You Ever Seen That Tattoo Dance?

I first heard this song when I was probably a freshman in college, and I really love it, it's so underrated!

    

Meghan Moments.

What's a Meghan Moment you ask? It's those kinds of things that happen to only me it seems.  & they seem to only happen at work. Let's face it, the place is hazardous to my health, or I'm just an uncoordinated, klutzy mess :P

The latest one was when I was trying to tidy up my work space and someone left a return tote in the middle of my returns area & I completely tripped & faceplanted over it.  Yeah, I'm blaming that one on my brother, because he came to visit me and I was talking to him & got distracted.

Then a few months back in a span of probably a month and a half the three following things happened,

-I almost knocked myself out with the bagging carousel, because I was bending down to scan something on the bottom of the cart.

-Punched myself in the face when trying to close my locker.

-Poked myself in the eye under my glasses with my nametag.

& I wonder why my boss threatens to bubblewrap me ;)

happy list. [1]

I've done one or two of these before, but Chelsea posts hers pretty regularly & I would like to do it more than once in a blue moon as well.  A happy list is pretty self-explanatory, a list of things in life that are making you happy in life at the moment!

-These two, who make trying to get a nice picture impossible.  Chloe is my golden down in the corner and I'm holding Coop's face.

-Burger night at Applebee's with the family. 

-Good conversations with my people about various things this week.

-Lunch conversations with Karen. 

-Brownies in a mug. 

-When you get a compliment on your work from a customer. 

-Two days off in a row. 

A Letter.

To my best friend,

Hard to believe our friendship is almost the age of a kindergartner.  I had no idea when we first started talking on OD that'd I consider you my person, like another sister, one of my best friends. Yes, I do have other best friends, but you, you're the one that I can tell absolutely anything to you & I know I won't be judged. You've had my (hairy, in need of a good shaving at times) back #insidejoke since the first time we talked & you've been my favorite flower since then as well & I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.

You've held my hand through my lowest points, laughed with me at my stupid decisions and not cast judgment, but just said oh hey me too, when I tell you some of the embarrassing things about myself.

You were with me when I first got drunk (yes those doors were really heavy!), you are the first person other than family that I visited by myself out of state & my first online friend I met in real life.

I hope you know that I'm always gonna be here for you & I love you, because you're my ride or die bae(yep totally using those sarcastically!), the Cristina to my Meredith, the Claudia Joy to my Denise, the Olivia Pope to my Abby, basically you're my person and my life would suck without you!

#bestestfotherestest
♥ Meghan.

p.s. linking up with amber for the letter link-up.

Weekend Update.

It's Monday Morning, my day off & I'm up before 7.  Something about this is not okay. The only okay thing is it's my day off. I should still be sleeping, but alas, my body said it was done sleeping so here I am.

I had a pretty good weekend, after working 8 days straight, my boss is like heyyyy, time for a day off for you, so I had Friday off & I made good use of it, let me tell you.

I had lunch with the work mom per usual, but didn't actually eat anything 'cause I wasn't hungry in the least bit, but hadn't seen her since Monday & that's a long time in our world not to talk haha.

Then I texted Lynn-Mom right around the same time Mady texted me & my plans for the day were set in motion.  Mady and I had lunch with the parentals at Panera & then started our girls day together.  We had to go get her a new windshield wiper because one of hers was broken, then went and dropped her boyfriend off at work for the day and then it was time for sister time, which we don't have often enough if you ask me.

Our first stop was the nail place to get our nails done.  I got a darker red that's really pretty & "me" and she got a pink that looked really good as well, blogger fail and didn't get any pictures of that.

We had to run to her house to grab her gym clothes, and charge our phones, but first let me take a selfie!

She then made me go to the gym with her & we killed it, until I almost died because girlfriend doesn't know how to gym without dying.  #realtalk

Because did you really even go to the gym if you don't have a picture to prove it? 

We hit up the grocery store for dinner essentials meaning we bought bagels, cream cheese and some fruit for a smoothie.  At least it was healthy, yes?

We then cuddled up on the couch & Mady got me all involved in a movie called Gimme Shelter and it was a little weird, but really good. 

After that was over, so was our sisters only day because we picked up Gage & headed to see Cinderella, except Mady changed her mind at the last minute so we saw Insurgent in 3D and it was really good, especially considering it was a movie I wasn't planning on seeing. 

My parents were out of town for the weekend, so I headed home to tend to our "farm." We have two ducks, two dogs, a rabbit and a fish.  & Cooper had special instructions because he's having mouth issues after an accident with my brother.  I got to cuddle with him & that always makes me happy. 

Saturday and Sunday were spent working and now I have Monday and Tuesday off before 5 straight days of 2 to 11. I plan on catching up on blog reading and writing as well as starting a book or two! 

Have a great Monday! 

linking up with emily, because I'm always grateful for Sister days and puppy cuddles

linking up with meg, because it's monday!

A to Z.

I stole this from Elena, because my writer's block is HORRIBLE right now! 

A.      Attached or Single…

Single

B.      Best Friend…

Jayme, Mady, Lora & Lynn-Mom. 

C.      Cake or Pie…

Cheesecake, please & thank you :) 

D.      Day of Choice…

I love Sundays! 

E.       Essential Item…

Earbuds! 

F.       Favorite Color…

I don't really have a favorite color, but I was creeping on my sister the other day & I found this gem of a conversation we had...

So maybe it wasn't a conversation persay, it was Mady ignoring me.  

G.     Gummy bears or worms… 

Both. Duh. 

H.      Home town…

Elk River, Minnesota. 

I.        Favorite Indulgence… 

Nutty bars and Mountain Dew. 

J.        January or July… 

July for suuuure. 

K.      Kids… 

They're nice?

L.       Life isn't complete without… 

my people in it. 

M.    Memory you Cherish… 
Summers up North, whether it be at Pine Lake or visiting my grandparents. 

N.     Number of brothers/sisters…

one brother, two half-brothers, a stepbrother, two stepsisters, a half-sister & a partridge in a pear tree. 

O.     Oranges or Apples…  

Mm. Apples. 

P.      Pet Peeves…  

Playing stupid. 

Q.     Quotes… 

I love quotes, one of my favorites is sassy, classy & a little bit smart-assy. 

R.      Reasons to smile… 

Inside jokes, hugs, family & friends. 

S.       Season of Choice… 

If I had to choose just one it'd be fall. 

T.       Tea or Coffee… 

Coffee. 

U.     Unknown fact about me… 

I can sing the alphabet faster backwards than forwards. 

V.      Vegetable… 

Steamed carrots. 

W.    Worst Habit… 

I worry a lot. I'm trying to get better about that.  

X.      X-Ray or Ultrasound… 

I've never had an ultrasound, so I'd have to say x-ray I guess? 

Y.       Your favorite trip… 

Hmm. Probably the first year I went to AZ :) 

Z.       Zodiac Sign… 

Aries. 

Right Where I'm Supposed to Be.

When I have two different people from two different parts of my life share basically the same message or thought with me in less than a 48-hour period, I would be foolish not to stop & think & say all right God, you have this, I'm listening.

What is the "this"? That God has exactly where he wants me.  My Lynn-Mom & I had this discussion last week after she drove me back to my apartment after I spent the night at home, we had a really good ongoing conversation about church and God and Heaven and it was one of those conversations that has me thinking and praying over it almost a week later.  Anyways, it started after we were talking about a series our pastor had just wrapped & how he had said something that stuck out to Lynn-Mom about how he could not see himself doing anything else but being a pastor, just like my Dad can't see himself doing anything but law enforcement, my sister Mady is the same way, she is made to be a nurse, she has the heart & she has a way of making people feel cared about.  I was about to say I wish I had that something and Lynn being Lynn, said "& I think that your something is writing, and I think you just need to figure out how to share it." I said I agree, & I also think that I may not be where society thinks I should be, I may not be where some parts of my family thinks I should be, but I am where God knows He wants me. & while I am a part of society & care what my family thinks to a point, as long as I'm trying as hard as I can (but still failing sometimes multiple times daily) to follow and walk the path God has for my life, then I'm a-okay.

One of my fellow fireworks Tawni put this quite well in a recent blog post as well & I'm so grateful for these reminders that when I start to doubt myself & what I'm doing and where my life is at, because these last few weeks have been a trying time for me, I've been struggling with this very thing & God just knows when I've hit my limit & need a little push to say hey Meghan, it's me, GOD remember? I've got this.

*linking up with Emily for Grateful Monday & Meg for Mingle Monday. 

The Golden Vlog

Linking up with Life w/ Mrs. G & the Artist! 

#MeghanDoes2015 Week 9.

Two #MeghanDoes2015 posts this week because for whatever reason I didn't post last week's, which you can find here!

057.365 Finally got to meet this beautiful girl last week & I have to say she is as sweet in person as she is on her blog! Love you Kenzie! 

058.365 This came up on my timehop this week.  Love my babies! 

059.365 Happy Birthday Heather! 

060.365 I'm quite obsessed with this show.  Not even sorry.  

061.365 I'm absolutely loving my new digs on Meghan Anna! 

062.365 I love this picture of myself from my grad party. I like to think it captures my personality & sass quite well! 

063.365 This picture is also from right around my grad party, we all look like babies! 

Oh Hey Friday!

This was really a good week, so I thought I'd share some favorites & feel-good moments of the week.  

On Saturday, I got to meet one of my favorite blog friends Kenzie when she was in town, come back tomorrow to see pictures from that and the rest of my week! 

I also had the day completely off on Saturday, I had lunch with Karen & then booked it over to Caribou & just immersed myself in me,myself & I time.  It was much needed.  

You've more than likely noticed since I went and changed my name and everything, They Call Her Meghan has got a facelift to Meghan Anna & I've got a new look as well as going through my archives and getting rid of a lot of unnecessary posts! 

Tuesday started what was supposed to be a six-day work stretch, but I ended up getting sick Wednesday off of something they gave me at my ortho appointment, so I curled up in bed & after a little prodding from Jayme, I started Scandal, which hello, new obsession. Also, Fitz & Olivia forever, no spoilers please!

Also, I got some little things fixed around my apartment and that makes me a happy lady, along with signing my lease extension.  Crazy to think I've been here almost a year! 

#MeghanDoes2015 week 8

050.365 Just another edition of a MN selfie. 

051.365 She's the best.  

052.365 Found this going through old cards. It's totally unfair that $20 could buy a nice dinner and wine.  Hmmph. By the way this card is from early 90s. 

053.365 Can't believe it's been three years in two days. I miss her like it was yesterday. 

054.365 When I don't get to see my Lynn-Mom for awhile, I get to the point above. 

055.365 The most comfy and warm hoodie ever. Courtesy of Lynn-Mom. 

056.365 New books all for $1. 

Currently

I'm once again linking up with Anne from In Residence for the Currently link-up! 

dreaming: of the warmer weather that will be in Minnesota mid-next week!

planning: out blog posts, I'm loving this blogging gig! 

making: my Girl Scout cookies disappear. #sorrynotsorry

baking: haha. giggle giggle snort. 

watching: Jayme told me I should watch Scandal. BEST! DECISION! EVER! 

Grateful Heart.

So I know I've mentioned my work mom on here before, but for this week's grateful heart, I thought I would share how we became so close & why she means so much to me, so enjoy!

I started work at Walmart in July of 2010. The day I did my cashier simulation, a lady came up to me and said Hi, I’m Karen and I’ll be your favorite CSM. I thought she was sweet and friendly. I was a cashier for just about 7 months when I had a little girl come up to me and call me funny looking and I said thank you and then she came back and said no you’re really funny looking, so I walked around my bagging carousel and said you know what? I’d rather look like me and have manners, than look like you and have none at all. & anybody that’s worked retail can tell you, you don’t mouth off to customers, you let what they say roll off of your back and you just take it. But I didn't for whatever reason that day. I ran up to the podium and it was Karen that I confided in, and what she told me has stuck with me to this day, she told me that she was proud of me, that she loved me, & that if I got any flack from management for it to send them to her & she would deal with them.

The next month, she had me up training at the service desk. She was the first one I told in July of 2011 that I had gotten promoted to said service desk. That’s when we really started getting close.

We were good friends from then on, and somewhere in there, we just got really close and then February 2013 came up and I heard another CSM talking about Karen behind her back, and I was fed up, so I went to Karen and I told her. Karen point blank told the other CSM to stop, this CSM then came to me and got in my face, well inside of my personal bubble and yelled at me. In the middle of the front end. That’s when we started referring to ourselves as mother and daughter. She’s like another mom to me and I’m her third daughter.

We had a few more issues with that CSM through the winter, summer came around and Karen tells me that there is a full time CSM position open in the closest town with a store.
To say that I was scared that we wouldn’t be working together anymore would be a giant understatement. She was back and forth for a good five or six days. I would miss her like crazy if she decided to go, but I couldn’t let my feelings or emotions get in the way, because I knew that this move could be a positive thing and fresh start for her. But on the last day before she had to give them her answer, I asked her if I could have a minute with her, and she agreed. I remember I told her, I am going to try and do this without crying, but no guarantees. I told her, I don’t want you to think that I’m not affected and that I don’t care about what your decision is, because I do, but I don’t want my feelings to dissuade you from doing what you feel is best. This is when I started crying, I said, I will miss you a lot if you decide to go and I love you, but you have to do what is best for you. I gave her a big hug and she told me she loved me. She obviously stayed at our store, and the rest of the summer was pretty good. Karen was out for vacation and then she had shingles in September. We were getting back into our routine of working and having fun and then I get home from running errands on October 9th, and I hop in the shower, once I get out of the shower, I see that I have five missed calls and two text messages from Bee, my work bestie basically saying you need to call me now, it’s important.

So I call her, we say our hellos and then she gets right to the point.
Bee-Meghan are you at home?
Me-Yeah.
Bee-Mom’s or Dad’s?
Me-Dad’s. Why, what’s going on?
Bee-I need you to sit down
(This is where I had that little voice in my head saying KAREN KAREN KAREN!)
Me-Okay, I’m sitting down.
Bee-I need you to promise me that you won’t yell or scream when I tell you this.
Me-I can’t do that when I don’t know what you’re going to tell me Bee.
Bee-Meghan, Karen had a stroke this afternoon at work.
This is when I started hyperventilate a little bit, okay scratch that a lotta bit.
I got as much information as I could from her and this is where I knew that Bee and I were sisters more than best friends, she told me, “Meghan, I just knew I had to call and tell you, I knew I couldn’t let you walk into work tomorrow because I knew you wouldn’t be able to just hold it in, you would lose it.

I remember trying to tell myself that I didn’t have a right to be this shook up, because she wasn’t my mom, but K and J's mom, but I talked it out with some of my work friends and they totally understood. Because I have some of the best coworkers le duh.

Before Karen’s stroke, I knew we had a special relationship, but I don’t think I realized how much our coworkers realized that as well, because one of my closest cashier friends came up to me the next day and was like, are you okay, should you be here? Can you make it through today? I think that was probably the second hardest day of work I’ve ever had. It was so hard knowing that she was supposed to be working, but was in the hospital instead.

She tried to come back two or three times and it was way too soon, but she’s stubborn as all get out, and there was no telling her what we thought. I remember her husband Mark, who tries to be tough, but is just a huge lovable teddy bear, coming in once she finally decided to go on leave and us asking how she was, and him telling us that she had lost about 5%, which really isn’t that much in the grand scheme of things, and him saying that he’d rather have her at 95% then not have her here at all, which is obvious of course, but the way he said it, you could just hear how much he loves his wife, cue the aww from the hopeless romantic aka me.

I honestly think our friendship was strengthened so much that time she was on leave, because we talked almost every day, if not multiple times a day via facebook.

She came back from her medical leave in early February and we were back in business. Her father-in-law passed away in late February and we talked over facebook multiple times when she was down in Illinois. This was right before I moved into my apartment, and she told me that she a quilt she wanted to give me & I thought it was such a sweet gesture, because it was something from her family, and she knew that her father-in-law would have loved me. Cue the aww once again.

Most of March was business as usual as well. She was scheduled to work a 6 to 10 on Friday, March 28th, but decided to pick up the full shift of 1 to 10 instead. I had that gut feeling/intuition that something was wrong on like Wednesday of that week, but didn’t know what was wrong. Anyway, she came in and usually she’ll greet me with Hi, squeezebox! along with a big hug, but she walked in and the first thing out of her mouth was I shouldn’t have picked up the first four hours of this shift. Red flag #1. The second red flag was she was snappy with me anytime I tried to talk to her and very on edge, I was going to corner her and as her to talk to me when I went on break at 4, but around 3:30, when one of the CSMs was supposed to be going home, I notice a few things, 1) the one CSM I do see is running around like a chicken with her head cut off, 2) another one is running across the front-end and 3) Karen was nowhere to be found. I called one of them over and was like what is going on and aren’t you supposed to be off at 3:30? & before she could answer, I felt that intuition again Karen, something’s wrong with her. & I had a myriad of emotions running through me at that moment. I was upset with M and A because Karen had asked them to double count the cash drawer because she couldn’t get it to add up and they brushed her off, but mostly I was scared. I had my first and (Hopefully) only panic attack. I wouldn’t wish that feeling of being so helpless and the feeling of my walls closing in on me on anyone. I was like a shell of myself the rest of the evening, until I finally got some news on how she was doing. She ended up having a TIA or mini-stroke. Worst day of work ever.

In mid-April, Karen’s daughter and I had some words and of course I told Karen. She told me that K was just jealous of our friendship. I told her that she intimidated me and I don’t intimidate easily. K got over it and I even went to her wedding in June, where I caught the bouquet!

We've had our share of drama and gossip about us, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without Karen in my corner. She's my partner in crime & like another momma to me.  

Linking up with Emily & Meg! 

Before I go, you may have noticed that I completely updated my look over the weekend, formerly They Call Her Meghan is now Meghan Anna. 
Bloglovin' should have automatically updated for everyone now, & I transferred my IG & Twitter over to @MeghanAnnaBlogs 
URL is now MeghanAnna,com !

*linking this post up with Shelly for Queen Bees link-up 11/10/15

Happy March!

How is it March already? HOW? I remember the day after Christmas, saying if we can just make it end of February/March, we will have survived another crazy return season.  & we did it, we survived, mostly unscathed.

My goals for February were a big fat fail.  Other than getting my taxes done, Lynn-Mom took care of that for me.  #winning

So for March, my goals are as follows:

Catch up on my Bible Reading Plan// I need to carve out 15 to 20 minutes each morning and evening so I'm spending time in the Word each day.

Read 5 books// I'm failing miserably also at my Goodreads challenge for the year.

No Twitter// This is the "no" for the month for Jayme & I. I did good with January's no, but completely sucked it up with the no facebook.

Find my beta readers// I want a group of people that will help me read through my book as I'm writing it & give me their honest opinions and thoughts on the book.  If you're interested, shoot me an email theycallhermeghan(at)gmail(dot)com

What are some of your goals for the month?

Also can we please give Amanda a huge round of applause on being an amazing designer to help me not only spruce this place up, but help me rebrand? I LOVE IT!

I'm not sure if you'll have to update Bloglovin' or not, but you can click here!