I'm a Big Girl Now! (Almost)

Hello, again Blogger.



Been a while since I last posted for you!  So, here's whats going on in my life right now:

• doing the whole job search thing
• still unpacking from college & from getting back from Ashley's where I spent the summer
• have successfully managed to visit a majority of my friends up in VT since I've been home
• trying to decide where I'm going to live; and if/when I can afford to move in on my own
• managing how weird it feels to not be moving back into college today

Originally the plan was for Rosie and I to get an apartment in Barre, but that's not a healthy decision for me for lots of reasons which I don't really wish to divulge to strangers on the internet.  Let's just say I have a past   with Barre and I don't want to put myself in a position where I will feel unsafe or ambushed.

SO-I am contemplating where I really want to be so I can start job searching in that area and figure out life piece by piece.  To start I'll be living at home and commuting to work wherever I decide is the area I want to reside, so I'm trying to be smart and realistic about what I can afford, how much commuting my car can take until I make the big move, and where the best place for me is in Vermont.  

In the meantime I'm daydreaming about what it'll be like to finally be on my own, to be a real adult working the typical American 40 hr week, and how incredible it'll feel to finally be financially independent from my family.  I can't wait to be able to pay all my own bills every month while chipping away at my student loans that will be coming due in a few more months!  However, step 1 is finding that first career-level job to put my degree to work.

Self-sufficiency at it's finest!!!

I'll need lots of luck so feel free to leave your well-wishes below.  Much appreciated!

If anyone has any suggestions or tips on searching for and obtaining a first apartment or what the first year out of college looks like-feel free to leave those below as well.

From my brain to yours,

xoxo Megan

I'm Poor.

Ah, Ramen.  We've all fallen into your grasp at one point or another.

My apologies for lack of a more creative title for this post.  I'm very stressed lately because of how broke I seem to continue to be.  And there's no light at the end of the tunnel for at least another 2 years-once I can complete my Master's in Social Work degree and FINALLY MAYBE start my real life as a fully grown, financially independent adult.

I still have about $300 more worth of textbooks to purchase, an estimated $300 parking pass to purchase and that's not including my $70/month phone bill and $40/month credit card bill, or gas for the car, oil changes, etc.  You know, basic life stuff.  And the thing is, I really don't actually have that many bills.  Just phone and credit card-and my credit card payment is really cheap (because I have a Discover Student Credit Card which gives me a credit limit of only $500-thank God).  My problem is that I don't have enough money to feel comfortable making my monthly bills.  There literally aren't enough hours in the day for me to work enough hours to make enough money to feel really truly secure.  

I just want to live comfortably.  I'm not looking to become a millionaire and hoard my millions of dollars away from society forever.  I want to spend a little to have fun every month, get by on bills, and still have enough extra to put away in a savings account just in case of a huge life emergency.  I REALLY don't think I'm asking for a whole hell of a lot.  Unfortunately I need to take out $80,000 in loans to get my Master's degree which will help me get an adequate paying job in order to support myself for the rest of my life.  

What's even more stressful is that my family isn't able to help out at all with grad school.  They've already done so much to help me get through undergrad that they're pretty much tapped out.  I feel bad that I'm part of the reason they're so strapped right now, but I also really can't help it that society has deemed it necessary to not only have your high school diploma, but a college degree (Master's preferred in most cases) in order to get a job that will sustain you.  

I'm really starting to resent the Capitalist system.  The 'survival of the fittest' or 'each (wo)man for his/her self is ridiculous.  We're all human, we're all in this together.  Everyone needs to make a living, everyone needs to survive.  Collectivist societies have the right idea, I think.  I'm just so sick of America and how the poor and downtrodden continue to be trodden upon regardless of how hard they work, while rich floozies can sit on their laurels and become famous for being dramatic idiotic a$$holes.  In WHAT society does that make sense to anyone?

I'm seriously considering moving to Canada once I have my Master's.  I want to check out Toronto, and some of the other fun Canadian cities.  After a few years, I'd like to apply for citizenship and be free of America while I try to make a comfortable living for myself.  I refuse to be forced to eat Ramen for the rest of my life (as good as it tastes occasionally-when you're not having to LIVE off the stuff), and I refuse to be swallowed up by student loan debt for the rest of my career-track life.  I want to be a healthy, happy person.  I don't deserve the short stick.  Not this time.

Love you all.  Hope life is treating you the way you deserve to be treated!

Have any of you ever visited Toronto, moved to Canada, or know someone who has?  I'd love to hear your stories!

From my brain to yours,

-Megan

Stream 2: My Little Ottoman

As I sit and think about heading off to grad school this fall, I inevitably find myself thinking about what my everyday life will be like.

What is my room going to look like?  How am I going to decorate?  What will I store in my perfect little ottoman now that I no longer have to hide my alcohol from campus security?  (The dorm I will be living in is a 21+ dorm, so it is okay to drink privately in your room with the door closed).

An ottoman is such a perfect furniture piece.  It functions as a stool, a seat, a footrest, and as storage (if you have a hollow one with a removable top).  I will be living in a single in Babcock at UNH in the fall, which means I won't have a lot of space.  I'll need to maximize storage whenever possible.  Lofting the bed to move other furniture pieces underneath is only the beginning of creative storage.  Knowing how to maximize your vertical space is key.

For example, purchasing vertical hanging boxes for your closet space can help you get your shoes off the floor, store those extra bulky winter sweaters, or keep some extra office supplies in an organized, out-of-the-way place.

Additionally, a standing plastic tower that fits under the bed is perfect for organizing and storing medicines, undergarments, or extra make up and jewelry so these items don't clutter the larger drawers in the dresser that is assigned to you by the college or university.

As wonderful and clever as these other pieces are, nothing beats my little ottoman.  It can be a great hiding place as it simply looks like decor or functional extra college kid seating.  While I'm not sure what I want to store in it next year as of yet, here are a few ideas of mine:

• Snacks
• Extra notebooks/stationary/office supplies (frees up clutter on the desk)!
• Handbags I'm not currently using
• Shoes
• Extra sheets/pillow cases/out-of-season scarves
• Decorations for each season/holiday to keep my room festive
• Scented goods for the room/air fresheners

How do you creatively store things when living in such close quarters?  Where are your best hiding places?

From my brain to yours,

Megan

First Week Back

Ashley showing school spirit by wearing copies of the latest edition of our school newspaper, The Current.

Left hand blue?

This picture is stunning of all three of us!  (Me, Ashley, Cassie).

Kitchen party!

Ashley and I looking adorable.

I successfully survived my first week of my last semester of college!  Whoo hoo!  My classes are mostly so-so, so far.  Hopefully I'll develop more of an affection for them as we move further along in this semester.  Unfortunately senioritis has definitely set in starting from Day 1, so I'll have to stay strong for the remainder of this school year.

Ryan will be joining our party tomorrow when he comes to move back into UVM!  I miss that boy, so that will be fantastic.

All but one of my textbooks have gotten to me in time for class, so I'm waiting patiently for things to get in order.  I have also been selling my textbooks on half.com.  Can I get a HOO-RAH for extra cash?  :D

In other news, my fish are all still alive and doing fairly well.  My plan for when my guppies, Killer and Diana Ross die, is to go to Walmart and get a new set of 5 and create a new bond with new family members.  <3

I don't have much else to report except for that I'm poor and waiting for my refund to come in from the school.  Ryan is going to help feed me over the next few weeks until I have money to go grocery shopping again.  (I love that boy.)  :)  Well will make it through!

What has your first week back to school looked like?

Textbook Craze (Updated 1/14/12)

It's about that time again.  When you have to frantically find the cheapest option for textbooks for the semester, while trying to make the most amount of money possible selling your old textbooks to other students who want them for cheap.  Whew!

My textbooks for my last semester of college are going to cost around $250.  Not fun.  :(  I'm also selling about 44 books (both textbooks and young adult fiction/paranormal romance) on half.com.  My username there is megan.goodell so if you want to look me up and see what I have for sale, please do!  I have pretty reasonable prices listed for the condition of the books I have for sale, so you should definitely check me out.  :)

In case you aren't able to search by username on half.com, I'll list the books I still have available to sell below.  If you are interested, please comment below with which book you're interested in and I'll let you know the price I'm offering for it and what condition my copy is in.  :)

1. Essentials of the Living World by George Johnson and Jonathan B. Losos (2009, Paperback): George Johnson (Paperback, 2009)    SOLD!


2. The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia by Frances Wood (2004, Paperback): Frances Wood (Paperback, 2004) 


3. The Transformation Of American Religion by Alan Wolfe (2005, Paperback, Reprint): Alan Wolfe (Paperback, 2005) 


4. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy (2006, Paperback, Reissue): James Ellroy (Paperback, 2006) 


5. The Silk Road Journey With Xuanzang by Sally Hovey Wriggins (2003, Paperback, Subsequent Edition): Sally Hovey Wriggins(Paperback, 2003) 


6. The Analects by Confucius (1979, Paperback): Confucius (Paperback, 1979) 


7. Blood and Guts: A Short History of Medicine by Roy Porter (2003, Hardcover): Roy Porter (Hardcover, 2003) 


8. Capitalism by Paul Bowles (2006, Paperback): Paul Bowles (Paperback, 2006) 


9. Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (2007, Hardcover): Ellen Hopkins (Hardcover, 2007) 


10. Life Entrepreneurs: Ordinary People Creating Extraordinary Lives by Gregg Vanourek and Christopher Gergen (2008, Hardcover):Christopher Gergen (Hardcover, 2008) 


11. Religions of the West Today by John L. Esposito, Darrell J. Fasching and Todd Lewis (2008, Paperback): Todd Lewis (Paperback, 2008) 


12. How to Survive Your Freshman Year: By Hundreds of College Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors Who Did by By Hundreds of Heads (2009, Paperback): By Hundreds of Heads (Paperback, 2009) 


13. Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers by Kwame Anthony Appiah (2007, Paperback, Reprint): Kwame Anthony Appiah(Paperback, 2007) 


14. Monkey/Folk Novel of China by Cheng'En Wu (1994, Paperback, Reissue): Cheng-En Wu (Paperback, 1994) 


15. Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade by Rachel Louise Snyder (2009, Paperback, Reprint): Rachel Louise Snyder (Paperback, 2009) 


16. Song Quest: The Echorium Sequence by Katherine Roberts (2002, Paperback, Reprint): Katherine Roberts (Paperback, 2002)


17. Chakra Clearing: Awakening Your Spiritual Power to Know and Heal by Doreen Virtue (1998, Paperback): Doreen Virtue(Paperback, 1998) 


18. The Only Wiccan Spell Book You'll Ever Need by Marian Singer and Trish Macgregor (2004, Paperback): Trish Macgregor(Paperback, 2004) 


19. High Wizardry by Diane Duane (2001, Paperback): Diane Duane (Paperback, 2001) 


20. Incubus by Janet Elizabeth Jones (2010, Paperback): Janet Elizabeth Jones (Paperback, 2010) 


21. Magickal Mermaids And Water Creatures by D. J. Conway and D.J. Conway (2005, Paperback): D. J. Conway (Paperback, 2005)


22. Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation by Silver Ravenwolf (1998, Paperback): Silver Ravenwolf (Paperback, 1998) 


23. Lilith's Dream: A Tale of the Vampire Life by Whitley Strieber (2002, Hardcover): Whitley Strieber (Hardcover, 2002) 


24. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman (2007, Paperback, Updated): Thomas L. Friedman (Paperback, 2007)  SOLD!


25. Realm of Shadows by Heather X. Graham (2002, Paperback): Heather X. Graham (Paperback, 2002)


26. Witching Moon by Rebecca York (2003, Paperback): Rebecca York (Paperback, 2003) 


27. Hell's Heroes by Darren Shan (2010, Hardcover): Darren Shan (Hardcover, 2010) (Mine is a paperback).  Was listed incorrectly somehow.


28. Under Town by Charles Ogden (2006, Hardcover): Charles Ogden (Hardcover, 2006) 


29. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (2006, Paperback): Eoin Colfer (Paperback, 2006) 


30. Classic American Ghost Stories: 200 Years of Ghost Lore from the Great Plains, New England, the South, and the Pacific Northwest (1990, Paperback) (Paperback, 1990)  (Mine is a hardcover).


31. Weaveworld by Clive Barker (2001, Paperback): Clive Barker (Paperback, 2001)


32. Death's Shadow by Darren Shan (2009, Paperback, Reprint): Darren Shan (Paperback, 2009) 


33. Witches Incorporated by K. E. Mills (2009, Paperback, Original): K. E. Mills (Paperback, 2009) 


34. Seducing an Angel by Mary Balogh (2010, Paperback, Reprint): Mary Balogh (Paperback, 2010) 


35. Wizards at War by Diane Duane (2007, Paperback, Reprint): Diane Duane (Paperback, 2007) 


36. Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane (2002, Paperback, Reprint): Diane Duane (Paperback, 2002) 


37. Social Work Practice And Social Justice by William S. Rowe and Karen M. Sowers (2006, Paperback): Karen M. Sowers(Paperback, 2006) 


38. People Skills by Robert Bolton (1986, Paperback, Reissue): Robert Bolton (Paperback, 1986) 


39. Encyclopedia Of Haunted Places: Ghostly Locales From Around The World (2008, Hardcover) (Hardcover, 2008)


40. The Amulet Of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud (2004, Paperback, Reprint): Jonathan Stroud (Paperback, 2004) 


41. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (2000, Hardcover): Joan Bauer (Hardcover, 2000)


42. The Golem's Eye  by Jonathan Stroud.  Paperback.


43. Soulstice by Simon Holt (2009, Hardcover): Simon Holt (Hardcover, 2009) 


44. Understanding Digital Culture by Vincent Miller (2011, Paperback): Vincent Miller (Paperback, 2011) 

Its Been A Really Long Time...

Hello, everyone!

I haven't really posted more than one or two blog posts this past semester.  The truth is, I haven't really had much to say!  I've been too busy actually enjoying my life and having a great time of it to actually sit down and take the time to share.  So, here is an overview of important things that have happened this semester:

• Straight As!  Whoo hoo!!!
• Internship at The Arbors has been going well!  I'll be ready when I get back for next semester to pick up the pace a little and continue making my time there as awesome as possible.
• Making leaps and bounds through the Netflix queue.  Since Netflix split up its plan with the price increases, I've been subscribed online to the stream online plan.  Once I watch everything I can get through instant streaming, I'll switch to the physical disc mailing plan.  My most recent love has been How I Met Your Mother.  Words cannot describe...
• Grocery shopping and paying bills worked out awesome with my refund from the school up until the last 3 weeks.  I'll need to rethink that for next time.. Haha!
• Ryan and I are still going strong!  We sailed through our 5, 6, 7, and 8 month anniversaries.  April 5th of 2012 will mark our 1 year as an official couple!  YEEAHHHH!!!
• I bought fish!  I started off the summer with 5 guppies.  One died from the stress of the transfer from the store to my tank.  Then there were 4: Cappie (the only one with visible distinguishable marks), and "The Supremes" (the other 3 look-alikes).  Unfortunately now we're down to only two of the Supremes left (whom I have now dubbed Killer and Donna).  **Note, all my guppies were males--however, you have to admit that Cappie and The Supremes is kind of catchy...**  AND the newest addition to the family is a beta named Emmett.  He has his own tank and his own life, and I think that makes him happy.
• Space (my car) has thrived and deteriorated and thrived again!  We're hanging in the balance at around 160,000 miles.  We have winter tires but no snow....and we have oil and antifreeze that remains within the inner workings of the vehicle.  Win for all involved.
• Excellent drunken house parties have occurred: the very realistic Prohibition 1920s Speakeasy (where many of the attendees were underage [of course, this is college] so we all hid in the basement to manage the noise levels-good times), the famous Mustache party (yep-you guessed it. Mustache mandatory for attendance), ALL of Halloween weekend (3 parties in 2 days-not bad!), the quietish Christmas party between close Burlington-bound people in my life, and of course the other various nights that involved going to bars or staying in and mixing fun drinks by ourselves!
• Very few stressful nights worrying about homework and how I'm going to manage all of my classwork plus life in general.  4 classes per semester is PERFECT!  I'm so glad I put in all my hard times my Freshman/Sophomore years.  Senior year is a breeze so far, and I'm loving every second of it!  Sure there have been a few downs or hiccups in the general flow of things, but speaking overall, this has really been my best semester at Champlain so far.
• Oh, and I totally taught myself how to knit over Thanksgiving break via YouTube videos.  Oh yeah.  New life skills FOR THE WIN!

I'm so happy that this year has been going so well.  I can't imagine what this year would have been like with a schedule like my Spring semester of Sophomore year.  (That was when I broke up with Luke, was managing a 12 hr/wk unpaid internship, working as a Peer Advisor for as many hours/wk as was necessary, as well as working ~10hrs/wk for my mandatory work-study hours so I could have a paycheck).  I really wasn't sure I was going to make it that semester.  BUT-I did, and I'm stronger for it.  

I'm proud of myself for all I have accomplished so far.  I work damn hard and I deserve a lot of respect for all I do.  What is next on my list is to start applying for grad schools:  Boston University, Springfield College, University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire.  I'm working on getting all of my required application materials together over this break, and sending them out quite soon once I return to Burlington/Winooski.  

Lastly: I have been a busy beaver over break.  I got home on Friday evening, and it is now Tuesday.  In this time, my mother and I have switched bedrooms.  I'm enjoying being home SO much more.  I don't feel so depressed and aimless as I thought I would.  A big project like this is just what I needed to keep myself busy and motivated.  I seriously got rid of about 5 bags of garbage, and donated another 5 or so to the Salvation Army.  The reason for this is that my old room was about 1/2 the size of the basement (about 1/4 of the entire house).  I moved from this big room to my moms normal-sized bedroom that actually has windows!  She moved into the bigger room.  Therefore, I needed to really focus on getting rid of a lot of my old stuff so that it would all fit into this new, smaller, more manageable room.  I cleaned out everything: stuff from past boyfriends that have been sitting or buried in my room, things I haven't touched or worried about in years, stuff I thought I would definitely need/use but never got around to, and even some stuff I had been emotionally attached to.  However, it was time to let it all go, to let it be free.  While I may still have another bag or two of trash to take out, I feel great!  Cleansed.  Like I'm getting rid of everything so that whatever comes after Champlain will have room to take hold and lead me to where I'm supposed to be-without leaving too much behind.  So far both my mother and I seem happy with the trade.

Well, this wraps everything up rather nicely from the past 4 months of my life.  I feel like I need to find a new purpose for blogging again.  I wish I could be as dedicated as other folks in writing a fabulous blog-stuff other people actually care about instead of something that looks like a journal of my life.  I will gladly accept any and all blogging ideas and suggestions below.  Tell me what you'd most want to hear/learn about!  If it is something that lines up well with my interests or knowledge and expertise, I will try to move the blog in that direction--and work on posting more frequently.  :)

Auf Wiedersehen!

Mismatched Cups

You know what's frustrating?

When you have a million mismatched cups and mugs in your kitchen cabinet and things don't fit quite right because of it.  But on the other hand, some of those cups have sentimental value, and you couldn't imagine yourself parting with them.

Welcome to college.

As I stood in my kitchen the other day putting dishes away, I had a flash-forward of my life.

My darling Ryan and I were happily en route in our life together: married, no kids yet, and I was still putting dishes away.  But we had an actual dish set.  Dishes that went together, that matched.  No more thrown-together plastic and glass dishware that consisted of my current dishware.  (And no more cheapie silverware from Walmart [5 for $1, anyone?]).

I'm really excited and ready to push beyond my mismatched THINGS in college life.  I'm ready to have my own place where I can own a complete dish set if I want, where I can host Christmas cocktail parties and serve alcohol because I'm over 21, and where I can really get a snapshot of what the rest of my life is going to look like.  (And make some changes if necessary).

As for the mismatched cup era?  Well, it was fun.  Developing relationships with half plastic/half glass dish sets has been a good time through the hilarity of college.  But, I'm ready for something better.

  

It's Been A While

Hello, everyone!

So, with my laptop finally back in my possession, life is good again.  As of Friday I will be totally ALL caught up on my homework, and I'll be in a good place.

Speaking of Friday, our beloved Eden is coming from 4 hours away at PSU to stay here in Burlington with Ryan and I for the weekend!  This is the first time she'll have been able to see the UVM/Champlain campuses (campii?) from the Meg Ryan point of view.  It is going to be spectacular.  :)

In other news, I've been very gluttonous the past few days.  It sucks.  I need to kick it up a notch.  I was treated by Res Life to an amazing dinner at the Olive Garden last night, and I ate soooo much.  And Ryan got me a bag of Lindor Milk Chocolate truffles....which are mostly gone.  So...needless to say...I should maybe do some crunches tonight?!  I need to lose this weight!!! Even if I have to find a way to shake and shimmy every night for an hour or so!

Another factoid of my life: I may or may not be able to get a car over Spring Break.  So, here's the deal.  My 21st birthday falls on Spring Break from college.  This year (along with receiving the legal right to drink alcohol,) my mother was planning to get me my first car EVER!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!  BUT-this is all dependant on when she gets her Federal Tax Refund back.  She sent her forms out about 2 weeks ago, and they JUST got there the day before last.  Um...what?  Post office fail or federal government fail?  Maybe both.  They're the same thing, really. 

Soooo...here's my deal.  I thought I would finally have the chance to feel like I'm on equal footing (or tires?) with everyone else my age.  I've been driving my mothers car since I was 15.  It's really hard to hear other kids saying "Oh, let's just take my car" as if it's no big deal for 6 years.  It gets old after a while.  It shouldn't be such a touchy subject, but for those who don't have something that everyone else takes for granted...it's frustrating. 

Having a car is something that Vermont kids (especially) place a lot of value on.  Having your first car means you can finally have freedom.  Because it takes at LEAST a 15 minute drive to get anywhere worthwhile in VT, if you don't have a car, you're pretty much stuck.  I'm so sick of having to depend on other people's schedules and moods to determine whether or not I get to go somewhere.  I've dealt with it for 21 years of my life, the past 6 of which have felt extremely long.  I want to be a normal person with a car!  I would like to not have to depend on stupid bus schedules or mooch off friends for rides to the grocery store!  I would like to not have to barter with my mother during my breaks from school about if she has to work tomorrow, and if I can borrow her car. 

Long story short...this has been a long time coming.  I feel like a donkey with a carrot being dangled in my face.  The federal government better get their $H!T together and hurry up with my mother's refund so I can stop feeling like an inadequate college student.  Please and thank you.

(One vehicle my mom told me about was for sale in W. Rutland or somesuchplace.  It's a black Saturn Vue.  My mom currently has a blue one, but black works for me too!  We're looking into getting a standard because I have so much fun driving a stick shift.  Here's what one will potentially look like:)

Cute, right?  :)

I'm going to do my best to be patient.  I mean, even if I don't get the vehicle (which I really hope I do...otherwise some other plans of mine might be a little screwed...) I can still do this:

FYI...my mother has plans to get me drunk.  It's been a plan in motion since I was 9.  :)

SO-I hope this catches you up to where I'm at in life.  I have missed Blogger!  It feels good to write this out of my system.  <3

Until next time...
May the road rise to meet you (but not too quickly...)
XOXO
-Megan

Netflix Queue

Hello, Blogosphere!

Today I'm here to chat with you all about Netflix, and what my queue currently looks like. 

Back in October, I finally decided that I was sick of trying to (illegally) stream videos and things to watch when I got bored (and deal with the stress of wondering if I had infected my computer with a virus in the process,) so I decided to give Netflix a try after noticing that it really wasn't a scam, and that many of my college counterparts are also signed up.

Long story short, I LOVED it.  I quickly went through and found literally hundreds of titles that I've wanted to see but haven't had the chance, as well as oldies but goodies.  Unfortunately, my excitement was capped when I reached the 500 title limit for the queue.  Hahahaha.  Awesome.

Since then, I've been working hard to bring down the queue to a more manageable level, which is sometimes really rather difficult considering some of the other stuff I have on my list (separate from the queue) consists of about 40 television shows I've wanted to see or have heard pretty good things about, but never had time/was able to sit down and watch them as they were aired on television. 

Now-I'm making up for lost time.  At 500 movies and 40 television shows (not counting the many seasons some of them have,) I definitely have my work cut out for me.

Now, what's taking so long?  Well, when I signed up for Netflix I told Ryan we would be able to watch a lot of these movies together, and when we were both satisfied, we could delete the title from the queue.  That turned out to be a much more difficult process than originally intended.  Our schedules are both very hectic, so it's becoming a 'Megan-watches-a-movie-and-rates-it-and-when-Ryan-watches-it-he-can-delete-it-from-the-Queue' sort of process.  Currently, I'm at about 450-something movies in the physical queue (the ones that physically get sent to your mailbox,) and about 48 titles in the Instant Watch queue.

In short-we're working on it.  :)  There's a LOT of really great media out there, and I'm proud to be supporting Netflix with my business.  They have an amazing company, and I think I'll be registered with them until the day I die (or run out of movies and television shows to watch.) 

XXOO

-Megan

Home

My bed never felt so good.  :)

Turns out, Kinney's doesn't have any hours to give me over this short break.

So?

I get to take 2 weeks and relax!  No work, no commitments, etc.  It's going to be wonderful.  :)  What will suck though, is no money.  Christmas presents from me are going to be pathetic, so be prepared.  Haha!

I'm going to try to read through as many of the 6 books I've still got saved from this summer that I have yet to read, as well as work on my Netflix queue.  I feel bad that Ryan probably won't be able to catch up with me because I've got so much free time, but hopefully he'll be able to fit in the majority of the things I've watched over break, and maybe even next semester.

This break in my life feels like it was planned.  This is a time for me to figure out everything.  A time for new beginnings.  To take the next few steps toward my big goals in life.  To start fresh.  To do things right.  Metaphor: this is a cocoon from within which I will begin my transformation from silly undergrad-college-student-caterpillar, to full-blown butterfly adult.  Whoa.

Get ready.  Because my life is going to be awesome.

Also, I realize that this post only had about 3 sentences to do with being home.  Bear with me.  :)

XXOO

<3 Megan <3

Keep Rollin' With the Punches

So, just when I think I have a good shot at being done homework before break, my professors come out with things like, "Oh, don't forget you have a 10 page paper due for us the Monday you get back from break!" 

Lovely.  Thanks for ruining my break.  Except not.  Because nothing is going to ruin the awesomeness of FLORIDA and BEACHES and HARRY EFFING POTTER!!!!

Just thought I would share my excitement.  As for the paper...well...maybe I can work on it in my free time at the beach?

XXOO
<3 Megan <3

Happy 100th Post to Me!

Hello, my lovelies!  This is my 2nd blog post in the span of 24 hours.  I'm totally on top of this!  :)

This is my 100th blog post here on blogger.com, and I just want to think for a moment on what a journey I've been on throughout these 100 posts.  Whoa.  That's intense. 

Nostalgia aside, I want to inform you all of an AWESOME thing happening in our country right now.  As I was reading my monthly issue of Glamour, this feel-good idea was brought up yet again, after having previously seen it in a former issue.  OperationBeautiful is this wonderful thing where women are inspiring other women to realize their natural beauty.  So, how do you do this?  Random acts of post-its.  What you do is write down an inspirational message on a post-it, and stick it to a mirror in a bathroom stall, on the mirror, or somewhere on a subway, bus, or train for other women to find.  Messages usually go something like "Smile.  You're gorgeous.  Operationbeautiful.com."  It's such a sweet thing to do, and doesn't really take much time out of your day.  Everyone needs a pick-me-up at some point in their lives, and seeing a post-it telling a woman she is worthy can sometimes be all it takes to turn her day around.  Make each other smile, spread the love.  Tell all the women in your life they are beautiful and deserve the world.  Because seriously, we do.  ;)

In other good news-3 days into Weight Watchers I've lost 5 lbs!!!!  Now-to all of you out there who may not know, the weight that is coming off me right now is likely just bloat, and water weight.  This is the easy part.  All the weight I'm losing hereafter is going to come off much harder.  That doesn't mean that I can't still revel in my awesomeness and be proud of myself for an evening.  Guess what else I even did today?  26 minutes on a stationary bike!  Okay, so earlier I posted about how I was going to read and exercise all day at the same time?  That didn't work out.  Reading took too much concentration, and it's very hard to concentrate when you're breathing heavy and sweating.  I didn't even make it a full half hour because I mis-timed myself (I was using Crest Whitestrips left over from the box I bought about a year ago,) and so I had to stop and take the strips off before a full 1/2 hr on the bike.  That's okay with me though-my toes were numb.  Haha!  I just want to point out that although this sounds ridiculous (26 minutes on a stationary bike-that's it-really?), it's more exercise than I've been getting all summer.  I felt awesome from all the endorphins afterward, and it was a good place for me to start.  I regret to inform you that I did not make it to the treadmill, and after those 26 minutes I spent the rest of the day reading in bed, however I feel doubly accomplished because I finished the book I was expecting was going to take me another 2 days to read.

This is especially awesome because I've still got 12 books I'd like to read before going back to college.  (That's over a book a day for those of you that don't remember that Aug. 29th is my move-in day for Champlain.)  10 days left as of tomorrow.  Yeah, whoa is what I said too.  Tomorrow is my last full day of work at Kinney's (I still have a few more days of the 5 hr closing shifts to work,) so this really feels as though summer is FINALLY wrapping up.  I miss Ashley so much, but I'm also very well aware that once I'm in B-town I'll be missing Mitchell incredible amounts also.  I just can't ever win.  Haha!  Ah, well, such is life.  All the suckyness I have to endure now I hope will pay off in my future. 

I won't keep you all much longer.  This is my second book-ish post I've created today, and I know everyone has better things to do than to read about my life all evening.

Thank you for tuning in, as always.

<3 Megan <3