There's no place like home.

My goal is to go home every other weekend. To see my family and to go to my church. This past weekend was my first scheduled weekend home.

Saturday night my brother, a friend of his, and a friend of mine saw the latest Quentin Tarantino film, "Inglorious Basterds." I was really shocked at how much really I enjoyed this movie. I don't like blood, gore, or war movies in general- you can ask any of my friends or family. However, Tarantino's depiction of blood and gore in this movie were both done artistically not grotesquely, so I wasn't as bothered as I could have been. It also helps that, as devastating and horrifying as it was, I've always found the story of the Holocaust to be interesting. Also, the plot was AMAZING. I was hanging onto every word. It was a rather long movie and I had to force myself to leave the theater to use the restroom. There were some subtitles, and at times, I think they can get pretty annyoing, but they didn't bother me once in this movie. So, overall I really enjoyed this movie, and I can see myself watching it many more times in the future.

Sunday's church service was a dreary affair. Normally my young pastor, he's 26, is very energetic, entertaining, and humorous. But this Sunday, as he got up to welcome us, I could tell something was wrong. He delievered a few announcments then we had worship. As he was beginning his sermon, he mentioned that he had a really difficult week. His son, who's only seven months old, was hospitalized early in the weekend and he was having serious family issues. As he was speaking about his family, he just broke down and started sobbing. His mother went to the front of the church and they were hugging and crying. It was one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed in my entire life. My pastor has done so much for our church and he's so appreciated, and seeing him in such pain was almost unbearable. Most of the congregation was crying, mourning for our pastor. It was a somber service, much different than what I'm used to.


Tomorrow promises to be a busy day: another job search, completing my small pile of homework, grocery shopping, a meeting with Outlanders, aka CAMPING CLUB- so excited!, and ice cream with my roommates!

Goodnight, moon.

This is proof.

Summer of 2009, you were one to remember.

I went to St. Augustine on Memorial Day.

I helped bake some cakes for the LOST season 4 finale.

I celebrated my 20th birthday by going to Disney with two of my best friends.

I went camping and failed at setting up tents.

I went to Washington, DC and participated in an event I will never forget.

I was even blessed to have the opportunity to meet a hero while in DC.

I went to a Wizard Rock concert. :)

I celebrated free Slurpee day.

I celebrated the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. <3

I played a lot of Fluffy Bunny.

I went to a few game nights. I love Risk now.

I celebrated Christmas in July.

I even went to the beach a few times!

So long, sweet summer...

lazy day

I spent almost the entire summer going non-stop, with babysitting, various church activities, and spending a lot of time with friends and family. Today was quite the opposite. I can recall only a few other days out of this entire summer that was as laid-back as today was. I woke up before eight, even though I went to bed a little late last night. Probably because it was my first night on my own (whoa!). I did a lot of nothing today. I watched a lot of television, which I hardly ever do, got some school stuff taken care of, ran some errands and went on a crazy search for ink cartridges- can you believe there isn't a Wal-Mart near by?!-then watched some more television. I've felt rather unproductive. I could've continued my quest for a job, but I just wasn't motivated. Tomorrow it has to get done. My checking account misses those deposit's. Even though I'm not very tired yet, I think I might hit the sack soon. I don't like this feeling of not doing much...

the day is finally here

Well, today is the day. I begin moving out. Mom took three days off work to help me get settled, so my last night at home isn't until Tuesday night.

I'm excited about moving, but I'm starting to feel anxious and nervous. I think if my mom wasn't as upset, it would be easier for me. I'm the oldest child, so this is the first time she's had to go through something like this and it's taking a toll on her. I keep reminding her that I'm less than an hour away and I'll be home every other weekend, but it doesn't help any.

I've let Sage, my pup, sleep in my room the past few nights. It's going to be so hard not seeing her everyday, as well.

But... I really am excited! I painted my bedroom a few weeks ago, so it's no longer a bland beige-ish color, now it's white and teal! Yesterday I sanded down and painted my great-grandmother's old desk and it looks a million times better. I have an old dresser from the thrift store my grandpa so kindly fixed up. I think it's all going to look really good. The most exciting part of this move is re-decorating my bedroom! I've done it on a relatively cheap budget, which makes it all the better.

Once everything is in, I'll post a picture or two. But for now I bid you adieu.

And my babysitting duties have ended

Friday was my last day babysitting the three kids I've been hanging out with all summer long. At the start of summer I was only watching the twins, and halfway through the summer I also started watching their younger sister- she's four. She was quite the handful, but so much fun to be around. She was your average four-year-old, barbies and coloring were her favorite activities and she never wanted to leave the pool, but there was also a sad quality about her. She always yearned for her mother and talked about her daddy constantly, but unfortunately these kids are court-ordered to stay away from their parents, and it's definitely for the better, no matter how much it's hurting them now. Friday was a sad occasion, for me at least. During my last week with them the youngest cried almost every day I left while clinging onto my leg, but when my last day with them arrived, there wasn't a tear shed. I got a little choked up when I was telling them to have a good school year, to behave, etc etc etc, and they just gave me hugs and sent me on my way. I'm really going to miss those crazy kids, no matter how crazy they drove me.