A good long update...

It's been a while since I've written a decent post updating the interwebs, so I should probably do that...

The last weekend of June was Isaac and Laura's wedding. It was really beautiful, and I certainly had a good time and enjoyed being able to be there and show my support for my two friends. Everything about the ceremony was wonderful and the reception was a good time. :-) If something went wrong or not as planned I didn't notice. I got to hang out with Bre and her family for the day and it was nice to visit with them and catch up with some other friends that I knew.

It was also good to hear, in the message, that the husband should never stop courting his wife. That just because they're married he should never stop showing his love. Hearing that my brain went "ding" and it just reaffirmed some topics that I had been discussing with Jessica, Bre and the Rachels.

That Sunday, the 28th, Jessica and I had a "girl day" and we made Avocado Feta Salsa and watched the last 5 episodes of a season in America's Next Top Model. Then we watched an episode of "Bridezillas" (never again... whew!) and we topped off the day with STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE. We're watching the whole series, from episode I to episode VI... Since it's been ages since either of us have seen the original trilogy and Jessica hadn't seen all of the prequels.

Now I'm trying to get the library's copy of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

On Tuesday Rachel D. came and visited and that was lots of fun! She had to take the last requirements for Wartburg's piano basic skills test, which was 1pm on Wednesday, July 1st. Wednesday Rachel and I went to Wartburg, Rachel took her piano test and PASSED! :-D Which means she will graduate on time and be able to student teach in the fall! YAY! We then had delicious Chinese for lunch at our favorite Chinese buffet and then drove home... And rented RV and Desk Set from the Library. We watched RV and then that night we met up with Jill and went to city park and walked about the carnival that was in town for the 4th to see the sights. We then all chipped in for a funnel cake and ate it while we sat by the lake. When Rachel and I got back we watched Desk Set. (I love that movie!)

Late Thursday morning, Rachel and I biked downtown for some delicious Cabin Coffee. :-) We then proceeded to bike around the lake... And which a great misunderstanding ensued. I thought Rachel knew how far it was around the lake. And she had no idea it was 14 miles and she hadn't really biked since she was 16. So when we got back, she was way tired and decided to stay another night! :-D I had rehearsal for Mason City's municipal band and after that we met up with Brett and Jill for dollar bowling and that was really fun!

On the 3rd, Rachel took off for home. :-( I tried to convince her to stay and swim across the lake with me, but she declined. We'll just have to save that for next time. :-) That night I played (in the rain) with the Mason City municipal band and that went well. It was fun! :-) I enjoy playing patriotic music, especially the Armed Forces Salute when all the people who have served our country stand up to be acknowledged when their song comes up. After the concert Mason City sets off their fireworks and I sat in my car in the rain and watched, while eating free, but very very salty popcorn.

July 4th was fun, but not very eventful... Got up and went to the parade. Came back and slept for 2 hours. Then I watched 3 episodes of NCIS (which is one of my new TV addictions... More on that later...) I met up with Jill, Brett, Anne and some of their friends for Clear Lake's fireworks and that was fun. It was a good show this year and the night was mostly clear, not buggy and cool. The only downside was that there was no wind--not even a breeze, so the smoke from the fireworks didn't blow away... It just sort of lingered, so when the grand finale started some of the smoke was obscuring the full brilliance of the pyrotechnic glory. Oh, well, it was still fun! :-)

I spent Sunday watching more NCIS. In fact, I finished the entire first season. :-)

And that's an update on most of the "stuff" that's led up to now.

Jessica and I have been exercising fairly consistently this whole summer. We go jogging almost every day. We're up to almost 2 miles, but I still can't make it jogging the whole way. If I focus, I can usually make it about 1.5 miles before I walk for a while and alternate between jogging and walking the rest of the way. I usually don't cramp up anymore, though, which is nice!

This week I've also been biking a lot. Jessica, and her mom have invited me to come along with them to Lanesboro to go camping and biking for the weekend, and they're thinking about going this weekend. I'm excited, it should be fun!

Okay, so TV shows... I've always enjoyed NCIS, but the times I've watched it have been few and far between... Mary and my parents have been way more into it... Mary even dressed up as Abby for Hallowe'en. But since we have seasons 1 and 2 on DVD I have started watching them.... AHH! They're so fun! They're so entertaining! And suspenseful!!! And it's different... I mean, I really feel like the characters are written as individuals with their own specific quirks and personality traits that really makes them believable, and how they all interact with each other makes the whole show ten times more amusing and entertaining.

Mary, Rachel D. and I all agree that we *would* say yes to date with the character Tony DiNozzo... Because he would be ridiculously fun to flirt with and seems to be someone who you could just go out with and have a good time. :-) And he's probably a good kisser. ^_^

ANOTHER good TV show that I've started watching, upon Jessica's urging, and really REALLY enjoying is The Mentalist, starring Simon Baker. Who. Is. DREAMY! And handsome and evidently from Australia! (I didn't know this until I looked him up on IMDB... He's plays an American in the show.) *siiiigh* He has great hair and gorgeous blue eyes.... :-D And of course, the whole premise of the TV show is highly entertaining too... A TV psychic working with the California Bureau of Investigation to help solve mysteries, based on his talents of reading people's body language, interpreting their inflections and interacting with them. So cool! :-)

(For the record, since I seem to be on a roll: I am also in love with Craig Ferguson and David Tennant.)

And I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of interested in seeing what The Vampire Diaries has in store this fall on CW. I mean, it looks like a total Twilight knock-off... Which I think is why I'm intrigued. :-) Hopefully they won't claim that the French Revolution was really a mass execution of vampires... *cough* Moonlight *cough*

Oh, and speaking of the undead, I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. It is very very brilliant and entertaining! I really like it! Grahame-Smith takes the original Austen text and just manipulates it and adds... Zombies! It sounds bizarre, and it is, but really, it's fiction.... And very amusing and at times very very clever! The book opens with the lines:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains much be in want of more brains."

Read it! It's awesome! :-D Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are masters of the "deadly arts" and have sworn to fight and destroy the "unmentionables" aka zombies. (It is of course, Regency England, so proper decorum must be maintained at all times. Even when talking about things such as zombies...)

Okay, how was that for an update? :-) I'm off to shower and go to bed.

Until the next!

P.S. Harry Potter comes out on the 15th! I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!!!