Blog #5

Nirmal Indian Restaurant 

Nirmal is located on Washtenaw in Ypsilanti Michigan. The restaurant offers several options of authentic Indian cuisine. It is a clean and quiet restaurant. The food is served in disposable containers and you eat with plastic-ware. The food is made fresh when you order off of the menu so it can take a while for your food to be ready, but when it is ready it is delicious and so flavorful. You order up at the counter and pick your food up there when it is ready. It is a friendly environment that would  appropriate for all ages. A lot of the food is very spicy so be careful of that. I give this restaurant 4 out of five stars.

.

Blog#4

Product Reviews

MacBook Pro

I purchased my MacBook several months ago and have been nothing but impressed. It came with Mac equivalent of MicrosoftWord/ Excel/ Powerpoint. It has retina- display. It always works very fast and I find it to be much more user friendly than every one said it would be, a lot of people told me that it would be a hard transition from the PCs that I learned computers on, but with a little practice I have been able to get the hang of things pretty well. Virus sweeps are uncomplicated and fast, so that's also nice. I don't have anything negative to say about this product. It is perfect for students and adults, I would recommend this laptop to anyone 17 and up, or anyone that is looking for an easy to use laptop.

Tervis Water Bottles 

Tervis has a huge selection of reusable to-go cups. I have had three different designs and have loved two of them and hated one. Tervis is a high quality product and their water bottles come with so many different artistic designs from sports teams, to children's show characters so they would be ideal for a wide range of people of many ages. But the lids of the bottles leak with every drink. and are very difficult to open. They cost $25.99, I expected a much better product for my money. I would not recommend this product to someone. 

Unless it's someone I don't like, then I would tell them it is a great water bottle.

Checkerboard Slip-on Vans 

This is such a great pair of shoes! I have had my pair for almost two years and other than being dirtier and a little worn in certain places they are just as good as the day I got them. The soles are still thick and sturdy.  The tops of the shoes are made out of some sort of canvas material, it is slightly thin but I don't have holes in my shoes so it must be a strong material. But with the top being so thin they are not winter shoes, nor are they good for walks in the rain. They are very versatile shoes, I wear them with dresses or sweat-pants, and I see girls and guys wearing them and I think they look good on everyone. They are fun and different and classic,

 I would recommend them to anyone. 

Blog #3

  INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE 

The following three people are influential, inspirational, and powerful human beings. 

They each impacted me on different levels and in different ways. 

  .  .  .  . 

On the day of my 12 grade orientation I got some sad news, my favorite teacher from the year before was no longer teaching a class that I had signed up for at the end of the school year. He was the reason I took the class and I had no interest in staying enrolled with a different teacher teaching it. So I quickly dropped the class and was put into the only other class that would fit into my schedule, drama 3-4. I hadn't taken drama 1-2 (which most people took before taking 3-4), nor had I ever had any interest in getting involved with the drama club at my high school. The class started out like every other class started off that year for me easy and not too serious. 

Literally in a matter of days, that easy class turned into 100% the complete opposite of easy.

One day the teacher of the class, Ms. Kinnell, also the director of the productions at my high school, asked some classmates and I to come back to the school later that night to help with building the set for the play. All of us told her we would be there, I was the only one who showed up. Ms. Kinnell and two of her friends, who work with set design and construction at a community theater near my hometown, worked late into the night for several nights that week. We built walls from random pieces of wood that we measured and cut ourselves. They taught me how to use tools that I had never even seen before.  It was hard work but it was fun and I learned a lot. I gave Ms. Kinnell an inch and she took a mile. The following week she asked me if I would be  told me that she was making me stage manager. I didn't know what that was or what it entailed so I didn't object, I was happy to help. I'm glad I didn't know exactly what she meant because I probably would have told her no and then never go to class again. The position that she entrusted me with was huge. Being the stage manager was easily the biggest commitment that I have ever made, and the most work I've ever had to do. I learned so much about working with other people and my own work ethic. Ms. Kinnell pushed me and encouraged me leaving my comfort zone, she made me realize I am more capable of getting things done than I thought I was.

Marybeth Kinnell

 .  .  .  . 

You know the smiley face emoji with hearts for eyes? Well that's me when it comes to Nick Thomas. Not really in a fangirl, "I LOVE YOU NICK, MARRY ME!" type of way, but in a, "You are a lyrical genius, you have given words to feelings that left me speechless,  you have given me something to hold on to during the loneliest times in my life, and I am forever indebted to you." I really admire him.
Nick is the lead singer of the band The Spill Canvas, they have released 6 full albums together, several EPs, and he released a solo album as well. He has used his music to pull himself and hundreds of other people through hard times. He sings about sadness, happiness, love, betrayal, hatred, vampires, supporting loved ones, internal struggles, external struggles, self hatred, obsession,  feeling lost, broken, and hopeless; with so much music produced and such a vast and honest variety of topics there isn't much that someone can feel that they can't relate to a Spill Canvas song, I find this really comforting. He and his band don't have the biggest fan base, but people all over the world listen, and we all have about the same things to say about Nick, the band, and their music, "I started listening to The Spill Canvas when I was in my early teens.. Their music saved my life." I've heard these words from at least a dozen people that I have met at concerts, and I read comments like that on social media from hundreds of people. I think that the fact that it is a smaller-ish fanbase, with a few thousand people, it makes it all even more personal and connected. If I see somebody wearing wither a Nick Thomas or Spill Canvas shirt I make a point to go up to them, strike up a conversation, and usually end up with a friendship because the common ground that we have is so special and intimate. The Spill Canvas is more than just my favorite band and Nick Thomas is more than a guy with a pretty good voice that doesn't know my name, they're a lifeline.

Nick Thomas
Detroit, August 2015

Nick Thomas
Hugging me!
Utica, November 2014

Blog #2

Ten People Who Have Impacted My Life and Helped Me Become The Me I Am Today.

Kevin McIsaac 

(Smartest Man On Earth)

Kevin :)
I was blessed to be born into an incredible, loving, and kind family.
But my luck didn't end with what I was born into. Kevin came
into my life and family a few years after I was born (by choice!).
He picked my beautiful mother and her three young kids up
off of the ground that we had been waiting for something,
and he carried us to a new life.
I think he is a hero.
Kevin is kind and so SO SO patient.
He is strong.
He is selfless.
He is always honest.
He gives the best advice.
He really is almost always right.
He sacrifices himself, and his time for other people everyday.
He can do so many different things (plumbing, painting, grilling, spider killing, etc.)
And he's funny too.

Judy Maggard
(Red Coated Beauty)

This is my mom.
She's one of my favorite people on this planet. 

If it wasn't for her I honestly may not be alive;
 My mom never gave up on me,
even through times when I had given up
on myself,

and everything,
 and everyone.

She was with me
 through my
rude days, 

weird days,
 and sad days;

 She held me up when I couldn't stand on my own.

 Her support, encouragement, and friendship have been my motivation to carry on so many times.
She is my rock and the core of my happiness. 

I am so thankful to have her in my life.

Darren Maggard 

 I only have a few memories of my dad any more,
but I know the memories that other people who knew him have.
His parents, my mom, his friends and family, my cousins, and my brother and sister;
I know the effect that he had on their lives.
 Nothing touches me more than when I hear someone say:
 what an amazing person he was,
what a huge impact he had on them,
what a free spirit he was,
how much they wish he could see my brother, sister, and I
how proud he would be.

Also, I know what losing him did to my family;
It brought us together,
and it created a bond between us.
It changed the way I was raised,
which changed the way my brother, sister, and I treated each other and other people.

Our dad dyeing was hard, and sometimes still is hard; but the changes it caused made me a lot closer to my siblings, and
it made me more sensitive and considerate of other people (because you never know what's happened in someone's life).

Luke Maggard

(My Big Brother)

This year on  my birthday Luke sang to me 

a medley of slightly horrific songs

some of which were songs that he had tortured 

me with when we were growing up

singing them over, 

and over,

and over,

 and over again. 

Speaking of torture. 

When we were growing up he had this thing called "Tickle Torture", 

The name speaks for itself.

It was awful.

Another year for my birthday he sang the song "Perfect" by Pink, the song that says

"Don't you ever ever feel like you're less than, less than perfect." 

A few years ago my boyfriend broke up with me in the middle of the night. 

I cried in bed for awhile. 

Then I went downstairs to Luke's room

I sat on his bed and I woke him up.

Luke wasn't mad that I woke him up,

He laughed and asked what I was doing.

By the time I told him what happened I was crying again,

He sat with me and hugged me for awhile. 

Then he prayed with me.

That was the first time in a long time that someone reminded me that I could go to God with my problems, 

I had forgotten for awhile before that night.

I haven't forgotten sense. 

My brother is really something special.

Brooke Maggard

(My World Traveler)

This stunning girl is the hardest working person I know. 

This is my sister,

my role model,

and my best friend.

Brooke never seizes to amaze me.

I have always wanted, and will always want to be as much like her as I possibly can while still being me.
 The world would be a kinder, and more productive place if we were all more like Brooke

 I think she usually has a to do list longer than one of our mom's really REALLY long grocery lists.

But somehow she's always been able to make time for me,

even when she used to make up excuses left and right to avoid other people.

We laugh so much together.

Good memories with Brooke are literally endless.

Coffee runs,

Sister dates,

Arm massages

Dance & stunt routines,

Uncontrollable night laughter,

Embarrassing video recordings,

Smoothie runs (gone horribly wrong),

Songs, bands, and albums that we listened to and loved and then over listened to.

My relationship with my sister is such a huge part of my life,

The impact and influence that she has is astronomical.

Cam Allison 

(Football Superstar)

The admiration I just expressed for my sister does not do justice to my feelings for Brooke. 

That being said it takes a really special someone to have my approval to hold her precious little heart. 

But Cam hands down deserves it. He felt like a brother to me pretty much immediately. 

And he acted like a brother too

Supportive,

Over protective, 

Loving.

Cam is brave and dedicated.

 He chases his dreams wherever they lead him.

The bravery that he displays with his actions amaze me.

His bravery and skill took him over 2,000 miles away,

I miss him but I'm so crazy proud of him.

Kaitie Maggard 

(My Sweet & Lovely Sister)

Kaitie can always tell when I need a hug,

or a slice of pie.

I am so glad my brother met and fell in love with her. 

Because that means I got to meet and fall in love with her too. 

(In a bit of a different way) 

It's the little things with Katie that add up to the big things.

The cups of coffee,
 The spilled coffee,
The long car rides,
The perfect days on a beach,
The stressful days spent studying,
The tears shared over a variety of foods,
The laughter shared over a variety of different foods,
The perfect eyebrows she's given me on a number of special occasions.

My sister in-law and I have more of a sister relationship than some girls have with their real sisters. 

I'm lucky to have her and the friendship we have.

Brandon Zeilke  

Near the end of my senior year my life was kind of falling apart around me.

I was falling apart right along with it.

So much was changing, 

It felt like everything was changing,

I was holding onto a dead relationship,

My grades were a disaster,

Family was moving, 

Things just felt a little out of my control.

I needed a good friend desperately.

Then,
Almost on cue
I met Brandon
Who was just
 unapologetically,
unashamedly
 himself.

He didn't pretend, sugarcoat, or hide anything.
Spending time with someone who was so real was so refreshing.

He was just himself.
Whether anyone liked it or not,
he wasn't changing
And I liked it.
A lot.

I have never had a friend like him,
Because there is no one in the world that is like him.

This past summer would have been so different if I wouldn't spent so much of it with him.
It would have been filled with sadness, but it was happy instead.
He didn't talk to me about the things that were going wrong,
 He just gave me something that was right.

He single handedly altered the last six months of my life completely.

Gabi Sylvester 

(Babygirl, princess, survivor) 

Gabi and I weren't ever extremely close, but for a while we were all each other had in terms of friends.
We both had our priorities all messed up, so we were the only people that would put up with the other's crap.

Gabi is so strong.
She wanted to give up on life a few times.
She was sad, broken, and tiered
but she never did.
Instead she kept fighting.
Now she's winning.

She worked long and hard for the happiness that she has in her life today.
I'm so proud of her and so inspired by her.


We can go months without talking, and one of us will call the other
and we'll be there to talk for as long or as little as we need to.

That's valuable and means a lot much to me.
She's valuable and means a lot much to me.

Matt Nasceif 

(Long Lesson: Learned)

This is Matt: my ex-boyfriend as of a few months ago, so it's a little weird to look at his picture and to write about him .

Here are some facts:

We thought we were happy together.

We had a really unhealthy relationship. 

We lived in our very own world together.

We have a lot of really good memories.

We have a lot of really bad memories.

We are both good people.

We were bad for each other.

I put him before everything.

I thought I needed him.

I forgot who I was.

I was 100% blind.

I loved him. 

I don't miss him.
I miss him.

He was holding me back.

Everyone else was right, 

I was wrong

They told me so. 

The break-up was long,

confusing,

and heart shattering. 

but

We are so much better off without each other. 

And Now 
I am
Free,
Happy,
Rebuilding,
New,
Strong,
Moving on,
Independant,
Making my own friends,
Making my own decisions,
Focusing on what's important,
A better daughter, sister, friend, student,
Never going to change who I am for someone else.

Blog #1

7
Seven
The NEW number of members!
adding in myother's wife
& my sisters soon-to-be husband

                

                Five

          I love them so so much

          members in my family    

                    

                          

                            21

                     Twenty one
            My favorite number 

      It has been for a long time

4
Four
Nick, Bryce, John, and Landon
The number of members in my favorite band, The Spill Canvas

                                      

51
Fifty one
Miles between my friend's house and EMU
He drives to see me anyway
He's awesome

       

Five to Twenty

This is Cam, he was one of my favorite friend all through high school

He was arrested in the last few months of our senior year 

and was sentenced with 5-20 years in prison. Probably he will be

in prison for 12 of those years and on parole for the rest of the sentence.

I'm glad he is there, but I'll be glad when he comes home too.

  Three:

Harvie
(He is my favorite)
Harvie by the Numbers: 23 lbs. 

Townsend
She is obnoxiously loud
11 year old crazy senile
(I really love her though)

                                                          My three cuties 

        

Daisy May
She is perfect