Thanksgiving

Video of the Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVLOydduvqg

Life Update: It's the Tuesday night of Thanksgiving break, and I am glad that I remembered that today is Tuesday because usually on breaks, I loose track of / don't really care what day it actually is. To summarize last week before I finished up on Friday...I got about 5 hours of sleep (total) from Wednesday to Friday. I had class, a huge project, Wesley, tabling, a percentage night, and canning for Pencils of Promise, and work on top of that. AND I got to go to the Hillsong United concert too! So that was pretty awesome and very last minutely determined. But those are the most fun things in life, right?  :) 

Percentage Night for PoP @ UGA

Hillsong United

Laila & I at Hillsong United

I cam home home on Saturday and spent the rest of the day at the CSRA Humane Society, the place where I spent the majority of my weekends growing up in Augusta. OH AND MY SISTER GOT ACCEPTED TO UGA! Two Dawgs in the house now! 

Double Dawgs

Meeting Uga III's Granddaughter

Our family went out to dinner on Saturday at Chili's to celebrate Lauren and watch the Georgia game. On Sunday, we went to church and spent the afternoon doing a little work and hanging out before going to eat dinner at my grandparents' house. 

Yesterday was such a lazy day. I got up late and picked Lauren up from school so we could go eat lunch together. She has a study hall before and after her lunch period, so we had some free time to roam around Target too. I bought the book Divergent while we were at Target with the plan to read it over this week. I finished it that afternoon in the time span of 5 hours. It was sooooooooo good! I highly recommend it. So, yeah, that was my Monday.

This morning, I took my car in to get my oil changed and tires rotated and what-not. It was such a dreary day...cold, rainy, and gray-colored. I met my grandmother at the mall for lunch afterwards. We did a little browsing afterwards, and I got another scarf to add to my collection! I think I'm addicted to scarfs...I've been going through some old pictures and looking at jobs and internships since I got home. Just taking it easy.

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I would love to sit here and write an elaborate blog post about Thanksgiving: food, family, and fellowship, but quite frankly, what good would that do. This week is about action. It's about taking the time to be intentional and love on the people around you; to really remember who and what you are thankful for. Reading about the holiday on your computer screen is not doing that. And I'm preaching to the choir here.

But if you are looking for that classic Thanksgiving post of some things I am thankful for, I can deliver on that. Here's a list of 30 things I'm thankful for, one for each day of the month. I'm going to try to not list things that are super similar in topic. I could take the time to elaborate on each listing, but I'm going to leave that for another time so that I can get to that whole hanging out with the fam thing I was talking about earlier. It's a lot different now that I don't get to see them as much as I used to...

But anyway, here's my list (in no particular order, mind you):

1. Jesus (and everything He's done)
2. my family (classic)
3. my friends (especially my besties - you know who you are!)
4. music
5. travel
6. the continent of Australia
7. the colors of the leaves in the fall
8. meat (especially chicken and beef)
9. places in the world where you can drink water straight from the stream
10. the stars
11. candy (mostly chocolate)
12. coffee (love my mocha)
13. the automatic numbering thing on computers (so I don't have to type each number)
14. cameras/photography
15. YouTube
16. books
17. animals (particularly my pets and dairy cows)
18. laughter and joy
19. the woods
20. snow (when I actually get the chance to see it)
21. farmers
22. cheese (kind of related to #17...)
23. warm chocolate chip cookies
24. sunglasses
25. heat and air conditioning
26. scarfs
27. Coke, Dr. Pepper, Pibb Xtra, Mtn Dew, and Mellow Yellow
28. good actors
29. biscuits just taken out of the oven
30. for the fact that I could make this list easily 2x or 3x longer

Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?
Megan

Fun Fact: The world's smallest mammal, the Crsaeonycteris thonglongyai (bumble bat), is found in Thailand.

Enjoying the "Little" Things

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9zfCMp99-A

Life Update: Yee-haw! It's the last week of classes for the semester! Now that it's finally junior year, I can finally say that I've finally found my niche here at UGA. I'm involved with organizations I love, in a major I love, and have some pretty awesomely great friends!

I shall begin my weekly update with last Wednesday. I had class, did some homework and stuff, and then went to our Italian Club event, "Cinema Sotto Le Stelle" (which actually ended up being inside since it was freezing) where we watched La Vita e Bella. The movie is in Italian, but if you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it. Turn on subtitles, yo. Oh, and while we're talking Italian, one of my coworkers asked me today in the middle of our conversation if I was Italian...RaNdOm. Ohhhh and I payed for the rest of my Impact trip. So for Spring Break, I'm officially going to the everglades! Huzzah!

I kind of took Thursday as a lazy day since my lab period was cancelled. I made sure everything was together for my plant book and then met my friend that night to watch Pitch Perfect. 

Friday, however was a bit more busy. I had my classes (turned in the plant book!) and work until 4:30 like every other Friday. But after that, I headed out to the sheep farm for an hour before my best friend got in from Tech! We went out to eat Friday night at Mirko and I took her to 2 Story where we caught up, hung out, and chilled for a while. I love being with her cause is never like we missed a beat, even if we haven't seen eachother for a couple of months. Of course we stayed up late...

Saturday morning she got to come out to the farm with me and meet the sheep :) Afterwards, I went to watch her v-ball tournament that went on from noon until around 6pm. I got home and happened to catch the end of the Auburn game. And catch the ball is exactly what Auburn did. And they ran it. And won. I literately heard the entire neighborhood scream when that happened. 

Grace and Me

Sunday was quite the long day, but I loved every minute of it. I went out to the livestock arena at 7am after taking MJ out for a nice sunrise walk. I showed my sheep after the dairy cows and ended up with 4th. The show ended around 2; I stayed with my friend to help clean up and load the dairy heifers into the trailer. After the show, my mom and I went to Panera and Target for some quality hang out time. I had a triple professor sighting at Target - old chemistry, old bio, and current speech. Later on, my roomies and I went to Sonic for dinner (where I faked an Aussie accent to order). I then headed to Warnell to meet my group to work on our project due this Thursday. Here's pics of me with Button for your enjoyment -

Showing Sheep

Me with Button

Yesterday, otherwise known as Monday, I had class, worked on a paper, went to DT, and went to the last pre-vet club meeting of the semester. I actually brought my dog, MJ, along to the meeting with me, so she got to get some fine UGA education. 

And that brings me to today. Class. Work. But after work, I went to this pretty cool Young Farmers dinner meeting. If there's one thing I love about the College of Ag, it's the people. Before, I had met my friend at Kroger so that we could carpool to Four Towers, so we went back to Kroger. We proceeded to chill in the car for over an hour in the Kroger parking lot. (What were we talking about you might ask? Well, here are a few things...my everglades accent, the moon, being long along gone long-ly, country music, brownies, people who are too happy when they get out of their cars, guys who drive Beetles, and other random things. Then, I came home, and here I am. The end. And they all lived happily ever after. 

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Sometimes life can slap us in the face and seem to tell us that we're not good enough. We'll never make it big. In order to make our lives meaningful, we have to have that bigger house, a better car, bigger dreams, the list goes on and on.

Well, I want to offer you a challenge. Just for a little bit of time each day - stop thinking about the big things of life and focus on the little. Sure, the big things are important, but not as important as you might think.

I've been spending a lot of time over these past couple of weeks outside and on the farm. Something as, and I say small, as a sunset or sunrise is absolutely beautiful and should be given more attention. I mean, come on, how "little" of a deal is a sunrise? But yet, we tend to take it for granted.

These day-to-day smaller events or occurrences can be so easily overlooked either because we're too focused on the big picture or because we have our face buried in our phone.

My challenge for you is to find at least one or two of the "smaller things in life" per day that you are grateful for. They could be a sunrise, an hour spent in the car laughing with a friend, a song on the radio, a smile offered by a stranger, or a leaf that happens to fall in your path just so you can step on it to hear that crunch.


Appreciate the "little" things!
Megan

Fun Fact: The world's lowest street-legal car was 19 inches tall. It was adequately nicknamed the "Flatmobile."

Dat Beard Tho

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dURYoLe-0Vg&feature=youtube

Life Update: It's full speed ahead until Thanksgiving gets here. But, to be honest, I don't really mind. Right now it might seem overwhelming at times, but one day, I know I'm going to look back and miss these days. AND MY BEST FRIEND IS COMING THIS WEEKEND! She's hopping over from the land of Tech. I'm so excited <--- Can you tell? 

So, as far as the life update part goes, I'll start with last Wednesday. It was quite a jam-packed day. I had class, worked more on my plant project (which has pretty much consumed my life up to this point), went to sheep practice, went to Wesley (worship in the round, y'all), and finished my day up by meeting a friend at 2 Story to study it up till midnight.

Thursday. Such an amazing day. After my first class, I headed to my lab. But this was no ordinary lab - we went to Zoo ATL for a behind the scenes tour! I GOT TO BOTTLE FEED A TIGER. Best. Lab. Ever. Hands down. I wish I could post a pic, but I can't for legal reasons. We got back really late that night after eating dinner together at Doc Chey's in the ATL. Since I had a repro test on Friday, I met people at 2 Story to once again study till midnight. But this time we moved over to Waffle House until about 2am to finish. We also made friends with the ladies that work there, but that's a story for another day :) All around, I'd say it was a pretty awesome day.

Friday consisted of my classes, i.e. the repro test and volleyball (we won our 2nd game in the "friendly comp" tournament haha), and work. Buuuuuuuut since it was homecoming weekend, I went to the parade and carnival that night with a group of people, and we had a blast! I'll post pics at the end of this. Later that night, I went over to a friend's house a we hung out for a while. 

I slept in Saturday because I literately had nothing to do except the plant project for that day. That night, though, I went to my friend's 21st bday party. We went to Olive Garden and then to her house to hang out and stuff. Twas fun! 

I had to work on Sunday, so there's not much to say there. I worked on my project more and finished off the day by having dinner with my one of my lovely housemates at Keba.

Monday. Oh, glorious Monday. And I'm not being sarcastic there. Soooooo I'm heading to my classes in the morning and stopped by Starbucks on the way to grab some coffee and brekkie (cause I pretty much had pasta and salmon at home and that's it). I got this text from my friend whose in my first class that says that a pipe broke in the main room (where my class was), flooded the building, and they had cancelled class. Well, all my Monday classes except PE are in that room, so it was back home I went! I got some cleaning done around the house and finally went grocery shopping. I had DT later that evening where (for about the second or third time in my life) I literately had one of those moments that took my breath away. I may write about it later...But yeah. God's so cool. After group DT, I had a couple of meetings and got to talk with someone about my study abroad experience. Before I knew it, and hour and a half had gone by. And for those of you who know me, I don't ever talk that much! Well...usually. 

And that brings me to today, as I sit here typing this post smelling like sheep and about to fall asleep. Well, would you look at that. I rhymed. (Don't have a cow. - Joke of the night.) I met a friend for brekkie this morning at Walker's, a local coffee shop. Class. Work. The daily stuff. But then, I went to work with my sheep after work. She actually walked a tiny bit, but I'm still quite nervous for her...the show is Sunday. I went and proctored an exam after that, helped with the grading, and then came home. And here we are. 

As promised, here's so pics from the zoo and what-not. (And warning...proceed with caution to the later part of this post.)

Dairy Fun Night - "Confused Cow"

Panda at Zoo ATL

Admiring the GLTs

Carnival Action Shot

Cotton Candy (...not even the fried pickles yet)

Beyond the Stage

Laila with Loki & me with Button

  

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To be honest, I started this blog post without really knowing what I was going to talk about. But then it hit me. It's November. Clearly I have to discuss my stance on facial hair, particularly the beard. (If you can't tell by now, this is by no means a serious blog post.)

I, being the nerd that I am, proceeded to look up the definition of "beard" so as to get a scholarly opinion on the issue at hand, and I found 2 definitions. I like the second one better, so I'll post it - "a hairy or bristly appendage or tuft." Now if the word "tuft" doesn't make you laugh out loud (or LOL as we like to call it nowadays), I don't know what will. But for real.

So what's my opinion on people who like to grow this tuft? Well, I say more power to them. Clearly I'm in no place to judge. However, if I may step on my pedestal for a second or two and just be honest - I'm not really a fan. Sure, it works for some people, e.g. Si...and yeah, that's about it. I don't mind people who grow them in good fun for the month of November, but overall, I'm just not a fan. And if you reading this have a beard, that's fine. Nothing wrong with that. There are people who love beards. I am just not one of them. (Although I am a "Beard Lover" in reference to being a fan of Wheezy Waiter.) I really don't mind stubbles, though, but the full out beard. Personally, just no. 

So there you have it folks. My stance on beards. Now moving on with our lives. 


Until next time (when I hopefully have something more meaningful to contribute to society),
Megan

Fun Fact: In the 1700s, Peter the Great taxed Russian beards at the rate of 100 rubles per beard. The lower class paid a kopek. (Granted, 1 ruble is about $0.03 American dollars.)

Sticky Thoughts

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkBDRUO8hAo

Life Update: Last Tuesday, I ended my post on Tuesday night, so I shall begin this one with Wednesday. I had class, played Bocce Ball for Italian Club, and went to Wesley that night. Thursday morning, I went to my class dressed in camo and carrying a fishing pole. Granted, it was for extra credit. However, I did have to deliver my speech in class as well. Afterwards, I went back to my house and packed up my stuff while watching a horror movie about a killer clown called "It." I also got a candy package in the mail from my best friend over at Tech. I think it was based of a Stephen King book. It wasn't really scary, but it did actually have a plot to it and so was watchable. My mom and sister drove up to Athens to pick me up and we headed to Augusta.

I spent the night in Augusta and got up early on Friday to drive my grandparents up to the mountains, specifically Tennessee. I hadn't been up to the mountains in the fall before, so the drive for me was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. We made it to Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge a little after lunch time, and we checked into the Christmas Tree Inn where they were staying. They had so much going on in that place, it was crazy! They loved it! The rest of the family came up later that night, and we spent a wonderful weekend in the mountains. From apple cider and marshmallow roasting to dancing on top of a mountain, it was all-around fun. Sunday night, they dropped me back off in Athens (back to reality), and they went on back to Augusta. 

Monday morning, I got to teach my first college class...kind of intimidating, not going to lie. I think I went a little too fast, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Afterwards, I played in a vball tournament, and our team won. (Yay!) I then ran by and grabbed some lunch from Subway before DT. Then, I had a couple of meetings before I met with a friend to study for a test I have later this week. And, most importantly, yesterday was my sister's 18th!

Today, I had coffee with a friend to start off my day before class. And I also ended my day with studying at 2 Story with another friend after Dairy Fun Night - good times, good times. Fun fact: I popped my shoulder out of place today. Yeah, it's pretty painful. And on another note, here's some pics from the weekend! 

The Traveling Crew

Christmas is Year-Round at the Christmas Tree Inn

Family :)

Capturing the Moment (of me capturing the moment)

Ski Lift Selfie

Driving through the Smokies

Picnic Spot at the Babbling Brook

Colorful Leaf

Sister Love

Fall Colors

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The other day, I felt something on my back. I reached my hand over my shoulder to scratch at the spot where whatever it was was there. I felt something small, smooth, and sticky. What could it be? Now, if you've read my last blog post, you know that 2 weeks ago I found a fuzzy caterpillar on my leg, so who knows what this was. I pulled it off and brought my hand back over my shoulder in front of my face.

It was a sticker. Not just any sticker, but it was one of those rectangular stickers that said "Made." But what struck me odd was that it was missing the part that said where it was made.

At this point you might be wondering where I'm going with this. Well, I'm glad you asked!

You see, right after I had that thought, I was reminded of something. That's how a lot of us humans live life. We have a sticker on us that just says "Made," but some people don't know by Whom they were made.

I'm not talking about a literal sticker, but I'm referring to simply who we claim we are as people. It's once we discover in whom we live (and by whom we were made) that we can truly live life to the fullest.


Megan

Fun Fact: People tend to sleep more hours in cooler temperatures.