Series: 13 - July 2022

Hi! It’s me!  Lily!

And it’s Friday!!!

But not only that, it’s a holiday weekend!!!  YaaaYYYY!!!!!!!

I don’t have to work Monday either!  Well..  I could have.  I was offered to.  But then the owner told me he was going to be paying double time for the holiday.  And you know what?  I’ve got plenty of money.  I thought I’d leave the shifts to someone who needed it more.  One of my coworkers is a single mother, and she was very happy to take the shift.  It’s too bad she can’t spend it with her family, but I guess you have to put food on the table in order to have a family, right?

There are a lot of single mothers.  I’m not sure how I feel about that.  Maria is a single mother, and Diana doesn’t have a daddy, and it makes her sad sometimes.

Anyway, we have a lot of stuff planned for the weekend.  Like….  THE WATERPARK!!!  YAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!! I love the waterpark!!!  I don’t know which one we’re going to, but we get to choose from three!!!  And Dave’s going to do his famous grilling, and we’re going to have a huge party with all the people we know!!!  Crystal and her family, and Diana and Maria, and Allison and her parents, Liz and her parents, and…  even Emiko and her family.  Well, she was invited anyway.  I don’t know if she wants to come.  Houston is a long way away and gas prices are still very high (who’s this Brandon guy people keep talking about?).  But everyone loves Dave’s grilling!!!  OMG!!!  I’m not sure if we’re going to have a picnic because it’s hot.  But we’ll figure something out!!!

And on Sunday David comes home!!!

Oh and on Monday is Liz’s birthday!  That’s right, she’s a July 4 baby!!!  She’s going to have a party and all the girls are invited… again!!!  OMG!!! So much fun!  They might all stay over here and then we’ll all go over to Liz’s house!  Liz’s parents go all out with parties!!!  I have a….  special… gift for her.  I haven’t forgotten that lurid purple thing she gave me!  hahaha!!!

… It does look good on me, though.  BAD ME!!! BAD BAD BAD!!! Hahahah!!!!  And you’re NOT GETTING PICTURES.

… Sabby would kill me.

Anyway, what a fun weekend!!!  So much fun stuff!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

HI! It’s me! Lily!

And we went to the waterpark!!!  ALL us girls!!!  It was sooo much fun!!!  Plus it’s really hot outside, so that made it nice too!!!  We ahad races down the slides!!!  I kept my top!!!  But…  Diana lost hers.  Awww.  But I told her what happened with me, and that it’s just a body.  I swear they need to make better tops!!!

Crystal had the right idea.  You can’t lose the top of a one-piece!!

I think the problem is that we both used the tops with the strings on the back, and when we rub our backs on the slides going down it pulls the strings loose.  Maybe we should get the type with the elastic bands?  That should be a rule!

She wasn’t too embarrassed, though.  I think I was more embarrassed when it happened to me!  But then…  I have more to flop around, too, so…

But we had lunch at the waterpark too!  A sandwich and a cold milkshake!  I had strawberry!  Who needs chocolate?  JUST KIDDING!!! Of course I had chocolate!

After we got back home we all smelled of chlorine, and after a quick shower, we all played games and had dinner!  Dave went over to East Texas to pick up David, I guess they’ll be heading out in the morning and coming back in plenty of time for our picnic!  It wouldn’t be the same without Dave’s grilling!

Now we’re all telling stories.  Allison has fun stories about mythical creatures like unicorns and honest politicians!  haha!!! I’m not really that good at making up stories, but I just made one up based on that dream of me in the pasture.  Maybe I’ll tell it here!!!

But we have hair brushing to do, after I take Marie for a walk.  I hear fireworks too!!!  We’re in a drought so no one’s allowed to set them off.   But they are anyway…  people are stupid.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!!!

OMG I’m so tired!!!!

This morning Sabby and Beth went to church while I entertained the girls.  I made breakfast sandwiches for everyone!  I’m not the greatest cook but they’re easy, and with a bit of orange juice, they were a hit.  Emiko and her family came over in the morning, and a little later, Dave came back with David.

OMG David… I don’t know what to do with him!!!  He’s different!  I mean, he’s a little tanned because he’s been out in the sun, but he saw Aika and Mika and just started shamelessly flirting!  And this time it workedI! He had them blushing!  Thankfully, he didn’t try it with Allison. I asked him what about his girl friends?  He said they’ll be writing, but they’re just ten.

Couldn’t argue with that logic I guess.

So Sabby and Beth and a few others got back from church, and we all made our way to a park!!!  It was hot!!!  But we had a cooler and water and one of those canopies, and it wasn’t too bad outside of the sun!!!  Dave started grilling, and we all played frisbee!  Haha, Allison wiped the floor with David!  Guess he’s not as good as he thought.  But then we had hot dogs and hamburgers and cold drinks and played more games!!!  It was really hot though, so we didn’t run too hard.  But it was sooo much fun!!!  Around sunset people started popping fireworks and we watched a bit – at least until the fire marshal came around and shut that down.  Marie had such a great time, running around and catching things!  She likes playing frisbee too!!!

Emiko and family went back to Houston, but the rest of us are making a pile tonight!!!  Liz’s birthday tomorrow!!!  It’ll be huge!  Yuge!  Hahahaa!!!!

What a weekend!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! it’s me! Lily!

Liz is 17 today!!!

And OMG what a party!!!

So remember what I said about the party being at Liz’s house?  I was wrong!  It was at the WATERPARK!!!  I know we went on Saturday, but we went again!!!  There were so many people there!!!  And we had soooo much fun!!!  That was nice of Liz!!!

Anyway, we gave her her presents there, and they even had people come around with a cake-ish kind of thing, with candles and everything!  She blew out the candles and we ate and drank and gave her presents!!!

I…  had not forgotten what she gave me last year, so…  I can’t tell you what I gave her, but she blushed so hard!!!  And threatened to get me back.  I just said “lurid purple thing”, and she sighed.  “Fair enough, you got me back,” she said.  But the look in her eyes was promising that this wasn’t over.

Uh-oh.  haha!!!

She refused to show anyone else what I gave her, and…  hahaha!!!!

But I gave her a “real” present too.  I got her a kimono!  A real kimono!  With an obi and everything!!!  It’s so pretty!  She loved it!!!  She’s going to take to Japan with her!  She was actually surprised – usually she’s the one giving me things about asian culture!!

Her parents gave her a car!!!  Maybe a little bit fancier than mine but of the same general type.  No parents seem to want to give their children brand new cars, and that’s completely understandable.  She’s taken some driving lessons but now she has a real reason to!  I’m not jealous though.  Mine is nice enough and works fine, so…

I won’t go into what everyone got her because there was so much, but she loved it all, and by the end she was almost crying, she was so happy!!!  Awww!!!  I gave her a big hug and told her we love her.  She said “I know.”  I laughed.  Girl does love her some Star Wars.

She’s a little nerdier than me, but not too much.

Anyway, It’s been a very long weekend and I’m tired.  David’s not quite as insufferable as I thought he would be, but he’s certainly more confident, and he seems to be a hit with the girls.  Sigh.  Except for Allison.  She’s well past done with him.  But Aika and Mika, well… they were certainly looking at him a bit differently!!!

Marie needs walked and there are lots of fireworks outside, so I hope she’s not too scared.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

And I’m TIRED!!!

So many things to do over the weekend, and today I worked…  and practiced with Liz tonight.  She’s really looking forward to her recital!

I made a video page on this site.  Most of the videos are just random stuff I pulled off of YouTube and like a lot.  There’s some Babymetal, some other Japanese groups, other things.  It’s fun!  I just figured it was better to have them in one place, then you can see what I like!!!

I’ll put my videos there too, but when I get time.  I haven’t done videos in a while.  I should.

Oh I should put some videos about that guy doing the waterpark stuff too!!! It’s fun!!!  And interesting!!!

So after the last few very busy days, I’m not going to write too much.  I leave for Japan in about two weeks!  YAY!!!  Emiko is really looking forward to it too.  She hasn’t seen her parents in a while because of the virus.  I asked her what they’re like, and she told me the story of when she left for the US.  They…  weren’t too happy with her.  She didn’t come back for many years, and when she did, she dragged her new husband back with her.  It took her a long time to repair that relationship, she said.  Japanese people…  don’t forgive easily.  Her parents are kind of traditional.  And she broke all kinds of rules.

But they are happy to meet me.  They have one other grandchild, close to my age.  Turns out Emiko has a sister, but she never left Japan.  She wants to meet me.

I’d like to meet her too.  I didn’t know I had a cousin.

I asked her if she’s related to Suzuka and Himeka.  She said Nakamoto is a common name, and maybe distantly, but…  she doesn’t know.

Anyway, bedtime.

Love you all!!! ❤

HI! It’s me! Lily!

After this weekend, it’s a little boring now!  It’s hot!  It will stay hot for a long time!  It’s dry!  It’s…  annoying!!!  Summers in Texas are horrible!!!

Of course, tonight Liz came over and we practiced.  We’re almost ready!!!  We have a dress rehearsal on Friday!!!

I’m not sure what else to talk about.  I added a few more videos to my page!  Including the one where Claire Huxtable goes off! Sabby’s just like that!!!  I also added a funny video with Kaneda Tomoko! She’s hilarious!!!

I haven’t figured out what to do for my one year diary anniversary.  I have no ideas.  None.  I’m almost to the point where I’m going to poll the girls.  Allison had a fun idea, but I don’t know where I’ll get a unicorn costume…  Maybe Beth has an idea, I’ll ask her.  But, knowing her, it’ll involve books.  Sigh.

Jack wants to hear me play!  I’ll see if I can get a video of Liz’s recital.

Anyway, boringly boring day.  Hot, dry, awful.

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

I had my last lesson with Liz tonight!  Her teacher is happy!  We’re doing it!  Tomorrow we have a dress rehearsal!!!

It’s stressful but a lot of fun!!!

Beth is kind of being jealous again.  Sigh.  I love that girl but she has this huge jealous streak.  I guess I understand.  I just showed up and can do so many things she can’t.  Martial arts (though I’m really rusty at it, obviously), piano, Japanese, going to Japan, etc.  And I have that trust fund.  She was trying to hide it but I could tell.  Finally I just straight up told her “look, if you could do all the things I can for the price of your childhood, would you?”

She knows she’s being unreasonable, but she can’t really seem to control it.

But she’s so much smarter than me.  I don’t get it.  And she has all her memories, and…  what does she have to be jealous of?  I should be jealous of her.  But I’m not.

David… is being just a bit of a jerk.  I can’t say that was unexpected.  Maybe going to camp and ending up being the hero wasn’t the best thing for his ego.  Dave’s going to take him hunting soon, though.  At least he’s not spending all his time playing video games anymore.  I mean, he does, but he’s also writing to his girlfriends and using way too much body spray.  Sigggggggh.

Okay, gotta go.  Marie’s whining for a walk.

Love you all!!! ❤

HI! It’s me! Lily!!!

So tonight Liz and I had our dress rehearsal!  It went pretty well!  I dressed nicely but conservatively, like Liz asked, and she wore a very pretty short black dress with a plunging back.  OMG it was so pretty!  I should find one like that!  I have that short black dress I wore on my first date with Jack, but this one was different.  I like it!!!

Look at me, talking about a dress rehearsal and all I can talk about is what we wore.  I’m such a girl sometimes.

Anyway, it went pretty well.  I did get to play on a concert grand again.  That’s so much fun!  I love how it feels and sounds!  Like with my recital, she’s sharing the stage with another student.  But the teacher is happy, we’re as prepared as we’re going to be, and Sunday we have her recital!!!

Liz is so nervous!!!

But she gave me a big hug for accompanying for her.  She knows she’s a perfectionist but she says I’m good and I follow her really well, and what more can you ask out of an accompanist?  Took me a while to pick up on that, though.

Anyway, in other news, it’s still hot.  No girls tonight.  I guess after last weekend where it was girls galore, their families want to spend some time with them too.  I guess that’s understandable.  Japan next weekend!!!  I’m sooo excited!!!  So is Liz!!!

After the recital I’m going to go into a mini-quarantine and not go anywhere I don’t absolutely have to.  I don’t want to risk catching the virus!  I’ll even wear a mask at work!!!  I hate the virus.  It messes everything up.

We ordered pizza and they saved some for me.  Leftover pizza and root beer with chocolate for dessert!  Yum!

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me!  Lily!!!

And it’s SOOOO HOTTT!!!!!

I mean HOT HOT!!!  Today was 105!!!  And tomorrow’s supposed to be 106!!! And it won’t get below 100 until Thursday!!!  Sabby tells me that some Texas summers are mild, but that this isn’t one of them.  Ewwww.

Jack’s laughing at me.  It’s below 90 there.  Aww.  But I’ll remember that, and laugh at him when it’s below zero there and 50 degrees here!!!  Hahaha!!!!  Karma’s a karen!!!  It looks like the weather in Japan is kind of like the weather in Ohio right now, so yay!!!

I had a quiet day.  Liz and I didn’t practice today.  After our dress rehearsal, it just felt like over-practicing.  So Sabby took us to the mall.  We just wandered around in the air conditioning.  Neither of us bought a whole lot, but it was fun to just wander and eat some yummy and terrible-for-you mall food.  Sabby needed a  new top and some shoes anyway.  Well…  “needed” is a strong word.

All of the business stuff is with the lawyer right now.  He said that he thinks that the trust administrator also having shares in our company would be a conflict of interest and he didn’t seem to happy that the administrator even proposed the idea, so he’s going to draft a polite legalese letter saying basically “this isn’t a good idea, please stick to administering the trust, and we trust this won’t affect your decision on whether to invest.”  But things just got a lot stickier.  I’m going to leave it to the lawyer.  Worst case, I have to wait another year until I’m 18, then I can invest whatever I want.  Personally, I wouldn’t mind, but I can see his point.

I believe in Sabby’s cookies though, I really do.

Jack and I do still talk.  A lot.  But he’s kind of become like a part of the furniture to me – in a good way.  I don’t talk much about him because we don’t always talk about interesting stuff and sometimes it just devolves to “I love you” “I love you more” “I miss you” “if you were here right now I’d…” umm…  blushing.  But you get the idea.  I do miss him a lot, but I know we’re young and I’ve (hopefully) got the rest of my life to spend with him if he’s the right one.  Right now I think he is, but…  life happens, right?

Oh, and next month I get my “real” license!!!  Where I don’t need Sabby or Dave in the car with me!!! That’s scary!!!

Tomorrow’s Liz’s concert!!!

Love you all!!! ❤

Hi! It’s me! Lily!

It rained today!!! Not a lot, but it was rain!!!  It wasn’t even in the forecast!!! YAY!!!  And then there were a few boomies.  But nothing huge.  It was still hot, but not quite as hot.  Still 101 or so.

So tonight I did Liz’s recital!  It was a little different than my recital.  I came out, bowed, and sat down at the piano, to polite applause.  Which was nice.  Then she came out and everyone was clapping and hooting and hollering!!!  Not all the girls showed up, but her family did, of course, and my family too!!!  Liz isn’t upset.  She’s a part of the Group, but she’s my best friend, not theirs.  Diana did show up, though, with her mother.  She likes music.

And… she was putting everything into it, too.  I mean, she got into the zone, and at one point I thought I saw a tear leak out.  And after we were done she bowed, then ran over to me and gave me a huge hug!  Right on stage!  Then she took my hand and we bowed together!!! That was so nice of her!

Afterwards she greeted and shook hands for a bit, and then we all went out for chocolate pancakes!!!

Turns out Liz has grown to like them too.  Heh.  She’s still not a huge sugar girl but I guess my chocolate thing has worn off on her a bit.  And in her words, “Sometimes after a thing like that you just need to celebrate, and chocolate is for celebrating.”  Couldn’t have said it better myself, but, like Rabbi Tuckman in “Robin Hood, Men in Tights” said = “there’s things here!  Let’s celebrate trees and grass and that bird over there until we can’t eat any more chocolate!”.  Well, paraphrased.

I’m glad Liz is going to Japan with me.  I love her.  And she loves me too.  But I don’t want to accompany her again for at least a few months.

Love you all!!! ❤