Monday Musings: Time Flies

I will try to make this a regular Monday post, with my musings for the day. 

Musing: noun
1. Contemplation; meditation.
2. A product of contemplation; a thought. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about how fast time goes by. My 10 year high school reunion will be this fall. (How did that happen?) I'm helping to plan it, and it's so crazy to think I was in high school a decade ago! I've stayed close with many of my high school friends, and I am so lucky to have friends like them that have been a part of my life for so long. I've now been to many of their weddings and some have even had babies. It doesn't seem like that long ago we were gossiping about boys and picking out dresses for the Prom.

Me and my best girlfriends at Senior Prom (I'm the short one on the far left.)

I'm really excited to see my friends in October and catch up with people that I haven't seen since graduation. Being from a small town, I see a lot of childhood friends when I'm home for the holidays. But as we've gotten older and moved further away, I see less and less of them. But no matter how long it's been, we always catch up where we left off. That's the wonderful thing about old friends.

My brother Nick is graduating from Clemson, my alma mater, in a few monthes. It's very hard to believe it's been 6 years since my college graduation. I'm flying back to South Carolina in May for the big event. It will be kind of surreal to see him walk across the same stage I crossed, what doesn't seem that long ago. It's been so fun to see him have many of the same college experiences that I had - from football games, campus ministry, a Spring Break trip to Germany, to the same college bars. And now to see him graduate! I'm really lucky to have had the education and college experience that I did. And I made some lifelong friends along the way. 

And it's also hard to believe that almost two years have passed since I made the trip across country to move to San Diego. I find myself sometimes willing time to slow down. I get so caught up in the day to day, that before I know it a month has passed, then several, and then a whole year. Time is a precious thing and there's never enough of it. But it's important to be thankful for the time we do have and try to make it count as much as possible. I find that I all too often say that I'll get around to doing things. So, my resolution this year is to actually get around to them! There's no time like the present.


I find sometimes that a song, a picture or conversation can make those old times feel like they just happened. This is one of my favorite songs, I Go Back by Kenny Chesney. 

What are some of your favorite high school or college memories? 

20 Things You May Not Know About Me

Even though most of my readers know me pretty well (Hi Mom!), I thought I'd share 20 things that people may not know about me. 

1. The house I grew up in Fredericksburg, VA since I was two years old (which my parents still live in) is 120 years old. I was convinced growing up it was haunted and used to freak my friends out with ghost stories and Ouija boards when they slept over. But I don't doubt that it actually may be.

The house all lit up for Christmas.

2. I'm seriously scared of spiders.

3. I'm a perfectionist.

4. I want to write historical fiction one day. Stories that are tied to art of the Italian Renaissance and the people depicted in famous paintings.

5. Growing up I was obsessed with collecting things. I had massive collections of Pogs, stickers, Pez dispenzers and Tweety Bird collectables. My Dad and I started a major coin collection together when I was about ten. The coins are the only collection that still exists.

6. I am a pack rat. I save just about every letter, birthday card and memento given to me. I love to go back and read them from time to time. I hardly get rid of anything, except for Pogs and Pez dispensers.

7. I've been to 12 European countries and 28 US States. Mostly in college and on 3 cross-country drives. I studied music in Eastern Europe in the summer of 2004 and backpacked through Germany in 2005. 

In a German train station with my Lutheran Campus Ministry group.

8. One of my goals is to see most of the places in the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die. I'm almost to 100. I wish I could travel for a living.

9. I don't eat red meat. The last hamburger I had was when I was 8. I mostly eat things that once had wings or came from the ocean.

10. On that note I LOVE sushi. I could eat it every day. But I didn't try it until my 20th birthday.

11. My middle name is Marie after my Grandmother, Stella Marie. I miss her dearly.

12. My Grandmother Irma (my Dad's mother) was the great grand-daughter of William Henry Seward who was Secretary of State under President Lincoln. He purchased Alaska for the US in 1867. His desk stayed in our family and now I have it in my apartment.

Grandma and me sometime in the early 80's. I also miss her dearly.

13. I giggle a lot when I get nervous talking to someone.

14. I've caught two bouquets at friends' weddings but am nowhere near walking down an aisle myself. I think that I'll be one of last of my friends to get married. And I'm okay with that.

15. I've never minded going out to eat or seeing a movie by myself. I like my own company sometimes. But it's always more fun with a friend or significant other of course :)

16. It never fails that I will cry at sappy things. Especially during Extreme Home Makeover and Lifetime movies.

17. I usually read 3 or more books at a time. I like the variety.

18. I love to scrapbook, but I rarely finish an entire one.

19. My teen crushes were Jonathan Taylor Thomas (BOP posters covered my walls) and Taylor Hanson. Yes, I admit I was a HUGE Hanson fan. MMMBop was catchy.

20. When I was a child, I wanted to become an archeologist when I grew up. I've always been fascinated with history. When my parents built a patio, I dug in my backyard for fun. Fredericksburg, VA has a Civil War battlefield and soldiers marched through my backyard. I found pottery and even some Civil War bullets. We gave it all to the local historical society.

So, that's me in a nutshell. Thanks for reading!

Superbowl Commercials

I did a little facelift on the blog, hope you like it! I'm not a huge football fan (unless Clemson is playing of course!) so I really only watched the Superbowl for the commercials. And Madonna. I was happy to see the Giants win. My Dad's family are New Yorkers so I grew up cheering for them. It's always fun to see the underdog win. And to see Tom Brady cry. 

Here's a few of my favorite commercials - enjoy! 

1. E*Trade talking baby - "I'm speed dating!" I died laughing! Something is just hilarious about a baby talking like an adult.

2.  Acura NSX commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno. Lots of great references to Seinfeld like the Soup Nazi. 

3. The Voice - It premiered after the Super Bowl and I can't believe I didn't watch last season! I love this show! And the commercial with an appearance by Betty White was classic. She just had her 90th Birthday and she's still got a thriving career. I want to be her someday.  

 

4. M&Ms - I love their marketing people, the commercials are always a riot. This featured Ms. Brown M&M who the red M&M thought was naked. He then strips off his shell to "I'm sexy and I know it." 

5. Uncle Jesse aka John Stamos makes a Superbowl cameo appearance in this Dannon commercial for greek yogurt. Is just me or does he get better looking with age?!?

6. And last but last least of my favorites, the Sketchers commercial with the French bulldog racing with greyhounds - in mini Sketchers. Mainly I just like that they replaced Kim Kardashian as their spokesperson with a bulldog. 

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Madonna's halftime performance. I thought it was a big improvement from years past, but watching her flip around stage in semi-slow motion was a little awkward. And what was with Cee Lo in a sequined moo-moo during Like a Prayer? I think my favorite part was that crazy rope dancing bit. It's hard to hate on the performance too much though, because she's freaking Madonna. All and all she rocked it. 

What were your fav. commercials of the night? 

First Friday of February

It's the first Friday of February (that's a lot of alliteration) and I can't believe January is already gone. Is it just me, or the older we get, the faster time goes by? And in San Diego, where the weather doesn't vary much, it feels like one long season. Don't get me wrong, sunny and 72 degrees in the beginning of February - I'll take that over having an actual winter anytime!

Some things I'm looking foward to this month:

• A friend's 30th Birthday party at the Hard Rock Hotel tomorrow night!
• The Opening Night for La Jolla Playhouse's last show of the 2011-2012 season, American Night.
• The Oscars, and the viewing party my friends are hosting at their house on the beach. I won the Oscar poll at their party last year, so hopefully I can predict the winners well this year!
• Watching the rest of the Academy Award Best Picture nominated films. I've seen 4 1/2 of the 9 nominated films - Moneyball got boring and I turned it off halfway through. Still to see - War Horse, The Tree of Life, Hugo and The Artist.
• Getting one extra day, it's a leap year!