"Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place."
-- Unknown
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Monday, October 27, 2008

So many festivities, so little time

It feels like it’s been forever since I posted anything!! To my faithful readers (all two or three of you), I’m sorry for leaving you out to dry. I know you must be dying to know all of the exciting events that have been taking place in my life.

Well, fear not — I had a very busy weekend, so there is plenty to fill you in on.

It got kicked off early Friday night. When I got home from work I went through my bookshelves and, much to my surprise, realized I had a book that had never been read. So, I was all set to spend a quiet night at home when my phone rang with a much more exciting offer — a night of rides at the Covington County Fair. Mikey and Jessica picked me up around 6:30 and we headed to the fair grounds. We had a great time, but the trip wound up being a bittersweet reminder that I’m no longer 13. The rides that I LOVED as a kid left me feeling sore and disoriented. And until this year, I had never noticed how rusty some of those things are. And they throw them together in less than a day! Is that safe? Who inspects them and decides they’re ride-ready? Where did these worries come from? Ahhhhg, I’m getting older and I don’t like it!

Anyway, after surviving all of the carnival rides and returning home only slightly nauseated, I went to sleep so I get up early Saturday morning to enjoy more fall festivities. Saturday started with a trip to Opp to help Mrs. Cheryl and her daughter run a booth at the fall festival. We were in charge of “Go fish” — the game where the little kiddies throw a fishing line over the booth to hook a prize. Some kids got a little ambitious and I worried someone would lose an eye before it was all said and done. Thankfully, no one was injured and everyone had a great time. After our shift was finished, we strolled around, checking out the arts and crafts and eating yummy festival foods.

Then it was home for a short afternoon nap before heading back to the County Fair to watch a friend of mine sing in the talent show. (She placed 2nd! Should’ve won 1st, if you ask me…not that anyone did.)

Sunday rounded out the weekend with church, followed by pumpkin carving with Kevin. I’ll post pictures of that later — I don’t have my camera handy. It will be evident by the pictures that I am NOT an artist. I bought a kit with stencils, but Kevin informed me that using a kit was cheating. He helped me scoop out the guts, but left the “free-hand” carving up to me. Not sure that was the best idea, but hey…it was fun. That’s all that matters, right?

Anyway, that was my weekend — another reminder of why I LOVE this time of year.

However, I’d love it more if my heater worked. I called my landlord earlier and she swore she’d try to have it fixed by this afternoon.

OH, speaking of my landlord, she offered me another rental house that’s cheaper than the one I’m living in. It would save me about $200 a month, but I don’t know if it’s worth it. The yard isn’t fenced in, which would be a pain with Toby needing room to run. AND it would mean lugging all of my furniture across town AGAIN. So, I’m weighing the options but leaning towards staying where I am. I'm going by to look at it during my lunch break, but it's not sounding hopeful.

5 comments:

Diane said...

LOL... you're not supposed to feel sore and disoriented from the rides until you're at least 40, darlin'! I remember the first time I got sick on a 'spinny' ride at the fair... I was SHOCKED! Who knew THAT would ever happen?!

Oh, and your rendition of Billy Don't Be Hero cracked me up! Yup, you got all the words right... and thanks for reminding me that I'm probably older than your mother ;)

Oh, and the can't remember what you had for breakfast thing? Yeah... I'm with ya (are you SURE you're only 23?! ;)

Jen L. said...

I'm up for a girls' weekend! We may have to tote Dean with us if Marcus isn't around, but he's a fun guy.

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel about those rides!!! When you where younger and we used to go to six-flags alot you'd be so pumped about the coasters and I didn't want to disappoint you or act like an "Old Lady" so I'd act excited as well but all that jarring really hurt my head and neck.
note to Diane- I think I have you beat on the age thing, I've got the "big 50" coming up next year, but if you're only as old as you feel than I'm about half of that.
I enjoy reading you blog as well, loved your list.

M

Diane said...

Compliments about my writing from other writers mean a great deal. Thank you so much :)

And post more often, will you? I like reading your stuff, too!!!

Melanie Gillispie said...

This is Mel from Diane's...those rides! They're crazy. I mean, I strip a screw putting together a bed, imagine the screws they're putting those rides together with! Over and over and over. Did you eat fried dough with powdered sugar? Mmmm...good! That, to me, is the best fair food ever.