Stress!

Well, it is a stressful time of year around here. With only a little over a week left of classes, all of the papers and projects are coming due and everyone is feeling like it's crunch time. I have tons of stuff to do and my to-do list seems to be getting longer. With my PR internship I am writing a newsletter so I've been doing interviews and writing stories like crazy all week - it's definitely made for some late nights, but I am turning a draft in tomorrow, so that's exciting! For homework I have three papers, a documentary, and presentation to do in the next couple of weeks, then it'll be time for Christmas break and I think I will definitely be ready to relax. In the midst of all of the stuff to do, there is still time for fun, though... Me and my roomate have spent a lot of time with our computers together on the futon this week both just writing away - it's always more bearable to do homework with someone else! I'm excited about this weekend, too, because Friday night is Christmas at my friend's house with all my best friends, Saturday we're going to a Dayton Bombers Hockey Game with MCB, then Sunday Scott and I are having a date day, which will be a great time to relax and hang out. It will definitely be a great weekend and a nice break from all the work being done this week.

I've also been working on advertising for MCB because we have a big "Winter Wonderland Weekend" coming up next weekend and it's a weekend full of fun MCB events. We have a trip to Toledo to see the zoo lights, a trip to Fort Wayne to go shopping and a night where we watch "A Christmas Story" and do crafts and eat cookies - making the advertisements for it makes me even more excited! There are lots of fun things to look forward to in the next couple weeks before we go on Christmas break!
Here's to stress and excitement,

Mary
picture:me and my friends from last year's Christmas gathering at my friend's house (wow, my hair has gotten a lot longer since then!)

Thankful for... Thanksgiving

My nephew enjoying a birthday cupcake...

Thanksgiving Break was wonderful. That pretty much sums it up! I guess I didn’t realize how badly I needed a break until I was sitting at home relaxing. It all started Tuesday evening… I was the last one out of our residence hall – I checked everyone’s rooms and locked everything up for a few days. I went over and hung out with Scott for a little bit and we had dinner together, then I headed home. Tuesday night I just hung out with my parents. Wednesday me and my Mom shopped most of the day – we had a great time looking for some new clothes, eating at my favorite restaurant for lunch, etc. Me and my mom are pretty close and she doesn’t get to shop much when I’m not home because my Dad generally isn’t up for it, so it was a great day hanging out with her. After that we went home and me and my parents just hung out and watched t.v. I got up Thursday and had quite a happy thanksgiving. I went to Scott’s house in the morning and had Thanksgiving with his family. It was great to meet the extended family and get in some good chats with his cousins. After we had some quality time there, we headed to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving with my family. When we got there my whole family was there and the rest of the night we celebrated Thanksgiving and my niece’s 1st birthday.

My niece and nephew playing with some new toys

It was so much fun to just hang out and relax with my family and Scott. Friday morning I woke up and went shopping with my sisters and mom. We hit some good early bird specials and definitely got in some good laughs. After that we surprised my sister with a birthday lunch out with our entire family and a couple of her friends. It was really fun to surprise her and again, we laughed a lot at that meal!

My brother and Scott getting in an arm wrestling match after lunch

After we had lunch and hung out with my dad and brother for a little bit, Scott and I headed back to his house. We helped his mom and sister decorate the Christmas tree and it was really neat to be a part of that with his family. After we hung out with his family for a little bit we went to Slurp’s (one of Scott's best friends) house and met up with a bunch of Scott’s friends for a night of fun. We played Euchre, picture telephone, a game called “who,what,where,when,why” that we play pretty often, and just hung out and laughed a lot. It has been so much fun getting to know his friends and they are some awesome people to hang out with, so that was a blast. We just got up Saturday morning and had lunch with Scott’s family then I headed home. Saturday I just helped my parents with some yard work then me and my mom went to a movie. Sunday I just got up and went to church, then helped put up our Christmas lights (my family goes crazy with those!) and then headed back here to Bluffton. When I got back Scott and I went to dinner and WalMart, which was fun and tonight I’ve just been catching up with the girls and getting ready for the next three weeks to finish out the semester before Christmas break!
It was such a wonderful and relaxing break. I got to spend a lot of time with amazing people and am so thankful for everything in my life! I hope your Thanksgiving was great! Aren’t you excited to be in the Christmas season? It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
Here’s to great family, great friends, and great breaks,
Mary

yep, another one...

Me, Anna, and Hannah at the LDP dinner

Well, another fantastic weekend has come and gone. On Friday night me and Melisa (the other RA in our hall) made Thanksgiving dinner for everyone. I did that last year on my floor too and it always goes over really well. We made a big turkey and all the side dishes to go with it… it was a huge success! We had a lot of people eating and had a great time just enjoying good food and chatting away. After dinner I went and helped organize Marbeck After Dark… we had a euchre tournament this Friday and that was a lot of fun! We had over 35 people participating, so it was definitely a good time. After that I just hung out with Scott and we just relaxed… Friday = super good.

Me and some of my senior friends at the LDP dinner

Saturday was a pretty lazy day. On Friday night me and my best friends decided we were going to have a “nasty college student day” on Saturday, so we got up and went and got fast food for lunch and just laid around all afternoon watching a football game (sleeping in, getting gross fast food, and laying on the couch is what constitutes a “nasty college student day”). We had a great time just hanging out and catching up on life. After the game was over we all did our hair and nails and put dresses on to go out to dinner. 5 of us girls went out together and we had an awesome time. We went to Findlay and enjoyed some delicious food while being all dressed up and having some serious girls talk – always a good time. We love having “girls day” where we can just have fun doing random things. After we got back I went over to Scott’s and we watched a movie and just hung out all evening. Saturday = excellent good times.

Me and the Hamburgler doing the soulja boy dance off at Midnight Madness

Sunday was yet another good day. We got up and went to Sunday Morning Worship, then had lunch with a friend who graduated last year – it was good to catch up with him. After that me and the other Hall Directors decorated for the evening’s festivities (to be explained in a couple of sentences…). Then I just hung around all afternoon with my roommate working on homework and other random stuff. Sunday evening was the LDP dinner. LDP is the leadership development program and all of the leaders on campus get together every once and awhile and do things together… it’s always a great time. Sunday night was the annual holiday dinner where we all get dressed up and enjoy a nice dinner together. It was awesome to hang out with some of my favorite people on campus. Sunday night was midnight madness, which is basically a big pep rally for our basketball teams – I got to be Bucky the Beaver at midnight madness, which was a lot of fun! (Check out Scott’s blog for more info on that…). So yeah, Sunday = super great.

Me and Hamburgler with one of my best friends, Carol

Obviously it was another great weekend. And to top it all off, we leave for Thanksgiving Break today, which will be a great chance to relax!

Me and Scott at Midnight Madness

Here’s to random fun times on campus,
Mary

by the way: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Another Best Weekend Ever, and Growing Up...

Seriously, these weekends have been out of control. This weekend was amazing. Scott and I spent time at my house and went to the Notre Dame game on Saturday. We, needless to say, had a blast. I am not going into too many details because Scott covers that in his blog and since I'm sure you all read both of our blogs, I won't go over that again. Dinner and a movie at my house Friday, tailgating, game, and relaxing Saturday, and hanging out, friends, and more good conversation Sunday... you've got yourself one awesome weekend. I'm just so thankful for so many good times!

Scott and I have been talking a lot recently about the future... where will we be in a year? Graduation, leaving here, going where?, jobs, resumes, relationships, etc. So much to think about and it's just so crazy to think that we're at that place in our lives. Me and my friends have been talking a lot about it too as me and one of my best friends, Carol, have the same major and are looking into doing similar things in the future. I just can't believe that it's a reality to be polishing the resume and handing them out at job fairs. We are going to a conference dealing with public relations (the field I would like to go into) on Friday and our professor told us to take resumes to hand out... what? It's so exciting to be at this stage, but it's a little scary at the same time. It's going to be so hard to leave Bluffton, but the thought of having a "real job" and living in an apartment or house and making it outside of the Bluffton world makes me super anxious. So many things to think about, and so many things to look forward to. Life is so good.

Here's to more good weekends and lots to look forward to,
Mary

pics: me and scott at the game and me and my brother tailgating

Crazy

It’s been a pretty crazy week and I’m ready for an amazing weekend. You ever have one of those weeks where you feel like no matter what you do, you just can’t catch up? I had one of those weeks. It wasn’t homework (though I did have a paper due), rather it was just a ton of random things to do, Hall Director tasks to finish, etc. It’s Friday afternoon, though, and everything is done and I’m ready to head home in a couple of hours and kick off what I’m sure will prove to be a great weekend. Weeks like this make the weekends so much sweeter! The great thing, though, is that even when I have a really stressful week, I am surrounded by people that help me through it. I live with my best friends and they are always there to give a hug and listen to a rant about how much I have to do. The beautiful thing is that we are all so busy that we understand each other and are able to relate completely. One of my favorite things about college life is how everyone is always around – whether it be in the halls, around the table at lunch, or just a random hug on the sidewalk, it is hard to get too down because so many people are right there to pick you right up.

Scott had a pretty crazy week, too, so it'll be nice that we can just relax and have a good time together this weekend. We're going to my house tonight, to the Notre Dame game tomorrow to tailgate and watch the game, and back home to my house to relax Saturday night and Sunday. We might not have voices after the game on Saturday, but that'll be a good problem to have. It’s going to be so much fun – I will definitely have lots to tell in the next post!
Here’s to people who pick you right up,

Mary

pics: I wasn't sure I showed you my new car yet :)

Best Weekend Ever (yep, another one...)

This was our view of the field... woo hoo!!!

So, I keep writing about my weekends and I want to label every single one of them “best weekend ever.” Basically, things have been totally rockin’ and will continue to be for a while.
This weekend started off in a great way on Friday. Scott and I hung out and watched a movie. It was nice to unwind after a long week of school stuff. Then we went out to dinner with some people and that was nice. 7 people went total, but me, Scott, Slurp, and Hannah went in my car. It was really fun – we ate at Chipotle in Findlay and boy, do I love that place. Good stuff. On our way home we stopped at Cold Stone for some dessert. Friday night was Marbeck After Dark so I just hung out and played games and stuff. I love being on MCB (our activity planning board)… sometimes I just sit back and watch people having a good time at events and it’s just so awesome. Yay MCB.

Anna, Hannah, and Becca are all bundled up... it actually snowed a little bit at the game!

Saturday my parents came with their RV and we tailgated along with Becca and Jill’s families. It was so much fun to sit around and chat, have some great food, watch the football game, and just hang out. They stayed for quite awhile, and we ended up watching the Notre Dame game in the RV on Saturday evening (you can read Scott’s blog for more info on the Irish). After that Scott and I had a late dinner together then we just hung out a little bit until I went back and did the Marbeck After Dark thing again for Family Day. Quite a few families came to play games, so that was cool. Me, Scott, and Dan (the MCB advisor) just talked most of the night and it was fun to just chat it up. Scott and I went to WalMart after that and he changed his bulletin board while I just sat there and kept him company. Wow, it seems really weird that Saturday was just this past weekend… it seems like so long ago. Probably because Sunday was so awesome…

Here is a shot of the guys playing football in Hannah's backyard... so much fun!

We got up Sunday morning and 32 of us all headed to Cleveland together to go to the Browns game. First we went to Hannah’s house and had lunch there – her parents are so awesome and it was so much fun to just eat some home-cooked food and enjoy some home time. After lunch the guys played football in the yard and we just sat around for a little bit. Definitely a perfect Sunday afternoon activity. After Hannah’s house we all went to the Browns game together. It was an awesome game (the Browns won in overtime!) and so much fun to be there with my best friends! We had such a good time cheering on the Browns, dancing in the stands, and laughing a lot. We got back late Sunday night just in time to get ready for another week. This weekend was completely amazing. It was so much fun to get to hang out with my family, Scott, and my friends so much. We had such a good time and I am just trying to soak up every minute of these awesome times.

Scott and I having fun at the game!

This week is a little crazy, but not bad… I just have lots of random stuff to do. I am so pumped for this coming weekend though because me and Scott are going to the Notre Dame game! Woo hoo! Cheer on the Irish for us on Saturday, and watch for us on t.v.

Wow, this blog is getting long – so much greatness takes awhile to talk about!
Here’s to really really wonderful weekends,
Mary

More Than Just Watching The Show

Grey’s Anatomy is quite the phenomenon on this campus. The show has obviously taken the nation by storm as the past three seasons have been enormously successful, and the Grey’s craze is no different here on campus. Every Thursday night people (mostly the ladies on campus) gather to settle in with their blankets and best friends for an hour of drama. For most, though, the Thursday night rituals are less about the show and more about time to hang out with the girls. Me and my friends love the show, there is no doubt about that, but while meetings, homework, and other commitments take us from our rooms all during the week, Grey’s is the one time where we know we will all be together for a precious hour of time together. We have cried together, laughed together, and been in shock together at the show and in a weird way, I feel like it has brought us closer as a group of friends. It’s just something that we all use to take our minds off the stresses of daily life and I truly cherish Thursday nights with Grey’s and the girls. College is so awesome for things like that – we all could watch Grey’s by ourselves in our rooms at home, but when we all live steps away it is so much more fun to watch it together. Oh college life…

Here’s to Grey’s night,
Mary
picture: I didn't have one of grey's, so just a thumbs up for grey's night