October Days

October is my favorite month. And as it's slipping away, I thought I'd do a shout-out of the top 20 things I love about October . . . even though there are most definitely more than 20 things I love about this month. But here they are, in no particular order:

20. Pumpkins. I love pumpkins: carving pumpkins, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cake from Kneaders, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice smell . . . it's such a wonderfully versatile gourd.

19. Halloween candy.

18. Halloween. To be honest, I'm really not a big fan of Halloween, but I still do enjoy it. I love seeing little kids dressed up as firefighters and ballerinas, and it's pretty fun to see big kids dressed up in really creative costumes, too. Like my roommate, Michelle, was the "Flaming Mustache" from the MOA exhibition last year. She was pretty much awesome. I didn't dress up this year (lame, I know), but I thought of all of these great costume ideas AFTER Halloween. Like Ms. Pacman. Or a blade of grass on campus ("Please Don't Walk on Me, I'm Trying Hard to Grow!"). *Sigh* There's always next year . . .

17. Creating Ward Musical Numbers with my Roommates. Okay, I don't do this EVERY October, but we certainly did it this one. It will be a pretty rocking musical number. It will be a horn-flute-piano-voice arrangement and we'll be performing "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me." I'm excited.

16. BYU Homecoming.

15. Apples. Especially caramel ones.

14. First snow.

13. Friends' birthdays. I know so many people who have birthdays in October. We kind of form this solidarity knowing that we all have birthdays in the best month of the year (not that I'm biased or anything).

12. Clouds. I don't know why, but the cloud formations this October have been absolutely stunning. I especially love it when the sun cuts through the clouds.

11. Rainstorms. There have been some wonderful rainstorms this October, too! They add a bit of crispness to the air, which is heavenly. I love just standing outside in the rain, letting the wind, water, and smell engulf me.

10. Roommate Movie Nights.

9. Start of BYU Basketball Season. Oh yeah, baby.

8. Looking at the mountains. From looking at the changing colors on Y-mountain, to gazing at the majesty of Timpanogos's snowcapped peaks, I am always in awe of the grandeur of God's creations.

7. The smell of fall. I am pretty sure that heaven will smell like fall.

6. The air. I love the crispness in the air, and I like being a little bit cold. I know that probably sounds weird, but it makes me feel alive.

5. Sweaters. :)

4. BYU Football Season! I love the atmosphere of the BYU football games, and I especially love it when we win. By the way, did you know that I was on the BYU.edu page? Yep, I'm practically famous. Here's the picture.

3. General Conference.

2. The LEAVES. There's a maple tree that I pass every day on the way to campus. The top is gorgeously red, the middle is a blend of yellow and red, and the bottom is still yellow-green. I love that tree. It takes my breath away every time I see it. I also love to look up at the mountains. The brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows look like an odd patchwork quilt ad fill my soul with happiness. I also love to crunch the leaves on the sidewalks. :)

1. My birthday! I turned 20 this year (that's the reason why I listed 20 wonderful things about October). I had such a wonderful day. I enjoyed seeing my family and friends . . . and my roommates threw a surprise birthday party for me! I've never had one before, and it was so fun. I seriously have the best friends in the world. I'm so blessed.

October is about as close to perfection as you can get.

The Sandman Strikes Again . . .

Dear BYU PKP-ers,

You know how I tend to have strange, unsettling--although funny--dreams? (Remember that one with conveyor belts and pineapples? Yeah, I do too.)

Anyway, I thought some of you might be interested to know that I had another one.

This time we were all a part of The Oregon Trail; we were acting out the computer game.

And I think we got attacked by a bear.

Don't ask me what I was eating before I went to bed. I couldn't tell you.

But, just for the record, you all looked really sharp in your 1840s get-up. We would have been good-looking pioneers.

Love,

Megan

Three Reasons Why This Weekend Was So Great

1) Service Project at Temple Square. Our stake dug out summer flowers and planted bulbs for the spring. I'm excited to see Temple Square in bloom come April General Conference. "Look, look! I planted those tulips!"

2) Mozart's The Magic Flute, playing at the BYU de Jong Concert Hall. I went to the dress rehearsal, so I was a little nervous that they'd have a problem and have to stop. But they didn't have to stop once; I was able to see it uninterrupted. It was a beautiful production, and it's such an interesting opera. I really enjoyed watching it.

3) Cambridge get-together! Need I say more? I love hanging out with them; it makes me so happy to see them and find out how their lives are going. I love these people. You couldn't ask for a better bunch.

Life is good.

Muffin Mondays OR How Salmonella is Going to Kill Me

Muffin Mondays. The name itself is self-explanatory. How more deliciously awesome can you get?

Every Monday our apartment—you guessed it—makes muffins! We have a book of 100 muffin recipes, and it’s our goal to make every muffin in the book this year (excepting the ones with brandy or liquor in them, of course). Melissa, Michelle, Sharisa and I discussed doing it last year, but we weren’t sure if it would happen. (You know, you and a friend say, “Let’s do something sometime!” And you both have every good intention to do so, but it never happens.) We thought that Muffin Mondays would be stillborn as well.

But they weren’t.

Proof: For the first Muffin Monday of the year, we made Jelly Doughnut Muffins. They were so good.

In fact, we’ve never had a bad muffin. Some are better than others, to be sure, but each Muffin Monday is a success.

Yesterday we made Frosted Cream Cheese Muffins.

Sharisa being all domestic.

Me being all domestic.

And how are Muffin Mondays going to kill me? Because I can’t stop myself from licking the batter. Every. Single. Time. Yep. I’m going to get salmonella and die. But does the risk stop me? Ohhhhhh, no.

And . . . the finished product!

Consensus: Success! Frosted Cream Cheese Muffins are delectable!

Another Muffin Monday, another delicacy.

Muffin Love.

This is Just to Say

I don't really know what to say besides things are busy. And I wanted to post because 1) I know people read my blog and dead blogs are no fun to read, and 2) I really do enjoy posting. Life is just crazy.

But we all know that.

There's lots that I was planning on posting on from the last two weeks, but I think that I'll just say that I love General Conference. And President Uchtdorf's talk was my favorite. I'm really going to try to slow down, and refocus on the things that really matter: faith, family, and friends. And even though my life is hectic right now, that doesn't mean that I can't stop to enjoy the changing colors of a chestnut leaf, or look up at the Y lit for Homecoming.

In fact, being busy means that I SHOULD take the time to slow down and enjoy the simple miracles of life. Otherwise I will drown in a sea of overwhelming schedules and appointments.

So that's what I'm going to do, despite the craziness of college life.

By the way, I'm reading for fun again (which feels so wonderful). I'm reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's an amazing book. I recommend it to anyone and everyone.