2015 in review

2015 was an amazing year for me. Just looking back on it I have changed so much and done so much since the beginning of the year. I started 2015 off in Greece with my family which was a lot of fun. My mom, sister, and I also took a day trip to Cardiff, Wales after Greece. After they left I couldn’t wait to go meet them in the Bahamas later in January. After the Bahamas I was back in London for quite a while before I was going to see any of my family again. I started booking courses to fill my time besides volunteering at Brownies. I took several courses: photography, anthropology, psychology, book keeping, comedy of YouTube, and more. I met with my family friends and got to go to discos. I also hung out tons with my cousin in London. February was a bit of a bleak month for me after the excitement of January and going back to London with little to nothing to do. In February I went on a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon as well where I made my first real friend since I had gotten to London.

When March rolled around things started to pick up. All of the courses I had chosen started in March. My older cousin who I never see decided to come to London to go to a concert. The three of us cousins met up one day and went for Sunday roast besides going to a market, doing some shopping, sight seeing, and going for drinks. During this time I learnt more about who my one cousin really is as I have only met him a few times and he is about 15 years older than me. Later that month my younger cousin and sister came to visit me. It was my cousin’s first time in Europe so I got to show him around London and when my sister met us we all went to Dublin, Ireland. We all got to hang out with my older cousin, who lives in London, as well. I also took my younger cousin to Windsor before he left. Mid-March I also got a little job dog walking. I got to walk this dog named Pierre 3 days a week. This gave me something more to do making me happier.

April was when things started to slow down a little bit and I decided I wasn’t happy with how things were going and how I was trying to put in effort to make friends and have things happen but I still only had one friend. This is when I decided I was going to move back to Canada at the end of May/beginning of June rather than wait until August. During this whole time (end of 2014 on) I was also helping my cousin with his business. I can’t remember if it was the end of April or early May but I helped him prepare and went with him to film his advert which was fun. The same day I went to my family friend’s house to have dinner and watch a movie. Those full days where I got to see people who I knew cared about me and who I cared about were the days I looked forward to most.

In May my friend and I went to Ascot besides planning a small weekend trip with 2 more of her friends to the Isle of Wight. During this time I also met another friend while taking a class. Her and I got on well and she liked to write and make films. I went over to her flat to make some short silly videos after her and I had gone to a play and after party put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her, I, and a friend of hers went around London one day taking pictures to scout locations for her new film. It was so much fun just spending a day with people like them, who are so creative and friendly. One weekend in May I also got to dog sit Pierre which was fun and filled my days besides going to a craft making class were I got to make creams, scrubs, and lip balm. Later in May my cousin and I spent the morning of my birthday together for breakfast before I had to take off to walk Pierre and go to Brownies. That day in Brownies I was put in charge and was hosting a Canada day to teach the girls about Canada. I was also going to make my promise that day. The weekend after my birthday was the weekend we went to the Isle of Wight. The day before that I had helped my cousin with his business again and got to see his new office. The day of the Isle of Wight trip started early: a bus ride, 3 train rides, and a boat ride away. It was fun though. We explored the whole island and 3 days was enough for the trip. The last day we hung out in Portsmouth and I had gotten sick. By the time I got back home in London I was exhausted and went right to sleep. I had family friends who were my age come down from Scotland for a weekend that I met up with. We went for lunch as well as to a couple of art galleries, one including the National Portrait Gallery. We explored London a bit more, had some warm drinks, and headed home. It was a lot of fun to see them and just get to chat to people my own age who knew my family for a day. My mom came to help me move at the end of May. Before we started the hard work of moving we decided to go to Vienna, Austria for 3 days. I was meant to go on a big Europe trip with friends but that never worked out so my mom said we could go to Austria before we went back to Canada. Vienna was a lot of fun and since I had made a friend in London who was from Austria she had told me everything that I had to see and try. We got to see the Spanish School of Riding which was something on my bucket list. After Austria I got to see everyone one more time before leaving. I got to go to one more film party and get burgers after, get a drink and dessert while overlooking the river in Kingston, have one last Sunday roast and watch cricket in the park, have dinner with family friends from Scotland and England, and have dessert with family friends.

I came home the first week of June thinking that once I came back I would be happy with lots filling my days again. This was not the case though. I was happy to see my family and cousins but I had lost pretty much all of my friends except for one on/off friend in Canada. I was also missing London so much. I was so happy to see my dogs but the lifestyle, independence as well as my cousin and everyone I had met in London I was missing. In June I got to go to a women’s FIFA game, Japan vs Australia, with my dad and two cousins. I also got to see Ed Sheeran and One Direction in concert which was amazing! I love both of them so much it just made my June. I was really waiting for the day in July where I got to go back to the UK even if it was not for very long. June kind of rolled by as I got settled back in and got to go horseback riding a couple times.

When July hit I was so excited to go back to the UK. My dad and I went to the UK because he had a meeting in Cardiff, Wales. We flew into London and stayed just down the road from my old flat. We got to see my cousin for dinner which made me ecstatic to see him again. The next day we went to our family friend’s house for a BBQ and got to have some strawberries and creme as it was around the time of Wimbledon. After the BBQ we were off to Cardiff for 3 days. I was by myself most of the time in Cardiff other than dinner time. I did a lot of shopping and exploring. We met with another friend of my dad’s from university who lives just outside of Cardiff, he hadn’t seen her for over 20 years. She was really nice and we had dinner. After my dad’s meeting was done in Cardiff we drove back to London to catch an early morning flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We decided that since we had gone all the way to Europe we would go somewhere else besides the UK so I chose Croatia. We were there for 3 days before heading back to Canada. While in Croatia we drove to Montenegro. Both places were really lovely.

August was when my whole family went to Orlando, Florida. We went for a week and got to go to Disneyworld, Universal Studios, the Kennedy Space Centre, and more. It was hot but a lot of fun. This was our one summer vacation this year that was all four of us. We also met my cousin and his parents there as our trips overlapped by a couple days.

After all of this travelling I was staying in Canada until Christmas. Things were slow again. I got back in contact with and old friend I hadn’t seen for about 5 years and we met up for coffee one day. During this time I tried to get a job but wasn’t very successful as I didn’t want a basic job, such as grocery store or clothing store, but I wanted something more. I wanted something that I could use to find my interests in for university. I once again did not go to university this year. End of September/early October I ended up volunteering at a veterinary clinic. I am still volunteering there. I love it. Through volunteering there I have learnt that I want to become a veterinarian and I love surgery. I never would have thought that I would love surgery or want this as a career choice as I used to be so squeamish about blood but I have gotten over that completely.

December was when I went to Cancun, Mexico on a family reunion. It was a week long trip where I got to see everybody. It was lovely seeing family who I hadn’t seen for about 2 and a half years again. I was also really happy to see my cousin from London again to update him on how I’ve been and see what he’s been up to. We came home from Mexico on December 31 so I started 2016 back in Canada for the first time in a long time.

I hope 2016 is filled with joy, self-discovery, love, wisdom, and ultimately happiness. I hope you had a great 2015 and have an even better 2016!!!

Croatia and Montenegro

Hey guys,

So this kind of is a continuation from my last post on London and Wales. Right after my time in Wales my dad and I went back to London to go to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We were only going to be there for 2 and a half days before heading home. We rented a house in Dubrovnik only about 10 mins away from old town. It was a massive but was split into two so the owner had a place to stay and so did we. There was also a large garden and a church on the property. The first night we were there we went to a lovely restaurant which was right on the sea side and was on a harbour. We got to sit right next to the sea while having dinner and it was really lovely.  I will link the restaurant here. Also you will need a reservation for this restaurant first but I highly recommend trying it out.

 

The next day we went to old town as well as an island which is close by called Lokrum. It was a really pretty island that you can walk around with lots of different things to see. It was only about a 10 min boat ride from Dubrovnik. There was also a festival of some sort going on when we were there. That night there were fireworks in old town as well as music being played. We were also told that there were a lot of diplomats in Dubrovnik at that time. We went into old town that night to go see the fireworks and explore a bit more.

The next day we decided to get a early start and head to Montenegro. We were told that Kotor is the place to go in Montenegro. We drove around the bay area in Montenegro to Kotor and Tivat and back around to Croatia. Crossing from Croatia to Montenegro isn’t as easy as it sounds though. To get into Montenegro you need insurance that will cover your car for Montenegro specifically and not just Croatia. If you do not have this  you need to purchase insurance once you cross the border as there is an insurance company just on the other side of the border. You also need your passport for everybody in the car. Montenegro was different than Croatia but also very pretty in its own way. We went into a small walled in village type area. There were many churches and you could walk up to a fort I think it was. It was defiantly worth the trip though.

The next day was a really early day to head back to the airport. Our flight was really early and we got to the airport before it opened. The airport finally opened about an hour before our flight was meant to take off. We made it onto our flight to Frankfurt though. We had a long lay over in Frankfurt before heading on to our next two flights to Canada. We found it very difficult to find flights that went from Croatia to Canada so we ended up taking three flights to get home. It was a very long travel day but we made it home.

It was a short world wind of a trip but it was fun and I’m glad I got to see Croatia and Montenegro.

Ashley xx.

London and Cardiff

Hey guys,

So my last post was on leaving London but since then I’ve been back. A couple weeks after I left I went back as my dad had a meeting in Cardiff and I was joining him. We flew into London and spent a day and a half there before heading off to Cardiff.

I’ll talk about the London bit of the trip first. So the day we got to London we arrived around 12 and had plans to meet up with my cousin for dinner that evening. We meet him at Tottenham Court Road Station and headed to a place that serves flat iron steak. We each got a steak and shared some sides and it was so good. There was no fat on the steak and it was just so good. I highly suggest if you are in London you go to this place. I think it was actually called Flat Iron Steak. I will put a link in for it. It was super good though and a steak was only £10! Anyways we did that and had dessert there as well which was super good and then said our good byes and headed home for the night. The next day came and we had plans to go to a family friends for a BBQ.  We headed over and had a nice BBQ at their place and had strawberries and creme as it was during the time Wimbledon was on. It was a lovely afternoon before heading to Cardiff. That evening we got to Cardiff and the next bit of our trip began.

 

In Cardiff my dad had meetings the whole time so for the most part I was on my own. I had been to Cardiff once before in January but only for a couple hours and we just saw the castle and walked along the high street. So this was a time for me to truly explore Cardiff and do some shopping along the way. We had three days in Cardiff before heading back to London. Everyday I went down new bits of Cardiff and then met up with my dad for dinner. The first night we went to Cardiff Bay and ate at Nando’s which is always good. My dad had never been to Nando’s before so I decided to take him there. We also explore the bay a bit before heading back which was nice. The next day we met up with a friend of his who he got in contact with after not seeing her for about 20 years I think. We said in Cardiff with her and went to Jamie Oliver’s for dinner which was really good. We then drove her back home as she doesn’t live in Cardiff. This allowed us to see more of Wales which was quite cool as I had only ever been in Cardiff and Newport before. The last night we went to the bay again and had dinner at Strada with a work friend of my dad’s before heading back to London.

In Cardiff I did quite a bit of shopping as I love the shops in the UK and I can’t get the same things in Canada. I have two more travel update type posts to do but I may also do a bit of a haul type post on the stuff I bought in Cardiff.

Anyways I will post more soon as there are two more travel posts to do because I suck at posting as things happen or right after they do. I also have concert type posts I may do if I remember as well. I will post soon and I hope you enjoyed this little update.

Ashley xx.

Leaving London…

Hey guys,

So here’s something sad: I’ve left London. I always knew this day would come but I never expected it to be like this. Ever since the Isle of Wight or just before that actually everything has been a world wind.

Since I decided to move back to Canada it has been a lot of phone calls to different companies. I’ve learnt just as much moving out as moving in. I have had to deal with electricity and gas companies, water companies, and the council to list a few. I had to clear the apartment and sold a lot of different things. I also saw a lot of different friends and family friends before leaving. I also saw my cousin for the last time for a little while. It was nice though. My mom, cousin, and I ended up going for Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding the size of our faces. We then went to Regent’s Park and watched the cricket and just got to chat. Before seeing my cousin though I saw two different friends. With one friend we went to a film event which was interesting and then we went and got burgers which was very tasty. It was a fun night. With my other friend we decided to go for dessert and drinks. She found a German place and we got black forest cake and Radlers. It was so nice as we got to sit facing the river and watch the sun go down.

My mom and I also met with family friends in London before leaving. We had friends down from Scotland so we went to dinner with their whole family. It was a lot of fun though as they have twins that are a year younger than me. We also had a dinner at their grandma’s house before leaving as well as a dinner/dessert with 3 family friends (from London).

All in all this year in London has been amazing. I kind of wish it never ended. It was a slow start trying to find things to do and meet people but once it got rolling it was actually a lot of fun. London will always have a special place in my heart and I will most defiantly be back. I loved being able to become so much closer to my cousin there and meeting so many new people as well as experiencing so many new things. I will never forget this and how much it meant to me. Thank you for the awesome experience London!

Ashley xx

Vienna, Austria

Hey guys!

Sorry this is so delayed but I’ve been super busy since my last post. So if you can’t tell by the title of this post I went to Austria. About 3 days after the Isle of Wight my mom came to London and later that day we went to Vienna. We had been planning this trip for a little while and I was super excited to go.

We arrived in Vienna and just hung out in our hotel the first night as we had to get up early the next day to explore the city. The first place we went was the Spanish Riding School as we were going to see a performance and go on a tour there the next day. We explored that area before we kept going. I made a friend in London who was actually from Austria so she gave us some hints of good places to see as well as things to try. We then went to the palace and got to go inside of it as well as into five different gardens. We then went to the Prater, which is an amusement park area, and explored for a bit and had dinner around there.

 

The next day we woke up early and headed to the Spanish Riding School and saw the performance which was amazing. We then went on a tour of the yard and stables of the school and got to see all of the horses. After we went shopping on the two high streets in Vienna and then went to try some different foods. We tried Radler, a beer and lemonade mix, as well as this Austrian dessert that my friend told me was like cut up pancakes. I will put a picture below due to my terrible explanation. It was really good though.

Even though we only had 2 days in Vienna it was a lot of fun and I would defiantly go back but maybe for a bit longer. The Spanish Riding School was most defiantly the highlight of this trip for me. I have heard about that school since I was very little and to be able to finally see it in person was just amazing.

I will be posting keeping up posts like this until I catch up to where I am now.

Ashley xx

100 Happy Days extra (100+)

Day 101: going to a comedy class

Day 102: Hearing about my sister’s first day at work, talking to my mom, and getting my first car

Day 103: Getting mail from my mom and getting stuff from the body shop

Day 104: Walking Pierre and talking to my mom

Day 105: Talking to my mom, walking Pierre, watching White Collar with my cousin, going to Brownies, and getting a badge at Brownies

Day 106: Going to see a play with a friend and going to an after party

Day 107: Filming some sketching with a friend, talking care of Pierre, and getting Subway

Day 108: Babysitting Pierre

Day 109: Going to a workshop and getting ice cream

Day 110: Babysitting Pierre, taking to my friend, mom, and sister

Day 111: Meeting up with a friend, talking to my mom and sister, and seeing my sister use and like the present I got her

Day 112: Going to Brownies, making cupcakes, and talking to my mom, dad, and sister

Day 113: Talking to my mom and grandma and having a funny conversation with my sister

Day 114: Going shopping, making cupcakes, and talking to my mom and sister

Day 115: Going to Ascot, hanging out with my friend, getting a couple complements on my outfit, talking to my sister, hearing about my friend’s dog, and getting an amazing dessert

Day 116: Talking to my mom and sister, getting to sleep in, and start making plans to see my cousin

Day 117: Getting into my freshly washed bed, trying a hair mask, talking to my mom, sister, and cousin, and making a craft for Brownies

Day 118: Talking to my mom, sister, and friend, getting ice cream, and walking Pierre

Day 119: Going to Brownies, seeing the Canadian badges they are going to get, walking home with a friend, talking to my mom, sister, and cousin, and getting lavender scented candles

Day 120: Seeing Pierre, getting to use my new umbrella, and watching White Collar with my cousin

Ascot (Victoria Cup)

Hey guys,

So something super exciting happened last weekend. I went to Ascot to see the Victoria Cup!! I’ve always wanted to see a horse race and go to Ascot so when I knew I was coming to England for a year it was a must see on my bucket list. I had looked at races before but just had nobody to go with me. When I found out my friend actually wanted to go too but she had just never heard about it before I took the opportunity to go with her. We decided to go on May 9th (Saturday) as we both were free and it was the last race while I am still here. We met up a couple times before to pick out hats and make sure we had our outfits all together before we went to the races. When the day of the race came I was super excited. We both got all dressed up and met up on the train heading to Ascot. When we got there there were a lot of people as well as people selling and buying tickets.

We got into Ascot racecourse and it was like I had walked into a dream land. As a horse lover already this was like the top of the top for me. It was defiantly one of the top highlights of 2015 already for me. The grounds by themselves were amazing. We headed up to see the racecourse and I was just blown away. It was huge! It was so green and just more than I could have ever expected. The racecourse itself was massive to what I thought it would be. I had only seen a few races on tv before and was never a huge racehorse fan. I am defiantly more into the jumping side of things. Ascot just blew my mind though and defiantly made me rethink racing.

 

When we got there we had quite a bit of time to kill before the first race started. We decided to explore the grounds and just get everything out of Ascot that we could. We also decided that we would try to place a bet just to saw we’ve done that at Ascot as well. For the first race I placed a bet on number 10 and my friend on number 9. After that we went to the parade ring to see the horses before the race. We watched them walk around and the jockeys come in and mount their horses and head to the race. We went to the racecourse as well and the race started. It was once again amazing. When you are sitting there and there is such a competitive atmosphere and you are invested in the race it just takes the whole thing to another level. When you watch the race it seems like it takes forever for the horses to come close enough to the finish line where you are sitting and there is so much tension built up on which horse will win. It feels like time just stops while they are racing. After they cross the finish line and you look at the clock to see that it has only been about a minute and thirty seconds from when they started it just boggles my mind.

 

My friend’s horse she bet on won the first race so we went to collect her winnings and started talking to a couple of guys in line and convinced ourselves to try betting once more. Each time we bet we only bet £2 but it was just the feeling of investment in the race that just made it all the better. We both went for the same horse this time and the races started again. We didn’t win but it was still a sight to see. We also bet on the fourth race, the Victoria Cup, neither of us won again but it was a lot of fun. There were six races that day and after every race they would have the horses, riders, owners, and trainers all in the parade ring and award their trophies.

 

I don’t want to go on too much about this but it is something that I really love and have a passion for. This is defiantly something I am so happy that I got to experience. Ascot will be something I remember forever and have very fond memories of. Of my time here Ascot is defiantly one of my top five things that I’ve experienced since I’ve been here. I highly suggest if you are ever in England when there is a race at Ascot and you have the opportunity to go that you should take it.

All in all I had a wonderful magical day at Ascot and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Ashley xx.

100 Happy Days (91-100)

Day 91: Getting ice cream, talking to my mom and sister, and making plans to see my cousin

Day 92: Getting a new vacuum, meeting with a friend, talking to my cousin and mom

Day 93: Walking Pierre

Day 94: Going to a class and making a new friend there, hanging out with my cousin ( watching basketball, having dinner, etc)

Day 95: Hanging out with a friend and buying a hat

Day 96: Working out, making chocolate chip cookies with coconut oil

Day 97: Getting ice cream and seeing my dog try my grandma’s dog’s new toy

Day 98: Going to Brownies

Day 99: Talking to my sister and mom and watching the last episode of Glee

Day 100: Walking Pierre, talking to my mom, having a dress I ordered arrive in the mail, and having my mom pick up things for a Canadian night at Brownies

Definition of Success

Hi guys,

This post is going to be a bit different but I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I only have about 3 more weeks in London before my mom comes to help me pack up to go home. I am starting to think if there is any last things I want to do while I am in England before I go home to make the most of my time here. I am also starting to think more and more about what I am going to do when I get home. When September rolls around am I going to go to university or am I going to be working or travelling? The thought of this scares the crap out of me.

The dictionary defines success as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose” and “the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status”. I don’t totally agree with this definition. I defiantly don’t agree with the latter part. When I think of success I think of moving forward in the direction you want. I also think of what I want and what I consider success. I think success is different for everybody. I can say I want to be successful when I get older but what does that really mean. I know when I get older I want a house and a car and so on but is that really what success is. I know I want to do something I love with my life. I want to do something I am passionate about and something I can put my heart and soul into and care immensely about. I want to do something positive that makes other people feel positive as well. I want to be proud of what I do and confident in myself as I do that.

I, like many people, see celebrities or millionaire businessmen or women and think oh I wish I could have what they have. In reality I don’t really want what they have. I don’t want fame and money doesn’t matter that much to me. Of course you can’t say money doesn’t matter at all because of course it does to an extent but in the whole of things it is on the bottom of my list of worries. I do want to be successful and want to be respected and known for my work. This to me is so much different than fame. I want to be well known for my work in what ever profession I choose but I do not want to be famous. I want to be able to live comfortably and be able to travel, even if it is for work. I just want to make the most of my life. I want to be able to think back when I am old and just say “ya I did that and it was awesome”. I don’t want to ever think back and regret not doing anything. I don’t care if what ever I did sucked at least I can say I tried it.

Your life cannot be compared to anybody else’s when measuring your success. I struggle a lot with this. I don’t compare my success with my sister so much as with my cousins. Growing up I was compared a lot with my older cousins. The thing I learnt from this was, that since my cousins are 4 and 8 years older than me, I can’t compare myself with them or else it will just make me feel worse about myself. You cannot be expected to be accomplishing the same things as people significantly older than you. In my family on the other side there was also quite a competitive cousin rivalry. My cousin was always made out to be the smart one who would make something of himself where as my sister and I were just the pretty faces or the one who could make people laugh. I don’t take making people laugh as a bad thing at all in fact I love being able to do that. To see people smile because of something you said just makes me feel good about myself. I do struggle a lot with being known as the not so smart one though. I find when it comes to school I do struggle but when it comes to other life skills or communication skills I thrive. I think being academically smart doesn’t mean everything. Being compared to somebody over one skill set just isn’t fair. Everybody is different and has different skills and strengths. Just because one person is good at something doesn’t mean everybody is good at that one thing. If that’s how the world worked it would be such a boring place.

Bumps in the road happen and there is nothing you can do about it. I am in the process of learning about this one in particular.  When something goes wrong it is not the end of the world. There are so many different paths to reach a goal and just because one person goes a certain way doesn’t mean you have. Lately my mom has been telling me “after high school everybody starts going on their own path in which ever direction they want to go”. Where I am right now this is a bit of a struggle for me to deal with. I know everybody goes there own way but linking back to comparing yourself is where I struggle. When I hit a bump in the road I defiantly don’t want anybody to know about it. I start to think why, why me. I just think why do I suck at life so much. I constantly see things that give me motivation and inspire me but why do I feel like I could never do that or I just don’t have the resources or the knowledge to do that. I think if I truly wanted to do something I could figure out how to get the resources or some place to go to gain the knowledge. I get stuck in a rut sometimes which without outside motivation I sometimes find very hard to get out of. When I do finally get over that bump in the road though I have an overall feeling of pride and accomplishment. As hard as it is to get over that bump or out of that rut in the end it is always worth it.

I don’t want this to be super long and lecture ish but this is just something really relevant to me right now. I just want to add that I don’t think success defines you as a person either. You can be super successful but just be a horrible person. If I truly had to choose I would rather be a great person with little success. I can hope and try my hardest though to be the best person I possibly can be and work to gain the level of success I hope for.

Anyways I am done now. I hope this makes sense and doesn’t just sound like a load of mess on a page. I will try and be better at posting things; I know I’ve been terrible at posting for the past while. I am sorry about that. I am still doing my 100 Happy Days and will try and post more update type things as well.

Ashley x.

100 Happy Days (Days 81-90)

Day 81: Spending the day in Dublin, seeing the sites in Dublin, and trying Guinness

Day 82: Going grocery shopping with my sister and finding mozzarella sticks

Day 83: Going to Windsor and Eaton with my cousin, getting Costa with my sister, getting Shake Away and dinner with my cousin

Day 84: Getting Costa with my cousin, taking a nap, and talking to my mom and sister

Day 85: Working out and talking to my mom and sister

Day 86: Buying flowers, buying an oyster necklace, and getting a caramel cream frappuccino from Starbucks

Day 87: Working out and talking to my cousin and watching White Collar together

Day 88: Making two new friends and seeing another friend, making pancakes, and working out

Day 89: Talking to my mom and sister

Day 90: Doing well in a class I am taking and talking to my mom