Hooray! I'm finally on! Thank you Naomi!!

Thank you so much for getting me on Naomi- I've been reading the blogs and feeling like a mute since I couldn't contribute. This summer has been going pretty well for me- very low key, but still enjoyable. I started out the summer applying for part-time positions, which is apparently impossible right now. Seriously, I must have applied to like 10 or 12 places. In the meantime, I rode my horse, took nature walks at the local state parks, and helped my parents on the farm and with my aging dog. I also read a bunch of books in Oprah's book club- a lot of coming-of-age books and books about struggling women. In the middle of June, I went to a family reunion in Ohio where I got to meet relatives who I haven't seen in 10 years. A lot of old people- my cousins weren't able to make it- one has 6 kids and the other wasn't able to get off work (she also has 2 kids). After that, I went to the Ag. Teacher's Conference at Camp Oswegatchie. I learned a lot of lesson plan ideas, met a bunch of people, and got free stuff. O- Caton, I also met a guy who replaced his dad teaching in Medina- he's a year older than us and kind of reminds me of a grungy frat guy- do you know him? After that I returned home and continued my horse riding, nature, and farm experiences. I'm also embarrassed to report that I hung out with Fernando- o yes, the creeper. He kept calling and messaging me- getting angrier and angrier. I finally gave up and talked to him. I ended up visiting him a couple weekends. It wasn't too bad- we went to the gorges and I took him to the farmer's market. He cooked for me and took me salsa dancing, which is pretty fun if you're with someone who dances. I also visited his family friends for July 4th, who were a very nice Italian family. He also invited me to a trip to Peru in August- which I would have loved to go on. I decided to break it off, though- he's pretty sketchy- he called 3 times a day and told me he was falling in love with me- not okay (my cousins feared he would take me to Peru and murder me). He didn't let go easy, though. He continued to call and call and left me a very heartfelt angry message- then he defriended me on facebook- I think he's done calling now- it's been 2 days since the last text. Anyway, a couple weeks ago I went to Tampa for a cousin reunion. It was fun, but very dramatic. My sister, Laura, got in a huge fight with my cousin about activities and she ended up attacking Elizabeth and I, saying that we abandoned her and that I threw her under the bus. There were some very tense moments. Now I'm back home and touring around Orange County. I went to a Standardbred racing museum and went to a downtown area that's kind of like the commons. This weekend I'm volunteering with the 4-H Fair. I've also been working on some curriculum for the 4-H Dairy program, which has kept me slightly busy. I'm planning on going to school end of August- I've found an apartment with a few hotel students at Gun Hill. Should be interesting. No other major trips planned, though I'd like to go to the city sometime and continue traveling around. I'm glad to see all of you are doing well- good luck with the job search, Naomi- it sounds pretty exciting with all the trips planned- let me know if you go to NYC- maybe we could meet up. And Judy, let me know when you get back to school- I'm not sure how pleasant my housemates will be. Congrats again Caton on living in Nashville! Hopefully I'll talk to you all soon!