July Report Card

Well, July went by fast. Let's see how this month stacks up...

Put $300 into Savings

July 2: Earned: $138.58. Saved: $75.00.
July 9: Earned: $163.38. Saved: $75.00.
July 16: Earned: $195.16. Saved: $100.00.
July 23: Earned: $xxx.xx. Saved: $75.00
July 31: Earned: $159.87. Saved: $75.00

Total Saved: $400. This may only be because I had five weeks to work with this month instead of four, like usual.

It's a lot easier to save $75 than I thought it was. This is going to be a very easy resolution to keep. Maybe I can continue doing $300 a month instead of $200. (At least during the summer, May, June, July, and part of August. Maybe December. It all depends on my work schedule, after all.)

Grade: A+

Keep My Room Clean

My room is...decent. I did have to go through and do a clean-up the other day, but for right now, it's all right. I still have a really messy corner, though - the corner where I plug in all my electronics. I sit them on top of my trunk. Unfortunately, that's where I also pile a lot of crap. So I've got to sit down and sift through that next month, and see what I need to throw away and what I need to reorganize.

Grade: B-

Read Four Books

I'm working my way through the books! So far, I've completed:
The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott
The Magician, by Michael Scott
The Sorceress, by Michael Scott
The Necromancer, by Michael Scott
The Warlock, by Michael Scott
Eats, Shoots and Leaves, by Lynn Truss
Magyk, by Angie Sage
Flyte, by Angie Sage

And I'm working on reading:
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

But I managed to read eight books this month! I really don't know where I found the time to do so, but I'm not complaining!

Grade: A+

WALK

The only walking I've been doing is pacing at work and walking the mall with my sister. I've really got to pick up on this. I'm probably just going to scratch this off of my resolutions list, because I know I'll never get it done.

Grade: F

Write!

I've been writing on receipt paper whenever I work café, because it's usually a slow day when I work. I haven't just been able to sit down and write, even though I know I really should be doing that. I guess I'm procrastinating again, because I think I might be stuck in another "writer's block" rut. How do I have them talk when they're traveling? Am I putting in too many extraneous details? What's going on?

Grade: C

Graphics...?

I've reopened my review site on Neopets, but I haven't done anything graphic-related. In hindsight, this was a very bad resolution to put up. I knew I wouldn't do anything graphic-related, but apparently, I didn't care. 

Grade: F

***

Overall Grade: C+

I promise, next month's resolutions will be much better. I did well this month (even though I failed two resolutions), but I know I can do better next time.

Come back tomorrow to check in with me as I tell you what I want to accomplish in August!

Books I Read in July

Time for another posting of the books that I've read this month! I was able to read a lot this month (more than usual, because I wasn't scheduled so much this month), so let's get started!

This is one of my new favorite series. It may not have the quality of the Harry Potter series or the Septimus Heap series, but it's got its own epic battles. It's a blisteringly fast-paced book, and it has tons of historical characters in it. Everyone from Machiavelli to Billy the Kid romp around in this modern-day tale, and it's something that everyone should read at least once. Apparently, all of us can do magic...although not all of us realize it.

This is the second book in the Nicholas Flamel series, and it's just as entertaining as the first. The villains are more fleshed out, and we get to see more and more historical characters join in the fun. Ares and Machiavelli are key components of this story (for Evil, of course), and Joan of Arc makes an appearance for the good guys. Certainly entertaining, and certainly a great continuation of the first book.

The third book in the Nicholas Flamel series. This is named after Pernelle Flamel, Nicholas's wife. We finally get to see more of her in this book, while still adding layers upon layers of historical figures and mythological figures to the action.

Now we move on to the darker side of the series - one of the twins is starting to pull away from the good guys to join the side of EVIL. The Necromancer is named after John Dee, the main bad guy in the series. And boy, are things starting to get heated...

People are sent back in time, there's a storm brewing, and the twins of legend are fighting with each other. Named after Ares, the Warlock, this book takes us deep into the past so that we can save the future. Hel and Odin team up, Machiavelli decides to turn oath-breaker, and things are starting to get fun.

Call me a nerd if you must, but this really was one of the most entertaining books I've ever read on grammar. Of course, it's probably the ONLY book I've ever read (willingly) on grammar, but it was still entertaining all the same. If you need a bit more education on some things, Mrs. Truss will gladly whip you into shape. It's going to become a favorite of mine, I believe.

This may be the absolute greatest book I've read this month. It's called William Shakespeare's Star Wars. It is FANTASTIC. It's awesome to see the way the author's taken some of the most quotable lines from A New Hope and rewritten them in Elizabethan English, in iambic pentameter. Lines such as "Will someone move this walking carpet?" and "Luke! You've turned off your targeting computer!" live on. If you've got $15 to spare, then go buy this. Otherwise, rent it from your local library. (I know you'll go and buy it when you've finished the first act.)

The other books that I read this month aren't finished. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Magyk, and Gone With the Wind will probably make their appearance on next month's book list.

What's the best book you read this month? Want to give me some suggestions? Do you want me to tell you a bit more about what I read? Comment below!

Unwinding

I really have been stressed out lately. Want to know why?

1. I'm being scheduled for fewer hours at TreeTop - and, with me being a broke college student, this is a serious problem. I'm not going to be able to work very much during the school year, so I need to make up for that now. And how can I do that if I'm not being scheduled?
2. School. My sophomore year is fast approaching, and I'm seriously not ready. I'm not ready at all. I'm absolutely freaking terrified, to tell you the truth.
3. My room mate - and how we're going to get along. She's a freshman this year, and neither of us have met the other. We've talked two times on the phone, and we've been texting pictures to each other and whatnot (mostly, "Does this match?" and "What else do I need to get?"), but that's no substitute for actually meeting and living with her.
4. I've reopened my review site on Neopets - and it seems like I've been getting non-stop requests! I'm not complaining - I love reviewing, but sometimes I get so into it that I forget to sleep. It's not uncommon for me to go to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning.
5. Charlie's still stressing me out. I can't get it through my head that he's somehow stopped loving me - not with the things he used to tell me still running around my head. It's not fair. And it may drive me over the edge one day.
6. I haven't been sleeping much. A lot of that's my own fault, because I force myself to stay up as late as possible so I'm absolutely past the point of exhaustion. That's the only way that I don't dream. And I don't like to dream any more. All I ever dream about is Charlie.

So, how do I deal with all this stress?

I hope you're ready for this - I'm about to start another list. And this one may get a bit rambly. (Oh, gosh; I hope it doesn't. I've already rambled enough, honestly.)

Let's talk about the ways that I've been trying to relax:

1. Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It's awesome, and it's like living my own little, happy life. (My life at the moment is not so happy. Some days I want to just scream and throw everything everywhere, but that would be inappropriate and I would end up in a mental ward. Honest.) I may be a bit too obsessed with it, but I don't care. It makes me happy, and being happy is a rare thing nowadays.
2. Music. I've started listening to music again. I've been really avoiding it for the past few months, because everything on my iPod reminded me of Charlie. Last month, I decided it was time for me to get some new music. I downloaded Pandora (awesome app, by the way; it's even got its own website!) and set up some radio stations. (By the way; Celtic Music Station? BAD IDEA, YO. Memories...) I also started browsing the Free Albums section on Amazon, and I've found some amazing things on there. The Saddle Creek Summer 2012 Sampler is probably the best thing ever.
3. Foot soakings. I bought myself a tub of bath salts the other day, after experiencing my first bath in nearly six years. (I had bought a little packet of bath salts from Earthbound a few weeks prior, and had just then gotten around to using them.) Man, it was like heaven. So I decided I needed more. On my next trip to Publix with my mother, I found a tub of bath salts that had a coupon attached. Of course, I bought it immediately. (If it hadn't had the coupon, I would've probably bought this brown sugar body scrub. Heck, I still might go back and get that body scrub! I've got a job - I can totes buy that!) But anyways... I've been standing on my feet a lot lately in TreeTop, so I've been using my bath salts to soak my feet in. And man, is it like heaven. Although I'm sad that the water warmth doesn't last as long as I wish it would. Sad face.
4. Reading. I've actually gotten to sit down and read this month, and it's been absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. I've missed reading so, so much.
5. Writing. I'm still working on my novel (the sequel's on hold, for now, although I may have had an idea for the ending... Woo!), and it's going rather well. Of course, I'm writing most of it on receipt paper, because I'm usually in café when I get time to write...But who cares? I honestly can't wait to get this thing finished, because then I get to hand it over to my friend Kellie so she can edit it. I hope she likes it. (Y'all will buy a copy, right?)
6. Shopping. Okay, so this is a bad one. I'm stressing myself out at TreeTop because I don't have enough hours, and then I go shopping? But please, let me explain. Sometimes shopping isn't all that bad. Sometimes shopping is a great way to release your emotions. (And hey...that sexy piece of lingerie I got at Victoria's Secret? It was absolutely free. I may not have a chance to use it again for a long, long time...but whatevs. Just wearing it, even though nobody can see it, makes me feel prettier. I can't explain it. But who cares?)

I wrote this while I was soaking my feet again (I mean, it was a long, rough day at café, let me tell you, even though I didn't close), and now the water's getting cold and it's not pleasant. Sigh. I wish the water would stay warmer for a lot longer. It would make everything so much better.

Anyways.

How do y'all unwind at the end of a long day? How do you de-stress yourself? Do you have any tips for me? What's stressing you out at the moment? (Want to talk? I'm here.)

Goodbye

Mrs. Carolyn died at 9:23 this morning.

She never regained consciousness.

It's one of the most heartbreaking things I think I've experienced. It's even worse for my parents. She was one of their good friends. She was in the same motorcycle gang my father's in.

She was fine just three weeks ago at the Fourth of July party. I feel kinda guilty because I sort of ignored her. And now I feel awful at how I treated her at last year's party - I got mad because she insisted, jokingly, on sitting between me and Charlie. And now she's gone.

I don't know if I'll be able to go to the funeral, either due to work or because I genuinely don't believe I could handle it.

So if I'm a little more depressed than usual, you know why.

Thanks for all the prayers and well-wishes. She was an amazing lady.

She was simply fantastic.

It's the End

THIS WAS WRITTEN ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013.

Mrs. Carolyn's not going to make it.

Today's her 66th birthday. It's her daughter's 33rd.

When my dad went to go see her today, the doctor said, "We're just praying she makes it through the night, so she doesn't die on her birthday, or her daughter's."

They still don't know what happened. The only thing they can think of is that they gave her some sort of mix of painkillers that didn't sit too well with her.

(Also: the reason she wasn't hooked up to any monitors? If the surgery goes smoothly, and everything seems fine, no monitors are required. Since Mrs. Carolyn's surgery went absolutely perfectly, the doctors didn't think she needed monitors. And then came the painkiller cocktail.)

Mrs. Carolyn's been off of life support for 48 hours, and they're no longer feeding her intravenously. She's held on for this long. But the doctors are sure she's not going to make it.

It's just so hard. She was lively and wonderful on July 4th. And then this whole mess happened.

It's not fair. It's just not fair.

Thank you, everyone for your thoughts and prayers during this time. You barely know me, I don't know you, and you have no idea who Mrs. Carolyn is. But thank you, so much.

Edit, 26 July: Mrs. Carolyn's still holding on. She's been off life support since Monday, but there's been no change in her condition. Her husband's already made all the funeral arrangements. It's hard, because she's not dead yet. This isn't going to be a fun week.

Packing for College: Introduction & Bedding

With just under a month left until I move back to college, I thought I'd share with you some of my tips for packing for college. 

My room had its own bathroom, but I had many friends who had to share a communal bathroom. Therefore, I'll be able to give you tips on what to do with both types of rooms.

What makes me qualified to tell you what you should do? Well, I'm a college student first of all, and I survived my first year. I was lucky to live within weekend-going-home distance of my family, so I was able to take stuff home and bring stuff back that I forgot. This is why I'm writing - so that if you're moving hundreds of miles away to college, you won't forget something extremely important!

This is just going to be a short "mini-series" dealing with what you should pack for different parts of your room. I'm going to be very detailed, and I'll probably have some pictures throughout, as well.

Disclaimer: I don't know the specific rules of your dorm halls, but I'm going to bet that they're probably very similar to mine (no candles, no extension cords, etc.), so feel free to alter my recommendations if you need to! Don't forget to talk to me in the comments!

Now, on to the main event:

Bedding

First of all, where's your college located? Is it in the South? In the North? Will you have easy access to a store where you can buy extra bedding if need be? (The winter gets extremely cold in the South, and the dorm halls aren't well-heated, as I found out.)

So, what should be the essentials for your bedding?

1. You're going to want a nice bedspread/quilt/comforter. 

I was able to get mine from Wal-Mart, and it's served me very well. It wasn't too hot in the summer, and it wasn't too cold in the winter.

I've rolled it into a ball here, because it's in storage for the summer. It opens up to a nice twin-sized comforter, though. It's a pretty aqua-teal color, with a design on one side. It's also very easy to clean, which is quite nice.

2. You're going to want some foam mattress pads.

I can't tell you how much of a lifesaver these were. The beds that we were given were covered with plastic (I guess to reduce costs if someone spilled some sort of bodily fluids on them), and they were very thin.

No matter! I simply pulled out my mattress pad and placed it on top of the bed. Then I put my mattress cover over that, and then I put on my sheets and bedspread and pillows.

These are my mattress pads. (I gave one to my room mate, but she didn't want to keep hers, so I took it back home with me.) They have ridges on the top, and the bottom is smooth. They look like they'd be weird to sleep on, but they're actually really comfy! And it makes the mattress a lot softer. You can get them at Wal-Mart, or bedding specialty stores.

3. You're going to want at least two sets of sheets.

Why two, you ask? Well, when you have to wash one set, you have another set all ready to put on the bed! I found it harder to wash my sheets when I knew I'd have to wait for them to get dry before putting them back on my bed. Once I had an extra set of sheets, I was ready for anything!

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT SIZE TWIN BED YOU HAVE. Some colleges have extra-long twin beds, while others have standard. My college had standard beds, so buying extra-long sheets would've been a waste of money. (My sheets were still a little big on my bed, actually.)

I bought my sheets from Target. They're jersey-knit (sort of like t-shirt material), and they're extremely soft.

4. You're going to want extra pillows.

Personally, I sleep with two pillows already. (I put the decorative cover from my bedspread over one of them, and that's the bottom pillow. The other one has my pillow case on it.) However, I really enjoyed having a few extra pillows on my bed, because it kept me from hitting the wall at night (the bed was actually narrower than my twin bed at home!). It was also a cute decorative thing whenever I made up my bed.

The pillows were also great just for sitting up against. (I sometimes put one on my desk chair so it wouldn't be so hard.)

5. Do you want to bring your stuffed animals from home?

I sleep with a lot of stuffed animals. However, I only brought one with me to college: my seal. I wouldn't have been able to sleep otherwise. A lot of people brought their stuffed animals, and my room mate never said anything to me about it. 

Bring them if you want.

***

That's just the basics of bedding. If you want to bring things like dust ruffles for your bed (my roomie just bought a cheap lace curtain and tucked it under her mattress to hide her storage space) or some kind of clip-on reading light, be my guest!

If you've got something else to add to this list, tell me in the comments!
What did you find that worked?
What didn't work?
Have I missed anything in this list?

Thank you!

"Apologize. Now."

I like running Clubhouse.

Sure, it's boring. You're sitting on this stool (well, it's kinda like a flat seat-thing...) for hours on end, getting up only to let kids in the gate and stamp their hands. Occasionally, you may have to climb up into the playhouse to rescue some kid who's scared of the tilting tunnel or the EXTREMELY DARK slide. I keep a flashlight in my purse for this purpose. (I do it gladly, because I used to be the kid that was scared of things; plus, I like going down the slide.)

But on the other hand, if you bring a book or a sketchpad or something to do, time goes by rather quickly. I don't read while there are kids in my gate, but otherwise, I will. I've finished books there before, and it's always a pleasant time.

During downtimes, if a kid wants me to go up with them, I'll do it. I went up with this one curly-haired four-year-old maybe six or seven times last Saturday, because not only was he scared of the tunnel and the slide, but he also wanted someone to play with.

So, last Saturday, I was manning Clubhouse. There are one or two kids in the Clubhouse, and a set of grandparents are sitting outside the gate on the same stool-seat things, watching their grandkids play. 

Out of nowhere, this group of little boys comes tearing up to the gate. One of them swings wide and pretty much trips over the grandfather (the grandfather was sitting upright, legs crossed. There's no way the kid could've tripped unless he ran into the man, which he did). He then marches up to the gate and demands to be let in.

Something inside of me snaps.

I swipe their cards, stamp their hands, and then I put my foot on the inside of the gate (so they can't open it with their grubby little kid-hands), and I glare at the one little kid who fell over the old man. 

"Apologize."

He throws a barked, "Sorry," over his shoulder, and proceeds to attempt to walk in the gate again. I'm not having any of it.

"Apologize to the gentleman you just so brutishly ran over, or I'm not letting you in."

The boys' mothers have caught up by this time, and one of them notices that I'm picking on her son.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I'm not going to let him in unless he apologizes for running into the gentleman sitting behind him."

I'm half-expecting the mother to go off on a tangent and bite my head off. Hey, I was raised to respect my elders, and I hate seeing little kids treat older people like trash.

Much to my surprise, the mother turns on her son, gives him this look of evil and terror, and says, "Apologize!"

So the little boy slinks over to the man, squeaks out an, "I'm sorry I ran into you," and then flees back to the gate. I let him in with no trouble, the mother nods and leaves with her posse, and the old man smiles at me.

All in all, I think I taught that kid some respect. Or I put fear and terror into him. It's sort of hard to distinguish the two sometimes.

And Now, the Going Gets Tough

You all remember Mrs. Carolyn, right? Good friend of my parents, currently deep in a coma at Brookwood Hospital?

Her family has come to a very tough decision. They're praying it's the right thing.

If you recall, the second neurologist came by and told them that he saw no brain activity on the scans that he did. That by itself is enough to cause immense panic in some people. Mr. Randy, of course, took it hard. This is his wife we're talking about. He's not doing well at all. If she dies, he may be soon to follow.

Anyways, the Hammonds have decided to start weaning Mrs. Carolyn off of life support.

Maybe she'll wake up as it lessens. Maybe she'll recover. Maybe things will get better.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

It's all a stretch at the moment.

And of course, Mr. Randy is still blaming himself for all of this. "If I'd only noticed sooner," he repeats, over and over again like a mantra. (You see, Mrs. Carolyn wasn't hooked up to any monitors, because the recovery from this surgery should have been routine, with nothing life-threatening happening. So Mrs. Carolyn said, "I'm slipping away," but everyone thought she was just talking about going to sleep from the painkillers. When Mr. Randy looked back up, she was dead. Now she's in a coma.)

I explained all this to my boss yesterday, when he overheard someone asking if I'd had to attend a funeral this weekend (I told him I couldn't take a shift of his because of that possibility). He said, "He shouldn't be blaming himself. If a frog had wings, then he wouldn't hit himself in the ass when he hopped." (I still have NO idea what that's supposed to mean.) At least he's sympathetic, in case I do have to bail work for a funeral.

Please keep her in your prayers, thoughts, whatever. The next few days are going to be absolutely horrendous.

A Not-So-Typical Family Outing

So, yesterday was absolutely AMAZING. And do you know why?

I finally got to go shooting with my family.

I've never shot a gun before. I've been wanting to, ever since my daddy bought me a little .380 last October (for my solo trip to Kentucky, but it didn't work out due to the fact that concealed-carry permits in Shelby Co. are only available after age 19, usually 21).

So, yesterday was perfect weather, the whole family was home, and my dad decided to take us all out to his Hunting Club and we shot his guns.

Five pistols and a shotgun.

My little .380. (Not much of a kick, but the trigger's too hard to pull. I also don't have the strenght to cock it yet. It was...disappointing.)

The .38 special. (It has a small barrel, and has one heck of a kick. I fired one shot and I was done. It hurt, so very much.)

The .357. (I'm going to save up money and buy this gun from my dad. He probably wants around $1200 for it, because the manufacturer has stopped making this particular weapon. And it is sweet. I want it so badly! I also hit my first bulls-eye ever with this. The third gun I'd ever held, the second bullet from the gun, perfect bulls-eye. It was amazing.)

The 9 millimeter. (I felt like a secret agent with this one. I couldn't cock it, but I hit a perfect bulls-eye with it. I was ecstatic.)

And then my daddy's .410 bolt-action shotgun. (It's at least 39 years old, possibly older. It was a gift from his Pawpaw when he was ten years old. It's killed "many a snake, blackbird, and crow," apparently. He has no idea how many rounds he's put through it. I fired one shot, and I'm sure I have a serious bruise on my shoulder now. It hurt!)

 This is the little .357. It's an amazing gun. Perfect weight, very little kick. Awesome.

 The 9-mil. Don't I look like a secret agent?

 My little .380. Bigger kick than I was expecting, and a hard trigger.

 Sarah with the .357.

 Mom with the .357. (That's her favorite gun, too.)

Another shot of the .380.

Sarah with the 9-mil.

Mom with the .357.

Me with the 9-mil.

The .45. It's got the words "The Judge" emblazoned on the barrel. And what a Judge this thing is. It can shoot buckshot/birdshot and .45s. It's got a heck of a kick, but whatever you shoot with the "defender" ammo certainly won't be getting back up.

Sarah with the .38 special.

Sarah with the .380.

Sarah with the .38 special. She loved that one.

Don't you just love her face with the .45?

Mom one-handing the 9-mil.

Mom with the .38 special.

Sarah with the .380.

It was an absolutely amazing time.

Sarah shot a tree with the shotgun.

These are skills that will come in handy for me one day (although I hope I'll never, ever have to use them). It's always good to know how to load a gun, how to aim, how to fire, and how to clean it.

I also managed to shoot two perfect bulls-eyes, one with the .357 (EPIC GUN) and one with the 9-mil. I think I've been bitten by a very expensive bug...

Curiouser and Curiouser

I have been writing on this blog for nearly two months now, and I have nearly 650 pageviews. That could be seen as not bad, but compared to my old blog, it's a laugh.

My old blog, which has been discontinued because the subject matter no longer applies to me (although I really wish it did, and maybe one day it will again), still gets up to three times the daily pageviews that my active blog does. It's hovering at around 3,365 pageviews. It had around 2,500 when I stopped writing on it two months ago.

Sometimes, even when I update this blog, I get no pageviews that day. On the flip side, ABGFL gets a dozen or more pageviews. It's a really interesting observation.

I suppose this is because the other blog had a point and a purpose. It had slightly-educational things on there. I talked about my experiences. I talked about what was going to happen in the coming months. I had a plan, I had several blog series going, and I knew what my life was going to be like.

This blog is simply a rambling collection of short stories and life experiences. I don't really have anything to do with it; it just kind of writes its own self after a while. And now that I've run out of "scheduled posts," I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to be writing. I know I'm going to attempt to keep posting a short story every Tuesday, but I don't know how long that will last. I won't run out of stories to post on Wednesdays, that's for sure (TreeTop is never boring, let me tell you). I'll still be doing my Monthly Resolutions and linking up with Kelli at She Learns As She Goes.

I guess I should be excited that I've managed to get nearly 700 pageviews in just two months. That doesn't normally happen, does it? Especially for little-known, rambling personal blogs. Maybe once I get this novel published, I'll have to figure out actual content to put on the blog, because I'll have people Googling me like crazy. (Hopefully.)

Anyway. That's just my little observation for today. I'm going to finish getting ready for the day now. My dad's taking us out shooting, and I finally get to fire the gun he bought for me last October! (I'm so excited. Plus, I can legally concealed-carry it in less than a month!)

Allonsy!

A Second Opinion

So, Mrs. Carolyn is still in the hospital. Still unresponsive.

And now her family will probably have to make a choice.

A second neurologist came in yesterday to have a look at her. (The first neurologist said things were...inconclusive.) 2N said that there was little to no brain activity. In effect, Mrs. Carolyn is probably brain dead.

So, pending a miracle, Mr. Randy and his sons may have to make the choice to take her off life support.

It's just...horrendous. They shouldn't have to be making that decision. And I know they're going to be guilting themselves for the rest of their lives. If they'd noticed she'd stopped breathing sooner, maybe she would've been okay. (I'm not sure if they can sue the hospital or not; they didn't have Mrs. Carolyn hooked up to ANY monitors in the recovery room.)

It's just going to be hard.

And to think, just two weeks ago, she was laughing and carrying on and entertaining at her Fourth of July party.

She is an amazing woman, and to have this happen now, when there's still so much she had in front of her (she has a four-month-old grandson, for one thing)... It's just mind-blowing. 

Short of a miracle, there's nothing else that can be done.

I may be going to a funeral before this weekend is over. And I don't know if I can handle that. It's going to be even tougher than going to Breanna's funeral Junior Year.

Please keep her in your prayers. We need a miracle. Or at least some comfort for her family. This isn't going to be easy...

"Excuse Me, but Can You Wash Your Hands?"

Disclaimer: I'm not normally snippish. However, add in rude customers and a pinch of PMS, and you've got a recipe for absolute disaster.

Case in point: What happened in café a few weeks ago (June 30). 

First of all, this particular customer wasn't very nice to begin with. I'm going to call him Baldy (because he was bald.)

Baldy walks up to the register, which Cullen is manning, and orders a pepperoni pizza, sixteen-inch. 

I overhear this, wash my hands, put on my gloves, and start making the pizza right away. (All of our food is cooked-to-order. The cashiers even say, "We'll bring your food right out when it comes up. It'll be about (estimated amount of time here." The estimated time for this particular pizza is around ten to fifteen minutes.) Cullen then comes over and puts the receipt on my board.

Three minutes later, I've sauced the pizza, put on the cheese and pepperoni, and I bend over to place it in the over, when I hear someone behind me.
"Excuse me!"

I turn around, sweating from the 500º temperature. "Yes, Sir?"

Baldy narrows his eyes at me. "Are you just now putting my pizza in the oven?"

I calm down before I snap at him, smile, and say, "Yes, Sir. I apologize, but all of our food is cooked-to-order. It takes a few minutes to make the pizza, but not very long to cook it in the bottom oven. It'll be out in about ten minutes."

He sniffs, and goes to sit down with his wife and kid. I brush it off and go stand next to the register, where Cullen needs me to fill drink orders while he takes orders.

There's a line of about three people in front of Cullen (they're only ordering drinks, thank goodness!), when Baldy gets up, walks over to the ice cream cooler, pulls out an ice cream sandwich, and proceeds to open it up, split it in half, and walk back to his table, where he then hands half to his son and swallows the other half. 

Cullen and I look at each other in absolute shock. 

"He didn't pay for that?" I ask tentatively as I hand three small Dr. Peppers and a bottle of water to the last customer.

"No..."

By this time, the line's gone. All of two minutes, IF THAT, have elapsed. Cullen's a bit goofy-looking, but he can be imposing if he wants.

"Sir?!" He waves at Baldy. "Sir, you have to pay for that."

Baldy sniffs again, walks up and hands us $2.00. "Sorry," he growls. "Didn't want to wait in the line." 

Cullen and I exchange looks after he leaves, so that he doesn't catch us. Then we both go and watch the pizza cooking in the oven.

Almost absent-mindedly, I touch my nose with the back of my RIGHT wrist, just past the bone. Not two seconds later, Baldy's back at the counter.

"Excuse me!"

I turn around. "Yes, Sir?" I'm really starting to not like this guy.

"Will you wash your hands before you touch my pizza? I don't want you getting your germs all over it! It's disgusting. You're in food service. You shouldn't be doing that!"

I put my left hand (THIS IS IMPORTANT) on the cash register monitor. "Yes...sir? I always wash my hands, sir, before I touch the food. It's company policy." (Plus, I wouldn't be the one touching his pizza. I don't take pizzas out, cut them up, or deliver them to tables. I'm mostly cashier and burgers/fries/hot dogs. I only made the pizza because Cullen had taken register because he was closer.)

"Well, now you've gone and touched the register, and you've been ringing people up and handing out drinks!"

I vaguely hear Cullen calling for a manger through the radio through the bursts of ARE YOU KIDDING ME ringing through my head. I apologize again, grab a sanitary wipe, wipe down the register, the counter, and anything I might've touched before going to the back before I absolutely lose my cool.

A few minutes later, Heather comes to the back (she's one of the managers) and asks for my side of the story. I tell her what happened, demonstrated what I did, and tell her what the guy's done to me already.

She says, "Just remember not to snap at the customers." She then told me that he said I'd been handing out drinks and touching the register and food with my bare, germy hands. Cullen stepped in then and backed me up, saying I'd been washing my hands raw all day (I had, because I'd been cleaning all day, plus I wash my hands every time I pass that little sink, which is about 10 times an hour!) and the guy was lying through his teeth. Then he also told the story of "Are you just now putting my pizza in?!" and "SIR! YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT!"

Heather looks astonished, and Russia just goes, "Snap at him all you want, sister. He's an expletive and doesn't need to treat you like that. Don't worry about it. It's your first customer I've ever seen you get pissed at."

We all exit the back of the kitchen, pausing to wash our hands at the sink. For the rest of the time that Baldy's in café, everybody who witnessed the incident goes to the sink about every minute to wash their hands. If they touch something, they wash their hands. If something touches them, they wash their hands. If the buzzer dings, they wash their hands. I think Baldy may have complained to Heather again about us rubbing it in his face, but Heather just smiled and said, "Sir, we're simply adhering to our hand-washing policies. Now, there are other people waiting on that table. If you would be so kind..."

There wasn't another soul in the restaurant.

It just irks me, though. The guy was behaving as if I'd sneezed all over myself and then rubbed it EVERYWHERE. That didn't happen.

May all your customers be sane (and not germaphobic). 

Pro-Tip: Wash your hands whenever possible. You never want to be on the receiving end of a stuck-up, whiny, germaphobic customer. It's not pretty. (And okay, yes. So I might've snapped a little. I just couldn't believe what he was saying. I hadn't touched anything.)

Mid-July Resolution Checkup

Let's see how we're getting along with the resolutions, shall we?

Put $300 into Savings

July 2: Earned: $138.58. Saved: $75.00.
July 9: Earned: $163.38. Saved: $75.00.

It's a lot easier to save $75 than I thought it was. This is going to be a very easy resolution to keep. Maybe I can continue doing $300 a month instead of $200. (At least during the summer, May, June, July, and part of August. Maybe December. It all depends on my work schedule, after all.)

Keep My Room Clean

Um....My floor is clean, but not my closet. And now my chair is full of stuff, too. Ugh.

Read Four Books

I'm working my way through the books! So far, I've completed:
The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott
The Magician, by Michael Scott

And I'm working on reading:
The Sorceress, by Michael Scott
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

WALK

The only walking I've been doing is pacing and work and walking the mall with my sister. I've really got to pick up on this.

Write!

I haven't been able to work on this much.

Graphics...?

I've been working on reopening my review site on Neopets. Of course, before I do that, I have to have a nice layout. Tina's doing the layout, but hopefully I'll be able to make a decent button! Who knows?

The Zimmerman Trial & Its Consequences

I realize that I'm a day late in weighing in on this debate, and I probably have no qualifications whatsoever to be doing so, but I'm doing it anyways.

For those of you who have been living under a rock recently, look up the story online. There's so much out there, and I don't want to color your perspective of it by giving you mine.

But now this case has affected me directly, and I need to speak out about it.

Yesterday, George Zimmerman was found "not guilty" in the murder of Trayvon Martin. (This doesn't mean he's innocent; he's just not guilty of murder. He did kill the man, but the court ruled that it was in self-defense.)

Last night, somebody in my friend's neighborhood went on a crime spree. (They live in Birmingham.)

My friend Andy's car was trashed. All four tires were slashed, there was ketchup and eggs all over it, and the letters "TM" were written in ketchup on top of the car. This car was parked in front of their house. 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that those letters stand for "Trayvon Martin."

My friends are white. So are at least five other people on the street, because those six people had their cars treated the exact same way.

It's absolutely terrifying, y'all. And completely unnecessary.

Zimmerman's now getting death threats by the hundreds on twitter (the hashtag #killzimmerman, for instance), he's contemplating buying bulletproof vests for him and his wife, and he's going to be looking over his shoulder constantly. I doubt he'll last a year, unless he has some sort of court protection and relocation, like Casey Anthony did.

It's just so ridiculous. Martin's lawyer stood up after the verdict and told the public that they should act like Dr. King (meaning Dr. Martin Luther King) did, and not resort to violence. Unfortunately, so many people have. I know Oregon had some riots, and I think Chicago did, too. I know of at least one person in Birmingham who did as well (Andy's car is proof of that). 

It's horrifying that people will turn to violence and hate because of what one man did. And we don't even have the whole story. We have things pieced together, yes, but what if that's what actually happened? What if Trayvon was a thug? (The picture they kept showing on the news was several years old; the newest pictures from his Facebook show him dressed as a thug, flipping off the camera, with his pants slung low and his underwear showing.) What if this was self-defense? 

Think before you act, guys, because things might have far-reaching consequences.

I'm not saying that you should watch who you murder (although you certainly should); I'm saying that you need to be careful what you do in the name of "Justice." 

Leave Justice to the lawyers and the judges. Even though our Supreme Court has let us down in the past few months (what with DOMA being repealed and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell being swept under the carpet as well), they are still one of the highest laws in the land. 

Don't go around slashing up white peoples' cars just because someone killed a guy. (Also, Zimmerman? He's not white. He's hispanic.) They have nothing to do with the case.

Plus, Andy's dad? He's got mesothelioma. (It might be in remission, though.) Andy can't get to work without a car, his mother's car's in the shop, and his sister doesn't have a car. (His dad can't drive.) His other brother recently got married and is still on his honeymoon. By taking out that one car, the little thug has prevented at least three people from going to their jobs. (Andy would take his mother, then drop his sister off on his way to work. His mother's a nurse.) 

Think before you act, guys.

It may be worse than you think.

Donuts, Y'all!

Doughnuts. Donuts. However you spell it, the word means the same thing: DEEP-FRIED DELICIOUSNESS. (I mean, you can bake them if you want, but the only way to make these things as delicious as possible is to dump them in a pot of boiling oil.)

Now, I'm going to share my fool-proof donut-making recipe. We figured it out by trial and error, but I'm sure it's already on the internet somewhere.

Ready? 

Here...we...go!

What you'll need:

• Pot of oil (vegetable or canola)
• Bowl of sugar
• Plate & paper towels (for draining the donuts)
• Slotted spoon
• Barbecue fork (two tines)
• Normal fork (for dipping the donuts in sugar)
• Pillsbury Country-Style Biscuits (they come in a can)
• Apple Corer

Got your stuff? Let's begin.

 All right. You got your biscuits. They're cold and refrigerated. So, we open up the can. (The kind I get has ten biscuits in a tin.)

 Get out your apple corer. This is mine.

 Flatten your biscuits out a slight bit, then punch the centers out of them. Carefully pop the centers out.

 Wait for your oil to warm up, then pop the donut holes in them. (That's the centers of the biscuits you punched out, all right?) They'll float to the top when the oil's nice and hot, and then you'll watch them. When they're all brown, all over (keep turning them with your slotted spoon), take them out.

 I've put my donut holes on the slotted spoon in the draining-plate so they'll drain. (I'm not going to use the spoon again.) I wait a few minutes, and then...

 I dump the donut holes in sugar. And I roll them around until they're evenly coated. (Go ahead, have one. They're amazing.)

 ALL RIGHT. Time for the donuts! Drop them into the oil (you can use the BBQ fork if you're leery) and wait for them to rise and brown, just like the donut holes. The first few donuts should take a little longer than the last few. Just be sure not to burn them!

 Take your donuts out and put them on your draining plate again. Make sure all that oil drips off of them before you shove them in the sugar!

NOM NOM NOM! It's delicious donut time!

***

So, how'd your donuts come out? Were the fantastic? Did your family try them? (My family fights over the donut holes.)

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this, and that this was easy to follow! Please tell me what you thought of this!

Prayers, Please!!

Y'all, I need some serious prayers.

And they're not for me.

My family is friends with this family named the Hammonds. My father rides motorcycles with both of them. (He's a part of the Soldiers of the Cross Motorcycle Ministry.)

The husband's name is Randy, and the wife is Carolyn. 

Today, Mrs. Carolyn had some kind of precautionary surgery. She's had cancer, and this was supposed to help with the after-effects or something like that. I'm still not sure what the surgery was for.

Anyways, she had her surgery, and was in recovery. She asked for her medication, took it, and felt well afterwards.

Then her husband looked up not three minutes later, and her lips were blue. She flatlined then and there.

She was gone for five minutes before the doctors managed to bring her back.

She's now in the Critical Care Unit (CCU) at the hospital.

Since my dad is not only one of their good friends but also Mr. Randy's deacon, he jumped in his car and rushed to the hospital. He's still not back yet.

The hospital people don't know if she'll make it.

My mom's convinced that she will.

So, please pray for her. I know none of y'all know her, but she's an amazing woman. Just last week, I was at her Fourth of July party. She was laughing and carrying on and entertaining people. (You couldn't even tell she was wearing a wig.)

She's an amazing woman. Absolutely incredible. Her daughter just got married. She needs to live to see her grandchildren.

So pray. You don't know these people, but they'll appreciate it.

Thank you so much.