This Is It

I've been putting off writing this post, but it's been a long time coming. This will be my last post on this blog. I've tried to keep it up, but I really am not cut out for this kind of writing. Which sounds crazy because isn't all I wrote about before my life? Day to day craziness and what not. It's true, that is what I wrote about but my life was in a completely different place then and writing about it was fun, almost therapeutic. But now writing about my life, as much as I love it, just feels like a chore. No one wants to read a blog that sounds like it was forced, that while reading it you can tell the writer would have rather been doing a million other things. Like watching more episodes of Top Gear or Castle. 

So this is it. Final post. The Single Girl is single no more and it's time to move on to other things. That isn't to say I won't write anymore. I will. You just might not know it's me. I can't believe this little ole blog of mine reached as many people as it did, and I've very grateful to have met the people that I have through it. Of course I still plan on reading all of your blogs and keeping up with you in real life and on twitter. Not falling off the face of the earth or anything. So to everyone who's stayed tuned all these years, thank you. It's been a privilege. 

Cheers, 

Marisa 

Saying Yes To The Dress

Yesterday was the day. Yesterday was the day I went to get my dress. My wedding dress. I have never been so excited for anything in my life. Honestly I never planned my wedding growing up so I never had a plan or vision in my head from the start, but once we decided to go ahead with a non-elopement and a full wedding my Type A-ness took over and plan, vision was locked down. The vision for my dress: Jackie Kennedy. 

Having done pageants in high school and college, I've worn a wide array of dresses. Spaghetti straps, halters, strapless, sweatheart necklines, and a-lines, mermaid, sheaths and fit and flare cuts. So the only dress that said "bridal" to me was a ball gown. I wanted a simple classic elegant ball gown in organza, tulle, or chiffon. Something that would look light and airy for an outdoor wedding. No laceup back, no pickups, no ruching, and very little bling or appliques. Again, the motto of the day was "think like Jackie O!"

Lucky for me my consultant at The Wedding Shoppe in St. Paul was awesome and also a lover of Jackie and ball gowns. She also did not mind my I know what I want just bring me only these things attitude. I know on Say Yes To The Dress girls go in wanting one thing and ending up with something they thought they didn't want. I am not that girl. 

Drew's mom and my friend Andrea came along and took tons of pictures for me. I tried on some really great dresses with only one dress I just didn't like, and here they are.

This was the first dress I tried and I obviously loved the shape. I did love the skirt too, I really love textured bottoms, but it didn't fit my "what would Jackie do" theme. 

I really loved this dress, it fit perfectly off the rack and it was just beautiful. The skirt was tulle and had beading and appliques similar to those on the skirt of Kate Middleton's dress. However, while beautiful and a ball gown, it still wan't my Jakie O vision. The next dress.....this was the only dress that I just didn't like.

The bodice...not bad. A little more bling than I wanted but it was pretty and classic at least. But that skirt. Ughhhhh that skirt. The tulle would just not lay flat at all. I just envisioned my poor bridesmaids trying to corral it at our outdoor ceremony every time I moved or a little breeze blew. Not a fan. 

Then we tried on my dress. Well not quite my dress as it was the entirely wrong fabric (taffeta. the HORROR) but the neckline was perfect the overall silhouette was perfect, then we added a birdcage hair piece and everyone was sold. I knew it from the moment I saw it on the website that it was the one for me and it was true. It has been ordered and will be arriving in 4-6 months :)

A big thank you to my mom who generously gave me a budget of $1500 for my dress. However, I luckily got my dream dress at a dream price only spending about 1/3 of the budget! Which is good because I just can't imagine spending $1500 on a dress I'm going to only wear once, even if it is my big day. 

So another big thing checked off my list! I'm so excited I can't wait for it to get here. Why does it have to take soooooo long? 

Wedding Cheers,

Marisa

Marathon Recap

Well it came and went. I didn't die, and more importantly I finished. I've been talking about running a marathon for YEARS and now I finally have. To be honest it still hasn't sunk in. I kind of feel like I just went out for a long run on Sunday, NBD, nothing to see here. However, my body is a constant reminder that indeed it was no ordinary long run on Sunday but a marathon. Here's how it went down.

(Be advised this is LONG)

Saturday:

Got up rather lazily and putzed around the house for a while, then went into cleaning mode as Jeni was arriving that afternoon. Once she got here we hit up Mall of America for lunch and some shopping. I bought my first pair of sweat pants in about 5 years. This may have been a bad choice.

That night Drew made us all dinner and I angrily pounded on my laptop cursing Spotify, iTunes and all other MP3 technology for being so complicated that NO ONE (me) can understand it. Finally got the little shuffle programmed and charged, watched some tv, took my hippie magic sleeping pills (valerian root) and was asleep by 10pm.

Sunday:

Up on my own at 5:10am ready to rock and even ahead of my alarm. I slept like a rock for a solid 7 hours and I was sooooo grateful I did. First things first, grabbed my water bottle and a Clif Bar. I hopped in the shower which probably seems odd but it helped wake me up even more and get moving. Regretfully I did not have a checklist written out and as a result I forgot one major thing that morning: body glide. I will never ever ever go to sleep without writting out a morning checklist again.

Besides that little slip up, I was fueled, caffinated and bundled up ready to head to The Dome at 7am. Starting temperature: 28 degrees. So you might say it was a bit chilly. I refused to run in anything but my shorts though. It was all I had trained in and the idea of switching up my gear even the week of gave me panic attacks. I opted for a very light weight, moisture wicking long sleeve shirt though so you know that basically kept me toasty warm.

So! After handing off my sweats and saying my goodbyes I headed to my corral with my adrenaline pumping, which did actually keep me quite warm.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you but I get super emotional when I run races. If I don't cry at least once on the course something is wrong. I wasted no time then at the starting line as I was starting with the soldier in his fatigues, boots and all, full pack carrying the flag. I might be sniffling right now too.

Finally it was our corral's turn to go and we were off. I honestly felt great, maybe because the enormity of what I was embarking on hadn't quite hit me yet. Either way I made it out of the city with ease and continued on my merry way enjoying all of the clever signs people had. My favorite being around mile 10 or 11. It said "Don't stop. People are watching".

At mile 9.5 I had to go to the bathroom and sadly so did a lot of other people. I lost a lot of time there but my alternative was peeing my pants so I opted for the lost time. During this time the soldier had caught up to me so we conmenced with tears on the marathon course part 2. I managed to sqeak out a "good job, sir." as I passed then scurried off so no one could hear my sniffling....again.

HALF WAY POINT!!!

(me about to raise the roof at the halfway point)

Before I knew it I was at the half way point and was feeling fantastic. I couldn't believe it. Drew, Jeni and his parents were there to cheer me on and at that point I was like wow. I'm actually going to finish this thing. If you had asked me 2 weeks ago if I was going to finish the marathon, I would have said no. I felt in no way prepared for it. But here I was, half way done and not defeated!

Things got a little boring after that, but I was then on my own turf where I had run 5 million times over the summer and knew the course really well. Also at mile 16 there were bananas. They were glorious. Then at mile 18.5 a little girl was handing out homemade chocolate chip cookies. That little girl was my savior.

At mile 19.5 my little cheering crowd was there again and I couldn't believe I was about to hit the 20 mile mark. I had run 20 miles and was still going.

When I hit mile 22 though, the marathon bitch slapped me into last Tuesday. I physically felt the toll the previous 22 miles took on my body and good lord was I hurting. My IT band especially and my feet because of my idiocy. (No body glide) Not gonna lie the last 4.2 miles were tough. Incredibely tough, basically the hardest thing I've ever demanded of myself. I'd already gone 22 miles and needed to go another 4.2 and my body was all hellllll nahhhh.

But I did. I kept going. I don't even know how. I did have to walk almost a mile while I choked down an energy gel. I knew I needed it but man was it hard to force down. When I hit mile 24.5, Eye of the Tiger was on repeat and there was no looking back.

The beautiful thing about the Twin Cities course is that the last half mile is downhill. And you get this amazing view of the capital and the finish line. When I came over that hill to see that, commence tears on the marathon course part 3.

I think I ran faster? Maybe I didn't but it felt like I was running my heart out to get across the finish line. Stomping on those chip timing mats felt so amazing, like I"M HERE I FINISHED!!!! I was a wreck at that point trying to navigate my way through the finish tunnel through my tears, when a volunteer saw me, put his arm around me and said "congratulations, this is an amazing accomplishment." I lost my shit then. Just found a little grassy area sat down to stretch and eat my banana between sobs.

While I am super proud that I finished, I know I could have done better. I slacked a lot in the last month of training which I know hurt me. It's hard to know what to expect if you've never run a marathon before, even if you read all the information that is out there the distance is just not something you can comprehend until you do it. Now that I have done one, I undestand the distance, I understand what it demands and I respect it. I know I said I wouldn't do another marathon again, but I will. I know I will. Despite the pain and the exhaustion and the mental beat down it was absolutely amazing. I want to try again and I want to do better.

Oh hey this blog is still here....

Okay no excuses this time. I really just didn't feel like blogging. I had no motivation, nothing to write about. I was just completely uninspired and rather than bore you with the mundane activities that consume my life ( I had oatmeal for breakfast!) I just decided to stop all together.

But that ends now because I once again have purpose.

I have joined the Under Armor's What's Beautiful Challenge. Real simple, I declared my goal and have 9 weeks to see it through. Under Armor has a series of challenges that need to be completed in those 9 weeks and I plan on document them here as well as on my page along with all the other things that happen with training. I really hope to make it to the finally three and be the new face of Under Armor, but am looking forward to this journey no matter what the outcome. So check it out! Sign up yourself! It's already been so much fun and inspiring seeing other women making a commitment to fitness and bettering themselves all around.

You can find my page here

Under Armor's What's Beautiful Challenge

Cheers!

Marisa

Moving On Up....Literally.

Oh hi there! Long time no see. So remember that one time like a month ago when I said I had news but couldn't share it just yet? Well now I can. Finally. And can return to blogging. What is the news you ask? Well here it is.

I'm moving to Minneapolis at the end of the month.

We're both really excited and it's so amazing to finally be able to tell everyone. It's going to be a change but a welcome one. I am sad to move away from my friends and (non-biological) family, but I know distance won't ruin our relationship and I can't wait to have visitors in the Twin Cities :) You know once Drew and I find a place with a little more....space. 

HOLY FREAKING BALLS I'M MOVING TO MINNEAPOLIS!!!!!!!!!!!

So how have all of you been? I've missed you all terribly. I can't wait to get back at it and catch up with everyone. 

Twin Cities Cheers!

Marisa

P.S. Bears, Cubs, Blackhawks, Bulls for life. Sorry Minnesota.

25 Days of Birthmas Day 21: Only 4 Days Left...

Wow, I can't believe it's almost here! 4 Days. FOUR!!!!!! This week has been hell as Tuesday was a 13+ hour day and today is a 15+ hour day. However when talking to my best boy he had this to say: "You can do it. Then you can come kick it and let me take care of you." I died. That right there was the best Birthmas present ever. I'm looking forward to pancakes and birthday cake and potato pancakes (Happy Hanukkah!) and whatever other cakes come with Birthmas. I'll take them all please! Eff the gym this week, you only turn 27 once right? And then come January....Ass kicking Pikes Peak Ascent training. Better enjoy being a fatty while I can. And on that note, I would like this cake for Birthmas please

Pink: Check. Crown: Check. Sparkles: Check. Yup this is my Birthmas cake!!!

Happy Holidays to you all and your lovely families! I hope everyone gets everything they wanted and more. I'm going to take a little Birthmas hiatus and will be back Monday to tell you all about it! Hugs to each and every one of you!!!

Cheers!

Marisa

P.S. Check it out, I suck at money and so does my friend so we started a blog about our quest to not suck at it anymore. Read about it here.

25 Days of Birthmas Day 14: Shipping Internationally

Well guys, I learned some things today. Like shipping across the pond is not cheap. In fact it will most likely cost more than whatever you're shipping and will take an hour of your time at the post office because you filled out the WRONG customs sheet. Oh well, I"ll know better for next time and at least my Secret Santa gift is on it's way! I hope she likes it :)

Speaking of across the pond, I've decided that if I was to have a Birthmas party and could invite anyone I wanted it would primarily be a British party. For example:

(did someone call for a Doctor?)

David Tennant has to be there because he is pretty. And a Time Lord. 

Music will be provided for all party guests by

These handsome gents and...

These talented blokes

And of course sitting at my VIP table will be my very best friends

HRH The Duchess of Cambridge

The girl who made "short" okay

and last but certainly not least

The worlds teeny tiniest most fashionable mom who will teach me all of her secrets for when I eventually pop a kid out.

So there you have it. My Birthmas Party. Of course you're all invited too!

Cheers!

Marisa

P.S. Don't forget the giveaway ends tomorrow!

25 Days of Birthmas Day 12: Holy Holiday Busy!

Well it has been a busy weekend, and the business is just continuing! In true Marisa fashion I've procrastinated until the  last minute, and now have to go go go. I've got my blogger Secret Santa all taken care of and I'm so excited for it! I can't wait to get my present :) I've gotten Drew's present all done. ( It's a half fail. He just told me what he wanted and I bought it....it counts right???) So I'm crossing things off my list and it feels sooo good. How is everyone else fairing in the Holiday Madness? Hopefully everyone's gifts are coming together nicely! Here are a few scenes from the weekend. 

Drew and I enjoying PechaKucha night at the Jasper Winery. It was so much fun as always and Drew really enjoyed his first PK experience.

The next night was our company holiday party that was held at West End Salvage which Drew also absolutely loved. We had a great night full of food, fun and friends. Oh yeah, and I was named employee of the year. Woo!

Keep spreading the holiday cheer guys! Remember it's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!

Cheers,

Marisa

p.s. Don't forget there is still time to enter my giveaway! 

25 Days of Birthmas: Day 1

WTF is Birthmas you ask? Well friends first off, you're welcome for getting the day off on my birthday. I had to pull a few strings and collaborate with Jesus and Santa, but it's now a holiday so enjoy it. If you haven't figured it out by now my birthday is December 25th. CHRISTMAS DAY. Hence, Birthmas. I am also okay with calling it Marismas too. I have some excited things planned, including telling you all about my Secret Santa once I recieve my present, a very special Christmas guest post, and ......a Birthmas Giveaway! To kick things off I thought I'd do a list of 10 things you might not know about me. So we can all be better friends and you won't feel so guilty having my birthday off without really knowing me.

1.) I used to save the juice from my Freeze Pops and dump it in a hole in my drive way, throw in some weeds (aka vegetables) and call it Kashi Soup with my cousin. Yeah those A-hole's stole our name.

2.) I did not fly in an airplane until I was 20 years old.

3.) I drive like a grandma, and I don't care. I have never been pulled over for speeding in 11 years of driving.

4.) Tea (hot or cold) makes me want to vom. Yes I've probably tried your special/favorite kind. It also tastes like butt.

5.) I don't wish to own a home. I know it's the American dream, but I detest anything involving home improvements. You can ask D about this one.

6.) I want rollerblading to become cool again like it was in the 90's. Don't act like you don't too.

7.) In the first grade I didn't realize you had to wait for the entire class to go to recess and when I realized I'd be in trouble for leaving early, I hid in the toy bin so I could act like I arrived with everyone.

8.) I've watched Miss America every year since I was 5

9.) My favorite "treat" meal (meaning out of a box and not homemade) was Rice a Roni. We only had it maybe once a month and my brother and I would compete to see who could eat the most.

10.) I miss holidays at my Grandparents because all I want for Thansgiving is my grandmas homemade tortillas and rice and beans.

There, I feel like we're all better friends now. Stay tuned for the rest of the Birthmas Festivities!

Cheers!

Marisa

Some Fail Mixed With Some Win

Okay, so obviously totally failed on Motivate Me Monday....AGAIN! Only this time worse because I didn't even post about my fail. EPIC FAIL. Unfortunately I was at work until 11:30 Sunday night and by the time I got home and in bed it was after midnight. Needless to say Monday I was anything but motivated. However, I did drink more water last week. Perhaps not 8 glasses a day but definitely an improvement from my usual. This week the challenge is to BE GOOD during Thanksgiving. It's so easy to over indulge during the holidays, but lets stay focused and help eachother out!

Okay onto some winning. Sooooo excited for this :) The fabulous Summer and her best blog pal Melina are hosting a blogger secret santa! I can't wait. If you would like to participate (And you know you do) click on the cute little owl button on the left and get started! Who knows, maybe I'll get your name and you will then be the proud owner of some awesome Des Moines things. Which I know you're all dying to have. So get a clickin' on that owl!

In other news, Friday is not just any Friday...it's Black Friday. I work Midnight to 7am, this is my 5th Black Friday and for some reason, I'm dreading it a little this year. Maybe because I closed last year and the insanity had died down by the time I got there. Better stock up on some Redbull!

How about you guys? Anyone braving the Black Friday madness? If so please be kind to the sales associates, we're truly doing the best we can.

Cheers!

Marisa

Gettin' Down On Friday

Man am I glad it's Friday. A co-worker summed this week up quite nicely when talking about her MIA bagels:

"You know it's a week where you don't have your life together when you lose a bag of bagels." I think everyone can relate to that. 

I'm super pumped to head to Ames this weekend to have dinner with my old co-worker from my high school days who also happened to be my college roommate. Should be most excellent times. 

Some of you happened to notice that fame whore in the back of my vlog yesterday. He demanded I introduce him to the world properly. So, without further ado meet Bobo the cat.

How you doin?

This is a 100% accurate description of how Bobo sees himself.

I also have another sweet little kitten who Bobo tries to keep under the bed so he gets all the attention. Then he gets shot in the face with a water bottle. Meet Elvis.

She's a little shy.

But, she guards my mail and thats why I love her. Oh yeah, Elvis is a girl. I didn't know that when I named her. SHE'S A CAT. Like she even cares.

And to prove my point about Bobo being a fame whore this is the look he had after I took pictures of Elvis.

Yeah, stink eye to the max. Told you, fame whore. 

Well I hope this has brightened up your Friday. Bobo is off getting his Jagerbombs on with some fuckin' skanks sporting his new fucking haircut.  I'm just joshing ya. More than likely he will eat some food and sleep all day. Don't worry my cats are not alcoholics, no need to call animal control. 

Weekend Cheers!

Marisa

A Lost Feather

No this is not an APB for a feather that I have misplaced. It's a post about Sarah at A Lost Feather!!! She is basically my first blogger/internet friend and is an artist hailing from New York. She runs a brilliant Etsy shop (here) where she sells her artwork and also jewelry! She is nice, funny, talented and most importantly she is the proud owner of this little love muffin:

(meet Boo)

I know what you're thinking, how could someone who owns such an adorable furry friend NOT be awesome at life? So, I'm here today to share with you some of my favorite things from her shop and to encourage you to check out her shop and her dog blog .

I love the simplicity of these wood plaques painted by Sarah. 

This might be my favorite though. Constellations over *insert your city here* How awesome is that?

She also does jewelry too, and I loooovveee her bracelets.

So there you have it folks. My super awesome amazing artist friend Sarah. Go check out her shop AND if you love it as much as I do (and her!) write your own post like mine and receive a free print and a 10% off coupon to her shop! You have no excuse not to check it out because I linked her blog and shop 29298359874592359852 times in this post. Yeah, that many. 

Blog Friend Cheers!

Marisa

Sweet Home Chicago

Wow. You guys are seriously amazing. Thank you so much for your kind comments/tweets. You have no idea how much I appreciate them. In true life fashion, things got worse before they got better. I had to have my brakes replaced when I got home. Lets just say I got off the interstate in Illinois and came to a grinding halt. Oh well. It's done, I'm over it. I wasn't going to let that put a damper on my weekend, because I was there to party and spend a stress free weekend with the love of my life and old college friends. And that my friends is exactly what I did. First up though, I had to take Drew to a Chicago land staple: Portillo's

Apparently this boy loves him some hot beef and sausage....take that for what you will.

I however, being the vegetarian I am, enjoyed this delicious concoction of grilled zucchini, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes on sundried tomato focaccia bread. Yummm...

Then it was onto the wedding! I cannot tell you how much fun it was seeing the boys again. I had such an amazing time and it was so great to have everyone together. I'll let the photos do the talking ;)

(and last but not least, the groom looking dapper.)

How was everyone's Halloween weekend? I'm getting back to it, and I cannot wait to catch up with all of your blogs and see everyone's costumes!

Cheers!

Marisa

Halloween

I love Halloween. Costuming is the bestie and I's favorite past time. We always come up with great ideas. Sadly this year we have a wedding to go to back in my home state, (super excited for it though I know it'll be a blast) so I won't be able to dress up. Sads for me. So here is a look at last years Halloween where we were finalists in the Des Moines Juice Costume Contest. 

Yes, my friends and I really get into Halloween. Everyone better costume it up for me. I want tons of pictures too. 

My Little Pony Cheers

Marisa

This post is brought to you by boobs

This Saturday is the Des Moines Race for the Cure and I couldn't be more excited! Amber will be there from A Little Pink in the Cornfields and I'm so excited to meet her! This will by my 3rd Race and I always look forward to congregating at the Capitol building with everyone in their pink. It's such an amazing energy; I'm always inspired by the survivors there. Breast cancer does not run in my family, but as we've all learned from Giuliana Rancic, that does not mean we're in the clear. I've decided that come 35, mammograms baby! I don't care if my doctor thinks it's not necessary I happen to like my somewhat below averaged sized boobs and I'd like to keep them. If we have the technology and the means to detect early and save lives then why not? So, start feeling yourself up, get to know your boobs, and get your mammograms!

Speaking of boobs. So, my 30 day challenge is done, and I rocked it. I am now addicted to lifting and strength training and if I do say so myself, I'm pretty buff these days. I've noticed though....my boobs seem bigger. And by bigger I mean I KIND OF HAVE CLEAVAGE. If I wear the right shirt and keep my arms at my side just right. But seriously, they seem bigger. Anyone else every encounter this? Does lifting weights give you bigger boobs? Or is it like the muscles around your boobs giving the illusion that your boobs are bigger? How many times did I say boobs in the last 3 sentences? I'm not complaining or anything. If working out gives me a rockin' bod and bigger boobs I'm all for it. You're welcome Drew.  Let me know if there is any scientific research on this phenomenon. 

Cheers for boobs!

Marisa

And when she came back for high school, all her hair was cut off and she was totally weird and now I guess she's on crack.

Holy balls it's been forever! How have you all been? What has everyone been up to, whats the cool jams? Me, I've been hitting the gym like crazy and am pretty proud to say the 30 Day Challenege has been going well. Had to take a few days off due to some nasty shin splints (barf), but other than that still going strong. Literally, my arms are buff. It's awesome.

In less awesome news, I had to change email addresses due to some hacking. Yeah biggest pain in the ass ever. I was terrified that I'd lose access to my blog, but I googled that for myself and got if figured out. So luckily here I am still! Wooo!

So I took a break from blogging because I was super busy and feeling overwhelmed, and I guess I wanted to test my love for it. Could it be something I could just walk away from? Answer is: No. I missed you all, reading your blogs, tweeting with you. It's definitely a part of me and always will be. So with that, it's safe to say I'm back and hopefully with some direction this time. That was part of my being overwhelmed. I felt like I was just writing aimlessly, just trying to think of anything to make a post out of. So time to brainstorm, get some new ideas and get back in the game! Can't wait to reconnect with everyone!

Hearts and Stars Cheers,

Marisa

Hit it hard every yard for ISU!!!!

Oh hey. Remember me? The girl who's been traveling non stop for the last couple of weeks, yeah thats me. 'Bout time for a GD update. So here it is. I survived camping. AND I actually had fun! Tettegouche State Park was absolutely beautiful and the weather could not have been more perfect nor could my company be any better :)

(Camping essentials...I still don't know what half of it is)

We pitched a tent, made a fire and I called upon my gathering skills and collected twigs for the fire while Drew was in charge of the food. Also I think it goes without saying that we gorged ourselves on S'mores. I forgot how awesome they are.

(Campsite view of Lake Superior)

In the morning we got to watch the sunrise over the lake while eating oatmeal and drinking our coffee. Then something happened that made my entire camping trip. While eating breakfast I looked down over the bluff to see not one but FOUR river otters playing about in the lake. For an animal lover like myself it was the best morning ever.

So moral of the story being if you can get yourself to Tettegouche in the fall because it's absolutely amazing even if you're not the biggest camper.....yet.

So what the heck is with the post title. My Iowa friends know...some may be cheering along...some may be crying in their beers still. This past weekend was the BIGGEST weekend in football in Iowa. The Iowa vs Iowa State game. Iowa is considered the powerhouse football team in the state. Big Ten blah blah blah. However the game was held in Ames this year and of course we were up there at 6:30am cracking open a cold one and cheering on our alma mater. It was an INTENSE game with not one but THREE overtimes with the Cyclones coming out victorious. Seriously I never enjoyed seeing so many faces in so much misery as I did at the bar when Iowa State scored the winning touchdown. The Iowa fans were being particularly rude and well typical Iowa douchebags so it made it all the more amazing. I also may have gotten angry and threw an empty beer can into the crowd at one point. Whatever they were jerks. Anyways, from what I can recall it was a great day and all I need to remember is that the Cyclones won and Iowa City can suck it.

How about everyone else? Any other football victories this weekend? Anyone else throw some beer cans at douchebags?

Cyclone Cheers!

Marisa

The Beginning

So perhaps some of you are wondering how in the world I ended up with someone from Minneapolis. Where did we meet, how did it all come about? Well I'm here to answer that.

If you remember from this post I mentioned that Drew was a one of my very best friends from college. I didn't elaborate much more than that. I wish I could tell you the exact circumstances that we met under, but I"m pretty sure it involved being drunk and I"ll be honest I can't remember much from when I was 19 because of that. Anyway, Drew was in the fraternity next to my sorority and are actually considered our "brother" fraternity as our founder was the sister of a Fiji and a lot of our stuff is based off of them. Bit of Greek trivia for you. Drew, myself and our friend Spencer were pretty much inseparable, like the three amigos. All through college though I was literally just like a "sister" and they were my "brothers". We FAC'd together, studied together, went to Perkins at 2am together and took study breaks to DQ together. My senior year when I was competing in the Miss America system Drew was my personal notary public as all my contestant paperwork had to be notarized. 

So what changed you asked? We lost touch for about the last year and half, and then one day I get a facebook message from Drew saying he'll be in the Des Moines area for a Fiji event and if I'd like to grab dinner and catch up. I was so excited, some of my best moments in college involved Drew so I couldn't wait to catch up. The day came and he came by my place to pick me up and I remember walking out and seeing him and being like......whoa whoa whoa. Who is this? This was not the Drew I remembered, this super tall businessy looking guy. Where was the Beatles loving frat boy that would get following down drunk with me? 

After that day of catching up we did a better job of staying in touch and turns out he would be coming back down the weekend of the Dam to Dam. He also turned out to be my hero that weekend as I left all my possessions in cab and he successfully negotiated their safe retrieval. He was on his way to Kansas City for a conference that weekend and on his way back that following Tuesday stopped in Des Moines to have a drink with me. I'll never forget, when he dropped me off he met my roommate, and when he left this is the conversation that occurred: 

Roommate: Who was that?

Me: My friend Drew from college.

Roommate: He's really cute.

Me: I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha. We'll call that the turning point. I was suffering from my stupid stress fracture then and was pretty much immobile the month of June so I didn't get to do any traveling then. Once July hit and I was fracture free, I was looking for any excuse to head to Minneapolis and thank my lucky bands, The Get Up Kids were playing the second weekend in July. And well, as they say the rest is history.  

So there you have it. How the former single girl who spent the last year and a half looking for love ended up finding it 4 hours north in the Twin Cities.  :)

Cheers!

Marisa

BDE

Holy freaking crazy busy where the f did my weekend go where is my life WHAT DAY IS IT!?!?!?! That is about how I feel right now. Well not anymore because tomorrow friends, is a special day. Yes it's Thursday which means volleyball night with beers ( the one day I drink during thing week ) but even more special than week day beers. Drew is coming to Des Moines! As I've mentioned before I may be a little neurotic/OCD and people visiting me throws me into a panic. The roomie and I are by no means slobs. In fact we are actually very neat and clean. However when someone comes to stay with me, my house becomes (in my mind) a germ infested meth house and OH DEAR GOD I CAN"T GET IT CLEAN!!!! I've learned to deal for the most part and just clean as usual, but in my head I'm always wondering if the person is disgusted with my apartment and won't be my friend anymore because they think I'm an unclean hobo. 

Anyways, enough of my neurosis. Drew is coming and that means a BDE! What is a BDE you ask? Why a Best Day Ever!!!! I am beyond excited for all the fun things we are going to do but I can't share them with you just yet because he might be reading...and I don't want to give anything away. Not to get all Olive Penderghast on you all again, but I really like this guy. Oh f, I just said he could be reading this . Oh well. This blog is for embarrassing myself  after all.  Anyways, Drew is kind of big deal and has taken time away from watching the wheat/corn/soybean stocks and MBA classes and being an excel wizard to come hang out in Des Moines with me so you know I've got to make it awesome. Here is a picture I made that I'm pretty sure is 99.9% accurate of an average work day for him

So until next time when I can share with you our BDE, stay cool especially my Kansas to Texas friends! I've got to get back to it and....

(via Allie @ hyperbole and a half)

BDE Cheers!!!

Marisa

From bad to good

Thats how my day went. See this morning started out with some sad tears as little car was in need of some repairs that were well....quite pricey. So I basically spent the entire day crunching numbers, panicking, trying not to cry at work and figuring out every single worst case scenario I could come up with in my head. Needless to say by this afternoon I was a nervous wreck, sick and frustrated. However as I have done everyday since my 18th birthday and being on my own, I reminded myself that I would get nothing solved if I didn't keep a level head and remain calm. So I weighed my options, made some calls and when I walked out the door at 5 I had everything taken care of and my car will be all fixed tomorrow. No thanks to my mom. But that's a story for another day. Or week....maybe month.

Anyways, so as I'm on cloud 9 driving home thinking that this day couldn't possibly get any better I get home and grab the mail and what do I see??? A little package for me from Minnesota.

(Larabars and iPod car converter)

Drew sent me some good snacks and the capabilities for good music for my next road trip, since I complained that the only radio options in Minnesota are Jesus or country. After the terrible stressful day that I had then the relief of getting everything figured out, coming home to this was icing on the cake. Lucky for me my day ended with happy tears :)

Whew, that is all I have the energy for today folks. It has been a roller coaster of a day and I am spent. Hope everyone's hump day was far easier!

Cheers!

Marisa