Knee Deep in the Water Somewhere

My Facebook newsfeed has been filled with stories of people shipping off to the beach for weekend trips; this weekend I finally got to head to the water, but not to the overrated beach and all the traffic that trip would entail.


Instead, I was lake bound.

I'm usually not one for doing things alone but one thing I like to do alone is drive myself places. I have total jam sessions that I would not want to subject anyone's ears to, unless I hated them.


This road trip had its own significant problems. The AC in my car is broken. It takes me about an hour and a half to get to the lake and to my Cake. After reading fellow blogger Gretchen's horror stories about her own broken AC, I prepared to stay well hydrated on this drive.

They were both empty at the completion of my road  trip.

Anyway back to the beginning. Patti was having her boyfriend and his two littlest siblings stay at her house this weekend. She invited me to come up as well. We recently found out that Ben got this super cool new job so that was our first order of business: to celebrate!

When I finally got there on Friday, after driving during the hottest part of the day, we headed up to Massaponax to do some shopping. We went into a few stores, with the idea that we would return to them if we didn't find what we were looking for in Target. That was our first mistake. 

When we got to Target, it started storming. Badly. The lights were flickering. After we were in Target for a good 20 minutes, the storm knocked the power out. Luckily Target had generators so there were a couple of working lights, the doors worked, and after awhile, they got the registers working. It was definitely an interesting experience. 

However, the storm had knocked the lights out everywhere else in Massaponax. Our shopping trip there was cut short. We headed back towards Patti's to stop at Food Lion. While we were in that shopping center, we saw Anthony from afar. 

Backtrack: Sophomore year, when I first met Patti, we used to talk to Anthony on the phone all the time in our dorm. But I never ever met him in person. 

After Food Lion, we headed back to Patti's and awaited the arrival of Ben, Hannah, and Jake!  When we got home, Daniel, Evan, and Anthony were there. We ordered pizza, that arrived exactly as Ben, Hannah, and Jake got there. 

Our Friday night activities included pizza eating, Apples to Apples, ice cream cake celebration and watching Captain America. 

Saturday was  lake day! We woke up and made two batches of pancakes! The kids were so excited about getting in the water. To be honest, as long as I've been going to Patti's I'd never been in the water with the exception of one boat ride last June. 

Ben canoed us all over to Little Beach (making two trips each way) where we splashed around in the water some and played Frisbee. We then headed back to Patti's deck where we stayed for a bit. Then we decided we wanted to go bowling.


The last time I went bowling (during Fantasy Football weekend) was with Ben, Patti, Hannah, and Jake and I did awful that time. I had every intention of redeeming myself, which I think I did. The real story of the afternoon was Patti, who bowled 6 strikes (two turkeys) and a spare all in one game, finishing with a score of 193. In my defense, I did start my second game with two strikes!

Blurry photo! But Patti's score is the second line and mine is the bottom line!

We headed to Walmart for ingredients for kiddie cocktails and to pick up a RedBox movie. When we got back to Patti's, we played two games of Apples to Apples with Daniel, Anthony, and his brother Dom. Then we all had dinner, which was crazy awesome because Patti's mom extended the table and every seat was filled!


Then Steph and her parents came over! I just about tackled Steph when I saw her because I hadn't seen her since December! She's about to head to Maine for a bit and she promised to bring me some popcorn. Yum! I went on a night boatride with her and the rest of the adults, while Patti, Ben, Hannah, and Jake watched Red Tails. 


On Sunday, we woke up early and headed to Mass. Then we visited The Virginia Bazaar. When we got back, Patti's parents had hamburgers and hotdogs cooking on the grill! After lunch, we went for a boat ride and then went swimming in the lake. After we all showered, we sat around as our weekend came to a close. After staying for dinner, I headed southwards, road tripping home. This time in much cooler temperatures. 


Where's your favorite place to put your feet in the water?

Twilight Delightfully Different 3.5 Milers

Hey y'all and Happy Monday! I hope y'all had an amazing weekend; if you managed to stay cool, that is. It was a scorcher here, reaching 90 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday, I'm pretty sure. 

I am still exhausted from my weekend. But I am trying to keep in mind that it is the last Monday of the school year! Isn't that crazy? My babies graduate on Thursday (break out the waterproof mascara!). 

Speaking of high school graduations, that's part of how I spent my weekend. On Saturday (the 6 year anniversary of my high school graduation, btw) I attended a graduation party for a family friend, Kaylyn. My mom went to high school with her parents and we used to babysit Kaylyn and her sister when they were little. I've known that girl since she was one and a half. Talk about making me feel old. 

After the graduation party, I headed out to Richard Bland College. Why, you ask. Because I let the cross country kids that I am currently substituting for talk me into running the Twilight Delightfully Different 3.5 Miler, even though it's been a long while since I last ran. 


My sisters and my mom's bf had run this race a couple of years ago when I was living in Harrisonburg. This time it was just me running it. 


The significant thing about this race is that it is at night, which can be both good and bad! I despise getting up early and I'm used to running after work (ahem, when I do run). The downfall is that at night in June, it is HOT. The night before it was pretty cool at night. On Saturday at 7:15 when the race started, Siri so kindly told me that it was 90 degrees! 


So in addition to being myself, I realized that when I got to the race that I had forgotten to pack socks (Keep in mind that I came directly from a graduation party!). Thank goodness the race was close to civilization and in an area I was familiar with so I could run to Walmart and buy some!

Me, pre-race! 

The race wasn't that bad. Thank goodness it was a flat course. However about 75% of the race, the sun was beating down on you as it was setting. After the race, there was tons of pizza, beverages, watermelon and cantaloupe. I even got to see an old friend from high school.

The best part was that they gave out medals for the top 3 in each age group by gender! Guess who got a medal!

Highlight of the race!

What did you do this weekend?

What's in my purse?

I'm starting to think that the mess in my purse is reflective of the mess of my life.


I'm in the process of looking for a new purse. I'm not a "pack light/small purse" kind of girl. But I go a little overboard with large bags.

Here's proof!


Electronics: my iPhone and its charger (not pictured), my iPod, its computer cord, and headphones, and my Kindle and its charger. Not to mention my iPod arm band.

Four wallets. Um yeah don't judge me. I keep things in my purse so I don't lose them, which reminds me...


My keys, which I spent 5 minutes looking for this morning because they had sunk to the bottom of my purse.


Makeup: a lipgloss palette, nail polish and a multitude of lipsticks and lipglosses I forget to use.

3D glasses and my movie ticket from when Jim and I went to see Avengers (Can you believe I've been to the movies five times this year?! That's some kind of record for me!)

You never know when you might need a pair of 3D glasses!

Assorted change that I've thrown in the bottom of my purse.


Amazon gift cards that I got for my birthday more than a month ago that I keep forgetting to add to my account!


A ziploc bag of Warheads from mine and Patti's grand adventure in Richmond. They are in my purse because I promised a friend I'd bring him one - I forgot to.

Various lists and my Easy Spanish Crosswords book - I get bored at work and I need to desperately practice Spanish or I'll lose my fluency.


A mini shampoo bottle from the hotel I stayed in when I went to the Forensics competition in Harrisonburg. (Removing it from my purse now. Sheesh I can feel your judging from here.)

A pink lemonade Crystal Light singles packet from Teacher Appreciation week that was weeks ago. I never Crystal Light my water. Maybe I should try it.

Two pairs of sunglasses! These are vital to driving! You never know when one pair will malfunction on you. I don't recommend wearing them like this while driving!

Batteries (probably for my voice recorder) and a lens cap for my camera. Hush, I'm an aspiring photojournalist. In fact. my reporter's notebook is usually in my purse. 

Nail clippers and a tube of toothpaste. Wipes from Bdub's and hand sanitizer. Gum. The best hand lotion ever from my grandma. Grooming on-the-go! 

Now that you know what's in my purse, what's in your purse? What's the most absurd thing that's ever been in your purse? Or are you the complete opposite of messy me?

The Five Stages of Becoming an iPhone User

Stage One: I'm not cool enough for an iPhone/I have to take this out of the box!? I'm scared!

Stage Two: I have to type on this screen with my fingers? I'm a little wary!


I've been worried about getting a new phone because I am so bad at touch screens! 

This is what I am used to. Buttons! (Source)

Stage Three: There are so many apps I can have! I'm excited!

Screenshot! :)

Stage Four: There's no GoogleTalk app by Google.  I'm in disbelief!

This really depressed me because I like live on GoogleTalk. No worries. I found an app that'll do.

Stage Five: I finally have most everything set up on here. I like it!

My super cool case!

EDIT: I didn't cry this time when I got a new phone. I may or may not have cried when I got my first BlackBerry because I didn't understand how to use it. I used to be am a little melodramatic at times.