Last day with my mama

I love when she comes to visit,

but I hate when she goes away!

So much family, so little time

Much needed shopping with my mama.
Dinner with my grandmother & uncle.
Jedi battles with my brother & nephew.
Sherlock Holmes II & a massive thunderstorm.

Shells aren't selling on the sea shore in OC

First trip to the shore (this summer)
First slice of Mancos pizza (this summer)
First dip in the ocean (this summer)
First fresh, grilled tuna steak dinner (ever?)
???? hair coloring (this year)

Oh, boy!

As if the gift of my mother visiting wasn't enough,
she also surprised me with the complete series of Quantum Leap!
G4 just lost a faithful viewer at 4am.

KARAOKE TIME

Just reppin Scotland while singing karaoke in London.
No big thang.

Sang: "We Belong" x Pat Benatar
         "Bathwater" x No Doubt

a lovely day in the neighborhood

old friends

Day Six: California Christmas

Christmas! My first Christmas in Long Beach and it started out early, but no where near as early as the ones in the past in Millville. After I was showered and dressed, we hung around waiting for our guests to arrive. Once Wilder and Barb got here and settled in we got to the business of the presents. I think the gifts I gave were a hit and the gifts I received were quite lovely. Definitely made out pretty good this year. haha After wards, my mother made some gingerbread pancakes that I brought out. So yum! Then my brother hooked up my parents new blu-ray player and we watched "The Last Starfighter" and then the most recent Star Trek film. After Wilder and Barb left, my mother and I curled up on the couch and watched Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I had never seen it so my mother basically just went to sleep. But I'm used to that kind of thing so it didn't bother me. It was nice to have some one on one time. Really nice way to end my Christmas :)

Home sweet nope

Went down to Millville for the first time since my parents moved away. It was a little weird. When I arrived at the house, no one was home so I had a little time to unwind with Gizmo alone. Routinely the first thing Gizmo would do when we arrived at the house after I freed him from the leash was to search out my mother. He pretty much did the same thing this time, but to no avail. It was definitely a sad moment. He ran from the kitchen to her bedroom to her painting room and cried all the while. The rest of the night he sat on my brother's couch and looked at the front door. He just waited for her to come home. Of course she never did. It was weird to be there without any of the regular comforts of home. But I admit I was digging my brother's HDTV. I never really watched an HDTV. It was really the longest I ever had. Toy Story never looked so bright to me!

Saddest day of 2010

Day of the big move. Wilder (my eldest brother), Zoee (my dad's dog), my father, and my mother departed for their long journey to Long Beach, CA. When my father came downstairs early in the morning, I got right up from my make shift bed and went upstairs and got in bed with my mother. I was pretty much crying all morning from that point on. Kind of like I do whenever I hear "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I cannot hear that song without crying anymore. Anyway, after they left, I hung around the house with my brother, Andrew and his roommate, Don, and tried to pull myself together. Eventually the drugs kicked in and I went to the hefty task of loading my car up with everything that I had acquired from my mother over the weekend due to the move and due to the early Christmas. It was a lot of stuff, as you can see. After I got home, Gizmo and I pretty much just laid on the couch all night. I can honestly say I have no idea what I would do if I didn't have Gizmo in my life. Considering what I was going through when I got him, he's pretty in tune to my emotions and is the sweetest, most comforting little monster when I'm upset. I can't imagine loving anything more than I love him. Well, except maybe my mother.

3000 Miles to Graceland

My parents last full day in Millville. Change is a natural part of life, but it's not always easy to let go of the past. It wasn't easy for me to stand by as my parents prepared to leave the house I grew up in to go to a place 3000 miles away. And though it's nice that the house won't be sold, it was a little unsettling to be there as my parents moved out and my brother and his friend move in. It was kind of surreal. I spent much of the day laying in my parents bed sleeping and hiding from the mayhem downstairs. I got up to go out of the house with my mother a few times and I participated in the early Christmas celebrations that were held at night with my nephew. There were things I just could not participate in like eating or packing. I mostly just hung around quietly and tried not to cry. Didn't always work out, though. Emotions were running high and there was a lot of clashes. Just a really awful day, really. But probably not as bad as the day that followed it.

Take some Vitamin B

I got up and out and to school. Yes, on a Sunday. Got my 2d animation final did and done and it felt good. Pictured is some of the somewhat outdated animating equipment that my fine school uses. Anything compatible with VHS and mini DV tapes is officially outdated equipment. Nonetheless, this is where I spent a good deal of my Sunday. It never feels good to go to school when you don't have to be, but it felt good to have that weight off my shoulders. Even if all of my labors landed me with a B. I'm trying not to dwell on it, but I'm clearly failing. So, anyway, after that I drove to my parent's and had some yummy dinner and some quality time with my mother. I wish I could spend more time with my mom. I definitely got spoiled with time when I was living there and the lack of one-on-one time is one of the few, but relevant downfalls of living here. I miss my mama!

Mee Maa Mama!

My mommy came and visited me! ♥

Troubles Bubbles

Due to Shermin possibly needing a new battery and/or alternator, I had to skip class and go home. Going home is never a total loss, but the bonus was that I got to spend some time with my mother and my brother. So, if I had to skip, at least I got to see people I don't see so much anymore! Luckily, Shermin doesn't need a new battery or a new alternator. Unfortunately, corrosion has eaten away at some wiring and I'm quite sure that VW will charge us an arm and a leg. Going to be hard to drive without them.

Midterms are a blast

Although I had to skip out on a trip to the beach with my mother, aunt, and uncle due to having far too much to do for midterm assignments, I still went down for dinner. I figured I should make the effort since my aunt doesn't come up from Texas too, too often and she's apparently moving to Washington state so I think those visits will be even lesser. My cousin and his little girl, Eva, came by as well. She's pretty cute and loves me because I've always got a lot of bracelets on every time I see her. She gets fixated. As you might have guessed, Gizmo was completely freaked out by her. At first he wanted to bark at her but then he just wanted to follow her around and stare at her. It got to the point where she'd crawl from the living room into the kitchen and back and he'd just slowly creep a few steps behind her. It was pretty funny. She loved it. She kept screaming with joy, which further freaked Gizmo out. He's the biggest wuss ever. He's scared of babies.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my nephew!

Samuel is 3!
Word to the wise, get out of his way and do not, I repeat, do not sing to him.

Happy Birthday America, the Beautiful!

For a majority of my young life, my family has gone down to my aunt's house to celebrate the 4th of July. But in recent years, for whatever reason, we haven't been doing it. Since I'm moving on Saturday and my parents are potentially moving before the next 4th of July, I was glad my mother decided we should go down this year. It was just me and her that went down with my father meeting us for a while after he got done work, but it was nice regardless. My two cousins both have kids now. My eldest cousin had quite a little brood between his own kids, step kids, and friends of kids so the pool was pretty full and there was a lot of madness going on. Definitely got me thinking about the dumb stuff that we used to do when we were little. Also got me wondering if you could still go through the little secret passage from the backyard to the front through the crack between the buildings. I didn't check though. I'm just that lazy. After dinner was made and eaten, my mom and I took a walk down by the ocean. It was SO pretty! I took a zillion photos! That may be a slight exaggeration. But, really, I could have. I love clouds and I love colors and it was just so, so beautiful. These pictures do not do it justice!

Eventually the sun went all the way down and we made our way back to the house to prepare ourselves for the fireworks display. It was a pretty good show. It was long! Way longer than usual! It was sweet! If that's the last 4th of July fireworks display I bare witness to in Wildwood (I doubt it will be) I'm glad it was that one. It was sweet. Thanks Coca-Cola!

Who else could go for some flapjacks right now?

Due to my mother having a random Monday off of work, she and I took advantage of the lovely weather and the lovely timing and we went down to my aunt's pool in North Wildwood for a day of fun in the sun. And due to my cousin and his wife being on an Eagles cruise, my aunt was watching their 3 year old son, Hunter. Despite being only 3 years old, that boy is clearly a heterosexual male. Whenever I would walk by him, he would just stare. Apparently he stares at girls that are in my age bracket. He is not subtle about it. Luckily for him, he's only 3 years old and it's more funny than anything else. If he's still doing that when he's 20, he's going to get slapped a lot. Though, he wouldn't be the first guy I've known that has openly and shamelessly ogled me. Fellas, if you're going to ogle a chick, be discrete! Get some stealth skills! And if you get caught, STOP LOOKING! That's my word to the wise. Unless you're at a strip club. Totally different rules apply there.

Don't mess with Texas Roadhouse

I'm not a fan of the Texas Roadhouse, but I am a fan of hanging out with my mother. So, when she invited me to come to dinner with her in support of the March of Dimes, I had two reasons why I couldn't turn down the invite. It wasn't as bad as usual. If I could block out the music, the obnoxious birthday exclamations, and the looming possibility of line dancing, it would just be like any other restaurant. I try to keep that in the back of my mind whenever crossing the thresh hold. But in all honesty, my mom is the best so I'd go to any horrible restaurant with her. I should probably not say that in writing. I might not like to follow through on that...

Happy Birthday, Dad! (and Aunt Barbara!)

Today is my father's birthday. Today I was elected, by default, to be his favorite child. How did I get this great honor? By being the only child to text him "Happy Birthday!" on his day of days. It's the little things, people. Sometimes it really is the thought that counts.