Day 30: Daddy's little girl.

First of all, hi Daddy, because I know you're staying up-to-date on kyle and my blogs.

Secondly, Sorry I took this picture without you knowing. But I wanted it to be a surprise.

Well Here goes: I am a Daddy's girl. We are exactly alike. We're the ones with ideas. We're not the "Home bodies" We're the creative ones. The ones who tolerate change a little more. The goofy ones. The ones with the corny jokes. The ones who like onions and sausage. The ones who dip everything. The "Montgomerys" of the family versus the "Pomeroys." But most importantly he is my father, my "daddy" and I am his daughter, "his missy McDoogle."

I am so lucky to have amazing parents. Yesterday when I felt completely aweful. It was Dad who said I could ride to work with Kyle and that he would pick me up after my shift (at 2 am). It was my dad who went to three stores today looking for a paint additive to make furniture flame retardant (for my dresser for college.) It was dad who made me "flat eggs" yesterday and bought me chinese today. Dad who does all of this while commuting to Cincinnati every day to work.

There are thirty eight days til I go to college and it has finally set in on me that I have to grow up now. I'm trying to savor every last day, but between all the things to do to get ready and my job and my friends, it's hard to do. But I'm trying. I heard the song "Ready, Set, Don't Go." today and I cried a little. I love my family.


Here's the song for those of you who weren't aware. And also the lyrics:



She's got to do what she's got to do
And I've got to like it or not
She's got dreams too big for this town
And she needs to give them a shot
Wherever they are

Looks like I'm all ready to leave
with nothing left to pack
There ain't no room for me in that car
Even if she asked me to tag along
God, I got to be strong

I'm at the starting line of the rest of my life
As ready as I've ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in my eyes
The prize is mine to win
She's waiting on my blessings before she hits that open road
Well, baby, get ready, (oh I'm ready) get set, don't go

Looks things are fallen into place
Feels like they're fallen apart
I've painted this big old smile on my face to hide my broken heart
If only she knew
This is where you don't say what you want so bad to say
This is where I want to but I won't get in the way of her and her dreams
And spreading her wings (my wings, fly)

I'm at the starting line of the rest of my life
As ready as I've ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in my eyes
The prize is mine to win
She's waiting on my blessings before she hits that open road
Well, (Gotta get ready to go)baby, get ready, get set,(set) don't go

I'm at the starting line of the rest of my life
As ready as I've ever been
(Never be alright
Got the hunger and the stars in my eyes
The prize is mine to win (I'll be okay)
She's waiting on my blessings before she hits that open road
Well, baby, get ready, (woah) get set, please don't go

Don't go, (let me go now, ready)
don't do (I'll be alright, I'll be okay, no that i'll be thinkin of you, each and every day
She's got to do what she's got to do
let me go now
She's got to do what she's got to do
I gotta do what I gotta do
She's got to do what she's got to do
Fly...

Day 27: Skype sessions.

This is something Anthony and I do multiple times a week. (I bought him a webcam for graduation)

Even though Anthony and I aren't still dating, there's no denying that our relationship was more than just boyfriend and girlfriend. In the past two years we became best friends, telling each other every unimportant fact that no one else would care about. There's no just stopping that. This is part of the reason why we're still friends: Our relationship was based on such a strong friendship that we can't just lose it. Thus, we skype every 3 or so days, just to say "hey, whats up" and "How's life been". Each time I trade a few Kings Island stories for a few shuffleboard stories. We chat for 30 or so minutes, usually late at night, usually with my laying on my bed trying to stay awake. There are some things I'm not willing to give up.



In other news (Which was part of tonight's Skype session), I got a 4 on my AP English Test. The perfectionist inside of me is disappointed for not getting a 5, but hey, at least I got the maximum credit possible, right?

Day 25: Twins

Funny story: When I got in my car to drive to Alex's grandma's house, I realized right around Kroger that I forgot my work shoes. So I called Alex, told her I was doubling back to get them, and that it would be a tad bit longer before I got there. While on the phone, she double checked to make sure I had all my important essentials: ID, nametag, belt, $. I reassured her that I remembered putting all those things in my bag for work.

I was wrong.

When we got up at 7:30 in the morning, I started to pull out my uniform for work. No nametag to be found. I swore to both Alex and David that I had it... but I guess not? (It was on my bed when I got home) So... I became "Alex" for the day, borrowing her second name tag. The funny thing was that in addition to the same nametag, we also had the same headband, similar glasses, our hair in buns, and matching vera bradley carry alls. We decided we must be twins. :)

Day 24: New friends

I love my coworkers so much!

Today, while I was taking photos and Alex was selling them, she asked if I wanted to hang out, because it was her last day house watching for her Grandma. I told her that it would be great... except I had to open at 8:45 the next morning. So she switched shifts with someone to match and I drove home and then to West Chester after work.

It was me, Alex, Megan, and David.

We swam for like 3 hours. Megan and I became obsessed with making bubbles with a noodle. David and I made fun of alex for saying "bounce" over and over. Megan, Alex, and I floated on a noodle and pointed out cloud shapes in the dark.

At midnight, Megan and David drove home and Alex and I stayed up for another hour talking. She's a year older than me, so she told me all about her experiences at Kent State, and we discussed one of my favorite topics - books. We stayed up until 3 am even though we had to be up at 7:30 for our shift, but it was okay because, even being exhausted, we got each other up and made it to work on time (unlike david.) we even had time to sing Adele in the car!

Day 23: Normal.

Nothing exciting happened today. The most exciting portion of my day was the fact that I got my truck back to drive to work. I love driving it because it's just bumpy enough to remind me that I'm driving. Sometimes I just enjoy the imperfect things. I love the feel of controlling the truck. Also, I love my cassette to iPod converter (another hand-me-down with the truck from my brother). It's great to listen to all my favorite mix cds.

Day 22: Megan

I love having friends who I can call up on a whim to hangout. I had a few spare hours (again) to spend at the pool, but sometimes I just long for company at the pool, especially if it's hot and I want in the water. So I called Megan, and 20 minutes later, we were soaking up the sun in our chairs and wading casually through the water. She looked super adorable (as always) but this aweful shiny picture doesn't do us justice. But my hairwrap still lives!

Day 21: YMCA

I love the Y. For as long as I can remember, I've been coming there every summer. My mom made sure my brother and I took swimming lessons every summer. I practically lived in the water, which also explains my chlorine and sun altered blonde hair every summer. I love how the Y isn't too crowded during the week. There's always a sunny chair waiting for me to sit and read. Plus, now that I'm 18, I can enjoy the cool water without stupid ten year old boys splashing me.

I'm trying so desperately hard to get rid of my Keyhole tanlines. It's fighting a losing battle.

Day 20: Friends

Sometimes I forget just how amazing my friends are.

Today was fantastic. Amanda has returned from Europe, so after I got home from work we decided to hang out. She had free tickets to the Beach, so we went there... where we saw Darby working. So we ended up making plans to hang out with her. Thus, a couple hours later I found myself sitting on the sidewalk in Darby's neighborhood with her, Amanda, and Megan. We were laughing and talking about everything. Darby's family gave me my grad card and gift, which was the perfect card with sound - it said "YOU DID GOOD!" really loudly, and some cash. (Thank you so much Darbs!) We love our grammar.

It felt great to sit outside enjoying summer with close friends. In this useless summer, where literally all I've been doing is working, and without the daily conversations with a significant other, I really need my friends.




I chose the imperfect picture. The one Mr. Thompson took to be funny, knowing we weren't ready. My friends are not perfect people and neither am I, but it is our imperfections that make our bonds strong. :) I love them.

Day 18: a treasure trove of jewelry.

My grandma is in a nursing home. She will be for the rest of her life. This is not a shock for me. There comes a time in your life where you are no longer self dependent. Therefore, she's at Country Manor. What this means is that she no longer needs all of her belongings. Our family will be selling the house. With this comes the task of deciding what is worth keeping and what is garbage. So, before anyone did anything, I begged my mother to bring me her jewelry. I love vintage jewelry, and my grandma does not wear any of it anyway. So mom returned one day with everything. Pins, necklaces, watches, etc. I am so happy about it. I love vintage one-of-a-kind pieces (and Sarah Coventry jewelry) and so I got my pick of whatever I wanted. Here are my favorites.

Day 17: All my childhood dreams have come true.

I put a hairwrap in my hair.

Technically, I'm not supposed to have one at Front Gate, but Lisa (my manager) said it was fine if I tucked it in during my shift. It made my week. I was that kid who wanted one but whose parents would NEVER pay twenty bucks for a hair decoration. I tried to do one myself when I was younger, but it didn't work.

The best part of this one is that I did it by myself. Tonight was Art Night at work, which meant that after the park closed, all the Kaman's employees had an art party: We did facepaint, henna, and all that fun stuff. Well, I didn't want a poor facepaint girl to have to spend 10 minutes giving me a hair wrap, so I just asked a girl to show me how to do it. She looked at me funny and said "Are you sure you can do it by yourself?" I laughed and said "I'm pretty crafty." But this girl still didn't think I was capable. She showed me how she knotted it and went ahead and started it. When I told her I would finish it at home, she looked at me even weirder and asked again if I was sure I could do it. I said yes, as long as she explained how to end it really quickly. So five minutes later I had my string and my beads and I left.


Well guess what? I didn't have any problems. And it looks just like the ones that we do at Kings Island. So HAH facepaint girl!

Day 16: The photo that wasn't.

Today I snuck a photo on my phone... or so I thought.

It was going to be perfect. We were at Libby's and Cody Park and Brandon Evans were playing Guitar Hero. I sat in the corner and snapped a pic of the room on my phone. A perfect descriptor of the highlight of my night.


...Then I went back to upload it.


It didn't take.


So, everyone. Use your imagination to figure out my night.

Day 15: So I'd like to say thank you...

...but I'm really bad at being timely. This is the pile of envelopes on my night stand, which I just finished addressing. My party was a month ago and I haven't sent any thank you notes. I should probably finish that. Maybe my faux paux will be made up for by the fact that I made them myself!

Day 14: I told you so.

So, nothing really productive happened today... so I wanted to take this time to prove a point. This is my desktop to my macbook, which consists of Dr. Who pictures that change every five minutes. Thanks for that idea, Kyle.

Day 13: Television marathons

So, by now everyone should know that my brother and I are close. (Hi Kyle!) But one of our favorite things to do is to have marathons. We love How I Met Your Mother, Mad Love, Community, Big Bang Theory, Firefly, and Dr. Who. This time, though, it was definitely Dr. Who. While we watched a couple of episodes, we also put the finishing touches on my new Macbook. But I was too concerned with Dr. Who to really pay attention. If you haven't seen it, the last episode of the first half of this season is CRAZY good and such a plot twist. Moral of the story: Kyle and I are awesome siblings.

Day 12: My poor peter

My poor truck, Peter Pan, died today. In a storm. On Kings Island Drive. Here's how it went down:

Maddie Collins and I decided to go to Kings Island for a little bit today to see her sister in American Country, ride a few rides, and buy two super cute little pink keychains from Keyhole. (My treat) Well, we noticed the impending doom and decided to escape KI and go home, since there isn't much you can do at Kings Island in a storm. Bad decision #1. We didn't leave in time and ended up walking to my car in a downpour. (Thanks employee lot). So, I contemplated waiting it out before driving home, but I decided that was stupid, that the rain wasn't undrivable, and that we might as well get home. Bad decision #2. As we were driving out of the parking lot, I noticed a weird squeeky sound coming from my car. Now, my car normally squeeks like the stroller in the Aristocats, but this sounded different. I reassured myself that it was the normal squeek, and turned the radio back on. As we turned on to Kings Island Drive, thinks took a turn for the worse: I smelled burnt rubber. So, I pulled off to the side of the road, right before the merge lane ended, a considerably safe spot. Then Maddie saw the smoke. Well, after thinking about it, it was really like... a white steam, not smoke. So she jumped out of the car, and I followed. Did I mention it was storming?

So, I called Mom, who told me to call AAA. I was put on hold for 5 minutes while we stood in a storm, getting drenched, on the side of a four lane road. Finally, after an eternity of elevator music, I was connected to a AAA employee who contacted a towing company. It would be 20 minutes. Maddie was convinced my truck would explode and wouldnt get back in the car, so we stood in the rain. Finally, her Dad arrived to take me home, and shortly after my dad arrived, followed by a towing company.

My poor little teal baby was towed to Kirby's auto (which cost like 20$ thanks to AAA's 5 mile free policy) and we're waiting to hear what is wrong. Hopefully, and what we assume is that a radiator hose or belt broke and something like the radiator fluid caused the smoke/steam. Or something. I dont know. I don't do car repairs.

Day 11: Okay, so I am going to brag a bit.

I love my iPod, and my macbook. This picture shows just how excited I am, complete with a BG shirt! I've gotten the majority of my music on my iPod, and it's perfect for taking the rest of these silly summer photos too. :)

Day 10: Fair trade

I gave my brother my ipod. (Thats right. Gave. No strings attached. Im a nice sister.) I got a new one and gave him my old one to replace his palm pilot. I set it on his computer with a BGSU brother tshirt and my dollies as messengers.

When I got home from work, I found this in return:




For those of you who don't know, My dolls were my security blanket as a child. To me, they were better than any stuffed animal, barbie, blanket, or pillow. Why? They talked. No, I'm not mentally unsound. No. They don't really talk. You see, it started with my daddy. (Hi dad!) When I was really little, he took my dolls and said funny things in a falsetto to make me laugh. Well, as everyone knows, my brother and I are close - we get along really well - and he's really protective of me. When I was too little to even remember, he took over for my dad and created the personalities of each of my dolls... which we still play around with to this day. (Not seriously, just to be fun.) The two pictured above are Cute Dolly and Cool Dolly. I know. I was so original.

Day 9: Today is a day of "could haves"...

I could have taken a picture at orientation. (I forgot)

I could have taken a picture of my new Macbook. (I don't want to brag anymore.)

I could have taken a picture of my parents, since I spent the whole weekend with them. (I didn't think about it.)

I could have taken a picture of the boys in Buckeye Boys State who whistled at me from a dorm room window. (It was too creepy.)


So, instead of any of these things, I took a picture at Meijer. Why, after the exciting day I had, would I take a picture at Meijer? Because it struck me as a hilarious way to describe exactly where I'm going to college: In Ohio, but close to Michigan, where people like Detroit instead of Cleveland, or Cincinnati, or Columbus. I'm obvioulsy not in Lebanon any more.

Day 8: What a crazy day.

I hung out with Anthony today.

...I bet you didn't see that one coming.

We went up a day early for Orientation at BG and stopped in to visit my Grandma. Grandma lives in Vickery, which is a mere 20 to 30 minutes from - you guessed it - Lakeside. As luck would have it, Anthony had the day off from his shuffleboard job and we were free this evening. So we drove there and his mom took my parents on a golf cart tour and we rode bikes around, played shuffleboard, and walked out on the dock.

As Alex Swift says, "It's quaint as balls." No really, it's perfect. Like, white-picket-fence-american-dream perfect. You can ride your bike everywhere and they sell Toft's ice cream. What more could I need?

Day 7: Because I forgot to take one

Have no fear. I still have a picture! This is from my latest fashion post (Searching for buried treasure) This shirt actually belongs to my mom, but I am obsessed with it, and plan on wearing it Saturday to orientation.

Day 6: Singing in the rain.

Alex likes to jump in puddles. Especially when the water splashes on everyone else. It rained today, which was perfect for keeping annoying guests OUT of Kings Island and effectively sending us home early. Alex is one of my best friends at work, and I swear all we do together is laugh. Today, she decided to anger David (our supervisor and her boyfriend) by purposely jumping in a puddle right behind him, and therefore splashed it all over his back side. She then took a picture of it and I stole it. (But don't worry. I told her not to be jealous. I won't steal him too.)

So here's today's pic: David's butt.

Day 5: Silly Keyhole kids.

Apparently all I do is work. But that's okay, because I simply love all my coworkers. (Trust me. Taking pictures at KI is not a job you'd want if the people weren't awesome.) One of the annoying things is how late closes are though. By this point (about 11:30 tonight) Casey, my supervisor, and I were pretty much dead. But thats okay because it WASN'T 90 degrees today and we are fun people.

I told Casey I wanted this picture and then epically failed in trying to take it. Twice. The second time I decided that the blurry, off centered, late night imperfection of this quick photo made it absolutely perfect.





And yes. I did have to blur out the logo.

Day 4: So many blogs.

This picture was taken at 3 am this morning. Just know that.

Yes. I'm wearing a shirt from my ex boyfriend's college. Yes, I have a matching headband. Yes, we were about to fall asleep. But it was probably one of my best summer nights so far.

In this picture, Libby and I had just done the following:
First, we drove to Maria's graduation party. We stayed for like.. 20 minutes.
Second, we drove to Blockbuster and rented Breakfast at Tiffany's and 500 Days of Summer.
Third, we stopped at Speedway for Mountain Dew Voltage.
Fourth, we created two new blogs while eating M&Ms and listening to the entire Adele CD 4+ times through. (I lost track)

We forgot about our movies until we realized it was 2:30 in the morning and we had been creating the blogs for about 3 hours. We ended up watching Audrey Hepburn as we fell asleep. It was one of those perfect summer days.

Oh, I know what you're thinking: What are these blogs?

Here ya go:
Blog one - http://www.collegecasualchic.wordpress.com Yep. It's a fashion blog. Would you expect anything else from the two of us?

Blog two - http://www.fairfaxandcardew.wordpress.com You're right, that is the anything else you'd expect from us. We do love English.


Sorry, Blogspot lovers. They're on wordpress. Thats where all our AP lit friends are. And neither of them are really ready yet, but consider it a sneak peak.

Day 3: Family meals

So, Kyle (finally) came home. Even though he doesn't really want to. Sometimes I forget how much I love my family's weird quirks and idiosyncrasies. We went to Mimi's cafe, which is french food, and Kyle and Dad both bought burgers. Mom and I got desert. We almost sat outside. I could have told you that any of these things were going to happen. Kyle brought his SLR. He took a picture of us for his photo stream, but I wanted one of everyone. Yay for self timers and a stone wall. I was so excited for the food that I even gave a thumbs up!

Day 2: So speaking of Work work work work...

Yesterday, I worked a close shift... that was supposed to end at 11pm. But does my shift ever end on time? No. Frustrated, sweaty, and exhausted, I clocked out at 12:00 exactly. I had skype plans, but our internet still hadn't come back. And I knew that I had to open today at 8:45. I was in such a bad mood, but when I got home, I saw a package from Mrs. Fritz. This one little thoughtful gift changed my whole day.




Everything about this was perfect. Its a journal; I obviously needed to write. It's inspiring; what a great way to make me feel better after a rough day. To top it all off, on the inside it has this quote "The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery" followed by a dedication: "To the future best English Teacher Ever."

The only problem is... when do I ruin the perfect, crisp white pages with my rambling thoughts?

Day 1 - Work work work work.

Okay. So I work at a theme park. That's a typical summer job, right? Right. But did I mention that I work that job? The job that everyone comments "I would hate to have to do that all day." The job that everyone avoids. I am that person. You know, the annoying one who takes your photo when you enter the park? That's me! So its kind of funny that I'd be doing a summer photo project as well. You see, this summer I really will be taking thousands of pictures. In fact, since the beginning of May, I've already taken over 4,000 pictures. But these, the ones right here and, of course, on facebook, these are my photos. They're not annoying photos of strangers. These are photos of love and friendship and all that stuff, instead of photos of appeasement and tired, grumpy children.

On that note, what's more perfect than a photo of my job to start me off?




Oh Key 3. By the Eiffel Tower. I hate you because I usually work alone. I hate you because of the hornet that flys around from its nest somewhere in a nearby roof. I hate you because I always have to flag customers. But I love you because you're right by the international street bandstand, meaning I can watch "Peanuts Party at the Plaza" and "Hot Summer Nights."

My job. A very large part of my summer.