Just a Little Snack

Hello Trolley People!
I am at April´s house in ye olde East preparing for her wedding next week!
My how time flies!
My last entry was in May, right before work got hectic. And, let me tell you, work was very hectic. I was working a ton and when I wasn´t working I was either sleeping or eating.
Finally, I got off work with two days to pack and jetted over to April´s where we´ve been busy busy busy ever since! So you can see it´s basically been a non-stop summer!
I just can´t believe it´s coming to an end.

How about your summer? Did you enjoy it?
I did, for the most part, but am a little sad to see it go. However, there was a first in there! I bought myself a motorcycle! A duel sport (enduro), it´s sweet! I´ve taken it to and from work a few times (as I bought it in August with very little time at work left).
I have lot´s to blog about and will be getting back into blogging once this wedding finishes and I´m back in my beloved Northwest. See you around!

Car Wash

You might not have guessed it about me, but one of my favorite things to do is wash my car.
When the weather is good, I wash it every 2 to 4 weeks. I don't know why, it doesn't seem like work to me! I like to take care of it and making it clean and shiny brings me joy. I washed my car today and found the dreaded paint bubbles from hell. I was like "oh no!!" That means the paint might start peeling! My poor little Red! I was considering getting it a new paint job but who knows how much that costs!

You'll be proud to hear that I've been writing. I'm up to chapter 16 in my Star Wars book. April's been keeping me on that, since I read to her what I write. I like to have something for her every day or so and that keeps me going at it. I've had a bad case of writer's block the past few days because I hit a part in the story where I really didn't know what to do. A brisk walkish run cured that.
Which, by the way, I haven't been doing much of--for shame. I hurt my ankle during my 12K I did a couple weeks ago and it hasn't been the same since. Of course I'm trusting in God for healing but I haven't been out and about on the road because of it. My second cousin once removed is a physical therapist so I might send my ankle on over to him to see what he can do--that's fun, isn't it? That I know my second cousin once removed. I know my third cousins, too. Do you know your third cousins? I bet you don't!

So I need to workout more so I can be svelte for April's wedding which is, crazily, in just three months. THREE MONTHS! OMW. Wait, wait. Wait. WAIT!!! No, stop, STAHP.
Three months... wow... I guess I need to buy my plane ticket or I ain't gonna be going o_O
I'm in charge of the Bridal Shower, which I'm psyched about. And I'm also scheming about the bachelorette party with her two younger sisters. Oooh we're going to have lots of fun.
I was on Etsy tonight, looking for wedding gifts to toss at them. Some of them were cute! Like little Mr. and Mrs. cups and such. I got all caught up in the cuteness when a sudden panic ensued.
April, my friend, my bff. Stolen away by some-some...hairy old beasty MAN!
*evoke horror-stricken face*
Our ten-year friendship flashed before my eyes and I suddenly felt at a loss. You know that feeling you got as a kid when you were in a public place and you turn around and your parents aren't there and you're like, "oh crud, I'm lost! MOM! DAD!?!?!" and you freak out, thinking they've gone and you decide to go find a corner somewhere and cry because you don't like standing in the store or out on a sidewalk because you feel LOST and EXPOSED and your throat suddenly decides to swell up and burn and you can't breath and your heart is racing and you feel like exploding!!!!
Yeah, pretty much that feeling times five or maybe seven. Ok, maybe three, I don't know, being a panicked child is no walk in the park.
But the point is, I panicked. My heartbeat raised and I was freaking out in my head.
I mean, all life basically ends once you get married. Everyone says life starts at marriage--but you know who says that? MARRIED PEOPLE.
They belong to this secret club of married people that promise each other to never tell the single people that, really, marriage means death. They do this so they can call more people to their club so they can have more people to commiserate with!

Yeah, I don't have a very happy pov on marriage at the moment. But if you want to know, no, I don't think it's all that bad--God created it after all--but when it comes to my own BFF running off and getting married to some undeserving, stinky, smelly, hairy, nasty guy? NO!
So what if he's not really all of those <_< he might as well be! (Sorry Matt). I really don't think any guy could really, TRULY deserve her.
Anyways. I feel very much like Anne when she finds out Dianna is going to be married. Only I don't know any Gilberts. My childhood guy already broke my heart :p
I can just imagine all the married people shaking their heads and thinking, "she just doesn't understand!"
>=) Don't I?
>=) Do tell me how I don't understand.
>=) >=)

At the very least, you all should be mildly entertained.
By the by, I changed a lightbulb today.
You want to know some other happy news? In two days (the 18th), April and I will celebrate the day that we first met! I know, I post about it about every year. We WERE supposed to go to Disney world.... And then we WERE supposed to visit each other, two weeks there, two weeks here......BUT SOMEBODY HAD TO GO AND GET MARRIEEDDDDD.
Oh yes, I went there.
Ok, I need to go write more and stop venting about myself and me and mine and my own and self self self self!
By the way...in case you're worried, I'm very supportive of April marrying that....man.....and I'm going to be the BEST, most AWESOME maid of honor in the WORLD. And I'm going to be very happy for her! Because when I'm not whining about it, I myself wouldn't mind marrying SOMEone. Well...he'd have to be pretty much amazing.. which is why I'll probably end up an old spinster.
But I thought I'd share my moment of panic with you. The fact of the matter is, marriage changes everyone's lives, not just the bride and the groom. And it's just a lesson of coming of age when your friend from teenagerdom grows up enough to be someone's wife. Yuck. Who wants a husband anyway, they're stinky and smelly and hairy and--ok ok I'm going! I have five brothers, what do you expect? I know how gross they are! :p
(Just kidding guys, I love you. And you smell like roses.)

Of the utmost peevish kind!

Let's talk about roundabouts. Do you know what a roundabout is?
It is one of the coolest road inventions ever. And, if used properly, they should reduce traffic congestion!
IF used properly.
People where I'm from must not understand the concept of the right-of-way with a roundabout, because people who are on the roundabout stop when they see someone coming up to the roundabout. Hellooooeeww, you have the right away, just go for it! The people coming up to the roundabout have to yield to you!
By the way, people-who-stop-and-don't-know-what-the-meaning-of-yield-is, the people already on the roundabout are not going to attack you. They are basically on the opposite side of the roundabout, you have permission to enter the roundabout! Sorry, that's like... one of my biggest pet peeves. Which, I don't get, if they peeve you, why keep them as pets??
Want to know another pet peeve? Men! Well, it doesn't really have to do with them, exactly, but their effect on women.
There's this sort of girlish nature that takes over whenever you like a guy. I've been pondering this lately, a girl's attitude around a guy.
You can be one of the most independent, tough, awesome, single ladies ever.. but if you meet a guy you like you suddenly revert back to your 15 year old self. It just blows me away. 
Or, and I'm not sure which is worse, a handsome man talks to you and you turn into this brainless shy person that doesn't know how to answer basic questions. (Ok, so that just happened to me.. don't know if everyone's like that :P) But it's so embarrassing. It's like, "Hellew, where's the awesome, confident girl that walked in?"
So, let's put all the men in front of the roundabouters and be done with it. (That's totally a joke)

Speaking of men, wait. No. Nevermind.
So, I'll tell you something I LOVE, driving a stick shift. But I already talked about that in my other blog! Who cares? I have to say one thing, I am eternally grateful that my siblings and I all got the racing genes from our parents. You can tell racing's in our blood whenever you see us on motorcycles or in a car with any sort of power. Oooh reliishh the power... I want a stick shift. My next car is going to be a stick shift.

So.. I have a question to ask you all (even atheists can join in on the fun, if you want!)
Say you believe in a God that is all-powerful and can do anything, say this God that you believe in created the world and universe and YOU.
This is my question, if a God is that powerful.. do you think He could heal your body if it was broken?
Wow, that reads like I'm being rude, but I'm not.
But, no, really...do you believe that God can heal your body if it was broken?
He really should be able to, shouldn't He?
Healing never occurred to me, to be honest, until I was about 15 or 16 years old.
Say you created a machine, just imagine it in your mind.
You created it to do something (whatever you want), you put it together, you know the ins and outs.
Then, you have a friend that studies the machine, looks at it, takes it apart... gets to know it pretty well.
You then give that machine to someone, they use it, and it breaks. Who would that someone go to first? You, the person that created the machine?
Or the friend that studied it?
Well, the friend might know some stuff.. but who has more knowledge, here?
So, why not? Why not go to God?
I realize this is a super touchy subject and I'm not condemning anyone who goes to the doctor in anyway, I'm just trying to provoke thought.
As for my own opinion, well maybe I'll save it until after I gather yours.

I think I'll end here. I want to write in my Star Wars book.. I mean, if I want to be a serious, growed-up writer, I gotta write and attempt to get published, gotten't I? Yep. Cyaz.

Antique Lace

I had something important to talk about.. but I forgot what it was. 

I went shopping today, and bought organic stuff. Yeah, like to eat healthy and stuff. You know what I bought? Organic pop-tarttsss.. organic cinnamon toast crunch... organic french fries.... WHAT? Don't judge me--you don't know!

I also got a coffee. It was called "Antique Lace" and it sounded so devastatingly romantic that I had to try it, it was made with Canadian cream (not regular, Canadian. And since Canadians got their bacon right, I figure their cream's probably to die for) and white chocolate. Doesn't that sound delicious? In the literal and non-literal sense.
You just imagine yourself with one of those people that makes your heart race and everything in your life fall into place, swimming around in antique lace with Canadian cream and white chocolate and you figure maybe it's a cup of happiness just waiting to dance on your taste buds! And the next thing you know, you're passing up the Kahlua Mocha Mousse to try this bit of joy out on your eager palate!!
Only to be bitterly disappointed.
To tell you the truth, it's nuthin' special.
It tastes like coffee. I mean, who drinks coffee that tastes like coffee?? Not me, I'm a coffee-flavored sugar drink type person. Not a sugar-flavored coffee drink person. Those people--I'll never have them figured out.

So, this summer job I got, I'll be handling CASH. And I'll be a CASHIER (but it's not bagging groceries, don't even go there). So I had to take a cash handling class. You wouldn't think there was much to handling cash but there is o_O.
After the class (which I got 100% on and they LOVED how I filled out the info on the check, btw *smug*), I came home and then went to Walmart because I wanted dinner and mom and dad were supposed to be going to Bible study so it was like, "well, sheesh, it's just me and Jake and Pete? I'm just going to go buy myself a crumb to eat then."
Mom and dad ended up ditching Bible study and I came home with a tiny little bag of Newman's Own Chicken Florentine. I put it on the stove and mom said I had to cook dinner. I was like *goat face* (oh, I guess you guys don't know what that is, I'll have to post a picture).
Anyway, long story short, I ended up cooking dinner for myself, and they went out to a Mexican restaurant.
Doesn't that just make me seem like some sort of scum? Hey, they were supposed to be going to Bible study. Don't look at me like that. Mom did give me a guilt trip about how it was my night to cook and I was getting out of it. Great, now I feel guilty. I guess I'll cook tonight to make up for it.
So, anyway, after all that, I go to sleep. And I dream about handling cash. Tons of things go wrong in my dream. It was a nightmare. But the highlight is, I got to play around with a real live cash register, yes, it's the small things in life. I was excited. My friend, Laura, was not. She got a job with me and, let's just say, I was the more enthusiastic about the cash register of the two.




On the way home from Wal-mart yesterday, btw, I got a splendid view of the mountains and the valley/prairies that we live near, and to the West were sun-rays shining through these gray and golden clouds, and to the North were these delicious rain clouds. All over you could see the rain coming down in the distance. To the Eastish South, there were blue skies and light clouds. It was all the greatness of weather mixed into one of the best panoramic experiences in the world!
I LOVE this place, sooo much. I think out of all the things I talk about on my blog, I talk about how much I love this place the most. Because it's true. I could not imagine ever leaving it-- well, yes I can.. if it got stripped down and turned into something horrible, like El Cajon, then I'd probably abandon it for Canada. But until then, I'll continue loving it!
I always say, if you want to persuade me to leave, do it in January. January is horribly unromatic. But once you get to March, I'm a goner. And it's downhill from there. April is beautiful but, oh. my. word. May is the most marvelous, magnificent miracle of them all! The lilacs come out! And everything's green and blue and red and purple and yellow and amazuzing!
Why did I say it that way, I hate that way.. but I did it anyway. No, it won't do. "AMAZING". Ok, I feel better.

You know what we need up here? An all organic coffee shop. Give me that in kiosk/drive-thru form and I'm sold. DO ET.

Ok, here's the goat face for you all.

Yes, I know it's a ram. Shut up!
THOUGH. I've found an actual goat face that cracks me up: http://themetapicture.com/that-smell-2/
It works the opposite way, if they smell realllly bad. Omw, that picture makes me laugh.
By the by, I got called "abrasive" the other day, by a good friend and he didn't mean it as an insult. And I was actually almost a little pleased! What is wrong with me? Of course my co-worker shot me down and said that he was the more abrasive one out of the two. Pff, just rain on my parade. I guess I'm not really abrasive unless I'm being sarcastic. Because when I'm just talking to people I turn into this sort of softy-squishy-smiley-nice-do-gooder. Do you know how much that hurts my reputation as a cold-hearted-abrasive-meanie? Sigh.
Ok, ok, I don't really have that sort or reputation. Reputations are funny that way, they're usually wrong. Character, however, is what you want to look at. Character is what you are. Reputation is usually the wrong idea people get about you :p Sometimes a reputation can be spot on, who knows, but I don't like trusting reputations. Ok, I'm leaving.

Boohooerism?

SEEeewwww...

I got a job.
Well--I have a job, I got a second job--a summer job! So that I can afford to go to April's wedding.
See? This is what happens when you leave Facebook!
Today is April Fool's day so I signed onto Facebook to have a good laugh. To be honest, it's kind of lame, and really negative on there.. and boring. Run, people, run!
Though it IS good to see all my friends on there that I don't normally talk to and I miss them so much that I'm almost tempted to stay but I know I won't.
Facebook in and of itself does not appeal to me anymore and I really like life without it.

Anyway, enough preaching about Facebook. What I really came on here to say, is, Mitsubishi!
Yes, Mitsubishi. A friend of my mom's gave us her old crumb Mitsubishi Mirage. It is a 5 speed. I knew how to drive a 5 speed once... I wasn't super duper good at it..
I made my dad relearn me how to drive and ---omw... I love it. I don't ever want to drive an automatic again!
Sadly.. because I loved my car so, it's such a shiny maroonish red and it's a Grand AM which some of you might laugh at but I like it a lot. I've had it for over 5 years now and we've pretty much bonded for life. How could I even imagine getting rid of it?
However...I had to take it in to be repaired... So taking the weekend that it was being repaired and add on the week before in which I didn't drive it because it was broke, I went about a week and a half without driving and automatic and took every opportunity I possibly could to drive the Mitsubishi. I've become addicted. It's soo fun to drive a 5 speed, I can't even tell you how much.
Today, happy day, I picked up my car from the shop. $112 later...it's ok, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was so elated to have it back that I hopped in and turned it on and put my left foot to the clutch position and felt my heart sink...it's not a 5 speed!
T.T (boohooerisms)

I'm having horrible cheater thoughts about selling my car and getting a good 5 speed. But I have some concerns: Right now my car is in good condition and it's pretty reliable. It gets pretty good gas mileage, too.. well on the freeway anyway. Plus I've always liked it, a lot. It would probably make me sad to sell it.
BUUUTTT...
Kelley Blue Book marks it at a niice price that could get me a pretty decent car. (You should know my family always buys used cars from private sellers -- mostly -- that's how we roll.)
And 5 speeds are just sooooo fun to drive!
So should I be smart and keep a good car because there's nothing wrong with it and it has low miles?
Or should I sell it now that it's worth sumthin' and get a 5 speed with better gas mileage?
I've been considering getting a smallish SUV for a while so it wouldn't be a horribly hasty decision, but we'll just have to see, shall we?

Either way, I'm excited to start my new job. I know it'll be nothing like working for the family, and I'm prepared for that, prepared to be unprepared :p
You don't get to know what it is because I'm pretty sure you could pinpoint my exact location by knowing and you KNOW I like to keep you in the dark (besides half of you already know where I live and where the job is anyway).
There was something else... I wanted to say... but I just don't remember. Oh well! Too bad.
I'm going now, and that's that!

Re-cap

Hello Jim!
So today marks the 21st day of my Facebookless existence!
I thought I might re-cap the past 3 weeks.
Since I've left Facebook, I...

• Went to Walmart more times than I care to remember
• Went out to dinner with a friend
• Celebrated Valentine's Day on my own
• Went to see a movie on my own
• Saw a zombie movie
• Kept the kitchen clean (mostly)
• Checked my email and blog posts more times than I care to recall
• Bought a sweater on a whim (something I never do)
• Went to the mall on a whim
• Went skating, twice
• Went LINE DANCING
• Baked
• Cooked dinner
• Ran
• Wrote, only a tiny bit, so that hasn't changed much..
• Applied for a summer job
• Got a new phone and phone "plan" (if you can call Straight Talk a plan)
• Filled up my gas tank more times in 3 weeks than I do in, probably, 2 - 3 months
• Posted more blog posts this month than I have in November, December and January combined
• Curled my hair--twice!
• Started buying organic groceries--again
• Started a painting (and have yet to finish it.) 
• Learned a new piano song and play piano more often

And that's about all I can remember for now.
What can we take away from this?

• Leaving Facebook is more expensive
• I have more human interaction
• I'm more apt to leave the house
• When time is freed up, you can quickly fill it up
• Sadly, I've only listened to 1 Bible study. 
• I'm more apt to be ambitious when away from Facebook
• It seems like I'm always busy o_O

So there you have it.
All in all, I think I like this life away from Facebook, but I do miss talking to my friends on there. I've thought about joining Twitter or Tumblr or another social site but decided to stay away from those because they're just about the same as Facebook.
But, yeah, I went line dancing last night. It was so country, everyone was wearing plaid (including myself) and I actually liked it. A lot. So help me T.T
But, <_<
>_>
They do swing dancing there, to! Phphphph! I may be incredibly tempted to go. Though I have no partner. I've got a million brothers to dance with but it's sometimes awkward to dance with your brother--for ME anyway. Bradley said to mom that dancing with his sister hurt his chances with the ladies because they didn't know I was his sister XD
That's Bradley for you.
Anyway, I want to swing dance, it sounds so fun.
One of the guys at line dancing didn't want to dance with me so I came home and was ranting to Jacob and Jeff, "there must be something wrong with me.. he didn't want to dance."
Jacob said, "that's because guys are afraid of beautiful women."
I looked at Jeff and he nodded. I raised my eyebrows and said, "they are?"
And Jeff said, "there really IS something wrong with you!" (if you don't know that.)
It was funny, and I was actually surprised Jacob called me beautiful--in a roundabout way.
Either way, after trying the dance out with Brad (who felt sorry for me and danced anyway), I realized that was an awkward dance and I'd rather try it out with a boyfriend or a best friend XD
Yeah.
You should have been there.

24 oz. Granita? Yes Please.

So, the first thing you need to know, is, after typing in the awesome title above, I was so excited about its awesomeness that I published it without writing anything.
No, I didn't do that on PURPOSE. But it's funny.

So anyway, I was in my pajamas all day yesterday. And when I say all day, I mean until 6 o'clock when I threw on some running shorts to walk on the tread. (Hey, it's me.. I'm not about to run in pajamas, no matter how lazy I'm feeling.)
Friday I spent all day cleaning so it only made sense that I'd be pajama lady yesterday. Today, however, I'm attempting to be ambitious. So I sat on the phone, on hold, for a while waiting to talk to a StraightTalk representative while playing Bloon Tower Defense 4.
That relationship didn't last long, I got fed up, hung up, and went down stairs and made some chicken and rice, scarfed it down, came back up to my computer and stared at the screen trying to convince myself to write something awesome.

So I have a fairytale book, right? I told you about it, you just don't remember.
Well, I went and read what I had and--omw, I continue to surprise myself. I couldn't stop reading it! I sat through the whole thing and when I was done I was like "I want morrreee T.T"
I only hope there are other readers out there that are entertained the way I am. Because, if there are, I'm sooo in the right business. Because my books entertain me so they should entertain them, you know what I'm getting at eh? eh? So I was trying to write in that book but nothing came to me. So I went back to my Star Wars book. Nothing still.
So I took this opportunity to remember that I have 13 dollars in my checking account to last me until Friday and I ought to spend it responsibly.
And by responsibly I mean on a 24 oz. chocolate granita, 2 shots, a splash of coconut with whipped cream.
Boohyah!
Hey. It was just $4.77. Don't judge. Woooo! Now I'm all hyped! So I get my giant coffee (and I usually get a 16 oz. 1 shot drink. So this is, like, crazy.) and I drive home in my dad's crazy giant truck that we use to take garbage to the dump. And I get in the door and toss off my crocs and walk up the stairs (determined to write) holding my coffee extended in my left hand (imagine the hail hitler move but with a 24 oz in your hand) with my head down like I'm triumphant about something. I walk up the stairs like that then enter my room and sit down and write.
I can't believe it, but, the drink is gone. I don't know how long I've been sitting here, but it's gone--Gone! It's all gone! MMM... it was so silky smooth and delicious. Omw.
But the good news is, I finished that darn scene!
And by finish, I mean there's a lot of directing, like "then this happened and this and this." But at least it's written down.. Shut up.

So then, a fond memory sprouted in my brain.
We had some awesome neighbors growing up. One of them was Sherri. (Sherry? Cheri. CHERRY! No, stay focused.)
Ok, so this is a hilarious story. Me and my older sisters (old old old older sisters) were home alone and the toilet got clogged and was flooding all over the floor. XD
Rachelle was like, "Go get Sherri!"
So I run to the house next door as if it's a horrible emergency and knock on the door and say, "our toilet is overflowing!!!"
She, like the superhero neighbor that she is, put on her superhero suit and ran next door and instructed us on how to clean it up. Thanks to her, the day was saved.
She probably gets the awesomest neighbor award from me.
I remember she had a baby toward the end, before they moved, and I was at the young age where anyone who is adult seems ancient and they're not supposed to have babies. Adults who have babies are supposed to just have them already. Anyone without babies were supposed to remain that way. I just didn't get it. My cousin's bff had an older brother, he was like 20 or something. And I remember thinking that was so weird. Because kids didn't have adult brothers. My sisters were within 6 years of me so I grew up with kids for siblings. Not adults. What was this world coming to?
I think it's funny that I thought that way.
Anyway, gonna go. Just a short little laffo post for you guys to enjoy.
(and notice that each part starts with SO. I didn't even do that on purpose.)