In no particular order, I’m motivated by these things:
• The endless possibilities to continue to learn about the world around me. This is why I find documentaries so interesting
• Books
• Knitting new patterns! I want to try socks & a sweater
• Food (especially if I’m traveling with my family & we’re in a hotel. I will hop in the shower so fast)
• Seeing baby Anja (our long time family friends have a new baby & interacting with her brings me joy. She’s literally the happiest tiny human I know! This might change once she hits 2 years old?!)
• Blue October concerts. Justin Furstenfeld is a cool guy, he’s one of my heroes. He’s a very charismatic lead singer
• Going to visit my fiancé Rory. I’ve always felt like part of his family; they have made me feel comfortable & welcome for a long time
• Meeting up with good friends
• Going to concerts! I’ve seen Metallica, Blue October, Ed Sheeran, Fall Out Boy, & Green Day (to name a few)
• Vacationing in Colorado. ❤️ The mountains hold a special place in my heart
• Seeing Dune in theaters (I’m excited for Dune Messiah, like really excited for it)
If I’m at home and doing something like writing, reading, or knitting, I tend to jump between listening to instrumental scores (like Oppenheimer or Dune) or bands that I know really well (like Blue October).
If I’m at work, I typically will play fun music on my breaks. We don’t have music playing at the Target I work at, which is perfectly fine for me. I’ve usually got one or two snippets from songs stuck in my head anyway.
If I’m showering, I’ll play some songs and try to finish getting all clean. I typically take short showers, but it’s fun to have good music to listen to while getting ready for the day.
I’m trying to get better about adding more fruits and vegetables into my diet. In recent years, especially at work, I’ve picked up some bad habits. I’m still working on not drinking so much pop at work. I no longer drink energy drinks (I never did this in college, so why I started was beyond me). The energy drinks were making me feel more tired and wasn’t helping with all the sugar.
I think it’s funny that we have warning labels on things like cigarettes, vapes, and cigars but not on energy drinks. I just wonder if it would help at all to have a more realistic conversation about the dangers of excessive caffeine and sugar, if we started treating this like we do with more honest cigarette ads.
I’m not perfect by any means. But I am working on eliminating the bad new habits I’ve picked up.
If you could have something named after you, what would it be?
I’d probably want like a library or a charity named after me. I love reading, and I also think helping people in need is important. I also find going to museums and plays fun/calming/exciting.
I really want to get better about writing more. Lately, because of work and anxiety, I don’t feel like I can just jot down my thoughts quite as freely.
It’s silly; I’ve dealt with writer’s block before. I’ve had fears that I’m not going to be able to write as well as I have in years past.
Recently, I wrote a poem for the first time in years. It’s good, not stellar, but I’m still happy I can write poetry.
Just knowing that I can still daydream and imagine other worlds with vibrant characters is proof that I want to keep writing and telling stories. My mind is still full of magic, I just have to trust that I can still do this.
Writing is still a way for me to explain myself, to create and play just like I did as a child.
Recently, I started a new bullet journal. I left out a lot of the tedious, more artistic spreads (like the calendar, habit tracker, level 10 life, mood tracker) that I already have on my phone.
I kept the brain dump (where I list my wants, needs, and things I maybe want to do this month), the about me page, and my book log for the year.
Looking back at my first re-do at bullet journaling, I’d forgotten how fun it was to have a place to write about my day. I still have my old journal from the early 2000s, but that one is more for posterity than anything else.
This bullet journal is more about me getting back into writing about my day. As a writer, I miss writing on actual paper. I use my cell phone a lot (who doesn’t?) and while I like electronic word processors, it’s far less distracting to work on real paper.
I’m happy that I began writing a bit of the newest story idea while on vacation earlier this summer.
I love creating. Poetry is powerful, and novels are fun and exciting to me. Writing relaxes and excites me; I always been able to express myself better when I write it down. My thoughts tend to be clearer and somewhat more concise.
I really want to get back into writing a little bit everyday. It’s hard when I’m tired from work, but I’ll do my best!
While I’m always excited to curl up with a book, I also enjoy knitting.
This past weekend, (this was in the summer of 2023) my sister delivered the blanket I made for her friend’s wedding. The bride loved my gift!
I’ve been knitting for a long time–roughly since late elementary school. Lately, I enjoy making a blanket or scarf for others. I take joy in being able to use my knitting skills as a way to make something special for the people I love and care about.
Jotting down my thoughts in the writing app Bear is nice, too.
I have always liked Apple products, not because I’m a snob, but because it’s what I’m used to. I’m average when it comes to my level of tech savvy-ness.
I love my Hoka shoes (and my insoles). As someone who works on her feet in retail, having light, comfy, and supportive shoes is a must!
Addi knitting needles are the best. I love the smoothness of the metal, and the durability of the cables are great. I’ve been knitting for a while, since I was about 11-12 years old. (I’m 33 now.) I picked it up when one of my good girl friends did a tutorial for our Girl Scout troop; I was the only one who pursued knitting as a hobby. Knitting not only keeps my hands busy while reading and watching TV, but has also gives me an opportunity to make a blanket for special occasions (and for special people in my life).
The blanket I made as a wedding present.
I like to put on acrylic nails from time to time. Some of my favorite brands include Olive & June, Glamnetic, and Clutch Nails. I prefer short and medium lengths.
I want to go back to Canada. My family, along with some family friends, went several years ago. I loved every minute of it!
I’ve always wanted to go to the United Kingdom, specifically England. As a English literature major, and as a Whovian, this would be a dream come true to fly across the pond.
I also think Japan would be a neat place to visit. I would definitely eat some yakisoba! (Yum!)
I just want to see more of the world. I love going on vacation, and being outside in nature certainly improves my mood.
If you could bring back one dinosaur, which one would it be?
If I could bring back just one dinosaur, I’d probably want to bring back the iguanodon. But I’d want to have it genetically modified so that it’s more the size of a dog. (They were huge in real life; a fully grown adult was 8.9 feet tall.)
One of my favorite movies is the Disney film Dinosaur (year 2000). Aladar is raised by a family of lemurs, after his egg is taken from his mother’s nest.
Like lots of kids growing up, I loved dinosaurs. The Jarassic Park franchise is also an interesting look at what might happen if we did bring back dinosaurs.
I also really liked the baby dinosaurs that were herbivores, from the petting zoo version in a later Jarassic Park films.
Actually, it depends on where I am. At work, I go by “Meghan B.” We have like 4 or 5 different women named Meghan, all with different spellings, where I work. It can get confusing at times, especially if a team lead/co-worker just says, “Meghan, can you…?”
My family has always called me “Meghan.” My Dad, though, also refers me to as “sweetie” or “Miss Meghan.”
My sister affectionately refers to me as her “Little-Big Sister”, on account of my shortness. I’m also her big older sister.
My gramma, on the other hand, has called me “Meggie” for a long time. I don’t remember when she stayed calling me this, either.
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
Right away, I take what I’ve come to call my morning meds. These consist of medications that help me focus, drives away the allergies I have, things like that.
Then I go downstairs to eat breakfast. I normally eat cereal, and drink a cup of coffee (with a generous splash of half and half) or tea.
Next, if it’s a work day, I’ll finish eating and rush back upstairs to make my bed. Then I jump in the shower. Because I often get distracted, I often set a 55 minute timer on my phone.
On my days off from work, I’ll spend it knitting, reading, watching Netflix, gaming, and hanging out online with Rory.
There are several people I know personally who I think are pretty confident people. One of them happens to be my sister, Abbie.
She’s confident in the way she holds herself. She’s very bubbly, funny, and loves to hike in the mountains. She’s good about actually writing in birthday/wedding/Valentine’s cards. She has made friends with lots of different (and interesting) people. She’s traveled to more than three different counties.
Despite being only 26, I sometimes feel like she’s a little ahead of me in terms of adulting. She has her own apartment, something I’m still working on. I’m not jealous of her, I’m very proud of her!
While she doesn’t have the mental health struggles that I do, or autism, she still is finding her way in the world.
Once, when we were little, I wanted my blanket from upstairs. Abbie boldly went up the dark stairs, into our shared bedroom, and retrieved my blanket. “She’s so brave,” I told Mom. To this day, we all think this is cute and pretty unintentionally funny.
Abbie, my Big-Little sister, you are still so very brave.
The Nerdy Nook 