Flashback Friday #2

Just a quick flashback...

Did that take you back? Did that remind you of fighting with your cousin over who had the raddest Lisa Frank pencil collection?

You likely collected Lisa Frank products if you were a child - excuse me, a girl - in the 90s (Kyle has NO recollection of Lisa Frank. He's a boy and only had brothers. I guess that's excusable.)

Pencils, pencil boxes, folders, backpacks, coloring books, stickers, diaries...the list never ended. They were all sorts of images like the above: kittens, puppies, and unicorns all in a jewel-toned acid trip. It was a six-year-old girl's dream. Sometimes I wish I could use Lisa Frank folders to hold my photography paperwork but that's not very professional. I could use one to hold my notes and papers for class but...I'm in college.

Just looking at that picture takes me back. Lisa Frank and Lip Smackers. These are the things that a six-year-old Megan coveted most.

Can't breathe...suffocating...in mall.

I was going to make this a video blog but now I'm in my jammies and well, I don't feel like it.

I took a little detour on my way home from class today. Detour: 5th Ave. Mall. (It sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is. Trust me.)

I went into Aerie, which is American Eagle's pajama/bra/undie store. I love their leggings (don't judge me.) I didn't go in there for leggings, though. I just wanted a little retail therapy. (And if that meant a $10 pair of clearance leggings and a $15 cami, then so be it.)

I was in the store no less than 15 seconds when a sales girl approached me...

Her: Hi! What brings you to Aerie today?
Me: Oh nothing, just browsing.
Her: Oh, really? You're not looking for anything in particular?
Me: Nope.
Her: Well, just to let you know, every single bra in the store is $10 off, front to back and that includes some of our sports bras.
Me: Oh, ok. Cool.
Her: Are you sure you're not looking for anything in particular?
Me: Nope, just shopping.
Her: Ok, well my name's Candace. Let me know if you need anything!

I couldn't believe that she just asked me twice if I was looking for anything special. As if in the ten seconds from the start of the conversation to the end, I would have thought of something in particular I needed.

I've noticed this a lot lately, overeager sales people. I'm in a pajama shop, right? Not a used car lot?

They taught us things like that when I worked at Macy's but not nearly that pushy. We were taught to ask, hold on, once. And to be honest? I rarely asked. I greeted them and told them my name if they needed anything. I figured that if someone needed help with something, they would ask. That's how I am, anyway. I hate being bombarded by sales people like I was today. I almost wanted to turn around and walk out.

What about you? Do you prefer a minimal greeting, let me know if you need anything or a full-on used car salesman type greeting?

Seacrest in.

Yesterday on the radio, Ryan Seacrest was talking about how he saw David Beckham over the weekend and he noticed that he had some new tattoos.

Then Ryan Seacrest (I'm not on a first-name basis with him) said that he was thinking about getting a tattoo to give himself a little edge.

Then I realized that Ryan Seacrest and I aren't so different after all. We both have multiple jobs, are small and cute, and want a tattoo to give ourselves a little edge.

Celebrity twin, thy name is Seacrest.

About Me

{Self portrait.}

I was born at 9:40PM on Thursday, April 14, 1988. It was a dark and stormy night, hurricane season came early. My dad was in Georgia hunting when he got the call that my mom was in labor.

I'm just kidding. I mean, that is my birthday but I'm not going to start from the second I was born. Plus, I made up all that about my dad being in Georgia. Who goes to Georgia when their wife could have a baby any second? That's right. Not my dad.

Ahem. First thing about me? I get sidetracked really easily.

But seriously, I'm twenty-one and I spent the first twenty years of my life in central Florida. I was born and raised in a little town about half an hour from Orlando. I couldn't wait to get out.

The year after we graduated high school, my boyfriend joined the air force. He asked me to marry him on March 1, 2008 and on March 18, he left for BMT. He was in Texas for about six months. Somewhere around the four month mark, he found out we'd be moving to Alaska.

Say whaaaaaat??!

I'm pretty sure that was my response. Because being from such a small town, you never think you'll actually get out. But we were leaving. See ya never, A-dale! (Ok, we'll see you when we come see our families. But we will not be happy about it.)

It's been a little over a year since we moved to Anchorage and we absolutely love it. The winters are brutal but the summers are nothing short of heaven. The scenery, food, and people are fantastic. We thought about buying a house up here and staying a little longer than Uncle Sam told us we had to. That train of thought lasted for about a week. We're now thinking about California.

Being up here and away from everyone has taught me that I'm a lot stronger than people give me credit for. I'm doing things I never thought I'd do. I'm finishing my AA at the University of Alaska and have started my own photography business. I hike in the summer and have even learned to snowboard. I got a job at a coffee shop just a few days after we moved up here (which means that I have held a job for over a year!) Honestly? I couldn't be happier with my life right now. I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Some more superficial tidbits...

• I have three cats: Olive, Jude, and Lizzie.
• I rarely keep my hair the same color for more than a few months at a time. I'm constantly back and forth between blonde and brunette. (My natural color is a sandy blonde.)
• I want a golden retriever and I want to name it Comet, like on Full House. Kyle is totally ok with having a golden retriever but says I can't name it Comet. What a Debbie Downer.
• My favorite wine is white zinfandel. (I don't care so much about the brand. Barefoot and Beringer are delish, though.)
  
• I like musicals. We're planning on going to Vegas next year to see Jersey Boys. (Read: NYC & Broadway are too expensive so I have to settle for Vegas.)
• I almost always eat cereal for breakfast.
• I am absolutely, completely, totally terrified of snakes.
• My favorite season is summer. Flip flops, tank tops, and sunshine for days? Yes, please.
• I rarely go a day without drinking at least one cup of green tea.
• I've only been on a plane once, from Orlando to San Antonio and back. I'm excited to fly again in December.

That's me in a teeny, tiny nutshell. But that's ok, because I'm rather tiny myself.

Project Runway, season's over.

First off, I hate quitting. But in this instance, I can't help it.

I'm not going to do any more Project Runway recaps. I haven't seen the last two episodes and honestly? A root canal sounds more fun than watching them. Yesterday I gave myself the option of watching the two TiVo'd episodes or cleaning the kitchen.

The kitchen is spotless.

I really do hate quitting, especially so far into the season, but I can't watch it anymore. It's so...bad. Seriously. Almost everything that has gone down the runway this season has been straight up bad. I'm not into it. I'm not attached to any of the designers, which makes it hard to care.

I might try again next season. Michael and Nina will be there the whole time, which I think will help a lot. Consistent judges have hurt this season's designers a lot. Things that Nina and/or Michael would have lost it over, have gone by unnoticed. (And after watching five seasons of Michael and Nina judge clothes, you start thinking like them. It's good and bad.)

Very jock chic.

Every time I see this scene, I think about how that blonde girl is rocking that leotard, about how she's probably a dancer in real life, and about how badly I want a leotard.

Adventures in CostCo

A few months ago, my boss at the coffee shop told me that she had an extra CostCo card if I ever wanted to use it. I thought, "We don't need anything in bulk, it's just the two of us...except tortilla chips. We can put away some tortilla chips. Nah...we don't need anything in bulk."

But last week, after wondering where the heck to buy canned pumpkin (apparently there's a pumpkin shortage), @Anniepants told me that CostCo had it, three cans for about $5.

A week went by while I tried to convince myself that I needed to go to CostCo because they have pumpkin.

So I got the extra card today and I went. I forgot how exciting large quantities of common household items is. 200 garbage bags?! We'd be set for life! A 10lb. bag of red new potatoes? Yes, please! 4,200 address labels? HECK YEAH, PUT IT IN THE BUGGY!

I was excited. (Which goes to show you that my life is truly average.)

After my excitement over those random things (and finding part of my sister's Christmas present...Kyle pulled it out of the bag with a look that said, "what. the. eff. WHAT IS THIS?!") I ended up going to Fred Meyer anyway because apparently I can't buy a small tub of butter at CostCo. It's a year's supply or nothing.

But seriously. I'm excited about my 4,200 address labels (that I THOUGHT were $7 but turned out to be $24.) I think I could only be more excited if I had gone into their little liquor store and bought the world's biggest bottle of wine.

Next time, next time.