Phenominal Cosmic Powers, Itty Bitty Living Space

Want to hear something weird? I'm living in an apartment. At college. I have my own dishes and a whole case of Spaghettios. No one makes me food. (Well, except for tonight because my cousin Jaci invited me over for dinner, but you know what I mean.) I live in a tiny space with five other girls and only one bathroom. So far only four out of the six of us are here, but pretty soon it will be a full house.

I want to go back to kindergarten.

Okay, that makes it sound like I'm not enjoying myself at all when really I am. My roommates that are here already are all way nice and seem like very good girls. I still haven't met the other two (including the one I share a room with), but I'm sure it will all work out. Taryn, Erika, and Lindsay are the ones who are here and Brooklin and Christine are arriving later this week.

Moving in was kind of fun, actually. I liked being able to start from scratch and organize all my stuff. I got everything put away within a couple hours, and my OCD got the best of me tonight when I finally broke down and put away everyone else's kitchen stuff that they had piled on the already too small countertop. Both my parents and my two younger brothers came with me to help move all my stuff in and send me off. Dad and the boys carried all of my stuff up the two flights of stairs for me. My mom and I went grocery shopping and came back well stocked before we all went out to lunch. Then the brought me back and left me. That was weird, tell you what. I didn't really know what to do with myself all day. I kind of just sat a lot or found things to do on my computer while the other girls moved their stuff in. Today was a lot better though because we had church (that was an experience, tell you what) to add a little more structure. All four of us sat and talked for a long time tonight and I think that we're going to get along just great.

Maybe college won't be too bad, and it might be kind of fun to be "grown up"... but I'm definitely not throwing out my Disney Princesses Dreams Come True Forever coloring book.

Identity Theft

I saw this advertised in this month's Family Fun magazine and I almost cried. I guess the first movie didn't do enough injustice. This is what disneysociety.com says about it:

"In Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Tinker Bell’s greatest adventure yet takes place in Autumn, as the fairies are on the mainland changing the colors of the leaves, tending to pumpkin patches, and helping geese fly south for the winter. The rare Blue Moon will rise, and when its light passes through the magical Fall Scepter that Tinker Bell has been summoned to create, Pixie Hollow’s supply of pixie dust will be restored. But when Tinker Bell accidentally puts all of Pixie Hollow in jeopardy, she must venture out across the sea on a secret quest to set things right."

I'm sorry, Disney, but Tinkerbell does not make "magical sceptors" to change the color of the leaves. Nor does she fly in a hot air balloon. And she may be sassy, but she's not a skank. Put some clothes on her. Give her some credit (and some dignity). AND... since when does Tinkerbell live in "Pixie Hollow"? What happened to Neverland?

And as if that's not bad enough... Disney has already set out on making the third and fourth Tinkerbell movies, and have announced that they will be followed by a fifth (to be called Tinkerbell: Race Through the Seasons. Seriously? Can't come up with anything other than the four seasons to base your movies off of? Isn't that what the first two are about?). I'm just glad J.M. Barrie isn't around to see this. What a disgrace. Sorry, Tink. I think you deserve a lot more credit than that.

Closed for Repairs

Today I was reminded of the reason we have families.

It's a well-known saying that friends come and go. In my life, that seems to be an understatement. For some reason, I have never had a "best friend." Don't get me wrong, I've had plenty of friends that I've been really close to. In fact, I can't count the number of times I've considered someone to be my best friend, but the feeling never seems to be mutual. After a while they find someone new and decide they don't need me anymore, regardless of whether or not I still need them. So today as I was thinking of an old "best friend" and sincerely missing her company, I came to the realization that that is why God gave us families; because not everybody can have a best friend at all times. It was a reaffirmation of something I already knew, but something I needed to rediscover. Friends may come and go, but my family will always be there. Even when we're in different parts of the state or the world, my family is an anchor that never floats away.

I read a great piece of advice in a magazine article just a little while ago. It said, "Never burn bridges. Just close them down for repairs for a while." I love that thought. I am still very grateful for and love all the friends I've had in my life who have helped to shape me into who I am, even if they have gone a different way for now. I hope that our paths can cross again someday. As for the friend I was thinking about today, I just wish that the construction on our bridge can be over soon, because I don't want to watch anything burn. I love you.

"And all the things that break you,

Are the things that make you strong!

You can't change the past,

Cause it's gone.

And you just gotta move on,

Because it's all

Lessons learned."

-Carrie Underwood (Lessons Learned)

East Coast and Just Up North

Okay, so I realize that I lied about the whole writing what I did on my trip thing, but I promise it was unintentional. I actually started writing it all out about a week after I got back, but I never really got around to finishing it. I think it would just feel out of place if I did it now, as it has now been over three weeks since I got home. I will, however, tell you that I absolutely loved the little vacation. It was way fun to be able to spend some time with my sister, and Washington, DC was a total blast! We didn't do everything, but we crammed as many monuments, museums, and memorials into four days as we could without going insane, while still managing to get in one day at Six Flags. One of my favorites (yes, I'm a nerd) was definitely the Folger Shakespeare Library. So cool. Even my sister, whose expansive knowledge of Shakespeare consists of sitting through one performance of Macbeth when I was in it, enjoyed the tour of the library. The Shakespeare Library (bless you, Sir William) wasn't the only thing I liked though. I was actually surprised at how much I loved seeing all the monuments, museums, and government buildings when I have very little knowledge of American history or government. (Sorry, Mr. Hansen, but you were a horrible civics teacher.) I found it all very fascinating, and as cliche as it sounds, it made me feel proud to be a part of this country. And, not going to lie, I loved how many black people there were. Especially outside of the city where my sister lives. So cool.

I guess DC was kind of my "senior trip" since my trip to Guatemala got canceled due to the collapsing economy, drug wars, swine flu, and the giant earthquake. I did still get to go to Bear Lake a week-and-a-half ago though. Bear Lake, a.k.a. my happy place, is the one yearly event that is looked forward to by my whole extended family even more than Christmas. Nothing can beat a week at the lake with all my cousins just boating, swimming, jet-skiing, and playing on the beach all day and then coming back to eat, play games, and watch movies well into the night. So blissful. i haven't missed a year of Bear Lake my whole entire life. One day when I'm rich I'm going to build a huge cabin on the beach and just spend all summer there. Mmmm...

So, I guess what I'm saying is that even though I haven't really done much except work all summer and play with my little sisters, at least I've been able to go a couple places. The first trip found me in a part of the country that I'd never seen before, and the second reminded me of how lucky I am to have such an amazing family. All in all, not a bad summer.