Ecclesiastes 3:12

'So I realise that the best thing for them

 is to be happy 

and enjoy themselves as long as they live.'

This week has been long. I've had a multitude of deadlines thankfully they're all past now, with work submitted. It hasn't left a lot of time for me, but that's not the end of the world.

Yesterday I was able to go out for lunch with Robert. We talked and just spent time together it was good. Not to mention you've gotta love Mexican food!

I'm linking up with Your Sunday Best @ A Rural Journal. 

I hope you've all had good weeks. What've you been up to?

Rowen

1 John 2:17

'The world and its desires pass away,

but whoever does the will of God lives forever.'

This week I was away from my computer for the entire weekend, hence my Sunday post going up on a Monday. I went to Birmingham to visit my friend, and attend a Scout event. The above picture is of Birmingham New Street.

In other news my Student Finance still hasn't come through, but I've been to see my Uni and it should do in the next couple of days.

Linking up with Your Sunday Best @ A Rural Journal.

Rowen

Psalm 103:1

'My whole being, 

praise the Lord;

all my being,

praise his holy name'

Happy Sundays browsing the flowers in My Nan's Garden. Hoping you had a good day.

Rowen

Recap of My 2011

2011 has been a very strange year for me. I'm used to following patterns and doing the same things in the same order every week, month and year, with some minor variations. This year saw my world shake as I tried new things and moved onto new life stages. I've enjoyed it for the most part, but it has most certainly been different!

January

January saw me decide to try and make a quilt. I decided to make it by hand and was perhaps a tad optimistic designing one which contained over 200 6inch squares. It remains an ongoing project.

February

In February for the very first time my boyfriend and I celebrated his birthday together.

March

March this year I started my blog. A major move for me as I'm generally quite a shy person, at least when it involves face to face, but having been reading blogs for a while, and being captivated by my younger sister's blog I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go. After reading 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss and posting my very own review My little Library was born.

April

The most major event this april was the Royal Wedding. It was major. There was a hoohah. Press from half the world flocked to our country. And it saw the birth of the obsessive culture surrounding Pippa Middleton's behind. I joined the millions who watched the wedding live on television, I only watched the wedding and not any of the reception which was aired afterwards.
On a less major note for most people, but just as important to me, two days prior to the event of the year marked two years together for myself and my boyfriend. It put a major smile on my face, especially when he took me out to dinner at what is possibly my favourite restaurant, Churchs.

May

I turned 18 this may. Some of my friends came to a picnic in the park for my lunch and others helped me celebrate with my first evening out. My Grandparents also bought me a new digital camera which has helped me no end with this blog, and just taking nice photos in general.

May also marked the start of exam period which was right over half term excluding me from the Scout Camp I very much wanted to go on.

June

In June I finished my exams and spent the rest of the time being very lazy around the house when I wasn't doing housework for my mum. It was brilliant, I loved being able to just take the time just to read and do nothing.

July

At the very start of the month My boyfriend took me to Cadbury World, which as a devoted chocolate lover couldn't have been any better!
July also saw two major firsts for me. I started the first job I've ever had at Choices Clothes which is very close to where I live, I couldn't have asked for a better place to have started to learn about the world of work! It was a very traditional setting in many ways with a very much familial feel, which was enhanced as I've known my employers and many of the staff for a long time.
The other major first was that while the rest of my family left for the family holiday as per usual I was left behind.This was my choice as I had been hoping all along to have been able to get some work during the period, but it certainly felt strange.

August

In August I took an accidental blog-break. This partly stemmed from my new job and university preparations and partly from the fact that I started following a lot of new blogs all at once and found myself backlogged far too much.
I also picked up my A-level results, which I think will be one of the most stressful days I will ever have, and recieved an offer of a place at the University of Hertfordshire.
There was my annual 3-days of helping at a Church holiday club, and a three-day trip to Rome during a heatwave which was an 18th birthday present from my parents. Rome was as brilliant as I ever imagined it to be and it really sparked my imagination.

Then perhaps the geekiest part of my year, but something I loved, I went to Insomnia43 with my boyfriend, a couple of local friends and some online friends. Not only did we have a geekily good time, but we entered and came second in a Minecraft competition when none of us had been playing longer than a month, and most (including me) less than a week! If you watch the round up video you can see both my boyfriend and the back of my head... I felt a little strange as my laptop was less than 1/4 of the size of most peoples machines :S

Finally in August I provoked some friends into agreeing to participate in The Dickens Periodical which was intended as a weekly 'magazine-style' blog collaboration, but which developed into something more monthly.

September

The end of September saw major upheaval to my life as I moved to university. It wasn't until the end of the month and I didn't much enjoy the buildup to it. My summer job ended and I felt like I was packing my life into a box.

October

October definately wasn't my favourite month of the past year. I wasn't enjoying living away from home, I was homesick, I didn't enjoy cooking for myself and perhaps the thing I enjoyed least of all was being woken up in the early hours more days than not. The one brightside for me was my course which I absoluetly loved!
My prospect brightened a lot after 4 weeks when I came home for the first time. My parents persuaded me they could come and get me every weekend if I wanted and suddenly life seemed a lot more bearable.

November

In November I met up with my boyfriend and friends in London to see the fireworks which are held annually. It saw my first foray into solo train travel and gave me an added degree of freedom as I was now able to just get myself to the train station and catch a train home if I felt I couldn't take anymore.

December

December was a month I had been counting down until. For the first time I was able to come home for longer than just a weekend. It didn't disappoint, days of being able to sleep interrupted and more time working at Choices. Christmas was brilliant, seeing all of my family, and getting brilliant presents. One of the favourites of mine, and perhaps the most Trivial was my brand new Klein bottle.

What's in store for 2012...?

In 2012 I'm hoping;

• To settle in at Uni more still.
• To read 52 books as part of a Charity challenge my friend and I set ourselves, to find out more head here.
• To publish 12 more issues of The Dickens Periodical.
• To pass my first year at Uni without needing to retake anything, with a Mechanics module coming up this could be a challenge.
• To go swimming 3 times a week.
• To start cooking healthy food for myself.
• To finish making the quilt squares for my very first quilt.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Rowen

Christmas

Christmas this year was unusual. This was mostly due to the fact that being away from home for the first time I missed out on a lot of things which normally signify the build up to Christmas to me.
It was also because this year I decided to make a lot of my Christmas presents, having left it all until the last minute and being unable to use a sewing machine on them until a week before Christmas, meant that I didn't manage everything I'd planned, and ended up buying last minute presents for quite a few people. Maybe I'll do better next year...

I left the presents so late that one present I was sewing before and after the midnight mass service at my Church while my boyfriend set up and cleared away and still had finishing to do the following morning, fortunately it was done before I needed to give it to my Nan.

The other thing that was unusual this year was the volume of foodstuffs I was given... and how little I've actually touched it!

Christmas meant some great presents too, I got a Klein bottle which to my geekiness is absolutely amazing, a World of Warcraft Calender so that I can understand more of the random stuff my guild talks about, and plenty of book vouchers which have been put to a good use which I'll be announcing shortly.

Hope your Christmas was as good.

Rowen

First Sunday of Advent - 2011

Today was the first sunday of Advent. While this made me happy because it means in 3 weeks I'll be home for another 3 weeks, it also made me a little sad, because for as long as I can remember I've gone to every single Advent sunday at my church. And every one of those sundays I would watch the candle be lit and say a little prayer. Only today I wasn't at my church. I was in my room in Uni halls, over 50 miles away, which although not far is too far.

So i got my Sister to take a picture of a candle for me, we're not allowed candles here, let alone to light them.

And I said a little prayer.

This week I prayed for those serving in Afghanistan. I prayed for the health and happiness of my family and friends.

And I just thought a little while. It made me peaceful.

Do you have traditional Advent celebrations?

Rowen