13 things I still ask my mom *at the age of 22*

Two truths must be accepted before I write this list. The first is that there is a difference between an adult an a grown up. For example, I may legally be an adult, but I am sure not a grown up yet. The second truth is that no matter where you are in life, you need a mom (or someone like a mom). Mom's/mom figures are the coolest people in the world. With these truths accepted, below is a list of things that at the age of 22, I still ask my mom.

1. Does this outfit look good on me? 
2. (Followed by #1) - Is this too much cleavage?
3. My leftovers were on the counter overnight. Are they still good?
4. (Followed by #3) - How long do I heat up my leftovers?
5. My car is making a funny noise. What does that mean?
6. It's 2 AM and I hear something outside my door. Is it the wind, or is it a murderer?
7. What is a 401k?
8. What is a W-2?
9. What should I have for dinner?
10. I don't feel good. Do I have yellow fever/the plague/swine/chicken pox?
11. Why am I so tired all the time? (The answer to this one is always - that's life).
12. Quick! I need a good excuse to get out of work.
13. *tells 10 minute story* - Was that guy flirting, or was he just being nice? 

Above is a picture of my fabulous mother and I. Isn't she the cutest? My mom's birthday is in just a few days. She deserves the world.

Top 10 favorite Disney memories from my first visit

Let's clear the air before we begin - Walt Disney World really is the happiest place on earth. After 22 years of being obsessed with princesses, I finally made my way to Orlando to experience all that the Disney parks have to offer. Chris finally decided that enough was enough, and we had to go. He booked a Disney resort, bought tickets, and wrapped up our Magic Bands (the wristband that Disney resorts use for payment and reservations in the parks) for Christmas. What a keeper, am I right? Anyways, I'm actually quite pleased that I experienced Disney for the first time as an adult because very few things in life can truly make you feel like a kid again. Below are 10 of my favorite memories from my first time visit.

Number ten: Walking into Epcot for the first time 

Number nine: Walking into Animal Kingdom for the first time 

Number eight: Walking into Hollywood Studios for the first time

Number seven: Walking into Magic Kingdom for the first time (I mean honestly it doesn't get more magical than this)

Number six: Roller coaster butterflies 

Number five: Dancing with Goofy (seriously, one of the most underrated Disney characters) 

Number four: Meeting your signature princess (especially when Rapunzel "tangles" him) 

Number three: Seeing the castle at night (along with seeing the Electric Parade, Wishes, and Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios) 

Number 2: Disney hugs

Number 1: Disney kisses

I hope you enjoyed these very gratuitous pictures of myself enjoying some of these experiences at the parks. I'm thinking about posting some tips and tricks that I picked up for the Disney beginner. While the Disney blogosphere is amazing in their depth and thoroughness, it was a little bit overwhelming for me as a first timer. Regardless, thank you for sharing my Disney experience with me through this post! If you have any questions or favorite Disney memories of your own, comment them below.

Twenty fifteen - a pop culture and political summary

In neither order of importance or chronological order...

Love won. The Supreme Court ruled that states can not prevent same sex couples from marrying. 

Lots of refugees needed a safe home. Libya, Syria, and Iraq still have many looking for refuge. 

Evil manifested itself in too many events, worldwide and at home in the US. I'm referring specifically to the terror attacks, most notably in Paris and Tunsia.

Humanity triumphed each time that evil attempted to make the world forget the beautiful humanity that lives within every country and community. 

Greece almost had to exit the Eurozone. The instability was real. Many people canceled their vacations there.

People wouldn't stop talking about Kylie Jenner's lips. 

The FIFA scandal happened. The president stepped down. Honestly, most of this was missed on me other than that I never knew such huge corruption existed in soccer (or shall I say football). 

Amy Schumer had people talking about feminism. She was hilarious and poignant and got people thinking without even making them realize it.

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez broke up, proving to the world that love isn't real (am I the only one who "shipped" them big time)?

Planned Parenthood was on constant attack by conservative politicians, potentially inspiring a terrorist attack. This was one of way too many shootings in the US throughout the year. 

There was a dress that made us question our sanity.

Zayn left One Direction, breaking hearts of teenage girls all over the world. And me. 

The NAACP president was revealed to have 2 white parents, despite "personally identifying" as black. She made us think about how fluid race can or can not be. 

Domestic terrorism is alive and real. The media continued to pretend that it isn't a thing.

Canada elected a very liberal and very attractive prime minister.

There were horrific natural disasters like the earthquake in Nepal and floods in China. It was also the hottest year on record and people still denied climate change. 

The Ashley Madison hack happened. Some people's lives were tragically ruined and even lost. Others were revealed for the hypocrites they actually are (looking at you Josh Duggar).

Too many unarmed, black men and boys were killed by police officers. The #blacklivesmatter movement arose, organizing to prevent more unnecessary deaths due to institutionalized racism.

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart both left their political satire posts on Comedy Central. Stephen Colbert picked up the Late Night Show for David Letterman and does great. 

Bruce became Caitlyn. She brought transgender rights to the American dialogue. Bigots were upset that she won awards for her bravery.

Election season started and wouldn't stop. Running for the Republican nomination became very trendy (this potential nominee's kids were more excited about a turtle than their father's nomination). 

Donald Trump said a lot of racist things that no one took too seriously until he maintained his place as the Republican front runner for just about the entire primary season so far. 

Hillary Clinton begged people to see her as relatable and Bernie Sanders begged people to not see him as the crazy uncle who dances with the punch bowl on his head. Both generally kick ass.

Some people were nice enough to pretend they were running for the Democratic nomination to make it seem like a fair race. Looking at you Webb and Chafee.

Left shark became a part of all of us. 

Please note: I am an American and these are the events that were most poignant to me. Most definitely, there are domestic and international events that I missed. I created this list from memory because I wanted to record the things that left the largest impact on me. Again, there are many, many things that are not represented on this list. I recognize the fact that I have intense privilege in failing to recognize significant world events that impact the lives of many. Please enlighten me about things that I missed. Let's have a conversation. What was important to you in the news? What world, political, or pop culture events impacted you? 

I want a job that I love as much as my hair stylist does

This post was inspired by my fabulous hair done by the Blowout Bar in Grandview, Ohio and the fact that I'm not necessarily looking forward to going to work tomorrow. God bless the talkative, empathetic guy giving me a blowout that made me feel like a million bucks and pray for me as I enter work tomorrow.

First, let's take a look at the magic hair stylists get to create on a daily basis. See that smile? The genuine laughter? It's because I feel freaking fantastic. Why do I feel fantastic? I had just finished an extraordinarily tasty margarita, I am seeing my boyfriend for the first time in a month, and because I feel like a million bucks with the magic the hairstylist was able to create on my head. Only I would get existential about my career over freakin' blowout.





Right now it is after 12:30 at night and I can't stop thinking about that hairstylist. We had great chats - from the Kardashians, to transgender issues, to bad drivers, to taking time off to find yourself. Mostly, though, he said that he loved his job. And I really believed him.

The thing is, I love my job too. But in a different way. When I say I love my job, I mean that I love my job in the way that normal people "love" their jobs. I think that most people "love" their jobs and if you say that, most people interpret it as the "love" that you give to a job and not genuine love.

When this man told me that he loved his job, he said it with conviction. It was so matter of fact. There was no trail off or vocal rise at the end of the sentence. It was a declarative statement. That was it. I told him that I took note of how matter of fact he was and that I thought it was amazing. The stylist that day was a perfect example, but this is something I have thought about before.

I see that same spark or imagine it in other people and professions, too. I think of a blogger that inspires me, Helene in Between, who just took the plunge to blogging full time. I think of a close friend who is a tap dancer in LA. I think of a friend who works at the zoo redesigning animal habitats to be better for the animals. I think of a friend who is a police officer that positively lights up every time he tells a story about work. I think of the podcast creators I listen to. The journalists that I read. The vloggers that I follow.

I really, really love the idea of blogging or podcasting. Yet here I am, almost 1:00 in the morning, writing about that on my loosely tended to blog and hardly even attempting to podcast. I'm committing to pay more attention to what I love to do and relentlessly pursue making it a career. Will you? Stay with me on my journey in the job I "love" looking for the job I love.

Have you ever had an experience like the one I described with my hair stylists? Do you have a job that you "love" or love? Let's talk about it.

Five on Friday - 11/6

Happy Friday, folks! Luckily, this Friday came quicker than expected. I'm participating in this linkup thanks to A. Liz Adventures. Anyone can participate - just go to her post and follow the linkup instructions.

1. Weekend visits. Because long distance relationships are HARD. We spent the entire weekend doing nothing, and it was just the break I needed. So often when Chris comes to Chicago we don't spend any time relaxing. We feel as though we have to fill the time with exciting, Insta-worthy events. That being said, the picture below is from an Ohio State football game last year because we spent the entire weekend doing NOTHING.

2. Brunch. Few things are more delightful than brunch. The one "outing" Chris and I had was driving over to the West Loop to The Little Goat. It had a 45 minute wait, presumably because it was DELICIOUS. Luckily, it was a beautiful weekend with perfect weather, so we spent the time exploring around the other restaurants in the area. I got the french toast, which had an egg cooked in the middle of each slice with strawberries and fried chicken.

3. Adele's comeback. Like every other reasonable person in the world, I love Adele's new song. I just bought a bluetooth shower speaker (maybe that should be part of my #3), and I spent an entire shower listening to that song on loop. It's hard to say that someone who is only 25 years old can have a comeback, but seriously - what a way to return! The video is great too. When she makes eye contact with the camera after an entire minute of the video avoiding her face, I get so excited I fist pump. That song gives me all of the feels.



4. Everything Mindy Kaling. Maybe this should be two things, but I can't get enough of her - both her books and her tv show. I just finished her second book, Why Not Me (which is fantastic) and started watching her show, The Mindy Project. Why Not Me? had me laughing out loud and reaching for it in every spare moment I had. Some of my favorite parts highlighted the time she met President Obama, a relationship with a friend that drifted away, and a reflection on an alternate version of herself that turns into a rom-com. I plastered one of the quotes on my closet mirror - "If you got it, flaunt it. If you're not flaunting it, what are you even doing anyways." That woman is so great at writing romantic comedy, which is evident in The Mindy Project. I was so hooked that I refused to stop watching until Mindy and the romantic male lead got together. Needless to say, I fell asleep watching every night for a week.



5. Peppermint Mochas in red cups. I tried to cut my caffeine take, but it honestly isn't worth it. The joy that those red cups full of peppermint chocolate deliciousness is unbeatable. To the Christian groups that are complaining because Starbucks took the "Christmas" themed decor off the cups - get a freaking life.






And that's all, folks! Thanks for reading my Five on Friday. What are yours? Add on to the linkup or tell me in the comments below!
I love writing these posts because it gives me the perfect outlet to write about some things that I loved the past week, but didn't get a chance to fully post about. Thank you again to A. Liz Adventures for hosting the linkup! I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Because Adele gives everyone A LOT of feelings

Happy Monday, everyone. Adele just released one of the songs from her upcoming album, 25, and naturally it is filling the entire world with emotion. What a way to start the week. If you haven't listened to Hello, you totally should. I could probably write a long, rambley post about that song alone. What is really on my mind right now, though, is something Adele posted to her twitter:



What she said about wishing time away really stood out to me. Someone once told me that hating Mondays was hating 14% of your life and I think of that every single Monday morning. No matter how much I tell myself that, I still hate Mondays a little bit. Then, I feel guilty. And paranoid that I am wasting my life away. Why don't I love Mondays? What am I doing wrong?

I always try to live in the moment, love my day job, love the evenings once I get home (no matter how late I get back), and go to bed without a sense of dread for the next day. I mean, I don't hate my job. Actually, I really like my job. But do I love my job? I'm not sure. Do I wake up enthralled for the day? Not every day. A tiny (and sometimes not so tiny) part of me is always waiting for the weekend.

So Adele, even though you are a modern day music goddess, we must agree to disagree. I think it is okay to wish time away - at least just a tiny bit. I think we have to find a healthy balance between making the best out of where we are, recognizing the moments we want to live forever, noticing the ones that we don't, and not feeling guilt for what most people in this world experience at least a little bit. I would venture to imagine that most of the world is waiting for the weekend and is looking forward to a different time in their life, at least a little bit.

Someday, I want to have a job that makes me feel the way I do on the weekends. Maybe I'll write more about that later. Until then, I'm going to be okay with the reality that a part of me isn't going to want to get up at 5:00 AM to teach literacy to unruly high schoolers. Like I said - I like my job. But it'll be damned if I can't wait until Friday.

Novelties I found in the big city

I'm not a small town girl, but I'm definitely not from the big city. I lived in Columbus, Ohio for 22 years and never visited a bigger city until I moved to Chicago. When I moved to Chicago, I figured that certain things like traffic and the sheer massive nature of everything would take some adjustment. I never expected so many little things to take getting used to. Here are a few "novelties" that I didn't expect to find so darn exciting. Anyone that has ever visited a big city and gets enjoys the little things in life will relate.

1. Everything about city 7-11 - My point being, they're everywhere. Is there a city ordinance that requires a 7-11 on every corner? Can Chicagoans not ever be within a block and a half of hot cheetos and Icees? Not that I'm complaining... But for the first month of me living here I geeked out each time I saw a 7-11. Actually, I thought 7-11s might only be in movies since there aren't any where I am from in Columbus.
2. Dunkin Donuts - Ditto everything above. Never saw a Dunkin Donuts before moving here, either. And now I'm addicted to those sugary sweet cups of liquid ecstasy they call iced coffees.
3. 2-story Targets - The best part? They have cart escalators. I won't confirm or deny that I still Snapchat it every time.
4. The "El" - A train with a view! I rode around on the brown line for at least an hour my first weekend here. Then I freaked out the first time I got on the red line and freaked out before realizing that the elevated train also goes underground. Public transportation in general blew my mind. The feeling of getting from point A to point B on the El was pure gold.
5. The Chicago flag - You could sell me anything with those heavenly, blue stripes and majestic, red stars. Once I learned what the 4 stars stood for, that was my go to party fact for a month. Hell, it still is.
6. Tourists - This novelty still hasn't worn off on me. People visit where I live. Families! With accents! Young couples! Old couples! Bachelor parties! Famous people (sometimes)!
7. Chicago references - Never listened to Kanye West once until I listened to each song on his discography to take ntoe of when he mentions Chicago.

I hope you enjoyed my list of silly little things that excite me about living in the big city! Do you have any "novelties" that you've found when you visited or moved to a new place?