Tag Archives: my life

Happy birthday to me

6 Aug

Today I turn 24 years old. Unlike a lot of people my age, I’m not freaking out about getting older. In fact, I like getting older. It often feels that each year is better than the next.

These past few birthdays, I’ve started taking some time to reflect on all that I’ve done in the past year. I continue to notice how quickly time flies by. It seems like yesterday I was graduating college and in a blink of an eye, more than two years have gone by.

I have to say though, as fast as it went, year 23 was pretty great. I kicked off my birthday celebrations with a trip to Pittsburgh with my bff. I was promoted at my job. I traveled to Amsterdam, Berlin and the Dominican Republic. I ran three 5Ks and started getting back in shape. And my favorite was celebrating two wonderful years with my boyfriend. What a year.

The most important thing to note is I can honestly say I’m happy with my life right now. As fun as this past year was, there are still big things ahead, and year 24 is already shaping up to be pretty awesome. I’ll be traveling to Germany in September to spend time in Berlin and Munich. I couldn’t be more excited (47 days!!!).

So cheers to another birthday and the year ahead. I’m already looking forward to it.

images via

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My blogiversary

16 Mar
Amsterdam

{world traveler}

Somehow my blogiversary slipped by without me realizing it. Last year, I started sharing my thoughts here, not really sure what I would get out of it. It has become somewhat therapeutic for me. It’s nice to sit down and write what I’m thinking, and it’s fun to look back on what an incredible year it was.

In my very first blog post, I wrote a list of ten things to do in my twenties. And for my blogiversary post, I think it’s fitting to look back at that list and see how I’m doing.

1. Travel – In 2011 I wrote that I wanted to see the world, and I started doing just that. Since that first post, I’ve not only traveled to Germany, but Spain and the Netherlands as well.

2. Learn a foreign language – This is much harder than I thought it would be, but I haven’t given up yet. For awhile I was getting quite good at German grammar, and conquered a pretty long list of German vocabulary. But life became busy, and I stopped doing my lessons. I’m ready to start again though, so we’ll see how I do the second time around.

3. Develop an active, healthy lifestyle – I’ve definitely become more aware of what I’m eating and actually prefer healthier options. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Shamrock Shake every now and then, but it’s all about moderation. And I have to say, I’m much more active than I was last year. I currently play on an indoor soccer team, and I signed up for another 5K in April. Man, I sure love me some 5K’s.

4. Start a blog – I’m pretty sure I can check this one off the list. My goal this year is to post more than I did last year. I think I’m up for the challenge.

5. Create a monthly budget – Based on my bank account, and the ability to afford my travels, I’d have to say I conquered this list item. It was hard at first, but now I’m capable of setting a budget and sticking to it. And the key is sticking to it.

6. Learn to cook – I still make a mean grilled cheese – does that count? I mostly blame my poor cooking skills on living at home. Why cook when there is already dinner on the table? I know I’ll get better with this at time, maybe not this year, but somewhere down the road. At least I can bake!

7. Live overseas – This is still a dream of mine. After traveling overseas, I definitely feel this is an experience I want to have. Although I don’t see it happening soon, I have a hunch it will happen one day.

8. Live on your own – It’s been a year and I’m still hanging out with Mom and Dad. I don’t ever view it as negative though. I’m saving money, and more importantly, spending time with my family. I won’t ever look back on this time and regret it.

9. Live in a major city – One of these days it will happen – just like living overseas. Maybe I’ll knock out two birds with one stone. Berlin, anyone?

10. Surround yourself with good people – This is still one of my favorite things on the list. I’ve made it a priority this past year to rid myself of negativity and spend time with the people who matter most.

So as you can see, I still have things to accomplish on my list, but I’m happy with where life is going. Around this time last year I was heading to Chicago to visit my sister for St. Patrick’s Day, and today I’m heading to Columbus to visit my sister for St. Patrick’s Day. Even as things change, they don’t really change at all.

Cheers to all the things I will continue to do in my twenties – and to another year of blogging.

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Christmas memories

12 Dec

This time of year always makes me feel nostalgic. I think back to Christmas mornings as a little girl, when I’d wake up and know that there were presents waiting for me under the tree. I’d creep down the stairs and peek into the living room to see all the beautifully wrapped packages. Those mornings always felt so magical.

Even though I’m older, I still cherish the Christmas traditions that I loved as a little girl. Every Christmas Eve my family attends Midnight Mass, my favorite mass of the year. The church always looks so lovely, and after we leave it feels like Christmas has officially arrived. When we get home, my siblings and I get to open our first present, and it’s always new pajamas. I love falling asleep in new pj’s, knowing I’ll wake up to Christmas.

And finally my favorite tradition, but certainly  not the last, is our ornaments. Every year my Mom buys each of us a new ornament. She says when we leave home some day, we’ll have ornaments to put on our trees. I think this is such a cute tradition, and I hope to continue it when I have children of my own.

{little figure skater}

{cute penguins}

{my first ornament}

What are your favorite Christmas traditions?

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It’s a country way of life

8 May

One of the things I love about my life is growing up on a farm. No, not the farm you’re thinking of… I didn’t get up before school and milk cows or own horses (well, we did have a pony once). My dad has a regular job, but he grew up farming and decided it was something he wanted to continue doing. We all jokingly call it his hobby. Maybe it’s crazy to have farming as a hobby, but the truth is I’m glad he does.

Sure there were times when I hated it. Like when it was hay season or getting up early to pick sweet corn or coming home from school and selling pumpkins. But I also got to experience so many amazing things. Like watching a baby calf be born or riding a pony or collecting fresh chicken eggs or most importantly, spending quality time with my Dad.

With being away at school, and working most summers, I haven’t been able to help out on the farm in awhile. However, today I climbed back up on the tractor with my Dad and helped him out on the farm. We only moved some equipment around, but it was nice spending time with him and brought back a lot of memories.

It’s days like these when I realize that it really is the simple joys in life that make you the happiest.

Our Farm

Our Farm

P.S. I know this post was kind of about Dad, but Happy Mother’s Day Mom! Thank you for making my life beautiful.

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Don’t sweat the small stuff

6 Apr

Today, I woke up annoyed.

I was having a bad hair day (thank God for headbands), and there was a giant zit in the middle of my forehead. Then, I got stuck behind someone who didn’t have an E-Z Pass, but decided to go in the E-Z Pass lane anyway (can’t he read a sign). And finally, my tiny bladder (seriously, it’s the size of a golf ball) decided to work overtime today, and I literally had to pee almost every hour.

I was all ready to come home and blog about everything that was annoying me (and I kind of did), but then I just couldn’t be annoyed anymore. When I walked through the door, my mom had a nice dinner ready for me. I had a lovely Skype date with the boyfriend. Then, I worked out and all those endorphins started kicking in. I was feeling so good that I didn’t get irritated when my Dad asked for computer help, and I even went out of my way to give Dante (our dog) his favorite treat.

Everyone gets annoyed (it happens), but as I was reminded today, it’s silly to get worked up about it.

Remember, don’t sweat the small stuff  :-)

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Hair Drama

25 Mar

After months of putting it off, I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow. My excuse is that I’ve been too busy to make a trip to the salon, but the truth is I hate getting my hair cut (What am I? Five?). I know, I know, it will eventually grow back, but a bad haircut experience in high school still makes me cringe every time my hairdresser picks up her scissors.

Mandy Moore (courtesy of google images)

This is what my hair was supposed to look like. (courtesy of Google Images)

When I was a freshman, I decided to cut my hair similar to Mandy Moore. Looking back now, it wasn’t the best idea. My hair is naturally wavy. The shorter it gets, the wavier it gets. My short hair was out of control, and I had no idea what to do with it. Since then, I’ve hated getting haircuts. It’s gotten easier with time, but I still put it off as long as possible (which is probably why my hair is so long).

However, I’m being a big girl on Saturday and heading to the salon. I’ve decided to change things up and add shorter layers (pause for ooohs and aaaahs). Even though I might cry after, I’m a teeny bit excited.

And if it turns out horrible, I’ll still be on a high from hanging out with Lindsay (a.k.a. Spicey) that it won’t even matter. Lindsay, one of my dearest friends, has been studying at the University of Cambridge since September. For this reason, I haven’t seen her (in person) for months. However, she’s visiting the States for a few days, and I will be seeing her this weekend. We always have the best times together, and I couldn’t be more excited. Let the fun begin!

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It’s the Little Things

17 Mar

Me and my Dad (Mardi Gras ski trip last year)

I was sitting at my desk this morning, when I noticed an incoming phone call. It was my Dad, which I found slightly odd because he doesn’t really like talking on the phone. This was our conversation:

Hey Mimi, it’s your Dad.

Hi Dad, what’s up?

I was just calling to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you too.

Well, I have to go. Have a good day.

You too Dad. Love you.

Sometimes in life it’s the little things that make you smile. And if that wasn’t enough to make my day, my work roomie (we share an office) and I decided to get sushi for lunch.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! :-)

Side Note: When my brother was little he couldn’t say my name so he called me Mimi. The nickname sort of stuck. However, it is reserved for family members only.

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Sleepy vs. Exhausted

10 Mar

You may have noticed in this post that I made several references to Germany.  My current obsession with the Deutschland mainly comes from my boyfriend, Sebastian, a.ka. zee German. Yup, I’m dating someone from Germany – no big deal. Except this relationship is starting to become a big part of my life.

Quick background: I met Sebastian while he was studying abroad at Kent State. We became friends and right before he left (I thought we were crazy) we decided to start a long-distance relationship. I’ve seen him twice (in person) since then. First, when I visited Germany last summer, and in January, when he visited the states. Skype has become a lifesaver for us, but we don’t want to date through the computer forever. Sebastian graduates in June (that’s the next time we’ll see each other), and we’re planning to live on the same continent this year. Hopefully the same country. Maybe the same state.

I could probably write an entire series on all the things that play into dating someone from another country (and maybe in the future I will). But for this post, I want to focus on language. Sebastian speaks near-perfect English, which has been very helpful for communication purposes. We usually have no problem understanding each other (now that I recognize his accent), except when I start using American slang. When I say things like, “I need to pull it together” or “I get a kick out of something,” he tends to give me a quizzical look. This always makes me laugh, and I then have to explain what I really mean.

We also have differences in word choice (and this brings me to my post title). There is a six-hour time difference between Germany and Ohio. When I get home from work it’s already after midnight there. Even though Sebastian is usually a little tired, this is when we’re both free to Skype. Near the end of our conversation, he’ll start nodding off, so I’ll ask, “Are you sleepy?” And he answers, “No, just a little exhausted.” And just with the quizzical look, I always laugh, because to me if you’re exhausted, you’re probably feeling a little sleepy.

But all language differences aside, he’s great. And despite the challenges of a long-distance relationship, I look forward to seeing where this will go.

Sleepy Sebastian

And He's Cute Too! (Sleepy Sebastian)

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The Week of Catching Up

7 Mar

When I was in college, I had this idea of what life would be like after graduation. Maybe living on my own (stay tuned for future post on life with the rents) and of course keeping in touch with all my friends. As it turns out, staying in touch after graduation isn’t always so easy.

Luckily for me, not everyone moved far away, and we can still get together. That is, of course, when we find a time that suits all our schedules. In a rare turn of events, everyone was free this past week, and I was able to schedule two “catch up” dates.

Tetra, minus Ally.

Me, Kim and Mike - Tetra (minus Ally)

Tuesday night, I had dinner with Mike and Kim, two members from Tetra, my senior PR campaigns team. I should probably give a quick background on campaigns. All PR majors at Kent State are required to take the class, and it’s usually the last one to cross of your list. Students are broken up into teams and compete against each other to create a PR campaign (hence the class name) for a real-world client.

Our team was pretty unconventional in every sense of the word. We came up with crazy ideas, laughed a lot and spent the beginning of each meeting talking about what we did that week. Now don’t get me wrong, we worked our butts off, but we also had a lot of fun doing it. And while we didn’t win, I think we may be the only team that started out as classmates and became friends in the process. Even a year later, we still meet up to reminisce about that awesome semester.

Mike and Kim always make me laugh and turn a bad week into a good one. And that’s why Tetra is the best (and the true winner in my book). So thanks to the professors who put us together. You sure knew what you were doing :-)

The week of catching up continued on Thursday. My good friends, Tyler and Marissa, invited me to dinner at their apartment, which may or may not have been because of this tweet:

Regardless of the reason for the invite, it turned out to be another great evening. Although she won’t admit it, Marissa is a fantastic cook. She made a delicious roast with garlic and rosemary, layered with tomatoes and potatoes. It was amazing, and the picture does not do it justice.

Deliciousness.

Fantastic. Delicious. Awesome.

To top it all off, she created a chocolate pudding dessert, which went great with the Riesling I brought (if I do say so myself). We all had a nice time, and I can’t wait for the next dinner.

This coming weekend I’ll be in Chicago visiting my sister, who I haven’t seen since Christmas. I’m looking forward to celebrating St. Patty’s day with her and, of course, catching up.

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Ladies’ Night

28 Feb

This Saturday, I did something I haven’t done in a while – I spent the whole day with my Mom. And I have to say, it was really nice.

We went to see The King’s Speech, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  In case you were wondering, it’s a fantastic movie. Colin Firth plays a very compelling King George VI. I’m kind of a movie nerd (ask anyone who’s played me in Scene It? Movie), but it’s been some time since I’ve seen one in theaters. It felt good to get out of the house and do something I enjoy.

Mom and Me

Mother-Daughter Bonding

Later that evening, we headed to the Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course for Mardi Gras night. The golf course isn’t the typical 20-something hangout. It’s small, there isn’t loud music and the TVs are usually playing golf (shocker) and Keno. I go there with my parents every now and then, and it’s always a good time.

We celebrated Mardi Gras with Long Islands, New Orleans punch and Louisiana chicken skewers. To get beads we had to sing karaoke. This was our only option since we’re not ones to go flashing people.  My Mom and I sang a breathtaking rendition of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys and a few other songs that won’t be mentioned.

All in all, it was a great night. We laughed, had some embarrassing moments (like when I accidentally punched the DJ in the throat while dancing) and shared some quality mother-daughter time.

When was the last time you hung out with your mom or dad? I promise it’s not as bad as you think ;-)

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