question mark...

dear World,

Why am I so bad at baking? No matter how closely I follow recipes, things never work out well for me.

Sincerely,

a concerned girl who made rolls which she will not be taking to her boyfriend's house for dinner because these are not going to impress his mom.

at all.


ever.

salt of the oats...

After two minutes of wondering where I went wrong with breakfast, my taste buds figured it out.

I put too much salt in the oatmeal.

Now I have a joke for you:

How much brown sugar does it take to eliminate the taste of salt in oatmeal?

When I find out, I'll let you know -- if I don't end up in a sugar coma first.

oops...

I have a 12 page paper to write. 

By tomorrow at 4 p.m.

...

Yeeeeeah, I got nothing done over the break. 

Ready...GO.

it finally happened...

You have all heard of the girl who walks through a door expecting to find the familiar layout of a women's restroom. Striding forward, she is suddenly confronted by a strange assortment of faux porcelain that is, at first glance, unrecognizable. After a few confusing moments, it dawns upon this girl that she has not found the women's restroom. Instead, she has accidentally wandered into the realm of maleness. Completely out of her element and absolutely horrified when the realization hits her, she freezes in panic.

She is saved by the fact that there is no one in the room -- she spins on her heel and beelines for the door, only to hear the unmistakable voices of teenage boys in the hallway. She stops dead in her tracks, pressing herself against the wall, praying that they'll keep walking in the opposite direction.

Nature has not called their names, and she begins to breath again as she glances cautiously around the door. There is no one looking her way, and tip toeing as stealthily as she can, she edges out of the men's room and into the hall, clinging to the walls like a rabbit trying to hide on the fringes of a thicket.

Peeking around again, she makes a mad dash and a scramble across the hall, launching herself away from danger and into the safety of a realm she knows. Her heart stops pounding, her breath comes easily, and she thinks to herself, Well. That could have been embarrassing. I'm never doing that again.

And then with a jolt, she realizes...she has become that girl. Oh. Oh, dear.

look before you leap...

I'm sitting here mentally kicking myself (and breaking a few ribs). "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" the not so kind voice in my brain keeps saying. No, I couldn't. I never do. Why? Because, and I quote, I'm "too nice." Too nice, too helpful, too over enthusiastic, too grand in my thinking, too...you get the picture.

In the process of getting somewhere, I often forget that the actual process is indeed just that: a process. So I see these grand results in my imagination and get started on making that vision a reality. Then about halfway through the process, I realize, "Whoa...this is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be..." By then I'm stuck though. No backing out, and not sure how to move forward.

See, oftentimes I don't think. I get myself into trouble with forming relationships (friendships, seeing as I've never had a romantic relationship), carrying out projects, and other various situations because I forget that there is always a mean to an end. This has happened a lot today. The term "look before you leap" is more like "you leaped and now you're stuck looking over your shoulder thinking 'shoot...I should have thought about this a little bit.'"

I should know better. Here's why: Once upon a time I was shown an absolutely terrifying video in a church lesson. A boy was standing on the edge of a dock jutting out into a pond. The water looked fine, greenish and calm like most ponds do. He jumped into the water with a huge splash. Cut to underwater camera shots of dark, murky, weed ridden and garbage infested horror as the boy got caught in the tangled mess below the surface.

And people wonder why I won't go into a pond, a lake, a river, or the ocean if it comes up past my knees...

The message of the video was that of the old saying "look before you leap". I was always confused by this because there were several camera shots showing the water's surface. It looked totally clear. You can't always see what's hiding in a pond, you know. Who knows what could be lurking in there? But I did get the message.

Though I remember the message, I don't apply it well to things that are not body of water related. Like, for example, real life. I keep jumping into things without examining the possible outcomes. I'm not saying I take huge risks, but I don't think. "Look before you leap" doesn't seem to have made it as a retrievable entry in the "command" section of my brain. Instead, I jump in head first and only after I'm at the bottom of the pond do I realize...maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

I guess I'm more of a leaper than a looker. Funny...I can't even swim.

oops...

Picture this: Five people on a love seat. Three boys, two girls. One boy and one girl in a relationship on one end of the couch. One boy, one girl, one boy on the other. Odds are that the three extra people on the couch are going to get pretty squished to make room for aforementioned couple. Which is no big deal--they're cute together and it makes me super happy. However...I'll just spill it. I ended up in what you might call a cuddle, one boy on either side. Behind me with his arm around my shoulders one friend, in front of me with my legs across his knees a second friend.

I never do that. Sure, I like hugs (sometimes), and I've been held before, but cuddling? I don't do that.

There was a practical reason behind the whole thing. Two reasons, the first being that there was no way we could all fit on that couch sitting side-by-side (we tried it), and there was no room on the other couch or the floor (there were about 17people watching a movie in Teddy's apartment), so it just made sense to squish up. The other reason was that despite the number of bodies in the room, I was cold. I'm always cold, it's just a fact. So these two boys were keeping me warm. Practical. Right?

Now I'll admit what I'm oops-ing about. I liked it. I liked being close to somebody (in this case two somebodies). I was warm and (eventually) relaxed, so much so that I almost fell asleep. I felt safe. There aren't any feelings beyond friendship between me and these two friends (that I know of), but it was still just nice. The problem: I did like it, and generally when you like something you want it again. No bueno.

I don't want to be the girl who needs to be held by a guy to be happy. Already it's hard being single when most of my friends are dating. I'm not. I rarely, if ever, date. There's already a loneliness inside of me, especially now that my best friend is all of the sudden receiving a ton of attention from men and I stand there next to her nearly invisible. They don't notice me anymore when I'm with her. They used to notice us both, but not anymore. I'm glad that's happening to her because, though she denies it, she enjoys it. I like seeing her happy. However...ugh. Being invisible is kinda hard, you know?

Anyway. Loneliness...that's also hard to deal with. I don't need to make it worse by being stupid. I am perfectly fine on my own. I don't need a man to make me happy. So there! :)

Yeah. Oops.

oof...

There is a rather large flaw in my personality. I have no self-control when it comes to money. Or I try to have self-control and I do great! For awhile. And then I see a necklace that would go perfectly with my best friend's church outfit, or I have to keep the tradition of buying my dad a licorice pipe every time I go to Gardner Village (really, I have to keep those stupid little traditions or I get so nervous that something bad will happen), or I want a sister to cheer up after a hard day so I buy her ice cream. Those are just a few examples. So I go about the day saying in my head, "I cannot buy anything. I will not buy anything. I have no job, no income, no money to spend. So I just won't do it."

Ha...thaaaaat lasted all of 12 hours. As usual. Because, SURPRISE!! I just spent money. Too much of it.

In my defense, I saved nearly $90 by shopping smart (if any shopping I do right now could be considered smart). BOGO sales, clearance, all that jazz. And I'm actually excited about a lot of the stuff because it's all CUTE. Or at least cute to me.

I still spent too much money. That's what I get for vanity. Nothing but what I deserve.

Resume updating begins tomorrow. Employment is looking pretty good right now. Pretty dang good.

oops...

I thought I'd scheduled posts while I was on vacation, but it appears that I left off at day 87 for the 90 Day Picture Challenge. Oops...I'll get pictures and post them asap. Go figure that I'd get sidetracked again with only three days to go!!

day 75...

a picture of something I don't leave the house without...

It's a rare thing when I don't take my phone with me. Sometimes my sister takes it with her to work (we now have the same employer, and communication is mainly through text messaging. Since she doesn't have a phone and we don't get scheduled at the same time, she uses mine), and I always leave it home when I go to my church meetings, but other than that I generally have my phone. There have been a couple of times when I haven't taken it with me somewhere, and one of those times I missed out on a date with a really, really nice boy (and deleted the number he called me with before realizing he'd gotten a new phone number because his name didn't show up on the missed calls list. Only the number. Grr). I'm still mad at myself for that one...anyone want to mention to him that I would totally be up for going out with him? Anyone? ;)

Having a phone has been kind of a safety device for me. I like being able to get in touch with friends or family quickly, and it has come in handy several times during sticky (or awkward...also sticky) situations. It's also very helpful for work and for choir, both of which rely on text messaging for the most part to communicate. So yes. Phone home or phone cell, talk to me. It's on 24/7. :)

"Call me, beep me, if you want to reach me!!"

sidetracked...

I got a little behind on the 90 days challenge thing, so I'm just going to pick it up here and start today at day 68 (I think it's 68...). Sorry about that! There's been a lot going on in the health area of life. All of the other areas of life, too, but the health area is causing some rough patches of trail. Shoulder to the wheel!

and then it went to pot...

I worked the evening shift today. One of the girls texted me and asked if I would cover for her. I didn’t want to…I wasn’t feeling well and just wanted to stay in bed. Buuuuuuut, I figured it would be good to get out of the house, and heaven knows I can use the money. After about two hours, though, I decided that it would have been a very, very good day to just stay in bed. I was just so freakin' clumsy.

First, I dropped an open cooler on the grass and tried to catch it, succeeding only in having the lid slam down on my hand. Which is now bruised. EW. And ouch.

Second, I poured strawberry flavoring into the tiger's blood container, realized my mistake, and tried to pour the liquid back into the right bottle. While trying to do that, I lost my balance and spilled the red juice all over my left hand and arm. That hand is currently dyed pink.

Third, I sprayed myself in the face with a jet of shaved ice because I didn't raise the cup up fast enough. That was in front of a cute guy who was talking to me and asking me questions and stuff and I totally iced my face.

Fourth…I don’t know how it happened but the mango and orange-pineapple flavors went AWOL right at the same time and just like, jumped off of the shelf. Juice everywhere, including on me.

Fifth, while I was refilling the cherry flavor, the flavor mix bubbled up and sprayed all over my pants.

Sixth, I tripped on a cooler and went flying into the cash register, pushing the "total" button and making the receipt spit out like crazy.

Seventh, I smacked the back of my head on the ice chest out back while pulling out another cooler full of ice. Then the lid of the ice chest slammed shut on my back, and I lost my grip on the cooler and dropped it. As it fell, it took half of me with it. I’m sure that the people sitting at the table eating their snow cones enjoyed my impromptu slapstick routine. It probably would have been better if I’d had two more days to rehearse.

By the end of the shift I was freaking embarrassed and wondering what was wrong with me. I just felt sick and disoriented and tired and dizzy, and then everything attacked me.

I must have magic powers or something. I destroy things just by looking at them. And yes. All of this really did happen. Truth is stranger than fiction, friends. I would know. I live truth. My life, no matter what I want, will never be fictional. Which is sad. I really could use an editor to fix my mistakes before they're published for the world (or at least my friends and family) to see.

Anyway. It was definitely an interesting shift. Makes me sooooo excited for Monday.

another second chance...

Soooo...I kind of sort of just maybe might have broken my agreement with Brianna and Shelby to ignore Aries. But how could I possibly ignore him when he left flowers on my doorstep with an apology and then contacted me to, again, apologize? That'd be unkind.

I was on choir non-tour (meaning we stayed within an hour of the Institute building at all times) all last week, and it was a blast. Friday we went to Salt Lake to go to the temple, do service projects, and spend some time relaxing on the grounds of the temple. It. Is. Gorgeous. I'd have a hard time imagining a place so beautiful. I don't think I've been there in the spring since I was little. I would have remembered.

As I was sitting with some friends looking at the flowers, I got a call from my mom. She told me that there was a bouquet of a dozen roses on the porch for me, with a note simply saying, "I'm Sorry." It wasn't signed, but I could only think of one person who would find it necessary to apologize to me for something.

Mom asked me what I wanted her to do with the flowers. Conversation as follows:

Me: "Well, are they pretty?"
Mom: "Yes. They're really beautiful, actually."
Me: "Okay then. Keep them."
Mom: "Really?"
Me: "Yes. I don't care who they're from if they're pretty. I love flowers. So keep 'em."

That made mom laugh really hard. I told some of my friends about the flowers and who I guessed they were from. I got several different reactions. Shelby was indifferent and told me to just let it go. Brad was disgusted. Brady was cautious and told me to be cautious. Teddy and Emilyann were jealous because someone sent me flowers. Lauren asked why they were sent and went from jealous to suspicious of the intention behind the gift.

I'll be honest. I'm suspicious, too. Is this just another form of manipulation? Or is he sincere? I mean, look at it:

1. He spent money on me.
2. He thought of it in the first place.
3. He took the time to go get the flowers.
4. He braved my parents to drop them off at my house. And my sisters.
5. He actually wrote the words "I'm Sorry."

So is all of this meant to guilt trip me? Because it's been starting to work. Or is this a sincere attempt to fix things? Because I don't know if it can be fixed. I don't want to burn any bridges. I'd prefer to think of it as building a gate with a sturdy lock, and the two of us can talk across the fence. However, he knows me so well. It'd be easy for him to find a way over the gate when I wasn't paying close enough attention.

I'm probably an idiot for doing this, but I agreed to talk to him. He asked me if I would. It didn't feel wrong to say yes. And if it is, then I guess I'll just learn something from whatever happens.

You know something? I find it odd that the first day Aries contacted me was the day that Brianna left on her mission to Nauvoo. Brianna has been the one most against this whole thing. Now she's gone. I kind of feel like I'm going behind her back. I'm not. I was just stupid and read the text message before I even remembered that I'd promised not to. As I pressed send I remembered, and my first thought was that I am going to be in serious trouble when she gets home.

did i mention i don't sew?

Other than the clothing class I took in 8th grade and the minimal running stitch practice I did while volunteering at a living history museum, I don't sew. I just don't know how. I've tried to learn and been thoroughly frustrated or messed up enough that it's more cost effective to go buy a costume.

Well...now I "sew". Or I at least do the steps it takes to have someone help me sew. I now know how to:

• read a pattern for yardage, measurements/sizes, etc.
• find a pattern
• find fabric that will work with pattern
• tell the different between an invisible zipper and an all-purpose zipper
• tell the different between a 20 in. zipper and a 7 in. zipper (stupid)
• figure out what interfacing is
• choose patterns to fit body shape/type
• read pattern directions
• cut out pattern pieces
• iron out pattern pieces on a temperature where the paper just flattens and doesn't burn
• mark fabric
• pin patterns
• cut out fabric with pattern pieces laid out WITH the grain

Sounds stupid and simple, but not so. There's been a lot of frustration and a lot (and I mean a LOT) of tears. No joke. But I now have one costume cut out (pattern and fabric) and the second costume pattern cut out. The first has gone to a neighbor's home to be put together (because my new found "skills" end there-I can't figure that out in two days. I can't even thread a bobbin) and the other one will be cut out tomorrow and taken to my Nana's house who is going to help me sew it together.

The costumes are for "Seasons of Love". One is for "Grease" (blue skirt), and the other is for "West Side Story"/pre-show character (purple dress). I'm scared I've screwed them both up, but hopefully I didn't.

In short, I don't sew. BUT now I do the other stuff. Woot. :P

catching up...

Thursday, August 20
School sucks. The end.

Friday, August 21
See my 20 ?s post if you want to. I missed third period today (Concert Choir/beginning choir) to go to a funeral. A friend of mine lost her father in a car accident; he was killed after a trailer fish tailed and flipped the car over. Pray for her? Thanks.

No rehearsal tonight. School dance! Read about it in an earlier post.

Saturday, August 22
Will Rehearsal of Doom NEVER END?!?!?!? It did, finally, after waiting around from 9:00 until 3:30 to actually be onstage, and then having to wait for mom until almost 7:00 so she could work on filming with Misty. Ugh. Tech sucks. At least it's over.

Sunday, August 23
Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication today. My family and I went to the second session. I really liked what the speakers talked about (temple work, dedication, sacrifice, love for others). The choir was okay, except for one flat tenor. Or was it a bass? I can't remember. I just remember that I felt really special and happy during the meeting.

Monday, August 24
My first day in Mr. Jackman's Health Science class for real. We didn't do much-he doesn't even let us take notes because he says "This is too boring to write down, so don't. I'll just tell you if it's important, and if I forget to tell you and it's on the test then you all get 100%." He's awesome.

First dress rehearsal, and first ever Monday rehearsal. Hannah did my make-up for me tonight; I don't have a clue as to how to do regular make-up, let alone stage make-up. When I was just learning this art, I was in CATS at PCT (same place I'm doing WoOz). I tell you what, it's way harder to learn how to do little details and small strokes when you're used to putting a glob of brown on a two inch sponge and covering your whole face with it.

My costumes are working! Yay! Now let's hope my tap shoes don't squish my toes off.

Tuesday, August 25
My first day in Concert Choir. Mrs. Mathews asked me to stand up in front of the class and sing a warm-up by myself. Awkward. I was terrified, but ended up being given a standing ovation by my classmates. The sopranos (Sops) have dubbed me section leader. So no pressure, right? :/

I spent my free fourth period talking to Riley about everything from ridiculously large English textbooks to Avatar. It was pretty much amazing. Right after school I went to audition for Guys and Dolls and totally flubbed it. Seriously, my voice cracked twice during my song, and I forgot some of my lines from my monologue. Improvisation is not something I do every day, so I was just blargh. Pretty much ruined the rest of the day. Yes, I know, that's emotionally unintelligent, but ya know what? Deal with it.

I hate working. I had to drive out to rehearsal tonight because I worked until 6:00. I think I don't like it mostly because it takes time away from the things I really want to do (like study and perform and take dance lessons) and my uniform shirt is too small (I won't get a free one until October). I'll stop complaining now.

Rehearsal was fine. I did my own make-up and did well on the dance steps. Wait until opening night. I'll probably totally screw up. Oh, speaking of rehearsals. I'm sort of making a new friend with Zach, Brenden/Scarecrow's little brother. Well, not little little. 10 months younger than me. He's super nice. And cute.

Wednesday, August 26
Watched a rather grotesque film in Health Science about Phineas Gage, a man who had a tamping rod shot through his brain, disconnecting the cerebral cortex from the reptilian brain (or limbic system), and survived. In 1884. WtFreak, right?

Today the dance/movement auditions for Guys and Dolls were after school. I had an awesome time! Sarah, my Algebra 2 buddy, said that I was the only one who looked like I was having tons of fun. Well, I was. It was the first dance audition that I've had where I didn't totally screw up. It was a total blast! I kind of hope I get cast as just a dancer; the choreographer is really talented and super nice.

Final Dress rehearsal, with audience. It was fantastic; they loved it! We performed for the senior citizens. Nana, or my grandma (who thinks she's all that and has total control and blah, blah, blah), said that the senior citizens never respond-they don't laugh, they don't clap, they just act like they're dead. Um, hello? Does she not remember that she falls into that same category? That woman is so up in the night sometimes.

I spent some more time with Zach tonight. I help him pull his ginormous tree costume on when he goes onstage during the Tin Man scene. All of the apples keep falling off. I have to go around chasing them so I can stick them back onto the fabric. He finds it funny. So do I.

Thursday, August 27-OPENING NIGHT!!!
Started my college classes today. I was late for Communications 1050, and the other kids in my class (19, yay, I'm not alone!) told me that the teacher had called my name and said that she knew me, then wanted to talk to me over the microphones. When they said I wasn't there, she (Janet) asked them to tell me she'd said hello and to get on the mic when I showed up. I declined the invitation to say hello. Rude of me perhaps, but that is so weird. I have never met her in my life!

Meteorology 1010 is going to be a pain. For starters, the textbook costs $120.90. OUCH.

Didn't make call-backs.

Opening Night was great! All of the tech (which was a disaster and the people on the crew are mostly rude-cough, flight manager) pulled together, and the audience was great. They loved it! Problems on my part-I kind of forgot to pull my J-bug mask on before I went onstage. I didn't even notice until after I got offstage to prepare for my second entrance. Oops. Other than that I did well, I think. Yay!

Zach and I talked a lot tonight. He's really a nice guy. We now have an inside joke, which we repeat to one another every night. "Break a nose." Haha. Don't ask.

Friday, August 28
I slept through first and second period today, so I missed Seminary and Health Science. I guess I was super tired, because I heard my alarm clock go off and had this conversation with myself- "Georgie, you've got get up. But I can't get up! But I have to; I've got school and stuff! I just can't. I just can't. I can't, I can't, I...*zzzzz*". For reals. It was a conscious conversation, where I lost to sleep. So, dad wrote me a note so I could check in to Algebra 2, which I did. Then I spent my free fourth period making up Health Science, because Jackman teaches it during second and fourth periods on A days and B days. Convenient.

Second performance night! Screwed up again during "Jitterbug" but not as badly. I just crashed into Kensey/Dorothy when Misty/Toto ran in the opposite direction from me. I gotta get that dog offstage! Sorry if I run you over! Zach stood in the wings watching, which was sort of nerve wracking because I found myself wanting to impress him, and ended up not doing so great. Trying too hard I guess. He still told me that I did a great job. Then I remembered that he's never watched it any other time. *phew* Close one.

I didn't see anyone that I knew in the audience. *sigh* I hope some of my friends can come.

Zach and I are having way too much fun together. From skipping like Dorothy and Scarecrow down the halls to breaking noses, we keep laughing and talking about everything. Except ourselves. I actually don't mind that one bit. It's great to not have to explain yourself to someone; things just pop up out of nowhere and you don't have to worry about being judged. I love that about Zach.

Saturday, August 29
Slept until 12:30, which was so amazing. Then I didn't really do anything, until mom and I had a huge fight about me before rehearsal. We won't go into details; I'd have to admit defeat. Which I kind of just did.

Zach and I hung out almost the whole night. I'd get up to go somewhere and he'd follow me. I didn't mind one bit. Emma, Carisa, Belen, and Jaz say I'm in love. Not in love, but definitely twitterpated. It was interesting, because during intermission I went out on the balcony. He followed along, and suddenly we were talking about his role as Tony in West Side Story last year in school. Suddenly he wasn't funny, happy-go-lucky Zach. He was somber and his eyes were full of pain. Zach told me about someone who meant a lot to him last year, the girl who played Maria. It ended badly. The look in his eyes scared me. He looked so heartbroken and alone. That's when I decided that he will never have such pain in his eyes because of me. Friends, and nothing more. I will never hurt him like that.

Major, major, major screw up tonight, involving a missing costume. I wasn't able to do "Jitterbug" because my leotard was gone. I spent ten frantic minutes looking for it, trying to contact my dad in the audience through text message because he had BOTH sets of keys to the van and failing. I cried. Hard. The worst part was that Zach came looking for me to see if I was okay. I didn't want him to see me crying. I hid in the dressing room. He finally found me after the show was over. He gave me a hug and asked me if I wanted to go get ice cream with him and his friends. I said no, because I had to go home with my family (we live half an hour away from Payson). Then he kissed his fingers and placed his hand on my cheek. Remember my promise that we're just friends? Boy, I almost broke that one fast.

My friend from my Ceramics class last year came! Zoe, who is a fantastic performer, said that she had tons of fun and it was super good. I'm so glad she came. I love Zoe!

Sunday, August 30
Spent the day sleeping, uploading pictures, and reading. Now I'm going back to bed. Oh, but I wanted to share this. Don't laugh. It's just silliness.

The Curtain's Up
Every time I’m with you is like
preparing to go onstage.
Knees begin to shake;
heart begins to drum;
stomach full of frantic,
fluttering butterflies.

Anticipation.
Exhilaration.

And sometimes, even dread.

Take a deep, steadying breath
and clasp my hands tightly
behind my back.
Try to keep them from reaching up
to my hair, or in some cases,
yours.

The music starts,
the lights go up.
Curtains open onto
figures in bright colors,
busy going about their
memorized lives, oblivious

to me and you.

And you, oblivious,
to me.

stupid...

I am. 'Cause I didn't realize that all college teachers are different and make up their own rules. My Health professor decided that his class would end five days before the end of the semester, so all of the quizzes, tests, and assignments were due last night. Meaning I pretty much failed the class.

Now that you're all worried-ha. Yes, the stuff is all due, but I wrote him an email asking for the criteria to get an "I" in the course, and he responded saying "I don't give 'I's, so just finish the tests and quizzes and take the final." Score! Thank you, mom, for telling me to email him. I'll still probably end up with a B at the most, if I get 150/200 on the final. I'm so stupid.

Do any of you find me annoying? Or rude? Or something else like that? Let me know so I can fix it.

My family and I (excluding dad-he's on another business trip) drove up Provo Canyon today to go on a "picinica". I used to say that when I was little, and now my mom uses it. We had a lovely chicken and grape pasta salad, and I messed around with my camera. Misty had fun lying in the grass. She has exploded, seriously. I can't figure it out, but she's taller, longer, and just bigger. It's so weird. We all thought she'd stopped growing. Now this little white monster dog is running around the house, tripping on her spindly legs. While we were eating she sprawled and turned her nose up at her own dinner. Word to the wise-never feed a Maltese, even a half Maltese, people food because she will never eat her own again.

There were a lot of family groups at the canyon park. Each was at least three generations-grandparents, parents, and children. Two of these families collided when a small girl hurled a large flying disc with all of her might, and it landed in the other family's fire pit. The grandma of the second family let out an "uh-WHA!" and began kicking the disc to get it out of the flames. The small girl began to cry, and was given a few Starbursts from the grandma and the teenage boy of the second family. I tried not to laugh for the little girl's sake, but it was funny.

The only problem with the campfires is that now I smell like woodsmoke. It takes so long for me to get it out of my hair. Like from Girl's Camp-THREE DAYS!!! AND I washed it three times each of those days. NINE times before my hair was back to normal. That's the trouble with some good things. It's good while it's happening, but sometimes the lingering effects are a little bit annoying. Break out the shampoo, people!

Dessert was from Macey's-individual pints of ice cream. Yes, I can eat one in a single sitting, and yes, I know I shouldn't. At least it wasn't a quart, right? All in all it was a fun evening. Now I just have to finish five more chapters for this Health class. I'm so stupid! Perhaps I'll learn something from this, like make a schedule so I know when stuff is due. That might be a good idea.

Maybe I can learn how not to be stupid. Is there a "How Not To Be Stupid for Dummies" out there yet? Someone write it so I can have it on my bedside table. It would probably get more use than any book I've ever read.

singin' at the bbq...

My sisters and I were asked to sing at my across the street neighbors' summer barbecue a couple of weeks ago, and today was the day of our performance. Ugh. My voice totally cracked on the "encore" of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (they asked us to sing it a second time). Ah, well.

Despite my sisters protests, I wore my red dress and black heels to perform in. I cannot, cannot perform in jeans. I don't know why, but I just feel so sloppy and out of character. I guess I hide behind the clothes I'm wearing. If the audience sees a pretty dress, maybe they'll forget the person inside of it. I did "dress it down" to match the backyard barbecue feel by throwing on a denim jacket over the top, but I did end up wearing a black headband with white rhinestones and pearl with rhinestone accent earrings. Told you I perform dressed up. :)

Mom had me sing first. I performed "Honey Bun" from South Pacific. I think it went all right. It wasn't horrible like I expected it to be, but I don't know. Amanda went next with "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady. She did a very good job. Meghan made everyone cry, especially the men, with her song "On My Own" from Les Miserables. After we sang as a trio "My Favorite Things" with me on the first verse, Amanda on the second, Meghan on the third, and harmony on the ending chorus.

Food was good, singing is over, and our neighbor gave us a box of chocolates. Loverly. :) The one sad thing was that Misty had to stay home. She always gets sad when we leave her behind. See? She sits on the couch and looks out the window after us, unless she's really depressed and pouting. Then she stands at the door with her tail between her legs and hangs her head. Sadness.

AWkward...

I have a second confession. When I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yesterday, I was one of the girls who gasped out loud when Taylor Lautner (Jacob Black) was shown shirtless during the trailer for New Moon.

I'm actually really embarrassed by that. I try to not base my like of people by what they look like physically. Alas, I could not help it. My emotional, mental, and even physical reaction was pathetically girly, immature, and pointless. And even sadder-I am so going to go see the movie when it comes out in November.

Good thing I wasn't on a date, right?