Merry day after Christmas!

Hi kids, Merry day after Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your families and friends and that you are recovering from any chocolate OD-ing you might have done yesterday (I'm still unsure as to whether or not I'll be able to move much today).
This Christmas was very different from most for me... there was a huge break in tradition on many levels and it wasn't a bad thing, but it sort of propelled me into the "oh ya, when you grow up things start to change" frame of mind. All things considered, I'm ready for change- I'm finally embracing it instead of crying about it. It took me 23 years to get here. But for instance, my parents re-did my entire room so that, ahem, "it can be a lovely guest room for me and then someday their grandkids can stay overnight." Hmmm.... I used to hate the thought of turning MY bedroom into a guest room but now that I am living on my own and doing a job I love, I'm OK with it. It makes sense and it has brought the end of an era but opened the door to the start of a new one that I am excited about.
On Christmas Eve, we went to the Congregational Church for an 11 pm mass instead of the 4 pm Catholic mass and pageant we normally attend. Tara's friend was playing the vibes and wanted us to come so we thought we'd give it a shot. It was really beautiful, actually... it was a very small group of people, we had a beautiful candlelight vigil, and there was a lot more singing and reflecting on the season instead of repetitive prayer and scripture reading. I would say it felt more "spiritual" in a sense.
Prior to actually being home for Christmas, I also realized that I was truly interested in giving over receiving this year. I think I was blessed with parents who taught me that lesson from a young age, but it doesn't mean that as a kid I didn't have stars in my eyes about presents. This year, though, I honestly didn't for a second think about things I might get... which is a little weird, because normally there's at least one thing you're sort of hoping for. No, this year, through my job, I felt like Santa everyday and was working towards granting wishes for babies who truly deserve it. When we put on the Wishathon at the Prudential Center and saw the outpouring of generosity from strangers who called in to make donations or stopped by our booth and wrote out huge checks, it made my heart feel really full and complete. People were doing what they could (some donating 2 dollars, other thousands) because they listened to the radio and heard about our mission and felt compelled to help. That is beautiful.
I also adopted a little family this year and was amazed to see how quickly friends agreed to help- there were literally boxes upon boxes of toys and clothes shipped to me apartment this past month and the look on this man's face when I gave him the bags of presents two nights ago was priceless. A) I am truly blessed to have some of the most caring, compassionate friends in my life and B) this man and his family didn't have to worry for once about where to turn at the holidays. THAT is the spirit and love of Christmas.
In other areas, I have had so many friends get married over the past few months and ones that are going to be getting married soon that it was interesting to think about what their Christmases would be like compared to mine. I'm still like a little girl, waking up in the bed I've woken up in every year since I was 7 years old and running downstairs where my dad and mom wait with a video camera and Christmas music playing. Some of my friends, however, are waking up next to this other person that they're sharing a life with now and are starting their own family traditions. They're splitting time between families and probably thinking about starting their own a few years down the road. That's exciting to me- it used to be scary but now I think, wow, how crazy... how crazy to feel so young sometimes but then to be talking about marriage and kids and whose house to go to for Christmas. Wow. I'm finally at a good place with all of that- about a year ago I started to panic that something was wrong with me for not being in that same place as so many people I know that are my age... now I just feel happy that these people I love are happy and are making amazing choices as to who they choose to share their lives with. And you know that? That happens at all different points for all different people. In the meantime, I love going to visit them in their new "grown up" worlds and thinking to myself, "someday, this will be me.... but for now, I am just starting on my own new adventure that I LOVE!!!"

So Merry Christmas, my loves... may you all be happy with everything you have this year and may 2009 bring a fresh start and lots of love and success in all the right ways.

XOXO

And then there was squash in my lap

It's funny how many blogworthy things happen in my life... as my good friend Jess said the other night, "Seriously though, your life is more ridiculous than a sitcom." I didn't think life could get much more interesting than a knife fight at the Harvard T stop, but I was wrong.

First things first- the wishathon went SWIMMINGLY. I was up at 4 am last Friday and at the Pru on the phones by 6:30 am taking donations for our wish kids. I spent the rest of the week at the office listening to our wishathon on the radio and running around like a crazy person to get things done. I love my job. It's like food for my soul.

In other news, I went to my friend Maro's wedding on the 6th and it was beautiful... she was the most elegant, gracious, happy bride and she and Eric are picture perfect together. I had such a fabulous time dancing and crying and laughing with the best of the best. And by the way? Exceptional playlist. No, but seriously...
I woke up in Worcester at the Mariott the day after the wedding and sat in the lobby by the fireplace drinking coffee and watching the snow fall. I was 100% elated. Weddings and Christmas just make me feel in love with the world.

And then of the course there is the slightly more personal side of what has been going on over the past week that I will leave quiet but will say this much: There are some things in life for which there are no words or explanations. Just pure happiness. And sometimes I don't know whether or not I should even breathe because I'm terrified that nothing tomorrow will be as good as it was today.........and then I realize that is silly and life is short and people are flawed and the best thing to do is look up at the sky and be grateful for the here and now and whatever smile it is bringing to your face.

Now for the comedic value this blog has been waiting for:

I went to the Burren on Friday night. I had a drunk hippie woman spin me out onto the dance floor and slap my ass twice. I also won Mardi Gras beads for my "dirty" dancing which is horribly laughable. But Caroline got some by default for being associated with me so I think that it's a win win situation when all is said and done.

I am obsessed with going "a-wassaling." I'm almost positive that is spelled incorrectly. Saturday morning I woke up and begged someone to go a-wassaling with me and was rejected. But a-wassaling we will go... just you wait.

I saw adorable babies sing Christmas carols at Faneuil Hall as the fabulous Whitney F'in Magee conducted. Huzzah on many levels.

I went with Whitney and Jess to a "wild" bar where people were actually dressed like elves and, wait for it, CHRISTMAS trees. And I froze. And irritated Jess with my horrific Chinese pronunciations. Which I always assume are real. I used WAY too many periods in that sentence.

OH and then SUNDAY morning I went to breakfast with Ash and Ty and FLIPPED my plate of flatbread covered in squash, cheese, and carmelized onions INTO MY LAP. Mortified, I was. But then again, when am I not? My life is one big series of embarrassing events. So sad. Yet so good.

The roomies and I made snowflakes and AMAZING Christmas cookies on Sunday night. Caroline drew a penis on one of the cookies. It was inappropriate but ah well. We ate it anyway. AND UM.

I ate cookies for breakfast yesterday. And have had so much caffeine today I could burst.

And in the midst of all this, I have realized that some people have no filter and no patience and I will continue to love them just the same but wish they would understand... and in the meantime, I will continue to go about my business and be thankful for the incredible friends and family I have.

Oh and ditto to ASH- no more weddings. I have been to three and I have 3 more to go to in the next year. I love you all... but pretty soon I will either A) have to get married too which sounds great except I'm scared to share a bathroom or eat really crunchy awkward food around guys or b) buy forty cats. And maybe marry Juan and live like Will and Grace forever more. Which would be fabulous...... Hmmm..... no but really, it's OK. I love weddings. I love seeing my little baby girls all grown up and happy and in love. And I truly love open bars and Michael Jackson songs. So, I revoke my previous statement. CONTINUE GETTING MARRIED. I love weddings :)

Peace. Merry (almost) Christmas.

XO

What in the WORLD?!

This past week has been a blog entry waiting to happen, no joke. The day before Thanksgiving I braved public transportation and took a packed bus to NYC to meet up with my family. It took FOREVER. When I finally got off at the bus station, my dad met me and walked me to our hotel where ONE king sized bed in a sardine can room awaited me. Me and my 4 family members in one bed. Well 4 of us, one on the floor... you know it's bed when your mother yells, "everyone turn to your left!"

On Thanksgiving morning, we wake up to the sounds of drums- they are doing a mini run through of the Macy's parade... my mom yells, "Pants on, let's go!" And so begins our curbside adventure that lasted from 4:30 am-noon. I have never been so cold. The parade was amazing, but the nap after was almost as good. Then we had our "Thanksgiving" dinner at an Irish Pub where "Desperado" was playing and a lot of guys sat alone at the bar. It felt like that scene in the Santa Claus where Tim Allen lights the turkey on fire and he and Charlie have to go to Denny's for dinner...

Fast forward. We go to the movies, pay WAY too much, have an awkward moment at a grocery store where after we have everything on the counter they say "cash only" and it's back to bed again. The next day we spent about an hour at Dylan's Candy Bar. Funny fact? I don't care at ALL about fashion or big name designers. But gourmet candy? Be still my heart.

6 hours later, after being piled in the car together, we make it home... and I wait for my 5 year high school reunion (which is Saturday). WHAT. A. TIME. It was amazing to see people I haven't seen in years, drink, laugh, and have fun... and feel completely confident doing it. I wish I had felt that confident IN high school. It made me realize how many friendships I missed out on. There was quite a bit of alcohol consumed and I can safely say it was like straight out of a movie at points. Ahhh, I love it.

Fast forward again. Monday I met Randy Moss with one of my wish kids. It was incredible... HE is incredible. He made this kid's face light up with literally every word he said. I was impressed.

Finally, story number 302948989.... Tuesday night I witnessed a knife fight on the T. Literally. I panicked, swore out loud obnoxiously, and thought to myself, "SERIOUSLY? I will not die on the T at Harvard Square."


The end :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, feeling personally very blessed and happy, I would like to dedicate this blog entry to things I am thankful for:
1) My incredible family and loving friends
2) My new job that I love
3) BARACK OBAMA and the American people that voted him in
4) Funny people and awkward situations... especially the combination of the two
5) Beautiful music and dancing
6) Good health
7) The wool socks I am wearing right now because they keep my feet toasty warm
8) Whoever invented coffee
9) Whoever invented tweezers
10) Whoever invented the post-it note
11) Chocolate and all things delicious and sinful (Only in the edible sense of course)
12) The 400 pound woman living inside me who reminds me why I love chocolate, coffee, and all things delicious every day
13) Turkey neck
14) Thoughtful gestures that are totally unexpected


Please share something you are thankful for this year! It'll be fun :)

Pay It Forward

Another great weekend in Boston. Saturday night was spent with my delightful Sirens which is always the best. Did some singing - and by that I mean we sang Happy Birthday more or less in tune. Annnnd then ate a cake that had enormous frosting turkeys on it. My pants were significantly tighter this morning.

Went to church today for a chance to chill and think and be thankful... and the priest had an awesome message/thought for the week: don't pay it back, pay it forward. Given the current state of the economy, world and particularly now as the holiday season is approaching, I felt the need to share that with you all. In a time of total conservation, scrimping and saving, we need to be looking out for each other more than we ever have. The priest suggested per the movie Pay It Forward that we all try it... if you help someone out and they ask how they can repay you, tell them not to worry but to help someone else out when they can.

So I challenge you all to try it this week. Think of others... be as selfless as possible. Good things will come.

Amazing a la Whitney Simmonds style

I get into work this morning and find an email from Whitney telling me how she found an email that I had written her senior spring at Colby. And I read it and almost fell over laughing at how random/weird/gross it was :

Whitney: "and now, hem hem, your amazing email to me:"

Dear Che,
I am sitting at Elise's computer eating bbq soy nuts, licking my fingers, then touching her key board again. She'd probably be really mad if she knew that.
We missed you last night. I am going to give Jorge, Consuela, and all of their illegitimate children a spanking when I see them next. We taught FEO (which means ugly) and sang without the lights on. Hot.
I just did the eat the soy nut and lick my finger thing again.
Today was a good day. I did pilates, went to the teen parent school, watched "Real Women Have Curves" and am now about to prance around naked, embracing my "beauty." Speaking of which, Holly locked me outside in my underwear yesterday and then called Mikey. Luckily I escaped before he saw me. But John and Ann did. They live next door. I was embarrassed.
Well, what more can I tell you... nothing I guess. I hope USD or California Western get back to me soon and accept me so we can move to San Diego and I can be tan. And talk like a REAL valley girl. Could we buy a bunny AND a chihuahua?
Did I spell Chihuahua right?
Viva Peron. Y que te sientas bien :)
Mariah




Wow. WHAT WAS I SMOKING?
Yikes. This is why I DON'T do drugs.

Hey Elise? Sorry about the soy nut thing.

The bizarre ways of men...

Men puzzle me. I love them, I can't stand them and I categorize them as one entity that follows the same rules. This is admittedly a flaw of mine.
So here are a few questions I have:
1) How is it that in an elevator, a place where NO ONE ever talks, I was asked to lunch by an extremely friendly man who works next door? And how did he know that I was not from Maine the second he met me after accusing me of being "too friendly for Boston" when in fact HE prompted the conversation in the first place? Silly.
2) Why don't all guys know how to moonwalk?
3) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A POLL A FRIEND OF MINE AND I ARE DOING SO IF YOU ARE A MALE 20-23, PAY ATTENTION AND RESPOND: WHY DO GUYS TELL YOU THEY ARE SO INTO YOU AND THEN STRUGGLE TO TAKE ACTION OR CALL BACK? WHY ARE THEY AFRAID OF US? I know the female praying mantis eats her mate's head off after sex, but aside from a few gals I know, this not normally the case. AND WHY DO WE WANT TO KEEP LOVING THEM EVEN THOUGH WE WANT TO STRANGLE THEM? What is it about the quiet, sheepish remarks of love and affection from them during a heated argument where we accuse them of not caring that pulls us back into the web time and time again?

Mariah's hypothesis: guys DO care. They DO want you in their life and possibly even see a future with you. They are just SO torn between the unsettled, fresh out of school, hardworking bachelor lives they are leading and the one where they have a woman who truly means something to them that will love them completely and support their dreams... and maybe even cook sometimes...except for me. I certainly don't do that. SO they try desperately to keep the poker in the fire, so to speak, in the hopes that dream girl will still be floating around ready to settle when they have worked themselves out and are ready to take the plunge.


THOUGHTS?!