We're on our way, dear friends!

Choir Tour 2010!

{Get stoked!}

{I am going to be so tired tomorrow.}

{I'm pretty sure I've over-packed.}

{I can't wait to spend lots of time with my loves!}

{Farewell until July 2nd!}

I'm leaving

for Beach Week today!!!

{Thus, I will be on a temporary hiatus.}

{Farewell, my loves!}

{p.s.- Pray for my sanity. I may or may not need it.}

Peanut butter.

Ready?! Okay! So, I woke up this morning around 10:30 AM. I tore up my entire room in search of this bathing suit that I knew I had seen less than a week ago. I cannot find it anywhere, so I end up finding an old bathing suit of my sister's, throwing it on, scarfing down some frosted mini wheats, and then I headed to church to meet up with Annemarie. There was a slight delay in our plans, so we went to Stony point and took a stroll through Anthropologie. I really wish that either a) I was really rich, or b) their merchandise wasn't so expensive. Anyways, after that we spent the day at the pool with Gabe! The pool that Gabe goes to is soooo legit! It's called Midlothian Athletic Club, and I want to be a member! Annemarie said it best in that she described it as looking like a kids play pool at a water park. We slid, we waded, we tanned, we snacked, we discussed life; it was good :) Gabe had to cut out around 4, and Annemarie and I left about 20 minutes later so that we could get to choir rehearsal. I do love cookout social hours with friends. They make me happy :) I was convinced to take a trip down the slip-n-slide. The first round was fine, but I landed on my left iliac crest {my hip} the second time. That area is now swollen with a nice red and green trim, haha; it's whatevskies. After a period of actually singing, a group of us went to Sweet Frog! Yes, I was there yesterday; don't judge! Some of us  ventured over to Dick's for a bit before coming back. After taking Heather and Colin back to their cars and taking my mom to get her car from the shop, I headed back up to WEAG for some chill time. Heather, Kathryn, Elsbeth, Colin, and myself hit up 7-Eleven before coming back to the church for a nice little parking lot chat. Like I've stated several times before, parking lot conversations are my favorite. We just sat in a circle and talked. I even laughed myself into tears; so great. We all peaced out around 11:30 though; which was actually good for me. Why? Well, I hadn't packed anything for beach week, and we leave tomorrow. I have most of it together now.... Ugh, I am such an over-packer! It's not even funny, really. But anyways, I'm going to get some sleep. I have dance rehearsal in less than eight hours!
I love you all!

He would have been five years older...

Okay, so today was a "running on 5 hours of sleep" kind of day, but that didn't really hit me until just now; just a little disclaimer before I begin my rant... okay! So, I went to the river today with the lovely and beautiful Lindsay Dunnavant :) We almost drove to two completely different locations (which would have been awful), but luckily we were saved via texting conversation, haha. I had such a great time. We caught some rays, enjoyed the water, and talked on and on about our secret love for Buffy and old Disney channel shows/movies. You know Lindsay, you and I have a lot more in common that I had originally thought :) And even though we were being creeped on by this sketchy guy with a camera, we were still able to enjoy ourselves. There was this duck that just swam aimlessly around our area; not seeming to care that there were people everywhere. I thought he was cute:

After leaving the river around 1:45, we drove over to Starbucks to quench our thirst. Me being the absent-minded person that I am left my wallet in my car (so dumb), so we didn't stay there long before going back to church so that I could get my car and get some lunch. Lindsay and I continued our rendez-vous at Panera. We continued discussing life's little encounters; as well as our tendencies in handling conflicts. Our conversations are never really awkward. I love that. And I tried to pay Lindsay back for the tea she had bought me at Starbucks. She tried to be sneaky and shove it back into my purse, but of course that was not acceptable. For those of you who aren't aware, haha, I always win ;) Thus, even though I had to run and stick the money under her windshield wiper blade on her car, Lindsay finally took my money. Perhaps it wasn't willingly, and she may or may not have been "angry," but it's all good :) From Panera, I quickly made my way over to Brookland Middle School to judge their cheerleading tryouts. I am such a Simon Cowell when it comes to judging. Let me put it to you this way: 38 girls tried out, and I only put 8 on my "yes" list. The rest were under the "maybe" or "no" column. Maybe I'm a tad harsh, but never fret. My sister ended up putting 18 girls on the squad, and I know they're going to be excited. After leaving the school, I went back to my sister's house with her and Tammy (her roommate). We watched some Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Kourtney and Khloe take Miami. That, my friends, was some intense stuff. After a while of that, we decided to have dinner at Chick-fil-a; yummm! Then I made a pit stop by my house, had Candice braid my hair, and then I met up with a group of amazing friends at Sweet Frog.

{As much as I go to Sweet Frog, I could really serve as a means of advertisement for these people.}

{I have way to much fun with the "face mosaic" option on my camera, haha. Alex looks like a pedofile.}

Once we left there, we hung out at Elizabeth's house. We played a few rounds of Pit (greatest game ever), and eventually I fell asleep like I always do. I was woken up around 12:30, and was sent home; which is a good thing because I keep telling Elizabeth that she needs to kick me out of her house sometimes, haha.

{June 17, 1982}

Today would have been my older brother's 28th birthday. I took some time to just try and grasp that concept. Matt would have been just two years shy of 30, and he only got to see the age of 23. Where would he have been right now? Would he and Katie have gotten married? Would the child that she now has have been his? I guess it's just strange for me. I really just wish that things could be the way they used to be in terms of celebration. We would all go out to eat at Famous Dave's. Matt would order a Long Island Iced Tea, and the two of us would place a penny bet on which of us could finish our ice cream the fastest. And I can't do that anymore. We can't do that anymore... But you know, I'm aware that he's in a better place now. Perhaps he was celebrating with Jesus; I could only hope. I love and miss you, Matt. You were taken from this world too soon, and there are days like today when I really wish I could just hug you; maybe even talk to you about what's on my mind. I know I can still talk to you, but it would only be a one-way conversation. The sound of your voice is becoming more vague, but I still remember clear as day the way your voice would completely jump in pitch whenever you would see me and bellow out my name. I miss that; more than you will ever know. Happy birthday big brother. You are forever in my heart.

Shopping dates and television flashbacks.

10:45 AM welcomed the lovely sound of the Veronica's to wake me from my slumber. After getting myself presentable and working a bit on driving school homework, I headed to Stony Point for lunch with Elsbeth and Heather :) We ate at Chipotle, and it was delicious. After dining and discussing the history of our friendships, we decided to take a stroll through Anthropologie; so many cute things! We were in there for almost an hour. We tried on the glasses, browsed the knobs, smelled various soaps/fragrances/candles, and tried on a few garments. I ended up buying Wuthering Heights and a pair of cute flowy shorts (which took some convincing/peer pressure from Heather and Elsbeth, haha).

{edited on my camera}

{I was creepin...}

{oh the knobs....}

{now you see her...}

{now you don't! haha, loving my camera right now}

After leaving Anthro, we stopped by Sur La Table and Papyrus. We ran into quite a few of our WEAG friends over the course of this trip; such as Shane, Nikki, Jackie, and Colin (to name a few). After our departure from the mall, I headed home to finish up my driving school homework. An old family friend dropped by to give me a graduation gift; which was completely unexpected. I do miss JD. She's such a lovely person. Around 5:45, my mom and I headed out to Hanover for my last driving school session. I passed the test and went on my merry way; praise Jesus! When I got home, I hopped into my car to go on a Starbucks date with Kelly :) We talked in the parking lot for about an hour before heading back to her house; where we drank tea and watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer until 2:30 in the morning. We would have watched longer, but her DVD player ate my disk, haha. But anyways, I think it would be best if I got some sleep. It's nearly 4 AM, and I have plans for today. Goodnight all! Much love!

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

Not everyone can have eyes that pierce;
drilling through your synthetic barricade.

Glance away if you wish.

You can't see them.
But they can still see you.
Insecurities exposed;
visibly inhibiting.
Cowering beneath a stare
of irises intending no harm;
yet possessing intimidation.
What have you to fear?
Just because it remains unspoken,
doesn't conclude that it goes unnoticed.
You are glass;
transparent and fragile.
Glare long enough,
and this core you've secluded to shall shatter.

Graduation day!

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." {Maya Angelou}

 

And now, for my favorite :) This is Candice and I at my graduation today:

And this was us just last year at her college graduation from Longwood:

Craziness :)

{I still can't believe it's all over...}

You know, I keep hearing that this is a time of new beginnings; only the start of my life. But I haven't felt any sort of catastrophic shift; no epiphanies or revelations. Perhaps that all takes time; time that I cannot control. I find myself being slightly afraid for myself. There was no great anticipation for graduation; nor an incredible sense of elation once it was all over. It's as if I am numb; numb to everything. It's odd, but I've been noticing that about myself lately. Things don't really affect me; or at least not my emotions; not in the same capacity that it used to. It's almost as if I'm having difficulty feeling. Maybe that sounds strange, but I'm considering the possibility in my mind. Could this potentially be a hint from God? Could it be that I've been relying to heavily on my emotions to help "solidify" my faith in Him? Maybe I have been and maybe that's why my emotions have been dulled. Call me crazy if you so choose, but I'm not sure I could compose another theory right now. I am thoroughly and utterly exhausted. Goodnight all, I love you very dearly :)

p.s.- I am excited about my graduation, just not as much as I thought I would be.

I also want to pose this question to you:

Do you think a wish and a prayer can be synonymous?

What is a casserole?

Today was busy, yet fun! I woke up early (well, early for me) to get all of my visa stuff straight for Brazil. I got my pictures takes, filled out all the paperwork, goth the money order, got the envelopes and stamps, and sent it on its way. Done and done! I finished that by about 11:15. Then, I came home for a spell to eat some cereal before making a trip to CVS for some sunscreen. "Why the need for sunscreen?" you may wonder. Well, at approximately noon, I met the lovely Nikki Medas at my pool for some hangout/tanning time :) Haha, we may or may not have had to run by my house to get her towel... no big ;) {Sorry Nikki, I had to! Haha!} After about two hours of laying out and a brief swim, we dined at the always incredible Chick-fil-a. It was yummy. We were satisfied. After that, we went our separate ways and I came back to the house for a bit. I changed and dawdled on the computer for a while before going up to Brookland to check out the girls trying out for cheering. (I'm helping judge the tryouts on Thursday.) That was pretty interesting, but anyways. I then had to go pick up dinner, scarf it down, deliver graduation tickets to my dad's house, and then race over to Bible study; which ended up just being a chill night. Even though I was ready for some good quality discussion, I enjoyed being able to just relax and converse with my friends. I even made some more plans for the week; love that! It was here that the question was posed, "What is a casserole?" And what we meant was this: What is the dictionary definition, the denotation, of a casserole? Well, my friends, casserole isn't the food, but rather the baking dish in which you have placed said "casserole." Shocking, I know. Oh the things out minds will ponder... Anyways (!), I left Scoob's and worked my way over to Kelly's to not only return the things she left in my trunk (umbrella, blankets, food trays, baseball bat... don't even worry about it), but also to get a copy of this lovely photo strip she, Heather, and I got while we were on the pier at Virginia Beach. I do love it; an awful lot in fact :) But yes, I ended up going with Kelly to help her with dog-sitting duties, and we ended up having a tea-and-movie night. Can I just say, Hallmark makes the cheesiest movies, haha. But I really enjoyed the one we watched (Love's Enduring Promise), and happy endings are always well received on my end. And now I sit here blogging, tired and in my pj's. In a little over five hours, I shall be waking up and preparing myself for graduation! Eeep! I must depart now, I love you all!

Novella

Greetings my long lost blog world! It's been two whole days since I've blogged, and it feels so weird, so here we go. There is certainly much to catch up on!

Saturday, Kelly and I woke up at 5:50 AM to gather our things and kidnap Heather :) She had no idea we were coming; much less what we had plans. Success! We spent pretty much the entire day on the beach. I worked on my tan while Kells and Heath teetered back and forth between the sand and the surf (by which I mean the water, of course; there was no literal surfing). Around 5, we hit up Outback for dinner. There, we encountered a lovely little dragonfly and practically inhaled our beverages. I suppose the sun is rather dehydrating. Anywho, we followed up our meal with a trip to the photo booth on the pier, some DQ action, and a brief jam sesh via a live band :) Twas lovely; twas lovely indeed! You'd think that would conclude our adventure, but you would be incorrect. From there, we drove down to the residential area of the beach. We laid out a blanket, looked at the stars, pondered life, walked along the water, played around a bit, and sang "Sweet Caroline." The weather was so lovely, and I couldn't have picked two better people to spend this time with :) We stayed on the beach til about 12, and then I had to drive us home. All I'm going to say is this: I should have gotten a Monster, or even a 5 Hour Energy Shot.... Sorry {Heather and Kelly} if I freaked you out; it certainly wasn't my intention... Well, we made it back to my house at about 2 AM, and we crashed in my living room after some showering and Aloe Vera lathering, haha; my poor babes. Here are a few pics (which were stolen from Kelly.... my camera was dumb and I didn't take any):

I do love these two; so, so much!

Sunday morning, Kelly, Heather, and myself piled in Lovely and headed to church. I really liked the sermon. And once again, it was very applicable to my life. (I always love that.) I think Brian is one of my favorite speakers. His thought just always same pretty profound, or they just strike a chord in me. But anyways, I went straight from service to meeting that I had completely forgotten about, and from there I went downstairs to help set up for the art auction. I ended up running an errand for Scoob; going to his house and getting an easel. Okay, I do not know how I was able to do this, but I fit like a four foot (or taller) easel in my sister's little Saturn. I don't know, I just though that whole process was rather interesting. Once I delivered that to the church, I decided it might be a good idea to get some food. So, I quickly went to BK before coming back to WEAG. I did love the art auction. I bid on three pieces; done by Heather, Elsbeth, and Luke Kozusko. The bidding on Elsbeth's was a bit of a battle between Gabe and I, so I decided to let her win, haha. Alex Morgan out-bid my on Luke's, but that's alright. I did, however, get Heather's piece! That made me really happy :) I know exactly where it's going in my dorm room next year, haha. But yes, from there, I ventured to my father's house for a graduation celebration dinner that I knew nothing about; not until I saw my grandparents' cars in the driveway. My dad made steaks, and for dessert there was Carvel ice cream cake :) My grandma and grandpa gave me cash (which was used to help me pay for my Brazil visa), and my father gave me a new digital camera! Thank the Lord! I've had the same camera for the past 5 years... I was way past due! So that was fun :) From there, I made a brief appearance at Julie's graduation party (after going over to her house before finding out that it was actually at Echo Lake park, ugh). Destry pwned me in badminton, and I conversed a bit with Simon. I had to be somewhat productive, so I decided to go home and fill out my visa application before going over to Elizabeth's to hang out. She had my camera for all of 2 minutes, and I now have these lovely shots:

(^^^ Well, I took the last one, but yeah... haha!)

We played Pit, made a McDonald's trip, and watched "How to Catch a Predator." Of course, as is routine for me, I fell asleep on Elizabeth's sofa until 1:10 AM. She was supposed to kick me out at 1.... whatevskies. I got home and was done showering and whatnot around 2, and I made a conscious decision to skip out on the blog for my own health; seeing as how I was only going to be getting about 7 hours of sleep. Ehhh.....

And I'll blog about today's events later! I just wanted to catch you up :) Much love for my loves!

Encompasing all that is epic!

eeeeeeeeeeeeep!

:)

:]

:D

:P

[Don't even worry about it, haha.]

[I'm just a wee bit excited.]

[Like I said, nothing to worry about.]

[eeeep!]

For the moment.

I was an early riser this morning due to graduation practice. It wasn't too long, or too boring. However, I took issue with the fact that juniors and random senior were parked in the Top 10 parking spots! Ugh, they are not supposed to be there. Thus, I (along with many others who are actually in the top ten) had to park all the way out in BFE; which, if you don't know, is practically out in Timbuktu. But anyways, I got done with that around 12. From there I went to Target to get some milk for the fam. (We were out this morning; thus meaning I couldn't eat the bowl of cereal I poured for myself... fail.) I ended up also purchasing a one-piece bathing suit for choir tour (much needed) and some sandals that I can wear to graduation so that I don't twist my ankle in my freakishly tall heels. When I got home, I watched Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader before taking a short little nap. I needed that. Less than six hours of sleep just hasn't been cutting it... But yeah, after I woke up and ate myself some dinner, I took my little sister to Sweet frog for some froyo! Yes, I was there yesterday too... Once again I got my blueberry yogurt drenched in almonds and granola with strawberries on top; yum yum yum! When we were all done there, I took her to Food Lion so she could get chips for a class

party tomorrow. Jenn is just as indecisive as I am, and that's all I'm going to say about that, haha. But now, here I am; blogging incredibly early because I am spending the night at Adelaide's house. Sam is too! It's been so long since we've all hung out together. It's just like old times! I actually met Addie through Sam, so she's pretty much the reason we're friends :) It's been FOREVER since I've had a sleepover at Addie's, so I'm pretty stoked :) And then tomorrow I'm meeting my godfather for lunch at 12:30 :) He's coming to my graduation as of today! My friend Chris gave me an extra ticket; which was incredibly sweet of him. I'm surprised he remembered! I had actually forgotten that I'd asked him for one... haha! Silly me, my brain is so strange and scattered :) And I just wanted to tell you all how much I love you. You are the most amazing group of individuals, and you mean everything to me :) Thank you for being the lovely souls that you are. I'm truly blessed:)

Geneva... Genova... Genovia!

Hello darlings :) Today was quite lovely, and thus I shall begin my rant. I woke up this morning to my mom bringing me breakfast in bed; complete with a cheese omelet, sausage, toast, and strawberries! It was such a pleasant surprise! After I finished eating, I got myself ready for the day and just kind of hung out until 1ish when I met up with Elsbeth :) We ended up having a little Sweet Frog date, and it was delicious! Elsbeth did some experimenting with flavors, and I simply flooded my blueberry froyo with granola, almonds, and strawberries :) Yumm! When I left, I ventured over to Elizabeth's to hang out while she finished a piece for the art auction. We listened to the Spice Girls along with various rap artists; good stuff indeed! I departed around 5 to have dinner with my padre. It was taco night; which is always lovely! I showed him my piece for the auction, and he said, "Jenn did a good job." Ha! After informing him that I was the one who did it, he looked rather impressed/surprised. I got a kick out of that; not gonna lie. Anyways, youth group was awesome as always. I just wish that my brain wasn't so scattered. Ugh, I really need to find a way to fix that. I try so hard to concentrate, but my mind always goes astray. It frustrates me an awful lot. It makes me angry at myself. On another note, Scoob's sermon was totally relevant to me tonight. I love it when that happens! After youth group, an office chat, and El Chaps, I kind of crashed Elsbeth and Kelly's movie night portion of their sleepover, haha. We watched Alice in Wonderland while drinking tea (or in Elbeth's case, soda) and eating little pastry-pie things (the real term escapes me, haha!). 

The movie was alright. Too bad each of us dozed off at one point or another, haha! After the movie, we discussed a cornucopia of random topics that we found hysterically funny only because we desperately need sleep. First of all, no matter what Kelly and Elsbeth may try to convince you, there is no Princess Diaries 3. And, for the record, the country's name is Genovia, haha. (Elsbeth and I can sing their "national anthem;" no big deal.) Secondly, the girl dog in Balto's name in Jenna. (I guessed Jenny, so I was close!) Thirdly, "chicken limbo" was an obnoxious, but fun, childhood toy and memory. I'm surprised there are some who never knew of it's existence! Fourthly, the "white queen" in Alice and Wonderland (a.k.a. Anne Hathaway) does the weirdest arm movements; even if she's just walking. I think I'm going to start imitating them, so prepare yourselves for the awkwardness :) What a lovely way to end my day. I laughed until I cried, I had time to relax, and I was able to spend time with people I love. Oh summer, let life stay this way forever :) Goodnight and farewell my sweet loves :)

Whimsical!

Today, today, today, today.... Unfortunately, I didn't get to sleep in today because I had a scholarship breakfast at Hermtiage at 9 AM. On the plus side, though, the food was yummy! Hooray for free Chick-fil-a, fruit, blueberry pound cake, juice, coffee, ham biscuits, and pastries! I got home around 10 and proceeded to watch Spice Girls music videos and Spice World on youtube for at least an hour, haha. And when I cleaned out my bunny's cage... I listened to their greatest hits CD! Haha, what can I say? The Spice Girls just really make me happy :) During my cleaning/jamming sesh, I got this odd urge to create a piece for the art auction this weekend. So, around 1, I headed on over to Michael's for a canvas. The first thing I did when I got home was tea-stain it, and I ate lunch while it was drying. One round didn't quite do the job though, so I brewed more tea and covered the canvas in it. While it was drying the second time, I went over to visit the lovely Addie Collins; whom I love and adore :) We just hung out in her room and talked about many things; some random, some not. It's been a while since we've done that, and I really liked it :) And (!!!) she gave me the last art piece that was left from the senior showcase! I can't even believe it. I love that piece so much, and it made me elated that she would even consider giving it to me; much less for free. I'm so taking it with me to JMU. Done and done!

Everyday Angels (Adelaide Collins)

When I got back to my house around 5, the canvas was dry and I was able to start sketching. (I used a piece my little sister did as a basis/reference for it.) I wasn't able to finish the sketching, though, before I had to leave for driving school. Okay, so I'm going to take this time to tell you all that driving school is utterly ridiculous. Avoid having to go there at all costs! I'm on the verge of temporarily losing my peace of mind and sanity, These petty, tedious little homework assignments are not okay with me... at all. Anyways, I got home a little before 10; which means it was back to work! I finished sketching, and then proceeded to paint the piece via black calligraphy ink. And here is the finished product:

I don't think it's too shabby for something I decided to do on a whim. Now hopefully someone will be interested in buying it! I suppose we shall see :) I can't wait to see what some of you all have created! I do love seeing my friends' artwork; it makes me happy :)

I know some of you may be sick of the Spice Girls talk. However, I had never listened to this song before today, and I really like it :) Even though the fairy-depictions of the girls are slightly creepy, I still think the concept for the video is kind of cool. Enjoy!

Bandeaus and unicorns :)

Today was simply divine :) I woke up, ate breakfast, got ready, and met up with Kelly at Short Pump for a little shopping rendez-vous :) It was so fantastic. We have just as much fun taking pictures with the merchandise as we do buying it, haha!

Oh yeah Kelly, I never gave you back your house keys.... fail. haha. But moving on, I had to miss Bible study tonight because of driving school. It was long. It was boring. I got homework. EPIC FAIL. It's okay though, as soon as I got home I went to Elizabeth's for some hangout time. When I got there, Elizabeth, Julie, and Kim were painting their nails and watching "Clueless." Can you get more girly-cliche than that? Haha! Well, around 11 we decided to take a trip to McDonald's. The food may be unhealthy, but I certainly didn't feel too guilty eating it. Haha, the people that work there were probably hating us. Between Kim's loudness, Elizabeth trying to eat my Shrek toy, and us making jokes about "stunky unicorns," we were pretty much out of control, haha! Twas a good night; a good night indeed. Heck, the whole day was amazing (minus driving school of course). I was about to crash at Elizabeth's when I remembered that I have a scholarship breakfast to attend at 9 AM in the morning; yet another fail. Oh well, such is life I suppose...

Before I leave, here are some of the old music videos you were promised. Enjoy!

the Spice Girls: (Sorry, it won't let me embed their videos, but here are the links!)
Say You'll Be There
Spice Up Your Life
2 Become 1

98 degrees:


Britney Spears:


Jessica Simpson:



Hilary Duff: (And she gets a bonus video because Lizzie McGuire was just that amazing!)

 

 
Again, these are only a select few of the videos that Elizabeth and I sifted through. There are plenty more, and they're all amazing! I miss this music. I really do. Let's bring it back! Please?!

I beg your pardon

for my absence last night (Saturday). I came home around 2, and after I took a shower I laid down in my bed and accidentally fell asleep. I woke up at 5:50 to find my light  still on, my towel still on my head, and no blog had been posted. FAIL. So, this blog is going to be double-stacked. Brace yourself; here it goes.

Yesterday:
I got up at 9, got dressed, went to Kelly's to take care of the dogs, picked up Harry, and then headed back to my house to get ready for the annual Center for the Arts picnic. On the way to Henrico, Jennifer broke the passenger-side visor off of the inside of my car. As if my car wasn't ghetto enough... haha. Her and Harry proceeded to pass it back and forth; using it as a mirror. They are such goofballs. Anyways, the first order of business at Henrico was the Senior honors assembly. I didn't get the Lee Hanchey scholarship (the one I had to scramble to get test scores and write the extra essays for and whatnot), but Alex Curly did, and he definitely deserves it :) I did, however, get my chords to wear at graduation. Hooray for lots of regalia! So after sitting in the auditorium for an hour, we got to eat lots of food! Yum, that is all I have to say. Dance lost the tug-of-war contest, but that really is how it happens every year. Haha, so that wasn't really a shocker. Before my departure, I sat in Miss Vicky's office for almost 45 minutes with her, Tony, Chelsea, Theresa, and Rachel just talking. I'm going to miss the studio; office chats; my dance class. It's really to bizarre for me to fathom as of yet. At any rate, I went home for a short while before it was time for dinner! Eeep! Okay, so I took Heather to the Melting Pot for her birthday, and it was lovely. First of all, I loved watching every single hostess, waiter, waitress, and manager come by our table and tell Heather "Happy Birthday!" Haha, she did not know how to handle it :) We both found it rather humorous that they brought out the wine menu for us to look at. All in all, it was a delicious meal with amazing company. I couldn't have asked for a nicer evening :) Later on that night, I went over to Elizabeth's for some chill time, but this was after going on a wild goose chase to find them at WalMart; only to then turn around and go to her casa 2 minutes later. We watched "Taken" and talked about some things that were on our minds. And even though it wasn't quite what I had expected, I know it was a healthy thing for us to do; because, if I'm being honest, it's been too long since we've really talked. And that, my friends, is my day of yester. Let's move on to today (Sunday):

I woke up a little but earlier this morning so that I could go take care of Buddy and Belle before heading over to WEAG, and I somehow managed to get to church like 30 minutes early. How that happened... I have no idea. I tried the Lotus tea today (thanks for the recommendation, Annemarie), and it was delectable! Service was really good this morning; especially with Micah and Kristy leading it. I still cannot believe we did "Be Bold" in the middle of service. That literally blew my mind, but in a completely awesome way :) After church, I had a Thai lunch with the lovely Lindsay Dunnavant. (That picture is a depiction of how baffled she was trying to operate Chelsea's phone, haha.) We discussed life, fought over who was going to pay, and set up another date for this Friday. Yay! So, coming home was kind of a bummer, but only because I was trying to prevent my "bad day." Ever since last night, I've been keeping Motrin in my system. But even still, I wasn't feeling super great, so I took another Motrin and went to sleep for a while. I woke up to an alarm at 5:15 so that I could get to my Dad's for dinner. The meal, as always, was scrumptious. He kicked us out around 9 though, cause he had to take a shower and whatnot. I took Jennifer to Starbucks, and we indulged in some grade frappaccinos; love! When I got home, I browsed the internet for a but while catching the end of "The Lovely Bones" before I ventured over to Elizabeth's house to hang out. We watched Kate Plus 8, Kathryn and I laughed uncontrollably at Carlton, and Elizabeth and I ended the night watching/singing to old late 90s/early 2000s music videos. It was incredible. I'm posting a blog tomorrow with some of the video's on it, so get stoked! I love you all!

Oh my gosh, before you depart, watch these videos!!!
Two Boys (Ages 5 and 9) on America's Got Talent. So cute!!!


7 Year Old Girls at the World of Dance competition; dancing to Single Ladies. Yes, this isn't appropriate for their age by any means, but they are SOOOO GOOD! My mind, my friends, is blown.

What comes before Part B?

PARTAYYYYY! Haha :) Okay, so David's party was legit, but let me do a short recap first.

Today was my last day of high school. I wasn't sad, I didn't cry (well I did, but for a different reason), and I didn't say any goodbyes. I didn't bring my camera to school to take pictures, and I didn't try to be cool and violate the dress code; although that was kind of funny seeing other people do it. We had a contact improv class today in dance with Robbie Kinter from VCU. It was the perfect way to end our CFA journey; relaxing, fun, and still quite a workout! I got my stone today (it's jasper), and everyone in my class (well most of them) passed it around and said a word of encouragement/advise as they held it. Now I have a little piece of their mojo to carry with me wherever I go :) I'm dog-sitting for Kelly this weekend, so I went by her house to take care of Buddy and Belle. Buddy is so large and crazy that it led to mild profanity. He's a sweet dog, but I got frustrated when he kept eating Belle's food; which meant I had to drag him away from the bowl and bop him on the nose several times. From there I rushed over to church for hip hop, got there late, and was glad to see that I hadn't missed anything :) Haha, that's all I'm going to say about that... Back to the party!

Okay, so I get to David's a little after 10. I'm in the house for less than 2 minutes and Josh Alloway come up to me and is like, "Stephanie! Come do a Red Bull bong!!!" Okay, let me start by saying that I have never drank a Red Bull; ever. So I was fretting a little, and seeing Tess soaked after trying it wasn't much encouragement, haha. But I did it anyway! It wasn't hard at all! I chugged in like 15 or 20 seconds; maybe less. At that point I was feeling pretty spontaneous, so I decided to follow that up with a Monster! Keep in mind, I've never had a Monster before either, haha. So basically, I consumed two energy drinks within a 10 minute time span.... hahahahaha :) It didn't affect me too much, but I suppose I got a little wired. Dancing was more fun this time. There was less awkward grinding and more just letting loose :) Elizabeth laughed at me because I was dancing around and texting at the same time. What can I say? I'm a multi-tasker :) And of course I played a few games of water pong! Tonight wasn't my night though. I didn't win a single game. That's okay though! It was still fun! I felt myself crashing around 1, so I decided to head on home. So here I sit. I'm quite stoked for tomorrow: CFA picnic, river?, dinner with Heaver(!!!), and who knows what else :) I love you all. It's 2 AM, and I have to be up in 6 1/2 hours....woop! Goodnight!

How awkward

today was; seriously; just overall in general. Let me start by saying that I am (and have been all day) running on two and a half hours of sleep. I had to get up at 6:45 this morning to print off all of my lab log nonsense so that my little sister could take it to school for me. I could have gone back to sleep for maybe 20 minutes, but I really didn't see the point. So, I ate some breakfast and got myself ready for court at 9:30. My mom and I were out of there by 10:15, but I do have to complete driving school. And let me just tell you how angry I am with the driving school system. First of all, I can't take driving school in Henrico or Richmond because I got pulled over in Goochland. Well, it turns out that I can't take it in Goochland because one of the sessions had a conflict with Brazil, and the next available one was a conflict with college! So, I had to call the driving school people and see if I could get it switched so I could take the class in Hanover. My mom tells me that it got switched over, but I have my first two session this coming Monday and Tuesday; which completely obliterated my plans for Monday. Needless to say, I was angry and upset; probably more than I should have been. That news just completely killed the fantastic mood I was in between the hours of 1:30 and 5 PM. I literally felt like I was on the verge of tears. Don't ask me why, but for some reason there was this feeling inside of me that just felt like crying. I don't think it's necessarily driving school or disturbed plans, but I think I'm just really overwhelmed. I just feel like I try so hard to get everything done and have set plans and nothing goes the way I want it to. It's stressful and it's frustrating and I just don't feel like I have an outlet to really cope with that. I should feel relieved; with tomorrow being my last day of school and everything, but I'm honestly not. I don't know, maybe my emotions are jacked....

Okay, now that I've gotten that out, let me back track a little. After court, I went out to breakfast with my mom at Cracker Barrel. It was delicious. I also got to have a little fun with the peg game where you try to get it down to one peg in the end. Well, I got it down to two! According to the game, that makes me "purdy smart," haha. After I got home, sent my AP art history scores to JMU, and called JMU to make sure I don't have to take the foreign language placement test (which I don't!!!), I took a little stroll down to the southside. Yes yes yes, I visited the lovely birthday girl! Oh Heather, you certainly know how to brighten my day; even if you aren't trying :) She opened up her present, and we watched The Village (which I had never seen before). I just have one thing to say: craziness! After the featured presentation, we proceeded to eat excess icing out of the bowl. I mean, if the cake wasn't going to make use of it, somebody needs to, haha :) I just really love hanging out, talking about life, and laughing hysterically over the little things; like a bicycle horn :) Happiness; I want more of that... On that note, my loves, I am going to continue writing my critique paper before I proceed to pass out. I love you all!!! Oh, and I'm going to throw in one more before the day's officially over: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER! I hope you loved it :)

*Insert insane, sleep deprived laugh here*

Hello my lovelies! It is currently 3:18 AM. I just finished my lab log assignment. I have Cheerwine rushing through my system. I am tired, yet wired. My back hurts from slouching over for the past four hours. And I've somehow managed to crack my sternum several times within the past half hour; tis strange. Tomorrow is still an early day for me because of my 9:30 AM court time. But let me just say, I feel so accomplished right now. I legit focused on physics for four hours. In my book, that is almost unheard of! Any facebook or email checking was limited to two minutes tops; which is shocking considering my odd addiction. At any rate, my last huge assignment of my secondary education is done; finished! Ahhhhh! My level of stokedness is to crazy for words! Oh my... EEEEEEP! I just love life right now. I love you all. You are the highlight of my life. And I cannot wait to see what this summer has in store for us!!! My summer starts on Friday at 3:45! Let's live it up suckaaasssssss! Hahaha! Can you tell how crazy I am right now? I think it's just because I've been awake for almost 20 hours. Hmmm, sleep might be nice. Maybe. Possibly. BUT FIRST!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER TOBEY!!!

Eeeep! I love you, I love you, I love you!

I don't know how else to phrase it :)

Oh! Before I leave, I wanted to share this video with you that we watched in dance class! I just think it's really awesome :)

a snippet of Larry Keigwin's Runaway

I want to taste friday!

Guess who has no more early bird? Me! What lovely news to start off my day. But, remember that physics test I mentioned yesterday? Okay, well how about I took almost four pages worth of notes in my tiny handwriting, only to get a 59 question multiple choice/true-false test. I mean, I'm glad it wasn't insanely hard, but still! I did all of that excess writing for nothing! Figures.... Anyways, today was Toga Tuesday at Hermitage, I didn't partake, but my friend Kenneth did! Haha :) He looks so pretty in his flowery sheet! Ha! He kept being like, "Oh my gosh, I'm so fat." "It's wrapped too loose." "It's hard to walk in this thing." Kenneth, you are constantly humoring me with your witty side-comments. However, sometimes he needs a cork shoved in his mouth. After a while, Mariah said probably one of the greatest quotable comments ever: "If you're going to complain, have a solution." I can't quite tell you exactly why, but I just loved that! Hmm, I got most of my regalia today for graduation. I get to wear it tomorrow for our senior honors assembly. Woop woop! I'm going to be decked out! Two stoles, four pairs of chords, at least one single chord, a medallion, and some pins; yay! But moving on, I only have two dance classes left! Ahhh! I can't even believe that! I am looking forward to Friday though. Mrs. Fink told us that we have a guest artist coming in for a contact improv class! What a treat for our last day :) I had hip hop tonight for the first time in forever! Twas fun indeed! But then again, I always enjoy myself when I'm in good company :) 1822 was pretty legit. I loved the worship band tonight! Soooo much! I had a little bit of a hard time focusing while Will was speaking though. Ugh, I really need to work on that. The socializing afterwards made me happy. My friends make me happy. Love makes me happy. Procrastinating on this crazy 1,000 point lab log is making me happy (although I know I'll regret it tomorrow). Well my loves, I need to call it a night before I lose my sanity. I love you all! Pleasant dreams :)

Who parties on memorial day?

Today was lovely :) I woke up at 11, ate a giant bowl of chocolate frosted mini wheats, and then was told that my older sister was coming over and wanted to go out to breakfast. I only had two bites left of my cereal! Ugh, fail! Yes, I'm aware that it was almost lunch time, but I don't really know what to tell you, haha. At any rate, I went to breakfast with them, ate a little but, and then headed down to the southside to spend some time with Heaver :) We went to the pool, chit chatted on various topics ranging from dreams to fruit, made smoothies (well, Heather did, haha), and just hung out :) I peaced out around 5 to head over to my padre's house for some dinner. He prepared chicken wings on the grill, and might I say that they were delicious. Haha, he was certainly proud of himself. While he was on the back deck, he brought this little guy to our attention:

Turtle!!! So cute :) He also made me happy :) After dinner, I drove over to the Poore residence for some socializing (and I may have eaten some more food... haha). My favorite part was definitely sitting around bug-repellant candles and lighting sticks on fire while laughing hysterically at the cheerful banter within the circle. I find the smell of "campfire" to be quite delightful; along with pretending to be a pyromaniac, haha :) It just so happens that my dress smelled like a campfire when I got home! Rewind a little bit... I enjoy short conversations in Scoob and Devin's front yard when they aren't home, haha. Elsbeth and I have a friend that lets out a short little "wooo!" when he drives by. He's done it the past two weeks, and I find it rather humorous. When I got home, I tried to neglect my physics homework for as long as possible, but I have to do it for this stupid test tomorrow. Can you say "ugg boots?" Legit, I still have three pages to summarize in my notes. I plan on doing that in early bird and stats tomorrow. Yay procrastination? Ehhh. After talking with my mom, I'm realizing I need to be a little more frugal. Granted, the crazy spending escapades were not necessarily a result of my insane shopping habits (**cough cough**), but I do kind of take the card for granted. If I want to be able to use it for really important or special occasions, then I need to use it less on petty little things such as breakfast at Panera every day or numerous trips to Starbucks. I can do this; I can, I can. Bahhh! I only have three school days left to attend! After this Friday, I'm done! And, someone we know and love has a birthday this Thursday!!!! Gee, I wonder who it could be.... not possibly Heather Tobey ;) No way :) Ahh, I love you! I love you all! Goodnight!