25th Birthday

For my birthday this year I ventured up to the Gardens after more than six years since my last visit.

Actually, I can barely remember my last visit there.  I've only gone twice in my life before last weekend.  The first was in middle school with Amanda...the only thing I remember about that is my dad sitting behind the two of us on the Loch Ness Monster, taunting us saying that the ride sounded broken.  A second later we were down the first drop and Amanda was screaming and laughing while I was adamantly professing how much I hated her for making me ride.  The second visit was in high school...I think...all I remember about that visit was crying in the line for the park's newest coaster: Apollo's Chariot.  As you might have noticed--I was not a fan of roller coasters.  It wasn't until I encountered The Hulk at Universal Studios that I made the switch to roller coaster enthusiast (and thus began the slow climb to adrenaline junkie).

That being said, it was great to be able to return to the theme park that held memories of salty tears and frozen lemonade with a fresh new out look on roller coasters...and fell in love.  Who needs a man to put butterflies in my stomach when a roller coaster can do the same?  

It was slightly rainy and cold which lends itself to perfect theme park conditions: NO LINES!!  We walked right onto to every ride (with the exception of The Curse of DarKastle which is an indoor ride) and several times we got right back on without a moment to blink.





Sadly, the Big Bad Wolf is no more: (It's being replaced by a new ride set to open next year)

 

Then

Now

But there is this:

The Griffon.












and yes.  That is a 90 degree drop

Best part?  They hold you over the edge facing straight down for six agonizing seconds before you dive to the ground.

The Griffon is fantastic.  And not nearly as rough as it looks.  Definitely a thrill though.  We got on, loved it, and rode it again immediately, only this time we clambered into the front row.  When they drag you over the side and you're in the front row, all you see is the sky.  No coaster beneath you, nothing.  You can spread out your arms and legs (if you dare) and it's as if your suspended in mid air.  Absolutely fantastic.


It was the best birthday I've had in a long time.  I was nervous about turning 25...it used to sound so old.  But I realized something.  I'm young and have no real commitments which opens me up to a world of endless adventures.  So Happy 25th to me!
 

The Magical Box

Do you remember when you were little and a large box contained an unexplored world of wonder?

You could get inside a box and be anywhere in the world.
You could be an astronaut in a rocket ship on your way to Mars to start a new life.
You could be a princess locked away in a castle while dragons wage war outside your walls.
You could be a warrior hiding out in a treehouse, with your bows and arows
You could be Harry Potter hiding underneath your invisibility cloak (oh wait.  that was when I was 12. <insert awkwardness>)

It's such a simple thing.  A box.  And it's amazing to think of how much fun and creativity it contained when we were young and let our imaginations run wild.

But as we grow older, so many of us loose that gift of uninhibited imagination.  Personally, I love moments when I can get swept away in imagination (most likely why I enjoy reading so much) and it was a fun surprise to find a large box in my living room the other night.  Ashley and I immediately became children again, jumping in the box to relive a moment from childhood.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Roald Dahl

The Homeless Helper

Yesterday I inadvertently let my car run out of gas.  Now, if that had been Batmen-my old car-I wouldn't be so upset about it.  But we're talking about my baby, Phoenix--my pride and joy.  (Seriously, if I could get away with carrying pictures of him in my wallet I would. I freaking love this car.  My dream mustang.)

So, there I was in downtown, in my church clothes, stranded and stuck in the middle of the road.  Of course as soon as the numerous people standing around noticed I was in need of help they all rushed to my side.

False.

Instead the numerous people sitting on their porches and walking the streets watched me as I preceded to push my car, by myself, to the side of the road. In fact one of them even came up afterwards and commented on the fact that my car was crooked.  For an excruciatingly long ten minutes I waited for Ashley as person after person walked by.

Once she got there a homeless man walked up and immediately offered his help.

How many times have I heard people complain about homeless people? At least once a day.  Growing up in a small town, I never saw homeless people...it wasn't until I moved here that I saw homeless people on a daily basis.  They are everywhere, and for every homeless person I see, there are ten other people complaining about how awful they are.  But who helped me when I needed it?  The people sitting on the porches of their houses?  Or the man with no porch to sit on?

I wish dresses grew on trees...

MIA

Hey!!!!  My apologies for being MIA for awhile.  I've been in the process of moving and ::gasp!:: we dont have internet yet, and won't until next month....Oh the agony!! Oh the suffering!!! :)
I've been writing with those ancient artifacts we call pen and paper in the meantime-so prepare for a blog filled September!

MIA

Hey!!!!  My apologies for being MIA for awhile.  I've been in the process of moving and ::gasp!:: we dont have internet yet, and won't until next month....Oh the agony!! Oh the suffering!!! :)
I've been writing with those ancient artifacts we call pen and paper in the meantime-so prepare for a blog filled September!

Fun things my friends say

Watching an armadillo on TV...
Me:  They're weird looking.
Dad: They'll be here in a couple of years.
Cameron: What?
Dad: They're coming.
Me: The armadillos?
Dad: The armadillos.  They coming.
...dead silence...
Dad: And the pigs.  The pigs and the armadillos.
Mom: What do you mean they're coming?
Cameron: Coming from where?
Dad: They coming.  They'll be here.
...dead silence...
Dad: They mean too.
...more silence...
Me: What do you mean they're coming?
Dad: The armadillos.  They crossing the state line right now.

To my Sanford cupcake customers:

First of all...ya'll are great.  And I'm sad I won't be able to meet so many new people every weekend here in Sanford--but alas my life is in Raleigh and I must return.  But cupcakes will still be available!

The first weekend of every month will be dedicated just to you.  Sanford customers may order cupcakes for the first weekend of every month to be picked up at my current location.  Otherwise I'll be at my place in Raleigh (directions will become available late August).  If you know you'll be up that way and would like to make an order during the month-feel free.  If there is an event going on that doesn't fit with the Sanford/Raleigh schedule let me know two weeks ahead of time (weddings and orders of five dozen cupcakes or more will remain a month's notice) and we will work something out.

I move August 13th....normal cupcake ordering will remain in effect until August 6th and then begins the new schedule.  I will post reminders before the first of each month to let you know that the chance to order cupcakes is fast approaching!!!

I leave you with this:

VBS: The Big Apple Adventure

This post is a bit late but my good friend Marc sparked my memory and I realized I never posted any VBS pictures!!!  Gasp!

The theme this year was The Big Apple Adventure....honestly not my favorite but still cute.  As always Kerri and my mom did a fantastic job with getting everything ready and running smoothly.  I taught 5th and 6th grade and went with a Backstage at Broadway theme for Amanda and mine's room.

HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 *SPOILERS*

I am unbelievably excited and stoked about this movie.  I've been reading these books since the first one came out and my life hasn't been the same since.  Reading and involving yourself in a series for 12 years is huge--at the age of 24, that's over half my life.  So these characters have become like family, I know them inside and out.  So as I prepared myself for the final installment of the movies here is a list of the top five things I was most looking forward to seeing on screen:

(this was a hard list to write.  I want to see everything and my excitement is borderline uncontainable)
THIS LIST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS!!! DO NO READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE BOOKS!!!!

5. Hermione as Bellatrix-just because :)

 

***SPOILER*** 

4. Ron and Hermione's kiss--this kiss was moved to a different location than in the book-and it worked better.

3. Neville Longbottom.  Anything Neville. The latter part of the book becomes Neville's time to shine.  His character was always one to be laughed at most of the time due to his constant clumsiness and inability to really show his bravery.  But as the series progressed Neville became more and more comfortable with himself...and when the trio return to Hogwarts he has taken the reigns in heading up the Hogwarts riot against Voldemort and Snape.  He is brave and strong and the movies don't skip any part of that.  He steals almost every scene he is in and makes you root for him with all your might.

***SPOILER***

2.  Harry facing death with his head held high.  This one of the most torturous chapters in the books for me to read.  My heart pumped alongside Harry's and I wept.  The movie has no way at all to even come close to reaching the bar set by this scene in the books--but they tried their hardest and I still enjoyed it.  There are some things in books that no movie will ever be able to achieve.

 
1. Snape.  Oh my dearly loved Severus Snape.  I have maintained a vow of faithfulness to Snape since day one.  Yes--he has made me angry many times...but I've always believed he was good (just a bit mean and cheeky).  Learning his back story was a highlight of the series for me and I had high expectations for that scene in the movie.---I was not disappointed.  True, they left out some things but they did a wonderful job at showing Snape's true colors and it was beautifully done.  His death was gruesome and hard to watch but his final words were wonderful.   It was the highlight of the movie.  To my dear Snape:  I love you.

Surprising Scene: 

I've never been crazy about the Gringotts scene...no reason-just didn't care for it all that much.  It was one of my top five favorites in the movie.  Kudos.

I loved the movie, I liked Part 1 better but I'm probably in the minority.  Every second of this movie left me on the edge of my seat and crying for a good half of it. 

This will not be my last Harry Potter post.  I read the first book 12 years ago--these characters will always be a part of me.

We went and saw this movie at 2:45 AM...what happens when you are awake at that time?  You get faces like this: