31 Days of Writing: Day One "I deserve a..."

"I deserve a dog, Mom."

I looked at my son with skepticism. His eyes pleaded with me while he extended his folded hands in a posture of begging.

"Why do you deserve a dog, Thane?" I asked patiently. Thane was always up to something, and besides, he had allergies galore. A dog was as out of the question for him as a gorilla.

"Ok, Mom, listen, here's why. One, I am old enough to walk a dog by myself. Two, we need a watchdog to protect us at night. Three, and this is important, Mom! Three is that I would name it Hot so that I could say 'this is a hot dog!' Isn't that great, Mom?!"

Thane collapsed into a heap of laughter on the floor in front of me.

Oh, my clever son. It's very great. And if your body didn't reject every dust mite it comes in contact with, I would agree with you: you deserve a dog.




**linking up with Victoria today at her 31 Days of Writing challenge! Join us!**

7 Quick Takes

1. Samara inspired me and I've been going back through my old blog posts and labeling and updating {and deleting!} them. It's been really fun to go back and review life from a couple years ago.
2. While going through old posts, I found this link and just had to share it again.
3. It was confirmed this morning that I am allergic to soy. Odd, right? Especially when you consider that my sis was allergic to cow milk for a couple times in her life and had to only consume soy or rice milk.
4. My friend Victoria is participating in a 31 Days of Writing challenge, and I think I'm going to participate, too! Here are the prompts if you want to partake and plan ahead.
5. In case you need a laugh, please read Jami's post on the things she did to her siblings. I hope I can incorporate some of my tales into the 31 Days of Writing!
6. My room is almost done! Last night I hung 3 more pictures on the wall, plus I got a battery for my clock and set that up. Also, my sheets are clean and my headboard is nearly complete. My flat-mate and I are planning an open house soon, so rest assured, there will be pictures.
7. Samara and I may or may not be having too much fun as flat-mates. We stayed up an hour and a half later than we planned, just talking. We have so much fun together!

Tuesday's Tasks

Whew! This weekend was awesome and busy and fun and full of laughs and relaxing and exhausting and rejuvenating and still more fun. Or as Miranda's mum would say, "Such fun!"

Laurie and I had a great time. We hit up the less tourist-y spots of the neighborhood, had the sistren {like brethren, right?} over, made mojitos {some of the best I've ever made, actually}, hit up Ikea, painted and hung picture frames {my room is closer to finished}, went to dinner with my parents, skipped over the mountains to tour Leavenworth and visit Dahlia, and generally had a great time. Oh, and we watched a couple more episodes of Miranda because we can. So great.

I'm thankful for such a great visit with a great friend. It was a busy weekend, but it was also really restful. Laurie and I are both task-oriented, so I think it is complimentary to say that we got a lot accomplished this weekend, but we were still able to rest and enjoy a mini-vacation.

Because I'm task-oriented, I feel like I have a never-ending to-do list in my head. The worst thing is to start a task and not be able to complete it; I wish I hadn't started it because I keep thinking about it and its incomplete status. Sigh.

That's how I feel right now with the pictures in my room. I've got most of the frames hanging, but there are two that still need a picture. Then there's a frame that Samara and I are going to swap {long story- wrong color, already opened, etc.}. And since I had to take Laurie to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, my bed is unmade and the deflated air mattress is occupying an ungodly amount of floor space. Sigh.

I love having guests and friends over to visit, but I dislike the messiness that sometimes comes with that. I know it's not anyone's fault; it's simply an inconvenience of living out of a suitcase in someone else's room. But mess drives me a tad batty, and add the incomplete task of picture frames, and here comes crazy.

The good news is, tonight will be a fun evening meeting AJ's s-i-l who happens to live in the neighborhood. I'm so excited to get to know another part of AJ's family. And after dinner, I'm going to clean my room and wash my sheets and exercise and shower and go to bed early. This evening will be great, and a lot of my to-do list will get crossed off, and sleep will be wonderful tonight.

Oh! Exciting! Speaking of my room, I bought a clock yesterday for yonder bedroom. I'm really excited, because I think this fits the feel of the room. Now I just have to hang it...you're welcome to come over and make suggestions :)

Ending with an update: the TARDIS purse I'm crocheting... 'member that? Well, I'm happy to announce that I'm almost done! I just have windows and top of the TARDIS to complete, so yay! I promise: as soon as it's done, you will see pictures.

Happy Tuesday, dear readers!

Travel Journal: Promises Kept

**Ok, ok, I know this post is SUPER late, but you know, life happens. Enjoy!**

There were some times in the Travel Journal that I wanted to go into more detail but didn't have the time or space. Here is the post that fleshes out some details and fulfills some promises for stories.

My two promises from Wednesday:

• finding Maud's gravesite
• the character we met at the Bideford Parish
• Bonus Story! Directions to Bideford!

Alright, first things first. While at Avonlea, our tourguide had instructed us that the cemetery was up at the first light, and since there are only 2 lights in the whole town of Cavendish, we found it pretty easily.

Now, if you go back to Wednesday's pictures, you will see the archway indicating the place of Maud's burial. However, in our sleep-deprived, high-on-Green-Gables, caffeinated-but-thankfully-not-alcoholic-Raspberry-Cordial, we drove past that arch. The road was pretty empty, both of cars and buildings. But hark! A group of people in the far corner of the cemetery! That must be it. So we parked and walked as quickly as we could down a grassy hill while still being respectful of the memorials under our feet.

By the time we parked and got down the hill, the group was gone...In fact, they were leaving the fenced-in area of the cemetery and going deeper into the woods. Strange...

Well, we wondered, how are we going to find Maud's burial site now? You'd think they'd put a marker or something... Oh, how we'd kick ourselves!

We wandered up and down the cemetery, admiring the age of some of the gravestones, and still wondering how on earth people found Maud's site without some sort of large indicator. 

Eventually we found this little sign:

We then noticed that there seemed to be a path around these headstones...lo and behold, there was Maud's grave!

A couple other tourists found the grave just before we did, but they came in from the opposite end of the cemetery. That's odd, I thought, how are people supposed to read the sign about her mother's grave when it's written on the wrong side of the path...oh. Found the path. Found the archway that marks the entrance of the cemetery. Oops. We definitely laughed at ourselves; feel free to join.

Secondly: the character we met at the parsonage. It was just about 4:30pm when we arrived. There were two young guys {way too young, Paige!} raking grass, and they did not stop when we parked. We went inside and were directed to give ourselves a tour, since we were coming later for the readings. 

After giving ourselves the tour, we decided to inquire about a nearby grocery store for some dinner. One of the guys gave us some half-hearted directions to the store {"just down this road" turns into 3 intersections. we made it by sheer luck}, where we spent a good portion of our time entertaining the teeny-bopper cashiers. Just as we were checking out, this same dude who gave us directions walked into the store! Awkward...

So we went and had dinner on the "wharf," still following the directions of this guy. We later dubbed him "the young buck" and if you ask Dahlia about it, she'll laugh just at the mention :)

After our lovely dinner, we went back to the parsonage, still a bit early. The Young Buck was still raking grass, but this time he stopped and came over to our car. Apparently he didn't remember us, because he asked, "Are you lost?"

"No," we replied, "just early."

"Oh," he said, pausing. "Where are you from?"

Now, let me paint the picture here. We are sitting in our car with the driver's door open, and he is leaning between the door and the car, hunched over so he can see us. Not the most conducive to conversation or anything else other than awkwardness.

"Seattle," we informed him, not unkindly.

"Did you drive?"

"No, we flew. That would be a loooong drive."

{Quick look behind him} "Then why do your plates say 'Novia Scotia'?"

What is this, 20 Questions!?

"It's a rental car. Those are the plates it came with."

"Oh. Have you had the tour?"

"Not really. Wanna give us a tour?"

"Oh, sure. Anything to stop raking grass."

Seriously, the rest of our conversation was this awkward and stiff. He'd ask a question and we'd answer, or he would tell us something about the house, and we would glance at each other to determine if he was pulling our legs. The other guy was inside, downstairs, and The Young Buck would tell us some fact about Maud or Canada, and we'd hear a snort or a laugh from downstairs, so we never knew if we could believe him. What a character.

 Bonus story: directions to Bideford.

First, you should know that Dahlia has a passionate love affair with gelato. Yes, it's true. So when we drove past a sign for gelato, what could we do but turn around and go get gelato? Two scoops, please.

These nice ladies handed us our gelato, and as we enjoyed it, Dahlia told me the story of how she and gelato began their relationship. {You know I love you, Dahls! And now everyone knows that you love gelato...}

After we finished, I wanted to confirm the directions to Bideford Parsonage Museum, just to be sure. So I asked one of the ladies, "How long does it take to get to Bideford {pronounced "bid-ford"}?"

The lady responded, "Bedford?"

I nodded, not knowing any different.

The lady turned and called to the other gal, "How long does it take to get to Bedford?"

The gal came over. "Bedford? Bedford, Novia Scotia?"

Dahlia and I nodded, thinking how funny it is that Canadians have all these provinces but don't know any of the towns in them.

"Oh, it takes almost three hours! You have to take the ferry. It's almost to Halifax!"

Dahlia and I looked at each other. We may not have been Canadian, but we can read a map, and Bideford was definitely on the Island.

Dahlia was the genius who solved the mystery. "It's spelled B-I-D-E-F-"

The ladies' shrieks interrupted her spelling.

"OH!!! 'Bid-eh-ford'!!!" they exclaimed. "Well, that's just 30 minutes away!"

Aha. Now we're talking about the same place.

They kindly wrote down directions, which were basically the same from our map, and off we went. I cannot speak harshly about them, because they gave us directions to the ceilidh the next day, and they made gelato. What I can say is that Dahlia and I will not be teaching "How to Speak Canadian English" anytime soon. 

7 Quick Takes: Some Faves

1. Please allow me to point out that this is my fourth post this week. *pats self on back* Blogging is fun when you have such great readers! *pats readers computer monitor...awkwardly*
   
2. This is the song I've been falling asleep to every night. Get your tissues ready, Whovians!
   
3. Just found out about this kid named Toby and his goal to write a letter to every country in the world. Wow! Such a cool goal, and so awesome that he's close to accomplishing it!
   
4. Today is my volunteer day at Care Net. I'm really excited to go to the clinic and see who God brings through our door.
   
5. Last night I got the decorating bug and was inspired by my old dorm room:
   
   
   
   And so now a wall in my bedroom looks like this! {Pictures of my bedroom coming soon...} I think that notes and cards and words of encouragement are one of my love languages, because I keep almost every note that has ever been given to me!
   
6. Speaking of decorating, Pinterest has once again come to the rescue of gifted-not-artistically people like myself through inspiration from Martha Stewart.
   
7. My friend Laurie from the Frozen Tundra is coming to visit tomorrow! So excited! This means that Funny Friday may turn into Recap Monday, because we are going to be busy this weekend. We're going to be traipsing all over the western half of the state and playing tourists. Such fun! So in advance, happy Friday!

Thanks for the Moral Support

Well, friends, thank you for all your support and encouragement. Samara and I have been recovering from our intruder the other day, and I think we're gonna make it. ;)

Since school has started/is starting soon {depending on your age and location}, I started thinking about my goals for this year. Am I even close to accomplishing them? Well, let's take a look-see...

Goals for 2013 {original post}:

1. Blog twice a week
2. Blog stories of depth as well as humor
3. Become healthier through adjusted food intake and increased activity
4. Travel to Prince Edward Island with Dahlia

How am I doing? *moment of soul searching...*

I'm pretty sure that I've been faithful with Numeral Uno. So far I've posted 81 times this year, which is an average of 2.18 times over the past 37 weeks of 2013. {Side note: we have approximately 15 weeks left of this year, and less than 100 days until Christmas. Gulp!}

Numeral Dos: I give myself a B on this goal. It seems that there are phases of funny stories and then a bundle of more serious thoughts... probably could go more on the serious side, but I also want to be real with what's going on in my head in the present. 

Onto Numeral Tres...this has had ups and downs. When I lived with my grandparents, it was really strong, for some obvious reasons: my grandparents spoiled me rotten let me eat what I needed and my bedroom had carpet {makes ab exercises kinder on my back}. Coming home was a little weaker. My mom cooks healthier food than my grandparents, but I wasn't exercising as much. And now that I've got my own place, I'm eating less but also exercising less. So...we're getting there. 

Y'all know about the big Numeral Quattro, but in case you've been living under a stupid rock, scroll through the archives and click on anything that says "Travel Journal." Dahlia and I went to PEI in August, and it was one of the highlights of 2013! I highly recommend it to anyone considering such a venture.

So what am I going to do for the rest of 2013? I'm going to continue blogging consistently and frequently, making sure to share my more personal thoughts as well as humorous happenings, and I'm going to implement a regular exercise routine at least twice a week.

Another goal I have for 2013 is to get fully settled into my new home. By the time 2014 rolls around, I want to have pictures on walls and boxes out in recycling. There are also a few little things that I'm looking for, and I'd love to not have a permanent mental shopping list in 15 weeks. 

Another goal I made for myself this year was to read 45 books. So far I've read 30, so Goodreads indicates that I am two books behind schedule, but what do they know? I'm in the middle of a biography of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother {mum to current Queen Elizabeth II}, and I've also read a few chapters of a book about vaccines {fascinating, right??}.

No commitment here, but I would be really proud if I finished crocheting my TARDIS purse. It may or may not happen, given that it requires sewing *sigh*. But hey, this can be a dream, right?

Thanks for "listening" to my accountability report. Let's talk again in a few weeks :)

Along Came A Spider...

You may have caught the gist of this story on Facebook. However, my mind is so scarred that this is all I can think of. So please enjoy.

Last night, I vacuumed the entire condo.

Let me back up.

There I was, minding my own business, bawling over Doctor Who {yes, I've already seen these episodes, and yes, I still cried. Ten saying goodbye to all his companions? Tearing up as I type!}

So I'm sitting on the floor wearing my Princess Diaries-inspired pajamas, wrapped in a cocoon of my pink blanket, and in the corner of my eye, I see something move. Now, Samara is out for the evening, so there should be no movement except for me and the television screen. Nevertheless, something moved.

What my eyes beheld was not something that brought joy to my heart. Or as someone commented on Facebook, "that did not bless me."

There was a HUGE spider making a move on my Kleenex box. As in, it was between me and my tissue. As in, just a few inches from my person. But don't worry. Our close proximity only lasted about half a second.

I leaped onto the couch and let loose an expression that I will not share here. By the time I turned around to look at the spider, it was gone. Completely gone. 

On the one hand, I was really glad the spider hadn't attached itself to me or my blanket. On the other hand, I wanted to know where the darned thing was hiding!

Soooo I vacuumed the entire condo. I even vacuumed the closet in which the vacuum resides. The couch got a good once-over. The recliner {upon which I was leaning at the time of this incident} got pulled out and the whole area was vacuumed over a couple of times. I even did the hand-held and vacuumed as far behind the bookshelf as I could reach. 

But the spider was nowhere to be found. It was partially not at all reassuring, but I had also vacuumed my room, so I went to bed in peace. But just to be safe, I warned Samara via text: "beware the loose spider!"

This morning, Samara reported that the spider had been waiting for her...in her room...the one place I hadn't vacuumed because, like, personal space and stuff. But that spider was smart- it went to the one place I wouldn't vacuum!

Rest well, readers: Samara's nickname is "Sting, the Spider Slayer" because that woman takes out spiders like a Seattlite takes out recycling. Which is like a boss, in case you don't get my made-up analogy. 

Anyway, this story has a two-part happy ending. The condo is vacuumed and the spider is dead. Holla. 

UPDATE: If you would like to read Samara's version, please brace for a chuckle and enjoy :)

Grown-Up Weekend

Sometimes being a grown-up is fun, like when you get to move out with your bestie or go to shows that you appreciate more as an adult, or even go to Nicaragua! And then there are the average times of being a grown-up, like grocery shopping.

via

Granted, half the times I've gone grocery shopping have been with my bestie, so it turns into an adventure {she's afraid that she's going to lose me in the store when I don't bring my cell phone}, but when push comes to shove, we're buying toilet cleaners and ladles and an iron... tad on the boring side.

same link...seriously the story of my life

But it's ok, because after our grocery shopping and writing times {beteedubs, I'm super proud that Samara and I were able to sit side-by-side on the couch and actually get some writing done...we've matured since high school, to say the least}, we decorated the condo!

As in, we put one thing on the wall. *pathetic surrendered defeated sigh inserted riiiiight here*

Oh well. We're getting there, slowly but surely. If you don't get invited over in the next month, it's because so far our track record of decorating has been one item per 7 day period. And it's partially the fault of our schedules {we be grown-ups, yo} and partially the fault of Doctor Who {can anyone resist? didn't think so} and partially the fault of getting the wrong sized curtain rods. But we are overcomers, so watch out, world!

That's not all the excitement we had this weekend.

No, Sunday nights are officially busy with foot....foot...foot game. Last night, our dear friend Cami hosted the watching-of-the-game; it was really fun! How can you go wrong with great people, yummy food, fantastic music, and a lightening storm!? Oh, yeah...the football game had to pause due to lightening. Sad day. But we still won... I heard. I didn't actually stay until the end of the game...and I didn't actually know what was going on during the game...in fact, I was playing pool for the first half. But it was still totes fun!

In case you need a laugh reminder, here's my vast experience with football...

via {thanks for sharing, Ash!}

Anyway, this weekend was totes fun and relaxing and productive... isn't it funny how being productive {up to a point} can be relaxing? The perks of being a grown-up :)

via

7 Quick Takes: Hopefully It Counts as Funny Friday

Ok, peeps, here goes nothing. Hoping you get at least a chuckle out of these Quick Takes... if you don't think they're funny, then please scroll to the bottom of this post for some humor courtesy of Pinterest.

1. Thank you all for your kind comments on yesterday's post. I appreciate your encouragement! Now you tell me: where's your action? What are you doing to initiate change?
   
2. In case you live under a rock don't read my bestie's blog, be sure to check out her tale of our farewell to the Tenth Doctor. She went into more detail about our evening, whereas I stuck with the feels.
   
3. Next weekend my friend Laurie will be here! She's coming out to visit from the Frozen Tundra, and I am so excited to see her! We will be hitting up the downtown area and maybe head to the mountains to be tourists. She is one of my very good friends; ours is a friendship that we know is God because we clicked so well in such a short time. Thank You Jesus for Laurie!
   
4. Sorry, but I'm bringing up Doctor Who again. I've been thinking about bringing some fangirl to my bedroom {not like there's not enough inside my head already!} and am looking for a somewhat-sophisticated way to do that. I'm thinking of a picture in Gallifreyan, like this:
   
   Any other ideas, fellow Whovians?
   
5. Sorry, it seems that once my brain is on the Doctor Who train, it doesn't want to leave. I will try, though. Here are some links if you would like to enjoy:
   - a gender-neutral nursery- they're waiting to find out!
   - words from a three-year-old...too funny!
   - a cool story about babies
   - great effort from this guy!
   
6. Weekend plans! Who's got em? This girl! Going to the mall with my sis will be the highlight tonight, as well as potentially hanging pictures with the flat-mate tomorrow. Oooh, on Sunday my sis and parents and I are going to a glass-blowing factory to learn how to make glass. Be totes jealz. I know you are.
   
7. October...look at what is coming in October!
   
   Danny Boyle's 'Frankenstein'
   Don't remind me that I already saw this performance in July... that was in a different city, so there. Totes diff. 

Well, there are my 7 Quick Takes! Enjoy, and have a marvelous weekend!

Thursday = Volunteer Day

Some of you know this already, but in case you don't, here's the scoop.

On Thursdays, I volunteer at a crisis pregnancy clinic. So far I'm still in training, but it's still one of my favorite parts of the week. The atmosphere in the clinic is so peaceful and welcoming; each time I arrive I think of the hours and hours of prayer and preparation that went into opening this new-to-the-area clinic. The grounds have been soaked in prayers of preparation, and it is evident even in the parking lot.

Last week, I got to shadow the director with a client for the very first time. It was a surreal experience for me, partly because I've been volunteering since April and hadn't seen a client yet, and partly because seeing a client is what I've been praying and preparing and training for since last September {I did my Care Net training before my internship in the Frozen Tundra}.

And it was also surreal because this was the first time I encountered someone facing a crisis pregnancy. We hear about these women all the time {or at least, I do because that's what I'm interested in}, but last week put a face to my prayers. This girl was not an example in my training manual; she was not even someone my director or fellow volunteers had met. This was a girl sitting on the couch a foot away from me, considering her options.

Because of privacy laws, I can't tell you more than that. But I can ask you for your prayers, for this girl and her situation as well as for me. I cannot fully describe to you how it is both intimidating and peaceful in the counseling room. There is pressure to say the right things, respond the right way, make your face look calm but involved, concerned but not freaked out, neutral but caring. But there is such peace, because Jesus is in the room too, and He is so, so faithful to prompt the right words and responses, and His heart shines out through our faces.

Psalm 27:13 ~ 

"I believe that 

I shall look upon

 the goodness of the Lord

 in the land of the living!" 

{ESV} 

Feels of a Fangirl {Doctor Who Edition}

                                                           










                via
Oh. My. Gosh.

First of all, 71 days until the 50th anniversary!!!!

                    via

Second of all, HUGE shout-out to Samara for decorating our condo last night in honor of Ten! We had the TARDIS and glasses and images of Tennant's beautiful face and chocolate and oh yeah the Doctor Who soundtrack playing!!!! She's the best :)

Despite all that, this was me going into last night, knowing that Ten's time was limited.

                             

                          

                                                                via
And this is how I watched the vast majority of "The End of Time" although my mascara doesn't fall half as nicely as Rose's does.

via

                 
Ten, you're my favorite. Thank you for every single episode, every laugh, every tear, and every "Allons-y!"

I heart heart you.

                         via

You see, while I was determined to keep an open mind about Eleven, I felt like this about him:
Skeptical. Concerned. Nervous he would never be as amazing as Ten. Distrustful, even.

But before "The End of Time" even finished, I knew that I would love Eleven. Not as much as Ten, of course, but enough. The next 3 seasons are going to be amazing, I'm sure.

                                                           






                                             via
Here's to a great new adventure, Eleven! Geronimo!


                              via

So Many Sticky Notes

Remember how I wrote on Friday about how busy and productive this weekend was going to be? Well, the good news is, I was productive. The bad news is, some things didn't go as planned, so the to-do list is still long.

                                                     via

Sunday was Curtain Day. Samara and I had scheduled a time to go to Target, buy curtain rods, pick out curtains for the front window, and come home to install. Unfortunately, we made a mistake that you really only make once in your lifetime before you learn: we didn't check the size of the curtain rods, so we got the wrong ones. Sigh. The worst part? We didn't realize this until the hardware was drilled and hammered and screwed into the wall. Double sigh.

Thankfully, Target is AMAZING and let me exchange the curtain rod without the hardware. Thank you, Target!!! So last night I made a quick trip out there and made the switch {sounds like a drug deal, or is that just me?} and now we have curtains for our slider! Woot!


You may have seen this via Instagram, but it's too cool not to share! Finally we have curtains!

Tonight we are exchanging and installing the other rod, so stay tuned for pictures.

Also tonight: Season 4 finale of Doctor Who. Sob. I don't know how to handle saying goodbye to David Tennant as the Doctor.

via

Let's just say that if you hear crying tonight, it's the sound of my heart{s}. Gah.

Moving on to happier times.

Yesterday I had a phone date with my friend Shaina! We have not talked in literally over a year, but we are planning on cutting that time down to 6 months next time. So good to talk with her.

Tomorrow night = phone date with AJ! So excited! We are bosom friends, in case you didn't know. There is much rejoicing whenever we are together, either on the phone or especially in person. MUCH rejoicing.

Alright, I think that just about covers life right now. Well, you know. The highs and lows.

Until we meet again... :)

In Response to Complaints That I Haven't Blogged All Week...

You know who you are. ;)

I should tell you upfront that I wrote a post on Tuesday, an appendix to the PEI Travel Journal, but I haven't added the pictures yet, so it's just sitting in the "drafts" bucket. It will get done tonight, if I can find the sticky note...

via

Literally, this is my desk right now. I have a list of things to do around the house, a list for purchases I need to make, a separate grocery-and-coupon list, a list of errands to run before I die, and a list of people to call. And my home internet is being a poo. And I'm shopping for car insurance. 

My list of lists should qualify for today's Funny Friday. If only I was being funny. 

But it's all good. I like being busy, and I know that this weekend will have a lot accomplished. The antsy side of my brain just wants to cross things off the list, but I can't do that yet. So in the meantime, my brain just keeps coming up with things to add to all my lists, which is kind of maddening, but hey, that means I'm being productive, right? Right????

I have crossed a few things off my list, which is nice. One of the most important things was installing one and replacing the batteries for two additional....smoke detectors!

                                                                          via

I feel so grown up with the smoke detectors...until I start cooking. Lame. 

A Funny Friday story is unlikely to happen at this point, I'm sorry to say. But hopefully you'll get a Travel Journal special this weekend, and maybe even a My Productive Weekend post on Monday. Happy Friday!

Travel Journal: Monday

Monday started out with a mission. Remember that we rented bikes on Friday? And we also purchased bus tickets, which was silly considering a)  the bus stop was over a mile from our hotel and b) we now had bikes- who needs a bus!? But we bought the tickets and then found out that we could rent bikes, so whatevs. Our mission on Monday, however, was to return the tickets to the bus company {wahoo, refund!}.

Thank goodness for the nice lady at the bus depot! She refunded us both, even though only the Responsible One had her receipt… and I had a lot of other receipts. Yep. Bek fail. But the point is, we got some cash and someone else could ride the bus. Win + win!

Here’s how we planned to spend the day:

• return the bus tickets
• laze around Charlottetown
• maybe go shopping since we had our bus money back
• wander around Charlottetown
• maybe just sit and enjoy Charlottetown
• return our bikes and walk back to Charlottetown
• is it time for dinner yet? let’s have dinner
• Show Time! Anne of Green Gables- The Musical!
• take a taxi back to our hotel
• go to bed for the last time on PEI

And guess what? That’s pretty much exactly what we did! But of course I’ll give you a few more details {and pictures!}.

We decided to have our last lunch at Cows Creamery {yes, this is our third visit- no shame!}. They have a ton of cute memorabilia, all related to cows, of course. My favorite was the “Doctor Moo” shirt…hello, I’m a nerd. Dahlia found this cute one that summed up our trip:

Can it get better than that?!?! Hello, the cow has braids!

After that fun lunchtime adventure, we wandered around for days a few hours. It was really fun to just wander and people-watch and not have any time constraints. We did go shopping, of course, and got some fun souvenirs. We watched people as they shopped and ate and walked, and it was fun to laugh at observe others’ fashion choices.

For dinner, we went back to our favorite Italian place. This was their appetizer that we split:

Does that not look delectable or what?!?! Oh my goodness, it was SO delicious! We tried to finish it, but there was no way that we could. So so so perfect!

{Throughout this trip, I’d been saying that we need to have a 10-year anniversary trip, either with our whole [future] families or with just us and our hubsters [Dahlia’s Mr. Hunk Of Burning Love, or HOBL, and my Mr. Studmuffin.] In ten years, we will come back and order this appetizer again, because 4 people is the perfect number to share this.}

After dinner, we went to the theater…and so did a whole bus-load of Amish people. Seriously, there were more Amish people than non-Amish in the foyer! Dahlia and I took a picture just to document this fact.

Please note that this is only one side of the foyer and that there were at least double that many people outside of the frame. For realz.

Anyway, the play was lovely and our seats were fabulous! However, we realized that we had chosen our theatrical experiences out of chronological order: “Anne of Green Gables- the Musical” was the beginning of Anne’s story, and “Anne + Gilbert” was the second half, and we watched them in reverse order. Lame. But this one was still fun, and we both cried when {SPOILER ALERT!} Matthew died. Gah.

Here’s one of my favorite songs: I’ll Show Him, when Miss Stacy asks Anne and Gilbert to begin studying for a scholarship.

All in all, it was a wonderful day and a wonderful trip! I’m so glad that Dahlia and I were able to make this happen; we’d literally been planning it for two years!! Dahls, thanks for being a great friend and amazing travel companion. This trip would not have been the same without you!

Travel Journal: Sunday

Ah, Sunday. A day of rest, a day of worship, a day of...not finding one church and ending up at another. Oh well.

Dahlia researched and found this lovely little church. We looked at the website, got directions, and hopped on our bikes. We made it to Charlottetown-check. We got on the right street, going the right direction- check. We...passed it? Missed it? Blinked for a really long time? Whatever the reason, we did not go to the church we had planned on going to. But we went to another little church; the majority of the members were over 75 years old. Oh well. It was a good service.

Remember the leftover pizza that did not get soggy? We had that for lunch in a park. It was really fun- the sun was shining, the pizza was great cold, and we had the day to relax!

We went to a few more bookstores. Dahlia found one store had an entire section devoted to Maud!

How many authors get their own section?! Only on their home island :)

We also went shopping, and omg we did something so cheesy, I can't even believe it. We bought matching sweaters...that have a patch of PEI. Yes, we're nerds. But they were so cute, and on sale, and how do you say no?? I know right- you don't! Don't worry- we'll get a picture together soon...as soon as we're together in the fall...

On our ride home, we stopped in the cemetery across from our hotel. Maud and Anne loved cemeteries, so we figured we had to walk through one, at least. {Side note: there are like five hundred cemeteries on this little island!!!} And there, off to one side, was this:

I'm sorry, but is this just a nerd-gathering!??!?! Yes and amen!

Anyway, Sabrina was on tv, so we watched I watched and Dahlia griped about how much she hates Harrison Ford....lol totes jk except not. :D

Sunday was fantastic, and we were well-rested for Monday, our last day on the Island...