crossing things off the list.

there are 13 days before my 26th birthday, so i thought it'd be fitting to cross yet ANOTHER thing off the good ole 30 things to do before i'm 30 list.

this past weekend i went to the blue ridge parkway to see the leaves with my college roomie.  i'm crossing number 12 off my list quicker than you can say really meg, another list?  she, like most humans growing up within driving distance of the parkway, had already done that.  however, i choose very gracious roomies.  we drove to her little town to stay the night on friday, and without really meaning to, met a few interesting locals. local townies are like nothing i've ever experienced.  not in a bad way, just in a "please stop skateboarding at me while i'm trying to walk downtown" way.

anyways, back to the adventure (but trust me, those skateboarders are on my list).  of course we saw the leaves, and trust me, they were all they were supposed to be, but we also went to an alpaca farm, stopped at a crafty tourist stop (really just for the bathroom), and walked a MILE HIGH IN THE AIR at grandfather mountain!

now our adventures weren't without some hyperventilating, but besides the brief "meg i'm not doing this!" freak out from b after i'd already started across the mile high bridge, everything went off without a hitch.  and goodness gracious it was breathtaking.  it was everything i needed to stop my stressed brain and appreciate the place that i live and the life that i have.

i'm blessed with kind friends, a nonstop fun job, and the best family.  and the cutest puppy around, let's just put it out there.  while i still have quite a few things on my 30 things list, it's nice to stop and remember that even if i'm getting grandma age, i've got more than enough to be thankful for.

updated list:
1.  visit a castle ... preferably in england or ireland, but i'd be willing to consider alternatives.
2.  SKYDIVE.
3.  camp out under the stars -- very different than the 'camping' that my family usually does in the hilton. **this one was ALMOST completed accidentally, but i slept in a tent instead. next time!
4.  swim with dolphins (in a controlled atmosphere, not because a boat sank and i was stranded in the ocean).
5.  go to a pumpkin patch and pick the perfect pumpkin.
6.  attend new york city's thanksgiving day parade OR new year's eve celebration -- i'm not delusional enough to think both are possible before i'm 30 ... just delusional enough to hope for one.
7.  get a dog and name him doodle her macy.  **completed 11/2011

8.  learn to cook something other than pasta that sticks together.  and have photographic proof of this accomplishment.

9.  find a shark's tooth all on my own ... not because i stole it from one my sister or mom found.
10.  read the bible.  and understand it.  and not the kiddie version that i read when i was seven.
11.  adopt a child for christmas.
12.  see the blue ridge parkway leaves during the fall.  **completed 10/2012
13.  FINALLY go out west.  i'm leaving that as unspecific as possible since every other westward plan has failed.
14.  actually get up in the early hours of the morning and experience the chaos that is the day after thanksgiving sales.  **completed 11/2011
15.  cruise to ... anywhere, really.  just go on a cruise.
16.  ride in a hot air balloon (and don't throw up).
17.  snorkel...or scuba dive, but let's start small with snorkeling. 
18.  fold 1000 paper cranes and make a worthwhile wish.
19.  go white water rafting without wetting my pants.
20.  travel by train.  not necessarily hogwarts style, but similar.
21.  learn to parallel park.  so so scary.
22.  get a massage. and enjoy it. because it IS possible to relax, right?
23.  watch all 7 (kind of 8 thanks to the two part finale) harry potter movies in a row ... spreading over multiple days if necessary.
24.  join a church.  not just attend one.  but join one like an adult.
25.  learn how to build and start a fire, all on my own. 
26.  hike in the blue ridge mountains.  or any mountains, but i prefer the blue ridge.
27.  learn more than just the harry potter theme song on my guitar.
28.  experience a true sunrise.  maybe on the beach.
29.  become a vegetarian for a month.  and people, there has to be a limit on this because of my extreme aversion to vegetables.  it's just something i want to try.
30.  kiss in the rain. 

it's hard to say goodbye

every three-ish years as a child i moved away from whatever town i was living in and looked forward to a new adventure.  even once my dad retired from the air force, we still moved houses every three years ... it was just always in the same city.

military kids just kind of get used to this and i truly believe it's because of this that i can't commit to anything longer than a few years.  it's probably at least partially responsible for my college hopping days, the fact that i declared over seven different majors prior to junior year, and the fact that i'm notorious for starting projects and throwing in the towel once it gets serious.  no thanks, dude.  i'm used to having an out.

anyways, i've always thought of myself as a person that's good at goodbyes.  i'm able to detach myself the appropriate amount in the months leading up to my departure in an effort to make the split as painless as possible.  you learn at a young age as a military brat that if you don't do this, the waking-up-in-a-new-city-and-going-to-a-new-school thing kind of catches you off guard.

but it turns out i'm not so good at goodbyes if i'm not the one leaving.  one of my dear friends (kate aka weirdstuff) is moving away next week to start her fabulous job in the big city, holler!  we had our goodbye cookout last evening and when i finally left i was in some serious denial that it wasn't me leaving.  i mean, i'm not quite ready to leave due to that last semester of grad school i have to finish up, but it just felt so sad leaving the apartment.  it was like it finally hit me that our undergrad days were over ... even if they've been over for a solid two years now.  

so in honor of moving, big girl jobs, and the wonderful days of undergrad, here are five of my favorite pictures of weirdstuff and our friends.  and don't worry, i'll tell you a brief story for all of them.

1.  tar heel baseball -- one of our favorite things to do during undergrad involved going to brunch and then lazily walking up to watch a unc baseball game.  it was magical and such a good use of our time.  i promise.

2.  quadding -- despite the allergies and the terrible pollen every.single.spring, we always loved to go quadding in the afternoon.  i don't know if quadding is near as fun as an adult or if you aren't laying under the beautiful carolina sky, but some of my favorite afternoons consisted of quadding.  this picture represents quadding, but actually occurred at some end of the year dorm party and i was making everyone pose as if they didn't have teeth.  i'm not sure why, i just know it's on the facebook caption.  i was a strange, demanding friend, obviously.

3.  birthdays -- weirdstuff and tater schemed to get everyone together to celebrate tan's birthday senior year and it was so.much.fun.  tan was completely surprised and somehow everyone was able to get there and keep it a secret and celebrate with her - hooray!  we also had fun decorating for andy's birthday one year with some bright pink streamers ...  which really just resulted in some ridiculous girl-band-ninja pictures, but i don't know where those are.  but i promise it was something that'd make you jealous.

  

4.  christmakate -- one year we took this gem of a photo during christmakate (thanks andy).  i originally thought it represented us perfectly (hello christmas photo!) and after a few years i'm still convinced.  no one can remember what prompted these beautiful faces, but i'm glad it's preserved forever. 

5.  cheerio, kate! -- sophomore year i was able to convince weirdstuff, tan, and tater to join me at cheerio over the summer and this beauty was snapped during counselor photos.  don't worry.  we took another one where none of us were looking like this, but i'm kind of partial to this one.  what's not to love?

happy moving, weirdstuff!  go ahead and break in the big city for us - we'll be visiting soon! 

weekends are beautiful.

that seems like a silly thing to learn, doesn't it?  i'm sure i actually learned this way back in the day when i would wake up early (ugh, i was stupid) to go watch cartoons, but lately it's easy to forget how wonderful the idea of a weekend is. 

the howl's cute singer (when he wears his hat and sunglasses).

having finished up my projects, i headed home to visit a friend and see my dad who also happened to be in town. that  first night i experienced the joy that is howl at the moon.  not the action of howling at the moon.  i'm not a werewolf (although i'd date taylor lautner in a heartbeat) so that would be weird.  howl at the moon happens to be one of those piano bars where the band seems to know every.stinking.song.ever.created and they are just SO good and they play whatever anyone requests and everyone is just so happy to be there (except the two older gentlemen that got into a brawl at the end of the night...they forgot how much fun the howl was). seriously, if you're ever in charlotte you have to promise me you'll check it out. over the course of the evening i became a little obsessed.  there were lots of people celebrating greeting card type occasions (you know the ones - 21st birthdays, bachelorette. etc.), but i was just celebrating life.  it was beautiful. 

and also, who doesn't want to go somewhere they can sing along to all songs at the top of their lungs regardless of the knowledge (or lack of knowledge) of the lyrics?!  it was like the mother ship calling me home.  i'm pretty sure given the chance i would be one of their bar band groupies (or their only one?).  

mirror pictures are lame, but i wanted to document the fun!

the next day dad and i hung around the house just being lazy (okay...i was incredibly lazy while he washed the porch), went out to eat (since neither of us could cook this was our only option...upon my arrival, the contents of the fridge looked like this: 3 large powerades, half gallon of chocolate milk, old cheese. awesome right?), and then took his little convertible toy car thing up to visit my grandparents.  spontaneous visits are the best, especially when you get to drive the toy car (which he only let me do for about five minutes before we had to park so he could drive again...lack of trust, obviously).  also, it should be noted that as i backed out of my grandma's driveway, dad was sitting in the passenger seat praying and making terrified faces at his mom.  let it be known that i do not appreciate that, daddy.

LOVE SVH. like seriously so much.

the rest of the weekend involved shopping (dad didn't join me because he claims to not like that stuff), reading my brand new copy of sweet valley confidential that FINALLY came in the mail from the giveaway i won on goodreads (woah that is a mouthful of a sentence), and just enjoying being home.

don't get me wrong.  i love where i currently live and i don't know that i'd ever actually want to move back towards my parents house (mainly because it is not montana which is where i fully plan on moving upon graduation), but there's just something to say about the comfort of home and the beauty of weekends.

summer vacation is already rockin'!