Sometimes the unexpected is what you really needed after all

Last night as I got ready for bed, I packed up my bag with towels, sunscreen, and my swimsuit, anticipating another blindingly hot summer day in Cleveland, Ohio (we've been having a lot of those lately). As I snuggled down into my sheets and set my alarm, I also expected to sleep in nice and late before going off to babysit for the day. However, sometimes when you're expecting the lemons everyone tells you about, life throws a handful of grapes at you and you are left doing a confused double take...

As I was saying!

I woke up at roughly 5am this morning, tossing and turning from a really weird dream I was having, and proceeded to wake up on and off for the next three hours. Then. sometime around 8am, I hear this GIANT clap of thunder, and next thing I know, it's raining outside like it's about to cause the next great flood. So much for my sunny beach day :(
While I ate breakfast and hurried out the door, I tried to think of activities to occupy the kids I babysit. While they're generally sweet, they're the kind of kids who can't stay focused on anything. ANYTHING. A project that would normally subdue my brothers for a good hour lasts approximately ten minutes on these kids. I have to admit it can be exhausting. Nevertheless, I came up with a few ideas, vaguely including movies, popcorn, and a few indoor games. But when I got there, somehow the half-hearted plans turned themselves into something greater. Here's what we ended up doing over the course of seven hours instead:

• Swimming in the lake during the time that it wasn't storming (the kids are on swim team)
• Practicing math facts and reading to prepare a little for their next school year
• Coloring! We ended up drawing ninjas and flags and butterflies, and the kids ogled over my "awesome art"
• Practicing Spanish. Er, well, I wrote and read aloud phrases and paragraphs in Spanish and translated them for the kids. Anything Spanish-related is considered fun to me, and I'm glad to know that this greatly amused the kids...maybe I'm influencing them after all!
•  Decided to rent a movie and persuaded the kids to pick out Tangled...fantastic movie by the way, if you haven't yet seen it :D
• Baked delicious cinnamon streusel muffins together, getting flour and batter everywhere imaginable
• Set up a party in their living room. Complete with streamers, popcorn and trail mix, our muffins, Capri Suns, and a "raffle" for the kids' toys, I must say it beat out some of the parties I've been to by a longshot! :P
• Invited the neighbors over and watched Tangled with 4 adorable children snuggled around me...priceless.

So I didn't exactly get a beachy tan or get to practice my strokes in the lake. My sunscreen and swimsuit never saw their way out of my bag, and while that should have been disappointing to me, the alternative ended up being exactly what I needed today.

Lessons learned:
Point is, sometimes life tricks you a bit and shows you opportunities where you never would have expected them. I think this is especially important to remember as I head off to college...already, I've been given chances of a lifetime. And I'm not even in Columbus yet! I'm beyond excited for all of the things that I already expect, of course. But sometimes there are times when the outcome is totally different than what you thought it would be, but satisfying and gratifying just the same. I guess that's life, huh? Just when you thought you had it all figured out :) And while I obviously can't expect the unexpected, I can remember to be thankful for the times when the unexpected is, in fact, perfect after all.

Bed Bath & Beyond is crazy.

I'm currently sitting in my room, surrounded by bags and packages of every shape and size. There's an insane amount of "things" I need to get before heading off to college, and this growing pile is just the beginning. Most of it is pretty small stuff, just the everyday things you don't even really think about using. I guess I'll just say that I realized that I take a lot of borrowing for granted. From the parents, from my brothers, the miscellaneous desks and drawers around our house...who knew I didn't even have a stapler? And you're telling me I need to get my own laundry detergent? What kind of a world have I lived in all these years?! Haha. But in all seriousness, there is a lot to be bought. (Many thanks to all the gracious family and friends who shoved money-filled cards into my hands at my grad party!)

So I went on a little drive to the local Bed Bath & Beyond on Saturday, and let me tell you. If there is any possible gadget that could even slightly seem to be remotely useful in your four years at college, it was there. And the choices! Incredible. Should I get a laundry basket, a laundry bag, or a pop-up laundry hamper? Decisions, decisions...

Just a bit of advice if you haven't started shopping for your college dorm yet...DO IT NOW. The way the aisles were packed made me nearly claustrophobic. Us Ohio Staters don't even have move-in day until mid September, so the waiting game is even more dangerous for us. I decided that while I'm sure by September everything will be on sale, which is convenient, all that will be left are the picked-over remnants to choose from. And from the looks of it, I'm about to be proven right.

Now I have some of the basics, including my mattress pad, comforter, and food storage (that's a necessity, right?). And I have to admit, even I was lured in by the cuteness of some not-so-basic items. A mini-fan that clips onto my bedside and then converts to a standing desk fan? Almost a necessity. A contraption that cooks pasta and rice in the microwave? Possibly acceptable. An adorable little "USB man" that plugs into my computer and gives me a few extra USB ports despite the fact that I already have 3? Probably highly unnecessary, but come on! He's pink and he even has a little smiling face. How could I resist the charm??

Photo Credit: http://smiggle.com.au/Images/Catalog/ProductImages/440764_Pink_m.jpg

Lessons learned:

• Be watchful of the crazies (parents and kids alike) who roll their carts around like it's the next Indy 500. 
• Make a list beforehand. It's tempting to give in, and sometimes a plastic-y pink, smiling geek gadget will get ya if you're not careful...

• As promising as the advertising seems, you seriously will not need everything you see.*

*Addendum: Feel free to splurge just a little :) After all, this is probably the only time you will be able to buy that fuzzy, neon-rainbow colored chair and have it be socially acceptable!

Happy shopping! :)

Welcome to BeingBuckeye

And to my very first blog post!

BeingBuckeye.

So what exactly does it mean to be a Buckeye? Does it mean I must run around sporting only scarlet and grey, buckeyes and beads dangling from my neck, screaming “O-H!” passionately at every person that I see? Must I spend the coming days crammed in a dorm room or library nook, studying until my brain is about to burst? Will I eat cafeteria food until I’m sick, until I gain the dreaded freshman 15 (which is apparently no longer fifteen pounds at all, but much more)…or will my willpower come into play and motivate me to spend time over at the RPAC combatting just that? With all of my classes and clubs, will I have time for working out anyway? How do I pick among the hundreds of clubs and organizations? What exactly are college classes like? Will I have the guts to speak out, to branch out, to lead my college career in the direction I want it to go? And on top of all that, I have to learn what it means to be a Buckeye as well?? The questions and possibilities are endless.

Well hey, come along for the ride.

BeingBuckeye....

It’s exactly what it sounds like. My life, my journey, my tales and adventures and tips and realizations as I transition into college life at THE Ohio State University. September 18^th, I will start a new chapter in my life down in Columbus, Ohio, and I really want to share it with you…yes, YOU.

Man, I can’t wait. :)