Fishtailing and other adventures in Colorado

So, I'm in Colorado spending the winter break with my mom and little sister. It has been an interesting time so far and I haven't even been here a whole week yet. Usually when I come to Colorado I always leave with a funny story and this visit is not different in that area.
First of all, when my mom moved up here, she bought a love seat and it was strapped to the roof of her jeep and we brought it home. Unfortunately, it started to down pour while we were driving home and so the love seat was soaked by the time we drove the 15 minutes home. When we did get home, we had to unstrap it from the roof which was super funny because we couldn't see nor could we stop laughing. Our dog thought that we were in trouble and tried to jump through the screen part of the screen door; he managed to pop out the bottom and then was biting it. This made me laugh even harder which isn't good because the love seat was still on the roof. Finally we got it down and then we had to get it through the front door which was a whole new challenge. Every time I remember that part I always think of that one "Friends" episode when Ross is trying to get a couch up to his apartment and he keeps yelling "pivot"; I smile whenever I think of that. Anyway, the love seat survived and it's now my bed when I come to visit.
Well, the story that I have from this visit is also a funny one. My mom came home from work and parked out front because we were going to eat a quick dinner and then go to the store. Sadly, it had been snowing all day and her jeep got stuck. It wouldn't grip anything and the tires were just spinning. So, my little sister and I got out and started to push, trying everything. We even had our mom put the car in neutral to see if that would work; not a good idea when it's on a hill and you're on the downside of that hill pushing. We slowly got her out into the street but she still wasn't gripping anything. Becca (little sister) had fallen and I was close to falling a few times. Then this guy came to help us and we eventually got the jeep out of there. It was so funny and I wish that I had my camera with me.
Also, as the title says there have been many moments of fishtailing in just the past three days. One time my mom turned right and the jeep started fishtailing so she tried to correct it (my mom is very good at not freaking out and handling the problem). Anyway, she corrected a little too much and we ended up hitting the medium in the middle of the road. Thankfully, no one was coming and she was able to correct the jeep and we were off again. There other times when we had fishtailed so much that we were facing the wrong way on the street. Thankfully, each time there had not been any other cars around and no one was hurt, although we all were laughing uncontrollably.
And there was another time when we had dropped off Becca at her friend's house and we were trying to leave. The jeep was stuck again. So, I got out and started pushing and slid right on to my face. Snow got up my sleeves and my face was so cold! I stood up laughing; my knees were a little bruised because I landed on them but I was fine.
Anyway, that's the story of my adventures so far and I still have at least 3 weeks left. I can't wait to see what happens.

Thanksgiving Pros and Cons

I can't believe that I haven't written anything since September. Well, not a lot has happened to me since then, I've been doing great in my classes (except Italian) which is a big difference from what my grades normally look like. Good idea on the change of major. I'm living off campus now at the manch for those of you who know what I'm talking about. I love where I'm living and the group of ladies that I'm living with, they are amazing! Well, I went down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and I realize some things while I was down there. Here is a pros and cons list of my Thanksgiving.
Pro: I got to see my family whom I love
Con: My family is crazy and even though I love them, I can't stand spending more than a weekend with them
Pro: I took a bottle of wine down for the everyone to share, hoping that it would make the whole weekend more enjoyable
Con: the wine tasted awful! Side note, don't get Coppola wine it tastes like a tire. I bought that kind cause my grandpa's last name is Coppola so I thought it would be cool
Pro: I got away from school for a while
Con: I had to take homework to Phoenix and I got maybe half of it done (that could be a pro)
Pro: I got to see my little sister that is growing into a beautiful young lady
Con: She has glasses now and everyone kept joking that they couldn't tell us apart (not funny), also my little sister is just an inch taller than me (not happy about that)
Pro: I got to see my 3 year old cousin whom I absolutely love
Con: We all went to a giant play place and I was the one that had to follow him around; that involves crawling through those little plastic tunnels
Pro: my mom brought some of my stuff that I left with her when I started college
Con: all of it was in a huge plastic container which could not fit in the car that drove me back to Flagstaff (we had a full car and no more room for anything)
Well, I think that is the end of my pros and cons list. Now to get homework done and when I say that I mean get on facebook and not do anything school related.

Writing Exercise

In my creative writing class we had an exercise where we had to write a story about something that could never happen but make the realistic part so real that it didn't sound so impossible. Here's my attempt (keep in mind that I need to work on being more descriptive).

In the one, lonely house on Birch street there lives an old lady whose only companion is a dog with three legs. Now you may feel bad for this poor, old woman but if you ever ask her if she was lonely, she would proudly say, "No, that dog is all the company I need. He's done more things than any person I know. Although, I think he stretches the truth some times".
She loves listening to his tall tales and picturing herself right there beside him. However, the tale she loves most is about how this dog was able to go to college by pretending to be a seeing eye dog. "It's nice that even animals can go to college", she states with motherly affection. "The one about how he lost his leg in Vietnam always brings tears to my eyes. If he was my dog back then I would have taken better care of him." She loves that dog with all her heart and soul.

That's all, what do you think?

First week of school

Sorry that this has taken so long to be posted but school is just kicking my butt. Well, I live far from campus now and I've been walking almost everyday, a couple of days I've gotten rides. At first I hated having to walk that far but now I'm getting use to it. I still complain a little but that's normal. I did realize though that if the people in the house behind us would let me cut through their backyard, then that would cut about 10 minutes off of my walk. Oh well! I'm gonna lose a ton of weight this way, especially since my eat habits are changing. Don't worry, I am eating just not as much as I use to.
Anyway, classes are going. They are intense but I know that I will survive and get awesome grades to prove it. I'm taking a Shakespeare class and we are going to be reading 7 plays this semester and I have an oral presentation that I need to work on for that class. My day to present is October 7th. I hope that I'll do okay with that, I have a fear of standing in front of people. I'm trying to get over that but it's not easy. Also, right now we are reading "A Midsummer's Night's Dream" and it's so amazing. We acted out the first act on Friday which helped me to understand what all goes into a play.
Another intense class is American Novel; we are reading a total of 10 novels in there this semester. We already finished one and it was interesting. At first it was really slow but then in the middle it picked up and I loved it! The book is called "The Rise of Silas Lapham". It's an older book, written in the 1800's but the story is so beautiful and I loved every minute of it. We were suppose to have the whole book finished by this past Tuesday so I spent all of Monday (Labor Day) reading it. Once it got to the middle, I couldn't stop reading it. I think the main reason that I really enjoyed the book was because I could picture my older sister and I as two of the characters. I like when that happens, I love putting myself in the books. Another class (introduction to literature), we are reading a ton of short stories out of our textbook. With all this class reading going on, I won't be able to read anything for fun. I'm trying to fix that though, with all the stress that my classes are adding, I need something to distract me.
I'm also taking Italian and Creative Writing. I haven't been to creative writing yet, our first class is on Friday. Italian though, I don't know where to begin. Ugh! My teacher is disorganized and doesn't always know what she's doing. She goes too fast when it comes to taking notes. The class itself is interesting and I enjoy learning this language, I'm sort of getting good at it.
Hhhmmm.... other than that I don't know what else to talk about. I've got homework that I should be working on but instead I'm writing this blog. I'm pretty sure that I'm just rambling on so that I can postpone my homework. However, I have to get all my homework done by this weekend cause my aunt and cousin are coming up. I don't want any distractions from family time. Another thought, I need to get better at reading books deeper. When I read a book I don't look for the hidden meaning in it. I enjoy reading it for fun and not putting too much thought into it. Well, that's all I can think of for now. Guess I'll go get that homework done.

First large group of the year!

Today has been the most stressful and funniest day ever. It all started with moving freshmen in this morning. Woke up at 7am so that freshmen wouldn't have to move themselves. Well, a group of us went to McConnell and realized that we had to check in at the front desk before helping. Only then did we realize that IV had to register online before today (I think for safety reasons). Anyway, Geoff is calling the interns trying to figure out what to do and we are sitting there hoping that we will have a reason for waking up so early. Finally, Rachel comes with a piece of paper saying we can move in freshmen. YAY! First problem of the day solved. So we are moving people in and pretty much every person that we move in lives on the third floor (and there's no elevators) so I got a huge workout with that. Then res life tells us that we have to wear the "welcome jacks" shirt that other people are wearing which means that we were wearing two shirts in the sun and we couldn't even show people what group we were with. I think the really reason is because our shirts are the same color as the res life shirts and they thought people might get confused. Whatever!
Anyway, after that we walked back up to north campus and decided to invite freshmen to lunch. At this point it was only me with two guys. We went to Sechrist and walked to the top floor. That's 8 floors! I would have taken the elevator but there was a huge line and probably by the time I got to the elevator they would be done. Therefore, I proved that I can climb 8 flights of stairs after moving in a ton of people. Well, we talked to a few people but nobody wanted to come to lunch so we went by ourselves. I was starving by this point which meant that walking into the hot spot was heaven! I didn't eat a lot of food but after wards my stomach was hurting (it's not used to eating that much).
By this time it's like almost 2. I had to go to Target and that place was jammed full of people. I'm not a fan of crowds so walking around in there was awful for me. I got my things (thankfully they were small) and got out. I ended up going and laying down in the grass for a little bit; I almost fell asleep. My old roommate was coming up today and I told her that I would help move her in but I had to be somewhere at 4:30. She finally got here at 3 and we quickly unloaded a lot of her things. It was so much fun hanging out with her and catching up.
By the time we almost finished I had to go. She gave me ride over to where the sound stuff for IV is located. She left and two other people came to help load up the sound stuff and take it over to the dub. We get there, start hauling things upstairs, and set up only to realize that we are missing a bag with important cables, great. So, Herbert and I drive back over to the Grahman's (where the sound stuff is) and look for it. Not having any luck we ask Steven about it and he doesn't either, we ended up borrowing cables from a church. While him and I were doing this, the other people on the worship team were suppose to be finishing the set up and doing a sound check but there was no noise when they did that; at this point we have 30 minutes left. We get back over there and realize that some of our cables aren't plugged in right and the one person who knows the right way wasn't there. We ended up calling 2 different before and spending the remainder of our time on it.
Finally, with only a minute left, we get everything working and do a quick sound check. We didn't have time to sync everyone together so I had to do that while we were worshipping (some thing that Herbert tells me is barely something that anyone can do). I'm stressed out worrying that it's not going to sound good but I did my best. Things get started and we realize that one of the mics isn't working. At this point, I couldn't stop laughing even though there was no point in laughing. I was laughing so hysterically that someone actually asked me if I was ok. I think I was going crazy.
So, the girl's who mic wasn't working ended up sharing with someone else so another problem gone. Larger group went smoothly, no problems and the talk was really great. I'm excited to see what happens this year. After IV they had a dance party and I really didn't want to be there. But, the sound stuff was being used so I had to be patient. Thankfully, half the stuff (the things we weren't using) was packed up and put away at the Grahman's. Then after a few nice stress relieving rounds of ninja (awesome game) I helped with the rest of the sound stuff. Here comes another fun part, Herbert's car isn't very big and we had some pretty big things with us. Trying to fit everything in there was like playing a mastery level of tetris. Finally, after moving things a million times and me laughing again, we get everything to fit (with me holding a sound board and Herbert not being able to see out his back window) and head over. We unload and move things that too heavy to be considered normal.
now I'm finally home and relaxed. I'm ready for bed but I wanted to first write about today before I forgot something. One more random thing, today it was decided that I am the wild card and I'm pretty happy about that. No one will know what I'm going to do next. Well, that's all. Good night everyone!

Rest of my summer

So, the rest of my summer was pretty fun. After Vegas I hung out at Susan's house and just chilled there. We went on a breakfast picnic with Frankie and then later that day we went to Chuck E. Cheese because Frankie finally pooped in the potty. We were so happy about that!
Then I went to Maygen and jon's apartment and hung out there. Jon finally moved in so they are having fun living together and they already act like a married couple. They have netflix so I watched a lot of that as well as some of the movies that they have. I got to hang out with Jon some more and got to know him better. Him and I have a lot in common, so much in fact that Maygen some times says "I'm dating my sister"! LOL! It's very funny. One day for dinner we went out to this place called the Pub and Grub which was just a hole in the wall kind of place (I mean it when I say hole in the wall, there wasn't even a sign saying that it's there). Maygen and I ordered margaritas and once those were done we had long island iced teas (which don't have tea in them at all), both were really good. Then about a week later we went to Graham's Central Station which gave me the club experience. It wasn't that exciting though, we went at 10ish on a Friday and there was barely anyone there. I tried an appletini and it was really good. I practically downed that thing. It tasted like a green apple and you could barely taste the alcohol. After staying there for about an hour we went and smoked hookah. I've never done that before and it was actually pretty cool. it's not something that I would do all the time but every once in a while I might. Oh yea! Maygen did my hair and make up and I looked good. The next night we went to night time at sun splash which was pretty fun but there were a lot of lines and waiting. We tried the fish bowl water slide that they have and it was really fun! It was totally worth the wait. I think my favorite part was the lazy river, I love just chilling while the water pushes me along. The next day it was time for me to leave, Maygen and I made raspberries bars earlier in the week so she sent some of those with me. I left, got all my stuff, and moved to my new house in Flagstaff.
It's a beautiful, huge house and I love being here. My only problem with it is how far it is from everything but I have found the positive side to that, I'm going to lose a lot of weight because of all the walking that I'll be doing. Well, I can't wait for school to start. I'm going to love every single one of my classes, I know I will. There will probably be a lot of writing involved but I think I can handle it as long as I don't procrastinate. Well, that's all I can think of for now. I hope everyone's first day of school (or the first day of the rest of your life) is fantastic!

Vegas Baby, Vegas!

I know that this post is about a month late but I lost track of time and didn't get around to writing this post until now. So, Vegas was awesome! I can't wait to go back. My younger sister and I are planning on going when she turns 21 which will be in 7 years. But enough about the future, you want to hear what happened this summer.
So, my aunt, Susan, and I left for Vegas Wednesday morning and stopped for breakfast at dunkin donuts, the breakfast of gamblers. After driving for 4 hours we finally got there. It amazing! I took pictures of everything. Also, with the new bridge that they built over the Hoover dam, you can't see the water at all so that was a little disappointing. Anyway, we got to the hotel room and my aunt made sure that we had a room with a view. We stayed at Treasure Island. Walking through the hotel just trying to get to our room was an adventure. There were people every where and we had no idea where the elevators were but we finally found them. It was so beautiful! We got settled in and then went walking around the strip. My second cousin, Paul, is living out there so we met up with him. We went to lunch at Planet Hollywood where I was able to order my first alcoholic drink. I got a legally blond and it was so good and I practically downed that thing. I was a little bummed though because the guy didn't card me. After that we walked the entire strip and saw all the hotels. They are so cool and have many interesting things in them. In Cesar's Palace, on the top floor, the ceiling is painted to look like the sky and all the shops look like buildings and there were huge fountains at the intersections of the hallways. Gorgeous! At the Bellagio there was a ceiling with glass flowers hanging from it and a garden area where there was a ferris wheel covered in flowers and this gnarled tree thing that looked like something out of a Tim Burton film. In another hotel (I think it was New York, New York) there was a candy shop right in the middle of the hall. They had a replica of the statue of liberty made entirely out of jelly beans. I love jelly beans, they are my weakness. And they were selling huge, 5 pound gummy bears and gummy worms. They wanted a lot for them though. We went into the coyote ugly bar cause we had a coupon. The guy at the entrance carded me and it was so much fun! It wasn't until we left that I thought about getting a picture of him carding me. Inside the bar there was no where to sit and our feet were hurting really bad so we just got our drinks and left.We walked to Excalibur and bought the tickets for the show we were planning on seeing, the tournament of kings. Then we continued on to the Luxor (Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay are all connected so you can walk through them all without going outside), we had finished our drinks from the bar and we were getting thirsty again so we stopped at Fat Tuesdays and I got a strawberry daiquiri and I got a picture of myself being carded. We continued on to Mandalay Bay because we wanted to see the manta rays but the exhibit was closed by the time we got there. We headed back to our hotel and checked out all the hotels on the other side of the street. The MGM was cool and there was a lion exhibit but the lions weren't there by the time we got there. We continued on our way but I had to stop my aunt and cousin when I saw him! Captain Jack Sparrow standing right there on the sidewalk. Definitely had to get a picture with him! After many pictures later we made it back to our hotel and our feet were hating us for all the pain they had to endure. Well, we said good night to Paul and then Susan and I just hung out in the room for a little. The view from our window was gorgeous! The strip is amazing at night!
The next day, Susan and I had the buffet breakfast but my stomach was sort of hurting me so I didn't eat a lot. When I woke up that morning my feet were still hurting and I knew that they were gonna be killing me by the end of the day. Then we went out again. We went to the Mirage and were gonna see the flamingos but you had to pay to see them and we didn't feel like doing that. Instead we gambled for a little, I broke even and then won 20 cents. So much for my beginner's luck. Once we got bored of that we went to the M&M museum which is huge! It's four stories tall. And there were so many M&Ms! It was chocolate heaven. There was a short 3D M&M movie playing so we watched that and it was too cute! I love the M&M characters. Then we went next door to the coca cola store and that was awesome! At the little cafe that's there, you can try 10 different coca colas from around the world. We didn't have the courage to try that (some of them looked questionable). It was time for lunch and we went to the rainforest cafe. It was nice and we got to sit by one of the fish tanks. Afterwards we went to the lion exhibit and finally got to see them. Lions are so beautiful! They are actually related to the original MGM lion. We continued on our path to the hotel Paris. However before we got there, we had to stop at a candy store because Susan had to get something for her son, Frankie. She got him a cute shirt that says "Candy Robot". Then we continued on our way and finally met up with Paul at the hotel Paris. We had to go her because Susan said we needed to get Eiffel towers (for those who don't know, that's a huge container shaped like an Eiffel tower filled with whatever daiquiri you want). I got strawberry again. I also got a picture of Susan being carded. We sat and gambled for a little bit and I lost 5 dollars but Susan got 15 dollars when she only put in 3. Now I know where my beginner's luck went. Finally it was time to head to Excalibur for the show. It was funny cause we had to hide our drinks cause no outside drinks were allowed. However, they didn't really enforce that rule. During the tournament we weren't allowed to take pictures which kind of made me sad but whatever it was awesome! Men jousting and fighting each other and the bad guy with pyro-techs shooting out of his sword. All of it was awesome! And we got dinner with it also which was good. Food that they ate back in the medieval times, no silverware. After the tournament we were able to take pictures with any of the actors who are nice enough to come back out. We went shopping a little and Susan bought Frankie another shirt with Spongebob and Patrick on it (he likes them). Then we had to quickly walk back to the Bellagio cause we wanted to wanted to see the water show. It was nice but I wouldn't have been upset if we missed it. Then we had to hurry to Treasure Island to see the pirate show. We got there a little late so our standing spot wasn't the best. The show was awesome though! Even if it was mostly half naked women dancing around, it was still cool and there were men pirates, fire, and a sinking ship also. Then we went to the Mirage to watch the volcano show that they had. thankfully all these hotels were close together. After that though, our feet were killing us and our Eiffel towers were getting heavy. We ended up making Paul carry them for us. He was such a good sport about it and he was our unofficial designated walker. Then we just went back to the hotel and sat in the gambling area cause then they will being you any drink you want and we wanted water. Every time we moved to a new machine I would be walking like an old lady, shuffling with every step. It hurt so much to walk. Finally we decided to just go to bed. We told Paul that we would meet him for breakfast the next day and then I was out by the time we got to our room. One more thing, when Susan and I were in the elevator a guy came with his friend leaning on him. The friend did not look good at all, he was pale and completely out of it. The guy holding him up was being nice about it and told us that his friend didn't know when to quit with the drinks. I was afraid he was going to puke every where. Thankfully, they both got off without having any messes made. My aunt and I were both worried for the friend.
Anyway, the next day was our last day there and we decided to drive to where ever we went. We checked out and went for a breakfast buffet at Circus Circus. The food wasn't that great, it looked like it had been sitting out for a while. Before we left Treasure Island, we went souvenir shopping and I decided to start a collection of shot glasses. After that we gave Paul some of his stuff (when he moved he wasn't able to take everything with him so he left somethings at Susan's house) and said good bye. We were thinking about leaving early in the afternoon cause Susan had to work the next day, instead we ended up leaving at 4ish cause we wanted to see Harry Potter. It was totally worth it! Driving home, we got lost and then took a detour to see the Hoover Dam. It was pretty cool. After a hour of Susan driving, I got to drive the rest of the way. We finally got back into Phoenix and stopped for ice cream.
That is the sum of my first time to Vegas. I had so much fun and I can't wait to go back. I also can't wait to be there for my sister's first time in Vegas. She also wants to stay at Treasure Island (she loves pirates). Well, how do I end this? I guess by saying, it was an experience that I won't ever forget.

July 18th

Vegas Baby!!! I'm so excited, I'm going to Vegas on Wednesday and staying until Friday. It's going to be so much fun! My aunt is taking me and she is always fun to be around. I'll tell you all about it when I get back and of course I'll have a lot of pictures.
Since the last time I was on here (which was Thursday) fun things have happened. I was in Flagstaff with friends and I absolutely loved being there. Friday was my friend's Jessie's birthday and it was a lot of fun. We walked around downtown and ate Thai food. I hope she had a great birthday. That night people had to work or already had other plans so her and I hung out for a while and then went with others to Lake Mary. It was a full moon so the lake was beautiful! It was cold so we didn't stay very long but it was good. Then we went back to the apartment and just hung out.
Saturday finally arrived and with it came the wedding!! It was so wonderful! Jordan and Kayla looked amazing and everything about them was in that wedding. They both love music and old fashion things so those things were involved, of course. The ceremony was outside at the Elk's Lodge and we were facing the mountains with nature everywhere. There aren't words to describe what it was like. The reception was even more amazing. There was a coffee bar and they gave out mugs as wedding favors. There was a concert also. They have a lot of talented friends and family members so people got to perform for the happy couple. It was so different from any other wedding that I've ever been to. I loved every minute of it.
Sunday my family came up to pick me up and drive me back to Phoenix. We went and saw my new house in Flagstaff and it is so big. We went to the arboretum because my grandpa came also and he loves gardens. It was the first time that my grandpa has visited me in Flagstaff so I wanted to do something that he would enjoy. He said that he had a nice time and liked that he could just relax. I drove home and he got to see my road aggressiveness. So, now it is Monday and my cousin and I are just hanging out watching Spongebob. Talk to you all when I get back from Vegas.

July 14th

Sitting in an apartment (not mine) watching netflix and talking on facebook. Finally! Some time to just relax. So I left off on Wednesday talking about memory lane opening up and me almost crying. Well, since then nothing truly exciting has happened. No wait, we did have a pirate party my last night in Ohio. It was actually really fun. We invited the neighbors over and had a cake that looked like an island, and a treasure hunt for the smaller kids. It was a great way to end a great visit. I just wish it didn't go so quickly. Before I even got on the plane I almost started crying cause I miss my family so much and I won't see them again for atleast two years.
Oh yea! I accidentally forgot my jacket and laundry basket out there and those are probably the two most importnat things that I would need, especially in Flagstaff. Thankfully, my dad is sending me a package with those items. Also, I had to have one of those pat downs at the security in Ohio. It was weird but at the same time I understood that it is necessary (not on me but other people). Anyway, after a fun flight I made it safely back to Phx. Honestly, I didn't want to go to Phoenix I would have loved to come straight to Flagstaff but whatever. I've never been a fan of Phoenix and the only reason that I lived there was because my mom made me.
So I spent about 4 days with my grandparents and it was ok. I mean we didn't really do anything exciting except maybe run errands with my grandma. On Tuesday my aunt came over and her and I went to go get a pedicure. It was my first ever and it was interesting. I realize that I'm a little ticklish on the bottom of my feet and it felt weird to have someone touch my feet that much (or at all really). That was probably the most fun that I had while in Phx.
On Thursday (today) I made it up to Flagstaff. Hung out with friends and waited in line for a movie that I didn't even see.lol. It was fun though. Hanging out with friends is always fun. And now I'm sitting in my friends' apartment while they are getting ready to watch Harry Potter. I might be a little jelous that they are watching it but I know that I'll get to see it with my aunt. We saw the very first one together so we should end it the same way we started it, together. Well, that's all. I'm going to bed now. Good night!

July 7th

Sorry I didn't write anything this past Monday but as it was the Fourth I wasn't home to write anything. This past week has been so much fun! I went to my cousin, Katie's wedding on Saturday and she looked beautiful! She's always dressed in jeans and t-shirts so when she walked down the aisle in that dress I didn't recognize her at first. It was an amazing wedding and reception afterwards. I got to spend the night with my other cousin, Amanda (she's sisters with the bride). After the reception Katie had an after party for people in the bridal party and I was invited to go also. It was a lot of fun. We went out to the best man's parents' farm and we had a small bonfire out there. Also, some alcohol was there (mostly beer though which I don't like) but I was responsible and didn't drink a whole lot. We stayed up until 1:30 in the morning and then I had to get up for church. I didn't complain too much because I wanted to go to church since it was my last Sunday here. After that we all went to my grandma's for lunch. I remember telling you all that she does the best cooking ever and she didn't disappoint. She made a chicken noodle casserole with homemade noodles. Amazing! Then we came home where our neighbors invited us to a bonfire that they were having. It was fun and there was a lot of good food. I had a pizza sandwich cooked in a pie iron over the fire. So delicious! Also, Becca flew in Sunday evening so I went with my dad to pick her up. It was nice just being able to spend time with my dad (it was an hour drive to get to the airport). We talked about things that I wouldn't normally talk to my dad about.
The next day was July 4th and the nieghbors made us breakfast on the fire. It was really good but there was a lot. I'm not a big breakfast person so I didn't eat too much. After that we went to my grandma's for a family gathering. It was so great setting up the picnic tables and bringing all that food outside. Also, being able to see family members that I haven't seen in who knows how long. I saw cousins that were once babies and are now in preschool. I can't believe how much everyone has grown. Shortly after lunch, me and a group of cousins went for a walk down the road just like in the old days. Memory lane opened up and it was great. When we got back it was time for dessert and all of it was great. My grandma made a peanut butter pie that was heavenly. Then people started leaving and we started putting things away. My grandma was busy with everything and so I tried to get her to sit down and relax for a little. I would have had an easier time teaching a fish to fly; she is always up and doing something. I love my grandma and I wanted her to relax because she had done more than enough that day.
Anyway, Tuesday comes and my family (mainly my dad) had decided that we were gonna take a trip that day. We woke up at 4 in the morning to drive to Niagara Falls. It was a tough road trip. It only took 4 hours to get to New York but when you are stuck in the back seat with as little space as possible, it seems so much longer. So, we get to New York and the truck starts making a weird noise. Apparently, the air pump is broken and the iodits who made the truck only put one belt in the engine. Therefore, if that belt says freezes because the air pump is broken and shooting cold air on the belt and the belt breaks, then the whole engine with seizes up and we would have been stranded. So, we got to New York had breakfast and then turned around and came back. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my Tuesday but it was nice hanging with the family (although sitting in that backseat was awful). We get back and go swimming in the neighbor's pool instead.
Wednesday was the best day! I told my dad that I wanted to go to Mifflin which is the small town that I grew up in. So we drove there and I almost started crying. We saw the old house and stopped for ice cream at the corner place (which was right up the street from the house). I got a picture of the front of the house and I couldn't stop looking at it. Then we went to my old elementary school and it was like walking down memory lane. I had to really hold myself together cause I almost lost it. If I do end up moving back to Ohio, then I want to move back to Mifflin. It's a small town with only two roads and one intersections; if you blink you might miss it.
Well, that's how my week has gone. Oh! I was freaking out because I didn't have any place to live and I almost started crying (I've been close to crying a lot this week). Thankfully, I have a place now. I will have my own room and no one will get it before I get there. I feel like this giant weight is off my shoulders now. I can't stop smiling. Well, that's all. I hope everyone had a great July 4th. Talk to you all later. my next post will probably be from Phoenix since I'm flying back there on Saturday. My visit in Ohio was too short and I'm not ready to leave but I will visit again soon.

June 26th

I've had so much fun out here in Ohio. This week has been interesting. First off, I know that I'm always complainging about how early I wake up but it is early and I'm usually woken by two boys who are trying to be quiet but aren't. Anyway, I don't see them often so I try not to let it bother me too much.
Also, I tried tofu and I was not a fan. My 9 year old brother, Orvy, got a vegetarian cookbook and they had a recipe for tofu nuggets. I dipped them in mustard which kind of helped the taste. I guess I like meat too much but I'm glad that I tried it.
On Friday my stepmom, Joan, had a jewelry party (which is kind of like a tubberware party). It was a lot of fun. The ladies that showed up were hilarious and there was some really nice jewelry. Now they have put it in my head that I could be a premiere jewelry representative. I don't know if I would be good because I'm still scared when I have to talk infront of a group of people. What do you think? Could I sell jewelry?
On Saturday we were able to do the thing that I wanted to do. We went to Amish Country! It's actually three small towns called Kidron, Berlin, and I can't remember the other one but all three together make up Amish Country. It is so beautiful there. I love all the shops where everything is made by the Amish. We walked around and went to an antique mall. Oh yea! I saw some toys in that mall that I remember playing with when I was little and now they're antiques! That made me feel old. We also went to the cheese factory which I remember from when I was younger (its probably been 12-14 years since I last visited Amish Country). Anyway, being at the factory opened up memory lane. When my older sister, Maygen, and I were younger and we would go to the factory there would be samples after a quick tour. You were suppose to only try one but we would always run around grabbing different samples. We would go out and come back in (there was an entrance and exit door at opposite ends of the room) and pretend that we were entering the room for the first time after having taken the tour. Sadly, on Saturday it was so busy that there was a huge line; we couldn't try the samples or even buy any cheese and we love cheese. We were able to go to the bakery across the street and we were able to try samples of all the different breads (I think they were made by the Amish also). By this point it was way past lunch and we were starving. We finally found a place to eat called Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen and it was so nice. I didn't get a souvenir but I did take a few pictures which will eventually get on facebook.
Sunday (today) we went to church like normal. Sadly, after church my grandma had to go straight to Homersville which means we couldn't have lunch at her house. We usually eat there because she makes the best homemade food ever! I love my grandma and her house. She has pictures of her kids, all her grandkids, and now her great-grandkids. She loves showing us all off. I also love just being at her farm. It's a dead zone so I turn my cell phone off and I feel so relieved. I'm really sad that next Sunday is my last Sunday out here. Well, today we went to this restaurant called The Mill located in the Behuelers' grocery store. It was a really nice place. Then we went for a bike ride. We've had rainy days for so long that we wanted to enjoy the wonderful day. And I didn't get sunburnt. YAY!
Random things to mention. My dad looked at a truck that was for sale (the one that I kept ppointing out to him whenever we drove by) but it was more than he could spend. Also, I've been driving my dad's truck more and I'm getting much better. Lastly, I'm losing my mind cause I wore the same outfit two Sundays in a row. Now I know that I fit into this family. One last observation: I'm a lot like my dad. We both are laid-back, easy going people. Also, neither one of us get angry easily. I like that I'm like my dad. That's all for now.

June 20

I'm so tired! I love my brothers but they wake me up too early. Other than that my week has been great! I drove my dad's truck for the first time ever and I nearly ran over my little brother's bike (he wasn't on it though). I was really happy that he let me drive it because he had a rule that no kids could drive the truck. Thankfully he gave me a second try and I got to drive to church and back. At one point I was all over the road but it was a country road so there were no lines to keep me in order. On Sunday I got to see my cousin whom I haven't seen in about 3-4 years. He's grown up so much! All my cousins have grown and one of them is getting married! I can't believe how much I've missed out on.
The other day I was thinking about how different my life would be if my parents never got a divorce. How differnt would high school have been? Would I have been a different person? Would I still be into reading like I am? Would I have still gone to college? I don't really see a reason for thinking about this stuff but that doesn't stop me from thinking it. I do know that I wouldn't have the friends that I have.
Well, that's all I can really think to write about. Sorry this blog is short but I don't have much to say.

June 16th

Sorry this is late but my week has been busy! I rode the greyhound from Colorado Springs to Phx and then two days later I took a plane to Ohio. I'm not used to all of this traveling. I safely made it to Ohio and love being here. My youngest brother was shy when he first saw me but now he won't stop hugging and kissing me and sitting on my lap. That first day here was so busy; I got in at midnight, had to wake up at 7 for church, went to a bridal shower and a graduation party and then got home and my brothers wanted to play games outside. I was out by the time my head hit the pillow. I did get to see my grandma and some aunts, uncles, and cousins. I love seeing them and can't believe how big some of my cousins have gotten. I'm not going to say too much about this week, I'll save that for my next blog. Oh yea! While I was in Phx, I was telling my cousin about how I'm going to visit my dad and he decided that he wanted to visit my dad also. He didn't really understand that I had to go on the plane and he couldn't come without his mom. He's so cute! He always calls me his friend. My mom bought me a Phil Wickham CD while I was in Colorado Springs. I think he's my favorite Christian singer. I played the CD for my two brothers but they didn't really pay attention. Oh well! They are young. Well, I really can't think of anything else to write about for now. also, I didn't finish my game Gauntlet and I was really upset about it. However, the next time I'm in CO I will finish it.

June 3

So I didn't really do anything fun this past week and I have nothing to write about on here. I leave for Phx and then on to Ohio this week and I'm a little nervous. I haven't been on a plane for 3 years! Please pray for me. I'm almost done with my video game Gauntlet and I will finish it before I leave on Wednesday.
I can't wait to see my family in Ohio. I miss them all so much! I can't wait to see my grandma and be on her farm. To smell the great outdoors and see all the green hills. To go outside and lie in the green grass and only have to worry about mosquitoes. I can't wait to see my family and hear all about their lives. To be able to do simple things like just take a walk in the shade of the trees. To wave at people as they drive by me and not be looked at weird for it. I can't wait to see my two younger brothers and hear about how school is going for them. And especially, I can't wait to see my dad. He may not have been there everyday of my life but he does try to make up for it. He loves me despite all my mess ups (and there have been a few) and he never gets as angry as I think he will be. He looks like a big bear but he's really a teddy bear. He's the man I can go to when I'm having a bad day. He's the guy who understands me and doesn't push me to be anyone else. He's the man who is proud of me even if he doesn't always say it. He's the guy who wants to teach me everything despite how old I am. He's my dad and he loves me. And I can't wait to see him on Saturday.

May 29

Happy Birthday! I'm now legal. HAHA!! I turned 21 on May 27th and I celebrated with wine, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Last thing I talked about was my family coming for a visit; well they got here safely on Monday. My aunt Susan, 3 year old cousin Frankie, and my grandma. It was Frankie's first time on a plane and he had mixed emotions about it. I tried to remember my first time on a plane but it was so long ago. They got in a little late on Monday but we did hang out for a little bit and then they went on to the hotel. Also, Becca made a casserole and it was delicious. I love hanging out with family and watching Frankie have fun.
Tuesday rolled around and we went to Chuck E. Cheese (CEC) for lunch. I felt a litte bad because my mom had to work (at a job that she hates) and Becca had to go to school (athough her class had a graduation party). One of Susan's friends, Monica, lives here in Colorado Springs) so we went to CEC with her and her son. I couldn't believe it! Her son, Drew, has grown so much. The last time I saw him he was 10 or 11 and now he's almost 19. Finally, Becca's party was dond and we took her to get her hair cut in layers. It looks really good. Then we picked up my mom and went out for Italian. We love Italian food and ate a lot of it this week.
The big day (Wednesday) arrived, Becca's eighth grade promotion! I'm so proud of her and everything that she's accomplished. I was also very happy that she wore a dress because she's always calling herself a tomboy. The thing I thought was most funny was that her dress fit when she tried it on in the store and then everyday between that and her promotion it didn't zipper properly. We both prayed that it would fit and it did! She looked beautiful! Susan did her make-up and hair and I made sure to take pictures. Also, my mom had a half day at work and she was so happy for that. After Becca's promotion we went to buffalo wild wings because she wanted to go there and it's always delicious! Also, Susan and Frankie spent the night.
We (as in Susan, Frankie, grandma, and I) were suppose to hang out with Monica and Drew but that didn't happen. Instead the four of us went to Old Colorado City and walked around down there. We had lunch at the Mason Jar which is a lovely family friendly restaurant. My mom had to work the whole day but she got Friday off. Becca didn't have to go to school but she wanted to so that she could say good bye. That night we all went out to It'z,a pizza place that is kind of like Amazing Jakes (or CEC for adults and kids). It's a huge place and they even had rides. After that we all stayed the night at the hotel.
The next day was my big day, it was my birthday. Ugh! My family woke me up at seven in the morning! The sad part is that none of them remembered it was my birthday for about two hours. I was a little disappointed but I lied to myself and justified their actions. They finally remembered (I reminded Becca before that but I told her not to say anything) and I gave them all crap about forgetting. We went out for breakfast and then had to do a little shopping. We went to Garden of the Gods (GOG) and had a picnic and looked at the beautiful rock formations. I love GOG and how lovely it is. It's at the base of the of the Pikes Peak mountain and one of the most beautiful places I know. That night I made dinner for everyone. Yes, I made it because I didn't trust my family with it and I wanted to make dinner. I made my favorite Italian dish, chicken fettucini alfredo. I enjoyed making it but my family (all but my mom) was late and the food sat out longer than it should have. I was so stressed by the time that showed up that I downed my first glass of wine. The evening was great and I drank six glasses of wine (three strawberry and three blackberry) and I like the blackberry wine but the strawberry is good too. However, the champagne did not taste good and my older sister, Maygen, told me to add orange juice which made it taste much better. That was how my birthday went.
Susan, Frankie, and grandma had to leave early on Saturday so we said good bye on Friday. Sadly, we still had to get up early because Becca has swim lessons. Thankfully, I didn't have a hang over or else I would have hated everyone. That afternoon we went shopping, a used movie store was having a sale. I got three movies (Dragonheart 1 and 2 and Epic movie) and a video game (God of War) all for under 20 dollars. The best part of the day was that night, we went to a country dance class. It was awesome! My mom and Becca went a few times before so they knew what to do but I kept making mistakes. My mom paired me with this guy named Brian (who was dressed in all black and looked like he didn't want to be there). He was very patient with me and helped me when I got confused. He was such a gentleman (for a high schooler). He told me that his dad drags him there every week and so he was bored with doing the same steps every time but I got him to smile a few times. It was so much fun!
My week was packed full of things and all of it was so great. There were times when I was irritated but there were also times when I couldn't stop smiling. I love my family and spending time with them even though they annoying me some times, just like any normal family.

May 22, 2011

Congratulations! You're reading this which means you survived the "end of the world". I'm glad that everyone is still here and didn't take that whole thing seriously (and if you did, then sorry but this blog is mine and therefore I can give my opinion).
I'm safe and sound in Colorado. One long 19 hour bus ride and I made it with a little of my sanity left. I really don't like riding the greyhund but it happens. When I finally get a car (fingers crossed), then it will be a different story. I'm so happy to be with my family and spend time with them.
My first day here I relaxed and played "Gauntlet" which is an amazing, fantstic, and wonderful game. I think the main reason that I like that video game is because I am good at it. I'm not great at a lot of video games but this one is different. I know that it is an old game but it is still challenging and fun. I've been playing for almost a week and I'm more than halfway through.
I wrote this entry in my notebook last night while watching "Music and Lyrics" and I got writer's block! I'm just suppose to be writing about my summer and my life but I couldn't think of anything to write about. Thankfully, my mind started flowing and more things came back to me from this past week.
On Saturday, my mom, yunger sister Becca, and I went for a walk to the library. This walk was about 4 or 5 miles each way. We all got sunburned but I got it worst of all. The upper half of my back now matches mt hair. I had to go to church like that hoping that my hair would distract people from my back and it worked for a little bit. Oh well, live and learn. It was a really nice walk though. Almost all week it had rained or was cloudy so we wanted to take advantage of the sun. I'm also really happy that we are taking more walks (something we rarely did in Pheonix because it was always too hot). We got some movies from the library one of which was this old t.v. show called "Charles in Charge". I really like and think that it's funny. My mom's the one that showed it to me and she knew about it because it has Scott Baio in it (she's always had a crush on him). I like all those older t.v. shows and I miss them. I wish they would show them again.
On a subject, I taught Becca to ride a bike and I did it in 2 days. Some of you maybe thinking "she's 14, why hasn't she learned already" but you see, we lived in Phenix for her whole life and we lived in the scary part of town. We didn't want to try to teach her to ride on our street because people would practically race down the sreet. She doesn't seem to mind that she didn't learn when she was younger and now it doesn't matter cause she knows. I can't take all the credit for her learning, Becca was determined to learn. I guess our dad has always wanted to go bike riding on July 4th so Becca wanted to learn so that they all could do that this year. Well, that's all I can think of for now. Oh wait! I forgot, my mom got internet in her house finally. That means that I don't have to wait 2 weeks to go to the library and write my blog, I can do it whenever. So that's all, I gotta go and help my mom clean the house somemore, we have family coming tomorrow.
Two last minute things. 1) I watched "Doctor Zhivago" and I wanted to say that it is a great movie. A little long but totally worth it in my opinion. 2) My 21st birthday is this Friday and my mom bought a couple of bottles of wine for all of us to share. We looked so out of place at the liquor store and it was hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing and making jokes. That's all.

May 15, 2011

THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!
Summer is officially here and I start it by laying around doing nothing My first true day of summer, I spent it by playing "Portal" which is a very fun game (if you're wlling to think a lot) and watching movies. I watched "Land of the Lost" which is a very funny movie, Will Ferrell and Danny McBride are a funny combination. That video game is a lot of thinking/strategy. I got pretty far but , sadly, I had to stop for now. For anyone whose played "Portal", you'll understand why the cake is a lie.
I also started playing "Portal 2" with my older sister's boyfriend, Jon. I wasn't very good at that one but he was patient (thank God) and we had fun playing it. I spent 3 days at my older sister's new apartment (her name is Maygen). Her apartment is so nice and quiet. Her theme is Italy and she has decorated the place beautifully with that theme. She didn't have a lot of furniture but I'm visiting again in July s hopefully she'll have more things then. It is always so much fun spending time with her and Jon and just seeing those 2 together. They are so cute and perfect for each other. I hoe that someday I can find someone as wonderful as the person Maygen found. Oh! While I was there I also watched "The Rocketeer" which I love and recommend for anyone (it's a Disney movie), "Megamind" which I really liked and didn't expect the twist that it had, and "Corpse Bride" which I saw the end of it before so I finaly got to see the whole thing. I also got to sleep in and that is probably the only time all summer that I will.
On a less happier note, I went to my home church's evening service with my grandma and I realized that I don't really belong there anymore. I still have people that I talk to and some that I even consider friends but I just feel as though I don't belong. It's a little sad but that doesn't make it anyless true.
Well, that's all for tonight. I'm staying at my grandparents' tonight and then I leave fro Colorado tomorrow. I'm planning on writing an entry every Sunday, fingers crossed that I stick with it. Later

Why did I create a blog?

I honestly don't remember why I created a blog in the first place and I also don't know why I still get on here and write stuff. Classes, homework, and my own personal reading time gets in the way of keeping this thing updated. Besides, "A Day in the Life of Cutlip", really? The most interesting thing about my day is when it finally ends. Maybe the three people that actually follow my blog find it interesting (and if you do, then thanks) but I just don't know anymore. I'm not very creative or witty (is that spelled right?). In a nutshell, I'm me and there's not a lot of intersting things that happen in my life. I will still keep this blog but don't expect me to get on here more often than I do now. When I have the chance (and I think remember it) I will get on and tell you all how my summer is going (since I'll be doing some traveling). Also, I think this fall I will have more intersting things to put on here because I'm taking a creative writing class. That means that my stories will be put on here and you all can give me feed back (if you want). Well, that's all for now. Good luck on finals!! (for those who have them)