Apples....

When you have an apple, hold it by the stem and see how many times you can twist it before it falls off. It is a letter for each twist. The letter you end up with is the  first letter of the guy you are going to marry. It took me five twists. E... The first name that came to mind was Eric. Of course. We may as well be married according to more than one source. I don't think that is so, but whatever. It still made me laugh. 

Just Having Some Fun

First off, I would like to say that I went on my first date in which a guy asked me out (my second date overall), and I survived. It wasn't the greatest because it was with a guy I really don't like, but we had fun. We went to an art museum and then went and got Jamba Juice.
Yesterday was the football game v. Hawaii! We won 47-0. Way to go Cougs! Even sections wore white while odd sections wore blue so the stadium looked like it was striped. It was so cool because it actually worked! At the game the guy I kind of have a crush on was like, "Dearest Megan, I love you so much." Here is me, "Oh, I love you too." Cheesy, but it made my night. I left the game a little early because I went out with my cousin Becca. We had so much fun eating at The Chocolate once again. She made me eat most of it since she was allergic to everything we got. As you can see I was SO FULL after it, and she was happily satisfied. After that we went to see "The Avengers." It is a really good movie. I do not understand why we had to stay until the credits were finished to watch them eat tacos, but I did enjoy every minute being with her last night. Yet another night with my wonderful cousin. I may get fat, but storytelling and good laughs are always the best.

Today I got up really late. Eric had called so I called him back. An hour and a half later I was on my way to my coordinator's granddaughter's third birthday party. I had a lot of fun. Everyone there thought Eric and I were married. I got asked where my ring was, how long we had been married, a disapproving look from an older woman when she found out we weren't married, and I got told several times we made a cute couple. My coordinator even said we may as well be married since we spend so much time together. It was weird, but I found it rather humorous. When I got home it was time to get ready for the Relief Society General Broadcast. I got to go watch it at the Conference Center in Salt Lake. It was amazing. Before we went in, little ladies were handing out little packs of tissues. I of course I grabbed one, but those sneaky moms put anti-Mormon stuff in them. I took that out and kept the tissues. All of the speakers were wonderful. I even almost cried in every single talk. My favorite talk was the one done by Sister Carole M. Stephens. She is the first counselor. She talked about a trek she went on recently. At the women's pull someone came back to help her even though she had already made it to the top. When Sister Stephens got to the top she was too tired to go back and help someone else. She felt like she had let her sisters down physically, but she said she never wanted to let them down spiritually. I love her teaching through example, and I hope one day I can be that shining beacon for someone else.

Thankful...

 

  I am thankful for long walks that I have no reason for going on. It just gives me time to think.

I am thankful for answered prayers even when you receive an answer you were not expecting. Sometimes you just have to lift up your head, realize that you are a daughter of God, and keep on going. 

   I am thankful that I do not have to have everything figured out all of the time. Looking at my planner I see everything scheduled out so perfectly. Sometimes it makes me feel better because it provides some order for my life, but other times it is completely overwhelming. Today was one of the overwhelming days. I completely disregarded my scheduled life, and I felt free. After an ice cream social and a good talk with Mallory, I made my way home talking to my mom. It felt so good outside so I stayed out there. There was a rainbow over the mountain. Rainbows are one of my favorite things. They show that there is still good in the world even if it is not always shining. Not everything has to be perfect for you to see beautiful. Not everything has to be figured out to move forward.

Seeing the Hand of God in Each Day

You know how sometimes you fight with yourself forever over whether you should go to something or not? Now, I will be the first to admit that does not apply to FHE for me, but it did apply to devotional today. All last night I thought about how much more time I would have to sleep and study if I didn't go. All this morning I thought about everything I could be doing. Then I remembered the goal I made at the beginning of the year. I made the goal that I was going to try to make it to every devotional. Thinking about that the whole way there, I decided I needed to go. You know how sometimes you feel like the speaker is talking to you? It happened at devotional. Two weeks ago we had a talk on optimism by a general authority. For some reason the speaker today chose to speak on the same subject. I needed it. The one two weeks ago did not really mean anything to me, but this one had me in tears. I woke up not in the greatest mood. The cold weather has brought on a weird pain in my right hand and elbow. It is not fun. I was just not in a good mood in general when I went to devotional. He talked about doing things that were pleasant and worthwhile, to take time to look for the good in the world. He also gave five tips on how to be positive in a negative world.
     1. Know that righteousness does not mean perfection
     2. Keep trying anyway
     3. Keep your focus on Heavenly Father
     4. Know that Heavenly Father's approval matters most
     5. Find and remember the joy in your life.
He said that when you have tears in your eyes and smiling is the best emotion in the world. When we look for the good in our lives we see how truly blessed we are and we are filled with gratitude and optimism.
Here are some of the quotes from my class today:

•      If you are tired, God says, "I will give you rest."
•      The only limitations on you and me are those we put on ourselves.
•      Those who give when they have little are those who will give when they have a lot.

In devotional today, Brother Wilks also quoted D&C 123:17. It says," Therefore, dearly beloved brethren,  let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. He told us to look for the hand of God reaching out to help us each day. It was easy for me to see His hand in my life today. I went to a devotional that felt like it was meant for me, my class today was full of so many good laughs, and I got to talk to two of my FOL kids. They also played a wonderful hymn while we were all filing out of devotional which made my day even better.

Full of Gratefulness

I promise one day I will catch up on my thankful posts. 

1. I am thankful for minivans and BYUSA retreats. I literally had so much fun yesterday!!! I was full of excitement and happiness all day. They say you become like the five people you spend the most time with. I am not doing too badly. BYUSA people are good people to be like. 

2. I am thankful for temple dedications. I feel like I was waiting for something like this to happen my whole life. I loved it even though I was so close to falling asleep so many times. 

3. I am thankful for warm, big cookies with ice cream on them. They make me happy and having one for dinner last night made my day all the better. 

Too Much Fun

People say there is no such thing as having too much fun. I beg to differ. I do not know if it was too much fun or too much excitement. I think both. I had it. After a late girls' night last night, I got up slowly this morning. Until the adrenaline kicked in, I was beat. I got to the BYUSA office by eight to get things started for the retreat. The first thing Eric told me when he first saw me was that I looked half dead. Well thanks for that. By nine everyone had arrived and so did the adrenaline. I saw my mini van. That was enough to get me going. After telling the group that was with me about my deep love/obsession for minivans, one of the girls looked at me driving and said, "You look so cute and perfect up there!" Here is me wanting to cry because I was so happy. :) It felt so natural to be behind the wheel of a mini van. Have I told you I want one? We played a name game where we said our name and something we would bring to a picnic. My name is Megan, and I would bring a mini van. When we got there, we started off with laser tag. I am just not good at laser tag. I always have fun, but I don't score well. Nbd. Then came the go-karts. Eric bet me the other day that I would not be able to beat him. I get really competitive on go-karts. Like no joke. He jumped in the first one and I was in the fourth one back. Bring it on. I passed the first two people in front of me, and then it was just him and me. I won. He owes me. Then came the bumper boats. Somehow I ended up in his boat. I do not know how, but I got soaked because everyone was ganging up on us. I will say, I put my hand in front of the water gun, and I aimed it to squirt him. I win again. After that we got free time to go to the arcade. Angela Lopez and I went on all of the racing games whether it was motorcyles or cars. Then we went on a weird two person ride that was so much fun! We screamed the whole time. In the last bit of free time we went to two 4D short movies. Lunch was next on the schedule. You know those stupid commercials where the windows are so clean the birds or dogs or whatever run into them? It happens in real life. I slammed into a window today with about a third of my team there to witness it. I thought it was a door. I hit it and hit it hard. Probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Over the course of the retreat, there were plenty of pictures taken. I love looking back at them and just laughing. After we left, we went to a park to play a couple more games. When we finally got back and returned my mini van (after I took a couple pictures with it of course), it was around five. Then, I went to see a scary movie with Becca. The movie was not all that great, but it was really funny when Becca screamed twice in the theater. So great. Then, we went to a place called The Chocolate for a dessert. We got something called a cazookie. It is half chocolate chip cookie and half white chocolate macadamia nut cookie topped with vanilla icecream. Yum. After today, I can truthfully say if I died tomorrow I would die happy. Mini vans, a new embarrassing story to tell, beating Eric in go-karts, and a cazookie. What more could you ask for?

Strength, Courage, Wisdom, Heart

So, I went to the circus today. I had so much fun! Driving up with my coordinator was a blast. With her three year old granddaughter in tow, we had some good laughs. When we got there her granddaughter Kalin wanted me to hold her. I carried her up three flights of stairs. I get winded with just me. I loved it though. The only problem was she was on a leash. When I put her down, I had to walk her. I swear I will never do that to my kids. The theme tonight was dragons. I think it is kind of weird because I do not associate that with the circus, but it was not bad. They said to see a dragon you needed strength, courage, wisdom, and heart. I feel like that applies to many things in life. With those four things you can accomplish anything. The most exciting part was watching Kalin. She came and sat on my lap for a little bit. My favorite part of the circus is the animals. I love the lions, and tigers, horses, and the dogs they have. At one point they were coming out with all of the horses and ponies, and they brought out a Great Dane. It was so funny. I want one... and a mini van. It was so nice to have some bonding time with Eric, Angela, Maddie, Kennedy, Kalin, and Roger. On the way back to the car Kalin threw a fit because her grandpa was holding her leash. She wanted me to hold it. I don't think she minds the leash, but it is kind of shameful for me. It was really cute though. I just got to have fun. Kennedy and I drove up to Salt Lake with our coordinator, her husband, and Kalin. When we got back, they dropped Kennedy off and drove away. When they dropped me off, they waited until they saw me walk in the door. I love Angela. I love them all.

Early Morning Phone Call

I was woken up at eight this morning.... It would be on the one day I have to sleep in. For most people, that would be a bad start to their morning, and the rest of their day would be off. Not me. I picked up the phone. It was Eric. He wanted me to go in the office so we could order a birthday cake for Devon. By nine I had been on campus, put a check in the bank, ordered the cake, mailed a package, and had gotten some homework done. I also ran in to Devon, said happy birthday, got things worked out for the stewardships I am doing this week, and I was an hour early for forum. Forum was not that great. It was a congressman and we had a long opening prayer, an even longer hymn, and his speech was kind of blah. After that my day just got better. More homework, homemade biscuits and gravy (a southern comfort), BYUSA orientation, two stewardships, and expectations meeting, and a meeting with my area which involved nothing less than ice cream cake, Eric impersonating Gollum (he sang a song, and I was impressed and creeped out all at once), Eric impersonating Mr. Bean, and the rest of us just laughing and thinking we were going to die from not breathing. Do you want to know the best part of it all? I GET TO DRIVE A MINI VAN!!!! I love it. Bring on Saturday! Only the classiest people can be in Admin. We have too much fun for an unclassy person to be around us. I'm just kidding. Well, not really. This week I have two tests (maybe one... we shall see), five assignments, two stewardships, the circus!!!, a committee meeting, a day retreat, a movie night with my cousin, and I am going to end it with the Brigham City Temple Dedication! My life is hectic. It makes it fun. Needless to say I am tired, but in the scriptures God says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I can make it.  

Oh Darling

So, I just realized I did not do a thankful post this week. It was kind of crazy as always. No big deal. Anyways, I need to do it now. There will just be two this week.
1. I am thankful that I estimated the perfect amount of food for our Meet and Mingle. Not enough would have been a disaster, but having too much would have been just as bad. Not only did I order enough food, but the decorations were perfect and just fun! Way to go team! We made it through our first Meet and Mingle.
2. I am thankful for time I have to sit and think. It does not come often, but I got some this week. It made a huge difference in figuring out what I wanted from life and some other things. I needed it more than ever, and I got it at the perfect time.
3. I am thankful when people fight over me in the office. Two other Vice Presidents have threatened to steal me from Eric. From one saying, "Megan, I want someone like you... No, that's a lie. I want you!" To another saying, "She is amazing! Do you realize how amazing she is?!" To one more saying, "You better be careful, Eric. I may steal her from you." It makes me feel loved when people do that. Apparently I am doing something right in BYUSA at least.
4. I am thankful that I go to a classy school like BYU. The U does not have to plastic wrap their statues to keep people from painting them, they do not have a penalty in a football game for breaking the rules and rushing the field twice before the game is over, and they do not get beer thrown on them from our fans, even when we lose by three points in the Holy War. Way to keep it classy, BYU!
5. I am thankful for cute love songs. Ones like the one I have on here just make me happy. I may never be in a relationship, but these make me smile every time I hear them.

Plans Change

Sometimes your dreams and plans change. You can't help it. I have been thinking about this for a while, and now I am making it official. I have changed the colors I want at my wedding. I want navy and yellow. It is classy and still fun. You see the little ball flowers? I love those! Bridesmaid bouqets: my favorite. The blue willow plates: also my favorite. I love it. 

I also want a sparkler exit. No bubbles. No rice. Sparklers. 

I can keep dreaming. 

You Are Loved

My day was made several times today. The first time was at eight in the morning. Hard to believe. I got a text telling me to look up my name on the urban dictionary. Most of the time I only use that to look up slang words I don't know, so I was kind of skeptical. When I did, I got an amazing surprise. 

• "A Megan is always awesome, period. If you haven't met three or more Megans by the time you're 15 you don't live in America. A Megan has a blonde streak, whether she wears it or not. She has a way of brightening your bad days. A Megan knows how to party like a rockstar. Megans hold pride in the fact that thier name is spelled correctly, without any "h"s, one "e", and one "a" in order. No one is complete without a Megan as a bff."
• Megan: Hey, I'm Megan! 
  Meghan: hey, me too! 
  Megan: cool, how do you spell it? 
  Meghan: m-e-g-h-a-n 
  Megan: haha, you spelled it wrong. its okay though, just don't flip when i call you meg-han

So cute right? I loved it! The second one I had to post on Meghan's wall. It made me laugh out loud. Literally. My whole day was fantastic. I do not know why. It just was. I ran from class to class, and loved all of them even though I almost fell asleep in Stats and New Testament. No big deal. BYUSA was the same as always. I did what I had to do, stayed late to talk to a friend, and so on. One thing that I did love was when one of the guys started singing a song about angel eyes and pointed to me. It is a real song! It was done by Steelheart. It isn't my favorite when the band sings it, but it was so cute when he was doing it. It made me laugh considering that is the name of my blog. My dad calls me that and wrote a poem for me which is why I named my blog this. With Rob singing to me, all I could do was stand there in amazement with a stupid ear-to-ear grin on my face. After I left the office I drove up to Timp Lodge for the ward social. So good. My team won two out of three of the tug-of-wars. I just got to have fun and relax by the fire away from the now chilly mountain air. I love that Utah has seasons. Fall is here. Do you want to know how I figured that out? Well, last year I consistently got hit in the face with something falling from a tree every time I walked under one. The tradition continues. Anyways, when I got back from the ward social I worked on homework and checked my email. The BYUSA newsletter had finally come through. Eric wanted me to look at it earlier, but I was busy, and it wouldn't come through my email. It was nine o'clock. I scrolled through finding it to be nothing special. I even found a few mistakes (should have been an English major). Then, I got to the very bottom where the volunteer spotlights are. I am on there. At first I was like, "What the heck is happening?!" I texted Eric and gave him grief in a teasing manner, but seriously why? I am now going to have a poster with my picture up in the office. Great. I thanked him eventually. The only thing is the fact that now I feel kind of bad. I was just teasing (kind of but not really) him about needing a new name-tag so I could be in Student Honor instead of Admin. I am so thankful that he appreciates and notices me. There are days when I feel like I do nothing and days where I feel used and abused. I am not a huge fan of being spotlighted. A candy bar would have sufficed, but it is so good to know I am loved. 

Feel Good Songs

I was listening to this song the other day. For some reason I feel like it really applies to me. I love it.
"Close your tired eyes. Relax, and then count from one to ten, and open them. All these heavy thoughts will try to weigh you down but not this time... Fill the darkest night with brilliant light 'cause it's time for you to shine brighter than a shooting star, so shine no matter where you are tonight."

I am also obsessed with this song right now. Every time I get in the car it comes on, and it makes me so happy every stinkin' time. "Woke up on the right side of the bed.... Slept in all my clothes like I didn't care..." Story of my life. 

I LOVE the lyric videos for these. I do not know why. These are my feel good songs. 

The Most Important Thing

My Facebook cover photo is simple. It says nothing more than, "The most important thing is to be happy." The picture behind these words of wisdom is the sky. So simple, right? Wrong. 

Like I have said before, getting back in to the groove of things is more difficult than ever before. On Thursday I sat with a friend in the BYUSA office and we just talked for two hours. Okay it wasn't really talking. We were venting to each other. The day before we had gone down and just studied in the Wilk, and people recognized both of us from BYUSA pictures, posters, the knew our names or so on. We are NEVER off duty from BYUSA. We always have to be the examples and often put on a smile whether we want to or not. It is hard. I expected them to recognize her, but when they recognized me as well, I knew we were in for it. Anyways, we sat and vented... for two hours. I mean, really, we both needed someone to just sit and listen, and to have such a good friend and chocolate there it made things even better. When we were done, we apologized to each other for venting so much, even though we knew we both needed it, and we hugged for a really long time. Walking home, I felt like a new person. Not having to look so perfectly put together for a couple hours relieved me. On my way, another person stopped me and talked to me because they "knew" me. I did not mind. I love it. I like knowing I am not invisible like I was last year. I like people knowing my name even though I have no idea who they are. I like it when they stop me to talk to me. 

Friday I was ready for classes.  I went to both of them with a twinkle in my eye and a spring in my step. I enjoyed them both. A lot. It was kind of weird considering they were Statistics and Family Finance. I came home, did laundry and a few other chores, made my room look more homey, got homework done, and did everything that suited my fancy. I went to the Women's Volleyball game, and then went to Fall Fest. Along with Dani, Makenna, Kaitlyn, Janessa, and Whitney, I got J-Dawgs, got to talk and have fun, and went to Comedy Sports which is a stand up comedy group. We were joined by Eric and Maddie for that. They were so funny! When we were done, we went our separate ways, and a few of us went to watch "Sister Act." I left before the movie was over because it was late, but walking down the stairs to my apartment I realized the significance of my cover photo. It is so true! The most important thing really is to be happy. When you are happy, everything seems so much better. So many heavy thoughts will try to weigh you down, but you can't let it. I was letting the stress of classes, homework, and my insane schedule get the best of me. I won't let it this time. I like being the one people look to when they need someone happy. I love being able to brighten someone's day even when I can't necessarily brighten my own. Here's the thing though... By creating light for others, we naturally light our own way. The most important thing really is to be happy.
Because it is the last day of the week I also need to write three things I am thankful for. This time it is all going to be people who I love so much.
1. I am thankful for Mallory for venting with me. I love her. She is wonderful.
2. I am thankful for Abe and his hugs and high fives. I am also thankful for him because at Fall Fest he was making me laugh SO hard when he kept saying my name over the megaphone like Dani did last winter in her own kind of creepy way.
3. I am thankful for all of those that went to Fall Fest with me. I really love them all and always enjoy their company. 

I Love My Friends!

I feel like this semester is harder than most, and it isn't only me who thinks this way. A lot of my friends agree with me that for some reason, we are having a harder time getting in the groove of things. I feel like I have been in school for three months, and this is only the second week. We are in trouble. Elder Holland once said, "Some things are not under your control. Some disappointments come regardless of your effort and preparation, for God wishes us to be strong as well as good... In this too, you have friends through the ages in whom you can take comfort and with whom you can form timeless bonds." Sometimes things do not go your way. Some things already this week have left me disappointed and worried. Yesterday was a holiday. I have only been back to school one day this week. What the heck is going on? When I went to meet with the bishop today, he and his second counselor pointed out how tired I looked. Well thanks for that. I just have to keep going. Good thing I have amazing friends. Whether it be watching "Lord of the Rings," making faces at each other during the devotional, texting back and forth all day, two guys I don't really know from my ward honking and waving at me while I was walking to BYUSA, planning Skype dates, going out for pie shakes, or just sitting and talking for the little amount of free time I have, I know I have those friends Elder Holland talks about that I am forming timeless bonds with. I love them all. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. If we will put our trustin Him, if we pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." 

All Great Things

Sister Hinckley said, "There are two ways to get through life. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache." I completely agree with her, but I have smiled through my mess of a week, and today when I had time to sit and think about things during church I realized how tired I really am. I keep going to the brink of crying. I have not let it go yet, but I have come close several times today with teary eyes and a shaky voice. Let's just say I am a bit overwhelmed. If all great changes are preceded by chaos like they say, something outstanding is coming because I feel like I am caught in a whirlpool. The funny thing about all of this is the fact that no one made me feel this way. No one said anything to me. I made myself feel like this. I dulled my own sparkle. As I listen to some of my favorite songs trying to get over this, I will focus on tomorrow for tomorrow is a new day, and I am going to be happy.

It Really Wasn't All Bad

I just realized my last post made me sound kind of sad. My week really was not that bad. I laughed a lot. From teachers making me laugh to Kaitlyn and I doing spider on the swings like I would do with my mom or cousins when I was little to teasing some of my BYUSA friends or them teasing me, I laughed so much that I feel like if I did not eat so much I would have a six pack, and I have no more tears.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from teachers:
1. *Nervous Laughter* "He might not be lying..." (he was talking about how we may have heard his class was easy, but now he changed it to being hard so most of us would not do well)
2. Teacher: What is the first thing you do when you see a math problem on your test in the testing center?
    Me in my head: Freak out and die a little inside.
    Everyone else in the class: Write out the parts of the problem.
3. "I know what you are all thinking when you do that awkward laugh it is like, 'ahaha I hate you!' "
4. When I'm done here, Christmas... Ok I can do this!
Teachers know what we are thinking most of the time and how we feel about different things. It makes me laugh.