Back to Reality

I graduated this weekend. I got to dress in a cap and gown and do the whole walk-across-the-stage-and-be-recognized thing. And I have to tell you, it felt really.damn.good.

This whole master’s degree was a lot of work. And while I by no means went into it thinking it’d be a cake walk, I didn’t expect quite as many tears as there were. I found myself constantly comparing my intelligence to that of my peers, which was frustrating while also trying to be a good new wife, which was challenging at first. There were times (particularly this semester with my harder than hell elective) that I wasn’t sure if I was cut out for grad school. At times I thought I had forgotten how to study, which was strange and unnerving.

If there’s one thing I learned throughout that last two years, it’s that my mom was right - I can do anything I put my mind to. How about that.

Mom and Lisa arrived on Friday, and we all enjoyed some dinner at the house while watching the Cavs beat the Celtics. I felt like it was Christmas Eve when I tried falling asleep on Friday night - I was so excited to celebrate with my friends and classmates and I wanted graduation to be here NOW.

Saturday’s weather originally called for a high of 60 degrees with rain. You know, the typical weather around these parts lately. With a cute dress lined up to wear, that was discouraging news. The Gods must have been on my side, though, for the weather? Absolutely perfect. Hell - everything about the day was absolutely perfect.

Some shots from the occasion:

After we finished taking pictures, mom, Nate, Lisa and I headed to the Third Ward for some appetizers for lunch and so that mom and Lisa could see the Eisner Museum of Advertising. We had dinner reservations at Water Buffalo for 6:30, but by 4:30 we were all getting a little anxious. Sure, I wanted my celebratory dinner, but what I really wanted? To go home, change into comfy clothes, order a pizza and play Mario Kart. And what the graduate wants, the graduate gets. Dinner reservations were canceled, pizza was ordered, and we all had a blast playing Mario Kart on the Wii all night.

Mom and Lisa headed home to Ohio today, which is never fun for me, but it was made a little easier knowing that I myself will be in Ohio in a mere 4 days.

So what now? I have no idea. I’m working at MU until the end of the month, and having no idea how long we’ll be living here has made the whole job search incredibly difficult. I’m doing my best to just go with the flow and not constantly worry about it, but let’s be real - that’s near impossible for me. The hardest part is done, though, and I’m going to take my time to enjoy that.

Time to Learn to Relax…

First and foremost, it’s official. I passed. I’m graduating.

While this may not seem like a big deal since everyone figured I would graduate, it actually is. You see, after my final on Thursday, I was incredibly tense. Not in a I-tend-to-overreact kind of way, I really thought there was a small chance my grade in that damn elective wouldn’t be good enough. Over the weekend, however, it was confirmed - I earned a B in the class, and I am graduating on Saturday. Happy? You could say that.

This weekend Nate and I continued our ritual of going on old-people vacations and headed to Galena, Illinois to soak in all the U.S. Grant knowledge we could.

The first stop on our trip was Freeport, IL, which was home to the second Lincoln/Douglas debate. Here’s Nate, pulling Stephen Douglas’ finger at the monument. Nice.

We stayed at an adorable B&B, which was a first for both of us. We were the only two guests aside from the innkeeper’s children that were in town for the weekend, which meant that the morning breakfasts were private little breakfasts for just the two of us at a candlelit table. It was just a hop, skip and jump away from Grant’s house, and two doors down from Elihu Washburn’s house. We walked the same path that Grant himself walked after learning at Washburn’s that he had been elected President - he found out around 2:00 in the morning and walked up to his house to share the news with his wife. It was so strange and awesome walking that very same path.

We went on a Trolley tour to hear about the history of the city. So glad we did, for it exposed us to parts of the town we never would have ventured to find.

We headed down to Mississippi Palisades State Park near Savanna, IL, for we wore told that there was a lookout of the river that was beautiful. We hiked some, we checked out each of the lookout points, and generally enjoyed the amazingly beautiful scenery.

We ate dinner at Fried Green Tomatoes, which was a delicious Italian restaurant on Main Street. If you click on the link, make sure to check out the “About Us” page for its history. We enjoyed some wine and a fabulous dinner (with dessert!) then headed to a bar next door to watch the Cavs/Celtics game (Go Cavs!).

Sunday was dedicated to see historical parts of Southwest Wisconsin. The first stop on the way home was Platteville, where we went to the Mining Museum and satisfied my love of college campuses by driving around UW-Platteville. Next up was Belmont, WI, the original state capital. Following the trend we next went to Madison to see the current state capital, where we wondered around the Capitol Building and campus.

And now? We’re home. And I get to relax for an entire week, for I requested this time off of work. It’s time for me to learn to relax and just do nothing. I’m not sure I’m able to do it (hence writing this entry right now) but it’ll be nice to try.

Good Vibes Needed

Here I go! I’m off to take my last final EVER. As in, never again will I be tested for a grade toward a degree program (like how I stretch that? Because we all know I’m kidding myself if I say I’ll never take college classes again). Anyway.

I did it. Well, okay, so not technically until after the final is completed, but for the purposes of this blog entry, I’m DONE.

Holy freakin crap.

Now what? Well, I don’t know, exactly. What I do know is that I’m going to enjoy the next few weekends for a change. Nate and I are headed to Galena, IL tomorrow for a nice weekend away, in which we’ll dive into U.S. Grant’s life and antique shops and fun historical things and wine. Man, we’re old. When did this become vacation? And the fact that I’m super excited about it? Yeah.

Next weekend my mom and sister arrive to celebrate my big graduation. I can’t wait to see them!

The following weekend, we’re off to Ohio to spend time with both families for Memorial Day weekend. My sister-in-law is even making the trip home, so we’ll get to spend time with them (including our too-cute-for-words niece), which I’m VERY excited about.

So now? Life gets fun. I have my evenings and weekends back. Any bets on how long I wait before enrolling in a class to learn a foreign language?

A Day to Celebrate Anniversaries

Two years ago today, Nate and I put the last of our belongings in my car and drove to Milwaukee, where we would be living in a hotel until we found a place to live.

My emotions were all over the place. I was excited about moving to a new city and living out of Ohio for the first time, but I could not stop crying. I will never forget the night before we moved - I had gone out with my sister to play Bunko at a friend’s house, and Lisa dropped me off at our beloved Ruby’s for our last night out. I sat in the car with her and bawled uncontrollably. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do (I’m tearing up right now just remembering it). I wasn’t able to fall asleep until 3:30 or so that night, and all I could think about was how I wanted to go over to my sister’s and just hang out. But I couldn’t. It was 3:30 in the morning.

I woke up the next morning, and was a little excited. We would be living in a hotel for what ended up being 2 weeks, and for some reason I thought it’d be a glamorous thing. We began the 8 hour drive (appropriately timed so we’d get to Milwaukee in time to watch the NASCAR race that evening), and I cried. The entire time. Poor Nate. My sister had left me a voicemail that I did not let myself listen to until we reached Chicago. The waterworks just would not stop.

We arrived at our temporary home, and I was okay. I got to organize stuff and keep myself busy, so that was good. We went out to a bar that night for some food and drinks, and again, I was a crying mess. I went into the bathroom to call my mom with cries of oh-my-God-I-can’t-do-this, and she listened and reassured me that I’d be okay. As she continually had to click over to the other line, where my sister was calling her, crying as well. What a mom.

Nate was such a trooper. He started work that Monday (a mere 2 days after the move), and knew I was having a hard time with the adjustment. He did everything he could to make me happy, which wasn’t easy. Then I found a way to keep myself busy. Once his car arrived, I had a car during the day. I drove around and was on the search for a place to live. Living in the hotel was not fun at all, and I wanted a home. I wanted to be comfortable.

I still have the steno notebook of the houses I had called about, with quite the organized table. It indicated the phone number, when I called, and, oh yeah - the picture number that it was on our digital camera. Seriously. We had a place to live within 2 weeks and have called Milwaukee home ever since.

I’ll never forget this day. That’s likely because I’m a freak when it comes to remembering dates and oddities such as that, but still. It was hard. I remember when Nate was still deciding whether or not to take the job and my selling point on the move (yep, I was the cheerleader in favor of this transition) was that it’s the best time in our life to do this! We were young and about to be married - what better time to move away and start fresh with just the two of us! And while I have a strong itch to move back soon, it’s been a great home. We’ve gone through a lot together here in Wisconsin. We started our marriage here.

It may not be home forever, but we’ll always have Milwaukee.

Oh - and I wouldn’t dare leave out the other anniversary that’s being celebrated today. Happy 41 to my mom and dad. I love you both (picture to be added when I get home).

Deceptively Delicious?

If it were up to me, I’d call it Not-so-Deceptively Edible.

That’s right, I had a date with the veggies tonight. And not just any veggie, but the king of all gross veggies. Broccoli. Maybe I started too high up the chain - I don’t know.

What I do know is that no matter how hard I tried, I could see the broccoli covering the chicken nuggets. Maybe I didn’t process the broccoli enough, but no amount of breadcrumbs could cover that up. And eating green chicken? Is weird. It’s like the green ketchup - it just doesn’t look right. Or good.

I could stomach 5 nuggets or so (coated in more BBQ sauce than anyone can imagine), and I can say it. I had broccoli.

Next time (what? There will be a next time? Maybe. Just maybe) I’m going to choose something that will actually go along with that whole idea of being deceptive. Or maybe I’ll just force a carrot down my throat since those are supposed to be orange and it won’t weird me out.

Update: I’m not giving up on this quite yet. I plan to make at least two more recipes, including the meatloaf that has carrots in it and quite possibly the spaghetti and meatballs (though my pasta sauce has tomato puree in it - doesn’t that count?)

Bittersweet

I’ve done my fair share of complaining about school. We all know that. And I’m definitely counting down until the day that I finish (my last final is in 9 days, by the way).

The truth, though? I wouldn’t have traded this experience for anything. My only regret is that I had those three months of nothing from May-August when we first moved up here and that the program didn’t start earlier. Because I have made some fabulous friends that I will never ever lose contact with. Because I’m one of those people. Once you’re in my life, you’re stuck there. Mwwwwahaha.

Anyway. Tonight was the final night of our capstone course. The course that wraps up our program. And to celebrate, we did what any college student does. We went to a bar near campus. Except we’re grad students, so it wasn’t a night of seeing who could handle the most shots of tequila, but rather a night of hanging out and realizing what good friends we’ve become.

Like, this for example. A group photo of everyone that went to the bar after our final class. Nevermind the fact that eight of the people in the picture are first years and not graduating yet - they were invited and came because that’s the kind of group we are. There are two professors in this picture!

It was a great night. A great night to forget that I have a paper due in 2 days and a harder-than-hell final in 9. A night to realize that, wow - I have almost made it. In just a little more than a week, this is all just a memory. The friendships, though, will never die.

Oh - and of course it would be 2 Big Ten girls that are the last two still at the bar, as evidenced by this last photo of a Buckeye and Badger.

The Anniversary of Me

Okay, so my actual birthday isn’t until Sunday (that’s 4/27 - mark it on you calendar!). But we all know that the blog world shuts down on weekends, and I don’t plan on being here, so here you go!

Happy Birthday to me…and Julia, and my sister-in-law Laura, and Ulysses S. Grant, who also all celebrate their birthdays on Sunday. What a day!

A few weeks ago I came up with the idea to post a picture from each year of my life in honor of my birthday. I only really have pictures from college and beyond with me here in Milwaukee, though, so I could only do this with the help of my mom, who was very eager to help out (even though I think she did it out of guilt due to my baby book consisting only of, well, the fact that I was born).

So, without further adieu, here’s my life, in photos. It’s easy to see when things became digital and I had easy access to them - so, some years have more than one picture, and a year or two have none. Enjoy!

1979

1980
My first Easter.

1981
My second Easter, with my brother Tim. I’m making the face that my brother Brian taught me to make, which I’m told I did frequently for pictures.

1982
Christmas Day, 1982. Trying out my new roller skates.

1983
I actually don’t remember ever seeing this picture before.

1984
Sporting my lovely velvet outfit (yikes! could I pull my pants up any higher?) and celebrating birthday #5

1985
Posing with my sister in our team leotards

1986
Having fun at the pool - it looks like that had to be a painful ending!

1987
With my sister at our cousin Sharon’s wedding. I was the flower girl, it was my first time in a wedding, and I fainted part-way through it. I’d love to see that video.

1988
My 4th grade school picture. Good to see my hair has always been uncooperative in the front!

1989
Easter Sunday at my Grandma’s house. My sister and I posing in front of my parents’ new car.

1990
Prior to my grandpa’s birthday party last year, this was the last time I had seen my cousins from out West.

1991
Enter the ugly years. I was baffled when I saw this was the photo my mom picked for 1991 (surely there was a better one?), but liked the picture because it showed us at our monthly (or so?) post-noon mass chicken dinner lunches. I then cried when I noticed that (1) I am sitting with my favorite grandma to my left and my dad’s mom and dad to my right, and (2) I have the exact same profile as my grandma. Wow.

1993
The summer before my freshman year of high school, at Flag Camp. I’m on the left in the back row. Horrible hair cut, for which I place full blame on my brother’s ex-wife.

1994
Goofing off after the first night of the Spring Musical my freshman year. The Carolina jacket makes me cringe to this day - the things we do for guys. Oy.

1995
At a high school football game, Fall of my junior year.

1996
The summer before my senior year of high school - one of my senior pictures; Fall of my senior year during Senior Recognition night, with my parents. My poor mom looks like she’s freezing!

1997
High school graduation with my grandparents.

1998
At Sea World with Nicole

1999
Heading to a Cleveland Indians game with Nicole; With my siblings on Memorial Day (clearly during the worst part of my eating disorder); In the dorms at Ohio State with my roommate and R.A.

2000
My first picture with Nate, a mere month after we met; Celebrating my 21st birthday; At a Private NFL Hall of Fame Tailgate with HOF Inductee Ronnie Lott

2001
Hanging out with Meghan after an Ohio State football game - no, those aren’t my glasses; Karaoke at Ledo’s with Aaron - a Wednesday tradition; With Meghan before going out for New Year’s

2002
In Las Vegas on top of the Stratosphere; Dressed up for Halloween at the Ohio State/Minnesota game - our tailgating hang out was the beloved Tree, and my friend Aaron and I dressed up as the Tree and a Keg of beer; At the Grand Canyon on the way to see Ohio State beat Miami in the 2002 National Championship football game

2003
At Meghan’s graduation from Law School; At my graduation with Nate; With Brutus at the Ohio State vs Indiana game in Bloomington; watching the sunrise with my brother on Christmas Day in Florida

2004
At Northwestern University, tailgating before the Ohio State football game - we lost, but had a good time laughing at the students going to the library on a Saturday night instead of the football game!

2005
Dancing with my best friend at his wedding; In Boston; With my siblings at Lisa’s wedding; Me and Nate at Lisa’s wedding

2006
Our last night out in Columbus before moving to Milwaukee; With my mom and sister at my bridal shower; At the Ohio State/Iowa football game in Iowa City the weekend before the wedding; At my wedding rehearsal with my dad; Me and Nate on our wedding day

2007
At the Ohio State/Florida National Championship game; During a bike ride with my sister along lake Michigan; With Nicole in Chicago; at Ohio Stadium; With Nate in Newport, RI;

2008
New Year’s Eve; Hanging out with grad school girls

And with that, I’m off to live life as a 29 year-old.

Two More Weeks

Good thing, because I think I can only handle two more weeks of this.

Right now I’m living one of three days:
(1) Wake up, go to the gym, go to work, spend time in the library doing school work between work and class, go to class and get home around 8:00
(2) Wake up, go to work earlier, go to the gym, come home and do school work until I go to bed
(3) Or, on the fun weekends, I wake up and go to the library for the entire day. As in usually around 8-10 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.

Last night, however, was a small success. I presented my capstone paper and officially turned in the paper. It isn’t due until May 6 but it’s all I’ve been working on essentially for the past month, and it was pretty damn good. So I turned it in. My presentation? Well, I have to say - I was really nervous about it. This was basically do or die time as far as my graduating was concerned. I’m normally my toughest critic, particularly when it comes to speaking in front of groups, but holy cow - I kicked its ass. I’ve never felt so comfortable speaking in front of people ever. I think I only glanced at my note cards twice (over a 30 minute period), and that was to double-check a name before I said it. It was great!

So yeah - that’s two pretty huge tasks off my list and officially out of my mind (except for, you know, the patting myself on the back). Now, however, comes the hard part. Ugh.

The psychotherapy course - the one I’ve been struggling in. I purposely finished my other class early so I could literally devote the next 2 weeks to this other course. I have a paper due next week on a topic I’m not comfortable writing about, and then a final exam May 8. Then? I’m DONE.

Who knows - I may be able to do this after all. Last night sure helped with the confidence, though!

Lessons in Life

This was sent to me today, and the majority of them really struck a chord with me. Little things to think about that could make a big difference.

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For over 7 years, Regina Brett was a columnist at The Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio. During that time, she was diagnosed and successfully treated for breast cancer. Regina is now a columnist for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. Her column runs on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.

Lessons in Life By Regina Brett
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here’s an update:

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone, everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
41. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Well that’s a New one

I’ve always known that I could sleep through practically anything. Then there was an experience when Nate had too much to drink that I thought changed that - I generally wake up whenever he gets out of bed, wondering if he’s okay. Yep, I’ve got the “mom” instincts already. That’s fine with me.

Last night, though, I must have been getting some pretty good sleep. Because I? Slept through the earthquake that is reported to have been felt here. I can’t make this stuff up. Apparently there was an earthquake in Chicago that could actually be felt here in Milwaukee. I had no idea until my husband told me that it woke him up this morning and he had trouble falling back asleep afterward. The whole situation is bizarre to me - I never thought I’d ever see the words Midwest and Earthquake used in the same sentence, aside from “You will not likely ever experience an earthquake while living in the Midwest.” You get where I’m going with this.

Oh - and one last thing. Apparently in my crazy week I forgot to acknowledge that not one, but TWO of my brothers-in-law had birthdays this week! Don’t worry, the cards were sent on time

So, Happy Belated Birthday to Isaac, who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday:

And Steve, who celebrated his birthday Thursday:

And also, Happy 10th Anniversary to my brother Brian and his wife Laura!