Graduation Party

Instead of organizing my room yesterday (which may or may not be in a state of disaster right now), I went for a run in the summer-like heat in the afternoon and then accompanied my parents to a graduation party. The run went pretty well, although it was very hot outside. After a while, I had a choice: take a break or vomit on the side of the street. I decided to take a walking break. I'm not sure exactly how far I ran, but I'm going to estimate between 3-4 miles. Maybe we'll round up to four? Okay, thanks!

The party was for a daughter of my dad's coworkers (both parents work at his hospital). She just graduated from medical school, so it's obviously a very big deal. My parents are very close with her parents, although I have never met the graduate before. It was great to finally see their home and meet their whole family (and play with their golden retriever Murphy!). 

I sipped on a glass of white wine (it may have been sauvignon blanc) and nibbled on some passed appetizers before going inside to grab dinner. Everything looked good. I filled up on mashed potatoes, mahi-mahi with a creamy sauce, mixed salad, grilled veggies and a whole grain bread roll. 

Everybody wanted to sit outside since the weather was so nice, so my parents and I just barely snagged a small table for the three of us. We had a great time sitting by ourselves for a while and discussing some wedding details. 14 months to go, my friends!

Murphy came by a few times. He said hello, and he wanted to know if I wanted to give him any of my food. I said no, but he must have interpreted that as me giving him permission to steal my dad's napkin off of his lap. Those must be yummy. Maybe I'll try eating dirty napkins for a while. It would certainly save me money on food, but I'm not sure they contain many nutrients. 

After dinner, it was time to sing to the graduate. Maryann, the mom, is so funny. She got up there and started singing the "Happy Birthday" song but substituted "graduation" for "birthday". Then, she sang the same song with "anniversary" in it to honor people with June anniversaries. If only she wanted to acknowledge June birthdays, I could have been serenaded as well.  

View from the screened-in gazebo

I wanted cake, but I also heard that there were gourmet cupcakes in the house! I found them, and I returned with a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. OHMYGOSHDELICIOUS! 

Some other friends joined our table, and a whole plate of cupcakes somehow arrived in front of us. I was very curious about how they made the pink cupcakes with the letters on them, so my mom thought she should try to pick it apart (turns out that there was a mini cupcake on top of an already frosted cupcake, and then there was more pink frosting on top of that). I told her that she could not take apart a beautiful cupcake without eating it, but she refused. I was angry that she wasted it, and the rest of the table was on my side. But nobody else would eat it.  So, guess who had to eat another one? Me! I actually only had a little bit, but it was also so, so good. 

Well, that was yesterday. Then, there was today. Today, I went to school. I packed my backpack. 

I also packed a snack. 

I ate a pizza lunch before I left the house. The cheese melted all over the toaster oven. 

School went smoothly enough. We had an introductory lecture, and then we went to the lab to watch a funny safety video. It was actually boring and went on for way too long, but it's sometimes funny to see really bad acting, hideous 1980's hairstyles and mannequins catching on fire. 

After class, I was excited to get home and veg out a bit. There was just one problem. My car wouldn't start. I put the key in the ignition, and nothing happened. My mom came to the rescue by calling the towing/car repairs business that we use for everything. About 35 minutes later, my knight in shining armor (with a tow truck instead of a horse) picked me up and my car. My mom picked me up from Ernie's, and we came home for the night with one less car. It was distressing at the time, but I know that my car is in good hands. They'll know the problem by tomorrow morning. 

My dad made me feel better by making ravioli. He made the pasta (not sure what it is exactly, but it's cheese and spinach ravioli from Sam's Club) and then added shitake mushrooms, diced tomatoes, sage, goat cheese and some other yum yum stuff that I'm sure my dad wouldn't want me to leave out of this list. 

I also dusted off my graphing calculator from high school, since I will need one for my chemistry class. I replaced the batteries and couldn't get it turn on. My dad took a look at it, and he fixed it. I asked him what he did, and he said that I put in the batteries the wrong way. Long day, perhaps?

They will only get longer.

This is my cue to snooze. Catch ya later, friends!