Veggies are a Girls Best Friend

GF/V Pumpkin Spice Donuts

It's officially been three months since I became a gluten-free, vegan. Wow. How crazy is that? I have spent the past eleven years of my life dealing with migraines several times a week and headaches every day, then bam. I took gluten and dairy out of my diet, and I've had two stress-related and one other migraine in the past two months. That is honestly something I never though would be possible.

Stir fry with carrots, pea pods, mushrooms, onion and balsamic

Why vegan, you might ask? Well, the same animal proteins found in meat can also be found in eggs and dairy. So eliminating just dairy could potentially have no effect if it even had a slight correlation with the animal proteins found in these foods. Read the book "The China Study." It's a fairly slow read, but space it out a little and the information in it will honestly amaze you.

GF/V Apple Pie for Thanksgiving!

Homemade vegan hot chocolate

People always think that being vegan is hard. People always think that being gluten-free is hard. I am both, and I can tell you, if you cook...it's much simpler than people believe. It takes a little bit more planning ahead, but for the most part, I eat similarly to what I did before. Trader Joes and Taylor Made (a gluten free store in Woodbury) are my most common places to shop for the more specific things: corn or rice pasta, rice flour, granola bars, baking mixes, crackers, etc. But I just eat a lot of veggies. Lots and lots of veggies. Spinach and celery have their own food group in my diet.

GF/V crepe with avocado, mushroom, tomatoes, and spinich

Pintrest is also my best friend. There are links to so many different websites chalk full of new, wonderful ideas to try out. Recently Paige and I made this delicious Thai Basil Eggplant (here's the link if you want to try it out http://vegetariangastronomy.com/2013/05/thai-basil-eggplant-vegan-contains-gluten/) Ours was also gluten free, and tantalizingly tasty. We have many more exciting recipes we will be trying out over the next couple of weeks--if you need any ideas for yourself, just ask! We even made it through hosting thanksgiving with everything but some turkey for everyone else readily available for me to eat.

Thai Basil Eggplant...yum

I'm still amazed every time I eat something that's vegan or gluten-free, and it tastes almost exactly like it does regularly. Sometimes I sneakily feed my friends food they don't know is vegan because they think it's gross. Truth be told, I'm pretty sure they like it. Texture is apparently the hardest thing to get over, but I'm a texture person, and I haven't had any major issues yet. Tofu is weird. Tofu will take some getting used to.

GF/V Banana Bread

Another perk of being vegan and gluten-free is the fact I've lost over fifteen pounds, and with the insanity of my shows the only exercise I've been getting is running from the car to my next event, so it came as a bit of a surprise. Oh and yoga. Yoga is a very important stress reliever. I highly suggest it for everyone. Overall, this whole experience has been amazing. Not only am I migraine free and down a few pounds, I also am so much more energized and feel great in general. 

Sweet Potato Fries

Everything's Coming Up Maren

Our new home!! :)

What better to do on a Saturday off is walk to the farmers market--which is now only two blocks away from my apartment--and then go sit in a coffee shop downtown. I am loving life in the city so far. It's incredibly freeing to be living on our own, and so much fun for me to decorate and make our apartment truly unique to us. 

Living Room

Coffee Bar and coat rack

There's something amazing about having a place that you can just completely call yours. When your home isn't just something your parents own, but what you own. 

the intensity that is my closet

This move is exactly what I needed this year. Just the simple fact that I am no longer living at home, has taken the whole idea of being stuck. 

Jewelry organization

bathroom

 Not only have I been settling into my new place, I also have made it into two productions, Junie B Jones: Jingle Bells Batman Smells at Youth Performance Company as Beth and Elf Ellen and Urinetown at Ashland Productions as Hope, and somehow managed to make it into Columbia Chicago for Fall 2014. What a blessing to have all of these positive events happening in my life right at a time when I was feeling so beaten down. 

Sometimes it just feels really good to have a couple good things tossed your way when you're stuck doubting yourself and your choices. I feel on top of my game right now, and I'm ready to take on the rest of this year by storm. Who knows what else this year will bring for me, both good and bad, but I'm ready for whatever the cities plan on throwing at me.

And I'm Missing You...

It's kind of funny to think how little time it takes to change your opinion. It's only been a month since my friends went off to college, and I'm missing them a lot more than I thought I would. Last year I was all ready to get out and go far, far away, cutting off basically all ties form back home. Now, after only a little over a month since everyone left, I realized I didn't necessarily want to isolate myself as much as I wanted to last year at this time. Even over the summer, my relationships strengthened, including the ones with people I hadn't anticipated being close to, and that made it a lot harder when everyone was gone.

Fortunately, this weekend I was able to hang out with a few of my friends at Mankato State. My friend Aunika and I road-tripped to visit Taylor and Vicky there, spending the majority of the two hour drive jamming to a nineties mix cd that Aunika made especially for this trip.

Aunika and I are ready to partyyyyy

Even though we didn't do much, this weekend meant the world to me. Just hanging out, walking around, and meeting new friends was exactly what my life needed. It's so nice to just have a weekend where you can just relax and be with awesome people. As Tina and Taylor like to say "Do what you want, this is a carefree zone." And there is no better way to describe this weekend than purely carefree.

Taylor and I all dolled up for a night out.

I miss my friends so much. I cannot wait to go back to Mankato for Halloween and see them and the new friends I made this weekend too! Thanksgiving is going to be right around the corner, and a lot of my college kiddos will be back in town.

Taylor and I 

Aunika and I 

Vicky and I

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and this month has proved that statement to be true. If anything is to be said about the past month, it's that I have learned a lot more about the relationships in my life and how much they really mean to me.

I already miss them <3

The Road Less Traveled

It's that time of year again. The essays, the endless fees for sending in applications, test scores, and transcripts to a school that will put you into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debt. That's right folks, it's college application time. No matter how much I dreaded this happening again because I still have no clue what my plan for next year is going to be, but it's kind of nice to take the time to write an essay about my life in the past four years. And although I'm struggling a lot right now, it has really reenforced the reasons of why I do everything in a kind of weird way compared most everyone else. By writing this essay, it's really made me realize that this gap year, although harder than I foresaw it to be, is really meant to be a part of my unusual journey in life.

I’m not what people call “traditional” when it comes to the typically chosen paths people take in life. Go to school, focus on sports and academics, graduate, go to college, etc, etc. I consider myself more of a trailblazer in my own life, creating my own paths and making my journey what I want it to be, not what others see fit. It all started at the age of twelve, when as a sixth grader, I decided to do my first outside of school performance at Stepping Stone Theatre. Forty-two performances of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and almost a month of school missed. Even though I was almost considered truant for absences, I was hooked. I liked feeling that I was different from the rest of the crowd. Unlike the usual student’s path to popularity, I spent my school career trying to be unique.

Throughout high school, I tried hard to find a school that would accommodate the abnormal path I had decided to take. I wanted a school where I could improve my skills as a performer, both in and out of school. When I planned to go on a mission trip to Africa in November of my freshman year, I wanted a place where I would be able to go without the fear of failing my classes. I wanted a place where I could grow and learn in both book and street smarts. Honestly, from the first day of my freshman year, I was searching for a college.

I have always been stubbornly positive about what I wanted to do with my future. I knew it from the moment I stepped into my first theatre, onto my first stage, because a theatre is a place where people accept oddballs like me. Theatres are full of likeminded people that are all still completely unique, and that’s what I wanted. I have known for a long time that I wanted the arts to be a big part of my future, and unfortunately, not everyone sees that as a glowing career opportunity. I understand, the arts isn’t where you’re going to make the most money, but you will be rich with life experiences, happiness, and surrounded by people who love and believe in your dreams. So despite the negativity I faced from family and friends at the first mention of my career choice, I have pushed through and shown them the positive outcomes that a career in the arts could give me.

Theatre has been a big part of my nontraditional high school experience, and although it took me five switches between arts, online, and public high schools, I found a way to balance acting and academics. I finished out my senior year with two years of work as a barista, twenty productions and performance opportunities, seventeen different extra-curricular activities, over thirty tech hours every year, over three times the amount of arts credits needed to graduate, a B average, and a highly-needed coffee addiction. I remained basically sane in those years, which is an accomplishment in itself. Juggling everything in my life has prepared me for anything. I can now successful change from work clothes to dance clothes and scarf down dinner in a fifteen-minute drive. Though seemingly stressful to an average Joe, a weirdo like myself thrives in this madness.

When people ask me what I want to do with my life, the list can go on and on, but the simplest answer is I want to find my niche. The place, where no matter who I’m with, where I am, or what I’m doing, I have found a place where my insanity is accepted and I belong. I dream of finding happiness, because if something doesn’t make me happy, what is the point of staying in that negativity when there is something out there that can bring me joy. I want to do everything with my life, learn and experience new things everyday. Whether it be staying a performer, or finding another calling in the arts, traveling or settling down, finding new coffee shops to get my daily dose of espresso or opening up my own café, an out of the box person like myself needs an eclectic variety of activities and a constantly busy lifestyle to truly feel at home. No matter what project, or six, that are currently taking over my life, I want to find happiness in everything I do.

A Good, Strong Hug

If you're not a hugger, I basically question all of your life choices. Hugs are seriously one of the best things in the entire world. It's like you're taking someone and enveloping them in your love and squeezing everything you wish you could say into one big, giant bear hug. I believe that hugs could seriously change the world. 

The best kind of hug, at least I think, are the ones that keep going. You hug and talk and kind of do the awkward sway back and forth. Those are my favorites. 

My world has been kind of lacking of even the one-armed, half-hearted squeezes. Not saying I don't get hugs every once and awhile, but my friends are huggers, and now they're off at college...well let's just point out hugs don't really happen through Skype. But last night was filled with hugs. 

Sulia, Scarlett, and I

Kyle, Michaela, and I

A couple of my friends came with me to the Ivey Awards in Minneapolis (kind of like the Tony's, but for Minnesota), and I reunited with all of my friends and family from Youth Performance Company. Theatre is the place where there are no boundaries, which for someone like me is all types of wonderful. I felt hugs of love and I miss you, and I squeezed back twice as much. 

YPC

If you're not a hugger, I dare you to give them a second chance, because there is so much compassion in a hug, so much love that cannot be said by words, but just by wrapping someone in your arms and holding them just as tight as you can. 

"I have learned that there is more power in a good strong hug than in a thousand meaningful words."

-Ann Hood

Soul Searching

Self-empowered women are exactly what a girl like me needs in her life, and thankfully I'm surrounded by them. The two people I feel like I'm luckiest to have in my life are my beautiful stage mommas from Youth Performance Company, Jacie and Sherilyn. No matter what life throws at me, these two ladies always have wise words of advice. 

Sulia, Jacie and I at the Iveys

Sulia, Sher, and I at the Iveys 

On Thursday, I got the privilege of going out to breakfast with Jacie and Sher. Right off I got two big hugs (one of the best things about being a part of the YPC family is the hugs), and even though I hadn't seen them for a few months, I felt right back at home. Then we went down to Cupcake for breakfast and life chats. 

They had some wonderful advice about college and this upcoming year, involving a lot of soul searching and obviously more time with them. No matter what the conversation, there is always a request to audition for every show, which always makes me happy. Mostly their advice is really to embrace the unknown, because I shouldn't force myself into doing something that doesn't make me happy. Keeping the arts in my life will always be important for my happiness and sanity. 

Honestly, these women inspire me to be a better person because they are just so awesome. They devote their lives to this company where kids' lives really can change, and take in each new performer as one of their own kids. Every kid that walks into YPC has something to say, and they listen. It truly amazes me. 

I aspire to be as passionate and compassionate as Jacie and Sher someday. These women have believed in my future from the moment they met me, and that faith has gotten me through the times where I have lost faith in myself. They mean the world to me, and I love them with all of my heart.

I'm know there are many more life lessons I can learn from these beautiful women, and my heart is ready and open to hear any advice they have to give me.

Adventure is Out There

Have you ever seen the movie Up? If you haven't, please stop reading this blog post and go get it. It is quite possibly one of my favorite movies of all time. Here's a little synopsis if you haven't: a cranky old man (Carl) gets hundreds of thousands of helium balloons, attaches them to his house and goes on an adventure with two tagalongs Russel (the Wilderness Explorer, aka boyscout) and Doug (the dog) to Paradise Falls. 

Now I love this movie for many reasons. It's adorable, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it's animated...the list goes on and on. But I think the main reason why I love it, is the fact that it's about an adventure.

I'm all about the word adventure. I mean, doesn't it just sound wonderful? 

Now I've been using that word quite a lot already in my blog, talking about what an adventure this year is going to be. That's what life is in general, an adventure! Now, as Up has clearly pointed out, adventures don't always mean things are going to be fine and dandy. Which for me is one hundred percent true. 

But in reality, we don't want our adventures to be all good. Life isn't as fun without all the bumps and bruises.

the top of Vemillion

Yesterday, I went on what we like to call a "Brix Adventure" with Annie and Sarah from work. We went to Vermillion Falls in Hastings, which is beautiful. We hiked, took some pictures, and just enjoyed nature for awhile. It was a wonderful adventure.

under the bridge

Annie!

beautiful purple flowers

Sarah!

I feel so blessed that I have such wonderful people in my life who enjoy the little things just as much as I do; who are willing to go on these adventures with me. I can't just sit inside all day waiting for life to happen, I want to chase after it, travel and explore, because I know, adventure is out there.

But your soul you must keep, totally free

Last night I had the amazing experience of going to see Mumford and Sons, Bear's Den, and The Vaccine with Paige at the Excel. Man, it was sweet. There is something that just lights me up to see people rocking out on an upright bass or a banjo as if they were in a hardcore rock band. And man that fiddle player was fantastic. There is nothing like watching a performer get totally lost in their music.

Everyone coming together to sing "Come Together"

most epic picture of the night

Listening to live music is honestly one of the most fulfilling things you can experience. If you haven't ever gone to a concert, go to one. Seriously. It doesn't matter if it's ten people listening in a coffee shop or thousands in a stadium, it will rock your world. 

Mumford&Sons, Bear's Den, and The Vaccine

This is the moment where the everyone was silent...at least for a little bit.

It's hard to explain how I feel during a concert, everyone's experience is totally their own. But for me, there's something about closing your eyes during the slow part of the song when those intense harmonies reverb through the crowd. You just feel the passion. The passion from the performers in their voices; the passion from the music lovers in their silence. It's breathtaking.

the audience

Mumford and Sons

rockin out on the banjo

upright bass

Hans Christian Anderson said "Where words fail, music speaks" and personally, I don't think there has ever been a more spot on quote for my life.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

            It's been so wonderful, yet so strange, to have my beautiful sister, Paige, back in my life full time.

Paige!

 After high school she was at college for a year studying music ed, then spent the summer working as a counselor at Luther Point Bible Camp. Last year she was on a travelling ministry team called Captive Free where she traveled all over the central plains (and a little bit of the West Coast) playing in a band and doing all sorts of fun ministry things. So really, I haven't seen much of her for the past two years.

Captive Free: Central Plains

Now she's back in my life, full swing. Two days after Captive Free ending, she started training at Brix, the same coffee shop I work at. Not only do we live together again, but now we're working together and hanging out together outside of work. I'm definitely not complaining though. It's been so good having Paige back in my life.I said from the start this year was going to test our relationship yet again. The past two years being apart, and now being together basically 24/7 are just about as extreme as you can get in a relationship. I'm looking ahead in a very positive manner; I think we're going to thrive this year.

_________________________________________

"I think we grew up laughing a lot," Paige told me yesterday while we were at the State Fair, "And that's a good thing, I think." Apparently when she was on team, many of the kids asked her why she laughed at everything, and honestly, she didn't really know. "Things are just funny" she'd reply. After a year of teammates who didn't necessarily find things as funny as she did, Paige was happy to tell me she has laughed until she cried several times already in the three weeks she's been home. 

Our usual expression when we're together.

I guess that's just kinda how our family was growing up. We did laugh a lot. Dinner time would sometimes go on for an extra hour of goofing off with our food (I remember once spending a long time trying to roll a grape over my top lip with my tongue), talking in weird voices, or making weird faces (chipmunk teeth were our favorites). I'm really happy to say I had a pretty joyful childhood. We sang, danced, laughed, and shook our sillies out on a daily basis, and I think it really helps me to enjoy the little things now. It probably explains why I have a love for childish things. One thing on my bucket list this summer was to dance in the rain, I love coloring, and for my nineteenth birthday, I had a tea party. 

There were a lot of fun things for us to remember while we walked the Minnesota State Fair grounds once again yesterday. The only thing we would eat were Sweet Martha's Cookies. My mom recently told us this is because Paige and I refused to eat any other food there, so we grew up bringing our own lunch. The Giant Slide and the River Raft were always on our to do list. We visited the education building for the free stuff and did some mind puzzles there. We went to the State Arts-In Show in the 4H building (a newer tradition). 

Sweet Martha's Cookies

The Giant Slide

And of course we remembered and experienced an excessive amount of walking, sweating and most importantly, laughter.