It's Been a While, Time to Ramble

Wow, so my last post was in the beginning of January. So much for keeping up with this blog huh? Haha. Blogging and journaling aren't my strongest area obviously. I think though, I put too much pressure on myself to make meaningful, interesting posts and that's what makes me stop. I think, well who is going to even read this and find it inspiring? I really should just be writing for myself, and if others want to join in then they are more than welcomed. This year so far has been an amazing one, and somehow there's only a few more months left already. Time really flies as you get older and I'm always just trying to hold onto it all. I'm afraid of losing my past and I find myself worrying too much about the future and what it may hold.

I think from now on I'll just write when I feel like I need to put something down. Whether it's just something that happened that day or week, or if it's something I really want others to see. I don't want to be a person who is always trying to make things perfect for others. If I write from my heart and with pure intentions then the people will come on their own. The same goes from my Youtube channel. I worry so much about what I post, is it good enough? Will it get views, comments, likes? I shouldn't live like that, it isn't the right way to go about things. Even now I'm just rambling but it feels good, it feels like me. These thoughts are coming from my own head and now they're down somewhere.

2018 so far has been full of a lot of personal growth. I started volunteering at a wolf sanctuary close by which is amazing. For anyone who might still be reading, I want to me a wolf biologist in the future. This opportunity to volunteer pretty much fell into my lap, so I think I should take that as a sign that I'm headed in the right direction. There may even be opportunity soon to start getting paid a small salary which is incredibly exciting. I've grown so attached to the pack, human and wolf. They're all so loving and have really helped me come out of my shell more. I get to meet people on a weekly basis, talk to them about wolves and answer their questions which I never thought I would be able to do. My name on here in the girl who is introverted, which still rings true. Many think that introverted just means shy, but that's not quite right. I can talk to people, have a great time around them even. But it does drain me as I have to sometimes put a lot more effort into it and once I get home I'm ready to crash as extroverted people gain energy from being around others.

Either way though it's been really good, even school isn't so bad. The one thing though that makes me upset is all the useless classes these colleges make you take that you won't have to use once you get to the field you're going for. When will I ever use Geometry and Trigonometry when I'm a wolf biologist? Probably never, and yet I have to waste my time doing them before I can move onto classes I actually want to take. To be honest, I wouldn't mind just working at the wolf sanctuary forever. That's really my end goal, is to have my own sanctuary and if I keep working there, who knows, I may one day own it. I'm getting ahead of myself though and I don't want to seem arrogant because there's plenty more qualified people out there to run it. I've just really found a place that feels like I belong and I get so excited thinking about it. Either way I think this is a long enough post for now, especially for just coming back many months later. It's been a good year so far and I'm excited to see what is to happen yet. If someone out there is reading this right now, thank you. I really appreciate it and I hope you're in a good place in your life right now or that you'll get there soon.

First Project of the New Year

The new year is quickly moving along, second week already?? My mom and i have been very slowly renovating our house, and it really has been a slow journey. But, to quick start the new year we decided to make our own butcher's block/ baker's cabinet for our kitchen. We went to Lowe's and started looking at cabinets; we had planned everything out before hand so we knew which ones we wanted. We actually had to go to another Lowe's because the one closest to us didn't have them. After loading those onto the cart we found out that the counter we needed couldn't be cut so we were kind of stumped on that one. Obviously we can't just put cabinets in without a counter top! So my mom had the idea to just get a big slab of wood cut to fit the top so we went to the lumber section. By some fate, we found two blocks of wood that were the EXACT size that we needed, no cutting required, it was amazing. Feeling triumphant, we loaded everything into her car and headed home. We got some pegs as well to hold the slabs together. First we got the cabinets out and started with the painting. The cabinets in our kitchen are a blue, and luckily we still had some paint leftover from those so we didn't have to buy anymore.

We bought two, and were planing on putting them together, the wood slabs holding them in place. This way one side could be used fro spices and oils, then the other side for my baking things. Paint went on smoothly and we left them to dry in the sun.

After they dried, we put the hardware on and got some to match our other cabinets, luckily Lowe's actually had them! I took a picture of how everything was going to look when together, though the slabs aren't actually put together yet.

The wood gave us a little bit of trouble because we had to make sure they lined up perfectly while drilling, and a couple of the holes were slanted so the pegs wouldn't go in. It wasn't too difficult though to just drill again, but going in straight that time. Then we sanded it down and put on C clamps while the wood glue dried.

Next, we moved everything into the space we made for it and there my mom and I glued the wood onto the cabinets and also screwed them in. Let me tell you, trying to fit into the smaller cabinet was really tough haha. It fit so nicely with the rest of our kitchen and we loved it!

All that was left was to add a liner to the drawers and bottom of the cabinets and we were done.

I've been using it now for preparing cookies and other things. The first project of the year and it went so nicely! In total, we did it on the weekend and cost us around $200, which is so much cheaper than it would have been to buy one in the store. Plus, this way we get to feel a lot better about putting together our own furniture.

Let me know what you think, and if you have any projects planned for this new year!