crazy thursday

via

Whoa.

That’s all I can say about today. It has been a doozy. First, I woke up late -with a migraine. Then I realized I had forgotten to transfer a load of pants to the dryer last night hang dry and iron (hi mom). I think I tried on 437,432 clothing items and looked/felt horrible in every.single.thing. My solution to this problem was to throw said pants in the dryer while I ran around  crazy and walked the dog. Did I mention this was also the day I chose to begin my first whole30 challenge? Which also means I had a fridge full of chicken and chopped veggies I was planning to put in the crock pot before leaving for work. This was not the morning to screw it all and stop by Starbucks on the way to the office.

Sigh.

I miss you already s-bucks.

Ok, focus.

So, I frantically loaded up the crock pot and then threw a couple of eggs in the microwave. Yes, I said the microwave. Don’t judge me people. I can’t fail this challenge on Day 1. I threw the eggs in a travel container and headed to work. I’m only 30 minutes late (bother). As I’m checking morning emails and eating microwaved eggs I realize I’ve left my gym bag on the counter at home. Really?!? What else can go wrong today. I’m supposed to be meeting my friend Mel for yoga after work.

I’ll tell  you what can go wrong. This can happen.

Did I do that??? 

(imagine that said in a Steve Urkel Voice)

#familymatterskid

You can hit the flippin’ curb on your way to have lunch with a friend (a whole30 compliant meal I might add) and blow a hole a HUGE hole in your tire. Please tell me this day is over now. I will have to say that my brother, LB,  was awesome and came to my rescue. It was his day off so he was there in about 15 minutes. With tools. Boom.

I know technically how to change a tire but let’s be honest- these wimpy girl arms couldn’t budge a lug nut. Plus, I was just released from physical therapy yesterday. Toting tires around is not in my skillset these days. But LB had it all under-control. He changed the tire and I’m currently driving around on the donut (I’m one of those people today) while my tire is being shipped to the local auto shop. Everything should be back to normal by tomorrow and I’m thankful LB was around to help. And Heather, who kept me calm and company until LB could get there. I never did make it to lunch with Heather, but I did end up at home making calls to various auto places where LB made me this for lunch.

Bacon and collard greens. So good. And perfect for whole30. I also ate the last piece of chai pumpkin bread I made a couple of days ago. You can find the basic recipe here. It will definitely be a repeat around these parts. LB has been full-time paleo for around 6-7 months now so he loved this as a treat. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly so I’ll try to post the changes I made soon. I’m hoping if I could make it through this chaotic day and still stay true to the whole30 challenge, the rest of month won’t be so hard (yeah right). Hopefully, I’m up to the challenge.

1 day down, 29 to go.

Have you tried a paleo/whole30 challenge before?

Long Weekend & Guacamole

I hope you all are headed for some great Fourth of July fun.

The forecast here in the Southeast is calling for several rainy days ahead (bummer).

I’m headed to the lake with friends with the hope that the sun will overcome some of the gloomy forecast.

But just in case we’ll be armed with books, games and movies.

I’m finishing up this book, and hope to start this later in the week.

I’ve never seen this movie and it is a definate on the weekend viewing list.

Along with this and this.

I’ll also be whipping up a batch of guacamole for the weekend.

I never seem to make it exactly the same way twice, but loosely follow this recipe.

Whatever your weekend plans, stay safe and sound!

 

Wide Open Spaces

I took a quick trip home this past weekend to visit my family

and get an early start on celebrating this beautiful country of ours.

We took an early evening stroll down the road to the farm

a rolling piece of land my parents own

to stretch our legs after the long car ride

and attempt to spot deer in the uncut hay

After years of city living

its sometimes nice just to stand in open space

 and breathe deeply.

Be my Valentine

hidings

Happy Valentine’s Day Folks. I am sure a lot of you out there have been planning special gifts and outings for your significant others over the last few weeks. Being the single girl that I am, there are no big plans on the docket for today, but I thought I would share a special February 14^th Anniversary that is dear to my heart.

Five years ago today,  I was a 4^th year architecture student setting out for adventures as an exchange student to Krakow, Poland. Even looking back now, I never realized how influential studying abroad would be to my life. It has created a love for travel and culture that I probably never would have tapped into otherwise. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and into some amazing experiences. We used to joke that communications at home would never again be a struggle after fighting through language and cultural barriers abroad.

I distinctly remember it was Valentine’s Day the day I arrived in Krakow.  Our group of thirteen American students landed at the airport and met our program coordinators Anna and Bartec. They arranged transportation to our dorm at the Polytechnic and then sent us off to the City Center with a group of Polish students to find dinner. Just imagine extreme exhaustion and jetlag combined with being completely disoriented. It was almost impossible to find a place to eat- it was Valentine’s Day of course. Every restaurant was packed with couples and candles celebrating.  After an hour of wondering around we finally settled into a tiny perogi house for traditional polish dumplings and borche. I remember the tables were set with platters of bread and lard (yes, lard) for appetizers.

That was the start of a semester long adventure.

Amazing places

Delicious food

New friends

Endless Adventures

Living with Less

Learning about myself

I’m a girl that’s in love with the world

And all the people and places in it

Happy Valentine’s Day World

Here’s to my lifelong romance with you.

-M

And now for a short PSA: If you are a high school or college student: STUDY ABROAD! Find a way to make it happen. Get a job, get a second job, save your money, shop at thrift stores. Do whatever it takes to get yourself there. You will not regret it- I promise. Open yourself to the adventure and see where it takes you. Meet people you never would have otherwise. The world is a big place and you deserve to experience a slice of it. Get out there.

Radio Silence



image

Sorry for the radio silence here on the blog.

Work has been cra-cra-crazy busy as of late and I’ve been having computer issues at home. I think it’s about time to put my PC out to pasture (purchased in 2004!) and upgrade to a Mac! Once I take care of that later this week, hopefully posts will be back on a regular schedule.

In other news, I hope you all are staying warm and dry. I’ve been on the road for work- driving non-stop in all this rain. It has me dreaming of sunshiny days to come.

I’ve been in love with this song lately- watch the video here. It sounds like summertime and perfect for driving with the windows down. Take note of Brett Dennen’s dorky dance moves. I love them- because they mirror my own (for real).

Later Peeps!

M

LIFE: The Path not Taken

Hi folks! I'm back from Maine and it was lovely. I enjoyed every minute of it. I have so many photos to share with you and details to tell you about. I'll do a couple of Maine posts this coming week. So stay tuned.


In other news...

I spent this beautiful Sunday afternoon at a friend's wedding. My friend, Heather, married her sweet, sweet fiance, Derrick this afternoon. Congratulations to them both and best wishes to the future! I met Heather when I joined my women's small group over two years ago. You may remember Heather as my roomie from the India Mission Trip as well.

Remember when I mentioned trying to pick a novel to take on my Maine vacation? Well, I ended up taking neither of the books I mentioned. Instead, I started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I am nowhere close to finished yet, so I can't give my complete opinion just yet, but I am loving it so far. The book is about living life fully through the spiritual discipline of chronicling God's gifts, and realizing that we are 'wildly loved by God.'

Sometimes weddings tend to bring me down (who else isn't tired of being the single girl?) but today was different somehow. I looked around the table, and I saw people who love me, value my friendship, and are walking along beside me in this season of my life. I also realized that I have known all these people for less than three years.

Three years ago I graduated from college. I was dead-set on moving to Colorado and working for an Architecture firm there. My college roommate was already headed to Denver to teach and I wanted to live outside the Southeastern states for at least a few years before 'settling down'.

Call it ironic sovereign when NONE of my plans worked out and I ended up taking the ONLY architecture job I could find...in Birmingham, AL.

Really? This can't be right.

People kept telling me I was lucky. Lucky to have a job in a sinking economy. Beyond blessed to actually be working in the field I studied for all these years.

And I was thankful- sort of.

I found myself in a city where I didn't know a soul. Living alone in an apartment I could barely afford. The only thing I had was my job, and soon that became uncertain too.

I remember being so lonely that I would sink to the bathroom floor in the middle of getting ready and cry off all my makeup.

The weekends went on forever. I couldn't wait to go to work on Mondays, just so I would have someone to talk too.

I would call my mom and get so choked up that I couldn't speak.

And the entire time this was happening, I had the strange sense that I was where I was suppose to be.

I questioned God (a LOT) during that first year. It was NOT where I wanted to be, far from it.

Fast forward three years to this afternoon:

 I have found a church family to call home. And a pastor that challenges me in my walk with the Lord.

I gritted my teeth and introduced myself to strangers. And they turned into friends. Good friends.

I found a small group of Godly women to walk along side.

I was blessed to travel to India, and I met more dear friends through the process.

I have a job that I truly enjoy, and amazing coworkers.

The Lord has drawn me to himself in a way that I could not have anticipated.

So this afternoon, surrounded by people I love, and celebrating the union on our dear friends, I felt my heart lift with thankfulness.  I am THANKFUL that I am not in charge of my plans. Because my plans are less than mediocre. My heart is still being molded and my attitude refined, but bit by bit the Lord is aligning my desires with his own. And his plans are more than I could have dreamed- even if I can't see them all just yet.

 I guess I shared all this just to say- if you find yourself in that very lonely place of uncertainty- take heart! You are not alone and it can only mean that great things are in store.

Megan

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

 

NEVERTHIRST INDIA

In 12 hours I'll be on the first of 4 flights over the next two days which will land me in Calcutta, India.

If you are interested in learning a little more about India and why I am traveling there, be sure to check out the blog over the next week. I'll be updating as much as possible. Below is one of the NEVERTHIRST: India videos. I encourage you to watch THIS VIDEO to learn more about India and work happening there.

You can also visit NEVERTHIRST WATER HERE

Holocene

I been obsessed with Bon Iver’s music ever since he released his ‘BloodBank’ EP. You may have seen him  at the Grammy’s last night (I watched for just a few minutes) but nothing compares with this music video for ‘Holocene’. Perfect for a chilly cold Monday, you can almost smell salty sea air while watching it. It makes me want a snow day- one where you bundle up and go for a walk in the silent woods...

 Watch it in fullscreen here. 

New Year, Long Weekend

I hope everyone has enjoyed their new years weekend. I know I have. This weekend has been absolutely beautiful, in the mid sixties here in B'ham. Brother and I spend Saturday afternoon hiking at Oak Mountain State Park. Nothing too ambitious since we only have the afternoon available. Hiking always reminds me how much I enjoy being outside in the woods, and how I don't seem to get there nearly enough. A new years resolution perhaps?

On our way home from Oak Mountain, Brother noticed this county highway sign and insisted that we drive down it a bit. It was County Highway 365, and it was the 365th day of 2011 (only seems proper). 

2011: The Year in Review

courtesy of pinterest

I’ve been thinking a lot about the past year this week. I suppose that is no surprise since this is the last week of 2011, and we are quickly closing in on the beginning of 2012. I have some family friends that write a family newsletter every Christmas that they send out with their Christmas cards. I’ve been thinking about writing a newsletter for myself lately to record the highs and lows of the past year, the things that I have learned, and the direction I am heading. I intended to write these things only for myself, but you know how those things go…

 

It’s funny how quickly time goes by. I was trying to rewind my mind back to January 2011, to think about the events of this past year, when I realized that I have just wrapped up my third Christmas of living in Birmingham. I was slightly taken aback when the thought came to me. 

Three Christmases? Surely not.

It feels like yesterday, that I accepted the open position for my job. It seems even crazier that I bought my townhouse in the spring of 2010. And it seems slightly ridiculous that I still have un-hung artwork sitting along the living room walls. 

In early 2011, I finally found an amazing group of girls to be in a small group with, and they have been such a blessing to my life this past year. The path that led me to them can only be credited to the sovereignty  of God and his hand over my life. 

I spent the majority of 2011 (and 2010) working on a large building project at work. I am amazed at the things I have learned in these first two years out of school. I am planning to sit for the ARE this year, so hopefully next year’s letter will be written by a registered Architect (fingers crossed).

In May of 2011, I got a roommate, Alex, for the summer. I was nervous about going back to living with a roommate after almost two years without one, but it turned out really well and I was a little sad when she headed back to Auburn in August. In May, I also temporary lost my mind and let one of the girls I work with talk me into joining a local gym. Then I apparently lost my mind COMPLETELY, and hired a personal trainer to boot. To finish things off I even decided that I actually liked working out. Now, I’m getting into running- we’ll see where that takes me.

I spent the majority of the summer with my nose to grindstone, working long hours and weekends on the big building project I mentioned earlier. We finished the design package in the late summer, and with all my vacation and overtime burning a hole in my pocket, I was able to take a couple of really great trips in the late summer and early fall. The first was to New York, to visit my best friends and roommates from college and architecture school. You read about it here. Then in September, the family took a trip out West that we have been talking about for, literally YEARS. It was in a word- AMAZING, and I cannot wait to go back.

At the beginning of October I got a second roommate, my brother Travis. He graduated from college last May and had been working for our dad until mid October, when he decided to try his luck job hunting in Birmingham. It’s great having someone else around the house most of the time, and it has been a good opportunity to get to know each other better as adults. We haven’t lived under the same roof for more than a couple of months since I left for college in 2003. It’s a rare opportunity for most grown siblings.

As 2011 comes to a close, I am thankful for so many things. A good job in a still struggling economy, a loving and supportive family that doesn’t tell me I’m crazy when I call with yet another harebrained idea, and a great network of friends. And of course there’s Benjamin. I can’t forget my little shadow (he’s definitely the best thing to come out of Alabama). It’s been a good year, and I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store! 

Happy New Year!