currently

Working on learning how to blog again. I've been slacking a little so far this year and blogging is starting to feel a little foreign to me. Hopefully once the weather gets nicer and my life gets a little more exciting, I'll be a little more inspired to post more! In the meantime, my apologies for these rare and mediocre posts.

Loving my new iPhone that I got last week! It's been so nice having a phone again and I'm already super addicted. Instagram on the go and all the time? Yes please! 

Watching the same old things. YouTube videos and all of my shows that I need to catch up on! 

Looking forward to a road trip to Seattle with my grandma! It's Spring Break here, so we leave tomorrow and come back Friday and I'm really excited! 

Listening to "Drive All Night" by Needtobreathe. It's kinda my jam right now.

Reading "Roses" by Leila Meacham. I really haven't been doing much reading in my free time, but I've been reading this book for school and so far it's pretty good! 

oh victoria

Oh Victoria. I went down there to visit my best friend a few weeks ago. There were a whole lot of trips downtown, bus rides, laughs, and good times. I love that city and I love my best friend. And I can't wait to visit again soon. 

corbinisms {take two}

"BAD, TABLE, BAD. GO TO BED!"

Corbin: I wish there were 100 Corbins.

Me: Why?

Corbin: Because I think I would like 100 Corbins.

While reading the Cat in the Hat: The fish is right, you know.

Corbin: I like your tail.

Me: My tail?

Corbin: Yeah, this!

Me: Corbin, that's a braid. 

Me: When you're older your profile pictures are just gonna be bikes and cars and chicks.

Corbin: Whaaat!? No! Chicks are only at farms!

Me: She has a friend coming over so you should take a bath, okay?

Corbin: Okay, cause I want to look stylish!

"Will you always still have your brain?"

Corbin: Uh, Daughter Hopie, when you get smarter your head grows.

Me: Really?

Corbin: Yeah, but it hurts.

Corbin, opening the sliding glass door and yelling to the hurricane-like weather outside: WIND, STOP THAT.

Commercial: Made with 100% real cheese!

Corbin: ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!?

Me: SOASIGHSGON

Corbin: Mmm, Mita, I think Daughter Hopie is trying to be me. 

a run with the ducks

Just some Friday night fun a few weeks ago. These spontaneous little walks through the forest are my favourite. 

just a few photos from last week

A good friend, blue skies, and the waterfront. What more could a girl ask for?

on health and fitness (take one)

I've been debating about talking about this for awhile now. My main reason not to being that I don't want people telling me what I'm doing wrong. Everyone seems to be an expert when it comes to health and fitness -- they tell you the do's and don'ts and the ins and outs of what you should and shouldn't be doing even if they're not really too sure themselves. But if I've learned one thing through all of the things that I've shared in this space of mine before, it's that I receive far more encouragement than doubt or negativity.

So here's the thing: Since the New Year, and I guess even before that, I've been working more on becoming a healthier and more active person. There comes a point in your life when you just have to stop procrastinating and actually do what you've been meaning to do all that time, and this year was that point for me. 

I mentioned in a post awhile back that my best friend and I were training for a 5K this summer, and we're working towards it slowly; starting off with walking 30 minutes every weekday for 15 days, then progressing to walking 5 minutes, running 1 minute every weekday for 15 days, and so on, until eventually we'll (hopefully) be running the entire 30 minutes. We've also been doing a small round of workouts that I found online which includes jumping jacks, push ups, sit ups, and planking. 

It's a little frustrating to start off so slowly when all I want to do is run, but we're doing it this way so we don't push ourselves too hard and hurt ourselves. But even as slowly as we're starting, it's still making a difference, and that's what counts, right? 

I had some old jeans of my sisters that were a few sizes too small, and I kept them as motivation. I tried on those jeans today, and they fit. Tightly, but they fit. And that is my motivation to keep going. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning sucks. Walking/running outside in the freezing cold rain at 5:30 in the morning sucks. Not eating what I want to when I want to sucks. But trying on those jeans and feeling more energized and noticing a difference? That definitely does not suck. And I bet the feeling of victory after completing that 5K in August won't suck either. So here goes. We got this! 

it goes like this

A group message is sent and plans are made to meet at our favourite coffee shop. When we get there, we ditch our coats and have a seat, our cheeks quickly warming as we escape the cold that is winter in BC. We walk up to the counter one by one. The cute boy behind it asks us what we'd like and without missing a beat, all four of us respond with, "A London Fog, please". Then we sit. We sip our drinks and dip our over-sized cookies. We talk and laugh and sometimes cry. Then we go for dinner-- the fun extending for another few hours as we sit around a big table and talk and laugh and sometimes cry some more. At the end of the night, we say our goodbyes. We hug and exchange see-you-at-school's and go our separate ways.

I've never known what the others were thinking, but I've found myself wondering every once in awhile if anyone has written about the four girls who meet monthly for hot drinks and dinner. And if they have, what would they have written?

defining beauty

source

I've been thinking about writing a post like this for some time now, and even had one all written up and edited to perfection only to press "control z" and have the whole thing erased. I was angry and frustrated because the post that I worked so hard on was gone and I didn't feel like sitting down to try and remember what it is that I had written. But the thing is, what I wrote about is important. And while I may have felt like my words were spoken, I was the only one who heard them. So here goes. Round two:

There are so many young people these days that constantly feel as if they have to compare themselves to others. So many girls who think that they aren't pretty enough or skinny enough or smart enough or funny enough or just enough. And that's a problem. 

We all look into the mirror sometimes and aren't satisfied with what we see. We all have those moments of insecurity, those battles within ourselves of whether or not we fit the criteria for beauty, and those moments of insecurity are okay. We're not all going to feel our best 24/7 and we're not going to stop comparing ourselves to others. But when those moments of insecurity outweigh those moments of confidence, well, that becomes a problem. The things is, beauty isn't everything. Not all of us are going to be 5'8" with straight blonde hair and blue eyes the colour of the ocean. Not all of us are going to weigh 120 pounds and have clear skin and perfect eyebrows. Not all of us can be the most stylish or funniest or prettiest or smartest. But we can be ourselves, and I think that's far more important than any title we can be given. You can be you. You can find your strengths and weaknesses and own them.

I guess the important thing that we all have to remember is that the definition of beauty is different for everyone. It isn't what the dictionary tells you. It isn't what your mom or teacher or best friend tells you. It's not so much about what you see, but how you feel and act and communicate. It's far more about what's on the inside than the out. It's just hard to remember that sometimes.