Adventure #14: A CAMP Day! AND A FIELD TRIP Day!

Yesterday was not only Wednesday.  Not only an Adventure Day.  But yesterday was a Camp Day.  Yup, I decided that with as few days are left at camp, I should take full advantage and share the fun times with my blog readers.  So ready yourself for a fun-packed, busy day that was my Wednesday!

To the left are my Adventure Shoes, of course.  But you'll notice an interesting bandage that I sported all day.  I'm thinking my sore ankle is from walking for so long on the very rough track during Relay for Life last Friday.  Hopefully it shapes up soon--working at a summer camp with all boys is difficult at times with a cranky ankle!

The morning started out pretty average, with me enjoying the morning paper as I typically do during the week (except Monday--no Dickinson Press on Mondays!)  Of course I had a cup of tea and a chocolate-banana-oatmeal smoothie.  There was also plenty of chaos in these early morning hours before work due to the wild kingdom of Tony, King, and Duncan...

King's defense mechanism:  ROLL INTO A BALL AND HE WON'T GET ME!

Eventually I did make it out the door and off to camp.  And I remembered:  Today Heidi brought her ice cream maker so we could make homemade ice cream!  Below is the epic ice cream maker.  And the messy counter.  Kind of a constant state for the counter, but give us some credit, we run a camp of all boys who have more energy typically than most boys their age.  (Believe me, NOT an excuse, simply truth!)  And we are also sustainable at camp, since each camper has his own plastic cup instead of a disposable one each day.  And I also like starting sentences with the word 'and.'  Mostly just because I can.

Next order of business post-arrival was prepping for next week--the LAST week of camp.  It really is a crazy thought and definitely sad to think of all the camp memories I have and how much the campers have grown this summer (and not literally).  I know I've even grown this summer.  But yes, end-of-camp-prep meant going through tubs of prior years' crafts to do an inventory.  My co-leader Rebecca and I successfully made a mess of the 'Counselor Area' by scattering everything across the floor.  Inventory was completed, though (and only about 20 minutes after campers arrived--not bad!).

Much more happened that morning besides homemade ice cream making.  We had a guest speaker who helped the campers with social skills, we had craft, a story, and a science experiment, too.  We even used my 'blooming teapot' (pictured left) to make some awesome tea.  (If you don't know what a blooming teapot is, you should Google it.  It's awesome.  And the tea is delicious).

Anyway, lunch happened (in which counselors do paperwork while eating food as quickly as possible), and our P.M. campers came.  P.M. campers got a FIELD TRIP yesterday!  Bowling day!  My Adventure Shoes were tossed aside for some classy new neon green kicks provided by the ever-so-generous Paragon Bowling Alley for the duration of our bowling venture. 

The good thing:  I had a blast and LOVED cheering on everyone for each bowling attempt.  The bad thing:  I didn't break 100.  And we used bumpers.  Boo to that.  Oh well!

After a stop at a local park for snack/play time, we went back to camp and P.M. campers left for the day.  More paperwork for counselors and then cleanup time/prep for today.  I snagged a pic below (thanks to self-timer!).  Our staff is so awesome.  These ladies amaze me every day we work together, and I've learned a LOT from each of them!  I'm so grateful.  (And we are such a good-looking, fun-loving bunch!)

In fact, we are SO fun-loving that due to Laura's birthday today, Heidi, Rebecca, and myself decided to dec out her seat in one of the camp vans, make her a birthday crown/badge, make signs, and get surprises for her!  Didn't we do a great job with the paper chain garland?!  (And we weren't even done at this point!  Finished product had the seat covered in tissue paper, fringe on the dashboard, and writing on the window with window marker!)

Ok so after all of the festivities above, I was tired.  Actually, I'm usually tired after camp.  Ten hour days are expected, and that's just...tiring.  So I had dinner and decided to chill (again, a usual tactic for me after work).  Due to my ankle problem, I propped up the foot with pillow/blanket, too, all while doing stuff on my laptop.  For hours.  But that's ok.  I got to talk with Fish.  (Fish got a job for a couple weeks!  YAY!)

So how was that?  I gave you a peek into a chaotic day at camp.  It wasn't super-detailed (camper confidentiality is super-important), but it gave you a glimpse  at what some of my camp days are like.  And really, the only way you could truly know what it's like is to be there.  But just know that I've loved it, have valued the experience, and have a summer that I certainly won't ever forget.  Now--time for me to enjoy my WEEKEND!

Adventure #13: What A Blur of A Day

This blog post may seem pretty rushed.  I'd prefer to go with 'short and sweet.'  Read below to find out if you get a better idea why (I have a hunch).

Segmented Day:

~Breakfast:  http://thischickcooks.net/2011/08/08/peanut-butter-banana-smoothie-recipe-good-enough-for-an-ice-cream-store/  (Verdict:  Good ratio of sweet and peanut-buttery.  Surprisingly made a small portion though, but it was pretty filling.)

~Puppy Play-time:  Duncan and King invaded my room.  Then kitten joined with them.  Then kitten got just King time.  And then just Duncan time.  And Jonah was present, too.  (Verdict:  Duncan likes to chase Tony.  King is afraid of Tony and likes to run away/hide from him.  Tony likes to run away from Duncan and chase King.)

Sad ears.  But I have no idea why because he was actually quite happy.

Pretty sure this meant he wanted a belly rub.  While lying on Duncan's hindquarter.

I don't remember if Duncan was being tempted by Tony at this point.  Either way, it looks uncomfortable, and I thought he'd fall off the bed.

Yup.  Definitely asking for a belly rub.

This is Duncan.  Being the ham that he is.

Yes, Tony joined eventually.  He's naughty.  But pretty adorable.  He LOVES playing with my camera case pictured above (and pouncing...)

 Dressed and Ready for the Day:  It seemed like forever, but finally, around noon, I was dressed and decent enough.  (Pretty proud of the braid that held together!)

~Outing with Mom:  Mom gets home from work early on most Fridays.  She took me to Serendipity coffee shop.  Somehow I did't think to get caffeine (stay tuned to find out why this is concerning).  I got the Strawberry Margarita drink.  No alcohol in it, apparently it's just strawberry smoothie mix with margarita mix.  It was ok.  I'll probably try something different next time.

Ready to go!

Serendipity--my favorite place for cafe drinks in Dickinson.

~Chill Time:  I intended to nap upon returning.  This didn't really happen.  I also intended to write a letter.  This didn't really happen either.  Oh well.  I was outside and half asleep.  That's all that matters.

Bake Sale at Relay!  Pretty sure us
sweet tooths knew how to make a good sale.

~Relay for Life:  Team Young Professionals of Dickinson recruited me for their Relay for Life Team last week, and this kept me busy from 6p.m. Friday until 6a.m. Monday Sunday (typo previously, haha).  Obviously I'm feeling it right now, since I barely slept today AND I went to Bismarck with the fam for shopping, but sleeping in the car has definitely helped. 



The luminaries illuminating the track.
What a lovely night!

Overall, a pretty good Adventure Day, despite my seeming unexcitement for everything that happened. (Believe me, it's just the lack of sleep affecting my excitement).

Adventure #12: Wait...Adventure #12?!

WHAT.  It's been TWELVE weeks since graduation week?!  I can't handle this--when did I become a legit alum?  (For some reason I feel like 12 weeks post-grad means I'm 'legit.'  Don't ask what qualifies this.)

But yeah, I had another day of Adventure yesterday.  And remember, 'Adventure' is a very relative term when I use it.  So ready yourself for a Saturday of regularity to most and extraordinary to me.  Average to some but exceptional to me.  Documented.  Captured.  Fully enjoyed and lived to its fullest.  Ready yourself.  And read on.

So. I woke up. I realized it was SATURDAY. Nothing that HAD to be done (except maybe ensuring that I get food at the grocery store with Dad at some point. And that was pretty much it. Exciting stuff!

To the right you see a pile of clothes.  Let me remind you that I got back to NoDak last Monday and started work Tuesday.  Thursday was my final day of work for the week...so I had quite a bit of post-vacation dirty launry to get washed/dried on Friday.  That left yesterday to fold it all and put it away.  It became a morning task and then later that day it became an afternoon task, too (it was A LOT of laundry, ok?)

I did typical Saturday morning things--none TOO exciting--such as breakfast, stretching, internet time.  But then, the parents and Jonah came home with a KITTEN.  Krumski (family cat mentioned in other posts) has been missing since I returned from Michigan this past week (I promise I didn't have anything to do with it).  So below is how my parents decided to handle Krum's absence:

Tony is Kitten's name.  I like to call him Prince.  He really is a little Prince.  (Spoiled rotten already.)  He's really funny-looking, too.  His ears are WAY too big.  And so are his paws.  And his tail is so awkward.  But he's actually pretty tolerable for a cat.  I think it's the idea of a kitten being fresh and completely malleable to condition however you choose.  And maybe before I leave for Texas, I can convince Prince Tony that he is a dog.

Tony was not very photogenic as my Duncan is.  He thinks the camera string is a GREAT toy.  Slightly obnoxious but that's ok.  Prince Tony makes me laugh quite often.

 Eventually I got ready for my day and ate some lunch.  Also, in case I forget to fill in the many gaps of my day in which this took place, I have a super-secret project for Fish that I've been working on.  So if my day feels empty and uneventful, just imagine me getting wrapped up in a super-secret project at various times.

And then...it was time for GROCERIES!  I may or may not have expressed my odd love for grocery shopping previously, but just in case I haven't--I really truly do love to go grocery shopping!  And this specific trip didn't even require me to get a lot of food for myself.  I got lots of things that I treated myself to:  Nutella, cold brew tea (I am overstocked on tea at the moment), Sprunch spray, bubble bath, sun-dried tomatoes.  Ah well, only a few more weeks at home, so I might as well get yummy things to enjoy before grocery shopping is all on me.




Picture right:  ICE CREAM!!!  (Tummy troubles lately made me resist a cold, sweet purchase, though.  Fun to look at though.)

 Picture left:  End result of family grocery shopping with dad.  Are you impressed?  You shouldn't be.  This is pretty typical with all five of us at home these days.  And we go every Saturday.  Believe it or not, most of that cart is full of dog food, toilet paper, and sodas.  Oh--and milk.  (We go through lots of milk).  Years and years ago the fam used to go grocery shopping all together and only go monthly.  That meant up to three carts full of food.  It was pretty epic (but took FOREVER.  Those were NOT the days that I enjoyed grocery shopping, especially the hauling-groceries-inside and putting-groceries-away part).

In my room on a lovely semi-lazy Saturday:
Folding laundry and jamming out to my tunes on Spotify.

THEN:  I vegged out and worked more on the super-secret project until I got hungry.  I heard the fam was getting fried chicken for dinner, but it's not my favorite.  So I made 'harvest tomato soup.'  It was a quirky Campbell's soup find.  Pretty yummy as a dinner for me.  (I added frozen corn to it, too.)

Post Dinner:  I had a DATE planned!  Fish and I planned to watch a movie, and it was actually a movie we'd both been planning to see together anyway.  I had seen that the Muppets was available via Redbox, and I had a free Redbox code--so we made it happen.

My review:  The Muppets was funny!  I don't know if it was merely the nostalgia of a childhood show that I'm able to relive as an adult or if it was just that Fish enjoyed it so much, which made me enjoy it too, but it was definitely a good time and worth the rental/watch.  (I really had  nothing to lose either way because it was a free rental--but still!)  Favorite parts:  'Travel by map,' the teeth-brushing scene, and any time there were singing/dancing chickens (especially their rendition of 'Forget You').

Oh, but guess who as also present during movie date?  Yes, lil Prince was all kinds of everywhere in my room at the time.  Initially, the intent was to have Fish meet the lil guy.  But then Prince got all kinds of energy and gusto--meaning that he ran around my room, trying to eat my four-leaf-clover, knocking stuff on the ground, pulling out my sandals, getting tangled in cords, and spilling kitty litter on my bed.  Lovely.  But pretty entertaining.  Especially when he thought my headphones were fun to play with while I was using them.  And when he thought the best place to sit was right in front of the webcam.  Haha.

 *Notice how little Prince Tony is in the pic above!  My hand is about the same size!*

 After the movie, I just chatted with Fish for awhile longer about his fun-times traveling with his family.  In a few weeks, I'll be the one traveling, except it'll be just me and Doty heading south for Texas.  Crazy how time is passing so quickly, summer is escaping, and the next phase in my Post-Grad Life is approaching.   I keep thinking of ways to better prep myself, but I'm probably still too far away for its actuality to get much accomplished.  Either that or I'm simply too busy and wrapped up in my current life to put much time and energy into it.

Regardless, my blog will continue to provide updates on this crazy life that I lead these days.  May each Adventure Day be as full as the last 12!

Adventure #11: I Cheated But It's Worth It

I warned you--last week was very much thrown off by the chaos of my totally-awesome trip to Michigan.  There are PLENTY of pictures that I will make you look at.  I will not post them here (yes, I will require you do your own work), but please visit my Facebook album at: 

https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/media/set/?set=a.10151399026430910.396499.646145909&type=3

There are things I'd like to share about my many adventures last week.  And I shall share them the best I can below.  BUT, I'd like to reassure all my dear readers that there will still be a legitimate Adventure Day this week that will include the Adventure Shoes, plenty of pictures, and an updated, timely blog post.  I am serious.  So take me seriously and check back by this weekend (or just become a Follower on my lovely blog).

For-real though, sharing time. 

THE LIST OF LESSONS LEARNED DURING MY 9-DAY MICHIGAN TRIP:

Day 1
~Bismarck Airport security means business.  Meaning that unopened spray bottles of sunscreen DO NOT make it past security.  (Thanks for rescuing me, Dad!)
~Three hour layovers are long.  Really really long.
~Minneapolis Airport has a mall.  Believe me.
~Airport bookstores are good for making time pass.  No need to even buy a book; just read in a comfy chair and enjoy.
~A curbside hug can become the highlight of a day.  Said hug might also prolong temporary vehicle drop-off/pick-up lane's traffic congestion at Grand Rapids International Airport.  But whatever.
~If you look confused enough, Panera employees will eventually help you locate the area where one must take dirty dishes before leaving the restaurant.
~French Hall will have a floor with two RA's next year who go by Mo-Ler.  Dynamic Duo, if I do say so myself.

Day 2
~The date can be irrelevant; better to have happened a lil late than never at all.
~5 a.m. is always early.  Especially when one changes time zones so that 5 a.m. feels like 3 a.m.
~The sunrise is beautiful.  East Campus is magical.  Sweetwater's donuts are delicious.  (Duh.)
~Fish is obsessed with the 'Children' setting on my camera.
~Steak and Shake Happy Hour is always a good idea.  If it's the right time, just do it.
~It doesn't matter how many times one has gone to Roadhouse for dinner/drinks--it's the best place to go to catch up and fill up on yummy things.
~It doesn't have to be July 4th to play with sparklers.

Day 3
~Fish makes GREAT pancakes.
~Fish makes GREAT shrimp alfredo.
~My Co doesn't really like red Faygo but will drink it if he's thirsty.
~O'Quinn peels an orange with his teeth.
~I don't melt in Lake Michigan, as long as the water is above 60 degrees and the air temp is hovering around 90 degrees.
~The South Haven Dairy Queen is cursed when it comes to spills.  I believe I counted at least three during dinner that day.
~South Haven fireworks don't start at dusk.  Try after 10:30...
~South Haven fireworks draw in more people than some rallies in Washington D.C.  You've been warned.
~Pinot Noir is delicious.  Especially when drank from a wine glass.

Day 4
~Fish does in fact like Greek yogurt.
~Air conditioning is not optional for a two hour road trip in 90 degree heat.  It begins necessary.  Only the tough survive otherwise.  (Fish and I are pretty tough FYI.)
~It doesn't matter how much taller other people are, if they are welcoming, then everything is going to be ok.
~Fireworks in 90 degree heat simply isn't worth it.  Baking cookies on the other hand, is TOTALLY worth it.
~Melting chocolate chips for drizzling requires patience.
~Fish and I don't have patience.
~Part of baking is creating delicious things out of the unbaked ingredients.  Take my word for it.

Day 5
~Detroit is awesome.  Enough said.
~If there is a need to name something (let' say...some kind of mass transit...) just be obvious about it.  Call it the PeopleMover.  It fits.
~One can see Canada from Detroit.
~Saganaki is flaming cheese.  And it's delicious.  (Opah!)
~Coconut trees exist inside buildings.  (Who cares if they're fake?!)
~My new roommate totally earned my approval.  Especially because her dog Chuey is adorable.  And because she currently works at a restaurant with delicious food!
~Farmington Hills Meijer has a GREAT toy aisle.  That aisle can suck up so much time!
~Chocolate covered oranges are most definitely seasonal items.  This conclusion was FINALLY determined after much searching.  If Walgreens doesn't have it, nobody has it.
~Nighttime playground romping revives one's inner-child, no matter one's age.

Day 6
~Groupon is such a great invention!  Especially when used at brunch.
~Payless is tricky.  BOGO sales work for only select shoes.  One must be careful not to be tricked by the trickery.
~Rent can be sung aloud when driving/riding from Farmington Hills to Goodrich.  Duets are most effective.
~Puppy + 11-month-old = a tad bit of chaos.  Try throwing in four adults cooking a meal and dessert, and the chaos is increased.
~Bathtime is GREAT FUN with Baby Faye.  Every single part of bathtime.
~It's not a family picture if the puppy isn't in it!
~The waltz really isn't that hard to learn!  And neither is the four-step!

Day 7
~After breakfast, there is always room in one's stomach for fresh bagels brought from the bakery.  That's when one's second stomach opens up!  ;)
~The original Twisted Metal video game is so old school.  But it's still awesome.  And my best car is still Outlaw.
~In the middle of the day in the middle of summer, the roof is hot.  Don't go on it.  Don't even sit on it.  Don't even think about it.
~BASKIN ROBBINS STILL EXISTS!!! 
~If one hurries, one can get ready for a wedding in less than 40 minutes.
~Cowboy boots are totally appropriate wedding party attire.
~M&M's make great wedding favors.  Especially if the bride and groom's faces are on them.
~Drinks at an open bar at a wedding aren't the best.  Keep this in mind before setting expectations for the night.
~The hokey pokey makes a great wedding song.

Day 8
~Fish likes tea.  But if he finishes your cup of tea, he will also likely get new tea to share.
~Cutting up butternut squash is tedious.  And can cause blister formation.
~Butternut squash mac and cheese is worth making/trying/devouring.  Be adventurous!
~Krogers are East Side grocery stores.  I've been to one.  They are real.
~One must pay close attention to the Creeper Channel at WMU to determine which part of the Miller Fountain is being viewed at any given time.  (Allows for further nighttime adventures.)
~Dinner can sometimes occur after 11pm.  Sometimes shrimp alfredo tastes good after 11pm.

Day 9
~There is no such thing as too much Sweetwater's.  Even when one's coupon for a free donut is not available.
~Ducks eat pieces of napkin when the moldy bread has all been eaten.
~Accidentally stomping on my phone will result in all my texts being marked as unread.  (Annoying?  Yes.)
~There are lots of cute cafe's downtown.  Said cafe's also sell loose leaf tea.  (WANT!)
~Theo & Stacy's downtown is DELICOUS!  Especially in the company of Shay and Fish!
~Grand Rapids short-term parking is difficult to locate.
~Saying good-bye and not turning back can be one of the hardest things one can ever do.
~An unassigned seat on an airplane is inconvenient.  It results in much waiting.
~Waking up after a 1.5 hour drive home to discover that one is not at home but at Walmart can be disheartening.  But food must be bought...I guess.

And the above is a fast and furious re-cap that left out TONS of details and stuff that I wish I could have included!  Questions on anything?!  I love talking about my trip so ask away! 

Finally...this week's Adventure Day will be coming soon!