I love the little but beautiful details of life. Here is a fabulous quote that pretty much sums it up:
“I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind.” — Leo Buscaglia

Not uncontrollable, roll-on-the-floor, can’t-breathe, crying kind of funny.  It’s more of an ironic, annoying funny.

It has this way of teasing you and flirting with your desires. It almost meets your expectations, and then waits until the last minute to surprise you with everything you weren’t expecting; everything completely opposite of what you wanted to happen.

I know that life’s not supposed to be perfect, but can’t it just go the way I want it to. Just once?

Well , except it wasn’t that painful to be honest, only for the black African -American sitting beside me denying the fact that she has African roots ( so annoying).

I like to be African, it is great to be black. I never get sun burnt and my pale friends will use wrinkle reduction cream years before I do. (WIN)

So anyway, I’m back now and BROKE so I am looking for a job instead of going on Erasmus to Sweden for a semester. I am 20 now and according to society , I am a full grown adult who needs to be really responsible so yeah, no Sweden for me and Hello, working world.

While I was away so many things happened and since I got back , I already discovered a few new favourite Irish models of mine.

1. Clara McSweeney ( 15 year old amazing Irish Model..just . wow. )

2.Lisa Madden from Cork, Ireland. Contestant in Britain and Irelands next top model. Kellie Ford.

In the Philippines, life is so different. In just 2 weeks, my eyes were opened to a completely different culture and style of living than I was used to. Panic didn’t ensue when a cockroach or lizard scurried across and through any part of the house, and it wasn’t uncommon for bugs to be ever present at all times. The supermarkets were filled with packaged food, laced with all sorts of sodiums, chemicals, additives and flavoring; fresh fruits and vegetables were hardy ripe or enticing and the selection was minimal. Traffic took over the streets without any sort of etiquette or rules, while litter lined the streets amongst the crowds of people with dark, sun-soaked skin that symbolized their lower placing in society.

Everything there was so different than the life I was used to back home in Canada, although I wasn’t expecting it would be anything close to the same. Now, there are people in the Philippines who are lucky enough to avoid the day-to-day life in poverty, but their life is still vastly different from the modern day styles of North America. They don’t have access to the same kind of amenities, medicines, household necessities, and indulgences that we do. Living in a third world country means they have limited access to things that we find so easy to obtain. Regardless of what class level you belong to, life in the Philippines just isn’t the same as the life I live at home.

Now that I’m back in Vancouver, I can’t help but take the time to fully appreciate the comfortable life I’ve had the privilege of having all the years of my life. The first thing I did upon my arrival was indulge in a gigantic salad of fresh and leafy green vegetables, topped with a well-cooked chicken that had been roasted with fresh herbs. I followed my wholesome meal with a refreshing, hot shower that provided enough pressure to revive and awaken my jet lagged mood. These little indulgences along with the comfort of my new mattress and my ability to watch some high definition TV were enough to make me smile and be happy to be home.

I, like most, take our first world amenities for granted on most days. I habitually dismiss the fact that there are people in world who have no idea what it’s like to zap a meal in the microwave or instantly purchase everything you need and want with a click of a button. They would probably think we’re insane for using fragrant chemicals to clean our toilets before we proceed to release our bowels back into them.

We’re overly blessed to live in this first world country. Take an extra moment to appreciate it today.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit a third world country, even the Philippines for that matter, I suggest you do. There are some incredibly beautiful sights to be seen amongst the overwhelming shock of culture. It’ll open your eyes to the irreplaceable diversity of our world, and make you realize how happy you should be to live where you do.

I cant believe it!! Last year when I found out I would be spending 8 months in Uganda I was like “wow, that is a long time” but now it is over. It has been a roller coaster but I am so glad I got on it.  The best bit was living with my best friend, boyfriend & partner in crime all wrapped in one.  I enjoyed the school and the kids and I am going to miss that experience a lot.  I have grown up an awful lot, it is kind of scary how much my thoughts, dreams and total out look on life have changed. Oh and I also became Godmother to the most beautiful baby who I got the pleasure to name Alison. I adore her, she is too funny.

I hope to be back in Ireland on the 13th or earlier, I cant be sure because of the stupid Olympics( sorry) . I really cannot wait to get back to Ireland, I have missed my girls so much but not so much the weather and I cant wait to see my family After I get to Ireland, I will spend about 3 weeks there and then hopefully will be off to Sweden until January 2013…YES. So yeah, adventures all round..Drink to that

Once I get to Sweden I will have more time to post on the blog so I will not be disappointing ye all by not posting anymore .

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When was the last time you enjoyed the little things?  It’s much easier said than done.

Every day we rush, trying to check off everything on our to-do list and forget to notice the little gifts from life. It could be someone’s laughter,  the breeze on a hot day or receiving a compliment from a stranger. 

For me,  I was recently rushing to an appointment and as I was running I realized just how beautiful the weather was.  I realized that even though this was a little thing it had a huge impact on my well-being.

Sometimes we measure success of a day by how many great things we can accomplish. However the small things are just as important and often taken for granted.

Take time today, even a few seconds to acknowledge what you can enjoy, big or small. 

I am a big romantic and I believe in Love, never  have I been afraid to say that. Tovy and Elaine’s wedding was filled with their love for each other, you could easily feel the electricity of it all in the room. Their happiness was very apparent and infectious. They never stopped dancing.  All the guests were picking from all the positive energy the couple were supplying. I am smiling right now because I just can’t stop since yesterday. 

Wedding masses are normally boring (sorry) but Father Joseph Luzindana was AMAZING. The congregation never stopped laughing and no body wanted him to stop preaching. He emphasized the importance of God in relationships, without God things fall apart easily. So many great couples fail to make it simply because they failed to put God first. He asked Elaine to close her ears to rumors from now on and to only believe what her husband says and what God says. He also asked Tovy to go into a period of fasting from there on. Not fasting food but fasting with his eyes, fasting the beautiful women that will try to tempt him out of his marriage day by day and he asked him to put his eyes only on Elaine because after all, she is the one he has chosen out of them all.

Me and Mommy

It was a beautiful service and there after, we went on to a cocktail reception before the main reception. The food and catering in both was divine. The main reception had a barbecue and there was so much to drink as well. I was so happy for the two because they truly deserve each other. Congratulations Tovy and Elaine and I hope you last the 89 years that were mentioned last night. Keep the fire burning. 

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Today the weather was absolutely fabulous; my sister and I spent the day relaxing at my dad’s lake house! The water was so warm we spent hours snorkeling and swimming around in the water, laying out in the sun, and going on boat rides!

Picture of the lake at my Dad’s house!

What did you guys do to celebrate America’s birthday?! Leave it in the comments!

<3 Christine @cgarabedian01

This is the July photo a day prompt! I got the idea to start photo a day and this list from Fat Mum Slim’s blog! http://fatmumslim.com.au/photo-a-day-july/ .

Here are some of the pictures that I have taken so far for the month of July!

July 1st! Self Portrait.

July 2nd! Busy. Busy organizing orientation, Phi Sigma Sigma recruitment info, and last semester’s class notes!

July 3rd! Best Part of Your Day. The best part of my day was when my lovely boyfriend Aaron visited me!

July 4th! Fun. My family and I had some Fourth of July fun at my dad’s lake!

Are you participating in the July Photo a Day Challenge!?

<3Christine

@cgarabedian01

This year, it was my sister, Cindy’s turn to graduate high school! Go Class of 2012! Over the weekend my family hosted a party to celebrate all her hard work in high school! All of my relatives came by for the day; it was awesome to reconnect with the fam! 

Here are some pics from the grad party! Top Left: Cindy cutting her graduation cake! Top Right: Cindy’s awards and achievements display at the party. Bottom Left: Cindy’s graduation cake, she chose an icecream one! Bottom Right: My sisters and I posing with my grandmother!

What graduation parties have you been to recently?! 

<3Christine

The coolest part about this place is that the produce that is sold there was all grown on the premises; there is a hydroponic greenhouse located in the back. This greenhouse gives the workers at Water Fresh Farm the ability to grown and provide fresh, pesticide-free fruits and vegetables!

Kimberly and I had a nice time exploring the store and the greenhouse…we also picked up some sandwiches to go! 

Here is the link to Water Fresh Farm’s website if you’re interested in learning more! http://www.waterfreshfarm.com/index.html

With Kimberly at Water Fresh Farm!

A couple pics I took while at WFF! The two on the bottom ends are of the hydroponic greenhouse! So cool!

<3 Christine

If you are an outgoing student who enjoys working with people, I definitely suggest keeping Orientation Leading in the back of your mind for a potential job! Orientation Leaders work with incoming students over a two day period to help get them ready to start their first semester! OLs or OL pairs get assigned a small group of new students to be responsible for. The OLs lead and teach at group discussions, answer any questions and alleviate fear/anxiety students have about starting college, facilitate ice breaker games, and above all, be positive and professional role models for incoming students to look up to. 

BSU’s 2012 Orientation Leader Staff wearing their signature day 1 Red Polos! There’s me! Second row, third from the left.

Above is a picture of BSU’s OL staff. 150 candidates applied for this job, but only 31 made the cut! #nervewracking    .. After being hired, we went through a very extensive two and a half week training process before the sessions began. The training included listening to countless presentations and speakers, group bonding activities and exercises, networking, acting, Strengths Quest, public speaking, and facilitating workshops, but personally, my favorite part about training was going to camp! The Orientation Leaders and the Orientation Professional Staff spent two days of our training at an outdoor camp down Cape Cod. At camp we heavily focused on team building and bonding, utilizing our top strengths, and our goals for the program. 

Orientation Leaders at CAMP!

Once training was over, it was time for the best part…ORIENTATION SESSIONS! Our Professional Student Orientation Coordinators paid careful attention to the OLs during training and used all of the information they slowly acquired to divide all of the Orientation Leaders into partner teams. They then assigned each partner pair a letter of the alphabet (between A-P) to represent their student groups. (My partner Kayla and I were Group D).  BSU held six Orientation Sessions that the new students could go to. Each session was made up of ~270 incoming freshman students! Kayla and I got to meet, connect with, and advise ~100 students over the course of just a few weeks!

On the second day of Orientation, the new students get to register for their first semester’s classes!

Orientation Staff on a day 2!

Orientation was one to the most amazing and impacting experiences of my life, I would not trade it for anything! I learned extensive information about my school, created some of the best friendships  and connections I could ever ask for, I personally aided over one hundred students and gave them a friendly face to look up to, but above all I learned more about myself. I was given the resources to excel and to live up to my full potential and I became confident and strong in areas where I used to be weak. These last six weeks have been absolutely exceptional, and I cannot wait to return for Transfer Orientation in August! 

My Orientation partner Kayla and I with our Group D poster! Our Orientation summer was ‘Sports’ themed so that is why our poster has two ballerinas on it, we were Group D…for dance!! All of our students signed our poster before they left Orientation, reading the little notes afterwards was so fun!

<3 Christine

Everything about the trip was so weird, yet so perfect, and so unpredictable. Our friendship had moved to a new city that both of us were unfamiliar with and both of our lives had gone through dramatic changes, but together – we were still the same.
Over the course of two and half days, the concept of us being in Saskatoon together maintained it’s surreal quality, but we managed to act the same as we would if we were causing trouble in Vancouver. We laughed, we cried, we bonded in our usual form, despite new faces and external influences.

On the Friday afternoon, as I sat at the Edmonton airport waiting to board my plane to Saskatoon, I remember being overly nervous about how this weekend would affect that friendship. As a sat in the Saskatoon airport waiting to fly back home on Sunday evening, my eyes pooled with tears of joy. It had only been one hour since I’d seen her, but I missed her already and I wasn’t finished spending quality time with her yet.

Looking back, I’m not sure why I was so anxious. We weren’t broken, we aren’t broken now, and I doubt we ever will be. I guess sometimes, even in the best relationships, you just need a little more than a text message/phone call/email to remind you why you love each other so much in the first place.

The truest friendships are the strongest; they’ll make it through anything. But that doesn’t mean they don’t require a little extra attention sometimes too.

This world has so many endless possibilities and worthwhile opportunities just waiting for you to make your own, so get out there and live out your dreams.

Don’t let anyone get you down and don’t let them get in your way. Keep your chin up and listen to your heart; take any critique and judgement with an open mind, but don’t let it get you down. Go big, follow your heart, and do what makes you completely happy.