A great great great Christmas

Christmas has passed and I cannot believe it is gone. To me this season did not feel like Christmas at all and I wish that it was still coming, but since I cannot stop time I can only remember the season and plan for the following. To me this sounds really odd because I am not a huge fan of Christmas. I love decorating, the real meaning of Christmas, and giving more than receiving but I just don't think of Christmas as one of my favorite holidays. It is by far one of my favorites in regards to tradition (blogged about this last year) This year I want to describe some of the gifts I received. I spend all year working on Christmas gifts or at least gathering ideas for family and friends and I try to put a lot of effort into what I make or what I come up with. My two young sisters mentioned some items through out the year so I jotted some notes down and got them some items that reminded them of either what they are currently involved in or their childhood. As for some of my friends and family I made them more personal items, but back to what I received. For the past two years I have asked Santa (yes I still "Believe" look for a future post regarding this) for a Crayola Magic Glow Dome, I am a kid at heart and some toys still make me excited. Well finally I actually received the Glow Dome instead of an IOU. I was so excited to get it and color on it. The second gift I received was from my mom, she made my brother and two sisters each a cookbook. She has been trying to come up with the concept for years and she was finally able to create one and I absolutely love it. I was so excited to get that I have already put a lot of recipes I have been hanging onto in the cookbook. Now all I need is my own kitchen to use it in. The last gift I want to talk about was also made by mom and it was definitely an emotional and sentimental gift. In early November, my grandfather (mom's dad) passed away. One thing that we always remember about him is what he wore, he always wore a flannel shirt. So my mom asked my grandmother for some of my grandfather's shirts and she made us each a pillow out of them. It is weird to think of my grandfather as gone but there are still times when all the sudden were caught up in the moment and the tears start to flow. It is definitely a gift that I will be keeping forever.

Guest Blogger of the week!!!

This week I was honored to be the guest blogger of the week for Flying Horse Farms. I know I have already blogged once on here regarding my experience there but here is the new one, enjoy :) Volunteering at camp: How to describe the indescribable When anyone asks me about Flying Horse Farms and the experience I had at camp, I can only say one thing: it’s indescribable. I knew I was going to have a great experience when I drove through the gates this summer for a hematology/oncology week. But I couldn’t have imagined everything I felt and still feel today about camp. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about camp and all the amazing people I met there: from the medical staff to the grounds crew, the Alcoa fellows, the volunteers, and definitely to the children. Beyond a doubt, I was changed forever. And one story in particular showed me why this place is so magical. For the first half of the week, one of the younger boy campers struggled with homesickness. Even though I was an activities counselor, not one of his cabin counselors, the cabin adopted me early on. So I spent a lot of time with them and noticed that whenever he was kept busy he was always having fun. So his counselors and I did our best to get his mind away from being at home and keep him occupied so he would have a great time. His homesickness started to fade around day three and he started having a noticeably better time. It was amazing to see his transformation from a camper struggling and wanting to leave to one who began volunteering for games and wanted to participate. At the last campfire of the week, we all wrote wishes on our wish sticks. I wished for more times like this (the ones that most definitely make us feel human). The formerly homesick boy sat next to me and scribbled on his stick. When he finished, he showed me what he’d written. It said: “for all the kids to get better.” While you’re at Flying Horse Farms you sometimes forget the challenges these campers face in their daily lives. After all, they look like any other child walking down the street. So when I read his wish stick it struck me: camp actually gave these kids a week of freedom. Freedom from the hospital, the doctors, the “how are you feeling” questions, things that I don’t always think about because I don’t experience them on a daily basis. Through Flying Horse Farms we let kids have fun, be creative, dream, imagine, and hope. But most important of all, we let them be kids. Guest Blogger Amanda Ghiloni is a program volunteer at Flying Horse Farms.

10 States in 2 Weeks

For a few weeks in November I was a travel monkey! I visited or traveled through ten different states. Why? Well the first trip was to Providence, RI for the AOTA Student Conclave and two other ladies and I drove. The second was to tailgate for the Michigan vs. Ohio State game (I am for Michigan). On our way to Rhode Island we traveled through 9 states: Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Wondering why that is only 7 states and not nine, well on our way home we went through Massachusetts for like 10 minutes and then we decided to take a detour (mainly on accident) and ended up in Delaware. So there are nine states and the tenth was to Michigan 2 weeks later. Definitely had an amazing time in all of these states and traveling!

""Quads""

For the past 24 and a half years I have been very fortunate to say that I have both sets of grandparents and one great grandparent in my life. Yesterday though, I lost my first grandparent, my grandfather on my mom's side. I always felt bad when talking with friends about our families and seeing their faces when I told them that I had 5 grandparents still living. Many were "jealous" (not really jealous but always commented at how lucky I was). I know I was lucky, I was able to make some great memories with my grandparents and I would not change that for the world. It is very surreal to think that now I only have four but the past couple of days I have been hoping and praying that when I have children or my siblings have children they will be just as fortunate as I and my siblings and cousins are. My grandfather was a great man in his own way, he served in the Navy and worked for the local newspaper for years (probably the better half of my childhood). He also was a mechanic on the side and loved to help anyone and everyone with their car. I always remember going over to his house as a kid and he would be underneath the hood of someone's car tinkering away. He always played with us when we were over at his house and he always called me Mandy (which no one ever called me because according to my mom that was not my name). The past few years were rough with my grandfather, but we still spent a great amount of time with him and my grandmother cherishing every extra holiday we got with them. This coming Friday on 11/11/11, they would have been married 50 years. It is amazing to think about today's society and look back at my grandparents. Both sets have had their trials and tribulations, but they both have survived them (both sets of my grandparents saw 50 years of marriage to the same person). Who can say that now? I hope that when I find the one I marry, that I will be able to be married for 50 years and look at my kids and grand kids and say well done, just like I know my grandfather did to my grandmother. So in honor of my grandpa instead of saying "deuces," I say ""quads."" I love and will miss you!

Being Carried

I am extremely busy right now and have had to really structure my time to get everything done. My amateur photography business is going well and I am constantly either snapping photos or editing them. I also am in the middle of a quarter for my OTA program and it is absolutely crazy. I thought they were trying to kill us the first year and now I know that is so not what they are really preparing us for. On top of school and my business I am also considered a head teacher in my classroom at the daycare I teach at. I share the responsibilities with another teacher and I have been super busy preparing for our Halloween Party. My brother is also getting married this weekend and I am planning a trip to Rhode Island for the AOTA Student Conclave in November. So yeah, my life is BUSY!! However, this past Sunday while attending church I knew the sermon was going to be important because I actually fully listened to what the pastor was saying. Usually going to church I sit there and look through my planner or watch things around me (it's not that I don't like going to church, because I do but sometimes just being there makes me feel better). Anyways, I knew this week was going to be important because I read the verse (silently) along with the pastor and really payed attention to what he was saying. The title of the sermon was "God's Chisel" and the verse we read was Ephesians 2:1-10 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Following the reading we watched a video that portrayed a man talking to God. God appears to him to explain the Ephesians bible verse. He does this by "chiseling" all the bad away from man to create his masterpiece. This movie really stuck to me because at the end the man says to God "I have let you down" and God replies "No you didn't, you never carried me. It is I who carried you." I have known this all my life, but I can't even count how many times I have felt like I have let God down myself, never once did it dawn on me that I never carried him but he carried me. I think about this all the time and it is definitely something to consider. If interested check out the video here: http://youtu.be/AhfUzodLRvk

Pinterest

I have found a new obsession and I cannot stop looking at this website. It is called Pinterest.com and it is a website that allows you to "pin" things that you like and save them to a board so you can keep them all in one place and won't forget when you saw it and what it was. The boards can be set up into categories like style, crafts, photography, and quotes. It is great and I have found so many great ideas on it. You do need to be invited to the website so interested comment me and I will send you an invite. Pinterest.com

It's Picnik not Picnic

First off I would like to say Happy October! I love October and I am so excited for it to be fall here in Ohio. Now back to the reason for the title and the new post, I do amateur photography on the side (in between school and work) and Picnik is my saving grace for photo editing! I love it and it is so easy to use. I don't need all the crazy programs on my computer, I simply log into the website, upload my photos, and edit how I wish. It is great and I have to brag about it. There is a free version and a subscribe version, only $25.00 a year for unlimited access to the website! If you have never tried Picnik go to www.picnik.com to try, it's definitely worth it.

Flying Horse Farms

A few weeks ago I had the volunteering opportunity of a lifetime. I volunteered at Flying Horse Farms in Mt. Gilead, OH. FHF is a camp that allows children with terminal illnesses to go for a week or a weekend and be a kids. They do not have to worry about doctor visits, hospital stays, and everything else that revolves around them being sick. When I first arrived, I did not know what to expect. I am not very outgoing so I knew that in order to meet knew people and have a good time I would have to instantly be able to stick my hand out and say "Hi, I'm Amanda, nice to meet you." Luckily, it was very easy and now I stay in contact with many of the people I stayed with. The week I volunteered was Hematology/Oncology week and the kids were amazing (amazing doesn't even describe what they were, they were indescribable). It is incredible to see all the volunteers and everyone that participates in these camps. I was worried I would be the odd one out, the last time I camped I was ten! However, this camp is different, it is exactly how they describe it Magical Transforming Fun. Every moment, from the camp fires, to the wish sticks, to the Camp dance, to the Luau. All of it is amazing!!! Every time someone asks me how camp was, I get a huge grin on my face and cannot stop talking about it. I love Flying Horse Farms and encourage you to check it, donate, or volunteer! It is an amazing time.

Baby Shower Cake

For my cousin's baby shower, I decided to make the cake at home. We aren't sure what the baby is going to be so I decided to use both pink and blue colors. I got the idea for the cake from Charm City Cake's Cake Tattoos. You can purchase them at any Michael's and they are simply pieces of icing that have print on them. So I baked two cakes an 8in and 6in round cake. For the 8in I had to stack two cakes together so I placed a Nutella butter cream in the middle. Once Stacked I iced both cakes with homemade butter cream icing. Then I placed the cake tattoos on and added some more butter cream decorations. I think it turned out great! And it was delicious.

Bridal/Baby Shower Pro

I can now say that I am officially a baby shower and bridal shower pro. I along with my mom threw two (one bridal and one baby shower, not for the same person) within three weeks of each other, and they were successful. I helped make the decorations for each and think of the games as well. In the pictures you can see that I made the hanging pom poms out of tissue paper and I also helped make the cake. For the Bridal shower we played How well does the Bride know the Groom, and Bridal Scattegories. For the Baby shower we took the Mother and Father -to-be names and had guests come up with Baby names, we also have our guests eat baby food and guess what they were.

Ohio State Fair 2011

This was the first time I have ever and I mean ever been to the Ohio State Fair and I can say, it wasn't that bad. We decided to go after church and was going to wait until it was later in the day, but since we knew the temperature wasn't going to change much we headed out during the early afternoon. The weather was hot but nothing that was excruciating and there were plenty of places to stay cool. Since I had never been to the fair, I did not know what to expect and I can say after spending six hours there we still did not see everything the fair has to offer. Some of the cool parts I liked that my niece and my nephews did too was the obviously the animals as well as the Park section. This is where they had all the great things about Ohio's parks on display and during this summer I have really begun to enjoy some of what Ohio's State parks have to offer. We got to see beavers, owls, skunks, groundhogs, and a bobcat up close (closer than the zoo) and it was really cool to see kids react. We also rode a ton of rides, well the kids did at least, and it was cool because they did not need an adult to ride with them this year. I got to see some of the vendors there and see my first roller girl game/derby (don't know the official game). It is definitely worth going back to again that is for sure.

There's an Opportune Time.....

There's an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
When I began to really put my faith into action this was the first Bible verse I fell in love with. Actually not this single bible verse but Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and it has become more and more prevalent in my life recently. Ask yourself this: In the past month has there been an event or a thing you wanted to do, thought about doing, or was going to do and it got cancelled or something came up and you couldn't go? Did you think to yourself there was a reason I wasn't meant to go?

This happens to me all the time and when I cannot do something or when I don't have the money to do something someone has invited me to do, I think there is a reason and I am not meant to do it. This also happened to me this past weekend. My person was coming down from Cleveland to see me for the weekend. I was going to surprise her by driving her to South Bend, IN to visit another friend of ours that we have not seen in over a year. Unfortunately timing did not work out and we cancelled the trip. However in doing so I was able to help another friend out who had come up from KY and needed a place to crash.

See there is a reason for everything! :)

There's an opportune time to do things,
a right time for everything on earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
a right time to plant and another to reap,
a right time to kill and another to heal,
a right time to destroy and another to construct,
a right time to cry and another to laugh,
a right time to lament and another to cheer,
a right time to make love and another to abstain,
a right time to embrace and another to part,
a right time to search and another to count your losses,
a right time to hold on and another to let go,
a right time to rip out and another to mend,
a right time to shut up and another to speak up,
a right time to love and another to hate,
a right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 The Message

Welcome to July...

July has gone by way to fast for me. My favorite holiday has come and gone as well as my 24th birthday (yikes!). The fourth was filled with amazing family time and it will definitely be one worth cherishing. Went to 3 firework shows (found one we will be going back to next year) and had a family picnic everyday. My roommate from college also came for a visit so that was a bonus as well.
My birthday was a same old same old. One thing that I have never realized was how many friends and family I have, at least until I got onto Facebook and saw all the wishes. Now I know what you are thinking, I do the same thing. When I see it's someone's birthday I wish them a happy one, but recently I have stopped. If it's someone that I truly care about and they have made an impact on my life I will comments them a wish. If it is an acquaintance or an old high school friend that I haven't talked to in a while (let alone talked to in high school) I decide not to (don't know my exact reasoning on this). However when I turned my Facebook on at the end of the day and saw who all commented and knew that everyone one of them and I had talked at least once in the past year, that made me feel great.
This past weekend was a great one too! I spent it with my person and it was fantastic that we were able to be together. I was going to surprise her by taking her to see another good friend of ours and unfortunately plans fell through but in the end we were happy the surprise didn't work out because we were less stressed and it didn't matter what we did. We spent it with other great friends and had some amazing laughs.
This coming weekend I am heading to one of my favorite US cities (on my top 10) to see 2 friends I met in college, Louisville, KY.

Where has the time gone?

Every now and then I sit and think about things that I can be doing and right now it is not often that I get to sit and think. Where has my time been going these past few months? Unfortunately school and work. I am disappointed that my blogging has been put on the back burner and I am the only one to blame for that. I know I said I was going to try my best, but homework comes up and things I have to get done for work pile up and I am in a 6 foot hole with no help to get out. I am doing my best to time manage and I think getting back into my summer reading list and my scrapbooking has really helped that. I set a goal of "if I get this piece of homework done then I can go work on a couple of pages." So far so good. I also have really filled my time being with friends and family. This summer (from June 1- September 1) I only have two weekends open, this is not a bad thing it is a really good thing. They are filled with family events and trips that I am planning on taking. One event that is coming up in August has me really excited, I am going to be a camp counselor for a Hole in the Wall Camp which are camps that help children with special needs, in this case the camp I am volunteering for works with kids with terminal illnesses. I am so excited and thrilled to be taking on this new experience.

I Love....

my creativity! This past weekend one of my best friend's son had a birthday. For his birthday he wanted Mickey Mouse and Elmo so we decided to make cupcakes for all the guests (I volunteered to make them). As a surprise to my friend and her son, I baked him a cake...I'll let the pictures show what I made!!!!

Saying Goodbye

Today was the second time in five years that I have had to bury a high school classmate. I went to school with this girl from kindergarten all the way to senior year of high school. She was amazing and even though we were not best friends and did not talk much to each other after graduation, it still was a tragic loss to me. Out of the 84 people that I graduated with just 5 years ago, my classmates and I have had to say good-bye to two of them. For me, that is two too many.

A week and a half ago she was involved in a car accident that left her with minimal brain function and thriving on life support. She gave her family a week to grieve and say good-bye then she took her final breath. Why did the accident occur or how, at this point it doesn't matter. She is gone and we are not.

Last night at the calling hours, the family held a prayer service. I was in utter astonishment when her mother walked up to speak. She spoke so gracefully about her baby girl, one she would never hug or hold again, and I couldn't keep back the tears. I honestly think her courage will always remind me in the times of despair that I can make it through anything.

I have a strong faith and while some of my classmates were praying for her healing in the real world, I was praying for both. For her to heal here physically on earth, but if it was her time that she would heal and go gracefully to the heaven's. I don't know why it was her time, but I do know she lived her life with purpose and fulfilled what God put her on the earth to do.

The past few days really has had me thinking that everything can be okay in one second and a complete 180 can happen the next.

Take time to tell ones you love, that you love them. Tell ones you don't see often that you are thinking of them, hold the ones close that you can, and be prepared for anything. Live your life with purpose and know that any decision made is one you wanted or needed.

God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you"

Holy Smokes!!!

It has been five months since I have written anything, five months!!!! It makes me sad that I haven't been able to sit down and just type away, which is something that I sincerely enjoy. Life has been extremely hectic for me, but 2011 has been an amazing year thus far. I currently am in my 2nd quarter of my OTA program and am starting to look at Master's programs so I can start applying in the summer. I also work in a daycare right by my house and it is so much fun. Besides class, I get to play with babies all day.
In a few weeks, I will be making my trip to Vero and I cannot wait to get away from this cold weather, although today was gorgeous and 57 degrees. A lot has gone on while being away from the blog, my brother is engaged, my dad took a new job, my sister is off at college, and my baby sister is a senior and got accepted to her #1 school as well. I have been able to watch movies, thank to Netflix, be more crafty thanks to a class I am taking and breathe every now in then. :)