Togetherness

This post will be full of randomness (well, they usually are) because it has been a random week. First of all, I am such a sucker for dogs. I love "needy" dogs that crave attention. The ones that love to cuddle and be held or sit in my lap for long periods of time. I would love to get a big dog someday, but I really miss having a lap dog to cuddle all the time. My cousin has a chihuahua that looks and acts exactly like my Lil Bitt, and I love him. He's a little more social than she was, but he's just as needy which I like. After I am a little more settled and can take on (and keep) the responsibility of raising another pet, I plan to get another puppy. Although, I would kinda like to have a hairless sphinx cat...they feel awesome! I got to pet some at the Logan County Fair! My family reunion was awesome. I felt so comfortable even though I had never met or couldn't even remember meeting most of the family. Everyone got along great and had such an amazing time. I hadn't laughed that hard in such a long time, and I felt loved. There is something about the feeling of togetherness that really touches me. I guess because that feeling was lost when Mom died. She was the glue that held our family together and the center of our world. This was a nice way of bringing us all together. I truly believe that it helped fill the hole that my immediate family has been fighting to keep open for some time now, and it brought us together more than ever. We laughed. We cried. We sang. We danced. We reverted back to childhood in many ways. It was bliss. I can't wait for the next reunion!



My cousin Michaela is in from Colorado this week! She is actually in town until August 10th, but I will be leaving Monday. She is my aunt Jeanetta's only granddaughter, and I haven't seen her in years. It's nice to see her maturing. My niece, Kyra is also in town from NC, so I will get to see her on Saturday. My family is supposed to be having me a "going away" cookout that day, so hopefully the whole family will be here and a few friends. I'm all packed up and ready to go. Only 4 more days! Holly will spend the first week with me, and Kristen is coming to see me that first weekend there! I'm so excited! I'm still waiting to find out where my placement is going to be. I know I will be at 2 different schools, but I don't know where they are yet. I am waiting on my license to arrive as well. Fun stuff. Ok to end my rambling, I am currently working on "Wildwood Flower" on my guitar. It's a fun song! :)

Change is GOOD.

Some folks are afraid of change, while I find it to be rather fascinating. Since practically everything in my life is changing (except for the wonderful friends that are in it), I thought another nice addition to the list would be a completely new hair-do. What more of a drastic change could I have done other than to have 10 inches chopped off of my hair!?!? Yep...and I LOVE it!



I'm leaving in about one week to start my big-girl life in Florida. I've been ricocheting back and forth between the feelings of nervousness and excited, and right now I'm back to excited!!! I am not good at goodbyes, so the next week will be a sad one; however, I am looking forward to moving. I hope I feel this same way when I get there; I'm sure I will. Oh, one fun thing: my guitar instructor has a recording studio, and he added an extra lesson this morning and recorded me playing and singing a song. He burnt it onto a CD for me to give to family. How cool is that!?! It may not be the coolest song in the world, but it's a nice copy with good quality. FUN! Anyway...this is going to be a short post because I must practice my guitar playing (learned some fun songs at my lesson this morning) before my trip to Charleston. I get to spend the evening having dinner and margaritas at Holly's new apartment with her, Lacie, Layla, and Jenn. YEAH! :)

Ticking Clock

Well another week has gone by, and my time here in WV is running out rather quickly. I am getting to spend time with the people I love, however, which makes this time valuable to me. I still want to do some of the things I am going to miss here in WV before I leave: four-wheelin' with my big brother, hiking up the mountains with my dad, driving (for no reason at all) up and down curvy roads, and most of all -breathing! Shewww, you people think the humidity is bad here, just wait til you experience it in Florida. I was down there a couple of weeks ago, and I could barely breathe if not in my bathing suit, sitting by the pool or ocean. That is one thing I miss about California -the weather. It felt like 70 degrees all of the time because there was a constant ocean breeze that went along with the sunshine. I didn't see a single day of rain the entire time I was out there last summer, and I didn't complain one bit. I hate the rain unless I have plans to stay inside all day and sleep or be lazy -which is almost never. I prefer to be outside doing something, or nothing, 99% of the time. I guess this is why I tend to gravitate toward warmer areas of the U.S.

I know that the thing I will miss the most from here is my family and friends. I have met the most amazing people throughout my life here, and I wish I could pack them all up and take them with me. I sometimes wonder why I want to leave such a wonderful life because I truly believe I can't find better friends than I already have. Which is why I know they will be there for me no matter where I go. We will stay close forever. I just wish I didn't have to be so far away from them all of the time. I'm not going to like that at all. I will enjoy having visitors though, hint-hint! ;)

I have a family reunion coming up next weekend in Columbus that I am super stoked about. It is the very first reunion with this part of my family -my mother's dad's side. The only reunions we've ever attended were on my mother's mother's side of the family, but those don't even take place anymore. My dad hasn't had any living relatives since before I was born. I am looking forward to seeing part of the family that I haven't seen since I was in the 6th grade, and some of whom I have never even met. It will be nice to hear people tell stories of my mother that I have never heard and to just hear her name spoke of. This always brightens my day! It will be a full 3-day weekend filled with festivities and fun. I cannot wait.

After I get back, I will have only one week here before I move. I am leaving on July 27th, and Holly is going to ride down to Florida with me and stay for a week before flying back (she got a great deal on airline ticket, by the way). I will take her to Orlando to catch her flight back on August 2nd. I'm so thankful that she is coming down with me because that gives me a little ease along with the move...instead of just leaving and being alone that first week. I will have her to run around with and see what all there is to do down there. I know parts of the area already, but there is much I haven't explored as of yet. I'm hoping I can find a guitar instructor, though, so I can continue to take lessons. I am currently taking lessons at Route 60 Music in Barboursville, and they seem to helping out a lot. I learned to finger pick to Landslide and a Jewel song. I am learning some older music now, which gives me a little variety. I love it! I have a great instructor which makes it even more enjoyable. I just love new hobbies. I wonder what else I can pick up. Speaking of hobbies, I have been running again this summer. I'm not back up to my 10 mile/day mark that I was running before, but I'm getting there. I am now running about 4-6 miles/day with some sprinting in between. I don't run every single day though...usually at least 4 days a week. I'm gonna really enjoy having a personal trainer at my apartment to push me because I enjoy a challenge. Actually, I'm gonna go run right now. The clock is ticking, and the days go by so fast. I don't want to miss a thing. Until next time...