This blog started as a place to write about my life after graduation from college. It has since turned into a book review blog, a food challenge blog, a Whole 30 experience blog and soon, a pizza diet blog. Basically I write about a lot of things and I'm happy you're here to read it!
I did okay this past year. Here's to hoping I do better this year!
1. Tattoo. This has been on my list for the past 3 years. I have an idea and know where I want it finally so maybe this will really be the year.
2. Cupcake photo shoot! 3. Dad and Mary adventure day
6. Pay off credit cards, cut them up and be done 7. Visit another country
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, March 2014
8. Go golfing (just once would suffice)
Yeah I've got the fancy shoes and glove and bright pink golf balls but I seriously have no idea what I'm doing.
9. EAT CLEAN
10. Spend more time with the fab five and Gibson
11. Sew the rest of the Gib's Bibs and coffee cozies that are sitting in my parents' basement 12. Go to church at least one Sunday a month
I even joined Christ United Methodist Church officially in March. I'm so pleased.
13. Make a pom-pom rug (inspiration here)
14. Go to a concert for an artist I've never seen before (I keep going to see the same artists- time for a change! But if Matt Nathanson is back in town in 2014, I'll be there in a heartbeat)
15. Visit a MN tourist attraction I've never been to (I'm thinking giant ball of twine...?) 16. Enter an eating contest of some sort.
American Pie Pizza eating contest, June 7, 2014- I ate 5 pieces of pizza in 12 minutes. The winner (a woman) ate 41 pieces. I ended up in second to last place beating the only other woman who entered.
17. Do a fun new manicure a week (#marysmanis on Instagram!)
I don't know that I did every week but I think I did a great job! These are a few of my favorites.
18. Blog once a week
19. Arm knit a scarf
20. Make an ugly Christmas sweater (I want to make one just like this)
21. Exploding egg painting (I know children are making this one but I think it would be so fun!)
22. Monthly (or more) acts of kindness like paying for coffee for the person behind me in the drive-through or leaving someone a nice note) 23. Join a CSA! And blog about the experience
I definitely didn't do the best job blogging but I did share a CSA with my neighbors for 18 weeks. It was a lot of work and I feel like a lot went to waste because I didn't know what to do with things or because I forgot things were in the fridge... http://missmary-collegegrad.blogspot.com/2014/09/csa-life.html
24. Reorganize our kitchen. I have so many great ideas pinned.
25. Pub crawl. 26. Adopt a cat (hopefully it's Walker or Wayne or whatever his name is right now)
1/19/14 This happened faster than I expected. After Walker left us, I felt like I needed a cat of my own so here is Marvel, a 7 month old black domestic shorthair. He's cuddly and curious and clumsy and I love him.
As I write this, I noticed that I happen to be wearing my Colorado State University sweatshirt. Total coincidence. I've been meaning to post this all day and now that it's 10:30 and I have done (most) of my activities for the evening, I finally have some time to sit down.
Evidently a couple undergrad students died in residence halls on the CSU campus in the past couple weeks. I had no idea until I got this email from President Tony Frank. Tony Frank is an amazing guy. He sends the BEST campus-wide emails. Not too often, not too sparse and always interesting, entertaining and genuine.
You can see some pictures of him on the CSU website here: http://www.president.colostate.edu/ He just looks like such a nice guy. I want to be his friend.
I found President Frank's response to the tragedies on campus to be very well put so I decided to share his email below. Even though I am not on campus, I always feel a little more connected to CSU when I get an email from President Frank, even under circumstances like these.
Dear Students, In the past two weeks, two of our first-year students have died in our residence halls. Many of you knew these students and have been personally affected by their loss. Others of you have lost other friends through illness, suicide, accidents – and recent events have awakened many of those memories. And so today, many on our campus are struggling with anger, guilt, sorrow, questions, and even fear. Some of you are worried. Others want to know what the University can and should be doing to honor these students and help others in need. Maybe it’s the leaves falling from our trees or the chilly and cloudy skies, but I find myself struggling with what to say to you that might offer something useful, something with comfort and perspective. Words seem insufficient, but please bear with me while I try. There’s so much that all of us at the University want to tell you: Ask for help when you’re hurting. Take care of yourselves and each other – and tell someone when you have concerns for a friend who’s struggling. Understand and never forget that you are important and have value, not just to your families and our University community but to our world. In an age when our planet faces enormous challenges that are increasingly complex and perplexing, we desperately need your minds, your talents, your energy, and the insights that you and you alone will bring in the years ahead. I also want to let you know that your residence hall staff and our Student Case Managers are here for you and want you to come to them when you feel lost, that the counseling services in our Student Health Network are available 24/7, that the CSU safety site (www.safety.colostate.edu) has a wealth of resources and information, and that every single member of the CSU faculty and staff is invested in your personal and academic success and above all your well-being. I want you to know that this generally has been and remains a very safe campus and that your safety is among our greatest responsibilities and our absolute highest priorities. Still, I know you’ve heard all this from me before. What I want to write to you today is a bit more personal. On a campus of more than 35,000 people, we share all the joys and grief that are part of human life and community – births, weddings, graduations, illness, and deaths, some of which come at the end of a long, productive life and some that come much too soon – knocking us off balance, shifting our view of the world, challenging our own thinking on mortality, and sometimes just breaking our hearts. As an older person writing to a group of people who are mostly quite a bit younger, it’s easy to say that this is a difficult part of life and one that we all have to come to terms with at some point. But I’m not sure it’s possible for thoughtful people ever to really come to terms with losing a young person of extraordinary gifts who seems to have so much yet to hope for and look forward to. At least that’s not something I’ve ever been able to fully come to terms with myself. With proximity of space and time, that loss is deep and raw. But still, we do have to find our own personal ways to move forward that are healthy and meaningful, and that’s where your youth gives you an edge over some of us older people. Your anger, your sense of loss, your questions can transform your view of the world and give deeper meaning to the choices you make and the ways you spend your days, months, and years going forward. You have the great and wondrous gift of time, and what you’re learning through all of this, however painful, will deepen your perspective and be yours to teach to others in the years ahead. And one of the most difficult lessons to accept is that some of your questions may always remain unanswered. When someone dies, we all have to respect the rights of family members and close friends to grieve privately and in peace. This can be difficult and in some ways unsatisfying, but it’s a part of what we have to do. We also need to find ways to recognize and honor the lives we’ve lost and the friends and colleagues we miss. And so we’re going to start a new tradition this year at CSU – a tradition that recognizes that we are part of a great community and that the connections among us – including the sinew of memory – are lasting and strong. We’re going to find an evening for the campus to come together – to gather, reflect, and pay tribute to the members of our community who have left us during the year. It will be a time to remember and a time to look forward. Dean of Students Jody Donovan will lead this effort and will work with our student community to create an event that will be meaningful and respectful for all of us. It’s not an answer, but it’s something we can and should do. And so we will. As we head toward the coming weekend, I have a request of you: Let’s all work to be a little bit kinder, a little bit more decent, a little bit more responsible toward each other, acknowledging that while we never fully can understand someone else’s struggles – while we never actually can walk in their shoes – kindness and compassion never hurt. Make smart choices. Take care of one another. And remember that we need each of you. Our world needs you. CSU needs you. Each and every one of you is irreplaceable. -tony Dr. Tony Frank
I was going to write a post about how hard grad school is and how I'm just not sure how well I thought this through...
But then I finished my homework and I'm feeling slightly better about life (for now) so I have decided to write about my amazing long weekend.
On Thursday liz and I drove to Chicago. It was a 6 hour drive made better because we were driving in my awesome new car. We got to Chicago, had some mediocre (see: bad) pizza (its because it wasn't deep dish, a poor decision on my part) then found some fro yo and hung out at the hotel.
On Friday, Liz and I drove downtown for breakfast at Little Goat. A friend actually recommended this place as good for breakfast and it had already been on my radar of Top Chef restaurants downtown (Stephanie Izzard owns Little Goat and Girl and the Goat which is across the street). Liz had Elvis waffles (peanut butter butter, bananas, bacon maple syrup- so freaking delish) and I had sourdough pancakes (simple but good). We took this super cute picture in the photo booth inside the front door:
After breakfast, we wandered around for a while and found Garrett's popcorn for mom. We also checked out the Boeing store which was pretty cool. Then we drove out to Wheaton to find Ellie! She showed us her res hall and mentioned that C.S. Lewis' actual wardrobe and desk were on display in a house on campus so we had the check that out. Liz flipped out and loved every minute of it.
With Ellie reunited with her cool cousins (see below), we headed back downtown for lunch at XOCO. Ellie got to experience wonderful new flavors and tastes because Liz and I are foodies and like eating at Top Chef restaurants (Rick Bayless is the mastermind behind XOCO).
After that we went to the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower but I think it was douchey of them to change the name, even though they had naming rights). Liz and I had been through the educational part before but Ellie hadn't so she read a ton about the city and spouted facts for the rest of the afternoon and evening. When we got upstairs (to the 103rd floor after a freaky fast elevator ride), we went straight to the ledge.
It was a gorgeous day to be looking out at the city. El wanted to stay and see it in the night time but we didn't. That is definitely a plan for a future visit though. After the Sears Tower, we took a rickshaw ride to Millennium Park. There was an event happening so most of the park was closed but we still enjoyed it. The bean was open so of course we took adorable pictures.
Then we started up Michigan Ave to Water Tower Place and got stopped by hundreds of bikers riding through the city. It was CRAZY and one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's called Chicago Critical Mass and its this organized bicycle ride through the city on the last Friday of every month to reclaim the streets for bikers and show a peaceful way to assembly. It was awesome and I wish I had taken pictures or at least gotten a video of the dude who yelled at the bikers for "not following the law" and for creating a disturbance but damn was it a cool disturbance.
We did some shopping at Water Tower Place and then had dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Asian Fusion restaurant (a place Liz and I stumbled upon during our trip 2 years ago and had to come back for more). After dinner we returned Ellie to campus and drove back to the hotel. It was a late night and it was an even better day.
Saturday morning Liz and I made the trek to Oshkosh. We changed into our wedding attire at a rest stop. We're classy dames. The wedding ceremony was wonderful. Heidi and Ryan's priest was so funny and was perfect for them as a couple. Heidi looked AMAZING as did her 9 bridesmaids. It was just lovely and I cried. The reception was great too because we got to choose our seats so it was not as awkward as it could have been (I wasn't sure who was going to be there that I knew). Dinner was buffet style and was so tasty. There was a photo booth, a thumb print tree, a guest book, notes to leave for the happy couple, a candy bar and such beautiful decorations. It was just an amazing wedding all around. Plus the fact that I love Heidi and think Ryan is fantastic doesn't hurt either.
Here's a great (creepy eyed) picture of Heidi, Jenna, Erin, myself and Carissa- all my residents when I was an RA. This made me incredibly happy. And speaking of being an RA, at 6:00 this morning (Sunday), our fire alarm went off in our room (on the 7th floor of the hotel) and told us an emergency had been detected in the building and we had to evacuate. Knowing how fire alarms work, I took my time putting on pants instead of my PJ shorts and grabbing my keys and such. Out in the hallway, it was like a flashback to Lourdes where everyone was standing in the hallway all bleary eyed and hungover, wondering if we really had to go outside. The alarm stopped so I called down to the desk to find it was a false alarm. I gave the all clear to those around me (including Jenna and Erin, just like the good old days) then yelled down to the really old lady (I think it was Ryan's 92 year old great-great grandma) about to go downstairs with her walker. Disaster avoided there. Back to bed we went with a sense of accomplishment for me. If I could be an RA in Lourdes for a few more years I think I would be happy. :)
Anyway, after breakfast this morning and saying goodbye to the happy couple, Liz and I made the 4 1/2 hour drive home and we are now back safely.
I am exhausted. I am happy. I wish this weekend could repeat all the time (without the driving).
Online dating sucks. It is frustrating and dumb and I'm sick of it. I have been on Match.com for a year as of yesterday. Here is what I've ended up with.
First there was Brandon. We went on 4 dates. He was tall and cute and seemed to really like me. Unfortunately, he seemed to like me too much and was constantly texting me. He used too many smiley faces and said "lol" too many times in his texts. He also couldn't spell worth a damn and I still don't understand why his phone wasn't correcting his spelling when he texted me. It drove me nuts. In the end, I didn't feel the connection with him that I was hoping for so I ended it.
Then there was TJ. We met for drinks one night. He was also tall (it's a preference that I have). He didn't go to college which bothered me more than I thought it would. We didn't have a lot to talk about.
Next was Ben. We also met for drinks one night. He used to date a girl I went to college with so he seemed familiar. I thought the date went well- we carried the conversation easily. We talked about doing dinner the next Wednesday. I texted once to set a time, he didn't text back until the day of our proposed date to tell me he "didn't want to date right now". That turned out to be a straight lie since he was still active on the website. That annoys me because I would much prefer to be told the truth but whatever.
Skip ahead through a few months of no prospects and I met Matt. He went to galas. I was intrigued. He texted me one Friday night to get me to meet him downtown but I didn't feel like getting all dressed up and leaving the house so I politely declined. He seemed annoyed. The next night I ended up meeting him after I was at a fundraiser and he was at a gala. He was drunk but he "doesn't usually drink" and made a complete ass of himself. Not only did he make me uncomfortable but he flirted with other women for the whole 45 minutes I was there and then he ditched me. He LITERALLY disappeared with his buddy never to be seen or heard from by me again. Here is an article about Matt, the founder and owner of MN Pro Paintball. http://sunthisweek.com/2012/04/12/matthew-ames-awesome-adventure/ One would think he might be a nice, humble guy after what he has been through in his life but that is not the case. He is just a giant douche.
More recently I haven't even made it to the first date. For whatever reason I decided to respond to an email from Adam. He seemed nice. He also lives in Big Lake so before I got too attached, I told him it was just too far for me. A cop out perhaps but I barely see my best friend and she just lives in Shakopee so trying to arrange to see a guy from Big Lake would just annoy me. Yesterday I started texting Ray. Literally yesterday afternoon was our first text after one email through the website and this is how it ended:
What a freaking joke. I refuse to drop everything in my life for a man. Don't you think that moving is a pretty reasonable excuse to be busy? Good grief. I didn't even have a witty comeback text for him I was so surprised.
This doesn't even include the winks or picture likes or email I've gotten from weird dudes who are way out of my age range, who don't even live here and who are just creepy. It happens a lot. Or the guys who seem nice and normal and like we have a lot in common so I email them through the site and never hear anything back. That's frustrating because I like to think I'm a normal kind of gal who is not creepy but who knows.
So here I am again with a subscription that ends in July that I have zero intention of renewing. Those people in Match.com commercials, though it says they are not actors, must be very carefully screened to make sure they're pretty and normal looking because that certainly has not been the case from what I've seen.
The only positive thing I can think of is that it got me into the dating scene, which is something I didn't do before. So I'll give you that, Match.com.
It just sucks to put in all this effort when I know there is someone out there that I was just a little too late with.
And that is my experience this far with online dating. People keep telling me that I'll find someone when I stop looking but it is really not in my nature to leave things up to fate not to mention the fact that I'm not getting any younger (this is half a joke and half my quarter life crisis). Hopefully those people are right and someone surprises me when I least expect it. We will see.
Do you ever wonder how your life would be if you made one different decision?
I went to Macalester College today for a homework assignment. When I was in high school, Allison and I used to go to an art store right next to campus. We would walk down Grand Avenue to look at the school from the sidewalk. It was pretty but I never even gave it a second thought. I have this homework assignment where I am supposed to visit a campus and comment on the ecology of said campus as well as interview a student affairs professional. I chose Macalester pretty randomly and ended up knowing a staff person so it turned out to be a good project for me. Since I work all day, I am unable to visit campus during the school day and take an actual tour so I decided to head out there today.
It turned out to be reunion day on campus. Graduates from 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 years ago were gathered on campus for lunch, classes and tours through buildings, new and old.
Even though I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and I was not an alum, I still felt comfortable on campus in a situation where I usually would have felt out of place and like I would get in trouble for being there during the celebration.
I wandered around campus, watched the reunion from afar, and walked through a building.
I had an overwhelming feeling of internal conflict. Should I have gone to Macalester? Why didn't I even look at it as an option?
How would my life be different now had I gone to Mac?
I feel a little weird about it all. I loved WSU and I'm in a good place now because of it but what if?
Even my underwear is too big. That may be TMI but I honestly never thought I would say such a thing so I had to share.
I got my results from Peak 10. I think this says it all. (You might have to click on the picture to see all the before and after stats but damn, look at those before and afters! Its not a huge difference but enough to make me very happy).
The creator of Peak 10, Michelle Dozois, will be at Bring It! this Saturday for a special class. I'm going and I'm super excited.
In the weeks since Peak 10 ended, I have been sick and so I haven't been very healthy food-wise or exercise-wise. Basically I ate every fast food last week that I hadn't had in two months. I hope to get back on track next week because I feel gross and I WANT to exercise. Who am I? :)
If you want to see results like mine (or even better), you should sign up for the spring Peak 10! It starts May 4- I highly recommend it. Check out the info here.
