Jacquelyn's Space

Damn! It has been 10 days since I last made a blog post. So much for trying to write everyday. I have been moving slow lately. As usual I have been soooo exhausted. I have been working more than usual. I have also been causing trouble, making drama. I surprise myself – I honestly didn’t mean to cause problems… Unfortunately I can’t write about the whole story on here but it might make for a good short story. Let just say sometimes you just have to make a stand for yourself no matter if the timing is crappy. I just didn’t know I could be so mean and so unmoving, ha.

At least I have all my books for school. Slowly I have been working on getting everything together for the new semester. I got my pink duffel bag. I’ve been filling up my planner with important dates in fall. I am going to be so busy!

I have also been planning a couple of trips. My husband and I are doing the Mackinac Bridge Walk again. Luckily I found us a place to stay. We didn’t plan ahead so pickings were slim around the Straits area plus we didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I got us a mini-cabin at a state park on Lake Superior. It is only 50 miles away from the bridge and it will be an adventure. Our nephew and his girlfriend might even come with us. It is going to be fun!

My husband and I were lucky enough to snag a room at the Grand Hotel in September. So we will be up in that area again a week after Labor Day. I love it up there so much and the Grand is awesome. Mackinac Island is awesome. So thankful for that place. I am extremely thankful when the Grand runs specials.

Now I just need to get on the ball and get my house clean and organized. I also need to study my butt off and read. And write. And exercise. Slowly but surely I’ll get there.

I have been on a shopping spree lately. Well not really but it feels like it and it makes we want to do more and more shopping. Shopping begets more shopping it seems. All my purchases are school related.

I am excited. I bought half of the books I need for school. I love books. There are a lot of required books for this next semester due to all the English classes I am taking. I actually toyed with renting books this year but the rental cost was almost as much as the new book cost on Amazon so I went with my old standby and ordered from there.  I usually order from Amazon because that is the cheapest place and I can find used books. This year I actually was able to get some of the novels (and Shakespeare plays – have a nice set of Shakespeare but it is really not portable) I needed for free as a Kindle book on my i-pod. Yay!

To keep up this frugality I am going to try to utilize the library for some of the books I need. There are 5 more books (novels) I need that I know I can find at the library so why spend the money? I hate to spend money on a book and not like it, not want to keep it (plenty of books I know I want to spend my money on) so I am going to try to play it safe and see if I can get them from the library for the time that I need them.

I also bought a beautiful leather planner to keep me organized. Lord knows I need some organization, especially over the next year. I got a good deal on it too.

And to help me out in going to the gym I ordered myself a pink duffel bag. I can’t wait to see it in person and pack it up. I am definitely going to spend some time at the gym this year.

Now school just needs to start.

Ha ha. I clicked on a link yesterday (that shows up on my blog dashboard/stats) and it took me to the end of the internet! Really! It took me to a blank page with a statement “You have reached the end of the internet.” LOL, I didn’t know there was an end. Scary…

I am a Romulan…really. I grew up in Romulus, Michigan, ha. I recently joined a facebook group “I grew up in Romulus, Michigan” against my better judgment. I am not overly fond of my hometown or even hometown sentiment. It seems people tend to think where they grew up is better than all the world. That bugs me. There are a lot of beautiful places out there, a lot of different people and perspectives and I feel that it is a bit narrow-minded to focus on one hometown.

Of course I am a little double-sided on the issue because I love Michigan and feel it is better than all the world but I try to keep an open mind about things. As far as my hometown goes, although I don’t feel the connection some of my fellow ‘Romulans’ feel to that place, I do enjoy reading the memories they have. I have some memories of my own – good ones. I am just glad I don’t live there anymore, glad I realized I didn’t have to stay glued to the place physically or mentally.

My Romulus Memories

My neighborhood friends especially Johnny and Venise – playing in the creek (that is one of the first memories I have of the place – all the kids were playing in the creek that ran perpendicular to my street when I met them) playing tag, kickball, hide-n-seek, slumber parties where we played “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board”, riding bikes around with everyone (bike tag, bike-n-hide), staying in the pool all damn day and having swimming olympics, me and the kids looking for mysteries I guess looking for trouble…

Walking to elementary school: my elementary was just a big, grassy field away from my street. It was cool to walk through that field on a foggy morning. One Halloween it was foggy all night and I went out there and chased some older tricker treaters, haha.

Exploring the woods and wetlands by my house: once the neighbor kids and I made a raft and tried to float through the creeks back there. It worked until a heavier kid got on it and sunk it. Someone put cement blocks and boards out in the wetlands in order to walk through, that was cool. Wild strawberries grew back there and smelled lovely.

Me and Johnny riding our bikes up to the corner gas station to get candy when candy was cheap.

Me and friends riding up to the drugstore or to A&W’s in Taylor. I still love me an A&W root-beer float.

The flee market and the creepy (half-built) old dance hall (?) next to it. Us kids used to go back there and stare at the building to scare ourselves.

Mayflower Roller Rink – went there when I was really young. It wasn’t around long after I moved in because it was an old place. My Grandma told me she went to dances there in the 1920’s when she was a teen and there were bad girls there who had short hair, short dresses and smoked (flappers, LOL).

favorite teachers: Mrs McGinnis, Mr. James, Mrs. Hiser, Mr. Kruse and a few others I whose names I forgot or will misspell.

Riding the bus to junior high past the airport but still seeing cows and farm fields along the way, even within the airport fences.

Drama club and doing plays in high school, band concerts, homecoming game even though I hate football, skipping school to hang out in the dark HS auditorium, skipping school to go to the library (either the HS one or I would walk up the road to the town library), hanging out at McDonald’s and eating biscuits (fresh made every morning at that time) with Rachel. Those are my best high school memories.

Pink Castle – supposedly a haunted house. It was an old Mediterranean style mansion/house in the middle of nowhere (Waltz, Michigan or on Waltz Road, New Boston). We would drive by it and scare ourselves. I was never brave enough to walk close up to it. It was behind a lot of brush and had an iron gate with the words “Buena Vista” on it.

Driving around acting crazy with the girls in my first car, the Banana Boat, a 72 LaMans.

***

See a lot of my memories have less to do with place and more to do with people and time although I wouldn’t have the memories if I hadn’t been in Romulus in that place and time.

Yesterday was my nephew Alex’s fifth birthday so of course his Mom threw him a party. It is always fun to see the little stinkers, my nephews and their friends, running around acting crazy; lots of laughs to be had and also photo ops. My brother bought a trampoline for his kids and he, my Dad, and my husband put it together tonight.

A couple of weeks ago was Alex’s brother, B. Brent’s birthday and coming up next week is my Mom’s. It is crazy how we get slammed with birthdays at this time of year. Then again in November when it is my nephew Kenny’s, my Dad’s and then my stepson’s followed by mine 2 weeks later. It kind is stressful with all those birthdays so close to Christmas. Truthfully, the summer birthdays seem kind of more fun because we usually have a party outside by the pool. My Mom always wished I had a summer birthday, ha. Well now she has 2 grandkids with summer birthdays. Plus who needs the excuse of a birthday to throw a party in the  summer?

I love taking pictures of the kids. Oh to have all that energy again! To be so carefree…

B.Brent’s and Alex’s Birthdays:

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I am really trying to bust out of this funk I have been in lately so I am going to try to blog more. I always say that but I really need get some writing practice in before school starts. All I have wanted to do lately is sit at home and chill; just think, play games, watch TV, and sleep. I don’t really have time to chill, ugh! Not with all I want to accomplish. I have been so exhausted, more exhausted than usual. I think it is a combination of factors but mostly the wacked out work schedule I have been getting (mostly nights and thirds – I can’t seem to sleep at night now) and hormones. My hormones are out of whack too. I hope I am not pre-menopausal – I definitely don’t have time for that! I am going to make a push to get healthy! I don’t know what to do about my hormones but I bet eating better, sleeping better, trying to exercise and keeping some sort of regular schedule will help. I can’t wait to go back to school – then I will have a regular schedule.