As I may have told you, today was my last day of work at the bookstore. I start school again on Wednesday...summer is pretty much over. But in honor of summer and all it's greatness, I decided to relive my favorite memories here on LJ, for all to see. I thought I'd post some pictures as well since I took so many pictures.

Anyway, here are my favorite memories (in no particular order) from Summer 2009.



4th of July on Wonder Lake and the 4th of July Weekend
I thought that this was going to actually turn out horrible. Right before the 4th of July, my mom got bit by my grandparents dog in the hand and she threatened to not let us attend my Aunt's 4th of July party which was being held at her house where my grandparents were staying with their dog for their visit. But it turned out amazing. The best part of the entire thing was just getting to sit out on the pier in my Aunt's backyard and look out onto the lake. I sat there for over an hour and just watched the sun set (which is the picture at the beginning in the banner) and waited for the fireworks to begin. The fireworks were fantastic. My sister and I ate s'mores and tested out my new camera. It was so much fun I just remember this immensely happy feeling that I got from being surrounded by nature and just getting to relax with family. It was such a different feeling than I felt all throughout the school year. There was no place else I'd rather be than there at that moment in time. The day after the 4th, I went and watched my town's fireworks, which were equally spectacular, with my friends. We went and ate funnel cake at the Taste of Crystal Lake and just hung out. There were billions of mosquitos, but it was still a lot of fun. I'll never forget the 4th of July 2009.


Bristol Renaissance Faire Opening Weekend July 12th
The Faire is always loads of fun, so it's no suprise that it was fun this year. This was my second year in a row going and I certainly hope it won't be my last. And of course it's always fun to hang with friends. The Renaissance Faire literally takes you to another world. It's like going into a time machine and coming out to a place where chivalry isn't dead and dirty jokes are about ten times dirtier. lol I will never forget the whole "fondling the hard wood" incident, which ranks high in some of the most embarrasing (but funny) moments of my life. The food at the faire is always great too. What's a summer event without great food. I always get the tempura veggies, but I'm thinking next year (if I get to go), I might try something else. Would have loved to have tried a chocolate dipped cheesecake on a stick, but the cheesecake seller said something rather dirty to me (I was holding a Mike's Hard Lemonade at the time, so he assumed I was of dirty joke telling age) and I was a little nervous to go up and buy from him. But the day was great. Plus after the faire I found that I really sucked at croquet when playing with my friend Eric's sister and her friends and also at Halo when Eric and his cousin killed me multiple times (as well as me falling off the edge and killing myself a few of those times). It was all in good fun, though. That day was a blast!


Lollapalooza 2009 aka KAISER CHIEFS EXTRAVAGANZA!
I have to admit, I was not too jazzed about Lolla this year. It was both mine and my sister's first time going. My sister knew that it would basically be the best day of her life thus far, and it didn't disappoint...well, maybe only slightly. Chicago was expecting record highs in the mid 90s that day, and with the humidity, it was almost 100 degrees. Hot, sunny and humid are a lethal combination for me, as all of you are aware that heat is the bane of my existence. And I did end up with a horrible sunburn on the back of my neck that is still visible. The heat was bad, so bad that my sister nearly passed out and had to be taken out of the crowd right in the middle of the Kaiser Chief's set...and we HAD water. But sun-warmed bottles of Smart water and lack of food do not a healthy concert-goer make. In the end it all turned out peachy. My sister was taken backstage after being pulled from the crowd. They gave her water and all 5 members of the Kaiser Chiefs (which, did I mention was her favorite band EVER!) waved at her. Then she also got to meet them at the meet and greet. We didn't stay for the Killers, which was a bummer, but I was dying and there was no way I could have stayed. This day deserves it's spot here on my list simply because I got to spend time with my sister, who is now away at college. I miss hanging out with her, as annoying as she can be sometimes. Now I know what it's like being an only child again. lol horrible. But yeah, I'll never forget how happy that day was for her and for that it was great!


Working at the Bookstore
I know what you're thinking..."WTF?!" I know. I complained about work here on LJ all summer like it was going out of style. I am practically the queen of the work-related rant post. But in all honesty, I was more happy to be there than anything. In this economy, it's tough finding a job. If I couldn't have found a job this summer, I don't know what I would have done. But the MCC Bookstore saved the day again. Zach and Chloe who were two of the student workers that replaced the "fab three" (me, Eric, and Breanna) last school year did other things during the summer so Eric and I were given back our "student worker" status for a few months--well with the added bonusof $11.50 an hour that comes with the whole temp package. People asked me why the hell I went back there and all I had to do was tell them $11.50 an hour, and they ate their words. Work was a lot more enjoyable now that I didn't have to worry about school on top of it all. And I noticed that I recieved a bit more respect from some of the ladies in the office, Kathy B in particular who became fast friends with me after we talked about the Nintendo DS. When I think about all the good times I had at work this summer, I'd have to say that they definitely outweigh all the stupid customers, technical difficulties, complicated questions, stressful buybacks, and sweaty box-opening projects. I always miss that place when I leave. I'm actually hoping that I'll get to work there again. Oh, and we can't forget the octopus I did for behind the counter. I was very sad to take it down at the beginning of the month.


My Sister's High School Graduation
My sister is 3 and a half years younger than me and it'll always be weird thinking , wow my little sis is in college! I must be really old. But it was great seeing her recieve her diploma and tossing her cap up at the end of the ceremony. It was also great getting to visit my old high school again. It had been a while, and I even got to see some of my old teachers and tell them how I was doing. I was so proud of my sister that day, especially since she didn't really want to walk at graduation, but she did it and got it over with. We had a fun party for her afterwards as well.


Taking pictures and just soaking in all the summer I could
I bought myself a new digital camera in June and it took some really awesome pictures this summer. If any of you have ever checked out my facebook or my deviantART, you'd know that I love taking pictures of flowers. My mom is a green thumb and has tons of flowers growing in her various gardens in our front and back yards, so I often take pictures of them just for fun. These pictures for me really tell the story of summer and how it changes with the passing months. Some flowers bloom in June or July and wither away in August, while some will stay the entire season. Some are only there for a day or two before shrivling away again to return next year. Photography has been a longtime passion of mine and I hope to keep taking pictures wherever life takes me.

Anyway, so long summer. You will be greatly missed <3

My sister is moving into her dorm today at U of I. They had to leave before 5 this morning because my sister wanted to be there around 9 when move-in begins.

I know that I seem like I complain about my sister a lot on here, and I do. I also complain a lot about my job. But that doesn't mean I don't love it. I love my sister as well. I was there the day she was born, in fact, that is my earliest memory--not just of my sis, but of my entire life. We've always had our differences, but there have been things that we've agreed on as well.

Of course, there are a few things I'm glad I won't have to deal with now that she's away at school, like having to tell her to be nice to my friends whom she doesn't like for some reason (it's probably because my friends take my attention away from her and she likes attention), having to deal with her "Kaiser Chiefs" turrets (don't ask), having to sacrifice almost every weekend because she gets mad and doesn't want to do anything...the list goes on of her annoying, little-sisterly habits.

But there are also reasons why we need her: she always can fix the computer, unless the hard drive crashes or something, she can fix it. She takes care of the dog (like letting her out at 12 am, cleaning up all of her indoor messes, walking her, etc.). Without her, all of those jobs are our problems. She's usually the comic relief we all need. I can see us now as just a bunch of dead heads. Me having to go back to school with my ho-hum kind of attitude, mom with the same ho-hum attitude towards work but with added anger, dad in his retirement boredom with his added depression. Yeah, it'll suck.

Luckily now we have skype and a webcam so we'll be able to chat with her.

It just sucks, though. I mean this isn't just about my sister. I'm going to have to say goodbye to a lot of people in the next couple of weeks. Goodbyes have always been tough for me since I'm so emotional about everything. 

I got my hair cut today. It turned out a bit shorter than I had hoped, but it's alright. I'm getting used to it.

I asked my stylist to cut it around shoulder length, maybe a little bit longer, with a lot of layers and sideswept bangs. It turned out pretty much exactly right, except only a couple inches shorter than I would have liked. It just barely touches my shoulders, so it's probably the shortest cut I've had in a long time. She even said after she made the first cut that I could probably donate the tuft to Locks of Love! It was about 6 or 7 inches. I don't know how much hair they need for a donation, but if they take it, then I will definitely feel even better about my haircut.

I remember my absolute worst haircut when I was about 10 or 11. It was towards the end of 5th grade. I was getting ready to go to Art Camp at WIU that coming summer. I think it must've been Memorial Day weekend when mom decided to take me to get my haircut. We were going to go to the usual place that I went to in Downtown Crystal Lake. I had gotten my haircut there since my very first haircut. But when we went to walk in to the salon, we noticed that it was closed, the lights were off and it looked like the interior was being renevated! It wasn't the type of place you needed an appointment for. Anyway, I REALLY needed a haircut, so my mom took me over to Fantastic Sams instead. I have no idea what my mom told the lady who cut my hair to do, but I ended up with this hideous 4-inch long do. It was so short and horrible looking that I cried about it for days. I never went back to Fantastic Sams...I'm pretty sure that they went out of business here anyway.

I've just always liked long hair. It's just so awkward not having long hair. I'll never understand why as humans we get so attatched to the length of our hair. I mean, it always grows back. My hair was in desperate need of being cut. I was just a few inches away from practically sitting on it. 

I'm just happy that I didn't cry today. As long as I keep it well styled, it looks good...cute, almost.