Summer weekends are for burning your skin off.

Okay, so my skin isn't actually burned off, it's just kind of pinkish. But, there's going to be another afternoon spent by the pool today, so goodness only knows what it will look like tomorrow. Stupid skin.

I've been spending a lot of time with my friends Liz, Jonathan, Josh and Teri. Teri and Josh's apartment complex has a pool, so we've been swimming and enjoying the sunshine. It's been ridiculously hot outside, so I suffer through the sunburns and mosquito bites to swim. Don't worry, it'll pay off. I'll be a bronzed goddess after a couple of days.

I've been hiding out at Teri and Josh's because there seems to be so much going on with most of my friends. It's nice to take a break from gossip, especially when the gossip involves people I care about. I don't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want to broadcast every detail I know. Some things just aren't anyone's business. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my friends. At the same time, though, I have my own issues. I don't live a perfect charmed life, and sometimes I just can't handle everyone's problems. Right now, I need to bask in all the positivity I can find.

I think that's the biggest life lesson I've learned lately. Negativity only creeps into your life if you let it. Yes, bad things happen, but how we respond is what determines what kind of positive or negative energy we feel. Our lives only take on a positive direction if we let them. A friend once told me that what makes us human is our ability to decide how we feel about anything. That doesn't mean we can choose to be happy when it's easy. It means that we can choose to feel good about our lives all the time.

I have a friend right now who is coping with a lot. She's been hurt a lot, but she still has her head up. That's the kind of person I want to be...someone who handles negativity with poise and grace. She doesn't even realize what an impact her strength has on the people around her. She's teaching us all how to stay positive no matter what.

And think, I'm complaining about the sunburn I haven't even gotten yet.

Be alright (the disc golf day)

I'd never tried disc golf before this weekend, and let me tell you, it's a lot harder than it looks. The rules are similar to golf. You have a certain number of throws per hole, and at the end of the game, the person with the lowest score wins. Instead of hitting a ball with a club into a hole, you throw a small Frisbee into a basket. It's not as easy as it sounds. Honestly, it's a bit hipster. I mean, there are different styles and weights of discs. We even saw one serious player carrying a case full of discs. Really, dude? You're going to drag your elementary-school kid around the park to watch you throw your collection of special discs at a basket? I shake my head at your poor parenting choices. Poor, young, bored kid.

Jon wasn't bad at all, but he was much too busy climbing on things and showing off his acrobatic skills.

After we finished "playing", or throwing discs with no apparent goal or reason for throwing, we decided to explore the park. My favorite part of the whole place is the bridge. When you walk up to it, it looks like this.

But, when you climb around the bridge to the other side, you find this.

The water is very shallow, so we naturally took off our shoes and waded around. I mean, what else are you supposed to do here? There was a whole family exploring the water too, but I'm not enough of a creeper to take pictures of someone else's adventures, especially not when there are children involved.

After we finished playing in the water like hippies, Jon and Faron posed for pictures with the graffiti like the hipsters they are.

After the park had ceased to amuse us, we ate dinner at Faron's and jammed out on her collection of instruments. The three of us are going to make beautiful music together.

The rest of the pictures from the park are on Flickr, if you really want to take the few seconds out of your life to look at them. http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamcrownedwithflowers/sets/72157626680387855/

I'm sorry, what just happened?

I have no words.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE05iHYFKqc&w=425&h=349]

Um.

So yeah. That's five minutes and twenty-three seconds you'll never get back.