DAY sixty

Work was a cluster of busy/crazy, with most of the day spent in a grant committee meeting. I had some yummy macaroni and cheese pizza, so that makes it worthwhile. I brought work home and enjoyed the background distraction of So You Think You Can Dance. All I've got in the way of today's picture is the assault of teen mom texts I received in the few minutes I was on the phone and couldn't instantly respond. This is exactly why Ki and I are friends. Her stream of consciousness mirrors my exclamations during the episode's original airing last night. Brain twins.

DAY fifty-nine

Not a very eventful day, so there's not much to share. What I will say is that I found the below pictured GREY HAIR on my head this morning. Say what? I am twenty-three years old and I'm getting grey hairs? That just doesn't seem fair. I shall rise above, I won't let this make me crazy. I'm writing it off as a fluke. (fingers crossed)

DAY fifty-eight

Two years later my life is entirely different and yet completely the same. It's strange that your whole world can look new but your heart can stay where it always has been. And, oh, how life has a funny way of reminding you of the very thing you are trying to forget. For today, just some song lyrics that feel appropriate.

Adele, Melt My Heart to Stone

Right under my feet there's air made of bricks
Pulls me down turns me weak for you
I find myself repeating like a broken tune
And I'm forever excusing your intentions
And I give in to my pretendings
Which forgive you each time
Without me knowing
They melt my heart to stone

And I hear your words that I made up
You say my name like there could be an us
I best tidy up my head I'm the only one in love
I'm the only one in love

Each and every time I turn around to leave
I feel my heart begin to burst and bleed
So desperately I try to link it with my head
But instead I fall back to my knees
As you tear your way right through me
I forgive you once again
Without me knowing
You've burnt my heart to stone

And I hear your words that I made up
You say my name like there could be an us
I best tidy up my head I'm the only one in love
I'm the only one in love

Why do you steal my hand
Whenever I'm standing my own ground
You build me up, then leave me dead

Well I hear your words you made up
I say your name like there should be an us
I best tidy up my head I'm the only one in love
I'm the only one in love

In other news, my status as a full-fledged Minnesotan became official today! Huzzah!

DAY fifty-seven

Left-over mini donuts from the fair made for the greatest breakfast. It's important to ween oneself off of the massive quantities of fried fair foods slowly and with great care. Hence the little fried rings for morning noms. The rest of my day was spent recovering from my seven hours at Minnesota's greatest party, cleaning my apartment, and day dreaming about cheese curds.

DAY fifty-six

The Great Minnesota Get-Together! While I hear the grandstand show and subsequent fireworks display from my apartment every night, there's nothing quite like being at the fair amongst the fair people. Marissa and I are becoming real life friends outside of work, which is delightful, so she joined Ki, Ryan and I for the majority of our 7 hour fair experience. The following is a list of the items on our 6 Minnesota State Fair People Watching Bingo cards that we encountered today:
more food than hands, large statue of a cow, largest boar, butterfly, giant slide ride, adult with "fair hair," child throwing tantrum, politician, Clydesdale, dropped ice cream cone, old lady trying to look/act young, baby pig, back boobs, stand with chocolate covered bacon, animal giving birth, child with rat tail, chainsaw sculpture, Ye Ole Mill, muffin top and/or mammoth muffin top, horse poop on road, Christmas tree, child that is way too old to be in a stroller, barefoot man/woman, duck, food stained shirt, merry go round, leather pants and/or vest, karaoke, Mohawk, golden retriever, squirrel, kid with extreme face paint, live radio broadcast, pickle dog stand, bees making honey, entire family in tie dye, tilt-a-whirl, antique tractor, belly dancing, blue sno-cone mouth, gigantic stuffed animal, floppy eared rabbit, woman that needs a bra, spotted cow, double fisting core dogs, cut off jean shorts, camel toe and/or moose knuckles, way too overdressed girl/lady, bejeweled and/or sequined baseball hat, butter head sculpture, someone using an electric cart who clearly doesn't need to be, goat, fried candy bar stand, mascot and/or furry, couple with matching outfits, fried Twinkie stand, front butt, alpaca, cowboy boots with shorts, bounce house, emo and/or goth teenager, parents pushing over others with their stroller.
Sadly, despite all of the above wonders, we accomplished ZERO Bingos. Not sure how this is possible.
I'm also including several fair pictures, even though none of them can truly capture the magic of this adventure.

DAY fifty-five

Thanks to groupon, I spent my morning getting a long overdue haircut. I'm fairly sure I will give Anne at Juut Salonspa my continued patronage, despite the fact that I won't get to pay half price every time. Afterwards I wandered over to Office Depot and spent far more money than was originally intended. I did have legitimate back to school shopping to do, but then I was entranced by all of the magic that is stocking up on fun goodies I won't really need. But damn if those post-it's aren't fun colors. The rest of the day was spent doing boring chore-like activities at home, while still hilarious though outdated episodes of Friends plays in the background.

DAY fifty-four

Well today was a good day. Just one of those affirming, validating, happy feelings kind of days. My Buzz Lightyear bandaid made it just that much brighter.

DAY fifty-three

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARAYAN! I would like to welcome Sir Nugget into the world! I am more excited about this child than I have been about most other things in my life. He may not be mine, and we may not be technically related, but dammit if I'm not going to smother this little bundle of baby goodness with all the love, adoration, and gifts he can handle. I've been on team Nugget since Mama told me in the bathroom at NMSC she was surprise pregnant, and I'm going all the way. This kid will have to try to get rid of me, and even then he won't succeed. I couldn't be happier for Sid and Stefany and I know they will be amazingly loving and supportive parents. Narayan is one lucky little dude. The possibility of, and subsequent official news of his arrival so consumed my psyche, I've got nothing else to say today. Now I'm working on a plan for when I can visit Chicago next and hang out with Sir Nugget and my dear friend, his amazing Mama. Babies are just so great. Baby boys are even greater. And baby boys of friends who are more incredible than they know, well, they are named Narayan, and they are the greatest of all.

DAY fifty-two

Today was one of those days where I was more productive after work, and I'm kind of okay with it. The dishes needed to be washed, the laundry was screaming to be done, and that cake practically baked itself. Okay, so that last thing was unplanned, but delicious nonetheless. And it's that time of month where a girl just needs some chocolate cake. You know?

DAY fifty-one

It's funny how little "work" gets done at work when one single technological device isn't working properly. We learned this in Office Space, and one of my favorite bits by comedian Eddie Izzard, but it's never as funny in real life. Boy do I wish I could wail on a copier with baseball bats in a field while blasting Geto Boys, but that's just not feasible. Especially when the tech-thingy-majig-doodad that stops working is entirely virtual in nature. I have nowhere for my anger to be directed! Cyberspace is too inaccessible for a n00b like me, so I can't even scream into the void. All this to say that our student groups database (aka the place where ALL of our important information that we access constantly for every aspect of our job lives) is down. Has been since last Thursday. Even our explanation for the problem is fraught with confusing language. The system is "down," but where is "down"? Some virtual Matrixy land where our data is stashed away from us in a sick game of binary hide and seek? Because I quit. I've counted to 10, I've looked in all the usual spots, and now I'm just upset and buried under piles of paperwork I can't do anything with because the database is just too good at this game. Boo.

DAYS forty-eight through fifty

Wedding Weekend 2012! (wrap-up style)
Friday - spent some quality time with a very snarfy Phoebe, rehearsed the ceremony ("say goodbye to Jesus!"), had some cocktails (Carmen is the captain of team G&T), then feasted on calamari and pasta (in an ocean of balsamic). I also made the discovery that Tommy is the only baby to look exactly like himself from day one.

Saturday - lots of hairspray and preparation, and a bit of sitting around anxiously, all led up to the nuptials of one of the best-suited couples in the world. Beth and Tommy are perfect for each other, and their wedding didn't fall short of that perfection either. Much fun and dancing, some bears (yes, bears!), and tons of pictures kept us going until the wee hours. I slept like a baby despite the nest of bobby pins shellacked to the back of my head.

Sunday - I stopped by Rockford on the drive out of the city and picked up my fellow Minnesotan, Alex, saying a quick hello to some long lost Mertzies. After de-briefing one another on our respective wedding shenanigans, we stopped at the most delightful combination gas station/mini-mart/Subway/DQ in Wisconsin and scoped out the souvenirs before picking up some soft-serve. Immediately upon our return to the Land of 10,000 Lakes we stopped to join the Henderson family reunion on the St. Croix river. I'm basically adopted. After finally getting home and showering the can of hairspray off my head, I have never been so ready for bed.

First, a big thanks to Rachie for letting me crash her pad again. Congrats to the Marrinans on the beginning of their new lives together! And, last but not least, sweet dreams, y'all.

DAY forty-seven

Road trip! This journey to Chicago was a much more enjoyable trek because Alex was along for the ride. She is such a delightful person. Thank goodness for Mertz 17 for bringing this adorable Minnesotan into my life. We did lots of sharing, had some good laughs, and the 7 hours flew by. Alex ordered a bunless meal at Arby's (who would have thought they were prepared for that?), we planned my classy wedding in the Gateway to Wisconsin (I don't want to give away any spoilers), and then she changed in the car (I laughed so hard at her struggle with newly washed jeans that actual tears happened). What a great start to Wedding Weekend 2012!

DAY forty-six

I did so much work at work today! I owe this surprisingly productive day to my nutritionally balanced adult breakfast cereal, pictured below. I was even able to pick up my book order...that means school is coming! I'm geekily amped for class, fall weather, sweaters and scarves, pumpkin flavored everything, and the host of new adventures that will bring. While packing for my upcoming wedding weekend in Chicago I found a delightful pocketful of Beerfest tokens. Thanks, Ry, for sharing your spoils with me. :)

DAY forty-five

After lucking out with a free parking spot this morning and blowing through another day at work, I went on a whirlwind adventure to get my bridesmaid dress altered in time for this weekend's nuptials. It began with stalking the UPS delivery man and speeding on my last gallon of gas to a random house in Woodbury, where I became acquainted with the most amazing and accommodating seamstress in the land. She is miraculously going to alter my dress for under $30 in less than a day! If anyone needs a recommendation I'll pass along the favor, just as Ki (and her mom) did for me. Her one downfall? She owns a parrot. A big freaking Blue Macaw that wouldn't shut up while I was there. And we all know how I feel about winged creatures. I rewarded my efforts with some froyo and headed home to pack and start getting ready for my weekend trek back to the Windy City. Oh, and I ate some of these chips. So there.

DAY forty-four

I find forty to be the most confusing number. In light of today's tally of forty-four posts it's weirdness is even more glaring. Why is there no "u"? There are so many American English words (yes, I separated us from our fore-fathers from across the pond, deal with it) that are bizarrely spelled, but forty is just one of those that seems like an unfair trick. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now and return to the events of today.
All in all, not much went down in my world today. I bussed to work, held a kick-ass Officer Training Session, talked wedding/bridesmaid shenanigans with a coworker and fellow sufferer, and headed home to straighten up my apartment and have a much needed and long-delayed chat with my Mom. I also thought about my Grandpa a lot today, on what would have been his 94th birthday. I love and miss you everyday, DC.
Today's picture is kind of a cheat in that I didn't actually take it, but it was something that hit me pretty hard today. For those of you not from the Seattle area, this will mean relatively nothing to you. But anyone who grew up in and around the Emerald City was touched by the news that our beloved KOMO4 local news anchor of the past 3 decades, Kathi Goertzen, died today at the age of only 54. She was an incredible journalist, a caring and compassionate woman, somewhat of a local celebrity, and a familiar and pleasant face on the nightly news for my entire life. I always chose to watch Kathi and Dan on KOMO4 because they were the best news team around, and seemed like the most trustworthy and genuine. She had been battling brain tumors for 14 years and had shared her struggle with her viewers, showing tremendous bravery and strength in the face of such adversity. She will be deeply missed, and my thoughts and prayers go to her family and the "hometeam" at KOMO4 for their loss. RIP Kathi.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018911694_goertzen14m.html

DAYS thirty-five through forty-three

Listen folks, these last days have been a whirlwind of bachelorette party shenanigans, solitary drives, work, grants meetings, time spent with MT, phone chats with Rachel, chorizo bean dip and Alex time at Boca, and Beerfest. I will include a random collection of pictures below for your viewing pleasure, and I really do mean it when I apologize for my absence. I'm getting it together, y'all. I got a little wrapped up in August...this month is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. It's barely begun, too. One thing that won't be a distraction anymore, though, is MT. Dude got axed post-Beerfest for some pretty legitimate issues. I'm single and ready to mingle again! One thing the situation with MT taught me: with the incredible friends in my life and the insane amounts of fun we have, there is no reason for me to have anyone in my life who can't measure up. On to a new week and resumed daily posting!

DAY thirty-four

Today was delightful, playing tourist in one of my favorite cities. Visited the river, Millennium Park, and did some general wandering. (Trying as hard as possible to avoid the overwhelming crowds of Lollapaloozers.) Saw my favorite pregnant friend to shower Nugget with adorable baby gifts and love. Got a new tattoo with Rachel, and generally enjoyed my Chicago Friday!

DAY thirty-three

Driving 6 and a half hours by oneself is not the most thrilling way to spend the day. Having Chicago and fantastic friends be the end of the journey, however, made it all worth it. Hats off to Phoebe for being the only cat I truly love. Seriously, she's too great not to.

DAY thirty-two

As of today I have officially been a Minnesotan for an entire month! What a great ride so far.
Today's humidity threatened to kill us all, but didn't stop Marissa and I from checking out the farmer's market on campus. I made no purchases, but I did catch a few whiffs of Marissa's choice basil. She is domestic and has plans for homemade pesto. Yum. We came across the below featured mammoth zucchini, and then headed to Raising Caine's for some delightfully unhealthy chicken finger noms. Great coworker bonding! Excellent avoidance of actual work! Super hump day!

DAY thirty-one

I finally got my new pants in the mail. Thank goodness. I couldn't stand to wear the too-big work pants another day. Went to Boca with MT to see Alex, and really put away a plate of enchiladas. I was too hungry to stop and take a picture, so all I've got for you are pants. Sorry, that's super lame.