it's been a crazy 2 months

So, in the past 2 months I've:

• got my own apartment
• got engaged!
• went to FL/Disney
• accepted a full-time position at HPW
• started working part-time a couple nights a week for another consulting firm that mostly helps corporations plan their charitable giving campaigns and develop corporate social responsibility (the woman works like 12+ hour days)

On August 1, I moved into a beautiful, spacious 2 bedroom apartment a mile from where I work. It's pet friendly so Chloe can come visit :)
Dad took a couple pictures here.

We moved all of Michelle's stuff and my stuff out in the middle of the month. Following a semi-disasterous/incredibly frustrating moving day (don't ever use Budget for a moving truck) Marshall decided that, despite me having a melt-down, he still wanted to put up with me forever, and asked me to marry him :) 

A few days later, we headed to Florida. We spent a couple days with Grammie and Jim relaxing by the pool and reading a bridal magazine in the shade in the golf cart...everyone else actually played golf ;)  Next we met the rest of the family at Disney where we were forced to wear "Just Engaged" pins the entire time. Michelle and Renato got me Minnie ears with a veil, so we got Marshall matching tux Mickey ears. Disney was lots of fun (and about a million miles of walking).
Disney's Pro Photos (Michelle hunted down every photographer in the park)
My photos

Finally, last week I got offered a full-time position at HPW, which I accepted. I'm so happy about that. I'll be nice to finally have a set schedule and a salary! I had been pursing a possible job as an assistant to a woman my professor recommended who owns a consulting firm and knows just about everyone worth knowing in Pittsburgh. That didn't quite work out as hoped for, but I am working a couple nights a week for her since she works about 70 hours a week.

Well, that's about all the exciting news for now :)

Hope everyone is well!

June-mid July

Well, I haven't been doing the greatest job keeping this updated. Things have been going well. Work is good. I've been picking up extra days lately while people are on vacation and there's an open desk in the office. I also have 50-60 hours of interview transcribing (paid) to do for a friend of mine from grad school in August who's working on his dissertation. He's currently in Sierra Leone for a month or 2 conducting research and interviews, so when he gets back, I can get started on that.

The past two weekends have been lots of fun. I spent 4th of July with Marshall in VA. His friend's parents just retired to this community by a lake and have a boat, so we spent most of the day Saturday and part of Sunday afternoon on the boat/in the water. They then had fireworks on the lake Saturday night and everyone was out in their boat to watch. It was beautiful. This past weekend was Melanie and Tony's wedding out in north-central PA. Melanie was my neighbor sophomore year of college and then moved into our apartment when I moved out after graduating a semester early. It was so much fun, and it was great seeing all my old friends.

Nothing too exciting coming up til mid August when we're taking a family + boyfriends vacation to Florida. Marshall and Renato have never been to Disney, so we're quite excited to take them there! We're also looking forward to spending some time with Grammie and Jim and relaxing for a few days.

And now...to the pictures :)

Girl's night back in June when I first moved back to Pittsburgh


Becky and I watching the first USA World Cup game


4th of July weekend on the boat


having fun at the lake


fireworks on the lake


Mel & Tony cutting the cake...I didn't get any ceremony pictures :(






Etown girls - all the girls who lived in our apartment at some point


<3

One last fun outing in Philly...USA vs. Turkey pre-World Cup friendly match
Marshall and I went with my friends Doug and Neil to the most attended soccer match in US history, 55,500+ people. Final score: USA 2, Turkey 1. It was a great game!




Beforehand, I took Marshall to Steel City, my favorite coffeehouse, and had to get a picture of us on what Liz, Lisa, and I call "our" couch.


Sunday, I headed to Pittsburgh for Kayley's 5th birthday party (and to move into my new, temporary home).

Kayley got a pretty princess outfit for her birthday and loved it.


The girls


Everyone watching fireworks (no idea what they were for)


Memorial Day turned out to be a meat-fest at Charlie and Becky's house. The guys grilled steak, chicken, hot dogs, turkey legs, turkey burgers, and a couple of other things that I'm forgetting. (I think we counted 7 or 8 different items Monday.)

Tuesday was spent running some errands and grocery shopping, then Wednesday was off to my first day at work. Everyone is really nice, and the work itself doesn't seem too bad. I'm going to be working 3 days a week, possibly more near deadlines and stuff. So we'll see how that goes. On my days off, I'm hunting for an apartment, and I'm going to start looking for a second job this week so I can work nights and weekends.

That's about it in the world of Mary. Hope everyone is doing well.

I have a job! (& wedding pics)

I am officially a research associate for HPW Associates! I'm moving to Pittsburgh in about a week and a half, and I start June 2. I'll be working 3 days a week, with the potential to work more or become full-time depending on the number of projects they have. Needless to say, I am quite excited :) I'm subletting an apartment that's about 5 minutes from work for June, then will be looking for something more permanent after that. Sandra said she would be interested in getting an apartment together, so we may become roommates again!

Last weekend was lots of fun. Marshall and I had a great time at Charlie & Becky's wedding Friday night. Saturday was beautiful so we had a picnic with a bunch of his friends and Michelle in one of the parks, then Sunday we went to see Iron Man 2, which was pretty good. Here are some wedding pics:

Marshall and I


Becky and her dad


Charlie & Becky




GSPIA buddies


1st dance


typical Becky


cutting the cake


half of our table

Quick update

I have 2 job interviews this coming week, and a trip to Pittsburgh for Charlie & Becky's wedding. Next weekend should be lots of fun, and hopefully I'll have some great news in the near future :)

Picture update

Well, it's been a while. Life has been pretty uneventful. Still no progress on the job front for Marshall and I.

However, I have been having some fun here and there. Here's the evidence :)

Philadelphia finally has a Major League Soccer team, the Philadelphia Union!
I met up with John and a bunch of his friends to watch their 1st game ever.


Visiting Kim and Kaitlyn


After our family Easter dinners, we all headed to Valley Forge...
Marshall and Chloe didn't get the message to look at the camera


BFFs <3


Philadelphia Union's 1st home opener (at the Eagle's stadium because theirs isn't finished yet)


tailgating before the game


Marshall took me to Annapolis for our anniversary/my birthday, and we met up with his friends Jared and Katelyn


He got me some beautiful tulips :)


We decided to join in with the sculpture


at the harbor with Jared and Katelyn


I then went out with a bunch of friends for my birthday...

my coworkers from Maggianos


the camera flash was ridiculously bright, causing everyone to be squinting or making an odd face in most of these pictures...with 2 of my coworkers here


and of course it wouldn't be a birthday party without my 2 best friends :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'll start with the most exciting news...Kim and Kenny had a beautiful baby girl on Friday! I stopped by the hospital after work to visit everyone.

Kaitlyn, Mommy, and Daddy (I got this picture from Kim's mom)


Kaitlyn & I



In other news, still no update on the job. I emailed her about it a week and a half ago, and she said she may have to cut it down to just a part time position, so we'll see what happens.
I went to VA Sunday-Monday to see Marshall and just relax for a day or so, which was quite nice. I also finally got my valentine's day present...this awesome little chest he got me to organize some of my crafting stuff! (I should also add that before Lisa and Al went to visit his family in Guatemala, her and I had craft night, which we're planning on doing lots more b/c we had so much fun...hence the need for a place to keep crafting supplies.)

Snow Angels and Viking Horns

After getting several feet of snow, I was a bit worried about getting to Pittsburgh this past weekend, but I made it.

Me making snow angels in the driveway (the snow in the yard was too deep)


I thought the job interview went well. She wants to make a decision by the beginning of March, so I should know around then whether or not I'm moving back to Pittsburgh.

Once that was over, it was time to start celebrating Michelle's 21st birthday. We had dinner together and hung out til midnight then it was time to head to Peter's Pub. Michelle was quite excited to get her viking horns.




We had a lot of fun. Saturday, we had breakfast at the wonderful Pamelas, and I headed back home late in the afternoon. It was a fun trip!

The Joy of Stats

First, my interview is Feb. 12 for all who are curious.

Now on to the main topic: statistics

Blogger is run by Google, which has Google Analytics, which, for someone who loves stats, is amazing. I started using it to analyze this blog partway through Dec. It tells me how many people visit, where they live, what browser is used, etc.
My favorite, of course, is seeing where everyone who reads this is located. In the past month or 2, I have had 28 site visits from 14 cities in 4 countries. Whoever my random reader in Honduras is, hi! I know who my visitors from the UK and Australia are, and of course the rest are from the U.S. Anyways, I find this fascinating even if the rest of you don't.

lots of news & pictures

First off, and most exciting, I've been asked to come to Pittsburgh for a job interview for a research associate position with HPW Associates. I am, obviously, quite excited about that. Please pray that all goes well. I would absolutely love to move back to Pittsburgh.

Second most exciting update, Marshall and I now have a dog. His dad found her on a work site last week, and brought her home. Marshall called the animal shelter and vet and no one has claimed her. She is an absolutely adorable 8 pound ball of fun and sweetheartness (yes, I probably just made that word up). I went to visit Sunday-Monday and fell in love with her instantly.
Everyone, meet Chloe:


In not so good news, Marshall found out last week that his company is going out of business at the end of February, so he will be losing his job in about a month. Hopefully, something turns up soon for him.

Also this month, Liz, Lisa, me, and some other friends had our annual trip to French Creek. Here are a few pics from that:

Dinner time


On the frozen lake (there were people ice fishing!)


The random Spanish sign in the woods on the way to Hopewell Furnace



In the furnace