3 Women and a Horny Dolphin

Whoa damn. Well it looks like I fell behind a whole month here and I only have Day 1 of New York done. Let's see if I can at least have the patience to catch up and do Day 2.

1. It seems as though every summer I get older, they just keep getting better. This summer I was busy with my online Ohio History class, work, seeing my friends a lot, shopping and trips. A lot of great memories were made this summer.

2. I'm 21 now! It took me until 2 days after my birthday to actually do anything about it.

3. Ashland classes from here on out. My first two weeks are finished and holy cow is there a lot of reading. I have so much to do this semester I'm trying to just do it instead of stressing about having to do it. After not even my first week I had my first mental breakdown just trying to figure everything out. This semester may be a challenge. For one, the grading scale is now different. In order to have an A in a class I have to at least have a 93%. Goodbye other 3%'s, you will be missed.

4. My professors are pretty awesome, except for the one I haven't had the chance to meet yet because she's in Italy until next week.

5. Within the first week I already had my first professional workshop.

6. Ashland classes are a lot different from LCCC. For one, we're already getting talk about Praxis tests and advice for when you're being interviewed for a teaching job. All within the first 2 weeks! Don't they know I still have 2 years left? I would rather have some understanding of all of this now instead of at the last minute so I can't complain.

7. I received my letter of acceptance into the College of Education so I am now officially an Ashland Education student instead of just an Ashland student. We're supposed to get pinned sometime soon.

8. My field experience is at Oakwood this year in a 5th grade language arts classroom. This is going to be so much different from my student teaching experience in the spring with preschoolers.

9. Megan and I went to Ashland's campus about a month ago and I did fall in love. While I could definitely see myself living on campus it just isn't for me nor for my budget at this time.

10. I've recently grown a love for baked beans. I've noticed I'm a lot more open to food now than I used to be.

11. Evan went back to school this semester. So far he's doing really well by which I mean he's actually doing his homework and attending class. He's finally growing up :)

NY July 2011. Day 1.

Hey there, free time! Haven't seen you in awhile. Well this blog (and probably a few after it) will be about the family vacation to New York. So let's get on this.

*Day 1: The Leaving and the Arrival (aka Are you sure I didn't leave something on?)

Chapter 1: ...how many times do I have to tell you?
Up at 4:45am and scrambling to do my packing, which I majorly procrastinated on because I hate it, I snarfed breakfast hid my valuables in my closet between bedsheets and randomly under clothes on the floor. Yes, I left my room a mess so then if we did get broken into maybe the thieves would be discouraged and not bother. Luckily, no such thing happened so I like to believe my plan worked. As the sun is rising we hull our suitcases (my dad had the largest one, wtf?) into the trunk, wave the house goodbye and head over to my Aunts. After arriving at the Aunts we chat for a bit, figure out which way we're going and then head out on the road.

Chapter 2: Did we really just do that?
I had my first experience with CLEVELAND MORNING RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC! I probably would have been a tad more excited if I could actually see our car on the 6 o'clock news. I also had my first time through Dead Man's Curve. It's not as curvacious as I was expecting. I learned Ashtabula county is extremely boring. There's an inn, a porn shop, a gas station and a diner. That's about it. After hitting Pennsylvania we saw much of the same, minus the porn shops. After crossing the New York border I was getting more excited. Technically I've been to NY but I was 11 months so that doesn't really count.

Chapter 3: Really Grandma...again??
We stopped at a rest stop about 45 minutes after crossing the border. I picked up some authentic NY pizza and daaaamn can NY do pizza. Hopefully with our layover in Chicago next year I'll have enough time to grab some Chicago pizza too. I hit the gift shop and then we headed to the overpass. There's a closed in area of the rest stop that crosses over the NY thruway for pedestrians. It's tradition for my Aunt to get a trucker to blow their horn. In about 3 minutes we got a ton of horn blows from semi's and one from a smartass car. XD Continuing on we just get passed Buffalo and grandma has to use the restroom. *stop* Continuing on we just get passed Rochester and grandma has to use the restroom. *stop* Continuing on we just get passed Syracuse and grandma has to use the restroom. *stop* We arrive at our destination and grandma has to use the restroom.

Chapter 4: Shit, I forgot my tennis shoes at home.
Our first destination ended up being the Salmon Run mall in Watertown. Watertown is the largest city you will find in Upstate NY. It is home to the wonderful inventions of the safety pin and the pine tree air fresheners. Everything in Upstate NY has the Canadian flag and the American flag which I am personally a fan of. It's nice seeing "foreign" flags flown alongside ours.
So we stopped at this mall because my Aunt forgot her tennis shoes over 400 some miles southwest of where we were. She found her shoes and everyone was getting hungry because they didn't have pizza about 4.5 hours ago. We went over to a newly built Olive Garden across the street from the mall. I hadn't been to an Olive Garden with my family in forever and it was pretty nice to relax after being on the road for 8 hours and have great food.

Chapter 5: *Whack* Another spider.
After eating the real estate woman we're renting the cottage from tells us she'll meet us at the cottage to give us the keys and show us around. The cottage is located on Pillar Point which closest town is Dexter (we'll talk more about that later). Pillar Point is a peninsula that goes into Black River bay of Lake Ontario. Upon arriving at the cottage my dad was amazed at how close to the lake we were. Apparently all of those times of "Dad, the lake is right across the street" before we even left didn't strike any synapses. We spent about 10 minutes admiring the view and then the lady arrives. We enter the house walk around while getting lost because it was easy to get lost in the first night and then she leaves. The home is owned by some CEO of a company in Germany. Apparently him, his wife and son are only in the home in August and for Christmas. The caretaker of the home lives next door and doesn't like to wear shirts.
We start to get adjusted to our new living space for the next 4 nights. Things of this manner include:
1) Learning our running water is well water (sulfur water) and needs to be ran to get the main junk out for 30 minutes on each temperature. The whole time, you still smell the sulfur in the water and on your skin after washing with it.
2) Learning you're sharing the home with tons of spiders hiding in almost every corner.
3) Trying to figure out how the cable works.

Chapter 6: You might want to get that bug spray
Shortly after we get adjusted my Aunt Jane and Uncle Bob who live just outside of Watertown stop by for a visit. Out of all of my relatives in NY I know them the most because they stop in Ohio quite a bit during their RV trips. We chat while my Uncle Marty (husband of the Aunt who forgot her shoes) started a fire on the small shell filled beach in the front of the cottage. We pulled out some chairs we found in the garage and unwound after a long day not knowing the next day would be longer.

Indiana Jones-ing

Whoa damn there is a lot to catch up on. I'm very tired so I highly doubt I'll get it all done tonight so here goes.

1. As of 2 hours ago I am finished with summer semester. My first summer semester of my life. Luckily it was only one class that wasn't too demanding so I could ignore it for a couple days (or 3 weeks, oops) and have no problem. I took Ohio History and I learned a ton. I've never really paid attention to history (ever) but for this I actually read the 364 pages of the textbook (another thing, I don't read textbooks, I barely skim). The beginning was pretty boring but it progressively became more interesting from Pre-Civil War on. While the class ended right after WWI I'm tempted to read on a little bit.

2. Evan is going back to school in the fall. He's taking English courses since he has now decided he wants to be an author. Coming from someone who would rather play video games than read I'm very shocked but he does have a lot of interesting ideas in mind and he does like to write.

3. The NY trip was a success. I'll go into details later before I forget everything but I had a really great time, met a crapload of family members (I learned where the shortness and my ass came from) and had bonding time with my immediate family. I saw really old pictures of my dad, my great grandparents and my grandma who was gorgeous! I think my dad wants to go back again sometime in the fall so I can see all the color changes which would be amazing up there.

4. The U2 concert was AMAZING. I still can't believe I saw my favorite band in the world that I've been listening to since practically the womb. My mom was practically spazzing the whole time since not only was she seeing U2 but she was in Heinz Field and she's a major Steelers fan. Really, do not watch a Steelers game with her and especially don't watch the Superbowl with her if the Steelers are in it...I'm warning you. I rode in a cab for the first time since I was about 9 in Cleveland. I experienced the majesty of the Pittsburgh ghetto and saw my first streetwalker at 1am from the safety of the cab. Luckily it was a Tuesday or else she probably would have been wearing less. We were only going through there because there was a quick way to the expressway that people wouldn't know about so we could beat all the traffic. 64,000 people make a lot of traffic.

5. Apparently I'm off to Amish Country tomorrow and Columbus next weekend. There's always something going on this summer.

Sausagefest 2011

Laurie: "Everytime you talk to her she talks about how she broke an oak table having sex."
Me: "A table doesn't sound like a comfortable place to have sex."
Penny and Laurie: "It isn't."
Penny: "Neither is outside."
Laurie: "Yeah, too many bugs. Or on the beach, unless you're into salt in your crack."
Michelle: "Uh..sand?"
Laurie: "Yeah! That shit."
Penny: "Neither is the floor."
Laurie: "Oh hell no, never the floor, cramp central."
Michelle: "I feel like we should be writing this down..."

While playing cards last night with Evan's female relatives. A bunch of random conversation.

Yesterday was very interesting. It was just us girls who went to the zoo which led to noticing how well endowed the kangaroos are (daaaaamn look at 'dem big balls. he has his hubba going on), talking to a bird, breaking into Billy's house, getting scared shitless by a talking kookaburra and a koala named Bigsby, get eaten by a snake, "Mr. Pricklypants", releasing thousands of ladybugs and wayyyy more.

Epic day of epic.

Here's Your Fife. It's a Recorder!!

Jesus Christ, 10 days goes by fast...Hello July.

1. There is nothing like the fudge crunchies in the middle of an ice cream cake. Just, nothing.

2. Ohio History is going well I suppose. I got a 81% on the first exam which is pretty much the best I've ever had on a history test ever. These exams are hell too. So specific and having nothing to do with the terms he told us to understand...Next exam is this friday and I'm really looking forward to getting it and my site visit paper on the Hickories overwith.

3. Speaking of the Hickories I went there for my first time on Saturday with Megan. The place is really cool but also super creepy. Old houses amaze yet freak me out at the same time. I'm still not sure why. There were a lot of cool things in there like one of the first telephones made in Elyria and this ancient vacuum cleaner that used manpower (picture bicycle pump), I doubt it was really effective. I learned the Lorain County Historical Society bought the house that was next to the church I used to go to in my childhood. It was the first house on Washington Avenue and they're hoping it will open this September as a museum. Since I know that house inside out, backwards and upside down I really cannot wait to see what it's like when they open it.

4. Leaving in 9 days, hallelujah. A getaway just sounds amazing but when doesn't it?

5. Saw the fireworks at the Elyria Country Club with Evan on Sunday. I can't believe this was our fourth time seeing them together there. I also can't believe it's been three years since Elyria had their city fireworks. I so miss those :/
We had a great time though. We had a cookout at Evan's beforehand while Michelle was on a date (they make a super cute couple, I really hope things work out for them). Had some corn on the cob (OMG YESSS), played some UnoSpin & MadLibs. "Does fear strike your pancreas when in the threat of having to buy tampons?"

5. Spent the 4th at my grandmas for a little family get together to plan the trip. My cousin is 7 now (holy shit it's been seven years!?!?) which means she likes to play tag a lot, thinks she's exempt from having to Draw 4 in Uno and likes to destroy things with freakishly long glo-sticks. We had a ton of yum food, played Uno, went on a walk, played lawn-darts (yeah...we get illegal), sparklers, firefly catching, firework watching, bunch-o-random. It was a good time :)

6. I work the next 6 out of nine days. Hopefully they'll go by quickly. Especially after the long weekend I'm not exactly jumping up and down to go back to work. We're going to be backed up because of the holiday weekend and our head page is on bereavement. Luckily Erica and I both work the same times today and tomorrow so as long as Erica isn't just sorting everything instead of putting it away we should be okay.

9 days til NY
20 days til Pittsburgh
180 days til WDW

Wontons Sounds Like Balls

How I manage to keep up with this while I'm in school but not over the summer is beyond me.

1. Umm...I'm way behind so I'll be very brief.

2. Had my first Indians game with Evan last week. It was a blast (literally, since there were fireworks). It was dollar dog night and they won so it was a great night.

3. Random trips to Twist n Shake to chat about life with great friends over ice cream, chili cheese dogs and watermelon slushies while the sun sets is the best.

4. Crushers games that have karaoke after them are friggin amazing and cause me to wake up with a hangover even though I didn't drink...not fun.

5. Eateries planned for Disney as long as the ADR's go through in 10 days will be:
Akershus Princess Storybook Dining- Epcot's Norway pavillion
Coral Reef- Epcot the Seas pavillion (been here. amazing atmosphere and food. i'll also be able to get the dessert with alcohol in it this time XD)
Tony's- Magic Kingdom
Le Cellier Steakhouse- Epcot's Canada pavillion (been here. best place i've ever eaten at in my entire life. i'm so excited to go back here.)
Rose and Crown pub- Epcot's UK pavillion
Big River Grille and Brewing Works- Boardwalk Inn Resort

19 days til NY
30 days til Pittsburgh
190 days til WDW

No Way Jose

1. I love summer. All of the summer-y things going on. Beach trips, random movie get-togethers, perverted games of Apples to Apples. Surprisingly there hasn't been a bonfire yet this year. Also, this 60 degree/low 70's shit = not summer-y. May I have my heat back please?

2. Ohio History has been a bitch. It wouldn't be a bitch if I just did what I normally do and not read the textbook but I'm actually reading the textbook and it's pretty dull. There are no damn pictures. I'm only in Chapter 3 now and I want to kill myself. This better pay off when I have the first test next week. At least it's only an 8 week class.

3. Productive things I should probably do today:
- Finish Chapter 3 and start 4 of Ohio History.
- Laundry, this never ends.
- Clean my room, it's getting a bit on the messy side again. Nowhere near as bad as it has been before.
- Get to at least page 325 of HP and the Deathly Hallows. I'm almost done guise :B
Let's see how far I actually get on all of this. HP will probably triumph.

4. Ever since I've been to Detroit I've become very interested in urban decay. It's mind blowing how a city that was once the bee's knee's can fall apart and crumble so quickly. I also found it interesting how on the top 100 list of America's most dangerous cities, New York City wasn't on the list but 7 cities in Ohio were in the top 50. Crazy stuff. Broken houses and gutted buildings are crazy.
In my research of this stuff I learned that our hotel that was in a semi-shady part of Columbus was near a very big drug area. Lovely. For any future plans to stay in Columbus, stay outside of the I-270 belt, the inside has very few good areas. Hopefully I'll get a teaching job in Powell because it's amazing there.

5. One month until NY! So can't wait.

30 days til NY.
41 days til Pittsburgh.
201 days til WDW.

One of Those Days Where...

1) Instead of finishing reading for Ohio History I spend at least 2 hours playing Angry Birds.

2) Instead of even pleasure reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince I hang my glow in the dark solar system above my bed. My dream catcher somehow became a sun.

3) Instead of watching a movie I play more Angry Birds.

4) Instead of doing another load of laundry I read posts on Disboards.

I did however wash jeans.

I love days like this.

"B*tch I'll F*ck You Up" - My Mom

Helllooooooooooo June.

1. It's finally feeling like summer around here, well it did this past weekend, today not so much.

2. Summer has been very nice so far, even if it's been full of doing nothing but there's quite a few things planned in June and I'll be swamped in July so I should enjoy this time of nothingness while I have it. My online class starts Monday which I'm not looking forward too. Mostly because I'll probably forget about it all the time since I've never taken a class in the summer. Here's hoping it isn't too demanding!!

3. This past weekend my mom and I went to Columbus and stayed for two nights. We normally get to Columbus twice a year now but always only stay one night. We stayed two this time because we got a 20% off deal through a hotel if we stayed two nights. We took advantage of that and my zoo membership to go to the Columbus zoo. The last time my mom was there was waaaaay back in 2002 for our first trip to Columbus with two of my uncles and grandma and we stayed for 5 nights. But then again we also went to the state capitol building and a ton of other places. It was a ton of fun.

4. Planning for things has just jumped to extreme the last few days. Evan's parents just returned from Disney so now they're planning our trip for June. We're only staying 5 nights and 6 days now which I'm a little bummed about but it will motivate me to keep the go to bed really late wake up really early method that I wanted. Unfortunately the day we're coming back home is the same day as the 5K but since it's at 6:30am (!!!!) I'll have plenty of time, just be exhausted and hopefully sleep on the plane ride home XD
The reason why we're only staying 5 nights is because Evan's parents just joined the Disney Vacation Club which means we get to stay at the super fancy pants places. So instead of staying at the All Star Music like I thought, we're staying at the flippin Boardwalk Villas. Another unfortunate thing about only 6 days is we probably won't have time to go to Universal but who knows.
The other planning has been New York. We're renting a cottage right on Lake Ontario (!!!). That will be interesting because my grandma gets to be my roommate XD But there's a sun room that has a ping pong table that I'm beyond excited about.

5. Hopefully going to the beach tomorrow and hopefully it will be much warmer tomorrow than it is today.

Intergalactic

Oh my. Hello neglected blog.

1. Rain. It's pretty much self explanatory. We here in Northeast Ohio have had a shitload of rain the past two months. While I do love the rain, this is really ridiculous. We've maybe had 5 days without rain in the last 30 days. So sad. Luckily this past weekend we had gorgeous weather so I was able to get out and enjoy it.

2. I enjoyed it so much I have been gifted by the sun with a burning sensation on my arms, forehead, nose and the sides of my legs.

3. Elyria Pride Day or Serve Elyria was this past Saturday. Steph, Kelsey & I helped plant a prayer garden at the Church of the Open Door. There was lots of heavy lifting, sifting, spreading, more heavy lifting, water, goofing off, mud and airplanes. Tons of fun. After all of our work we hauled our muddy selves back to Ely Square downtown for a festival. The best part? It was FREE. Free hot dogs, free cotton candy, free sand art, free blow up slide, free concert, free games and in Ben's case, FREE CAKE. The weather couldn't have been better.

4. Yesterday I went to the Cleveland Zoo with Evan and his parents. I got to see our new elephant exhibit. It's so nice to have our 'phants back and to see Willy, our temporary bull elephant from Disney's Animal Kingdom again. The only problem with the zoo yesterday was everyone and their mothers grandmothers mailmans third cousin twice removed was there. It was crazy. We got there at 9:30 before the place even opens and some of the lots were full. We always go Sunday mornings at this time and we're the first or second people there! Insanity I say but fun none the less, even if Evan was on his man period *rolls eyes* but that's a different story.

5. Two more weeks of freedom until my online summer class starts. Speaking of which I need to pay for and also get the textbook.

6. Leaving for Columbus for Memorial Day weekend on Saturday morning. Coming back Monday evening. So excited. Going to the Columbus Zoo and doing some shopping with my mom. CAN'T WAIT.

52 days til NY
223 days til WDW