Way Too Busy...

Okay, so this weekend has been really busy, actually. Quick recap, because I have no idea what else to write about.

So, I got a haircut on Friday...just a trim up, nothing more, but it still feels significantly shorter, but I guess I like it. We spent the day running errands, and then my mom and my aunt went to pick up my aunts from the airport. They were flying in from NY for the weekend, to visit and celebrate my mom's birthday and make Christmas cookies. So, then, we visited for a bit, and then we went to bed.

On Saturday, I went in to work to do a party in the morning, and my mom, brother, and aunts came in and had breakfast and laughed at me when I had to get in the kid cow outfit, and the birthday party was kind of boring. Then, I went home for a few hours, then came back to Chick Fil A to do a second birthday party, this one in the afternoon.

Dillon and I both worked it, and though it was supposed to be a large party for 20 kids, only 12 showed, so it ended up being a bit of a bust. Dillon's a very nice guy, though. He's pretty funny...he reminds me a bit of my cousin's friend, Brandon, in that sarcastic way.

So, Saturday night, we went to my aunt's for dinner, opened gifts, and had cake and ice cream to celebrate my mom and my aunt's birthdays (my mom's is the 15th, my aunt's is the 31st). And we spent the evening chilling out and hanging out, which was fun.

On Sunday, we went over to Marshall's to poke around, and my aunts ended up buying me a dress and jacket for our New Year's Eve party at my aunt's house later this month, which was awesomely nice. Then, we went back to the house, had lunch, and then I drove my aunts and Quinn out to the mall, and we poked around and did some shopping, and then went to Kohl's and did some more shopping before heading back home. I got ready, and then Mom and I went to the Chick Fil A Christmas party.

It was a ton of fun. They had a picture area, where they had different props all on sticks (glasses, hats, beards, etc) and you could get your picture taken in this frame thing, which was fun. They had a guessing game out, where you could put in your guess as to how many peppermint candies were in the jar, and the winner got a prize.

Then, we had dinner, and dessert, and then they played a cool little game. Each table got one candy cane filled with Hershey kisses, and the object was to pass the candy cane to the left or to the right every time you heard 'left' or 'right'. Our kitchen manager, Travis, read Twas The Night Before Christmas, but they had added in some 'left's and 'right's to the story, like "the prancing and pawing of each little left and right hoof". Whoever was left with the candy cane at each table at the end of the story got a prize. Miss Lisa, our day-time dining room lady, won at our table.

Then, they announced that Ashley had won the peppermint candy guessing game, and then, Meg and Taylor came up to announce their Team Member awards, which were hilarious. It's not serious at all, it's more just joking around, but it was so awesome. They gave out water bottles as awards, with the name of the award written on a slip of paper inside.

They named Daniel and Matt the best couple, since they're always in the back talking about how awesome their latest workout was or whatever. Lori, one of our marketing ladies, got the Crossover Award, for learning the register. Jonathan got an award for taking a little too long to clean things. Zach got the Whistle While You Work Award, and then couldn't whistle on command when he went up to accept it. Becca got a special award...Ain't Got No Time for Becca, or something like that. My mom got the Show Some Teeth Award. Edgar, one of our kitchen guys won the Mucho Relaxed Award. Jillian won the Probation Award.

And then, Mr. Moore and his wife spoke for a bit, and then we all said goodnight and left, picking up our (what I'm dubbing) cocoa trees (clear glass tree-shaped jars with hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, and marshmallows in them) on the way out. We came home, and visited with my aunts for a bit before going to bed.

On Monday, my aunts left in the morning, and then I went out in the afternoon to run some errands, and then came home, got changed, and went to work at 4:00. And it was so slow. They had four thousand people scheduled...so many that they sent Tyler home half an hour after he'd clocked in. I was out in the dining room, and I had to find stuff to do to keep busy. I took my break around 5:30, and sat with Jonathan and Kristen in the break area, and chatted for a bit. Apparently, Jonathan was pushing for me to get the Probation Award, which was neat to hear.

So, I ended up restocking the condiment bar, and cleaning tables, and getting refills for the rest of the night, and went home about 15 minutes early because I had nothing left to do. I came home, had a second dinner because Mom had picked up Arby's, and then cleaned Ella's cage and went to bed.

On Tuesday, I got called in to work the lunch rush, because there was a bus of 70 Meadowlark chorus kids coming in at 12:15, so I worked like crazy, and then went home, got changed, wrapped a few gifts, and then took Quinn back to Chick Fil A to get a picture with the Santa Cow, and then we went to my grandmother's to go pick out a Christmas tree and decorate her house with my dad.

Wednesday was normal, except that by the time I got to work at 4:00, I was starting to lose my voice from this partial cold I have, so that sucked. By the end of my shift, I could barely talk, which sucked, and to make matters worse, I woke up this morning and could barely talk at all. Hoping that it comes back by tomorrow morning...otherwise, I am definitely going to have to have someone take my Friday evening shift.

I think my computer has a virus. It is super slow, doesn't do what it's supposed to, and my email is acting up. So, if you get any emails from me asking for money, they're fake. I think I'll end up having to get Mom to call Summit's IT guy to see if he can just restore it to factory settings, and I'll probably spend the next few days saving all my important documents to discs. Sucks.

Anyway, nothing much going on. A couple more shifts at work, then Christmas, one shift at work, then I'll be leaving for New York for New Years...wow, time sure does fly.

The Liebster Award...

My amazing friend, Aaron, recently nominated me for the Liebster award, a sign of appreciation and encouragement for bloggers with under 200 followers.  As part of the nomination, you're supposed to answer 11 questions they post for you, nominate 11 more bloggers (although I won't be doing that many), state 11 odd things about yourself, and post 11 more questions for those people to answer!

11 Questions from Aaron

1. What is your dream job?

My practical answer is something akin to teaching. My ambitious answer is either a writer or an actress.

2. Who, if anyone, would you like to meet?

I'm really hoping to meet Dan Stevens and Jessica Chastain this winter when I go to New York City to see the play they're both starring in.

3. What country would you like to visit and why?

I'd love to go to England. Fish & chips, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace in London, but also to see the English countryside & tour Highclere Castle. Because I'm a giant history nerd.

4. What are you most proud of accomplishing thus far in your life?
Oh, gosh, I have no idea. I try to stay humble... I'm pretty proud of being recognized as a good worker at my job - been given a raise, been told I could eventually run the store, etc.

5. If you could choose one exotic food to try, what would it be?
I'm not much for exotic food...I think I'd like to try sushi, just to say I've had it, but I'm not sure I'd actually like it. Raw fish seems a bit...odd...to me.

6. Do you prefer phone calls or hand written letters?

This is a tough one. I love letters because you can express so much on a sheet of paper, and that feeling you get when a letter arrives in the mail is just the best thing ever. But, there's also something about hearing a person's voice over the phone, especially when you haven't spoken to them in a while. So both?

7. What is your favorite park to go to?
I can't say that I go to many parks, what with the amount of work I put in during any given week, but I do love taking walks at the little parcourse near Bethabara park.

8. What is your biggest inspiration?
My parents - they both work so hard to give my brother and I a better life, which I knows sounds so cheesy, but it's true.

9. What is your favorite place to shop at?

Another toughie...I love shopping way too much for my own good. Right now, a lot of the things I'm wearing day-to-day are from American Eagle. I love shopping at H&M and Delia's for my special-occasion clothes, especially for dresses. In terms of non-clothing shopping, probably Target. I spend way too much time in there.

10. Do you have any siblings?

Yes, one 14-year-old brother by the name of Quinn. The bane of my existence, but also the sweetest guy I know.

11. What is your favorite class in school?

Right now, as a homeschooler, I'd say Language Arts. In public school, it was US History.

11 Random Things About Me

1. I claim to be a clean-freak, but really, I'm more of an organized-chaos person. I cannot keep my room clean for more than a day or two before there's stuff on the floor and papers strewn across my desk.

2. I love to write, although I never seem to finish anything I start. I have several original stories, dozens of fanfiction works, etc, all saved on my laptop, but nothing ever gets completed.

3. I an not ordinary in any way, shape or form. Case in point - my Christmas tree. White 3-foot tree with white lights, and electric blue, hot pink, and lime green ornaments.

4. I depend on lists, post-its, calendars, and reminders to keep me sane, especially since I started working. I have been known to forget things, or worse, leave them until the last minute.

5. I have a love/hate relationship with the holiday season. Some days, I am in such a funk, other days, I love the holiday spirit.

6. [Starting to run out of random facts...this is harder than I thought it would be.] I don't particularly like any sort of change. I have had the same phone for four years, the same two purses for about as long, etc. I do not enjoy learning new things.

7. I'd love to live in a big city at some point in my life. New York or LA or something cool like that, just to say that I have.

8. My impulse-buy weaknesses are dresses and shoes. I have way too many of each in my closet.

9. I cannot go a day without listening to music at some point. In the car, through my iPod, on my laptop, flipping to one of the music channels on tv...it's a bit ridiculous, actually, but that's me.

10. I have just rediscovered my love for origami. I made balloon ornaments and little boxes and things for under my little tree in my room.

11. I love when people make me laugh or smile unexpectedly.

Now, I know I should be nominating someone, and posting questions for them to answer, but I really only have one person besides Aaron who has their own blog and reads mine, and she's pretty busy at the moment. So, I think, unfortunately, I won't be able to pass this on to anyone, but I appreciate the opportunity all the same.

All Kinds Of Things Going On...

Oh, crap...so, it's been awhile since I last posted...whoops. I don't really think there's much to write about, but I wanted to get on here anyway and just post a couple of things, for posterity's sake.

I have literally been working every day. Like, I worked five and quarter hours last Monday, eight and three quarter hours last Tuesday, six and a half hours on Wednesday, three hours on Thursday, four hours on Friday, six hours on Saturday, five hours on Monday, and four hours today. It's been crazy.

Tuesday was especially tough, because I was originally only supposed to go in for two and a half hours to cover part of another girl's shift, but then, my manager called that morning and asked if I could work two and a half hours past my original time, and then, we were so busy that the owner asked if I could stay through dinner because they had family night and Jefferson Middle spirit night going on. So, I didn't even get a break, but one of the team leaders ordered pizza after the chaos had ended, so I got pizza instead.

Wednesday was funny...one of the guys that work there, Jonathan, put me on "Sorry Probation" because apparently, I apologize too many times when I bump into someone behind the counter, or almost hit them with the swinging door to the kitchens, or whatever. So, he was basically watching me like a hawk the whole day, making sure I didn't say it, and catching me when I did. It was hilarious.

I got called in on my day off on Thursday, to work lunch, and so I went in and worked front-line for three hours. Emily sent me back to the fridge to stock salad dressings for front-line and while I was back there, my manager caught me and told me that they were giving me a raise on my hourly wage, so that was awesome, considering that I've only been working there about two months. Also, I learned that "Sorry Probation" does indeed last more than one day, as Jonathan and Emily were still on top of catching me when I apologized.

Friday was supposed to only be a two-hour day. I got in at noon, and did drinks for drive-thru for an hour, which I'd never done before and was really fun. Basically, they have someone outside with a headset and an iPad-thing, and they take the orders outside. Then, you have someone inside making drinks, and they have a headset as well so they can communicate with the person outside, in case someone orders a half sweet, half unsweet tea (which comes up as "sweet tea, split") or a half tea, half lemonade, or if they want a fork with something that normally doesn't come with a fork, or want a gift card or whatever.

So, I did drinks while Nathan went outside to take orders for the first hour, and then I got sent to work front-line and my manager asked me to stay late...I think because the managers were interviewing someone and doing inventory and they were afraid they were going to be understaffed or something.

And so I spent my afternoon taking orders and restocking sauces and cups and occasionally checking the dining room and getting ice. Which leads me to my other funny Jonathan-related story of the week. He was in the back making lemonade, which, since our lemonade is fresh-squeezed, we make in the afternoons, and the ice machine is right next to the station where they set up to make the lemonade.

So, the first time I went back to fill the ice bucket, he dropped/threw a lemon rind at me. Every time I came back to refill the bucket after that, he would offer me another lemon rind, so I got a kick out of that. Oh, the little things that keep you sane at work.

I worked lunch on Saturday, and then hosted a birthday party for fourteen kids, and that was pretty fun. I housesat for Jeannie this past weekend, so I basically spent the weekend at her house, feeding the dog and the chickens and all that. I worked again on Monday, first doing drinks in drive-thru with Jonathan on headset outside, and saw Sylvia out the window, and then on window for a while, and then on front-line. Today, I went in for about four hours, and really just ended up doing front-line the whole day.

Oh! And I bought a car! Haha, so we've been looking around for a while, and my mom and my uncle went to look at one on Saturday, and the guy at the dealership let us keep it for the weekend to get the feel for it, and so, I went on Monday after work to buy it! It's a red 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, and it's pretty nice. So, I now have my own car! Yay!

Busy Thanksgiving Week...

Well, crap. I did not mean to go a whole week without posting. I blame holiday busy-ness... So, quick recap of what I did this week.

Anyway, as usual, I put in a ton of hours at work. Worked an eight-hour shift on Saturday, during which I worked two birthday parties (and thus got to be the kid-cow twice), and did a bunch of other stuff, and it's all making me so tired.

Thanksgiving was nice...we got up, watched the parade, had lunch, prepared some food, re-watched some of the parade, and then prepped for dinner. My aunt and uncle came over, and we had a great time eating and talking and all that.

We celebrated with my dad's side of the family on Friday, which involved a deep-fried turkey and a ton of sides and desserts and everything, and just chilling out and hanging with the family, which was nice.

So, I spent my week constantly checking Ebay...I put a set of dolls and some of their clothes up for auction, and figured I'd be lucky if one or two things sold. Well, two things sold within the first day, and then all but one of my eight listings sold! I had five outfit sets, one pair of dolls, and two pieces of furniture, and by the end, only one of the furniture pieces was unsold! So, I made about 250 dollars just from selling all my stuff, which is awesome.

Oh! So, we're officially going to my aunt's in NY for New Year's, and we're officially going into NYC for a day. Because we stayed up until one in the morning Thanksgiving night (after all the turkey and pie and stuff) to buy show tickets. So, we're going into the city on Wednesday, January 2nd, and my mom let me convince her to let us see two shows, if I paid for the tickets for one of them, which I was so willing to do.

So, we're seeing War Horse in the afternoon, at Lincoln Center on 65th, which I am so excited about, because 1) I loved the movie, and 2) I cannot wait to see the puppet-work. And then, we're planning on having dinner in the theater district, and then heading the the Walter Kerr Theater on 48th to see The Heiress, which I am really looking forward to because of the cast. One of the actors from Downton Abbey, Dan Stevens, is playing one of the leads, opposite Jessica Chastain in her Broadway debut, and I don't think there's any question that we'll be hanging around afterwards to try and get autographs.

Um, I think that's all the news-worthy stuff going on right now. I'll try to post again soon...I have Thursday off from work, so maybe then?

Making Some Money...

Well, so I've actually got a few things to blog about, so yay!

Work has been crazy. Like, I worked Thursday, which was Spirit Night for Jefferson Elementary, so it was busy. And then I worked Friday, and Jessica asked me to drive to the Stanleyville Chick Fil A to get shake base and ice cream mix and forks. And Saturday was just, well, crazy. I was scheduled from 8:00am to 2:00pm, and I got there and Jasmine asked me to do a few things (cut lemons and make a few brownie sundae cups) and Byron asked me to make a gallon of unsweet tea and change the trash.

And then Sandra, one of our marketing ladies, asked if I would be interested in learning how to do birthday parties, and I said yes, so she showed me what the party applications look like, and how I should set up the dining room (there was a party going on that morning), and I helped her with that. I made drinks, and brought out food, and then made ice cream cups for the kids. And then I got to suit up in the kid cow outfit and go out to greet the partygoers, which was kinda awesome.

So, I'm now officially doing kid cow, so if y'all happen to stop by one day (like this coming Saturday, because there are a couple of parties going on), and the kid cow is out, it just might be me inside. Also, I got hugs from Sandra and a high-five from Mr. Moore, the owner, because I'm now doing kid cow.

Oh, yes, and Saturday was busy. There was some basketball tournament going on or something, so we kept getting bus-loads of kids coming in. I was working front-line for one rush, and then Tyler and I did dining room for the afternoon, which was insane. It was just a matter of maintaining the dining area - cleaning tables the moment someone got up to leave, restocking the condiment bar, taking out the trash.

Also, yours truly can still fit inside the tunnels in the playplace. Yep, I was cleaning the dining room and some lady came out of the play area to tell me that her daughter was up in the top part and was scared to come down. So, I climbed up inside, and helped her down the slide, and I spent the rest of the day laughing because it was just such a random thing. I ended up staying 45 minutes past the end of my shift, just so I could clean some trays and stuff like that. When I finally got home, we chilled for a bit, and then went to the mall for a few things before going to Coppola's for dinner, and then, I just basically crashed when I got home.

Today was fun. I got up, got ready, and then we went to the grocery store. We did our Thanksgiving shopping, picked up McDonald's for lunch, went home, put the groceries away, ate, and then I started on my project for the day, which was putting some stuff on Ebay. So, my mom and I put together a couple of pieces of posterboard, and I got to taking pictures, and then uploading, cropping, and editing.

And then, I finally started making my listings. So, in total, I had eight separate listings - one set of dolls, five outfits, and two pieces of furniture. The best part of the evening came when I listed a set of holiday outfits for the Bitty Twins I was selling. I got the listing confirmation email at 7:14, and by 7:17, someone had hit the "Buy It Now" button on it and it was sold.

So, I spent the evening listing things, and then printing the shipping label for my sold outfit set, and we'll be taking it to the post office tomorrow. And with one bid already on the dolls, I know I'll be selling them too. I'm hoping everything sells, both for the money and for the fact that I can get them out of the house.

Alright, so this week...I'm working Monday and Wednesday during lunch, and Saturday 8:00am to 3:00pm. Thanksgiving with my mom's family on Thursday, my dad's family on Friday. Other than that, not much going on, but I've got a mile-long to-do list, so that should keep me busy.

Working And Shopping...

Right, so I'm doing this now, so that I don't have the pressure to blog this Saturday, because I'm going to be working the next few nights, as well as Saturday morning/early afternoon.

Unfortunately, I don't have much to say, other than that I've been working. I put in just over 30 hours over the past two weeks, and am set to put in about 20 hours just this week alone, so needless to say, I've been busy with work. The highlight of my day today was Sylvia coming in, which was awesome! I love when I get to see a friendly face!

Also, the owner of the restaurant was in today, and told me that he was very pleased with the way I've been working, and that he's happy that I'm with the company, and that also made my day because when the owner notices, then you must be doing something right. So, today was a really good day.

Oh, I went shopping on Monday. I worked during the day, and came home to find a 40% off one item coupon from H&M in my email, good for three days only, so I convinced my mom to take my brother to the mall (we had to go to Pier 1 anyway to shop for ornaments), and so, I got to go shopping. I picked out a dress (see below), knowing that I needed something for the Chick Fil A employee Christmas party.

I wanted something a little more conservative than what I had in my closet, knowing that I'll be around my bosses and the managers and the owners and everything, and so this is what I picked out. Also picked it out because I won't have to worry about finding a necklace to go with it, because of the jewels on the collar. I always have trouble picking the right jewelry, so this helps a ton.

I'm thinking of wearing it with either grey or silver tights, and the shoes that I'm wearing in the picture (which I know you can't really see) - my grey heeled ankle boots. And with my coupon, a $40 dress only cost me $25 including tax! So, I'm pretty happy about that. (Also, I've noticed that I'm more likely to buy things now that I've got a consistent paycheck coming in every two weeks...gonna have to curb that habit.)

I think that might be it for now, actually. Well, I got something written, at least. I'm working tomorrow (Thursday) from 4:00 to 8:00, Friday from 5:00 to 8:00, and then Saturday from 8:00 to 2:00, so that should keep me nice and busy for the time being.

I promise I'll post again soon! I'm getting better at getting stuff written and posted...it seems like Wednesdays and Saturdays are better blogging days for me, so maybe I'll be able to start posting twice a week, which would be really awesome. :)

Has It Really Been A Week Already?

Ugh, where is my life going to? Another week gone by, and since when is it November? What is going on?

Anyway, I'm still doing this whole working thing. I'm tired...I've been putting in 12-16 hours a week for six weeks now, and it's starting to wear me down. Not much, but just enough where blogging takes a backseat to getting some sleep or kicking back on the couch for the evening. I've made more milkshakes than I can count, especially since Monday when we started selling the peppermint chocolate chip shakes again.

I've already seen a couple people I went to Hanes with (Maggie, Caroline, and Christine), and Mrs. Hudspeth was in last week. I've also seen my neighbor from down the street. And I've seen my mom's co-worker Jeannie out the drive-thru window.

Today was crazy, though. I went in at 11:30, worked the dining room until 2:00, took my break, worked the front-line register, restocked some stuff, checked on dining room, worked front-line, and then got asked to stay late because one of the guys was coming in late, so I worked front-line, did some bagging, some drive-thru window, some dining room, and then got to go home at 6:00 instead of 4:30 when I was scheduled to leave, but Jessica was so thankful that I stayed. She said I saved the day...lol.

Anyway, so I came home, had barbeque sandwiches for dinner, and then watched a little tv, cleaned Ella's cage, and then chilled out. Poked around on Ebay, and realized that I probably should make an account and get to selling my old Bitty Twins dolls and outfits, since they're all retired, and I could probably get close to retail price on all of them, especially with Christmas coming up.

Um, other than that, not much going on. Except trying to plan for our New Year's trip up to my aunt & uncle's in NY, and I have got to start looking at Broadway shows. And making a Christmas list. And getting that stuff up to Ebay. And cleaning my room. And...ugh, I've got so much to do.

More Music...

So, I think I promised more pop-based songs for this post, since my last one was so full of alternative. Although, this may turn into a hodgepodge of whatever comes to mind, not based solely in one genre.



Die Young - Ke$ha. I cannot get this one out of my head, and I have no idea why.




Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons. I love their sound...especially the banjo. And the lyrics (well, besides the obvious over-use of a certain curse word) are very pretty.





Skinny Love - Bon Iver. I don't really know where this one came from, but I love it because it's pretty. I can't decide if I like this one better, or the version by Birdy...they're both pretty.




Alright, I think that's all I've got for now. Expect a new post sometime soon. :)

Happy Halloween...

First of all, Happy Halloween. It is the end of October, and I can't figure out where the time has gone. Only two months until the end of the year...wow. So, another week gone by...ugh, what has my life come to? Apologies again...

Well, I hate to say this, but there's really not much going on. Other than work, and the occasional dogsitting or babysitting thing, life is pretty much the same. Everything's normal, which is nice...nice to settle into a routine.

The weather is killing me. Sticking your body out the drive thru window, even for, like, a half-hour stretch in the morning is so detrimental to my skin. My hands are so dry, thanks to 1) the cold, dry air, and 2) the stupid handsoap at Chick FIl A, which is probably industrial grade and has no aloe or moisturizers in it. Fortunately, you do stay warm at the window...they've got a giant fan/blower right above the window that blasts you with a constant rush of heated air, but it makes a ton of noise, so you have to stick your head out the window anyway to hear what the customer is saying. But anyway...

Other than that, not much is going on. We're obsessing over our fall tv shows. Monday is Revolution. Tuesday is Go On, The New Normal, and Parenthood. Wednesday is Criminal Minds and Modern Family. Thursday is 30 Rock, The Office, Up All Night, and The Big Bang Theory. Friday is CSI: NY. Sunday is Downton Abbey. Yes, we are way too into tv. Lol.

I think, in lieu of a long, boring, rambling post about nothing, I may just give you guys this, and then start on a music-based one for the weekend or something. Because, honestly, I don't have much to write about right now.

Why Am I So Busy?

Apologies again, guys. This work schedule is making me crazy. From the 11th of this month, I seriously have not had a day that I wasn't doing something until this Tuesday...house-sitting, family in town, dog-sitting, Chick Fil A, babysitting, more Chick Fil A, etc. It's insane.

So, basically, that's been my week. Nothing much to talk about on that front, other than the fact that I am busy and tired and am really looking forward to tomorrow and Friday, knowing that I will not be working. (I still have to sit with my mom's co-worker's grandmother Friday morning, but that really doesn't count.)

Wow, this is going to be a really boring post if I don't come up with something soon. Um, yeah, I really don't have anything to talk about, do I? Well, then I guess this is just going to be a really short post, and I'll make it up to you guys with a better post when I have more to talk about (aka, when I actually have a life).

All This Work Is Making Me Tired...

Right, so, apologies for making you wait a week for a post, but this time, I have a real excuse. My calendar has literally been full since Friday, so here's what I've been doing in a quick one-paragraph-per-day format.

Friday - I had a shift at Chick Fil A, and then went over to Jeannie's to do some house-sitting. My cousin, Matt, came into town in the evening, and we went out to dinner at Mac & Nelli's before I went back to Jeannie's for the night.

Saturday - I had a shift at Chick Fil A, and then went back to Jeannie's for a bit, went home, and then went over to my aunt & uncle's for dinner. Two of my cousins, Katie & Phillip, came up from college for the weekend, so we had dinner with them, and then, I went back to Jeannie's to spend another night over there, and got to use her Keurig machine to make hot apple cider Saturday night and french vanilla coffee Sunday morning.

Sunday - I came home from Jeannie's, then went to the mall with Matt, Katie, Phillip, and Quinn, and then we went for frozen yogurt at Yoforia before coming home, chilling out, and then having dinner before Katie & Phillip left.

Monday - Matt left in the morning. I had a shift at Chick Fil A, then I came home and chilled for the day.

Tuesday - I did some dog-sitting for a friend of Jeannie's in the morning, and she asked me if I could come back to do some more dog-sitting in the evening, to which I said yes. So, I came home, chilled for a bit, then had dinner and went back out to dog-sit for the rest of the evening.

Wednesday - I had a shift at Chick Fil A, which basically involved me restocking stuff in the morning, cutting up/packaging brownies, cutting lemons, then working the register for lunch and restocking/taking orders/refilling drinks from about 1 to 2. I made two milkshakes on my own today - one peach and one cookies & cream - which was awesome, and it was so crazy and loud during lunch, I think I may have lost my voice a little.

So, yes, I've been a little bit busy. The rest of the week won't be any more relaxing. I'm dog-sitting again tomorrow (Thursday) night, and then babysitting on Friday night (which is what I'm really looking forward to the most this week), and then I have a five-hour (9-2) shift at Chick Fil A on Saturday. So, I can't guarantee any posts until Sunday or Monday, but we'll see.

Music Faves Of The Moment...

Hey! So, look who's posting before her deadline! Haha, I feel so productive. Anyway, I figured y'all were getting a bit bored with the recaps, so here's a little something different.

I was literally going to title this post 'What I Listen To On Repeat', but that sounded a little...well, stupid, to be honest. Maybe I'll do more of these, maybe not. My favorite songs change practically every day (they're also very dependent on my mood, but that's another story). So, if you see me jamming out in the car any time soon, I'm most likely listening to/ singing along with one of these songs. Also, on a side note, my cassette adapter is my new best friend...I love it.

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of what iTunes would probably generically categorize as "alternative", though I don't know how well that fits. I'm not much into pop songs right now, though, as I've said before, my music preferences change about every two days.


Paradise - Coldplay. I think what really caught my attention at first was the dreamy sound of it, but after I'd listened to it a few times, I really started to connect with the lyrics. Dreaming of paradise in a not-so-nice world. That speaks to me.




Some Nights - Fun. I don't really know what it is about it that I like, I think it's just the overall sound. Every time it comes on the radio, all I want to do is turn the volume up really loud and scream/sing along. Also, this may or may not be the first time I've actually seen the music video...



Ships in the Night - Mat Kearney. I think I originally heard this song online somewhere, and now, I'm completely obsessed with it. It's really catchy, and I don't know...maybe it's the lyrics or the sound or a combination thereof, but I love it.




Where We Belong - Thriving Ivory. Again, I think it's just the combination of the lyrics and the sound and just everything about it. Not a big fan of the music video, but this was the one with the best sound quality, so I put it up here anyway.


So, now you know what I'm listening to. :)

I Wanted Fall, Not Winter...

Right, so technically, I'm going to be a day early on this post! Yay for me! Haha, anyway, quick recap of what's been going on.

I had another training session at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday, which was basically the craziest thing I've ever done. Also the scariest, but I'll get to that in a minute. So, I got there, clocked in, and Jasmine immediately put me on the drive-thru cash register, which was insanely scary considering I had no idea how it worked. She helped me through the first few, and then ended up bagging my orders while I handled the cash and passing the food and drinks out the window. I was so freaking nervous, I thought I was going to die. Because I basically had no training in it at all...they just threw me right in.

Then, Jasmine showed me the register, which was insanely complicated. You have about half a dozen tabs on the left side of the screen...one for breakfast, one for lunch/dinner, one for sides, one for beverages, one for trays, one called local items, and I think there might be one more...oh, desserts!. And on each tab, there are four thousand options...different buttons for meals or just the entree, different options for cheese, nugget count, add/subtract pickles/lettuce/tomato/etc. Then, you have to scroll down to the drink, to select what kind and what size, and oh my gosh, it's insane. Also, I do not like the way Jasmine trains. She just basically shows you everything at lightening speed and then leaves you to flail about on your own.

So, I took a few orders at the front counter (scary!) and then someone else took over for the lunch rush (thank goodness!), so I helped out in the dining room. And then, I basically spent the rest of my four-hour shift taking trays, cleaning tables, restocking the condiments, taking out the trash, and cleaning the used trays. I finally finished up at 2:00, and Jasmine rang me out for my employee meal (since I worked four hours, I qualified for free food). And I basically clocked out and sat in the breakroom and ate my nuggets and fries.

On Thursday, I went to Lewisville to sit with my mom's co-worker's grandmother again, for about an hour and a half, and made $40 for it. That is why I love old people. They pay you insane amounts of money...haha, just kidding. Anyway, then I took a few things over to Etc. to consign, and ended up waiting over an hour for them to go through our six or so holiday items, which was really annoying, but then, I came home and chilled for the evening.

On Friday, we spent the night with my dad, and spent the entirety of Saturday at my grandmother's, which was nice. I needed a day to relax, after all the working and running around I'd been doing, and it was nice to spend some time with my dad. And then, I came home and basically cleaned Ella's cage before bed.

On Sunday, we went to the grocery store, came home, went out to lunch, came home, watched a bunch of last week's tv that we had recorded, Quinn fell asleep, and then Mom and I watched CSI: NY and Downton Abbey before going to bed.

Today was, well, interesting. I really jinxed myself, didn't I? I've been going on and on about how I'm ready for summer to end and for the fall weather to settle in. Well, I asked for less heat, and guess what? I got it...to the extreme. High of only 50 degrees today. I was freezing. So, anyway, when my mom got home, we went right back out because Quinn and I had a dentist appointment, which sucked.

We had a 3:00 appointment, and Quinn got called back right around 3:00, but I ended up sitting in the waiting room until after 3:45, and then waited while the nurse poked around at my file on the computer, finally scraped down my teeth, then waited another ten minutes for another nurse to polish and floss my teeth, then waited again for Dr. Porter to come in and do his check, and by the end of it, I was so freaking annoyed, I wanted to scream.

And then, to make matters worse, we went home. I was really looking forward to going to the mall as we had planned on doing after our appointments. Mom was going to shop with Quinn for a few new pairs of pants, and I was going to go off on my own to Sears (to check what new items they had in) and H&M (because I had a 20% of one item coupon that was for Columbus Day weekend only). So, I come out of the dentist only to find that Quinn has a stomach ache and wants to go home. Turns out, he was fine, didn't complain at all during the drive home, didn't spend time in the bathroom when we got back, ate dinner just fine.

So, I was annoyed. We had dinner, which was probably the highlight of my day, watched CSI: NY again, because Quinn wanted to see it, and then let Quinn sleep for half an hour before getting him up to watch Downton Abbey, because I'd already gone downstairs and gone through the process of setting up my computer to play through the tv. We got downstairs, got settled, I started it playing, and he couldn't, for the life of him, keep his eyes open. So, we stopped it about five minutes in and told him to go to bed. That also made me annoyed.

I ended up letting Ella out, and then Mom and I went upstairs to watch a Netflix movie, Children of Men, which was pretty good. Mom said that she'd seen it before, because she kept remembering bits and pieces of it, but it was practically a new movie for me. I don't remember seeing it before, maybe the ending, but nothing else. And then, we really just said goodnight and went to bed.

Okay, so really, my day kinda sucked. My new Facebook status should have been "Shopping at the mall, delicious dinner, Downton Abbey, and fall weather...a perfect day." But, alas, it was not.

And I just realized how boring this post probably has been. But, I wanted to do something different, so I've stolen an idea from Sylvia again, because she's, like, the queen of good ideas. She's doing this "outfit of the day" thing, which I think is awesome, so every once in a while, I may feature an outfit that I've put together and actually like on here. So, here's what I was wearing today.

This mirror sucks, by the way. I always look into it and feel like I'm standing in front of one of those funhouse mirrors that distorts your shape. Maybe I'm just seeing things. Anyway, back to the outfit.

The grey boots/heels are from Famous Footwear, if I remember correctly. (Also, remind me to wear heels more often...I love how they make me feel.) The jeans are American Eagle, and they're as old as dirt...I've really gotten my money's worth out of them, they've lasted forever. The belt, I can't remember where I got it, maybe Target. Again, it's been awhile. The motorcycle jacket is Charlotte Russe, one of those shopping trips with Anita, Sylvia, and Emma where I got peer-pressured into purchasing it because they all said it looked good on me. Underneath (I know you can't tell), I'm wearing a grey American Eagle sweatshirt.

It was dark and gloomy and cold, and I think I matched my outfit to the weather. Also, as it turned out, it matched pretty well to my mood as the day wore on.

Anyway, that's about it for now. This post is way longer than it should have been, so I better sign off now before I start rambling about something else. Not much going on this week. I may have to go in for training again. Jasmine never got in touch with me, so I'm planning on calling in the morning to touch base with her. I'm house-sitting this weekend, and my cousin Matt is coming up from Georgia (where he's in the Marines) on Friday to meet up with my cousins Katie and Phillip, who are coming up from South Carolina (where they're in college) on Saturday, so it should be a fun weekend with everyone together.

Life Keeps Getting In The Way...

Seriously, guys, I have good intentions when I promise to not make you wait a week for a new post. And then, things come up, and I get busy, and then crash afterward, and I just have no energy to type something up. Terrible, I know, but that's what's been happening.

So, basically, I spent two and a half hours sitting with my mom's co-worker's grandmother on Thursday, because supposedly, she falls when she's alone. The whole thing was so easy...I basically sat around and watched tv.

On Friday, I dropped my mom and brother off at the fair, and then went home, had lunch, went to Kohl's, tried on a bunch of stuff and didn't find anything, then went to the mall. I went into Forever 21 first, planning on going to H&M, and maybe Delia's afterward, but I got a text from Mom asking if I could get them now, instead of at 4:00 like they had initially said, so I basically tried on the two items that I had picked up from the front of the store in my five minutes worth of shopping, neither of which fit, and then left.

We went out to dinner and then to Kohl's on Saturday, and on Sunday, Mom and I went to a Chick-Fil-A team meeting in the afternoon. We ended up picking up my uniform and scheduling some of my training afterwards. So, we came home, and Mom hemmed and fixed my pants, which were a bit too big, and helped cut my belt down to size, and I went out to get hair scrunchie/band/things because all of mine are neon. And then, we fixed cheese fondue for dinner, watched some of our recorded tv, and then watched Downton Abbey.

On Monday, I got up, took Mom to work, came home, got another hour or so of sleep, and then got up and got ready for my first day at work. I drove over, clocked in, met Jasmine, and she showed me around a bit, and then set me up with the company iPad to watch some training videos, but she couldn't get it to work, so we went over the menu, and I watched a couple of little non-training videos instead. So, my first hour was basically a waste.

Then, I met Lisa, the lunch hostess, and she trained me in the dining room. She showed me where all the cleaning supplies were, and how to open the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom, and where the boxes of ketchup and mustard packets and that kind of stuff were. And then, we basically worked the dining room the rest of the afternoon, taking people's trays, and refilling people's drinks, and cleaning tables. I wiped down a ton of used trays (I felt like I spent most of my time doing that), and changed/took out the trash, and then finally, at 1:30, my shift ended, and I clocked out.

I bought a milkshake on the way out (only $2.25 with my employee discount), and then went to pick up Mom from work. We came home, and made dinner before we crashed, and then basically laid around for a while, watched the news, ate dinner, watched Nightly News, and then Mom and I watched The Illusionist, our latest Netflix movie, which we've seen before, but wanted to watch again. I hadn't seen it in so long that it was like watching a brand new movie. And then, I let Ella out, and we basically went to bed.

Today, my job has been to clean the house, so I've been dusting and cleaning the bathrooms and stuff. Tomorrow, I have another training shift at Chick-Fil-A, and I think Jasmine wants to teach me the register/front counter stuff, so I might be ringing up some orders, which should be interesting. And then, on Thursday, I'm sitting with my mom's co-worker's grandmother again for the morning, and I think that's it for the rest of the week.

Back To Normal Life...

Well, I can honestly say that I have been busy, and haven't had time to post.

I did a ton of errand-running on Wednesday. I dropped my mom off at work, went home, got ready, took the car to Shattalon Tire, where I waited 45 minutes for them to tell me that they couldn't find a problem with the car, then went to the eye doctor to pick up my contacts, then went to Walmart to look at cassette adapters, then to Target to do the same, then to Best Buy to do the same, and then to the Walmart on the other side of town (also to do the same). I found one there for $10 (the cheapest I could find elsewhere was $20), and then went to pick up my mom from work.

Anyway, the other important thing of the past week, the beach trip, was awesome. I don't really feel like going into much detail, so I think I'll just give you a quick rundown of what we did each day with little stories about some of the more memorable moments. We left on Thursday afternoon, and I drove the entire way down, and my cassette adapter worked great. I ended up using it the entire trip, and so far, there haven't been any problems with it. We checked into our hotel, and went out to dinner at a place called Bimini's, and then played mini-golf at Prof. Hacker's Lost Treasure, and then came back to the hotel and walked on the beach.

On Friday, we got ready, left the hotel, and went to Captain Hook's Adventure Golf, which has always been a favorite of mine. Then, we drove down to Broadway at the Beach, walked around a bit, had lunch at Key West Grill (I had a cup of she-crab soup and a shrimp parmesan sandwich), and then walked around a bit more before heading into Wonderworks. It's a bit like a big Sci-works, but better, because they have, like, over 100 exhibits, and all kinds of stuff to do. And it's awesome because the building is upside down.

So, we spent a couple of hours wandering around, putting our hands in 28-degree water to feel what the water felt like the night the Titanic sank, playing virtual air-hockey, running around on a giant piano, playing mind-ball, and then doing their indoor ropes course, which was quite possibly the scariest thing I have ever done, because you're literally walking across four-inch-wide beams, or clinging onto ropes or cargo nets, and I swear, my legs were like jelly afterwards.

Then, we went back to the hotel, rested up a bit, and went out to dinner at Chesapeake House. While we were waiting in the lobby for a table, the man next to us asked if we knew who Natalie Portman was. We said yes, and he responded that I favored her a little bit. Which was nice, but totally untrue, because I don't even see the slightest resemblance. Anyway, we had dinner, and then basically went back to the hotel, took a walk on the beach, and then went to bed.

On Saturday, we got ready, left the hotel, and then went to Jurassic Golf, then to Broadway at the Beach, where we all did the zipline across the lake, which was awesome, and then took a ride in the speedboat, which was also awesome. Then, we went over to the movie theater to see Finding Nemo in 3D, which was really cool, and then we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. We played a round of mini-golf at Dragon's Lair, watched the fireworks, and then ate a nutella and banana crepe before heading back to the hotel for our walk on the beach before bed.

On Sunday, we got up, got ready, checked out, and then had breakfast at a Spring House or something. We got on the road, and I drove the entire way back. When we got in, we unloaded the car, and then ordered and picked up dinner from Frank's, came home, ate, and then watched Downton Abbey. I cleaned Ella's cage, and then we went to bed.

Oh! I forgot! Guess who has a job now? Haha, yes, I do. I just didn't want to tell anyone until a) I was absolutely sure I had the job, and b) I had told my family. So, I had turned in my application at Chick-Fil-A in late August or early September, and had two interviews, and I thought that maybe they didn't want me, because I hadn't heard from them ten days after the second interview, but they called, like, the next day to offer me the job, and then set up a date for me to come in and do my paperwork.

So, that's what I was doing Monday morning. I went into Chick-Fil-A, met one of their marketing people, filled out my tax forms, ordered my uniform (shoes, pants, belt, and burgundy shirt), and then went over the handbook, had my picture taken for the new-employee board, and received my name badge. Right now, I'm just waiting for my uniform to come in, and then I can start training, and maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll be working on the front line. So, please come in and see me once I get on the schedule. I may even be the one to take your order!

We went out for dinner with my dad tonight. So much fun. We got Coppola's and ate at my grandmother's with my aunt and uncle, and talked and laughed and watched Little House on the Prairie. All in all, a fun time, as usual.

Okay, I think I've covered everything that needs to be covered. I promise I won't wait until the very last minute to post again...this week has just been really busy! :)

It Feels Like Fall...

So, here we are again...I'm a day early, which is quite surprising, considering my penchant for procrastination. Ooh, I like the way that sounds...penchant for procrastination. Haha.

Anyway, the weather right now is lovely. I was just telling you how much I couldn't wait for fall, and now, it seems (for the moment, at least) that fall is upon us. It is barely reaching 75 degrees in the afternoons, and there have been a few days now (especially over the weekend when we were out running errands in the early part of the day) that I put on my jeans, which made it feel all the more like autumn.

My brother and I went to my dad's for an overnight on Friday, which was fun. We had dinner, came back to my grandmother's, watched tv, went to bed, and then had breakfast, ran errands, and visited with my aunt on Saturday. A lot of fun. On Saturday night, we were back with my mom, and we ended up getting pizza for dinner and relaxing for the evening.

We finished marathon-watching Downton Abbey on Sunday, after running errands in the morning, and going out to Panera for lunch. We made dinner, ate, watched some old episodes of MASH, and then went downstairs, and I managed to pull up the new Downton Abbey episode that had premiered in the UK a couple of hours prior. Tor was the problem the entire time. I downloaded a different program, Expat Shield, and it worked wonderfully, so we are now able to watch them the same day they air in the UK, and not have to wait until January for them to run on PBS in the US. The first episode was so good...I cannot wait for next Sunday.

Today, we basically hung around all day, which was nice, and then my mom came home and we chilled for a bit before taking her to her shift at Chick-Fil-A. Then, Quinn and I came home and got all dressed up (pics below) and headed out to Kingswood Preschool for our photo sculpture appointment. Okay, so we basically scrambled because Quinn decided to lose track of time (as he always does) and started getting ready about five minutes before we were supposed to leave.

Quinn in his outfit.

My outfit.

Together. :)

Anyway, we got there, got our pictures taken, went home, changed out of our clothes, and now, I'm just sitting downstairs, watching the news, and letting Ella out. I'll go pick up Mom at 8:00, and then we'll probably just have dinner and chill out.

Tomorrow, I have to take her into work in the morning, then go over to Shattalon Tire to get the car checked, and then go pick up my packs of contacts from the eye doctor, and then go pick Mom up from work in the afternoon. And then, Quinn and I will go to dinner with my dad, and then I think I probably should do some packing for the beach, since we'll be leaving Thursday afternoon. Ugh, so much to do.

I Don't Know What To Post About...

Ah, crap. Another week gone by and I still have yet to post in accordance with my weekly posting pact. Well, here goes nothing.

I am literally doing nothing right now, which feels insanely good. I think we're waiting to start school until after we get back from our mini beach trip next week, since we've got a lot on our plates before we leave. Mom's working most evenings, and we have just not been able to get ourselves organized in the little down-time we have. Basically, we just want to sit and have dinner and watch tv with each other, and maybe work on a puzzle or watch a movie or just sleep. Lol, we're so fun.

Anyway, so we also have to prep for getting our picture taken for our yearly photo sculptures. We thought we were going to get ahead of it this year, and have the outfits picked out and everything ready before October, which is when they normally do them. But, the woman called and said they're doing them early this year, and that Kingswood (where Quinn and I went to preschool and where we've been getting them done practically every year) is doing theirs next Tuesday, the 18th.

So, it's working out just like it always does with us. I get to wear whatever I have in my closet that I like, and then we buy an outfit for Quinn to match it. So, I'm planning on wearing my new light blue lace dress from Delia's, with a pair of tan/nude wedges, and I don't know if I'm going to do a jacket or not. Or maybe no jacket and some cute jewelry or something. (Sylvia, you need to help me! Lol.) And I think we're going to put Quinn in a white button-down, black pants, black shoes, and either a blue tie to match my dress or some other pastel to contrast it. Pics to come afterwards. Probably.

Other random news... Our most recent Netflix rental, Dream House (with Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz), was pretty cool. I just finished And Then There Were None, which was awesomely cool. I really had no idea right up until the very end. I don't know if it's meant to be like that or if I'm just that clueless, but it was pretty cool just the same. I love my contacts...it's funny because I'm able to put the left one in quicker/easier than the right, but I'm able to take the right one out quicker/easier than the left. Must be the angle or something.

My mom and I are marathon-watching the second season of Downton Abbey, since the third season premieres in the UK this Sunday. It premieres in the US in January, but I am not waiting that long. I'm currently working on finding a way to watch them, either by finding a website that has uploaded them for others to download, or by watching it on the official UK website, which means I have to find a way to trick their servers into thinking I'm residing in the UK, because you can only watch their videos if you live in the UK. So, I'm working on configuring this anonymity program called Tor to work with Flash without giving away my real IP address. If that doesn't work...well, we can watch the first episode on Tunnelbear for free, and then, I'll have to find an alternative method.

Not much else going on. Just trying to get organized. I cannot wait for the fall. There was something I read on Tumblr somewhere about "I want fall to be here now. I hate feeling like hot, sticky, sweaty, gross death all the time. I want pumpkin spice lattes, and cashmere sweaters, and chilly days" or something to that effect, which I thought was a pretty accurate description of my feelings. I cannot wait to stop feeling icky everytime I go outside for even a few minutes. I want to wear jeans and sweaters. I want to watch the leaves change colors.

Alright, I think I've rambled on long enough for one day, don't you think? Anyway, hopefully, I'll find something better to write about for my next post, which hopefully, will come before the one-week mark.

Posting Pact...

Alright, so I have officially (okay, maybe not officially, but whatever) made a pact with Sylvia, regarding both of our posting habits. Basically, we're holding each other accountable for one post a week on our respective blogs, and that means good news and bad news for you guys. Good news is that you'll get at least one new post a week. Bad news is that they may be pretty boring.

Anyway, I'm cutting this one close. I posted last Thursday, so I'm six days into my week and finally posting something. Yay for me for not failing on my first week! There's really not much to tell you about, honestly. We ran errands and then went to Mac & Nelli's for dinner on Saturday, went over to my aunt & uncle's for a Labor Day cookout on Sunday, and ran a few errands on Monday.

We did get over to Edward McKay on Saturday, and my mom and I picked up a calculus textbook and a statistics textbook for me, and a electricity/science textbook for Quinn, and she got a book. I ended up combing through the shelves and bought And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, because I'd heard it was pretty good. Haven't started it yet, but I will soon. We took a box of my brother's old books to trade in, and ended up getting $40 in trade credit for them, so it basically covered the cost of everything we bought.

I went to the optometrist again today, for a follow-up appointment, and apparently, I have 20/20 vision with the contacts and they fit well and everything. They get blurry every once in a while, and I can't tell if that's because they just shooed me through and didn't really check to see if my prescription needed changing or if it's because my vision really has gotten better, and I'm just so used to the higher power lenses in my glasses. But, anyway, I ordered my six-month supply, and they said they'll call when they come in.

Other than that, I'm just trying to enjoy the last week of summer vacation before we get back into the school stuff. I've just been hanging around, kind of chilling out, which is really nice, actually. We've got a ginormous puzzle that we're working on, but we've gotten all the easy, fun stuff done (St. Basil's Cathedral and the street in front of it) and now, all we have left is the sky, which is really hard, so no one really wants to do it. Lol.

Also, I'm angry at my tv. No, I'm angry at the DVR. It didn't record the second-to-last episode of Pretty Little Liars for whatever reason, so now, I'm stuck, because I need to find somewhere online or whatever to watch it before I watch the finale, which is really hard because ABC Family only posts the most recent episode on their website, and I would really rather not spend $2.99 or whatever it is to buy it on iTunes.

Um, there's really not anything else to talk about. Except movies, because you know we watch a lot of them. The Iron Lady was very good, and Eragon was pretty interesting. Too bad there won't be any other movie versions of the books, because I probably would have eventually gotten around to seeing them.

Okay, I think that's it. But, I'll be back within the next week, because Sylvia's going to hold me to it. Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting to write about for my next post.

Something To Post About...

Yes, I know it's been two weeks. Turns out, I'm still as lazy as ever when it comes to posting...no surprise there.

Haven't been doing much, just starting to get ready for the school year and enjoying the last few weeks before we're back onto a regular schedule. This summer has passed by way too quickly, and I kinda hate that. I wish it was summer all the time, but then what would we get done with our lives, really? Not much, in my case.

Anyway, the real reason I actually decided to post was because Tuesday and Wednesday I went into the optometrist's office (eye doctor). It took two days of trying, but I now have contacts! Yay! Haha, anyway, the first day I could get them in, but not out (it ended up being because my nails were too long to allow my fingers to get a grip on the contact as I was trying to get it out), and then I spent the second day successfully taking them in and out and thereby proving to the woman who was helping me that I could do it so that I could officially take them home.

So, I got them yesterday, and am on a recommending-wearing-time schedule for the week. Four hours yesterday, six hours today, eight tomorrow, ten, twelve, and then by Monday, I'll be able to wear them all day and not bother with my glasses at all. I have to go back next Wednesday for a follow-up appointment, where they'll give me an eye exam to make sure I have the right prescription and that the lenses fit correctly and all that. So, here's what I look like with them in, since I know most of you haven't seen me without glasses since the beginning of sixth grade.

Also, please excuse the giant-head-syndrome. My mom calls it 'bobblehead syndrome', aka, having a giant head and a small body. Normally, we reserve the name-calling for actresses or people on the local news, but today, I think it applies to me. I need to work on finding a way to style my hair so that it hides my giant head. Lol.

Anyway, I think that's about it in terms of anything terribly important. I promise to post more soon, really, I do. I need to get back on a consistent posting schedule, because, really, I love blogging. :)

More Visitors...

Well, I'm behind on posting. Again. Haha, no surprise there, at least not anymore. I just can't seem to get back on the posting bandwagon. I am writing though, just not for the blog. I've got a bunch of little ficlets I'm working on, just for my benefit. I'm a lot better at creative writing than I am at recaps and essays and junk like that. Maybe I should be an author instead...haha, yeah right.

Anyway, I've been busy. Since my last post, my cousin Matt came into town this past Friday from Georgia, where he's in the Marines. My aunt, uncle, and cousins brought down his new car last week on their way to Florida, and so he made arrangements to come up and get it.

We ended up going out to lunch at The Loop on Saturday, then heading over to the mall. Quinn bought a video game, and I stopped at Clinique to get some foundation, which cost enough for me to qualify for the bonus, which was nice. And then, we went to Best Buy so Matt could get stuff for his iPhone, and then we went back to the house, got ready, and then went to my aunt & uncle's for a cookout.

We swam at the pool, and had dinner, and then ate dessert, and then Matt and I made a drink run without really alerting anyone as to where we were going. We just kind of snuck out, got in his car, and he drove over to our house to get the cream soda we had bought, and then to the grocery store for Yoohoo and Red Bull, which was fun. We came back, and ended up spending a few hours at the pool, chilling with everyone in the hot tub and swimming in the main pool.

On Sunday, we did our grocery shopping, and then went to the pool for the afternoon. We came back to the house, got ready, and then Matt picked me up, and we went to Walmart, Target, and Best Buy to price out cameras because Matt wants to buy one eventually. When we got back, my aunt and uncle had arrived, and we took some pictures of his car, and then had chicken fajitas for dinner, and cake and ice cream for dessert to celebrate Matt's birthday early. And then, we watched the closing ceremonies, which were...well, interesting is the only word I can think of.

Other than that, not much going on. Just chilling out, trying to get in my last few weeks of relaxation before school starts, and I have to deal with thinking about college and touring Forsyth Tech and applying to college and researching financial aid and all that grown-up stuff. I don't really want to be an adult. I just want to stay a kid forever. But, that's life.

Well, I think that's it for now. If I think of anything else, it'll give me an excuse to write up another post. Haha, like that's going to happen. :)

Today's Project...

Oh, my gosh, so today, I actually worked on a project that I've been meaning to get done for a while now. And it felt so good to be productive again...I need to do this more often because it's so fun. And the project itself was so cheap, I couldn't resist sharing.

So, today's project was to frame a few photos for my room. I bought three frames at Rose's - two 5x7's (one blue, one green...$2 each) and one green 4x6 ($1.50) a few days ago. Yesterday, I spent the day uploading, saving, cropping, editing, and otherwise digitally enhancing the photos I had decided to use, and today, I uploaded them to Snapfish and ordered them to be picked up at Walgreens (5 glossy 4x6 photos for $1.01). I think I ordered them at 1:05, and they were ready at 1:25, but I waited to pick them up after I dropped Mom off at work.

I updated the picture in one of my older frames, then did the new 4x6 frame. I used scrap paper from my mom's scrapbooking supplies to mat the other two 4x6 pictures to fit the 5x7 frames, and matted them in the opposite color of the frame to make them pop. The final products look like this:

Finally replaced the old photo of Aaron & I with something more current. (I think that's a glitter speck on the glass over my chin.)

The new 4x6 frame.

The new 5x7's with 4x6 photos and opposite matting.



So, I now have five frames instead of two, which is nice. And the whole project cost me just over $6.50 total, which was surprisingly cheap for as much as I got out of it. Also, remind me to do more projects in the future, because I forget how much I like working on these types of things.

Thinking Back...

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I've come to realize that a lot has changed in my life over the past year or so. A year ago, my parents had not yet announced they were divorcing. A year ago, Aaron was still in North Carolina. A year ago, my uncle was still alive. A year ago, I had (was just getting ready to start, really) my first job.
Needless to say, all of that has changed. My parents have separated, Aaron has moved away, my uncle has been gone almost a year now, and I don't have a job anymore.

I can't say that any of that hasn't sucked, because, let's face it, it has. I've gone through more this past year than I've ever really gone through in my life, and I can't say that it hasn't affected me, because it has. If I'm honest with myself, I'd say I'm not as happy-go-lucky anymore. I'm more closed-off, more introverted. I've always been a creature of habit, of routine, and the changes that have come from this past year have not always been welcome.

This past year has been filled with a lot of 'downs', and as much as I try to only focus on the 'ups', it's a hard thing to do. I mean, I can't even go back to Catered Affairs to work the football season this year, which would have made me between $700 and $900 dollars over a total of seven days of work. And as much as my mom tries to hold it off, my dad wants us to move out of the house so he can put it up for rent.

Honestly, I've never felt so conflicted about either of my parents in my entire life. I feel bad because we don't spend much time with my dad, and yet I'm angry at him for starting all this, because if it wasn't for him wanting a divorce, we would never be in this situation. I would still have a job, we wouldn't be practically living paycheck-to-paycheck, and I could have at least had some semblance of a normal life. I can't get past the fact that he says he has me and my brother's best interests at heart, and yet it feels like we're getting screwed over just because he doesn't want my mom to be happy. My mom's trying her hardest to keep things going, but at the same time, she can't 1) get past all this animosity she has toward my dad and 2) realize that I'm old enough and mature enough to have a say in decisions that involve me.

In all honesty, I can't say that I'm "okay." That seems to be my answer to everyone lately. "I'm okay." "I'm fine." "It's alright." I've just now started to realize that I can't keep lying to myself. I can't keep telling myself that I'm okay, because in reality, I'm not. Some days, I can stay busy enough and not think about any of it. But, there are days like today where things come up and I hate my life.

And then, I hate myself because of how childish I'm being over all this. There are people I know who have it far worse than I do, who are having family troubles of their own, and I hate myself for being so selfish about things that probably seem silly to other people, and will probably seem insignificant to me down the road. But, it's just hard to see past it right now.

I'm sorry to all of you who are reading this. I really didn't mean for this to become a rant about my family problems, but in all honesty, I do feel better when I can at least talk to someone, or in this case, write it out. I seem to be having a lot of mood swings lately, in terms of feeling good, and then feeling horrible. The good days feel really, well, good, but then the bad days (or in this case, a total of about an hour) feel that much worse. I'm not going to do anything stupid or drastic or dangerous, I promise, so if this whole thing has you concerned for my safety, don't worry. If I had bottled everything up and not written anything, maybe, but this makes me feel a whole lot better to have it out of my system now.

I think this week will prove to be a nice distraction from everything going on, though. My aunt, uncle and cousins are coming back into town for a night on their way from Florida to New York early in the week, and my Marine cousin, Matt, is coming up from Georgia for the weekend to visit with us and pick up his new car. So, it should be a fun time. And I promise the next post will be a lot less depressing.

I've Been Busy...

Holy crap, y'all. I haven't posted in a long time. Sorry. I've been busy, and then lazy, and then busy again, and now I'm just lazy. Anyway, quick recap of what I've been doing lately.

I went to Lane's house a couple Fridays ago for a party. Aaron loved the high-low dress I wore, and we ended up starting a fire in the fire pit and burning a bunch of Lane's papers. We had pizza for dinner, and then sat around the patio table chatting with a bunch of Lane and Aaron's friends, and ate cupcakes, and then we burned some more paper, and hid from Ryan, and made s'mores, and then I finally had to leave because I really needed to get home and get some sleep. So much fun.

I spent a week at my mom's co-worker's house, starting on Saturday, taking care of her animals and house-sitting while she and her family went on vacation. I basically woke up, took the dog out, fed the dog, opened the chicken coop, watered the plants, took the dog out at noon, took the dog out at 5:00, fed the dog, checked the mail, gathered eggs from the coop, took the dog out again at 9:00, and then went to bed at midnight.

It was a tiring week. I did absolutely nothing in terms of activity, other than going to the mall on Sunday, taking things to the consignment store on Monday, and Enchanted Cottage on Thursday, but I was so tired by the end of it all. But, I made $200 and had a bit of a mini-vacation, so it was fun.

And then, I had two days to recover before my aunt, uncle, and three cousins came into town Monday night. They were on their way to Florida for a family reunion. We had pizza for dinner at my aunt's house, and then the cousins came over to our house to spend the night, and then we had breakfast in the morning, and then the five of us kids went to the mall and had Panera for lunch, and then went to my aunt's pool for the afternoon before coming back to our house for taco soup for dinner. And then, they left at 8:00, so they could get four or five hours down the road and get a hotel.

Um, other than that, I've been watching a lot of the Olympics. Mom and Quinn came over to Jeannie's (where I was house-sitting) for the opening ceremonies, which were okay. Not terrible, but it was no Beijing. I thought it started well, with the agrarian landscape changing to the industrial landscape, but then it got kind of choppy and disjointed. There was a tribute to the NHS (National Health Service), and then a bunch of creepy literary villains came out, and a ton of Mary Poppins' defeated a giant, 100-foot Lord Voldemort, and that's where I said, "Okay, I'm done. This is weird."

I though they focused too much on individual people/things. Literary characters, NHS, some guy who invented the world wide web...it was a little too specific. If you didn't know anything about Britain when the ceremony started, you still wouldn't have known much about their history by the end of the evening. Or at least that's what I thought.

I've been watching a lot of beach volleyball, gymnastics, and swimming, which is what's being featured in primetime. But, I've been watching some of the live stuff during the day, and the whitewater course is pretty awesome. Rowing is pretty fun to watch as well. I love watching the features on London itself. Beefeaters, and the Tower Bridge, and Horse Guards Parade, and all that cool stuff. I totally wish I was there.

In terms of movies we've seen recently, Big Miracle was cute, The Debt was amazing, Cowboys & Aliens was really dumb (I kept telling my mom that, and she kept insisting we put it on our Netflix queue), and Mirror Mirror was actually really awesome. I loved it so much more than Snow White & the Huntsmen.

And I think that's about it. Nothing much else going on. Just chilling out, which is nice. I'm glad I don't have much to do this week. I really just want to sit here and watch the Olympics forever, because I'm actually really enjoying it.