My Hideaway

A dreary sky lurked outside of my window; doesn't exactly entice one to go boating. I went anyway, without much enthusiasm. My skin beaded sweat, but not the good kind you get from being scorched by the sun - it was a muggy, itchy, buggy, sticky, humid hot. Typical Florida.

I sat there drifting for a moment in silence. The water was completely dark - no sun to pierce through the reflective, glassy shield of the surface. Nature's beauty wasn't attending this occasion. I sluggishly paddled on, hoping to discover something better up ahead.

Man, was I right in my decision to keep going. Lo and behold, past old-man-Bob's dock, hundreds of lilies and their precious white flowers laid upon the ripples of the lake, hiding the dark, obsidian-like surface. Making my way carefully around the patches of fragrant blooms so as not to harm the delicate little things, I gazed down at the exposed surface, and realized something was different there as well. Clearly visible rays of light shot down through the water, peeling away the sky-mirroring shadow from the lake bottom life. I could now easily see the wonders that lay beneath - minnows, reeds, and a few other odd things I didn't recognize. For the first time in over a year, I spied fish larger than my index finger. That's when I knew it truly was spring.

The sun shone onto my back and gave me that pleasant sweaty feeling that I don't mind so much. I was amazed - I hadn't seen real fish in forever! This is a really good sign! Everywhere the boat passed by, I could see straight to the sandy, algae-covered lake bottom. I know I make my lake (hey, that rhymes ;D) seem like a dirty, mucky place, but it really is, in my mind, a minor eighth wonder of the world. The surface smooth as glass, the water clear as crystal (when it's sunny) and the life so diverse and so interactive with each other. You could spot anything from 100 species of birds out there to an otter, gator, turtle, carp, deer, frogs - you name it. It might as well be a transported chunk of the Everglades.

Ah! I just love and I can't stop talking about it! If only my damn camera would work (plus it would help if I even remembered to bring it out there at all :/) then I would have some real shots of nature's eye candy to show y'all right now. However, as I have mentioned, that is not the case. So I will continue to draw a picture with words.

My curiosity nearly tipped me out of the canoe as I tilted further forward to peer into the lake water. Striped fish darted away into the floating lilies, tucked away in their beds of kelp-ish plants and sand. I spotted a school (I think that's the proper way to put it?) of tadpoles as they breast-stroked away from me, their tails a sign of their youth. They're actually quite cute. Further down the lake, I come across a heron larger than I have ever seen. You see, in FL, it's normal to see several birds half the size of ostriches constantly on your front lawn. So, if I think I big bird is small, you can imagine the size of this heron. It's blue crest fluffed in the slight breeze as it ate something, maybe a bug, off its leg. Wanting to get a close up, I whipped out my phone and tried to zoom in - until I realized that this new phone that I liked so much at first (LG Cosmos Touch) has no zoom in-out button. I went nuts, then headed home.

I turned around, and once again, I took my time avoiding the fragile lily blooms, no wanting to crush them. The canoe came to a clearing where I could paddle freely. For no apparent reason, just spur of the moment, I paddled wildly in my new direction, I figured out I was stronger than I thought.

That led to an epiphany - I guess what I said above can apply to a lot of things, can't it? I know you've probably heard it before, but you never know until you try, right? If you put enough effort into it, maybe probably, you'll succeed. And that stuck with me the rest of the day, not to mention it certainly came through in my interactions with others.

One more thing: If I'm going to get real good at my new hobby, canoeing, it seems only fit that I find a name for the boat, regardless of the fact that it's a canoe, not a sailboat. If you've got any good ideas, please do tell me! ;) Oh, and I apologize for infrequent posting. Been very busy lately.

~sleepinl8

Spring Break!

Yay finally! It's here! How long I have been waiting for a moment (well, much longer than a moment) to sit down and do as I please. Y'all are probably thinking "Who is she to complain? She's just a kid, still youthful and carefree." Eh, true. But I do keep myself very busy, probably more so than I should. Anyway, here are my plans.

1. Get halfway through reading "Undaunted Courage". It's supposed to be really good - it's the story of Lewis and Clark (I'm such a nerd I know XD). I started it thinking "you have got to be kidding me. This is boring as hell." But when I got to sit down in a really quiet place, instead of just word-calling (reading without paying attention) I could understand it some and get into it a little bit. I'm almost at the more exciting part - you know, where they actually start on their mission out west. But I'm not going to let myself put this down and just stop reading it - I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK. May I repeat: I WILL FINISH THIS BOOK!

2. Spend at least every other day with a friend.  I don't want to let myself become isolated over break. I have plenty of great friends who would love to get out and have fun (besides, most of them are super bored and look to me for entertainment). I'm starting to realize that people aren't as picky as I think they are. They would be happy just going somewhere simple, even if it's just heading out to Target for God's sake. Plus, I have learned that when I spend time with other people, no matter how pissy I am to begin with, it always lifts my mood and makes me feel better, and accomplished in some sort of way.

3. Run more.  Now, don't get all concerned, because this has nothing to do with my eating disorder. Much more to do with a release of energy that tones down negative feelings. I'm sure that if you've gone for a run you know what I mean. What I want to do is, instead of letting emotions boil inside of me until they unleash onto some innocent person, I want to  take it out on the sidewalk, pounding and stomping and defying all forces. I did this the other day when there was a fire in me burning like the flames of hell. Went for a run, just long enough to get the feelings out. Sprinting if I felt like it, walking if I didn't, or somewhere in between. I didn't force myself to go further than what was necessary to release the anger. I came back home feeling instantly better. Even though in the first place I was so unwilling to go out there and do it, I didn't regret itone bit afterward.

4. Take better care of myself.  Sleep schedule has been a major problem for me recently. I'm tired, but I have no desire to go to sleep. So I plan on prodding myself into bed at an earlier time, and remembering the (unpleasant) consequences of not getting enough sleep that come the next morning. Another thing: I seriously need to keep up my flossing routine. Haven't done that in a while, despite the fact that I know how important it is to floss with braces. I also want to improve on knowing my limits with food. I have an all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to certain foods, and I tend to either avoid them completely or completely pig out when I do eat them. That needs to be fixed, because I know that later I will be terrible physically and emotionally after I binge like that.

5. Be more flexible. Another one of my foibles is getting so wound up when things don't go according to plan that I have a minor breakdown. not a fun way to live life. Loosening up and letting go of things will definitely lead to a calmer and more peaceful overall attitude. I must learn the concept of 'rescheduling'. That's a work in progress, but then again, tell me what in this world is not? ;)

And, I guess that's all for my spring break goals. Tell me what yours are. The way I think about it, any occasion can be  used as a chance to make more resolutions! :)
~sleepinl8

Skin Beauty Update!

OK, for all you skin health nuts: just wanted to let y'all know that I have found THE most versatile body scrub EVER! Do you have dry skin, but you also want a body wash that gets all the dirt out? Well I've got the right thing for you! (Ya think I could go into the advertising industry? ;-) Anyway here it is, from Co. Bigelow: Winter Naturals - Ginger Mentha Warming & Exfoliating Body Scrub [with essential oils! :-)]. Behold!

 Sorry I took so many pictures of the same boring bottle XD. Just wanted to make sure y'all got the name right and the look of the product too. Makes your skin super soft, tingly, and warm in the shower. Available at Bath & Body Works. Enjoy!
~sleepinl8

Not Quite Titanic

What's it like to feel unwanted
So alone (seriously, not just in my pathetic teenage way)
So desperate
So in need of something you probably already have?

What if you already know you're way too fortunate
And life has done you extreme good overall
And you know that you have no right to ask for more...

But you can't help but want it.
Because, as far as you can see, everyone else has it.
So why not you?
Why not?
Why not?
Why not?

We live in a hypocritical world -
Everyone demands that you give
When all the while they continue to take.

I've heard it a million times before
"Life's not fair."
Well, duh!
But it doesn't make it suck any less...

I was recently told
That if I could walk a mile in one's shoes
Then I could confirm to myself
That NO ONE has an idealistic life.

Yet they sure do a hell of a good job making it seem like it...
While I am incredibly obvious.
I wear my heart on my sleeve like a tattoo.
Even getting the tattoo removed leaves a scar.

If nothing else
I think something has got to go uphill at some point here.
So far, life in general
Has been a loooooooooooonnnnnnnnnngggggggggg,
Ssssssssssssllllllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwww,
And drrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaggging on
Almost like pulling off a Band Aid....

Right now
What would be real helpful
Is if someone could throw a rope
Down into this trench
So maybe my trembling, feeble hands
Could grasp it in just the nick of time.
Maybe I could even be pulled up...
If the one holding the rope is willing to put forth the effort.
~sleepinl8

WICKED!!!!!!

AAHHHHMAAAAAAZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIINNGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (The title is the name of the play, FYI) This play was indescribably beautiful and heartfelt and everything else you would want to feel while watching a broadway musical!!! The pure talent and realness of the acting was what got me misty-eyed. And I NEVER cry at anything acting related. But this time, I think I even forced myself to cry a little bit just to enhance the whole marvelous experience. It felt good to cry about it. I just about clapped my arms off at he end of every musical number. However, the people next to me disagreed with my opinion of the musical. They never clapped. And during the encore and the standing ovations, they left. Just left. I was like, people, you have got to be kidding me. Even if it was a cruddy play (although it was truly far from it) you just clap because it's a polite thing to do. What morons.

Anyway, there was one obvious sign of extreme talent in this show: the humor. Of course, there are no subtleties in broadway. Despite this obstacle, the cast made it work so, so, so well. What with the giddiness of Glinda and her oh-so-popular self-absorbedness, and Fiyero with his unnecessary, embarrass-others honesty, everything was perfect. The retorts between Glinda and Elphaba were truly clever and you could feel the vibe that the fighting between them was all in good nature and would not last long. It was the truest, realest, form of friendship I have ever seen portrayed on stage. The sister-like relationship between the two perfectly fit the theme of opposites attract. Plus, the relationship was like none I had ever experienced in a play, movie, song, TV show, etc. Yet, the way it was acted out was so completely not fake and totally believable. Glinda being the popular, boy-crazy ditz, at first loathing and then suddenly connecting with the introverted, miserable, and, well, quite green Elphaba.

Oh my goodness! I apologize. You probably don't really know what I'm talking about here. Well, here's tue background info: Elphaba is the wicked witch of the west. She was born green and teased about it her whole life, but that's not real important. In this story, no one is truly bad or good. They are just characters, having their faults and their attributes too. Elphaba is an animal lover on a world that treats them like dirt (note: the animals in the story are spelled with a capital A, distinguishing Animals from just animals. The Animals speak, and the animals don't). I have pretty much already summed up Glinda in the first paragraphs but for further information she becomes the "good" witch of the north. Fiyero is a rich, hot guy who begins school at the Shiz academy and goes steady with Glinda (more commonly known as "Galinda" - her preferred pronunciation). However, after the only Animal teacher in the school, gets fired, and the new teacher comes in with a lion cub in a cage, Fiyero takes sides with Elphaba and releases the lion into the wild. During this time, they bear but a touch of each others' hands and silent eye contact, and secretly, unknowingly, fall for each other. Oh, plus there is a highly esteemed professor of sorcery at the Shiz academy, Madam Morrible, who recognized Elphaba's powers and gets thinking about how she could use the little girl to her evil advantages. We later find out that she is on the side of he wizard, who is truly a complete loser and a nobody who just wants someone to look up to him and think of him as something. So, Madam Morrible and the 'wizard' are together to take the gift of speech from all Animals. Morrible pretends to be all over Elphaba and her gifts in sorcery, when she takes her to see the wizard and they have her decipher the language of a spell book. She reads it easily, but she is unaware that they have tricked her into casting a horrible spell. She feels betrayed and poses the wizard as her enemy. You see, the point of this story is that she was not evil at all, nor truly "good" - just a girl who is different and has her own deep cares and priorities. Yet she is forced to be thought of as the enemy, since everyone listens and looks up to the wizard and thinks he's the end-all be-all. And what the wizard is saying is that everyone must go and find this evil "witch", and they shouldn't listen to a thing she says because she lies and lies and lies (when, in fact, it is the other way around). But the wizard isn't a bad man either - he's just basking in the glory of having all citizens of Emerald City think of him as Mr. Wonderful. He never had a very good life before that - no family, no respect. As he says, he's a "sentimental" man, and quite eccentric in a goofy sort of way. Oh, and before I go any further - Elphaba has a sister, who later becomes Wicked Witch of the East. Nessarose, her wheelchair-bound little sister, is embarrassed to have a green and awkward sister such as Elphaba. However, her cruel father, being disgusted by Elphaba, forces her to care for her at all times, and she is very protective of her. Nessarose falls for a munchkin guy, Boq, who is actually in love with Glinda. Glinda suggests he ask Nessa to the dance, so he does. But her ends up in a relationship that he brought himself into only to make the love of his life happy. So, married to the governor of Oz, Nessa, disabled Nessa, he is miserable. Elphaba, after being in hiding away in the woods (after she sings "Defy Gravity" - so beautiful :D) comes back to secretly visit her sister. Nessa demands she use her powers to get her out of the wheelchair and make Boq love her, not Glinda. She casts the spell on Boq, and since the request for the spell was  "for me to have his heart and not Glinda!" (quote of Nessa, speaking figuratively in the context of love), literally his heart goes to Nessa, and so he becomes heartless, therefore becoming the tin man. Clever, right? Oh, and so while Elphaba is off being the innocent fugitive somewhere alone, Fiyero and Glinda get engaged, when in fact, Fiyero is on love with Elphaba, just after that one say they spent together in school releasing the lion cub (who actually becomes the cowardly lion later on). Meanwhile, the wizard and Morrible are plotting to lure Elphaba back to the city so they can capture her. They have a house fall on Nessa, killing her, and of course Elphaba gets wind of this and runs to her side. This is where the loathing between Dorothy (who is actually a tiny fraction of this story with no speaking part) and Elphaba. Dorothy's house landed on Elphaba's beloved sister, 'wicked witch of the east'. Then Dorothy takes the ruby slippers, a prized possession of Nessa, Elphaba, and their dead mother. There is no power to the slippers, only sentimentality and memories attached. Elphaba only kidnaps Dorothy and demands she hands them back for that reason only. Meanwhile, Elphaba and Glinda meet again after first meeting each other once before for the first time in years, then they fought during that time, then there they are again, just as Glinda directed Dorothy down the yellow brick road (honestly, I was really impressed by the ditsy humor portrayed by Glinda). They are fighting, but it's just their usual "blah blah blah you said she said" etc. Then I thought this was a pretty funny part:
Glinda: Well, all you do is ride around on that filthy old thing! (referring to Elphaba's broomstick)
Elphaba: Well, so sorry, not everyone can travel by bubble!
 So there was that, and then the guards of Oz enter, find Elphaba, and capture her. Then Glinda whines in her nasally, high-pitched, popular-girl voice (after the guards yank Elphaba away from the girls' fight using sticks) "Let her go, I almost had her!". Then Fiyero busts in and tries to fight away the guards, while explaining to Glinda that he loves someone else. Guards take him away and hang him to a post in a field. Elphaba casts a spell going something like this: "Don't let him be hurt, let him feel no pain, let him LIVE!". This therefore makes Fiyero the scarecrow, all full of straw and unable to feel physical pain. They sing a beautiful harmony love song. Then Elphaba captures Dorothy and takes her away to her tower and locks her in a room, all te while cursing and calling Dorothy a greedy, whiny brat for not giving up the slippers. Then Glinda appears, trying to convince Elphaba to let go of the shoes, saying "oh, God, they're just SHOES!" (which is ironic, because earlier she was raving about how important the perfect pair of shoes are and bragging about her expansive collection of footwear). They make up, as usual, and it touches the heart, as usual. As they hear guards coming up the stairs, they sing "You Changed Me for Good" as this would be their last time seeing each other, for they both believe Elphaba will surely die. The guards arrive, and believing in one of the rumors they have heard about the Wicked Witch of the West, they dump a bucket of water on her. You see nothing at this point since this all happens behind the curtain, all you see is a shadow. An I will leave it at that if in case you ever wish to see this play for yourself! Which you seriously should. This acting group was top-rated of the year and they sure as hell deserved it! So you better go see it. Sooooooooo worth it. Even if you sit in the nosebleed section like I did (row X, as a matter of fact lol). Ugh! And you cannot understand how it kills me that I can't describe the miraculousness of this masterpiece of broadway in words fit for the true feeling you get or the way every hug & giggle between Glinda and Elphaba lifts your heart. Not to mention that the love between Elphaba and Fiyero is extremely passionate. And not just in that sappy, Nicolas Sparks kind of way. This is FOR REAL, and whoever acts out the frustrated and relentless love for Fiyero, damn, she sure did it good! Oh, and Glinda had some pretty extreme talent too. The cutesy, bubbly, slightly shallow personality of her character appeared to be her own in real life (minus the shallow) once you heard her give her mini speech about their acting group's goal to raise X amount of money for research of AIDS. And I still can't get over the beauty of the gorgeous and pristine ring of every voice in that cast. I seriously suggest you take my advice and get tickets as soon as you can. these people are frickin' amazing!

Oh, and one more thing: I got my photo taken with the hot guy who plays Fiyero! (for a large price of $20. Oh, well. It's all for a good cause, right? ;)

Once again, I apologize that I could not describe the true incredibility of the show to you in this post. But, please promise me, you mustn't  base your decision on whether to see on not see this play on what I write. I just felt the need to get out there whatever (not so) awesome descriptions that came to my mind at the time. For the last time, this is sleepinl8 signing off, I ORDER YOU TO SEE THIS PLAY!!!!!!!!
~sleepinl8

My Lent Predicament

Ha. Kind of a nice word there, eh? Anyway, lent officially began a few days ago, and so far I feel pretty lousy because I have not yet committed to any kind of giving up. At first, I thought maybe could give up diet sodas and drink more water. Just had a coke zero this morning. What to do, what to do? Thought about giving up texting... I thought it was a pretty good challenge. Well, that ain't happenin'.

Then I took my mother's advice to instead use lent as a time for self-improvement. I thought about that and what I could possibly do to make myself a better person... possibly things like not being snippy with my sister, please God more when I know I should, managing my time better, etc. You know, kind of using lent as a second chance to make resolutions.

So one thing I thought of to help myself become better inside and out is to give up one particular habit that has taken over a part of my life so that it has gone beyond the definition of 'habit'. This is when I pick at my skin. Gross indeed, but it has become a not-so-secret obsession of mine. I have semi-permanent scars in countless places on my body now because of how I have so damaged the skin. This isn't a form of intentional, self-induced harm like cutting - it's much a form of OCD. It is truly satisfying to feel that release of tension from my fingers onto my skin, to squeeze and, yes, pop. Ugh, I really apologize for the gore of this. But I had to find a way to explain my goal to give this up for lent. Apparently this is called Compulsive Picking Disorder (never would have guessed that one, huh?).

Anyway, I am really going to sincerely try to stop this behavior. Maybe if I read this more often and realized how embarrassed I am to post this, that will give me some reason to stop. Not to mention the fact that some dipstick asked me about the "hemorrhoids" on my arms.

So tell me what y'all are giving up. Been hard? Good. That's how you know that you've chosen the right thing to let go of. PS: Soooo sorry for not posting anything decent lately! 8b
~sleepinl8

A touchy subject unveiled...

A touchy subject indeed. I'm talking about sex trafficking. Quite possibly one of the most disgusting and inhumane occurrences I have ever heard of. I knew what it was but I never bothered to think much about it. The worst part is, this is children we are talking about. And not just in those middle eastern nations where women are treated like dirt and such. These modern slavery programs generated more profit than Google, Nike, and Yahoo combined, adding up to about $3.2 billion a year. Think about that.


The Body Shop - Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People from TheBodyShop on Vimeo.

I have included a link for y'all to go to the petition and sign it. Please, please, please do so. It all adds up. Thanks for reading!
~sleepinl8

Sorry for not posting!

Message

sleepinl8

As you can see, I've written a message for y'all in the word bank. I would have put just 'I' in the places where it says sleepinlate but I didn't want to put a one-letter word in there. So, instead, I sound like Elmo. "Elmo says...... Elmo likes to......." etc. XD As stated in the word bank, enjoy!

e w d r o w s s g e a o t h a n k s e y n a m l a c y f i p z a i n w p l r s n o s i w t h r g n a c h h r g y c o h e i e v e r y o n e w t n p s t a y y l a l t h f e h o u l n o l g b i o e t a l n i p e e l s r l y a l l e a k n o w s s y o j n e d a m g g o l i o h i f h w s l r a
Hello everyone sleepinlate apologizes for neglecting this blog since who knows how many days ago anyway sleepinlate hopes yall enjoy the word search she made for yall thanks stay tuned

Happy Word Search

54 synonyms for happy

sleepinl8

Hope this brightens your day! I've been in the thesaurus kind of mood lately, don't ask why. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy this! :)

e g b a c e l u f y o j b i l u s l g l e e f u l d t l i h g n i m a e b h u t u h e e a e m t t e i p i o h s r s y e n b h r e e g g u g f i s o y i i e c o n v i v i a l e s p u y b e m u s e d r o l d g t g t n a l i b u j p y e l n c n n r n h l m l t s l d e i h a f i a u e b i e i p t t l i s a p c r s m g g d n a i k r e p c r i i j h t o t v m r p y o y e s o t t c s e e i a y x r e t l e j h c l i c r p r l d i l d e y e y r r a t s j p c y a l d b a r d l d h o o l i e x u b e r a n t e f a v g d e i f s i t a s h y u h i n o e d s y d e a t f o l c a r s r v s e x d j l o j c d l a p f u i u d o h i e r a a l d a e h l t c s m i l e y e c i h r t b u i d u t e v b r o a r a t n p f s j o y o u s a n n c d p c i r o h p u e y y t s v u r t t r e p p i h c s g d e b o n a i r e e g i i v s p l e a s e d r v h p l n t t n a y u o b k u l o c p a s i e d a i e y d s a s t p y d

happy elated ecstatic joyful chipper lighthearted smiley blissful blithe cheerful delighted glad gleeful exultant jolly jubilant merry mirthful pleased joyous lively perky overjoyed peppy satisfied content carefree chirpy positive radiant convivial optimistic euphoric sanguine exuberant rejoicing starry eyed uppish jovial rhapsodic sprightly untroubled airy beaming bouyant beatific jocund debonair thrilled sunny sparkling celebratory blessed bemused By the way, I would like to let you know that I will have a different word search every week. Enjoy!

Amazing Nature Photos Slideshow

 

Today

I apologize for the horribly boring title - I was at a loss for anything a whole lot better. I thought, if I'm going to make the title simple, I should make it super simple. And so I did. Ta-da. Anyway, here's today's story:

Got up early this morning to go to a very special event: the NEDA walk (National Eating Disorders Association). I wasn't real worried about seeing other stick-thin bony girls there, until it actually happened. Maybe a hundred yards away from the car, and I passed one of those obviously anorexic girls. Oh and in case you didn't know already, I have struggled with anorexia for a year and a half now. Well, I wouldn't consider myself struggling anymore, but I'm still recovering. Anyway, right as we approach the registration booth there's another one of "those girls". And another. Thankfully, that was all I saw from that moment on. Except another mental trigger for the bad thoughts was when this former anorexic 16-year-old came up on stage and shared her story. I feel horrible - that was not an easy thing to do, and I heard from another lady about all the wonderful things she's done for this cause. But I couldn't help but envy her when I heard about how much worse her symptoms were than mine. Now, all you rational-thinking people out there probably think I'm nuts - and to a certain degree, that's true - but you have to go through it to understand the feeling. Looking from the outside in, you think "Why the hell would you want these things to happen to you? Be grateful they didn't!" However, you see, it's a chain of causes that lead way back to the original reason why these symptoms are "good". Let's take blue toenails and fingernails for example: your nails are blue because A)you aren't getting proper blood circulation, and B) your body temperature is unusually low.You aren't getting proper circulation because your heart is no longer strong enough to pump blood all the way to those areas. Your body temperature is low because your body doesn't have the calories to spare to keep your body warm. Same reason for your heart not pumping strong enough. Then that all traces back to you starving yourself, and if you have all these symptoms, it means to the victim of the eating disorder that they are doing a "good job" of starving themselves. And, almost inevitably, if you are starving yourself, you must be pretty damn thin. And now you know why to an anorexic/bulimic that these nasty symptoms seem good. Makes sense, right? I didn't think so either.

Anyway, that was just a mere smidgen of my day. Much more positive things came. So it was a 0.9 mile walk, and at the end I tried this weird type of soda called diet cane cola. It was interesting enough, but I think most of it's appeal came from the fact that it came in one of those authentic glass bottles (clink clink - tee hee). Apart from the walk, there was an art show going on downtown. The first one we came to was a booth being managed by a chunky guy who was really trying to sell some stuff. The minute he saw my family with 3 females, he knew he hit the jackpot (no, not in that way; just money.). Predictably, the three of us all ogled over the sparkly stuff. Chunky man bargained with us, saying "I'll give y'all a discount, just for the ladies." And that's where I got this lovely diamond bracelet:

So we continued browsing; I got a second birthday gift for my sis (she's turning 10! double digits!), a 7x10 photo, 'bout $15. Got some crappy seafood from a booth, but I was starving so I didn't really give a crap. Oh, and how could I forget! I tried a new wacky food today: liquid nitrogen ice cream. Sounds dangerous, huh? Don't jump to conclusions. It was absolutely mouthwatering. Quite possibly equal in deliciousness to regular ice cream. What's more is that it's easy to make at home and it finishes in minutes and only minutes. Click on the link if you would like the recipe. Enjoy! :)
http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ht/n2icecream.htm?p=1

Anyway, as you can tell, it was a lovely day. Slight breeze, sun filtered through thick, lush trees, and the entertainment of talking with other walkers while discovering what mysterious breed of dog they own (for the record, one of the breeds was a catahoula - an Australian shepherd looking thing, only with short hair).

Stay tuned! Don't worry! Be happy! :-D
~sleepinl8

Hey, Jealousy

I'm not feeling so hot, and I don't want to take it out on the people around me, so I'm gonna blog about it.

So, do any of you remember when I wrote that post "Never Lasts"? If you don't, go read it right now, and come back here to where you left off.

Anyway, my unfortunate predictions came true. So my friend, who my crush has now gone gaga over, just told me that she likes him. It's inevitable that they're going to start dating. Even before she told me this, I was trying to look elsewhere for nice guys. Just as I thought I just might have gotten over him - life comes back and smacks me in the face. This said friend is returning the favor of love. I'm not green with envy - more like red.

I thought she didn't like him. She never showed any sign of that. I was hoping since she didn't show any interest in him, maybe he would back off and give up the act. No such thing occurred. This literally feels like a punch in the upper stomach, only in slow motion. Very slow motion. Slow, aching, prolonging the suffering, like drowning. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration.

I don't know what wrong with me. I have a lot of great friends - other girls seem to have a really good time around me. But it's just something about the guys. I have maybe 1 guy friend. One. I don't act awkward or anything - I stay perfectly chill and confident. I keep a smile on my face and I sit up straight. I treat them like I would anyone else. Maybe a little flirting if I think they're cute. I just can't seem to understand what it is about other girls that is so terribly attractive that I don't have. Well, that came out sounding conceited, but you get the idea. Then I wondered if I was trying too hard. So I let go a little bit. Zip. Nothing.

I sound desperate - and to a certain degree I am. Probably a high degree. It's just all so frustrating. I'm pretty young, so I don't have much else in my life to think about. I'm really liking that part of adolescence. But I just wish that SOMEONE would frickin' notice me already! I do not live under a rock! I do not hide behing my hair! Obviously I can't be that weird because I'm not one of those girls that everyone avoids and ignores. I'm outgoing and friendly. I hate bragging, but I'm not an ugly person. I don't overload makeup or dress weird or act all fake, like play stupid and put up an act. I am an independent person, but not in the way that I have no friends. I have plenty. And I guess I really should appreciate them more and hold them closer, because when all is said and done those are the people that really matter. Besides, do I see all of them strutting around with a guy by their side. Uh, some. But not all. And that's OK. It's OK for me to be like that too. Besides, relationships at this age have a maximum span of a few weeks.

Well, I feel better already. I promise the next post won't be so self-centered. Anyways, life goes on. And yes, I did use the Gin Blossoms' song as a title on purpose.
~sleepinl8

My Music Remixes

So what I wanted to make my sis for Valentine's day was a couple funky beats to jam to. I went on this free music mixing site, soundation.com, and put together a few tunes. Here they are! By the way, if the second one sounds kind of jumpy and not well blended, there's nothing wrong with your computer. I just did it kind of free-form and didn't really bother to make the tracks match too well. Enjoy and dance!

And the next child prodigy is...

I was dumbstruck. This will knock your socks off - wait, let me rephrase that - more like both of your entire feet off. Just watch it NOW. I command you: watch, sesame!

What did I tell ya? I'm not gonna say I told you so, but... Mmmhhm.
~sleepinl8

No saving face now!

So, as a regular valentine's tradition that my sis and I made up randomly a couple years ago, we each make a homemade gift for each person in the family. Sounds corny and cliche, right? Well, anyway, I decided to make my mom a soap. Sounds innocent enough. Well, I go to Walgreens to get some glycerin, because online it said that was one of the main ingredients. I have no idea what it is or looks like, so I start asking around. "Excuse me? Do you happen to sell glycerin anywhere?" I asked. Little did I know that I had just used the completely wrong tone of voice for what they thought I was asking for. I asked 4 employees, who all gave me funny looks. I thought the looks were just because it was kind of an uncommon thing to ask for. Nope. Wrong again.

So, I'm walking through the store to aisle 7. I look up at the aisle 7 sign, and it reads: LAXATIVES. I think "What the heck? That definitely ain't what I'm looking for. Might as well look anyway." I skip over the laxatives section and look further down the aisle. Zilch. Then my friend's mom caws out a huge cackling laugh, and says "Come here! I found your GLYCERIN! HAHA!". Of course, she's standing right smack in the middle of the laxatives section. Sure enough, there it is, on the bottom shelf: GLYCERIN SUPPOSITORIES. Mind you, at the time I had no idea what a suppository was. I only understood half of why she was laughing so hard. I just smack myself in the forehead, smile, and look down. Just my luck.

So then we're in the car. I open the little bottle of glycerin suppositories. Well, I guess I learned a lot that day, because I immediately knew what a suppository was by the shape of them. A random cry of disgust, belonging to me, comes from the left bucket seat. And, ya get the point.

And all I wanted to do was make soap!
~sleepinl8