Blog Loves.

Happy Halloween everyone!

I'm thinking about starting a series on Fridays along the lines of Favorite Tweet Fridays or something of that nature or possibly just grouping that into my sporadic Friday Favorites posts.  I'm not too sure. What are your thoughts?

Anyway, since my best friend jumped back into the blogging world, she asked for some blog suggestions and I decided to share some of my faves, not just for her, but for anyone who might be interested.

Her blog is definitely one of my favorites--she blogs over at Keepin ^ with the Carruthers.  She has a severe book addiction, is a first year teacher also navigating her first year of being a wife to her middle school/high school/college sweetheart Daniel.  She is my bestest, my person & I honestly don't know what I'd do without her in my life.

Lora is the Indiana/Tennessee third of the three Musketeers.  She is an inspiration to me and is kicking ass and taking names on her weight loss journey & has a major case of Swindell fever.  She's like a big sister to me & won't pass up a good cuddle session with her cat Sgt Pepper and a Harry Potter book.

Rachael is the ex-pat first year teacher living in China third of the three Musketeers. She;s my sparkly unicorn spirit animal & I want to be as fearless as she is when I grow up.  I love her because she gives good advice & she taught me BYE FELICIA! That may be one of my favorite new sayings. Not even sorry.

Raven is that crazy aunt that everybody loves, because you never ever know what is going to come out of her mouth and she isn't afraid to speak her mind.

Sarah is the crazy lady behind Life of Love who eloped to Hawaii and married her best friend and broke the internet with all the feels.  Her and her husband Paul just might be my real life OTP.

Ashley is my long lost soul sister pretty sure.  We share a mutual love of country music and Army Wives, and I swear this girl doesn't have a mean or unkind bone in her body.  One of my blog friends that I hope to get to meet one day!

Who is one of your must reads day in and day out? These are just a few of my favorite ladies!

Country Must be Country Wide.

No, YOU are posting your weekend recap on Thursday :P 

About four months ago, Brantley Gilbert announced the second leg of his Let it Ride tour, I checked the cities and dates, he wasn't coming to Minnesota, but he was going to be in Des Moines, home to one of my best friends Jayme Sue :)

Being the nice person I am, I texted her right away and said hey, I'm coming down & going to BG, and she's like I want to go too! So we started making plans for me to go down there and spend the weekend with her and her husband, Daniel. 

That weekend just happened, I took a bus down Thursday afternoon and got to Des Moines around 6. The concert started at 7, so we headed right over to the venue & on the way I realized that another one of my old OD pals was also going to be at the concert, although we never managed to meet up.  

Anyways, we get to the concert and I buy my BG shirt that I've been wanting ever since I saw it on Pinterest. 

We watch the first act, who was Brian Davis, he was pretty okay, he actually co-wrote four of the songs on Brantley's newest album, but I wasn't a big fan of him as an artist. 

After BD, we decided we were thirsty, so we went out and got a drink and then came back and saw Chase Bryant, sometime during his set, I realized that I didn't have my shirt anymore and that made me a sad panda because like I said I've wanted that specific one since I've been a BG fan which has been at least the last five years.  

His last opener Aaron Lewis was probably my favorite opener, because I knew some of his music and I knew once he was done, it'd be time for my husband BG!

I suppose I could tell you guys about the drunk couples that we had all around us.  I'm pretty sure we were the only two sober ones in our section.  At one point, the couple right next to Jayme got engaged, because y'know every girl wants a drunken proposal and like Jayme said, I sure hope they remembered it the next morning! 

Brantley Gilbert was fan-freaking-tastic.  & it was even better because I got to see him with Jayme, the only thing that would have made it better is if we had better seats, but there will be a next time for sure if I have anything to say about it! We're actually hoping to go to Winter Jam together in January! 

Friday, we were going to relax during the day and then go to Worship at the Barn in the evening, but we both decided to be lazy all day.  We slept in until like 10:30, which was SO glorious and much needed & then got our day started, I finally got to meet Jayme's better(just kidding best friend!) half & we set out for some coffee at Caribou & then decided to hit up the (broke) book nerd's Nirvana, Half Price Books & we decided on our first book club read, which is a Jodi Picoult book that I'm too lazy to go grab out of my suitcase full of books that Jayme sent me home with.  Oh yeah, we're totally the type of people to bring an extra suitcase full of books on vacation.  #YOLO

When we got back, we swapped books while Daniel just shook his head as if we were crazy.  and we probably are, but that's okay.  We listened to random mix CDs that they had kept ever since pretty much the beginning of their relationship.  Then, they introduced me to the wonderfully awesome and inappropriate game known as Cards against Humanity.  So many laughs.  

Friday night, Daniel made us an amazing dinner and then we went and got Mixers or whatever QT calls them and they were amazing. So much ice cream and chocolate, DELICIOUS! Jayme and I got our computers out and played around on our various social media sites and I finally convinced her to start a blog!  You should all check her out at Keepin ^ with the Carruthers :) 

Saturday morning, I had to come back to Minnesota and I really didn't want to, I had such an amazing time with Jayme and Daniel and I'm so grateful they let me crash with them for the weekend.

& it sure is nice to know I'm missed, I love messages like these from my work momma.  

Hey Girl Hey.

Blogger burn out is a real thing people.  I definitely felt it these last couple of weeks, so in celebration of finally feeling like blogging again, hanging out with the best friend & said best friend starting a blog I decided to come back with an all about me survey.  & yes, I'm posting at 12:23 because I can.

Also, Ten Question Tuesday will resume this week along with a new weekly Friday post!  

1. What's your name? 
Meghan Anna Brown.  I was going to be Anna Marie, but my maternal grandmother thought Anna was too old-fashioned for a baby.  

2. What's your favorite sport? 
Depends on my mood.  Usually NASCAR & Hockey though.  

3. Have a crush? 
Possibly.  

4. What's your eye color? 
Hazel.  

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would love to have a college education, hopefully starting either in January or summer semester! 

6. Are you allergic to anything? Fake people & drama.  

7. Have you ever broken a bone? Yup.  Ankle when I was 4.  

8. What's your favorite movie? 8 Seconds and Twister.  Those are my two go-to movies.  

9. Books or movies? Books.   

10. Favorite book? Making me pick a favorite book is liking asking a parent to pick a favorite child, not going to happen, check out my Goodreads for what I'm reading lately, I'm trying to be more active on there.   

11. What's your favorite website? Probably bloglovin' & Pinterest.  

12. Favorite number? I love the number 17.  But my ultimate favorite number is the last four of my maternal grandparents' phone number which is 8965.  

13. What's your favorite letter? Umm.  

14. Do you know all of the words to the National Anthem? Yep.  

15. What's your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.  & my birthday, which should definitely be a holiday! 


16. What song most describes your life right now? I've Got Friends In Low Places

17. Who's your favorite band / artist? Brantley Gilbert, Garth Brooks and George Strait.  Although I do love a good Eminem song every now and then.  #noshame


18. What's your relationship status? LDR.  Because my boyfriend lives in the future.  


19. Do you exercise? I walk,  

20. Have you ever thrown up before? Why? Yes,  

21. Are you right or left handed? right 

22. What's your nickname? 
Megs, Meggy(which I really don't like, but I tolerate.), Miss Meghan, #2, Little Bit, LoveBug & Squeezebox(only one person is allowed to call me this!) 

23. Do you wear make-up everyday? Nada.  

24. When's your birthday? April 2 1992.  

25. How do you feel about "YOLO"? One of those words that I totally started saying making fun of it, but know say it way more than I care to admit.  

26. What's your favorite quote? 
Pray about everything worry about nothing.  

27. What's the worst thing that's happened to you in your entire life?Probably when I had to have my eyes re-opened after they were sewn shut after surgery.  Or losing my grandpa at 14.  

28. If you could live in any state, which would it be, and why?I'd love to live in Texas.  I've always heard great things about the state.  

29. What annoys you? Depends on the day quite honestly..

30. What food do you hate the most? I will eat just about anything, I hate having to see people's gum as they are chewing it though.  

31. Do you have any pets? Names? Cooper who is a weim, Chloe who is a golden & Leader who is a beagle.  

32. Jeans, skinny jeans, skirts, denim jeans, or crazy-patterned tights? Jeans. 

33. Do you wear your seat belt in the car at all times. Yep.  

34. Do you like this survey? Sure.  

35. Who's your favorite super hero? My Grandpa.  He's pretty awesome! 

36. Is that your natural hair color? Yep.  

37. What color eyes would you like to have? Or do you like the way they are right now? I like my eye colors.  
38. Do you look more like your mum or your dad? Momma.  

39. What's your favorite type of food? My guilty pleasure is a scoop of cookie dough before bed.  

40. What are three things you cannot live without? Jesus, my family, & my friends.  

41. Who do you miss right now? My mommas.  Real, step & work.  

42. On a scale of 1-10, how bored are you? 2. 

43. When something drops from the bed, you stay on the bed and stretch to get it, right? Yep.  

44. How tall are you? Short.  

45. What's your shoe size? Like a 7 I think.  

46. How would you describe your personality? Sassy, classy & a whole lot of smart assy.  #sorrynotsorry

47. What's your favorite kind of cheese? The mickey mouse shaped cut-outs.  

48. What's your favorite ice-cream flavor? I love B&J's Chocolate Cheesecake.  

49. What did you want to be when you were young? Shania Twain.  

50. What are you listening to right now? Pandora and Jayme typing.  

F I F T E E N//Quoted.

I am a wordsmith, I love words and I love quotes, so to pick just one favorite quote? It's very hard for me, But my favorite quote is all the tagline for this blog from the one and only William Shakespeare,

& though she be but little, she is fierce.

TQT V2

Welcome to the second week of ten question tuesday!

• 1 - Who was the last person you texted?
• Jayme.  
• 2 - When is your birthday?
• April 2nd, 1992.  I'm going to be 23 in less than 6 months O.o. 
• 3 - Who do you want to be with right now?
• I wouldn't complain if I could have the day off to go hang out with my mom :) 
• 4 - What sports do you play?
• Ha ha ha. 
• 5 - Who is the first person in your contacts?
• A girl I used to be in a bible study with.  
• 6 - What is your favorite song as of the moment?
• As of right now? I'm loving Blake Shelton's Neon Light.  
• 7 - If you were stranded on an island, who do you wish to be with?
• Hmm.  Brantley GIlbert :) 
• 8 - What do you feel right now?
• I'm chill.  
• 9 - What chocolate is your favorite?
• White Chocolate.  
• 10 - How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have?
• Nada.  

F O U R T E E N// Up North.

When I was growing up, "Up North" and Granny's house was my happy place, and it still is to a point, but now that my Granny has passed away, it holds a lot of memories that are hard to re-visit without her here.  But there weren't many summers when you didn't find me in the 218 for at least a weekend from the time I was 3 til the time I was 18.

My mom's parents put roots down in Bemidji and 5 of my mom's 6 siblings still live there, and it's my home away from home, when I was growing up, it was my Granny's house that I would stay at, but now, I stay with my favorite auntie and uncle and my cousins when I go up.

Whether it was finding a deal during Crazy Days at the Mall, getting a black eye while go-karting with my Dad at the Putt-N-Go, having my Grandpa get after Andrea and I for causing too much ruckus when we played house downstairs and wanted to scare Steph, so many memories come flashing before my eyes when I take the time to sit and reminisce.

I thought I'd share some pictures from those times, because those were the days that my best childhood memories come from.

One of the newest pictures we have of all six of us kids and this picture is 6 years old. Oi.  

All of the grandkids that came from my mom and her sisters.  She also has four brothers, three of them have kids as well.  

More of my crazy family.  

T H I R T E E N//Cook I am Not, so Currents Instead.

Meghan and recipe do not usually go in the same sentence, so I thought I would do my monthly currents post instead.  

...reading about to start Throttle Me by Chelle Bliss!

...watching The Voice. 

...trying to pump myself up for my orthodontist appointment tomorrow. Ha ha ha.  

...eating a hot pocket. 

...pinning things for my NaNoWriMo novel. 

...tweeting all of the randomness in my life...@theycallhermeg

...going to Iowa in 10 days to see Jayme Sue and Brantley Gilbert.   

...loving the cooler weather. 

...discovering that I am ready to go back to school...I think.  

...enjoying the last few hours of my day off. 

...thinking about the CLAN. To the lay person(everyone other than me atm), it's the group of women I will be writing my NaNoWriMo novel about.  

...feeling pretty good. 

...hoping that I am able to balance school and work in the near future.   

...listening to my Pandora that has all of my country stations shuffled

T W E L V E// Best Advice.

Be the kind of person your dog thinks you are.

May not be the best advice, but I love it a lot! 

E L E V E N// What can Brown do for YOU?

If I were president...

Garth Brooks would be my inauguration concert. (like that should be a surprise.)

My cousin would be my Veep.

Our slogan would be What Can Brown Do for YOU?

Chipotle would be served in the White House kitchen.

The White House would have a Starbucks for sure.

I would make sure that pants had to be worn at a respectable level by everyone.

Before you were allowed to procreate, you'd have to have a rescue dog.

There would be a break for people who used cash versus credit.

Totally random but those are a few of the things that would happen if Meghan were President!

T E N//I Never Thought.

Today's blogtember prompt is I Never Thought Blogging Would...

I never thought blogging would become one of my favorite things to do.

I never thought blogging would introduce me to so many amazing people, you ladies know who you are!

I never thought blogging would come with its own set of mean girls.

When I started They Call Her Meghan, I never thought blogging would be so expensive.

I never thought blogging would give me another family that I never thought I needed.

What is something you never thought about blogging?

N I N E//Throwback Halloween!

#TBT to one of the best halloween costume get-up ever! Matt is a baby, Ryan is a monster, I'm a boy & Mady is a clown,  Bwahaha.  

What was your favorite costume? 

E I G H T//Dear Future Me. (+Giveaway!)

Dear 32 year old Meghan,

Wow! You have had one heck of a decade since I sat down to write this letter to you.  The summer after you turned 23, you took a road trip with your best friend Jayme to visit Nashville, Tennessee and her family & you fell in love with the city.  Not just the Music Row part of the city, but the back roads and the country side of it as well.   You broke your lease, transferred to a store in Nashville & decided to give your writing a shot.  You wrote whenever you weren't at work, one day, you stopped at the Starbucks on the way to work & being your klutzy self, you (accidentally) spilled your iced mocha all over the guy behind you, and instead of getting mad, he asked you out, you being you blushed a shade of red that would put a tomato to shame and amidst your apologizing agreed to go out with him.  He must have a thing for tomatoes, because this year you'll celebrate five years of marriage.

You and your husband have decided to start trying for a family this summer and you are nervous, but excited at the same time.  It's not just you and your husband at home though.  You have a weimaraner and a chocolate lab along with a cat that your husband promised was just staying with you until he found a suitable home for it.

Your parents are traveling all around the country in their RV and are still as crazy as ever.  Mady finally dumped that deadbeat she was dating when you first wrote this letter, and is happily married and you are Auntie Meggy to her two girls who you spoil rotten.

Your work momma from all those years ago is still one of your closest confidantes and you fly home to see her as often as you can.

& that book you mentioned in the first paragraph before being distracted by that sweet husband of yours? You not only wrote it and published it, but you got to see your name on the best-seller list.

You've met a ton of blog friends along the way, you were in Veronica's wedding, you set Lora up with one of your hubby's friends who had that southern boy charm she had been looking for & through it all, your faith has been the one constant.

See you in ten years!
xo
Meghan.

& the Meghan of today has decided to throw in a little giveaway.  I want to really start working on the business side of my blog, so I am giving away one of my paid ad spots! & if you are impatient, I'm offering ten percent off my ad with the code October!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Q Tuesday Vol 1.

I really liked sharing my answers to the 50 Q's that free your mind, so I thought that every Tuesday, I'd do a little ten question survey that I could share some random things about me :) 


1. What are you wearing? Gray tank top and my favorite old high school sweats.  

2. Ever been in love? not yet, but I'm praying it'll happen someday! 

3. Ever had a terrible breakup? I have never had a break up.  

4. How tall are you? Most women lie about their weight on their license, I lied about my height.  I'm 4 feet 11 and 3 quarter inches.  & yes that 3/4 counts! I put 5 foot even on my ID. #shh

5. How much do you weigh? 110 give or take.  

6. Any tattoos? not yet.  
7. Any piercings? I've had my ears pierced for 12 years give or take and my ears are way too sensitive for me to wear anything in them.  

8. OTP? (one true pair, favorite fictional couple) Michael and Claudia Joy Holden.  & Deacon Claybourne and Rayna Jaymes.  Last one? Matt Casey & Gabriela Dawson.  

9. Favorite Show? Army Wives, Nashville, Grey's, Chicago Fire and The Voice.  

10. Favorite bands? Kutless, Rascal Flatts, Sidewalk Prophets, Montgomery Gentry.  

S E V E N//Best Vacation.

I have quite a few "best vacation" memories, I thought I'd share a few today, since Helene and Tay are telling me to :)

In July of 2005, I flew for the first time when my Dad & Lynn took us down to Florida for a summer vacation.  I got to see a night race at Daytona, one of the last Pepsi 400s.


In March of 2011, I flew for the first time by myself to visit my grandparents down in Arizona, I loved hanging out by the pool and reading, the Texas Hold 'Em tourney that I beat my Grandpa at, catching up with my Grandma and ATVing with my grandpa with a chocolate malt stop at McDonald's.

In June of 2013, my mom's family & my aunt's family took a week-long vacation up to the UP in Michigan and that week include some of my favorite memories.   We went up to Mackinac Island for a day & just did a bunch of other really fun things throughout the week.

In August of 2013 I went to Iowa with my mom and stepdad for the second time to see the Knoxville Nationals and got to meet my best friend Jayme for the first time :) We met on a journaling site that is no longer alive.

S I X// Blogging Hindsight.

Ten Five Things I'd Tell Myself If I Were Starting This Blogging Journey knowing what I know now:

1) Research! I would do a lot more research into the more behind-the-scene things that having a blog entails.  In my defense, I think lifestyle blogging was kind of just starting to take off when I entered the blogging world when I started back as a high school senior back in late 2009/early 2010.

2)Invest.  I would invest in a eye-catching, but not an eye-sore of a design.  Meaning that I'd want something people would remember, but it would still look clean, professional and sophisticated.

3)Consistency.  It's only been within the last few months, but I'm finally starting to feel like I'm writing consistently and quality posts.

4)Comparison.  I think this is one of the biggest things I had to learn my first three or four years blogging.  Comparing myself to other bloggers in my same blogging niche if you will & I'm still trying to figure out if I fall into any set blogging group, lifestyle blog, if anything :)

5)Be Myself.  I think this is the one that I'm the best at.  I have grown up a lot since I first started this blog and I make no apologies for being who I am anymore.  Like I said in my vlog, don't change for the blog world, make the blog world change for you.

What is something you'd tell your beginner blogging self?

F I V E//Bucket List Check. (& Sunday Social)

So for today's Blogtober challenge, it's to create a Fall Bucket list.  I did that a couple of weeks ago, here.

Let's just say the only thing I've accomplished on that list is getting Garth Brooks tickets.  YES YES YES, I am going to see my favorite country singer ever on November 14th and to say I'm pumped and excited would be a complete understatement.

& since there are only two weeks left of Sunday Social, I thought I'd link up with Ashley & Neely as well today!

1. What is your favorite month and why?Right now, I'm loving October just because it's cooling down in Minnesota and it's not too terribly cold (usually). 

2. What is your favorite holiday and why?I love Christmas, just because of all of the traditions we have with it.  

3. Are you getting the new iPhone, or are you more of an Android person?I can't wait to get the new iPhone, but I have to wait a while :( 

4. What is the most thoughtful gift you’ve ever received from someone?
My key necklace that my Grandma got me one year for Christmas, I still wear it 24/7.  

5. What is something you can’t wait to splurge on?
Brantley Gilbert tickets! 

F O U R// Five Favorite Instagrams

I'm known as one who can't chose just one favorite of anything.  So I picked five of my favorite ones.

These are the five oldest favorites I could find.  I'm sure I could have found a lot more if I kept looking at newer ones.

One//Mady was teaching me how a baby is made.  We've had our ups and downs, but my sister is one of my best friends!

Two//This one time I tweeted Brian McNamara and he tweeted me back, not once, TWICE!

Three// Mellow Yellow as a baby, that's what I used to call Chloe when she was a puppy.

Four//This was at my grandma's birthday party three years ago I believe.  Because she's so awesome she had a pinata.  & that man behind her? He's probably the strongest, most inspiring, hardest fighter I know.  There have been numerous times over the last few years that doctors have told have him or my grandma, they were amazed and surprised that he was still around.  It's so humbling and scary all at the same time.  One of his doctors this week said the same thing that after what he went through in May and the subsequent months, he shouldn't be alive.  My grandma told me this yesterday & I about lost it.

Five// Cooper was laying on my parents' bed all depressed because Chloe was being mean to him.

T H R E E// Can't Live Withouts

Obviously, I can't live without air and the like, but here are a few things that I would sorely miss if they weren't in my life.

Cooper, Leader & Chloe// My three fur-babies who I love way more then is probably normal.

Books// I don't know what I'd do without the ability to read.

Music// Especially country.  I listen to it almost constantly.

Coffee// Because without it, I'm not someone you want to be around before 10 am.  

Technology// Whether it be my phone or my computer.  I would be up in a crick without it.  

T W O // Dream Job.

Day two of the #blogtember14 challenge.  What is your dream job?

My number one dream job would be to have a best-selling book.  I love to write, it's one of my passions in life and I love creating new characters and helping them get their stories out.  I love when I share my work with my friends(which I don't do very often!) and they tell me how much they loved it or how it made them feel.

I also think it would be really cool to do some sort of behind the scenes job in Nashville, in the country music business.  I love country music, but my voice is not one that is made for singing.  I would love to be a manager or a part of somebody's tour.

When I was younger I was convinced I was going to be Shania Twain, but I'm still waiting on that one, ha!

What is a dream job you have?

Link up with Helene & Taylor and let us know!

O N E // Lottery Winner

I'm coming in just under the whistle.  I was going to post before work today, but had a little bit of a health scare with my shunt, so I didn't alas, here I am.

If I were to win the lottery, I would pay off all of my debts, buy some land out in the country and I would absolutely love to have a dog rescue, my dogs are my babies and I would love to help people find their puppy love as well!

What would you spend your lotto winnings on?