12 Days of Christmas, Days 1 and 2

I missed yesterday because I was so sick, and I still had so much to do, so I'm linking up for yesterday and today!





Day 1- Christmas/Holiday Traditions
Christmas is a big deal at our house. I love coming home from school and seeing the house decorated with everything Christmas, including Nativity scenes, Santas and snowmen. My mom also lights this candle that makes the house just smell like Christmas. On Christmas Eve we go to the 5 o'clock church service with our family, and my aunt and her family (and now Natalie and I's boyfriends), I love singing Silent Night with candles lit. We then go to Chili's! Haha. No one feels like cooking and it is on our way home from church. I always make sure my dad leaves a good tip for the poor waiter or waitress though. We then come home and my sister and I open matching pajamas and a book (my parents gave us the book to keep us occupied if we were too excited for Santa to sleep!). We usually end up watching a Christmas movie, either White Christmas (my favorite!) or It's A Wonderful Life, and then heading to bed. Around five or six am, my sister, who is almost nineteen STILL comes into my room and wakes me up to go wake up my mom and dad. We do, and then my dad heads downstairs, takes pictures of the presents, and we have to walk all the way around the house to walk in the opposite door we normally do, because we stop at the nativity scene and read a precious moments book of the Christmas story to remind us what Christmas is all about. Then we get to open presents! I open mine slowly, while my sister tears through hers, and my mom thinks every year I don't like what I was brought, but I just don't jump up and down like my sister does! We then head to my aunts in our pajamas and have breakfast and open presents there, before coming home, showering and having lunch/dinner with my dad's family. I love our Christmas traditions :)

Day 2- Black Friday/ Shopping Tips
I have never actually been Black Friday shopping! We play UVA every year, and I always end up heading to either Charlottesville or Blacksburg for the game (it's rivalry week- GO HOKIESSSS!!!). However, I am usually a pretty thrifty shopper.

1. Shop around, especially online. Figure out what you want and search it online for a lower price. If you get that price, plus shipping for less than what is in the store, perfect!
2. Pay attention to those sales that go automatically in the Junk mail. Sometimes there are great codes for things that are already on sale. This past fall, I got two dresses and a skirt from Ann Taylor Loft for eight dollars TOTAL!
3. Always, always, always look for coupon codes and shop using ebates. These can help you save money, and get money back! (can you tell I love shopping online!)
4. Homemade gifts are always the best. I know some of my favorite gifts I've given were homemade and a fraction of the cost of a bought gift. Painting a sign or making something specific to that person shows that you took the time to make something especially for them.

Have a great day!

Days 23-25

Finally back in Blacksburg :) And even though its raining outside, I'm still excited to see my Hokies play tonight :)

Catching up on days 23-25

Day 23- Favorite Vacation

Wow, I vacation all the time, haha. I've never been on a huge extravagant vacation, but I have been several places including Chicago, San Antonio, Philidelphia, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, Atlanta, Orlando and Knoxville. My favorite out of all of those was probably Chicago. It was my graduation present from my parents (along with my laptop) and I got to see my then obsession, now disgusted by, Oprah. My cousin lives in Chicago with her husband, so my aunt (her mom) came up too, and we went to see Wicked, shopped on Michigan Ave and ate at some delicious restaurants. I wish I had pictures from this trip! I'm sure my mom has some somewhere, this is before I got my first digital camera haha. So basically, the dark ages ;)

Day 24- Something You've Learned

I learn all the time, everyday. This year, I've learned the importance of patience, how to use InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, the components of designing a website and various other things. I think what I learn and re learn everyday is to wait on God. If I do that, everything else falls in to place!

Day 25- Ipod Shuffle.

To be fair, my iPod is in constant shuffle state. I love everything, from old country, to classical, to new age, to rock, to a little heavy metal, and everything in between. I am however, desperately in love with 70's singer songwriters. Give me some Hall and Oates or Jackson Browne and I'm in heaven, haha.


1. Ants Marching- Dave Matthews Band
2. When I Think About Leaving- Kenny Chesney
3. Harmony- Corey Smith
4. Jump Around- House of Pain
5. Emergency- Paramore
6. Mr. Bojangles- Jim Croce
7. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For- U2
8. Narcolepsy- Third Eye Blind
9. Dear Prudence- The Beatles
10. Heaven Never Seemed So Small- The Benji Davis Project

LoveLOVElove all of these songs. I highly recommend youtubing each one :)

Yet again, catching up!

And I will probably have to catch up some of this week too. With a surgery consult, an unexpected trip home Wednesday, our Thursday night game against GT, Parent's Weekend, a Rho Gamma Retreat and a huge Client Project due... it's gonna be a busy one!

Day 19- Something You Miss

I miss Stuart when he's at school. I also miss riding around during the summer down my old beloved Beach Road with Hev. She called me yesterday on my way back here and taunted me about driving down it with the radio blasting and the windows down. SO JEALOUSSS!!!

Day 20- Nicknames

I go by pretty much everything. Stuart calls me babe or baby (it took me a while to let him call me that... I hate couples that call each other baby constantly, he just calls me it on special occasions or when we're alone). My mom calls me Megan-Beth. Friends call me Meg or Megs. Hev and I call each other BFWT on occasion... long story on that one ;). Heidi usually calls me Megan Elizabeth, which isn't really a nickname, but it's just something she calls me. In high school, most of my male coaches called me Forbes or Forbsey. And on rare occasion I get called Tits McGee. That also started in my high school days on the drumline with all boys!

Day 21- A Picture of Yourself. 

I think I did this a while back as well, although I only have pictures by myself if I have cropped them for a Facebook profile picture usually!

This is me outside the one European Chipotle in London this summer! I was so excited to find it, as I L.O.V.E. Chipotle and needed some "American" food :) Excuse how pale I was, I was tan for London!

Day 22- Favorite City

I can't even begin to pick my favorite city!

My top five are:

1. Blacksburg, VA

2. San Antonio, TX

3. Edinburgh, Scotland

4. Charlottesville, VA (don't tell my hokie fam!)

5. Charlotte, NC

All of these are places I've been to (or lived in like #1) and had a great time and made memories in :) I live in Blacksburg clearly, and have had some of the best times of my life here. I also loved going to San Antonio with my family my Junior year of High School. I also went in January, which is probably when I'd like Texas best :) Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, and I had an absolutely great time there with my study abroad group. Charlottesville is where I spend a lot of my time, and there is great shopping, great restaurants and beautiful mountains all around. If only that dumb university wasn't there ;). Oh, and probably seeing Stuart there is my biggest motivation, haha. I also love Charlotte. I love that it is only 2 hours from here, and I have had great memories from shopping at the AWESOME outlet mall, to several football games, including a Panthers game with front row seats ;). Here's hoping to another trip in a month or so to watch my Hokies win the ACC title... FINGERS CROSSED!!!