This Is the New Year...Well, Technically Not Yet

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OihpIHUYYU

Life Update: Happy New Years Eve, folks! Between family time, travel, and a little work, this past week has been quite enjoyable. Last Wednesday was Christmas, so we opened presents at our house in the morning and then went over to my grandparents' house in the afternoon for dinner and to have our family gift exchange / crazy game night. Best gift (in case you were wondering) - new camera!

Christmas Family Pic

I spent most of Thursday hanging out with my best friend at Starbucks (and Target) drinking coffee and playing cards. I hung out around the house on Friday so I could read and play some games with my sister. We ended the day by going to Lights of the South and looking at the stars out in the country.

Lights of the South

Saturday was spent sleeping, working, and doing stuff at the Humane Society. We went to church on Sunday morning and then went over to my grandparents' house for dinner (and we ended up playing some more fun games). Here's a picture of the 2 cute puppies we had this summer that you may remember as Phineas and Ferb - now Remmy and Bauer. 

Two Brothers

Well, this brings us to yesterday - a random road trip including a visit to the zoo. Here's the final picture before I move on to the actual content of this post.

Look at the Animals!

Hopped on Over to Oz

If You Doubted Our Sisterness...

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The year has almost come to a close...I can't believe it! And with that being said, I've spent some time lately (as I'm sure most of you have too) thinking back over this past year. I have to say that 2013 has been a pretty great one for me! I'd like to essentially take this post to reflect on the stuff I've done / been a part of this year that is so quickly approaching its end. 

I'm going to try and take the next couple of minutes to just write little one or two sentence blurbs (is that a word?) about some of the highlights of my life from this year.

- I went to Passion 2013 in the Georgia Dome with a group of friends from high school.

- I volunteered with the Augusta Futurity in January and got to meet some of the cool cowboys.

- I had the opportunity to shadow the wildlife ward at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine for several weeks. I got to see some really cool cases, including ducks, cockatoos, rabbits, and herons. (In the meantime, I also got to perform necropsies to dissect lungs and identify ticks.)

- I got to be a part of the ISM Restoration dance - which was completely awesome, by the way. (I was also on leadership for ISM with the Wesley Foundation.)

- I shot some engagement pictures!

- I visited my best friend in Atlanta and we got to go eat at an authentic Italian pizzeria.

- My friend from China got to come home with me to celebrate her birthday.

- I adopted M.J., the coolest dog around!

- I took part in the End It Movement's Stand for Freedom at UGA.

- I was a part of the group who began the Pencils of Promise chapter at UGA after hearing Adam Braun come speak on campus.

- Tiffany, who is practically like my sister now, had her bachelorette party AND married my cousin, Brent!

- The CSRA Humane Society, once again, hosted its annual Paws in the Park.

- Laila and I made our first Athenian Steak n Shake run!

- Lauren and I went to Banning Mills (just outside of Atlanta) to spend a Saturday zip lining. Then, she spent the weekend with me; we went to The Big Dance concert and the Botans.

- I went to the Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Jake Owen, and Thomas Rhett Night Train concert at Sanford Stadium in April!

- Laila and I went to the rodeo. Yeehaw!

- I went to the Passion Band tour (with Kristian Stanfill and Brett Younker) in Augusta and helped tear down / made a midnight food run for the band.

- I WENT TO NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA with the coolest people on earth. (Check out my posts from the other side of the earth. I literately could fill up this list with stuff I did over there. From swimming with sea turtles and sharks in the Great Barrier Reef to horseback riding through the same land in New Zealand they used to film Lord of the Rings, it was the experience of a lifetime.)

- Our family went to Disney World. Yes, that included Harry Potter World!

- I rode my first real roller coaster at Six Flags in Atlanta.

- We took a family vaca to Edisto Beach, and  I got to take Lauren's senior pictures in Charleston.

- Lauren and I went to see The Script (with Gavin DeGraw) in Charlotte, NC.

- I moved in to a new place (a townhouse) with 2 awesomely fabulous roommates (and my dog)! We try and have at least one night a week where we all do dinner together, and that has proven to be fun.

- I took one of the best classes I have ever taken this fall. We got to visit loads of farms and even took a behind the scenes trip to the zoo that included bottle feeding tigers!

- Lauren and I went to see Parachute in Atlanta! (And I ran into one of my high school friends.)

- M.J. went for her first hiking trip in the North Georgia mountains.

- I became an officer for UGA Club Italiano and even played for a few seconds in the soccer game, La Coppa Di Gilbert.

- I got baptised!

- Repro class. 2 Story became a second home for Laila and I.

- I got to meet one of my friends every Tuesday morning for breakfast/coffee. 

- Football games.

- I went to the corn maze at Washington Farms with a group of friends.

- I helped make a tiger toy out of fire hose with some other members of the Pre-Vet club. We then went to Noah's Ark to install it in the tiger enclosure.

- I worked the merch table at the Passion tour stop in Athens. I met some great people there!

- My sister was a fairy godmother.

- The CSRA Humane Society had its annual Pet-A-Fair, and I helped run concessions.

- Our family finally made a fall trip to the mountains to see the leaves changing. Beauty.

- Dairy Fun Night happened. I ran side-by-side with a heifer and plunged my face into ice cream. What more is there to say?

- I went to the Homecoming Carnival with a group of friends and managed to not get sick or dizzy in the spinny ride.

- I showed a sheep in Little I. Button was her name. 4th place was her game.

- Laila and I made a very spontaneous last-minute decision to go see Hillsong United in Atlanta. Worth it? I'd do it again in a heart beat. (Including the part about the toothpaste and waving to the man at the red light.)

- Laila and I slept in random places. #FinalsWeek2k14

- Bonfire night with high school friends.

- Christmas.

- New Years Eve!




Happy New Year,
Megan

Fun Fact: The word of the year for 2013 was..."selfie."

Twitter - Whaddup!? #ChristmasEve

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvtATI9R-qA

Life Update: So, probably like you, I've spent the day with family and had an amazing time. We did our traditional gingerbread houses (accompanied with the annual coconut battles), played some Guitar Hero, made sugar cookies (equipped with sprinkles and plenty of flour), went to the Christmas Eve service at Steven's Creek, and went around to look at Christmas lights (while singing along to Christmas tunes). We also discovered the song "Santa Claus and Popcorn;" look it up - I'm not kidding.

Over the past week, I've been doing pretty much the same things as I have been since I got home. Some of my friends from high school got together and we had a bonfire with a gift exchange one night last week. I've been doing a good bit of reading and sleeping too - no shame. 

Yesterday, I took my sister to finish up her Christmas shopping in the midst of the mad dash of everyone else in Augusta trying to do the same thing. But we also went to the midday screening of "Saving Mr. Banks" which was good but ended up being a little longer than it probably needed to be.

As usual, here are some pics from this past week (mostly from today):

Bonfire

Scavenger Hunt Across Augusta

"Saving Mr. Banks"

Looking at Lights

Gingerbread Houses

Making Sugar Cookies

Looking at Lights

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The following is the typed-up version of a speech I gave this past year for one of my classes. Hope you enjoy! Since it is Christmas Eve, I'm kind of giving myself a bit of a break.

So you know that little symbol right above the number 3 on your keyboard? Now, if I were to ask anyone 10 years ago what this symbol was, they would have simply shrugged their shoulders and responded with “the pound sign,” or they might have just not known. But today, these symbols have exploded all over the web. If I were to ask a second or third grader that same question now, they’d probably look at me like I was stupid and say something like “Duh! It’s a hashtag.”

Look, I’m not about to be that person to stand up here and tell you that we need to change, or that we should start a movement to save the English language so that our children aren’t walking around speaking in 140 characters followed by sayings like #solegit, #butforreal, #thestruggleisreal and #lololololololol. No, that’s not at all what I’m going to talk about. I’m actually here to do just the opposite.

To me, it’s amazing how people gain a sense of purpose and unity just by putting a symbol and a few words either beside a picture or after a status update. These crafty little pound signs are taking over the internet. They’ve spread from Twitter and can now be found on sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Google +. And when we use them, they make us feel like we’re part of something. And who doesn’t want to be a part of something? Let’s take #ThrowbackThursday for example. When a weekly trend like this takes over social media, it’s hard for people to not want to be a part of something fun that a lot of their friends are participating in. And it's not just #ThrowbackThursday; we've also got things like #MCM and #WCW.

But not only do these symbols serve as ego-boosters; they also serve a very practical purpose. No one said it better than Mark Robison when he quoted, “I think hashtags are going to become the new dot-com. They’re like the new www because it can connect everything on a particular topic.” Hashtags have become the new way to find out what’s going on in the world. Osama bin Laden’s death was already trending on Twitter before President Obama even had a chance to announce it. So as far as effective goes, I think hashtags are pretty good at quickly getting the word out about a certain event to the public. Even businesses and grassroots movements have caught on. Marketing expert Amy Kean exclaims that “the theory is that the hashtag can build a bit of intrigue.” So groups take advantage of the hashtag with hopes that the saying will grab the attention of the public or the consumer, whoever their audience may be.

I hope next time you see or use that little symbol above the 3 that you don’t take for granted the purpose that it serves in society today. There are millions of people using it for a reason, whether that reason be psychological or to get the word out about something important.


Happy Christmas!
Megan

Fun Fact: The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of died goose feathers.

Dance the Night Away

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA1J-raGinQ

Life Update: I'm sitting here on the couch writing this post since I'm Christmas break. And, let me tell you, I am taking full advantage of this break by doing nothing, catching up on sleep, playing plenty of Guitar Hero and Just Dance, reading, doing Christmas stuff, and just hanging out. 

To be quite frank, my "life update" section is going to be pretty boring for the next couple of weeks, and I am perfectly happy with that. That's not to say I'm not doing anything exciting, but my life has just slowed down in comparison to the regular hustle and bustle of the normal school time schedule.

Mom's Birthday Dinner

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I've had this strange urge over the past couple of weeks, maybe months. So much so that I almost signed up for a class next semester thinking that it might help to satisfy it. I've been really wanting to dance.

Occasionally I'll catch myself starting to tap or dance around the house or in my room to whatever music I have playing or just to the soundtrack of my life.

Dance has pretty much always been a part of my life. In elementary school and through middle school, I met once a week for a tap class with my awesome teacher, Ms. Mickey. Even after the class ended, I still carried on on my involvement with dance through musicals in middle and high school. Let's set something straight - I can't carry a tune to save my life. So the real reason I did all those musicals was because I loved learning the dances and being a part of the story.

Back to now. When I went off to college, I didn't dance for 2 and a half years, and I missed it a lot. But it was one of those things that just wasn't a priority on my list of things to do. 

Last spring, I discovered a dance that the Wesley Foundation helps put on called Restoration. (If you've read some of my earlier posts, you've heard about it and probably seen some pics.) Not only did I get to meet so many great people, but I also got to rekindle that love that I once had. Restoration is happening again net semester, and I hope so much that I can be a part of it once more. (As long as I can find a spot in my 17 hours of classes and 17 hours of work schedule.)

I thought about ending with a couple of facts about how dancing is good for you and then encourage you to try it out, but I'm not. Instead, I'm just going to leave this post where it is and maybe you'll be encouraged to go dance or something. You don't even have to sign up for a class - just do what I like to do and find you're groove while flipping omelettes and tossing salads. 


Go get that groove on,
Megan

Fun Fact: Boxing matches that allow biting are illegal in Utah.  (Just as a side note, I love looking up random state laws and sayings and figuring out where they came from.)

I'm Hungry

Video of the Week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkij5AfAfIw

[For some reason, it won't let me put a image in for the video, but please go check it out! It's master illusionist Harris III spreading some holiday cheer! I am honored to know him and his wife Kate (who just had a baby!), and he is one of the greatest guys I have ever met. His ministry changes lives daily, and it's so refreshing to see someone living out the faith like he does. Go check him out on YouTube! He's got some live tours and DVDs too...]

Life Update: 8am final tomorrow, and then I'll be home free. My life update really isn't going to be too long, because my life has been consumed by four things over the past week: (1) being sick, (2) coffee, usually accompanied by studying, (3) friends, and (4) food/work, they both are kind of the same in my case. I also decided that I'm going to try and get an internship in a zoo or sanctuary in Australia, so I have been looking into that too. I finally got to explore some shops downtown with one of my friends, so that was a lot of fun to actually get to know my city a bit! Aaaaaaaaand we have a Christmas tree and lights for our apartment, and just cause, here's a pic!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

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Alright, y'all, I'm just gonna be real and honest for this post. (I only say y'all when I'm about to get intense...not really, but yeah, kinda...) Go back and look at the title. Yeah, sure, I could go order a pizza or eat some eggs from my fridge, but that wouldn't help one bit. I'm talking about a different kind of hunger. (No, not the Hunger Games...)

I hate to admit it, but I'm guilty. I'm guilty of settling. Settling for the wonderful relationship that I already have with my God. To be quite frank, I'm too easily satisfied. I had this realization a couple of days (maybe a week) ago while I was laying in bed. I was just trying to go to sleep when I herd Him speak to me. And I was so convicted because of what He said. He made it clear that I had reached a point where I was starting to get content in my relationship with Him. I was starting to settle.

He made it clear that He still wants to lead me into deeper and greater things. But here I am about to just be happy where I am and not even thinking about moving forward some more. The problem was, after that encounter, I didn't know what to do.

It's so easy for us to go to church and sing songs that say "Onwards we draw towards Your light / Desperate we seek to know you more and more / Further we look beyond ourselves / To your love / To your love / 'Cause we are running / We're chasing after all that You are..." But what does that mean? How do we chase after Him?

Well, these aren't easy questions, and they're surely not questions that I fully know the answers to. We always hear about Him pursuing us, but somehow we don't put as much weight on our side of pursuing Him.

Psalms 42:1-2 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?"

That verse couldn't describe any better the emotion I felt the other night (a couple of nights after the first) and still carry around with me as I sit here writing this. I don't know a better word for it that hunger. And it should be the normal state for all Christians. 

Unfortunately, we do have an enemy, and he takes full advantage of all the barriers that cause us to either tone down our hunger or make us think we're full. But we have to realize that we need Him. He is our sustenance, and it should be our joy to sit down at the banquet table with our love every chance we can get.

(Just as complete side note, I received prayer from some friends today while I was at one of my friend's houses. One of the people praying specifically prayed for this hunger, and I know it's something that God wants nothing more than to keep filling and filling and filling, over and over again. Just when I think I'm almost full, He will continue to remind me that there's still more.)


Megan

Fun Fact: According to a survey, 7 out of 10 households in the U.S. claim to use candles.

Traditions

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

Life Update: I feel like it was only a few days ago that I was writing a blog post during the week of Midterms, and here we are - It's finals time! Next Wednesday at 11am I will officially be done with my junior year...and be graduating in exactly a year. Kind of scary...not going to lie. 

Anywho, as you all know, last week was Thanksgiving, so I had the week off and went home. Oh, and by the way, I'm sick, so this post is going to be short and sweet and might not be coherent. Please forgive me. 

Basically, I spent the week with my family and friends. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the family at my grandparents' house. Then we did the whole Black Friday shopping thing. But the annoying thing was that all the stores opened so early on Thursday that we didn't get the actually experience. Clearly I'm not trading my grandma's cooking for some sale. Sorry WalMart. I did buy a huge box of chocolates with my sister and the movie "Forest Gump" (cause I've never seen it! *insert gasp here*). I got to do some events with the Humane Society like Christmas present wrapping at the mall and being in the parade on Sunday in Augusta. We got to do a fun photo shoot with a family from church on Saturday. We had all the cousins there, so it was a blast!

I came back yesterday for class, and today I had class and work. This week (and the beginning of next week) will just be reviews, finals, meetings, and work. The fun stuff. Oh! And we have 2 baby Christmas trees in our apartment! Yay Christmas! And fun fact: I helped make over 1,000 gingerbread men today.

Aaaaaaand here are a couple of pictures from this past week - 

Getting the Christmas Tree

Good Times at Steak 'n Shake

My Gorgeous Sister

Christmas Present Wrapping

The Parade Crew

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Traditions. As we approach the holiday season, we start hearing that word creep into our vocabulary again. Technically a tradition is something that is passed down from generation to generation, but we use the term loosely to cover anything that we may to from year to year. 

Some of my favorite memories of the holiday season are these traditions that my family has. For example, we always go with my cousins and pick out a tree on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And then we proceed to decorate the house that weekend. 

Moving on a little closer to Christmas, we always have a day (usually the Saturday before Christmas or on Christmas Eve) where the family gets together to destroy the kitchen and bake and decorate a ton of sugar cookies. We have the cookie cutters and all. Then, we do Gingerbread houses, and my older cousin usually starts a coconut "snow" war. The coconut always wins...

On Christmas, we do the whole running into the living room thing after we empty our stockings. Then, we have breakfast and take turns opening up the presents that are under the tree. In the afternoon/night, we go over to my grandparents' house for dinner and a gift exchange. It's always a lot of fun! Now that I don't live in the same city, it's nice to be able to see the whole family together and having a good time.

So, yeah, those are a few of my family's traditions that I look forward to each year. What are some of your Christmas traditions?


Happy Finals!...but for real
Megan

Fun Fact: Most of Santa's reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeer shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh are likely not male.