Summertime Ramblings

I was thinking today that I probably should update this more. But, apparently I'm too lazy. And there's really not a whole lot that I've been doing. I did finally see "North and South" (twice--thanks Guthries!). I highly recommend it to my fellow romantic saps. :)

Tomorrow afternoon we're headed off to Philmont (we being my parents, sister, and I--we're the only ones left at home). My dad is going for scouting stuff and the rest of us are going to...um...support. Yeah. And have decent meals all week because I apparently don't know how to feed myself... It should be fun, but I don't know quite what to expect. I'll let you know how it goes. (Oh, just as a fun side-note, who thinks I've already started packing? Anyone? OK, 100 points to all of you who know me well enough to know that I probably won't start that until after lunch tomorrow. Haha.)

Welp, I guess I'll stop rambling now. Hopefully I can get some good pictures from the trip. Don't worry, I'll show you all. :) See you next week!

I Guess I Am 21, But...

In the process of cleaning my room, I found a little velvet-ish bag full of "precious stones" (a.k.a. pretty rocks) that I got sometime in elementary school at the Arizona Science Center. They actually do look pretty cool, so my mom and I have been looking for something to display them in. This is what we found at Target today (complete with pretty rocks):


It looks pretty cool, right? Now, some of you might have noticed something...particular about the shape and size. Yes, it's a shooter. (Or shot glass or whatever you want to call it.) That is what brings us to the story of the day. (Tadaaaa! I know you've all been missing my stories.)

Mom and I were passing through the dishes at Target, looking at all the pretty stuff (with me stopping about every 5 feet and saying "Mom, look. This is pretty. I like it. That is all." I'm good at that.) Mom says, "Oh, look, this is cool! It would probably work for your rocks."

I say, "Mom, that's a shooter."

"That doesn't matter. You don't have to get it, I just thought it looked cool."

I think it's kind-of funny, and it does look cool, so I stick it in the cart. The following conversation took place between me and the Target cashier approximately 3 minutes later.

Cashier: Hi! Did you find everything OK?
Me: Yeah, I think so.
Cashier: Ooh, nice shooter.
Me: [mortified and trying to defend myself because I don't want her to think I'm going to use it for alcohol, even though it doesn't really matter] Oh, yeah. We're thinking up interesting ways to use things in my house. [Really?! I think to myself. That's supposed to be better?! Now it just sounds 50 times worse! Sheesh.]Cashier: What?
Me: [I try to think of a way to change it, but just end up repeating the same stupid answer] You know. [silently dying...]
Cashier: Oh, no, you can do whatever you want. Your total is...

Oh boy. I do have a way with words, don't I?

Hoyah

That is the sound I have been making for the past 2 days as we've done some serious cleaning/throwing crap away. I guess we've been making up for our laziness earlier in the week. I am so sick of deciding whether or not to keep this cherished childhood toy/dress/whatever. Bye-bye childhood memories, you're going to the garbage.

So far we've filled up 8 (yes, 8, or maybe 10) trash bags, filled the blue recycle bin at least once, maybe twice, and filled up 2 trash bags for D.I. And that's just what was in the 2 closets and under my bed! How have I kept so much stuff in my room for so long?! I think part of it was the hope that I could still play with it or something. (Don't mock me.) Then the other part was me thinking "You know, I'm going to have children some day. Maybe they'd like to play with this." Over the past 2 days, I've come to realize something: even if this stuff is still good when I finally have kids and they get old enough to play with it, they're probably not going to want it. Let's be honest, they're going to want their own shiny, new stuff. I don't blame them--I did. So, into the trash lots of it has gone.

I got some pictures of a couple of dumping victims yesterday. The first is Pepper.

I slept with this thing curled up under my arm for...a long time. Hence the general smooshed, lopsided appearance.

Yes, Pepper is a dog. (And looked like it when I first got him...)

A second victim of my purge was Ellie.

It's not that I don't like her anymore (don't worry, I still have PLENTY of elephants hanging around my room). She was just...old. It was her time to go. There was a giant hole behind one of her legs, both tusks were coming unstitched, and she had no tail. (Although, the lack of tail was old news. It was detached years ago in a tusk-and-tail tug-of-war between two of my siblings and lost before it could be sewn back on. Or at least that's the story I've been telling--I'm not entirely sure that it's true.)

See how sad I am?

At one point, I think Ellie and I were about the same size. Now, as you can see, that has changed just a bit. But she was an awesome elephant. Good bye, Ellie! I would rather throw you away whole than keep you and see you disintegrate in the washing machine (which I'm pretty sure is what would happen if I stuck her in there).

So, yeah, I'm tired. I would post before and after pictures, but I forgot to take before ones, so I'm not sure the afters would be any good. Sorry. Maybe I'll remember before we move on to the desk and dressers...Sheesh, I'm getting tired just thinking about it...definitely time for an ice cream sandwich.

Update

Yes, I am still alive. I've been meaning to post for a while, but somehow just haven't gotten around to it. Hm.

Welp, this week we played a rousing game of musical beds. And guess what? I graduated to a full-sized bed!

(It's a good thing Zach's not here...'cause this used to be his. Minus the frilly sheets, of course.)

I've been sleeping on a twin bed for a while now. (I think it's been somewhere around...oh, 13 years.) Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. After all, the mattress has been half of a Sleep Number bed for a few years now. It's not so much that it's uncomfortable, just...small. And very low to the ground (the frame is the bottom half of the bunk bed that my mother apparently slept on with her sister when she was little). Now I can actually reach my bed without bending over! Haha! I'm trying really hard not to get into the habit of sleeping smack dab in the middle, but it's difficult not to. Especially when it's just me. I have so much room!

This is a picture of my nephew's awesome hair.

Can you see the little piece sticking straight up? (The kid's got at least 2 cowlicks in the back--there's no chance of his hair lying flat for a while.)

I am currently in the process of deep cleaning my room. I mean cleaning out every closet, shelf, and drawer. Holy cow, I have so much crap in my room! I think my room is the only one that still has the majority of things we played with in childhood in it. For example, this is what was contained under my bed when we moved it out:

Yeah, my room is just special.

This could take all summer.

But at least it's summer! Yay!

Happy Summer to all!