Currently Tmbling!!

So Tumblr always confused me.
And I never joined in.

but recently I figured I would give it a whirl and although I feel like I understand 3% of it, I have found some really nifty items on there and am rather enjoying it!

I know I've been a bit absent on my blog for a few days, please forgive me.
I've been doing the round of doctors and am getting more tests run and trying for a better diagnosis (you'll remember I was previously "diagnosed" but the medicine hasn't set me right, so I'm seeing an internist now).  It has been exhausting and stressful and all that.
Plus I am still looking for a job and house/petsitting for my family while they are on their fabulous Alaskan cruise.

And that is not to mention the round of partying that has been taking place!
We celebrated my birthday this last weekend, are rocking it this weekend for another friend, and Eli's own birthday is in a couple weeks!!

And so, to get you by until I know I can put together some satisfactory posts, here are a few images to of my birthday celebrations, and you can check out my Tumblr account at:

http://maredelmar.tumblr.com/

My birthday was a marvelous affair!!
All of my favorite people came to the party Saturday night and there was delicious food and drinks, games, chatter, and it all culminated in a 2am dip in the pool... yes, we had to break in. But that was most of the thrill!! The only part that was missing was Vicky.

I have a feeling 24 is going to be brilliant.

A little poolside drinky-poo...

Red Butte Gardens

Birthday smooch!

Party time! Let the beer towers commence.

Rick and Jeff!! Love these guys. Look at the special "me" they created!!  It was put into strange contortions all night.

so many shots..

and spills.

SPLASH!

isn't it delicious?

Everything's been different;
All the day long,
Lovely things have happenend,
Nothing has gone wrong.

Nobody has scolded me,
Everyone has smiled,
Isn't it delicious
to be a birthday child?

-anon

Well I'm off to begin my celebrations--going to the pool, the liquor store, and getting pumped for sushi tonight!

Birthdays are for eating bacon in a bikini whilst reading Harry Potter...I can check that off my list!

Goodbye 23!

Out on the town, the night I sprained my ankle last year!

Today is my last day as a 23 year old!
It has been one hell of a year.
Full of trials and joys...

Last year on my birthday I was unmarried, shaking my ass on top of a piano at the bar, with a group of girls that I haven't heard from since..hm...it has been about 10 months.“False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine but leaving us when we cross into the shade.” And as the Greeks put it, an open and clear enemy is better than a false friend.
I've moved on from several friendships this past year, and boy does shedding the toxicity of them feel relieving.
But I made new friends,
and got even closer with my best friend, Miss Vicky. 
We talk every day. Literally. One way or another.
 4,500 miles and a 7 hour time difference?! Doesn't matter.
With true friends, nothing stands in your way.

Celebrating birthdays last year with the guys! And my sprained ankle..

The best birthday picture EVER.

Forgive me if these pictures are wonky...the computer seems to be having an issue with Blogger!


The two greatest things that happened to me as a 23 year old were getting married and when Vicky came to visit 2 months ago.

We lost a friend, through death, last summer as well, and still miss him.
I lost one of my greatest friends of all time, the dog I had for 10 years, Cindy Lou.

It was my first year out of college!
I drank my first 40, learned to shoot craps, painted some pieces I am incredibly proud of, taught myself to make jalapeno poppers and Thai chicken lettuce wraps, visited the Caribbean for the first time, and I tried escargot.  And I LIKED it.


It has been a turbulent year, health wise, and I am still struggling.
And praying that we will resolve all of my problems soon. I am hopeful and excited!


Last year around my birthday Eli and I were just moving in to our apartment.
It was empty and spacious, undecorated and not ours yet.

But now, it is home!
We are signing the lease to stay here another year. It is a quirky place, and definitely full of weirdos, but it is our own cozy little world here on the third floor, and we are still in love with our oversized patio, the nook we created in the living room, huge closets, our own bathrooms, and the swimming pool.

Last birthday I had just started out in a regulatory affairs position which also turned out to be...toxic.  This was the job where the boss hated me because I was blond and I ended up dying my hair back to brown...and there was a minor fiasco and it was all chopped off as well.
It was a fun change and definitely a switcheroo I needed, but I did miss the long blondness, and I am on my way back to it.


I also had a shit-ton of surgeries (yes, that is the technical term).
I literally had a surgery every couple of weeks from November 2011 until about a month ago.
Yuck.
It wasn't easy.
I also had an infection for about a year and a half, that I didn't know about (incompetent doctor).




Yes, I'll say it... I learned a lot, being 23.

That being said, I had a hell of a lot of fun!
And I can't wait to be 24, which has the possibility of being even better (though I don't plan on getting married again).

Unwrapping my gifts from Vicky last birthday with her!

Playing with settings on my new camera.

A few minutes ago I was macking on Eli and said "this is the last time you'll ever be kissing a 23 year old!"

and he said "we'll see about that!"

and I called him a bastard.

And then we had a tickle fight. Haha.

Bring on 24!

NOooOOoOOOOOOooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harrison Ford SHAVED HIS HEAD.


I am not saying he doesn't look good, I mean the guy just turned 70 a couple weeks ago!

But his beautiful hair is gone! WHY HARRISON?!?! Whyyyyyy??



Let me reminisce about pleasanter times...

 Maybe he is having a 3/4 life crisis...?  I respect his decision, after all, it is his hair and I am just an Indiana Jones crazed fan that he knows or cares nothing about (though not for lack of effort on my behalf), but for the next couple weeks I am going to be sending out prayers for the return of his hairs.

Instagram MIA

If I have seemed (that word, by the way, never ceased to confuse me...it doesn't sound grammatically correct!)
distant or absent lately, let me pop in and reassure you I am still here!!

I've been dealing with my ceaseless health issues, which lately have included lightheadedess and a few collapses, headaches and disconcerting chest/heart pain.

I'm seeing an internist next week. And today the dentist put my crown on so I once again have all my teeth!
I've been keeping busy other than that and have a second interview on Fruday for a research firm downtown, cross your fingers!!
My birthday is Thursday and we are throwing a fun little party Saturday.
So that is the scoop.
Here are some recent snaps!

I love Peck a bushel and a peck

How do you feel about....Gregory Peck?

If you are neutral in this matter, I pity you. And I implore you to get your shit together and start liking him.  You don't have to know why you are liking him, just trust me, and go with it...love will come later.

 I just request that you don't hold this lurid orange background against him.

He just looks so sweet peeking out of the shower like that!

If you find this creepy, it is just because you don't know Gregory yet.

 Here he is reading a book (be still, my heart)!!

Look at that facial expression!


I suppose at this juncture I should explain who this handsome devil is, for the truly ignorant.
He is a fabulous, all-American gentleman.
Best known for his acting.

He was in Roman Holiday, a great favorite of mine.
And his greatest role was Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. He won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for it.
Have you seen Cape Fear (the original, not the remake monstrosity)? That was him.
Moby Dick, On the Beach, The Guns of Navarone, Snows of Kilimanjaro...

Here he is, reading another book!

Can you tell his reading hobby is one of the many reasons I love the guy?

He was an English major too.

He did his own fight scenes, and during the Red Scare he spoke out about the witch hunt for communists in the film industry.

He was on Nixon's enemies list...which I consider an honor. Crazy bastard, that Tricky Dick
(see my earlier blog
for more details).




And if you want an awesome, classic, grainy 1970s horror flick that captures the paranoia and general unease of the time, watch The Omen.

It doesn't get much better!

But his greatest movie (and his personal favorite) was To Kill a Mockingbird.
He is Atticus Finch come to life.

They don't make them like this anymore.

He was tough but kind, talented, passionate, intuitive. And the boyish grin...to die for!

So get acquainted with Mr. Peck.

You won't regret it.