The Best Things in Life are Free

   "The best things in life are free."
   It's been said a million times. Probably everyone has either said it, heard it or read it. It's not really an uncommon phrase. Is it true though? I guess it's a personal thing, depending on what you think are the best things in life. I think some of the best things in life are...

• cats
• blueberry bagels with cream cheese and strawberry jelly
• Kit-Kat bars
• books
• astronomy
• makeup
• love
• hair bands (like the thing that holds your hair up)
• hair bands (like that rock music from the 80's)
• music in general
• popcorn
• comfy, oversized shirts
• essential oils
• macaroni and cheese
• fans
• grass
• coffee
• movies
• journals
• sarcasm
• The Holy Trinity (Note: I couldn't decide what to write for this, cause I didn't want to just write God, cause different people see God as different things, and I wanted to include Jesus, cause of the whole salvation thing, but God and Jesus are like the same thing, so I went with The Trinity, cause religion is complicated. Thank you for your patience.)
• lip balm
• Reader's Digest
• technology
• credit cards with the chip in them (Note: Not really. The chip cards suck and everyone hates them for good reason, but I figured they needed some love.)

   So as I wrote this list, I discovered that most of my favorite things actually aren't free. Does this mean that I'm materialistic and the best things in life for other people are actually free? Possibly.

   Pretty much everything costs something. In the bathroom at work, there's a little note card tucked in the mirror. I don't remember exactly what it says, but it's a little prayer. In the middle of the prayer, it says something like, "May what I do with today be important, for I am exchanging a day of my life for it."

   I think that's an interesting thought to keep in mind. Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Easter

  This Easter was an eventful one, to say the least. I didn't have work on Good Friday, nor did we have homeschool group. We went shopping in the morning to pick up a few groceries. After returning home and putting away the groceries, my brother and I went outside and played a little basketball. That evening, we went to a restaurant for my aunt's birthday.
   We had never been to this restaurant before, and I don't believe we will be visiting again. For how expensive the food was, you would've thought it would have been delicious. I thought mine was okay, and so did my brother, while mom found her food practically inedible.
   We headed out as soon as we got the check. I had work in the morning and it was getting late. On Saturday, we had Easter dinner at my dad's parents. I had work until 4:30 and got home about 10 minutes until we had to leave for dinner. I got changed, brushed my hair, put on some eyeliner and was out the door.
   We were supposed to eat at 5, but half the family didn't show up until 5:30. We ate soon after that. Sometime after dinner, we had an Easter egg hunt. I hunted for Easter eggs along with my brother and a couple of our younger cousins. It was fun.
   After the egg hunt, my aunt, her boyfriend, my brother and I played whiffle ball and volleyball for a while. Another cousin of ours joined us for a little of whiffle ball, and that was that. After the outside games were done, I mostly sat at the kitchen table by myself eating macaroni and cheese out of a plastic cup. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had.
   This morning, I woke up early enough to watch a little TV, then we headed to church. I had childcare, so that means I got to sit in a miniature chair for an hour and a half, watching toddlers waddle about in their Sunday best. It wasn't all bad; I got hold of the bag of pretzels and handed them out to the children, breaking them into small pieces for those who were unable to chew super well.
   Right after church, we went to my grandma's (on my mom's side of the family this time), and had an Easter lunch. It was enjoyable. We played a board game called Sale of the Century, a game based off a game show from when my mom was a kid. It's pretty fun.
   After we left my grandma's, we went home for a little bit, then my brother and I went to gym night. Gym night is a thing our church does at our local high school's gym. After returning home from that, we had pancakes. All in all, I had a good Easter weekend. Busy, but enjoyable. :)

I'm Back + Bentonite Clay Face Mask

   So I haven't posted in a while, I know, I know. I'm going to try and post more frequently. These past few months have been incredibly busy and I haven't really found the time or inspiration to post. To sum up the missed time, I can say it was mostly work, school, sleep and Bible quizzing. Bible quizzing is almost over for the season, so I should have a bit more free time coming up. :)

   I worked a full day today. After I arrived home, I ate dinner while my grandma visited, then my grandfather stopped down. After he left, we went and visited my lovely aunt and her daughter. While we were there, we did bentonite clay masks. It was the first time I had ever done one, and I really liked the results.
   If you would like to try your hand at your own bentonite clay mask, it's incredibly simple. Take a small amount bentonite clay powder and put it in the palm of your hand, then add some water to make a paste. Rub the paste into your skin, then leave on until fully dry. Your face will feel tight when it dries. You can remove the mask by washing off your face or wiping with a damp wash cloth. I would recommend moisturizing, but it is not a requirement. :) If your face begins to itch or sting while the mask is on, remove immediately.

A Field Trip For a Snowy Day

   Today, our homeschool group went on a field trip. We went to a local creamery where they make a variety of cheeses. We sampled cheese curds, looked in the rooms where they age the cheese, watched them make feta cheese and ate a lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup in an open area in the back. It wasn't a bad tour.
   We were to arrive at 12:45, and the tour started at 1:00. First, we stayed in the main area for a bit, while the lady introduced us to the place and whatever. Turns out, we got to play a game during the whole thing, where if you heard the word 'curd' you had to try and be the first the raise your hand. if you gave the correct definition of what a curd was, you got to wear a cheese shaped hat. Oh yes, a cheese shaped hat. It was terrible looking, and needless to say, I did not raise my hand.
   After that, we went into an employees only area and had lunch, surrounded by the aging rooms. Lunch wasn't bad, though it wasn't like the best food I'd ever had. Grilled cheese (with cheese made at the creamery), tomato soup, two fried cheese curds (which they also made there) and a pickle, severely lacking in crunch (though I still ate my pickle and one of my friends) was what we were served.
   After lunch, they started showing us around the back room which we were in. They showed us where they package the cheese, and how tare weight worked and why it was important. The next rooms we looked into were the aging rooms. The first room was where they were aging Swiss cheese. There were only 6 wheels of cheese in that room, I believe. They had just started making Swiss. The next roomed smelled strongly of mold and bacteria. Why? It was the room with the Havarti and Cheddar. The third and final room didn't smell bad, but it was the specialty cheese, the kinds mixed with herbs and such things.
   Finishing the back room tour, we headed out to the front and watched from a large, observation window into the cheese making room. The woman who was leading the tour told us about what they were doing and such, and after that was finished, the tour was over. The whole thing took about two hours.
   After the tour was finished, I stood and talked with one of the women I used to work with. That was one of the highlights of today. I enjoy her. :) Overall, it wasn't a bad experience. Now I am certain, I don't want to become a cheese maker.

A Friday Off

   I didn't have work today, but I never work Fridays. That was the one condition when I was hired: I couldn't work Fridays. That's because I have our homeschool group on Friday and I decided that having a job wasn't worth sacrificing some of the best times of my high school experience.
   Now that homeschool group is over for the year, Friday is my free day of the week. I typically work every Saturday, with one off every month. Tomorrow is my Saturday off for December. I always work on Wednesdays. I enjoy working Wednesdays though cause the newspaper guy comes in. I enjoy seeing him.
   I didn't do anything particularly interesting today, but I did drive by myself to The Discount Store. I wasn't working, but I had a few things I wanted to pick up. It was a very boring and uneventful drive, and good songs played on the radio. I'm going to call it a win.
   After I came home, as soon as I walked in the door, mom came bustling down the stairs and asked if I wanted to come with her to the post office. I thought that sounded fun, so we went and mailed Christmas cards.
   Speaking of Christmas, I am so underprepared this year. I've only purchased a few gifts, and I really don't have it together. I'm planning on making some advances on Christmas planning tomorrow. Let's hope it fairs better than it is now. Christmas is coming fast.
    Tonight, our church held the annual Children's Christmas play. My brother got himself wrapped up doing a small part. I was very happy to see him performing in something I wasn't in. He played a fireman. His performance was very good. The rest of the play was not as good. It was still entertaining though.
   A small girl was standing behind my seat and I'm telling you, it took all my will power not to turn around in my seat and flick her in the nose. She was breathing in my ear, and would occasionally touch me. I knew who she was, cause she sometimes comes in to our child care during church services when I'm in there. Goodness grief, that was annoying.
   On a happier note, I had a few delicious cookies after the show when they had refreshments. They were very good. After the show, we drove home and that was that. It really wasn't a bad day, even without homeschool group.

A Show to Remember

   Our homeschool group's variety show was on Friday. We had a rehearsal on Thursday, which was less than fabulous, compared to other rehearsals we've had. I mean we practiced, but one of the main characters in the play couldn't be there until 2:30 and I had to leave at 3:00 for my drivers test. I don't feel like we practiced as much as we could've, but with the time constraints and people leaving, we did the best we could.
   On Friday, we got there early at 2:15 so I could do Sunshine's makeup. Practice started at 2:30, and we're never really prompt, so I had plenty of time to do her makeup and fix someone else's hair. It was a decently productive start to the day of practicing, rehearsing and getting our act together. We had a long day ahead of ourselves.
   We started practice and it went pretty well. Typically, we have a very solid practice were we run through the program a few times. This time, we had a what I could only call a very loose practice. I've never seen anything so informal at our homeschool group when it comes to a last minute practice. It felt rushed and unprepared, as if we were all running around tying up loose end that should've been covered months ago.
   Even without all the practice we usually have, it still went really well. The first part of the program was our variety show, where a collection of students who are inclined to perform sing, dance, and even do stand-up comedy. We can be an eclectic bunch at times, but it's a show that's worth attending.
   I sang Mary, Did You Know?. I've definitely enjoyed other performances more, but I don't feel it went as bad as it could've. I messed up the lyrics and I didn't strum the right chords at times. I was really nervous about it, and that probably contributed.
   What I really feel pushed me out of my comfort zone was the stand-up comedy act that was right before mine. One of the other students bet the comedian (if you could even call him that) a dollar that he wouldn't do a special, never-before-heard piece about my song. Something about Mary having 'annual amnesia' or something. Well, just let me say that he walked out of there with an additional dollar in his pocket.
   I was really nervous walking into my song to begin with, and that was enough to totally throw me off any sort of confidence I had. I felt like dying would be a better option that going up on stage, but due to a lack of suicide weapons, a shortage of time and my friends sitting all around me, I went up anyway.
   Aside from that event, the rest of the show went pretty well. Several of my friends and I had a kazoo choir. We performed Carol of the Bells. I'm sure it was the best rendition anyone has ever done on kazoo. That's mostly because I don't believe many people have actually performed Carol of the Bells on kazoo before.
   Two of my best friends sang It Is Well With My Soul together and it was utterly stunning. My best friend does not like to be on stage, and so for her to be singing on stage is a very brave thing for her to do, and a rare treat for the audience. Her younger sister is another great friend of mine, and her singing is fabulous as well. I have such talented friends. :) 
   The little kids sang a cute little song about patience. Some of the younger girls did an amazing dance directed by one of my friends. It was great. I kind of hate to say it, but I really think their dance topped every one we ever did when I was a kid. It was part dance, part gymnastics and part art. It was great.
   There were some other great acts, but for now I'm going to write about our drama. It went pretty well. Part of it, we had to improvise because we skipped a page. But what we lack in line memorization, we make up for in improv.
   I felt like our projection was good and it went really well. After the drama, we all went on stage and sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas. I was supposed to help start it off, but the other girl who was supposed to be helping started to early and too high. No one could really tell though.
   Afterwards we had snacks. They were pretty good, though I only ate brownies. After that, some of my friends had an arm wrestling (cough cough...competitive handholding...cough cough) competition. The real rankings were established. I don't arm wrestle. It's just stupid to me, but my brother and some of my friends do it like every other week. It can get pretty intense at times, believe it or not.
   After all that was over, I found a broken rubber band and one of my friends and I managed to slingshot a pencil almost the entire way across the sanctuary. After we had done that a few times, we turned it into a game were we'd race to see who would get it to whatever we shot, first. It was a very fun game.
   We eventually lost the pencil somehow. You would think you could find a pencil on the floor, but we could not. Then we found a dime. As you could probably guess, we lost that too. Then we managed to break the rubber band to top it all off.
   Fortunately, we were in luck, cause one of the younger girls had a animal balloon kit. (You just can't make some of these things up.) We took one of the balloons and used that as the slingshot. It was harder to shoot things with a balloon than a rubber band, but we made it work.
   I found another pencil and my dad gave us another dime. We played until we had pretty much lost everything and we had to leave. I totally would've won if we hadn't lost the pencil and thirty cents. It was still enjoyable though.
   Coming into the performance, I was ready for the semester to be over. Now that it's over, I really wish we were going back next week. It went surprisingly fast. At the time, it didn't seem like it was slipping by so quickly, but now it hardly feels like we ever went for more than a day or two. I'm already excited for next year. :)

Failures and Successes

   Last Thursday, I went to take my drivers test. (Spoiler Alert: I failed it.) I didn't have high hopes when I walked into the building. We took a number and then we were called in right away. Mom and I walked into the little room to show our papers. The guy, Gary, asked mom for our registration and insurance papers. She left them in the car and then darted back out to retrieve them. I stood awkwardly there with good ol' Gary and then mom dashed in again with a little green packet. Then she opens it and starts to dig through as she says, "I can't find our registration card!"
   Mom had just taken our car over to be inspected a day or two before. She said that our inspection dude must have forgotten to give it back to her. Fortunately, we had purchased our car in another state, and we still had the pink transfer slip that the notary gave her. That was enough to allow me to take the test.
   I took the test with a guy named Eugene. We went out to the car, I successfully operated every car feature that he asked me too. Then he joined me in the car and then gave me a long list of rules for how to (and how not to) parallel park. We drove over to the spot and I attempted to park, without success. I wasn't far enough in. I could tell as soon as I started backing up. I pulled out of the spot and he asked me if I had any questions. I said no, and left the car. That was that. I wasn't too happy with it, what was I going to do? Practice, that's what.
   On Sunday, I practiced parallel parking between traffic cones instead of cars. My dad brought some traffic cones with him from work and set them up in our driveway. I practiced for a bit until I started to get the hang of it.
   Today, I retook my test. I hadn't parallel parked since Sunday, and I didn't parallel park again until I retook my test again today. We took a number, and then we were called to go present our papers. This time, we were prepared. We handed them over and then we went and sat down again.
   Everything about the drivers license center screams depression. Everyone looks and sounds like they really regret their life choices. It isn't a very refreshing or encouraging atmosphere. When I went to take my permit test in the spring, one of my dads friends started working there. He was nice and friendly. They probably didn't break him in yet. :)
   Today, my test guy was none other than Gary, the guy who did my papers the first time. He seems the most broken of them all. So depressed in his life choices. He was very short and concise with his words, which is quite handy for a test guy. He told me precisely what I was to be doing and that was it. I parallel parked, and I felt I did pretty well. He opened his door, looked at the curb, and said, "That looks good enough." Then he looked through the windshield, sighed, and got out of the car to double check. I honestly don't know if it was really good enough, or if he was just done with life.
   I was his last test of the day, so I'm not sure if he had a hard day, or that was his natural state of being. The first time I took my test, I had the first test of the day, while Eugene was probably about as motivated as he could be. He failed me, but that was cause I did an obviously bad job.
   After I parallel parked, Gary didn't say if I completed it correctly or if I failed it. He just said to make a left turn and head towards the front of the building. I did, and then after I was out of the space, pretty sure I failed, he told me to continue to the stop sign and make a left.
   I was quite relieved I had passed that miserable part and continued to wait for at least two minutes at the stop sign waiting for a safe chance to get on the road. I pulled out on the road and let me say this now, I sped a little bit during my test. I probably went at least 3 mph over the limit a few times throughout the duration of my test. I was really trying to keep it under, but I wasn't really doing so well. I would also like to say that this was around 3:45 ish, when people are starting to get off work. So the road was pretty busy, and that was a tad stressful.
   I feel my test didn't go that bad. I was on the last stretch of road and I thought for sure he failed me. He didn't say anything to me even as we got out of the car. As we were reaching the building, he handed me back my permit and told me to get a green number and they would take care of me inside. I looked down at my permit and I saw that he had checked off the 'pass' box.
   He gestured me ahead and I opened the door for him like a true lady, and I walked in after him. Mom's eyes darted to me and I shook my head like I had failed. It was quite enjoyable to see the look on her face when I told her I actually passed.
   I got my picture taken, and then we went out to eat. So after everything, I wasn't that bad of an experience. Thank you, Gary, for both encouraging me and disappointing me in my expectations of humanity. Encouraging me for allowing me to become a licensed driver, and disappointing me for your lack on enthusiasm in life. Lesser thanks to Eugene, for pretty much nothing, but I feel he should be included for the sake of making me really want and work for my license. Last of all, a big thanks to my friends and family and everyone who's supported me along the way. Most of you mean the world to me. :)

Giving Thanks

   Sometimes it's hard to be thankful. We get caught up in things that aren't the greatest, and we forget to be grateful for the good things. The thing is, is that sometimes things really do suck. Things that happen do affect us, positively and negatively. Sometimes it helps to count our blessings, and other times it just makes you feel worse for being ungrateful. I still think it's very important to remember our blessings.

I'm thankful for;

• Cats
• Love
• Internet
• Friends + Family
• Books
• Makeup
• Stairs
• Warmth
• Shoes
• Seasons

   Gratitude is a beautiful thing. :) Have a great Thanksgiving!

   I also would like to say that stairs are incredibly hard to build if you have no idea what you're doing. My dad and I worked on that today and wow! I would never thought it would've been so hard to do something that sounds relatively simple.

As We Wait

   I'm currently watching the election coverage. Dude, this is stressful. We all have our opinion on the election, and now it's here. It's finally happening. We're here! How did we survive the last few months? Can our new president be worse than Obama? Gosh, I hope not.
   Everything these last few days has been election, election, election. Everything in the coming days is going to be the same old song and dance, just with trying to repeal the winner. But I didn't come here to rant about the election, I came here to give you something else to think about.
   I am growing addicted to matte lipsticks! I got a few tubes from work that were free (the tubes were damaged) and I was using them. I was never fond of that 'my lips are as dry and wrinkly as a old woman in the Sahara' feel, but the ones I was using weren't as bad as I remembered. I recently purchased my first tube and I love it. It's a Milani one. It's decently long lasting. It holds well to wear around, but after you eat, you need to reapply. Not too much of a hassle.
   I've gotten back into playing spider solitaire. I love that game! I used to play it frequently when I was younger, but I quickly snapped the habit after our old computer died. One of my friends plays spider solitaire, which is cool, cause I like her, and I also like spider solitaire.
   One of my favorite coworkers is moving to South Carolina, so that's a bummer. She's a super sweet lady, and I'll miss having her around. On the bright side, I'll probably get her section, which sounds like an interesting task. It'll be cool cause she has the candy/cookie section. Yum!
   I'm currently reliving my favorite VeggieTales Silly Songs. My favorite one is Pizza Angel. It's the best one ever. I want to sing it for my homeschool group variety show. We'll see. Here's a link to Pizza Angel. You're welcome. :)

It's Cold Outside

   I woke up for work this morning and the world outside was covered in an icy frost. I was planning on wearing my green work shirt and my new black and white skirt I purchased over the weekend. Since it was so cold out, I put on a pair of black leggings underneath my skirt.
   I personally enjoy wearing skirts. My manager wears nothing but skirts to work. I am not positive if she wears them for religious reasons, but I am inclined to say she doesn't. Our floor manager is Mennonite, and she wears a head covering and skirts. Another one of my coworkers is wears a head covering as well.
   Earlier this week, one of my coworkers was asked if she was Amish. This woman was wearing jeans, a V-neck shirt, makeup and her hair down. If you're familiar with the Amish, you know it's very easy to tell when someone is Amish and when they are not. I am continually surprised at people's ignorance.
   Today, a bitter woman came in and asked, "What's with all the skirts?" (Two of my coworkers who were both wearing skirts we standing nearby, working on an order.) I casually started a conversation (a monologue, really) about my skirt, saying about how I got it and such. She made another derogatory comment and left.
   I could never imagine saying such things to a cashier! Criticizing attire that we're currently wearing. Get a life! You know what I want to start? A company like Yelp, but a customer review site. We write a review on you. Our experience of how you acted. How you behaved, how you treated the staff, even what you bought. Of course I know that's a terrible idea, but it would feel nice.
   Even though some customers are stress inducing, some customers are also really nice and try and make your job easier. It's an interesting balance. Another interesting fact: I broke my personal buggy record today! I hit 9. The even cooler thing is, I completed it before lunch time! So that was a highlight of my day.

You Can't Expect the Unexpected

   We've all heard the old saying, 'expect the unexpected', and we all act like it makes sense. Like that's logical or even sane advice. You can't expect the unexpected, it's called the UNEXPECTED for a reason! (Understand that I do comprehend the gist of the saying, but for this posts' sake, let's continue.)
   You can't expect what you don't know is going to happen. That's why we make mistakes. That's why we make wrong choices. That's why we order mayo on chicken salad sandwiches. We also can't expect what strangers are going to do when we meet them. Such as this evening.
   We had our homeschool group meeting today, and when we finished, we went to my brother's friend's house so my brother could see something they'd built or whatever. After we left, mom said we could go get pizza. My brother asked me if I would get him a blue slushy when I went in to get the pizza. I said sure, because I was in a charitable mood. So I went in, got the pizza and then went to get his slushy. I accidently over filled the cup and I had to sip some of that blue-flavored nastiness! I was appalled.
   I shoved a lid onto the mess and brought it to the register. Two guys were at separate registers, but the one guy looked busy with something, so I got in line behind the people who were checking out. Once the guy noticed me, (he was in his early twenties, I assume), he said, "I'll take you over here", which is the most cashier-ish thing to say ever. (Trust me, I'm a cashier. You never feel more professional than when you say it.)
   I walked over and I set the slushy on the counter. The guy asked, "Is this everything?" (Also a very cashier-ish thing the say.) I confirmed it was everything, and he said, "You're good." with a smile. I said, "I can pay for it." and started to reach for my purse, when he said again, "You're good." and winked at me! I said thanks and grabbed it off the counter.
   I walked out of the store and gave my brother his slushy. I told my mom and brother about how I got the slushy for free. My brother was convinced I stole it and my mother lost her crap. :) So that was an very unexpected gesture. And I kind of made my nice gesture to my brother less nice since I didn't pay for his slushy.
   My point is, you can't expect the unexpected. You can expected for unexpected thing to happened, but you can't plan precisely what to do or how to react.

Random Thoughts

• Tomorrow, I have work. I'll be in the cleaning room as backup register. After the store closes, I'm going to be learning how to work the floor scrubber. I think it will be fun (at least I'm seriously hoping).
• I did my makeup earlier today. It was really fun, and turned out well. My eyeliner had a perfect wing, which made me very happy. My foundation turned out a little cakey, unfortunately. While I love my stippling brush, I haven't really figured it out as much as I'd like.
• I'm currently rereading the Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children books again. I love those books. :)
• I am so excited for the movie adaption to come out, but at the same time I am dreading it. Just from the previews and what I've read about it, I can already tell the movie and book differ vastly. Tim Burton is a good director, but I don't think he should be making this movie. Oh well. It's coming out on Friday regardless of my opinions.
• Speaking of Tim Burton movies, I watched Edward Scissorhands recently. Quite honestly, it was not what I was expecting at all, but yet, it was pretty good as it is. I was expecting someone to lose a body part or at the very least be stabbed, but no. Hardly gory. It was a pretty good romance movie though.
• This fall, I want to try a pumpkin spice latte. Yes, I know they're toxic and whatever, but I still want one. Just to say I had one. I don't even like pumpkin, but I do like lattes.
• I'm writing this blog post instead of doing math, which is what I should be doing. Well, now that I have a decent post, I guess I should do math so I can graduate and all that fun stuff. :) Have a great evening.

Excited For Fall

   Three days until the first day of fall! I am so excited. It's been so long since last fall. While I love almost everything autumn related, I do not like pumpkin or pumpkin spice flavored anything. I don't mind a slice of pumpkin pie, loaded with whipped cream, but I do feel people go overboard with pumpkin flavored things. I mean, its the 21st century, we can get pumpkin any time of year.
   Plus, this is also the time of year watermelons come in, but no one decorates their house with watermelons, or get excited about watermelon-flavored madness. No one carves watermelons and sets them outside their home. I'm pretty sure watermelons feel pretty gypped. I know I would.
   Anyway, in my previous post, I shared that I got a job. Work at The Discount Store has been pretty good. I still enjoy it and the work is mostly good. Several interesting people have come through, and while some of them can be a pain, they give me interesting stories to tell.
   Life aside from work, has been pretty boring. On Saturday, I attended a birthday party, which was pretty fun. We went to some boulders and climbed about, which I didn't find the most enjoyable birthday party activity that I've ever participated in. Then we went and climbed a tower. It was fun. The tower is 40ft high, and me and two of my friends stayed at the top of the tower and threw down small pieces of gum to my brother, who caught one in his mouth. That was something I know he was proud to accomplish.
   After we left the tower, we went back to the birthday boys' house and had pizza. It was really good. Then we had cake and ice cream, which was also really good. Some of us jumped on the trampoline for a few minutes and then we went in watched a Tron movie. I don't even remember what it was called.
   Honestly, watching the movie was fun, but I didn't really retain a lot of the movie, especially toward the end. The movie definitely looked good and we agreed that we should watch it again sometime, when we'd actually watch the movie. All-in-all, it was a pretty fun birthday party.
   Today was a pretty slow day. I didn't have work, so I helped mom can tomato soup. I also did school, took care of my chickens and finally wrote a blog post. :) I haven't been writing as much as I'd like, so I'm trying to remedy that.
  

News

   Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but I have news: I got a job! I'm currently employed at a place I'll call The Discount Store. I've been a  frequent visitor of The Discount Store since I was a baby and I've been mistaken for an employee countless times.
   I was not planning on getting a job until spring. But, as you can tell, things have changed. On Wednesday of last week, my mom, brother and I were running some errands in town. We stopped at The Discount Store to pick up some cheese and salt. We left with 66+ dollars of merchandise and a new employee. :)
   My first day was last Friday, where I was mostly shown around, and met some of my coworkers. It was very easy. My second day was Saturday. I learned how to work the cash register, and by the end of the day, I was doing it by myself.
   Today was my third day, and it was pretty good. I mostly worked the register all day, and stocked a few shelves. It was a pretty good day.
   Part of having a job is the interesting people that some through, and having interesting stories to tell. My best two are:

• A guy with green hair came through with well over twenty bags of beef jerky (and a decent amount of dog food as well) on Saturday, and proceeded to tell us about how much he loved beef jerky, and that he was coming back Monday morning to get more when we restocked.
• A guy with a mustache that he twirled up around the corners came through. He bought $5 worth of candy.

   Another thing is, I'm called ma'am a lot. I don't feel like a ma'am. I don't act like a ma'am. But apparently that's a suitable title for your cashier. I don't mind it, I just find it strange. Plus, ma'am is a really weird word.

Have a great week!

7 Things I've Been Loving This Week!

I know I typically do the 7 Things on a Tuesday, but I was out of post ideas, so here we are. Tuesday's kind of a stupid day to do these things anyway. For those of you who don't know why I typically do them on Tuesdays, I did it then because 7 Things was a replacement for 20 Things Tuesday. How about that?


1: We started school on Monday, so that's been awesome.

2: I'm using Notgrass History this year (for the first time), and I really like it. It combines English (literature based), History and Bible all in one curriculum.

3: My cousin, who's seven years my junior, came over the last two days. It's been nice to see her again. We babysat her all the time when she was little, but since she started school, we see her a lot less.

4: I love makeup, as you all know, and my cousin loves it too. It's nice, to share something you love with someone else who loves it as well, especially since most of my friends aren't as big into makeup as I am.

5: Speaking of makeup, I got a new powder foundation, which blends into my skin perfectly. I am quite happy with it. My mom even liked it, which is saying something, considering most of my makeup breakthroughs are hardly interesting to her.

6: The summer reading program at our library has been great for me this year. I've already read 65 hours, and I still have one more day until it's over.

7: My grandma had a yard sale last weekend, and it was a great success. It was fun to do. I was the person who tallied everyone's total earnings in our notebook. I think I did well, considering I do a lot of my math in my head.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your summer so far? Why?
(1=eh and 10=best summer ever)

   Probably a 3 or 4. This summer hasn't been awful, but it hasn't been great either. Mostly boring and humid. I'm ready for autumn to come. In the ever classy of Rivers Cuomo, "I just want this summer to end. What's the point of trying to pretend?"


 2. July 26th is National Aunts and Uncles Day. Did you have many aunts and uncles growing up? Were you especially close to any one or maybe all of them? Are you an aunt? (or uncle for the men who join here on Wednesdays) Share a favorite memory relating to one of your own aunts or uncles or relating to a niece or nephew who call you Aunt (or Uncle).

   I don't have a lot of actual aunts and uncles. I only have one biological aunt and one married-in aunt. I have three biological uncles. I have more than enough great aunts and great uncles. One of my grandfathers came from a family of 6 boys, and my mom's mom came from a family of 8 boys and 4 girls. I would try and list them, but I don't think anyone has the time.
  I love all my aunts and uncles, and I see most of them frequently. I am not an aunt, considering I only have one sibling, and he's younger than me.


 3. What's your favorite food dipped in chocolate? What's your favorite food dipped in cheese?

   I can't pick a favorite chocolate-dipped food. Strawberries are definitely high on the list. What's my favorite food dipped in cheese? That's even harder. I love cheese. Does macaroni count? I love mac and cheese.


 4. When were you last astonished by something? Explain.

   I'm astonished by my forgetfulness sometimes. A local road is replacing its drainage ditches, and it has strips of road cut out, which they proceeded to fill with gravel. This doesn't help the road conditions, but I think it helps the state workers sleep better at night.
   Anyway, every time I drive on that road, I forget about those stupid cut outs. It drives me insane. I try to remember, but I think I may just be a lost cause.


 5. Surf board, paddle board, ironing board, Pinterest board, score board, clip board, bulletin board...which board have you most recently encountered?

   I've never surfed (though I would love to try it), I've never paddle boarded (I would like to try that too), I don't remember the last thing I ironed, I hardly ever use Pinterest, I don't play anything that has a score board, I have a clip board; but I never use it and I don't have a bulletin board. The last board I encountered was probably my clip board, when I moved it as I was cleaning out my school shelf for this upcoming school year.


 6. What's your favorite story from scripture? Why that story?

   Probably the story of Samson. Why? He's this incredibly strong dude with long hair, and he makes some mistakes, which cause him to lose his strength. He's captured by the enemy, gets his eyes gouged out (which they casually leave out in the children's versions), and he's defeated. His hair grows out again, and he's given back his strength.
   He's tied between two columns and the Philistines are having this party, celebrating without a care in the world. Samson takes this opportunity to literally bring the house down (or crash the party, either works), even though it means sacrificing himself.
   How awesome is that? It's my favorite story because it's about the evolution of a man, and the things I believe he learned. A story about self sacrifice and obedience. It's a fabulous thing.


 7. If you were to travel from the east coast to the west coast in your own country, which five cities would you most want to see?

   I have no idea. I suck at geography. One state I know I would like to visit would be Arizona. That's on the west coast. I live on the east coast, so I'm sure we'd stop at some cities along the way.


 8. Insert your own random thought here.

   I'll never understand why people say, "At least she died doing what she loved" at a funeral. I don't want to die while I'm doing something I love. I want to die when I'm doing something I hate. Why can't death take me out of my misery, instead of being a buzzkill?
   I want to die while I'm doing my math, or when I'm at a family reunion (people will always remember me at family reunions, to say the least). Perhaps while I'm on a run? I don't want to die eating a brownie, or petting my cat. I don't want to die even at a birthday party for someone I can't stand.
   Maybe I will die doing something I love. I can't really choose. And maybe if I die at a birthday party, they can have the cake in my honor. :) All joking aside, my death is (probably) a long way off. I can worry about this in fifty-ish years. But what can I really do even then? Stop doing things I like, because I'm worried I'll die? That sounds more like an argument for why you shouldn't go skydiving.
   I'll end this with the inspiring cliché of 'live life to the fullest' or something like that. Honestly, I don't really know where I'm going with this, so let's stop here. Have a great Wednesday!

Makeup Advice

   I love makeup. I've been wearing it for what seems like forever (even though it's only been a few years), and I enjoy applying it. I read a ton makeup articles, and I find a decent amount of it interesting information. Some of it, I find is terrible advice.
   Makeup is a subjective art, and there's sooooo many contradicting pieces of information. Some people don't believe you should wear it, and some people wouldn't leave the house without it. It's really all in how you were raised, what's available to you, and your personal taste.
   My best friend is into wearing more natural looking makeup. She doesn't wear anything heavy, just enough to suit her personal preferences. That's great. While her definition of 'heavy' makeup is my definition of a light 'we have to leave in two minutes' look, it suits her just fine. We're complete opposites in that way (and most every other way too, but that's another topic for another post.)
   Personal taste varies incredibly. Even my mom and I have different tastes and routines. She does her makeup the same way every morning. I do mine different every day. She also does her makeup every morning, no matter what we're doing that day. I do mine whenever, without any sort of routine.
   Another thing about makeup advice, is that everyone has a different base skill level with applying makeup. Some person's idea of an 'easy mascara trick' is another's 'I just stabbed myself in the eye with a lash comb, we need to go to the emergency room' disaster. I also find it cool to observe the differences in advice, especially with popular things, like winged eyeliner and contouring.
   There's so many variables in makeup, including the time allowance people spend on makeup. Some will do a full contour and still leave time to bake their face. Others will spend five minutes on shadow, mascara and concealer and head out the door. Time's a big factor in makeup. I know I could spend hours doing my face, but I also could get away with doing 5 minutes, depending on my mood, and how much time I can spend.
   My point is, there's a crap load of bad makeup tips and advice. My advice to you, is to find what you like, and go with that. Not every makeup idea needs to come from Pinterest or an article. I'm not saying those things are bad, I'm saying that they shouldn't be the final say in what you do. Makeup should be fun, not a burden. So forget what you think you 'need' to do, and have fun with your makeup.

Humidity

   I don't like humidity. The last couple weeks here have been very humid. When I went to take care of my chickens earlier today, it was so humid I could feel it tangibly in the air. I'm ready for cooler temperatures.
   I'm very excited to start school. I believe we have 8 days until we begin. I have very little to do until I start, just getting everything ready to be used and place nicely in it's pile. Tomorrow is the last Monday I won't have school for a while. It's weird, knowing that something I miss now will be something I can't stand in a few weeks.
   My grandmother brought us a variety of pieces of pies that she made recently. She made a layered one unintentionally, and it was the best. It was blueberry, lemon, coconut cream (you couldn't even taste the coconut, just a hint of sweet cream), with a soft, white, pudding-consistency topping (not meringue). It was fabulous.
   My brother is reading the book, The Journal of Jesse Smoke, one of the My Name is America books. He really seems to be enjoying it, which is good, because he doesn't like to read. Our library does a summer reading program, so he's reading to collect hours for that. One of the words he stumbled on, was the word 'ploughs'. He was reading to me, and I believe he pronounced it something like 'po log uhs'. I couldn't help but laugh.
   I'm a big reader, and I don't have the best pronunciation in the world. Up until a few weeks ago, I believe the word 'faux' was pronounced 'fox', instead of 'foe'. This was a major bummer for me. I couldn't believe that a word I had read wrong so many times (and probably used in conversation a few times), was pronounced so differently. It took me a while to come to terms to that.

    Have a great Saturday!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 1. Pokemon Go...your thoughts? Are you playing? Do you even know what it is?

   I am not playing. I do, in fact, know what it is. Pokémon has never particularly interested me, and my mom has always believed in it's demonic properties, so I never played. I'm also a little concerned with the safety and security of the game. I've heard many bad things about it, so even if I had the opportunity, I don't believe I would play.
   One thing I enjoy about this whole thing is how fired up people are getting. I've read several hate articles about how Pokémon Go is the 'zombie apocalypse' or something like that. People are always depressed in people. I can understand that, because I get depressed in people too, sometimes. Pokémon Go is just another faze among society. Just like planking, twerking, Ebola fear mongering and the cinnamon challenge, it'll be over and another stupid thing will replace it before you even know it was gone.


 2. What was something you collected as a child? Do you still have that collection? If you're a parent what's something your own children collected? Have you ever camped out, stood in a crazy long queue, or paid a ridiculous sum for a 'collectible'?

   I'm still a kid, technically, and I currently collect playing cards. I love cards, and enjoying playing, so it's a fun thing to collect. I still have that collection, and I'm still collecting. Recently, my friends brought me back a pack of cards with 53 different pictures of national parks and landmarks from their vacation. How cool is that?
   I have never camped out, stood in a line (aside from the grocery checkout at Walmart) or paid more than a few dollars for any collectible.


 3. "Collect moments, not things"...tell us about a moment you've added to your collection this summer.

   Swimming with my best friends, twice so far this summer. I've been swimming several hours every day this week, and my hair is not a fan of pool water. Swimming with them is super fun. It's an enjoyable experience and we make a lot of memories together.


 4.  What's something collecting dust in your home right now? Any plans to do something about it?

   My new school books are sitting in the homeschool closet, collecting dust, waiting for them to be used so very soon. I'm quite excited. I do plan on doing something about it; starting school and using them everyday for both my education and my personal enjoyment.


 5. A favorite song relating to time?

   Wake Me Up When September Ends, by Green Day is the only one I could think of that related to time, in any sense.


 6. What's been your most frightening or your most interesting encounter with wildlife?

   I had never seen a bear in person until Monday night. I was driving home from my grandparents (we had been swimming) when a momma bear started across the road with three little fuzz balls for cubs. Another car was coming from the opposite direction with their high beams on, so I couldn't see very well, being blinded by the headlights and everything.
   Even if I couldn't see the bears very well, it was still kind of cool to see what I saw of them. Bears are slightly odd looking animals. I think their legs are a little too long. I don't know. Is this just me?


 7.  On July 20, 1969 Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong set his foot down on the moon. If you could travel to the moon would you go? Why or why not?

   I would go, if I had the opportunity, just because I think it would be the coolest thing ever. Aside from the radical awesomeness of stepping on the moon, I think space travel is an incredible waste of money. Why? Because we know more about the surface of Mars than we know about the ocean floor. Our ocean. The one on earth. The one we can go to at a lesser cost with much less has. This planet already has both water and intelligent (though I sometimes doubt this) life.
   Why do we need to search for somewhere else? If we spent the money we waste on space travel on helping to keep this planet alive and well, we would have a MUCH better planet than a planet with some more data on Mars. Maybe I'm understanding this wrong, but I think that we could be doing many more powerful works with the trillions wasted on space exploration, until we discover everything there is to know about our planet, first.


 8. Insert your own random thought here.

   I recently got a new pair of ear buds on sale for 4 bucks at Walmart. I went home, took them out of the package, and plugged them in. I turned on one of my favorite songs and listened. The sound quality wasn't the best, but I wasn't upset. They were only $4, so I wasn't out much.
   Then more of the song progressed and I realized a very shady fact about those ear buds. The lead vocals were missing! It was the background music and background vocals! I found this hysterical, and I went and showed Mom. She also found this funny. I went to show my brother, but when he used them, the lead vocals came in without a problem.
   While I was glad they worked, I couldn't help but be a little saddened when I realized they were normal ear buds, just like my other pairs. Oh well. It was an experience, to say the least. And with that under my belt, I believe I would buy a pair of ear buds that I knew didn't play the lead vocals. It's actually sort of cool, plus you can sing along with just the band behind you.

Driving

   I'm getting better with driving, fortunately. I haven't even had any recent driving troubles, aside from getting a little close to a guard rail. Other than that, my driving skills are improving. One thing I will say, is that the most frightening thing about driving, is other drivers.
   A week or two ago, I was driving my family and I into a small village not too far away, when a big truck pulled out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and narrowly avoided all our deaths. I was glad that everything turned out okay, but it was still frightening.
   All in all, driving's been doing okay. Tonight, as I drove home from swimming my grandparents, I didn't have my glasses on and I had no issues driving, so that was good. My vision really isn't that, I just highly prefer to have my glasses on or my contacts in. I think I am becoming a better driver, slowly but surely.
   My best friend and I got our learners permits on the same day. I've had a ton of new driver mistakes, but the most hysterical of mistakes between us, is probably credited to her. She had come to pick up her cat, who had been staying with us while she was on vacation.
   She was worried about her cat (who does not like car rides) and backing out of our driveway, -something that I didn't master my first time either- and started backing out. Only problem was, she didn't start the car. I laughed, I'll admit it. It was hysterical. She stopped, put it into park, started the car and continues backing out. It was funny, and definitely made me feel better about my driving mistakes.
   Overall, I like driving, even though it can be very stressful. I hope to become a better driver, and I'm trying the best I can.