Curly Q

Today I woke up and remembered that I had a dream but had NO clue what it was about. Don't you hate that? Well, first off - I woke up about 7 thousand and 1 times, so that was awesome. Then I woke up really weirded out but didn't know why. I guess I had one of those really bizarre dreams but had no clue what the hell actually happened in it. There also is NO coffee in the house. How does that happen!? (Thanks, mom)

Anyway, enough ranting. Here we go.

This is going to be the first ever Meghan Tutorial. Okay well, not really. I'll explain.

My hair sucks at curling. Absolute worst. I have very thin, straight, weird-textured hair that always seems to fall flat. Any kind of product I put in it (even if it's supposed to make your hair dry) makes my hair greasy and more flat than usual. Shine serums? Forget about it. Insta-flat. I've been trying every kind of technique to either make my hair less flat or curl. (yes, I'll take one or the other. At this point I don't care which one!). I'm also VERY hair challenged; I suck at doing fancy pretty things to my hair. My sister is the creative, more artsy, hair-and-makeup daughter of the family. I'm just the one that gets either injured or sick (with flat, straight hair mind you).

Recently I found a great tutorial on those "natural every-day waves". It worked GREAT and I was able to do it. Only problem? The curls were already unwinding and coming loose (and no, not the good, tousled loose...just back to straight) after about an hour of walking around. Here's the tutorial; maybe you'll have more luck than I did.

Onto the next one. I found this one last night while I was bored and not tired. Could I have been doing more productive things with my life? Obviously. But it's summer, so screw it. This video is how to get waves, not so much curls, but I'll take it.

I tried it last night and it actually worked pretty well! This is after I slept on it:

Not too bad for sleeping on it, huh? We'll see how well it stays. Maybe I'll try it tonight for Date Night with the boy. Who knows. It's absolutely beautiful out and I'm in a great mood so here's a perfect summer song:

The Glamorous Life of a BRU Associate

Everyone has sucky jobs at this point in our lives. We're college students and we're poor, so any job will do. We work awful hours and complain about how much our job sucks and we're okay with that...for now.

As of now, I'm going to say I take the cake in sucky jobs. I am a Babies R' Us associate. Not too bad, right? Wrong. I'm not just any associate - I'm a back of house/stock room associate. So, I don't just stand at a register for hours on end and ring up nagging customers and tell them they CAN'T use last months coupon. I'm in the back at 6am unloading the truck with 3 other MEN. AKA I do it by myself because naturally the people who work in the back of BRU don't give a shit about anything (on top of the fact that for the most part they're actual criminals).

There I am hauling boxes with the best of them. One after the other, box after box. Car seats, strollers, baby food, baby lotion, you name it. Usually I try to leave the bigger boxes for the boys, but then they end up leaving them for me! So then there I go lifting up 50-60 lbs of baby gear of some sort while they stand around. Then when the truck's done it's time to unpack the boxes. And when the store opens I have women coming up to me left and right asking me which pacifier is best for their 3 month old. I. DON'T. KNOW. I also don't know which Breast Pump works better, so if you ask me what my preference is I may breast pump your face. Then tell you to buy the more expensive one.

My last shift took my job to a new low. I was minding my own business opening boxes and restocking shelves. One of my co-workers (one of the winners, obviously) decided to come over to me. He then proceeds to tell me that he hates this job and is going to quit because he does tons of other "side jobs", followed by the statement, "Ya know, you'd make a great drug dealer. NO ONE would expect a little educated white girl. You'd make a ton more money than this job." Mhm. That happened. I mean, I know we're all desperate to find jobs when the economy is so bad, but REALLY!? Come on. Let's be real.

I'm working on getting them to train me on the register because 1. I have GOT to get out of there and 2. my bum shoulder cannot take much more box throwing.

Here's a great song that I'm loving right now:

Finally, the recipe I promised!

What is one of your favorite summer thirst quenchers?

. . . if you answered Sangria that would be correct. But it is NOT the answer I was looking for. I was looking for a little more PG rated drink. You know, one that you've had since you were a kid. That drink that was just right after swimming in the pool and playing kickball outside all day. Mhm.  Strawberry Lemonade.

The best friend and I made the most perfect summer cupcake. You guessed it: STRAWBERRY LEMONADE CUPCAKES.

I'm going to skimp a bit and be lazy and give you the recipes and directions via links. What we did was we combined two recipes and added one thing to each recipe. The cake part was a delicious lemon cake, not too tart, not too sweet (you can get the recipe here). What did we add to make it our own? About two LARGE strawberries finely chopped. 

As for the frosting? The frosting was taken from a different place and it was amazing. Strawberry cream cheese frosting. I am a HUGE fan of cream cheese frostings, so this was right up my ally. The strawberries gave it such an excellent flavor. So fresh and mildly tart with a touch of sweetness. What did we add? about a quarter of a squeezed fresh lemon.

WARNING: make sure you use a FOOD PROCESSOR as it said in the directions. We made the mistake of thinking a blender would do the trick. We were very mistaken. The result was that it was a little watery. Flavor was still excellent, but the texture just wasn't up to par. If you don't have a food processor, you're better off just chopping up the strawberries very fine and throwing them in. That's better than pureeing them into a juice-like substance!

I was definitely a fan of these! I think you all should make them and let me know what you think!

This is what we listened to while baking these delectable cupcakes (along with a collection of other Glee songs):

SUCCESS!

Today? Very successful. My guess is that the weather was a huge factor in my motivation. I don't know about you, but the weather affects my mood more than anything else. If it's dark and dull, chances are I'm going want to sit in my bed, eat 12 Oreo cookies followed by sugary drinks and then a brownie or two while watching Netflix. (And yes, I mean double stuff Oreos and the fudgiest, chocolatiest brownies you can find). The only reason to get out of my bed? To get some ice cream. Obviously.

Thankfully today was sunny. I worked from 6am-10am then came home and skyped my excellently bitchy friend, Mo. After that I called the grandmother for her birthday, ate the oatmeal bake that my made mom last night and laid out for a bit.

My friend Kevin stopped by, I went out driving, and here I am now writing a blog post. Life couldn't get better.

. . . Actually, it could!

My agenda for the rest of the night? Hitting the gym for a little cardio then out for WEDNESDAY NIGHT WINGS with the boy. We did this when we first got together and wanted to make it a routine . . . then we realized that we'd be going back to school. SO, tonight will be the second ever Wednesday Night Wings and I couldn't be more excited.

Here's how I feel today:

Just Five More Minutes

I wanted to go to the gym early this morning, but I didn't really have the motivation. I woke up already dreading the day ahead of me. Ever have one of those days? Where you just don't want to get out of bed because you know that what lies ahead of you could not be any worse? Then you realize that you actually still have to go through it all so you think that by staying in your bed for just five minutes longer time might stop. Time will just stand still and you could stay in that moment for as long as you want.

...then those five more minutes are up and it's time to drag yourself out of the safe little cocoon you've mentally created and start the day.

That was the kind of day I had today. I had two appointments one after the other: a doctor's appointment (which, although would make an absolutely hysterical blog post, I will not be discussing) at 12:50 then a dentist appointment at 3. Like I said in previous posts, I always have something wrong. So clearly, this was no different.  

After an hour and a half at the doctor, more blood work papers, a prescription, and another hour and a half of poking and prodding at the dentist, I was ready to call it a day. I got home, crawled back into my cocoon and just laid there for a few. It's amazing how in an instant your mood can be changed around.

The boy came and surprised me with these! The second he surprisingly walked through my door, all of the awful memories of my day disappeared. He didn't even have to bring flowers; just him alone would have been more than enough to brighten my day. Aren't they beautiful?

Alright, alright I'll stop boring you with the sappy end to my day. But I just figured he deserved a little bit of a mention for that. Especially after his long day at work.

I'm going to end the post on an excellent, but still somewhat sappy song. It's been one of my favorite songs for years. I just can't get enough of this guy. His new CD hits stores at the beginning of July.

As Promised

As promised, I'm back to quickly discuss what was on yesterday's workout menu and a quick list of some of my top workout tunes as of now.

Getting back from the mono thing sucks. I'm pretty sure I've said it before and I'll continue to say it until I'm back in tip-top shape. Forgive me if my workout menu is not quite as "hardcore" or strenuous as you may expect.

Here we go:
- 10 minute bike warm up
- 2 minute walking warm up (treadmill)
- Run for 1 mile at 7.5mph
- 3-5 minute walk
- Run for another 1/2 mile at 8mph
- 5 minute cool down
- abdominal toning

As for the playlist:
Warm up:
     "Little Miss" - Sugarland
     "Push" - Avril Lavigne
     "Turning Tables" - Adele
Workout:
     "Ties That Bind" - Alter Bridge
     "Gunpowder & lead" - Miranda Lambert
     "Edge of Glory" - Lady GaGa
     "All of the Lights" - Kanye West ft. Rihanna
     "Trainwreck" - Mat Kearney
Cool down:
     "Carolina" - Eric Church
     "Fast Car" - Boyce Avenue (Tracy Chapman cover)
     "Oh Boy" - Duffy

I'm really not a fan of GaGa, but for some reason I'm all about this song:

I think I'll be back sometime tonight to post a little about my less than awesome day and perhaps another recipe?

Perfect Rainy Day Post

Today's post is going to be all about health. Bored already? Please keep reading. I promise it won't be painful.

I woke up today feeling dreary. Probably because it was raining and has been for the past week and a half. To top it off, the house was a mess and everything just looked dark and dull. What better to make the day brighter than a little oatmeal (Yes, this one's for you Laura!). Delicious AND healthy!

Ingredients

1/2 C rolled oats

1 C water

Splash of skim milk

A couple shakes of ground cinnamon

1/2 a splash of vanilla

Directions: Boil water on the stove, stir in oats and cook for 5-10 minutes or until desired thickness is obtained. After that add in the cinnamon and vanilla (or any other ingredients you prefer). I topped it off with some cinnamon sugar and fresh blueberries for sweetness and generous scoop of peanut butter for some added flavor. Another thing about me? I absolutely love peanut butter; it's the perfect topping for pretty much ANYTHING.

I paired my homemade oatmeal with a nice, hot cup of coffee. Perfection.

 After I sit around and watch the marathon of Fair Wedding on WE (yes, I love me some wedding shows) and procrastinate cleaning up the house a bit, I plan on getting to the gym. After I go I'll update on what was on my workout menu and the music selection for the day.

I know it's old, but I'm loving this song right now! It always puts me in a better mood on crappy days.

What's your favorite oatmeal recipe?

Sunday: Hello World

Let's talk about the Rapture. Mhm. You know, then end of the world, Judgement Day, when the Lord comes back and people turn to dust. Clearly, being that I'm "talking about it", it hasn't happened. How ridiculous, right? I thought it was absolutely unreal that people put their whole life savings into this ordeal. I heard some people actually quit their jobs, took their kids out of school, and sold their houses! Now what? Guess what: we're all still here!

Although this was completely a hoax and over the top, it got me thinking: what if this really was the end? Kind of weird to think about. If tomorrow was the end would you be satisfied happy with what you've accomplished? Yesterday I spent the day at a communion with family and friends. Well, they weren't my family and friends, but that's besides the point. I had a really excellent day: spent the morning with the fam, then the afternoon and evening with the boyfriend and his family. Not going to lie, it was a great day to end the world. However, I'm glad it didn't end.

This morning my mom and I were watching CMT and the song "Hello World" by Lady Antebellum came on. As the video was playing I said to my mom that I didn't really get it; the video and the song didn't match for me. My mom explained to me that the song was about just going through the motions of life. Rushing through everything and not taking the time to enjoy the little things. I think we all get wrapped up in the routines that we fall into. Me personally? I like the routine. It gives me some kind of structure. But there's a point where the structure isn't really enough. You find someone you love and you want to share the routine with  them, for them to be part of the structure you've created.

The boy said something to me the other day that made a lot of sense. There are 3 things you need in life: money, time, and freedom. Money to do things, and the time and freedom to do what you will with that money. Having a ton of money is all well and good, but if you don't have the time to spend it with the people you love then what good is it? He's a pretty smart guy; I guess I'll keep him around a while.

Today I thought I'd share the song that got me thinking.

Now stop reading this blog and go out and enjoy some time with the people you love!

Here I Go: Promoting Alter Bridge

Last night I went to a concert that I had no intentions of enjoying. One of the boyfriend's favorite bands is Alter Bridge, so I decided to swallow my pride and buy some tickets for his graduation (yes, the one that was in the pouring rain). I know, most of you are either unaware of the band or completely turned off already. Well get ready because I'm about to turn you on (Come on, get your mind out of the gutter).

So who is this Alter Bridge that I speak of?



Alter Bridge = Creed - 1 + 1. Yep, I said it. CREED. Horrendous, right? Wrong. As for the "-1 + 1", it's minus Creed's lead singer Scott Stapp, plus new lead singer Myles Kennedy (who happens to be excellent, by the way). You can check out the rest of the band's history here if you'd like. Anyway, I know Creed gets a really bad rep, but AB is nothing like them. They're a little heavier - a lot more rock and a lot less..."One Last Breath". Myles Kennedy's voice is so unique and unlike anything I've heard before. He has such a distinct sound thats so refreshing. The music? Excellence. The guitar solos that Tremonti and Marshall do are just ridiculous. Music to my ears. Literally.

As you can see, I have a very broad taste in music. I'm pretty much open to anything except all of that screaming music; that's just noise. Although country music always has my heart, I'm a big fan of rock, pop, jazz and even the occasional rap when I'm feelin' like a badass. Music is all about what kind of mood your in.

What's even better? They were amazing live. Not only did they put on a great show, they sounded just like they do on the record if not better. I hate to say it, but I am most definitely an Alter Bridge fan. Here's one of my faves:

Okay I can't resist. This one was excellent live:

Soon enough you'll be coming to Alter Bridge With Arms Wide Open ;)

A Little Life Re-Cap #1

Before I say what I actually want to say in this post, I need to do a little life re-cap. I'll make it quick, I promise.

#1: I'm always sick. Maybe not always, but a good deal of the time I'm either sniffling, have a sore throat, or lost my voice. Something is always off.
#2: Nothing goes my way. Okay, sometimes it does but once again, a majority of the time I have to make things work because it always tends to go the opposite direction of what I plan.
#3: I love to exercise and I go to the gym every day. Running, cardio, toning, aerobics classes, I love it. All of it.

With that said, last fall semester I was sick pretty much every other week. Big surprise, right? I didn't have a  voice at all for just about the last three weeks of the semester. Some people would say that was a blessing, but I beg to differ. Spring semester rolls around and after all of winter break being "healthy", once again I get sick. I swear I'm allergic to that school. Anyway, I'm on and off sick for the first two months. Finally, after going to the Wellness Center and have them tell me I have a common cold, I decide to seek better help. I'm not one to run to the doctor at the first stuffy nose, but being that I had these crazy lumps all over the left side of my neck, I thought it was a decent idea.

I ended up going to a Minute Clinic in CVS. Sketchy, I know. She didn't know what to do with me so I got sent to an Urgent Care Facility. Awesome. The verdict? Mono. Once again, excellent. I couldn't exercise for eight weeks and I was tired all of the time, but it could have been worse.

Okay, now for what I actually wanted to blog about: exercise. After the mono, it's been more than tough trying to get back into shape. Where I was running between 2 and 3 miles a day on top of doing the elliptical for a half hour and some ab toning, I'm now panting after one mile. And what's even worse is this weather! With it raining all the time all I want to do is sit inside and watch movies, eat, and just be lazy. However, I've been dragging my comfy self out of bed each day and getting on that treadmill. I WILL get back in shape. I'm determined.

Here's what's on the workout schedule for the day:
- bike: 15 minute warm-up
- treadmill: 2 minute walking warm-up, run for a mile, 3 minute cool-down
- stretching
- some abdominal toning to end off.
Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

Here's a song that always gets me pumped. It's kind of a fun video too.

Some other good pump-up songs:
We Are The Fallen - Bury Me Alive
Breaking Benjamin - Without You
Lil' Wayne ft. Drake - Right Above It
Black Eyed Peas - Rock That Body
Mat Kearney - Trainwreck

What pumps you up?

Here I Go: Promoting #TheVoice

Last night after the boy and I ran some errands (excellently cheesy PJ pants, wall mirrors, hot fries and gummy bears), we watched some of The Office then I coerced him into watching The Voice with the fam.

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You're probably thinking that this is just another American Idol rip-off. Just another singing competition that is the same with different coaches and bottom line just sucks. However, I'm here to tell you that you are completely mistaken!

The premise? You have four "coaches": Adam Levine (of Maroon 5), Cee-lo Green, good ole' X-Tina and Blake Shelton. A coach from each genre of music. They all have their backs turned during the initial audition and listen to only the voice. No performance or looks to go off of, nothing - just the voice. If the coach likes the voice they hear, they push a button that turns their chair around. That performer then earns a spot on their team. If more than one coach turns around, the performer chooses which team they would like to be a part of. At the end of the audition stage each coach has 8 team members. 

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Now onto the Battle Rounds, which is what the show is currently up to. Each coach picks two members of their team to go head-to-head singing the same song together. At the end of the battle the coach picks the winner. By the end of the Battle Rounds each coach will end up with four team members and then the LIVE show hits the air!

Have a twitter? During the show, each coach tweets their responses and comments and such! Follow them!

@blakeshelton

@adamlevine

@TheRealXtina

@CeeLoGreen

Last but not least, they are absolutely HILARIOUS. The things that Blake Shelton and Adam Levine say are just hysterical. It makes me want to be friends with them. Obviously that can't happen, but a girl can dream. 

Here's one of my favorite contestants:

I'm thinking I'm Team Blake. What team are you on?

A Day Without A Loop

Yesterday was a pretty good day, minus the whole raining every second thing we've got going on. I got to see the best friend who I hadn't seen in MONTHS. She came over, I heated up some left over Chinese food, and we chatted about our semesters, the men in our lives, and some odds-and-ends stories. You know, caught each other up on our lives. It's funny how you pick right back up where you left off with some people. That's how you know they're in your life for good.

After she left, I did some house-keeping, cleaned the room up a bit, went to the gym, then Momma made an excellent dinner (stuffed shells!). Then the boyfriend picked me up and we went for a Starbucks date which was also excellent. I absolutely love the summer (or whatever you would like to call this). Being long distance for so long, it's nice to just call him up and go for coffee. Just an hour or so will do the trick.

The great day doesn't stop there! Tal (the best friend) swung by shortly after that and we went to a friends house and caught up with him and his family. His mom is just getting over a bout of cancer and she is looking absolutely great! It's so good to know she's on the road to a healthy and cancer-free life.

Here's a song to leave you off with. One of my good friends, Hannah, showed this song to me. They're absolutely great. They do a really interesting cover of the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" as well. If you like them - or even if you don't - you should check out Hannah's blog. It's absolutely fantastic, just like she is.

Soaking It In

This weekend was pretty damn excellent. The boyfriend graduated from college, so I took a 4 hour car ride up to Albany with his parents and brother which was surprising rather pleasant! There was some nice conversation, some laughs and some more getting-to-know-each other chats. I was all about it. After we got there I helped pack up some of the apartment, we napped, and then went out for a wonderful dinner.

Ready for the loop of the day?

As for the graduation: I wish I could say it was a wonderful ceremony with birds chirping and beautiful flowers around, the sun shining with a light breeze and a clear blue sky. However, that was not the case. It. Was. POURING. There I was in my little floral sun-dress and light cardigan WITHOUT an umbrella. Yep. Pouring rain and no umbrella. You should not be surprised. Okay, well I half had an umbrella. The boyfriend's mom had an umbrella, so the two of us were huddled under the one umbrella trying to be shielded from the God awful weather. Well, it didn't work. By the end of the hour and a half ceremony (which felt like 4 hours) I was soaked  (that's what she said). Dripping wet from head to toe. Also, we saw nothing but umbrellas. So basically I sat in the rain for just about two hours, listened to mediocre speakers, and got drenched. This is basically what I looked like:

Only, not a cat. And in a dress. 

Anyway, on the bright side I did get to have an amazing weekend with the BF and his family. Got to bond with them a little, meet some of the extended fam, and just have a great time in general (minus the whole hypothermia thing).

And here's a song to leave you off with:

Take #2

Alright so after the whole Blogger being down fiasco, the blog that I had created yesterday was deleted!  So here is Take #2 on creating a blog. I was already a little skeptical about the whole blog thing, so if it doesn't work this time then I'm just not meant to write a blog.

I'm sitting in my room right now with piles upon piles of laundry to do, a massive headache, and so much to do before I head up to Albany, NY tomorrow. I know, I know, if I have so much to do then why am I writing a blog post? Good question. It's called procrastination and I'm quite good at it. I'm sure a great deal of my posts will start off with "So instead of doing________, I decided to update the blog!" That's one thing you'll learn about me.

Another thing you'll come to learn is that the contents of the events of my life are rather comical. Yesterday morning as I was updating my good friend Hannah about the ins and outs of my life, we brainstormed an excellent idea for what to write a blog about: the twists and turns and complete randomness of life. Pretty original, huh? Okay so it's not the best idea out there, but it's definitely a start.

One last thing to know about me: I love to laugh! Who doesn't!?

This is another one of my best friends Jackie. We're really good at taking superb pictures. Non-embarrassing, wonderfully poised, and completely ladylike photos. Speaking of which, Jax has a hysterical blog talking about fashion and the ridiculous things people go out in public wearing. Kind of ironic with how we look in this picture.

One of the greatest things I've learned in life: When in doubt, laugh. Laughing cures everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Sometimes life throws you for a loop. I don't know about you, but lately it seems like it's just one loop after another. Yes, laughing will cure the loops too. I promise!

Anyway, I hope that you'll get a laugh or two by reading this. I can't promise anything, but I'm always up for a challenge! I'm going to leave off with this song - this is what it's all about!

~Meg