Return to Real Life

The cake has been cut. The bouquet was tossed. I danced all night and slept for nearly an entire day.

I guess its time to go back to real life. You know - work, school, obligations.

I'm sitting in bed right now (late day today) and I'm trying to figure out an outfit. We've got a special guest in town today - a manager five levels above me. My boss' boss' boss' boss. Whew.

I really have no idea what to wear. Ordinarily I'd think "duh, wear a suit!". However, since I'm working on a college campus, we have been expressly told NOT to wear a suit, so as not to alienate ourselves from the students ("who is that girl in the suit, she must be important, I shouldn't bother her" - not so good for business).

So far, I've got a dress that might be too short with leggings and boots. I'm thinking too casual.

I've got a pair of black pants, a navy blue tee and a pink scarf tied really cute and a pair of black heels.

Can you wear black and navy together these days? Serious question. I'm always a little nervous to mix neutrals like that.

I definitely can't wear just a dress with bare legs, because I have a tattoo on my ankle that's technically forbidden. 

Oh, did I mention the forecast is calling for 80 degrees today? So I'll want to bring a cardigan for the AC in the office but I don't want to wear anything heavy.

Also since I haven't put unpacking as a priority, my room is a hot mess and I can't find anything.

I'd better get cracking.

Yikes.

~Megan

Here's A Tip

When you decide to get married, don't plan your wedding for the week before finals.

If that's unavoidable, at least don't move three weeks before the wedding.

"Frazzled" doesn't even begin to cover my mood.

Especially since not only am I doing all of that, I'm coming down with something on top of it. Sore throat, fatigue, swollen glands, body aches - the works.

Five days and counting...

~Megan

Okay, That's Enough

I know I made a post about how great the rain is for the grass and blah, blah, blah.

I'm sick of it.

It's 71 and sunny in Columbus today, and 44 and raining in Milwaukee.

Any day now, I'd like to see the sunlight.

Oh, and if it snows on my wedding day, I swear I'm moving.

Sun on my wedding day would be nice too.

And warm weather so I can get married outside.

But I guess that's asking too much, Wisconsin. I mean, the last two years you had an early spring but my wedding year? Noooo

The grass had better be really green, or else!

~Megan

Derailed

Sometimes you have a great idea for a post, but then you get a terrible headache and the rest of your day is just kind of...off.

So here's a picture of my cats instead

They, like myself, are very organized.

Moon's at the bottom, and that's Puck above her.

Okay, time to call it an early night (7:30...what is my life?).

~Megan

Road Trip!

Happy Monday!

It feels good to be back home - even though the weather was way better in Ohio. I'm talking 70+ degrees all weekend.

The trip was actually really nice. It was the farthest I've ever driven on my own, so I was a little nervous, especially since the first part of the trip was at night. Chicago traffic was awful (of course) but there was no real way to avoid that, so I ended up not getting to Columbus until 2 am (that darn time difference).

It was so, so, so great to spend time with my friend though. I haven't seen her in what feels like forever and it was amazing to just sit around and watch movies and eat (vegan!) chocolate mint cake:

So good with a nice tall glass of almond milk.  That's a pistachio rosewater cupcake behind it. And there were cookies involved- aka the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever tasted.

We also went and got vegan potstickers, spring rolls, pho, and something called golden nuggets which blew my mind. I wish I had remembered to take pictures before I devoured everything.

I miss Ohio already, though I didn't have to wear a jacket today, at the very least. I'm counting down until I can make another trip to visit!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled Monday.

~Megan

We Out

Well, not we. Just me.

(Set to the tune of No Diggity, by the way).

Today, I'm leaving Wisconsin behind and setting my sights on sunnier skies. That's right - Ohio!

No, really, Ohio's weather is much milder than Wisconsin's. Which is sort of surprising because I figured the midwest was the midwest. However, in our travels to Cincinnatti we've discovered that Ohio is usually about 10 degrees closer to freezing (either a bit warmer than here or a bit cooler). The snow doesn't stick around much either, not like it does here.

Anyways! I'm super psyched to spend the weekend with one of my very best friends in the whole world - seriously, we've been friends for almost half of our lives. Which is really weird to me, considering I'm only 23. 

I'm looking forward to a weekend of girl time. I haven't seen her in forever! I'm so excited!!

~Megan

Legally Binding

Okay. It's starting to hit me: I'm getting married in 16 days!

We went down to the courthouse today to get our license. After an adventure in security and getting lost in the many buildings in the complex, we finally found the county clerk's office.

Then we had another adventure in paperwork, of course.

But we got to raise our right hands, and swear that we were legally allowed to marry and that the information on our application was correct to the best of our knowledge.

We even got to say our first "I do".

There might have been a small kiss involved.

Next week, I get to pick up the actual license. I would be lying if I said I wasn't immensely excited at this point. I just can't believe it's all happening so fast!

~Megan

Rain, Rain, I Suppose You're Useful

There's a theory that the more negative thoughts you have, the more negative experiences you have. Conversely, the more positive thoughts, the more positive experiences.

And oh boy, am I a Negative Nancy about literally everything. Give me a situation and I will point out every negative aspect. I automatically think about the bad over the good. So I suppose it follows that when things happen, I judge them as negative and I fail to see any sort of positive outcome or usefulness.

Take the rain, for example. It sucks. It's still super cold out, and when the skies are grey and the ground is muddy, I really just do not want to get out of bed in the morning. My first thought is "Oh, great, rain. Today is going to suck."

But what if I can teach myself to start thinking in a different frame of mind? Yes, it's raining. It's April, and rain usually means the onset of spring. More rain means less snow and ice on the ground. The grass will start to turn green again. The trees will bud.

I can start wearing all those cute, springy dresses in my closet (even if I have to wear tights).

Oh, and I bought an adorable umbrella in order to cheer me up. At least that's something!

~Megan

Bookworm

Just another rainy, dreary, cold Monday morning here in Milwaukee.

The weekend was absolutely gorgeous, sunny skies and a balmy temperature.

But of course, me being me, I spent the entire weekend with my nose in a book.

Sometimes when I read, I just can't stop myself. I recently picked up a copy of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I loved it, and hated it, and then loved it some more. It was something that I definitely could not put down. I have to say, it definitely creeped me out, but it also made me think. I mean, how well do we really know how a relationship will play out in the long term?

I'm one of those people that really puts myself into the characters of a book. I think that's why it creeped me out so much. I had to text Andrew for reassurances during a few of the plot twists.

I definitely reccommend it, with the full disclosure that it is a little disturbing. I'm still a little freaked.

Now it's back to real life.

~Megan

Spring Has (Maybe) Sprung!

Well, it finally happened, though probably temporarily.

Spring has (maybe) sprug!

The sun is out, the temperature has finally hit the 50s, and the last of the greyish black ice and snow is melting.

I can't stop thinking of going outside in something other than my winter coat.

In fact, there's a piece of clothing that I'm craving, one I haven't been able to find the perfect version of yet.

A classic, khaki trench.

I have a red one, by Calvin Klein, but it's too big. I know I should have it tailored, but that just seems like tooo much of an investment for a jacket I only like, not love. One of the buttons fell off and I'm toying with the idea of replacing all the gold hardware with tortiseshell buttons. The belt is kind of crinkled, because the waist is in the wrong place (thanks, short torso). I'm very indifferent to this coat.

Now, in a perfect world I'd order a Burberry classic short trench and have it tailored and live with it forever. However, as a soon-to-be-unemployed undergrad, the $1600 price tag is a bit out of my range.

I had a Forever 21 jacket, but it had ruffled shoulders, and the belt fit weird. I gave it to my cousin.

I'm considering trying the Gap or Banana Republic next.

Oh, and I'm definitely lusting over a pair of classic Hunter wellies.

What are you excited for this spring?

~Megan



Summer School

Who would have thought I would be this excited for summer school? Not me, that's for sure!

I just registered for my summer courses and I am brimming with excitement. I just can't wait! I'm excited to get that much further into my degree. Plus its not like I have much else to do in the summer right now. Classes will start after the wedding and honeymoon so it'll be a nice easy transition.

I get to take:

Intro to Anthropology - Human Cultures

Cultures of Online Gaming and Virtual Worlds

Egyptian Mythology

And maybe math but I'm definitely not excited for math.

I've heard that summer courses are much more laid back than full-semester courses, and I'm crossing my fingers that it's true. I'm hoping for a nice, easy summer and a good transition into fall.

~Megan

Schedule Crisis

I will fully admit that I am a Type-A control freak about nearly every aspect of my life.

However, I am over the top when it comes to scheduling. I should post a picture of my planner. Seriously, I have just about every minute of every day scheduled. My motto is "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable".

So you can imagine, how upset it makes me when schedules don't work out the way I plan.

I'm in the processing figuring out my schedule for the upcoming fall semester. (Backstory: I'm quitting my job at the end of August to focus on school, take a bunch of credits, and finish my degree by summer). Since I have such a narrow window to just be a student without also worrying about getting a job, I have to get this down precisely.

I met with my advisor. I drafted plans. My plan was perfect.

Then bam, two of the courses I need are offered at the same time. Thankfully, one has an online section, though I'm not thrilled about having to take an online class (I forget that I'm in them if I'm not physically going to a class).

Okay, not so bad, right?

Double-bam. The archaeology requirement course I selected is just...not offered this fall. It isn't offered in spring. Of course, this was one of the courses I was most excited about and would have led me into a Celtic Studies certificate.

And of course the other classes I can take to satisfy those requirements are either A) offered online, or B) during the same time as my methods course.

I'm really, really not looking forward to taking two online courses. It's daunting. Looks like I'm going to have to either bite the bullet and pray I make it through unscathed or meet with my advisor and hope there's another solution.

Or I could just cry. That would wouldn't help anything but I might feel better afterwards.

Fingers crossed I can get this figured out.

~Megan

Kittens!

I thought today was going to be a boring, uneventful Tuesday. Not much at all to do at work (thanks, spring break!), and I'm all caught up on my Astronomy homework for the week.

Yawn.

It's still freezing in Wisconsin, and I was just about to start daydreaming about my leggings and a good book at home when I got a text from a friend:

"Hey, can you help me pick up the cat and kittens I'm fostering?"

Um, yes.

The kittens don't have names yet and we're calling the mama, well, Mama. Yes, that is another kitten above her head - she's not quite trusting enough to let us get a good picture of them yet.

Then of course to we decided that such a joyous occasion warranted a trip to get some froyo. Then again, what doesn't warrant a trip for froyo?

We obviously weren't going for healthy on this one...mine is on the right. I might have a slight problem when it comes to fruity pebbles and/or fruit loops. I have been known to eat entirely too much (okay, an entire box) in one sitting. Yikes. From now on - only in the froyo.

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for some warmer weather tomorrow! Come on spring, I know you're hiding out there somewhere!

~Megan

Fresh

I always get a little nervous when starting a brand new blog. The first post is always the hardest, no?

It's like opening a brand new notebook, all the pages pristine. I almost don't want to muck it up.

Well, here goes nothing.

Typical first post: Who am I? Why am I here? Etc, etc.

My name is Megan. I'm (currently) 23, living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have two cats. I like to read and write, but arithmetic isn't really my thing. I'm nearly finished with a degree in Anthropology (took me long enough...). I absolutely love it. People are just so interesting.

I've fallen completely head over heels in love with the preppy life. No, I wasn't born into it. My ancestors didn't come over on the Mayflower and I have no claim to any American "royalty". I'm just the product of Irish and German immigrants settling in the midwest and living good, honest lives. But that doesn't mean I can't at least enjoy the lifestyle of those Back East, right? I mean, that's what America is all about - opportunity. Ha!

Anyways, this will be my daily log of life. What I'm up to, what I'm enjoying, and most importantly, what I'm learning. Consider it an ethnography of sorts. Preppy life from an "outsider"'s perspective.

Enjoy!

~Megan