdy. :) How are y'all doing? I'm just swell.

So, I think I need to set some rules for this BEDA business. Here vee go!

1) All posts must be published before 10 o'clock P.M.

2) Posts must have at least an anecdote or a joke or a link or something worth reading.

That about covers it. :) I think these simple rules will weed out quite a bit of the crapola I might normally post. So, in following these newly-established guidelines, I give you... words.

I'm on spring break this week. Normally, I would plan to do tons of things and be Ms. Productive, but, knowing myself, I've decided to go against my desire. My 2 main (non-fun-related) goals of these next 6 days are 1. finishing my homework/studying and 2. getting ahead on schoolwork. Superexciting, yeah? Perhaps not, but I think they're definitely worth it.

I don't have too much homework this break, but I do have the tendency to leave things to the last minute. Consistently. So, here's to forming new habits! The plan is to have all my homework that's actually due completed by Wednesday. Easy enough, I think. As for studying, I'm currently taking 2 AP classes, so I need to start preparing for the AP exams in May, and I've got some resources for that. Getting ahead is going to be super important. I'm going to take this lovely break to work just a little bit ahead, so future me won't be so stressed out.

I'm off to bed, because I've quite an eventful day tomorrow. I hope y'all're good. ♥ Thanks for reading.

***Check out hold up! evelyn's writing., if you'd like. It's my new short stories blog. Look out for new content!

I did it!

Hey, y'all! I finally got my new blog up and running! I'm sososososososooooo excited! It's called hold up! evelyn's writing. Check it out, if you like. ♥

I'm doing BEDA (Blog Every Day in April) this month. If I post on hold up! evelyn's writing, I'll link it here and vice versa. :) Exciting stuff!

Love you, guys. Thanks for reading.