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My First Time Snowboarding

This past weekend I traveled with my youth group to North Carolina to go skiing/snowboarding! Even though I have lived in places such as Colorado and Alaska, I’ve never been to the slopes. I’ve been sledding…a lot haha but never skiing or snowboarding; so I was really, really excited to go on this trip.

Friday, February 13

Today was the day we left from the church. We had to be there at 5:15 which sucked, but I slept on the bus the whole way there. We left the church around 6:30 and traveled for about 7 hours. We stopped to eat lunch in Knoxville and then kept going. We finally got to the lodge we were staying at around 3:30 that afternoon and we put our stuff in the rooms and then I helped my boyfriend set up his drum set. We just had free-time until around 7:30 and we had pizza during that time.  At around 7:30 we had a karaoke night and a lot of people got up and sung while we waited for our speaker, Dave Edwards, to get there. Finally he arrived and we had youth service and the band played then the speaker talked to us. We went to bed around 10:30 and I was exhausted from being up so early.

Saturday, February 14

It’s Valentine’s Day :). My boyfriend and I got to spend our second Valentine’s Day snowboarding which was awesome. I woke up at 6:30 which is still way too early for me and got ready and went and at breakfast at the cafeteria near the lodge we were staying at. We got on the bus at 8:00 to head over to Cataloochee Ski Area. It wasn’t that far from the lodge so I was happy, we got there and the youth pastor realized he left the paperwork back at the lodge so he sent someone to get it and we waited. I was so anxious! I couldn’t wait to get on the slopes, it had been forever since I’ve seen actual amounts of snow. When we got our paperwork we had to wait in line FOREVER to get our rental snowboards which sucked, it took up so much time that we could have been snowboarding. After getting the rentals, my boyfriend (Mark), his friend, his brother and I went to the snowboarding class even though Mark has been snowboarding before. There were so many people and it ended up being a waste of time, I barely learned anything and could have learned it faster from Mark. We went and ate lunch and it was onto the real slopes! The lines for the ski lift was super long which sucked and the ski lift was so much harder than I expected. They make it look so easy on TV and movies. I had a hard time making my way to the loading zone and then had a really hard time getting off. I fell every single time getting off the lift. I only went down the easy slope that day and the first time was so hard! I fell every 10 feet! But I went into this knowing that I would fall and that it would hurt so I was prepared and wasn’t going to give up. That whole day I was trying to learn to turn so I wouldn’t have to fall to turn myself the right direction. I never got it. But it’s okay, I still had the next day. After getting back to the lodge, we had dinner, the band played, the speaker talked and then we had a valentines dance. It was okay. I was exhausted and my body hurt from falling so much.

Here is a video of me falling

Sunday, February 15

This morning was the same as yesterday, but we didn’t have to wait in line for our rentals because we got to keep our rentals. I was so eager to get back out there! My body hurt but I was ready! My boyfriend went on the blue slope (intermediate) while I got ready and went and bought a ski mask. Once he got back we went on the green slope (beginner) twice where I somewhat learned how to turn. After doing that, we went on the blue slope. I was so nervous because I still couldn’t get down the green without falling a lot. But I was determined to do it. I still couldn’t do the ski lift but oh well. When we got to the top and got off the lift and went to strap our other foot in, my toe strap broke! My other foot still had both straps, so I went down the intermediate slope my first time with one foot having both straps and the other having only the heel strap. It was scary, but I enjoyed the blue slope so much more! I was able to turn, I fell a few times but far less than I did on the green! My first time going down blue, I was going down one of the larger hills and this skier rammed full speed right into me. We both flipped and rolled and it hurt but neither of us were injured so that was good. This slope feeds into green and I would get to the green and immediately fall and I would again fall about every 10 feet on the green. The right side of the green kind of bowls so I would constantly be sucked towards the right no matter how hard I tried to turn left. It got so frustrated. We later got a group together and we all went down the blue slope (after I got a new board) about 4 or 5 times. I got the hang of the blue slope towards the end and managed to only fall a few times, but the green always gave me so many issues! I could never get down it. I got so frustrated and my knees and my butt were so sore from falling and my arms were tired from pushing myself up. I also had issues with my new board because the back foot was turned slightly and it really messed with me but I eventually got used to it. After our like fifth time of going down the blue, it was time to go. I was frustrated so I was ready to go, but after turning in my board and boots and waiting on the bus I wasn’t frustrated anymore and was ready to back out. Even though I could barely walk. That night was the same routine as before but we watched videos of people falling.

Monday, February 16

Today was the day we left and we woke up a little later and left around 9:30 and got back around 4:00. We stopped in Knoxville again to eat and just traveled the whole day. Nothing really happened.

Commentary

I LOVED snowboarding so much. I played soccer through high school and I enjoyed it and I like rock climbing, but snowboarding really takes the cake. I have never enjoyed something so much. I went in knowing that I would suck and wanting to at least become decent, so I never gave up and stopped snowboarding until we had to leave. I got so frustrated but I was ready to go back out after 10 minutes and continue trying. I fell so much and by the end of Sunday, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I hurt so bad but it was so worth it! When I got back I looked up how much ski lift tickets cost, rentals and how much it cost to buy a board and it is so expensive :(. I almost wish I hadn’t fallen so in love with snowboarding because I can’t afford it. I hope that when I have my real job that I can save all year and buy a season pass lift ticket so I can continue snowboarding. Two days was not enough time, I’m so ready to go back out. I actually miss being sore from it now. Oh well, I have to wait until next year to go again.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip! If you want to read about my summer youth group trip, click here :)

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

**Mark had the weather proof camera so all of these pictures are thanks to him :)**

Recently Watched: Dexter

I have been watching Dexter for about a year now because I had times where I wasn't able to watch it, but when I could watch it, I would binge-watch a whole season in one night. I recently finished all eight seasons as of January 24, 2015. Let us begin with the fact that I am terrible at finishing series, whether it is a book series or a television series. I just don’t want the worlds to end so finishing Dexter is a feat for me.

I loved this show so much. It’s sort of like a crime show because Dexter is a Forensic Blood Splatter Analyst for Miami Metro Police and they solve at least one serial murder case a season. But the twist on the crime drama is that Dexter himself is a serial killer who only kills criminals who slipped through the system. There is a lot of suspense throughout the show as we see Dexter get himself into different situations and somehow gets out of them. There is a lot of character development involving Dexter which I really enjoyed; it was interesting to see Dexter grow and change slightly though the show. I laughed and cried a lot during the show and thoroughly enjoyed all of the seasons. As for the finale, I won’t say anything that would be a spoiler but it did not end how I expected it to end nor did it end how I would have liked it to end in a perfect world.

To be honest, I feel lost without Dexter. I miss watching it; I know that I can just re-watch it but it isn't the same as the first time I watched it and didn't know what would happen. Plus, there are a lot of other shows out there that I need to watch, but I’m having trouble moving on. Dexter holds a special place in the Television part of my heart haha.

In short, I absolutely loved watching Dexter and I totally recommend it!

Have you watched Dexter? What are your thoughts on the show? What are some shows I should watch next?

Thanks for reading!

Kylie

New Years Resolutions

So I know it’s already more than half way through January, but I still want to post one of these. The holiday season is over which really upsets me; I love the holiday season and it always flies by. New Year’s really isn't that big of a deal for me like it is for some people. However, I do feel the pull of a new start and creating resolutions or goals. Mine aren't the typical “work out” even though I probably should but they are things that I feel would better my life.

1) Keep up with my school work: Every semester I have a goal to do better in school and to not procrastinate; however, I always start out doing really good and end up not doing well toward the middle and then end up freaking out because I slacked off for two months. For some reason I always stop caring in a way and I hate that I do that. I want that to stop. I’m making a goal to stay on top of my work, do all the assignments even if they aren't worth much, and to care for all four months of the semester. I’m thinking about making a post about halfway through the semester to let you guys know how I’m doing on this.

2) Blog Consistently: I’m sure you guys can tell, but I’m really bad at blogging consistently. I love blogging; it made me realize that I do, in fact, like to write. I just keep reaching this blocks where I don’t know what to write. I feel like I don’t know where my blogging niche is, but I brainstormed with my boyfriend the other night and I feel like he helped me think of some topics that I’m passionate about. So that should make it easier to blog more and consistently. I want to start out with one day a week and when I have done that consistently for a while then move up to two or three times a week. Eventually I want to get Photoshop and start being able to do really nice looking cover photos and have better pictures as well as move up and have my own domain. I want this blog to grow.

3) Become a better blog person: I found different blog planners on Pinterest that help plan out and keep track of when you post, how many times you comment on another person’s blog, and when you do social media work. I found daily and weekly planners and I plan on using them to help me get in the habit of tweeting and commenting on other people’s blogs. I want to be a part of this community and network with other bloggers.

4) Write 10 minutes a day: As an English and Journalism Major, I already have a lot of writing that I have to do; but I always read from other writers that in order to get better as a writer you need to write daily. I believe that because the more you write the better you become at writing. I get daily e-mails from this blogger, Sarah Selecky, where she sends you a 10 minute writing prompt every morning. If you want to get this e-mails as well click here. 

5) Create better morning and night routines: I love watching people’s morning and night routines on YouTube. Now, they may not be their true morning/night routine but I like to think that they actually have such peaceful routines. I need to take better care of my skin and what not and I feel like having a set routine would help. 

Holiday Bucket List

I've been gone for a while, I know. Things have been hectic with school and family and all that stuff; but I've also been having motivational issues. As in I don’t ever want to do anything but sit and play Sims and read and I've been having a hard time getting myself to do anything unless I HAVE to do it. But we are working on that, hopefully I’ll get better as time goes on.

Enough of that though, I have a holiday bucket list! I’m sure you guys know how into the holiday season I am as I put my tree up like a week after Halloween, no shame. Many of my friends think I’m crazy and just aren't as into the season as I am; they say it’s too early and I need to appreciate Thanksgiving (but I did and do). But what do they know, the holiday season only happens once a year and it FLIES by so why not make it last as possible and enjoy every second? Or am I the only one that thinks that way? But here is my list of stuff that I want to do to celebrate the holidays and make memories J

1. Make Christmas cookies
2. Make Chirstmas Mugs
3. Go to the Galaxy of Lights
4. Go to the Christmas Tree Path
5. Ice-Skate in the park
6. Ice-Skate at the normal rink
7. Watch Christmas movies (I actually have a HUGE list of Christmas movies I want to watch and no time!)
8. Make hot chocolate
9. Build a gingerbread house
10. Make ornaments (Target and Michaels sell these make your own felt ornaments and my brother and I enjoy making them)
11. Read “The Night Before Christmas”
12. Go look at Christmas lights
13. Go to a Christmas play

I think that’s everything, or at least all of the major stuff. I've had Christmas music in my car for a while so that is long crossed of the list. Unfortunately where I live it doesn't snow so I can’t do anything like build a snowman or go sledding or do anything fun like that. It’s actually been 60 to 70 degrees for the past two weeks L I hate it so much. I miss having seasons, it’s something I don’t like about the south. We don’t have a fall and it’s December and it still feels like summer. Is it too much to ask to be able to wear boots and cute sweaters? Lol.

I hope you guys enjoyed this! What do you do for Christmas/the Holidays.

Thank you for reading!

Kylie 

Essay Writing Tips

Being an English and Journalism major I have a lot of writing to do; however, I would rather write an essay than do 80+ Spanish activities (I actually had to do that for every Spanish test…worst thing ever). I've also been writing research papers since middle school and perfected my technique in high school when I had to write 4,000 word research paper. Today I am going to share my tips which can be catered to people who work better with a pen and paper and those who prefer technology. I also figured that now would be a great time to tell you how I write essays since it is finals and I have an English essay due this week. Here is my writing process and tips that I've figured out along the way.

#1 Know your topic

Regardless of whether or not your teacher or professor assigns a specific topic, a list of topics or you have to create your own topic, you need to make sure that you know your topic. Make sure you pick something you are interested in or can argue for/against if you are able to choose your own topic. If it’s not something you enjoy learning about and writing about then the writing process is going to be tedious. However, sometimes you won’t be able to choose your topic and it sucks but it’s still do able.

#2 Research

This is, in my opinion, the most tedious part of writing. Even though research has gotten easier with technology, there is so much out there that it can often be overwhelming. Many teachers now require paper and electronic sources and require that those electronic sources are credible and aren’t just google searched. Most universities and a lot of high schools have subscriptions to databases like Academic Search Premier and EBSOHost that can provide credible articles and research. Also, your public library may be subscribed to some databases that one can use. Learning to use these can be difficult, but most librarians should be willing to help you learn how to use them to get the sources you need. Take advantage of the resources your school has. Finally, do more research than you think you will need. It’s better to have too many sources than too little.

Citations, I feel, would also fall under this category. Citing sources is terrible, but it’s something you have to do. If you do not do it correctly, then you may get expelled or kicked out of university forever. That’s a lot of pressure. However, Microsoft Word can take some of the stress off of you. My teacher in ninth grade told me that if have 2010 or above you can go to the References tab and then to the Citations & Bibliography section and choose your style and then click on insert citations; all you have to do after that if fill out the form for each source! Word will take care of all the pesky periods, commas, italicizing, and all the other things that come with citing a source. After you have everything cited, go to your citations page and then click on bibliography and it inserts all the citations almost formatted. All you have to do now is change the font and size, double space, and do a hanging indent and you’re done! Isn't that so much easier? The first picture is how I compile my research if I'm keeping it together in a Word document. The second two pictures are what I do if I'm doing index cards.For the index cards, I organize it to have the source card on top and the quote cards for that source behind it; then another source card, quote cards etc. 

#3 Outline

A lot of people skip this step and admittedly, for small essays, I don’t make a detailed one. But I do find that having some kind of outline or plan before you start writing so that way you have a little bit of an idea of what you’re going to talk about and you don’t repeat and write in circles. For long essays I do like to do a detailed outline because…all you have to do is add fluff and the essay is done! When I wrote my extended essay for high school, I did a detailed outline and the paper pretty much wrote itself because all I had to do was add fluff to the quotes and it was done. I still do that now even though it seems pointless while I’m doing it but when it comes to writing it actually does help.

#4 Let’s get writing

I don’t have any tips for the actual writing of the paper except just write and don’t worry about how it looks or sounds. Get all of your ideas and explanations and fluff out onto paper/screen. Starting is the hardest part so maybe don’t start with the introduction and start with the body paragraph. Also, depending on your teacher, you may not have to write a full paragraph for the introduction. Often I just have a sentence or two in order to introduce the reader and then go straight into the thesis; although none of my teachers mind that make sure that it is okay with your teacher.

#5 Finishing up

Edit, edit, edit. Send it to your friends, sometimes if you get the essay done early enough your teacher might be willing to read it and edit it for you. If your university has a writing center where they edit essays for you, then make an appointment and take your essay there. Sometimes in the act of writing one might make a lot of silly mistakes that could be marked off, so it’s important that you or someone else reads the essay for those mistakes. Finally, make sure you turn it in as soon as you are finished! Don’t wait. I waited once and was like I’ll turn it in later tonight (it was due online) and totally forgot! I e-mailed my teacher and luckily she was really cool about it, but it was terrifying! Take my word for it, turn it in as soon as you finish completely.

I hope that these tips help you out during this stressful time of finals. Good luck!

Thank you for reading!

Kylie

Dorm Room Christmas Decorations

I know we just had Halloween and it’s not even thanksgiving yet, but I’m already super into the Holiday spirit. I’m one of those crazy Christmas people, am I the only one? I love the Holiday season, it makes me so happy and it’s amazing. I already have Christmas music in my car (Michael Buble anyone?) and it’s beginning to look like Christmas threw up all over my room. I have a baby Christmas tree all decorated, skirt and all and garland on my window. Part of the reason I have already decorated my room is because I will only be in my dorm for two weeks after thanksgiving so I won’t have enough time to enjoy a Christmas-y room. The other reason is just because I’m a super holiday freak and I love Christmas. It makes me so happy :).

As for what this actual post is about: I’m going to be talking about the decorations in my room and different idea that I may or may not be doing in my own room but would love to do. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of all the garland, but I will still tell the price and what not. Just so I don’t have to say it for everything, all of the stuff shown in the pictures is from Target. I don’t know about you guys, but Target is my favorite place ever. I can spend so much time in there and they always have so much for the holidays.

MY TREE

Before my most recent payday, I went to Target just to kill time and because I was bored just sitting in my dorm and I saw that they had small trees! I wanted one last year but couldn’t find a really nice one for cheap. So I got one from Old Time Pottery and I loved it but I was small, almost like a Charlie Brown tree so my ornaments looked huge on. I also left it at home so it wasn’t doing me any Christmas goodness at the dorm so I got a new one. So when I go home my room will have two trees :). You should be able to find it in the Christmas section in the back of Target. They also have Silver, Gold and maybe pink? Or Blue? I don’t remember but they have a variety of colors. It’s $8 and is a garland material instead of pine-y.

Near the tree at all targets near me they have garland and baby ornaments that you can use to decorate your tree. I got silver garland (I’m sorry I forgot pictures) for $3 and one was enough to wrap the tree. I got Gold, Green, and Red mini bulbs and some blue, pink, and green stars both sets were $3 and came with plenty bulbs; 1 pack should be enough but if you want variety like me then 2 packs is plenty. I also found a tiny tree topper in the same area, I got the Gold one but they have a bunch of other colors and it was only $1! Finally, they had mini tree-skirts hanging up which I also thought was just adorable. Like everything else, they had a variety of colors and patterns. I got a simple, kind of traditional green one that says Merry Christmas and Let it Snow on it with little Christmas designs. Here are pictures of the set up and the final tree <3.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Right now, the only other Christmas decoration I have in my room is garland lining my window. I found some garland in the dollar spot at Target. I got two of them, a green and red and a silver. I originally planned of having one around my window and one around my door. But then I got back and unraveled it and it was really, really short. It could be used on the tree honestly. So instead of having both my window and door lined. I have my window lined with half of it being green and red and half being silver. It’s still really pretty though. I want some decorative Santa Clauses, snowflakes, penguins, snowman, etc. to hang on my wall but I don’t have the money for that right now. But over the years I’ll build up my collection of holiday decorations so it’s okay :)

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. What is your favorite season and are you as into the holiday season as I am?

Thanks for reading!

Kylie