#positiveblogs

Today’s Happy thing: 

I picked up Chipotle for dinner for my family tonight and decided to swing by McDonalds for my brother. I pull into the drive thru thingy and when the woman asks me what I would like, I realize that I recognize the voice. It was on of my best friends in high school! Now, my town isn’t very large, and I knew R worked there, but it didn’t dawn on me that she could be working when I pulled in. We were band/choir “buddies” in high school and our nickname for eachother was “Buddy”. When I pulled up to the window, she was there to hand me my food and we got to talk for a few seconds. This made me realize that I really miss my friends that I had in high school. We try every break to get together for a dinner or breakfast date, but has been increasingly hard to get all 7 of us together. R reiterated how I felt and said that we needed to all get together when this is all over because she missed us. As I drove away, it came to me that I completely forgot to congratulate Buddy in getting married! The original date was the same day as my graduation (Sorry, Buddy), and with the pandemic, they got married at a month ago. This thought made me smile because something good came out of all of this bad. Granted, R didn’t get to have the wedding she wanted or have all of the people there that she wanted, but in the end, she got to marry her high school sweatheart, and she looked amazing in her dress. I am so happy for the both of them and I cannot wait to see R and the rest of my friends when this is all over! And we finally all are old enough to go out to get drinks :) so that’s a plus! 

Today’s Happy thing: 

I mentioned in my first ever post that my graduation ceremony was cancelled for the middle of May (17 days!). My university sent out a survey asking us how we wanted to do our ceremony: online, in the summer, or with the December group of graduates. I said that I wanted it to be some time this summer because it would give my family time to come up and watch me graduate. We recieved an email today to save the dates of August 14th and 15th for commencement! I am so excited! Granted, I will have gotten my diploma in the mail way before that, but I am a sucker for tradition. I am a first generation to finish and graduate with a 4 year degree, so this is a huge deal for me. When we found out it was cancelled, I had some friends tell me that it wasn’t that big of a deal for me becuase I had another graduation ceremony to look forward to December of 2021. While that is true, that also has different meaning; I also am the first generation to receive their Master’s degree. They both mean the world to me and to my family. I am hopeful that we are allowed to partake in this ceremony because it is a rite of passage for college students who finish. I want to take cute pictures with my friends, with my family, with my coaches, and I want to have that feeling of “I freaking did it!”. I want to wear that paper thin black robe with my cum laude cord and I want to try my best not to trip off of the stage. I worked my tuchus off for the last 4 years, and dangnabbit, I want to experience something! I will keep my fingers crossed and I will pray that we are allowed. 

On a different note, I got new fabric to make more masks for my mom and I! I am super pumped to make those for us and the fabric is cute! I am making us both one for every day of the week because we will have to wear them when we go to work. As of right now, unfortunately, the campgrounds in Ohio are to remain closed, but I am confident that they will open soon! I really want to work my favorite job this summer and I will be content with working as a cashier with my brother. I will work this summer, that is my one goal. We will pull through this! Just you wait! And remember: sometimes, walking helps!

Today’s Happy Thing:

6 weeks in quarantine and things are starting to look up... or at least a little bit. I live in the wonderful--read boring-- state of Ohio, where the corn is everywhere and we devour Buckeyes. Today, Gov. Mike DeWine did his weekly press conference and laid out his plan of action for Ohioans. Starting on May 4th, all employees must wear a mask if they work with the public, and if the public goes into a store, they must also wear a mask. Then, on May 12th, retail stores may also open up again, and everyone has to wear a mask. Stepping up on the cleaning of the places is key and the fact that everyone is suppose to wear a mask will help greatly. The downside? I still don’t know if my summer job at a state park campground will be open. As of now, all Ohio State parks will be accepting new reservations starting on May 17th, so that is promising. In all reality, we could follow social distancing with our campsites and cabins, and we can limit the number of people that are in the store. The pool and playground will have to be shut down, which is a drag, but at least those people are allowed to go camping. I really hope we do open because this is my last summer working at this job; next summer, I will be on my internships and I will be a realy adult with a real job the summer after (which is scary to think about). If it doesn’t open, then I will be getting another job at a grocery store...either the one that my brother works at or an Aldi. Either way, I will be working this summer and wearing one of the 5 masks that I am making for myself. They may look rough, but they will get the job done. But, I am happy that we are beginning to take the steps we need to try to get back to a typical way of life. Things won’t be exactly the same for a while and I pray everyday that they can come up with a viable vaccine soon. We are just going to have to take this one day at a time, and one phase at a time. I pray that the people of Ohio take this seriously and the other states follow suit when they can. It terrifies me when I see people talking about how they are going to not follow the rules just because it is “un-American”. Grow up, and be an adult about this! This is much more than the flu and we need to take the precautions we need to in order to get out of this in one piece. And we will if we all do our part and do what we can to keep others safe. I am a high risk person with my asthma, and I will be wearing a mask more now for others and I hope that they wear one for me. One day at a time, that’s all it takes. To quote one of my favorite YouTube channels right now: Keep Smiling! :) 

Today’s Happy thing: yummy shorty!

For those of you out there that have a food allergy, you know the struggle of going out to eat and of finding new recipes. For me, eggs are my enemy. Since I was 13, I have had to stay far away from the yellow and white orbs. And here’s the thing: I love to bake and to eat those baked goods. What is the 2nd most popular ingredient in baked goods? That’s right, eggs! When we go out to breakfast as a team or a family, I am the weird one asking if I can get a burger at 8:00 because I can’t eat anything else. I have experimented with different egg substitutes in baked goods and the best one I have found is added applesauce instead. Still, you can tell that something is different and the brownies/cakes that I make tend to be wetter and not hold their shape like before. Because of this, I am always on the lookout for vegan bakeries and when I find one.....let’s just say that the cashiers know my name becuase of how much I go there. BUT! Today has changed everything. At the store today, I have found a vegan egg substitute from a vegan flour brand and it claims that you can use it in anything baking. So, I bought it, of course. My Gran and I put it to the test this afternoon by making brownies. The bad thing? We used the wrong pan and it made it so hard that we could not eat it. I then went home and made cookies. And the verdict?? THEY WERE AMAZING MY FINE FEATHERED FRIENDS!! They tasted just like regular cookies, and even more so: my dad didn’t think there was anything different! That is a win in my book. Now, I am so excited to bake more things and be able to enjoy those things! My roommates will be happy about it too :) 

Today’s Happy Thing: Shorty

My brother and I spent the morning and most of the afternoon weeding the flowerbeds around our grandparent’s house today. For as long as I can remember, my Gran has always had flowers in the flowerbeds and they usually are marigolds. We always start the spring out by weeding and it use to be my least favorite chore, right next to ricking wood in our basement for the wood burner. But it was nice to be able to be outside for the first nice day is awhile, and it was nice to be able to spend time with a few of my favorite people in this world. My brother made us all laugh while throwing weeds at me and getting dirty everywhere. My Pap was “supervising”-- “That’s my job today”-- and my Gran was helping us weed. There were already perennials popping up and blooming, as well as ones that were just now budding. It gave me hope that things will get better. Even after this harsh winter, the flowers still came back better and brighter than ever. That is how humanity is going to be: better and brighter than we were when we went into this quarantine. And even now, it is beginning to rain here and the flowers are getting a drink...they are getting stronger. Just hold on, my fine feathered friends. We are almost in the clear, and ready for the world to see our new petals. Just take it a day at at time, and I promise we will get through this! And remember: walking helps! Find those wild flowers that grow on the sides of the road and bask in their quaint beauty. It’ll make your day feel less dreary. 

Today’s Happy Thing: 

I am an avid reader, I always have been. It all started when I was in 5th grade and the Twilight movie has just released. I remember asking my mom if I could read it, and she told me no because it was too mature for 9 year old me (which was true). So instead, she went out and bought me the first Harry Potter book. That was the start of it all. We had to go to the store almost every other weekend in order to get me the next book in the series. After I read the book, I watched the movie....except for The Order of the Phoenix. The movie has just released onto televsion and I remember my mom turning it on for me, not knowing that I was only on the 4th book. It took me weeks to finish the 5th book and I really didn’t want to read the ending (no spoilers here, I promise). The 7th book released that year and I remember it being the biggest book I had ever read to date: clocking in at 759 pages. I finished the book in the car before I had a soccer game and I was so full of emotion when I played that game. Since then, I have read thousands of books and I remember 98% of every book I’ve ever read. Now, you’re probably thinking “MBB, reading that many books is not possible”. Well, my fine feathered friend, I still hold the school record for most books read in a single school year; my freshman year I beat my best friend’s previous record by 20 books.... I read about 152 books. My punishment in high school was that I was not allowed to read at home, that is how much reading meant to me. 

Tonight, I saw a reminder from my favortie author, James Patterson, that he was making a fan video for the release of his new book. This book is a tag-a-long to his series, Maximum Ride, which is my all time favorite series. I sent my video in (and apologized for it being late), and I sat in my room, just looking out the window at my backyard. I had this urge to go out there and read like I use to. So, I did. Barefoot-- because I am always barefoot when it is not snowing--, I took the book I was reading outside, headphones in my ears. I sat by our shed and took in the world around me, music playing in my head. And I read. I read for about 45 minutes until the sun started to set more and my toes were icicles. I came back into my room and I felt refreshed. I got my fresh air and I continued to do something that I have been slacking on since quarantine has started. That’s weird, I know. I have all of this time now and I can’t seem to finish a darn book. That is because I am having a hard time concentrating on anything that isn’t my school work. I have 22 days until I “graduate” and things are picking up. But I do solemnly swear I will try to read more. At my summer job, I am blessed with the free time every night to read, but I want to incorporate that more before I go back to work (fingers crossed!). I think that the next nice day we have, I am going to pack a picnic and read outside until the words blend together on the pages. I think that’s just what I need to get me through the next couple of weeks. If you need any book suggestions, DM me! I could talk about books for hours and days. 

Update 04/27: I got an email back from him AND I THINK MY VIDEO IS GOING TO BE FEATURED IN THE FAN VIDEO!!! I AM SO EXCITED!! AHHHHHH

Today’s happy thing: Shorty

We have this thing we do for softball that we have done for all 3 years I have played: it is called Secret Sister. You pick a name from the hat of another player on the team, and you keep it a secret. You get to know them all season, while trying to keep it on the DL. At the end of the season, you buy them a gift that they would like. We always say 10-20 dollars, but I tend to go above and beyond that because I LOVE to give gifts. I got my roommate, H, a cardboard cutout of her favorite Supernatural character my first year (I got a nice book from mine), and I got my friend, J, a Harry Potter umbrella (I got coffee giftcards) my second year. This year, I have one of the assistant coaches. I decided that I was going to make her a tie blanket with her favorite animal on it. Because we cant give the gifted to them in person, we are suppose to ship them to their addresses. I finished the blanket today, and I have to get some gummy bears to add to it. I think I’m going to ship it out tomorrow so she gets it by our deadline of May 5th. I am so excited for her to get it! And I am super excited to receive my gift!

I am super grateful for my amazing team, and I miss them every day. I can’t wait to go back in the fall and cheer them on!