Tests, Tea, and Hammocks!

Hello, Friends!

Recently, I underwent loads of testing.  I took the

ACT(American College Testing)

SAT(Scholastic Aptitude Test)

ACT Work keys(a test that asks you if you know how to read an analog clock)

and M-Step(Michigan Student Test of Educational Process)

all within a week of each other :(.

This is why junior year is stressful! I'm going to enjoy senior year a lot more.

Studying for those tests(particularly the ACT a lot more than the SAT), was a long, time-consuming brain workout. 

And now I have less than 20 days until my AP tests. It's a lottle(combination of a little and a lot) stressful, but I know that God will help me through every step of the way! 

In between those tests, I've been doing things to stay social :).

This past Tuesday after the SAT, it was my friend Minsu's birthday! We got free Ben and Jerry's and then went to Panera.

I wish I could travel back in time to get more! The weather in Ann Arbor has turned 180 again and gone from freezing rain and hail/snow to 80 degree days, only God can do that hahaha!

On Thursday night, my mom and I saw Guys and Dolls at the Powercenter put on by the UoM students.  What a great production!! I was blown away, the dancing was so in sync, the singing was perfect, and the accents were very legit.

Total perks of living in a college town! 

Yesterday, Minsu and I got to hang out again and go to our church's Women's friendship tea. It was so cute as all of the ladies from our church dressed up and wore beautiful hats. 

Minsu, Danielle and Me!:)

 After the friendship tea, we decided to go hammocking and use my new hammock that I bought off of Amazon. It was a perfect day yesterday, 70 degrees and with a little warm wind. The link to the hammock I bought - hammock .

Minsu and I just chillin'

Almost falling out!

This little kitty, Leo came and visited us.

This past week was really exciting even with all of the testing. I now have to study for my AP tests, so I will write later!
Have a great week!!
Joy :)

Spring Break

Hello, friends!

Spring break has just started for the Ann Arbor schools in Michigan, and I have been enjoying it already. My family isn't going anywhere this week, and I actually have a lot of studying for AP exams and SAT and ACT tests(fun spring break- I know!!!). Transition back to Easter!

On Easter my Grandma drove in from Chicago, and she stayed the whole week with us which was so much fun, even though my whole family was really busy before spring break. Saturday, before she left, she really wanted to go to a Native American powwow at Skyline High School, so we went and it was a whole new experience!

My friend Dhiya was there, too!

They came in doing this awesome dance to loud drums.

Amazing dresses!

More dancing :)

Another thing that we did yesterday after the powwow was make pasta from scratch with our Italian friends who live across the street. Since I am a pasta luvr, it was a dream come true! 

In action. Yeah!

Ya mom! 

Mom and Grandma Betty

Strips of Pasta!

Ready to boil!

2 hours later it's ready to eat! Yum!

The pasta was DELICIOUS, and now my mom and I are looking at pasta makers on Amazon :). I've had a great start to the week, did you do anything fun over spring break/are you doing anything fun this week? Leave a comment below, I'd love to know!

Joy :)

10 Things to do on a Snow Day!

Hello, friends!

Yesterday at around 9 pm AAPS made an announcement that there was no school today! In other words, an excuse to sleep in and catch up on all the school work that I have. Yet, I still have a lot of time to do things that I normally don't have time to.
What does one do with all of this time?
Here's my top 10 guide to figure that out!

1. C o l o r

Coloring is one trend that's making a comeback from our childhood! Lots of "adult coloring books" are for sale at Target, just about any craft store, and even Old Navy. Even if you don't have a coloring book, you can print out coloring pages online and look for cool designs on Pinterest. I also found some from this blog that are free!

2. F i n d  a  n e w  h o b b y!

Hackey-sacks! One from Guatemala, other on from Bahamas.

For me, I just recently bought a hackey-sack from the Bahamas that I want to learn how to actually juggle with my feet. I also have a rubix cube that I could be working on solving quicker. Maybe you want to start journaling or start a blog ;). Here's a guide to start a journal. Or maybe you want to pick up a new instrument. This may be hard for those of you that don't have an instrument at your house,  but learning a new instrument is something that you can return to forever!

3. R e a d

This can be one of the most simplest things to do. We all have books that we haven't read in ages. For me, I have started reading, "Emma," by Jane Austen. Find a book that you are interested in, and not pressured to read. Make it fun! Get hot chocolate and a blanket and read by the window where you can see the snow falling down.

4. T a k e  a  w a l k

Walking is so rewarding. Disconnect for a while and go outside. Take some artsy pics for that perfect Instagram, and then enjoy nature and just observe. Take a minute to close your eyes and listen to the world(not while you're walking, of course!). If you walk for 45 minutes a day for 5 days a week you will improve your brain performance, your health, and it can make you mentally happy. This is one of the best things that you can do for yourself! Or, you can go sledding on a nearby hill.

5. T r y  a  n e w  r e c i p e

I used to do this all the time in the summer when I had lots of time. I would be baking cookies, cooking new pasta dinners for my family, and experimenting with whatever I could find in my cabinets and fridge. I just watched this donut baking video, and I'm inspired to make donuts sometime soon! There are so many recipes availably on Pinterest, check them out!

6. L e a r n  h o w  t o  c o d e

Coded a heart with Google

Coding is being made available and easier for everyone to learn! This is so much fun to do in your spare time, I have learned a lot from coding online. Computer science is growing everyday as a big field, and there are many free websites that you can learn to code from like CodeAcademy, Code.org, and freeCodeCamp.

7. S e n d  s o m e  m a i l

Writing letters and cards to friends is something that is so rarely done, and if you have the free time to create a letter and send it, by all means go ahead! This is one of the easiest ways to love up on friends because unlike a text, this allows them to physically hold what you have given them. This shows that you thought about them enough to spend time making a card or a piece of art. 

8. C l e a n

Really, clean anything. And everything. Clean out your social media, clean out your closet, clean out your bookshelf! Cleaning is good for the heart and mind, and your new neat environment will be able to help you concentrate better on the task at hand instead of on the clutter around you. Spring cleaning is just around the corner,  so why not start now?

9. W a t c h  a  m o v i e

Or two. This is fun to do by yourself(me time!) or with friends! With Netflix, I'm sure that watching tv and movies are what a lot of people spend their days doing. However, while this may be fun, be sure to switch things up and not only watch tv all day. Spend a little bit of time watching your favorite movie, or discover a new one online. This also includes watching Youtube. I like to watch Youtube when I'm eating, and then stop when I get to the end of the meal and move on to something else. This is a super fun and relaxing way to spend a couple of hours.

10. P a m p e r  y o u r s e l f

Mom brought me hot chocolate this morning! <3

Take some time to have bath with a bath bomb from Lush, give your hair a deep condition, and paint your nails. There are loads of easy skin scrubs you can make online and try out. To end the day, get to bed early and feel refreshed that you had fun and productive day off. 

I hope that these helped you and got you inspired to try some of them out.

Have a great day,

Joy :)

Cruisin' in the Bahamas

Hello, friends!

As some of you guys know, in Michigan the public schools get a week off in February to go skiing(dedication, right?!), and my family and I went on a cruise this past week with my Grandma and Aunt to celebrate my Grandma’s birthday! This was my first cruise on a ship called, “Enchantment of the Seas(EOS).”We drove down to Florida on Saturday, spent the night at my Grandma’s, and then boarded the ship on Monday.

The first day, right away we noticed that there was a HUGE amount of food on the ship. Our first meal was lunch on the cruise, which was buffet style in a place called, “Windjammer,” and it was really crowded! I ate a bunch of pasta, as expected. Then my family and I walked around and explored the ship! 

Departing!

The deck with the pools!

View from our room.

Luke and I were on the top deck when we departed from Port Canaveral, Florida. The horn blasted so loud the first time, Luke and I almost had a heart attack!

That night, I actually got really seasick during dinner. The boat rocked so much and my dad ended up also getting seasick. I ended up going to my room(it was with Grandma and my Aunt),  and Mom brought us apples and helped us feel so much better(shoutout mom!! <3). The next day both my dad and I felt soooo much better. The view on the ocean was really amazing, it made me remember just how small I am compared to the ocean and the waves. 

In the afternoon we went to a towel folding demonstration and learned how to do the cool animals and things that they set on our beds. 

Flower, duck, penguin, dog, rabbit, turtle(l-->r).

Then, we had lunch and as I was practicing making an animal out of a napkin, one of the crew staff came over to our table and made a candle out of the napkin! 

Really delicious dessert for lunch.

Candle!

Luke and I had sort of developed a routine of having basically two lunches (pretty unhealthy, but worth it!!), and we ate near a window towards the front of the boat. 

That night was also formal night for dinner, so my family and I dressed up! My Grandma had a surprise desert, and we sang happy birthday to her that night! :) Our waiters/co-waiters for every evening were Lady and Mirko, from Manilla and Belarus respectively. The staff in general on the cruise were very international, and they put on a show with flags from where they were from. It was really fun!

After that show, we went to another show at their theater, called the Orpheum. It was a successful day at sea!

On the third day, we were abel to stop at Nassau, Bahamas, and go on excursions on shore. We signed up for snorkeling in Nassau, and the day looked to be sort of chilly out, which isn’t the best for snorkeling, but we still went and later on the sun came out and helped dry us off after we were in the cold water for an hour. My brother had his goPro and we filmed a lot of what we saw underwater, and also took some pictures, but they don’t do justice! God is so amazing, he creates really awesome things. We saw some beautiful fish, and my mom bought us coconuts and a shell from a man in a boat! He chopped them open right there in his boat. 

That night we saw Lange Ringnald, an Olympian gymnast perform for us at the Orpheum. He was on the silks, played piano and sang, was in really good shape, and also is a Mnemonist, or someone who has an extraordinary memory. 

Unfortunately, the second day of going off-shore to CocoCay, the ship’s own island, was cancelled because the waves were over 25 knots and that wasn’t safe for little lifeboats to travel in. So we had our last day at sea and just floated around. We went to another show and saw the Orpheum cast put on some Broadway songs, and it was really good!! 

The cruise was a cool new experience that I am so grateful I was able to go on.

Anyways, that’s all that I have to share with you today. Feel free to leave comments below! 

see ya,

Joy

Valentine's Day!

Hello, friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cute little sonic valentines card

 I love holidays like these because they give you a fun reason to hang out with people you love. Back when I lived in Chicago, my dad and I  used to go to a father-daughter dance that our church held. Since we moved we hadn't been to one since, but this year our church, the Detroit Church of Christ, hosted one! All of the girls and dads in my church dressed up and we ate pizza, talked, played bingo, and danced.

Me n Dad

Hanging out with my dad was a blast, and I'm so glad that we got to have a special time. On Friday, the teens from my church decided to exchange some valentines like we used to in elementary school, and I found cute Harry Potter ones but only a couple of people got the references!
Here are some cute Valentine's Day Cards that I found on tumblr: 

NekoAtsume reference, get the app here

Sheldon the Dinosaur, so cute!

Well I hope that you enjoyed these! I'll talk to you guys next weekend!

Lots of love,

Joy :)

HOPE!

Recently, I just found out that I am going to San Diego/Baja, Mexico for HOPE Youth Corps(HYC) July 31-August 1!

     "HOPE Youth Corps (HYC) was established in 1994 by HOPE worldwide and is a faith-based, service-learning program designed for high school and college students. Working with HOPE worldwideprograms in developing countries and within the United States, HYC participants serve lower-income communities through various outreach efforts and community maintenance programs."

-HOPE Youth Corps

I am so excited, the site that I'm traveling to works directly with Orphans at the Door of Faith Orphanage. My brother and I are both adopted, and I was adopted through HOPE For Children in 2000, so this is a dream come true to serve and give back to God and serve HOPE Worldwide when they have done so much for my family.

Some of you may know, last year I went to Guatemala to serve there on a HOPE Worldwide medical brigade. Since my brother is from Guatemala, it was a very special trip. Guatemala was beautiful, the weather perfect, and I made some new friends from the church in Guatemala and across the U.S. who were traveling with us! Oh, and if you want to see more pictures, I have them up on my Facebook page.

Beautiful place we had lunch at!

Some vitamins we sorted.

Facepaint and crafts!

It was amazing being able to hang out with the children and hand out vitamins, toothbrushes, and do crafts with them. I was so inspired that I knew I wanted to apply for a HYC site in 2016. As soon as I got home, I started working on a video, compiling all of the footage I had taken from our trip. I somehow put it off for a long time and never fully completed it. I just got around to finishing the video last night, and I want to share it with you guys(be sure to put it on 1080p HD!).

Have a great day!

Joy :)

Spirthdays, Auto Shows, and LOTS of Homework!

Hello, friends!

Recently I celebrated my 2nd Spirthday(for those of you who don't recognize the lingo, it's a combination of Spiritual and Birthday)! January 18th, 2014 was the day that I became a disciple!
I am so grateful and thankful to God for everything that he's done in my life. He has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Happy throwback.

That morning, my mom made apple cinnamon raisin casserole, and it was delicious. We then went to the auto show in Detroit, which I had never been to. My mom and brother went last year, and had a great time.

Overall, it was really cool! I am DEFINITELY not one to know much about cars, brands, luxury brands, etc, but it was still fun and interactive for our whole family. As soon as you walked in, you heard music and announcers speaking about their cars, and lots of cars spinning on fancy raised platforms. We got to sit in a lot of crazy-fun cars that had really low seats, and some that had crazy advanced technology gadgets inside of them(which I can't really explain). Anyways, here are some pictures I took!

Here's a yellow one!

  

Panorama of the Honda exhibit! Shoutout to our cars :)

The Lexus exhibit had this cool expanding purple ball I had to take a picture of.

Oh a white one!

When I'm older, I'll probably just buy a Honda Civic or something, hahaha. Well, I have to get back to studying for finals now! The ACT is just around the corner in February 6th for me as well, so I have a lot of work ahead of me and not very much time. 

But then after that, it's smooth sailing till we're cruising in the Bahamas ;).

I hope that you have a lovely week!

Joy :)