Feeling French

Sunday afternoons scream relaxation.

Today, I had a small combination of craving and inspiration - I really wanted some smoked salmon. (Okay, what I really really wanted was some smoked duck breast, but it being Sunday, I couldn't get any).

So I headed on down to Whole Foods and made myself a nice little French inspired lunch:

Smoked salmon, Swiss cheese, a baguette and some white wine left from last night.

Not only did I have a filling lunch, I got to feel a little fancy on a Sunday afternoon. What's your favorite Sunday activity?

~Megan

Book Review - Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters

Okay, I admit I'm not 100% finished with this book. But I can't put it down or get it out of my head.

I identify so much with the kinds of girls Courtney Martin describes. The girl who is bothered by lopsided circles in her class notes, the girls that were told "you're special" all through life and hate themselves when they can't pick up a new skill immediately. Those of us that really did hear "you can do anything" and interpreted "you have to be everything".

Martin's writing is very relatable - its as if your best friend is holding up a mirror and revealing a very secret part of your life.

I have struggled with disordered eating since I was a teenager. I have interpreted this struggle as my means of control when I feel as though nothing is going right in life. It is comforting to know that I am not alone - my situation is not unique. I'm not the only girl that was placed in the gifted programs, the accelerated programs, and yet struggled with one subject, becoming frustrated to the point of forgoing food.

I highly recommend this book. Through it, I am understanding more about myself and my interpretation of the world.

~Megan

Bang!

I have this sort of love/hate relationship with my hair.

Whenever it's long, I want it to be short. Whenever it's short, I want long, flowing locks. Essentially, the grass is always greener with the other hairstyle.

Right now, I've got bangs. I think they frame my face nicely, especially when swept to one side. I'm itching to grow them out, though. Bangs require a lot of upkeep (trims, etc) and they tend to get dirty faster than the rest of my hair (thanks, forehead). Speaking of forehead, whenever I have bangs, I basically can't have clear skin on my forhead (but then the bangs cover it up so is that a wash?).

It's just that the growing out process is so long and in some stages, super awkward.

And I guarantee that once I have my bangs all grown out, it won't take me longer than a month to think "I miss my bangs".

I think I'm just going to have to start wearing wigs or something.

Does anyone else have this kind of dilemma? Maybe it's just me.

~Megan

So It Begins

Today was my first day of the intense end of my summer coursework.

I (in all my infinite wisdom) decided to take three upper-level courses over the space of a month. Remind me in the future: this is not the best idea. I'm feeling more confident about my decision to leave work early, because after just one day I have:

80 pages of material to read, understand, and comment on by Wednesday at 10 pm.

A response paper to write by Sunday at midnight

A ten page research paper due in a month

Oh, and I haven't even started the third, month-and-a-half long class yet.

Needless to say, today hasn't really been my day.

Especially since I went to the bookstore to get the text for my sociology course, only to find out they'd sold out (for some reason the university bookstore always under-orders texts). Then, the lecture notes I need for tomorrow's course "haven't been requested yet" even though I can see that they're required on the website. Oh, and to top it all off, they were out of GRE study guides.

That has to be the most fruitless expedition to a bookstore I've ever undertaken.

Well, having my husband say "Where are you? I'm near the fetal pigs!" was pretty good.

Wish me luck for the rest of this week, I'm going to need it!

~Megan

Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Today we're celebrating my father-in-law with something we like to call "Dad Food Fest".

Basically, each of us makes one of his favorite foods and we have a silly little 'competition' to see who made the best dish.

It's my humble opinion that as the chief dessert maker, my famous key lime pie wins every year.

My sister-in-law April is the absolute master of shrimp, though. Andrew is the steak king. Eric makes deviled eggs like nobody's business. And Steve...Steve hands dad the beer. I mean, we all  have our skills.

I'm outdoing myself this year. Home made whipped cream for atop the pie. I know.

(I was going to post pictures but I ended up eating way too much and falling asleep. Whoops.)

~Megan

Leap of Faith

I'm getting ready to take a pretty giant leap of faith.

Monday morning, I'm handing in my two weeks notice and jumping into near-unemployment.

I'm both terrified and excited.

On the one hand, my classes are very demanding and need to be my priority. I'll have lots of time to study, and less to stress about on top of school. I've never been just a college student, so this is a new world to me - and so far, I like it. It's crazy to me that I'm excited about not having to take off of work to go to office hours or study in the library. I can just do it. Man.

On the other hand, its been a really long time since I've had such a small income. I'll be working in August as a student mentor, about ten hours per week. Just enough for spending money. The rest of my bills will be taken care of by financial aid, as well as all of my expenses for the month of July. I'm really not used to living on a budget quite so tight, but I am up to the challenge of doing everything as frugally as possible.

I'm challenging myself to spend as little as possible on things like clothes, shoes, and entertainment. Luckily for me, there's a fantastic Goodwill right in my neighborhood, I've got a fairly stocked closet as it is, and I'm usually pretty good at sniffing out the best sales and deals anyways.

 Okay, I'm really excited now.

~Megan

Happy Birthday, Self!

I'm 24 today! Cue the cake, friends, and bottles of wine to share with a view of the river.

But first, because I'm a firm believer in tradition, my birthday resolutions!

In my 24th year, I will:

• Enjoy more local, live theater. There is such a vibrant arts scene in Milwaukee, that it seems almost wrong not to enjoy it.
• Dance more. All kinds of dance. The kinds that I like to indulge in after a few too many martinis with the girls. The kinds that involve choreography. All of it.
• Brush up on my Mandarin Chinese and my French. Because, well, why not?
• Become more involved in my city. Volunteer, go to sweet parties, all of it. I love all of it and the more I get the opportunity to experience the more I want to do.
• Speaking of wine...I want to learn more about wine, wine making, and wine pairing. I can see many conversations with my friend Sean about grapes.

I can't wait to dive into another year! I'm going to start by diving into this delicious plate of sushi.

~Megan

Birthday Resolutions

I've never really been big on New Year's resolutions. I mean, its all well and good to say you're going to do such and such thing in the next year, especially when everyone else is also making self-promises.

But who really keeps up after say, the second week in January? I can definitely say not me.

Instead, I like to make Birthday Resolutions. Usually just a list of things I want to accomplish in the next chapter of my life. I've been pretty successful with them so far.

I'll show you what I mean. Here are last year's:

• Continue to get a grip on my financial life. I’ve made good progress so far, and I’m proud of me.
• Get down to my goal weight. I’ve lost 11 lbs this year so far, and I’ve got approximately 20-29 more to go. I’ll stop when I feel healthy again. Its definitely within reach and I’m so proud of the fact that I’m doing it the healthy way this time, instead of just, you know. Not eating.
• Get married! Not a huge resolution because that’s already happening, but its still a big milestone. My 24th birthday, I will have a different last name.
• Be a year closer to my degree. I’ve got about two years left, more if I add a second major. This time next year, I’ll be planning my senior year and maybe studying for the GRE.
• Leave the country for the first time ever.
• Maybe even leave the country alone. I want to see London, but I want to go by myself. It’s a good thing to put in the maybe pile.
• Continue to grow and mature as both a person and a writer.

I can honestly say I've done pretty well. I'm on top of the bills and finances in our household, and I'm nearly debt-free (excluding student loans. Yikes.)

As far as weight loss...I feel like this is something I'll constantly be struggling with. We're working on it.

Obviously, I'm married! Yay! Score another for Megan.

I'll be done with my degree by the end of next summer. I'm taking a giant course load, summer classes, and an interim course in order to finish ASAP. I'm so relieved and I can't wait to really bury my nose in some books.

I traveled to Costa Rica, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a summer study abroad program to Ireland. Score on both sides, if the program works out, since I'll obviously be doing that one on my own!

I know that last part is probably pretty vague. Honestly,  I feel as though I have grown immensely as a person in the last year. I mean, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. I really wish I could say physically because trying to explain to people that yes I'm only 4'11" and no I'm not a midget is really tiring on so many levels. I wouldn't mind an extra three inches in the height department, but I digress...

This blog is obviously a tool I'm using to continue building my writing skills. I'm enjoying every post, and I can only see myself going up from here.

Stay tuned for my next round of resolutions!

~Megan