Wow, where to start. Last Friday morning, we left Plainfield to drive back to Topeka for Keith (Casey's Dad)'s 50th birthday party. We arrived at my parents' house around 3 pm on Friday, so we made pretty good time. The sad part was, I had all week to plan for the trip, and instead of making a list and planning ahead, I waited until the last minute (shock!) and ended up forgetting a number of things... including my camera. I know, I can't believe it either. If it indicates where my mind was at the time, I also forgot Charley's collar and leash. That's pretty ridiculous. We made it through the weekend, but I had about 8 hours in the car to think about all of the things I should have done before I left home. Not one of my brighter moments. Anyway, we made it there safe, and we were able to do what we needed to do by borrowing things from our families. It all worked out in the end, no thanks to me!
Friday evening, we spent time with my parents. Mom made her amazing chili, and we sat and chatted with my parents until about 8:30. At that point, Lindsey and Sara came over, and the four of us went to Applebee's for drinks. It was great to see them again! I never seem to have enough time at home when we go, but even a few hours with the girls always makes me feel better. I haven't laughed that much in FOREVER. :)
Charley didn't sleep well that night. He must have gotten too freaked out about being in a new place, or he was scared because Casey and I were away from him for a few hours... who knows. All I know is that he was up just about every 2 hours, needing to go outside. His stomach was upset, and whenever he gets that way, he wants to eat leaves or grass. I didn't know until Sunday that he'd managed to eat half of one of Mom's plants that was in the living room!! I wish I could have gotten a picture of it... I'm surprised he didn't get extra sick from devouring the plant. Crazy kid!!
Because I didn't sleep very well, I ended up sleeping in a bit on Saturday morning. We got a call from the Hetricks, saying that they were waiting for us to come to their place so we could run errands for the party that night, so we headed across town in a hurry and made decent time. I went with Leslie and De to get party decorations and the cake, while Casey and Keith ran other errands. We went back to the house (I got a little nap in before people started arriving) and we decorated the house. Around 4:00, Keith wanted to go out and shoot his new gun. I stayed inside to stay out of the cold and stay away from the shooting, but I was quickly talked into trying a few rounds by Keith. I had a bad experience as a child when my uncle got drunk and made me shoot a rifle while he stood behind me. The rifle kicked me back into him, and I have been scared of them ever since. Shooting with Keith and Casey did make me feel more comfortable around guns... although I still don't feel very comfortable with having one in our house anytime in the near future. I don't feel like we would need one around here anyway.
Around 5:00, the guests started arriving. It was nice to see family and friends that we hadn't seen in awhile. After eating, we gathered int he living room for a 'roast'. Keith is a really tough person to roast. Casey and Valerie were the hosts, and both of them started to tell stories about Keith, but they both ended in compliments more than teasing. I decided to seize the opportunity to tell a story about him. I have to say, I was pretty embarrassed to tell it, and I believe my face was bright red the entire time, but it got some good laughs. Okay, I'll tell you too, so you're in the loop.
A few years ago, Keith and De were in Columbia visiting us, and we had just gotten finished with dinner at a local restaurant. We all stood up to leave and were walking to the door, when I feel someone pat me on the butt. At first I thought it was Casey, but when I turned around, I realized it was Keith. Apparently he had thought that I was De. We both realized what happened, and quickly walked away to our separate cars without saying anything. I found out later that we both brought it up to our spouses as soon as we were out of the parking lot... we were both so embarrassed that we didn't want to address it and embarrass the other. So the next morning we go out for brunch, and one of the first things De says is, "Okay, something happened last night, and I think we need to talk about it." Keith and I both turned beat red, and I'm pretty sure I put my head down on the table because I was so mortified. Telling the story at Keith's roast was the first time I've said anything about it since that day... and again, we both turned 12 shades of red. But ti got a lot of laughs... and for embarrassing the crap out of him, I thought I would end on a good note, too, so I said that I was lucky to have him as a father-in-law.
So anyway, the party went well, and Keith was happy. So was Charley Brown. He met SO many people, and got to show off his tricks after dinner. He was completely wiped out when everyone left. He also got to play with Jag, the 2 year old Great Dane, and was down for the count on the way back to Illinois. :)
Before we left Topeka, we met up with Aaron Brumley, Casey's best friend since Kindergarten, for breakfast. It was great to see him again and chat for an hour or so. He and Casey get into some pretty interesting philosophical discussions, so I happily listen and try to keep my blood pressure down. ;) It's really not bad, esp. since I've gotten stronger in my political views recently... I just tend to let my emotions get into the discussion and after awhile I realize I'm a little tense. But they really seem to enjoy challenging each other, as they have the entire time I've known them. I think they could spend days like that without getting tired. :)
We left Topeka a little later than expected, but made decent time and got back to Plainfield around 8:00. It started snowing about 45 minutes away from home, but not enough to accumulate. We were both pretty tired after the drive, so we went to bed fairly early that night.
Monday night, we decided to go purchase a Nintendo Wii. I LOVE IT. We also got Guitar Hero that came with 2 guitars, so we have been able to play together, which is a lot of fun. I really suck at that game, but I'm slowly improving. Last night I think we played for about 2-3 hours. Along with Guitar Hero, we also have Wii Sports, which came with the system. I have been doing pretty well on Bowling (and to those of you who have seen me bowl before, I do NOT do that stupid little kick thing, thank you VERY much!!!). The sad part is that I decided I would do the fitness training that came with the Sport game, which judges speed, stamina, etc. The game says I'm 50 years old. How depressing. LOL... I knew I was out of shape, but seriously!! I'll try it again tomorrow and see what it says. I think I may have pulled a muscle in my rear end on Tuesday, too, because I was hobbling around the house all day yesterday. Maybe 50 wasn't a bad estimate....
I'll move on to today. Today was the first day that new students at the College of DuPage could register for classes. I had asked for my previous transcripts to be sent to the College to assess if any of my previous courses would transfer and count toward my degree. Only Washburn sent a transcript, so I wasn't able to get copies of my classes to take to an advisor. It turned out fine, though, because my advisor told me to start taking the basic Photography courses I would need to get the degree anyway, and then next semester we could look into the other courses and see if I can skip any. Now my dilemma is the cost of two classes... since I live out of district, I have to pay $296 PER CREDIT HOUR. I think this is pretty extreme, but there are ways around it. If I can get a full-time job within the district, a letter from my employer can make me eligible for a large discount. So, tonight I'm going to talk to Casey about what to do. I guess the worst case scenerio would be that I wait for one more semester, get a full-time job, and save up money for the Fall. Most responsible people would have looked into this ahead of time. Obviously someone other than myself. I reap what I sow, though... procrastination is nothing new for me, I just have to learn from my mistakes and realize that this situation is much different from my previous college experiences. This time I'm not relying on other people for support; I'm relying on myself. We'll see where I go from here.
I guess that's about it... and it seems like plenty. Casey and I will talk tonight, and I'll try to update again before the weekend is over.
-Ash
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