2014

I was hoping to post this before 2016 but alas that didn't happen. It was write a blog post or ring in the new year with games. How could I not choose games? Well, better late than never!

Now, we can move on to 2014! A lot happened in 2014...

1. Graduation

I got the thing! 

I gradated from Wake Forest University with my Masters in Mathematics! Very exciting! You can just call me, Master Heather now. Haha. Okay. I'm kidding, but that was a pretty big deal.

2. Moved to Canada 
Having finished up my masters at Wake, I had to move onto bigger and better things. So why not a PhD in another country? Yup, 2014 was the year I started working on my PhD in Mathematics at a university in Canada. I took my car with me so my mom and I made a 3 and a half day road trip across the continental United States. Along the way, we stopped at several national landmarks.

Visited Metropolis, KY and met Superman!

Didn't get to go up in the Arch because roads were blocked
and we couldn't figure out how to get to it. Can't say I'm too terribly
bummed about it given that I probably would have chickened out
because of my intense fear of heights. That thing is bigger than you think it is!

Took the scenic route from St. Louis to stay in Mark Twain's hometown.
Fittingly, this took us by the Mississippi River. It was the first time I'd ever seen it!

Stopped in Marceline, MO to see Walt Disney's hometown.
The museum was closed but how many people can say they've been
to Walt Disney's hometown?
(Given the size of that town, I'd have to say not a lot!) 

Visited the squirrel jail in Iowa. And no, it's not a jail for squirrels.
But to be honest, I don't remember why it was called a squirrel jail...

Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD! I think they were working on the next year's palace.

  

Badlands in South Dakota. This was a detour, but the pictures do not do it justice! They were beautiful!

The fields in SD were so golden. It was amazing to see. 

Didn't stay long in Glacier National Park, Montana.
I was eager to cross the border.

We were going to stop at Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota and Devil's Tower in Wyoming, but South Dakota just took too dang long to cross. Also, I wish I'd gotten more pictures of Wyoming but we crossed most of it during the night. It was soooo beautiful though. At least at dusk when I saw it. I wouldn't mind going back to Wyoming one day.

Man, that section took forever! There were just so many pictures to share! And more to follow!

3. Rockies 
2014 marked the first time I visited the Rocky Mountains. I got to go to Lake Louise as well as Banff! Both were beautiful but I think Lake Louise was my favorite!

The view from Banff

More from Banff. The water was crazy blue!

This is a Beaver Tail and it's probably the most delicious
thing you will ever eat. It's a fried pastry and you can put
whatever you want on top. My favorite is the chocolate hazelnut
and powdered sugar. Soooooo good!

Ate lunch on Lake Louise. Not sure who the random couple is.
This is the only picture I could get with the fewest people.
Apparently, everyone wanted me to take a picture of them. 

Lake Louise
(I see you there guy-in-the-bushes, trying to be all slick and hide-y. You're still in my picture!!!) 

Well, the people in this picture are too small to see. This is back toward
where I ate lunch. That's a hotel.

Ugh, more people. But it was still pretty! 

The water was SOOOO blue. I really wish the pictures captured it better. I definitely recommend visiting if you get the chance!

4. Drumheller

Royal Tyrell Museum aka DINOSAUR MUSEUM!!!

Drumheller is home to the Royal Tyrell Museum aka one of the biggest dinosaur museums! IT WAS AWESOME! They had ALL the dinosaurs. Okay not all but they had a lot! It was sooooo cool! You should definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY go if you ever get the opportunity!

DINOSAURS!

MORE DINOSAURS!!!
 (This one is called Black Beauty because the chemicals they used to unearth it stained it black.)

This one asked me to take a picture with it.
It has a great smile!
(Can you tell how excited I am to be there?)

They were all about the gruesome displays.
 I think you got everything on that one, buddy. 

I feel like someone is watching me...

Tallest dinosaur in the world! Yup, those are people in its mouth.
I went up. It was a lot higher than I realized!

5. First Hockey game
Since I'm in Canada, I should probably go to a hockey game. And I did! It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed it! Definitely a sport I wouldn't mind watching! This was a school match.

I was rooting for the red and white team.

A little hard to see but we actually won! Yay!

6. Olympic Skating
If you haven't guessed by now, I'm attending the University of Calgary for my PhD. In 1988, Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics (check out Cool Runnings if you haven't already). The Olympic Oval is actually located on the University campus and I got to skate on it! It's actually free to students if you have skates! It was a lot of fun! And despite there not being any railings, I didn't fall once!



7. SMAUG!!!!!
Another LEGO set joined my collection in 2014! My sister got me the Desolation of Smaug LEGO set!!!! There's a Smaug in it! IT'S AMAZING! He sits on my desk at school now! He's sooooo cool! I love him! (I legitimately have the best sister ever! Shhh, don't tell her I told you that though!)

  

I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT THAT HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER ENDED IN 2014!!!

There was a lot of crying involved with this finale (I think one of my roommates was a little concerned to be honest), but I absolutely loved it! It was a really great way to end the series. Honestly, the only way to end the series and I don't care who thinks otherwise. It made the whole show make sense. I saw the other ended they'd originally planned and it was stupid. The one they stuck with in the show was SOOOOO much better!

OH! And another big thing that happened in 2014 was that I passed my first prelim! Prelims are big tests based on specific areas related to your research that you have to take during your Math PhD. Very exciting!

Hopefully, I'll be able to put up a summary of 2015 before the end of the day!

Happy readings!
Heather