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Dark Horse - Katy Perry Burn - Ellie Goulding Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera Best Day of My Life - American Authors Applause - Lady Gaga Brave - Sara Bareilles
I love music so it's kinda hard for me to just pick a handful that I love but this is a good place to start.
I don't really have a lot of standards for "perfection." A nice, relaxing day on the beach with some naps and grilled cheese sandwiches thrown in. That would be nice.
I was still in elementary school because our schools went K-6, 7-9, 10-12. (Apparently that is no longer the case at the schools I attended. It looks like it now matches my daughter's school: K-5, 6-8, 9-12.) It was around this time (5th-6th grade) that I stopped getting so terribly sick on a regular basis.
Sixth grade was also when I got to be on the Safety Patrol at school. That doesn't exist at my daughter's school. The Safetys wore belts (ours were bright orange) and were basically crossing guards and hallway monitors for the younger students. We would be stationed at major intersections inside the school and crosswalks for a few blocks around the school. Our jobs were to make sure the kids weren't running in the halls, crossing the road safely, and just basically making sure the kids got home OK.
This was the year I got glasses.
I think this may have been the first year we had official computer classes in school.
I was a junior in Girl Scouts and I helped my mother with her Brownie troop.
Hm, everything else is a bit of a blur. There isn't anything big that jumps out. I was a normal kid living a normal suburban life. Nothing spectacular.
I'm not usually a big fan of painting my nails but this is really cool:
Ooh. I love blueberries. A lot. Like, a LOT a lot.
And I really do need to organize my kitchen pantry.....
This just might be absolutely delicious. My daughter wouldn't eat it but I could eat her share!
I guess the Philadelphia Zoo is a given. And the Adventure Aquarium is a pretty fun trip too. The Franklin Institute can be a good time for geeks like us but the exhibits are frequently broken. Or at least that has been our experience in the past decade or so. The Pagoda in Reading was cool when we took our daughter a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how interesting that would be though. It's basically just a mountain-side view of the city of Reading.
Anything beyond those few would depend on the interests of the guests. I wouldn't take someone who hates art to the Art Museum, for example. Besides, sometimes just cruising around the countryside is a better trip than checking out the tourist spots.
On Saturday, my daughter and I attended Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology, otherwise known as GETT. As you all know, both my husband and I are rather geeky people. Needless to say, the conference was not really aimed at us. But there were some interesting things going on. The girls and the parents were separated all day. While the parents sat in lectures, the girls were broken into groups to do breakout sessions that tackled different areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers. The day started off with a helicopter landing by Stacy Sheard from Sikorsky Global Helicopters. Then the girls went off to the auditorium to begin their day and the parents went to the cafeteria to begin ours.
My daughter (and her friend) were in the eBay Enterprise group. (Every group had a different sponsor companies as their group names.) They got to do four out of the twenty available breakout sessions. Here are the ones they did:
Aviation and Aeronautics - Participants learn about the various applications and capabilities of helicopters. This hands-on experience includes sitting in the pilot's seat and exploring the aircraft. For the Love of Roller Coasters! - Participants learn the basic principles of roller coaster engineering and design and then create their own! How many loops, drops, and banks can be made? Inside the Box/Hardware Rocks! - Participants will learn what makes a computer "tick" by taking one apart; they will also discuss a variety of IT career path options. Say Cheese! - Participants will gain an understanding of dairy farming as well as how milk forms into a finished product via a tasting activity.
Only two of these were on their list of the activities they wanted to do. (Say Cheese! and For the Love of Roller Coasters) While they had fun, they found Say Cheese! to be disappointing. The group made butter via the mason-jar-shaking method. I'm not quite sure how that fits into a STEM category so it was just weird overall. The girls were also disappointed in the Hardware Rocks! session because the people who assembled the computer before them, didn't put it back together correctly. As a result, there were extra pieces all over the desk when they came in and they didn't know where the pieces went. However, they did highly enjoy For the Love of Roller Coasters! (They said they would have given up Say Cheese! for a second round in the coaster session.) The Aviation and Aeronautics session was given a firm 'meh.' Though I think that was because the other girls in the group wouldn't make room for everyone to see into the copter.
As for the parents side, I found it rather boring. As I said, the conference wasn't aimed at my family. It was probably very informative for parents who aren't as "techie" as we are. The one panel I did find interesting was the one about the Chester County library system. Apparently, they have a large number of online programs they run for free if you have a Chester County library card. One of their programs is called Mango and it is free foreign language classes. It looks super cool and I can't wait to get a library card from their library system to check it out. (I am in a different county. While I do have a library card, it is not for their library system.)
Overall, I do recommend people send their girls (grades 6 - 12) to the free conference. There are a lot of things they can learn from the hands-on experience and talking to women that are actually doing these things for a living. However, if you are a techie parent, feel free to skip the lectures. They will only be preaching to the choir.
Today was a little bit ridiculous. Let's just get to the list:
I feel like this list grows every day. In no particular order (because there is no way I could put them in an order):
Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) - She is smart and funny and geeky and you should read Self Inflicted Wounds because then you'll want to be like her too.
Misha Collins (@mishacollins) - He is witty and thoughtful and has a kickass charity Random Acts and he's just such an inspiration to be a better person.
John Green (@realjohngreen) - DFTBA! (Don't Forget To Be Awesome!) Do I need to say more? Oh, and um, The Fault in Our Stars.
My mom is also pretty cool. I wouldn't mind being a bit like her.
Hmm...there's a couple of cosplayers that I admire.
Overall, I'd like to be just like me....but cooler :)
Monday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM (including the commute) with the evening spent doing whatever chores I couldn't finish over the weekend Tuesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance classes from 6:00PM to 7:15PM. Wednesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, start the week's chores Thursday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, try to finish the week's chores Friday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance rehearsal from 5:30PM to 7:00PM, take daughter to Girl Scout sleepover event immediately after dance, go to Brandon Sanderson book signing with husband Saturday - Get a much-needed massage with the husband, pick daughter up from Girl Scout sleepover, take daughter to birthday party sleepover, try to clean the house Sunday - Laundry, pick daughter up from birthday party sleepover
Yes, most of my schedule involves taking my daughter to various events. I'm a mom. It's what we do. At least I get a massage this weekend :)
I buy a lot of things. It's rare that I only buy things once or twice >_<
When I was younger, I used to do a lot of traveling. One of my favorite things to eat when I was on a road trip was beef jerky. It is a good source of protein and chewy so it would keep me full and awake. The down side is that the jerky would get stuck in my teeth. But it is still delicious stuff.
If I was taking a plane, I preferred to just chew gum. Since I have issues with my ears, the pressure from the altitude would make my ears hurt a lot. I found that if I chew gum or something similar, it wouldn't hurt as much.
Generally, I'd only eat treats when I was traveling with other people. Then I'd share their treats. I am not a good traveling companion. I eat your stuff :)