Alma Mater

Recently, Jon and I took a road trip to my alma mater, my first one anyway. What do you call your graduate school? Hmmm.

Aside from some growing and building, the feeling of being on campus was the very same. The students weren't yet walking around in sweats tucked into Uggs, but they were wearing the warm-weather equivelent to that dress code. Maize and blue was everywhere and packs of freshmen girls sauntered across the diag as bros gave big, back-slapping hellos to eachother.  Ah sweet college.


Would you do college any differently? Everyone I know would answer a resounding yes to re-doing high school differently in some way, but college is another story I think. Hopefully you had passed through that terribly awkward self-aware time of the teen years and emerged a more secure person in time to live out your college dreams. Did you?

In celebration of it being a full ten years since I began my college experience I will do what I love best. Without further introduction here is my list of top 10 best and worst moments of attending the University of Michigan!

BEST

1. living in Stockwell, an all girls dorm my freshman year- although devoid of hotties without shirts, the hygenic atmosphere and stellar food made up for it
2. playing on the women's rugby team my senior year- travelling to tournaments, drinking too much, and learning ridiculously lewd songs, all in the presence of very fun ladies
3. living the true freshman girl experience with my own pack of friends, wandering from dorm rooms to frat parties and back
4. studying abroad in Finland my junior year- I couln't name all the amazing things I did and saw, but the best are the friends I made and still have from all over
5. living with and working alongside my sister- a very different experience than living with a sister under your parent's roof
6. chatting on AIM with that sweet crush from H.S. and having him come visit me that fall...and keep visiting all 4 years
7. trying out and participating in the campus orchestra- even though I was last chair I still loved playing my cello
8. having tickets to every home football game the 3 years I lived in AA, the highlight being my senior year FRONT row student section with my friends
9. graduating with a solid 3.5 GPA and a job offer lined up
10. being a Wolverine, even though I thought I had my heart set on Notre Dame, UofM proved to be the best place for that quintessential college experience, and I am still proud to wear one of my many UM tees just like any true alumni would
     

WORST

1. gaining my freshman 20 10 and hanging on to it for far too long!
2. getting so very sick after an epic night out whereafter I swore off the demon drink as I lay in the fetal position at the bottom of my dorm shower...shame shame
3. withdrawing from ECON 101 only to retake the class the following year and get a hard-fought C, clearly not my strong suit
4. making bad decisions about my major- if I could have a do-over I'd have taken more Spanish and Physiology and Anatomy
5. not taking Physics- I really liked it in HS and did well in it, so why didn't I go for it? I could've been somebody!
6. working too much- I got a job within a week of moving there and had one throughout
7. being shy- come on Laura! Get over yourself! Well, that's what I wish I caould've said to me back then...
8. Not purchasing any required reading materials...did I mention I was so so cheap? Yes...I tried my best to read them at Borders or get them fron the library, but I always managed to get the wrong edition!
9. living in AA during the summer when NO one was around and all I did was work, sweat and watch too many movies
10. burning bridges with some friends, not typical of me and I still am bummed how some friendships just arn't able to last
     

 



A Love Affair with Lists

Have you ever stopped and thought, "just how far back has Laura been doing her List of Things to Do"? No? Well, I'm going to pretend that you have and now are desperately hoping that I will educate you on my love of listing. Take a tour of my yearly to-do lists starting in 2005...

As any good lister might confirm, there is something more enjoyable about picking up a pen and paper and taking the time to scratch off each individual triumph. That is why I have a pile of seven-year old papers stuffed in one of my yearly journals. 

The inaugural list, originally penned in Finland, inspired by my cousin.

2006's highlights included graduating from UofM, getting a full time job and moving to NYC

2007's included saving a whopping 6K for my impending marriage, watching my bffs get married and surviving Year 1 of teaching 

2008 was the year of my wedding, finishing my Masters, and completing 2 half marathons 

2009 was the year of moving back to MI, completing my Olympic triathlon, and paying off my student loan

2010 was the year of the BABY

And you know what? That's when I put down the pen and started blogging my List of Things. I like looking back on these, seeing the things I've been able to check off, seeing which I can never seem to accomplish (cycling a century and visiting the Empire State Building have yet to happen!). I'm averaging about 50% goal completion on a yearly basis. Which reminds me I better get moving on this years list....

  

Reflections on being 27

I certainly had a great time living my 27th year

The 27 highlights were these; 

1. moved into our very first house

2. celebrated H turning 1

3. saw my sister get married 

4. Ran my 2nd annual Halloween Run and Turkey Trot with the one and only Katie Matteson in record time I might add!

5. Enjoyed a crazy bachelorette weekend with Katie, Kellie and Kel's friends in LA, complete with seeing the bride-to-be destroy a very cute purse in the back of some unfortunate's taxi cab:)

6. Was the B Team soccer coach at my school, loved getting back on the field and seeing those boys learn the game and sometimes love it 

7. Enjoyed 6 weeks off in the summer to play with little boy H

8. Bought the burley! 

 

9. Had Katie be a great babysitter for H

10. Found Cindy and Eli which turned out to be the perfect place for H to spend his days while I worked 

11. Thanksgiving in Alma with my sweet familia 

12. Watched Jon become a greater and greater dad every day 

13. Met the sweet Bridget Thomas, the daughter of one of my BFFs

14. Art Prize Brunch with our friends! Although less spectacular than last year it was made fun by Fred's dynamic GR touring skills 

15. Reunited with some of my favorite and truest high school friends at the Annual Poker Party

16. Was able to congratulate (albeit not in person) one of my NY besties on her engagement 

17. Had Harrison help me be a more outgoing version of my self every day 

18. Witnessed Jon embrace cycling to work with enthusiasm 

19. Found enjoyable GR spots like Reeds Lake 

20. Bought not one but two new winter coats (both because sister Katie introduced me to Modcloth)

21. Learned to love Mulick Park for being super close to my house, and truly beautiful in all seasons

22. Successfully got H on a sleep routine and said goodbye to late night feedings

23. Speaking of which...said goodbye to breastfeeding as soon as he hit the 1 year mark, whew

24. Was able to walk, bus, bike, or drive to work-which I love!

25. Spent Christmas Eve as a little family unit and watched H tear up his Christmas presents gleefully 

26. Rang in the New Year, just Jon and I

27. Enjoyed a great birthday party complete with ice skating downtown, sangria, tapas and friends :)

Looking forward to making even greater highlights this year!

11 Things I've Learned in 2011

1.  babies turn into toddlers very quickly 
2. getting summers off is not as fun when you're not on salary 
3. live-in sisters are the best cook/nanny/cleaning ladies ever
4. even if you plan a vacation months in advance babies have a uncanny way of changing your plans
5. weddings and funerals shouldn't be the only time you see family 
6. owning a home gets way more expensive when your home is in Michigan and its winter 
7. carports arn't as bad as they first appear
8. when you have minimal furniture its quicker to clean up the house
9. its really hard to stop being lazy once you've started 
10. giving up cable and fancy phones is way easy 
11. eyebrows need monthly maintenance (when will I ever learn!)

Thankful Thursday!

A short but sweet list of some of my most happy spots of life;

1. HP, all that he does and all that he will do, especially his great dancing moves which it looks he's stolen from me
2. Jon for all that he does and all that he doesn't, especially riding to work at 5am on his bike, working 15 hour days and still waking up on weekends to take on bear-duty so I can sleep in
3. Katie Bug for spending her vacation from Yellowstone with us, especially volunteering to watch H, make phenomenal dinners and running with me in our yearly holiday runs
3. Mom and Pop for being very giving, especially with their time and the fact that most of our furniture has come directly from their house
4. Californian Kellie for calling, especially when she has stories to tell me or nothing at all
5. The job for hiring me, especially because MI education hates my certification
6. The friends with babies, because we can commiserate and gush together
7. The friends without babies, because we can lounge and talk about not babies
8. Coffee for always being there
9. This old house for providing years of projects to keep me working
10. Health because without it you're lost

Happy Thanksgiving!

p.s. that holiday run Katie and I did today was a good one for me, 28:30! Yay!

An Update

What I am Doing:
wake up at 6, grab H and the day's supplies and jump in the car by 6:40, kiss H goodbye (as he happily runs off after the cat and dog) at his babysitter's, drive to work and arrive by 7:20. Work! Leave at 3:10, go pick up baby, make dinner, put baby to bed by 7:30, rest.

What Jon is Doing:
wake up at 4:30, bikes the 20 minutes to work, WORK, return home anywhere between 7 and 9 (hopefully). Rest.

What H is Doing:
Waking up around 2am crying for me! This has been going on for about a week now :/ Goes to play with his buddy Eli for the day. Takes daily walks to the park. Yells ball! at all spherical shaped things, gives sloppy kisses, thumps on the back and little squeezy hugs. 17 months old now!

Visitors!
Sister Katie is home from Yellowstone and I've convinced her to spend some time with us in our ridiculous excuse for a guest room. She also has taken on some bear watching duties. :)

On the homefront:
Courtesy of Katie our dining room is almost done being painted a deep red. Next is the winterizing of our 1925 pulley-system windows.

On the pavement:
We are running the Alger Halloween 5K this weekend. I did it last year and I believe havent run in like 11 months....
I also get to bike to work occassionally when Katie is here to watch the bear.

On the Menu:
Anything that Katie makes for us :) Also fall soups, including my favorite butternut squash.

On the Telly:
Still trying to get through The Wire but it's hard as we don't have much down time in the evenings. Outside of Yo Gabba Gabba and a renewed interest in 30 Rock I havent been doing alot of that...

On the bookshelf:
Just finished Walk Two Moons which totally broke my heart. I love juvenile fiction. Also on the reccommendation of my co-worker I'll try the Hunger Games and hope it lives up to the hype.

On the bigscreen:
I went to see Harry Potter at the cheap theatre (4$!) with Katie, and Planet of the Apes with Jon. I enjoyed them both. But neither of them have agreed to go see Twilight yet...

On the plans:
We're looking to reschedule our lost week of vacay for the latter part of February. We are currently debating between going to LA or NYC. Still unsure.

What to do next?
Go downstairs, fix dinner, wait for Jon and perhaps work on finishing that red wall...

A Look Back and Plan Forward

Ten Things I Need to do this Autumn;

1. drink a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks and DD's
2. visit Klackel Orchards- apple picking on steroids
3. pick and carve a pumpkin for the little boy
4. dress up H and take him around the neighborhood for Halloween (talk to Jon about his costume, he believes it will be epic...)
5. host a sweet Halloween dinner
6. bake an apple pie (I do not like pumpkin pie...that texture...)
7. go on a family bike trip (perhaps the Tour de Donut, where you must consume a donut for every mile you ride)
8. family photos in a pile of leaves :)
9. make my favorite butternut squash soup
10. buy a good fall coat!

H with his pops one year ago

at Klackle last fall 

at Robinette's last fall

A Highlight of the House in 10 Pictures

It's hard to take pictures of a house and feel like it captures more than just the basics; room, bedroom, couch, etc. Frustrating.

So I chose to do a walking tour of my house using 10 of my favorite corners, crevices and nooks. Enjoy.

Welcome to my house!

It has been described as a hobbit house, or perhaps a bit trollish?

Ring the bell! H loves to grab the chimes and smash them first thing in the morning.

We are a family of minimalists...just the couch and rocker in the front room.

H's favorite cut out, I can see him jumping down from here in the future...

A view from the stairs, we love the wood floors.

Laundry chute! Check out that awesome wallpaper!

The french doors at the top of the stairs is ideal for keeping H from tumbling down. 

This is right above H's changing table. He loves to point at the pictures and hear about who is in them...yeah mostly just Jon and I!

Something about a curved shower makes me happy :) 

There you have it, some of my favorite bits about our very first house. Come see the rest of it someday!

A Snapshot

 Too Lazy to do a proper post. But here is a snapshot of life as it is today :)

What I'm Listening to:
 Ray Lamontagne and a lot of Miles Davis (Harrison likes the blues while he eats dinner)

What I'm Eating:
Unfrosted strawberry Pop Tarts, they are just delicious. I blame not growing up eating them so now they are a huge treat for me.
But when not eating those I've been making hot oatmeal which makes a good start to the day

What I'm Drinking:
French pressed coffee with cream no sugar and Corona Light (clearly not together nor at the same time of day)

What I'm Watching:
The Skins (UK), somehow Jon started watching this on our roku box and I've taken to watching it too
Yo Gabba Gabba, our favorites include Sharing, and Careful

What I'm Doing After 8pm:
Facebooking far too much. Reading juvenile fiction. Talking to my sisters. 

What I'm Doing for Work Outs:
Not a whole lot. Biking with the burley (and HP), walking probably twice a day around the neighborhood.

What I Do During Nap Times:
Make and check off things on lists. Clean the ever-dirty kitchen. Do laundry. Drink coffee :) 

100 Things

One of the best things about Blogger is that little 'Next Blog' tab right up there...on the top of this very page. Hit it! So I like to browse this every so often in hopes of finding jewels or just ridiculous photos. Sometimes I wonder how they sort through the millions of existing blogs and decide on which to show me. All I know is, I get an awful lot of mom and baby blogs.

However today as I was flipping through I seemed to stumble upon general runner's blogs. One in particular grabbed me by his 100 Things post. Pretty soon I'd read through the entire 100 facts of his life and now I feel like I know almost too much about him. But talk about the ultimate list making experience! I love a good list, so here it goes; 100 Facts You May or May Not Know About Laura!

1. I love making any type of list
2. I started making a list of things to do according to my age when I was 21
3. I completed just 7 of those things 
4. One of those things was to travel around Europe which I did
5. It included Sweden, England, Ireland and Italy with the trip originating from Finland 
6. I lived in Finland August 2004-May 2005 
7. I attempted to learn Finnish by taking an intensive course
8. I am still able to count to 10 in Finnish, say good morning, good luck and happy birthday 
9. yksi, kaksi, kolme, nelja, viisi, kuusi, seitseman, kahdeksan, (9?) yhdeksan; moi moi; hyvaa palijon; hyvaa syntymapaiva 
10. I am a terrible speller (both in English and Finnish)
11. I took 4 semesters of Spanish in college and 2 years in H.S.
12. My paternal grandmother was from Mexico 
13. I am barely conversational in Spanish- one of my biggest personal grievances 
14. All 4 of my grandparents have passed away
15. My Abuelita (paternal Gma) when I lived in Finland
16. One of the biggest regrets I have is not coming home for her funeral 
17. I did however write a speech for it that was delivered by my sister
18. I have 2 sisters, no brothers
19. I am a middle child
20. My younger sister did not like me until my older sister moved away to college
21. I went to the same college as my older sister
22. I received a full scholarship to that college 
23. I was in the Top 10 of my graduating class in H.S. 
24. I graduated from undergrad in 2006 
25. My degree is in History
26. I really had no idea what I was going to do with that
27. I applied to Teach for America and Teaching Fellows of NYC in 2005
28. I was accepted into the Fellows for the Summer '06 cohort 
29. The Fellows program told me my 'high-need' area was ESL
30. I was in a group of about 15 others from around the country 
31. I lived in NYC from June 2006-July 2009 
32. I taught 7th and 8th graders English 
33. I lived in 5 different apartments over that time span 
34. The best apartment was in Harlem
35. The worst apartment was in East Harlem 
36. I lived with a girl I met online then my boyfriend then my husband and then my friend in that order
37. I got married in June 2008
38. I had been dating him since the Fall of 2002
39. I have known him since Junior High 
40. We have a son
41. He was born in May 2010
42. I had a normal pregnancy that turned into a high-risk one as a result of a blood clot
43. I was in the hospital for 8 days because of it
44. I have been in a hospital in 3 different countries 
45. Mexico, Greece and the United States
46. Mexico- for a horrible stomach virus 
47. Greece- for general illness (I was on a school trip)
48. US- broken clavicle, blood clot, baby 
49. I broke my clavicle in 2005 playing rugby
50. My parents were both at the game and brought me to the hospital 
51. My dad was very proud, he used to play rugby a lot
52. My parents have not owned a car since July 2008 
53. They cycle everywhere now
54. I bought my first road bike in NYC, it is a blue Giant
55. I cycled around the entire island of Manhattan one Sunday
56. I did my first triathlon in 2009
57. It began in Hoboken, New Jersey and ended in Philadelphia
58. It included a 76 mile bike portion and a 10 K
59. I have run a couple 10 Ks, several 5 Ks and 2 half-marathons 
60. My best Half marathon time is 2:01
61. I registered for the NYC marathon for this year
62. I bought my first car in 2009
63. It is a white Mazda hatchback
64. We bought it because we had moved back to Michigan 
65. I have lived in Michigan from 1986-2006 and 2009-currently 
66. I was born in Valparaiso, Indiana in January 1984  
67. Both of my sisters were born in Michigan 
68. My older sister lives in California
69. My younger sister lives in Wyoming 
70. I love Fall and Winter the best
71. Christmas is my favorite time of the year
72. Trepak is my favorite 
73. I played this every year at my HS Xmas concert
74. I have seen the Nutcracker ballet in Detrot, Grand Rapids and NYC and I can say GR's was best
75. I play the cello 
76. I played soccer, tennis and volleyball in HS
77. I took my first proper swim lessons in 2008 at the YMCA in the lower east side
78. My eyes are greenish hazel
79. My favorite feature are my legs
80. My favorite piece of clothing I own is my yellow skirt from Anthropologie
81. My favorite piece of clothing to dress my son in is a brown bear suit his aunt gave him
82. I like saving money almost as much as spending it
83. I would spend a good portion of my income on coffee drinks and magazines if I could
84. My favorite magazine is ELLE
85. My favorite coffee drink is a tie between Pumpkin Spice lattes and Peppermint mochas 
86. I can't help but love Starbucks 
87. My favorite was on 87th and Lexington
88. My favorite time to eat is brunch
89. Most watched movie of all time is a tie between Little Women and Rudy
90. I applied to the University of Notre Dame and was denied
91. Best sport to watch is professional tennis 
92. I have been to the US Open and saw Nadal lose 
93. I really want to see a match at Wimbledon 
94. If I could be a professional athlete I would want to be a soccer star 
95. I anticipate several career changes in my life
96. If I could live anywhere right now it would be Chicago 
97. Once I get the notion of a possibility of a snow day I am devastated the following morning if it doesn't happen (I am thinking about that right now...)
98. I go to bed around 9:30 on a weekday (sigh)
99. I sing 2 songs to my son every night before I lay him down
100. 'All Around the Cathedral' and 'Silent Night'

Best of Stay at Home TV

It's my day off :) What to watch?
Here are my personal faves,

1. The Onion News
2. The Middle
3. Modern Family
4. Nurse Jackie
5. Community
6. Selling New York
7. Infomania
8. Episodes
9. Glee
10. Yo Gabba Gabba.....weirdly addicting...trust me...