A Wonderful Weekend With My Buds...

Alright, well, here we go...I'm going to warn you...this is a super-long post.

So, Friday was cool. I got up, packed up my clothes, had lunch, cleaned Ella's cage, changed out of my sweats and t-shirt, and charged up my phone. Then, at 4:45, Sylvia and Anita came over, and we all stood around in our driveway and talked until Mr. Wheeler came and picked us up.

The drive itself was fun...Sylvia and Anita fell asleep for about an hour, and we stopped at Sheetz so Mr. Wheeler could get gas for the van, and we all snacked on the Saltines and Gushers that Anita had packed. And then Sylvia and Anita watched Percy Jackson on Sylvia's iPad, and I listened to a radio play that I had on my iPod, so I killed about an hour doing that. And then I played Solitaire on my iPod and listened to music.

We got to Oriental at 10:00pm, and unloaded all our stuff, and then changed into our pjs and talked and played games on Sylvia's iPad and laughed until we all decided to go to bed...me and Anita on the bottom bunk, Sylvia in the trundle, Emma on the floor, and her sister, Kara, on the top bunk.

We got up at 9:30 the next morning, showered, and had breakfast (or lunch, depending on what you wanted), and then made our avocado face mask and cut up cucumbers to put over our eyes. So, we all shut ourselves in the bathroom and smeared the mask over our faces and chilled for ten minutes before washing it off. Then, we got dressed in our first outfit, did our make-up, and fixed our hair. And Sylvia and Emma decided to straighten my hair and part it farther off to the side, and I loved it. :)

So, once we were all ready, we all got into Emma's car and Emma drove us to Nautical Wheelers, their store. And we shopped and had a great time, and I bought a picture frame, a pair of earrings, and a scarf. So, we picked up Kara from the store, and the five of us piled into Emma's car (okay, so maybe we broke a couple of rules that day in regards to the passenger limit in the car), and we went out to the docks to take some pictures.

So, then we drove back to Emma's, and changed into our second outfit. And then, we headed out to The Bean, for some ice cream (our in mine and Sylvia's cases, milkshakes).

I actually have Kara's ice cream cone in my hand, since she took this shot...my milkshake is sitting behind me somewhere. So, somewhere between shots, Emma's gift certificate for The Bean flew into the water behind us...and Kara fished it out, but only after everyone but Emma (who had pantyhose on) and me (who had to hold Kara's ice cream and watch everyone else's stuff) had gotten their feet wet trying to get it, and some random guy passed the group and said, "There's a net right over here."

So, we finished our ice cream and milkshakes, and went out by the water for a couple of shots.

So, then we went to the spot where we'd taken a group shot the last time we came to visit.

And then we drove to the park...and this is where things got funny.

And Kara took some amazing candid shots of us coming down the slide. This is the last of the group, as I'm coming down (and trying not to hit Anita as I slide off), and everyone is laughing.

And then we headed back to the house, just in time to meet Emma's boyfriend, Kevin, who, I thought, was really nice. And so, we played a ton of Taboo, and then had dinner, and then afterwards, the adults and the rest of the boys joined in, and we played until close to 11:00, until Mr. Wheeler had to take Kevin home.

So, Anita and I watched Emma and Sylvia play a little Glee Karaoke, and then we all changed into our pjs and watched videos on Sylvia's iPad before going to bed.

Mrs. Wheeler woke us up at 9:30am, and we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Anita and Sylvia went back to sleep, while Emma did her assignments for her online class, and I watched. Then, I took a shower and got ready, and by that time, Anita and Sylvia were awake again. So, we chilled while everyone got ready, and then we had lunch, and played Bananagrams until Mr. Wheeler came back to take us home. We met Emma's neighbor, also named Emma, on the way out, and then said goodbye and headed out.

We stopped at Bojangles on the way back, and everyone but me ate...I wasn't hungry. (As Emma says, I'm about as thin as her pinky finger. Lol.) And then, Sylvia and Anita (and Will's friend, JC) played Travel Bingo while I read. And then I listened to my iPod while Sylvia and Anita watched Harry Potter on her iPad. We got to Anita's around 7:15, and then I pretty much came home, had dinner, and let Ella out before going to bed.

Here's a couple more pictures, that Sylvia adjusted on Picnik...

So, I had a ton of fun on that trip... Anyway, today, I woke up late, and had lunch, and then Mom and I went to the parcourse for a walk, and now we're having fajitas for dinner, and that's pretty much it. :)

La Caretta, Cookies, Driving, Etc...

So because I don't think I'm going to get the chance to blog tomorrow, what with all the packing and traveling and all, I guess I'll blog today.

Anyway, today was pretty cool. I got up, got ready, and ended up watching Anchors Aweigh like I thought I would. And it was a cute movie...the part where Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse (of Tom & Jerry fame) is so cute. And of course, Frank Sinatra was pretty awesome, too. So, I watched that, and then came upstairs and had lunch.

I washed the dishes, and then did my homework. I finished The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, which was really cool. Different, but cool. And I worked on math and chemistry, and that was pretty much it. Then, I messed around on the computer until Mom came home, and we chilled for a little while before heading out to La Caretta for a late lunch/early dinner. I ended up having a quesadilla with chicken and onions, and it was really good.

Then, he headed home, and Mom started on the cookies we're baking for the Wheelers, since they're going to have a bunch of us kids and teens hanging around this weekend. But, we didn't have brown sugar, so Mom sent me out to get it. We both wanted Quinn to come along, so I could drive with just me and him in the car, and he was so scared of it. Didn't want to go, and then didn't want to sit in the front seat...but I finally got him to give in.

So, we drove over to Food Lion, and ended up parking next to our neighbors, and checking out behind their dad. So, that was interesting. And then, I drove home, and we ended up just hanging around in the kitchen while Mom baked cookies. And then, we watched the news and our game shows and our Thursday night comedies, and now I'm downstairs letting Ella run around while we watch The Mentalist.

Anyway, tomorrow is going to be super-busy for me. I still have to pack for the Oriental trip, clean Ella's cage, and a bunch of other little things before 5:00, when Mr. Wheeler is going to come pick Sylvia, Anita, and myself up for the drive. So, anyway, I figured I wouldn't have time tomorrow, so there's my recap of the day. I'll blog some more when I get home on Sunday night. :)

Running Errands and Buying Clothes...

So, it's been a fairly normal week...nothing much going on. Today was really the first day I've gotten to do anything interesting.

I got up this morning, got ready, ate breakfast, and then took the car (Mom was home from work today) out to run some errands. My first stop was the bank, where I deposited a check from my grandmother and made a deposit for my mom. Then, I headed down Silas Creek to the mall.

My first stop at the mall was American Eagle, so after walking from Belk almost to Macy's, I shopped for forever and made a ton of trips to the fitting room, and had to think long and hard about which items I wanted to buy. And, o f course, I bought a ton. Blue-striped longsleeve, grey off-the-shoulder top, pink short sleeve, blue flowered top, white spaghetti-strap top, and I think that's it, but I can't really remember. So, I ended up using my gift card that I had got for Christmas, and putting the rest on the AE credit card. But, I got 20% off my entire purchase, so the price was at least a little lower.

And then, I went into Forever 21, and I only really looked for a couple of minutes. I can never find anything in there. I saw this really cute white cardigan that had red hearts all over it, and I wanted to buy it, but I didn't know what I'd wear it with, so I passed. And then, I went over to Aeropostale, since I had a 20% coupon from Seventeen magazine. So, I picked up a pair of tees, one white, one lime green, since they were 2 for $18, normally $17.50 apiece, and I got the 20% discount, so that was cool.

And then, I headed back to the car, took Silas Creek (even with it being one-lane from Stratford to Country Club...roadwork), and stopped at the grocery store for lettuce and sugar, and then went off to Petsmart for aspen bedding for Ella. And I came home, and Mom and I did a mini-cleaning of the house, and then we chilled for a while before my grandmother came over for dinner.

So, we had dinner, and then we watched Wheel of Fortune, which was cool since they're doing "Teen Best Friends" week, and then we watched Jeopardy. The past few days have been their IBM Challenge, where they pitted Ken Jennings (longest winning streak ever) and Brad Rutter (most money won on the show) against Watson, an IBM computer designed to play Jeopardy. And it was really awesome. That computer is so fast...to pull the answer out of its data so fast, ring in, and answer...wow. So, that was pretty amazing to watch.

Um, what else... I haven't watched many movies this week, just two - Daddy Long Legs and Random Harvest, both of which were pretty neat. Tomorrow, I'm planning on watching another movie, possibly Anchors Aweigh, with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. I have to make room on the DVR one way or another, because I have a bunch of Oscar-winners taping this weekend, some of which have already taped...Gigi, The Last Emperor, The Best Years of Our Lives, My Fair Lady, Cimarron, The Life of Emile Zola, and I can't even remember them all. I guess with it being Oscar month, some of the previous winners are being added into the lineups, which is cool.

Okay, well, I think I'm done. Nothing much going on tomorrow, but on Friday, I'm going to be busy...that evening, I'll be leaving with Sylvia, Anita, Mr. Wheeler, and a friend of Emma's brother, and we'll all be heading to Oriental to see Emma for the weekend, which is going to be amazing! :)

Riding (Well, Driving) Along In My Automobile...

Well, I think a recap is in order...

So, yesterday, we had to take Mom's car in to Shattalon Tire, because the anti-lock brake light was on. Mom and I drove to my aunt's to borrow her truck, and I drove solo to Shattalon Tire with Mom following behind me in the truck. And then she drove us home. So, that was the first time I drove by myself with my license...a bit nerve-wracking because of the traffic, but it was all good.

Then, we came home, had dinner, and Mom left for a wine-tasting with one of her co-workers. Dad, Quinn, and I chilled at home, and watched tv and such, and then Mom came home, and we pretty much went to bed.

Today, though, was much more interesting. I woke up late, since I had finished up my homework for the week on Thursday, and got ready. I ended up messing around on the computer until Mom came home at noon, and we had lunch. And then she drove us to Shattalon Tire in the truck, and we picked up the car. Turns out, we had some lightbulb out on the back 'dashboard', and that on the same circuit as the ABS light. So, there wasn't really a problem at all.

So, I took the car, and she followed up to the BP gas station on Reynolda, and we put some gas in the car. And then, I took off for the bookstore...alone. Up Reynolda, to Silas Creek, to Stratford, to Hanes Mall Boulevard (I think), and into Barnes & Noble. I needed to get The Time Machine for school, and I ended up picking up the other book I'll need in a week or two, Animal Farm, just to save me a trip out there. And I ended up spending almost an hour looking around. And I found way too many books I wanted to buy. So, I wrote about three of them down so I'd remember to purchase them another time, and settled on a book called Sarah's Key, which is about a Jewish girl taken from her home in 1942 Paris, and Steps in Time, Fred Astaire's autobiography.

I checked out (Mom had given me money to spend) and headed out to the car. I made sure to text Mom that I was leaving (that's our agreement...I text her when I get to my destination, and when I leave for home.). And she texted me back to stop and pick up a box of frozen corn from the grocery store on my way home.

So, I got back onto the road, and headed back, making sure to avoid the road work on Reynolda by Harris Teeter, and picked up the item at the grocery store as promised, and came home. Well, as I was coming up the hill, about to turn left onto our street, our neighbor and her daughter (obviously coming home from school) made the right onto our street. April (the mother) waved as she turned, and as I made the turn myself, Meredith (the daughter) turned around in the back seat, did a double take, and then waved like crazy. I waved back, and after we had both pulled in to our respective driveways, I got out of the car as Meredith was coming down her driveway to get their mail. And she said, "Good job," and I thanked her, and went inside. So, now, I'm afraid, there's going to be some chattering amongst the neighbors about, "Oh, did you hear Alexis is driving now?"...lol. Which is kinda cool...

Anyway, I went inside, and Mom proceeded to give me a gigantic hug, and tell me that she was super-worried about me while I was gone. And then, we pretty much headed over to my aunt's to return the truck, and then we played Bananagrams with Quinn, and then, a little later, went to Petsmart to pick up some food for Ella, and we stopped at Gamestop to check about a video game Quinn wants, but we didn't find it...so we'll keep looking. And then we came home and made dinner while Quinn and Dad went to get haircuts, and then we had dinner and watched tv, and now I'm downstairs letting Ella run around while I half-watch Forrest Gump on TCM.

Tomorrow, we're running more errands, and I think we're having cheeseburgers on the grill for dinner, since it's supposed to be quite nice outside. Sidenote: Driving feels extremely natural to me, even driving solo...it's kinda freeing, and I like it. :)

Pretty Normal Week So Far...

Ah, yes, I'm back again. Let's see, what to talk about...

We didn't really do much on Sunday. None of us are really into the Superbowl, so it was pretty much a normal day. Nothing special. And technically, Monday and Tuesday were pretty normal, too.

Today was better, though. Mom, Quinn, and I ran some errands this afternoon. First, to the orthodontist, because apparently when you get a new retainer, they make you come in a month later for a check-up, which, in my opinion, is dumb. But it was over and done with fairly quickly, so I can't really complain. Then, we went to Costco, and we picked up a bag of frozen chicken breasts (we use them all the time) and a package of heart-shaped ravioli for dinner on Valentine's Day.

Then, we drove out the Casanova's and picked up some more coffee beans, because we've been running the espresso machine like crazy. And we all got coffee drinks...I had a Mocha Banana smoothie, which was really good. And then, we came home, and watched Oprah and chilled, and when Dad came home, we left for the Wake game. Wake ended up losing, but only by a point, and the last shot just didn't want to go in, but whatever. And half-time entertainment was very cool - piano juggler. Not the most accurate name, but it was amazing anyway, and he even played the Wake fight song!

Now, I'm just chilling downstairs. I've got the Duke/Carolina game on, but I'm not really watching. (Oh, one funny thing. The refs at the Wake game were looking at the replay monitor, and a guy behind us goes, "Come on guys [talking about the refs], the Duke/Carolina game hasn't even started yet.")

Well, this week has been a good one for watching movies. I've watched quite a few...A Damsel in Distress, Manhattan Melodrama, Anthony Adverse, and Mrs. Miniver. Mrs. Miniver is a Best Picture winner, so I've added one more to my list. I'm recording Cavalcade, another Best Picture winner, and I've got the very first winner, Wings, (from 1927) on the DVR right now, waiting to be watched. And a bunch of other stuff scheduled to be recorded, because, well, you know me. :)

And I think I'm going to stop here. :)

I Am So Bored Right Now...

So, this weekend isn't really busy at all for me, which kinda sucks...so yeah, I'm super-bored right now, so to kill time, I'm blogging...

Um, not much to talk about regarding my week. Wednesday was normal. We had dinner with my grandmother as we do most Wednesday evenings, and then came home and watched tv and such. Thursday was the same...just chilling at home. On Friday, Mom came home after her half-day at work, and we went out to the bank to deposit some of my birthday money into my savings account. And then we went to the grocery store for a couple of things for dinner. So, like I said, not much going on.

Today's been pretty chill, too. We ordered pizza and picked up a salad for lunch, while we watched The A-Team, which was a pretty funny movie. My favorite part is where they're "flying" the tank, but there were quite a few other parts that had me laughing, too. Then, we hung around, and Mom covered my desk chair, so instead of the cushion being white, now it's dark blue. And we had some coffee and watched a little Phineas and Ferb, and Dad left to go to Deacon Tower to help out with an event. So, Mom worked on the laundry, and I washed the dishes.

And now, I'm just hanging around in my room. I still have to clean Ella's cage later tonight, but that's pretty much it for the day.

Ooh, interesting story...forever ago (it's probably been three or four months, at least), I ordered a freebie as part of a Seventeen magazine giveaway. They were giving out a couple thousand bracelets, and all you had to do was go to the website, makemechic.com, and enter in your info, and they'd send you one. Well, I did it, and waited and waited and waited some more, and this week, I got an envelope in the mail. Wouldn't you know, it finally arrived.

Not the best picture, but whatever. It's bright blue, if you can't tell from the pic. So, it's my new favorite thing...

And I guess while I'm on this picture kick, I might as well add in this...

This is the beautiful flower bouquet my family gave me on my birthday...

Oh, and these...Aaron and Robyn from our get-together.

Sorry, the camera on my phone is not at all the best, but I make do. :) And I think I'll end it here; this post is getting pretty long.

Licensed to Drive!!!

So, today was...interesting. Lemme put it that way...

I got up this morning, somewhat nervous from the moment I slid out of bed, and showered, dressed, put on my makeup, and had breakfast. And then Mom and I got in the car and headed out. First stop was the bank so Mom could cash a check, and then we drove down Silas Creek Parkway to the DMV. And this is where the fun began...

So, we got there, and there was only one person sitting the waiting area, so my number got called almost immediately, station seven, to be exact. I got back there, and answered a few questions...had I received any warnings or violations in the last six months (no), had I lived in NC less than a year (no), stuff like that, then the guy took me out to the parking lot to start my driver's test.

Well, wouldn't you know, they perform an mini-inspection of the car before you can get on the road. And guess what? The left turn and left brake lights in the rear of the car didn't work. And the horn didn't work, but we knew that. (It wouldn't turn off one day, so Mom unplugged it.) So, bottom line was I couldn't get on the road. Mom came out, and we went down the road to Midas Car Care, and got the lightbulbs replaced and plugged in the horn, and then headed back to the DMV.

So, we only had to wait a couple of minutes in the waiting area, and then I got called back again. And thankfully, I got a different DMV worker, because the guy I had originally was kinda grumpy and mean. So, the woman finished up with the paperwork, and then we went out to the car, did the inspection again, and then went out on the road. I was terribly nervous, but nevertheless, I passed, with only a couple of mishaps, one being that I wasn't really thinking and didn't check to see if anyone was turning left into the building next door, and I had to put on the brakes because a guy came across as I was turning right. But, that was minor.

By the way, if anyone cares, or wants to know...we took a right out of the DMV, turned right onto Irving, went through the residential area, where I did a three-point turn and some straight-line backing, and then came out (I don't remember the street name, but I just looked it up and it's probably Lockland), and turned right at the light back onto Silas Creek and then right into the DMV.

I almost thought I wouldn't pass. I got out of the car, and the woman didn't say anything, just told me to go back in and come back to the station, this time I was at eight. And when she told me about that little mishap, I thought for sure I wasn't going to pass. But, she asked me for the license fee, and then I had my picture taken, and I had to spend a couple of seconds in the parking lot calming down after we left.

So, anyway, that having been completed, we went to the mall so I could get a bottle of foundation, and then Mom bought a couple of shirts. And then we went to the fabric store, because my desk chair needs to be recovered. So, we bought a yard of dark blue fabric, and Mom's going to cover it for me. And then we stopped at the gas station, and then the grocery store to play lottery, and then headed home.

We ended up chilling for the afternoon. We had lunch, then hung around, and watched Oprah, and watched the news and all that. After dinner, I washed the dishes, and now I'm just chilling until Parenthood comes on at 10:00. And that's all I got for now...