Bruises, mosquito bites, and bonding time.

You know the saying "I need a vacation from my vacation?" I am definitely feeling that way after last weekend's Circle Cabin trip. I was only technically on vacation for a mere 5 days (which definitely wasn't long enough), but I squeezed in as much fun as possible. And I have the cuts and bruises to prove it.

QS and I left town Thursday night, with BFF and the family not far behind. Thankfully, I was only forced to ride with QS for half the time, as we met up in Twin Falls and switched off. He's definitely a backseat driver. And there is no need to be, for I have excellent driving skillz*.

I headed up to the cabin on Friday to spend some quality time with the mother and the sister. Sister leaves on Tuesday for Russia, so Saturday was really our only chance to bond, as the mother put it. And we did, by regressing back into our teenage selves, complete with tube surfing, handstand contests, and water wrestling.

The family left on Sunday, only to be replaced shortly after with The Circle, minus The Rangeboy, a sad and unfortunate exception. The next two days were spent jet skiing, drinking, jet skiing, eating, jet skiing, and taking naps. All in all, it was a damn good time. Triple K and QS finished off the Jose that someone so kindly left us, and the night was complete as Triple K thought the lightning outside was someone taking a picture of him peeing. He also managed to steal my bed from me, when he gracefully crashed into the bunk bed ladder, proving it would be a definite liability to try and make him actually climb up there to go to bed.

Due to some unforseen circumstances, our Tuesday plan of four-wheeling was replaced with some good old-fashioned sight-seeing. We fed the fish at Big Springs, and took the scenic route so we could see the natural wonder that is Mesa Falls. Made it home in time to have dinner with the family, and then it was Wednesday. Which meant that I was forced to head back to the real world. So far, it is no fun. And niether was this blog post. Please to excuse the lack of pictures. BFF has all the good ones, and she is still on vacation. I will add some spice as soon as she gets back.

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*Kidding, QS. Not about the backseat driver thing, but about being forced to drive with you. You are an excellent co-pilot and might give BFF a run for her money someday.

For your reading and viewing pleasure...

I'm bbbbaaaacccckkkkk! Wait-no one realized I was gone? Well, that's just rude.

I wasn't really gone. And it wasn't like I just didn't have anything to blog about. In fact, I think I probably had too much to blog about. Everything was swimming around in my head and had I tried to write it down, it probably wouldn't have made any sense. Even to me.

So here's a quick update: The sister came to visit and overall, it was a good time. There were times of tension, as there usually are, and there was one major mental breakdown on my part, but it was entirely the rum's fault. Other than that, there was family dinner with amazing discussion of parasites, dead mice in shoes, and maggots. There was some good shopping, HARRY POTTER! (totally loved this movie and am sad all over again that there are no more books to come), floating of the river, and a perfect night of baseball. It's crazy to think that the sister leaves for Russia in a mere 22 days. For a year! I know a year will fly by and I'm sure I will head that way to visit and enjoy some chilled vodka, but it will be so WEIRD not having her home at Christmas. Who will I argue with? It's not the same arguing with a picture or even over the phone.

Got treated to a delicious dinner courtesy of LifeCoach and friends this weekend. She whipped up some delicious latkes (potato pancakes) and my hair still smells faintly of fried potatoes. I'm totally okay with it, however, for it reminds me of home!

As for the rest of summer, I'm sure it will be over with the blink of an eye. My fair friends are in town this week for the Canyon County fair (yay for them! And fair food, of course!). My Assistant Manager gets married this Saturday, and the end of next week is the official kick-off to the Circle's cabin trip, minus a few key players (I will really only miss the Dr., though!). Unfortunately, the real world is requiring my presence back in Nampa three days earlier than planned, something I'm not happy about, but will just have to deal with. Plus, I will be stuck in a car with QS and the Rangeboy for up to 6 hours! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Kidding, of course. I'm sure it will be highly entertaining. After that, the summer will end with a bang with the wedding of The Roommate! Due to cash flow and time management issues, this will also serve as the 2009 reunion. Mt. Rushmore best be getting ready!

And that, my friends is life as I have known it for the last little while. As a little parting gift, I leave you with this video, one of my all time favorites. And no, I don't care if you've already seen it a million times. It never gets old!


The Landlord

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Life's short...Says who?

Just a quick rant. Today, as I was pondering what I should do with myself tonight, I considered two options.

1-Go home like a responsible adult who has to work in the morning should. Watch a little tv and retire early.

-or-

2-Hit the town. Drink a little, dance a little, and sleep a little. Life's short. You only live once, right?

Now wait just one second.

How do I know that life is short? How do I know that I only live once? For all I know, I could live to be 111 years old. And once I die, how do I know that I don't get to start all over as a fish* or a boy named George?

And I guess that's the point. No one knows. Except for maybe that really smart fish with a photographic memory who distinctly remembers his life as a girl named Lucy who had really awesome shoes. And now he's just pissed, because he never got that one last night out on the town. That one last vodka-cranberry. That one last urge to go jump in a fountain or drunk dial that long-lost friend at three in the morning.


Well don't worry, Mr. Fish. This vodka-cranberry's for you.

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*After many a discussion of what I would like to come back as, should reincarnation be a real and viable thing, I decided that I would like to be a fish. But not a goldfish (especially one you could win at a fair. I would probably be dead before I even got a chance to own my own bowl). And hopefully I will be that fish with the photographic memory so that when there is a delicious worm dangling in front of me in a lake, I will know it's an evil trap. Because WORMS DON'T LIVE IN LAKES!

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda...

Today was a sucky day. And so to distract myself at work, I did this*. And now you get to read it.


I Can't:
*Wear hats. Of any kind. *Walk in high heels. *Function well before 10:00 am. *Stop buying Oreos (Have you ever tried freezing them? AWESOME.). *Wakeboard or waterski (Again, I blame the knees.). Wait for the new Harry Potter movie.

I Can:
*Juggle. *BS my way through anything. *Read a book in less than a day. *Read 4 books in less than a week. *Pick out the perfect purse for the BFF everytime! (That's it, though. She's too picky about everything else.) *Harldy wait to go to my cabin this weekend.

I Will:
*NEVER like beer. *Dance anywhere, anytime if the song is a good one. *Get along with anyone. (That doesn't mean I like everyone.) *Never understand why people love to go running. *Buy a new purse every three months or so.

I Won't:
*Ever like mushrooms. *Let myself get stuck in the world of retail. *Ever want to stop traveling. *Always be so indecisive. *Apologize for being obsessed with TSwift. *Tell your secrets, if you make it clear that you don't want anyone to know.

I Shouldn't:
*Shop at Target so much. *Bite my nails when I get nervous. *Spend so much time on my Blackberry. *Drive with my knees as much as I do. *Text when I'm drunk.

I Should:
*Move somewhere new. *Get a sleep study done. *Never feel guilty for wanting to be alone. *Get a tetanus shot. *Learn how to read slower.

Sorry if that bored you. It bored me as I typed it. You should try watching Weeds. It is single-handedly one of the greatest shows of all time. I have to go buy season 3 now, so Peace Out.

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*Borrowed from Here.

Cheers.

Age is a funny thing. People still think I'm in high school and that my younger sister is actually the older one. When people ask, my first instinct is to tell them that I'm 21. Truth be told, I'm 25, but does it count if I don't really feel 25? I'd like to think it doesn't, and I think my grandma would agree (she's been celebrating her 49th birthday for the last 15 years.)

I don't really know what any of that has to do with anything, but Triple K celebrated his 21st birthday Wednesday night/Thursday morning. It was your typical shit show, complete with crazy shots, a little bit of drama, and the required puking session. I gotta give it to the kid, though, because I have never seen anyone chug an AMF in three seconds flat. Even the bartender at The Cactus was impressed, which has to be hard to do.

21st birthdays are awesome. All birthdays are awesome, just for the fact that you get presents and free drinks and even free hot dogs, but the 21st is special. Its the one night you can pretty much get away with anything, give or take murder and robbing a convenience store.

I celebrated my 21st with my family in Idaho Falls. Needless to say, it wasn't so crazy. But I think I've made up for it by helping all my other friends celebrate theirs and celebrate it right. Here's a few of my favorite memories:

-Dancing with Erin at The Balcony, and watching her watch the man with the assless chaps.
-Not actually going out with The Roommate on her 21st (not exactly a good memory, but still kind of funny!).
-Singing karaoke with the cheer king and trying to prevent his death as he supermanned down the escalator head first.
-BKamps laying on the ground outside of Hannah's because her feet hurt and she just wanted to take a nap.
-Taking shots of whiskey with my sister and her boss.
-The kid in Denver who had to be surrounded by 8 of his friends so he wouldn't run back and forth in the train. Naked.

Like I said, you can get away with anything on your 21st. Maybe I should try and celebrate mine all over again. I'm sure I could get away with it.

A letter...

Dear left knee,

Really? You were so good for so long. We're talking at least 8 years! And then one wrong move and Mr. Knee Joint decides to take a little roll out of its home. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH YOUR HOME? I get the whole "exploring the real world" thing, but I have taken you to some pretty awesome places. And it's not like we're going to be done anytime soon.

And the real world isn't the nicest place. It's tough.

But no. Out you rolled and down I went. At least when my right knee joint rolled out, it didn't make me want to pass out. What the hell? And right in the middle of work, too. Not that I really minded that. It gave me an excuse to sit in my office some more.

So like I told you, the real world isn't all it's cracked up to be. You must have found out quickly, as you rolled back into your home real quick. Doesn't matter, though, because my knee still hurts. Like, a lot. And I look like a big dumbass, limping around everywhere. Add the fact that I get to wear my sweet knee brace for the next little while, and my dorkiness is complete.

Don't think you're getting out of this with just this letter. Oh no. Now we get to visit a physical therapist. Who will make you work. Hard. And if it doesn't get better, we get to have surgery again. Something I tried reeeeaaaallllyyyy hard to avoid. The first time was enough. It only took a good 6 months for me to walk normally again. Running? Don't even think about it. A second knee surgery and I will have to get a scooter to scooter me around. Which might be kind of awesome. But not awesome enough to forgive you.

Seriously. Thanks a lot-

The rest of your body

Friends Forever**...

This just seriously made my night. Maybe even my year. I will be watching when the reunion actually happens. I might even have a Saved By The Bell-themed party. You know you all want to come.


ZACK MORRIS ON JIMMY FALLON*

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*Please excuse my rudimentary clip-posting techniques. My computer from the year 2000 just isn't quite cutting in these days.

**Anyone remember the name of the gang's sweet band that sang "Friends Forever?" I do. I just want to see if anyone else is as cool as I am.