Home.....

Coming home is always a nostalgic experience for me.  I think it has something to do with the fact that I haven't really lived there since before I went to college. Even on my summer breaks I never moved back. For a couple years my bedroom was exactly as I'd left it on that rushed and tear stained morning, the one where I moved into my first dorm, and said good bye to my childhood. There were the important things I knew I'd want to have with me forever: some picture albums, a jewelry box, memories that I couldn't wait to display proudly at MSU. But there were other things, some even more important, that I felt comforted knowing could live in my bedroom "forever". Every time I came home I would pull out a high school dairy, and laugh at my naiveté, or hold onto the limp body of Toto (my favorite stuffed dog, of course), tightly, and revel in his smell that always stayed the same. For years nothing changed in this bedroom, the room I'd had since just before my 2nd birthday. But things have to change eventually, and before I graduated from MSU, my room did too. My mom started making small changes that I'd notice every time I'd come home to visit; sometimes there'd be a pile of high school folders on my desk that my mom would ask me to sort through, or I'd notice that a photo collage wasn't hanging on my wall anymore, but instead was on a shelf in my closet. I never minded really, because I knew that it wasn't really "my room" anymore. Of course when mom moved a very large treadmill in, one that took up the entire center of my room, I did note to her with some humor that it seems inevitable that parents will always turn their children's rooms into a gym. She didn't appreciate that, and by the next time I came home the treadmill was in another room. Eventually when I moved East I took almost all my photo albums, and most of my childhood diaries. I emptied out that bedroom more than before, and it was left looking like nothing more than a spare bedroom, with a few childhood reminders of my time there. The other day I was looking in a box filled with assorted photographs for a few very specific pictures. I'm home right now for Ashley's wedding, which I must say, I can't believe is only a week and a half away. I feel like she's been engaged forever, even though it's only been just over a year. As I was looking for those specific pictures I kept getting distracted by other memories, most of them from high school. If anyone had watched me they'd have been sure I was smiling at a private joke, so big was my grin as I sorted through picture after picture. Afterwards, I found myself wandering around my room, opening drawers in my vanity and peeking at some left-behind jewelry. I noted that I do this every time I'm home. It's like I'm looking for a piece of my youth; something to hold on to for a moment to feel the way I used to feel. The ability to look back on our past through rose colored glasses is a funny thing. I live with a 15 year old, and I often note how one couldn't pay me to go back to my teenage years. And yet, sometimes I long to have so many opportunities before me again. Would I make the same choices I did? 

I hope so.

Nostalgia is a funny thing. I'll be enjoying it for the remainder of my trip.

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Because we're Stronger Together.

I spent the weekend at the Winter MPA Retreat in Rockport, ME. It was a time to gather with fellow progressives, who are as passionate about issues as I am, and strategically plan how to best get our message across. Our membership as grown significantly, and this past election was an amazing success. I joined this organization when my views were represented as the minority at the State House, but now,  we've taken Maine from a red state, to a blue state! We still have an awful governor, but with the majority of both the House and Senate being Dems, we're in such a better place. A place where we can begin to do some pretty radical [Read: Necessary and Timely] things. I'm so lucky to be a part of this organization! I promise to update more of what we're doing, because we're always doing something awesome!

Updates, Beginning of the Holidays Edition

Hello all.

We're terrible about updating.

Too much real life stuff has been happening, but I would love to get back to updating more regularly.  I'll do a bit of a run-down on how our November has gone, since tomorrow is already the first of December. How did that happen already?? I'm so not ready....

So I guess the most memorable beginning to November, was Hurricane Sandy.  Although we didn't receive any of the weather that New Jersey and states south of us got, we did have some crazy wind. So crazy that an 8ft tree limb was knocked off a tree, and fell right on my car. It managed to smack my mom's car on the way down too. She and my Aunt Patty had just arrived from Michigan 2 days earlier, and were scheduled to stay for about a week. That week long visit ended up becoming a 3 week extended stay, while her car was fixed. My car didn't survive...2 days later an adjustor totaled it. Sigh. For your viewing pleasure:

RIP, dear Corolla. I'll never forget you.

It honestly could have been so much worse. Someone could have been outside when it happened, and in fact, Anthony is the one who discovered it when he took Grady out to go to the bathroom. If they'd been out there when it happened....ick. We're very lucky. Not only that, but so many people have lost their homes forever due to Sandy. It's just a car.....and I'm clearly in a better place than I was a month ago :). 

Anyyyyyway, so 3 weeks with Momsie, and Aunt Pat! We did tons of stuff, and they definitely managed to have the Maine experience. 

Although we visited many places, and they got to spend time meeting Stacey and Mary, the main(e) thing we did was eat delicious food. Seriously good. 

If you come to visit, I promise to make you lobster mac n' cheese. (Except for you Charles, because you were present for an epic East Coast Thanksgiving....I'll get to that later.)

So yeah, food, the ocean, fun times, hurricane Sandy....they got to experience it all. I hope they come back again soon!

Another thing that occurred while they were here, was Anthony's first Parent & Teacher Conference since being in Maine. Will and I seriously couldn't be more proud of him - all his teachers had excellent things to say about him. His grades are great, and he's doing really well. Seriously so proud! The most amazing thing about that day, was seeing how proud Anthony was of himself....It was amazing. He's such a great kid! 

Moving on to Thanksgiving! Right after Momsie and Aunt Pat left, Chas Green arrived several days later. The Green's celebrated their Thanksgiving a week early this year, so he decided to come out to spend the day with us. I say that's the reason he came, but he actually really came out so that he could see the movie Lincoln with William. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree apparently....And although it was a long way to travel for a movie, we all loved it, and we were glad he got to spend Turkey day with us too. Stacey took amazing food pics, and I've got to tell you, I'm more than a little proud of the spread I put out....I'll post pictures later when I steal them from her... It was a lovely day, and it signaled the beginning of the holiday season.....which as I said, I'm not ready for. 

If you're reading this from Michigan, you can expect us home around the 23! 

I'll try to post before then though....I'll do better, I promise!

Peace and Love!

Will, Maureen & Anthony

So much has happened....

So I'm more than a little ashamed.

No posts since January? Not ok.

In the last 7 months, so much has happened! Our lives have changed, and we're not the same people that we were....

Have we even bothered to update about any of that? No.......

Let me start by sharing the most important and exciting of all:

This guy came to live with us.

It finally happened.

We've been talking about it since we moved here in 2010, and now, here he is.

Life is a lot little different now, but it's also so much better. Since he's been here he went on vacation to Colorado, turned 15, became a pet owner (Grady has abandoned his love for everyone except his new boy), and has gotten to know his new home quite well.

School starts in a few weeks, so things will be changing even more, but for now, we're enjoying the summer.

What else has happened?

Oh hey there...no big deal, just holding my MSW diploma.

It's kind of crazy...We started this blog shortly after arriving in Portland....the move was mostly so that I could go to grad school (but more so that we could live by the ocean....). To have actually accomplished this goal... to have a BSW and MSW at 24....kind of insane.

So yeah, it's been a busy summer. What an understatement...... I'll be updating again with a post about that as well.

In the meantime....I have a serious dilemma. I'm thinking about switching to WordPress, and making a new blog there. This isn't just our (Will's and I) adventure anymore. We have this other human living with us, and we're so excited about our new life with him. Also, this isn't just an adventure.....this is our new life....our official home. Michigan might happen again somewhere down the road, but for now, we're From Away, living in Maine, and proud of it.  I have to think seriously about this......

For now, enjoy!


How's everyone else's summer going?

Maine, Maureen, and Me

The 2011 Holidays!

We're going to lump the rest of everything into this post, and then cross our fingers that I do better with updating more regularly starting now....

After mom and dad went home, the rest of December seemed to fly by. I finished my second to last semester of grad school, and then started working full time. Will had to work until the 22 of December, so I took as many shifts at work as I could until it was time for us to come home. On the night of the 22 we loaded up the car with lots and lots of presents, our fur-children, and all of our luggage for 2 weeks. I really do love my poor little Corolla...by the time Will stuffed the kitty-litter into the trunk (oh the joys of traveling 17 hours with a cat), we literally had no more room for anything. We set off on our journey, and fortunately only encountered a little bad weather at the beginning. The most notable thing about the drive was the "Green Mile Switch", as William called it, that occurred between Grady and Rocky. Typically on these drives it's Grady who I have to worry about, because he is not a fan of the car at all. Rocky likes to snuggle with whoever is driving, but otherwise has never had a problem...until this trip. They completely switched roles, and Rocky decided she pretty much hated anything and everything to do with the car....and this was only on hour 6. I had to keep reminding myself hourly, or more, why it's completely inhumane to pack your animals on a plane....

We finally arrived in Michigan on the afternoon of the 23 - the day before Christmas Eve! Even though it hadn't been that long since our visit with my parents, it was so nice to see them and just be home. We unloaded the car, took showers, and were pretty lazy the rest of the day....17 hour car rides will do that....

On Christmas Eve we did 2 of my favorite things: Watched Christmas movies, and ate delicious food. Momsie made a feast! We had ham (for everyone but me, eww), roasted chicken, green bean bake (almost enough for 58 people...who puts the bulk sized recipe FIRST on the back of the bag???), salad, and AMAZING baked mac n' cheese. It was so good, and I was so so full. I managed to find room for Christmas fudge and Christmas cookies however....we topped the night off with my favorite Christmas movie: Meet me in St. Louis! Will fell asleep during it last year, so it was entertaining to listen to him remark on how long it was taking for the movie to get around to "Christmas".....

On Christmas morning I woke up around 8:30. Will woke up around 6:00. This is only notable for 3 reasons: 1- he loves to sleep in, any other day of the year, 2- the only reason I woke up that early, was because Will woke me up...., and 3-he's 28. Just saying :).  When everyone finally headed downstairs, we tackled the stockings first. The fur-children open theirs first of course, and momsie and dad, and later Susie and Charlie, spoiled them! They spoiled all of us actually! My favorite thing I got in there was this awesome set of different sized spatulas. I'm kind of a kitchen utensil freak... After stockings it was on to the presents, where we were spoiled some more! We played with our goodies for a bit, and then had a wonderful breakfast together. My mom makes the best pancakes....hands down, the best. Seriously. She'll send you the recipe - try them. After being stuffed again we got around to head to Elsie for Christmas #2!

Our next stop was Will's grandparents house, and we got there just in time for more food! The whole family was assembled and waiting for us, and it was so nice to see everyone we hadn't seen in so long! Susie and Charlie had come out in November, but everyone else hadn't seen us since our last visit in June. Lots of catching up, and of course more eating. Every year Will's grandpa gets a couple prime ribs to eat, and that coupled with all the other favorites means we sit around the table for quite some time....We were all too full for dessert right away, so we moved onto presents. We were spoiled yet again, because everyone was so generous. We had a lovely afternoon sitting in front of the fireplace with our loved ones!

A few hours later it was time to move onto Christmas #3, which was the final Christmas of the season. We opened presents with Will's parents, sisters, and Emily's boyfriend Mike. Spoiled yet again for the 3rd time! Thanks to both our families for all the wonderful gifts :). I did manage to take one pretty incredible picture of one of my favorite gifts, so for your viewing please, please enjoy:

I was pretty much exhausted after the travel, and the last few days of Christmas cheer, so I slept really well that night!

The next day I received the most exciting news ever: My best friend got engaged! Keith proposed to Ashley in front of her family on Christmas! It's so romantic, and so sweet. Ash called to tell me, and when I answered the phone she said, "Hey, I have a question for you!" to which I thought she was going to ask something about our plans to hang out, but when I asked her what, she responded with, "Did you want to be my Maid of Honor?" I immediately started sobbing, which is really the only appropriate response to such a question, when asked by your very best friend of almost 17 years. I'm so thrilled for both of them, because they're so happy, and they really deserve each other. And before I cry again.....

April 6, 2013! The planning has already begun! (Thank god for Pinterest....)

So this news completely made my visit, and although it was a few days until I could see her, I was so excited!

Throughout the next week we were so busy trying to see as many friends and family as possible. The things we managed to pack in were: an amazing game night with Chancey and Michelle, "cousins bowling" with Will's family, a lunch date with Zack, Sushi with Ashley and Keith, Nails for Ash and a much needed hair apt for me, the movies with Ash, Keith, and Sadie, spending time with Sadie and Marléne, dinner and a movie with Susie and Charlie, dinner and a movie with my parents, a short but sweet visit with my honorary Aunt Denise, and a few days of sleeping in past 9...It was glorious.  It's always impossible to see everyone, and we were really sad we didn't get to see any of my extended family. We definitely have to get home in the early summer to see all of them!

We ended our holiday trip home by ringing in the New Year at Ashley and Keith's house, with Matt and his new girlfriend. We played wii games, and had some drinks. When the ball dropped I got emotional again, because all in all, it's been a pretty fantastic year. I love Maine so much, but it was also nice to spend the evening at home with some of my favorite people....now to get them all to move out here :). 

On New Years Day we slept in, and then in the late afternoon began our long trip back. Rocky did a little better, but we had some really nasty weather, so I was a bit of a mess. The drive feels longer and longer every time....

Tuesday was back to the real world, with work for both Will and I, and also my internship starting back up. It felt like our trip home flew by, and as always, in spite of missing everyone back home, it was nice to get back to Maine :). 

Some very exciting things coming up: Will is going to be hosting a comedy Show in South Portland starting on the 17! This is huge, and I'm so excited for him. The show will be every other week, and he along with 2 of his comedic friends will be taking turns hosting. Very  exciting. I start school next week, which is fine by me, because only a few weeks after I start back up I'm taking off on a cruise for a week with one of my favorite people: Stacey!!! We're going on a music cruise with our other friend Dawn, and it's going to be a much needed vacation! In the immediate future, our friend Zack is coming to visit us on Friday!! You'll be seeing a post about that, I promise, because I love when people come to visit us!!

I have grand plans to do an in depth "Year in Review" post, but we'll see.....In the meantime, you should know that Will and I have had a really wonderful year, and we're excited for everything 2012 has to offer. For me, I think it's going to be pretty incredible...I'll have my Master's Degree before I turn 25, and then we'll be figuring out where to live, and where to work. It should be amazing :).