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Summer of Fun 2004-05-22, 12:06 a.m. I kicked off my Summer of Fun last weekend with a 3 day trip to the Lake of the Ozarks in southern central Missouri. It was the perfect way to start the summer – we lounged by the lake, we ate cheap food at dive bars, and we woke up early enough to eat breakfast (but only because we stayed at a B&B) and then we went back to sleep until we felt like getting up – the absolute perfect short vacation. My summer of fun has continued – I got an awesome haircut that may be the best hair I’ve ever had, and I got highlights because it’s the Summer of Fun and cute hair is a must. I’ve been to four baseball games and two Sunday afternoon cookouts. I’ve started a ten-week knitting class to properly learn circular and double-pointed needle techniques because I’m just not getting how to do that right. I’ve been to the huge farmers’ market at the River Market area downtown every Saturday since they opened. I’ve eaten big fat strawberries, I’ve had the first sunburned cheeks of the summer, and I’m cringing at the first tan lines. Tomorrow, I have plans to go see a matinee showing of Shrek 2 and tomorrow night, I’m hosting a small, informal dinner party. My menu is very summery and fun: crusty bread with roasted garlic/cream cheese spread for starters, then salads with cheddar cheese dressing, then beef tenderloin steaks in red wine-tarragon sauce with roasted asparagus topped with parmesan cheese, and for dessert, I’m making a Heath Bar cake. It’s one of my specialty desserts – chocolate cake that you poke holes into with a wooden spoon (I use the non-business end of a fondue fork since my lone wooden spoon has a stupid rubber handle), and pour sweetened condensed milk over the top, followed by a jar of caramel ice cream topping. Then, you coat the whole thing in Cool Whip and top with smashed-up pieces of Heath Bar. So. Damn. Good. It’s the kind of thing you eat with strawberries on the side while savoring the last of your wine and feeling too drunk to drive anywhere, and everyone is reluctant to see the evening end. And my summer of fun continues with even more fun things to do! I’m going to Oklahoma next weekend to see Kate and Dawnie and to miss Rebekah since she will be in Montreal. I’m looking for a job - I’ve got some great job prospects and I have until the end of October to find something. I’m re-joining Weight Watchers. I’m going to go to Curves a lot. I’m going to walk outside after work and go to garage sales on Saturday mornings and eat a lot of salads. I’m going to take good care of my skin in the sun. I’m going to barbecue once a week. I’m not going to work any weekends, if I can help it. I’m going to some weddings. I’m going to get to hold some babies and pretend like I know what to do with them. I’m going to JournalCon. I’m going to move. I’m going to get a new job. I’m going to start over somewhere else, and the Summer of Fun is the most incredible, most deserved, most needed precursor to all of the change that’s coming in my life. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
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