Thank you, Jesus

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas was amazing, to say the least.

I got to spend time with my lovely family (and time with them is far from over).

I had our bi-annual reunion with my elementary school buddies!

I went out and met Brian's parents, and got to spend a lot of wonderful time with him.

I gave lots of presents and got a lot more than I deserve.

I'm going on a cruise in April! To Mexico. That's pretty cool.

But this Christmas was also a bit different because my great grandma has been not doing well... and it was the first Christmas Eve in a long time when she wasn't able to come to her own Christmas Eve Party. That party is famous and such a big tradition... and she started it.

And this morning she died.

But grandma lived a long, fruitful life. She was a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She was a teacher and she loved to read. I will miss her, but it's all reminded me about the true meaning of Christmas anyway.

Thank you, Jesus.

-Megan

A Few of My Favorite Things!

Happy Birthday Joseph Smith!

Happy 6-month Mark Elder Hill!

Happy Christmas Adam Everyone!

Above is a Christmas miracle. You probably can't tell that that is the back of a present now, can you? You probably thought it was the front side of the wrapping paper... smooth and continuous pattern.

Nope.

That--dear readers--is the seam. It lines up perfectly with the other edge. I freakin' love wrapping presents.

'night!

-Meg

Roller Coaster of Christmas Cheer!

I've been trying to be a glass-half full kind of person lately... but I honestly have no way to categorize this day. Brian just asked me if it was good or bad, and I was torn about how to respond.

For starters, I woke up at 10:30 a.m. to a phone call from my mom and sister telling me not to eat lunch. Well, considering I hadn't left my bedroom yet, the chances of me fixing something for lunch were pretty slim. Turns out they brought home this:

Oh my heavens, yummy. Like seriously. I just needed that goodness so much!

Considering I had just endured about an hour's worth of torment from littlest sister. She was trying to get me up by flashing my lights and playing loud, upbeat music like Owl City. Does she not realize I have a sleep mask and that I'm one of the heaviest sleepers on the planet?

Anyway, after mulling around a bit, we went horseback riding, which was pleasant because we were inside the arena, not out in the muck and mud. It's raining and it's almost Christmas. I'm a bit panicked. I really rely on snow to bring Christmas cheer.

Because let me tell you--there are a few things that do not bring Christmas cheer. I realized about half-way through my day that I was wearing my shirt backwards. At first I took it as a good omen. DUH! I need to be wearing my Utah shirt! Today was game day!

The right way.

After tearing apart my suitcase, I realized that I forgot to bring any sort of Ute apparel! Dismay began filling my soul. That dismay turned from a trickle to a flood of sorrow as my dear Utes took (several) blows from Boise and lost... the... game... and ended ... the bowl... streak...

Ya...

But the Jazz won! (As they should have).

-M

p.s. I think that the real reason the Utes lost is because I accidently wore blue underwear. No. I'm not posting a picture of that. Sorry.

Oh, and another thing to add to the naughty list? My computer crashed and I lost half a poem + other projects in unsaved documents in word.

Candy

The last one.

-M

Christmas Time is Here!

Christmas Break has begun!

This morning, my father took my sisters and me to Salt Lake and we saw Mr. David Archuleta and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir... and Orchestra, and bells, and dancers...

Ya. A whole lot of people. But mostly David.

It was really rainy, but hey... we had tights and cute shoes, and hoods. Guess whose feet are whose:

We all wear the same shoe size.

But I feel like I had to come a long way to get to this break. A long way. And that included FINALS!

This is a cryptic thing for phonetics. It made sense last Tuesday, but now the test is over, and it was epic. And 2 tests later, I am finished! Semester 4 of college is complete!

Now 'tis the season stuff yourself with tons of goodies and play Wii and sing carols and hang out with the ones you love.

-Meg

The Penultimate Final

It is 1 p.m.

I am starting to study.

I mean I am starting to study for today.

I have studied before this point. I did not procrastinate until the last day. I'm not being sarcastic, I really, really did.

Just ask Brian.

I have chosen my cell. I am confining myself here until all is accomplished. Syntax-wise anyway.

I believe in miracles + the power of studying + words with Jesus = passing grade.

Phonology Phinal!

Guess who's on a linguistic high right now!

[mi]

I just took my phonology final. Am I excited? Yes! Because the midterm in the class was on the sour side of stellar and it has haunted me for many weeks.

The funny thing is, I really didn't study as much for this final. But I did pay a lot better attention in class ever since that. (An experience such as that leaves you somewhat scarred.)

I was woke up at a wonderfully awful time- 6:30 a.m. My mommy was so kind and called me to make sure I was conscious. I'm not a morning person... and a phonology test at 8 a.m. just seemed like a really bad combo.

The morning was happy--I ate and read the paper and studied a bit--but somehow I missed the shuttle, despite being so on time. I ran back to the house, and no one was in a position to take me. So I just drove myself.

I figured the safest place for a non-parking pass holder like myself would be the LDS institute. I parked far away and in a non-conspicuous space. I said a few words to Jesus about that risk and started running down to the social work building (why is a linguistic class in the social work building?)

I look so dumb when I run with a back pack.

I got there and people were already working on the test! It was barely 8 a.m.! But I calmed myself down and started knocking out that test and figuring out those problems.

Oh my goodness how I wrestled with that problem. There were others who were further along in the test than I was... I could tell because it seemed like when everyone got to a certain point, they started erasing.

I totally had to erase too, but like 8 times. BUT when I was in the depths of despair-- it clicked!

I don't even remember what the language was... some dialect of Italian I think.

And then I ran back to my car! And there was no parking ticket!

OK, I think I'm going to go take a nap or something. Or I could work on my syntax take home test...

You know, these linguistic finals make me feel like Harry in the Tri-Wizard tournament. I just really hope that there isn't a portkey leading to a certain formidable graveyard at the end. People without noses scare me.

-Megan

A New Member of the Family

Hey ya'll!

So, you probably all know that I love writing. But sometimes it feels weird to put creative stuff here, so I started another blog for all that stuff.

Holy Whoa is about my whole life, and A Dandelion Smothered Life is for my poems and short story stuff. First entry is the beginning of my NaNoWriMo novel. Probably the only good part of that novella.

Finals are here and I am so excited! I'm doing alright. I have stuff to do and study, but it's all under control, and if I just stay focused a bit longer... I'll be alright!

-Meg

Final

Above: Adventure time with team universe.

Late. night. post.

Finals week is just around the river bend.

Listing my list of necessary things is much to tedious, but basically, I think I have everything almost covered. Every day my stress level decreases ?

OK, that statement is a bit premature.

I'm going to sleep. Life is so good.

Voy ir a hablar español ahora. Or at least practice anyway.

-Meg

Oh my goodness! A poem!

When

Graphite and paper

Become one fluid

Concrete hand-print mold

Of a heartbeat

Or two—

I am blessed

With a photograph

—or something as honest

as a picture anyway—

Developed by the crimson Christian honor

Of your Polaroid pocket,

And accidently hung with clothespins

On the trees

That shuffled up to the sidewalk

As we walked by.

-Dec. 2, 2010

I ought to start a blog just for poetry, but anyway-- the one above is one I wrote in Phonology.

I'm not too tired for this...

Today is the fourth day in the last month of the year of two thousand ten in the year of our Lord.

Do you know what that means?

I went on my first date with Brian 1 month ago.

Mmmmm yes, I have learned a lot about myself (and about this amazing person) in the last few weeks. The main thing is that I am in love with Brian. It's a good thing to learn.

I know what some of you are wondering! But what about Elder Hill?

Well... I don't know.

Good thing I do not need to know right now. I just know that I love being with Brian, and I love him. And I feel I need to tell the world about this. Because it is so fantasical and magical. And a lot of other adjectives that have eluded my sleep depraved mind.

Good night, folks!

-Meg

12:13 a.m.

We totally won the rivalry game. "Totally" probably isn't the right adverb, but basically, I'm so stoked we came out with some sort of victory. I know it was a bit undeserved, but I'm going to take it.

OK, now time for a late night post from this Scribe--

Dear Blog:

I always come to you in these late nights, looking for some sort of solace. But I know that if I just do my homework and study, I'll be much more at peace.

It isn't that I'm unhappy. Quite the opposite.

I'm crazy and life is moving at lightening speeds, but yet I don't feel like everyone else's is speeding up. It's just mine and I'm leaving things behind.

Oh my gosh I have this phonology assignment that I'm FINALLY doing. It's due in 9 hours. Exactly.

I just have to get out my feelings though, even if I'm not sure what they are. I am happy, and I'm upset that I'm not more sad about things that ought to bring me grief. I'm stressed, but not about things that ought to make me stressed, and things I should be freaking out over are suddenly so insignificant...

You know, for now I'm just going to blame it on my period.

That was easy.

Good night! Happy Phonology everyone!

-ME

So this is...

Hello world.

Here's the low-down.

I am dating this fantastic gentleman. And when I say fantastic, I mean FANTASTIC.

He is so good to me. He is so good for me. I spend less time moping about how much my life stinks -- because it doesn't--and more time just living and being content with life and love.

Every day he reminds me that I am beautiful, and he is a poet. He thinks it's cute how I'm a nerd. We are both nerdy wordy people, and we make a great team.

Yes world, I am in love.

OK, time to sleep...

The big game is tomorrow: UTAH vs. BYU. This is going to be wonderful.

Smiles, loves, and kisses from an extremely bubbly, giggly Meg.

-M

Sunday

And then

I let go.

The next breath I took

Filled my sails

Oh so deep and wide and white

Has it really been so long

Since I’ve taken

That element that is rightfully mine to take?

My face is read for blushing

And I am not a stone,

Because I am myself

And myself has just untangled

The webs,

And surmounted

That hill

Surrounded by clouds.

The damp wisps that hover

Are really just the leaves of my righting time

My pencil, pen and tear times

My wondering, waiting, hoping times

My how-do-you-know-you-just-know times

I exhale, so lightly

Because walking has taught me

That maybe it wasn’t myself

After all

The Morning Comes Early

This is the cover for my novel. This is for you, DaSha! (One of the best cooks I know! If you EVER want a home cooked meal and a great time, she's your girl. She just knows how to bring people together.)

I know, it's a picture of me. But it just fits.

Everything has been fitting lately. Everything's been making sense, and I've stopped worrying and being lame and bitter.

Dear readers, my life just went up a few more notches of amazing.

OK.

I have a poem I have to write. If I wait too long it will disappear.

Good night.

-just little old me(g)

Yes...

I started reading a new book.

A Farewell to Arms

by Ernest Hemingway

I guess you could say this means I am turning over a new leaf...

But don't read too much into this. :)

Or you can. If you're into that sort of thing.

-Megan

Life: A prime example of reality

No.

I left my notebook in the choir room. It has my name on it, but still... No. No. No NaNoWriMo words today. I'm so far behind.

Today had so many ups and downs.

I found out that one of my friends from high school died on Tuesday. That actually didn't make me as sad as I thought it would though. Don't get me wrong, I still feel sad that he's gone, but he was sick for a long time and was in a lot of pain.

Heavenly Father loves us. We are his children and I'm thankful to know of his gospel.

Good night.

-Megan

My Word Count is Steadily Ascending

Good morning!

It's exactly 12:27 a.m.

You know what that means:

LATE NIGHT POST

Get ready to roll your eyes and bang your head against a palm tree, (or any type of foliage that might be nearby. I do not envy you if you live in Arizona. I hear cacti are beastly to bang up against.)

So despite taking 15 credit hours and working about 25 hours a week, I'm doing NaNoWriMo. That's National Novel Writing Month. It's absolutely crazy. I'm actually feeling quite nervous about not being able to finish, and I worry about my novel being absolute crap. I'm not worried about the homework I'm currently procrastinating.

But the pep talks and message of NaNoWriMo is to worry about quantity, not content. The point is to just get the words out there and you can fix it later. Although I'm trying to adopt that as my monthly mantra, I've found it to be quite difficult to stifle my inner editor.

I am an editor after all. First and foremost, before a writer. I am learning to be a linguist, and linguists do not write 1667 crappy words a day.

But I've taken to reminding myself that because I am an editor, I will be able to salvage the misshapen creature I'm creating. I trust myself to tighten up my word hoarding sentences and make my verbs more concise and my descriptions precise and relevant.

One issue I keep running into is that the verbosity I adopted to rack up my word count carries over into my every day writing. Which is not cool. I like to call myself the queen of concise. I'm notorious for editing a friend's paper and leaving it 100 words short of the word count requirement.

I'm mean. I know.

I do love my main character though. I think she's the only reason why I'm still writing. I took a different approach. I usually try to force my personality onto my MC, because I always assume that it will be easier to write about the person I know best.

Not the case. Caroline is completely the opposite of me, and I like writing about a girl that doesn't like to read or study, is easily distracted, has no patience. (Okay, maybe we do have some similar qualities.)

Caroline sees dead people. I call them dead people, but they're really not dead. It's more complicated than that, but I haven't found an accurate way of explaining it. Caroline's still trying to figure it out, so we'll be figuring it out together.

But I love the narrator even more. He's this omniscient figure, but he interjects with his own commentary and feels sympathy for Caroline. He's in love with her.

And that's where it gets weird. But I'm learning a lot. I love my book, even if I want to hate it.

OK. Now it's 12:41 a.m. I've wasted sufficient time telling you about my uber boring life as a writer.

You deserve a Merit Badge or something.

-M

My Novel has a title, and I am soaking wet.

Despues este escribiendo, tengo un exam del Espanol.

Estoy lluviosa. Muy lluvios, y no tengo un paragua. Soy triste.

--------------------

You're probably wondering how NaNoWriMo is going. Well I'm at 9536 and I have a title.

"The Morning Comes Early."

I don't know exactly what it means, or why it fits my novel, but it somehow does.

I'm in desperate need for character names. Like seriously, anything. Leave your suggestions below.

Now I'm going to battle the sea that's falling down all around us. Wish me luck. My umbrella broke. :(

-Megan

50,000 words... now that's scary

Well, my halloween was rather uneventful.

I was dismayed at the fact that I was unable to dress up as Amelia Earhart because I was preoccupied doing something else.

Carmina Burana.

So instead, I'm dressed as a Monk. I have 1 performance left of Carmina. Heaven save me.

And as if I weren't crazy enough, I'm doing NaNoWriMo. What is that? National Novel Writing Month. Yes, I'm am going to attempt to write 50,000 words in 1 month.

Dear readers, I will not abandon you, I will give you updates on my insanity. I love you all.

Wish me luck. Here we go.

Even now, it's 20 minutes until I can begin. I can hardly wait.

-Megan

Why yes, I do sleep with a sleep mask

Meet Nellie.

She's my sleep mask.

Her buddy Reginald is at my home in Syracuse, so I don't have a picture of him. But he's dark blue. I have 2 because if I forget my sleep mask, I have such a hard time sleeping.

This is lame. I know.

It all started last year when I was a wee freshman, and my dorm window was right smack in front of a street light that had the brilliance of a thousand search lights. Super annoying.

I tried pulling the covers over my head. But then I felt like I was suffocating.

So I gave in and bought my really nerdy sleep mask.

At first it felt really awkward, and I felt vulnerable, like someone was going to attack me because I was blindfolded. And if my roommate wanted to talk to me, it was just weird. I mean, it's easy enough to lift it up, but then you just look like a dweeb.

Soon enough, the calm darkness that the mask brought was so inciting it was dangerous. I overslept for many a day! And instant nap, any time of day.

And even when I went home, or when I moved to my current residence, I still needed it. It relaxes me; if I don't wear it I have a hard time relaxing my brow muscles. So much tenseness and stress!

Now I sleep in basement, which is practically a cave because there is no way to tell the time of day down here. It is so dark and cool. All the time. But it doesn't eliminate my need for Nellie.

My mom thinks I need to abandon it, because it's pointless and dirty (sometimes my makeup gets on it, gross, I know). She said that about blankie and binkie and silkie* too. Just sayin'.

Nellie gets to stay. I need her.

-MEG

*Silkie: n. A small square of silk cloth that I carried around with me for comfort when I was a young child.

Oh Snow...

Winter.

Why hello there.

You didn't even knock. You just barged right in now, didn't you?

No manners. Excuse me. I was having a love-affair with autumn and you just burst in on our intimate exchange.

Give me a warning or a warming next time.

Just because I wrote a post about Hoth does not mean that you can act like it. Just cut it out, or I'll cut into the nearest TaunTaun.

-Megan

(The girl who writes blog posts when she should be snuggled deep in her bed.)

Welcome to Hoth, sports fans!

The Chronicle is a lively place to work, to say the least.

Thursdays are especially chipper because we put out the Ute Report Friday.

The Ute report is a weekend sports guide, but the arts are trying to weasel their way in there. They have good intentions, but you know how it goes. Football always wins. Always.

Anyway, the Sports Desk (we call them sports fans), usually creates the idea for the creative artsy cover. They try their best, bless their hearts, but sometimes they just ... well... you'll see. Their explanation sounded something like this:

Sarah, our most heroic Editor in Chief: "So do you guys have a idea for the Ute Report cover?"

Sport fan leader: "Ya we do!" (This is actually amazing because usually they don't.) "So remember the Star Wars themed one? We want to stick with it. So remember in Star Wars where Luke is on that really cold planet, and he gets stuck out in the snow, and he has to kill that animal he rides and get inside it to stay warm? Well that animal kind of looks like a ram, and since we're playing Colorado State on Saturday, we were thinking that we could photoshop a picture of one of the players crawling inside a ram-like creature."

Sarah: "You can't be serious."

I don't think they actually were serious, but I sincerely hope not.

This sleeping back only slightly disturbs me. Found it while looking for Star Wars pictures.

-Meg

The Way I Think of Words

I also adore autumn time.

I like saying "autumn" more than saying "fall." Autumn has a warm sound--the m and n are cosey snuggled up together, so happy. They love cuddling.

Now "fall" is more stiff, rigid and uptight. The two l's look like the naked trees, when all the leaves have fallen off. Not so warm and pleasant.

The ironic thing is that the two vowels are similar. [a] in IPA. Since autumn has a nice neutral schwa [ə], it gets that extra umpf of coolness.

-Meg

Kids!

My cousin McKay and me. We make funny faces.

Happy Sunday, all!

Every time I visit the home ward, I just fall in love with kids all over again. I love kids! I'm only 19 1/2 but I do look forward to the time when I can be a mommy.

I made a promise to myself. That when I get to be a mom, I won't complain. Ever.

I know it's got to be so tough sometimes. I bet you get worn down and discouraged often. But you know what? It's still a blessing to allow a child of God to come down to earth, get a body, and grow up in a loving family.

So while I wait for Mr. Prince Charming Right, I'm going to just love and cherish all the kiddies around me. Even when they poop and drool.

-Megan

Notas

Before cell phones and texting, we wrote notes.

I found a landslide of old notes from junior high and yes, even high school. Written in class and passed in between them, these handwritten messages were nothing short of epic. They are recapitulations of my crushes, my best friends' crushes, and the intricacies of young teenage life.

These not only contain the long obsolete gossip of our young love lives, but our masterpieces, pencil drawings instead of picture mail.

Text messages are automatically deleted to make room for more in coming 160-character stories, but these notes never die.

Good thing we used clever aliases and wrote in intricate codes.

But not always. Sometimes they were simple.

Ah, the back of my drawers is walking through memory lane.

-Megan

A Post about Post (I love getting mail)

Yes, I received my first letter(s) from that random little island in the Pacific from that random little best friend of mine.

I promise I'm not obsessive. But who wouldn't be excited by mail from sunny Fiji?

This post is brought to you by the nice man who fixed my computer over the phone in a matter of minutes. He is my hero.

From sunny Utah,

Megan

Super Heroes

The past few days I've been thinking about super heroes..

NaTasha had an awesome super hero themed birthday party. As if I'm not nerdy enough, I went as Grammar Girl.

I think I'm going to refine my costume for Halloween. (Except I really want to be Amelia Earhart too... decisions, decisions.)

I love these girls. They are my heroes!

Cat Woman, Super Girl, Grammar Girl

The real Super Heros are serving missions right now.

Super Heroes are moms who run 5Ks with their daughters.

I ran the U of U alumni 5K. It was so tough, I'm not quite sure why. Actually, I do. I haven't exactly run very consistently the past few weeks. (I'm not being a very good super hero.)

Super Hero Fuel

I had do my geology assignment at the museum of natural history. Notice the boy wearing the BYU shirt. Hmmm....

But I learned not to judge people by their outward appearances! President Monson is amazing! (And he looks like my bishop... maybe that's because my bishop is his son?)

The General Young Women's [EDIT: Relief Society (I'm still way young at heart.)] meeting was so fantastic. I'm glad I skipped out on the game to go. I feel so blessed to know the women in the ward. I'm so thankful for Visiting Teaching. I'm so glad I'm a daughter of God.

I am so happy.

And a letter is coming... I can feel it. Any day. Any day. (He just passed his 3-month mark!)

-Meg