Summertime Sadness

I've got that summertime, summertime sadness
S-s-summertime, summertime sadness
Got that summertime, summertime sadness
Oh, oh oh oh 

Lana Del Rey, I can't get your song out of my head. My summer is over. I head back to school tomorrow. Oh, the sadness! Summer went way too fast which is expected when you take summer classes for 3/4s of your summer. Highlights of Summer 2013:

- The Global Leadership Summit was a great learning opportunity. It was very overwhelming because it was jam packed with information but it was a good two days non the less.

- I discovered Melissa and Joey and Mike and Molly both of which are fantastic shows and I would highly recommend them! 

- "Date" (I use that term loosely) with a guy from high school. Oh my, the stories I have from that are great! FYI, ALWAYS have an exit strategy in place!  

- Volunteering at church on the weekends. Always a great time! 

- Kayaking with my bestie. You can read my story about that here.

- My predictable Saturday nights. 90% of the time it was dinner at My Burger, walk around the lakes, and Yogurt Lab. 

- Internship at Primrose. What an experience that was!

- I was able to spend a lot of time with my favorite family! I've been babysitting for them for the past 11 almost 12 years. Incredible! We went to movies, parks, beaches. We did sleepovers, carnivals, and plays. The time I spent with this family was cherished and probably my favorite part of the summer. 

- We finally figured out what is wrong with my dog... Almost a year later. We have her on allergy medicine and her hair is growing back and the dandruff is gone- Yay! 

- The day Facebook announced click able hastags- Finally!
 
- The time Steven Collins from 7th Heaven tweeted me... :-D

- The day I was getting ready to go on a bike ride for the first time with G (girl I nanny for). I got on the bike and fell over into a box with the lawnmower. G started laughing. I got up and went to get G to put her on the bike and she started crying. I don't blame her, I wouldn't have trusted me either after witnessing that!

- Cinder Edna with Gloria! She came to my house after and I have the best picture ever of her holding my cat, Diesel! 

- Tried Amazon Prime. Not for me. If you like movies, I say go for it. I hate movies, they don't keep my attention so Amazon Prime was not for me. Their TV selection was slim for watching TV for free. They have more of a selection than Netflix but they charge you $1.99 per episode. 

- Late evening walks around the block with our cat on a leash.

- Bought a pizza maker! We had pizza at least once a week. Fattening but so very yummy! 

- Meeting my cousins foreign exchange student Nicolas. His English was not so good but it was fun to be able to meet and talk with someone who lives in France!

- That night the 35W bridge was rainbow colors because Gay Marriage was legalized in Minnesota. 

- 20 foot sinkhole in Robbinsdale. WOW! 

- That sad day when Abby and Max moved out of our neighborhood to South Dakota. They were one of the first families I ever babysat for.

- I was able to work on an ongoing scrapbook I have for Gloria. I hope to give it to her the day of my wedding as I hope she will be a junior bridesmaid in my wedding!

- That 50 page cursive handwriting packet I had to complete for one of my classes- BS! 

- The one year old I nanny for said my name for the very first time on 8/17/13.

     - A couple sidenotes about the girl I nanny for. I posted this on Facebook a week ago: When G's vocabulary started to soar a month ago two of her favorite words were crumbs and "cean" aka clean. I'm definitely a product of my mother and I'm passing on my need for tidiness unto Miss G! 

     - For months now I can give G a wash cloth and she'll go around the house wiping everything and saying "Cean." If this was my kid, my mom would be so proud! 

- Listening to Andy Stanley podcasts... One a day that was my goal. If you don't have the app, "Your Move" on your phone get it, you won't regret it!  

- That sad day at the vet when I overheard the vet telling a girl my age that her dog may have heart failure. They took out a liter of fluid around the dogs lungs and will call her with the other test results. I felt prompted to go over and comfort her so I stood up and immediately started bawling. I couldn't get my words out at first, but gave her a hug. As we sat there petting her dog, we talked a bit and I told her I was praying for her. Putting an animal down is never easy, but I hope I was able to comfort and brighten her day just a little bit!

- That day I found out my neighbor Bob died :( He lost his battle with cancer 5 months after diagnosis. He was a great guy and will be missed. Our mailman took his dog which I think is an incredible testament to the kind of guy Bob was. He built up a relationship with the mailman one to the point where he felt comfortable asking him to take his dog when he passed. The day Bob died our mailman came for Boo. All the neighbors and neighbor dogs where at his house to say bye. The mailman's wife was in tears as she took giant bins of toys and boxes of treats that will last years. The mailman got in the car and Boo jumped right into his lap. I'm grateful for our mailman and the interest he takes in each of our lives.

       - A couple side notes, when Bob's family came in from out of town they compared our neighborhood to Mister Roger's Neighborhood. Isn't that cool?! In a World where we tend to keep to ourselves and not get to know our neighbors my neighborhood is different. It's like a little community and I love it. 

      - Towards the end of Bob's life he was unresponsive but his eyebrows rose when you mentioned his wife and that he would be with her soon. He died the day before their anniversary, talk about soul mates! 

- Saw a snake at a park. I would not consider this a highlight but something I want to remember. When I walk, I look at the ground- I'm watching for bugs. I did see a Daddy Long Legs and thought that would be my biggest concern but I was wrong. We saw a "baby" snake! He was slithering in between me and my friend. I obviously started screaming and then she started screaming. She ran up the hill which was the way we needed to go and I ran down the hill. I refused to go back up the hill even though Donna convinced me the snake was gone. She had to come all the way down the hill, take my hand, and go screaming and running up the hill with me. This is why I HATE the outdoors!!

- This is lame but I loved staying up until 3am playing the Sims. Addicting game! I used to build houses, have kids and once they grew from toddlers to children I'd quit the family. This summer, I discovered how much fun it is to play the kids all the way to adulthood. I had a list of who the teens were dating so I could keep track of it all... Pathetic for a person my age but I enjoyed it!

- The day we went to Bunker Beach. We paid $5 to get into the park. Realized it cost $14 to enter the water park where you then had to pay $6 for a small locker and then pay for tubes which cost separately. Yeah, we didn't even bother. Spent about 5 minutes in that park. Such a waste but I had good company! 

Oh, and it gets better, today, my car's transmission went out... AGAIN! Maybe I am ready for summer to be over! ;)