Childhood

Today I suppose is technically my last day of being a "child". I turn 18 tomorrow, and I'm excited for it. :) Even though I'll you know, be "legal" and whatnot, I'm still a kid at heart. Haha. Really actually the whole thing isn't that big of a deal to me. It's kind of a relief to finally be turning 18 so that I hopefully won't be treated like such a kid because of my age. It got old fast. Applying for jobs and stuff this summer, starting college "how old are you?" "I'm 17, turning 18 in September." "oh wow" yeah it got old.

Well, it's not quite a new year's resolution like you do in January, but the last several years I've made goals for myself at both New Years and my birthday, since hey, it's kind of half way through the year.... well this year I want to live healthier. I'm going to excersize and lose the inch on my stomach that isn't very attractive. I'm not "fat", heck I'm not even over weight. I'm actually dead on average. So the numbers I'm planning on losing are a measurement of my abdomen, not numbers on the scale. Though in the process 5 lbs may go, that'll make it easier to not go beyond the average and into the heavy. It's just in my family's DNA that we can get fat. But, it can also be easily prevented and lost with healthy food and good excersize. So by the time I'm 19, I wanna look REALLY good. I don't want the pooch, the left-over prednisone tummy that I've had ever since I was put on that darned pill.

Plus, another benefit of doing this excersizing and healthy diet is that not only will I get fit, but when/if I get really sick again, it'll make it easier to be sick, to fight it, and to recover. It can also help prevent another flare up. Though there is no controlling the disease, being in shape and staying active and healthy will, again, make it easier to be sick. If that makes sense. :P

A post or 2 ago I wrote about what I wanted for my birthday. I found out I'm getting something much better than all of those combined. Quick background info: I won a concerto competition in April and I get to perform my solo with the Dubuque Symphony this fall (unfortunately it's not a public concert, it's the Arts Treck 3rd Grade performance during Friday morning, October 23rd. But I get to perform 4 times..). Also, my mom's dad, my grandpa, lives in Modesto, California, is a classical french hornist. He has a huge appreciation for music, pretty much in the same way I do. He was really pleased to hear that I won and said he wanted to find a way to come out and see me perform. Then things came up, and for a long time we were sure it wouldn't happen. But just last night, it was officially decided that he was going to come out! I'm soooo excited for my grandpa to come see me perform. He's an elderly man (80 years), his health isn't the best. Who knows when I'll get to see him again. I'm excited to show him the work I've done, and I know he's excited to see his granddaughter play.

So my present is my grandpa coming to see me perform. We're paying for quite a bit of the ticket for him to come, so that will probably be my main present.

Otherwise, I'm going shopping tomorrow with birthday money that I got. I could use some shoes, I want some more nice shirts, and maybe a pair of pants or 2. I'll have fun. :) I would like a shopping buddy though... Daina, too bad you're not here. ;-)

Chocolate

Sometimes, all a girl needs is a bit of chocolate, and everything can be fixed. :)

Chocolate and excersize.. cause you'll need it (and it feels good. :) )

Ohhh goodness. Waiting is the worst thing right now.

I got a fortune cookie today that said something like "the item you have lost will be found next week."

Well, I haven't really "lost" anything, but I'm waiting for something to happen, hoping to be "found", and hopefully it will happen next week?

haha. I don't really believe in fortune cookies though.

Boy I'm sick of smelling like bleach and Triple-Two and cat poop. (even after I shower, the memory of the smell is still strong and with me.)

All part of the job, though.

Also, it seems that every day I'm finding out more and more that Dubuque is a crazy place. Just for crazy people.

I moved 6 years ago from a city that was mostly wealthy white people (upper middle class-high class, with the exception of some families like mine, just regular ol' middle class), and the rest was a ghetto. It was VERY traditional, to the point of being uptight about just about anything. Everybody was Christian (and if you weren't, you were shunned in the 21st century style-in other words, you're not popular/liked by most people.) God loves you anyway. Oh, and mormons aren't Christian there. But anyway, it was largely republican, a big city, very flat, in the middle of the desert.

Then I move here. First noticable difference is this hills and the color green. Haha. But these days, I'm noticing more and more just how crazy it is here. Yeah, people are Christian, but it's Catholic and Lutheran, not Baptist and Evangelical. Therefor, there's a LOOOT of beer. Did you know that nuns drink beer? I had no earthly idea. But they do! I just don't get it. Anyway. Everybody drinks beer. The majority of people in my graduating class from all 3 high schools in Dubuque (2 public, 1 private) had at least tasted some form of alcohol. It's completely acceptable! Nuts I think. Also, it's VERY liberal, which can get annoying when people just repeat and don't make any kind of thought-out argument, they just repeat whatever was said on some liberal comedy show. However, it's very nice, because they're all accepting of everybody. It took me a good year or 2 to get used to saying "I'm mormon", because in Texas, if I said that, I would also have to say good bye to any potential friendships. :) Here though, people say stuff like "wow really???? That's so cool!" either that or it's something a little air headed like "oh! We have a building for you people!!" (Dubuque has TONS of catholic cathedrals). xD They're accepting of all races and personalities. But really, everybody is so different, there are so many different kinds of opinions, there are radicals here, waaaay uptight traditionalists there, people who don't have an opinion whatsoever, there's the country club people, the ghetto people, the fancy people, the average people, on and on and on (side note, I hate stereo typing because everybody really is different, there aren't many true stereotypes.. except the stereotyping people kind of stereotype, that is! ;-) ). It's so different! And when you mix it all together, it's just crazy. There's no other word for it. You mix all these different backgrounds together, they'll have drama, hurt feelings, debates, friendships you thought would never happen, all sorts of stuff, and in the end they'll all agree to going downtown to a bar and getting beer.

Crazy. :)

Anyway. I'm just an observant person and care to write what I see. :)

What To Do?

I turn 18 one week from today and I haven't the slightest idea of what I want to do. I don't feel the need to make it something huge like skydiving or throwing some huge party... actually I don't even know if I want a party. Everybody moved... and anybody else is probably busy. :\ I wouldn't mind a party, but my house isn't exactly a party kind of house.

I do know a few things I'd like for my birthday.... some of which people can't really give me.. :P

I'd like.. something I can't mention quite yet. Hopefully sometime next week (by my birthday?) I can mention it.

I'd also like new headphones. Note, if you're reading this and are not immediate family, just know you're not supposed to get me anything, this is more like thinking out loud for me.. on my blog. :P And some shopping money/gift card.

Along with shopping stuff comes clothes... in my family I'm easy to shop for... size 4 or small. Must be petite, otherwise it's obviously too large. That simple.

I always welcome fun things like bumper stickers (music/cello/other...) and just.... random things. That aren't junk. :P

ooooh I'd also like frames for some of my art work.. yeah that's a good one.

And a cake. I don't know what kind yet. But right now I'm craving chocolate. By Sunday I may be craving something like lemon or orange or brownies instead. :P

But I do really want pizza rolls. I always have those on my birthday. Yum! Take a Pillsbury croissant and some beef with pizza sauce, onions and peppers and good stuff, put the beef mix on the unrolled croissant, roll it up like you normally would, cook it, and voila, you have a pizza roll. Sooooo good. :)

Other than that, I'm too tired to think of much more that I want (and that is reasonable to get ;-) ) ohh boy if I could have ANYTHING, my list would be much different.

So anyway. Any suggestions as to what you think I should do?

please?

Does somebody want to go to work for me?
Because I'm kind of dreading working today (worked yesterday), tomorrow and Saturday, having 3 open-close shifts next week, plus a 4 hour shift next week. I'm really really dreading it.

Tagged

My dear cousin Shelley tagged me. Seven Random Things about Me.

1. I look very young for my age. I'm often mistaken for 15 going on 16 by looks alone. I don't like it now, but I know that on my 30th birthday I could probably get away with saying "It's my 24th birthday!" and actually have people believe me. And when I'm 40, people will ask me if my oldest daughter is my sister. I'll give her a tight side-hug and say "yes, we're best buds!" just to embarass her. ;-)

2. When I was a kid, and still even some now, I absolutely loved astronomy. Meteorology as well, but today it's mostly astronomy. It never ceases to amaze me.
In fact, the perfect date for me would end on quilt on a warm summer night outside under the stars, star gazing, searching for constelations and discussing the infinite space that is the universe and how amazing it is that God made this all.

3. One of my best friends died when I was barely 9. She was almost 8 and was going to be baptized the next week. I cried for about an hour straight, and then was very happy when I learned about the CK and what happens to those particular children. And I'm still very very happy. :)

4. I'm a very very very very very picky eater. Yet very easy to please. As long as none of the foods that I dislike are present. :) (along with being picky, there are certain foods I actually cannot eat for health reasons)

5. I've lived in 7 different houses, 4 cities/towns, 3 states, and have never lived outside of the Central Time Zone.

6. It is a goal of mine to visit every single United State before I die, and hopefully visit every continent before I die (a few specific countries are on the list). Except Antarctica. I'll be ok if I never make it there.

7. I hate the midwestern accent. I hate it so much. And I'm starting to pick it up. And I hate it. And it's weird because I still say things like "yall", "yanna" (you-wanna), "I'm fixin' to [go do that]", "biggin" (that's a biggin!"), and all sorts of stuff like that, but mixed with it is "begle" rather than "bagel", "tomoorow" with the 2nd sylable sounding like "more", and my words like don't and other o sounds are being elongated in that minnes'ooh'ta/iowa style. I hate it so much. It sounds so incredibly dorky.

I tag the only people who read this. You know who you are.