Labor Day Weekend

Oh, boy. Well, I just changed over to the new post editor. (Yes, I know it's been available for a while; I was just kinda slow on changing it over...well, really slow on changing it over.) So, we'll see how this goes.

Um, well, the one fun thing we've done this weekend was that we had Granny over for dinner Saturday, and Dad invited Alfredo over, too. So, we had a lot of fun. Quinn was watching Little House on the Prairie all day, which was absolutely hilarious, because it's such a sappy show, and Mom was all "Oh, let me know if the episode where they dig for gold comes on!" Which it didn't, but whatever. So, anyway, Mom made lasagna, which we don't make that often, so it was a real treat for us, and we talked and joked around and had a ton of fun.

The swimming thing never did work out; everyone was really busy, and had other plans. But, Mom, Quinn, and I ended up going over there anyway, and my uncle showed us how to turn on the hot tub, so we got the water all heated up and got to enjoy the hot tub for a while, which was cool.

Today, Mom and I went to the pool again, and there was this humongous spider on the curtain in the gazebo, and so Mom and I left our purses somewhere else. Because who wants a spider (that had to have been a good three inches in diameter) in their stuff? Creepy. But anyway, we got some sun, and swam around, and watched the frog that seems to now be living within the rocks near the edge of the pool.

And then we came home, and changed, and went out to Applebee's for dinner, just because. And it was good, as usual, cuz I really like Applebee's. And then we went over to Gamestop so Quinn could get some Legend of Zelda game or something, and we stopped at CVS to pick up a few things before heading home.

Tonight is Dad's fantasy football draft, which I never did 'study' for. Oh well, I can read the ratings as we pick. Nothing for tomorrow; Mom's at work, so I'll be relaxing, but when she gets home, we'll be going over the schedule and textbooks and stuff for homeschool. Which we will be starting on Wednesday, after our dentist appointments.

I've just begun to realize how fast the past year or so has gone by. This past August marked a year since I got my braces taken off, and in a few days, it will be a year since I had my wisdom teeth pulled. Time really does fly...

It's Been Way Too Long...

Oh, wow, I am so horribly lazy. I haven't posted in forever! But, in truth, there hasn't really been much going on anyway, so it's not like I've had anything important to blog about.

- We ordered the homeschool stuff on Tuesday, and it had already arrived, so...ugh. Mom says that we're starting this coming Tuesday, which is...ugh. It's not that I don't like homeschool, I just hate school in general. Haha.

- My mom got her skydiving video in the mail a few days ago, and I think if she watches it anymore, the DVD player is going to go on strike. But, I have to admit, it's really pretty funny seeing my mom scream like a little girl as she tumbles out of the plane...haha. There's one part in the free-fall where's she mouthing "Oh my god, this is SO COOL!!!", which I found especially hilarious.

- We (as in my dad, my mom, and myself, because Quinn never does anything around the house) ended up spending our whole day today (Friday) cleaning the garage, because it's become a nasty, dirty, messy, well...mess in there. So, we did some cleaning and rearranging and stuff, which was neat, but it was extremely hot. But whatever. It looks a whole lot better now.

- We just watched a movie called Enemy At The Gates, which we ordered from Netflix and was pretty good. Jude Law and Ed Harris play Russian and German, respectively, sharpshooters, whose mission it is to kill the other during the siege and fall of Stalingrad in 1942/43. Good movie, neat concept...

This weekend, my job is to read up on as much fantasy football stuff as possible, seeing as Dad has asked me to partner with him in the other league he's competing in. This one is just a bragging rights league, as opposed to his other league, where you get a cash prize if you win, which is good because if I give him the wrong advice on who to put in, it's not like it's going to cost him the season.

And on Sunday, Sylvia and Anita might be coming over to the pool, but 'might' is the operative word here. Seeing as Anita's going to be coming back from Tennessee and, well, I don't know what Sylvia's plans are, but whatever.

And I have to figure out how to make a copy of Mom's skydiving video, so that she can send it to my uncle. Oh, and one for her co-worker, and one for her, so that she doesn't destroy the original from overusing it. Lol.

But, really, that's it for now. Hopefully, I'll have something more interesting for the next post! :)

Blog Changes

Yes, I changed the background...again. Because I'm very indecisive like that. But I think it fits the blog name better, so whatever. Let me know if the animation (the blinking stars) gets annoying or distracting or anything, cuz that was the only thing that I was concerned about when I changed it over.

I changed my icon/profile picture, too, although it's the same picture as before, just better colors, instead of that pinkish-purple monstrosity I had before. And I had one heck of a time choosing the new icon, too. Why? Well, let's just say that Picnik is my new obsession, and I spend way too much time on there making icons. Like these... [I think if you click on them, you can see them more clearly...]

Top row is Fred & Ginger, next row is Gone with the Wind. Third row is random ones from The Adventures of Robin Hood, Romeo & Juliet, A Streetcar Named Desire, Of Human Bondage, and It's Love I'm After. And a couple of Criminal Minds ones after that...

Yep, I have way too much time on my hands. The hardest ones are the black and white ones, cuz sometimes I just don't know what to do with them, but whatever. I was originally thinking of doing one for each movie I've seen, but then I realized how hard it would be to find pictures or screenshots of some of the very early ones, so it just became a sort of time-waster, but a fun time-waster in my opinion. Gives me something to do when I get bored, which is pretty much all the time. Haha.

Well, I think the pictures screwed up my formatting, cuz now I can't separate the paragraphs. Awesome. So, that's going to have to be it for the night. Maybe a new post tomorrow, though! :)

Life's A Beach...

I'm back! The beach was amazing! I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very long time. So, anyway, recap time, maybe a few stories, and definitely some pics. (Yes, I'm finally figuring out the pic thing...a shout-out to Aaron for encouraging me to put some photos up.)

So, first things first, a picture recap of my last blog post. First up, skydiving. Mom and Uncle Mark got out to the airport for their 9am appointments, watched the waiver videos, signed their papers, got lessons, and got suited up. This is their post-jump photo with their tandem instructors/jumpers.

I am totally going when I turn 18 (the minimum age). Mom said it doesn't even feel like your falling, so I'm definitely doing it. But anyway...

Parasailing. This is a picture of my cousin Katie and I getting our feet wet as they pulled us back in towards the boat.

I had originally thought that the difference in age (Katie's going into her sophomore year of college and Matt is a year and a half older than me) and the fact that we don't see each other that often would prevent me from really talking and having fun with them, but I was so wrong. We got along wonderfully, and had a great time.

Other than what I talked about in my previous post, we went shopping in Southport, hung out on the beach, and walked fifteen minutes along the beach to one of the turtle nests each night, which never did hatch while we were there. Oh well. And we worked super hard on the Vatican puzzle that Mom had brought with us, which we managed to finish the night before we had to leave.

Not really a group shot, since we're missing Mom and Poppie, but still...this one is more 'beachy' than the last day photo...

But anyway, the point is that I had a great time, and I wish we lived closer so that we could see them more often. Well, that's pretty much it for now, I guess. I've been working on this post for way too long now...haha. If you want to see more pictures, I've got quite a few posted on Facebook, so check them out if you have the time!

Beach Trip Post #1

Wow, I have a ton of stuff to talk about. The past few days have been very fun here on Oak Island with my family and relatives...here's some of what's been going on. Right now, I'm just posting my schedule; I'll add some of the actual stories and funny things probably when I get home.

- We left on Saturday, drove for a while, had lunch on the road, then finished the drive. When we got there, we checked into the house, and then hung around until dinner. We went to the Lucky Fisherman, which is the place we always go to for dinner when we get in, and had lots of seafood from the buffet. Then, we came home and walked the beach, and then went to bed.

- Mom and Uncle Mark went skydiving Sunday morning, and then we went out on the beach for the afternoon. We had barbecue chicken sandwiches and corn on the cob for dinner, and then we watched Angels and Demons on Netflix.

- On Monday, we went on the beach for the day, and then had shrimp for dinner, and then headed out to the mini golf course (well, it was just Quinn, Katie, her friend Katie, Matt, Poppie and I), and I came within one point of Katie and Poppie, who tied for first. Then, we came home and pretty much went to bed.

- Tuesday Uncle Mark, Matt, Quinn, Dad, Katie and I (with Mom as an observer) went parasailling, which was neat. Not very exciting, but neat. I went up with Katie, and we had a great time searching (but not seeing any) sea creatures from up in the air. Then, we came home and had lunch, and then went out on the beach for the afternoon. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and then we took a long, long walk to a sea turtle nest to see if there was anything going on, but it didn't hatch, so we ended up just spending a lot of time out in the sand that evening.

- Today, I got up late, and apparently, the water main on our block broke, because just as I was finishing up in the shower, the water cut off. But anyway, I got dressed and headed downstairs and had some breakfast and worked on the puzzle of the Vatican that we've had out for the past few days. Gramma and I went out to lunch, which was something she had been promising me since my birthday, and we went down to this little place by the pier called the Island Way Restaurant. I had a "Black and White Shrimp Sammy", which had blackened shrimp and parmesan cheese on a Kaiser roll, with chips and a sweet tea. It was awesomely good. We split a chocolate brownie a la mode, which was awesomely good as well, and then headed home. I ended up working on the puzzle some more with Matt, and am now just hanging out in the house until we either have dinner or until it cools down outside, because it is extremely hot.

So, that's what's been going on. I'm having a ton of fun, and it doesn't even feel like the trip's halfway over. I probably won't post again until I get home, but if I get the chance, I'll write something up later in the week.

Pre-Trip Post...Because I Feel Like It

Wow, this week went by way too fast...anyway, I'm awake right now, sitting in the kitchen, watching Mom bake chocolate chip cookies to take to the beach. So, I thought I'd give you guys a recap of what's been going on in my life. But because I don't have a lot of energy right now, this is going to be short, sweet, and to the point.

Really, we've been prepping for the trip the whole week. Lots of trips to the grocery store, the bookstore, Costco, Rite Aid, etc. getting stuff for the trip. The highlight of my week was going to the mall with Sylvia. I got a ton of new clothes, including the dress I'm wearing right now, which I got at American Eagle, and looks like denim, but it's really not. So, I got that along with a new skirt, a top, a pair of shorts, two camis, and a pair of sunglasses. And I really didn't spend a lot for the amount of stuff I got, which is always a plus.

So, on Thursday, my uncle Mark and my cousin Matt got into town, and we went out to dinner with them before dropping them off at my aunt's house to spend the night. Then, today, Mom and I ran a bunch of errands in the morning. We had wanted to get our nails done, but the nail salon was so crowded every time we passed by, that we just kinda gave up on it and painted each other's toenails instead.

Then, we went over to my aunt's for a cookout. We had a great time; Mom's co-worker and her family joined us, along with some of my aunt's neighbors and friends, and then my grandparents arrived with one of my cousins and her friend, and then we ate (hotdogs...yum!) and had dessert and watched people swim before heading home. Dad and Quinn stayed a while longer, while Mom and I went back to the house to get some stuff done. Mark and Matt came later, in order to spend the night at our house, which I think was Mark's request.

And I'm still up at this hour. I've got most of my stuff packed, with the exception of my toiletries, and I'll have plenty of time to get that ready in the morning, because we aren't leaving until 10:30 or so. I guess we'll get in around 3, and go out to dinner and such. Our house actually has wi-fi or something, so I'm taking my laptop with me, which means that I might update every few days. Which would be good because then I would avoid the usual post-trip, bazillion-word post summarizing each day of the trip in detail.

Um, that's really it right now. I am so exhausted. I'm technically running on 6 hours of sleep from last night, and I know I won't get a lot more than that tonight, so this should be interesting...

Where'd The Last Week Go?

Please excuse my absence from my blog...I have been extremely busy. And when I say 'extremely busy', I mean it. Here's a few of the more important things that I've been up to:

- On Saturday, we participated in a yard sale along with my mom's co-worker, which was pretty cool. We'd been prepping all week, getting stuff out, taking it over to their house, pricing it, etc, and then we got up super early on Saturday morning and went over to set up. Mom and I worked, while Dad helped finish a drywall fix at her co-worker's house. And by the end of the day, we had gotten rid of most of our stuff, and then we took the rest of it to Goodwill. And Mom gave me a percentage of the profit for helping out, so now I have some extra spending money!

- My aunt's pool is pretty much finished. They plastered earlier in the week, then had it filled, and we've already been swimming a few times. It is gorgeous. If Mom loads the pictures soon, I'll be sure to add them to my next post. They've nicknamed it the Rock Lagoon, and it really does live up to its name. It's just awesome.

Well, I was gonna do another bullet, but I can't think of anything else important. Haha.

Um, on the agenda for the week:

- I need to get over to the bookstore sometime to get some good books for the beach...I guess the date depends on Mom's schedule,

- Pretty Little Liars season finale on Tuesday,

- Mall with Sylvia on Wednesday,

- We still have to get the grocery store and Kostco and stuff to get some of the incidentals for the beach trip,

- And we have to clean the house for when my relatives come into town.

And that's all just between now and Thursday...so, I'm going to be pretty busy, but I'll make sure to post at least once more before we leave. So, that's really all for now...boring post, I know, but I really just don't have the energy for a decent post right now. Sorry. :)