the most insensitive "letter to my future husband" you'll judge me for

(disclaimer: I'm not this mean in real life...ok maybe I am)

To my future husband, 

This is probably going to be the only instance in our relationship that I'm addressing you so formally. You're going to have to accept the fact that on a usual basis you're going to be referred to as "hey you!" and "darling, would you please..." but you already know that by this point. My intention in this letter is basically to warn you about a few key points in our relationship and to give you hints on how to win me over heart and soul in the end. 

First off, you will be happy to know that I have zero expectations for our relationship to look anything like this:

especially because I'm not blonde, I weigh more than 40lbs, and I would never allow you out in public with pants like that. What I'm saying is: Disney isn't going to be calling us up asking to use our lives as their next perfect romantic movie material...but we're going to be amazingly awesome nonetheless. So here are some quirks about me that knowing how to deal with will help this adventure to the altar go smoothly.

- I really like food. a lot. If I had to chose between you and chocolate covered pretzels, it would be a difficult decision. One way that you will know that I am comfortable around you is when I actually eat around you. I'll eat almost anything - my mouth waters at the thought of anything from a fancy caesar salad with grilled chicken to cheap chinese food. But also note that I am 'bipolar' about food and also I will have the most ridiculous cravings. For instance, last night, all I wanted was a burger, but today that doesn't appease me at all. Keep this in mind in case you're one of those more 'simple menu' kinda guys, since you're going to have to stay on your toes when deciding what we're going to eat.

- No matter how hard you try, I'm going to make fun of your wardrobe choices. In no way is my sense of fashion fabulous to any extent, but I will somehow find something wrong about what you're wearing. Don't take it personally because honestly, I think you're really cute and simply can't find anything else wrong with you aside from that ridiculous shirt.

- I do not plan on forcing you to sit down with me and watch "girl movies." One of my pet peeves is when girls drag their boyfriends to sappy chick flicks. Seriously. no. never. It's a lose/lose situation because I'll be mad at you for making fun of it and you'll be mad I made you watch it. But, under no circumstances will you ever poke fun at Pride and Prejudice. Otherwise you may end up with a black eye. I can and I will watch a girly film every once in a while. I won't force you to sit and watch it with me, but I won't discourage you from joining me. 

- I watch football. I don't watch it to impress you. I watch it because I enjoy it. 

- By being around me, you're going to get punched and smacked around. Also, I'm going to tell you that you're dumb and talk trash sometimes. In my defense, I have six brothers, three of which are closest in age to me. I grew up wrestling and getting dirty. I will never consider myself a tomboy, but I'll hit you. In most cases I will only threaten to beat you up instead of actually doing so, but know that fists and slaps are signs of affection in my eyes that are only given to the people I love most (and I know won't render me abusive...)

- my family is insane. We're loud, obnoxious, into one another's business, and straight up ridiculous. Hopefully by now you are well aware of this and completely understand what you are getting yourself into by marrying me.

- I always think I'm right. And I will bite the head off of anyone who tells me otherwise. But I thank you in advance for trying to keep me on the straight and narrow by throwing yourself in front of that train. The fact that you're able to do this is one of the main reasons I'm excited to spend the rest of my life with you.

- I absolutely love getting all dressed up and going out somewhere fancy...but without a doubt I will always change back into nike shorts and an oversized tshirt the moment I get back home. 

- I'm not all that interested in flowers or jewelry. I would much rather you take me swing dancing than come home with a bouquet of roses. Serenade me, make me dinner, plan a crazy hiking trip: these are the sort of things I will remember and use as examples to tell my girlfriends how incredible you are. 

I could continue, but I think I'm going to save some of the unconventional facts about myself for when we actually meet. I warn you that I'm a handful and half, but hopefully the prayers I've been sending your way will assist in getting you the amount of grace that is going to be necessary to work with me as we spend the rest of our lives together. I cannot wait to meet you and get to know you. Then do crazy things with you. And someday say "I do" with you...and then our adventure will truly begin :)

your future wife,

MaryC

well look who decided to show up

surprise! did you miss me? if not, that's okay. we all have much more important things to do than read my little rambles about the ridiculousness I've been getting into (such as studying for an exam tomorrow...*cough*)

sophomore year ended while I was gone. summer decided to come and go as well. junior year is in full swing trying to run me over with massive amounts of schoolwork. it's difficult for me to wrap my head around the reality that time is going by quickly - and to be honest I'm not entirely sure where I'm going to end up. 

but that's alright. because over time I've discovered God really likes surprises. 

if you had asked me a few months back what I was going to do with my life after college, I would have told you I plan to either begin a teaching career or head somewhere bold for a masters program in education. but after much prayer and discernment, I know that working in the education field is not my calling. what is a girl going to do after four years of being immersed in History and Spanish? that, my friends, is the million dollar question. 

this last summer I truly grew. I wasted a good load of time attempting to 'branch out' and 'become my own person' - which was dumb. because I already am my own person. I'm God's freakin fabulous daughter! it just took a little while for that reminder to knock me over the head. but after a couple of slip ups, I was able to more fully grasp my current vocation as a young Christian woman striving each day to be a saint...and good golly I have got a loooooong way to go. but that's alright! I'm a work in progress and every time I fall, I'm able to get up and take comfort in the fact that at least I'm walking in the right direction. Through this crazy MC-style adventure, I realized that I am called to continue my ministry in areas aside from the classroom. 

so yeah. no idea what the next move is. but for the first time in a long time, I am completely at peace with that fact. people give me ridiculous interesting looks when I tell them I don't know where I'll be headed after walking off that stage in May 2014, but those looks have ceased to bother me. God's got this. He will reveal all those plans in due time. For now...all I know is that currently, I am called to be the best daughter, sister, friend, student, and youth minister that I possibly can. and the days I can fulfill that calling are the most rewarding. 

I pray His peace will be with you as well.

All the single ladies! (and gentlemen)

The only thing I can complain about concerning Valentine's Day is the people that complain about Valentine's Day. 

Today is not a day to sulk the fact that you're single. 

Today is not a day to make sure your significant other tops everyone else's other with some crazy display of affection (even though I'm a sucker for spontaneous romance).

Today is not the day to eat chocolate and change your Facebook status to "forever alone."

Today is not the day blow your bank account on your girlfriend.

 

As much as our culture tells us today is about purchasing oversized teddy bears, today is Valentine's Day, and today we celebrate love. We are called to love today (and everyday). 

We celebrate the love we share with our friends, our parents, our sisters, our brothers, and all those around us. God is love - today we celebrate God. How awesome is that?!

BUT if we're single this Valentine's Day - the one thing we are not supposed to do is complain. Why would we want to take that joy away from others who are happy today?

Last week I celebrated my birthday. If all my friends went about complaining about the fact that it wasn't their birthday, that quickly would've ruined my day. So what makes Valentine's Day any different? Especially since Valentine's Day is not reserved for only those who are in relationships. We can ALL celebrate God's love today. 

So to my absolutely incredible single friends (as one of you for the 19th year straight), don't be bitter today. Don't complain. God has an amazing plan for each and every one of you (because He LOVES you). Let's not spend today comparing our relationship statues to others. Let's spend today joyfully thanking God for all the love we have in our lives. 

And it wouldn't hurt to spend some time today praying for our vocations ;)

Happy Valentine's Day - I love you!

cheers to a new year!

It's 2012. whoa. Isn't that supposed to be really far away? 

This year certainly sneaked up on me. I went to Mass on New Year's Day and realized I had not given any thought to resolutions for this year. 

oops.

So I prayed about it for a while and came up with a list of things I want to do this year.

Which was then edited down to the things I honestly need to do this year.

Then I thought about which things would be possible for me.

 Afterwards, I wrote down how I would accomplish them.

And ended with two rather generic results:

Get healthy and get holy 

And yes, I was a bit more descriptive on paper about my ploys and plans to succeed in said resolutions, but thats the gist of it. 

Every new year I take the pleasure of looking back on everything that took place the year before and readily await the adventures to come.

Happy 2012 :) I'm so excited to see what God has in store this year!