Saturday in the Park (Unintentionally).

Okay, so in the past three days so much craziness has happened, I'm going to have to split it up into a few different posts. But let's start with this afternoon.

I had quite the adventure.

I went to lunch with a couple of friends and had a great time. The craziness started when I was trying to leave.

I had parked in a parking garage to the left of a big concrete column. As I was leaving, I needed to go right. For those of you playing at home, that means that as I was backing out I was turning toward the column. Do you see where this is going?

I was looking left to make sure no cars were coming while I was backing out and turning right. As I turned my head to look right, I noticed how close I was to the column. But what I didn't realize was that I had not yet cleared it. I thought, That was close! and kept going. Half a second later I heard the screeching sound of my car scraping against the column.

Not knowing what to do, I then stopped backing out and went forward instead. My car screeched again as it scraped the column once more in the opposite direction. I straightened out my car and continued backing out, thankfully clearing the pole this time. And then I exited the parking garage, hoping the damage wasn't horrible.

As I was exiting the garage, I got confused about which way I was going and, though it really didn't matter, accidentally chose the more difficult way. Which I realized as soon as I turned, but it was too late so I was going with it. I knew what to do, so it wasn't a big deal.

Except I got distracted and missed the street I was supposed to turn on. Naturally, I assumed I could turn on the next street and it would lead me to the same place. Naturally, I was wrong.

I ended up on a weird street and was briefly concerned that it was going to lead me off a cliff. Instead, it led me to a park.

Side note: I have been to this park before but have never driven myself. It is across the river from where I work and I have always wondered how to get there. Now that I have figured it out...I really doubt I could do it again. Probably not even with a map.

Anyway, I pulled over in the park to gather my thoughts and come up with a game plan and check out the damage on my car and respond to a text message. My car looked like this:

Which was a lot better than I had imagined. So it's no big deal.

Anyway. This park is really confusing. Like, it has a bazillion roads to choose from. I wasn't sure what to do so I just went straight. I followed the road a little ways but it just led me to a dead end. So I turned around and turned onto a street that had this sign:

This photo is from google. I am not so crazy as to stop and take a picture of a sign just 

because I am already writing the blog post in my head.

I have no idea what this sign means. I have a vehicle and I'm pretty sure it has a motor...does that mean I drive a motorized vehicle? Wouldn't a de-motorized vehicle, like, not move? Confusing.

But there was a stop sign just up ahead facing me, and why would they have a stop sign if cars weren't allowed there? I decided that I was not in fact driving a motorized vehicle (even though I'm still convinced my car does have a motor) and that it was okay for me to proceed. I came to a turning point so I picked a direction and turned. I was sad for a minute because it led me to yet another dead end, but then I realized that there was an exit!! That led to a street!! That led to another street from which I knew how to get home!!!!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I was below empty on gas this whole time. And unfortunately there are no gas stations in the park.

Maybe that wasn't as crazy as I made it sound but it felt pretty crazy to me. Sometimes I don't even know how I manage to be so...I don't even know what the word is. Me. That's the word. So me.

And what will I be like when I'm 30? I'm sort of afraid to find out.

Stay tuned...

Subway Adventures.

Today I had worship team training at church from 10am-4pm. And let me just say, the series of unfortunate events that happened at my lunch break had Kayla written all over it. In big capital letters. Underlined four times. With an exclamation point.

This is good, guys. Just you wait.

Unfortunate Event #1: The Elusive Subway.

We were on our own for lunch but a large group of people (my friends included) were going to Taco Cabana. Which I found really surprising because I didn't know people actually liked Taco Cabana. Like, seriously, if we're going to have tacos I'd much rather have Taco Bell. But then again, I'm probably not the most reliable judge of food.

Anyway, obviously I was not okay with Taco Cabana, but I did want to spend time with my friends, so I was going to get food elsewhere and then meet them there. I decided that I wanted Subway because a) Subway is kind of healthy, and I've been feeling guilty about all the junk I've been eating lately, and b) it sounded really good. So, I got in my car and set off for Subway. Only I couldn't remember exactly where it was, but I had a pretty good idea. So I headed that direction and figured I'd see it eventually.

So I'm driving. And I keep driving. And I keep driving. Because Subway is past all the other fast food restaurants. I know* that it's further up the road, so I just keep driving. And every once in awhile, I think I've passed it. So I start to turn around but then I see another group of buildings coming up and I convince myself that that's where Subway is. But it isn't. After doing this about three times, I began entering unrecognizable territory, so I decide to turn around for real this time.

*Me "knowing" where things are located is like a five year old "knowing" how to do calculus correctly

I'm driving back and looking for Subway. And I'm not finding it. And I'm like, "Are you kidding me? Was it seriously further up? Does Subway even exist anymore?" AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, I SEE IT. And I'm like, "SUBWAY! I see you! But...how do I get to you...?"

It was like behind a bunch of restaurants and...I don't even know. Like, it was there, but it was hidden. So I maneuvered my way through the Walmart parking lot and down a couple back roads and finally I'm in the Subway parking lot -- the actual Subway parking lot! -- and I park and get out of my car.

Which brings me to...

Unfortunate Event #2: The Door with the Sandwich On It.

I walk into Subway, ECSTATIC because I'm really hungry, and the first thing I notice are SIX bulky guys, about high school age, probably football players, sitting together and staring at me (quite angrily I might add) in dead silence at Subway. Just sitting there. With no food. Not standing in line to order. And I was like, "Do these guys know how Subway works? You have to go stand in line..." But then I looked up and realized that there was no one at the register. There were employees in the back (who saw me walk in), but no one at the front. So I stepped to the side and joined the awkward silence while these big scary guys just...stared at me.

While I'm waiting, I can't help but notice that Subway is a lot smaller than I remembered it being. Did they remodel? Why would they remodel and make the place smaller? Or maybe it just looked smaller because of the new design. But the counter looked way too small to hold all the sandwich fixins. And why did it smell like pizza in there?

And then I look at the door, and right below the picture of something that very closely resembles a SANDWICH (and sandwich = Subway) are the words "Little Caesar's."

Sandwiches > Pizza.

 

Little Caesar's. Last time I checked, that was different than Subway. And I'm completely mortified at this point that I have walked into and stood in for several minutes the WRONG restaurant. I have been stared at by creepy high school boys that totally had the ability to kill me. I have been acknowledged (but not served) by some very busy Little Caesar's employees. And I could feel the eyes of all 6 scary boys and all 3 employees on me as I silently walked out and never returned.

And before I walked into Subway, I read every sign from top to bottom just to make sure.

Unfortunate Event #3: I Give Up.

Thankfully, I was able to get my 6" tuna sandwich on Italian without a hitch, and I made it to my car and out of the parking lot without incident.

By the way, at this point our one hour lunch break is more than half over.

Anyway, I'm driving to Taco Cabana to catch up with my friends (for, like, a whole 15 minutes), but I was so...flustered, I guess is the word...from everything that just happened that I passed Taco Cabana. And at first I was like, "I think I just passed it..." but then I was like, "oh, no, it's further up here." But it wasn't. And by the time I was 100% sure I had passed it, I was almost back to church.

There just wasn't any point in turning around.

I was probably just going to pass it again anyway.

So I pulled into church and found a table inside to eat at while I recovered from the previous 45 minutes' adventures.

So yes, ladies and gentlemen, in 45 minutes I managed to:

• Get lost on a street I have traveled hundreds of times
• Share some delightfully awkward moments with 9 strangers
• Get so distracted that I just straight up passed my destination
• Just give up, because seriously, why do I even try to be cool? 

By the way, those first three things happen so often that I had to give them their own tags.

And to my friends who may or may not have been waiting on me to show up at Taco Cabana (I'm not even sure they knew I was coming, but just in case): I DID NOT ditch you guys on purpose. I totally intended on showing up, and wanted to...but, like, seriously...I just needed a moment to myself. To recover. Because...it was a crazy 45 minutes, y'all. Real crazy. Kayla levels of crazy. And Lord knows it takes time to recover from Kayla crazy.

Kaylzy? Oh, I know! Crayla. Wait, no...that sounds like a crayon.

Whatever. It doesn't even deserve its own word. You know what they say: when you name things, you just get more attached.

Which doesn't really apply in this situation but that's okay. The point is...well, actually there isn't one. (Other than to make you feel better about yourself, of course).

Sorry to have wasted your time.

A Rant About the Dentist and Miley Cyrus.

So, I had an impromptu dentist appointment on Monday.

It was scheduled for today, but for some reason unbeknownst to me, six months ago I thought it would be a grand idea to schedule my next appointment for 11:30am...right in the middle of the workday.

Which is totally fine for someone who works full time and really has no other option but to miss part of work to go to the dentist. But I only work until 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 3 on Mon/Wed/Fri so CLEARLY I do not need to miss part of my work day. Nor should I.

So on Monday, I called to reschedule, and literally the ONLY time they could get me in was 3:00 that same day. Right when I get off work. I told them I'd be about 10 minutes late, but they were cool with that so we scheduled it.

So, I get there at 3, and as usual, I sit around for about 15 minutes before they call me back. The lady calls me back to do some x-rays, and that takes like 10 minutes. And then she sends me back out to the waiting room because apparently she's not my hygienist. My hygienist isn't ready yet.

So I literally sit in the waiting room for 15 more minutes. Remember that they scheduled me for an appointment at 3...I didn't get back in the room until almost 4.

Then while I was waiting, a girl showed up who is apparently a new employee starting on Friday and so she was supposed to be visiting. Well, the head honcho dentist guy decided to put MY hygienist in charge of helping her out, so about 5 minutes into my cleaning, she leaves for literally 10 minutes. And I'm just sitting there with a bright light shining on my face, until a nice lady came in and moved it for me.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE my dentist. I truly feel like they want what's best for me, and not what will make them the most money. But I had somewhere to be at 5:30, and I was starting to get concerned.

My teeth were perfect as usual, and my gums were puffy, inflamed, and unhealthy as usual. I don't know why I have had gingivitis since I was 7 but I have never had a cavity. But whatever. At least with gum infections they don't drill a hole in your face.

Anyway, they are genuinely concerned about the condition of my gums, so guess who gets to go back into the dentist in three months for another cleaning? Huzzah for me.

So, I leave the dentist with my sore and bleeding gums (because they are NOT gentle with those cleanings!) and OH YEAH my broken wire because she literally flossed right through my permanent retainer on the back of my bottom row of teeth....

I was meeting a bunch of family for dinner at 5:30 and didn't have time to go home, but did have time to run a quick errand. So I stopped at a store, walked around for 10 minutes looking for what I needed, got in a line with a broken register, got in another line, left, and got lost. Because I thought I knew where I was going, and I should never, EVER think that.

EVER.

So I was like...15 minutes late to dinner. But it's okay. We went to see Man of Steel afterward, which was good, but WAY too long, and the action scene at the end seriously could have been 30 minutes shorter.

And thus ends my dentist rant. Which brings me to my rant about Miley Cyrus. Have you seen her new music video?

Please don't.

Though you probably will now because I've struck your curiosity, but I must warn you: it is the WORST music video, in every way possible, that I have ever seen in my entire life. Including Lady Gaga videos.

Yeah. I know.

And what's even worse, is all the people in the comments who say "This video is so awesome!" and then say "Stop hating on Miley, she's a grown up now!"

Um...I'm sorry, but she looked pretty juvenile in that video.

Newsflash: being a grown up does NOT give you a free pass to do whatever the heck you want. It means you stop acting like a child, which is not -- by any definition -- what Miley has done in that video.

If anything, she was more mature when she was on Hannah Montana.

Sorry if you're a Miley fan, but unfortunately it's the truth.

Also...either Miley is really bad at twerking, or that dance move should never, EVER be attempted in public OR private. End of discussion. Outlaw the twerk.

Don't worry, I'll have some more coherent posts up soon. :)

This is Getting Ridiculous, Y'all.

What's getting ridiculous, you ask?

Everything. The getting lost. The malfunctioning technology. I'm as tired of it happening as you are of hearing about it. But oh my goodness...there is seriously something wrong with the directional part of my brain. You know, the part that most people have that contains a map so that they usually have some concept of where they are and what direction they need to be heading in? Yeah, I don't have that.

I just have eyes that know how to read a map and street signs, but occasionally that method fails me too.

As many of you know, I got a GPS for Christmas. Which was really exciting, because I can't count how many times I've gotten lost in the year and a half I've had my license. I've used my GPS twice since I got it: the first time I was only traveling about 5 minutes from my house, and I didn't get lost (yay!). The second time was last night. This is essentially the SparkNotes version of what happened:

I had a church event starting at 7:15. I got out of school and had time to kill so I ran a few errands. Well, I had time to stop by the Northeast Mall (about 30 minutes from my house) beforehand. Yes, it was far away, but I was getting a free drink out of it (from my friend who works at Chickfila and promised me a free drink), so I thought hey, why not? So I pull out the trusty old GPS to get me there. And I got there and avoided traffic and everything. It was awesome.

I leave the mall and put my church's address in the GPS. ETA: 6:59. Please remember that the program starts at 7:15. So, I should have been early.

I went from being 16 minutes early to 3 minutes late.

So what happened? I honestly don't even know. My GPS kept telling me to turn, but I kept trying to turn earlier than I was supposed to and didn't realize it until I was in a turn-only lane and couldn't get over anymore. So, I would turn, it would re-route me, add a few minutes to the ETA, and then I'd screw up again and turn too early. And repeat. And repeat and repeat.

Finally, I just called someone, although the first two people I talked to had no idea where I was, either.

Then I hung up the phone and couldn't remember the directions I had been given. So I decided to give the GPS a second chance. Thankfully, it did not let me down and I arrived at church 15 minutes later.

So yes, it has finally happened: I got lost using a GPS. Didn't take long either.

Let's face it: I'm a lost cause. I'm completely hopeless when it comes to directions. I'm pretty sure that if I ever move to another state, the first time I go to the grocery store will be the last time I ever see my house.

Guess I can cross "taxi driver" and "bus driver" and possibly "tour guide" off my list of possible career options.

And Now, the Post You Have All Been Waiting For....

...my Christmas post!!

I know you are all just itching with curiosity and excitement to hear all about how my Christmas went. ;-D

Well, here you go!

I think I can honestly say this was the best Christmas I've ever had. It all started on December 24th....

Christmas Eve started out pretty crazy. My dad's family was coming over at 11 am for a brunch and gift exchange. BUT my mom woke up with a migraine...so the morning began with moving brunch to 12 and making a trip to Grandma's house to pick up some medicine. And then we had to clean the house and cook....and my aunt forgot she was supposed to pick up my grandma...so it was even later...haha, but, eventually we got everyone in the same place and were able to sit down for a wonderful meal and open presents.

My cousins got me Tangled on DVD, which is pretty awesome because that was actually something I wanted but never asked for. (Tangled is an awesome movie, btw). I also got a bracelet and a giftcard to Kohl's.

After they left I went into baking mode...I had a chocolate mousse pie to make for the following day, and chocolate chip cookies for my friend. AND I did some last minute stocking stuffer shopping....

That evening, Christopher's family came over because they had a Christmas present for me. A Christmas present that couldn't be brought to church....

 

 This picture was incredibly dark, so I tried to fix it. However, I suck at photoshop, in

case you thought it looked kinda weird.

Isn't he cute?? His name is Nemo. I've always wanted a bunny, and they have a couple to spare...so, now he's mine!! 

Anyway, after that we went to a movie (We Bought a Zoo) and then went home so I could finish making all the Christmas presents I hadn't finished making yet...haha.

The next day was CHRISTMAS!! Yay. My family opened presents early, since we had church at 11:30. Here I added to my possession a GPS. Which everyone finds extremely funny. Because I'm kind of terrible with directions. I personally just think Google Maps gives faulty directions half the time, but everyone else has a different opinion.

Also, my mom made me a beautiful quilt that she was apparently working on every time I left the house. haha Here's a picture:

It's so pretty!

This quilt basically combines three of my favorite things: the combination of purple and green, daisies, and blankets! It's awesome.

Then we went to church where we had an awesome Christmas service. I loved it, minus the candlelighting ceremony...because that always makes me nervous with the fire and the small children....

Also, I gave my friends their Christmas presents here. I made Ellen a...thing...I don't know what to call it...a poster? It's small though...I don't know, but it has pictures of us on it. :-) haha I bought Meagan a really cute picture frame and put a really cute picture of us in it. And for Christopher I made a calendar with pictures of friends for every month (which so does not compare to a bunny at all...but he's hard to shop for). As far as I know, they all liked their presents, which made me happy. 

Oh, Ellen bought me a scarf and Meagan got some really awesome smelling lotion and an iTunes giftcard.

And Jonathan (my illegitimate little brother) enjoyed his chocolate chip cookies.

THEN (it goes on...) several families got together after church for lunch and games. That's what my pie was for. That was fun. We played a giant game of Kingdoms, which was kind of ridiculous because I hadn't heard of half of the names. I didn't last long. lol

My family had to leave early to go have our last Christmas (for this year) with my mom's family. We had dinner and opened presents at my grandparents' house. My grandma had a fun little drawing for the girls where we each took two numbers and got to open the corresponding presents. It was just random stuff that she didn't want anymore, but I enjoyed what I got: a really good smelling candle and a GIANT tub of strawberry lemonade mix.

I also got some money and a really pretty bracelet from my grandma. 

Then I went home and cleaned my room...haha, I needed room for all my new possessions! But all in all, I had a really fantastic Christmas. I had a lot of fun putting together the presents for all my friends, and I got some things I've wanted for a really long time (a bunny, a GPS...lol).

God is awesome. 2011 started out pretty rough, but turned into one of the best years of my life. I'm going to miss this year...but can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me. I know I will make plenty of memories as I go into 2012. I know one thing's for sure....

I'M GRADUATING!!!

I felt that that deserved a really big font. :-)

Anyway, I hope everyone had as great of a Christmas as I did, and a happy new year, too. Don't party too hard tonight!

Tonight, My Worst Nightmare Came True.

I always knew it would happen eventually. But deep down, I always hoped it wouldn't. It was the worst thing ever. I was so scared. I was about to cry.

That's right: I got lost driving home, and my phone was dead.

Those of you who know me well are probably laughing your face off right about now.

It was the worst experience ever. I was driving home from babysitting over in Lake Worth. I couldn't remember exactly how to get home, but I knew I was supposed to go on 820. I wasn't sure if it was east or west, but I live in the southwest, so I went for west.

Last time I came home from their house, 820 took me to 35, and I could easily get home from there. So I'm on 820, and I am NOT seeing 35. 820 West turned into 820 South. Last time I drove on 820 South, I never ran into 35. Instead I ran into 20, and got home that way. So, as I'm driving down 820, I see a sign for 20 West, and think "Oh, that's where I'm supposed to go!" I exit. I immediately know that was a mistake.

Nothing looks familiar. There are no street signs. No exits. Nowhere to turn around. My phone is dead. Is this really happening to me???

 I keep driving. 5 minutes later...a sign! A sign with the words "Weatherford" and "Abilene," and another sign that says "Aledo."

Um...what happened to Fort Worth?

At this point I'm pretty sure I've gone too far west, so I exit Aledo, turn around, and get on what I think is 20 East.

Now all I see are signs for Dallas, Shreveport, and downtown, none of which are places I want to go. Suddenly, the exit numbers start over at 1...wait a minute. Whenever I'm traveling on 20 East, the exit I take to get home is like 300-something...

There's no way I'm this far from home.

That's when I realize I've somehow ended up on 30 East. I'm so confused.

I see a sign for 820 South, and am about to turn back on it, when I see the next sign up says "Las Vegas Trail". I KNOW THAT SIGN! It's right after (or before, when coming east) Cherry Lane, where I have my voice lessons. So I continue on 30 and make my way home from there. Let's just say I was kind of in a rush to get home before my parents filed a missing person's report on me.

So, in a nutshell, tonight I left Lake Worth around 11, took a quick detour through Aledo, and barely made it home in time for the 12 o'clock curfew. And, in another nutshell, what I learned is: charge my phone and bring a map.

Yeah...you'd think I'd have learned that by now...

*By "tonight," I definitely mean last Friday night, when this happened and I wrote this. My internet was being stupid and wouldn't let me post it last week. This is the first chance I've gotten to post it since my internet's been back up. :)