Busy Weekend
Yep, you read that right. I had a busy weekend. I know that doesn't happen much so trust me it is a (pleasant) surprise to me as well. Anyway, my aunt, uncle and I drove to Kalamazoo on Friday afternoon. We met up with my cousins Krista and Katie and Katie's friend Adam and eventually Chris for dinner at a place called Cheeseburger Paradise. Pretty good restaurant known for its mixed drinks. Then we headed to the Western Michigan University campus to see Phantom of the Opera or as Chris called it, "some Shakespeare thing". As always, the show was amazing and even my brother was impressed. I really enjoyed seeing it again and it was close to as good as the first time. After the show, Chris, Krista and I headed out to join some of Krista's friends at a birthday party at a bar in town. It was crazy crowded. We had to wait to get inside because everyone from Western was out celebrating the end of finals week I think. We stayed for a while and then headed to another bar. This one I was excited to go to because it is a piano bar and is supposed to be a lot of fun. We had to wait a few minutes and right when we stepped inside the door, Krista made a funny face and turned around. I sent Chris inside with the groups we were with and I went after Krista. Turns out she was throwing up between the mailboxes. She wasn't the only out there throwing up either. We saw several people who had too much to drink. We even got advice on what to do from some of the babysitters with their drunk friends. Needless to say, it made us laugh. But don't worry Krista was not drunk, she just had some sort of flu becasue she felt fine the next day. On Saturday morning, the three of us got up and helped pick up trash along a highway for the Adopt-a-Highway program. I actually won a contest and got a free dozen donuts (I don't like donuts) for picking up the most Beefeater gin bottles. I found 5 bottles in a half mile stretch. My certificate went to Krista so she can bring the donuts to work on Monday. Right after Adopt-a Highway we headed to Adopt-a-Pet day. Krista is involved with some group that fosters stray animals and tries to get them adopted. So we had to bring her foster cat to the location and we also admired some very cute dogs and cats while we were there. I tried to get Chris to get a dog but he thinks that he needs a house first. In the afternoon, my cousin Katie graduated from Western. Fortunately the ceremony was under 2 hours and didn't feel too long even on rock hard bleachers. It was nice to see a college graduation and I figured that was the closest thing I was going to get to my own college graduation. A little sad but oh well. I enjoyed being busy and it made me realize how much I am missing out on. Or maybe how much I miss having a life.
I have to share!!!
So my cousin Danny is back home for about a month. He has been working in CO at Snowmass Mountain all winter. He graduated from Michigan State with some sort of health degree and has decided to go to medical school in the Philippines. Why there you ask? From what I understand he has a friend going there whose father went there who also has family there he can live with. Or something like that. Plus it is cheaper. Lots cheaper. He wants to be some sort of doctor. Anyway, I have to share the bathroom and upstairs space with him. It isn't so bad but I have just become accustomed to almost living by myself. I see my aunt and uncle for a bit while we eat dinner. That is pretty much all. All growing up I shared a bathroom with my brother. So sharing really isn't that big of a deal. I just have realized how much I am alone and how I have become accepting of that. It is pretty sad when you really think about it. I have become so much of a recluse that I am more comfortable being alone than with people, For the most part. Occasionally I want to chat with someone but most of the time I would rather stay up in my room and be alone. Sometimes "alone" is almost a bad word. Like there is something wrong with being alone. Yikes I am going off on a tangent. The point was that my cousin is here for a month before moving to the Philippines for a couple of years not how solitary I have become. Does anyone watch TLC? They have these things called "Life Lessons" that just crack me up. One of them might be for me I am afraid. It is called "Dating is awkward but so is becoming a crazy cat lady". It shows a girl with all of these cats and is supposed to encourage you. Another funny one is "Not everything comes back in style" and shows a lady wearing awful clothes just because they fit. So you should watch TLC to see these commercials because they really are very funny and there are a lot more to see and laugh at.
Flat Stanley
So Lizzie has sent me her Flat Stanley project. Basically it is from a story about a kid who gets flattened and can be sent to other places to learn about them. So I have been learning about Michigan while I am gathering pictures and info to send back to Liz. It has been a lot of fun to do. My aunt and I have been brainstorming ever since Flat Stanley arrived. He has been to the beach, to General Motors, and to visit in a classroom where they had just done Flat Stanley. One of the best things that my aunt came up with was having him get new shirts from Michigan State and University of Michigan. Remember she is a super fan. So I thought that I would put Flat Stanley on here with his new shirts. I just made them out of construction paper. Green and white is State and yellow and blue is University of Michigan.
Pretty handsome guy isn't he?
Sad News
I don't really feel like posting anything today. But I wanted to share this email I got from a friend. I think that it is funny.
"Sad News
With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.
Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started.
Shut up. You know it's funny."
A Bird Story
So on Sunday afternoon, my aunt and I ran a few errands. One of the places that we stopped was a bird store to pick up some more seeds for the feeders outside the kitchen window. Some very beautiful birds come and eat here. They are fun to watch. Anyway, we put the seed in the trunk and when we got home unloaded it. I know that you can imagine how long that took to unload. Not long. So later in the day, we decided to go to a lake to take a picture of Flat Stanley (more on that later). We were trying to get the dog Timber in the car when all of a sudden I noticed something moving inside the car. At first I thought a bird flew by on the other side of the car...but no, it was inside the car! Flying around in the car for who knows how long. And how the heck did it get in there anyway??? I have no idea. The stupid thing wouldn't come out either. We opened all the doors and then sent Timber in to scare the bird out. The funny part about the story is that I washed my car on Saturday. It was a big day. The first time I have washed the car since I moved here. The rain seems to do the trick most of the time. But we haven't had rain recently. When my aunt came out on Sunday she noticed a huge bird poop run down the driver's side door and poked some fun about washing the car and then a bird ****ing on it. Little did she know that later in the day, a bird would get in the car and poop all over!! All over! I am finding bird poop on the steering wheel, the shifter thing, the doors, and the seats. It is NASTY! So there you have it...a bird story.
Purpose
Everyone needs a purpose. I hate when I forget mine. I have forgotten. I am trying not to throw pity parties but I have forgotten. Oh but Happy Birthday Emily! While I am thinking of it. I didn't read Purpose Driven Life when that was going through the church. I just don't like reading when someone tells me to. Cant get enough reading otherwise. On a more coherent note, spring definitely seems to be on the way here. I never know what will be going on outside when I wake up. It has been warm, snowy, and rainy this week. But the early flowers are coming through. I cant wait for the tulips. Those are my favorite.
Its really true.
I really do have a job. I started today. Starting is always hard because you dont know anyone, anyone's name, or any of the routines. But I think that I like it. I am tired though. I work afternoons the rest of the week and then move to another building and a new schedule. We will see how that goes as well. Every place is different and this one is unique in its own way. But all in all, preschools are the same. So far so good.
