Adventure #10: Staying Busy for Bigger and Better Adventures

Not gonna lie:  I'm typing this on Adventure Day.  I never actually made a rule to NOT type the blog on the Adventure Day itself; however, I think that I'm 'wasting' away an Adventure Day by typing out the blog while Adventures could be happening right NOW!  Yet there are circumstances that call for me typing this out, since I'd much rather be safe than sorry when it comes to typing and sharing my blog.  What circumstances?  Well...  My MICHIGAN trip, of course!  I leave tomorrow morning bright and early to head to Bismarck with Dad for my early afternoon flight.  And traveling without my laptop means that I need to get a head start on blogging today!

So here I go...today thus far (and by the end of the blog, it will be today in its entirety).  I woke up (duh).  But today was a big wake-up day, since I've been waiting quite awhile to be able to say, "Tomorrow I leave for Michigan!"  And so, my Adventure Day of travel preparations began.

To the right you see my carry-on luggage.  Yes, all of it will be taken right on the plane with me, and everything inside will be all I need for nine days.  Some people are amazed by the above, but I've been flying solo for short, medium, and long trips for years now, so I'd like to think that I'm getting to be a pro at packing/traveling in general.  The luggage pictured isn't completely packed though.  Packing completion has been a major task for today (and being me, I started packing weeks ago...but some things can't be packed until right before leaving, so I've been at a standstill for awhile now).

With my packing goal set for the day, I had breakfast and stretched for what would be the last time for awhile.  I'm not-so-sure I'll be stretching much if at all in Michigan (way too many other awesome distractions).  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Spotify during my stretch fest, and I've been making much use of it on today's Adventure Day and in the past week, too.  (New laptop just got it downloaded recently!  I love Spotify!)

PJ time lasted for quite awhile this morning, and I was totally ok with that.  1)  PJ pants are comfy, especially when our house is so heavily air conditioned.  2)  I don't get to wear PJ's all that long each day, especially since camp started four weeks ago.  3)  I can still be productive in my PJ's.

So with all that cosidered:  No guilt for waking up at 7am (don't ask why I can't sleep in...) and not being ready for the day until 11am.

BUT when I was ready for the day, Mom and I headed out on what I would call OFFICIAL Adventure Time!  She had already been out with Dad, but I needed some travel stuff still from the store, and we ended up being out for quite awhile.

Ready...set...Adventure Time with Mom!

 Stop 1: Kmart for random stuff.

   Stop 2:  Bath and Body Works so Mom could get lots of stuff and so I could get a couple yummy-smelling candles

Stop 3:  Runnings Farm and Fleet so Mom could continue her search for a patio umbrella (she bought a patio set earlier in the morning and wanted an umbrella for it).  Pic to the left taken while we ever-so-patiently waited for the store attendant to bring us the umbrella from the back of the store.  (We were testing out the patio furniture!)

Stop 4:  3rd Avenue Floral for an outdoor rug (Mom really wanted the deck to be complete by the end of the day!) AND I got some loose leaf tea!  I'm excited to try it--I feel that I've got quite the tea collection these days.

Stop 5:  Dan's Supermarket for Mom's berries she eats every morning and spray-on sunscreen for me (I swear by the stuff--I use it every day in the summer).  Above is all the stuff I got out with Mom--I felt quite spoiled for being treated to so much!  It was a fun time out shopping with her.

Back at home, I was starving.  I was impressed with my sandwich-making skills as I tried to use up most of the Ali-only foods that would go bad when I leave.  (Sandwich:  12-grain bread, avocado, spicy mustard, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, goat cheese, and olives.  Basically YUM).  It's also been my intent to paint my toes/fingernails white before my trip,, since I LOVE having my nails white in the summertime.  The problem:  painting nails in 100+ degree heat outside means that the nail posish coagulates and is very difficult to work with.  Whatever, I got it done (just don't look too closely at the finished product).  Also, don't ya love my new pink headphones, also courtesy of Mom?!

Next:  I added the above pics and words. 

Next after that:  I BAKE!  (As in, baking is happening as I type.  This is the last view of 'baking magical goodness': 

While the above process was going on, I marveled at the following document, which FINALLY came in the mail:

Yup, I feel officially graduated now that the diploma is actually in my possession.  Waiting is not something that I am skilled at, and let's just say that I've been playing the Waiting Game with the mail for quite some time now (how bout since I arrived back home in NoDak?!)

I'm sure you're curious as to what the finished product looks like.  Here ya go:

AND THEN...

I took a mini break outside and chilled out in the hammock.  But it really wasn't 'chilling,' since it was over 100 degrees outside.  I was ok with that though.  I like hot weather.  Oh yeah, and Duncan was with me.  He's usually with me.  He's my Shadow Dog.

I think Duncan will miss me starting tomorrow.  Poor guy.

Maybe Duncan was begging me not to go to Michigan in the above pic?  Sorry Dunks, but the flight is booked, my bags are packed, and I am SO EXCITED!!!  (But that doesn't mean I won't miss a certain Corgi.) 

And back to my recap of the day...  I layed outside til dinner (leftover pizza--YES!) and then I went back outside and lay in the hammock.  And tried to read but fell asleep.  And whether I was reading or sleeping, I kept thinking about tomorrow and next week and all the fun things I have planned with the fun people that I will get to see in only 24 hours.

So I took my frustration elsewhere--to the hanging hammock-chair under the deck (I should have taken a pic, it's hard to describe).  But I fell asleep there.  And THEN I moved upstairs to the deck where...I fell asleep AGAIN.  After waking up at this point (thanks for the text, Fish!), I decided enough is enough.  I took a glance at the setting sun (below) and headed in to do the two loads of laundry that had to get done before my departure.

As I type, laundry is still being washed and dried upstairs.  I'm currently Skyping Fish (who is being very patient as I type away all about the second half of my Adventure Day).  I can't imagine too much else happening today.  However, Adventure Day will be quite different next week.  I'm considering just taking a bunch of pictures and uploading them of Adventure Highlights worth sharing from my Michigan travels.  Unfortunately the Adventure Shoes won't be present.  But they will be with me in spirit.

And I think that's all for now, but I can promise much more is to come very soon.  The coming weeks will be all about July--which I know will come and go before I know it.  So don't get lost in the chaos of my life and enjoy your own summer days as best as you can.

May you be graced with many enjoyable sunny days in the coming week.

:)

Adventure #9: A Friday That Felt Like A Saturday

Yesterday was FRIDAY.  But for some reason, it resembled a SATURDAY.  I couldn't tell you why.  It didn't come to any kind of realization as a Saturday resemblance until this morning, when I thought it was Sunday.  Wait...nope, I mistook yesterday for Saturday in a late-night conversation, too.  How about I tell you all about the Adventure Day and you judge for yourself?  Sure.

Breakfast was epic. I got a stomachache (not the epic part). The epic part:

Above is Ducky.  Ducky is Awesome.  Keep scrolling to find out why.



Ducky is floating in a glass of hot water?!
Hmm...I wonder why...

Uh oh...Ducky has tipped over.
 But--what's that underneath Ducky?!  Hmm...

 Well, I'll leave the Ducky mystery a mystery to you dear reader--for now.  But yes, Ducky made for an epic breakfast.  He got many 'swims' in glasses of hot water.  To be elaborated on further in a moment...

But while Ducky swam around and whatnot, I looked over the Dickinson Press (a.k.a. local newspaper) as I usually do during breakfast.  And look what I discovered!

Yup, in some section of the paper (I forgot which, prob 'national news' or something like that...) there was the above pic and caption about the Kzoo River!  Not that big or even noticeable, but it was a neat thing to see the word 'Kalamazoo' printed in the Dickinson Press!

Oh hey!  Look!  Ducky is swimming in a cup of Earl Grey TEA above!  Haha, yes, Ducky is a tea diffuser that I received as a gift a whole two months ago, but I didn't have loose leaf tea until two days ago.  So...drinking my morning tea was extra awesome yesterday.  And I had three cups of it.  Plus chocolate milk above (took it home from camp because it was expiring over the weekend).  Plus actual breakfast food.  Which probably means that my stomachache makes sense.

Breakfast over, I was about ready to tackle my Friday To-Do List.  But...upon looking away from the table and readying myself to take care of my dirty dishes, I saw this: 

Duncan is so pathetic.  But so cute.  He brightens my day.  Every day.  Especially Fridays when I get to see so much of him. 

And then I actually did leave the kitchen and did the following:

~Stretched

~Called Fish to ensure he woke up at a decent time (tisk tisk)

~Showered/dressed/etc.

~Internets

Believe it or not, I was ready for lunch at this point.  So I got a light lunch (including the following YUMMY veggies!):

CARROTS and RED PEPPERS!  (I had egg fried rice, too, but that didn't look as pretty to photograph.)

After lunch, I had an errand list to get going with, and the first thing was to make it to the public library to check out a book or two about Japan.  Why, you ask?  Because I will be a 'guest speaker' (although not really because I am there every day) at camp next week on Tuesday.  Since I've lived in Japan, I figured I could bring in some super-cool Japanese stuff and share stuff with the kids about Japan for Music & Culture Week.  (Yes, each week has a theme at camp!  It's pretty awesome!)

Problem:  I don't have a Dickinson library card any more.  Moving to Kalamazoo four years ago meant that the card was either misplaced or expired, and I hadn't had the need to look into the matter until...well, yesterday.  I didn't feel that it was necessary for me to get another library card at this point (it costs a fee, summer is already half over, and I have a ton of books to read at home).

Solution:  Lil brother Jonah has a library card!  AND he said he'd go with and let me use it to check out books.  SUCCESS!  Two books about Japan were checked out successfully!

We returned home and walked Duncan and King.  I had promised Jonah this would happen since he was kind enough to let me use his library card.  And BOY was this an eventful walk!  Duncan *almost* went down a slide at the park, successfully traipsed through mud, barked at a man tilling his garden, 'met' a loose dog briefly, and rolled in a lot of grass (typically under shade trees).  He also did this thing on the way back home where he'd walk by two driveways and then lay down.  And then I'd tell him to keep going.  And then he would walk by two drive ways and lay down.  Good times...  But it WAS super hot, so I don't really blame him. 

When we got back, Dunks was super thirsty, too, and drank half his water dish!  Notice the 'Broncos' logo on his water dish!  I got it for him during my fall orientation four years ago before being a Bronco myself.

The next thing to be tackled on my Friday To-Do's was to go to the mall in search of a matching shawl/sweater for a dress I'm planning to wear soon.  This ate up an hour of time, and I bought something.  And I brought it home.  And I realized it was the wrong color.  Drat.  (Shopping Fail.)  I'll have to return that some time soon...

I was exhausted when I got home.  It was hammock bonding time.  The sun was shining, I had a book to be reading, and I didn't have a whole lot left to get done for the day.  So I lounged in the hammock for a good long while!

My lovely hammock.  This is actually the view from my bedroom window.  I like looking outside to check if it's ideal hammock weather.  I check it daily, haha!

The cute cards that I got from Caitlin!

At some point (pretty sure I dozed off for a half hour or so...), Mom came home and brought me MAIL!  TWO letters!  Both from the lovely Caitlin, all the way from Kalamazoo!  Any day is a good day when I get mail, but it's especially good when I get mail on an Adventure Day and there are two letters just for me!


Dinnertime approached and Dad came home.  Friday night is pizza night at home.  So...off to Papa Murphy's for pizza!  (Yum!  Definitely a highlight of my week!  Especially because I LOVE cold pizza leftovers!)

Sadly, the pic to the right is the last one I took for my Adventure Day.  (Yup, it was pretty awkward walking in and directing the camera at my feet to get a good shot of my shoes and the Papa Murphy's welcome mat.  Oh well, people can think what they want!)

I'll just briefly re-cap the rest of the Adventure Day:  Ate delicious pizza.  Planned out guest speaker presentation a lil more with Japan books.  Made super-cute appreciation gifts for the counselors on my staff at camp.  Searched for decent affordable hotels for a couple weeks when I move to Austin in August (apartment lease won't have started yet).  And then I Skyped Fish for a looooong time.  Adventure Day had definitely ended, and my Saturday had officially started by the time we hung up (oops).

But good conversation is something to be appreciated, and while I didn't get much sleep last night, I'm ok with that.  All it means is that I need to go to bed at a decent time tonight.  And I definitely plan on sticking to that!  (*Yawn*  I AM tired!)

Adventure Day #9 has come and gone, and I will be honest in saying that this blog post has taken up quite a bit of time, since I've written it over the course of the whole day (constant distractions!).  If the above sounds choppy, out of order, or doesn't make sense, just bear that in mind.

And know that I appreciate you reading/following my lovely little blog!  Keep it up--and I will, too!  Happy Summer!

Adventure #8: Ready-Prep-Camp!

Happy Tuesday, Lovely Blog Followers!  I don't know how on Earth it is only Tuesday (11.75 hour work day today), but I'm totally ok with it, since this week has been pretty awesome so far.  So yesterday...I decided to do something a little different for my Adventure Day (although it didn't quite pan out as intended).  I took mirror pics of myself at different points throughout the day.  No, I'm not conceited, I just came to a realization that my blog has a lot of pics of randomness and not-so-much of myself--so enjoy a lil bit of me, I guess!

Soooo...5:45 a.m. wake-up yesterday so that I'd be ready enough for work today.  The pics above are 'morning pics' a.k.a. Ali-hasn't-yet-showered-dressed-etc.  (Haha, I have no shame in putting these up.)  Anyway, I caught up on a DVR'd episode of Next Food Network Star (Go #TeamAlton!) and ate a deliciously random breakfast that included watermelon (Yes, I tackled the cutting-up of the watermelon myself.  I am a master at chopping fruits and veggies!)


I took full advantage of actually not having work on a Monday, and I stretched in my room for a good long while to some music.  Nothing relaxes me quite like stretching in the morning (or really any time), and I've been able to stretch the past few days consecutively, so this should tide me over until camp chaos is through for this week.  THEN I got to have play-time with NEW COMPUTER.  (Approval?  It's name is Classy-PC.  It's sleek and black and shiny and classy.  It does have fingerprints on it though.  It's part of its class.)

OH!  And after play-time with Classy-PC, (more like abruptly in the middle of play-time), I got to wake up Fish!  'Waking up Fish' means I called his phone until he answered and then proceeded to give an obnoxiously cheerful 'good morning' to him in hopes of successfully getting him up.  I'd say it was very successful, considering the call was extremely choppy and Skype had to happen to have any kind of a conversation.  (Haha, THAT got him out of bed and all the way to a laptop!)

So time passes, Skype chat happens, and I realized that I actually had stuff to do.  (I also realized that a day off work meant that I should thoroughly enjoy a bubble bath.  So I did.) 

 Left pic is me half-ready.  Not quite to the make-up/hair/jewelry stage of getting-ready.

Right pic is me 'ready.'  (I feel like this is one of those games where you circle the differences between the two pictures.  Haha.)

I was STARVING after finally getting dressed for the day.  Duncan was hungry for something, too (or maybe he just licks his lips in the pic above.  I don't know.  But he's my favorite camera victim, so I don't care either). 

And to the left, Duncan lays next to our evil cat ON MY BED.  That #@%$ cat thinks he owns the place.  He doesn't.  I tell him all the time.  Duncan should stop being friends with that cat.


Back to me, a STARVING Ali.  I wanted food.  I had started making food before my bubble bath.  Food was ready to eat not long after bubble bath.  Food:

This Food is a sweet potato.

 

It got baked for awhile. 

Then it got some of its insides scooped out. 

Then it got a yummy egg-sour cream-chives-pepper mixtured added with a lil shredded cheese on top. 

Then it got baked more. 

Then it got cheesed again. 

THEN IT GOT EATEN. 

YUM.

Yeah, I had lunch.  After lunch, I readied myself for a Thumbs Up camp shopping trip with my co-leader, Rebecca.  We met up at Walmart, got a few camp necessities, and then went crazy in the craft/toy department for prizes for the camp's 'Store.'  Yup, our campers are lucky for two reasons:

1)  They get rated each day and get the opportunity to earn points based on their behavior/lack of problem behaviors.

2)  They have awesome co-leaders like Rebecca and myself who genuinely care about what they want/would enjoy playing with.  (Best job ever?!  Pretty much.)

So we spent quite awhile looking for football toys, legos, mermaids, pigs, activity books, goats, monster trucks, and so much more.  Fun?  Yes.  Tiring?  Yes.

Shopping damage done to the left.  Our campers deserve the best, so we went crazy and bought them the best stuff we could find.  (And Adventure Shoes have made their appearance in the blog!  Ha!)

I return from Epic Shopping Trip--and the brother Jonah wants to walk the dogs.  It's a good thing I like him.  And the dogs.  Because I was tired.  But after I got back from the dog-walking venture, I took a pic...

It's ok, I obviously survived the walk, it was just a bit windy and a bit exhausting.  Eventually I ate dinner with Dad, Mom, and Jonah.  (Shrimp night because the other brother was MIA.  He doesn't like shrimp).

THEN I got to relax. 

Computer time.

Snack time.

Skype time.

BED TIME.

Good night, Blog Followers.  I'm about to go to bed for tonight soon, too.  Until next week!

Adventure #7: Pics of Dogs, Hours of Children

Was Adventure Day #7 really just yesterday?!  How can this be true?  Yesterday (a.k.a. the first day of Thumbs Up Camp) seems like ages ago!  But...yes.  Yesterday WAS Adventure Day #7, and somehow I have found the time to type up a lil blog entry so that the promised post will actually happen.

4-somethin-in the morning:  I woke up.  I'm crazy.  I got maybe five hours of sleep and had one of the biggest days before me in terms of activity level and lack of rest throughout.  It happened.  It wasn't my own fault (stupid sleep cycle, racing mind, restless self).

5:30 a.m.:  I got out of bed.  I had been laying there for way-too-long, trying my hardest to SLEEP.  Obviously sleep never came around again.  So I started my day.

6 a.m.:  I was dressed.  But before busy Camp Day One could begin, I needed fuel.  BREAKFAST.  (I'm currently super tired, typing this on Day Two of Camp, and caps locks seem like a good idea quite frequently this evening, so I apologize; I promise I'm not yelling at you).

To the left is my breakfast during the getting-breakfast-ready stage.  (Notice MIA tea due to microwave action and icky-looking murky oatmeal.  To the right is my breakfast before eating it as fast as I can.  (Kiwi, Vanilla Caramel Tea, and Oatmeal with Greek Yogurt and Cocoa Powder).

6:30 a.m.:  I had to leave!  I've been dogsitting for a week, and the pooches needed to be let out before I headed to work.  See my 'Work Bag' below:

Yes, there is a rabbit in my Work Bag.  He is a Reflection Rabbit.  Reflection Time is important at camp--and a tossable critter was much-needed for Day One.  Meet Peter Cottontail (named by morning group) and Gizmo (named by afternoon group).  Oh, and yes, I wore Adventure Shoes on Day One (duh).

6:35 a.m.:  I fed and let out a couple of super-fun, super-happy dogs!

Murphy is the dog to the left.  Ailey is the dog to the right.  It was a super-quick trip stopping by before my first day of camp, but that's ok--the goofs gave me some confidence that everything would work out just fine on the first day!  ...Except...  I FORGOT MY PHONE AT HOME!  Which meant...

6:45 a.m.:  I head back home (franctically and speedily) to retrieve my cell phone.  It was charging upstairs in the kitchen.  Of course I would leave it on the first day of camp!

7:00 a.m.:  I arrive at camp with the other co-leader of Thumbs Up Camp to prepare for our first day.  (I can't take pics and post them of camp stuff due to confidentiality, but I'll review the day somewhat and leave it to your imagination).

7:30 a.m.:  Our two other counselors join us for continued camp prep.

8:00 a.m.:  OUR FIRST CAMPER ARRIVES!  Soon enough, three more join and we play a game of kickball.  I suck at kickball.  Let's just say, my team didn't win...

9:00 a.m.:  All six campers have arrived and are welcomed to Thumbs Up Camp, a sponsored camp for kids 10-13 (morning group) and 6-9 (afternoon group) who could use a structured environment in the summer to help them work on social and behavioral skills and problem issues and behaviors throughout the eight weeks of camp.  And first thing on Day One:  a guest speaker, who read a story about the importance of making friends and having manners at camp.

10:00 a.m.:  SNACK TIME!  (The kids had milk and Go-gurt.)

10:30 a.m.:  CRAFT TIME!  (We decorated craft boxes to put all of our future crafts in).

11:00 a.m.:  GAME TIME!  (We played Where the Wind Blows, a fun name game.  There was also a bit of Duck Duck Goose--Super Fun!)

11:30 a.m.:  Reflection Time!  (Reflection Rabbit came in handy.)

12:00 p.m.:  A.M. campers leave and us counselors fill out Behavior Rating Forms to give them points and discuss with them the next day.  More points = more prizes!  (Oh yeah, and we ate lunch then, too!)

1:00 p.m.:  P.M. campers arrive, and we did the whole thing all over again!

4:00 p.m.:  P.M. campers left, Behavior Rating Forms were completed, and camp was cleaned up for the day.

Let's just say that Day One was rough, but I really truly loved camp.  Getting to know the kids individually was an awesome experience, and despite a couple tantrums and behavior issues, I had a lot of fun.  I get paid to do crafts and games and hang out with kids!  Yep, it's a good time!

5:30 p.m.:  Dogsitting Part Two--I headed over to feed/visit with Murphy and Ailey again.

6:00 p.m.:  FOOD!  Yes, I was hungry.  Taco night had good timing.

The rest of my evening consisted of another dogsitting visit, a little relaxing, and a lot of technology issues.  No internet for awhile meant no Facebook, no email, and no Skype.  Being so tired, I didn't have much energy anyway and called Fish before bed.  But here's a super-cool thing I caught on camera before my 11 p.m. sleep time:

 Duncan likes to go under my bed.  It's super-cute.  Little things like that (and other things, too!) make me forget what a long day it has been.  But I had another long day today.  And I can guarantee another long day tomorrow.  It's summer--and I'm totally enjoying it.  Happy Adventuring!