Pinterest Finds (February + March)

Here's some more traveling pins that I love, and I hope you will too! To see more like these, you can go on my Pinterest page.

Lifescouts, yeah!

One of my favorite YouTubers is charlieissocoollike. He posted a new video the other day and talked a little about his friend's idea of having badges for real-world experiences. I followed his link to Lifescouts, and I love it!

Here's the badges I currently have:

1. Rainforest Badge: About 5 years ago, I traveled to Ecuador with my youth group. We spent time both in Quito and in the middle of the jungle, or rainforest, for 2 weeks. I can't even describe how amazing it is there.

2. Mountain-Climbing Badge: This summer, I went to Japan! We climbed Mount Fuji, which is incredible. The view!

3. Driving Badge: As a farming family, I learned to drive a bit before some did. No, I wasn't driving the combine at age 8, but I have seen it done. I've officially had my driver's license since I was 16, so nearly 4 years.

4. Parade Badge: Before I went to Alaska with my church, we had a fundraiser during my town's celebration week (ever hear of the Dalton Gang? That's pretty much the only thing that ever happened to my town) and we were in the parade, home-decorated themed float and all.

5. Pet-Owning Badge: I'm a proud owner of a cat, although I've had a hamster, rabbit, and several dogs in the past. Yay for animals!

6. Snake-Holding Badge: Again, the jungle in Ecuador. Also, elementary school field trips to the zoo tended to end in me grossed out from all of the animals we held.

7. Swimming Badge: I may know how to swim, but I can't dive or do anything besides the very basic.

8. Picnic Badge: I love picnics! Between going to the park or just in my backyard, I've had a fair share of picnics, although I'd love to have more.

9. Zoo Badge: When you live in Southwest KS, there isn't much to see or do. Going to the zoo is a solid choice for any kid or animal lover. I've gone to some in Colorado, Texas, and many places around Kansas.

10. Horse Riding Badge: My uncle and his family are cowboys, so I've done some horseback riding.

11. Sunrise Badge: Sunrises and sunsets are some of my favorite things. Waking up early is so worth it to see the sun shine over the empty plains nearly every morning.

12. Fishing Badge: I'm definitely not good at fishing, but I have fished a few times. The best time was in Alaska in a river, although I didn't catch anything or even get relatively close, and the worst was when I caught my finger instead and got a nice scar.

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What badges do you have? Can you one-up me? You might be able to, I don't know :)


Also, is anyone else really loving the great graphics? Reminds me of the graphics on Crash Course on YouTube. 

End it

The One About the Snow Day

February may not be so bad afterall, as I thought here. Why is that?

It's snowing! And not only snowing, but snowing a lot. I can't even contain my excitement!!

What I want to do is put a snowsuit on, grab a sled and go to the nearest hill. After sledding, I'd go and warm up by the heater with hot chocolate and popcorn, while watching a movie.

Doesn't this sound so perfect?

But no, I can't do any of these things. Because of school. Why are we the only school in practically the entire state of Kansas that didn't cancel classes today? I DON'T KNOW. But I waited patiently, checking my email every 2 seconds in case I missed the alert saying classes were cancelled. GRRRR why didn't it ever come??

Have no fear, I only have one class today and work. The teacher for my class? Didn't show up.

Here's the important question though: Who wants to go sledding with me?

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I hope your day is great and that you get to play in the snow all that you want! If you're stuck in the winter storm too, please stay safe!

The One About Expectations

Is it just me, or does everyone have extremely high expectations for everything, only to be let down time after time? Not only for themselves, but for everyone else too. What we should do, who we should be, how to perform.

Part of this is because of our culture, the beliefs and values surrounding us, and the norms, or expectations and rules of behavior.

Our "ideal" view of how everything should be is nearly always different than the way things are, and not a good different.

As a college student in America, I'm hit constantly with expectations. I need to get the best grades, have a good major that will bring a successful career, and basically succeed in every possible way.

But what if I don't want to do those things? I have other goals in life, such as traveling the world, possibly owning my own small business, have a husband and family, and ultimately do what God calls me to.

I feel like the expectations of our society say those things are wrong and I should do what's expected of me, nothing different. Not that those are bad things to do, but I don't feel that's where I'm called to be or what I'm meant to do.

Lately I've been struggling with what exactly I am meant to do, but the truth is that I don't know. I am pretty much clueless as to what I should do next, but I do know what I shouldn't do. And right now, that is most likely college.

The One About February

February 2013. So far, I'm not loving this month.

It started off with my dorm's toilet overflowing several times. And me having to clean it up. Grossss! But at least maintenance finally fixed it, a few rugs and other items late.

Next, school suddenly decided to be busy and give me homework practically day. Also, my night class (Biology. Science + me don't work well together.) has a test over multiple chapters every week. Whaaat. Who does that?

Working on the student newspaper at my juco means I'm basically in charge of design, which I don't know much about. Great, huh? I'm supposedly an editor also, but I'm basically a regular staff member who does a few more things. Or fewer. I'm not especially fond of working on staff, but only 2.5 months left! yeah, I have a countdown.

Sickness and migraines have also come so far, which are never fun. Is there anyone out there who hasn't caught the flu yet?

I've been trying to look at the positive side, which brings me to a few things:
+ February is already half over (yay!)
+ I went on a college visit this week that went surprisingly well. Now on to the deciding!
+ Pancake Day. If you don't know what this is (which you probably don't) go here
+ The Psych Slumber Party tomorrow night, a marathon from midnight to 6 am, that I get to spend with my lovely sister!
+ Anthem Lights released their new single, "Hide Your Love Away" today, and I can't get over how perfect it is.
+ Pinterest helps me ease my want to travel by looking at more travel pins. Or maybe it makes it worse, I can't tell. Either way, I love it.

How is February treating you?

This Week's Pinterest Finds: January 21-25

If you're like me at all, you probably love Pinterest. While thinking about cutting back some, I can't help it and pin like crazy anyway.

This week, I found a few great travel pins. (These and more can be found on my Pinterest page)

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Free vintage map printables
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This amazing Tangled look-alike castle in France
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Iceland
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I hope you like them too! Have a great weekend :)

The One Where I Learn to Crochet

I must be so brave. And bored.

A few nights ago, I fell upon Maybe Matilda, and her crochet tutorials. I thought "Why don't I do this? I know the basic things and we have all of the items to do it. Plus I need more scarves and hats, and they cost a lot."

I grabbed my ball of yarn, crochet hook, computer, and mom (she helped me some with the basic steps), and started in on my project. After a bit, I decided to crochet an infinity scarf that seemed simple enough.

With a few complications and me messing it up somehow, it still worked out great! I'm loving my new scarf, and my new hobby.

I also made a headband/ear warmer, and am currently working on another scarf!

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I have a feeling I'll waste a lot of time making crochet items, but I'm definitely okay with that :)

The One About the Great Day

So far, today has been a pretty great day. I got to sleep in (until 9 am!), has quesadillas for lunch, only have one class, and Bible study is tonight.

You know what else makes today so great? Here's your cue to say "Yes, we want to know! Please tell us!!"

Well, if you insist.

Yesterday on my instagram (@tonyaloewen), I posted a picture of the crochet scarf I made the other day. I was surprised of the amount of likes on it, but one stood out to me.

See the like that shows the name? Rachel from Maybe Matilda liked my crochet project! YAY!

You may not know this yet, but I was inspired to start crocheting again from her posts. (I'll post more about this soon). I'm super excited that she liked my scarf!

Wish I Was Here: England

Like many other people, I cannot wait until I can travel Europe. While I'm still stuck here in Kansas, at least I can dream, right?

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Right now I'm loving pretty much all of England and can't wait to experience more than just pictures and videos of it, but actually be there.

How can you not love it? From the breathtaking scenery to the amazing sites to the incredible architecture to the charm (and accent), I'm officially in love.

The One With the Spider Bite

The other day I realized that I had a bite on my stomach. It wasn't very big, I didn't feel any pain, and I don't know when it happened.

My parents then told me it was a spider bite that I probably got while sleeping.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. A spider came in my bed, crawled on me, and bit me?!?!

You could say I was a bit freaked out.

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Apparently, this is quite common. Super gross and makes me not want to ever sleep again, especially in my room, but at least it was harmless. 

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If you ever get a spider bite, here's a list of some things to do:

The One Where I Went To Japan

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Can it be? Already 6 whole months since I was in Japan? Was I really halfway around the world? It seems like last week, yet some parts have become blurry.

Yes, that is the famous Mt. Fuji! I woke up at sunrise (4:30 am, no biggie) with a friend to take this picture.

At the beginning of July 2012, I went with a group of nine other people from my church to Okutama and Tokyo, Japan for two weeks. We helped with the Japan SEND annual conference, from Vacation Bible School for the kids to leading worship and providing the speaker.

It was amazing, from seeing the missionaries and hearing their stories, to traveling around JAPAN. The scenery was breathtaking, with plants and water everywhere. Could it be more different? I live in Kansas, everyone. Southwest Kansas.

Here's some highlights from my trip:
+ One day I went on a walk around the Tama River with some friends and took hours of pictures on my then-brand new dSLR. I think it was somewhere around 800 pictures or so? Yeah, you could say it was kind of pretty there.

The One Where I Will Follow

Lately a song that has really touched me is "I Will Follow" by Chris Tomlin. It's about living for God wholeheartedly and following Him through everything and trusting the He has a plan.

With my not having much of a plan for these next few years, I really needed these words. I long to be like this, where I put all of my trust in God, not just when I feel like it.

Where God wants me to go, I will go.
Where He wants me to stay, I will stay.
Where He wants me to move, I will move.
But most of all, I will follow Him.

The One Where I Start A Blog

Hello, friends! I'm venturing out into new waters here by starting this blog. Figuratively, of course; I would be terrified to be out in the middle of the ocean.

Wishfully Wandering is my personal blog about wanting to travel the world, growing up, making crafts, and my slight obsessions. I hope you'll stay with me throughout this upcoming journey, as well as relish in the past together.

I'd appreciate all feedback from you, my readers, since I am quite new to the blogging world. At least in this side of it; I've been admiring many bloggers and their blogs for a while.

Part of the reason why I made Wishfully Wandering is to connect with others. What better way to connect with practically anyone in the world than on the internet? I want to connect with others in the same boat as me, for school and future, as well as many other realms.

The second part of why you're reading this post right now is because of the new year. It's 2013. Who (besides God) knows what this year holds for me? After this next semester of school, I have a wide open book for my life. I don't know what I'll be doing in a year, let alone in 6 months. You can ride along with me as I find out the next steps in my life, or maybe help me figure out my calling?

So what do you say; will you be Wishfully Wandering too?