Gratitude: week 3

I'm grateful for some weird shiz this week. Looking back through my Instagram pics between now and last Wednesday, all I see are pics from Gettysburg(which I'm saving for their own post) and selfies. Am I that vain? Don't answer that - I already know.

This week, I'm thankful that everyone made my birthday extra special by celebrating with me for 4 days straight and I'm grateful that my extended family has never failed to make my friends feel like they're part of the family.

I'm grateful that I finally got my new contacts so I don't have to look like a hipster for the rest of the summer. And so I can wear my sunnies!!!

Lastly I'm thankful that I live in a state with so much history, no matter where I go. Ten minutes from home and I'm in the birth place of  our nation. If we drive another 2 and a half hours, we're on the fields of the largest battle ever fought in North America. I don't know about you, but I think that's the bomb-diggs.(The fact that Morgan Freeman narrated the intro video to Gettysburg just made everything more epic.) I'm also grateful that they still have good beer in the middle of nowhere.

I'm also thankful that old fashioned candy stores carry everything from my childhood and sell it for super cheap. Yay for Pez and PopRocks!

Linking up with Steph!

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” --Marcel Proust

XO - Monny

Weekend Shenans: Birthday Edition

Hello Loveys! It's Sunday night and I'm pretty sure I have food poisoning from my delicious dinner earlier tonight. It tasted so good though! Since I'm wide awake from writhing in pain anyway, I'll finally get to post a weekend shenanigans post on time.

Let's head back to Thursday night. I started my weekend a day early with Mom, Aunt Terry, and Mom-Mom at the Walnut Street Supper Club. It's this adorable little restaurant on Walnut Street (obviously) in Center City where your waiters and waitresses take mini breaks from their actual serving to serenade customers with soft rock, jazz, and Broadway hits. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Since Wicked is in town, they did a set of songs from the show. Of course I was on cloud 9, which you could probably figure out since I told you all how I feel about Wicked already. The food was a little on the expensive side, but it is a pretty nice place so that was expected. Mom and Aunt T treated me and Mom-Mom anyway.

Obviously I got the Judy Garland - le'duh

shameless Snapchat selfie | one of the waiters singing Dancing Through Life | me, Aunt T, and Mom-Mom

pretty table setting | shameless selfie #2 | limoncello cheesecake with strawberry marscapone topping

Friday was our family picnic! About 1/3 of us went to a park right around the corner from my house and had a awesome time that was followed by an afterparty at my aunt's house. And I finally met my brother's gf, who was really sweet (Hi, Allison!). After dinner, I went to a MaryKay party with Sarah before going back to my aunts for shots some refreshments. Everyone was already drunk when we got there. My family parties hard (Irish, remember?). Apparently we missed the shots of Tullamore Dew, which was pretty upsetting, but we did get there in time for me to finish half a bottle of Barefoot white moscato. Whoop! Sarah may or may not have cried from laughing so hard during one of the games we were playing. Oh,we also followed sirens  at 12am until we found a huge apartment fire that we watched burn for about 50 minutes. So sad, over a hundred people are homeless now. Only 4 were injured and none were killed so I guess that's a silver lining.

On Saturday, we ran some errands in the morning and I sat around and watched HGTV for 5 hours before we went to the bar to celebrate my birthday. I'm such a lightweight cheap date, all I had to drink were 3ish beers and 2 shots. Helloooo, Fireball! I had such a great time as told by my phone's camera. The best part was that I finally learned a lesson - that I can go out drinking without getting sick. (ProTip: eat first.)

Sunday was pretty chill. After church, I relaxed in bed for a few hours before going out to dinner with my family and Kristo. When we got home, we watched 3 episodes of our new addiction Naked and Afraid. It's pretty awesome(from my couch) and I know I'd never be able to survive a day in the wild. I'm still feeling like crap and I have to wake up to leave for Gettysburg in 4 hours so I'll just leave you with this adorable grainy picture from dinner.

XO - Monny

It's My Birthday! 22 Things

Happy Sunday! I hope you're all having a good weekend! I know I am. I've been celebrating my birthday since Thursday night, but I'll save that for my weekend shenanigans post!

I've learned a lot since I turned twenty-one 365 days ago. Most importantly, I've learned to eat before I drink so that I don't puke everywhere. I'll just leave this post here before I return to the festivities.

22 Things I've Learned in My 22 Years!

1. Not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever.
2. If something is causing unnecessary stress in your life, let it go.
3. If you find someone who puts up with your shit no matter what you do, hold on to them.
4. Eveything tastes better covered in hot sauce, chocolate, or cheese.
5. Sitting on your feet is bad for circulation.
6. Tell people when something is bothering you - bottling it up only causes major problems later.
7. Nervous breakdowns can result in huge life decisions.
8. Sometimes the weird guy from your science class ends up being your soulmate. 

   

   yes, we're doing the prom pose

9. Making your bed makes you feel like your life is together
10. Booths are always be better than tables
11. When your grandfather tells you the same story you've heard a million times, listen to him. You're gonna miss those stories when he's gone.
12. Always pour the hot water over the tea.
13. Push-up bras don't do anything if you don't have boobs to push up.
    
14. Write it down now or you will forget it.
15. Carry your phone charger everywhere.
16. Most people suck, but there are still some who can restore your faith in humanity.
17. Dust from top to bottom, then vacuum.
18. You sleep better with a clean room and fresh sheets.
19. Taking vitamins actually keeps you healthy.
20. Withdrawing from a class does not mean you're a failure.
21. Beer causes fewer hangovers than vodka.
22. If you work in a grocery store, you will get hit on by creepy men.

Retail Robin always understands

Time to go get ready for my fancy shmancy birthday dinner!

XO - Monny

Gratitude : week 2

ow, I can't believe I've been too tired to even sit down at my computer. I was actually gonna write this post Tuesday and put myself ahead of the game, but then I started to feel like crapola so it was a no-go. I really hope I'm not getting that grimy virus that seems to be turning into a country-wide thing.
Anywho, I still feel like crap, even though it was a pretty decent week. So here it is - my weekly Gratitude.

Okay first up, I just found this pic from last weekend so I "#latergram[ed] it. I'm grateful for the fact that the littlest things can entertain and inspire me. The ceiling work in NY Penn Station is pretty bo$$.

I'm grateful that I woke up at 5 am for no reason and saw that the sky deserved to be captured. I still can't believe I managed to drag my ass out of bed, but I'm so glad I did. It's perfect and the colors are gorgeous.

I'm grateful that I have friends like blogless Sarah who understand my nerdiness and GoT references, and who also like to tell me they love me out of the blue(and IN CAPS).

I'm grateful that some places still make real calzones that could feed me a whole family for only $8.

Lastly, I'm grateful that brother is here. Some kids he graduated with went wading in the creek near us and out of the three that went in, only one came out. I'm thankful that our community showed instant support and that so many came out to help with the search effort. I'm grateful that they found the boys' bodies so that their families can have some closure. I know that their lives will never be the same. Hopefully this tragedy will continue to show these kids to think before they do something, and that nature is more powerful than we will ever be. I pray that these families find strength for the rough time they are about to face, and that it never happens to anyone else in this town.

I didn't know these boys personally, but they've already touched my life and showed me that there is so much to be grateful for today and every day.

Tell your family and friends that you love them while they are here. "Life is too short."

*RIP Perry Krewson and Dan Tadrzynski*

XO - Monny

"Their Subway is as Dirty as Ours!"

Happy Monday, bloggy peeps!

Did yous have a good weekend? Try not to judge my use of that 2nd person plural - it's Philly's equivalent of y'all so I think I'll keep it.  Anywho, after last week's record-breaking heatwave, it's finally a cool 75°. I was a busy bee this weekend so here's a a kind of picture-heavy recap

Friday was a busier than normal night at work. I got a real workout lifting heavy-ass milk and egg crates to stock them in the fridge. Picture a 100-lb girl lifting shit that's 40% of her weight and you have me. Basically, I'm a beast. I stopped at Wendy's on the way home and got a chicken sandwich and an sweet tea. This was not one of my finest ideas due to the fact that I woke up in the middle of the night and NEVER WENT BACK TO SLEEP.

10:40 pm - eat sammich and drink tea

12:30 am - lay down in bed, look at the clock

2:15 am - roll over, look at clock ---> hate life

3:47 am - wide awake ----> still hate life

count sheep-->meditate-->take Benadryl-->drink warm milk-->pray

4:08 am - tweet about hating life

5:50 am -  look at clock ---> contemplate banging my head into a wall

6:30 am - alarm goes off ---> cry

Saturday after pulling myself together, I got out of bed to figure out what da hail I was gonna wear to the Phils - Mets game in NYC. I was told not to wear Phils gear because my dear old dad was worried for my safety and  "there's lots of nutjobs out there." Okay, I would've been fine if I wore a red hat or my Utley jersey. Yeesh.

So we get to Penn Station walk to Times Square and hop on the subway to go to Citi Field. I'm sitting on the train and I realize it's about as dirty as the Broad Street Line at home, which is comforting. However, we don't have mariachi bands playing for money on our public transpo.

We get to the stadium and people are super friendly and offer to take our picture in front of the Mets Big Apple.

Everyone is so nice. Apparently the shitty Mets fans everyone talks about aren't so shitty. The new stadium is beautiful and the food was fan-friggin'-tastic.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

'Shroom Burger (vegetarian) Crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce

When we got to our seats, it was cool because we weren't in the sun, but then the devil sat his ass crack next to us.

So we went down in the shade to walk around where I got these pics of Delmon Young batting and my boyfriend Cole Hamels pitching.

 Getting on with things, we left early due to heat exhaustion and the Phils getting their asses handed to them where we refreshed with cold drinks at Starbucks between Times Square and Penn Station. Then we got on the train home, ordered BBQ from a delish place around the corner and I watched HGTV with my mom for about 8,434,234 hours.

On Sunday morning, I sang at church at 10:00 and then headed to Kristo's house for breakfast and stayed til dinner. I made him watch Pitch Perfect (which he ended up liking) and he made me watch Dark Shadows (which I did NOT end up liking).  THE NEW CATCHING FIRE TRAILER CAME OUT. And I had 2 beers, which meant I was not writing this post last night because I am a lightweight. Yes, I'm useless after a couple drinks, but it does mean I'm a cheap date haha!

Ignore the goober next to me. He likes to awkwardly ruin my selfies. ;)

XO - Monny

I'm Just Saying - Kids on a Leash

Disclaimer - I'm not a parenting expert, I don't plan to be a parent anytime soon. I'm just observing my surroundings and reporting what I see.

Working in a grocery store, I see and hear a lot of things. Some of these things are funny, but some are really sad. No matter how I spin it, all of them are redonkulous. This post isn't just about crazy shit I see at work, though. This is about people who can't control their kids or more accurately, kids who are out of control. They're everywhere. They're in the mall, the movies, church, the playground. They suck. The only good thing about them is that you can spot them from a mile away and make an escape plan before they get too close.

How to spot them:

1. They're LOUD. You know the type - the screaming, whining, crying ones who didn't get their way. Don't let the parents fool you, though. They'll bribe their kids with a candy bar or a new Hotwheels to get them to stop once the kids have worn out their eardrums. Clearly they're parents have never heard of duct tape (kidding...kinda)
2. They're OBNOXIOUS. I don't mean like stick their tongue out at other people obnoxious. I mean run around the store/carnival/movie theatre and knock shit over obnoxious. It takes every ounce of self control in my body to not stick a foot out when they run past.
3. They're BRATTY. They don't respect their elders or rules, or any type of authority for that matter. They're the kids who after you, their parents, and the homeless guy on the corner tell them not to touch the steak knives, they touch'em...and then proceed to bleed their grubby little hands all over the place.
4. They're future ASSHOLES. You can tell just by looking at their cocky, swaggering little selves that they're gonna be the crooked parkers who block your car in, the people who leave carts in the middle of parking lots, the kind of people who don't hold doors open for you as you walk out of a restaurant. ROOD.

I'm just saying, here's to all the parents who can control their kids with a few words. They don't need to put their kids on a leash because they only need one stern look to show their kids who's boss. And a special shoutout to my parents for raising me to not be an asshat.

How do you deal with other people's brats kids?

XO -Monny 

P.S.- I actually do love kids. Just not these kids. :)

Linking up with Heather!

Gratitude : week 1

Happy Thursday, Blogland! I hope you're all staying cool this week. We're smack in the middle of the HOTTEST day of the year and it is too damn hot to think straight. I'm gonna make this a short post and then plop myself in front of the AC.

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

Today I'm linking up with Steph at Insert Classy Here for an Insta-gratitude post. I always have a ton to be thankful for so here is this week's highlight reel.

 I'm grateful for having cousins who are my best friends. I'm grateful that I can go to them with anything. I love that we can be silly on giant Adirondack chairs at school (#TUbigchairs) or that they can make me the queen and ruler of the 7 kingdoms of Westeros. Yeah that's me on the Iron Throne, bitches!

 I'm thankful for summer thunderstorms because they always cool things down and you can take the best pics afterward.

I'm thankful for my mom, who treats us to Panera Bread and all their glorious calories. Annnd their green tea which is more refreshing than anything I've ever tasted.

I'm also thankful to have a roof over my head and this bangin' ass air conditioner to cool my bedroom off when it's 954534.3° outside.

Last, but not least, I'm thankful that my blog is finally starting to look the way I want, I'm getting less and less nervous to put myself out there, and that Meg at Yammering Yankee decided to put my banner in her sidebar! YAY!

XO - Monny

Weekend Work Grind

Hey all, I hope you had a great weekend! I didn't really do anything exciting(unless you count declaring war on the garden bugs that keep finding their way into our house). Since college is hella expensive, I work part-time as a cashier/stocker on Friday and Saturday nights at a local grocery store. I don't always get to have exciting stories to tell on Mondays because cashiering is about as exciting as it sounds.

When you work retail or in a supermarket it's hard to stay enthused so you have to find ways to entertain yourself. After mentally writing a million posts about work in-between scanning items for bitchy customers, I decided to just jump in and put something out here in Blogland for everyone to see. Without further ado, I bring you the very first edition of Shit I See at Work!

 Okay so first up is just one of the many goofy safety signs that are put up in the break room every month. Other titles include Cracked Floor Tile and Marinara Mayhem. I think Doorway Downpour is pretty appropriate for this month anyway.

Next is the lovely safety sign that resides on our cardboard baler. I use this machine a lot, but I still get the heebiejeebies every time I look at this damn warning label. It basically produces the same shiver as nails on a chalkboard. Disclaimer: I don't do well with broken bones, needles, or detached body parts.

Here we have a hard-working dirt trap that lives under the conveyor belt. Now onion peels I understand, but part of a blonde weave and cat litter gives me something to think about.

*if you don't know what a weave is, click here*

I found this  weapon knife hiding in a milk crate under a stack of chairs in the breakroom the other day. What's not pictured is the the tiny Svedka bottle hiding under the green signs. I wonder if the boozer is the same person leaving Coors Light cans in the ladies room once a week.

Last, but not least, is the sweet gift my friend Hannah left on the table for me. I love how she always has my back and protects the Boston Creme donuts for me.


I hope you all enjoyed the first installment of Shit I See @ Work! I'm glad I can share this wild part-time cashier's journey with you.
 
When Sunday rolled around and all the working was done, I finally got to watch the rest of The Perks of Being a Wallflower with Kristo. He might've liked it even more than I did. Go figure. Well maybe he'll be cute and make me a mix tape. *wink wink*


XO - Monny

Long Weekend, Long Post

After finishing up my summer class last Monday, I couldn't wait for this weekend to finally get here.

On the Fourth, my friend, Sarah and I went to the movies so we could beat the heat 'cause you know, a five-day wave of 90 degrees wasn't long enough already. Ironically, we went to see the Sandra Bullock and Molly McCarthy's new movie, The Heat. It was hilarious. I laughed from the opening credits straight through to the end credits. I loved it so much I went to see it again on Saturday night. After the movie, we hit up Red Robin and went back to her house where we ate some more and watched Jurassic Park, What About Bob, and I Love You, Man. It was the chill day I needed to unwind after 5 straight months of hell school.

 

patriotic ootd and cake for breakfast bc this is America.

On Friday, I slept in and went to visit my Mom-Mom and then went to work from 5-10. While I was there dealing with all the crazies customers, I started to mull over the idea of writing a series about the people I encounter there, and it might just become a thing on this blog. I'll talk about that another time. My cousins and mom picked me up from work and we went to the diner and then home to spend some quality time with each other.

add laptops and that was basically our Friday night

Saturday, I worked from 8:30-2ish. I went home early because it was so incredibly slow. I guess the holiday weekend meant everyone was barbecuing(sp?) and not grocery shopping. MUST BE NICE. I went home, showered and went out with my mom, sister, and cousin to see The Heat again. I love looking at everyone else's reactions when I already know what's gonna happen. After the movie, we went to our favorite diner and I went out with my best friend and our boyfriends to the bar. It was a so much fun catching up with them.

SUNDAY! I've been waiting for this Sunday since our 5 yr dating anniversary in March when Kris got us tickets for WICKED! When I was done singing at 11:45 mass, we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. I always love their food, so I was expecting the parmesan crusted asparagus to be delish. They changed my life. So GOOD. I need to figure out how to make them asap because I want them all the time. I mean look at these babies.

go try them...now!

The closer we got to the Academy of Music, the more I started to freak out. I wanted to see this show since my junior year of high school and it was almost here. I didn't even complain about how hot it was walking from the train station to the theatre (96 degrees, btw). Anyway, once we got into our front row, center-stage seats, I cried. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I couldn't contain myself. We were so close to the stage! The pit conductor was literally sitting inches in front of me.

waiting to go in | conductor's music | top of the AoM

ticket!!! | map of the Land of OZ | poster outside

everyone's view

our view

 The show was phenomenal, I can't even say I have a favorite scene because it was all so awesome. We were even lucky enough to have the actress who played Elphaba on Broadway and who holds the record for most performances in that role. Talk about talent. If you get the chance, go see Wicked, the soundtrack has been stuck in my head all day long.

I hope you all had an awesome holiday weekend!

XO- Monny

 Linking up with Sami