#VT – MonkeyDoodle's Mind

Whether it be the beginning or the end

Posted on March 31, 2015 by a. richards

The month of march has passed me by so quickly that I believe it moved faster than the super hero some people know by the name of Flash. I was able to experience some moments of frozen time during my spring break, yet those moments never lasted long enough.

This spring break gave me a chance to start a cleanse in the household that I have called home for as long as I’ve lived on this earth. We all have some things that we hold onto because we don’t want to let go of the memory or the connection we feel with the object since it was given to us by a person who may not be with us on this earth any longer. I understand the desire to hold onto the intangible with a tangible object, but it is a freeing feeling when one decides to release the hold and allow the object(s) to move on, along with our hearts.

During said break, I went through the interviewing process for finding a job. The whole week I was a ball of nerves; just shaking a little bit more as the interview date got closer. With the support from friends and family, I was able to go into the interview with confidence. As I started conversing with my interviewers, my body began to relax and I felt at ease with the people whom I (at the time, not knowing) would hope to become my co-workers. I am happy to say that I was offered a job position with the company, by the name of Home Sweet Home Pet Care. I’m extremely excited to work with such a great team, and help build the company.

On another note, my capstone (senior) project is coming along… slowly, but surely. These upcoming days are numbered though and now it’s crunch time. I’ve been experimenting with multiple different cameras, and hopefully in the end I will come out with beautiful pictures of all the six dogs who I am now focusing on for the final product. Here is a picture of Clyde. He is currently my favorite dog at All Breed Rescue. I’m glad I have been able to work with such a wonderful group of staff to help me bring awareness to the shelter and the dogs that reside there through my project.

With my college graduation coming up soon, I am counting down the days where my life at Champlain College is coming to a close. I’ve stayed loyal these past four years to my college that I chose years ago. Everyone experiences ups and down, but I do not regret my decision as I do not regret my decision on where I am moving forward with my life post-graduation. It will be hard to let go of the ability to just walk next door to my friends in my apartment building, to let go the access of my best friend being no more than 10 minutes away from where I live, and to move on from the community I have learned to love. There are many different things I am letting go of when leaving college, but whether it be the beginning or the end I will learn to adapt and live in my new environment. I will learn to love the transition in my life.

With all the changes coming up soon, the scenery may change, but my heart will not. Some things, like activities I love, and people whom I cherish deeply, I will not give up on. I won’t give up my dreams. Don’t give up on yours.

Updates

February BirchBox

Posted on February 11, 2015 by a. richards

Hello! Hello! Hello! I haven’t really written anything about the monthly subscription box I get every month called, BirchBox. It’s only $10 a month [including shipping], and you get about five sample size products. Using the descriptions provided by BirchBox, I will explain what each item I got in this month’s box. First, here is on the front of the informational card included in every box. A sweet little message to go with this month’s theme.

Here are a couple pictures of what the outside looks like for this month’s BirchBox:

The first product I’m going to show you is called, beautyblender. It is a “Pro-favorite sponge for smooth, natural-finish foundation (plus cleanser to keep it clean).” I plan to give this product to my friend because she loves them, and also to get the word out about BirchBox.

The second product I’m going to show you is called, Juice Beauty. It is a blemish clearing cleanser. It’s “Made with organic botanicals, this hydrating wash declogs pores and brightens skin.” I’m super excited to use this. Last semester of college can be stressful, and the stress brings the nasty look of “exhausted” to the face.

The third product I’m going to show you is called, theBalm cosmetics. It is a Read My Lips Lip Gloss – BAM! It’s “Fortified with antioxidant-rich ginseng, this gloss imparts rich color and loads of shine.” I am in LOVE with this product. I started using it immediately! Not many colors look good on my lips, but this color is perfect. It gives my lips just the right amount of shine and color to make my lips pop!

The fourth product I’m going to show you is called, Gilchrist & Soames. It is a Spa Therapy Body Wash. It’s “Infused with marine extracts, this gentle wash leaves skin hydrated and freshly scented.” I am glad this product came in my box because it’s following my new change towards beachy type products that I have started using. The smell is very calming.

The fifth, and final, product I’m going to show you is called, BeeKind. It is a conditioner. “This gentle formula, made with honey and organic calendula, softens hair and ups shine.” I recently just bought conditioner, so as soon as I run out I plan to try this product. Everyone could always use an extra boost of softness and shine. It has a “fresh lemon and verbena scent!”

I hope you enjoyed your journey in exploring this month’s BirchBox. This box can be for both men and women. Hopefully you will check them out!

*All descriptions are credited to BirchBox

Updates, Weekly Post

Sneak Peek!

Posted on February 9, 2015 by a. richards

My senior project is in motion, and I have lots of work to do. I’m not sure how much I’ve shared what my project is, but here’s an explanation. I plan to pair pictures of dogs, from All Breed Rescue, with a short write-up that will either be a background story or just a “personality blurb” so that whoever is reading it & sees the picture can get an idea of how the dog is. My project would create an opportunity for people who cannot physically adopt a dog. This would give them a chance to still “take home a dog.”

My project has had a great start, and is slowly blossoming into the finished product as I envisioned it. Here are a couple pictures that my lovely classmate Amanda Schroth took last week, during my weekly visit to the shelter.

Since Amanda helped me, I want to lend a helping hand right back. Her project is called, “Postcards Never Sent.” It would be wonderful if you submitted to her project. Here’s the link: www.postcardsneversent.com/submit

Updates

Back on the ice!

Posted on February 3, 2015 by a. richards

I know that in my lifetime, so far, I have only been on an ice rink a couple times, literally only a couple. My past two experiences left me with a sour taste in my mouth. This time around I had support from my best friend and her residents [she is a Resident Assistant at my college], who gave me some confidence that ice skating can be fun, even if you’re not really good at it.

I was amazed at myself that I didn’t fall once. Most credit goes to my best friend for holding my hand as we went around the rink. Without her I would have fallen a bunch of times. We both promised we would only laugh a little at each other if either of us fell. Once “free skate” was over, we pulled our sore feet out of our skates, enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate, and decided we would like to make ice skating a regular activity we do together. It’s such a workout, but fun!

What is an activity or experience that you were unsure of at first and then it turned out great fun? Please share! I’d love to hear your stories 🙂

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Updates

Mocking Jay Movie Premiere

Posted on November 21, 2014 by a. richards

Yesterday I was honored to attend a private screening of Mocking Jay Part 1 the day before it came out. It was a wonderful day early birthday present to myself. My dear friend, and co-worker, Maggie was my partner in crime for this adventure. I’m super thankful I was able to make such memories and be surrounded by so many Champlain College students for a fun event.

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Updates

My First Skinny Pancake Adventure

Posted on November 18, 2014 by a. richards

While my ex-boyfriend and I were still dating, we went to Skinny Pancake and it was interesting. I ordered biscuits with gravy. It was pretty good. We shared the crepe pictured below. It had a massive brownie inside the crepe, homemade vanilla ice cream on top, and yummy whipped cream on the sides. There was also a gypsy duo there, and they were nice. Good music…. where’s a cool place you’ve been?

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Brownie in Bed crepe with the bf #yummy #happiness #firsts

A post shared by Alex (@monkeydoodlesmind) on Nov 13, 2014 at 5:36pm PST

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#firsts video on Instagram #happiness #SkinnyPancake

A post shared by Alex (@monkeydoodlesmind) on Nov 13, 2014 at 5:42pm PST

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Fighting Through It All

Posted on November 2, 2014 by a. richards

Well, life can’t be all dandy all the time. Clearly my life wasn’t finished with this nasty virus I had. The adventure to Our House was wonderful, and it was a great distraction to what was happening with my body. The very next day (a Saturday) I slept in really really late. I was excited to hang out again with my friend. Well, my body was going to change our plans. Instead of doing something that rid our minds of stress and sickness, we took a drive to the Emergency Room around 4:30pm. I bet you’re thinking, “Oh no! What happened?!” I’ll tell ya! My stuffy nose had gotten to the point where I couldn’t breathe a single breath in or out of it, which meant I had to depend on my mouth for all forms of breathing, but that was an issue within itself. I felt like I was being choked as I breathed, and every time I swallowed I felt like my throat was being stabbed on both sides. My head felt weird… light-headed but heavy at the same time. That was probably a result to having a slight headache and a fever. If you couldn’t tell by my description of my symptoms, I was not having any fun and I was in a ton of pain.

**Trying to smile through the exhaustion**

Luckily, I was checked in, seen by a nurse, and then placed in a shared room within 45 minutes of arriving in the ER. That’s pretty awesome timing! A little happiness lol Almost immediately getting into a hospital bed, I was hooked up with an IV… well, actually two at first. My friend graciously stayed by my side as long as she could, but she had to sadly leave around 8:30pm because she had to go to work and nobody had offered to take her shift. Before she departed though, we were joking with the nurse. I had told him as he was hooking up the IV, “I’m not going to be a boring patient. Just so you know.” A statement couldn’t have been more true. I had even brought my Vermont Teddy Bear with me because I had a feeling that I would be in the hospital for a while. I didn’t stay the night, but I was in that hospital bed for over five hours. After four IV bags, and my heart rate FINALLY dropping below 100, I was allowed to go back to my apartment. When I say “finally,” it is protocol that a patient can’t leave the Fletcher Allen hospital unless their heart rate is below 100. Well, mine just wouldn’t slow down and so it took at least two hours of waiting just for that.

I called Campus Public Safety, and my favorite CPS officer was the one to pick me up. He was lovely to chat with and I reminded him that he was also my ride home when I visited the ER my freshmen year of college. Some things just don’t change. Before I go further into the future, I just want to comment that my protective mother had called the hospital multiple times after she read my text about me being in the ER (a couple hours late I might add). She talked with me first, then the doctor, and then the nurse that was attending me. Gosh she can be embarrassing sometimes. When she found out my nurse was male, she was all “Ooooo is he cute?!” and my response was, “He’s married, mom. Please don’t.” Well, when she was on the phone with him, she told him about the whole conversation. At least he was a good sport about it. I noticed he smiled and laughed a lot while chatting with my mom about what was happening with me.

Don't want to spread this illness... — **Don’t want to spread this illness…**

My mom and my aunt (her twin sister) drove up on Sunday, and stayed until Tuesday to take care of me, which I REALLY needed. When they first arrived, they immediately started stripping my bed and cleaning my apartment. My mom didn’t show her disappointment too much about all the laundry I had just laying around my room. It was ALL of my laundry. I literally had like one pair of pants left and two shirts. The three of us stayed in this awesome hotel in Williston, VT. It was one of the penthouse suites and had an upstairs section, which was my bed. As my mom said, “keep the sicky away from the healthy ones.” Monday was kind of a busy day for me. Well, it felt like it because I was getting extremely low on energy. My aunt was a great sport and did all my laundry at the local laundromat, while my mom and I visited a local doctor. My mom was overjoyed when the doctor said she would take me on as a new patient even though she wasn’t taking new patients.

They said their goodbyes Tuesday morning, but things took a turn for the interesting. While my mom was dropping off my aunt at White River Junction, I called her with my test results. I tested positive for mono. She immediately called any/all hotels to book a last minute one night stay, and turned around to take care of me for one more day/night. I wasn’t expecting it, but I was appreciative of everything my mom did to help me towards the road of recovery. Something to keep in mind: I live four and a half hours away from home. My mom drove that Sunday morning. The drive to White River Junction is one and a half hours away from my school. So on Tuesday, she drove 3+ hours and then on Wednesday when she left, she then drove the 4+ hours back home. My mom is awesome!

Is there anyone in your life that you think is super awesome? Why?