Happy Birthday, Bletley!

You're 21!

Happy Birthday to my very best friend 

in the entire world!

What can I possibly say that would do justice

in celebrating the life of this amazing girl?

She is the vault of my secrets, the shoulder on which I lean,

the advice I seek out, my costar of the home video screen,

the Piglet to my Pooh, the Baby to my Sporty,

both of which we'll always be, long after we're forty,

the woman of God I've always admired

with a strong Faith that leaves me inspired,

the guiding light home when I am lost in the dark,

the voice of reason when I'm not being smart,

the encouraging word when I am feeling down,

she can always make a smile out of my frown,

she has always been there, and will be to the end,

she is my sister, my heart, my best friend.

I love you so much, Blakeley!

Thank you for just being you and for

always being there for me.

God blessed me immensely when

He sent you to be my friend.

I hope you have the most incredible

birthday ever! You deserve

nothing less than the best!

Happy 21st Birthday, Bletley!

Love always, 

Cash

Birthday Surprise.

I went to South Carolina over the weekend to celebrate

my brother's (4/4/91) and my best friend's (3/30/90) birthdays.

Cody knew I was coming but it was a surprise for Blakeley.

The surprise was almost ruined twice through Twitter...

The day I was arriving into town, Cody tweeted that he was

excited that I was coming and that I should hurry.

I freaked out and reminded him of the surprise and told

him to fix it because Blakeley replied with a "Am I missing something?"

He convinced her that I was coming the next weekend for his

birthday. It was a good save.

Then, Loretta tweeted back to Cody a few hours later

"I thought she was coming this weekend?"

HA.

Luckily, Blakeley didn't really think much of it.

I showed up at Blake's house the following day where

I genuinely surprised her. It was all good.

Her boyfriend Justin happened to come in from out of town

for the weekend as well. (Seriously, just about every time I

visit North Augusta, he visits too. I feel like he never moved. :P)

We all ended up going to The Cotton Patch for lunch and

Boll Weevil for dessert.

I like to make big deal birthday presents for my siblings

if I can, so Cody's early celebration was no exception.

For his actual present, I themed it as a present filled with

all sorts of magical things. The layers of boxes and the card

were filled with "fairy dust"... tons and tons of red and gold glitter.

That was definitely his favorite part. ;)

Also, I did this to his room:

His reaction to the room was great...

he couldn't stop laughing. :)

I love you Brudder and Bletley!



Movies seen in theaters: 12

DvDs bought: 52

The Wonder Years: First Grade

It was '95, I was 6 years old, and I had Mrs. Brasco as a teacher. It was the year of many firsts: First grade, first time I had my own desk, first year I wore glasses, and the first (and last!) time I got in trouble. 

Back then, I thought those ugly, round glasses would be the death of me. For a few weeks, I would walk into class without my extra pair of eyes on and hide them in my desk. Only when I really needed them would I put them on my face... when we had to look at something far away (i.e. a movie on the television, writing on the chalk board, etc.). Eventually, I kept them on all day because I just couldn't see. Seriously, those glasses were awful. If I had a picture on my computer, I would show you.

Unfairly, I had to move a card once for talking. But honestly, I wasn't the one talking. Someone at my table kept trying to talk to me so I told him to be quiet and the teacher caught me telling him to do so. I was the only one who got in trouble. I was so upset that I cried in the bathroom. When the teacher came to check on me, I had made myself so sick that she had to call my mom to come get me. How embarrassing, I know. But that incident scarred me so bad that I never got caught talking again. I made sure of it.

We had a "class bear" that sat in his chair all week until Friday when the teacher drew a name and that kid got to take him home for the weekend. We had to write down everything that we did together and read it to the class the following Monday. I remember that he was a polar bear and so cute! Everyone always wished that it would be their turn to take him home, it was a special privelage.

We had a one person restroom in the back of the class. I was in there one day sitting on the toilet, and apparently, I didn't lock the door. A girl walked in, looked at me for a second, and walked back out. Another embarrassing moment got the best of me. After that, I tried not to use the bathroom unless it was vital; I didn't want another opportunity for that to happen.

I am pretty sure this is the year I started softball... tee-ball, rather. I remember playing "pitcher" a lot of the time. I didn't like that; I was too close to the batter, leaving me defenseless if the ball was hit in a line drive (ha, right... at that age?) at me... I hadn't gotten used to the game enough for that kind of responsibility. I was in the process of learning to catch, hit off of a tee, and hit a pitched ball. Blakeley was on the team with me and her dad was either one of the coaches or just helped out a lot. I was throwing and catching with him one practice and was doing so well until a ball he threw to me missed my glove and hit my nose. It bled pretty badly and I can remember him using his shirt tail to wipe the blood from my face. I think it scared him more than it actually hurt or scared me. I am pretty sure after that incident, I was less afraid of getting hit and actually put forth more effort to be a good player. So thank you, Mr. Bill! ;)

There used to be a bump on my cheek that had cause my mom to take me to the doctor. I am still not sure what it was, but it was something that had to be removed. I remember when I had it removed, I was told to keep a bandage on it and to not touch it or green would ooze out. That made me paranoid. I would be so careful not to touch it. One day at school, we were lined up outside of our classroom and a girl asked me if she could just see that spot. I took the bandage off for her to see and she took it upon herself to touch it! I freaked out and told her not to do that... that it was going to ooze green stuff now. (I don't think it ever did.) I checked it for the rest of the day, worsening my paranoia.

That year, I also had a terrible eye injury. Blakeley, Austin, my siblings, and I were piled into my mom's van coming back from somewhere when we stopped at McDonald's for dinner. We went through the drive thru so as my mom was handed our drinks, they were passed out to us. I was in the backseat, window to my left and Blakeley to my right. I put my straw through the lid and saw that Blake was having trouble with hers. So she could get it through successfully, she was going to jab the straw in. She reared back her arm, straw in hand and I saw that straw come straight into my eye. If this was a movie, it would have been in slow motion. That is how I saw it coming towards me. I don't remember much of what happened after that until I was at my doctor's office the next morning. Dr. Pilcher had me lay back on that cold, paper covered bed and he put drops in my eye. At the time, it felt like the end of the world and my eye had been pulled out of my head by straw extraction. The doctor put an eye patch on my new injury and told me I had to wear it for a few days. An eyepatch. Like a pirate. Needless to say, I didn't have to go to school that day... for class anyways. Mom let me go to the school to help her sell ice cream. It was always so much fun when we got to sit in that little room in the butterfly garden and sell ice cream. Parents took turns selling every Friday. After selling the ice cream, we went to visit my class so Mom could talk to Mrs. Brasco. I was nervous to go in the classroom because of my new pirate look, but when I walked in, the kids were very intrigued, and dare I say, even a little jealous. That experience turned out to be quite alright, as good as having a straw injected into your eye can go.

Can't remember anymore stories at the moment. If I think of another, I'll tell you in a future post.

Movies seen in theater: 12
DvDs bought: 52

Crafty Cassie.

Here are a couple of crafts I recently made and the how to. I hope to be doing this more in the future because I just love doing this kind of thing. :)


Dry Erase Photo Frame

Materials:

-Picture frame
-Fabric of your choice
-Mod Podge
-Pack of dry erase markers
-Scissors








Cut the fabric to fit the shape of the backboard of the frame and use Mod Podge to glue it down in place. Put the backboard back in place, and you've got yourself a pretty frame/art piece and dry erase board all in one.

Really easy to make, really useful and cute. Use it for quick notes, reminders, lists, anything... and when the writing is wiped off, the frame makes for pretty decor.

French Silhouette

Materials:

-Canvas

-French books

(I used French to English dictionary and a random book written in French)

-Mod Podge

-Scissors

-Black paint

-Paint brush

Pull pages out of each book. Arrange the pages on the canvas first, without using the Mod Podge. Have edges of the pages sticking off of the canvas so you can fold them around to the back, giving the sides of your canvas the same book page background. When all is in place, ModPodge away. (Amazing stuff, isn't it?! :P) I put the Mod Podge on the back and front of the pages... not only does it glue everything down, but it will wrinkle the pages a little, giving the canvas a great texture. 

When the pages dry, paint the silhouette of whatever you'd like. I chose the Eiffel Tower to go along with the French page thing.

I gave this to Ashley to go along with her Paris themed bedroom. What do you think?

Movies seen in theaters: 11

DvDs bought: 47

The Wonder Years: Kindergarten.

It was 1994 when the 5 year old Cassie started Kindergarten. This is the point I really start having cognitive memories.

I went to Belvedere Elementary for grades K-5. Mrs. Burgess was my Kindergarten teacher and I was in her afternoon class. (We didn't go a full day.) 

I started riding the bus to school. A boy who lived in my neighborhood came over to my house every morning to get on the bus with me. We never sat together because you know, boys had cooties. He did, however, sit in the seat across the aisle from me. One morning, I looked over at him right as he stuck his finger up his nose. Even though it was gross, it was one of those things you can't look away from. So I then watched him dig out a booger, look at it for about three seconds, and bite it off of his finger with his teeth. It was a truly disgusting moment.

My teacher taught us the days of the week and the months of the year through song. I remember sitting on the floor facing the chalkboard corner the first time we heard the song. She had posters above the chalkboard with the names of the days and months on it. Mrs. Burgess would point to the corresponding word when we sang it out. I still remember the song.

For some reason, all of my memories from actually being in the classroom are very dark; not scary or evil, dark as in there was very little light. I am not sure why it was this way, but that is a major description for every classroom story I have. Weird. Maybe it was the beginning of the downfall of my eyesight. It's quite possible.

This is the year I was introduced to the punishment system that hangs on the wall. I believe it was an apple with our name on it that we had to move if we got in trouble. And no, I never had to move my apple. I was terrified to get in trouble so I, of course, stayed quiet and well behaved.

I remember my first fire drill at the school. We had just come in from playing outside and were in line to wash our hands. The teacher's aid squirted liquid soap into my hands and as soon as I had begun to lather it up, the alarm went off. We were immediately lined up and led out of our back door onto the playground by the fence. I just stood there looking at my hands and the drying, sticky soap on them and thought to myself how gross it felt. I wanted so badly to get my hands under some running water. We were out there for quite a while so when we finally went back in, my hands had a thick coat of now dirty and waxy soap.

We had a small "library" in our room, which I loved. During free time, I would always read (or pretend to read) a book. Our teacher even allowed us to check out a book if we wanted to take it home. One day, I checked out Casey at the Bat and took it home with me. I somehow went weeks without bringing it back in. Mrs. Burgess never asked me about it even though my name was written down on her "books checked out" list. Finally, it was the end of the school year and I still had Casey at the Bat sitting in my room. To this day, I have never given it back.

Now, during these Wonder Years posts, I may not be able to remember the specific year for a particular event or whatever I happen to be talking about, so I will probably throw in things that happened around that particular phase in my life.

With that said, I must confess that Winnie the Pooh was my absolute favorite thing in the world when I was little. I started collecting stuffed animals before I can even remember. I seriously have tons of Pooh Bears... they are sitting in a bag in the basement at my house right now. I even have this one bear that is huge.. bigger than I was when I got him; he was a gift from my Nana and Pawpaw. I usually don't like to play favorites, but I have two bears that were always my favorite (I even gave them nicknames): my very first Pooh Bear was nicknamed Tiger Lily (like the indian girl from Peter Pan) and my other favorite was nicknamed Rough (because he infact was rougher in texture than the others). This all probably sounds silly to you, but Pooh was a big part of my childhood. I would watch the cartoon when I could, and I would play the part of Pooh while Ash was Tigger and Blakeley was Piglet. My collection of Poohs would be my audience when I needed one and my children when I played "house". I had some good times with the little guy.

Movies seen in theater: 10
DvDs bought: 47

A little bit of everything.

Be kind,

for everyone you meet

is fighting a hard battle.

-Plato

Hm, I like starting with a random quote. I may do this more often.

What?! This is an actual update from the World of Cassie? ...so rare...so interesting...so past due!

I have no excuse for not updating. Almost every night for the past couple of weeks have been devoted to the complete series of Gilmore Girls (a birthday present from my sisters), which could have been watched while blogging. Oh, well. I just started season 6... two full seasons until the end! Because it's of importance of the kind of person I am: I am pro Jess, anti Dean; pro Luke, anti Christopher (or any other man for that matter); and although I am pro Jess, Logan is my favorite pick for Rory.

Other than that, I haven't been doing much lately, just hanging out with friends and working. It's not a glamorous life, but I am blessed with great friends, so I can't really complain about that.

I had a really bad stye under my eyelid for two straight days. It made my eye swell so that it would only open halfway, obscurring my vision and making me look like Rocky. ("Yo, Adrian!") It is finally getting better, but it is still a little swollen. Man, it hurt like Hades.

Ash and Jake had an incedent happen to them. Ash was cooking dinner and accidentally started a grease fire. If Jake hadn't walked in at that moment, the house would have caught fire. Jake got the fire under control and put out, but not without a few battle scars. His left arm, both of his hands, and the left side of his neck/face got burned. It wasn't severe, thank God, but it did do some damage. Poor Jake had to keep putting aloe on to soothe the burning sensation. God is healing him very quickly. This happened Saturday and he is so much better than before.

---

I wrote that yesterday and I wanted to separate that from today. It was a good day.

Being off of work always makes for a good day, but this was an especially great day off. Of course, I watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls this morning while we had tile being put in the bathrooms, loudly I might add. Around lunch time, I went to my grandpa's and cleaned out my car. Finally. It was disgusting. I then drove to the car wash and gave LJ a good shower. He sure needed it. After, I vacuumed out the inside and now LJ is bright, shiny, and clean! I was proud.

I rewarded my excellence with trip to McKay's for a few good DvDs. That really put me in the mood to do something crafty. I had in mind exactly what I wanted to do, but the Walmart I went to didn't have what I needed, so I settled on the next best thing. (I may show you guys pictures in a future post.) I made it for Ash and she hasn't seen it yet, so I don't want to give it away right now, but I think it's pretty cool. I even made one for myself.

I decided that is what I want to do. I want to make things, decor type things. How awesome of a job would that be?!

Anyway, I ate with Leah at Moe's (YUM!) and then it was off to the movie with her and Chris. It is Wednesday which means dollar movie day at the cheap theater! One of the best inventions known to man. We saw The Tourist. Incredible movie. In the beginning, I was a little unsure about it but it got better as time went on. The twist is what made it great. Ah, I loved it!

This whole day has just been awesome. The weather was perfect, my spirits were high, and the company was excellent. I need more days like this one.

Movies seen in theater: 8
DvDs bought: 46