The Letter Series

Hello all!

Yes, yes, It's been FOREVER since I've posted. Time has a way of slipping by without me noticing. :) It's been a crazy busy few months and I'm still getting used to the new PhD responsibilities. Plus, this summer is just crammed with things to do on a massive budget!

Let's see... I've been to Florida to see my Mum, went to the Shore to see Dad, been to two O's games thus far, trekked up to Harpers Ferry area for a cookout with Christy and crew, been a bridesmaid in my friend Kelly's wedding and the photographer in my friend Jen's. I have a 3 Days Grace concert coming up this Friday that I am UBER excited about and then a quick trip up to PA to see my Mom and sister for a day. :) Then at the end of the month I will be traveling to the Virgin Islands with Dad and Joan! YAYYYYYYYYYY! I'll be sure to blog from there if I have internet access. :)

So yes, I've been busy. However, I was having trouble falling asleep last night and I came up with a new blog idea. I'm going to do a Letter From Meg series of blogs. You can probably guess... each blog will be a personalized letter to a loved one, friend or acquaintance. There may also be some to people from my past and those no longer with us. I have this horrible fear of leaving this earth without letting people know how much I care for them or what affect they have had on me. So I think this would be a great opportunity to do so! I'll start with family and work my way to friends. If you DO or DO NOT want to be included in this series post a comment and let me know! :)

Cheers!
Meg

"Though I cannot fly, I'm not content to crawl" -Nine Days

St Pattys and April Fools!

I have been so bad about posting! It's been a month and a half! And JUST NOW on April Fools am I realizing this. Doh! So happy belated St. Pattys day. In usual fashion I watched "The Quiet Man." (Look it up if you've not seen it).

Life has been fantastically busy and stressful lately, so there hasn't been a lot of downtime to update. Even now, I have a stack of papers and speeches staring at me... just waiting to be graded! But it's Friday afternoon and I'm aimin' to have some "me" time today.

I do want to say thank you to all of my friends and former students who gave me support, hugs and chocolate this week! You really made stressed Meg transform back to her normal self. So thank you <3

So again... it's April 1st. I think the best fool of all of this is all of us. Mother nature is giving the finger it seems with all this cold weather! Wasn't it in the 70s a few weeks ago? And then snow? And then... this?! Pathetic. I'm ready to drive with the windows down... not shivering and wondering where my gloves are!

Speaking of cold - next week I'm traveling to Chicago to see Joe and to go to a conference in the area. Hopefully I'll be able to post on that when I'm back.

Until then. Cheers!

Meg

Miss my Driving Tan

Yesterday was such a tease! It got up to 67 degrees and sunny. What a lovely Valentine's Day surprise for me! :) Sadly I had class all evening so I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest, but I did let my students out a lil early so at least they could catch a few rays. Some vitamin D is good for em. Let's hope for an early spring. I miss my driving tan. You know, when you hang your left arm out the window on a nice day, cruisin down the interstate. That's the best tan ever. :)

Speaking of tans, I'll have to work on one for my friend Kelly's wedding in July. I'm SUPER excited to be a bridesmaid again (It's nice to know you make an impression on friends). We have lovely knee length summer dresses that are a light pastel pink WITH STRAPS (Thank you God), and ... wait for it... POCKETS! A pocketed dress. I may die of happiness. And no heels necessary, just flip flops. Oh happy day! It should be a fun wedding! Kim's wedding was such a blast last year, it's nice to have another summer event. So yes, a tan is in the works. AND some serious weight loss. I'd rather have the dress altered than look like a size 12 balloon. I am keeping another blog on just that issue http://meglosingit2011.blogspot.com.

In other updates, I got my first grade as a PhD student. It was an A! WOOT! :) I've been off to a slow start and sort of lacking ideas, but I honestly think I'm just overwhelmed. It'll settle out. Life in general is good. Grandpop had his surgery and is still recovering. It's going to be a long road, but so far things are okay. I'm trekking up to Chicago this weekend to visit Joe! I'm hoping for nice weather since it'll be 70 this weekend in Virginia! Flip flops, here I come! I just hope it sticks around long enough for when I return on Sunday. :)

I'm sure I'll update again then.

Cheers,

Meg

Hard Not to Worry

When I think about my family, I have the mentality that lots of people have: They'll always be here. How I wish that were true, but sadly quite the opposite is the case. I have a close family member who is very sick and may very well be nearing the end of his life. I'm not being specific because I don't know who has been told about how ill he is and I don't have his permission to parade his name on the Internet, so we'll leave it at that.

But thinking about what could and eventually will happen is terrifying to me. I'm scared of my own death, yes, but more so for the ones I love. So the thought of my mom, dad or sis being sick (none of them are so it's okay) is something I try never to think about. It's worse when you are helpless to do anything to help. Of course moral and emotional support is great, but it's never enough in my mind.

All I ask is that if you have some relationship with a God or higher power that you say a little prayer for my family today and in the coming days. We're in for a dozy of a year medically speaking in my family so all the kind thoughts are helpful.

I personally am doing okay. I am very happy about this year and the possibility it brings and attempting not to dwell on things I can't influence. So all is well but prayers are good. <3

Love,
Meg

Another Blog (Cuz One Wasn't Enough!)

Hey all!
Just wanted to let you know that I have another blog I'm working on as well as this one. It is my fitness, diet and cleaning blog. I'll continue to post on here with both stories and life updates, but that one is specifically for my New Years Resolution to get in shape and organized. Feel free to subscribe to it as well. Any pointers you have for diet or exercise is also welcome! Here is the link to "Losing It":

http://meglosingit2011.blogspot.com

All my best,

Meg

2010 Year in Review

2010 is Gone...

So I began and ended my year in the same place: my Aunt and Uncle's house in Boiling Springs, PA. So much has changed this year. Some good, some bad. But at the end of the day I would call this year another learning experience and success. I remember my resolution for the past year was to find success and to show everyone that I can accomplish goals... and to lose about 15lbs. Sadly, I've not lost any weight this year, but perhaps that can be another resolution. So let's take a trip back and see what 2010 brought:



- I began my NVCC career after a January 3rd phone call from my future boss, Fred. He offered me an adjunct spot at Northern Va Community College - Woodbridge. My long commutes began soon after... as did my obsession with Dunkin Donuts lattes.



- I was a bridesmaid for the first time in my friend Kim's wedding. Not only was I IN the wedding, but it was my first big destination wedding in the Florida Keys. Probably the most perfect wedding I've been to. :)





- On the same token I got to play with dolphins while in the Keys. Kris and I got to splash around with Tanner the Dolphin in Marathon, Fl. It was my birthday gift to her for her 25th :)



- Joe and I attended a wedding in Bradenton, Florida and I was able to meet his family for the first time. We only shared one dance, but it was still a wonderful trip.



- I walked with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K this year in Washington D.C. I walked... not ran. Walked. :) It was a great event and I hope to go back next year.



- I was lucky enough to see my favorite band, Shinedown four times THIS YEAR! This makes six concerts to see them total. I can't wait until they tour again in a few years. Until then I'll watch old videos and remember how alive it made me feel.

- One of my closest and oldest friendships slid to barely acquaintances due to circumstances out of my control. My hope is that 2011 brings some stability to my old friendships from my past.



- A great college and after friend of mine, Greg, got a FANTASTIC job offer in North Carolina. As such we threw him a going away party and he moved out in the Fall. He's taught me that I do need to change my focus and manage keeping my long distance contacts in the forefront of my mine because out of sight never equals out of mind. <3



- Another very close friend of mine (almost sister) LaKesha moved away. For one of the first times in my adult life, I had to experience someone very close to me become a long distance friend. I was lucky enough to visit her in Indiana this past summer. My first trip to the cornfield state! :)



- I was lucky enough to reconnect with two of my best friends from high school: Cora and Jen. They both live in the area now so I need to work on keeping a monthly date with the two of them in the new year :)



- Joe and I had our first date this year on one of my Chicago trips. Once again I am embarking on a long distance relationship. But as long as Southwest has free baggage checks, we're golden. :)



- I was awarded with Basic Course Teacher of the Year from GMU in the Spring. This was my first real recognition as an instructor and a big confidence boost that was desperately needed. I want to keep doing a good job.

- Around the same time I found out I was once again rejected from the Comm PhD program at Mason, as well as 4 other Universities. I was starting to feel like I was looking in the wrong places and at the wrong thing. The fear of being an absolute failure was almost paralyzing.

- I expanded my NVCC reach to the Annandale campus during the Summer and have continued to teach there through the Fall (as well as at Woodbridge).



- My Dad and I went to an Orioles game for the first time since I was 9 years old. It was a magical day (even though the O's lost). I hope to make this a yearly tradition.



- Mom and I had our own magical experience this Winter while kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River in Florida. We spotted nine manatees and they played with us for a while! I even got to pet one repeatedly. He was a sweetheart. I was just amazed with their temperaments and their willingness to be around us humans. An all around perfect day. <3





- This November one of my life goals came to be. I was accepted to a PhD program. I will be an incoming doctoral student in the Higher Education program at GMU this Spring. I am excited and scared to death. But now the fun part begins... proving to everyone that I can excel here. :)



- I bought the green Jeep Cherokee from my Dad this winter. Lil Missy is now my very own Beep Beep. We'll fix up and sell my white Grand Cherokee (Suga') in the Spring. I'm in the process of transferring my tags over to the green Beep Beep.

- I got to spend the holidays with all of my family this year. I saw Mom and her side of the family during Christmas and then Dad, Joan, Care and Dad's side of the family for New Years. Being 25 now I am privy to more with my family. I have learned so much about their lives, trials, loves, pains and desires for life. All the while, they have offered great support for my coming year and new chapter in my life. I can't imagine who I would be without them. I am lucky to have such a great, brilliant, dysfunctional group of individuals to call my kin. :)

- I celebrated my Quarter Century Birthday this year.

Cheers to a New Year and a new set of opportunities.

Meg

A Good Day for No Reason

It's so cold outside it's ridiculous. There comes a point when it should really just snow and get it over with! However, I'm fairly content tonight. I have my new fuzzy socks on and I'm eating a SUPER healthy bowl of Easy Mac. I've only had this twice in my life in my defense. ;) I have been smack dab in the middle of finals week so there are piles of grading that are undone at my feet. But for now, I'm content doing nothing but updating this thing and humming Taylor Swift songs.

Today was a great day. And I have no clue why. I kept laughing out loud for the dumbest reasons today and that was fine with me. It started, as most funny stories do, with my cat, Ariella. Every morning at around 5a.m. she decides that she's lonely and paws at my door. After stumbling over to let her in I crawled back in bed and put the covers over my head. Air-Bear (as I tend to call her) didn't miss a beat. She launched all 18lbs of her onto my bed and started looking for me. She climbed up to where she thought my head was and mewed very softly... and pathetically. I grunted. She then climbed around my head and stuck her face under the covers, just inches from my nose. After sniffing my lips (she loves the smell of my chapstick)she barrel rolls onto me and under the covers as well. Sneaky minx! I couldnt help but laugh until I fell back asleep with a purr monster next to me.

The second odd outburst of laughter happened on my way to work. I drove out to Annandale to give a final today. Let me preface this by saying that I drive a LOT. So I have made it a game of mine to scout out cars that I would one day like to own and then hate on the driver. OR I read vanity tags and try to figure them out. This super slow Subaru (yay alliteration!) was in front of me with the tags KTNRSQ. Here is me... "KTNRSQ...Kite and are square? If this is a math equation it sucks! KTNR.. Kitner? The hell. That's not a word. RSQ... risque? Kit risque? RSQ..rescue... KITTEN RESCUE!!! HA! God, I'm Awesome!" *bursts out laughing* The guy at the light next to me witnessed this and quickly sped away. LoL.

I guess it's the little things? Case in point: I felt victorious when I cleaned out our microwave today. Yeah. Welcome to adulthood Meg. For Christmas you want a new set of steak knives, new socks, money for credit card bills and a book stamp. I used to want a pony... or a hot wheels Jeep... or another pony. :)

Speaking of Xmas, I will have to make a post about that soon. As well as the year in Review. THAT should be entertaining. I was scolded for not updating this much. I honestly didn't know people still checked this! For those of you that do, THANK YOU! :)

Happy Wednesday!
Meg