So what have I been up to?

In college, I've been doing some pretty fun stuff. Don't worry -- I've been drinking milk, not alcohol (as recommended by that bookmark they handed out during Welcome Week), but I've been having an absolutely splendid time regardless (or perhaps because of it!)

What have I been doing, then?

Well... I live in Philadelphia, so there's lots to do. Beth and I went to Magic Gardens, which we got in for free with our student PEX passes.

I had lots of fun trying to take pictures with the mirror fragments in the walls.

There were also a ton of bottles that people had put notes in, and we spent probably an hour sticking pencils into the bottles to try to get the notes out to read them. I was looking for a love note, and it took me a surprisingly long time to find one! Finally I did :)

This picture has little to do with the bottles and notes. However, I have nowhere else to put it, so it's going here.

If you've never heard of the Magic Gardens, it's basically an enormous, tumultuous collage of stuff in the form of a house and maze-garden. There are bottles galore, there are pottery fragments, tiles, lines of text... no matter where you look, there's more and more stuff. I would have loved it as a kid, it was amazing. And, since it's all stuck in with concrete, everything is completely touchable!

Beth and I lucked out getting each other as room mates. Yeah, one of us stays up later than the other, and we like different music, and one of us is less messy than the other... but we get along so well that we're best friends anyway. It's wonderful.

This, by the way, is Beth and I both very sad a few weeks ago when we lost to Penn State in the last four minutes and forty two seconds of the game. We had been winning for the entire game until the last FOUR minutes. I hope you realize how emotionally devastating it was for us.

Other than the Magic Gardens, I've been to the Franklin Institute -- Gabe and I (he's my boyfriend -- we met in Linguistics class) went to see the mummy exhibit there. Which was interesting and really, really creepy. There's this one peruvian mummy who's cradling this child mummy and is resting her head on top of another child mummy... who happens to have neither feet nor hands nor HEAD. Creepy.

By the way, out my dorm window we have a fantastic view of the city.

Other than that, really what's been going on is.... Shenanigans. Lots and lots of shenanigans.

This is Gabe, indulging my mischievous shenanigans. See what wild college students we are?

Yay, Mom and Rick!

Wow, it’s sure been a while. Quite frankly, I’m starting this up again because I realized it would probably be easier to do blog posts than email all the pictures of my day-to-day to my mom.

Jenny, my step sister, also spent part of the Saturday with us.

This weekend, I visited my family at home for the first time since I left for college. It was my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday, Mom! Know that you’re appreciated and loved dearly.

I got to cook, which was a big, big relief after being kitchen-deprived for over a month. Everyone reassured me that there would be a communal kitchen, but there is nothing but communal microwaves. Very, very sad, I know.

I was also very, very lucky in that my brother had a track meet that Saturday! It was a lot of fun, and I really loved that I got to see him run!

Those runners work so hard, I was impressed. I’m so, so proud of him. I don’t know how far they run, but it’s a fair distance. This race included running through woods and going through thigh-deep water. You can see from his red face that he was working hard!

Happy Birthday, Mom, and congratulations, Rick!!

SOA

Here's my guestblog post for Rhinestone Armadillo's Summer of Awesomeness. Check her blog out -- and try not to die from the cuteness that is her child :)

If you’ve read much Stephen King, you may recognize the name “Utica” from a book or two. He seems to think it’s a rather dismal area – which it kind of is. Utica’s heyday was sometime around the end of the 19^th century. However, I’m a teenager, raised during the nineties. Watch an old Britney Spears music video for proof that grunge can be cool, and so can urban decay…

Especially if you pair it with a “Marie Antoinnette” dress. Awesome. (Two guys came out from the garage this is behind to ask us what we were doing. They were fine with it, although I’m sure they both told some stories about the two crazy girls taking pictures with tires that night over dinner)

Picture taken by Marissa, behind the Utica Uptown Theater

It’s kind of a strange picture, I know. We did that on purpose – resplendent white and gold brocade dress in front of a pile of tires and rusty box springs. But isn’t it fun? Aren’t you glad that you got to see those tires as something cool, rather than just another heap of trash downtown? I am. We all need to appreciate what we have more, after all. As Mr. Fox says, “Sure, these gibblets are made from artificial squabs, and even these apples look fake – but at least they have stars on them.” (Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2010) So, this summer, I challenge you to go out and find something that you take for granted (or even downright unappreciate, like the tires), and find the hidden beauty in it.

Although I’ve been thirsting to leave Utica since about the moment we moved here, it really is a cool place. Apart from the utterly glamorous pile of tires, one of my favorite spots is the Uptown Theater. It’s an old theater that still has the cool golden molding in the lobby (and in the theaters, although we weren’t able to go in one, as there were features being shown in every theater), and in front of each screen is a little stage for the live pre-show entertainment that used to be the norm. One of the reasons it’s great is that it’s never quite as crowded as the chain theater ten minutes away – another is that the cost of the movie tickets and popcorn is actually affordable, and they sell their old movie posters for five dollars each!

Model: Marissa. Location: Utica Uptown Theater

There are also some great parks in the Utica area, and no matter where you go (assuming it’s not winter), there’s greenery. Flowers grow everywhere. You don’t have to work hard to find somewhere to skip a rock – which is another thing, I’ve realized, that I take for granted.

Photographer: me. Victim of candid shot: Rick

We wanted to go to MWPAI, the local arts museum/school, to take a look at their sidewalk art show, but it was raining a little, so most of the art was covered up. However, Marissa and I are much more water-resistant than charcoal and pastels, so we were able to take some pictures outside. It could be an archway…

Or, it could be an archway in a courtyard where a Very Intelligent Princess is having the time of her life away from her courtly duties and suitors!

Picture taken by me, of Marissa, at MWPAI

And that could be a mere door… or it might be something more. What do you think was hiding within?

Picture taken by Marissa, at MWPAI

I haven’t the slightest idea what you might uncover, were you to open that door. When I tried it, it was locked.

One thing I do know, however, is that people only lock things up if they’re worth something. Bring your lock-picks, and find some beauty, people!

Snapshot *ching ching*

Reaching into the archives for something I wrote, but never posted, because I don't feel like using my brain today.

These were little snippets of fanfictions I wrote a few months ago. They're based in the world of Harry Potter, but you won't need to be familiar with HP to get these. These two are just snapshots of kids -- high school kids figuring out love and life. (Methodology for writing these two was: put your ipod on shuffle, and write a piece for each song. When the song ends, stop. The title of the song these are based on is the title.)

I’m In Love With My Car by Queen

Sirius rode a Windflyt broom, which was about the standard of Hogwarts quidditch players. James rode a Cleansweep seven, and he was the envy of most of the Hogwarts Quidditch players.

He spent hours polishing it, and he’d been getting charmed polishes and waxes for it for his birthday (and Christmas, and whenever he could winangle someone into buying them for him, really) for ages.

James was in love with that broom.

So was everyone else.

And that, Lily thought, was why they liked him.

Take You With Me by Maria Mena

Around the year that Lily decided that James had matured enough that she could begin to give him the time of day, Sarah Clintock decided that she had matured enough that she no longer had to try to give Sirius Black the time of day (at least not every minute – not any more). She stopped watching him when she was sitting in class, and she stopped hoping to bump into him whenever she was in the same side of the school as Gryffindor tower.

One year later, she began her Auror (police) training, and she saved his life during what was supposed to be a harmless street exercise.

She couldn’t decide whether she was going to let him give her the time of day yet.

This is a Very Adult Post.

Well. This is it! I am an official adult. Officially. Sure, I still can't enter a bar, but now I'm out of high school! I can finally enter "Temple University" in as part of my "education" on my facebook! Wow! My dad flew in for the ceremony, as well. We spent the past few days at Jason's place on the lake. It was the first time in years that my whole immediate family was together. Please notice how handsome our Mr. Thirteen Year Old is. Please do not notice how I am in three inch heels and still he nearly meets my height.

Picture taken by Jason

This is me and Jason, by the way.

Picture taken by Dad

Dad and Rick were both wearing Mackenzie tartan ties. Rick's is Mackenzie hunting tartan, and Dad's is Mackenzie dress tartan. Yeah. We're pretty in touch with our familial background :D They're both so handsome!

Also, we (Rick, Dad, and I) went to the mall afterwards to get batteries. Rick got a giggly hello from some girls from his school, and whispered to me in horror, "We are soooo overdressed for the mall!!! Should I have left my jacket in the car?" He's still adorable.

Photo taken by Dad

After graduation, as I mentioned, we spent some time on the lake.

We canoed a lot, and we listened to most of the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio show broadcasts (which Dad had on his laptop)

It was a good time. I would post pictures of Rick paddling, and the three of us on the dock, but that would involve finding my camera cord, which is not happening.

Additionally, thanks SO much to Laura at Rhinestone Armadillo for her shout-out the other day! I appreciated it so much!

I'm also very excited to participate in the SOA that she has going on -- my post is coming up!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the fatherly men out there ^_^

We had a nice Sunday dinner of mashed potatoes, burgers, and green beans. I was fairly proud of the mashed potatoes -- I put gruyere in them, and they were fantastic. Yum yum.

For desert, I took store-bought pound cake, I food-processed some blueberries and strawberries, and spread it on the pound cake slices. I spread unsweetened whipped cream on top of that, and stuck some more berries on top. It was very yummy, and not overly sweet.

Jenny came over, as well. She thought that the cake-trifle-thing was very patriotic. I thought it was yummy :D

Also, we had a fabulous time in the park. We only stayed there a short while, but Rick skipped many rocks, and we all (except Jason, spoil-sport that he is) wandered around shoe-less. In the picture, by the way, is Jenny, not me. She got in and went, "oh! It's cold it's cold!"

I hope you're all having a beautiful time with your families this Sunday.

Mom's Wedding

Well, my mom got married in April, and as it's now June, I've really not been expedient with getting pictures up.

But, still, here they are.

Oh, and good news -- She did, indeed, not wear a suit!

The wedding was a lot of fun, it was the first time in ages that my whole maternal family had been gathered -- I think it's been six years, since Uncle Art's wedding to Aunt Shannon. As such, it was the first time I'd ever met little Jillian. She's adorable, and possibly more mature at three than Rick was at twelve (now thirteen). I also got to see my cousins Luke and Logan. Logan is now about ten feet taller than I am, and Luke has gotten enormous as well :D

This is Jason's mother, Grammy (not her real name, obviously, just what we call her). She's as sweet as anything, and a lot of fun besides. She lives in a DC suburb, and we like her a lot. She likes the victorians like I do. Also in the picture (duh): Mom and Jason.

I like this picture because Rick and Jennie are glaring at each other.

I like this one because you can see Rick's shiny little dress shoes, and my whole dress. I'd only finished it that morning ^^; Also, isn't Mom's dress nice?

Of course, no collection of wedding photos would be complete without a shot of the newlyweds traipsing down the aisle. As such:

Congratulations to Mom and Jason, even though they've been married for quite a while.

Also, because I said I would blog about it: Today for dinner, Jason made the Dinosaur Barbecue's recipe for Macaroni and Cheese Shepherd's Pie. I had two helpings -- INCLUDING THE BEEF. This is huge because I have been alive for eighteen years, and I have also been a vegetarian for that long, and as such I generally don't like meat and it makes me sick. However, I actually preferred the meat version of tonight's dish to the vegetarian version. I am proud of myself.

And proud of J&J, of course. Yes. Very nice job they did, getting married and all :D