November Wrap-Up.

I know you've read it probably a hundred times, but holy cow! How is it already the last day of November?

November was a pretty good month for me, nothing too overly exciting happened, but nothing overly bad happened either, so I consider that a win!

I had three pretty straight forward goals for November & I did semi-okay on them.

Read 3 books//I actually read FOUR! Woo! Hard Beat, Need to Love You, Ignite & Katie in Waiting. Four very different books but four very good books.

Survive Black Friday//As I am writing this post, I obviously survived Black Friday, which is actually Thanksgiving now, but I digress. Black Friday is hectic and crazy on it's own, but add in being sick, PMSing and Black Friday? Let's just say I'm glad to be on the other side of it.  My team is so-so, I'm really trying to mend fences amongst all of us that have been frayed for a while and a few that have started to fray because of my attitude the last week. #keepingitreal #lovemyteam. I'm going to give myself a pass on this one as well.

Complete NaNoWriMo//Yeah, no. But I've made a lot of progress and I'm excited to see where this story takes me. I will complete this book!

How was your November?

I'm Thankful For...

I had all intentions of posting this yesterday, but I had absolutely no extra energy other than to do what was absolutely necessary aka working 11 to 8 and then coming home and going to bed.  I'm feeling about 95% so I still wanted to post just a sampling of what I'm thankful for this week and every week of the year!

I'm thankful for my family. I have a big complicated, crazy, loud, energetic family, but it's mine & I absolutely love the people that make it up.

I'm thankful for my friends. I have a group of really great people that I consider my best friends, whether it be Jayme, my Lynn-Mom, Mads or Karen. I'm blessed.

I'm thankful for my job. I've been there almost 5.5 years and I've got a great group of coworkers.

I'm thankful for my dogs. They drive me nuts, but they are two of the sweetest animals I've ever had & I love the way they love me.

I'm grateful for words. Whether I'm writing them or reading them or listening to them. I love writing, reading and music.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

What's Up November?

Linking up with Shay and company for What's Up Wednesday! 

1. What I'm eating this week...
Since both my Dad & I have to work, we aren't really doing anything too big for Thanksgiving, but it gets me even more excited for Christmas because my grandparents will be home and I'll be eating all the things then!

2. What I'm reminiscing About...
Past Black Fridays and how it's changed over the 5 years I've worked it.  I'm pretty sure the first year I was with my job was the last year it was overnight sales, now we are down to one 6pm sale, which I can totally handle better, especially since I only have to work til 8 tomorrow :D

3. What I'm loving...

My life at the moment is pretty swell, so I'm going to go with the easy answer and say I'm loving my life and pretty much everything in it at the moment :) 

4. What I've been up to...
Nothing too out of the ordinary, trying to work on my novel, which will not be finished by the time November ends, maybe next year I'll succeed.

5. What I'm dreading...
Post Black Friday returns. 

6. What I'm working on...
Like I mentioned above, my novel as well as trying not to be so complain-y about work. I'm so grateful to have a job that I love 99.9% of the time, but goodness you wouldn't know that if you heard how I talk about it sometimes. OY! 

7. What I'm excited about...

My two favorite people come home in less than two weeks, my grandparents are flying home earlier than they have in the last few years so that makes me happy happy happy.  They'll be home through Christmas. 

8. What I'm watching/reading...
I caught up on Nashville last night, it's still one of my favorites! 

& I haven't read a book in like two weeks again. #headdesk

9. What I'm listening to...
My novel playlist

10. What I'm wearing...

All of the layers because it's getting cold here in Minnesota! 

11. What I'm doing this weekend...

Working all weekend. Hopefully going to squeeze in one of Lynn-Mom's hockey games, but that's up in the air! 

12. What I'm looking forward to next month...

Like I said above, my grandparents are coming home on the 8th! 

13. What else is new...
Nothing much. 

14. Our bonus question this month: What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

Christmas morning always has a special place in my heart. We start the day at one of the three houses-my parents, my aunt and uncle's or my grandparents, where we read the Christmas story & then have breakfast/brunch and then we open gifts as families and then come back later in the day and do family presents together as one big unit! 

Brain Out of Order.

Since my brain seems to be out of commission in the thinking department today, you guys get a little about me, aren't you lucky?!

1. Are you named after someone?

Nope. I'm the only one of my brothers and sisters that has a completely original name. Which obviously means I'm the favorite. 

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday. 

3. Do you have kids?

Just these two...

Babies. #Meghandoes2015

A photo posted by Meghan Brown (@meghanannablogs) on Nov 18, 2015 at 8:25pm PST

4. If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

I'd like to think so.  

5. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

I don't even consider it a guilty pleasure anymore, but Days of Our Lives and especially Bo & Hope.

6. Do you like handwriting?

I really do. I also get a lot of compliments on it, so other people must as well :) 

7. What is your favorite cereal?

Honestly depends on the day. 

8. What is the first thing you notice about people?

How they treat the people they are with & around. 

9. What color are your eyes?

They are more brown than anything. Although they sometimes lean more towards hazel.  

10. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings for sure

11. Favorite TV show?

All time favorite is Army Wives. Blue Bloods is pretty high up there too now.  

12. Summer or winter?

Usually summer. 

13. Hugs or kisses?

I'm a hugger. 

14. What’s the furthest you’ve been from home?

I think Seattle or New Hampshire is the farthest I've been. 

15. Do you have special talents?

I like to think I'm a pretty okay writer. I also can sing the alphabet backwards and my middle fingers are both double jointed. 

16. Where were you born.

Twin Cities! 

17. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing, blogging, etc. 

18. Do you have any pets?

See above for my babies. Haha.  

19. Favorite movie?

Twister & 8 Seconds. 

20. What did you want to be when you grow up?

I wanted to be a teacher, a vet tech, a nurse, etc, etc. 

the power of missing.

dear karen,

I still think it's crazy at times how we are so close, that we've been friends for over five years, that we have this amazing trust between us, this bond that has been more like mother and daughter instead of at first, supervisor and associate and now co-workers.

I remember when Bee called me to tell me you had had a stroke, once I knew you were okay and at the hospital, my biggest concern was "would she remember our friendship, the bond we have?", but that was put to rest as soon as our chat bubble popped up with "I sure do miss you squeezebox." When you used the nickname that you gave me, that only you called me, it put my heart at ease.

You tried coming back once or twice way too soon, but that's because your stubborn and don''t know the word can't, one of my favorite things about you, but it also drives me insane at times because I don't want you overdoing things ha! You went out on a LOA, and I seriously think that's when our bond became even tighter, we were talking every night, me just keeping you up to date & you encouraging me that I could do whatever I set my mind to & that you would be back soon. Some nights it was two sentences between us, other nights it would be a long conversation. It was to the point that my night didn't feel right if we didn't talk.

You came back in early 2014 & to say I was happy to have you back was an understatement. You had to take a few days when your fil passed away and I remember saying, "how did I go four months without having you at work and be fine, but now you're gone four days and I'm grouchy because I want my friend back."

When you stepped down to work with me at the service desk, I knew we would have fun and we definitely have.  Our coworkers know that you don't try to pit us against each other, because it just does not work & they can usually tell when we haven't worked together in a while because I get moody & usually am better if I know I get to work with my partner in crime & sidekick.

It's amazing, our friendship and the affect it has on how much better I am at my job and being a people person when you're around.

xo.
squeezebox.

p.s. sorry if this didn't make any sense, I kind of wrote it stream of consciousness.

p.p.s linking up with amber for her letter series...this month's topic was the power of missing.

30 Before 30 update 2015.

Almost a year ago, I created a 30 before 30 list after realizing that I was closer to 30 than I was to 13, which was a scary thought to me at the time, but I'm at peace with it now, I wouldn't want to be 13 again anyways.

I thought I would update my progress so far & tweak it if need be...

1. Fall In Love.

2. Publish a Book

3. Get a Tattoo

4. Finish a Coloring Book.

5. Adopt a rescue weim

6. Get my Goodreads to 1500// As of November 18, 2015, I am at 596 total books and 303 books read.

7. Ride a Mechanical Bull.

8. Go to Nashville

9. Go skydiving.

10. No soda for a month. 

11. Become a Partner in Hope

12. Complete NaNoWriMo..This one is in progress as of 11/18/15, but I'm not sure if I'll complete this one this year or not.  

13. Have 1500 posts on They Call Her Meghan//In the early part of 2015 I rebranded to Meghan Anna and currently I have 559 posts. 

14. Go on a cruise// This will be one I change..I'm going to change this one to visit a new state. 

15. Have a no-spend month.

16. Get my braces off   This happened in October 2015, after 4 years and 16 days, I absolutely love my new smile! 

17. Read the Bible cover-to-cover. 

18. Put $5000 into savings

19. Treat myself something expensive I bought myself an Ipad in December 2014, it's mostly used as my main e-reader, but I also use it for other things as well. 

20. Be able to plank for ten minutes straight. 

21. Go to ten new concerts. In June I saw Phil Vassar for the first time, as well as Florida Georgia Line & Chris Young. I also saw Ed Sheeran in September. So almost halfway done with this one! 

22. Start & keep a journal//This is one I'd like to start ASAP. 

23. Move someplace new.

24. Go to Vegas.

25. Go see the National Finals Rodeo

26. Watch AFI's 100 years....100 movies//Changing this one to do something to help my writing career i.e. go to a writing retreat or take a class. 

27. Write 50 handwritten letters.

28. Make 50 vlogs. One
Two
Three
Four


29. Write my will//This isn't morbid much is it?

30. Go 24 hours Media free.

Question Me.

I haven't done one of these in quite a while, so I thought I'd share one today, thanks to Meghan for the prompts!

1. What is your middle name?
   Anna.
2. What was your favorite subject in high school?
   I loved being a yearbook aide in my junior & senior year of high school.
3. What is your favorite drink?
   Coffee. Dew is second.
4. What is your favorite song at the moment?
   The one I’m listening to right now, Feet by Rodney Atkins. All time favorite is a three way tie between Austin, That’s Why God Made Me & What Faith Can Do.
5. What is your favorite food?
   Chicken and Dumplings.
6. What is the last thing you bought?
   I picked up two rolls and swiss cheese for Karen to make our lunches for today but I didn’t technically pay for them. Last thing I actually paid for? My drink at Starbucks last night.
7. Favorite book of all time?
   Ryan White’s autobiography.
8. Favorite Color?
   I really don’t have one.
9. Do you have any pets?
   Three dogs, Cooper, Chloe and Leader.
10. Favorite perfume?
    I don’t really wear any.
11. Favorite holiday?
    Thanksgiving.
12. Are you married?
    Nope.
13. Have you ever been out of the country?
    No.
14. Do you speak any other languages?
    Other than sarcasm? No.
15. How many siblings do you have?
    Nik, Rebekka, Mady, Matt, Zak, Ryan and Olivia. The first three are steps, Matt is full & the last three are halves. I’m closest with Mady & Ryan.
16. What is your favorite shop?
    Amazon.com
17. Favorite restaurant?
    Maidrite.
18. When was the last time you cried?
    Last Monday at work. Work momma was able to calm me down pretty quickly though.
19. Favorite movie?
    Twister, 8 Seconds, Baby Mama & the Proposal.
20. Favorite TV show?
    Army Wives is my all time favorite.
21. PC or Mac?
    PC
22. What phone do you have?
    Galaxy S5
23. How tall are you?
    5 foot nothing. Which I am usually rounding up from 4 11 and 3/4.
24. Can you cook?
    Not if you want it to be edible 95% of the time.

9 Things Every Woman Over 22 Should Own-My Take.

Country Outfitter recently posted an article titled 9 things every woman over 22 should own, & I'm almost 24, so I thought I would see how I measure up here...

1//A framed picture of my Grandma

I have a picture of some of her granddaughters with her on my photo wall, does that count?

2//A tool of some sort

Yep! I have a mini toolbox that my Grandpa gave me. It's got a hammer, pliers and wrench.

3//An iron

That's what the dryer is for!

4//A cast-iron skillet

ha. Ha. HA!

5//A shirt of your dad's. 

I have an old Jeff Gordon shirt of my stepdad's and I used to have a sweatshirt of my dad's from when he was in the academy, but I think my brother "borrowed" it from me and never gave it back.

6//Art from your Mom

Neither my mom or Lynn-Mom is artistic, but I do have words they have written me that I have saved.

7//Flashlight

Yes, I have one my Dad gave me, just don't ask me where it is at the moment.

8//One great party trick

I can sing the ABCs backwards. Even when I'm tipsy, I came to find out when I did it when I had dinner with a group of friends a few weeks ago.

9//An ice chest

Nope.

So how do you measure up?

My Last Name(Thoughtful Thursday.)

Today is my Daddy's 51st birthday, & I can't say enough about the man he is. He's a man that follows God, a husband that chooses each day to love his wife, a father that loves us kids unconditionally & wants us to become the best versions of ourselves.

I didn't get him anything spectacular for his birthday, I'm going to give him something that I wrote for his birthday called My Last Name, sharing with him how blessed I am to be his daughter and how much I love him. We're going out to Olive Garden for his birthday tonight and it's the first time all six of us have been together in way too long.

I wanted to share just a few things I've learned from my dad:

working hard, but working hard so we can also play hard.

Being protective of my family unit.

Standing every time the red,white and blue is presented.

Supporting and standing very proudly on the thin blue line.

Doing what is right, even if it's not popular.

Authentic Audaciousness.

I'm not sure what the rest of 2015 will hold, but I am sure that I have decided on my motto for the rest of the year & 2016.  It will be Authentic Audaciousness. 

As bloggers, we all throw around the term authentic & how we want it to describe not only our blogs, but our lives that we share on said blogs.  My pastor said something in one of his messages awhile back about the word authentic & it totally stuck with me: when millennials were asked what one thing they strive to be, the number one answer was authentic & I nodded my head along like a bobble-head dog.  Until he finished the thought with the fact that my parents and grandparents generations answer was the same thing. Oh. Well then.

I strive each day to be authentic on this blog, sharing what I truly feel is the truest and most real version of myself & the events that occur in my life.

So we've got the first part of my motto down, now what about audaciousness?

Audacious is another word that I had heard before in passing, but then at another church that I visit every so often, the pastor was talking about loving Jesus audaciously. & being audacious in sharing that love with others & I've always absolutely loved that word and the meaning behind it.

Put them together and you'll have authentic audaciousness...what does that look like for me & what I want the remainder of my 2015 and my 2016 to be? I want to be real and bold, real and brave, I want to do more than just exist, I want to leave my mark on the world in a big way in the next 14 months.  I believe I can. I believe Jesus will show up radically in my life over this period.  I'm so excited to see where I am at this time next year!

I can't close this post without acknowledging Veteran's Day, make sure you thank a vet today! It's also my cousin Sarah's sweet 16, which is so hard to believe! 

Show Us Your Books.

So let's be honest here, I've been in a reading slump for the last part of summer and the better part of fall so far, but I *did* read two books in the last week, so as Jayme told me yesterday, I'M BAAAAAACK with my reading haha.

The two books I've read have been really good!

Hard Beat//A+

I had been counting down the days until Hard Beat by one of my favorite authors, Kristy Bromberg released. There had been a lot of buildup in the facebook group of her friends(because we are so much more than her fans haha!), and she definitely did not disappoint.  If there were two words to describe this book they'd be roller coaster. I thought I was getting Molly McAdams'd a time or two(Taking Chances anyone?), but Kristy redeemed herself & the roller coaster was on it's way back up.  I loved getting to read the book from Tanner's POV. Beaux was a pretty awesome female lead as well. I loved that she wasn't afraid to tell Tanner no, but that she was also putty in his hands when the time was right.

Need to Love You//A-

This series was one I discovered completely by accident, the first in the series was free so I snatched it up and I fell head over heels in love with the Cahill family. Mason & Hailey's story is most definitely my favorite, not sure why but it just is.  The end to this series was really good, it was so nice to see the vulnerable side of the Cahills and to learn more about Jackson and Chloe. The one thing that did drive me crazy about the book was that there were a number of grammatical and editing errors which I haven't noticed in the rest of the books by Megan Smith, so I'm not sure what happened there, otherwise, I really liked this book!

Grateful Heart//"Internet Friends"

I've been a part of some sort of community online ever since I was 14 and joined OpenDiary for the first time.

I always made sure to be protective of what I shared & who I told what to about myself, my family & my personal life. Even at the young age of 14, my parents had nailed it into my head about all the "bad people" of the internet and how they aren't always what they seem. #policedaughterprobs

Anyways, I was 14 when I met the first of many online friends. V and I were and are different in every aspect, but we did and still do connect for some reason.  I was just a young teen when I first "noted" her on OD & we talked a little here and there for the next couple years. Fast forward to my junior and senior years of high school. I had a couple study halls each semester junior and senior year because of a stupid decision I made after my sophomore year of high school(don't hide your failing grades from your parents--hindsight is a B!), anyways, we would note back and forth and text all day almost every day except for those days that my mouth would get me in trouble and my mom would take my phone away.  We have both grown in our own lives and in our friendship, we don't necessarily talk each and every day like we used to, but I know that we still have that open and wonderful friendship. We have that type of friendship that I can be completely honest with her and her with me and we just have this mad respect for each other. We have yet to meet, but I'm hoping it happens soon. She will always be the Maverick to my Goose & the Wanda to my Maryann.

I look so young in this picture..I was a young 21 in it. 

& I've mentioned Jayme time and time again, I'm pretty sure this girl is like my long lost twin, because we have so much in common, yet we have so much that differs too. She's my bestest, the one that I can count on day or night. Who challenges me & makes me a better person. I honestly can't imagine my life without her. She's my person but better & I can't wait to see her transition into her new role as mommy in February. We've got the no judgment, oh my gosh you too?, wish we lived closer because we would be inseparable type of best friendship that I would be lost without.  It also helps that her husband is really BA too. Whenever I go down to visit we can all hang out together and just have the most awesome time.

linking up with Emily for Grateful Heart!

Friday!

It's Friday! Which quite honestly means absolutely nothing to me since I'm on day 3 of 6 work days in a row, so I guess today is kind of hump day part one for me? I digress.

This week was pretty good to me though, so I thought I'd share a Friday Five/Friday Favorites kind of thing this week!

ONE// I am absolutely LOVING the fabulous impractical dreamers group I'm part of on Facebook. SO open & loving, caring & beautiful. I yearned for these types of relationships in high school & to have them now is such a huge blessing!

TWO//My NaNo novel is really taking shape. I'm loving my characters & figuring out what their backgrounds and quirks are.  If you want to check out my playlist for the month, that's right here!

THREE//I was one of the many that watched the CMAs on Wednesday & I was also one of the many that didn't seem to know who Chris Stapleton was.  Everybody keeps talking about the JT/Chris Stapleton performance, but me? I'm all about the Reba & Brooks & Dunn performance. Give me Kenny, Keith, Alan and some Patsy Cline. #90scountryforthewin

FOUR//A little known fact about me? I'm a huge NASCAR fan. I love watching racing & I have since I was a young teen. My favorite driver? None other than Jeff Gordon, who won possibly but hopefully not his last race. It was at Martinsville & because he won he can compete for the championship, his last, in a couple weeks at Homestead.  It was an emotional win & I kept my emotions in check until his daughter jumped into his arms and then the tears came. I'm so happy for him!

I had a donut yesterday morning for #nationaldonutday but last night I was all about the Ben & Jerry's. #meghandoes2015 #syblbloggers

A photo posted by Meghan Brown (@meghanannablogs) on Nov 6, 2015 at 5:47am PST

FIVE//Have truer words been spoken? I think not!


ICYMI on Meghan Anna//
Goals
It's Okay
Hello, Goodbye.
Nano Playlist

linking up with: Andrea, Narci & Erika for Friday Favorites//Karli & Amy for Oh Hey Friday! 

NaNoWriMo 2015 playlist.

I've mentioned a time or 12 that I'm writing a novel in NaNoWriMo ths year and I function better and my creative juices flow better with music in my ears, here are some of the songs that I'm listening to for my book!

Goodbye Hello.

I have seen various posts like this floating around the blogging community, but I've never done it, so I thought I would join in on the fun!

Goodbye rain, hello snow more than likely.

Goodbye halloween, hello Thanksgiving.

Goodbye pumpkin spice, hello peppermint mocha.

Goodbye fall, hello winter.

Goodbye time, hello NaNoWriMo.

Goodbye October, Hello November.

It's Okay...

I haven't linked up with Amber for awhile, so I thought I'd do that today, so what's okay with me today?

-It's Okay to eat more like a frat boy sometimes then a self-respecting 23 year old woman.

-It's okay to be insanely excited about one of your favorite author's new books.

-It's Okay to get sucked back into Days once again. Dang it, Bo Brady gets me everytime.

-it's totally okay to be soaking up the nice above average weather we've been having lately.

What's something that's okay with you?

November Goals.

Someone please explain how it's already NOVEMBER?!

Where has the year gone? I haven't shared or honestly consciously made monthly goals here in way too long, so I decided to do that today. I'm keeping them short and to the point because one of them is a pretty big undertaking, so without further ado...

-Read 3 books, I'm doing the Winter Challenge and I want to get off to a good start!

-Survive Black Friday, Black Friday is the unofficial start to the retail Christmas crazy season. If I can get through that relatively sane and with my team not wanting to kill each other, I will consider it a wild success and it will help lead us into Christmas and then January which our craziest return month in my opinion.

-Complete NaNoWriMo..this is the big undertaking, I'm going to start a book I've had in my head for over 5 years and run with it.  Here's to hoping this is the year it gets done!

Anyone else doing NaNo? Let me know if you want to sprint!