May has been a busy month, a little traumatic, a little hectic, but a lot of fun.
Life Events
We have babies! Lots of fuzzy, crying babies. May 6th my cat Katniss gave birth to five bouncy baby boys. Yes all boys. They are adorable, but I can't wait for them to be old enough to re-home. I've enjoyed my "baby-less" life for the past year! They make my ovaries shrivel even more than they already have.
Did several meet ups this month, including trivia night, Dinner & "billiards", rock climbing and a scavenger hunt. Going hiking this weekend as well. I like to keep busy, what can I say. :)
Montana - I could go on and on about this trip, so it will need to be a completely separate post. Stay Tuned!
Books
I actually read two books this month! I'm kind of proud of myself, granted I was stuck on a plane with no wifi or data, so I didn't have much of a choice, but its a start! It was good to just be able to read again.
Shows /Movies
So last month I cancelled my Netflix account because I wasn't really using it, and why pay for something you aren't using? That's my theory. Anyways while in Montana I got hooked on The 100, The Office and Family Guy... which I'm not really "hooked" on but find it tolerably funny... occasionally. I've wanted to watch The 100 for a while now, but just haven't had time to sit down and watch it. Brittany and I Marathoned through i my first night in Montana and were disappointment to learn that there is only one season on Netflix.
Movies
I've been anticipating Age of Ultron for months now, and it didn't disappointment. It was full of action, love, angst, humor... I don't know what more you could ask for! (I may have seen it three times at this point). I went with a friend to see Chappie and was completely weirded out by this movie. It was just weird; and finally Age of Adeline: I was disappointed in this, it was predictable and just not that interesting. The actress was beautiful, but I ... it was just ... meh.
Outfits / Outfit Purchases
I actually did really well this month, as far as buying clothes go. And by "really well" i haven't spent $200 yet.
School
Classes ended April 28th, with my final finale on the 5th of May. I failed math as I knew I would, but passed the GPA impacting classes. However banner is not allowing me to "re-sign up" for Math 119 without contacting the Math department... so I'm not sure what to do about that. Summer classes start on the first, so I'll need to make a decision. Part of me wants to just delay it for a while, especially since I found out my online economics class lasts the entire summer session instead of "just June" as I originally thought, but I'm pretty sure its going to hinder my progress down the road.. I just didn't want to take it in addition to another class. Ugh. Coming in June 2015
The return of school. Yes. I'm taking summer classes and probably will regret life during the month of June, but at least July is class free.. for now.
1. A gathering of friends from different state into one city; Downtown Chattanooga fits the bill
2. A meeting in the middle
3. Laughter, Smiles, Hugs and Giggles; Its what we do best! Be silly! Also I am unsure as to why I look like I'm cheesing so hard. ... I was really excited?
4. Food; Nothing like a little food to keep the energy up
5. Shopping; Nothing like browsing quaint little shops downtown!
6. Chocolate! :) 'Nuff Said
We had this grand plan, my friends and I. Last year we spent a lot of time traveling to see friends, hang out with friends and had a blast doing it. This year we decided to keep the trend going, and what better way than planning a meetup around valentine's day? We had a blast scouting out the city and planning our trip, but an even better time exploring it with our friends. :)
817 miles + 72 Hours + 3 States + 16+ friends = Exhaustion
You wanna talk about Zombies? This girl is a zombie.
This weekend we (Myself, my sister Robyn, my brother Evan, and friend Rebekah) drove to Alabama (then to GA, back to AL, then back to TN), to celebrate my (our) friend Kim's 26th birthday with food, fun, and Six Flags. :)
We had a blast, but honestly that was the.most. exhausting trip I've been on in a while.
Friday happened like this:
Got up at 7:20 AM, rushed the dogs out of the house, threw clothes on, bagged up last minute trip things, fed dogs, made sure all their "supplies" were in an obvious place, thinking about getting something to eat, realizing I don't have time, do "something" to my hair and dash out the door.
Get to work, get everything done within the hour, and then find things to do until its time to leave. Field multiple random questions from my dear dear brother through out the next five hours.
2:00PM - Change back into street clothes, and race to the nearest gas station to re-inflate my tires and vacuum my car a bit.
2:10PM - Drive to a near by music school to pick up my brother.
2:15PM - Drive back to my job and pick up friend
2:30PM - Drive to Papa John's a pick up a pizza for my brother
2:45PM - Drive to friends job and pick up my sister.
3:00PM - Stop and get some food and hit the road.
Once we got on the road, we were fighting traffic and the random heavy rain storms all the way to Alabama. I hate driving in the rain anyway, but I was hyper vigilant after nearly crashing my car that morning. Oh.. I didn't tell you about that? Yeah.
Did I mention my car is not insured? Don't ask ok? Just.don't.ask.
We can all be thankful to God that nothing happened on the way down or back.
INTIWAYS.
We arrived at the pre-birthday celebration picnic, exhausted, tired, but happy to see familiar faces. The grills had just been fired up, the food was laid out.....when it started to rain. Complete with lightning and thunder.
".. and the Rain, Rain, Rain came Down, Down, Downin Rushing Rising Rivlets, till theRiver crept out of its bed, and crept right into Piglets....."
Noo Piglet wasn't there. You guys are so silly.
So we crammed lots of people and kids into the house and noisy craziness ensued. Finally around 12PM we decided to head home, since we had a 5:30AM departure time. As soon as we got to Kim's house as soon as I could politely remove myself, I climbed into bed and went to sleep.
Next thing I know, someone is banging on my door, and lights are being flicked on. Can I just take a moment and say how much I hate it when that happens? It is THE most annoying way to be woke up.
My mother used to do that to us all the time. It drove.me.crazy. Luckily I have matured past that point and can handle these things with more, grace, shall we say. So instead of strangling whomever woke me up, I just pulled the covers back over my head and stayed in bed until the last possible second.
TAKE THAT. WHOMEVER.
:-P Thats maturity right there.
Anyway once I was up, I was awake and ready to get on the road. However, when you are traveling with multiple people.... well lets just say it took us a while to decide who was riding where, how many cars were going etc.. etc.. Once that was solidified we took to the road like white on rice.
Right.
Four hours, a bathroom stop, and a breakfast break later we arrived at Six Flags over Georgia.
Did you know that Six Flags strictly enforces their clothing policies? And if they deem your T-shirt offensive they Will.NOT let you into the park unless you purchase another one? Yeah.. apparently pictures of guns qualifies.
That held us up for a while.
As we started into the park, it came out that I am vehemently against roller coasters. Let me tell you something (those of you who don't have roller coaster loving friends) roller coaster lovers feel personally affronted if they have a non-roller coaster lover in their group.
"You don't like roller-coasters?"
"You're not going to ride this one? You're sure?"
"We need to get you on a ride Erin!"
"Why don't you like roller-coasters?"
"WHAT!?! YOU DON'T LIKE ROLLER COASTERS? DO YOU KNOW YOU COULD DIE IN A CAR WRECK FASTER THAN YOU COULD ON A ROLLER COASTER?" Yes all the caps were necessary. That would be my brother who is talking like that. :)
"What are you going to do? You came all this way and you're not going to ride anything?"
"Oo! You should ride this one, that's not too bad.." Hmm the one that says MAXIMUM THRILL/FEAR FACTOR? Forgive me if I'm highly skeptical of your roller-coaster loving opinion. :)
However, halfway through the park I decided I was going to face my fear and PERHAPS get on one ride. I also decided that instead of sitting on a bench while everyone stood in line, I was going to make them carry all their OWN bags and I'd stand with them, and walk to the other side should I decide not to ride a particular ride.
Sixteen people have a lot of bags.
After standing in line for an hour, I decided that Batman: The Ride was going to my thrill ride of choice. After all it met my many requirements for a roller coaster.
Height: It only had one initial drop which is my biggest point of contention with roller coasters, and stayed fairly low to the ground.
Length: It was a pretty short coaster, so should I be out of my mind scared it was going to be over quickly.
Safety: Was I going to feel like I was going to fall out?
I didn't actually decide to ride until the last possible second and I had to have a moment while waiting for a car to come available (otherwise known as pounding heart, sweating hands, tears and deep breaths), but once it was actually my turn to get on the ride, I was calm (aka not hyperventilating), and once I realized how secure the safety measures felt, my confidence levels went way up, and I actually looked down as we were being pulled up the initial climb.
The first drop was the scariest part of the whole ride. It literally felt like my stomach, intestines, kidneys, liver etc..etc. were attempting to force themselves into my chest cavity, which was THE WEIRDEST feeling ever. I was too busy trying to breathing to remember the rest of that first part, but once we hit the loops and I wasn't feeling as if I were slipping towards the earth below, I realized that it was actually pretty fun.
And then it was done; and I found myself surrounded by my friends who were congratulating me for actually doing it.
Then I was on the other end of the emotional scale, tearing up that I actually did something I "swore" (in a sense of that word) I'd NEVER do. Roller coasters? You have GOT.TO.BE.KIDDING.ME.
Oh yeah, I just did that.
Whaaaaaaaat?!
After that, the day just involved a lot more line standing.
Standing in line for lunch. (btw on WHAT PLANET Is $39.99 a DEAL for a meal?!?!)
Standing in line for Thunder River (or whatever that clothes soaking water ride was)
Standing in line for the Great American Scream Machine (well OK, actually i was back hanging with the bags again, but I had some company this time)
Standing and watching some friends do the free fall ride thingy.
Standing in line for the Sky Buckets
Sitting through a Erin Hill Band concert while waiting for everyone else to ride Dare Devil Dive
Standing and watching some of our group ride the Georgia Scorcher
Standing outside the closing park trying to decide where to go eat.
Standing in line at Wendy's for a hour because there was no other place close/open.
My legs ached so badly by the time we headed home, even sitting didn't bring any relief.
We got home our 1:30AM and immediately crashed, knowing we had to be up in time for church the next day.
Sunday we stayed for church, lunch, another service, and dinner before tearing ourselves away and hitting the road home.
We got home in excellent time considering, my dogs were happy I was home, I was happy to see my bed. It was a good time all around.....
In celebration of another year in my dear friends life, we (My sister, Rebekah, Jennifer and David ) road tripped it to Chattanooga TN to explore their downtown. Despite spending most of our time waiting for a seat in a restaurant, we had a great time!
The following is a mixture of iPhone and my "real" camera pics.
I'm still not in love with it. But it was practice, and made me realize some things.
I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog or not, but my camera and I are estranged right now. I've been in a bit of a funk in regards to photography in the last little bit, and I've taken it out on my camera. In my defense my cameras do seem to be loosing some of their... I don't know, or perhaps my standards for photography have gone up, I don't have faith in myself as much any more.
Regardless... that really has nothing to do with the post, other than to say the majority of my photos were taken with my iPhone. Again.
I kinda of regret doing that.
This weekend, was our annual Youth Jubilee in Forrest City AK. A small, small town, with limited food options. However we don't go because to sight see, but to learn more about God, and fellowship with friends all across the country. Its probably my favorite meeting of the year, despite the mosquitoes, eating Taco Bell (gag) every day and extreme heat. :)
For my family, this was the first trip with all the siblings (minus one) sans parents. It was interesting to say the least. My brothers aren't known for being the most cooperative with us (being 14 and 16) but they did relatively well. :)
Each day in the three day weekend, is packed with things to do, service in the morning, lunch, choir practice, Pizza and Skating party, then change for the evening service. After that get a late dinner and hang out at a the hotel. :)
To say its exhausting is an understatement.
I think I got total of eight hours in the last three days.
Sung to the first verse of “Friday” by Rebecca Black You have to sing this in monotone, otherwise it doesn’t work out.
Great Smokey Mountains - Pic from last weekend
7am, waking up in the morning Gotta be fresh, gotta get out of bed, Gotta let the dogs out, gotta do my hair, Gotta get dressed, gotta feed the pooch(es) Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal Though never really even eat cereal Gotta make a list of what I have to do to day Seein’ everything, the time is goin’ Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’ Gotta get down to my car Gotta drive to work, Gotta do my work Gotta get home, gotta wash my car, and exercise my dogs...
Its Thursday, Thursday, gotta down on Thursday...... …...
Have I annoyed anyone yet? Anyone at all? Well, that was a waste of time..
Needless to say, I have another busy weekend ahead, and it doesn’t look like this will be slowing down anytime in the near future. To be honest, I’m glad. While there are days when I enjoy my “carefree” lifestyle, it’s been a real drag at times..
So lots of pictures from this weekend coming up? I sure hope so!
Not a word that I use regularly but its perfect for this occasion.
I loved finally having a moment to breathe, to sleep, to read a book for pete's sake. Saturday & Sunday were pretty busy, my family had our dinner on Saturday, and I spent at least five hours cooking, something that is quite unusual for me; its not that I don't mind cooking, its just super, boring to cook for yourself. As long as someone else is planning the menu, I don't mind whipping up food for 8+ people....as long as I don't have to bring it home with me.
Sunday we did our gift exchange, between church services. My parents...er.. dad.. isn't big on the whole gift exchange thing, so they purchased the "family" (which doesn't include me as I don't live there. #FAIL!) a Ping Pong table, and we kids exchanged names and bought for one person. Being the youngest Autumn is alllll about opening gifts, and had us all running through some sort of crazy, gift exchange. It was a little ridiculous but we complied in order to get her to settle down. However once she got her present of an (overpriced) Webkins she was all done with the gift exchange. Leaving the at least three of us gift-less.
*rolls eyes*
Ah to be young and ... well.
The next couple of days, were spent doing absolutely nothing of worth, or productive. I didn't realize how badly I need that time, just to relax, I was able to finally complete a jig-saw puzzle I'd been working on forever, and rearrange my house a bit.
By Wednesday, all my laziness had caught up with me, and I had to scramble to get ready for our annual New Year's Trip to Alabama. Despite getting a late start, getting stopped by the police, and getting lost in the wild hills of Alabama, we made it to the small town of Morgan City just in time for the first service.
Not only was I challenged spiritually, but I got to meet new friends, talk with old, and realize some things about myself. All in all? A good trip.
So lets rehash last weekend. That would be May 21st, I believe. Three of my childhood friends...frenemies had invited us back to NC to watch them graduate from high-school and to go white water rafting. I'd originally agreed to raft, but once I found out there were was a crowd going,and I'd be stuck in the middle of the boat, I decided that Rob and I could hang out on the shore. That and I'd have to convince my family to squeeze Rob in the car when they came over that evening for the graduation if I left him at home. That wasn't going to happen.
So despite working all day Friday (12 hours) with Rob in tow mind you, and then going out with friends until 10ish..
the thought of getting up at 6:30am the next morning, simply so I could "chaperon" was NOT something I was looking forward too.
Despite going to bed at 3:00am, I was pried myself out of bed and into some clothes by 6:50am. Did I sleep on the two hour trip over, you ask. Not hardly! My sixteen-year-old sister thought this would be a great time for her to practice driving, and there was no way I could relax enough to sleep during that experience! I will admit she's no a horrible driver...but still an inexperienced one....
Anyway...
We arrived safely and everyone loaded up and headed to the river.
Rob and I hung out on the shore, soaked our toes in the icy river and sunbathed on the docks. When our peaceful respite was interrupted by 15 or so kayakers stopping to bail water, we hiked back to the car and attempted to find another people-less spot. Unfortunately it was not to be so Rob and I continued down to the "mid-way" point.
Rob resting after his mad dash in the river
Once there, we heard that there had been an injury in one of the boats, and one the 12-year-old boys in our group was taken away by a Sheriff... the question then was, who would get him and what would be done about it. I Volunteered to go to the end and sit with him, until the rest of the group caught up, but it was decided that I should not only get him him, but take him home. 1.5 hours away.
You can imagine I was thrilled, but I had opened my big mouth; so I loaded Rob up and flew to the end of the route. Once there, no one, knew anything, about anything.
"Boy? Cut Hand? ....ummm.....Brian Have you heard anything about an injury? You say he was with our company?"
Yeah. So I wound up making the trip all the back to the beginning of the river, just to find out that he'd been sent to an unknown Hospital. Since my entire group was on the river, getting in contact with them via cell phone was not going to happen; and the LAST thing I wanted to do, was be the one to break the news to his parents. *shudders*
Somehow, someway everything worked out, we found out where he'd been taken and one of the parents in the group, loaded up their vehicle and flew to the Hospital, while the rest of us got some food and moseyed on back to town.
The rest of the night was pretty much a blur, a nice blur, but a blur all the same... mainly because most of my attention was on my furry delinquent child, who was tired and pitching a fit every chance he could get.
But congrats to Devin, Patrick and Willie!!!
I apologize for my dog barking through some of your slide show.
The Graduates. Fun thing about being home-schooled is you get to create your graduation
My word I really should stay out of the sun. I don't "tan" well apparently.
