a few of my favorite things.

I like a lot of things, but my favorites are these...

• Old houses. I love Utah Valley, because there are a lot of old houses almost everywhere you drive (especially Lehi, American Fork and Provo). I like the little, old ones that were built in the 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. I love the detail and the designs. I think they are GORGEOUS, and I think they have so much more class that the newer houses are lacking badly.
• Antiques. Whether it be furniture, jewelery, or clothing, I love it all. Like houses, I just think older things (1920's to 1950's) have much more style and class. It's aesthetically pleasing to me.
• Skirts. I love wearing skirts, but I haven't had the chance to wear them much lately because of the cold weather. I also love tights.
• Flowers. I LOVE flowers. Any kind, any color. I just love them. I love receiving them, I love looking at them. They're pretty, and they smell fantastic.
• Old movies. Ya know, the black and white ones with no scandalous scenes or crude language. Especially Audrey Hepburn films. She's wonderful, and I love her acting. She's classy, too, and I like that.
• Good music. Not the stuff they play on the radios, but the good stuff that not a lot of people know about. For example: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Broken Social Scene, M83 and OK Go. I also love oldies, like The Turtles (I've been on a Turtles rush lately. I can't get enough of them!), The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Carly Simon, and The Carpenters. I love classic music that doesn't go out of style.
• Colors. I love bright and vibrant colors. When I was in high school, I liked neon colors. I've settled down a bit since then, but I still love colors.
• Clothes. If someone gave me a million dollars, I'd probably buy clothes (and probably some camera equipment, too). I just love them. I LOVE dressing up.
• Photography. What can I say? It's my major. I adore it. I love everything about photography. Cameras (especially vintage cameras!), being in the darkroom (for fun, not necessarily when it's for a class), editing. I just love it. I hope to get better.
• Kids. Aww, I love them. Especially my niece and nephew who are about a year and a half old. They're adorable, and it makes me excited to have my own.
• Food and cooking. It's a wonder why I'm decently skinny. I eat so much. I get excited about food. Like a school girl gets excited about her secret crush. And cooking! Ah, I love it. I can't explain it, I just love it.
• Big cities. I like walking around in them. In August my family went to San Francisco, and we walked around downtown all day, and I LOVED it! I was snapping pictures every 5 seconds, and enjoying life. I also really like downtown Salt Lake City, and even downtown Provo.
• Thunder storms. I love watching the rain fall as the lightning strikes and the thunder booms while cuddled up in a blanket on the porch. I also love the smell of rain.
• Reading. I didn't start liking it until a few years ago, when I decided to read for fun. Now, when I have spare time, it's all I ever do.
• Writing. I'm not good by any means, but I love to write. It helps me think and get things out of my head.
• Chartreuse. The most beautiful color, I think. Well, by itself, anyway.
• Long, serious talks. I'm not too close with a lot of people. Maybe only 2 or 3. But I love talking to the people I am close with. A lot. It's like a drug to me. I can never get enough of it.
• The Beach. This sounds weird coming from a girl who grew up and still lives in Utah, but I love the beach. Not the typical surfing beach where tons of people lie out and tan or play in the water, but empty beaches, where the weather is a little colder (but not too cold), and it's cloudy and there are lots of logs, rocks and plants scattered everywhere.
• The DI. I love what you can find there. I love searching for cool things, and seeing what you find. I also love Target. That's probably my all-time favorite store.
• Temple Square. Ah, what's not to love about it? This is one of the only places I actually like in the winter. It's also gorgeous in the summer. It's probably my favorite place to be.
• Surprises. Even though I'll ask you a million questions about them, I LOVE surprises. Probably more than a lot of things on this list. Whether they be big or small, I love being surprised any day.

songs + memories.

I stole this idea from my best friend, Emily. It's a list of all the songs that remind me of certain things that I love and miss.

"Mandy" by Barry Manilow
This past semester, my roommate, Erica, and I have cooked together a few times, and whenever we do, I always bring out my laptop, pull up iTunes and play songs to cook to. I always seemed to play this one everytime, and sing my heart out to it. It reminds me of cooking, vegetarian style, with Erica.

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys
Summer! This song reminds me only of summer. The warm weather and the sun shining down on me all day. Driving in my car with my window rolled down while this song was playing on my radio. It makes me happy, because I miss the summer, especially in this 20 degree weather.

"Hey Jude" by The Beatles
Last summer, while I was working with Nate, he was in a bad mood for some reason. This song came on, and I sung obnoxiously loud and out of tune to it, while looking at him the whole time. Eventually, he started to laugh, and wasn't in a bad mood anymore. This song reminds me of all the fun times I had with Nate-dawg.

"Re: Stacks" by Bon Iver
This is one of Zac's favorite songs, and we always listen to it when we're driving in the car. It reminds me of the serious side of Zac, when he has a straight (but not grumpy) face, and you can tell that his mind is racing a million miles an hour. It's the cutest thing ever.

"Merry Christmas Baby" by Brighten
Christmas, duh! This song is probably my favorite Christmas song out there. I listen to it a lot during the Holidays, and even in the summer, just because I love Christmas so much.

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon & "Rainy Days and Mondays" by The Carpenters
These songs remind me of my dad, just because he's almost always listening to them, whether we be driving somewhere in the car, or if it's playing through the speakers in our house. These oldies just remind me of my dad.

"Believe" by Cher
One day this past semester, Erica, Rachel, Zac and I were driving in my car around campus, and this song came on. We all started to do background voices for it, and Erica's was the funniest: "Do you believe? 'Cause I believe! Tell me if you believe, 'cause I don't know if you believe or not!"

"Counting Your Worries" by The Continentals
When I was 17, I dated Erik. He was a drummer, just like me. He went through a lot of bands, and ended up staying in this one (before going on his mission, where he is currently serving). This band is amazing; I cannot even begin to describe how happy they make me feel when I listen to their music. This song reminds me of going to their shows, and other shows of our band friends, like Dream Balloons with Bradley, Peter, Trevor, Adam, Josh, Emily, Erica and the rest of the gang. Shows at Kilby Court, Open Mic Nights in Trevor's garage and basement shows in many houses. Afterwards, we'd always go to Denny's (which was often past midnight) and order good food and talk. These times were the highlight of my three years in High School. I miss them.

"Let's Make Out" by Does It Offend You, Yeah?
This song reminds me of all the weird things I do. One time, when Emily, Erica and I were all still 20 years old, we went to a Stake Dance. When we left, we blasted this music and drove around the parking lot. Then we saw 3 little teenaged boys, and I stopped the car right by them and gave them my creeper smile while this music played through my radio. It got them excited, and I drove off.

"The Final Countdown" by Europe
Being heroic and saving the day while driving in Emily's car.

"Where Were You" by Every Avenue
One time, Emily and I dressed up in Emily's clothes she wore in High School (I'm not sure why she still has them), and made a music video to this song. It was hilarious.

"All Around Me" by Flyleaf
When I was taking drum lessons, my teacher, Sneez, let me be in a band with other students. The only song I really knew how to play on the drums was this one, and so we played it. Three weeks later, I quit the band and drum lessons.

"What She Came For" by Franz Ferdinand
During Spring Break of 2009, I drove down to St. George and spent a few days with my friend, Celeste. We rode the tram, went to the DI, hiked the Red Rocks and made rainbow cake. It was a blast! On the last day, right before I left for home, we made an awesome music video to this song that consisted of us dressed up really pretty being really stupid and riduculous. It was awesome.

"Sort Of" by Ingrid Michaelson
My sister, Sara, is a very talented pianist and singer. In the summer, she got the sheet music for this song, and would always play it on the piano and sing it. I loved it, and had it stuck in my head all the time. It was the best.

"Can't Help Falling in Love" by Ingrid Michaelson
Don't laugh, but this song reminds me of what my first dance with my husband will be like. I am a daydreamer, mostly of my future wedding, and ever since I've heard this song, I've wanted it to be the song that my husband and I share our first dance to.

"So Close/So Alive" by Just Surrender
One of my foster kids, Levi, LOVED this song, and would listen to it on my iPod nonstop when I had him. It reminds me of him, and how funny he is.

"Numb" by Linkin Park
Even though I hate this band, this song, and a few others remind me of when Emily, Erica and I were driving home from an Open Mic Night one night, and this song was plaiying, and we rolled down the windows, blasted the music and sung crazy backup words to it (like we did when we sang to Cher). I remember laughing so hard I could barely sing.

"Steps in My Fade" by Love You Long Time
In the summer of 2009, Emily and I were EFY counselors together. We'd carpool there and back everyday, and everyday we'd listen to this song and sing to it. We had a goal that, by the end of the week, we'd have the whole thing memorized. We accomplished our goal much sooner. That song made us so crazy, which is good, because EFY counelors are supposed to be crazy.

"The Sun and The Moon" by Mae
On our first date, Zac and I went to Sundance and rode the ski lifts. On our way home down the canyon, we listened to this song. A month after we had been officially dating, we went up to Squaw Peak and talked. On the way up, we also listened to this song. Zac calls it "our song," and I'd have to agree with him.

"Black Holes and Revelation" by Muse
Last summer, my foster kid, Dakota, and I were talking about music we both liked. We couldn't agree on any songs until this song came on my iPod. He said, "I love this song!" I was like, "No way! So do I!" Now everytime I work with him, we listen to this song.

"White Knuckles" by OK Go
A few weeks ago, I went to the OK Go concert with Kim and Zac. Kim and I got to meet the band, which was awesome. When they finally came out to play, I was blown away with how spectacular they are! This song reminds me of being happy in the presense of good music, and taking tons and tons of pictures.

"Unconditional Love" by Plain White T's
When I was in High School, I was homeschooled, and in a homeschool choir. After our two classes at the public High School, Daniel and I would drive up to Salt Lake City and attend choir there. On the way home, Sara and Rachel would ride with us. In the car, Daniel had a set list of songs he would always listen to. This is the song I remember him listening to most. It reminds me of homeschool, namely choir and LFG, with my siblings.

"Buddy Holly" by Weezer
Back in October, Zac, Erica, Wes, Rachel and I were driving to Thanksgiving Point to go to a corn maze. On the way there, all we listened to was Weezer. We all decided that, if we could only listen to one band for the rest of our lives, Weezer would be it. Then we all sung along with every Weezer song that played.

post-final update.

After being stressed and overwhelmed for the past few months, spending countless hours in the darkroom, eating pan dulce in Spanish class, and getting through four finals, I can finally say I'm done with school for the rest of the year!
It's weird; whenever I get on the computer, or do something that's not really productive, I tell myself, "You need to be doing homework." Then I remember that I don't have any! Oh! The feeling is wonderful.
My family is going to Las Vegas on Monday, and I'm pretty excited about that. For Wednesday night, my dad bought tickets for all of us to see the Blue Man Group live. Since I'm a drummer, I am fantastically excited. I'm also excited to take pictures of Vegas. I'm not as good as I want to be, but I feel like I'm slowly getting better at being a photographer. I went to the OK Go concert last week (BEST CONCERT EVER!!!), and I took somewhere around 600 pictures, all shot in manual mode. I couldn't do that before my Photo II class. And most of them turned out really well, so I'm satisfied. I'll post some of them later.
Tonight Zac is taking me out to Cafe Rio (I swear, if he could eat there everyday of his life, he would. But I'm not arguing.), and then we're going to go ice skating with Levi, a guy Zac works with, and his girlfriend. I haven't been ice skating since February, when I met Logan and Jason, so I'm pretty happy right now.

A part of me wants to become a great photographer (actually, all of me wants to do this part), move to a foreign city with great sights (like Rome, Madrid, France or London) with one of my best friends, never get married, never have kids, and take beautiful pictures for the rest of my life. That would be my dream! But then I remember that as much as I want to live that life, I want even more to have an amazing man by my side who will help my raise my children I've always wanted. Yeah, that rules out moving to Italy anyday.

I'm still going to become one of the greatest photographers of all time though. :)

ten things i'm thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving! This morning I woke up at 6:00 am, got ready, and left the house with my family at around 7:00 am to meet my dad's side of the family for breakfast at Village Inn--a tradition that's been going on since I can remember. Now we're all home, waiting until we can leave to see Harry Potter at 12:40. After the movie, we're all going to come back up to my parents' house and eat our Thanksgiving feast!
Since it's Thanksgiving, here is a list of ten things I am thankful for.

1. My family, especially my parents.
2. My boyfriend, Zac.
3. The scriptures.
4. My happiness.
5. Love.
6. Christmas music.
7. The Spirit.
8. Warm clothes, blankets and heaters.
9. The temple.
10. My knowledge of the Plan of Salvation.

Happy Thanksgiving! :)

50 things i love about zachary max.

1. He went on a mission. Did you know that only about a third of guys who were baptized into my church go on missions? And did you know that less than 1% of the world's population is LDS? That's less than 0.3% of people in all the world who go on missions, and Zac was one of them. Amazing.
2. He's funny. Both of our senses of humor are really similar, and so we laugh at a lot of things that other people don't laugh at. Like he'll add a "Z" to the ends of words, like, "I gotta do my homeworkz," and I think it's freaking hilarious. I like that we can laugh at the same things.
3. He's nice. Like, super duper nice. Even when he's in a bad mood, or pissed off, he's really nice. And when he's in a good mood, he's unbelievably nice. You'd just have to know him to really get what I'm saying, because I can't stop saying "nice."
4. He's a wonderful listener! One of my pet peeves is people who don't listen and interrupt me when I talk. He doesn't do that. He makes eye contact and tries to understand what I'm saying.
5. He's a gentleman. He opens all my doors, and has been since back in September when we met. He treats me how I should be treated, and I like that.
6. He talks about poop and farts. I know this one's weird, but I couldn't date a guy who doesn't, because I do it all the time, and so does my family. It's just part of my life.
7. He has warm hands when mine are cold. And when his are cold, mine are warm. We take turns warming up each others' hands.
8. He is a hard worker. Even when he doesn't necessarily want to do something (like homework), he still does it anyway. I admire that about him.
9. He's a good kisser. Enough said.
10. He can grow a beard. Before I dated him, I didn't like beards at all, but for No-Shave November, he grew his out for a couple of weeks and it was hot! I like beards now because of him.
11. He is very receptive to the Spirit. When he gets promptings, he never doubts them; he just acts on them. He's also very faithful.
12. I can trust him. I really can. I'm never worried that he'll lie to me.
13. He tries new things for me. One time I wanted him to go to a dance with me, and he did, even though he didn't want to. He even danced with me!
14. He gives the best, longest hugs ever. One time we decided to give each other the longest hug we've ever given. We ended up walking over to Erica's desk, stealing two of her carmels, opening them behind each others' backs and eating them--all while hugging. It was special.
15. I can talk to him about anything.
16. He not only knows how great I am (because, let's be honest, I am pretty great...), but he also knows all my weaknesses and faults, and still loves me for exactly who I am.
17. He tells me I'm beautiful, and means it.
18. He's a techie, and everyone knows techies are awesome. He's so smart with technology, it amazes me. He can fix anything!
19. He always smells really good, even when he's not wearing cologne.
20. He compliments me every chance he gets.
21. He's not afraid to be himself, and tell me what's on his mind.
22. He understands me, and how my brain works, and how my PMS affects my logic.
23. My period doesn't freak him out.
24. When I get embarrassed, he cheers me up. He also cheers me up when I get sad or frustrated.
25. He is clean. This is a big deal for me, because I can't stand messy people.
26. He can play "Black Bird" by The Beatles on his guitar, and he's really good at it.
27. He can play a lot of hymns on the piano, and I love watching him play, because he's so focused he doesn't even realize I'm watching him.
28. He can sing. Sometimes when we ride in the car together, he'll sing along with the song that's playing, and I love just listening to him, because sometimes he'll harmonize with it, and that's my favorite.
29. He has double-jointed thumbs, which crack me up. Sometimes I'll bend them back and forth when I'm bored.
30. He holds the Priesthood and honors it. That's just as attractive as one man can get.
31. He's friends with my friends, and we all form a posse.
32. He makes me truly happy.
33. He makes me want to be a better person.
34. He is always the one who remembers to read scriptures together every night.
35. He comments in Institute. I don't know why, but I've always admired the guys who paid attention enough in Institute to comment on the lesson.
36. He's taller than me. Thank you, but I do not want to be one of those awkward couples I see every now and then at the mall where the girl is taller than the guy.
37. He is my very best friend.
38. He's quiet, because he's always thinking about something, and it's cute.
39. He has pretty blue eyes, and his pupils are always really big, which make his eyes even prettier.
40. He gives me the butterflies... still!
41. He can rock a fauxhawk.
42. His big chin fits perfectly in the dent in my head when we hug. It's a sign...
43. He likes Spongebob and The Office.
44. He long boards, and he teaches me how to long board, too, so we can look cool in front of all of our friends.
45. He also snowboards and wakeboards, and has amazing leg muscles from it.
46. One of the first times we hung out, we sat in his room and watched Invader Zim. It just doesn't get much better than that.
47. He visits me when I get out of class. It's like middle school, only cuter.
48. He lets me wear his jacket when I'm cold, and even keep it sometimes.
49. He's patient. I've given him so many reasons to lose his temper, but he hasn't. He's incredible when it comes to patience!
50. We want the same things, and we have the same goals. And we love each other. :)

two roads diverged.

This is my dad's favorite poem. Well, it was when I was younger. I don't know if it still is, but maybe. When I was about 12 years old or so, I was homeschooled with my older brother, Daniel, and my two younger sisters, Rachel and Sara. My mom made the four of us memorize this poem for my dad's birthday, and recite it to him. And we did just that. I've long since forgotten it now, but I still like the poem.
I feel like this poem has a great meaning for me right now, as I'm forced (trust me, if I could, I would choose to never make a hard decision ever again as long as I live) to make decisions that will effect my whole entire life. It's quite stressful. Add a few tough classes on top of that, and you've got yourself a stressed-out little Megan.
But anyway, here's the amazing poem.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

flashback from the 40's.

Last night, Zac and I went to a 40's themed party at Brittany's apartment. Actually, it was 40's-60's themed, but I didn't have any clothes that looked enough like the 50's or 60's, so Zac and I dressed up as a 40's couple, which ended up being a good thing, because everyone there was dressed up in 40's outfits.

When I went home on Friday, I asked my mom to help me pick out some good costumes for Zac and me, and she got really excited about it. She said that Zac could wear my dad's old Navy uniform, and I decided to wear my black dress. We went to the party as a Navy Seal and his sexy girlfriend. Think Rafe and Evelyn from Pearl Harbor, except switch the Air Force to the Navy.

When we got there, Brittany had [fake] alcoholic beverages set out for drinking, and snack foods like pretzels, nuts and shrimp. Forties music played in the background while everyone talked about sophisticated things (like politics and the death of John F. Kennedy) while drinking martini's (sparkling apple cider), wine (grape juice) and beer (root beer). We even had a shot glass competition to see who could down 6 shot glasses of apple juice the fastest. It was great! Later into the night, Brittany broke out the [fake] cigarettes, and people were smokin'!

Oh, and yes, Zac, the Navy Seal, has a beard. Hawt.