the previous entry made me think of this sticker....ahhhh, the sticker. although i believe the saying is true, it does have a funny memory attached to it. SENIOR QUOTE THAT NEVER MADE IT!!!! lol. but how do you try to say something like this without sounding frumpy/old fashioned/prudish/insert adjective of choice??? i don't know if you can. i guess it all depends on your intended audience. hmmmm....it's true!!! believe it, even as you remember the memories associated with it = good times!!!
me

i am beautiful, you are beautiful, this is beautiful!

hey all -
http://www.you-are-beautiful.com/ESSAYS.htm
i stumbled across this site after i stumbled across some stranger's blog (you can really find some interesting things sometimes by hitting the 'next blog' button.) anyway, i thought it was really cool...i think just stumbling across one of theses stickers would make me feel so happy inside, even though it wasn't left for me particularily or if no one else cared. it's just a happy message - kinda like a complete stranger giving you a compliment. hmmm....happy feelings....
steph

thank goodness that tomorrow's a new day, because today i feel like an idiot!!!

ahhhhhhh!!!!!! today i went to buy a new alarm clock for my soon to be new dorm (if they would let me know what it is??? i would like to know before i leave the country!!!) anyhow, after using my gift card, i still had to pay $26 something...and wouldn't you know that i only had $25 on me???? what does life do that to you?? anyway, so i went to go pay with my debit card which i carry around with me for situations exactly like this one...only i wasn't thinking to clearly (imagine that!), and i swear i couldn't remember my pin #. i know it, but for some reason it wasn't clicking, and i felt like an idiot when nothing was working!! finally the clerk just bypassed it, and i kinda ran out of the store, calling myself an idiot the whole way home. too bad there wasn't some incredibly hot guy there, because then at least i could blame my mometary stupidity on someone...though i guess that could have made it even worse...yeah! way to think on the positive side....
steph

why do i feel like the younger sister left at home?

today my younger sister left to check out a boarding school in rhode island. i was looking for a link to a website that i could put here or at least read about, and i only keep finding negative links that were only slightly related. honestly, there are times when i really do not understand the human race...these people seem so bitter and confused about small really stupid things. (if this isn't making sense so far - feel free to tune out and just ignore this entry, because it's mostly a rant, and it's not likely to get any less confusing unless you have any idea what i am talking about...and i bet most of you don't. i don't want to explain in detail in order to make any misconcepts worse. i guess this is just me talking outloud to an myself and an audience that won't listen. anything in the smaller type and different color you can just kinda ignore if you get really confused.) i just don't get it. yeah, there are things i don't always like, but i logically know why - it's because i might know what's right, but i have this tendency to just ignore it because of my feelings usually laziness or just plain stubborness. yes, sometimes i feel guilty about it, but i don't blame others for putting positive pressure on me to do the right thing. ok, i might feel an extreme sense of annoyance at the time, but usually in hindsight, i understand. gee i wish hindsight worked the same way as foresight, only then i guess it wouldn't be hindsight. sigh. i also don't see it as a cult. if you could just step back and look at all of the positive outcomes instead of merely focusing in on the negatives. look at all the good that is being done. yes, maybe there have been some mistakes in the past, and there probably will be some more in the future, but i hate to break everyone's personal bubble of anger & bitterness, but they are humans. i really don't see the perfect human anywhere. everyone makes mistakes, and mistakes can sometimes have a positive outcome if the lessons learned are taken to heart. i just don't understand. so maybe you had a bad experience with a particular group of people - that doesn't make everyone bad!!!!! i had a bad experience once with taco bell, but i still go there and enjoy their food (without thinking too deeply on all that heathly nutrients that i am forcing down my throat....ha!). so maybe it's not quite the same, but you just have to forgive and forget sometimes - give people a second change. it really bugs me when i read that people are just trying "to protect others from making the same mistakes" by loudly defaming this group of people who are really just trying to grow closer to God. last time i checked, this was supposed to be the goal of all christians. i just really don't get it - why do people refuse to see the good in others? why do they feel the need to defame or even ban good people from trying to help other good people? i think it is sad. where is the love? ok i'm done for now....back to the original topic. so my sister flew out today for the next 6 weeks. now if it was only for a short time, it wouldn't be a big deal, but because it is so long, it feels so weird. i am always the one going of for long trips alone. what if she decides to stay? it will be really weird thinking about her not being at home. i can't imagine what it must be like for my parents or the rest of my family to think of the 2 oldest being gone. maybe i'm just jealous. it steals away my glory about being the first to leave the nest. hmmmm...although i would firmly support her decision should she decide to stay out there, i kinda hope she doesn't. i mean the idea of her living in RI is a little strange still. also, i really loved my 4 years at the academy, and i know she would too. (why would you want to go to an all girls school far away when you could go to a really good coed school here?? i mean, hot guys can be a very big incentive!! haha. though according to julia, there are a lack of them at the academy. alas! anyway, i digress) i didn't ever want to go to school there, so maybe that's another reason why i don't really want her to stay. note to self: nicole is her own person with her own life/ideas/needs who might really like it out there. i guess, it would just take some getting used to - it wouldn't be bad, just strange in the beginning. i guess it hasn't really clicked yet. or the fact that i am leaving (forever!) the academy, and i'm not quite sure i'm ready to do that either. i mean, i am, but i did like it, and i am comfortable there...i do have a fear of the unknown - that is until i get comfortable there too - but that's another topic that i don't need to delve into right now, because i honestly think this one is long enough. geez, sorry, but sometimes i just helps to talk/write it down/let other people know what i am thinking. thanks for listening friend!
steph
ps - now that nicole's gone, i'm going to become the big focus here....2 big questions: (1) what do i need for a 2+ week trip to germany, and (2) what the heck am i supposed to bring to college anyway????? ahhhhhhh!!!!
ps2 - ewwww! i had this tingly sensation that a bug was crawling up my leg....and it was true!!! ewwwww!!! i hate spiders!!!!!!! i'm now going to be scarred for life! ew!

he he i lied

for some reason i've been in kinda a depressed mood. i think it's because of the weather. it rained today! yeah because we need the rain (and i am really really tired of seeing all of the watering ban signs around - ugh!) but rain can also be sad. blah. i got my retainer fixed the other day....but it really REALLY hurts because i haven't worn it in like a year and a half...oops. i was very mad at my dvd player yesturday because i had rented a movie romancing the stone and i wouldn't work!!!! grrrr! i watched the first 3 scenes and then nothing!! it was all scratched! i think i am going to demand my $1 back from the library.....grrrr. i know i promised to write about my vacation but i haven't done it yet because i simply don't want to yet....i know i know i could be writing it now instead of ranting here, but nope. no can do. sorry. it might still be a while but maybe eventually. ok, i'm done now. thanks for the rant....i feel better now.
steph

back from florida!

hello! just got back from florida this afternoon....it was great!! luckily dennis did not do any damage to central florida (aka - disney world). the nice clerk at publix (publix is a grocery store for those of you who do not know. it's ok to admit it...i had no idea. i live off of jewel and the occasional forages to walgreens and the family run store, so i had never heard of it.) told us that some people had freaked on saturday, but everyone had come back by sunday afternoon. so the good thing was that the flight/parks/etc were all up and running; the bad news was that there were still way too many people there! sigh. we flew into tampa because it was cheaper, and the water was really high, but other than that, some slight turbulence on the flight, and news coverage, i did not see much storm damage. so it was good - for us anyway...not so good for the people who lived in the panhandle areas. hurricanes do have the right of way i guess...speaking of the right of way, i was informed that all disney parking trams have the right of way before pedestrians. what every happened to the defense driving a la drivers ed?? geez. so far we have made it with only 2 lost bags (1 from each flight...but good news! they have been found!!! one just hasn't made it home yet.), some extremely lumpy & uncomfortable beds, lots of hot, sweaty, and rainy days, and incredible amounts of walking! but it was fun. so, i've decided to kinda give an overview of each day (maybe with a picture or 2 later if we ever get them developed! see previous entry somewhere about getting pictures developed...) liberally strewn with my random comments and opinions - should be good fun! so scroll down because i'll enter the actual dates, not the dates that i typed the entry, so it might be a bit confusing at first. but you are smart people, so i am sure that you'll figure it out. it just might take a while because my computer is still holding its little revolt...it will work for about 3 minutes before it shuts down and refuses to do anything more. curse you aqua scum! (not really related, but a good movie quote nonetheless!! lol) so enjoy at some future date!
steph

hurricane dennis

of course there would be a hurricane that's supposed to hit florida at the exact same time that we are supposed to be going to orlando for the first time in about 10 years! tis not fair i tell you!!! sigh. oh well. we might actually still be going...it all depends on what dennis decides to do between now and our flight tomorrow morning. anyone want to fly into florida in the middle of a hurricane?? anyone? maybe it will just mysteriously wither up and die in the next 12 hours....probably not, but one can always hope!! lol. ok, off to pack....
steph

old friends!

today i(right) had dinner with annie (middle) and meggie(left)....good friends that i haven't seen in YEARS!!! ok, i saw meghan once last year (ouch!), but i haven't seen annie since maybe a year after she moved to ohio....which would be what - 6-7 years ago??? ahhhh!!! i forget when exactly we took this picture, but i must have been around 9 or 10....wow. i have changed a lot thank goodness!! lol. i don't think this picture was taken at the time, but do you remember when we decided to wash our hair with the backyard hose? we thought your mother would get mad at us, so we snuck outside with the shampoo & conditioner and tried to be quiet. i just remember the water being freezing!! and your mother could see us from the kitchen window the entire time. and then there was the time we painted our nails...and annie & meggie decided to use the nail polish as face paint. it looked really cool, but it wouldn't come off!!!! lol. good times. anyway, after playing phone tag for about a week, we finally got together at buffalo wild wings - i'd never been before, and it was really good!! anyway, we just ate and talked for a while, but it was so nice to see you guys!!! (please try to ignore the fact that i am sometimes writing to them as well as writing to the general reader...sorry!) anywho, thanks! it was fun! and we now have to get together way more often!!! thanks for the memories and all of the good times!
steph

tis dangerous!

hola! went to the indiana dunes again today!!! whooo...this was actually a lot of fun because it was really windy, so there were LOTS of waves!! it was only 2 hours after we (and everyone else on the beach) had been swimming that my mom noticed the DO NOT SWIM/DANGEROUS UNDERTOW sign...oops!!! i did notice an undertow a couple of times, but at the same time, it is like impossible to see all of that lovely water and simply not go in it!!! as i was falling asleep on the warm and suprisingly comfortable sand, i was thinking about the kinda cliché (but still doable i guess) romantic date of walking along a beach at sunset (or some other romantic time) while holding the hand of your significant other....well i came to the realization today that this might be all well and good, but i think i would have a way more enjoyable time if i could "accidently" or otherwise manage to push my significant other (i love that phrase "significant other"...i don't know why. i just like the way it sounds...like "parental unit". anyway, i digress...) into the water. because swimming is so much fun - especially when suprised or wearing street clothes. somehow that makes it that much better...i think because it is somehow rebelious in a not very scandalous manor....ok, getting yelled at by the parental units to go to bed because i have to get up early tomorrow and clean house...ugh!
sore from climbing dunes and covered in sand,
steph

ahhhhhhhhhhh!

my computer is broken again...what a surprise! arrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhh!!! our internet is forever breaking down and absolutely refusing to not work as i sit here and type on a public computer at the library....we're thinking of getting a new server....hmmmmmmm....
me