21 years later...

So, today I turned the big 2-1. It's all very exciting, even though we had an ice storm and it was very very gross outside. But it's ok, i can look on the bright side! I'm now officially IN my twenties, which is just weird. I think i'll forever see myself as an awkward 14 year old...

Well I thought it would be fun to post some pictures of myself as a little diddle. They are funny and plus they give you a glimpse of how much i've grown! (I think i'm starting to sound like my grandmom...)

I think this picture was taken in Georgia, before we moved to PA. I was 3 i think... (how funny is Jimmy?! and bethie is doing her own thing as always and amber is so typically watching over me.)

This was one Christmas at Grandmom's house in NJ...one of my favorite pictures of us four:
This is me and Amber in Georgia...She was like my second mommy...

So, happy day to me!:) Isn't it a shame how birthdays only last 24 hours? Boo to whoever came up with the birth-DAY... I think we should revise it to be birth-WEEK.

Any one in favor, say "I."

You're IT!

Lisa tagged me, so now you get the distinct pleasure of knowing probably more than you'd like about me:

1. My body moves in strange patterns. When i'm watching tv or sitting in class I'll often notice that one or both of my feet is moving in a circular pattern. It's gotten to the point when it feels weird when i'm NOT moving them. I've woken up several times in the morning only to find my feet....yup...moving in this same weird circular pattern. Also, when I'm standing up I tend to sway. I don't even realize i'm doing it but several people have commented on how I sway back and forth. In the morning while i'm putting on my make up I even sway then too... My mom laughs and says, "you're doing it again!" I guess I just like rhythms or something. It's odd.

2. I love Crystal Light Lemonade. It's the BEST.

3. I have a fettish with sneakers. I'm always starring at peoples sneakers at the gym because I love to see all the different kinds and get ideas for my next fix...

4. Someone once told me I look like Claire Danes. Obviously untrue and the person was just being kind but I thought it was so funny I had to put it on here.

5. I like to steal babies. Haha....not really, just in church. I like to scope out the unsuspecting mother and take / "steal" her baby so I can hold him. I love babies.:)

6. When I was in kindergarten I had a crush on Randy Travis. One time mom woke me up from bed and let me watch a TV special on him. She brought out my little pink plaid blanket, laid it on the floor in front of the TV, and let me sit and watch him. I was in heaven!!! And not only that I felt so special because I was the youngest and all the "big kids" were in bed. Mom even gave me a snack!!! I'm now quite disturbed that I was in love with him, but hey, what can i say? I had the love bug...at age 5.

So, folks, there it is. Here are the people I'm tagging...
(well only two people because all the rest have been tagged):

Laura Sorich
Michelle Chapman

(p.s. if you don't already know how to play you have to tell us 6 random things/habbits about yourself on your blog...)

Have fun!

Now that's Cool.

Ok, before I begin this long overdue blog you should know (if you don't already) that I have a slight obsession with baby names. I guess it's not that odd since most girls tend to already have their favorite names already picked out but I may be a bit beyond the fray in that I actually have a word document with lists of names that I love. Everytime I hear a name that I love I add it to the list. Yes,....I know this is probably more weird than usual and by telling you this I may be scaring away future prospects for marriage, but what the heck...who cares.:)

So, on Wednesday night I was watching the CMA's (Country Music Awards), which was a jolly good time, and I heard another name that I had to add. Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams Paisley had a baby boy last february and she was the announcer of one of the awards. They named their baby probably one of the coolest names I've heard in awhile and I've been thinking about it ever since. His name is Huck. Cool, right?! Like Huckleberry Fin, except they just named him Huck. Love it.

Consequently I placed Huck on the top of my list.

Here are my top of the top favorite names (if I wrote them all it would be way too long so here's my favorites):

Girls:
Erica
Julia
Lauren
Leyna

Boys:
Cameron
Jack
Evan
Merrill
and of course, Huck

What are YOUR favorite names?

(it's ok...i promise i wont take yours.):)

The worst profession...

The following is my rant against any individuals who are employed by the parking ticket industry:

Ok, first of all, I WAS NOT ILLEGALLY PARKED. Yesterday I went to the parking lot (of which i payed $30 to be there in the first place) and parked at the end of a row of cars in what I thought was a legitamite spot. The care in front of me was parked exactly the same way. There were even faint paint lines designating it to be a spot. After my class I came back out to my car and a stupid little ticket saying i've received a "parking citation" and that I need to go and get a copy of what i owe and contact the parking office.

So now it's MY problem to get the ticket? I THINK NOT! What a rip-off! Not to mention I did nothing to deserve this.

I have one word for you people at the "Dept. of Safety".....APPEAL!

That's right, I plan on sending them an appeal so I don't have to pay for this ridiculous ticket. Give me a physical break.

And that, my friends, is why anyone who is employed by the "dept. of safety"....primarily those who issue parking tickets.....should find a new profession.

can you say....L-A-M-E...???

Thankyou, Fall

Thankyou for finally showing up!!! Fall has arrived, ya'll. Just two days ago it was literally 88 degrees outside and our airconditioner was on. Now it is 61 degrees and it is BEAUTIFUL! Woot Woot!

In lieu of the arrival, i decided to celebrate by running outside today. Usually i stay inside to do my working out, but today, i mean...c'mon...How could I resist? I got all excited, laced up my nike's and set trail...of course I was huffing and puffing, but I didn't care. I was happy because it was fall! The leaves crunching under my feet, the smell of the wind and the trees, the wind blowing in my hair. It was allllllll good my friends, all good.

An interesting and slightly odd factoid about myself is that I love the Runners World Magazine. Don't get me wrong, I am no running pro by any stretch of the imagination, but i am addicted to this magazine. It gets me motivated and i love reading the articles. Plus it just makes me feel all healthful reading a magazine about running.

Then I came back home and ran some errands and helped Grandmom clean the house. It's been a nice day.

Tonight me and amber are going to a YSA activity for church. We haven't been out to any YSA stuff in awhile because our lives have been crazy for the last 2 weeks, but things are going better and more back to normal that we figure we need to stop being apostate and get our butts in gear. Should be an interesting time...it always is...and not in a really good way.:) All i have to say is that there are a lot of WEIRDEES that come out to these activities. But what the heck, why not make the night a freakshow of interesting and disturbing proportions, right?

So, Thanks for joining us fall. It was about time.

Another one bites the dust...

Ok, Ok, the title has nothing to do with this blog, other than the fact that I liked it and it instantaneously popped into my head...maybe i'll think of some way to connect it later on...I know, i'm such a weirdie.

Life here at the homefront is slow and steady. I had my 3rd exam today in a week.... AH! There we go, another EXAM bites the dust! That fits doesn't it?....meh, it's a bit of a stretch.

Mom went in for her surgery today and we're about to go in to the hospital to visit. I haven't heard anything so i assume everything went well. Part of me expects mom to be cleaning her hospital room when we get there because she's such a cleaning finatic! But we told her she MUST remain completely immobile for awhile, we'll see how long that lasts....

Ok, for lack of anything else interesting and important to write, you should all visit jim and lisa's blog because it's quite hilarious. The video is priceless.....:)

And i guess this means i get a total F for not tying in my title with anything legitimate in my entry.....

whatev.

I love the covered bridge:)

Don't you just love fall?! It's the perfect temperature to wear sweatshirts and it is just plain BEAUTIFUL outside. Now that I go to Messiah, I'm especially grateful for the beautiful things I get to enjoy on my walk in from the partking lot to campus. This is the famous covered bridge I walk through every day on my way into class:

I don't know if you can see, but in the middle of the bridge sides are two openings...sort of like windows...and you can look down into the yellow breeches. I love walking past them every morning and watching the sun shine on the water....seriously, it's something out of a magazine!!! I always think of "Charlotte's Web" because on the window openings are tons and tons of shiney little spider webs, so intricately designed.

Anyway, fall just makes me so grateful for such simple pleasures! Walking under this bridge starts off my day so well, and hopefully you can find your own "covered bridge" in your day!!!

My new favorite show...

Drum roll please...

I mean, come on, who doesn't like a good reality tv show about crazy selfish indulgent brides with over the top wedding budgets and $5,000 gowns??? It's GREAT!!! This show has been around for awhile, but I just started watching it again because it's on during my breaks between classes. And not only is it totally entertaining, it's somewhat practical...I'm getting some good ideas!

If you're a glutton for this kind of TV entertainment, tune in to the Style network from 11am-1pm...

Ok, seriously, I should get some sort of award for the advertisement I just gave for this show. And to think I did it for free, out of the goodness of my heart....(*cough cough style network*)

Well, here's for a short blog post. Until next time!

And so it goes...

School at Messiah is going well. That is, as good as "school" can possibly be. I made it into the concert choir, which is the touring choir at MC, and i also joined the MCSO....which stands for the syphony orchestra. Here's a pic of the concert choir....I'm not in it obviously...this was last years pic:Both are really good outlets for me because quite honestly I can't stand to be in class for too long of a time! And speaking of that, I even dropped a class because I didn't want to go bizirk at the end of the semester taking 6 finals, so I dropped down to 5 classes. Amen for that option!

This weekend we have our church Stake Conference, and to spice things up a bit we are having Elder Bednar, one of our general authority apostles come speak....can you say, RAD? I'm totally reved for him to come and feel really lucky I am going to get to hear him speak!!! Here he is:

Last night me and mom couldn't stand it anymore and we broke out the christmas movies.... We are total gluttons for Christmas movies and as soon as september comes around we are watching them like crazy!!! And my mom, bless her heart, has had the Mo-Tab christmas CD's playing all thru the house.... I love it!!! My dad makes fun of us, but what do we care? We LOVE Christmas.... even if it is still september.:)

I'm a falcon

Not literally of course, come on now.:) I'm a Messiah College falcon. I start classes on tuesday the 4th, and I think that pretty much means I'm no longer a nittany lion. I am ready for the change. The drive to campus is a whopping 3 minutes from the house (equates to about .75 miles) and that just makes me jump for joy because it used to take me 30 minutes start to finish at PSU. I'll tell you how it all goes.

So here's my funny (and slightly gross) story of the week. Wednesday was my last day of work, which was both sad and happy at the same time. Since all of the kids I taught over the summer moved up into Preschool 2 last week, we got the new batch of preschool 1 kids. This little girl Paige (very very adorable) has been having some issues with not making it to the potty on time and we all can fill in the lines as to what i mean here. Well about 5 minutes before I was about to leave on Weds. she says "Potty! Potty!" So I ran her to the bathroom and sat her on the potty. As I was standing there waiting for her to finish she pointed at the floor behind me and said, "Look at that." I looked down and to my horror was a pile of poop!!! I was so confused....whose poop was it?!? I ran out of the bathroom and told the other teachers that "someone pooped on the floor!" We all stood there really perplexed (and in silent laughter) until we finally figured out that it was Paige's poop! I guess it must have rolled out of her undies when I got her on the potty...and I didn't even notice it!!!!!! How funny and totally disturbing is that?! Oh man it was just plain flat hilarious, as you can imagine, and quite a way to end my last day of work. So, think of this story whenever you need a good laugh....I'm still laughing....2 days later!!!

And that, folks, is why I love 3-year-olds.

The Latest Buzz

Hello Hello! Back again. I took a little "vaca" (vacation) from blogging and have returned to give you the latest skinny on my life, etc.

Work at the Preschool has been it's typical concoction of crazy kids, time-outs, sidewalk chalk, and ocean fun. Our theme for the month of August was ocean, so I've been having a lot of fun thinking up fun things for the kids to do. Namely: coloring in a life-size shark, making a "shark tooth" necklace, singing "Baby Beluga," reading books about Pirates that live on ships in the ocean (notice the tie-in...) and then making Pirate hats, and various assundry other little crafts. It's been fun, I must say. Last week the teachers were informed they had 2 days to move all the things from their current classrooms into another room...which was...you guessed it, LOADS of fun. NOT. It put all of the Fall teachers in a tail-spin, and needless to say tempers were at an all-time rage. I tried my best to stay out of dodge (since, in case you forgot, I won't be teaching there in 2 weeks when I start school) but it was inevitable not to step into some of the ___ (insert inappropriate word....if you need a hint as to what I mean fill in this blank: the ___ hit the fan...) Anyway, it was a total zoo at the center, and thank goodness for the TV, VCR, and the "Kids Songs" movie because I'm pretty sure the kids were about to kill each other...

ANYWAY, other than that, things have been pretty steady around here. Last weekend Amber and I helped plan a huge YSA (Young Single Adult) conference in Gettysburg for church. I think we are still perplexed as to how we got involved, but that's neither here nor there, and it's over with anyway. It was a LOT of work. But from what I heard from other YSA's that attended it turned out really well....(me and Am wouldn't know....we were stuck planning and running errands most of the time....) But at least we can look back now and laugh....or cry....at the crazyness of it all.

Hopefully everyone out in cyber-land is doing well. Keep up with your blogs...I love reading them!

And that, my friends, is the latest buzz. Until next time...

Boo hoo....

I took the day off of work (the ONLY day I've taken off all summer, thank you very much) to straighten out some last minute transfer issues with Messiah College. I met with an advisor and we looked over my Penn State transcript to see where I'm at in terms of what they can accept at Messiah. Bad news...the way things worked out a majority of my PSU credits don't even count!!! It is really quite wreched. I should technically be a junior, but am so far behind that i think i'm probably a sophomore..............total bummer! And that my friends, is the joys of transferring. The worst part is that some of the classes I have to retake, because of some miniscule little difference in the PSU vs. Messiah courses. It makes me so flippin MAD!

So, today i'm a little depressed.:(

Today I got a greater understanding of the term "eternal student..." Now when someone asks when i'll be done i'll have to say....never, i'll be in school forever.

I know, I know...a little dramatic you're probably thinking... But, in leu of today's events, just let me be on my soap box for awhile, please.

I'll let you know when i'm over it.

Camera nearly trampled by huge BISON

Doesn't that sound like a newspaper headline? I know...you must be thinking I totally just made that up, but I'm afraid I must admit it's true! Yesterday was fieldtrip day at work and we went to Lake Tobias. It's always a fun field trip for the little tykes, but with three-year-olds one can almost count on a few minor catastrophe's taking place. We got to go on a fun safari ride around the park where goats, bulls, ostriches, deer, etc. came up to the tractor and the kids hand fed them crackers. Of course there were a few freak-outs from some of the kids, but hey, that comes with the territory. Anyway, I was sitting with my darling boy Cameron and another boy Breydan when our tour guide stopped the tractor and was describing the bison that were coming up to us when I decided it was the perfect photo-op moment. That was when it occured. Breydan's head bumped into my hand (the hand holding my camera) thus catapulting my camera through the air and uh...down to the ground...directly under the massive 400 lbs bison. It was like slow motion. I just stood there staring at it in disbelief when one of the parents flagged down our tour guide who ever-so-kindly (and bravely might I add) got off the tractor and rescued my camera! Mind you, seconds before he retrieved it the bison starts moving his feet and I am serious when i tell you my camera was INCHES (if not centimeters) from the gigantic hoof of the beast. It is a MIRACLE it is still intact!!! Later talking with one of the parents we laughed as we realized the situation could have been drastically worse. I must have blocked out the massive pile of poop just feet from where my camera fell. Had I been in the next seet back my camera may have faced a very gloomy smelly and disgusting death...in bison poop. So, I think it's safe to say I really lucked out, all things considered. Needless to say it made quite the memory. And so when i say "Camera nearly trampled by huge bison" I really mean it!

And here's the part of the story when I tell you with surety that you're so lucky. Let me explain. You are so lucky because you know the very girl whom this fantastical yet realistic story happened to. You know the girl from the headline!!!

In advance let me say that autographs and other personalized paraphinalia will be available shortly. I know you're all excited...but try to contain your excitement.:)

Disclaimer: Headline used in blog does not reflect actual headline of any major newspaper. I wish.

Long overdue...

There are many things these days that are overdue in my life. First, this blog entry is overdue. I've been really busy and lets face it, just lazy when it comes to keeping up on the old blog. Sorry about that! Second, my library books were overdue. I borrowed a whole bunch of preschool curriculum books for work and totally forgot about returning them. Thus, I've incurred the overdue fee of a whopping $1.75. Darn! Well I guess that's a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. Another thing that's overdue is a vacation. I'll tell ya, I need one! It's not that I don't love my job, but it does get a bit arduous at times. I just long for one free day all to myself. Last week was the massive July 4th celebration at the Schilling home. We had somewhere around 40 people at our home, which in preparation was days ahead of course! My parents are like superheroes when it comes to entertaining. Food was amazing and I'm always so impressed with how flawless things seem to be....but if I tried to put something like that together I just know it would be a huge flop of gargantuan proportions....better leave it to the pros i guess.:)

So, now that we've established what's long overdue, let's get back to the more important things in life. And let me tell ya, my life is so incredibly exciting these days. Lets see... Yesterday I went on a run, went to Walmart with Mom, and uh...came back home and watched a movie. Then today, i went to church. Whoot Woot! Exciting, right?! Ahh...that's ok though, I'm perfectly happy with being quiet and low key. It's when you sulk about how boring your life is that something totally insane and chaotic comes along. Note to self-- Be content with the low-key life. Repeat this to yourself as much as you have to.:)

Well, I hope all is well with everyone. I'll "due" better to keep you posted about my life as well!

Photoshoot

I thought it was time to post some pictures of the little cherubs from summer preschool. I took these yesterday during nap while some of the kids were waking up. They all started coming over to me and saying..."Miss Megan take my picture!" It was too funny! They were so cute and love being in front of the cam.

This is Nickolaus...he's a devil, but such a handsome little man!

This is Keegan...how funny is his smile?!

Here are the three magpies. Keegan, Athena, and Erik. As a side note, Keegan and Athena told me yesterday they are boyfriend/girlfriend...too cute!

Slowly but surely I'm trying to get all of their pictures...there are 23 of the little rugrats so it could take awhile! But enjoy looking at these cute kids...i get a kick out of them everday.

It's about to get crazy

Long day today, plus the fact that it's so hot and humid makes it ten times worse. I had such a fun weekend with Erin, who came up for a little visit. We had a picnic with some friends on saturday, which actually turned out to be an all-day event. So fun....

I'm busy planning for the preschool I work at. Next week I'm the only full-time teacher that will be there (due to the other teachers going on vacation...how convenient for them) which makes me slightly nervous because this means i'm am responsible for ALL of the kids by myself (with teen helpers) for the week. Mom and I went to the library today to try to figure out what i'm going to teach them...but quite frankly, that is the least of my worries. I just hope I will be able to keep the kids intact without any major catastrophes occurring. Hopefully all will go well and nothing terrible will happen, although with 15 three-year-olds it's almost inevitable that something insane won't happen. Wish me luck with the craziness that is sure to come...

I'm still actually quite amazed and a bit stupified that this daycare center is letting me run the ship mainly by myself....do they realize what they're doing?! Haha....well, i guess not.

Have a good one ya'll.

Poison Ivy and the Wild Child

Ok, today at work was VERY eventful. The first thing that happened was that I discovered the reason why our little Cameron has been scratching at his ankles for the last 2 days. Yesterday he told me it was because he scraped himself on the sidewalk at home, but then today I noticed something a little strange and as I pulled down his sock I realized it was NOT just a scrape, it was now pussy and swollen! To make matters worse it had spread to various parts of his body. I said, "Cameron...what is this?" And then he finally remembered that mommy said it was poison ivy. GREEEAT. Poor little thing had it all over him. Well then I had to call his mom and tell her it had gotten progressively worse, which was nerve-racking since it was my first parent phone call. She was really nice about it, so thankfully that at least went well. Poor little Cameron was quarantined most of the day, although I'm pretty sure I had serious contact with it since I was with him all morning.....I came straight home from work and washed my arms and hands like a madwoman. Not to mention I used about half my bottle of anti-bacterial sanitizer through out the day due to my constant paranoia. We'll see if i get any rashes...

Second episode of the day occured with a new boy we have in our class named Breydan. He's never been to daycare and hasn't taken the best liking to it (i wouldn't either if i was his age), so one can only imagine what it's like trying to pry him away from his mom when she drops him off. Can you say NIGHTMARE? Today I was the "lucky" one who got to wrangle him. He turns violent in seconds when its time for his mom to leave...kicking, screaming bloody murder, thrashing...the whole gammit. Today I didn't pick him up the right way and almost dropped him as he tried to get away from me! It was intense, let me tell ya. Thankfully that only lasted about 5 minutes and he calmed down after that. I'm just glad i didn't sustain any major injuries.

So there is are my two interesting encounters of the day. As crazy and chaotic as 15 3-yr.-olds can be at least they make my life interesting.

To be Three Again...

Working as a preschool teacher this summer has reminded me how great life is when you're three. I've asked several of the kids how old they think i am and these are the answers i've received:

4 (one year older than them...almost EVERYONE is 4 to them)
12 (coming from a girl who is 3 going on 25)
7
and...the best reply of all: 3.

So, basically the general concensus in the preschool room is that Miss Megan is between the ages of 3 and 12...pretty sweet! When i later told them i'm 2o, they told me, "wow you're OLD!" Isn't it funny how much your perspective changes??? I think all my life i've been waiting to be 16, then 18, and now that i'm 20 i still feel like i'm young and can't wait till i'm 25! Oh it's just too much fun with them around...

Here's the moral of my story: Whenever you're feeling a little old, just ask a three year old how old they think you look. It's a instant dose of self-confidence.:)

Good News!

I won't even waste any time...I GOT IN! I got my acceptance letter to Messiah College last Saturday and am SO excited about it. It just made all my apprehension and uncertainty disapper and I feel so good about this decision.

Now that that's out of the way and I don't have to wonder where i will be in the next year, I can move on to other things. I started work at the Children's Garden Daycare last monday which basically means my summer is over. Not in a totally bad way, but 40 hr. work weeks and getting up at 6 am pretty much erases the whole lazy day summer concept. But work i must, so i guess that is all there is to it.

However, unlike the past 3 summers I have spent working there, they are actually elevating me to "teacher" status, which means i can actually TEACH and not just be a glorified babysitter. I'm very excited about this summer because I'm in the preschool room with the 3 year olds. Funniest thing is that almost all of the children in my room I also had two years ago as 1 year olds when i worked in the younger toddler room....CRAAAZY! They are so grown up! I love seeing them and i can't wait to be one of their teachers. I also love the other teachers I work with. There are 4 of us altogether, two of which i've known since i started back in 2004 and a new girl, who just moved from Mississippi named Kem. She is the exact picture of a southern belle, and has the coolest accent. So i know it is definitely going to be fun having her. Overall I'm really excited about the summer.

Funny moment of my week: 4 year old Mara asks me if i would like some pretend "turkey breast soup"....she's smart if you didn't notice.

Stalking the Mailbox

I just got off the phone with the admissions office of Messiah College....they said they've made a "decision" and it's in the mail and should be here any day. AHH!!! I wish she could have just told me, but then i was too scared to ask for fear i didn't get in. I've been stalking the mail box for the last 20 minutes and nothing yet... Oh man this is harsh!

Meanwhile, i have kept myself busy this last week before i start work. My new favorite person is Glenn Beck. He is the radio/tv show program host on CNN who happens to be Mormon. Awesome individual. He just has a lot of good things to say, and is not afraid to say them. You all need to do yourself a favor and listen or watch him...you'll leave with a lot of enlightening thoughts. The best part about him is that he is not afraid to defend gospel principles and morals, which, lets face it, are almost completely gone in today's society. Go Glenn Beck!

Well, pray for me that i get in...I'm so nervous! Love you all.

Schilling craziness...

It's been a really fun weekend and mothers day. Mom had her piano recital on friday night, which went well except for some kids not showing up. That just proves the point that some people, no matter how many times you remind them, are clearly NOT with the program. But after the recital the fam went to Peppino's....which has pretty much become the Schilling hangout. We are such frequent customers there that the owners know us by name, and we both know all about each other's families. But more importantly...they have the best food around, and so therefore it's no coincidence that we are obsessed with the place.

Other than good times with the fam, i've been trying to fix up my bedroom so it's actually a cool, comfortable place to be. Mom painted my walls light purple, which seems to be my new favorite color, and i splurged on a pottery barn duvet cover that is purple, green, and yellow plaid. Love it! But i still have a lot of things to add...pictures, etc. I don't have all my stuff here yet so me and mom are taking a trip up to State College on Wednesday to get the rest of it.

Me and one of my best friends, Adrienne, went to see Georgia Rule on Saturday. She had some free movie passes, so we thought we give it a try. HORRIBLE MOVIE. Don't waste your money or your time in renting or watching it....it was so awful we left early....which i've never had to do before. It was a total rag on mormons, and the plot was...nonexistant, and it was wretchedly depressing. Bad flick. Lesson learned: there is a lot of crap in the movie world these days.

The Schilling residence has a little friend these days. The wreath next to our front door has welcomed a little bird...nest, eggs, and all. It's so random she decided to pick there as her spot, but whatever. I'm actually quite annoyed with the little bugger because i forget that she's there and every time i either leave or enter the house she flies at my head and scares the living daylights out of me. Consequently we've litterally been using the back door because we (mainly my dad who actually likes and wants to "protect" the bird) are afraid of her dive bombing us. Below is a picture i got one night. If you look real hard you can see her beaty little evil eyes....

Mmmm...sooo....Have a good one, ya'll. Eat your peas and carrots and enjoy the lazy days of summer. I start work in a week, so it's 7 days of enjoyment and then the whip cracks.

Done at Last

Today I took my very last final. It was undoubtedly the most difficult...isn't that how it always is though. It was my history final which meant the exam consisted entirely of writing. I filled up my ENTIRE blue book except for 2 pages....which means i wrote 14 pages worth of stuff. Crazy i know. Anyway, i feel it went pretty well.

Now on to the next task. Packing. I didn't realize i had so much stuff. Honestly where does it all come from?! Yesterday Erin and I went on campus to sell back my books.....that's 4 semesters worth because i'm a pack rat and didn't want to sell them because for some reason i feel i can't part. Erin got me over that though. You should have seen us...my entire backpack was stuffed and erin had a back filled and we both were carrying books....i think i had like 15 total. IT was nuts! Anyway, i got $200 for my books, which is a lot, but if you consider i probably spend $2000 on them to begin with it's pretty much pennies. But 200 bucks is 200 bucks....so i can't complain. I am just now coming to terms with the fact that Penn State enjoys ripping people off. I always knew this....but now i just accept it for what it is. It's not like i can do anything about it.

This is my last night at 936 Southgate. I think i'm going to miss it a little....I think that's just because i got so used to living here and it takes me awhile to get used to change, even though i'm going to be living at home, i'm still a bit apprehensive about how i'll do at Messiah College...if i get in that is.

It's Jim's Birthday today!!! Yeah baby!...the big 27....gettin' up there, eh Jim? Haha, just kidding, i love you even if you are beginning to be an old foagie. I've never spelled that word so i probably butchered it....but you know what i mean.:) Happy Birthday, Jim!

Cereal of the Day: Life (it's all i had)

I'm Baaaak!

Don't worry....i'm alive and well!!! Sorry for my neglegience in maintaining the old blog...the cooking show idea only worked for so long, then the 17.5 credit semester got in the way. Don't get me wrong, i still love food and cooking, but lately my culinary skills have mainly consisted of "things you can cook in a microwave." Sad, pathetic, and shameful...this i know. Once and awhile i'll break out the old chef hat, but that's few and far between these days.

This is finals week. Oh the joy and rapture that fills my heart when i hear that word...finals.... It's really quite a noxious tradition at all universities. I'm quite opposed to it, then again aren't we all? I should be studying for my english language analysis final at 7pm tonight, but i physically cannot coerce myself to do it yet. I took a statistics final this morning at 8am (which is totally wrong and cruel might i add) and that went so-so. I kept getting annoyed though because for 5 of them i had A, then the next 4 i would get B, and the cycle kept repeating itself.... I'm used to taking mult. choice exams that have answers as follows: A, B, D, A, E, B, A, D....all random, but THIS exam was the complete opposite. It made me feel like i was getting the answers wrong, because what professor makes an exam where 5 of the answers are a consecutive A??? AHHH!! It was really annoying. But i turned it in because i didn't care enought to mull over all the hidden psychology of why a professor would do it like that on purpose. Some things just aren't worth my time.

That means i have 1 down, 3 to go. Not the best forcast, but i have really no other choice but to take the finals. I'm hoping this will be my last semester at Penn State, and that i will get accepted to Messiah College. It's all up in the air right now.

Cereal of the Day: Cinnamon Toast Crunch mixed with Life (i only had a little bit of CTC left...so i frequently mix)

I've been Tagged

Well i'm obviously slow and special because it took me a week to realize i've been tagged...dangit! I guess i was so preoccupied with the "show" and its great deal of success that i haven't even had the time, with signing autographs, setting up our tour, meeting with The Foodnetwork discussing show options......

Actually, that was all a lie.

Anyway, on to greener pastures. Here are five things you didn't know about me:

1. I just realized since i've been away to college that i LOVE doing laundry. That's very weird I know, but i just love to fold and smell my clean clothes. I totally agree this is abnormal, but since i am a very scent-driven person (sort of like a dog...) i love smelling things and consequentially love to smell laundry. This also means that one of my favorite things to shop for at the grocery store is...yes...laundry detergent. (My newest fav: Tide Simple Pleasures- "Water Lilly and Jasmine")

2. I am slightly obsessed with outdoor clothing, outdoor sports, and um...outdoor men. I love the rugged outdoorsie look so much to the point that when i was in middle school me and my brother Jim would watch the echo-challenge (big adventure race) on TV and i even made a whole collage of pictures and athletes in the race on my door....it's weird i know. I am not even slightly athletic, but i just love outdoor stuff. My most favorite new find is MOOSEJAW, an outdoor clothing company i found while surfing the web. I now have 4 articles of clothing from them....

3. This isn't really new information. I LOVE pizza. My family knows this all too well, because when i was a kid (and even now) whenever mom and dad would ask us what we wanted for dinner i would say, "pizza." I've become a glutton for it and would be totally fine if all other food sources ceased to exist. I could definitely live on it. And this is not just a mild addiction...it's serious.

4. Unlike my sister, Amber, I really enjoy watching TV. She gets a headache when she watches too much...but not me. That's how i relax and unwind at the end of the day. I am actually beginning to think this is genetic, because my mom is the exact same way. Put me in front of the TV and i'm good to go.:)

5. I, along with my two sisters, have created a new language. I know...how amazing, right? This started a few years back when one day all three of us just sort of started saying random things. Strangely enough it MORPHED into a full-blown language that only us three can understand. We usually add a new word to the language every 3 months or so. Don't ask why...it must be some sort of sisterly bond thing. Anyway, it's a miracle my sister-in-law Lisa didn't run away from us when she first met Jim....we knew she was a keeper when she stayed even after being initiated to our strange sisterly language.

That's all folks. I know, probably more info than you really wanted to know...

Epi 2: Going Gourmet all the way...

Creamy Gorgonzola and Fig Spaghetti:

So...For episode 2 Erin found this insanely good sounding pasta dish called, "Creamy Gorgonzola and Fig Spaghetti." I know...i've never even HAD figs except for those fig newton cookies, and i've certainly never even heard of Gorgonzola (which is a cheese by the way) except for on the Food Network. So, some may wonder why we would even attempt a dish where the main ingredients are ones we've barely encountered. Ahhhhh...well the answer to that is the point of our "show." We are forcing ourselves to try new things...and this was definitely new to us.

Filming of Epi 2 went off without any major glitches. It was actually sort of involved. First we had to make a "rue" (seen in the pic below)which is basically a sauce thickened with flour and then we had to slowly incorporate all ingredients. The pasta was easy to make...obviously. Then to complement our dish we had a salad and for dessert we made Chocolate Chip Angel Food Cupcakes. This was our own concoction. We stood in the cake/brownie aisle at the grocerty store for about 15 minutes sulking over the fact that all of the desserts were ridiculously fatning and highly caloric so we finally just decided to make up our own thing. Angel Food Cake + Chocolate Chips = a low fat party in your mouth.:)

Final Verdict?? The pasta dish was way better than we could have thought. Even for my slightly juvenile pallatte, it was delicious! Erin loved it the most and as you can see below in the picture she probably could have polished off the entire dish if i would have let her...but we tried to eat in moderation. My favorite was the Choc. Chip Angel Food Cupcakes...as you obviously can see below i couldn't get enough of it.

All in all, we were definitely proud of ourselves for tackling a more challenging culinary dish this time around. I think we're finally getting a real taste of what it means to be celebrity chefs... (minus the celebrity part....and probably minus the chef part since we're technically amatuers in the real world.)

New Features Added Soon

So i've been getting some requests to post recipes on the blog....GREAT IDEA! That thought had crossed my mind but i figured no one would really care, but since there is an interest, albeit an interest most likely just for grins and giggles i think posting the recipes is def another feature that will make our blog just...over the top.:) And, likewise, if you all have any gourmet cuisine ideas for us two amatuer "chefs" let us know! We would certainly love to devote a "show" just to you!:)

The recipes will be up soon.:)

Episode 1: Chocolate and Cashews Makes Everything Better

Yay! Welcome to our first (of many) updates on The Erin and Megan Cooking Show! This all started one day last semester when Erin and I were sitting around discussing how much we loved The Food Network (especially Paula Deen) and we realized we didn't really know how to cook (besides basic things). Well Erin came up with this thought about how we should just teach ourselves in a series of "classes" by cookin' up a delicious meal we found and learning how to do it all by ourselves. Thus was born, "The Erin and Megan Cooking Show." Plus, we thought it'd be hilarious to have a BLOG in its honor...haha. Don't deny, you love that you know us because this means you will most likely be the benefactor of one of our insane meals. Yesterday was our first day. We started out with something simple. Here was the menu:

Crunchy Cashew Chicken Salad

(We both decided this picture is absolutely atrocious and in no way captures the true essence of this dish...those things that look like maggots are really cashews...)

Crusty Torpedo Rolls (obviously not made by us, we're not that good)

Cream of Brocolli Soup (which was made by Mr. "Campbells"...)

Double Chocolate Triffle

Needless to say we were pretty much proud of ourselves when we were done. And can i just tell you....it was truly a treat for the tastebuds. The chicken salad might be the best recipe we've ever had and the triffle was just over the top(even though our brownies were a little crunchy on the edges and i managed to slop milk all over the counter...). But whatev, we had a good time making it!

This is Erin cutting the chicken...

Up above is Megan mixing the salad, Below is Erin getting ready to chow down.
TA-DAAA!!!
Stay tuned for episode 2!