powerpuff, or powderpuff? Fighting flab one day at a time...

I do nothing to help with the sad misconception men have that "girls are wimps". I discovered a work-out room at work, and have been using the weights. Incidentally, I am determined to conquer the bench press. However, after my third set of 10 (benching only 30 lbs) today, my arms couldn't take any more, and I had to stop. Skipper has bigger arms that I do!! Let me clarify - I don't want "big" arms, I want tone. I just can't seem to get it.

But maybe I shouldn't feel bad about my lack of tone. I saw a chick the other day, who had well defined muscles in her arms, and I was pretty much in awe (and wondering what workout routine she used) when "she" turned around, and I saw a prominent adam's apple, and realized it wasn't a she at all. So much for that inspiring thought... But girls, have you ever wondered, how come men aren't ever afflicted with FAS (Flabby Arms Syndrome)? What is UP with that? Hmmmm... one of my friend's moms excuses it away by saying that women are supposed to be soft and cuddly. lol. I can live with that concept, as long as I don't get tooo much padding. :P

However, soft and cuddly or not, I'm determined to defy the "wimps" myth, once and for all. Watch out boys, here I come! (It just might take awhile.)

the iceman, er... icelady... cometh

I almost turned into a human popsickle last night. It was 36 degrees (F) outside, and I had no heat in my car. lol. And I had to keep the windows down because otherwise my windows would fog up. I guess I really AM full of hot air. Luckily for me, I had a blanket in the back of my car, which helped... but I suppose I looked a bit like a deranged transient, driving a stolen car. Here I am, swathed in this blanket, trying to keep warm, and not succeeding very well. I kept thinking about that 4000 year old guy they found in a glacier a while back, and how it must have been a bit of a shock to wake up and realize you're part of a glacier. The heat probably went out on his car, too. :P Or automatic Mammoth, or whatever they rode in those days. Actually, now that I think back, I think he was injured by an arrow. Yuck. At least I don't have to worry about stray arrows shooting me in the ribs when I'm riding in my new "air conditioned" car.

Well, that's all for now... I'll update you if I have any more hapless adventures.

rabid football fan makes headlines...

okay, not exactly headlines, but our current hero did get interviewed by the cleveland radio station after they discovered he'd come over 3,000 miles to see the Browns play. And... he is quite hoarse from cheering for his beloved team. I can't imagine him yelling though, let alone rabid... hehhe - He's very quiet when he talks to me. :P Alas, the Browns lost, but he remains a loyal fan. He promises that he'll take me to a game someday. Hmmmmm... do you think he meant a Packer's game or a Browns game? ;)

you can never have too many friends...

Yesterday, I discovered that Ozzy (my Oscar), had ich, thanks to the minnows I had fed him, and probably the temp change when I cleaned his tank. So, of course, it was on a day I had to go to work, and my hokey little town has no pet stores.

So being the calm, rational person that I am, I declare national emergency,and call all my friends to see if THEY can get some medicine for fishy. I get ahold of Becky, who volunteers to get some medicine, which I'll pick up from her house after work (I work till 11pm, pet stores close at 9pm). Then I wonder if Wal-Mart carries any ich medicine. I call, and discover that they do have it (after being on hold for 20 mins).

So I call Becky back and leave her a cheerful message telling her that she doesn't need to run to store, but thanks anyway. I feel a little foolish for panicking earlier.

Later on in the day, I call Dee, and tell her I'm making a Walmart pilgrimage at midnight, and invite her along. She enthusiastically agrees; she's been stuck at home all day, and the cat is driving her crazy.

After work, I stop at Dee's house (by this time I've talked to Nick), and tell her all about the phone call. She gets teary eyed when I tell her about "the words", and says she's so happy for me. We discuss how awesome hearing "the words" is, and how she felt the first time Greg said "the words" to her. We are talking, as girls do, in hushed tones (when we talk about stuff like this), and her boyfriend Greg decides to join the conversation. He's been sitting in the chair like a limp dishrag up until this point. "What," he asks, assuming we're talking about him. "What did I do now?"

"Nothing," Dee tells him, "We're talking about something else."

"Oh," says Greg, "I thought I was in trouble again." The cat meows in agreement, and then tries to use Dee's leg for a scratching post, which distracts her and we stop talking about the "L" word.

We made it to Wal-Mart and back without incident, although Greg said I was as giddy as a school-girl (I have NO idea why), and then I raced home to Ozzy.

I met my mother at the door, who was grim and pale faced. Of course I think I was too late and Ozzy has already died. "Oh, no," I say, "He's dead, isn't he?!"

Mom stares at me, horrified. "Something happened to Nick?!"

"What? No, nothing happened to him, why did you think that? He's fine!"

"Well, then who's dead?" mom asks, with dread on her face.

"THE FISH!!!" I say, "I thought something had happened to him, the way you looked when you came to the door!!"

"It's 1:30 in the morning," she says. "I thought you were hurt, you didn't call..."

After I convince her I'm not dead, and that I haven't been carjacked, mugged, or mauraded by wild bandits, we go check on Ozzy.

Of course, the fish is no worse than he was in the morning, but I wouldnt' say he was happy. He has so many white spots on him, you could play connect the dots. Well, I hope the medicine works, but if it doesn't...

...Becky left ME a message this morning, saying she had gotten the Oscar his medicine, and I could pick it up anytime (she hadn't checked HER messages, lol). So, I guess I always have backup.

What would I do without friends (or a mom, for that matter)?

oh, joy!!

We talked on the phone last night, for a LONG time, and he said "the words". I was so happy, I thought I was going to... I would say burst here, but that is soooo cliche! So here... I felt like a hot air ballon, big, and full of warmth, and totally on the top of world. And now enough of this mushiness, I'll make you all sick, and when Nick reads this, his face will be quite red, I'm thinking.

I want a puppy!!!

Living with your parents (so you can actually pay your way through college and still afford to eat) still has its disadvantages. Like the fact that my mom doesn't want another dog in the house. And the fact that I really, really want one.

After seeing Becky's puppy, I REALLY want one. She is soooo cute!!! She's a schnuazer, and she's sooo tiny, yet. Like a little curly black teddy bear, all soft and cuddly. She has a little black button nose, and little floppy ears. Then silvery boots. She is soooo cute. I think I said that already, but she is. :) She's a very sweet little puppy. lol, Becky got the puppy a little chew toy that's half as big as she (the puppy) is.

Anyway, they are quite dear, as Nick would say (expensive), so by the time I save up to buy one, I'll be in my own house anyway. lol.

Anyway, Becky and Delton are the doting "parents". When they are gone, they take the pup to "Grandma's". lol... Becky's mom loves to watch the dog, and I'm sure it will be spoiled rotten.

They even let her sleep in the bedroom so she's not lonely. lol. They'll be good parents. :P Hmmmm... do you think I can talk my mom into being a "grandma"?

on the soooouuul train

He's on the train again, coming closer to me every day. This is really quite distracting, and I can't think of anything more exciting to write. How distracted am I? I saw a box of hot pockets in the fridge at work and thought, "I forgot I put these in here, I'd better put my name on them!"

I got all the way home before I realized that those weren't my hotpockets at all, I had put egg rolls in there and I'd eaten them!!! How embarrassing!

But I'm not the only one that is distracted, apparently. Nick stayed with some friends in Philly while he was there, and Vixy reports that I was apparently on his mind quite a bit; she told me he would look at his watch sometimes and talk about what I was doing back here. Awwww... (and he did this at a baseball game!!!! even sports couldn't distract him, wow!!! heheheh)

He is so sweet!! And I am so lucky.

And, I got Pat to work half my shift for me on Saturday, the 11th, so now I don't have to race home from the train station.

Whoo-hoooo... Thinking about him, being here, definately chases the psycho... er psych teacher blues away. Yes, I'm in a better mood than I was yesterday; I refuse to even THINK about that nasty class. Cuz its just 9 days - and he will be HERE!!! Yay!!!

Ohhhh, the irony!!!

I have one small comment about today's class. My teacher was totally invalidating what my classmate, a Christian, had to say. What is ironic about this, is that Christians get the bad rap for being narrow minded. As far as I know, my teacher doesn't even believe in any kind of higher power, except for "positive energy", perhaps, but she is the most narrow minded person I have ever met. She can't stand it when her students have their own opinions. Its like she expects us to walk in there and blindly accept everything she says. I thought having an open mind meant making your own decisions and choosing your own beliefs instead of having someone tell you how you were supposed to think. I'll get off my soapbox, now... I had just had to gripe about that.

Gimme some Positive energy...

Ahhhhh, another enrapturing session of psych class, this time listening to another fellow student get rudely bashed by the teacher becasue he dared to express HIS opionion which differed from the teachers. She was discussing evolution, and he was disagreeing with macro-evolution. He was very respectful and polite about it, and she cut him off, and just laughed at him. I raised MY hand to try to help him out, but she ignored me. Ahhhh... I guess that would not have given the class any "positive energy". More thoughts later, Becky wants me to come over to her house and see her new puppy. I'm an aunt!!!!!

Do ya feel the love?

Nick is in Philly right now, seeing the sights. Ahhh, the city of brotherly love. Dunno about brotherly love, but Love is there. As a matter of fact, he's had his first cheese steak and said it was pretty good. Hmmmmmm...

His boat docked in New York at 7am, but he couldn't get off the boat until 11 am, and missed his train to Philly. Good thing he had a rail pass, he took another train two hours later. What's funny, is I teased him about getting a train ticket two hours after the boat was supposed to dock. "what if it's late?" I had asked, and he told me with great certainity that the QE2 is NEVER late. :P And men are never wrong, right? lol.

Well, wrong or right, he made it safe and sound. Next stop is Clevland to see his beloved Browns (if he was a Packers fan, he'd be perfect...), and then next stop is Wisconsin!!! Finally!!!!

Nick will be here in 11 days!!!!!

He's just arrived in New York about noon Eastern time, I think. Will be touring Philly for a few days before he heads for the great cold North. Ah... we Northern girls know how to make the cold seem quite inconsequential. Nothing "untoward", of course... *ahem* I'll shut up now...

Analyze This

Psychologists give you that unnerving feeling that you are being analyzed every time they speak to you. Did I tell you how much I LOVED *gag* my psych class? It's sooooo much pressure, and a HUGE workload. It very much gives me the feeling like I'm drowning in that class. I got A's in my last Psych class, what gives?

So today, I have a question about the test. I had gotten something marked wrong, and she told us if we wanted to challenge something, to talk to her about it. So I explained where I was coming from when I wrote the answer, and what I meant, and my teacher says, "Is that what you meant when you wrote the answer, or are you just saying that now?"

So I asked her why she thought I'd lie about it. She said, "I didn't say you lied, you said I thought you were lying."

Right. I can almost see her mind working, trying to analyze me. And then the big question comes:

"Do you have alot going on? You seem stressed. I don't sense a positive energy from you. Is there anything we can do to eliminate the stress?"

Of course I was stressed, and for some stupid reason, that made me want to cry, so I just shrugged and said no. Yeah, right, eliminate stress - It's not like you can take a vacation from your life. :P

More analyzing... hehehhe... But, WHY do teachers do that? Pile a ton of homework on you, expect you to study for a million hours, on top of everything else you have to do, and then ask, "are you stressed?"

Just a bit. I didn't get any "positive energy" sent to me this week, but if I had, I'd have given it to my car.

when it rains...

I've discovered that one can have too much adventure. I'm still convinced that God has a great sense of humor, and while YOU may laugh at my tale, I fail to be amused just yet by my rather eventful week. But I'm not bitter. :P

The plan for Monday night was to have my dad pick me up after work(my car was still in the church parking lot at this point). He was going to take me home, I was going to drive my sister's van (which Dad had fixed) to Dee's house and meet my sister Bridget there. Bridget has the glorious job of travelling photographer (which doesn't seem at all glorious now... more like a hazard to your sanity), and she was in a town about 45 mins. away from Dee's house, so it was a good halfway point. Anyway, we were going to stay at Dee's house that night because she had to leave in the morning and I had class.

... it pours

We didn't even get out of parking lot when I got a frantic call from Mom that Bridget was now stranded... Mom's car (the one my sister was driving) had broken down, about halfway to Dee's house. So Briget had to get the car towed to Dee's house. I still drove the van to Dee's house, except it was much later than originally planned.

The morning light showed that for Mom's car... the fat lady had sung, and there probably weren't gonna be any encores. Oil was everywhere; the engine shook convulsively, and belched black smoke from the tail pipe. There was no hope... so we thought. Dad came and tinkered around a bit and got it going, and we thought one problem was solved. Feeling optomistic, he went to the church and worked on my car.

My car actually needed a new heating coil (it had a leak), and he didn't have time to do that, so he re-routed the hose and it seemed to be as good as new. "Seemed" is the key word, here. The car drove just fine to Dee's apartment complex. Dad had to go to work, so I was supposed to pick Mom up and bring her to town so she could take her own car to work.

About 2 miles out of town, MY car broke down... again!!!! I called a tow truck, which took me back to Dee's house. I told Dee, "well, its good that Mom's car is working!!!" Right...

I tried to drive Mom's car to our house to pick her up and drop her off at work, and then take it to my class, but the car had other plans. It refused to speed up, and I had to put the hazard lights on, because people weren't bright enough to pass me. I had to call Mom and tell her what was going on. She was able to get a ride to work. I drove the car back to Dee's house. At this point, we had totally wasted a day, and realized we were starving. We decided to make macaroni and cheese (budget food), and realized we didn't have milk... or butter. And, we also realized, we were all very, very broke. It was very interesting macaroni and cheese, but we were hungry.

I managed to get a ride to class (Thanks to Rebecca's mom), and had to spend the night at Dee's again. My dad came this morning to work on my car, and got it jerry rigged to work for a while, at least. It's running. I still held my breath all the way to work today, though.

I suppose I could look at it this way. Our family alone could keep the car parts store in our little town in business for a looooong time. That's good. I'm glad someone will be smiling. At any rate, I guess I can put the old broom away.

Muphy's Law says...

If anything can go wrong it will. He must have been talking about my car. Yesterday, I was taking Deanna to church, and my car decided that it didn't want to go to church with us. We were driving along, minding our own business, when my temp. guage started dramatically increasing. Right about the same time, I saw steam coming out of my vents. I decide pulling over might be a good idea. Okay, maybe panicked was a better word. I felt the hood, and it wasn't hot, so I opened the hood and nothing appeared to be wrong underneath my hood. So I went back and turned on my car... more steam. So I looked under hood again. No steam. I got back in the car and looked at Deanna. "Do you see the steam?" I asked.

We established that both of us saw steam. I thought, I'll turn on the heat, that should cool the engine down. Um, no... Steam billowed from the vents and fogged up my windows, and I was so glad I wasn't still driving. I waited for the car to cool down and drove the half mile to her church, half expecting the radiator to blow, but if i was going to be stranded, I'd rather it be at a place I was trying to get to, then in a place here I didn't want to be.

I called Dad, thinking he could help. My sister's car was going crazy too. The lights weren't working. Well, they WERE working; they were flashing on an off like a Christmas tree, and she couldnt' stop it. So she couldnt' drive that home in the dark; and she worked late, so my parents had to take their car up for her and take the van home (THIS is what happens when you buy a Ford; nothing works).

So I went to church with Deanna, which was cool, except for the fact that I promised my friends I'd see them at my own church. They probably all thought I was sleeping in. That was one thing I did not do. But I will sleep in tonight.

My Dad was busy yesterday taking my Mom to the laundromat - they had my sister's van at this point and had to be home before dark. So they couldnt' look at my car. So I walked to school this morning and braved the four lane highway.

Hope my car gets fixed soon. If it doesn't, I'll have to dust off my broom and use that, although its getting a tad bit chilly for broom travel...

My Life is one Big Comedy...

Some of the guys I work with think they are the Hardy Boys, saving the world from violent crime... like littering. Some unlucky fool decided to dump his garbage in the complany's dumpsters. And he wasn't subtle about it, either, he dumped a couch and 10 bags of garbage!!!! A couch!!! Gee, that's easy to hide, just kind of shove it out of your pick up truck when no one is looking, right? Well, apparently, this is what this Einstein thought. Well, some one notices all the rubbage lying about by the dumpsters (he hadn't even bothered to put it IN the dumpster), and calls Security. That's my job. One of the guys decides to play Gumshoe, and rummages through the trash like Dick Tracy himself, and finds a pay stub with a lot of helpful information (Just like in the movies). Well, the cops are called, they talk to the guy, and give him a nice little fine of about $190... Ohhhhhh, the irony - some cheapskate decides he isn't going to pay to have his couch (and extra trash) disposed of, so he decides to be clever, and dumps it off in a parking lot somewhere. But he's not so clever, because he gets a littering fine, which could have paid for garbage service for a year. Ah well, at any rate, Tony, our company's self-appointed gumshoe, deserves a pat on the back, for saving the company. Hope they remember his efforts in the coming lay-offs.

MOST IMPORTANT INFO to note:
Nick will be here in 17 days!!!

Having a boyfriend who is in England right now makes things most interesting. I was at a friend's house last night, and we were playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, and I didn't get home til 2am. At this point, I was exhausted, but Nick was up and about (it was 8am there)taking the dog for a walk, so he did not get my phone message til after I had gone to bed. His left to board the ship at 9am, so currently, he is sailing the Atlantic on a posh cruise ship, no doubt having the time of his life. I do hope he doesn't succumb to sea-sickness. When we talk again, I guess I will find out.

Other that that, I've been very lazy today. I didn't excercise, and I took my car in to get my oil changed instead of doing it myself. Except I made a right fool of myself when i didn't drive into the garage straight, and then almost ran the technician over. But it pays to have friends in the car business, because I got a discount.

I should be studying. I have a test in Psychology on Monday, and I should take it seriously, but after studying Freud's theory, its hard to take the class seriouly. The teacher was so earnest when she was explaining it all. Like it mattered, or made sense! Frued!!! Well, study I must, because I do take my grades seriouly. Yes, I am serious sometimes. ;)

Why My Mother never allowed us to have an Aquarium as kids...

I was doing a water change in my fishtank the other day and managed to get more water OUTSIDE the tank than in. Dad was helping me, but I can't blame him. :P First off, in filling the tank, I had to hook the garden hose up to the sink with a little kit that's supposed to connect the hose to the sink and thereby make filling aquariums easier. However... I'm not so convinced.

I had everything connected, ran upstairs to see if the tank was filling yet, and it wasn't. I had to run back downstairs, and realized I hadn't opened the valve; it was still coming out into the sink, instead of going in the hose. I opened up the valve and then I ran back upstairs. At this point, we had water, but only a small trickle. This discovery meant another trip back downstairs to see if there was a kink in the hose. When I came downstairs, I found that there weren't any kinks, but from the hallway, I could see water spraying in all directions. I ran, sliding in the water, frantically trying to shut off the Old Faithful that had appeared in my kitchen. I got the water turned off and as I was running for some towels to mop up the new lake in our kitchen, Dad hollered from upstairs, "Nothing is coming out!!!!"

I yelled back, "I know, its all in the kitchen," and continued cleaning up the mess. Dad must not have heard me.

Five minutes later he yelled a bit louder, "We still don't have any water!!!" By this time, he sounded mildly irritated. So was I.

"I KNOW," I yelled back. He still didn't hear me.

He called a bit louder this time. "NORA!!!"

I answered.... this time he heard me. The whole neighborhood probably heard me. But now he was aware that the water was, in fact, turned off and we had had a slight crisis downstairs.

In the meantime, I'd left my computer on, and people kept trying to talk to me on Instant Messenger, so I skidded throughout the water and typed a somewhat frantic post that I was a bit busy at the moment.

Finally, the fish tank was full, but I realized the water was too cold and the fish was going into shock. So I had to make another emergency run back downstairs for hot water, to neutralize the temperature. Despite all the excitement, the fish survived. I wasn't so sure I would. I collapsed in a chair, and wondered why I ever wanted the fishtank upstairs.

Later on, I decided to treat my Oscar by buying him some feeder fish instead of his usual krill and shrimp pellets. I bought ten, thinking he'd take a while to eat those. Right. The next morning, only one was left, and I swear the Oscar belched when he saw me.

So, I decided he needed more fish, and went to a bait shop and bought some minnows. A lot of minnows. They didn't look like a lot in the bucket, but they swarmed on the bottom and bothered the other two fish. I realized there was just way too many, so I decided to put them in an emergency tank - which happened to be a drywall compound bucket, with an aerator. It worked, but I spent two hours trying to catch the stupid things. They would race from on side of the tank to the other. Finally I had enough of them out, and the Oscar was happy. Well, at least he has stopped sulking at the bottom. I am not sure if he's quite forgiven me for interrupting his serene retreat.

Me... I think I need a bit of serene retreat myself.

Putting it all in Perspective

In Pysch class were were supposed to do a project on Sept. 11, as a way of giving to the communty around us, and also to stop... and remember. I was feeling bad because I hadn't been able to do anything, because the usual cleaning and cooking and catching up that I have to get done on my days off had to be done.

And then I realized... its the little things, that make this country go... the "little" people that make this country work, the unnoticed, the forgotten, the person that no one notices. And it was just every day people, like you and me, that pulled together and make America proud on Sept. 11. Some people volunteered time, some people gave money, donated blood, or made phone calls, or even made food for the volunteers. Most of those people will never be forgotten by the people whose lives they touched, but they won't be on the cover of People either. They should be.... but they won't.

It made me appreciate what I had... I have my family and freinds... all here. I'm still here. And I'm so proud to be an American, part of a country where people pull together and offer a helping hand without a second thought. A country that can stand strong after being attacked and still show her bravery and strength.

On Sept. 11, we say, "Never forget", but also... always remember. Remember what's important. Take time to show people you love that you care, and tell them... often. You never know when it might be the last time.

Like Father, Like Daughter...

Ever walk into a room and forget what you came in there for... or just forget where you put something? My father does it all the time, and my Mom blamed it on age, but it can't be age, because I swear, I was born with it... I do it all the time too, and I'm not old; I've done it all my life. Mom teases me all the time about being absent-minded like my father, but we do okay... usually. But the other day, my dad tells me he's gonna work on my brakes. This was great, but then he loses my car keys - my only set of car keys. You see, I had thought, "I'm never gonna lose my keys, right, I dont' need to make an extra set..." So he looks and looks, and can't find them anywhere. I have to borrow my mom's car to get to work. (Thanks, mom !)

The next day, he still can't find them, so I think I get the day off of classes, and then Becky calls and offers to pick me up for Psychology class and take me to work, so I survive Day Two w/o a car. However, I had to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart before work, and since I didn't have my own car, I had to carry my purchase into work - a litterbox for the cat, who doesn't want to be a good neighbor and share a box with the other cat... another story, entirely, one you probably don't WANT to read. :P At any rate, the litter box caused the receptionist to raise her eyebrows a bit. I told her some of the people in the office weren't housebroken yet, and she laughed.

Well, my mom calls me at work. "Hey honey, I found your keys sitting on the table, and your car's back in the driveway, so I guess Dad found your keys." So later on, I'm talking to Dad, and he says he found them (in the trunk) about 15 minutes after Becky had picked me up. What a convenient time for the brain to choose to remember, huh? Well, at least my brakes are fixed, but now my oil needs to be changed...

Yes, I have made a spare set of keys. But I put them in a safe place, where they wouldn't get lost - and now I can't remember where that is... :P

The guys at work are greatly amused by my camping tales... not to mention the shiner that has appeared. I've just read Rebecca's version here and couldn't stop laughing. Check it out if you wanna know more about the camp story. lol. I had printed up a copy of my blog so I'd remember the web addy, and accidentally left it in the office, where Merle discovered it and gleefully shared it with everyone. He greeted me today with, "My goodness, you DO have a bruise!" It was worth it then, apparently it brightened HIS day. :P I definately think God has a sense of humor. He sure added a liberal dose to my life. :)

I am a scaredy cat...

Diana talked me into watching "Jeeper's Creepers 2" last night at the theater, for some dumb reason I thought it was a comedy. It was NOT a comdedy, and I inadvertantly went between wanting to puke or scream during most of the movie. I'm not much of a horror flick fan... Give me some points though; I didn't scream in the theater, although, I said, "Don't go out there, you stupid kid!!!!" to one of the characters... several times. As if they could hear me. LOL. And I think there are permanant finger indentations on the seat in front of me, I was gripping it so hard.

There's a reason why I don't watch these things, lol, it goes without saying that I didn't get much sleep, and I was even jumpy this morning when I looked out my window and saw our scarecrow - the thing that was attacking everyone just happened to have hid in the cornfields as a scarecrow.

Hmmm.... Maybe I should stick to bright, cheery movies, like "Pollyanna".

Getting Close to Nature -

Went camping this weekend with the girls - we had a blast. It was great getting away from work and school and chores around the house. Discovered a few things NOT to do while camping in the boonies, one of them being not taking walks thru the woods without a flashlight.

On the way back from the restrooms, I decided it would be fun to sneak through a path in the woods and meet the girls as they were coming down the road and scare them... only it didn't quite work out that way. I stumbled onto an empty campsite, and it just happened to be the only "barrier free" campsite as well (meaning that it was compatible for physically challenged people). This particular campsite had a raised firepit, and of course, my shins found it, and i went flying headfirst and my head also found the firepit. Of course, I'm wearing my pajamas, and since it's freezing, I'm also wearing a big sweatshirt that doesn't happen to match at all. So here I am, laying in an empty firepit, covered in ash, laughing at myself. If anyone had found me they would have thought I was an escaped mental patient. As it was, I was a bit stunned, and acted quite stupid for the rest of the night, laughing at eveything.

Cooking was another adventure; we had great food, but the bees wanted it as bad as we did, so we broke the numbr #1 camper's rule and actally ate in our tent. The wild animals weren't too bad, although a racoon raided my parent's campsite and ran off with an ice cream pail of all their bread. They found the pail the next morning, halfway down a nature trail, of course minus the bread. The racoons around there are actally pretty tame; one came right up to our site and was close enough for me to pet him. I think he wanted our s'mores, but mom told him to get lost. She doesn't seem to want to get that close to nature.

I took the canoe out with Beth and tried to fish, but all I caught was a fantastic sunburn. It was well hot; we finally took the boat back and hit the beach. The water was icy cold, but it felt wonderful. It was so refreshing that I got the insane idea to swim across the lake (with some other campers) to the other beach, and then back. I think there and back, it was about a mile, so I think I got my workout for the day. Richard Simmons, eat your heart out!

So here I am, back to the daily grind of work and school. If I had my way, I'd camp all year (minus the bees and the firepits in the middle of nowhere, of course).