cheers to the weekend

originally i was just going to slap this in with yesterday's weekend wips post, but decided it had enough going on that it needed a post all to itself.  this weekend was pretty eventful in its own right, so here's a little run down of everything that went on.
friday was the first of three state fair performances for our studio (one of two days that i would be there) and my littlest of dancers performed today.  in total, i had 13 kidlets sign up for state fair, and they did AWESOME.  they were so great backstage waiting their turn and not causing too much of a fuss when it was time to get their shoes and costumes changed.  next friday my big kiddos perform (along with myself) so it will be a whole lot more action packed than things were this last friday.
after the fair, i headed home, picked up jenny and we were off to reno for the weekend.  made the two hour drive (without using a gps, might i add) and got to amy & luke's in no time.  hung out for a smidge, but then crashed in to bed.
saturday was tubing day.  we got up (earlier than desirable... blah) and amy made pancakes.  headed off to wal mart to get a few things, and then we were off to the river.  we tubed the "short route" twice waiting for sarah & raymond with an ice cream & nachos break in between.  during the third round, there was a rain storm coming in, and the water was a whole lot more rough than the times prior.... i have the welt on my back to prove it.  no joke.  anywho.  we made our way back to the cars and then back to luke & amy's for hamburgers & brauts.  delish.  there may have also been some blowdart shooting in the kitchen.  just because we could.  this would then be followed by busting out the handsewing and stating to work on binding as we played rummikub.  i would hope that my grandma ruth would be quite proud of my winning the first round, as it was a game i always remember playing when i stayed over at grandma myrna's house when i was younger.  lisa seemed to have gotten a kick out of the fact i won while simultaneously sewing on binding.  luke & amy started to teach us cribbage, but then it was decided it was hot tub time.  late night turned in to crash time, and everyone was out pretty quickly.
sunday was a pretty adventurous day.  after a morning of raymond made pancakes & two games of rummikub (which amy won.  she claims to NEVER win that game) it was decided we would get motor cycle rides.  i'm pretty sure this was something i put on my bucket list years ago, and my day had finally come.  granted, i didn't bring clothing for the occasion, so i ended up in jeans over my shorts, and socks under my toms.  amy's helmet squished my cheeks like a chipmunk, but at least i knew it wasn't going anywhere.  luke took me on a cruise around town, and then back again.  i had the wind screen up for awhile and my eyes were watering like crazy.  once we got back, it was jenny's turn and while they were off, amy & i went on the quad runner.  apparently i drove quite the opposite of how jenny did... amy was a little nervous at times.  ha.  it was quite fun, and i would absolutely do both again.
jenny & i headed home, by way of donner mine music camp so that i could take their weekly camp photo.  we headed to the traditional nyack burger king stop and then made it back home around 7 or so.  all in all quite an eventful weekend, and a nice little break from the every day routine.  next weeked we're at the state fair again, then i'll be shooting a wedding on saturday.  busy busy busy, but that's the way i like it :)

back to school. back to school.

here's my hoorah of final first day back to school day.  or so i thought.
not soon after, i realized that becoming a preschool teacher basically means first days of school forever.
yesterday was the "official" first back to school day, even though it didn't really feel like it.
went to work for 4 hours
drove to school
stood in line (sweating to death) for 35 minutes to pick up my final textbook
went to class for an hour, where we went over basics of the syllabus & played child development bingo.
from which i won a werther's original, andee's mint & peppermint patty.
compared to amy's hooplah of being a level 4 nursing student (which started today for her as well) this should all be fairly easy.
of course, in the midst of all this back to school talk, i got to thinking about college round one.  what i did, what i didn't do, how i survived it, and what i should do differently.  this time around, i want to make the most of it (i've already called it my master's degree in mid 20s crisis) and so i came up with some goals.  some lame, some school related, some life related.  i'm sure i could spend time coming up with a bunch of things i should try and go, but i decided to keep it basic.  so with that, i present to you...
the back to school mini bucket list of fall 2013
don't be "that girl"...
you know, the one who carries the large purse AND the backpack?
yeah, i spent the first round of college years carrying the unnecessary shoulder purse.
basically, this one really benefits nothing besides looking dumb.  but that's a priority.
engage
totally not in an "if you like it, you shoulda put a ring on it" sort of way.  nooooo
the first time around, i basically attended to pass. i had a class at sac state i called my "facebook class" because that's literally what i did the whole time.  just to stay awake and look alive.  yes, i passed.  but i didn't actually engage myself as much in that class as i should have.  so here's to reading the textbooks in length, taking notes, and maybe even raising my hand in class a time or two.
make friend(s)
wow.  i'm really making myself out to sound like a terrible antisocial person...  but hear me out.  at sierra, i had my friends there with me.  jenny was always around, i worked at the mall and had friends from there.  basically the only person that wasn't around was erika, but that was just one year she was in san diego.  when i hit sac state, i was there with a get in, get my degree, get out mindset.  i didn't want to "waste time" and apparently that meant making friends.  yeah, i look back now and that sounds really dumb.  LUCKILY i did make friends at sac state, even if they are scattered all over california & canada - whoop whoop second to back row!  anyways, i'm hoping to make a worthwhile friend or two.  someone to hang out with, study with, all that jazz.  i'm not trying to replace friends i have.  just add to the mix.
keep organized, keep on top of it
i'm the kind of person who buys a planner, uses it the first month, and then slacks at it.  this goes along with the "engage" portion...  i need to keep organized and on top of things more so than i usually am.  i'm a master procrastinator like no other, and i'm sure my stress levels would be lower if i didn't do that.  so instead of last minute, i'm hoping to get things done ahead of time instead of last minute.  then i'll be able to enjoy free time and take it easy instead of cramming to write papers the night before they are due.
breathe
yes, i generally do have a lot going on.  i somehow like to do that to myself.  i would rather be over worked & busy than under worked & bored... but i know there is a fine line to that.  having most of my weekend free thankfully will allow me time to step back, breathe a little bit and recuperate before the week begins all over each monday.  also having those days not scheduled to work will give me not just extra homework time, but the ability to escape one direction or another to friends out of town, as well as little breaks here and there.  everyone deserves a little daycation, so i'm not going to let school & work overwhelm me completely.  at least, that's the hope.  and if it does, i'm sure a little retail therapy could help here and there ;)
and during this whole past week i kept thinking to myself "i swear there is a song about going back to school... like the thanksgiving song adam sandler sings, but about school."
sure enough, thanks to youtube, i was proven to be correct.

the bucket list

well over a year ago, ariana brought up the idea of a bucket list. so i started throwing random things on there. things i wanted to happen, things i knew would probably someday happen, and hypothetically ridiculous things that i wasn't sure that would really happen. in the beginnings of my 365 project, i took this photo, which was well before i started to read the series. now i can say this:bucket list #15: read the harry potter series complete
yeah, i know i'm a couple years behind the game... but better late than never, right?
when looking through my "bucket list" book, i found that i have done other things without even realizing that i can cross off... things like:

#26: raft down a river (tube... raft... same diff)
#92: see the beach boys in concert
and well, with all the weddings that are coming up, this one is sure to be crossed off soon:
#83: make a bed sized quilt
there are a few more that i had forgotten about, and oddly enough are a plan in the works, so maybe one day i'll have more of them crossed off the list... but in the meantime, i challenge you readers to make a list... 5 things, 10 things, 100 things, whatever! things you might do, things you think you would NEVER do, random things! try it, see how many you bring yourself to do, and then cross them off when they happen!
and now, i need to figure out what to read next. please don't say twilight... i may break your thumbs