My Thoughts On...Life Plans

A photo just before sunrise over Peoria, August 2012

I never actually realized how much college would change me.

Does anyone?

But I don't know if it's just college, necessarily. I think it's those years between 18 and 22, with or without college, that brings about a kind of transformation.

As a freshman people told me over and over again how I would change, freshmen are immature, I have so much to learn, etc. And frankly, it was a little annoying to be reminded of that constantly. That even though that was who I was right then, I would still have to "find myself" later on. What was wrong with who I was?

I don't believe we ever really lose ourselves. As I asked my roommate this week, "Isn't it weird sometimes to think that you are stuck with yourself forever? You don't get a single break your whole life, and you can't run away or divorce yourself. You're there until you die. That's some serious commitment."

(I kind of think she thought I was really weird or depressed.)

Yes, I am a completely different person than I was four years ago. But it was still me, just an earlier version of myself. Everything, including our cars, our electronics and ourselves have to adapt, evolve.

But truly, the difference between myself circa 2008 and myself now is vast. And I am absolutely loving getting older. With each passing year I feel a little more sure of myself, a little more content with where I'm at.

I turn 22 in less than a month, and to be honest, my life has taken a complete 180 degree flip from what I thought it would be as an impending college graduate.

Even two years ago, I had a completely different outlook on things. I thought that by graduation I would have had an internship in New York with a job lined up. I pitied anyone in a serious relationship when they graduated because I believed they were limiting themselves immensely. And I was very, very unsure of what my emotions ever were because I had a lot of them, but I buried them somewhere so deep that only recently have I been able to dig them up and let them go. 

Now I am about to be 22. I have no job lined up. I had local internships. The thought of visiting New York, let alone living there, kind of makes me cringe. I have a newfound appreciation for all things quiet and simple. I love the countryside. And I am moving in with my boyfriend at the end of the year when most of my friends are looking for apartments or looking for jobs all over the country.

I am much less put-together than I imagined I would be. I am in a long-term relationship that I never saw coming. I am friends with people I never thought I could be friends with. And I am happier than I ever could have imagined.

Life has a way of throwing you through loop after loop, but somehow, it always seems to know what's best.

My all-time favorite dates (so far!)

Whenever I would begin dating someone new, I would put them through some tests.

There are two I can think of right now:

1. He had to be willing to bake something with me.

and

2. When I did something nerdy, (i.e. pull out my stargazing app when walking around at night) he had to find it interesting, too. Or at least appreciate my nerdy-ness.

Obviously, I wouldn't base an entire relationship off of these things.

But when guys did not pass both of those tests, usually problems arose later in the relationship.

Tom has been the only one to pass both of these!

And I forced him into both of them within a few weeks.

We baked blueberry muffins and I added too much salt.

And I did, in fact, pull out the stargazer app one warm spring night on our second date.

What I found is that I wanted someone willing to try new things, and actually enjoy them for curiosity's sake.

(And yes, I wanted someone nerdy, too.)

One of the things I love about Tom is that I can say things like "Let's try this!" or "Let's visit this place!" 

And his response is never one of "Uggghhhhh fine, but you're buying me ice cream on the way home."

(We do like ice cream though!)

It's always, "Oh, that would be fun!"

So I have found that while tried-and-true dinner and a movie is always a solid option, my top favorites involve trying something completely new (and not even scouring the internet for reviews first!)

Trip to Springfield, Aug. 2012

In no particular order, five of my favorites from the past 21 months or so of our relationship!

Dance Class:

If you and your significant other/best friend/yourself have not tried a dance class, go. Go go go! I found a free one just by looking at the events calendar for our town. There were tons of them over the summer. The sucky part was that we had to switch partners throughout the class, BUT we did score some dance moves to show off at a summer wedding. And to break out randomly in the kitchen, parking lots, etc.

Bed & Breakfast:

For our Christmas together, since I had to get home to the Chicago burbs, we went for an overnight stay to Galesburg and stayed at a random B&B I found online. The price was cheap, we had a deliciously indulgent dinner and the innkeepers made us waffles in the morning. Can't beat weekend adventures!

Day trip to Springfield, IL:

Speaking of adventures. We took a day trip to Springfield to visit some sights and stop by the Illinois State Fair! Day trips are an easy, inexpensive way to get out and explore a bit. Plus, I was so inspired by the idea of spending the day somewhere new that I created a lame video about it with my broken camera. (Actually I love that video, even if it proves my level of amateurness.) 

Breaking into the botanical garden:

Me and Thomas, second or third date. Pretty sure it was the third.  We decided to take a walk down by the zoo/botanical garden/park area. As we were walking, we saw an entrance cracked for the botanical garden. Only later did we find out the door was cracked for a wedding, and we were actually supposed to pay like $9 to get in. Oops? Either way, it was really fun to walk around and get to know each other, even if we were total hoodlums. An unexpected, but very fun way to spend an afternoon.

The Mullet Family:

Ah, the second date. The stuff of legends. We went to Steak N' Shake for some dinner and milkshakes, and Tom pointed out a family behind us. A family of mullets.

ALL OF THEM. Mom, dad, and three little children. All mulleted. And the kids were wearing dinosaur pajamas and dousing their crackers in ketchup.

We still talk about that to this day.

This isn't really a date idea, I just wanted an excuse to relive the magic.

Farmer's Market:

I like to get up early and start the day. Most normal people (including my boyfriend) like to sleep in. So one day over the summer I woke up at the crack of dawn, otherwise known as 8 a.m., and mentioned how I wanted to go to the local farmer's market. So we went! We bought some berries and pastries and ate them down by the river and I really, really loved it. If you've got a guy who is willing to accompany you at 8 a.m. on a Saturday to the farmer's market, he's a keeper. And it makes for a pretty nice morning excursion/waffle house alternative.

Also, there was one more.

Then I forgot it.

(I forget things constantly. It makes me fear my elderly age, when I will surely believe I am a cat named Eleanor.)

What are some of your all-time favorite dates?

-H

Are you a breakfast person? (+ smoothie recipe)

I am always starving in the morning.

As a little kid, I remember struggling to fall asleep because I knew we'd just bought delicious new cereal, and I couldn't wait to wake up and eat it.

(Sometimes I still have that problem when I buy new coffee things for the Keurig machine.)

I'm the kind of person who is always up for heading out the door at the crack of dawn to hit up the local diner, whip up huge omelets in the morning or grind up a smoothie really loud and piss off my whole building. Seriously, if my mortal enemy asked me to get breakfast with them, I would have to say yes.

I HAVE to eat breakfast, or else my whole day is thrown off!

Lately I have been surprised at just how many of my friends either don't eat breakfast, or think breakfast food is gross, or are never hungry until at least noon.

That's crazy talk. And I may have judged each one of them for a short while before getting on my soapbox and delving out all kinds of reasons breakfast is the bee's knees.

Well, I'm not going to do that to you.

But I am going to share with you the breakfast smoothie I have been addicted to this week!

Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

-1 banana
-About 1 cup original almond milk (I add a little more)
-2 tbsp peanut butter
-1/4 cup rolled oats
-1 tbsp ground flax seed (Optional)
-3-5 ice cubes

Just toss it in a blender and you've got breakfast!

Usually I just eat oatmeal in the morning, but this is definitely yummier and more filling.

I bet I could even get my non-brekkie (that's a word now) friends to drink this.

Anyone out there a breakfast fiend like myself?

And for fun...

Happy Friday!

Weekend Look

I spent the weekend at my Dad's house in St. Louis. Tom came along. We ate a lot of food, it was great.

We spent Saturday at the Del Mar Loop for my stepbrother's birthday. It was such a neat place! Very collegiate.

Also...I made cupcakes. With greek yogurt in the batter. Totally worked.

Lola. AKA Ninja Cat. Who will walk on you while you're napping and get her claws lodged in your knee. And you never really know if she will react with purring or lashing out when you pet her.

Keeps things exciting, like Russian Roulette cat version.

Then we went to Jilly's...who WON CUPCAKE WARS! Oh my gosh. Best cupcakes ever. I was pretty happy that I don't live anywhere near this place, because I would become diabetic.

Top left: Bee Sting Cupcake (Lemon, honey and almond.) Top right: Carmelita (chocolate, caramel drizzle, caramel filling.) Bottom left: Blueberry Cobbler. Bottom right: Twisted Pink Velvet (pink velvet cake, caramel filling, cream cheese frosting with caramel frosting on top.)

Yes...we are those people.

Happy Wednesday!

My thoughts on...The Cat Incident

So I live in an apartment building.

An apartment building that does not allow animals.

So imagine my surprise when, a couple nights ago, I walk inside and notice a cute little kitty wandering around the entryway.

I immediately let out some kind of weird maternal "look how adorable and helpless you are!" kind of squeal thing and bent down to pet the cat.

And it was so sweet that it came right up to me and meowed and my heart broke into about a million pieces.

(What IS IT about baby animals that turns people to mush? Honestly. If I see a puppy being walked outside I am typically in danger of crashing the car due to the distraction, and I make a lot of weird noised followed by "I WANT TO STEAL YOU!" I say this out loud, by the way. Alone in my car.)

So anyway, the cat.

I asked some people in the building if it was theirs, and while it wasn't, they suggested an apartment number to try.
So I went to that apartment, cute little kitty in tow, and the door was wide open.

All the lights off, a laptop on the island, cat things inside, and the door was wide open?!

I don't even know.

I just about called the police but it looked like no forced entry or foul play were at hand.
(Too many cop shows.)

I let the cat run around my apartment for a few minutes, called the number on its collar and then put it back in its home, all the while wondering how exactly that happens when four people live in an apartment. What if the poor little thing got outside and froze?!

Dear people of that apartment...I was about to kidnap your cat. Just FYI.

Well, I went away for the weekend to St. Louis (stay tuned for photos of Cupcake Wars award winning  treats!) When I came back, my roommate tells me that her friend saw the cat outside.
She described it and I decided that yes, that was the same little kitty.

I immediately pelted her with questions:
"Where outside?"
"Outside, outside?"
"Like in the cold?!"
"What did she do about it?"
"I should have freaking kidnapped it when I had the chance!"

Here is what I gathered:
Her friend saw it outside in the cold when she was driving away.
...And left it there. Did not stop for the kitty.

Then told my roommate about it three hours later, when it was too late to look for it.

I just need to rant about this, but how exactly does that happen TWICE. Twice!! Even if the cat is a sneaky little escape artist, it had to get out through TWO doors to get outside, doors that had to be opened by someone.

So at least two people may have seen it running outside and just let it go?

Oh my gosh.
Totally threw off my day.

Now I want to adopt all the cats and be that lady.

How was your weekend?

-H

My Thoughts On...2013

Alrighty. It is Tuesday, and I am now posting my "My Thoughts Monday" for the week.

I suck at this and it's only week two.

But I'm gonna keep on keepin' on anyway!

The theme for the week (because I haven't really addressed it yet) is...the new year!

Woo!!

The blogosphere has been blowing up all over the place with resolutions and goals and reflections and whatnot. 

But I have a hard time with resolutions.

NOT a long term planner, here.

Pretty much I can plan for the next ten minutes, and that's it. If I'm lucky.

Therefore, resolutions and I just do not mix.

That being said...I have some mini-goals set to go, and this year is going to be SO much fun to document!

Things to look forward to this year?

-Turning 22

-Attempting to publish a children's book

-Spring Break in Ireland

-GRADUATION!

-Moving in with my boyfriend

-Hopefully finding a post-grad job. In like...the next eight weeks.

And lots more I'm sure I'm forgetting!

As for resolutions...there are the usual, of course.

Eat better.

Sleep more.

Figure out how to sit still long enough to let a fresh mani dry.

But really, I have a tradition each year.

At the start of the year, I attack my room, throw out a bunch of crap, light a lemony candle and buy a plant. Check!

This year I purchased a succulent. Very hard to kill, I hope?

Aaand off to yoga! (Another New Year's Resolution.)

Here is a happy new year song to enjoy:

<3

My Thoughts on...26 Acts of Kindness

For the New Year I wanted to start a weekly feature, so one thing I am trying out is a "My Thoughts on..." Monday.

So that I can talk about random things and make it seem legit.

(Yes, I am aware it is Wednesday, not Monday. More on that in a moment.)

So, here we go.

The Newtown, CT tragedy really shook me (and pretty much everyone) for awhile. It still is. That kind of grief doesn't really subside. Time passes, people accept it as a reality, but you don't forget.

When that kind of senseless, unbearable tragedy happens, it's easy to approach it with anger and finger-pointing. 

But one of my favorite responses to the Newtown tragedy was Ann Curry's 26 Acts of Kindness campaign.

If you haven't heard of it, it started on Twitter as a way for people to tweet about random acts of kindness they perform in honor of the lives lost in the Newtown shooting.

After that happened, people wanted to get involved in some way, by doing anything, just to feel like somehow they had helped alleviate the pain. What better way to do that than by channeling the sadness and confusion into something heartfelt and positive?

I really wanted to get involved somehow. Few things in this world feel more rewarding to me than doing something meaningful for someone else, even if they have nothing to offer me.
That sort of kindness has oodles of benefits for everyone involved.

That brings me to the weekend I had. I spent it in the hospital. Saturday through Monday. My New Year's plans were cancelled, I thought I was having a stroke, I underwent a crap ton of tests...but luckily for me, I left with a clean bill of health.

While I was there, I was lucky enough to have my dad and stepmom drive 5 hours, my boyfriend travel 4 hours, and lots of other family and friends spend large chunks of time with me in a hospital room. It was truly a blessing and I felt very loved.

But the part that really got to me was my hospital roommate, a woman I will call Jill. Despite all the loud people and the antics happening the entire time I was there, Jill was an excellent sport. She told me she felt like she was part of the family while they were there, and that while she was happy I was able to head home healthy, she was sad to see us all leave.

I thought about her the night I went home. I would be driving back to school with Tom the next day, and it didn't feel right to just leave without doing something for her. Jill had to stay in the hospital for about another week to have surgery.

So even though it delayed our ETA by a lot, Tom and I stopped off at Target to get Jill some fuzzy socks, lotion and a card, and my grandma chipped in some holiday towels and an ornament. Then we took it to the hospital to the room I'd just left the night before.

It wasn't a grand, sweeping gesture, but it felt so good to surprise Jill with a visit before her surgery and give her something to let her know what a joy it had been to meet her. She was grateful and gracious for everything, and so positive and upbeat the entire time even though she wasn't feeling well.

Seeing the way my family and friends spoke to her and cheered her up made me so proud to be a part of that whole group, and she really helped me see that.

So here's to Jill for the camaraderie during a stressful time, and for the fresh perspective. My thoughts are with her now as she recovers from her surgery and gets back to her happy self.

And to all of you...a very happy new year!