Because I use my iPod in the car, I spend a lot of time making playlists to get me from point A to point B with minimal fussing at Carna. They’re never really finished, but this particular playlist is pretty complete. It’s at a point where I just add songs as I encounter them; I’ve already included anything from my current iTunes library. It doesn’t really have a name… There’s a smaller version I call “Love Songs for the Hopeless Romantic,” but that really didn’t apply to the full one. I just refer to it as “Guys” because it’s composed entirely of songs by male vocalists.

It’s a very mellow playlist. I wish I had another word for it, but my vocabulary fails me. It’s calming, and it’s thoughtful, and it’s lovely. If you want a copy of any of these to try, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do.

Highlights of this playlist include: “Ride” by Cary Brothers, “Love Will Come Through” by Travis, “Home Life” by John Mayer, “Put Me In the Car” by Ryan Gosling, “After Tonight” by Justin Nozuka and “Tears and Laughter” by Jonathan Czerwik.

Cary Brothers – “Ride” is beautiful. I love to drive to this one. Brothers is known better for “Blue Eyes,” featured on the Garden State soundtrack, but Lord have mercy, this song is so quietly… uplifting? It’s one of those songs that just makes me feel better.

Travis – “Love Will Come Through” has pretty guitar. It’s a bit more energetic than some of the other songs in the list, and it’s one of Travis’s prettier tracks.

John Mayer – “Home Life” features one of my favorite lyrics ever. “I can tell you this much: I will marry just once, and if it doesn’t work out, give her half of my stuff. It’s fine with me; we said eternity.”

Ryan Gosling – “Put Me in the Car” …yes, that Ryan Gosling. I love him. A lot. A lot? A lot. I loved him, and then I learned that he sang, too, and my soul melted a little. Or a lot. Yeah. This song is beautiful. It’s so heartfelt and almost broken. There’s so much soul in it.

Justin Nozuka – “After Tonight” is just romantic. It’s so softly protective.

Jonathan Czerwick – “Tears and Laughter” was at the end of an episode of Bones. When I heard it, I felt my a sad little tug at my heartstrings. It’s a bit sad but, again, wonderfully pretty.

That does it for this playlist; send me a message by comment, e-mail or even instant message, and I’ll help you find any of these if you don’t have them or can’t find them.

I’ve come close to completing other things, too, except I’ve missed specifics. Last month I treated Mom to dinner one evening, but I chose the place: Longhorn. We hadn’t had steak in forever, so we went out. It was my first time ordering an alcohol drink, too. (Not on the list, just a happy little event.) Lo and behold, their watermelon margaritas are amazing. Huge. And amazing. Amen.

Also got to the Fondue Haus once or twice since the list started, but we haven’t done entrees, just appetizer and dessert (which is really all you need there, because it’s so filling), so I’m not sure I should count it.

The whole family’s planning to go visit Aunt Mary for a week over Thanksgiving. It’s not quite what I had in mind when I wrote the list, but I didn’t specify, so I’m not going to sweat it. The important thing is that I get to go back up there and visit my family. I love those people. My little cousins are amazing.

And in terms of cleaning out my closet and redoing my filing system… We’re slowly planning/beginning to work on my room. Aunt Kathy, who’s got a lot of experience with interior decorating and the like, came and took a look at things, did some measurements… She’s in the process of drawing up floor plans and such. We’ve got ideas; we’re just figuring out how to implement them before we get started.

I guess that’s the State of the List address for now; I really need to get a move on here. There are so many things I want to get done; I’ve just got to focus and get to work.  Which reminds me. 19 days til classes start. Ugh.

The summer’s been busy. I wish I’d blogged it; I’m really sorry I didn’t, because I’ve had a lot going on, and that’s usually the best time to blog. Didn’t you miss my run-on sentences?

Classes start in three weeks. I am not excited.

Actually, I’ve finally openly admitted, once and for all, no ifs-ands-buts-or-maybes, that I regret choosing UNF over Agnes Scott. I’ve said time and time again that the only reason I’m glad I went to UNF was because at least I found the Boychik there; I never realized how much I meant it. I hate that school. I feel trapped there, and I want out.

In other news… My Sister’s been quite sick all summer. She developed shingles early during the summer, and although it cleared up for a bit, we suspect that the sores in her mouth are the shingles making their return. My aunt had to put her (my) bloodhound down a few weeks ago. I’m not sure I can ever visit there again. I did get to chaperone the youth trip to Christmount last month, and it was so much fun to reconnect with at least one friend I’d sorely missed. I still miss the boys; I really didn’t get to hang out with them as much this year, which was sad. They’ll all be at the college retreat, I hope.

It feels like there’s a lot going on right now, but I can’t tell whether there’s more activity going on around me or inside me. I’m just hoping my health holds up. Things don’t quite feel right, and that scares me. I can’t afford another flare-up, and I’m praying desperately to avoid it, God willing.

I’ve got to go get some work done… I’ll try to throw some posts up on a closer-to-daily basis. I really should be, and I know it. I’ve just got to sort through things so that I can.

Tell me that isn’t the most glorious sight ever.

The first thing my family and I did was put our bathing suits on and go for a walk on that pretty white sand.

That’s me with Mom and Sis. Doesn’t Mom look cute? She was so happy to finally get a vacation. She didn’t get one at all last year.

Monday night, we went to dinner at the Oasis, where I ordered this beast. I’d heard that the place’s burgers were good; they’ve even won local awards for them, and I am a firm believer in testing restaurants’ reputations. So I had to try one. This one, the Aloysius Burger, sounded interesting. “Topped with grilled ham, three cheeses, lettuce, tomato and onion on a kaiser roll.” Ham and cheese on a burger? It sounds crazy, but, hey, I was feeling adventurous.

Apparently, I was also hungry. This is one of those pictures I despise my sister for taking. For the record, the burger was good enough, but ham really has no place on a burger.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning on the beach. Later that afternoon, we went to the European Village Resort. Apparently, some entrepreneur got the crazy idea to recreate a European square as a resort/tourist attraction. It was… quaint? It had good restaurants, at least.

I would so much rather be in Europe.

Sis and I spent a lot of time laying out. She demanded that I take a picture of her as she became a shade darker.

She makes a lot of demands. This poor boy, Kevin, chooses to put up with them. I don’t understand.

I guess it helps that they’re rather alike. Silly geese.

Thursday, we went to St. George Street, a row of shops in these old buildings near the fort. I love St. George Street. It has so much character. And so many interesting little stores.

Thursday night, we went to the Conch House for dinner. We got to eat in one of the tiki huts over the water. Despite the hurricane force winds that threatened to blow our dinner away, it was quite nice. The food was amazing, as always. Look at Mom and Dad. They’re so happy to be on vacation.

My sister decided to put one of the flowers they decorate the plates with in her hair. She decided that she felt like a Hawaiian princess and demanded another picture. Look how classy she looks, though. Isn’t she pretty?

…Yeah.

Friday night, we made s’mores! I love s’mores. Look how happy Sis is to be making s’mores.

I made a really, really gooey one, and it got everywhere. I had to go shower after we were done, because it was in my hair. This is another of those pictures I don’t like my sister for taking.

But then Kevin made a mess, too, and I felt a little better.

All in all, it was a good trip. I had a lot of fun. Although I did not come back anywhere near as relaxed and rejuvenated as I would have liked… at least I had a good time. And now… it’s back to the daily grind. Tomorrow, I’m going to orientation for my summer job. Ew. We’ll talk about that later; I’m going to keep going through vacation pictures.

Summer has started, kind of. I’ve been cleaning, working a lot, house-sitting, watching lots of movies… And Monday I’m going to the beach, finally. I’m planning to take my camera with me, so in theory there’ll be a photo blog post when I return.

I am really, really, really (I can not stress this enough), really looking forward to a vacation. My family and I are going to my favorite place ever for a whole week, and I so need it. More on that either during the vacation or when I get back.

In other news, I passed last semester. Let’s leave it at that, please and thank you.

I need to get back on track with my blogging, too; I like blogging daily, but making time to do it or finding something to write about has been a challenge lately.

The weekend was pretty good, despite an awesome sunburn Saturday. Friday night I took some money I’d saved up, and my mom and I went shopping so I could get some summery clothes. For reference, it is AMAZING what a well-fitted bra can do. I was trying on this top, and one of the clerks in the store went out on a limb to ask when the last time I’d been fitted was… needless to say it had been a WHILE. I know I SHOULD get it done about once a year, but… it had been about seven or eight years. Eheh. Oops?

Anyway, got new clothes. The next morning I had to be at the church to help out with the Spring Fling Craft Fair. Mom and I managed the ticket booth to let kids play on the bouncy things and climb the rockwall. After that, we picked up the Boychik, who came home with us so we could wash Mom’s and my cars. We met up with Dante and our friend the the Marlboro Girl, who is of no relation to The Pioneer Woman‘s Marlboro Man but who smokes a lot and therefore earns such a name. We got food and then watched stand-up comedians and Hitman at Dante’s.

Sunday was enjoyably uneventful. Played at church, did some studying, then picked up Dante so we could hang out for a bit. We watched Pride and Prejudice because Dante is a pushover and will generally watch whatever movie I decide he should see. (Sucker. He’s a such a sweetheart, though.)

This weekend… I’ve definitely got to keep cleaning my room. The guys and I are going to go see Forbidden Kingdom at some point, too. Other than that… I have an 8-page essay to write, joy of joys. It’s my last big thing this semester. Actually, I’ve got to register for fall classes tomorrow… Ugh. More on that tomorrow, I guess.

And I did. I swam for an hour this morning. It was hard, but in a good way. I’ve missed swimming. It is delightfully exhausting. It’s calming, too; I don’t know why, but it’s so much easier to think underwater. In fact… today? Today has sucked. In many ways, today has been downright rotten. But I went swimming this morning, and for whatever reason it is hard to get too depressed after a good hour of swimming your heart out.

And, hey, if nothing else… yay for working on my 101. This morning counts toward both #3 and #4.

I was hoping to get #92 done last weekend, after the play, but the tattoo artists I would actually let touch me with needles weren’t in; they had a guest artist in the shop for the weekend. Now I’m having to use that tattoo money for things like paying the ever ridiculous government because the woman who writes my pay checks screwed up my taxes. Rawr.

I’m making small steps toward #59, and #44 will become a possibility as of tomorrow, when Jesus Christ Superstar starts running at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre. They’re also doing The Sound of Music later this year… I wouldn’t mind seeing either one there. The trick is getting the money and finding someone to go with me (who also has the money). If I have to go by myself, so be it, but theatre is always more fun with a friend.

I do like the cut, though. It’s kind of cute. At least, it is when it’s not muggy and humid and stormy outside. Between the humidity, wind and rain today, my hair has fluffed up from its pretty, smooth flat-ironed state last night. Alas, I’ll fix it tonight or tomorrow. Whenever I get time.

I’ll think about posting pictures soon. I try to avoid cameras, generally, but I really do kind of like it, so… I’ll think about it.

Last week was much busier than I had anticipated, hence my general absence. I had rehearsals Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights, and I spent all of Saturday at the theatre for tech rehearsals and the play itself. I think it went pretty well; Mom and her girlfriends liked it, and the Boychik and Dante seemed to like it well enough.

School is getting tougher; I mentioned earlier that finals are only a few weeks away. This is a great thing because it means that soon enough I’ll be out of class for about three and a half months. It’s less great because it means finals are coming. eugh.

I can’t begin to convey how much I would rather be playing WoW right now. I love the content Blizzard released in the latest patch. A lot. I’m trying my hardest to make time to do the dailies for the Shattered Sun Offensive everyday. It doesn’t always work; I’m not sure I’ll get them done today. But I love the cross-faction cooperation that’s (generally) going on, and I love the lore I’m seeing. This feels like the grand climax of a great story, and although I know I will probably never see the Sunwell Plateau raid, I’m still excited that such a story is unfolding. Maybe it’s the writer in me; I don’t know.

I’m an hour into class now… we’re studying obituaries tonight, apparently. I’m hoping that means we won’t be here too long; I want to go home. I’m seriously craving some food. I tried to eat some lunch today… it didn’t work out too well. I went to the orthodontist yesterday morning, so my teeth are screaming at me right now. I’m so fixing some soup or something when I get home. Soft food, ftw.