life's a beach. and an arcade.and the boards.and a casino.

begin day two: after a nice breakfast of cinnamon and spice oatmeal and no-pulp orange juice (thanks to matt who made sure I got it without having to ask since that would make me seem picky), and a thorough coating of SPF 70 sunblock, we were off to the beach. and it was time for some picture taking!!!

the lifeguard boat. i really wish there weren't people in these pics, but I took some good ones the next day too.
here's bridget and george jr. playing in the sand.
oh and we buried trevor. here's the process (and his daughter little bridget sitting on top of him). before it was over she used him as a slide AND she threw sand in his face. which, y'know, you get to do when you're seventeen months old and friggin' adorable. and trevor is a good sport, so that helps too.

and matt and me--he's rocking the faux-hawk and I'm rolling with the pigtails. I started calling Matt "Mo" but when we realized I wasn't up for him calling me "Pig" I had to let that nickname go...

after about three hours, having some good talks with tonya and taking lots of pictures and trying to hide from the sun it was time for lunch. and showers. and gun games, which are Matt's fave. I don't remember the name of the game we played but I *do* know that we beat it. :) and trevor? he played the little kid go-kart game. see?

oh, and, on the way back from the beach matt-dearest fed me grapes. peeled grapes. peeled grapes that he peeled with. his. teeth!!! it was tonya's suggestion, and it was HILARIOUS. three times over.

oh, and it takes FOUR adults to win one of those find-what's-different-in-the-picture games. seriously.

that night we all went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was on the boards. Dinner was yummy (mmmmm salmon) and then we came home to sing Happy Birthday to george jr, whose birthday was monday a week and change ago.

but before dinner we went for a walk on the boards...and I misunderstood what Matt intended me to do to be *silly* in our pic, and this is what we ended up with.


and tonya and I looked at shoes and hat. and found this gem. which I surely did not buy.

that night george the third, tonya, matt and I went to resorts. we played some slots and I played Kara S.'s dollar, which I lost. :(

and then, since we were going to be at the beach at ten, it was bedtime yet again...

so I didn't even take any pictures for the first twenty four hours I was there.

a quick sum up before I begin: the vacation was wonderful, the fry family (and extended family) is awesome and I had an incredible time!

first, the players in this tale o' atlantic --just a summary of how they fit in and some of their traits.

george jr-father o' the frys, husband of rosemary
rosemary-mother o' the frys, wife of george jr
george the third-oldest fry, husband of tonya, extra organized, chemical engineer
tonya-george the third's wife, very fun, girl scout
michelle-oldest fry girl, wife of trevor, mom to little bridget, extremely patient!
trevor-husband of michelle, dad of little bridget, drinks a lot of beer, hilarious (but don't tell him I admitted that), canadian
little bridget-cute-as-a-button daughter of michelle and trevor, seventeen months old, matt's niece and goddaughter
kat-youngest fry girl, wife of devon, mom of five month old katlyn, oceanographic engineer
devon-husband to kat, dad of katlyn, oceanographic engineer
katlyn-sweet but fussy cutie-pie with the most intense stare I've ever seen on a baby
matt-you should already know who this is by now, but if you don't, he's my wonderful boyfriend and the reason I went on this vacay in the first place!
aunt teri-mother of big bridget and kevin, sister to george jr.
big bridget-daughter of teri, my bunkmate for one night, first cousin to the frys
steven-son of teri, good photographer, first cousin to the frys
kevin-first cousin to the frys, sarcastic in a good way
plus assorted other relatives, cousins, a boyfriend, pets, etc.

and of course, yours truly.

now that I've gotten that out of the way...

the trip on sunday was un-eventful. also, it turned out that I had everything but a pair of tweezers, and this should tell you a little something about the fry family--when I asked if anyone had a pair I ended up with FIVE to choose from. they're quite wonderful, quite wonderful indeed.

so, we arrive on sunday, and immediately I meet...trying to count...and not counting rosemary, george jr or matt...AT LEAST seventeen people. perhaps more. no, really. seventeen. that's A LOT of people.

we go to Aunt Teri's house in South Philly, sit and chit chat, eat finger foods, etc. people ask me questions. we talk. I hear family stories. Matt was really really good about making sure he was nearby, seeing if I needed anything and doing things like rubbing my arm or shoulders to kind of reassure me. By the end of our time there we'd had cake after singing happy birthday to george jr and had ended the time laughing.

I also found it comforting that their downstairs bathroom in their split level house was not to be used because it had piles of laundry in it. I was glad to see that at least some of them weren't spic-and-span people. if you've ever seen my bedroom you know what I mean. :)

I liked it too that Aunt Teri gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and told me that I should really come back some time, and Big Bridget hugged me and said "seriously, after meeting all of us you DESERVE a hug!"

next was the drive into atlantic city. I rode with matt, george the third (who drove), tonya, devon, kat and katlyn. And we stopped for lunch at--horror of all horrors--Mickey D's. Which I DETEST. But I went old-school (aka elementary school) and ate my nuggets with sweet and sour sauce because I didn't want to be difficult. I knew things were going to be okay when I got back in the car and tonya, who'd heard of my McLoathing, said "hey, carrie, george jr told us that if we go down the road and then take the next right and then drive three miles we'll come to a chic-fil-a so you can eat there." (sarcasm obscured by internet!) it was terribly funny.

oh, and we saw a street called No Name, but didn't have time to take a picture of it.

we finally arrive with all twelve people and oodles of luggage and check in to our hotel--we've two rooms, and matt and I are staying with george jr and rosemary, michelle, trevor and little bridget in the PENTHOUSE. I felt a tad pretentious hitting the "penthouse" button, to be sure. But the place was FAN-CY! Matt and I each had our own rooms and shared a bathroom that was also the *guest* bathroom.

we settled in, played with little bridget A LOT (she luuuurves soccer balls and matt has some extra adorable pictures that I'll add later once I get them from him) and then after a beer run ate dinner together.

and then.

tonya and I sang girl scout song after girl scout song. some of 'em we thought of later, but we regaled people with tunes such as--little cabin in the woods, oh an austrian went yodeling, alice the camel, the brownie smile song, you name it, it's likely one or the other of us knew it. (and of course, when I left, I thought of Linger. awwww...)

matt, tonya, george the third, trevor and I drank and talked and hung out until about 1130, and then matt and I took a walk on the boards--which is what you call them if you're a local--not "the boardwalk." we saw go-karts and this $55 bungee thingie and lots of people called matt "cheap" because he wasn't going to try to win me a prize. y'know, a prize that I didn't even want by playing a game that was rigged and expensive.

riiiight.

and then? then I went to bed. and this was the end of sunday. allllllll on sunday. just you wait for the rest!

last minute blogging

because I'm ready early.

yes, me.

ready EARLY. wtf?!?

but it's kind of nice, in all honesty. weird and makes me wonder what in the world I forgot, but still. also, it's strange to make the conscious decision NOT to wear tennies to the airport 'cause I'm not going to need them. what's going on, huh?!?

I'm completely not nervous, and I'm loving it. 'cause, well, I think maybe just maybe they're gonna love me. and I find that thrilling.

oh, and? a little tip. moshi, a type of icecream? it's gross. looks pretty, but is gross. as betsy put it, it's like a japanese icecream sandwich but not good. and she's rather correct, I must say. i'd show you a picture but blogger isn't cooperating...maybe next time?

time to go, eek! wish me luck! likely no blogging until Wednesday evening!!!

what an amazing time, what a family...

~gwen stefani

first of, a huge hooray for the Turleys--all five of 'em now! Samuel Mckee was born at 12:12 yesterday afternoon, and he is gorgeous! He's a lucky lucky boy, having such incredible people for his parents. I can't wait to meet him, and I am so happy for you all. Okay, have to stop talking about this, my eyes are getting watery at work!!!

[regaining composure]

okay, more fun. well yesterday...
1)I found out I only have to renew my lease until next July, not next October
2)I found out my rent is going to be $10 less than I thought--which isn't a lot, but it's still $10!
3)I got to play softball. Oh, how I'd missed it. And thanks Kara S. for coming to watch!
4)I went to bed at a semi-reasonable time (especially for me)
5)I made Anna happy.
6)I bought a couch for $80 (three years old, comfy but not super cute, just needs a slip cover and ta-da!)
7)I decorated a clock. see?


yeah, so that's my c.o.m.h. for this friday. except...well. so I wanted this clock for my bathroom, see? I'd been keeping one in my shower but it was little and fogged up and who's awake enough to have to squint in the morning, hmm? seeing the time is painful enough without having to make a huge effort to do so. So I bought this kitchen clock at HomeGoods for $7, then peeled off the paper (which was this cute lemon thing perfect for a green kitchen but terrible for a bathroom) and then mo-po'd this cute fabric on it, right?

easy as pie. or pi. or 3.14. or whatever.

anyhoodle...

so it's bedtime and it's mostly dry so I set it to the right time, put a battery in it and tick, tick, tick, tick...there's no second hand, people!!! why is it ticking every second?!? gah!

I managed to sleep just fine, but really? going to have to reconsider the clock. or its location. or start shutting my bathroom door at night. 'cause it's going to make me crazy.

I have a roommate now--Michelle is staying. Which is awesome, we get along really well. And it means I don't have to get used to someone new. And I like that. Yay for having things figured out, at least through next summer!!!

off to the lab, then to a meeting. toodles. and tgif!

word, word, bird is the word.

or, um, ginormous.

so, I totally get that slang and colloquialisms and vernacular are important. I mean, they are. I do not speak (or blog) in a formal fashion. It'd be a shame if I did, and I don't think y'all would read.

but anyway, isn't some of the fun taken out of using a word like "ginormous" when it actually gets put in the dictionary? I kinda think so.

nice and cute.

so, apparently matt's parents couldn't get over how nice and cute I was. I talked to him later in the evening and he said how they were all talking on the way back to the hotel and they kept saying over and over "she's SO nice!!!" and "goodness, she's CUTE!"

which kind of works out well 'cause I can't get over how nice they were.

they came and got me at seven, when I realized that
1) I so should have worn jeans.
2) I so should have worn flip flops instead of flats (although, it was raining, so maybe flats were the right choice).
3) I so should have brought an umbrella.

ha.

we went to dinner at chili's in brier creek and happened to sit in what Matt and I refer to (jokingly) as *our* booth. we talked about their family. and philly. and atlantic city. and funny stories about matt when he was a kid. and how for every thing that he or his siblings wanted when growing up (that his parents didn't want him to have) there was always a story of a kid who'd died/gotten injured/lost an arm/whatever doing whatever it was.

for instance.
matt: can we have a trampoline? puh-leeeeeze?
parent: no, don't you know about that kid two blocks over who snapped his neck jumping on one?

yeah. kinda funny. apparently the sad part is that his parents got older they actually knew real people who were examples, so now Matt still isn't sure which are true and which are false.

I learned that Matt's dad's parents didn't like his mom at first, so his dad wasn't allowed to use the car to take her out on dates. So instead? He bought a motorcycle. Guess I know where that stubbornness came from. (and I did tell his parents that he's the first guy I've ever know who is even more stubborn than I am!)

we made jokes, we talked about wine and oklahoma (and his dad asked me if there was an *oklahoma* or *tulsa* food like how you have philly cheesesteaks in philly--I said I couldn't think of anything unless it was bbq or mazzios or something, what do you think?) and my family and photography and my new camera, etc.

and Matt told them that I'm an excellent chef (which according to Paul I'm a chef, not a cook, since I don't always use a recipe) and how I've immensely expanded his vocabulary over the past four months. :D

I got to talk to his mom by myself for a minute as well--we were waiting while the guys got the van and then Matt came to bring us an umbrella 'cause it was really raining hard. His mom (Rosemary) told me about she was always cold, and how his dad (George the Second) now had a thermometer on his travel alarm so he always knows the temperature and gives her a hard time about how she's cold. Which is funny 'cause often Matt says to me "Really?!? You're cold right now?" Of course he says this as he puts his arm around me to warm me up (the boy is a heater, I swear!) but it's funny, still.

when we got to my place to drop me off they opened their thanks-for-letting-me-stay-with-you (in advance) presents. I got his dad a six pack of Choc beer from Oklahoma and a pet tornado (which if you don't know what this is you really must look up, I find them amusing AND science-ee, and since his dad used to run a science center....) and then I gave his mom a bottle of Stonebluff white wine and three wooden roses from Woolaroc. They seemed to LOVE them.

the part I liked best was when Matt was coming around to walk me to the door with the umbrella his mom said, "I am very much looking forward to getting to see you again on Sunday. Very much."

[insert ear-to-ear smile here]

yaaaay!

more about the remainder of the evening:
1) I managed to get my new camera. The LCD screen is HUGE and I am going to like it, well, once I get over it being different. I've been playing with the features, I'll show you them soon.
2) I am surprised that my new 4GB card only holds about two thirds as many pictures as my old 4GB card. Apparently that .9 MP makes a big difference. I need to check out the other settings too.
3) I really like the show Big Love. HBO makes good series.

and then.

Last night I had a dream that I was walking down hallways and going into rooms looking for a job. Maybe the times they are a'changing and it'll end some kind of frustration? One can hope?

"as a rule, what's good for engineering is not good for fish."

~sciam, p. 28 june 2007

the good thing about being in the iron-ee lab all the time is that I get to read my scientific american. which makes me pleased. I mean, they said I could read articles while I waited. They didn't specify the type, and I read my share of Chemical and Engineering news, too. I am so going to have some really interesting party convo, I mean it!

so the title quote is from a rather interesting article on fish-friendly turbines, which probably sounds both boring and counter-intuitive to most of you, but was kinda cool, actually.

and apparently the writers o' the magazine felt like being extra aware of our be-finned friends, as they also had a little article about this hot spring in turkey where the fish allegedly cure what ails you by removing the top layer of your skin. hey, maybe that's a good alternative for burn victims instead of dipping them in the vat of bleach? (did you know they do that? it's pretty ick. I had to watch this whole safety video about it. icks i say, icks.)

oh and did you read jackie's reality show idea? it could be pretty hilarious, no? like real world with just chicks. who know each other. and who are all reasonable, rational, social and fun (or at least much more often than not). um, we'd need a good name though. suggestions?

also, I'd like to introduce you to a bad thing about the lab. it's a good old friend of mine called Ammonium Hydroxide. Like full-on, not-from-your-local-store strength. I run it through this little tube via a peristaltic pump and into my big ol' container during this co-precipitation thing that takes basically all day (and if you knew (or read) that ammonium hydroxide was a base, you'd realize that was just a most excellent pun. but I digress...) anyhoodle, I was cleaning stuff up today and moved the little tube and it kinda slipped out of my hand and sprayed stuff, much like water from the end of a garden hose if you shake it.

and the ammonium hydroxide went

on.
my.
forehead.

droplets droplets everywhere...on the small area of exposed skin on my entire body (seriously, just the face and neck and then, sans the eye-glass covered portion are the ONLY bare parts of my body, and of course that's where it hits).

I got friendly with some water and paper towels, and I'm fine now, and it didn't even start burning, but still. yucko.

I cannot wait to go home, shower and go have dinner with Matt's 'rents. And, how sweet is this--Matt was talking to his mom about where we should have dinner, how he was trying to find somewhere close to their hotel, and she said "Matt, we need to go to dinner somewhere close to Carrie--she's the one who's been working all day."

I thought that was very thoughtful of her. :)

i'm just a girl take a good look at me just your typical prototype

~no doubt

and there's no doubt I miss them. oh, don't get me wrong, I do love gwenny gwen gwen. maybe not as much as ariel does, but still. i have to admit gwen's pretty fab. but there's no doubt that I miss no doubt. I hope they actually do an album soon.

yesterday evening I got to meet my new niece and nephews--aka Mary Alise's new kitty cats Cam, Abby and Bono. (and it just occurred to me that their names begin with A, B and C. guess their next animal will have to be a D, eh?) Anyhoo, they're CUTE. And the salmon and couscous we had for dinner was deeeeelish. Yay for Mary Alise.

speaking of which, a big shout out to her as well, as today is her birthday!

this is a picture from...umm...easter, maybe? I think? it's one where we're both smiling, so I just picked the first one I found.

I am spending hours and hours in the lab and having to take two showers per day because of the iron-ee smell attached to my skin. And if this pumpkin-pie-orange goo actually touches your skin you should really be prepared for some high-level scrubbing, as it stains. which is totally swell. picture it people. be jealous. yikes.

time to continue wearing my lab coat. it is truly my new fave piece of clothing. ;) seriously though, once my camera arrives I'll have to take a picture of how fabulously awesomely nerdy I look in it. le sigh.

hazel should have a snooze button.

I love my cats. I really, really do. See how cute they are???

but for the love of all that is holy, I wish that hazel wasn't quite so lovey-dovey in the morning. just like she has since she was a kitten, in the morning when my alarm goes off, if not earlier, she wants to make biscuits on me. today she decided to do it in my hair, kneading her little paws all over my head and making a tangled mess. I almost threw her off the bed, but instead just pushed her away.

and then she began to clean my entire elbow. gobi, meanwhile, just continued to stay comfy on his pillow, like he usually does. it seems that the lovely hazel had pushed him out of his normal spot, which is directly beside my pillow on the top corner of the bed. he's cute like that.

but I really really wish I could just make hazel stop for long enough to catch a few more z's. one can hope...

the rest of this weekend was pretty busy, I know you're all terribly surprised. Saturday we drove to a party in greensboro and I met a lot of new people who were pretty much exactly like Matt had described them. I got the friendly third degree and quite a few people were like "really, you and Fly?" (ps, his college friends call him fly--he got that nickname his freshman year, but anyhoo...) and people also were floored by my being a chemical engineer. It was flattering but also a little awkward.

so anyway later in the day (before I took a short nap in their guest bedroom--I've been REALLY tired recently) while playing volleyball the other team forgot to record their point, so I let them know so they could add it. someone was like "hey, don't tell them, just let it go!" to which I responded "well, we're going to beat 'em anyway, so it might as well be fair and square," talking a little good-natured trash, y'know, like ya do. and immediately two people turned to Matt and said "oh, now I see why you two go together." It was quite funny.

that evening was fun too--we decided to come back from greensboro and go out with his raleigh friends downtown. I think that was the most fun I've ever had with them, honestly. good times for sure.

and now I'm in the midst of operation:find a roommate. my current roommate just moved back to the house (long story) and might want to stay now, but there were two people who came to check it out yesterday--the over-enunciating guy and the very talkative girl whose appearance made me think "wow, she and renee could be sisters!" except that renee is prettier. :)

we'll see how it all pans out.

oh, and? I'm meeting Matt's parents on Wednesday night. I'm getting just a skosh nervous about that. But just a skosh...

"i don't know marla well enough, maybe after the fifth frame..."

~michael, on why he'll slap my ass but won't slap marla's!

you know, I still owe y'all pics from tulsa. yes, still. some time soon, but today is not that day.

I've been working on a new project that keeps me in the lab pretty much all day. And while I like it because the day goes by fast it also means I'm never ever near the computer. :( Like, I think that yesterday I spent the least amount of time in front of a computer in pretty much my entire working life! yikes!

then it was quadruple date bowling. it started as a double date. and then became a triple date. and then became a quadruple date. of sushi(me)/hibachi(everyone else) and bowling. bowling couple v. couple, bowling girls v. boys, bowling with *even* teams and then just a plain old game with six of us. VERY fun. and there were repeated ass slaps and some cute pictures taken, though not on my camera.

and now, I am tired because I stayed up waaaaaaaay too late, and it's time for me to get ready to go to a party in greensboro. oh, and I ordered my camera yesterday, I hope all the components get here in time. if something doesn't, I hope it's the case 'cause I can make due with that...

time to get ready, too-da-loo.

she's a twisted b*tch...and she's lying

~from unhitched

so I think matt and I are going to become movie-quoting fools. I mean, not that he wasn't one already...but anyhoo, know what's spectacularly spectacular? watching silly comedy videos on youtube. like sarah silverman stuff, it makes me feel so terrible for watching but goodness it's funny. and dane cook's thing about a guy getting run over by a car? yikes.

yesterday was a fun day--sleeping in late late late, playing bocce in my backyard, going to Lara and Kevin's for dinner and then going to bed at a semi-reasonable time. I liked it. And it's the first time in a long time I haven't yearned for Oklahoma fireworks on the 4th, probably because I didn't even bother watching any.

and? I have at least twenty nine bug bites on my legs. just my legs. also, kinda funny--y'all know (if you've spent a lot of time around me) that I'm always *prepared*--with sharpies or a bandaid or scissors or whatever. you would soooo want me on your team for let's make a deal. but matt took the cake yesterday, as the guy had citronella candles in the back of his car. four of 'em. who totes those around, hmmm?

i was surely amused.

oh, I've picked a camera. I'm going with the A630. It's still an upgrade from my other camera, it's $100 less expensive and I think I'll be fine. With either one I can easily print a 16x20 or even larger, and otherwise the two have the same features, and I don't need to have 10mp. I haven't given up hope for my old camera, but I do think that I should go ahead any buy a replacement, because even if I do get it back there's no guarantee it'll get to me any time soon.

and, I've thought of a bit of a positive--at least I have my pictures from the states. as much as I hate that I've lost pictures from the rehearsal and the wedding and the pretty pretty sky, at least other people have 'em, y'know? there's this awesome one of me in my dress with these ridiculous decorative pearls on, and though it was hilarious I'm going to be okay. I'm sad to have (potentially/likely) lost the ones of Anna and me in our "I'm the Evil Twin" shirts, but we can do that some other time too. So it'll be alright.

Plus, it would suck waaaaaay more to have gone to kansas, missouri and arkansas and done all that driving for naught. So that's my bright side. And it's all I got so don't dissuade me, k? :)

Alright, time to start work on a new project. It's called the Steam Iron project and I don't know what to think of it yet...we shall see, eh?

and, since turner asked: here's my logic for not making due with a lesser camera in the meantime...for starters, next sunday I go to philly and atlantic city, and I need a camera for that. but more importantly, any way you slice it I'd have to BUY a camera. so if I purchased a $120ish canon (which is about as cheap as you can find a canon camera, and it's gotta be canon 'cause I'm all loyal and stuff) and then in a month, when I was sure my camera was gone, I'd want a *better* camera equivalent to the one I had before. so I'd have a $120 camera that I no longer found sufficient. and since I'm a photographer-of-sorts, I need a decent one.

I mean, you really do have a point, and I very well may peruse craigslist or the like to see if there's a used one I could get. but my camera is a need, y'know? I wish I weren't having to think about this at all. :(

not to put too fine a point on it: say i'm the only bee in your bonnet

make a little birdhouse in your soul.
~tmbg (who I luuurrrrrrve)

so, things.

my granny is out of surgery just fine. she got out yesterday afternoon. there were some complications--she had a hernia--and they couldn't do the little incisions like they'd planned so her recovery will be awful. the doctor also said that the tumor was cancer and that we won't know until thursday or friday night at the earliest what stage it's in. stage 1 or 2 they'll treat her and any worse than that they'll just make her comfy.

i wish i were still in tulsa so I could give her a hug.

positive things: she's aware and she knows who people are, she has feeling in her limbs and she didn't have a stroke over the night which was a big fear of hers.

also, I went to the airport yesterday and spoke to the baggage claim lady. she was nice and helpful but my camera isn't in raleigh--it just so happens that the flight attendant from my flight was in there too, and she said she didn't take a camera off the plane. now I have to hold out hope that whoever sat in my seat next found it during the flight and turned it in.

odds of that? not so good. but we can see.

so, as y'all know, I cannot possibly survive without a camera. which might sound insane to you, but it's so so so true. and I go to atlantic city and philly a week from sunday and I'm sure as heck not going without a camera.

so, I've picked out the camera options. I've decided that I really like the screen that angles, so I'm sticking with canon's 600 series. and it's really just a matter of whether I need the 10mp or can settle for the 8mp. That and the black body and the remote ability to take a picture are pretty much the only difference.

will I use the remote? maybe. will I even notice the 2mp difference? possibly, but I don't know that I *need* it. especially when I wasn't even planning on buying a new camera yet...

le sigh.

so, here are the contenders. I was looking at their A710 too since it has a 6x zoom and image stabilization, but it's bigger and doesn't have the screen tilt thingie and I really do love that.

at least these are the upgrade from my old camera. and I'm excited about that part, I just wish I had the SD card still. guess I'm going to be more anal about downloading photos now. cameras break and disappear and all--that just happens, and they're replacable. but the pictures? not so much. bummer and a half.

my only ray of hope and sunshine is that one day a long time ago adam got his little green suitcase back. hopefully I'll be so lucky.

how are they always right on?

i mean, right on. as I've said before, if you ever have a dream that you remember I recommend checking this out...

friday night I had a dream that I was swimming in a pool and being chased by an alligator. It's the alligator meaning that really got me. about not owning up to something. I think I'm going to have to work on that one...

anyhoodle, see you later, alligator.

kansasmissouriarkansas(andoklahoma)

all in one day. on tuesday. and I liked it. :)

(ps, I'm just going to operate under the I'll-get-my-camera-back assumption and pretend that all is hunky dory, k?)

so, here are pictures I took in

kansas

missouri

arkansas

there are more, but this is a taste!

the trip was fun except for getting lost in kansas about, oh 5 miles from the missouri/kansas state line and having to go down to route 44 (through miami and lost city, ok!) and then back up again. but I found my brother some grolsch in missouri and that made him happy. also, it was semi-rainy the whole time. :(

also, did you know that mickey d's has a crest?

and can you find the four leaf clover? this little guy came home with me!

that evening I went to my mom's, found out that many girls get angry over stupid things (there was a whole thing about whether or not I'd be pissed if matt's new housemates were two girls--he didn't think so but all of his friends did) and played quarters for the first time with my brother and his friends who TOTALLY picked on me and shared icky stories about when they've accidentally swallowed the quarters. and then after talking to jeremy for an hour I took a bath at one in the morning! (someone had to use the whirlpool bath!)

also, funny thing: michael and I figured out why bathrooms sometimes have a tub AND a shower stall--so you can clean off and then take a bath so you don't basicall stew in your own filth. ;)

it's cool that my friends worry about me when I have not yet blogged.

in like forever...

I will share some bloggage fun-tastic-ness with you soon. in the meantime, please cross your fingers/pray for/knock on wood about the following.

1. my granny is in surgery. like right now. having part of her colon removed along with that eight inch apple diameter sized tumor. i'm a skosh anxious about the whole sitch, as I'm sure you understand.
2. my granddad is showing some signs of improvement. he took his lunch in the dining room the other day--granted it means that they had to move him in his bed, but still. it's good. hope he keeps healing.
3. my camera is one of two places. it's either with the nice people at the american airlines lost and found in the raleigh-durham airport or it's with the person who sat in my seat after me and left a mini-box of fruit loops in the seat-back pocket. I'm hoping the former.
4. I am tiiiiired. In addition to my lack of sleep on saturday night/sunday morning (which I shall share about later) I also slept poorly last night because a)#1, b)#3 and c)I have five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes running through my head. y'see, I watched RENT for the first time ev-ah yesterday, and I liked it. I had twenty minutes left to go when I got off the plane (and left my damn camera in there) and matt and I finished it and then went through and watched some of the really good musical numbers (except that moo part I hate it). I am so. so. so. glad he likes musicals. so. but anyway, that song makes you not sleep.

enough rambling. more working. and more blogging soonish!

"you're like a strawberry daiquiri--people should just drink you up!"

~the best hair lady ever, my dear cheryl

first off, this picture is old. like, from mid-may or something. but I finally figured out how to make my phone send pics to my email. I had a beer at the Village Draft House in Raleigh, and this is what the foam looked like--I kid you not. It made me happy. :) doesn't it look like it's winking?

so, let's see...what now...

I went bowling with Chris.
and had lunch with my grandlittles (well, two-thirds of my grandlittles--and no, they weren't missing appendages, one of the three wasn't there!)
got my hair did by cheryl who made my day
tried to buy a t-town shirt, but alas, the place closed at 3pm on monday--I'll try again!
went to the Lyon's Indian store to get fun stuff for the gift I've gotta give
took a siesta (hey, I'm closer to mexico now, it's justifiable)
had mazzio's for dinner with the fam
saw a tomato plant being grown at mickey d's--I mean, there were stakes and everything. what?!?
and went out with an old high school pal o' mine, michael hulett

so, I have to say, mooch & burn in downtown tulsa is BRILLIANT. oh, the atmosphere is okay. they people there seemed nice enough, but most okies are. but their monday night entertainment? AMAZING! like, a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

know what they do? well, if you do, you can just hear it again. they have a spelling bee. nay, a drinking spelling bee. it goes a little like this--you buy in for $5. they give you a shot. the owner reads from his (new world) dictionary and tells you what your word is. you spell it (and you can write it down if you want, which is kinda cheating, but then again this isn't all hardcore). if you're right? you get a shot. if you're wrong? you have to buy in again to play, and you get your buy-in shot, too.

and? someone gave us cheese. like, american cheese in one of those plastic packets. it was kinda yummy. or I was really hungry. one or the other....

it was awesome. extra awesome, even. two of my fave things--spelling and beer. :)

pictures. then I'll be going to brunch with my granny and embarking on the multi-state picture taking trip!

ps. we did VERY well. except that I didn't spelling rhinoceros correctly (with a U, oopsie!) and michael lost on beelzebub, even though I told him he didn't need the extra vowel he added in. oh well. still LOTS of fun. :)

"i mean, what, were they frying chicken in the next room?"

~shelby

okay, so. I've been in Oklahoma for roughly sixty hours now and I've taken....oh...four hundred forty plus pictures. That's seven pictures an hour. Except if you take out the time I've been sleeping, well....that's a lot of pictures per hour. Yikes!

I'm not sure I really have time to tell you all about the things I've done--or the liberty to do so--but some key words and pictures and phrases are as follows:

penis mints--"oh, these are big!"
the one with the ________.
pink pink pink
so, I'm gonna ask y'all to do something really raunchy
wanna dance?
mmmm...sushi.
and "oh, I have been here before."

so far I've:
thrown/attended jessica's bachelorette
eaten at sonic. and big al's. and chimi's. and had sushi.
attended a wedding with my granny (and got to see lots of people I know, some less than I would've liked)
gone to dinner with jackie and shelby
been solicited/propositioned by a man holding a bachelor party
gotten my very own caravan cattle company cup
two stepped (and twirled. I love the twirling part. thank you for the head-snap, ballet!)
slept on a twin bed (I can't even remember if I've done that since college!)
met a set of twins
gone to woolaroc
been at my fave intersection
gone to TU and saw all the crazy new stuff!
seen real life buffalo, a baby donkey and its mama and aided in saving a turtle
and other stuff.
and now I'm about to go bowling. (note: I still refuse to say "fixin' to.")

tomorrow should be a little more low-key. :)

so, pictures. and then I must bid you adieu.

yay, blogger cooperated for the rest!