The Last Post

The new adventures of Ali P. have begun. The traveling seems to be over for the summer. And I loved the summer. There were more ups than downs, lots of laughs, relaxation, and not a whole lot of boredom. I was constantly surrounded by friends, family, and people I love. It all ends, but the memories don't disappear. The friendships are stronger, and I've learned a lot about people and especially about myself. It's like peeking into the lives of others, close to walking into their shoes but not quite (I like my own shoes!). My journey of next school year is on the horizon, and I'm ready to get it going! I know there are plenty of obstacles already (I've already begun to face a few of them, unfortunately), but my hope is that they will simply help me avoid a worse situation.

The summer's sunshine can stick around. As can the heat. I'd love for my frequent smile to remain a permanent fixture and for my friendships to expand, too. Thanks to my friends for giving me temporary places to call home and more permanance in the form of friendship. Hugs all around!

LAST POST?! Hopefully not...

What to do with this blog? Tonight is my last night this summer where I'm technically a 'traveling' Ali. Tomorrow night I'll be sleeping in the new house. I can't continue a blog titled 'Summer of the Traveling Ali' if I'm not TRAVELING! Sooo...I'll probably submit one more blog after this one. A finale blog. About how move-in went, etc. And to reflect on my travels. Ohhhhh travels...

Yesterday was pretty awesome because I didn't have to be at work til noon. I hung out in the morning here at Kat and Mara's apartment. Then walked to work. And worked at the Bash office. Then worked at the Writing Center. Fun times. I got keys from Rory to get my mattress out of his room for move-in tomorrow (complicated story, but I WILL get that mattress!) It was girls night back at the apartment with Kat and Katie Messner--SO much fun hanging out with those two, even though it was just for a little while before they headed out. I got some yummy Ben & Jerry's ice cream last night, too which was definitely a highlight of yesterday!

This morning I couldn't even sleep in until my alarm went off, despite the fact that I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning. Whatever, I headed in extra early to meet up with the SALP staff for our Friday retreat to Holland, MI! The van ride was one of my favorite parts, with Chris Sligh jammin out to Ke$ha, Nicole teaching us her new game, and PJ schooling us on how to handle cops if one happens to get pulled over! Haha!

We went to a park in Holland, played this game called bags (glorified bean bag toss--SO FUN!) and had a delicious cookout with burgers, hot dogs, and tons of other yummies! I climbed a hill of sand and felt very accomplished afterward and also pretty much burned my feet on the sand's hotness, but I survived so it was ok. We played Uno and other fun stuff before packing up and heading out to get some ice cream at this place that was called Captain's I think. WAY good ice cream, but I'm still full! Too much food!

I just kinda napped for a bit and now I'm being a bum. The sun really made me tired, but I'm starting to wake up a bit. I wonder if I'll actually do anything else today or just be a bum until bedtime. Only one way to find out!

Food...Issues?

So today was about me vs. food.

I got up this morning and realized that my food supply is getting low. That's ok, who needs fresh fruit for breakfast when there's raisins to mix in oatmeal? It was tasty.

I guess lunchtime was pretty uneventful with the food--the usual PB&J and the last of the carrots...

THEN I got hungry. I'm packing snacks for work tomorrow, but I held off my appetitie with a lollipop stashed in my bag. Luckily I hung out with Katie Ragan (who was visiting!) and Adam (who was visiting!) and Rory, and we all headed to Treat Street for ICE CREAM! The hardest part was deciding on a flavor. It was even free ice cream because I had a sticker coupon. But I finally decided on Birthday Cake. Basically ice cream-ified frosting and sprinkles. Very yummy.

Not a very eventful food story with dinner...leftover beans and rice and a new can of mixed veggies. BUT I finally got to the store with Rory, Drew, and Adam (who is still in Kzoo til tomorrow because of a strange addiction to Call of Duty...). I stocked up on fruits and veggies and got a few things to tide me over in meals until WE MOVE INTO THE HOUSE ON SATURDAY! I figured we'd go shopping this weekend, once we can fill up the fridge/cupboards. (Back to moving stuff later...)

But that wasn't the end of the adventure... The guys hadn't eaten dinner yet and they were FAMISHED. So after much discussion about where to go, we went to some Chinese restaurant. I chilled there with my glass of water while the guys ate. And ate. And ate. And then the dumb waiter decides to charge ME for a meal when he delivers the bill. WHAT?! I mean, sure, I ate Rory's baked mussel because he was too much of a chicken to eat it. But that is not worth ten bucks. No worries, after I got all worked up over it, I just approached the cashier, explained that I didn't eat, and she didn't charge me. All is good.

Get this--I get back to the apartment (where I'm staying for only three more nights!), and I have this weird craving for chips. So even though I don't typically eat chips, I just did. An individual bag of spicy nacho Doritos. Crazy, I know.

And that about sums up my battles with food for the day. Hopefully the battle is over. I would definitely say I won.

Moving on to more exciting things...SATURDAY IS MOVING DAY! Unfortunately, it's NOT tomorrow...or Friday...but Saturday around noon. It'll all work out because us Gorgons are amazing at logistical situations. But it's still extra stressful. Oh well, hopefully by Monday we'll be somewhat settled in. (Ready or not, I'm going to work on Monday, so I better be happy with my room to some extent!) I really hope Sunday is pretty chill too, because it's Allie's birthday! I love birthdays! It's just a great reason to celebrate!

Ummmmmmmm...Bronco Bash is pretty busy lately, getting ready for training next week for volunteers and zone captains and doing all kinds of random tasks. That's how it goes though, and I like busy. I don't start work until noon tomorrow, so maybe I'll sleep in...but probably not because I haven't been sleeping all that well lately. I've been waking up really early in the morning and then falling back asleep and sometimes waking up again. Maybe tonight I'll sleep nice and long--I know I'm tired because I fell asleep earlier for about 20 minutes! *Yawn!*

100% Content

The title rhymes! Totally unintentional and totally irrelevant! Haha!

So I'm back! From an epic weekend road trip of a LIFETIME! With some of my favorite people EVER! Lots of pics on Facebook, if you're curious...most of which are from my amazing photographer friend, Kristina Reese!

I feel like there's just too much to blog about from this weekend...we left right away after I got out of work on Thursday. And by 'we,' I mean Kristina, Allie, and me. We stopped for food and headed to Allie's great aunt and uncle's house, where we ate MORE food--delicious fresh sweet corn and freshly baked cookies! We had the whole upstairs to sleep, where there were three beds (all different sizes). We even had our own bathroom! It was like a bed and breakfast! In the morning we had quite the breakfast spread of cereals, donuts, and fruit! YUM!

We jammed out the rest of the way to Mackinaw and set up camp. Apparently it was a high-class campground...the beach was amazing! And our tent looked pretty badass, if I do say so myself! Us girls explored downtown Mackinaw a bit and then met up with Tara Bell for some DELICIOUS chicken fajitas. We hurried to get ready and into our gorgeous dancing dresses because we had to catch the 6:30 ferry. We explored the island for awhile, walking around and such. Then it was ice cream time and time for a bit of shopping. OH! And we got old-time pictures taken! That was pretty fun! We were all scandalous bar maids ;)

Next we headed to the Grand Hotel for some fancy dancing in our fancy attire. And then we were all Cinderellas, heading to catch our ferry back to the mainland. We were pretty tired, and once we were all cozied in the tent, we chatted for a bit and then fell asleep. But boy did it RAIN that night! No worries, our tent kept us dry!

The next morning we packed up and headed back to downtown Mackinaw to shop. Then we crossed the beautiful Mackinaw bridge to eat at Clyde's drive in, where I got a delicious burger (we ALL did!) Then we drove along the coast for awhile so that we could meander along the beach. Pretty soon Allie, Kristina, and I had to be heading out, so we said good bye and headed to Interlochen. I swear, the GPS took us the CRAZIEST route! ALL back roads, basically! Oh well, more adventurous that way! We finally got to Interlochen and found my bro, who looked really happy to see us! We got a grand tour of the music camp and went to his concert (VERY impressive, lil bro!) We hung out more with Zach that night playing cards and whatnot. Then Zach had curfew and us girls were tired, so we split. The girls and I stayed in my friends Sarah and Lauren's suite, since their staffers at Interlochen (shhh! It's a secret!) I joined zach for breakfast in the morning and then we all walked around his camp and hung out a bit more. Then we had a picnic lunch and headed out on the road again to head back to Kzoo. I was pretty tired yesterday. And I felt pretty gross and grungy. (I spent the rest of the evening flossing, clipping my nails, tweezing my eye brows, et. I'm such a girly girl!)

Then work today. Plotting day for Bronco Bash! It was pretty eventful but not as bad as I thought. And from this point forward, I know that things are just going to get crazy with Bash stuff. But the momentum will be a lot of fun, I know it!

And now I'm being a bum and using up all of my spare time on the computer, since I barely was on the computer at work today. I know, it's lame, but I have lots of catching up to do with stuff! Maybe tomorrow evening will be more eventful....maybe....but probably not!

Last-Minute Excitement

Funny how when I'm sitting here at work, hours before I leave on my awesome weekend trip with some of my favorite people on Earth, I get soooo pumped! Honestly, I hadn't felt legitamate excitement for the trip, probably because of other distractions and so much prepping for it. But NOW, right this minute, I am ready to go. I'm ready to drive the vehicle, if needed. I'm ready to roll down the windows and go. THREE HOURS TIL DEPARTURE! This means that I won't respond again until probably Sunday. A kind-of mini vacation.

Tuesday evening was a Writing Center reunion at Roadhouse. I saw lots of friendly and familiar faces, which was wonderful. I got a ride home from the lovely April, and then spent the rest of the evening working on packing for the trip.

Yesterday was average again for Bronco Bash, and at the Writing Center, I learned quite a bit about aviation resumes, since I had a special client who I helped for quite awhile. And THEN Aunt Cheri picked me up for a glorious trip to the fabric store to pick out material for the PILLOW she will be making me! I"m SOOO excited for this--it is going to kinda sorta go with my bedspread as a decorative pillow for my lovely bed! It will look perfect in my new bedroom, which I officially move into next Friday! (Yeah, kind of a date change, but that's a long story...and then Friday I'm also going on a trip with SALP, so my room will be FAR from finished and set up for awhile...oh well.)

The rest of yesterday was boring. I studied for the GRE for a bit. Finished packing. Then started watching Little Orphan Annie on Netflix Instant Download. I got halfway through and realized that I had fallen asleep. Midnight was bedtime haha. I got up early for some reason this morning, but I got to chat and kinda have breakfast with Kat. She's such a good hostess/roommate!

Now I'm finishing up Bash office hours and prepping to head to the Writing Center for two hours as a consultant...AND THEN I'M HOMEFREE TO HEAD NORTH WITH ALLIE AND KRISTINA! This weekend will be epic. Beware.

Sunshine, Freckles, and Summer

I love the sun. Seriously, anyone who knows me well enough knows that I worship that giant fireball in the sky. It makes me smile. It makes me warm and happy. It literally brightens my day. Regardless of my love for the sun, I also love sunscreen. I want to live my whole life without skin cancer, so I wear sunscreen. Easy enough.

So I wear sunscreen. And I typically don't burn (I must have missed the backs of both my legs wear my board shorts ended--awkwardly right under my butt, so sitting kinda really hurts...). No other harsh sunburns for me, though! I do have quite a few new freckles on my face...and a darker shade of brown on my skin everywhere...but I guess that can't be helped. I have to balance my love of the sun with my love of having no skin cancer. It's a pretty happy medium.

But yeah, Sunday was a glorious beach day. Warm sun, warm sand, and even warmish water when I stuck my toes in for a little bit. The move to Kat's and Mara's was pretty painless, except I was soooo tired from the beach all day that I went to bed pretty early. (I love Mara's comfy bed with all the pillows!!!)

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day. I walked to campus from the landing and found my way without getting lost. A little bit of office hours time was followed by the last Bash t-shirt delivery. Then it was just about time for this interview luncheon...then it was time for two meetings at Miller. Then I had to stop by res. life and THEN head back to the Bernhard Center. THEN it was time to work at the Writing Center til 6...and luckily afterward I got a ride back to the Landing from lovely Miz April Bryan! I hung out at Josh and Dan's place last night, which was fun and went to bed pretty late to have to then wake up early this morning and start my day over with Bronco Bash stuff...but less of it today, luckily.

I'm looking forward to this week being purely awesome. I'll let ya know how it goes. YAY FOR SUMMER!

The Day Of The Last Move--GASP!

Yes. That's right. Today I move to my last 'location' before I depart to my long-term residence. It's bittersweet. I've had a pretty fantastic summer moving around so much. I mean, the actual act of moving is just starting to get old, but seeing and hanging out with so many awesome people couldn't have been better!

Catching up on the past few days, I did go with Kyle and Rachel to the Taste of Kalamazoo on Friday. I had a delicious lunch from the booth by the Strutt. It was a Cuban sandwich (one of my favorites!). Then we went to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, which was actually a lot more fun than I had thought! Lots of hands-on 'kids' stuff (don't fool yourself, we were just big kids at that point!). We made random stops to the amazing candy store downtown and then to Petco (don't ask...) And then I was back to my temp home at the Butler household.

Allie had all kinds of visitors that evening, including her friend Jessie from North Carolina, Kayla, and Jon. Us girls made brownies and watched some girlie tv. Aunt Cheri came home later and brought some gourmet pizza from Eribelli's. It's called spicy napoleon, and I LOVED the spices, especially on the crust! It was a wonderful treat, and after the girls left I even discovered some leftover green-dyed frosting in the fridge, which I put on my Gevalia brownie--YUM!

Yesterday I was up really early because I volunteered at a triathlon. It was one of my favorite volunteer experiences--runners/bikers really seemed to appreciate the work put into the event, and cheering them on was so much fun! Unfortunately, it began to storm with thunder and lightning, so they had to cancel it halfway through. Three racers finished the race (amazing!), but it was pretty heartbreaking to keep directing the bikers who were to continue to the transition station and then find out the race was over.

Later, I found out that my phone got some water damage, but luckily, after a LONG time of trying to help me out, Uncle Brian got it working again! I was SO glad because I had been texting AMILLION people. I was texting T-Holls a lot because we were making plans with some of the Ackley crew, since T-Holls was in town. We all hung out and went to Inception. I had a lot of fun catching up and goofing off with those guys.

I got back last night and just chilled out by myself for awhile. It was pretty peaceful. This morning I am doing my laundry and will eventually be on my way to the beach with Beth! I'm so excited because we've been wanting a beach day for a loooong time! And today is THE day! Fingers crossed for beautiful weather and lots of heat!

Using My Time...Wisely?

*****Initially written on Thursday morning*****

Getting to campus at 7:30 this morning was quite an experience, since I didn't have any obligations until noon. I had made up my mind to watch Hell's Kitchen on a computer in the computer lab and then make my oatmeal and tea in the SOC's kitchen...then watch more Hell's Kitchen in the SOC...then I even got academic and went for walk-in advising at the College of Arts and Sciences (no worries, I'm right on track, and the appointment lasted less than five minutes!), and then I went to the Honors College to get a question answered--all before 11! I ran a couple more errands and headed back to the Bronco Bash office...because what ELSE was there left for me to do?!

I know, I know, I lead such an exciting life! But really, yesterday was pretty cool--I got to visit a baby horse and lots of other horses, too! Allie, Aunt Cheri, and I went to see them at Aunt Cheri's friend's house, and it was pretty awesome because it's been a LONG time since I've seen a real-life horse, and I've never seen one that young before. Once upon a time I wanted to be a jockey, but that didn't pan out in the end (obviously). I still think that horses are beautiful though, but I've got to admit that keeping them would be a lot of work!

Let's see...I also studied a bit for the GRE yesterday (SO EXCITING), and we meade delicious burgers on the grill for dinner with a yummy salad. Mom had called before/during dinner to Skype so that was quite an interesting experience, since Dad and Jonah joined in, too. Mom met Aunt Cheri and Allie and vice versa. It was peachy. (More Skyping will definitely occur between me and the fam from now on!)

I'm trying to think if anything else exciting happened on Tuesday that I haven't mentioned yet...
***************************************************************
...And this is from today...Friday. Got trained to be a triathalon volunteer last night. Should be quite the experience volunteering tomorrow morning at 7AM! Going to hang with Kyle and Rachel in a bit. SHOULD BE FUN!

HA! AVERAGE-NESS!

I wish Skype were fool-proof! But it's not...because Mom couldn't see me yesterday...and I couldn't see Mom...but we made progress because after 45 minutes, we could both HEAR each other! Progress is good but requires patience. Yuck.

Today was an early morning. And yesterday was an early morning. My poor body is soooo confused! I think I've even got my stomach outta whack because yesterday morning it wasn't hungry for a looong time. It's even kinda not hungry today, but it's much better than yesterday. Luckily it revived itself completely by the time dinner hit because it was FAJITA night at the Butler household! YUMMY! And I even ate cake batter ice cream before bed, even though I was still full from fajitas! Hee hee, it was yummy.

Yesterday was exciting because Allie got an itinerary all figured out for the big girls trip up North to see Tara Bell and my bro. My bro actually called me yesterday after I left a message with his music camp, but I didn't recognize his voice at first! Sorry, bro!

Hmmmm...what other news do I have? I'm goin to visit that Rory guy this afternoon. Haven't seen him in about a week. All of us Gorgons have been scrambling to communicate the best we can because move-in day is SOON! (It seems sooner and sooner every time I think about it--because it get sooner and sooner every time!)

I don't really think I have much more news. I am in the process of getting my own renter's insurance for the house, I am in the process of applying for residency, and currently I am in the process of trying to keep myself preoccupied while chillin here at the Bronco Bash office. It's hard work sometimes, ya know? Slinkies can only keep you busy for so long...

Sunny Sunny Sunday

One of the best parts of summer is the food (I mean, this blog is basically a FOOD blog, after all!) Divas and Desserts went splendidly yesterday, except I believe that I do have some suggestions for the owners of White Velvet. For example, I suggest that they not hire three workers for one shift. The shop was desserted when the girls and I entered yesterday. And it's a self-serve frozen yogurt shop. Even if it gets busy...there's only one cash register. No-brainer.

Also, I suggest the shop get some sweeter flavored yogurt flavors. Possibly chocolate and vanilla? The available flavors were tart and fruity, yet there were sweet toppings available, so a sweet flavor base as the yogurt would be awesome. The interior of the shop could be a bit more inviting to customers, too because I recall one area for seating/eating, but it would have been awkward with three workers behind the counter awkwardly 'working.' Maybe the shop is REALLY new and the owners haven't yet invested in more seating. Who knows.

I wish the yogurt containers came smaller. It's deceiving because the containers are HUGE, and they charge by weight, so naturally I wanted to get LOTS of frozen yogurt! However, a full container was pricey. Oops.

Overall, the experience was delicious. I don't know if I'll go back again, but I'm glad we went. One of the best parts was the 'entertainment' while we ate the froyo! We sat at a table outside of Big Apple Bagels, and there was a lane of street blocked off and the Big Apple Bagel parking lot because new asphalt had been put down. Well, a car had knocked down one of the barricades, and a car drove to the empty parking lot. So a worker guy fixed the barricade...and this car was STUCK inside! Haha, we watched the driver figure out how to move the barricade to get out. It was pretty funny. And then it happened AGAIN....so Ali B. and Michelle decided to be 'Good Samaritans' and move the barricade back again! Haha, that time, several cars had gone through and were stuck! It was EXCELLENT!

Ok but back to the traveling me...I'm currently at Aunt Cheri's with Allie D. It's great so far! We had a giant pasta dinner, and there were seven of us total! Lots of company and lots of delicious food! I've even reserved the TV to watch my show in half an hour. Haha, I love it here. :)

Staying with the Kohnerts this past week has been pretty fun, too! It's super convenient being on campus, and hanging out with Josh, Jess, and Nate was a good time! I got to spend time with Sara, and I saw Rory a couple of times, so that was pretty cool. Yesterday there was a get-together at Josh Rockwell's place that the Kohnerts and I went to with Kyle, which was fun to see everyone. Oh, and I've done a lot of sleeping this weekend in particular--It was ridiculous TRYING to sleep in on Friday and only sleeping in until 7:30 AM but then on Saturday, I slept in until 11:45 AM! And I stayed up until the same time the night before! Whatever. I evened it out this morning with a 9:00 AM wake-up. But tomorrow will probably be pretty rough, waking up around 6AM to go to campus with Aunt Cheri in the morning.

OH! So story. I lost my driver's license. Saturday morning I was FREAKING OUT because I couldn't find it. Anywhere. I called home, texted some people. No luck. So I went the the SOC, where I work for Bronco Bash. Nowhere in sight. So I used a SOC computer--I needed to check internet, so why not?! I got a Facebook message from someone glorious alerting me to the fact that my license was found by a landscape services worker, who turned it into the Davis front desk, who turned it in to the campus police. So tomorrow morning I get re-united with my lovely license. And then next month I get a Michigan drivers license. Oh well.

A Blog? Oh Yeah!

It looks like I'm on track to write less frequently. We'll see how my pattern holds up. This week is kind of a whirlwind for some reason. However, less of a whirlwind than last week! (And surprisingly, I was not referring to the ridiculous wind in North Dakota! Just a description of being home in general.)

So guess what? I still really like my haircut. Yesterday I almost had a bad hair day because this curl kept getting in my face all day. But I looked in the mirror at one point and realized that in my face or not, it still looked cute. So all is good. Today the hair decided to just be curly on one side. But since it's got less volume, it lays flat somewhat on the uncurly side and still looks decent. I could get used to this...if it lasts.

Today is Friday, meaning no work for me. I tried to sleep in this morning, especially after staying up kinda late last night (I watched Iron Chef at midnight, then fell asleep for the results part of the show! I woke up twenty minutes later and called it quits for the night.) Believe it or not, I woke up before 7:30 this morning! I wanted to try to sleep until ten or eleven...but it's almost eleven right now, and I've been up for QUITE awhile!

At 2:00, I'm going over to Sara's to watch 'Rock-A-Doodle.' It's a great cartoon movie from my childhood, and I'm kind of excited! For me, my liking of cartoons goes in cycles. I think I'm at a point where I like them for now (I almost turned the channel to Dora the Explorer this morning--almost--but VH1 music videos won out in the end.)

Who knows what tomorrow holds. It's Saturday, and all that I've got legitimately planned is 'Divas & Desserts,' the monthly outing with Michelle and Ali B., where we go and try out something sweet and tasty somewhere in Kzoo/Portage. Tomorrow is this place called White Velvet, which specializes in frozen yogurt (they nickname is froyo, which is really clever!) I always make my Divas & Desserts food a meal, regardless of the fact taht it's supposed to be dessert. I mean, c'mon, it's my once a month splurge, and it will probably be chocolate every month, so it makes sense (to me)! I'm kind of excited, especially because I looked at picture of the place online, and it looks really cute and trendy. And apparently it's all Michigan products to make the froyo. It should be a place featured on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives. That would be cool. Michelle, Ali, and I drove by it last month randomly. And it won for this month. I'll report back after I experience it.

Good news: I am now taking THIRTEEN credits in the fall instead of TWELVE. One extra credit, which will be 'wall climbing techniques.' The best part is that it's only half the semester. The bummer part is that it's at 9:00 in the morning, but I'll live. I'm a morning person. And I've got Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to sleep in next semester.

Not a whole lot more that I feel compelled to share at this point. If anything groundbreaking happens, I'll post an update. We'll see how soon that is...

Side-tracked...

Life has been going and blogging has not. But it's ok, no hard feelings.

It's been a week. A whole week. So much has happened. But I'll survive not going into gruesome detail about it all.

I got back from a lovely outing to Roadhouse to dine with Larissa, Meagan, and Chelsea--chit chat and chicken fingers was glorious!

Baskin Robbins on Sunday was pretty glorious, too...as was the water park in Bismarck last week...and bowling with Jonah and Dad on Saturday...and go-karting with Jonah on Friday...overall a fabulous week all around!

And life will continue to be fabulous if that is my mindset! Tomorrow is Wednesday already, and I've been thinking a lot about how fast this summer seems to have gone...and how much faster it will go pretty soon! Between weekend trips, planned events, moving into the HOUSE, and Bronco Bash (not to mention the start of classes!), time is just going to FLY by! Scary thought!

I'm already thinking about textbooks...and the GRE...and especially my thesis...and my jobs...and LOTS of house worries...and minors/major requirements...and my brothers...and money...but that's what I do, I guess...worry and think. It's my nature.

Fun stuff is in my future, though. I am making time for the fun. It looks like less credits this fall. Meaning more being social. And more RELAXING! Haha, I'll let ya know how it goes...

Great Day--But not an easy day.

Lots of family-visiting on Sunday and lots of time listening to big booms in the sky that night during fireworks extravaganza (Did you know that fireworks are illegal in Dickinson city limits? Because you couldn't tell...) I got a piece of ash in my eye that night which was lovely. It made the shapes in the sky that much brighter...and kinda painful...haha.

Monday was spent chilling out a lot, playing some cards with the fam, running some errands with mom. I got a webcam. That should be fun to play with when I'm back in Michigan... Taco dinner. Apples to apples. Good stuff. OH YEAH! And a bubble bath! It was divine.

Today was supposed to be my appointments day...and it was...but the car wouldn't start. So I got a ride to the dentist. I have a cavity. Lovely. Grandma gave me a ride home. I ate lunch with Jonah. Then Grandma gave me a ride to the hair dresser. I chopped off 10 inches of hair to donate (I LOVE my new haircut! Haha, but this is day 1...we'll see how I style it myself...) Grandma gave me a ride home, and half an hour later, Mom drove to the doctor with me. She had her appointment, and after waiting an hour and a half, it was my turn. It was supposed to be a simple prescription re-fill. Nope. Full-out physical examination. Awesome. One hour later, I am given an additional prescription and am given instructions to give blood samples at the clinic in the morning. (Yup, an early wake-up for me...) And I have to fast. So no food after midnight. I'll probably be pretty cranky in the morning until I have breakfast.

Anyway, my hair is getting mailed off tomorrow to the donation center. Dad is doing that for me. I'm going to lunch with Trisha. I'll spend the afternoon with the lil bro. And hopefully Dinah will come over for dinner and mani's/pedi's.

We had the best dinner tonight: pot pies! Yay! And we watched Hell's Kitchen! The whole fam! And Jonah just kicked my butt at Crazy Eights...but I don't wanna talk about it.

Hello, North Dakota!

A probably-confusing summation of my time in North Dakota:

"No sundaes? No peanutbutter? Chocolate cake batter, brownie, fudge."
Jonah--Tiki Game, stupid-meter, dog wash apps
Dog scratches...bed jumping...cuteness...LOVE
Mmmmmm Breakfast! PEACHES! Time change? FIREWORKS SHOPPING
GRill. Hot Dogs...No. Turkey dogs?!
Toy Story 3. Yes.
Wally-world, lots of replacements. THANKS MOM!
NEW TEA!
Spaghetti! Yum! THANKS DAD!
Dog-walking. Jonah's mosquito-slapping-dance. Hilarity! *Missing Zach*
Lil Nascar. D-Dawg time! FIRE (struggle)! GIANT MARSHMALLOW S'MORES! Strawberry marshmellow? mmmmm. BIG. Chit chat...*Yawn*
Pancake mastery. Believe it. Card butt-kicking time. Almost reunion-at-Grandma/Grandpa's time.

Ahhhh home. <3

Short and Sweet (Like me!)

I just went for a lovely walk with the lovely Beth Niznak, who is sitting to my right, typing away at a computer here in Waldo Library. I'll begin my traveling adventure very soon, technically. Jill will be here in about an hour to scoop me up, treat me to a delicious meal, and head to Grand Rapids with me tomorrow. VERY EXCITING! I don't know what I'd do without her hospitality--especially at such last minute, since the sleepover tonight was very impromptu!

I think this trip back home will be perfect. Warm weather, lots of family visiting, lots of down time...I don't even think I'll get bored ever, since the time is just too short to be any kind of bored! Besides, Jonah and I will have the car--all kinds of opportunity to get into trouble! I know I'll miss Zach, but I'll see him at Interlochen in a few weeks (Yay!). The silly kid hadn't been in touch with mom and dad yet, as of last night. (He better!)

Not too much to report on with me, it seems. I mean, yesterday was the last official 'work' day with Bronco Bash (I'll be checking emails while I'm gone, but that's not 'official work'). OH and yesterday was the last orientation t-shirt selling day. Which meant LOTS of heavy lifting and moving of t-shirt boxes (I'm kinda sore today!)

Hmmm...I'm getting hungry and am looking forward to some delicious chicken at Jill and Brian's! And I'll be especially excited for yummy food at HOME! Mom even said we were getting ice cream on the way back from Bismarck! CAN'T WAIT!

These Days are Easy and Blissful. Can't Say the Same in a Few Months...

Yup. Summer arrived long ago. And yup, summer has set in legitamately. I'm lucky enough to be working almost every day while enjoying what I do at both of my jobs. I 'work' with some great, inspiring, admirable people, who not only keep me going each day but make every day fun and enjoyable. And during the summer that's enough. But that's not all. I get to schedule fun times with my friends, like going to free campus shows in the evening with my friend Sara, while watching a fellow Wichita-er Chris strut his stuff as an imaginary superhero on stage. I get to chat with people like April Bryan during the orientation Involvement Zone, while she shares her passion and knowledge about the majestic place not far from hear--East Campus. I get treated by a bestie who not only ensures that I get my much-loved dosage of fruits and veggies, but also my ever-important dosage of chocolate (Thanks, Rory!) I get lovely photo tags from my girl Kristina, who travels to far-off places and thinks of me while she's there. And I get to look forward to the hospitality of Jill White, who will be housing me Thursday night AND driving me to Grand Rapids for a day of shopping fun, followed by an airport venture to the land of NoDak (aka North Dakota, for those of you who have never heard of the most obscure of the fifty states).

All of this makes these past few days some of the best--not because they have been so memorable but actually for the opposite--because I am allowed to let such memories fade away into this span of time I'd like to call 'Summer 2010.' The Summer of the Traveling Ali. It's nice to take these reflective moments (at work, nonetheless...) to appreciate everything in my life, right at this moment in time. I'm about to appreciate everything that much more starting Friday. I'm so looking forward to the hugs awaiting me when I land in Bismarck air port at 8:30 pm. My fingers are crossed for three waiting faces peering through the glass as I walk through the long tunnel to the terminal, dragging my suitcase all the way. And then, after the long drive back home, regardless of the hour, I expect a complete ruckus back at home--two spoiled-rotten dogs, bounding and leaping, tongues lapping, tails/nubs wagging, and paws clawing my legs as my pups welcome me home. But wait--I didn't mention the chatter. Allll the way home (or maybe just part of the way home; it's a 1.5 hour drive...) I will probably be chatting away to Mom, Dad, and Jonah, with hopefully quite a bit of chatter coming back at me. If Zach were there, he would be the exception, but his quiet persona will be away at Interlochen, where he is right now, playing his clarinet and making music while perfect his already-superior technique. (I'll see you soon, Zach!)

Oh summer, how I love you! I capture summertime to last throughout the rest of the year...

Too Busy Living Life to Blog Lately

It's pretty funny when I realize that it's been awhile since I've last blogged, but I didn't realize that it had been FOUR DAYS! Haha, not really a big deal, just worth a little chuckle.

I'm gonna try doing a backwords re-count of my past four days...haha I'm gonna need some luck with this one, considering my memory skills...

This should be easy to start out with...I'm blogging right now in the Siedschlag lounge, sitting at a table with Rory across from me (he's working on coding homework for his summer class). There is a lovely breeze coming through the open window next to me (which is annoying Rory, but I'm absolutely loving this breeze right now! I'm considering a nice walk in a bit because the sunshine is out, too!) Awhile ago we had a legitamate Sunday dinner--a pasta bake (from a box of course!) with green beans. Pretty yummy, if I do say so myself! Rory had been working all afternoon and I had been doing laundry. I had been waiting awhile to get enough dirty clothes for two loads of laundry, but today was the last day I could wait since I have to wear my Bronco Bash t-shirts for the last mandatory shirt selling days this week.

There was some excitement earlier today because of a tornado warning. No real action other than some crazy lightning, wind, and rain. I was helping Adam take his stuff to his car earlier and that was during the worst of the downpour, so I was pretty much soaked through. No worries, I'm all dry now and it was pretty hilarious running in the rain, crossing the river (aka the street). Good times...

But yeah, Adam visited this weekend. We watched some soccer this morning. Not too much else but last night was fun because Rory, Adam, Josh Kohnert, and I hung out. My favorite was when midnight hit, and we were all being ridiculous while playing cards! Gotta love summer!

Saturday afternoon I had gone to Cyndee's graduation party--she graduated from grad school at Western! Woo hoo, congrats Cyndee! I went with April and her Mom Dolly and her Mom's boyfriend Bob. They are such wonderful people, and I ate some delicious food in great company! I even learned a new game called washer toss, which I ended up winning with my partner at the party! (I'm definitely considering setting up a version of this game for Jonah! I think he would love it!)

Saturday morning I did a lot of chillin out because it was another late night the night before--that was when we had a semi-Gorgon reunion! Katie Ragan, Adam, Rory, Kristina, and Allie all went put-putt golfing with me! It was soooo much fun, especially when we followed putt-putt with arcade time, and I beat both Rory and Katie at air hockey (Adam was too good though....) We had some break-up cake for Adam which was delicious, and watched the movie Up and other random TV until really late. Earlier on Friday we had eaten out at a Pizza Hut/Wing Street, and Drew had joined us, which was really fun! (Luckily he came to eat up all of my onion rings and to hook me up with the salad that I wanted SOOO bad!) I was a little jealous because he was heading to hang out with my Wichi-whats! from ASB, but I will hopefully see them all some time soon so that we can all hang out!

And that brings me to Friday during the day...What did I do? Hmmm...not a whole lot. I got my mattress finally! SOOOO comfortable and so good to know that I have a sleeping-place secured!

I chatted with my mom on the phone yesterday, which was pretty awesome! Lots of talk about when I come home which is only a few days away! Hopefully everyone can come to the airport in Bismarck to get me--that would be AWESOME! Zach of course will be at Interlochen, so I wouldn't be expecting him, but he just got there yesterday, so hopefully he is already having a blast!

Ok, well that just about wraps it all up. I guess I can add in the fact that I got to see both Beth and Rory on Thursday, and we all had a grand time at the Orientation Involvement Zone. Those two totally spoiled me by buying me Ben & Jerry's ice cream, which I ate while watching Year One with them. Rory even bought me CHOCOLATE yesterday at the store! I can't wait to bust it open!

Only a couple more blogs until I'm home! YAY! <3

Wet Socks

Yes, my socks are wet. Thanks to the torrential downpour that started when I stepped out the door this morning, on my way to the Writing Center. Yup, rain, thunder, lightning, the whole deal. Thunderstorm. And the thunder part was so loud, my heart was beating fast and I felt...fear? Haha, it sounds silly, but ya had to be there. It's a short walk from Elmwood to Moore Hall, but it sure seemed pretty far this morning! The wind was pretty bad, too, considering my umbrella was blowing all around. It was ridiculous.

But yeah, I left pretty early to go to work this morning. I mean, I was all ready, so why not just chill at the WC, right? Come to find out no one was there yet, so I chilled outside the WC (in a chair in the building, no worries). John came later and opened up the WC--I guess the key was just upstairs--oops. It's ok, I played around with my iTouch. Yesterday while selling t-shirts, Kristen reminded me that my awesome iTouch has INTERNET ACCESS with APPS! Haha, I've been downloading crazy free apps since I had this realization! There are some pretty funny ones....like Air Horn, Dating 101 and Toy Story 3 (hasn't finished loading, I'll let y'all know how it is!) It's a good time. We work hard, us Bronco Bash staffers.

Other than the excitements of today, yesterday was fairly average. It was kinda just like my Monday because I picked up some hours at the Writing Center covering for Shannon. Good times. After work, Sara made us PANCAKES! I've been wanting pancakes for awhile now and it was a completely wonderful surprise!

Yesterday I tried to make it a mission to take lots of random pictures because this summer has been pretty void of pictures taken from me...I did an ok job, I should prob put those on FB today... Maybe I'll be better at taking pics in the future. Today I'm going over to visit Ben, Amber, and baby Adrian, so that should be tons of fun! Right after work, I'm heading on over!

Oh and quick recap of Monday evening--Sara and I went to the Cab show! It was SO great, I don't even remember the show being that great at my orientation! After the show, Sara and I watched Toy Story because she's going to see the third movie on Saturday (kinda jealous--hopefully I'll get to see it with Jonah when I go home!) TV time last night consisted of Hell's Kitchen--yeeee-uh--but I totally missed part of it because apparently it started at 8 and not 9. Oops. Oh well, it was two hours long.

And now...guess where I'm at??? The Writing Center!!! Haha, story of my life lately. Loooove it!

Technology Society

I will say this but probably not live by it: Us humans are way too dependent on technology. This has been brought to my attention thanks to a book I'm reading, a friend's situation, and my own recent observations of myself and others. Think about this (the following conclustions sparked from the book Rebuilt by Michael Chorost): Years ago, air conditioning and television did not exist. What did people do with their spare time? They sat on their porches or in their driveways, chatting with neighbors, telling stories, and just hanging out and enjoying the weather. No A/C to lock you indoors to 'conserve' the cold air blowing around. No TV to sit in front of, giving you another excuse to stay inside and to NOT socialize. It really makes sense.

Then there's my good friend April, who works at the Writing Center with me. She left her cell phone at home today and is LOVING it! I couldn't wrap my mind around it for a second--wait--left your cell at home?! But then I thought, "Who would REALLY need to call or contact me anyway?" I mean, for one day it wouldn't hurt. I might have to try it soon. No promises, but it would probably be good for me (although I would probably need a watch to make up for not having the time on me).

And then there's my observations. Nothin to do at this exact moment? Turn on the TV and see what's on. Nothin good? Oh well, just settle for this show, and something will come on eventually. I like the idea of going outside and soaking up the sun (with SPF 50 sunblock!) and reading a book much better. Or taking a lovely walk. Or making plans. It's just appealing. And less technology-dependent.

But that's just my two-cents.

On Saturday I DID see Katie Ragan AND I got a mattress for my lovely bunk bed that I'll be sharing with Tara in the fall. It was a great adventure, which even included a free rolly chair for me, yummy pizza, and a viewing of the original Toy Story. Good fun. (Now Katie is in San Diego--JEALOUS!!!)

Sunday was pretty fantastic, too. I got up, saw the sunshine and decided to enjoy it. I meandered my way to the track mid-morning (I slept in a little). I did a bit stress-free running/walking and then meandered my way back to Sara's apartment. I spent some time reading and lounging outside, called the fam (Happy Father's Day to my Daddy!), and nibbled here and there. Sara and I watched The Next Food Network Star (LOOOOVE it!). And that was my Sunday!

Today was interesting because I got to go to the Western Herald to look for old Bronco Bash logos in past issues. The 'morgue' is an interesting place...a room of old...newspapers! Imagine that!

Tshirt selling was simply wonderful (haha), and our weekly Monday meeting was pretty extensive (deadlines and to-dos are creeping closer for Bash!) OH! Guess who showed up today?! KRISTINA REESE! It was great! I saw her and gave her a GIANT HUG! I'm so glad because I'll get to see her again on Saturday (with Matt K, Adam, Rory, and Allie, too!)

Now I'm finishing up my Writing Center shift. I may or may not be motivated to do something this evening after work. It's supposed to storm, so that may be entertainment in itself.

Summin up my summer-y weekend

Memory issues...I dunno if it's from all the sugar I've had or what...

Wednesday was a Writing Center work day and then a fun movie day with Sara and her friend Amanda. Sara cooked us a feast of Shake n Bake and corn and baked potatoes. VERY yummy!

Thursday was t-shirt sales, Writing Center, and then chill time with Sara.

And then yesterday was Bronco Bash special meeting day--bands were on the mind for sure! No final decisions yet though...

I went shopping with Allie and Sara at Meijer and then hung out with Allie, Rory, and TARA BELL at Tara's house! It was fantastic! We helped with Tara's sister's grad party stuff, making delicious dirt cake and stuff! Then we had burgers, which were delicious! And then Tara drove Rory and I back to campus in a STORM! Complete with 75 mph winds, torrential rain, thunder, lightning, and HAIL! Very scary, but we survived with Tara's skilled driving!

The girl's lock-in night began shortly after I arrived back at Sara's, and Ali B. and Michelle had already arrived. We chatted, and ate lots of cookies, cupcakes and chocolate cheesecake all night. It was great. Scattegories, cards, and a movie were also on the agenda. AND a late-night walk, in which we saw lightning bugs, a tree that had gotten struck by lightning, AND we deduced that 'pudding can get you STD's.' (Haha, ask Michelle about that one...)

Good times with great friends. We woke up this morning and got donuts at Sweetwater's (very good, but now my stomach is sooooo full!) Now Sara and I are chillin at the library, gettin our internet on.

I GET TO SEE KATIE RAGAN LATERRRRR!!!

Great weekend!

Happy Day!

Yayyyyy! I'm back on track with thesis attempt #1,000,000! Haha, just kidding, but really, I'm excited with this new direction my thesis will (hopefully) be taking! I had a meeting this morning before work, and it boosted my mood for sure!

It's really weird outside because it's supposed to rain, and there are clouds AND sunshine AND occasional rain drops AND a breeze. Very indecisive, if you ask me! I'm wearing a sun dress and it will STAY that way, thank you very much! (Haven't quite decided whether or not I'm sticking with my sunglasses, but I can adapt with that.)

This morning I got up pretty early (my alarm actually woke me up for once!), and I headed to the SOC for breakfast because I left my mug and my cereal there yesterday! I figured it doesn't matter too much because I'll need it there tomorrow morning for breakfast; I'll just need to remember to bring it to the apartment tomorrow so that I can have breakfast this weekend! (I can't go without my morning cup of tea!)

Yesterday was pretty average. Office hours and t-shirt sales. I got info on residency for tuition purposes. I have questions about it, though, so that's definitely not a done deal. I watched Hell's Kitchen (TWO EPISODES!) with my wonderful temporary roomie Sara. We also watched Obama address the nation about the oil spill. I thought the majority of his speech was good stuff and informative, but the end got kind of cliche and religious. I'm glad we tuned in for it.

I feel like Monday evening wasn't too eventful...watched TV...read more of The Time Traveler's Wife...I should be done with that soon, maybe today! I keep reading huge chunks of it in the evenings, so soon enough I'll be done and will need a new book--maybe from Allie--and I'll also need to watch the movie.

Oh and update: I have not yet stumbled upon a solution to my box spring/mattress/bed topper solution. Kohl's has some nice stuff to cushion the box spring that I saw online...might need to make a trip there. I keep checking Craigs List, too.

OH! And I checked my email a bit ago, and I got a free pizza coupon because my name is Brandy, and it's my birthday! Awesome, right?! And it's from Eribelli's! Delicious!

That was fast...

So. Today is blogging day. Who knew?! Haha, I thought I blogged yesterday... Nope. Guess not.

On Saturday, the adventure at Jill's was pretty great! We ate spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread! We watched good ol made-for-tv Disney movies (SOO cheesey but SOO good!). And we ate peach cobbler! I ate WAY too much! Haha, it was great fun, and we chit chatted a whole lot.

Sunday I tried to sleep in (fail...), did laundry and packed, and then...sat on my butt for awhile. Exciting, I know. Allie and Jon got back from camping and after they washed up (ewww, camping B.O.! Haha, just kiddin!), we packed up and headed to Allie's family's reunion. That was WAY fun because of course her family is spectacular and super-nice. I ate more great food, too!

Next stop was campus to dump my stuff at Sara's, pick her up, and shop at Meijer. Grocery shop, of course. I watched Next Food Network Star that evening and then called it a night.

Then today...woke up WAY early again. Bronco Bash office hours were spent logging band submissions (yay!). I ate cereal in the SOC, thanks to Aunt Cheri giving me a box of cereal! T-shirt sales were extra-fun, jamming out to Iryna's awesome cd's. I ate Pez, too. It was great.

Now I'm at the Writing Center. WOOO HOOOO! I'm kind of interested in looking for a legit mattress. Cuz the one that came with my bunk bed is a box spring. NOT a mattress! Hmmmm...

Peace.

Refreshed

A new look for the blog--I like it, bright, colorful, kinda summery, definitely fitting me and my personality (right?). It was very distracting making the changes. Soooo much to choose from, and I discovered all of this shortly after breakfast this morning, so I sat on my laptop in the room I'm staying in, absorbed in color schemes, font, etc. But then I had to get my lazy butt up because Aunt Cheri called, and I really wanted to go grocery shopping with her! So we did. She had gone with Uncle Brian for breakfast and for her hair cut, so I had nestled down on the outdoor porch with an English muffin, hot tea, and an apple. The best part? Two young deer were perusing the backyard, completely unafraid! It was really awesome to watch while I munched.

After the phone call from Aunt Cheri, I really did hustle myself to the bathroom to shower and get ready because yesterday I really didn't do too much. (More on that later.) I actually get to wear a skirt today, though, because it's 85 degrees outside. Mostly cloudy, but I see some sun rays out the window right now, so I might need to head out and get some vitamin D in a bit. After our lovely trip to Meijer, Uncle Brian and I polished off the rest of the sushi that he had bought earlier in the week. Absolutely delicious, and quite a treat for me, since I haven't had any real sushi in years! I just got done helping out with some house work; nothing too strenuous, just some sweeping and a tad bit of vacuuming.

But going back to the rest of Thursday... I was making oatmeal in the SOC (as I said in my last blog), and the fire alarms went off! (No worries, I hadn't been using the microwave yet, so it wasn't my fault!) But I left the SOC (with my id so I could get back in), and I went out in the parking lot. Of course no one else was in the SOC that early, but a few caf workers were out there. It was also a day for construction on the roof of the Bernhard Center, so there was a crane at work in the parking lot, and everything was blocked off from cars. Simply lovely, sitting there in the sunshine in the parking lot, watching the giant crane do its business. Who knows what the fire alarm thing was all about, but I'm almost positive that it wasn't a drill...

T-shirt sales were pretty amazing on Thursday! We sold over 70 shirts, which is our record this year! It's really a lot of fun selling because I get really into it, picking out people from the crowd to give my schpiel to about Bronco Bash. I love it when the first year students get excited about it, too!

After shirt sales, I met up with Aunt Cheri right away because she got off work early. We went to Walmart to get dirt (haha, buying dirt at Walmart!) and then I went to a greenhouse with her (my first time at a greenhouse!) We bought flowers and plants for some pots that Aunt Cheri had back at the house. She fixed them up very nicely that evening. For dinner, we had grilled chicken terriyaki, fresh salads, and chicken rice-a-roni (sometimes I feel like this blog is a food blog, but I love sharing the yummy things that I eat over the summer!!! MMMMM!) Allie came home from class on Thursday, and we watched So You Think You Can Dance while planning out camping trip to Mackinaw. (We were gonna three-way call with Kristina and Tara, but I found out yesterday that Tara's charger got left back in Galesburg for the week.) Oh and Aunt Cheri made us cookies! They were so delicious right out of the oven! I couldn't remember the last time I had a cookie hot out of the oven! (I said that AS I was taking a bite out of the cookie and had to translate for poor Allie! Haha!)

The next morning Allie and I didn't sleep in much because we had been used to waking up all week, so we got right to work at making PANCAKES! I'm really beginning to love eating AND cooking pancakes! I added mushed up banana and peanutbutter to my bit of batter and made it thick and fluffy, just the way I like it! (I added some chocolate chips while it was cooking, too! SO YUMMY!) We were nice and made Mike a pancake, too, which he discovered conveniently, JUST as it was done being cooked! After chillin a bit, Allie headed off to pick up the boyfriend from his orientation (I saw him when I was selling Bash shirts on Thursday!). When they got back, we had lunch, and I sent them off on their weekend camping trip. So THEN I spent the rest of the afternoon lazing about, reading, staring off into space while I sat on the back deck, watching a little tv. It was pretty nice just chilling out and relaxing. When Uncle Brian got home, he had a giant PIZZA! Aunt Cheri wasn't too far behind him with ICE CREAM! I enjoyed the pizza, which was from a place called the Pizza King. Then we watched Avatar. I got sucked right into the plot--pretty good movie! And it was extra-great, simply because there was an ice cream break in the middle!

Today, I'll be heading over to Jill's apartment to keep her company while Brian is away. We're planning on some movies and some foods. She mentioned something about dinner and dessert or somethin like that, so we'll see....

Back to the days when I was 5...

Yesterday was a 5-year-old day for two reasons:

1.) I ate lots of sweets that were delicious (although I feel like that isn't a very good reason since I eat delicious sweets often).

2.) I got lost.

Yup. Both are true. Yesterday was Chocola Tea day with Michelle and Ali B. CUTE little cafe where the three of us goofed off and ate GREAT food! I got peanutbutter mousse and chocolate tea, Ali B. got an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie dough brownie and an egg nog steamer, and Michelle got Chocolate French Silk Pie and an italian soda. And we shared EVERYTHING!!! MMMM good! And yes, dessert is one thing that I WILL splurge on! My once a month splurge...and it was fantastic! And somehow after all of that food, I still found room to eat a yummy burger that Aunt Cheri made last night and asparagus and some dark chocolate! It was a great day...

But between Chocola Tea and dinner came the scary part of my day. Because I was suppposed to successfully direct myself back to the Butler house with Ali B. driving her car, but that didn't work out so well... I got us pretty close--even the correct street! Except we kept driving up and down that country road and didn't go far enough. I was freaking out because my phone had died and I didn't know anyone's number, and we must have been parked on the street corner for half an hour. I was just about in tears. Yeah, I panicked... BUT FINALLY we saw Aunt Cheri turn down the street, so we followed her allllll the way down the road and found the house! It was great, and I am totally going to make it up to Michelle and Ali B. for causing so much grief after a spectacular afternoon! They picked the next dessert destination (rightly so). What great friends I have for not booting me out of the car on a random country road...

On Tuesday I sold t-shirts at Orientation, as scheduled, and then had a meeting about my thesis, which is kinda at a deadend right now. Fingers crossed for progress soon...I might have to start over/re-think things... I guess it's good that I started early. I also saw Rory and Beth on Tuesday, which was pretty cool, except Rory felt the need to win another competition--Crazy Eights this time. I have decided that he is choosing the next competition because everything that I choose, he wins at. Grrr.

Tuesday night was beef hash dinner with steamed broccoli. Absolutely delicious, especially since I don't think I've ever had beef hash before then! We chilled out and watched tv, which I'm coming to appreciate quite a bit.

I feel like I don't have too much more to say. I'm about to make some oatmeal here in the Student Organization Center because I'm cool like that. In case anyone cared to know...

HEY! Have YOU submitted your band's press kit to perform at BRONCO BASH 2010?! You really should. ;)

These Days Will Be Really Great--I Know It.

Yesterday was fabulous. Orientation is SO exciting; I'm so glad I get to be a part of it for Bronco Bash!!! Telling all of the freshmen about how great it is to go to Bronco Bash is really fun, especially since they don't yet know how great it is to go to Western in the first place. And then selling t-shirts is like a competition, and I know that once we get the knack of it, we'll get better and better! (80 shirts in one day WILL happen! I wonder how many we sold yesterday...I had to leave early to go to work at the Writing Center.)

But actually my day yesterday started waayyyyyyy earlier than orientation, since I kind of woke up when Allie woke up at 5:30, and that was after waking up a few other times and not sleeping well. Oh well, I definitely caught up my sleep last night! I watched the premiere of Hell's Kitchen before my office hours started yesterday, so hopefully I can keep caught up with it. I do love my food shows! I tried to watch the premiere of The Next Food Network Star, but it's not posted online. We'll see if I catch it on TV (I'm sure at some point...)

But yeah, AFTER orientation I did go to the Writing Center, but no appointments. There was confusion about evening appointments, since Obama came yesterday to campus to be the speaker for Kalamazoo Central's graduation. They won a national video competition (it's on youtube, check it OUT!), and of course everything was pretty busy with traffic, security, etc. And then the first day of freshmen orientation at the same time... It worked out, though, I helped pass out Freezee pops to the freshmen for awhile because that's what the Writing Center helps to do every summer. Then I met up with Aunt Cheri and we headed home (or at least me home for the week!). Rory is going to be jealous, but when I got a snack yesterday, I ate freshly cut PINEAPPLE! It was goooood! (But Allie finished it off, so don't blame me that I didn't save you any! Haha, it sounds like I'm talking about my alter ego self.)

I was soooo tired yesterday evening after not sleeping well the night before. I wanted to nap but decided that if I did, I wouldn't have slept well last night, so I just fought the sleep and stayed awake. I worked on my thesis a bit and then went to help Aunt Cheri cook up a delicious chicken stirfry with brown rice. It had asparagus, red onion, red pepper, carrots, broccoli, and mushrooms! Absolutely yummy! I accidentally made WAY too much rice, though...oops. Then we had DESSERT of strawberry shortcake--homemade biscuits, fresh crushed strawberries and Cool Whip! YUM! But let's just say, I was definitely sleepy for bed not too long after dinner!

Oh yeah and we watched the President speak at that graduation ceremony on TV/online. The speech was actually really good and impressive, but I was pretty annoyed at the dumb kid snoozing right behind him!!! That's what they get for letting an underclassman sit RIGHT BEHIND THE PRESIDENT instead of graduating seniors. It's all over now, though, and seemed to go smoothly, other than that. I told Zach about it over texting, and he said he'd check it out--I mean, c'mon, MATT LAUER was in Kalamazoo yesterday. It was kind of a big deal, ya know?!

Anyway, this morning I've been chilling in the SOC...by myself mostly. Chatted with Chris Sligh and Amy a little bit this morning...we've got the beach on our minds...mmmmm! Orientation to begin again soon and then my extra-special meeting with Dr. Malott later. Hopefully I'll be able to make a lot more progress with my thesis soon!

And that's that. I'm going to go think up something productive to do in the next few minutes...wish me luck!!!

I live in a HOUSE!

Sitting perched on a cushy couch enclosed by an indoor porch, with the sunset through the glass, beyond the trees, the sound of the dryer in the background, a full stomach from a delicious pot roast dinner, and thoughts of a comfortable bed in my near future. Summer happiness. Yes, I moved into the Butler house today, and I just know that this week is going to be great! I slept in this morning somewhat and found that the fam had called! After readying myself for the day, I returned the call, packed up my belongings and soon found myself headed off campus with Aunt Cheri, my stuff all in the back of her van. We had a fun adventure at the fabric store (so many designs, fabrics, CRAFTY things!) and then I got treated to a delicious lunch at Lenny's sub shop! I even got a free cookie and drink for being a college student AND there was leftover sub for my lunch tomorrow! A quick trip to Meijer then followed, and I'm so grateful to Aunt Cheri and her family for not only having me at their house this week, but for also being such kind hosts and cooking for me.

Now that I've been here for a few hours, I've already had more adventures, including a beautiful walk in the wooks, in which I saw poison ivy AND deer! I had some homemade guacamole AND fresh pineapple, and I got to welcome Allie home from her weekend excursion in Homer. She is on her way to dreamland now, since she has to wake up early for work, but I actually have to wake up early, too, since I'm going in with Aunt Cheri around 7:15. Good thing I'm a morning person! :)

Back-tracking now, Friday didn't end up being the Art Hop excursion that I had hoped for because we didn't leave campus until 7 or so, but eventually Rory and I did end up heading out to a candy store...that was closed. Sad. Oh well, we perused what was left of the Art Hop, but the best part was seeing We Know Jackson, who I now love! Then we made a quick stop at McDonald's, where I had a delicious shake! MMMM! The rest of the night was pretty ridiculous: Rory and I started a competition that will last all week. Basically anything and everything is fair game. Score right now: 1-2. He's winning. But not for long! (I won at building card towers; he won at Hangman and Rock Paper Scissors).

Saturday was a sleep-in day again, but Jess and Nate left at 5:30 in the morning to watch the sun rise at East Campus...it was quite the mystery for me to figure out where they had gone to! I was pretty productive with my thesis, but by lunchtime realized that Adam wasn't coming down to visit as he had planned. Bummer. He better come soooooon! Instead, I hung out with Kyle, Jess, Nate, Rory, and Josh, and we all played basketball outside in the drizzling rain. Then Tyler joined us and Kyle, Jess, Nate, and I went with Nate's roommate to play disc golf. I'm not good at all, and it was extra hard with the mosquitoes who like to eat me, but it was an experience. Jess, Kyle, Tyler, and I all headed to the candy store (my attempt #2), and we had a great time! Jess was super kind and bought me a fudge Snickers bar and 2 truffles--what a treat! I came back to Elmwood with Jess and had an EasyMac dinner. Rory and Josh were watchin a movie, and after I ate, Josh, Rory, and I played some card games. Will joined us because he was headed to Galesburg to see Tara. We played Uno, and it was great! Then we headed for Frosty treats at Wendy's. Rory and Will were ridiculous, ordering combo flavored twisted Frosty's. Crazies! Then later that night we had intense weather with tornado warnings. It was pretty fast, and I was tired anyway, so it wasn't too bad, just LOTS of rain and such.

And there. All caught up. Tomorrow is a BIG day! Office hours for Bronco Bash from 9am til 11am, and then Orientation presentation/tshirt sales from 11-3pm. Writing Center hours from 3pm-6pm and then on home with Aunt Cheri. She says we'll be having chicken stirfry for dinner with strawberry shortcake! mmmmm! Anyway tomorrow is also the day Kalamazoo Central graduates from high school on WMU's campus, so President Obama will be speaking at their graduation. It's going to be crazy tomorrow. AND it's the first day of orientation! Hopefully it won't be TOO insane! (Fingers crossed!) It's also a big week for my thesis progress, hopefully. Meeting with Dr. Malott on Tuesday...

OH! I have an important message for the readers of my blog: I miss my family!!! INCLUDING Uncle Jim, who I've inspired to write a blog himself! I'm looking forward to reading it and finding out everything he's been up to lately! It's been a loooong time since I've seen certain relatives--hopefully that can change soon!

I chatted with Mom on the phone awhile ago. We're starting to chat about stuff for when I come home! It'll be exciting, I'm sure I'll have tons to say over blog! I'm thinking I should probably wrap this up to allow for some bed prep time at some point. Gotta get my zzzz's for that busy day ahead of me! I'll be wearing my Bronco Bash shirt proudly!

Great Day Already!

I woke up this morning without an alarm clock! Ahhhhh glorious feeling! Jess and Nate were stirring about making themselves breakfast before class (poor summer students! Oh well, getting ahead and learning lots, I'm sure!) And even Josh headed out to work, but me, I was in my pj's until around 11am! It was pretty spectacular! I was kinda productive, though. I did dishes, cleaned up a little bit, got dressed, made myself a POT PIE (yum!), and read some of the book I am reading (The Time Traveler's Wife--pretty good so far!) Although it wasn't all that sunny out and still isn't ideal, I had the windows open and blinds up, letting in the fresh air. And then before I ventured out to the library (where I am right now), Jess came home and said that she thinks she did pretty well on her physics test! Yay! Who knows what the rest of the day holds, maybe brownie-making, maybe art-hopping, maybe visiting ADAM who may or may not be able to visit...but hopefully!

On Wednesday, I had planned on going to a kickball game for the apartment complex with Sara and the Kohnert's, but we all changed plans, and I had a girls game night at Sara's with Michelle and Krista instead. It was a ton of fun--we played some Crazy Eights, Apples to Apples, Mad Gab, Dirty Minds, and Would You Rather. Lots of chit chat and giggles! Then I went back to the Kohnert's where we watched the new Alice in Wonderland movie, which was actually pretty good! I LOVE that Alice is a strong female protagonist!!!

Thursday morning was the Bronco Bash photo shoot with us coordinators and Lynnae. It was a lot of fun taking pictures with the girls around campus with our amazing Bronco Bash t-shirts on! And then at work, Kristina called me and we chatted for awhile about her amazing trip to IRELAND, but then Rory came to the Bash office and crashed the party, so I got distracted and we had to end the call (RORY!) But it was actually a pretty busy day because after that, Rory and I went to Meijer. We got a bunch of random stuff, including diapers and formula (presents for baby Adrian!), and we got some REALLY funny looks from random people as Rory and I took turns pushing a cart full of baby stuff! Haha, it definitely made me laugh! So later we delivered the baby stuff, and I got to see cute little Adrian again! After that, we rushed off with Allie Doty and went to TREAT STREET for ice cream (hey, I had free ice cream coupons, we HAD to go! Grasshopper ice cream was great!) But we actually did have a mission: to pick up my new mattress from Tara's house! We got the mattress but it was very much squished in the back of Doty's Yukon (which she switches out for her new Trailblazer today!), and I had to crunch beside the mattress in the back, but I sat against the spare tire and it was pretty comfy.

With the mattress successfully in Rory's room back on campus, we said good bye to Allie because the poor girl was super tired. (I would have been tired if I were her too--it sounded like a looong day of work, class, and then Ali/Rory adventure!) I'm really excited to live with her at Aunt Cheri's this next week! Every week is an adventure! Ok well, now I have to get going finishing up my second draft of my proposal. I'm doing my best, but it takes a lot of effort to get started each time...

Who knows where I'll be next time I write???

Funny When the Days All Run Together...

Yup, I forgot this morning whether my last blog had been yesterday or the day before...and it was actually the day before! Haha, I was pretty shocked at how fast the days have been going by! Before I know it, it'll be next week and orientation will start up--meaning that I think my weeks will be going by even faster! It should be a ton of fun selling t-shirts and seeing all of the excited freshmen and parents. We have to get them allll excited for BRONCO BASH! (I remember as a freshman, I was SO pumped to go--I heard how big it was and that it was FREE, and I just couldn't believe it! I'm pretty sure that's why MY dad bought me a shirt!)

But yeah, as of yesterday, I have all of my Bronco Bash shirts to rotate when I sell shirts for orientation in June. Allll of June...and then I'm homeword bound for the first week of July! Haha, for all I know, I've been repeating this info in every blog, and it's probably pretty old news by now...but I'm pretty sure it'll never be old news for ME!

Wow, my memory is really failing me, I can't even remember where I was when I blogged the last time...I can usually remember where I typed it and that helps me catch up from that point on. Oh well, I'll just figure that it was late Monday night. So basically I just have to chat about what went down yesterday.

I woke up early-ish and packed breakfast to-go so that I could 'make up' my Bronco Bash offic hours. Not extremely necessary because I'm in the office a lot anyway, but whatever. I applied to work at the library yesterday finally and also put up the Bronco Bash orientation bulletin boards with Iryna in Britton and in Shilling. It had been sooooo long since I had been to the Valleys! But I got to see Amy, so that was awesome! I sold her our first t-shirt! And Danielle liked the design, too! I can't wait to see people WEARING the shirts now! But yeah, putting up bulletin boards brought me back to the good ol' RA days. Good times. It's funny how my housemates joke about puttin up bulletin boards and other RA-type stuff in the house next year. Riiiiiiight....

OH! And I saw Katie Ragan yesterday! It was sooooo exciting! We chit chatted for awhile and caught up on summer life. She promised she would visit soon to actually hang out, which I am excited about! I also tried to talk with Kristina over the phone yesterday, but that didn't quite work out because I had tentative plans that became a delayed reality (to be explained in minute) and SHE had to play chef and make dinner! Sounded yummy--sausage, corn on the cob and KEY LIME PIE! MMMM! The closest I've ever had to key lime pie is the key lime pie yogurt. Side note: I tried red velvet cake yogurt yesterday, and it was pretty scrumptious! Ohhhh dessert!

But anyway, my evening-ish plans were originally to go with Rory around 6 to visit Ben, Amber, and baby Adrian, as I mentioned in my last blog. And then Rory says he has homework and couldn't go. Now THAT didn't fly with me, so I asked my good pal Nate (who was over at the Kohnert's apartment) if he could help Rory with this crazy computer science-y stuff. And he said yes. So they worked on that stuff for an HOUR!!! Wow, I was patient, but wow. THEN we headed off to the Kennert's house. (I had finished reading Wuthering Heights AND started to read the Time Traveler's Wife during their work time. Yay for reading time!) I got us a lil lost on the way to the Kennert's, but we found it, and I saw Adrian who is ADORABLE! He makes some really cute funny faces and he keeps his mom and dad busy, that's for sure! Haha and I learned something new: Pampers are better than Huggies. Lesson of the day!

Wanna hear some exciting news?! Tara and I have bunk beds! I'm excited! They are getting delivered to Tara's house on Thursday, so it's actually gonna happen--I'm gonna have a BED!

Continuing on with my evening yesterday...arrived back at the Kohnert's, watched a documentary with Jess and Nate about the history of the telephone, and then said bye to Jess, Nate, and Josh who were all headed out. I chilled out and got ready for bed because this morning was another early one in the Bronco Bash office. But there is still a little down time for blogging, so that's good.

It's a pretty exciting life I lead, right?! I worked on my thesis a little bit yesterday, too, and luckily the changes aren't as intimidating as I originally thought. Yeah, THAT'S exciting! Haha, I won't kid myself. But I'm still loving summer. I styled my hair all fun today, trying to make use of this long hair while I still have it. We'll see what I do with it tomorrow...

Becoming a Bum

Ali P. slept in (kinda) this morning! I got all ready for the day and then...read my book...and watched lots of TV (Memorial Day is TV marathon day, apparently--Grill It with Bobby Flay and Cake Boss)...and chatted on the phone, wrote a letter, checked some internet stuff...and hung out with Josh, Jess, and Nate a little bit. Nothing too crazy but I wore sweatpants all day and didn't exert too much energy so it was a change from the usual hustle and bustle. Tomorrow is back to work for Bronco Bash! I should be pretty busy with catching up from unfinished stuff from last week. Jess said we would probably play games and whatnot tomorrow--should be fun! I'm also looking forward to meeting Adrian Kennert this week! The baby pictures on Facebook were so adorable and I'm sure he's 100 times cuter in real life!

Now is the time when I back track and rack my memory for fun/exciting stuff that I did in the past two days... On Saturday, right when I finished my blog for the day, Ali B. came over and the chaos began... We had a yummy dinner with Michelle's family, which was grilled chicken, steamed cauliflower, coleslaw (which I actually liked!), and grilled French bread. Then the girls had this marvelous idea of baking cookies. The fact that s'mores were lined up on the agenda and a cheesecake was in the fridge was irrelevant--so we made cookies! White chocolate macadamia. It was an adventure because we used a mini countertop oven and aluminum foil. But the cookies turned out fine and tided us over while we played a pretty loopy game of Apples to Apples. Yup, with three people (plus help from Michelle's dad!)

Apples to Apples concluded and Catchphrase began--around the fire on the deck! It was pretty exciting passing around the Catchphrase machine over an open fire while making toasted marshmallows for the s'mores that were being created at the same time. It was pretty insane. And the s'mores were delicious. And the fire was hot. Crazy, right?

And then it got dark. So Ali B. had to head home because Michelle lives way out where there's no street lights. BUT we had to have cheesecake first! We did! LOTS OF SUGAR! The next day Michelle had to work early, and I spent time packing up stuff and doing laundry. Then she drove me off to Elmwood to Josh and Jess's! It was just me and Josh for Sunday and most of Monday, but we practiced our chilling skills and hung out. Oh yeah! And we chilled with Rory and Beth Sunday night, too! I hadn't seen Beth in a loooong time, and it seemed like I hadn't seen Rory in awhile, either!

And there. I think everything is all caught up now. I got my draft from thesis critiqued, so I'll have that to work on this week. I might apply for a job at the library, too...we'll see!

Less rain tomorrow, hopefully! I want to see the sunshine back! It's supposed to rain a few other days this week, but at least it's a warm rain! More fun and exciting summer updates to come!

Sad Day.

Today is a sad day. Because I just lost my entire blog that I typed up. The longest one I've ever typed. EVER. And now I'm all depressed. Very much so. So now is for a depressing summary about what the other blog was SUPPOSED to be like...

Last Wednesday: Thrift store shopping with Michelle looking for bunk beds for Tara and me to sleep in next year. No luck, nothing cheap enough. Did some window shopping at TJ Maxx, Kohl's, Old Navy. Got hungry, came home, ate ciabatta sandwiches, watched American Idol while making rhubarb crisp. First time ever making rhubarb crisp. Yum.

Thursday: Busy work day. Folded Bronco Bash t-shirts. Flip flop broke. Bought new ones from bookstore for $7. Same flip flops. Cooked homemade Menna's. Chicken, potatoes, mozzerella and colby jack cheeses, with sour cream and barbecue sauce wrapped in a pita. Good. Will prob make again next year at the new house. Walked Della (Michelle's Shih Tzu). Country walks are nice. Came back and watched Michelle's favorite show, "So You Think You Can Dance." It was auditions, pretty entertaining.

Friday was beach day. Michelle worked in the morning; we headed out with Sara and Krista round 1:30. Allie D. was supposed to come but ended up heading back to Homer. Fun day, warm sand, lots of laying around. Dairy Queen afterwards (double fudge chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard. Was alright but was more vanilla-y than chocolate-y. Watched Lucky # Slevin that night. Good movie, very much like a puzzle.

Domestic Day today. Weeded the garden, made a panini, picked peonies and irises. Baking a cheesecake right now. Should be tasty. Ali B. is coming now to hang out with us. Fire, S'mores, chit chat. Tomorrow head to the Kohnert's apartment in Elmwood for the week. I really am excited about all of this. But I'm also very much devastated bout losing my blog.

Oh well. Better spirits next post.

Sunshine, humidity, and blue sky, OH MY!

SUMMMMMMMMER! That's right, I said it with excitement. Because it's HERE! Haha, I feel like I write about that every post, but it's soooo important! I don't think I've ever realized how much I love summer until THIS summer arrived! It may not be official by the calendar (who knows when 'official' summer starts?!), but it's official by me! Another hot day today--YES!--and promise for more heat and sunshine into the weekend! Which is ever-so-exciting because Friday is BEACH DAY with Allie, Sara, Michelle, and me! It was going to be a picnic, but we modified our plans a tad so that Michelle can make a lil $$$ at work on Friday! It'll be a bit of a change since I'm used to being the one at work--I'll probably spend my time lounging and reading in the sun. ;)

But let's catch up. Monday we had QUITE the pizza adventure. After paging through tons of coupons for pizza for dinner, we decided on Cottage Inn pizza. With a coupon for one large 5-topping pizza, you can get it split into quarters and have a possible 20 different toppings on it! Insane, right?! It was sooo good, though! I got broccoli, chicken, and sun-dried tomatoes on my quarter. Yay for variety! And yay for coupons! The rest of that night we watched Footloose on TV, which was kind of ruined simply because of all of the commercials, which were 10 minutes long each time. Michelle and I had never seen it before (shocker, right?), but we didn't think there was enough dancing and singing. Not a musical by our standards (but we don't know if it was supposed to even be a musical).

Oh and I think I may have developed some kind of allergy this week. It kind of went away but starting Sunday, I had itchy eyes and a stuffy nose with sneezes. Fingers crossed that it stays away! I've never had an allergy before (except for bee stings, mostly), and I would like to keep it that way.

Tuesday Michelle and I got to sleep in a little more, and we made WAFFLES! They were delicious and we experimented a bit by adding honey, cinnamon, butter, syrup, peanutbutter. All delicious (but we didn't put everything on at once). The waffles were in quarters like the pizza, so it worked out well with our variety toppings.

Then I was off to work. After work, Michelle and I went grocery shopping at Aldi's--my first ever trip there. It was quite the experience, although we struggled a bit. We got lots of yummyies, though, so we were successful. Then we lounged outside. I got to do a bit of stretching/yoga in the sunshine and read a bit. We had burgers grilled for us by Michelle's mom with fresh asparagus. Michelle and I went to our friend Krista's softball game and then to get COLDSTONE! More coupons went to use, along with the last of my gift card (sad!). I was very simple with my ice cream choice--cake batter with pecan pralines. Next time I will need to make up for this by going with LOTS OF CHOCOLATE!

Who knows what today holds. I'm finishing up this blog entry during my Bronco Bash office hours, a pretty slow morning so far. Looking forward to folding t-shirts tomorrow and putting up orientation bulletin boards. Monday we had a lovely Orientation Student Leader presentation all about Bronco Bash. Can't wait to sell some shirts!

One thing that is on my mind is volunteers. We need lots. VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER VOLUNTEER! I loved it last year, so hopefully all of this year's volunteer's will have a similar experience.

Ok well now I'm off to think of something productive to do with my last few hours! Until next time...

Whatta Weekend

I think I last posted on Friday...wow. That seems like a loooong time ago! Haha, Happy Monday! How bout an update? On life? YES!

Friday was Ali-goes-to-store-by-herself-on-the-bus-day. It was a good time. I needed a giant hair clip. Cuz the night before I broke mine in half. So off to the store I went. Kohl's as a matter of fact. I had a gift card. So I figured 'why not?!' Bus ride was flawless; I got there, which is the important part. The bus driver was odd though. Drove to a bus stop in front of Wendy's, parked the bus at the bus stop--and then got out. She went in Wendy's and went to the bathroom. Everyone on the bus was like...WHAT?! Whatever, it's her job, I guess. She's got it under control...I guess.

But Kohl's...I went in the wrong door. I got inside and right in front of me was the shoes. Uh oh. The good thing: I had a gift card. The bad thing: I needed white sandals/flip flops and no one was with me to help pick anything out. Soooo...half an hour later, after scouring the ENTIRE store, I narrowed down my choices from six to two. It was between a two-pack of flip flops (one white, one brown) or a pair of white sandals that are the closest I've ever had to owning 'Greek' sandals. Even though I could have bought the two pairs for $5, I went with the sandals because I had a gift card, and I never really splurge. The only other problem: I have a lot of shoes with me for the summer. Granted, most of them are flip flops, but here's the inventory: 2 pairs of flats, 1 pair of running shoes, 1 pair of skate shoes, 3 pairs of flip flops, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of heels. Ridiculous? Yes, I know. But I like to MATCH my shoes! Oh well...Hopefully now I'm done getting shoes for awhile.

Oh yeah! And I bought clips! TWO! So I should be set. No more breaking hair clips for me because my hair is soooo long at the moment and I cannot wear a shower cap in the shower unless it's all on top of my head (and yes, I wear a shower cap in the shower).

Later that day, Sara and I rented movies. Valentine's Day and It's Complicated. Both movies were pretty good. I actually ate a whole bag of popcorn, too, which is pretty rare, since I don't like popcorn.

Saturday...WAIT! All of that happened on Saturday! Except the movie part! Haha the movie part happened on Friday. Friday morning Sara and I went for a walk on East Campus...then the movie stuff. Oops. :)

So Saturday night Sara and I joined Rory and Drew for pool. It was fun. I suck at pool. But whatever.

On Sunday I prepped a brunch for Sara and I--pancakes! Absolutely delicious! I packed up my stuff and headed out with Michelle to her house to live! An actual house! The weather was gorgeous--temps in the 80's! We mowed the lawn right away in her family's RIDING LAWN MOWER! SO much FUN! Haha, I'm easily entertained. It was like driving a go-cart. If I had one of those, I'd want to mow the grass every day, rain or shine, grass or snow! Did some laundry yesterday, too, which was super awesome, since I had accumulated SO much! We had a delicious dinner of chicken stirfry with green peppers, onions, ASPARAGUS, and of course chicken. There were yummy rolls and homemade applesauce! Home cooking is so gooooood! After a lovely walk with Michelle's puppy, we came back and had ice cream with chocolate chip cookies! (I think I'm really gonna love living here!) And besides the food and the great company, I got to sleep in an actual bed that was so soft and fluffy! Ahhhh!

We're thinking about doing some awesome things this week, like having a fire on the back deck (with s'mores maybe!), maybe going to the beach, hanging with Ali B. and/or Allie D., and there's also Sara's Kickball tournament at her apartment complex that we could go watch! No worries, I'm ready and willing to remember everything! I mean, you wouldn't wanna miss out, right?!

;)

The Simple Life

Ahhhh! Nothing like staying up til 2am dancing like there's no tomorrow...and then choosing to wake up at 8am because my new favorite band was doing a concert on the Today show! Haha, that's how I roll! The Script was amazing, and I found out that they are Irish--pretty cool, right?! I need more of their music...

But yeah, that's right, I had a dance party with my roomie Sara last night for awhile. 42 song playlist of the best jams EVER! (We found out that not only do hair brushes and remote controls make GREAT microphones, but a broom is an AMAZING guitar!) Last night our adventure had begun long before the dance party because Allie Doty kidnapped us and forced us to go to Coldstone! (Tragic, right?!) Naw, it's ok, I ate a delicious hot fudge lava cake dessert (and paid with my gift card, WOOO!). Best part of the trip besides the yummy-ness? The Coldstone workers PERFORMED for us! That's right, a few were working, then the line went out the door, so their friends showed up (who were off the clock but decided to help anyway) and every time someone tipped them, they started singing amazing songs about Coldstone (my favorite was to the tune of 'Barbie Girl!') There was ice cream scoops getting flipped like pizzas, and Sara, Doty, and I literally just sat there and watched in amazement while they served customers and while we indulged in our creations. (I swear, there's a great story EVERY time I go to that Coldstone! I've already got a Halloween tradition of going there, I've seen Duct Tape Man there, I've seen Will get a "Gotta-Die-In-It" size ice cream there, and then this. I LOVE IT!)

So there was that. And then we went to Meijer. I'm still unsure if I got the best deal buying apples, cuz they seemed so expensive! I got four large apples for $3.33, but I think I could have got a bag of smaller apples for cheaper or for the same price...hmmm... (Cheap college student talking, sorry for the tangent).

Life right now is good. Sittin in the library, mooching off of the free internet. I'm on a Mac which sucks, but whatever. Went for a walk to East Campus this afternoon with Miz Sara. Twas fun. Worked on my thesis for a loooong while today (Productive!). Gonna rent movies later with Miz Sara later. Tomorrow prob gonna play pool with that guy Rory. Then Sunday I'm off to my next adventure--off campus living with Michelle at her house! SOOOOO excited! WOO HOO! Each day is something new, and THAT is what I love about summer! Yay for friends!

By the way. Yesterday the weather was unbelievable. Gorgeous. And hot. And perfect. Today it is crummy and wet and colder. Soon it needs to return to the weather that I love. And need. Much appreciated, Mother Nature. Thanks.

On My Mind: Music & Sunshine

Ready for the latest embarrassing story? Ok so I was chillin in the Bronco Bash cubicle in the Student Organization Center, being my usual productive self and decided, "Hey, I'd like some music because it's pretty quiet in here." So I log myself onto Pandora Radio... And... NO SOUND?! Hmmm... Let's check the computer speaker cables... All plugged in. Let's check the volume... At a respectable level that I SHOULD be able to hear... Let's investigate the Control Panel settings for volume... Nothin fishy there.

That was when it became time to consult the new Homecoming coordinator Lizze Fowler, over chillin at the Homecoming station at the other end of the room. I asked for help, she walked in (she's super nice!)... and then she clicks the 'On' button at the top of the right speaker. WHAT?! Who would make speakers with invisible on buttons?! So... embarrassed. Oh well. I now have MUSIC! And today's temp is supposed to be in the 70's! No complaints there!

Oh but remember how I had a phone interview yesterday? It went well...except now I'm looking at my fall schedule, and I realize that there is basically no way the job shifts will work out for me. Bummer. I need to either give up on the additional fall job or I need to find something ELSE! A small committment that can provide a few extra dollars per week. FRUSTRATION! (It's really too bad because I have an in-person interview on Friday that I probably have to cancel now.)

Today is move-into-Sara's-apartment day. I'll be there until Sunday, and then I'm off to Michelle's house! My first off-campus living location! Should be quite the adventure--I've never lived in Portage before! But tonight I'll watch the American Idol finale with Sara, tomorrow I'll work and then hang out with Doty and Sara (maybe we could go to the grocery store...I'm all out of fruit for breakfast!) Then Friday I have that interview, which I probably won't do anymore. Nothin planned for Saturday.

But GUESS WHAT?! I got a PACKAGE IN THE MAIL last night from my fam! A super-cute outfit that fits, summer-y jewelry, makeup and some money to help out with some grocery shopping in the next few weeks! That was just soooo awesome, and I can't wait to call home today! And then last night Rory and I had a delicious mini-hot chocolate party, and I'm officially lovin white hot chocolate peppermint-flavored hot chocolate! Mmmmmm... SO GOOD!

Life is good. I gotta get rollin on my thesis and get this dumb scholarship in the mail, but other than that, the stress is minimal, the fun is aplenty, and the smiles are prevalent! PEACE!

Workin' Girl

Guess who's workin TWO jobs today?! Guess who has a phone interview tomorrow??? Oh yeah--ME! More work hours should mean more $$$, so I just need to keep in mind that I need to SAVE SAVE SAVE! Went to Ihop yesterday with some friends--old and new--and had a blast! I got my usual Funny Face Pancake (absolutely delicious!), and it was the usual $4 price, so I was happy! (Who says a kids menu can't be filling AND yummy AND delicious?!) Basically it's a plate-size chocolate pancake with chocolate chips, whipped cream AND chocolate chips on top, and two cherries, all decorated as a face! So I was in heaven yesterday. The waiter was weird, though. He made the ugliest pancake face I've ever seen! Whatever. It didn't stare at me for long... hee hee...

I really wanna Skype the fam this week. Hopefully it'll happen cuz Rory and Sara have webcams. I really want one... Haha, talk about random. But that's ME!

What else is goin on...hmmm... OH! I wanna see Doty this week cuz she hinted that she's bringing a book for me to read! The Time Traveler's Wife. I will read it and then hopefully watch the movie. I'm guessing it's gonna be a LONG while before I see a recent movie in the theaters, though, given my savings situation. Oh well, I'll mooch off of friends movies to borrow, and that'll satisfy me.

OH! So story: Rory, Beth, Lindsey, and I went to play basketball outside yesterday and then went exploring all round campus. We found a cute lil playground/park by Elmwood...and I wanted to climb on top of it (it wasn't that big or tall), so I did. Then I got stuck. And they watched me struggle for awhile (seemed like ten minutes!). Then Rory saved the day and helped get me down. It was scary. But I survived. No worries.

Many more future adventures of Ali P. to come!

The Sunshine Hides From Me But I Know It's There Behind the Clouds

I like to take walks in the warm-ish weather with my friend Beth while we chit chat and bask in what is now officially summer. It's summer because there is free time lacking boredness but full of lazy-ness. It's summer because of new friendships, wavering moements of motivation and lack thereof. It's summer because of the amazing privelege to sleep in past ten, stay up past one, and eat all the time any time (although I miss caf food...a lot!) I think that my summer needs some more ice cream in it. And some more girl time cuz I need to see Tara Bell and Kristina Reese and many others! Also, I better be making it to the beach when the weather decides to cooperate for the long term. My summer is going to involve some hair-chopping in July, along with LOTS of quality family time back home in North Dakota! Oh yeah, and lots of girl time with my good gal pal D-Dawg!!! My movie list and my book list will experience some major dents in their length eventually, and my thesis is gonna wonder what hit it after the next few weeks when the drafts become actualities! Crazy random antics with friends have become the norm, and just hanging out in Draper so much lately, I feel like my poor pool skills have not gotten better but at least haven't gotten worse with the extra practice. My summer clothes are ready and waiting to be worn, especially since that means less laundry for me...and less money to spend on doing laundry! Fingers crossed for me keeping my sunglasses in one piece for the entire summer--that'd be a nice curse to break for sure! I know Bronco Bash will be keeping me busier with each added day, and I'm looking forward to more news about the job with the Annual Fund for the fall probably. Beyond that, life is good. Beth and I have had a grand time hanging out and sharing stuff about ourselves with each other, and we've had some fun times with Sara and Allie, too! Oh yeah, and of course that guy Rory!

Tonight we'll see a bunch of friends and have fun...lookin forward to it! Yay for summertime...

I. Hate. Passwords.

The post title is random, but I'm pretty much infuriated right now because I am unable to remember passwords AT ALL! (I just reset my blogger password for the third time!!!) Ridiculous, I know...

So far I seem to be sticking with the every-other-day posting. Dunno who actually reads my randomness, but it's fun to do! I find myself once again chillin in the Bronco Bash office while eating a PB&J. A little more active in the Bernhard Center these days with classes started up for the summer, student tours going around, and the occasional OSL's walking by (I see them all the time!)

Yesterday I had a blast hanging out with Rory and Drew! After I kicked Rory's butt in half of a game of Scrabble (he admitted defeat when Drew arrived), we all went to Wendy's and I got a delish Chocolate Twisted Frosted with Cookie Dough! MMMM so good but it was kinda melty... Oh well! Then we played a sad, sad game of pool in which I lost. THEN we played BOWLING in the HALLWAY by Rory's room! We even caught it on a podcast! We had little plastic pins and bowling balls (two sets), and there were 20 pins total. We kept score on a bulletin board (pretty impressive). Balls that hit the wall don't count either, so it was difficult--but I got a strike!!! We played five frames and then called it a night cuz I was ridiculously tired.

Almost done with work now at the BB office, and then I'll probably go and get free tickets to see this movie premiering at the Little Theater tomorrow. It was shot at Western, and I'm pretty curious to check it out. Doty is going with me, and probably Beth, too. (Beth is coming today! Yay!)

That's the excitement of my day! And since I'm here at work--VOLUNTEER FOR BRONCO BASH ON SEPTEMBER 10! Haha, there's my plug ;)

Peace & Love!