SURPRISE!

Let me start by saying that my friends and I have never been good at surprise parties. We've tried to have them before, and they always get screwed up.

So this year, we decided to try again. My friend Lauren turned nineteen on Wednesday, so we decided to have the party on Friday, when she wouldn't be expecting it. Another friend, Cassie, is her roommate, so getting into the apartment was the easiest part. We had it all planned--Cassie had to work, but I got the day off. So she would leave the key under the plant on their front step. Lauren's mom would help us out by taking Lauren out for dinner to someplace with a long waiting list--they went to Red Lobster. And then we would get everything decorated and such. Then we'd surprise her when she got home.

Well...it started going wrong from the get-go. I picked up Kathy, and we picked up the cake and headed to the apartment. The key wasn't there. So we dropped the cake off at my house (it was a DQ Cake and needed to be in the freezer) and went to the mall to visit Cassie at work. When we asked her, she looked blank for a minute. Man, if she'd said that she had left the key under the plant, there might have been some trouble. But it turned out that she had just forgotten to leave it. We got the key, grabbed the cake, and headed back. Cassie had gotten the streamers and such, and so we found some tape and began decorating.

One by one the guests arrived, and we all got comfortable to wait. Cassie got home and got the food out. Finally, at about eight-thirty, Lauren and parents pulled up. We each grabbed a balloon and crowded around the door to wait.

I guess I should mention at this point that we could crowd around the door without being seen by Lauren because Lauren is legally blind.

But anyway, her parents brought her in, and we were trying reeeeeeeally hard not to crack up. But then she came in, and ran into the streamers we'd hung from the door connecting the porch with the rest of the house. Her face went totally blank, and Cassie gave us a count-off with her fingers, and we yelled "SURPRISE!" and pelted her with balloons. She never saw it coming.

The rest of the party went on as your typical sleepover will do. We listened to music, pigged out, watched her open presents, and played "Don't Let the Balloon Touch the Ground." We all (eventually) fell asleep--at about, oh, three in the morning. Ish.

Lauren and Cassie each slept in their beds, and Kathy took the floor in the hall. Rachel took the couch, and I got the floor. But when we woke up the next morning, I was on the couch, and Rachel was on the loveseat in the next room. We're still not sure how we got moved around, but it doesn't really matter. I was comfy when I woke up!

I ended up going out to lunch with my parents after I got home. Then I crawled into bed and napped for an hour before I had to go to work. Man, I was a total zombie. I feel bad for Dusty, having to work with me when I could barely keep my eyes open.

So then, as if I wasn't worn out enough, the dish washer in the laundry room decides to break down right as we all start closing. I mean, the back area by the sinks smelled like smoke. Very heavy, very gross, and very overwhelming. Ugh...we couldn't even get back there to do dishes until it had dissipated a little bit. Very nasty. But I came home and blissfully crawled into bed...where I promptly got insomnia.

Such is my life. But the party was fun ^__^

SURPRISE!

Let me start by saying that my friends and I have never been good at surprise parties. We've tried to have them before, and they always get screwed up.

So this year, we decided to try again. My friend Lauren turned nineteen on Wednesday, so we decided to have the party on Friday, when she wouldn't be expecting it. Another friend, Cassie, is her roommate, so getting into the apartment was the easiest part. We had it all planned--Cassie had to work, but I got the day off. So she would leave the key under the plant on their front step. Lauren's mom would help us out by taking Lauren out for dinner to someplace with a long waiting list--they went to Red Lobster. And then we would get everything decorated and such. Then we'd surprise her when she got home.

Well...it started going wrong from the get-go. I picked up Kathy, and we picked up the cake and headed to the apartment. The key wasn't there. So we dropped the cake off at my house (it was a DQ Cake and needed to be in the freezer) and went to the mall to visit Cassie at work. When we asked her, she looked blank for a minute. Man, if she'd said that she had left the key under the plant, there might have been some trouble. But it turned out that she had just forgotten to leave it. We got the key, grabbed the cake, and headed back. Cassie had gotten the streamers and such, and so we found some tape and began decorating.

One by one the guests arrived, and we all got comfortable to wait. Cassie got home and got the food out. Finally, at about eight-thirty, Lauren and parents pulled up. We each grabbed a balloon and crowded around the door to wait.

I guess I should mention at this point that we could crowd around the door without being seen by Lauren because Lauren is legally blind.

But anyway, her parents brought her in, and we were trying reeeeeeeally hard not to crack up. But then she came in, and ran into the streamers we'd hung from the door connecting the porch with the rest of the house. Her face went totally blank, and Cassie gave us a count-off with her fingers, and we yelled "SURPRISE!" and pelted her with balloons. She never saw it coming.

The rest of the party went on as your typical sleepover will do. We listened to music, pigged out, watched her open presents, and played "Don't Let the Balloon Touch the Ground." We all (eventually) fell asleep--at about, oh, three in the morning. Ish.

Lauren and Cassie each slept in their beds, and Kathy took the floor in the hall. Rachel took the couch, and I got the floor. But when we woke up the next morning, I was on the couch, and Rachel was on the loveseat in the next room. We're still not sure how we got moved around, but it doesn't really matter. I was comfy when I woke up!

I ended up going out to lunch with my parents after I got home. Then I crawled into bed and napped for an hour before I had to go to work. Man, I was a total zombie. I feel bad for Dusty, having to work with me when I could barely keep my eyes open.

So then, as if I wasn't worn out enough, the dish washer in the laundry room decides to break down right as we all start closing. I mean, the back area by the sinks smelled like smoke. Very heavy, very gross, and very overwhelming. Ugh...we couldn't even get back there to do dishes until it had dissipated a little bit. Very nasty. But I came home and blissfully crawled into bed...where I promptly got insomnia.

Such is my life. But the party was fun ^__^

(no subject)

I love my mommy, ya know? She's awesome.

And yesterday, I got to spend some quality time with my mother. We went shopping! It was a lot of fun, really.

Sunday morning, I came upstairs and asked Mom if we could go shopping. Reason? Simple--it's getting hotter here, but I hate shorts, so I was wondering if we could go look for some capri pants for me. I love those things. Now, I don't ask my mom for much, so she said okay. We went out and hit the racks.

Ended up finding four pairs--and a cute black tank top, too. Realize that I'm not exactly a size two, so finding that much is fantastic for me! And then we went and looked at shoes. Also realize that I have extremely big feet, so when I found a cute pair of sandals that fit, I was ecstatic! Then we called Dad and asked him if he wanted to meet us for lunch.

So we had Taco John's, and some quality chat time. At least, we would have had quality chat time if there wasn't a small child screaming in the restaurant. I remember how when I was a kid, we weren't allowed to make scenes like that in public. *sigh* Oh well. Different age now, I guess.

And then we went to Lowe's. Ya see, we're doing some massive remodelling of our basement. A couple years ago, a pipe was eroded away beneath the concrete of our basement floor, so we had to rip up the carpet and take a jackhammer to our floor to get it fixed, and we haven't had carpet since. But we're finally fixing that! Finally, dear bedroom of mine--no longer shall I be forced to endure the cold cement floor when I crawl out of bed in the morning. Joy!

So anyway, we looked at blinds and carpet and things. It was nice. Not particularly interesting, but nice. Then we came home...and I got to clean my room. Got about half done. Not too bad for a couple hours work. Still got a little way to go, though.

(no subject)

I love my mommy, ya know? She's awesome.

And yesterday, I got to spend some quality time with my mother. We went shopping! It was a lot of fun, really.

Sunday morning, I came upstairs and asked Mom if we could go shopping. Reason? Simple--it's getting hotter here, but I hate shorts, so I was wondering if we could go look for some capri pants for me. I love those things. Now, I don't ask my mom for much, so she said okay. We went out and hit the racks.

Ended up finding four pairs--and a cute black tank top, too. Realize that I'm not exactly a size two, so finding that much is fantastic for me! And then we went and looked at shoes. Also realize that I have extremely big feet, so when I found a cute pair of sandals that fit, I was ecstatic! Then we called Dad and asked him if he wanted to meet us for lunch.

So we had Taco John's, and some quality chat time. At least, we would have had quality chat time if there wasn't a small child screaming in the restaurant. I remember how when I was a kid, we weren't allowed to make scenes like that in public. *sigh* Oh well. Different age now, I guess.

And then we went to Lowe's. Ya see, we're doing some massive remodelling of our basement. A couple years ago, a pipe was eroded away beneath the concrete of our basement floor, so we had to rip up the carpet and take a jackhammer to our floor to get it fixed, and we haven't had carpet since. But we're finally fixing that! Finally, dear bedroom of mine--no longer shall I be forced to endure the cold cement floor when I crawl out of bed in the morning. Joy!

So anyway, we looked at blinds and carpet and things. It was nice. Not particularly interesting, but nice. Then we came home...and I got to clean my room. Got about half done. Not too bad for a couple hours work. Still got a little way to go, though.

A day for the girls

The city where I live doesn't really have a ton by way of shopping. I mean, there's a mall and everything, but it's small. There isn't an enormous selection. So when my friend Rachel suggested a one-day road trip to a city an hour away from some serious shopping, I was all for it!

This is just something my friends and I do--every once in a while, we'll pile in a car and head up to this other city and hit the mall, Best Buy, etc. These friends are my fellow anime freaks, so that's primarily what we search for. Being an otaku where I live is tough--not many places to choose from when you shop.

So anyway, today it was me, Rachel, and Kathy. We got an early start, on the road by ten-thirty. We'd been driving for a little while when a problem began to manifest itself: Kat (who was in the backseat) said she wasn't feeling well. We thought it was just because she was reading in the car, which tends to make most people nauseous. But then suddenly she asks if this plastic bag in the backseat has anything important in it. I glanced over my shoulder, saw she was holding my garbage bag, and said no, nothing important. About ten seconds later, there was a horrible wretching sound.

Apparently, Kat gets carsick. I pulled over onto the shoulder, and Rachel jumped out like someone had stung her. She hates the sound of throwing up. We eventually managed to get Kat out of the car and into the fresh air. She felt better after a little while, so we tied the bag up and stuck it in a box in the trunk. It was nothing personal, we just didn't want the smell to permeate the car.

So we continued on our way. After a while, Kat started getting queasy again, so we pulled over and gave her some air. Then we went on our way. We were probably fifty feet from the exit when she screamed to pull over immediately. We did, she jumped out, and threw up again. Rachel and I just sat in the car and waited. A minute later she crawled back in and told us to proceed, since we were already there.

We headed to Best Buy first. Cheap anime. We're going to be getting one here where I live soon, I can't wait! But anyway, after we left there, we headed to the mall, grabbed a sandwich (we were planning to eat after we got done with our shopping), and hit the stores.

I think I spent more money than I really should have, but I doubt I'll have another chance to splurge like that this summer, so I indulged myself, and bought several new DVDs: three volumes of Pretear (now I have the whole series!), the first volume of Super GALS, and a nice box-set of the Sailor Moon movies on DVD. There were several other things I really wanted to get, but I resisted the urge to spend every last cent I have. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

We went to Fuddrucker's for dinner. Do you think the guy that founded/named that place did so like that on purpose? Honestly, I've...ah, mispronounced, shall we say, that name a couple of times, ya know -_- How embarassing...but anyway, it was a very good burger. Expensive, but tasty.

We drove home cheerfully, discussing our new purchases, and our upcoming anime-watching bash. It's sort of our tradition--during the summer, we get together, set up camp at somebody's house, and have a massive anime party, with food and manga and whatnot, and we watch whatever new stuff we've gotten during the year, and maybe some old favorites as well. We've scheduled this year's for next week. Should be fun!

But anyway, the drive home was a lot more fun than the drive up. Kat didn't get carsick again, thank goodness! Poor kid was miserable on the way up. We talked about stuff, anime, life in general, food...all the fun stuff that makes life worth living, ya know?

*sigh* Well, it's been fun, but I have to go finish my room now. Tomorrow, the guys are coming to start repairing our basement so we can get the remodelling done, thank you God! But they're also going to be patching a section of my wall, so I need to make sure my floor is clean so they can get through.

So until next time, farewell.

A day for the girls

The city where I live doesn't really have a ton by way of shopping. I mean, there's a mall and everything, but it's small. There isn't an enormous selection. So when my friend Rachel suggested a one-day road trip to a city an hour away from some serious shopping, I was all for it!

This is just something my friends and I do--every once in a while, we'll pile in a car and head up to this other city and hit the mall, Best Buy, etc. These friends are my fellow anime freaks, so that's primarily what we search for. Being an otaku where I live is tough--not many places to choose from when you shop.

So anyway, today it was me, Rachel, and Kathy. We got an early start, on the road by ten-thirty. We'd been driving for a little while when a problem began to manifest itself: Kat (who was in the backseat) said she wasn't feeling well. We thought it was just because she was reading in the car, which tends to make most people nauseous. But then suddenly she asks if this plastic bag in the backseat has anything important in it. I glanced over my shoulder, saw she was holding my garbage bag, and said no, nothing important. About ten seconds later, there was a horrible wretching sound.

Apparently, Kat gets carsick. I pulled over onto the shoulder, and Rachel jumped out like someone had stung her. She hates the sound of throwing up. We eventually managed to get Kat out of the car and into the fresh air. She felt better after a little while, so we tied the bag up and stuck it in a box in the trunk. It was nothing personal, we just didn't want the smell to permeate the car.

So we continued on our way. After a while, Kat started getting queasy again, so we pulled over and gave her some air. Then we went on our way. We were probably fifty feet from the exit when she screamed to pull over immediately. We did, she jumped out, and threw up again. Rachel and I just sat in the car and waited. A minute later she crawled back in and told us to proceed, since we were already there.

We headed to Best Buy first. Cheap anime. We're going to be getting one here where I live soon, I can't wait! But anyway, after we left there, we headed to the mall, grabbed a sandwich (we were planning to eat after we got done with our shopping), and hit the stores.

I think I spent more money than I really should have, but I doubt I'll have another chance to splurge like that this summer, so I indulged myself, and bought several new DVDs: three volumes of Pretear (now I have the whole series!), the first volume of Super GALS, and a nice box-set of the Sailor Moon movies on DVD. There were several other things I really wanted to get, but I resisted the urge to spend every last cent I have. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

We went to Fuddrucker's for dinner. Do you think the guy that founded/named that place did so like that on purpose? Honestly, I've...ah, mispronounced, shall we say, that name a couple of times, ya know -_- How embarassing...but anyway, it was a very good burger. Expensive, but tasty.

We drove home cheerfully, discussing our new purchases, and our upcoming anime-watching bash. It's sort of our tradition--during the summer, we get together, set up camp at somebody's house, and have a massive anime party, with food and manga and whatnot, and we watch whatever new stuff we've gotten during the year, and maybe some old favorites as well. We've scheduled this year's for next week. Should be fun!

But anyway, the drive home was a lot more fun than the drive up. Kat didn't get carsick again, thank goodness! Poor kid was miserable on the way up. We talked about stuff, anime, life in general, food...all the fun stuff that makes life worth living, ya know?

*sigh* Well, it's been fun, but I have to go finish my room now. Tomorrow, the guys are coming to start repairing our basement so we can get the remodelling done, thank you God! But they're also going to be patching a section of my wall, so I need to make sure my floor is clean so they can get through.

So until next time, farewell.