year 3 missionversary : longest recap of your (my) LIFE

hi hi hi

so. another year has passed us by! yesterday (now four days ago - this thing is taking me dayyyys) marked my third year being home from taiwan.

just going through all my photos took me a few hours over the course of three days (make that six haha) but i read over my other two recaps and just loved them and felt so grateful i took the time to make them so i'm manning up and doing it again.  it was really stressful trying to choose what to highlight (believe it or not i left a lot of things out) but these things - big or small - are things i felt were important in making up 2.22012 - 2.12.13.  if you would like some context of what i'm doing here feel free to check out year one or year two. 

brace yourself - as i reviewed this i realized it is full of awkward asifi'mwritinginmyjournal moments of honesty and way too many details but with that being said, ENJOY.

worked as a temp. 

this one time i did some temp agency work and got assigned to a week long convention for scientists at MIT. basically i looked at that pretty skyline and ate awesome food and became bff's with a lady named mary. this was a turning point in my boston experience and really everything after this week just got better and better. 

lived in malden.

becaaaause before that i lived in malden for five weeks and stayed in this baby room in a home with almost no heat and crazy cray roommates who were a real struggle for me. i spent many hours blogging, wondered constantly what the heck i was doing in boston, trying to watch law & order svu without gettings scared, trying to find a job, and looking at those photos of babies i didn't know above my bed. 

ryan visited boston.

ry guy came to visit/had an audiology conference in boston. i got to show him around and we had the best week. for some reason i felt like i still needed to be in boston and dating him wouldn't allow me to truly be there in my mind and heart so we ended things. i thought for sure we would get back together again like we had so many times before but that wasn't in the cards for us this time. last year included a lot of tears, heartache, and confusion and this actually ended up being the last time i saw that boy. letting go of a five year relationship is not an easy thing and still isn't but i feel that good things have been and will continue to be in store for us both and even though it didn't end how we hoped i don't regret a thing. he taught me so much about life and love, i will always be grateful for him and the time we spent with one another.

 

i learned to love skyline sunrises/sets.

 they aren't the same as mountain sunsets but are beautiful and lovely in their own way

fell in love with boston.

i got to experience boston in every season and continue to fall in love with it over and over again. i've also gotten the opportunity to do a lot of walking because i've chosen to utilize their public transportation system (read: because i don't want to buy a car). my body has appreciated this so much that it surprised me with some unintentional weight loss! that is always the best. 

got a real life job. 

i, after THREE MONTHS, of being a bum feeling sorry for myself and watching the bachelor - got a real life adult job at vecna. i keep meaning to make a post about work and keep forgetting but i will one day. it is a perfect job for me and i've really enjoyed it the last nine months. i was referred by one of my zone leaders from my mission - the blessings from going on that thing will never stop!

met charles strouse. 

got to meet the man who wrote annie and bye bye birdie and here him play and sing his original songs. he was delightful and a nice reminder of how many amazing and talented people we are surrounded by out here. he also told me i reminded him of his daughter and and i liked that. 

made attempts at being more girl-like.

this summer i worked pretty hard at being a better girl. i got my first manicure (thanks to nat!), french braided my hair (thanks to christine!)  and stopped wearing board shorts (thanks to john for making me  throw them away!) and bought new swimsuits for the first time in five years (and then lost one camping in new hampshire, it was very sad). also, since i'm looking at nat's face in that picture above and it reminded me of this thought, if i had a photo of natalie and i sitting in her car outside my house talking i would put it on here because i probably spent 34394 hours in that spot with her discussing work, life, and love. our carpool heart to hearts got me through multiple breakdowns so natalie if you are reading this, thank you!

documented real life. 

speaking of john, he is my boyfriend. all of you that have access to this blog know that but i thought i would tell you anyway. i think this photo accurately depicts our relationship...i freak out and he is amused. i'm nuts, and he handles it pretty well. we like this about him. 

spent after work time with maren.

i will always appreciate maren for having a nine to five job and being my friend when everyone else was working or studying or in new york (john). she definitely was a light at the end of my crazy just kill me now malden roommates! tunnel. 

 made some difficult decisions.

so i gave myself a july 1st deadline of deciding if i would stay in boston or go back to utah and try to work things out with ryan. this made for many days of sitting by myself with my journal, scriptures, and frustrated confusion just trying to figure out what the heck i was going to do and what everything that had happened (feeling like i should move to boston, getting a great job, meeting john, etc) the past few months meant. those days were hard but i appreciated living so close to beautiful places. it made the whole experience more enjoyable.  

got used to someone new. 

dating someone new after five years of dating someone else is definitely no easy task, even if you really like the person.  for example, it took me weeks to finally be comfortable enough with john to start taking photos together. this coincidentally also happened around the time when i finally believed his body/face was bigger than mine but for months these photos still disappeared if they found their way to fb. i'll admit i definitely spent a good amount of time this year feeling paranoid about being the topic of gossipy conversations, hence the abrupt switch to a private blog and the fact that i'm still not john's facebook friend haha

came across great surprises! 

sometimes i accidentally came across the best things; one of them being this dr. seuss park. i didn't even know it existed but just wanted to make the most of the 30 minutes we had in a random city before meeting up with some friends. these are my favorite moments always.  

appreciated modern technology. 

facetime was not a part of my life nearly as much as it should have been but i'm grateful it happened nonetheless. now that more and more siblings are getting on the iphone train (and parents too!) this needs to be a more consistent thing this year. 

had lots of bored waiting and gchat time.

..which resulted in many photos like the ones above and below. bus stops make great company and the mirror in the bathroom is great for sending photos to girlfriends of your 1980 ralph lauren outfits. 

made myself go to fhe sometimes.

i remembered that i don't have an artistic bone in my body. 

hung out with myself on multiple occasions. 

i spent a lot of time by myself this year which i actually really liked. dates with myself to symphony concerts in the hatch shell were great but sitting on my roof was just not the same without my girfs.

wore as much color as possible.

i realized i somehow have at least four colors on my body at most times. this is always amusing to me because it is never done on purpose. 

boated one time.

(which is actually pretty great for the east coast!)

i entered the world of water skiing. the water got too choppy to ever try to slalom so that might have to happen next summer. i think i tried to ride them like i would a wakeboard so that might have led to the photo below.. 

tried to be better at life.

along with having a "be a better girl" list i also had a "be a better adult" list. this included things like getting a library card and buying real running shorts (and throwing away my basketball shorts i would use from 8th grade), actually using the running shorts, eating well sometimes, etc. 

became a tj's addict.

and not because i'm trying to be hip. i just hate whole foods and grocery stores because they are expensive and stupid so i am a full blown tj's shopper and feel really good about it. 

became the sole member of the singles club. 

yes it is true. dantzel and beth both left the high school/yellow house singles club and jacquie is getting married so i'm now the only american left in the mission singles club too. i mostly feel fine with this because i no longer need them to be my date to our friends weddings anyway because everyone is now married :) yaaaaaaay. and i'm sure mama jan and papa tom are hoping that the phrase "last the best of all the game" is true haha 

i met and fell in love with one sweet new nephew (baby kev) and two cute nieces (lyndsey and stella). 

and then sadly had to say goodbye to all of them, in different ways. 

finally took pictures of a bunch of pictures.

i decided to go through all of my photos from my childhood and highschool. it turns out only major holidays, the last days of school, and dances are documented but i loved it all nonetheless. 

speaking of shrimp/crustaceans i had my first lobster. 

i enjoyed the meat of it but wanted to die when i realized it had so many sick legs. lobsters are gross. 

 cross-dressed. 

i had the unique privilege of being justin bieber for a night and to this day (literally, it was said to me a few hours ago) i still receive compliments of my ability to look like a 14 year old boy. kinder words have never been spoken to me. 

spent quality time with my inanimate friends.

besides missing family and friends i miss the mountains and cortina (my bike). i felt so happy that i got in some mountain time during my utah visits and cortina kept having a flat tire but i did ride her once and it was the happiest. goal for 2013 = get cortina to boston. and fix her tire. 

saw myself on a subway ad. 

this was probably my second claim to fame (with my justin bieber moment being the first) since hundreds and hundreds of people saw it and sometimes come up to me with the "have we met before? you look strangely familiar" comments. no friends, we do not know each other but i can assume from your question that you ride the T.  

hearted so many free events.

..like seeing the boston pops perform for the fourth of july! i loved this and hope to do it every year for the rest of my days. 

sister wives visited me. 

yes they really did! they knew i was having a hard time and also wanted an excuse to see boston so it was a win win situation for everyone. i love them for coming and being with me and loving boston just as much as i do. 

found joy in random things.

the first part of the year was kind of rough since i had no idea why i was in boston, what would happen with my love life, or why i was still jobless. this caused me to be in a state where even though i felt stressed and sometimes sad, the most simple things had the ability to bring me joy. a flock of birds, a sad attempt at frosting shark cookies, pretty earrings sent by a thoughtful mom,  random dog ornaments on a grave, etc were all seemingly small things that brought light into a gray time. i sometimes miss how keenly aware of my surroundings i was, and how grateful i was for the simplest things. 

  

had the blessed opportunity to attend the MoBA. 

the museum of bad art is definitely a must see and totally deserves to be a part of this recap. 

had multiple food babies.

if i had to pick two things that i became obsessed with during this time period it would be without a question cannoli and phad thai. i've eaten pounds of both. 

all my siblings were in the same place. 

(for the first time in like ten years)

the circumstance of this occurrence was very sad but it was nice to see all of us come together and support our sister. it is nice to feel like your family is most important and even nicer to know they feel that way too. 

still don't love sports. 

thanks to my sweet lauren friend i went to a red sox game. it was kind of cold and boring and my face has never been fatter and i can't stop staring at it but i'm glad i went. if nothing else for the view of the city and the ice cream in a baseball hat thing they sell. oh AND singing sweet caroline. that was actually awesome and i loved every second of it. 

but still lovin neature. 

when i first moved to boston i always felt sad that it was mostly city and i missed the mountains and forests. luckily it didn't take too long to realize that the east coast has the best mini forests everywhere and i just have to go up north to get in my mountain fix. if my family and little cottonwood canyon and my cabin lived here i would probably think this place is perfect. 

got my sail on.

 twice actually. once in the day time and once during a full moon at night. both times were a delight. also, i stopped hating toms because i finally got some that fit. 

obsessed (still) with my grandpa moon.

i got to steal some time with him two out of the three times i went back to utah. i'm so grateful for every minute i get to spend with that cowboy. 

creeped.

this year i got the opportunity to learn a lot about myself since i experienced so many new things. it turns out i really like subways because i thoroughly enjoy listening to the people who perform in them (and taking secret photos of them, obvi). i could sit all day in a subway station and never get sick of listening to those musicians, they make such a mundane thing so delightful. 

my photography went global.
this was a fun thing to find on fb without knowing it was happening. twice. 

had a breath of new roommate fresh air. 

bless their hearts for being the kind of roommates i needed after living with those silly gals in malden. we all really enjoyed each others company and they made the whole johnlivinginnewyorkduringtheweek thing manageable. sadly, three of the four moved out in september and home life has just not been the same without them. also worth noting, blonde roommate carrie got me into zumba and downstairs neighbor is getting me into yoga which i feel happy about. 

brought the mysterious boston boyfriend to utah.

this picture is a representation of john coming to utah and meeting the family/friends/brynne. he did a pretty good job with everyone and successfully passed this stage of "megan bootcamp" 

(as my sister tricia so lovingly calls my dating patterns) 

bnombd (best news of my boston days) = my bishop being my mission president's doppelganger. 

he has been the best and so is my ward/john's ward. i've met so many great people this year and can't imagine life without all of them in it. 

i raised baby chicks at work and it was AWESOME.

until they grew and were loud and smelly and then it was less than awesome.

brother rob business tripped in boston!  

we had a slumber party in his hotel. i don't know how many people can say they have done that with their thirty something year old brother.

spent thanksgiving with the fam at the cabin.

i really think every holiday should be spent at the cabin, that place is the best. 

 i tried to care about politics.
buuuuut it didn't really work. i also tried to register to vote and that didn't even work but i did find a sticker that said i voted so i took a picture with it anyway and tried to look like everyone did on my instagram that voting day. 

 

frequented the boston opera house.
we went to les mis, riverdance, and the nutcracker. you can kind of see where our relationship was at with how comfortable or uncomfortable we look in these photos haha. 

 found out i share a similar style as park rangers
aaaand
 loved that the longfellow house (where we are standing) is across the street from our church and appreciated their sunday afternoon 18th century concerts. 

played easter bunny.

which so happened to be the day when i finally believed i could actually date someone besides ryan and be happy. it was a slightly scary yet hopeful realization.

gave blood for the first time since i came back from the mish.

 no more contaminated taiwan blood for me! this makes me happy and sad, all at the same time. 

i turned 25.
..and celebrated by hanging out with some red coats and meeting my birthday twin alta! i'm still mad at grace for not having her middle name be megan. empty promises!

shared some thoughts from one missionary to another.
i didn't ever really think this day would come but oldest nephew jackson is about to serve his own mission and i'm happy i got to spend some time with him. brazil better get pumped for his arrival!

another day i thought would never come.
 bought lingerie for someone and didn't hate it. when i started buying that stuff for people 6 years ago i wanted to vomit and as brynne can confirm, would sometimes just get them a bookshelf instead.  unrelated but kind of because it has to do with night time - i had not one but TWO slumbees with melissa and kalie and feel really happy that it is going to be an everytimeicometoutahithappens type thing. 

my jade BROKE. 

me and that bracelet experienced a good three years together and even months after it happened i still look down at my wrist and miss it being there. 

gave the gift of autumn/cemeteries

this photo represents the gift of autumn that was given this year (thank you natalie) and also my love for cemeteries. any time i needed to think or clear my head i could go to a nearby cemetery and i always felt better afterwards and i never felt closer to God than i did in the cemetery in malden. that place will always have a special place in my heart. 

 sucked it up and bought this new baby.
i still can't decide if a top of the line camera is really necessary for the amount of photography i do but i assumed i would want it someday so i skipped a few upgrades and just bought it. hopefully by my next year recap i will actually know how to use all the settings because i have no idea at this moment in time. 

explored lots of things by myself and with visitors (like sara!) slash lost that umbrella and i'm sad.

i think i saw more and went more places this past year than probably ever in my life and learned that it is fun to have people with me but i am perfectly capable of going places on my own. i can still experience what i want even if other people don't feel like doing it with me! i already know this newfound realization will come in handy next time i visit my siblings outside of utah :) 

grace time.
bless dave for doing a baby masters degree at harvard for a few months so grace could be my friend. i am almost positive i would not have moved to boston if it wasn't for her. 

this happened.

megamom for a week/went to texas 

i realized my sister(s) have a pretty nice life. it made me look forward to when i get to be a mom all the time and feel grateful for where i'm at, all at the same time. i also appreciated reuniting with friends ashlie and leandra and the warm weather, espeeeecially since boston averaged 18 degrees that week. 

and then, like i said, i went to lots of places. 

shot a wedding and then 6 months later went to a wedding open house in dc

 biked (and felt severely disappointed in the postponing of illumination night) in martha's vineyard

 lost my mind at stew leonard's in new canaan, connecticut 

hiked and camped in acadia, maine 

 traveled back to the 1700's in plymouth, MA

 then did it again and beached in cape cod 

walked to niagara falls/canada 

  visited this homegirl and princeton in new jersey

 went to the largest pumpkin festival and camped in new hampshire

 went to waterfire in providence, hit up newport rhode island for the cliffwalk in the summer, and then toured the mansions in the winter

 weekend birthday getaway with some ladies in foggy vermont

 saw the hill cumorah pageant in palmyra and read the first vision in the sacred grove

over the course of six(!) trips to new york i rekindled friendships (read: started a real friendship with high school frenemy), saw sights/j-man, and helped with hurricane sandy clean up

 

 and last but definitely not least, worked and played and saw family and friends in utah over the course of three lucky trips. 

and THAT my friends pretty much sums up my year.  i feel like i could copy and paste the things i said in my last recap and the words i wrote would still be accurate. once again this year has been full of ups and downs and unexpected events but i have been blessed throughout all of it in so many ways. i've learned so many things and had the opportunity to implement those things (which helped me understand why i had to learn them in the first place). even though i miss my family, friends, and utah terribly i have fallen in love with boston and the life (and full disclosure, the boy) that came with it. my life continues to be completely different than anything i ever imagined for myself and i'm actually really excited to see what the next year has in store. 

so thanks for reading (if you even got this far) and thanks for being in my life, it wouldn't be as nice if you weren't in it.

 ..and i feel like i can say that and mean it since i have personally given you permission to read this blog and shamelessly denied others the same opportunity

k this really has to be done now. love you bye!