Friday Thoughts

I'm here on my phone with approximately 14 minutes left of my lunch hour. Here are some random thoughts to entertain you (hopefully).

- There was like no line at Dunkin this morning and they got my order right. 4 for you Dunkin Coco!

- Tomorrow is my family Christmas party. Yes, you read that correctly. A real life Christmas in July. My aunt's house is completely decked out. Summer is the only time all 75 of us can get together so tomorrow it is! I'm so excited because it's gonna be a blast, but I can't wait until the planning ends. If you feel so inclined, follow along with our shenanigans on my Instagram or check out #McGuckinXmas. Hopefully no one calls the cops for noise pollution while we carol...loudly...outside.

I'm gonna find a nice Christmas mani to dress my nails today and figure out what all needs to be done for tomorrow.

- I actually have to start my grad applications next week and it's completely terrifying me and making me anxious.

I will combat this anxiety by going to the beach with my friends on Sunday to celebrate my birthday a day early. Yay! This is makes me a little sad because it's almost August and I haven't set foot in the ocean yet this year. Woof, where has the Summer gone?

- Courtney gave me my birthday present 3 days early. I think the suspense was killing her. She really knows me for only knowing me for 7 months. I got a pretty journal and a pack of colored Papermate inkjoy pens (have you seen how smoothly the write?!), some adorable post-it notes and tiny gel pens, a purple double-walled mason jar cup, and MY FIRST ALEX AND ANI BRACELET! Eeep! It's a phoenix so obviously I'm naming it Fawkes.

Happy Birthday, Boyfriend!

Happy Sunday Y’all!

Sunday is my favorite day of the week and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe because it’s a day of rest, maybe because Kris has off from work every Sunday and I get to see him, or maybe because it’s the beginning of a brand new week and I get to start it at church. This Sunday is a combination of all three and it’s especially awesome because it’s Kris’s 23^rd birthday! Every year near his birthday, I joke that I probably shouldn’t be dating an older man. It’s lame, but it always makes him laugh.

So today is dedicated to Kristo. I’m going to church and then helping his mom cook his birthday dinner that we’re sharing with some friends. Then he’ll be in charge of the remote to watch the Bengals playoff game (booo!). It should be an awesome day surround by all his favorite people.

Kristo, I love you more than anything. You can always make me laugh, whether it’s reminiscing about when I thought you were just the weirdo that sat in front of me in 10^th grade chem class or when you’re just being incredibly quotable. I hope you have a fantastic birthday and I can’t wait to spend the next 80 with you.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Friday Blogland!

Today I want to introduce you to a very special man - my dad! Today is Pop's 53rd birthday (he looks great for his age, amiright?) and so I'm dedicating a whole post to him. I'm sure he's blushing as my mom reads this to him since he hasn't quite gotten the hang of navigating to my blog on his iPad yet.

Anywho, back to why I love my daddy!

ONE My dad taught me from a very young age that sports are awesome. I remember him taking me out back and having a catch with me,teaching me how to hold a bat, and then teaching me to hold a bat again when we realized that I can't bat right-handed. I remember him telling me not to be a sissy to be aggressive and to go after the ball when we'd play street hockey with the neighborhood kids and I ended up being really good at it. He also taught me that you love your teams, even when  the Phillies can barely make it to .500 they suck. You're allowed to curse at the tv and talk about how poorly they're playing, but you still watch every game. I repeat - you. still. watch. every. game.

TWO He can't cook many things (think brown scrambled eggs), but he makes the best eye roasts I've ever tasted and he's really good at buttering bagels. Like scary good, especially when you're sick.

THREE My dad wakes up at 5:30 every morning to drive me to the train, whether he needs to be in work early or not. He waits extra time at the station until the train comes so I don't have to stand in the cold and let's me control the radio (even though I usually pick something he likes anyway).

FOUR For as long as I can remember, he's been leaving notes for us on the kitchen counter. They always make us laugh, even when they're not intended to be funny.

In our house, everyone write their names on their plastic cup...except dad. He's been known to have more than a few aliases.

FIVE He has shown me that it's never too late to be who you want to be. He leads by example and is constantly helping others in need. I have such respect for him and I'm immensely proud to call him my dad. 

Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you, I hope you have a great day, and you'll get your real birthday card tomorrow!

XO - Monny

Linking up with Whitney.

I'm still confused as to why this song didn't win a CMA.

Do I Really Want to Relive This?

It's Humpday once again, my lovelies!

Today I'm posting about the one-time Feelin' 22 21 Linkup that's hosted by a bunch of awesome ladies like Juliette, Allie, Adriana, Brittany, and Sami. Since I've already written about that night in the post about the worst advice I've ever received, I'll just put a quick recap of my night and let you tell me how it went.

Background Info: 
Headed to the Jersey shore at the ass crack of dawn the morning after going to the bar for the first time.
Still had stuff to pack.
No real food in my stomach for hours.
I weighed 100 lbs.
Hit the bar around 11 and drank:
1 chocolate covered pretzel shot
1 chocolate cake shot
1 pineapple mojito
1 mango mojito
1 more chocolate covered pretzel shot
1 liquid marijuana shot
1 more liquid marijuana shot
1 sip of water

Barfed:
-in the bathroom of the bar before I left
-in a bucket in the car on the ride home
-in the toilet at home
-on the toilet at home
-in a trash can next to my bed

Now I'm not good at math or anything, but that seems like a bad equation.
XO - Monny

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