Cassie's Journal - February 29, 2016

I generally have a lot of love for Mother Nature, and we’ve had another beautiful day around here; but I have to file one minor complaint.  Do you really need to send us these temperature extremes?  Yes, we love it when it’s in the seventies in February; but it was also freezing here this morning; and will be again overnight.  A forty-plus degree drop and rise and drop is a bit much – not to mention that we went from needing wither jackets and gloves this morning to t-shirt weather by the time we were done school for the day!

Having said that, I don’t want anyone blaming me for the cooler day that’s in the forecast for tomorrow; since that was already in place before I started writing this update.  It is still winter, folks; and it’s these warm days that are the anomaly – not the cold days.

Tai Chi was indoors today; Michael went home for breakfast; and I helped out with the work on both sides of our morning meal in addition to getting ready for school.  The last school day of February wasn’t anything particularly memorable despite it being a leap year; though some of our teachers did try to have some fun with it.  I’d have preferred that the school declare a holiday when the twenty-ninth falls on a week day, since it really is an extra day for the school calendar, but that didn’t happen; and we managed to have a pretty good day – for a Monday.

The rest of my day felt a lot like Monday did last week.  I went home with Michael; we did our homework at his house; had dinner with his parents and sister; and then went to our marching band meeting with our Moms after dinner.  With our first marching band practice scheduled for the first week of April, we’re really humming along with the prep work, and while the parents and volunteers are doing most of that work; I’m going to be busier over the next month with that too.  We will be ready on-time, though; and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that all of our fundraisers meet or beat our goals so that this trip gets paid for – and that includes meeting financial goals that we’ll need to hit every month or risk having the trip cancelled.  The school is not going to let us get behind when we need to raise so much money – and as I’ve mentioned before; it is a lot of money for a small town school.

While the meeting was one of the most important parts of my day, it was the music time with Michael after we went back to his place that was the most fun for me.  Okay, I’m saying that because we had a minor make-out session to go along with the music; but singing and playing together is really awesome too.  I only stayed at Michael’s for an hour before heading home again; and the only reason that I haven’t messed up my bedtime schedule tonight is because I used a time phase to get my work and studying done.  For the studying, while I’m not quite as satisfied with my language mastery as usual this time; I’m still going to move on to my next language tomorrow as planned.  I’m being a bit too picky about that, since I have become fluent in Romanian; and it’s really just learning more of the nuances that I haven’t done – and is really a matter of getting more real-time practice and experience through reading or listening to the language in use.  I can always pick that up later – and I’m sure that I will.

As I mentioned, time phasing allowed me to get everything done, but that is still cheating; since it isn’t allowing me to rest up when I’m burning the extra power to do that.  It’s also why I’m more tired than I should be; and I’m going to wrap this up now and get some sleep.  Tomorrow will be another busy day with band and praise team practices, so I don’t expect to do any better with getting everything done without a bit more Magi-powered cheating; but I will try to make up for that on Wednesday if I can manage that.

For now, though, that’s all I have, and I really am ready to crash now; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - February 28, 2016

My day wasn’t an exactly repeat of last Sunday; but it certainly rhymed.

Tai Chi was by the river; Michael and I had breakfast at his house; we had another video chat with Jake and Stephanie; and then we went on to church for the service and Sunday school time with our families and friends.

Lunch, my afternoon of work and studying, and then my buffet shift at the Inn were so much like last week that each part of that happened on practically the same schedule to within minutes – including Michael’s break and when we finished up for the night and went home.  Some Jacuzzi time was in order once I’d finished spending a bit of time with Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Ehlana after I got home; and I’m writing this update while still in the tub.  I’ve done one last round of email and computer checks too; so I’ll be going straight off to sleep once Mandy and I are tucked in for the night.

I’ll wrap this up with a quick look ahead, and with one day left in February; it’s going to be March Break and our trip to Colorado that’ll be moving up to number one on the best upcoming events list for those of us going on that trip.  It’s less than two weeks away now, and while we still have a lot going on between now and then; I really do expect to be in countdown mode.  Michael, Rowen, and Tim will likely put in some extra time with work too; and we have a few other things going on – like a couple of birthday parties; but I’m ready for the break and wish we could go tomorrow – and spend a month there instead of a week.  That isn’t going to happen, and I wouldn’t want to be away from my family for that long anyway; but it is still nice to dream about even if it isn’t an option.

Going to sleep soon is possible, though, and I’m pretty much ready to wrap this up – and my bath time too; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - February 27, 2016

Surprisingly, I managed to mostly stay awake last night for our movies in the lounge!

I know, that’s shocking; but then I also didn’t do much of anything beyond cuddling with Michael while we watched our shows and talked with Rowen, Tim, and our four junior movie-watching buddies.  Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden ended up watching both movies with us – or most of them; since Naomi did fall asleep while cuddling with Ethan and Ehlana and Aiden both fell asleep not long after the second movie started.  Mom and Dad timed their bedtime with the end of that second show, and had help with getting the kids down to the second floor; but I wasn’t one of those helpers.  Tim and Rowen did that; headed on out after doing that; and left Michael and me alone so that we could say goodnight to each other before he went home too.  We did that in a mostly non-verbal sort of way, but he didn’t stay much longer, and when he wouldn’t let me walk him out; I snuggled under the blanket we’d been sharing and went to sleep on the sofa instead of taking the time to move next door to my bed.

Michael wasn’t back for Tai Chi in the morning because he was working the breakfast shift at the Inn again; and our workout was indoors because it was too cold out first thing this morning to exercise by the river.  We then had a quick breakfast; got together with the gang we were going to the Maple Valley Winter Festival with; and hit the road for our adventure.  I’m not going to write a lot about the festival, since it really doesn’t change much from year-to-year; but I will say that it was a lot more fun to go there today when the temperature climbed into the seventies by this afternoon!  Okay, that’s not very wintry for a winter festival, but we were there for the maple syrup, the other maple treats, and the shows and games.  Getting to do that while wearing t-shirts and leaving the coats in the car made our time in Maple Valley one of the best for me so far!  Keep up the good work, Mother Nature – though let’s not have it quite this warm when we go to Colorado for our March Break ski trip.  Having all of the snow there melt before we get there would defeat the purpose of the trip – which contrary to some opinions around our school is not a party week getaway from the parents.

That’s just an added bonus to go along with the snowboarding! ;^)

Just kidding, Mom!

Moving along, we watched all of the shows; enjoyed a pancakes and syrup lunch; picked up lots of treats to bring home with us; and generally had an awesome day.  I got to spend a lot of time with Mom, Dad, the twins, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and quite a few of our friends; and getting to do that play time together was what really made our day trip so great.  We didn’t get home again until dinnertime; Mom and I put together an easy meal; we ate in the sunroom; and then I had another free evening to take it easy – though I did a bit of studying and family business work while waiting for Michael to come over once he was set free from the Inn for the night.

We got to mostly be on our own in the lounge after that; had a moderately hot make-out session while Mom, Dad, and the twins were doing their own thing in the living room; and then Michael went home at eleven o’clock because we were both tired out by then.  I pretty much went straight to bed after seeing him out; took care of one more bit of family business work; and will be sleeping before midnight – and probably within minutes of wrapping up this report.

Since I really am ready to nap now, consider that done; and, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!

Cassie's Journal - February 26, 2016

I’m writing this update early because there’s a very good chance that I’ll end up falling asleep on Michael tonight sometime while we’re watching movies with Rowen and Tim – if not while we’re doing that with Ethan, Ehlana, Naomi, and Aiden too.  That’s not exactly exciting news for me, since I do want to have a fun night with my friends, but I’m already wearing down fast; and don’t think that I’ll have a choice once I’m done with the busy and start relaxing and winding down.

We’ve had a good day, if uneventful.  Our teachers dumped a bit of extra homework on us today too, and while that isn’t a problem for me; it is still work that I’ll need to get done this weekend – along with everything else I’ve already got on the go.  Sure, there’s fun stuff planned too – like our trip to Maple Valley for the festival; but sometimes is seems as though the world is conspiring to keep me too busy no matter how hard I try to cut back and rest up for a while so that I don’t have to worry about falling asleep during a teen movie night or at other, equally important moments with my boyfriend! ;^)

Moving along, we’ve had a decent weather day, and the weekend is looking awesome for the festival too.  It wasn’t t-shirt temperatures at lunch time, but it was nice-enough to spend most of that break outdoors.  I spent some time outdoors after school too, though that was with the twins and their friends while Michael, Tim, and Rowen were all busy with work or other things.  Michael helped out at the Inn for the dinner rush, but isn’t staying until close; and should be here soon.  Naomi and Aiden stayed and had dinner with us; they’ll be here overnight; and will be going to the festival with us tomorrow – though Naomi’s Dad and brother will likely be going to the festival too while her Mom’s stuck working at the salon all day.  Michael, by the way, won’t be able to come with us tomorrow, but we’ll bring back some Maple Syrup and treats for him; and maybe I’ll get the chance to make that up to him tomorrow night with a bit of cuddle time for two in the lounge – if I’m not too tired for that by then again after our play day in Maple Valley.

Wow, I’m beginning to wonder if I really am only fifteen.  I’m way too young to be this tired out! ;^)

While that’s too true, it doesn’t change the fact that I am tired out way too often right now, and even though it’s still really early; I am thinking about naps even as I’m getting things ready in the lounge for our movie night.  There’s been a nasty strain of cold going around, and if I wasn’t self-healing; I’d think that I might have caught that bug too.  Speaking of that, I wish that I could help my friends out with that cold, since it really is tough on everyone that’s caught it, and I’d help Michael or Rowen if they catch it; but the Magi Healers in our family can’t exactly run around and heal everyone for something like that without it being very obvious and conspicuous.  I can tell you that this cold season has gotten Ehlana’s attention, though; and she’s added curing the common cold to her to-do list at the lab.

Sure, no problem for the four-year old resident genius – though she thinks it might take her a few more years to get that done.

Okay, I’m just letting my thoughts run off with this update; so it’s time to wrap it up so that I can finish getting ready for our movie night.  You’ll be able to flip a digital page and find out whether or not I do end up falling asleep during the movies tonight, but I’ll hopefully stay awake long-enough to enjoy at least some of that teen time with my friends.  I’m really looking forward to spending the day with Mom, Dad, and the twins tomorrow too when we’ll be doing something that isn’t chores around the house or hanging out together in the office while we do our own work and studying.  Yes, that’s one more thing I’d like to have more time for and don’t; but let’s not go there when I’m trying to finish this report and get on with the rest of my night.

That sounds like I’m in a hurry to blow off this bit of Magi Master duty, and I guess maybe I am doing that just a bit; but hopefully you’ll cut me a bit of slack on that when I really am having a tough time getting through every day right now – even if I’m not physically sick.  Hopefully, it won’t be too long before I’ll be feeling more like my normal, fired-up self again, but I’m not there right now and don’t have anything else to add to this report; so, until next time...

...May the Magi Force be with you!