The Readiness Is All

day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?


Okay . . . my computer crashed and then I forgot to finish the LAST DAY. I blame the trauma of recovering everything (but losing the running list of people to send thank you cards to that was on my desktop - if you mailed it to San Benito and I can't remember, I'm sorry! I did my best to reconstruct!) (Also, I swear I am finally going to be sending out thank you notes soon!)

Without further ado:

Last March, Chicago

December, Bountiful.

First, the short version.

day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge

I got out of the habit of blogging during grad school, and (more true) during the time I was dating Eric. I wanted something that I was committed to so that I could get back in the habit. I'm not sure it helped that much, but it got me to my blog once a day, so hopefully I'll keep getting back here a few times a week.

day 26- what do you think about your friends

I wish I could talk about every one of my friends individually here, but there are too many awesome ones to mention each. I've always been amazed by the way people come into my life when I need them. I had so many college roommates who became like sisters to me, and even though I don't live very near any of them right now, I love having frequent chats with them or just sending them songs or funny things I've seen or recommendations for good books I've read.

When I was little, I was the only girl in my neighborhood (minus a brief and wonderful period of time when Melissa lived across the street) and it was frustrating. I think my time with fantastic high school and college friends made up for it. I'm grateful for fantastic girl friends who stayed up late with me, cried with me, laughed so much that some of the stories still make me giggle. I'm grateful for guy friends through high school and college who were completely different but equally great friends, who talked me through relationship frustrations and taught me what I wanted in a relationship (and, in the case of one of them, actually became my husband).

I'm grateful for unexpected friendships with people who seemed so different at first. I'm grateful for instant friendships. I'm grateful for the people I've gradually come to understand and love in ways that I can't explain to people who haven't spent the same time with them. I'm grateful for people who drew me in and forced me to be friends with them in the best possible ways.

I think about my friends often and I miss them all.

As is tradition, here's a Valentine's Day playlist for all of you lovers and non-lovers out there - although it's shorter than usual because I've got work to do and also rolls to make.  As a bonus, I'm including the fantastic playlist my brother made for my wedding. It's awesome.

Love at the Alamo

• "Your Nervous Heart" by Rhett Miller - This song is great - he's try to talk the girl he loves into trusting him and love, but she's a little messed up. 
• "Conversation 16" by The National - This song is so sad and beautiful in the way it portrays a relationship falling apart  - "I'll try to be more romantic, I want to believe in everything you believe. . ." "I figured out what we're missing, I tell you miserable things after you fall asleep . . ."   "I was afraid I'd eat your brains 'cause I'm evil." 
• "Coney Island Baby" by Tom Waits - I love the sweetness of this song - "Every night she comes to take me off to dreamland, when I'm with her I'm the richest man in the town . . ." (also, I love this one because Eric sings it in a Tom Waits voice every once in awhile and it's hilarious)
• "You Won't See Me" - The Beatles  - It's that classic "I bet we'd be perfect for each other if you'd just give me a chance" scenario. 
• "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine" - Carolina Chocolate Drops
• "Kick Drum Heart" - The Avett Brothers
• "Avery" - Christ Merritt
• "True Love Will Find You In The End" - Daniel Johnston - I love this song, all about how love will find you, but only if you're looking. It sounds old-timey but isn't. "This is a promise with a catch, only if you're looking will if find you. 'Cause true love is searching too, but how can it find you unless you step out into the light?" 
• "Misty" sung by Ella Fitzgerald. This is the most glorious version of this song I've ever heard, even if I secretly disapprove of the whole, "Can't you see that you're leading me on and it's just what I want you to do?" bit. It's still gorgeous. 
• "Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?" Derek and the Dominoes - Such an upbeat way to sing about a breakup. I love it. 
• "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" - The Magnetic Fields. Poor guy is probably getting used for his car, but he doesn't mind. 
• "Grain of Salt" - The Morning Benders. "Take my heart with a grain of salt, it's been broken but it's nobody's fault." 
• "O mio babbino caro" - Puccini. Mostly because this week I watched Gianni Schicchi, and it's just so fantastic that an aria that is always used in romantic moments in movies and commercials is actually about how her dad won't let her marry the man she wants to marry, she's going to drown herself in the river. It's so dramatic, but really she's just trying to get her way with her daddy. It's awesome. 
• "Love of an Orchestra" - Noah and the Whale
• "Be My Honeypie" - The Weepies (or if you want an alternate because you don't have a honeypie, "They're in Love, Where Am I?" 
• "Have I The Right?" - Vampire Weekend (originally by The Honeycombs)

1. Terrible Vision  - Rhett Miller
2. Only You  - Joshua Radin
3. All the Right Reasons  - The Jayhawks
4. We Are in Love  - Harry Connick, Jr.
5. The Marble in Your Eye  - Sarah Harmer
6. The Book of Love - Peter Gabriel
7. My Love For You Is Real - Ryan Adams
8. This Beautiful Thing - Old 97’s
9. One and Only - Teitur
10. Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons
11. I’m the Man That Loves You - Old School Freight Train
12. I Feel Possessed - Crowded House
13. Snails - The Format
14. Please Forgive Me - David Gray
15. Sparks - Coldplay
16. Ring On the Sill - Cowboy Junkies
17. I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face - Don Cherry
18. Gold to Me - Ben Harper
19. After All - Sondre Lerche
20. For You - Duncan Sheik
21. Start With the Ending - David Wilcox
22. Believer - Ben Kweller
23. In These Arms - The Swell Season
24. Indiana - Dave Brubeck
25. Long Distance - Nizlopi
26. Up and Away - Dave Matthews
27. Crazy about You - Whiskeytown
28. Bold as Love - John Mayer
29. Open Window (Wedding Song) - Sarah Harmer
30. Honestly - Zwan
31. Over-rated (Stripped Version) - Gavin Degraw
32. Love and Happiness - Al Green
33. If There Was No You - Brandi Carlile
34. Love and Some Versus - Iron and Wine
35. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

day 25- what I would find in your bag

Nothing very exciting here:

• a book
• my wallet
• lotion
• keys
• lip gloss, eye drops, and hand sanitizer in a pouchy thing
• a notebook and a pen
• iPod

day 24- your last five facebook statuses

"Dear Wallace Stegner,
Thank you for the lovely few days I just had while reading your gorgeous book. Why didn't I discover you when I lived in a town with a library that probably would have had every single one of your novels, or when I lived with Ann Cox who had at least a couple?
Regards,
Megan"

"Made a Boston Cream Pie for Eric Long's birthday, far more successful than the toothpick-supported cake for Sarah Stankiewicz's birthday last year. Either I'm improving, or shorter cakes are the answer to everything."

"Weeding of the iTunes collection, day 1. No longer feel the need to have more than one Dashboard Confessional song in my library."

"Posted on Sisters-In-Long again - plus you should check out my sister-in-law's delicious recipes. Mmm."

"Eric's classes cancelled for tomorrow too. Still no sign of snow, just a freeze. Not complaining."

day 23- something you crave a lot (I'm sorry, I just couldn't post what this thing originally said, which was "something you crave for a lot." Am I wrong in thinking that's ridiculous grammar?)

Is it weird that the thing I probably crave most is yogurt? Also my mom's lemon chicken, frosties and french fries, and, increasingly since marrying Eric, gummy bears.

day 22- what makes you different from everyone else

I don't know how to answer this question, but  at the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to go ahead and say it's the fact that I remember so many useless - and sometimes useful - things. I know song lyrics, who sang them, who wrote them; who directed and starred in movies I never saw; obscure historical facts, obscure facts about you; entire comedy riffs, etc. It's not really helpful, but occasionally it's entertaining - except when I forget something and spend an entire movie trying to figure out who someone is and what they were in and why I know their face.

day 20- someone you love

I was just going to post a picture of the handsome tall one, but I couldn't resist posting this one of all of my boys.

day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them

Most of my nicknames are just variations of my name - Megs, Meggily Moogily, Moog, Mug, Muggle (not a Harry Potter reference, strangely enough) Megster (I think this was from SNL?)

When I was little, Treb used to call me Cookie Pie. My dad called me NPC - Near Perfect Child. Lindsey calls me Megalicious, and Miri and I collectively were M&M at the Glenwood.

day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have

I kind of hate questions like this. But I'll play.

Plans: Making a caramel mousse tart today, applying for some library jobs, going to the Weslaco Onion Festival in March. (Really. Onion Festival.)

Dreams: Get back to England/Europe, live a little closer to my family, own a piano.

Goals: Pay off the student loans in a year and a half, start exercising - perhaps yoga on netflix instant. :)

day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

I choose anyone living with Ann Cox tomorrow so I could eat her delicious anti-superbowl food. I'll just have to make a British tart and sigh with longing for stuffed mushroom caps and scones.

I figure I should probably post this so I can start this year's list. It wasn't as long as I thought it would be. I blame dating Eric, planning a wedding, graduating from grad school, and moving to a new state. I would also like to point out that I am still in the middle of my summer Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd. Whoops.

• Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
• Julie and Julia, Julie Powell
• These is My Words, Nancy E. Turner
• The Long Way Home, Joss Whedon 
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith 
• The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, Elna Baker
• Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach
• The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham
• Peace Like A River, Leif Enger
• So Brave, Young and Handsome, Leif Enger
• Echo Burning, Lee Child 
• Far North, Marcel Theroux
• The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson
• Carnet de Voyage, Craig Thompson
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
• Sarah's Quilt, Nancy E. Turner
• Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell

Enjoying the hard core ice cream loaf Eric made for my birthday.

day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play

(I'm doing one more because I got off and want to be back on)

1. "Still" - Ben Folds
2. "Untitled" - Neko Case
3. "Just a Little Lovin'" - Dusty Springfield
4. "And the Glory of the Lord" - Mormon Tabernacle Choir
5. "Heard It on the X" - ZZ Top
6. "Moments With Oliver" - Rachael Yamagata
7. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Relient K
8. "Heaven Forbid" - The Fray
9. "Down in the Park" - Foo Fighters
10. "Tymps (Sick In the Head)" - Fiona Apple

The Winegars

The Longs

day 13- a letter to someone

Dear South Texans,

The fact that it's only getting into the 40s today and will be topping off at 34 tomorrow is unusual, I admit. However, it's not really a good reason to cancel anything, and I doubt the pipes are going to freeze and break. Thanks for the warnings anyway, but you are wimps.

On the other hand, if it snows tomorrow, you are completely justified in giving Eric a snow day. Just saying.

Love,

Megan

day 12- how you found out about blogger and why you have one

This is kind of a lame one and makes me think Blogger made this thing up. I believe I got one when Clark started one and I thought it sounded like fun. I think Miri got one about the same time, but I can't remember whether she got it because I did or vice versa.

A better question would be, "Why do you have 9?"