Gearing up for Fall.

Sigh...

It's over.

Summer is dead and gone. Well, in the actual passing of the seasons I guess summer is still existent. But for me and 2012, summer was just a passing fancy.

School starting is always a funny thing for me. There are several pre-school rituals that I partake in that help me to feel as prepared as possible for the upcoming school year. Some things are planned, others occur without me really having a say in how or when they go down, but nevertheless, they happen just the same.

For example, before school starts I try to go on one last trip or have one last hurrah doing absolutely whatever I want without any nagging fear of a missed assignment or guilt for blatantly ignoring whatever I have on my plate at the time. Usually, this involves stuffing my face with mass quantities of my favorite foods along with some shameless self indulgence of A Very Potter Musical, Dance Moms, or America's Next Top Model marathons. This year, it was a little different.

While I didn't get to sit around in my sweats enjoying Abby Lee Miller scream at Chloe, I did get to eat my weight in carnival food, which is almost as good. Brady's family takes us to Lagoon every year and it's always a great time for everyone. The boyfriend and I drove up with his parents in the morning and spent the day riding Wicked, Colossus and other Lagoon attractions. (And hey, Jensen Astle - I don't like Colossus, but I rode everything else. #hashtagthat )

By far, one of the best parts of the day were the massive amounts of caffeine, sugar, and fried goodness I was able to consume. By myself, I was able to eat a cheeseburger, french fries, soft serve ice cream, Mint Chocolate Dippin' Dots, a churro, and the larger halves of three 32-oz Coca Colas. How did I feel?

F A N T A S T I C.

And that's the truth. I will probably not be able to fit into any sort of dance costumes however for this upcoming school year, so I guess I should just begin my life as a fatty and start hoarding porcelain dolls and fast food containers. Does anyone have any cats?

I also helped the Bradster consume his Snowie, but he likes those on the heavy syrup side where I prefer most of the ice, so my lips didn't get quite as lovely as his did. But with lips like that, I couldn't help myself when he agreed to sneak off to the ferris wheel for a little while. It's an impressive sight to see at night, but to be completely honest I think what made it an amazing night was the person I got to share it with.









































He is seriously the greatest. And I"m glad that Lagoon ended up being my last hurrah before school begins tomorrow. Other rituals that occur are the night before paining of my nails (and as I type this, they are drying up swell) and spa routine, and the obsessive writing of schedules in my day planner that will be soon forgotten in about two weeks. Routines I can't control are the unsightly stress breakouts that I always hope won't occur but actually do, and the slow sinking feeling that comes with realizing I will never have a moment to breathe until December and that kind of freaks me out. This is slowly followed by a crippling, sleepless night where I imagine the worst-case scenario of virtually everything in my life and I usually end up relationship-less, family-less, homeless, and one of those people you see on the front of a magazine asking how they ended up falling so low. Every year, I try to tell myself to suck it up and ignore that dream but it loves to come back and haunt me like that low-fat sour cream you left in your fridge and keep forgetting to throw out.

I'm ready for it, but not ready for it. I just want to be able to have a professional career, great bank account, have some semblance of a social life and stay caught up on my favorite shows. Too much to ask?

Probably.