Things that make me happy right now

There is much rejoicing in the land!

My cousin Kyle got his mission call to Lyon, France. He leaves in September.

These penguins named after the Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge are expecting a baby penguin. Yes.

Also, Will, Kate, and Harry wave wands in Harry Potter world.

This really expensive, but effective shaving cream from Lush. Sometimes my skin is very sensitive when I shave, which is why I need to go all out sometimes.

The Salt Lake Community Co-op. (Yay for awesome veggies!)

A million and a half weddings this summer. Love is in the air.

Everyone is getting jobs! One of note is my husband: Sam has a new job at America First. (I guess that makes us DINKs now?) My mom also got a job as a kindergarten teacher.

This video by Mr. Hill and Mr. Hoye.

Yoga. Especially hot yoga.

Namaste.

What's in a Name?: A Ramble from MEMT

I'm kind of having an identity crisis. When I was little, I thought that when a girl got married, her name magically changed. I remember once seeing a book with my mom's maiden name in the front cover. It looked so weird, to think that my mom wasn't always a McFarland. McFarland was her last name on everything, and it seemed like it always had been. I knew of course that wasn't the case, but that's why I thought that one day you had your maiden name, and after the nuptials--tada! You have a new last name and everything is changed for you!

Not so.

I'm still a McFarland on pretty much everything. My library card, my driver's license, my bank account, email...

The long process of changing is annoying, but at least there's no deadline. But that's not the most annoying part! The worst is when people ask what my name is!

I stutter and look stupid as I pause and go through a million things in my head. If I'm buying something, I feel weird not using my maiden name because it's whats on my card, and I don't want them to think I'm stealing someone's card. If it's someone I'm meeting in our new neighborhood, I give Thornton as my last name, because eventually that's what my name will be and they'll know me as that longer. But I still have a hard time with that because my name isn't officially changed yet. Legally, I'm still Megan McFarland. Sometimes I know it's pertinent to give my new one, but they might not recognize who I am because they've heard of me with my old name. Then I'm always mumbling about how I just got married, and how I haven't changed my name yet legally, and it's weird.

If that paragraph was confusing, don't worry. I don't get it either. The point is that I'm confused. So I just choose to ramble on and try to make sense of this second last name nonsense. BTW, I'm adding his last name to mine. I'm not hyphenating, I'm just going to have four names. So my name will be really long. Maybe this is stupid. I don't know.

-Megan

Married Life Begins

Someone gave us a book of Crockpot recipes, and I was elated, because they all looked so delicious, and easy to make! I tried this taco soup one.

But we slept in so we didn’t have time to put it together in the morning. So I came home from work and put it together, even though we’d have to wait for 4 hours. We gave in and snacked just a bit. Then when the soup was done, we weren’t hungry. No problem. We decided we’d eat it the next day instead.

The next day was Pioneer Day, and Sam’s parents through a last-minute little get-together. So we ate with them, and saved the soup for another day.

Finally, on Wednesday, we at the soup. It was good, except we hadn’t let it warm up enough in the crockpot, so it was kind of cold. We put it back on, so by our second helpings, it would be warm. But Sam and I are skinny people, and we got full and decided we didn’t want a second helping. We would just save the soup and eat it for leftovers the next few days.

But although we unplugged the crockpot, we neglected to put it in the fridge. Facepalm. So a day later, we realize my crockpot is just sitting there, full of soup. Fail.

And our fridge really doesn’t have that much in it. There’s plenty of room for a crockpot. We’re just forgetful and inexperienced at feeding ourselves. As if I haven’t lived on my own for the past three years. I feel foolish.

One good thing is only being having to share my brownies with only one other person. Yumm...





This is our first meal at home as a married couple! Mac n' cheese. It was homemade, and let me tell you Sam makes a mean mac n' cheese. And see that bouquet at the table? It's mine. Proof that we did get married, honeymoon, and return home. Eventually I'll post more pictures and tell the story. All in due time, folks.

-Meg

We're finally getting married!

It's like Christmas Eve on steroids.

Tomorrow I am sealed to the man I love so dearly!

Just start watching at 1:15. That's what I've been singing in my head recently.

-Meg

Words al dente

OK, study break.

I would like to say that I'm famous for eating my words.

I said I would go on a mission and that no boy could keep me from that. Nope.

I said I would date someone for at least a year before I got engaged. Nope.

However, I am going to graduate college before I get married, so that's one aspect I'm doing just as I said I would.

My friend NaTasha once said, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan for your life." I absolutely love the life I'm in right now. Is it different than I expected? You bet. I think it would be silly to pretend that's not true.

I think it's better, though, than what I had planned. It just took a little faith and a lot of love. Things are just the way they ought to be.

Yesterday, Sam and I were doing homework on his couch. I was sitting with my feet propped up on the stool. He had his back on my shoulder and his legs stretched out perpendicular to mine. We laughed about stupid things on Pinterest and watched a sad clip from a sad movie. Moments like this I would trade for nothing.

I am so happy, but I'm also filled with the usual stress and strain of school. But Sam's always there, helping me as I sprint to the finish. Having someone to lean on is a blessing.

I find myself saying cheesy things and smiling at the stupidest of things. I'm even being a little bit nicer to people. Life is so good, even if it isn't easy. I don't even care if people think I'm too young to get married.

And who knew my words would taste so delicious?

-Meg

P.S. If you want to hear Sam's side of our engagement, click right here!