This weekend commemorates that ridiculously long-ago event with a celebration.

And for some reason the university is crazy enough to let us all stay in the dorms.

Seems like a great idea, right?

And now I’m going to say something really judgmental, so forgive me, interwebs. But I can tell that this class would be fun if everyone cared as much as I did. Or at least…did the readings. But there are 7 of us and the only other person who actually participates besides me is a very opinionated older gentleman who tends to state the obvious. One girl has asked 50 times whether we need to use quotes in our assignment essays but hasn’t yet participated in a discussion. The professor speaks at a rate about 20 words per minute, with these agonizing stretches of silence that I awkwardly try to fill. Yes, I try to fill in our professor’s sentences because he stands there with such pregnant pauses staring at the ceiling as if it’s all written up there.

And guys? This class is for 2.5 hours every day, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

At least today we read about active euthanasia, organ donation, and abortion. And by at least, I mean that at least I will have some polarizing things to say, if for no other reason than to incite people to argue with me. Because that’s kind of the point, right?

But this weekend, it really is the kickoff of summer 2k12, and I’m spending it with four of the funniest people I know. I’m really excited. I hope to beat them at games and not pee my pants from laughing too hard. It’s a lot to ask of the universe, they are all that funny.

I’ve been insanely busy with the start of the summer semester of community college. This week my mind has been on the meaning of life (not as dramatic as it sounds, as it is the first unit we’re covering in philosophy 101), the number of calories in a 6 ounce piece of salmon (I’m taking nutrition, too), and what it means to be spiritual (did I mention world religions?).

Honestly guys? I had a pretty spiritual moment (hour) with those puppies. I miss Preston more than ever, but the new baby is a welcome distraction and will hopefully help fill the void he left behind. There isn’t a day, or even an hour, that goes by that I don’t think of our boy.

But because a lot of you have told me how much you loved the pictures, I’ll show you some more.

I don’t know how I will wait three more weeks until our new baby comes to us; our new hero, our new pup, our new family member. But he’s one of these balls of fur and he’s on his way.

And because I won’t be back until at least Monday, here’s a video of some kisses I got from a special pup.

Have a FANTASTIC Memorial Day Weekend, y’all!

And then this happened.

And then I died. And when I woke up, I was in heaven.

Here are some other things in heaven:

When I go to sleep tonight, I’ll be dreaming about golden puppies and the magical day three weeks from now when we bring ours home!

(And by “ours” I mean I’m kidnapping all of them. Shhhhh.)

G’night.

We spent our second weekend at the shore, and some traditions were renewed promptly.

Like shower beers.

We traipsed around town and got ready for the big holiday — Memorial Day.

And tomorrow? Guess what I’m doing.

I’m going to spend the afternoon with 9 golden retriever puppies and I’m going to help choose our newest family addition.

Jealous?

I’ll take some pictures.

I’ve been busy, people! Busy doing important things. (Lie.)

Like this.

And this.

And shopping.

And telling Grace horror stories about her new baby brother who will be joining the Sullivans in 23 short days. More information, of course, to come.

I’ve been a waste of space on my week off. It’s been fantastic. I read this book, which I highly recommend, because if nothing else it will make you think and argue with yourself and challenge your own morality:

And truthfully, that’s all I got.

As it turns out, Where She Went is a sequel to another young adult book, If I Stay. I immediately rolled my eyes, forgetting that some of my favorite books are in fact, technically “young adult.” And I don’t just mean my favorite Sweet Valley Highs or Judy Blumes. I also include The Book Thief in there, Hatchet, Gossip Girl, Harry Potter, and of course, The Hunger Games.

So I ignored the large type-setting and began to read.

Having not read the first book probably made this even more enjoyable for me, not knowing the characters’ back stories wasn’t a hinderance at all. In fact, it was more exciting to not know exactly what had transpired between Adam and Mia in the first book.

At the heart of this novel, we have the young love torn apart by tragic circumstances, and how the two journey back together after years and miles apart. I can say this is a total beach read, engrossing and sweet, and not too complicated or unnecessarily trendy. (I think some young adult books through way too many fads and trends in there; this was just a simple story.) It overall seems very real. The emotions are real, the dialogue is real, and the story just feels very real.

Where She Went is good, and now that I’ve finished it, I want to go back and read the first story. (The first one, by the way, is going to be a movie.) It is at times dark but overall uplifting.

If you’re interested in the book, check out the BlogHer Book Club page and discussions.

*Disclaimer: Although I was compensated for this review, it in no way affected my judgment or review of the story.

Hip hip, hooray!