ask me your questions and i'll tell you no lies

here it is! the q&a post.
this was SO much fun to do.
i'm sick, again, for the second weekend in a row.
so it provided sufficient entertainment for my foggy brain.
i do apologize if my cold medicine seeped its way into my answers...i tried to be as clear as possible when answering.
anyway, here we go:


favorite blogs to read? 
here are my most favorites:
i am miss mandi (i anticipate her every post & i savor every word.)
chapped lips & chapstick (i practically have a crush on her blog...if that makes any sense. it's so good.)
Diary of a Fly on the Wall (this blog is like food for my soul. i cry over it on occasion. so good.)
a beautiful mess (i've been reading this since they first started the blog. i feel like i'm an old friend of theirs. you should check it out.)
hudson's happenings (i LOVE this blog. ashley & hudson are easily some of the greatest people out there in the blogging world.)
the daybook (also been reading this one since sydney was a barely known writer/fashionista. then all of the sudden she exploded, well her blog exploded, and her followers went from 100 to 100,000,000. yikes. but anyway, love her style of writing. plus her little munchkin is kind of the cutest. you should go see.)
and the m squared story. (meg is like, hilarious. i started blogging after i read her blog a twisted fairytale. i guess i should thank her for getting me hooked on this blogging thing.)

also.
my bestest friend susanna's blog.
the susanna i refer to pretty much all the time.
you must all go check it out.
it's my ultimate favorite.
she has pretty much the best writing style out there & she's hilarious.
love.

favorite followers blogs?
all of them.
literally, i read every one of your blogs & i enjoy them all.
you guys are the best for actually following my little blog.

favorite band(s)?
coeur de pirate
the bird and the bee.
mumford & sons.
she & him.
of monsters and men.
he is we.
mandolin orange.
dinosaur feathers
vampire weekend.
just to name a few.


book love.
walk two moons.
the help.
ruby holler.
romeo & juliet.
fahrenheit 451.
sea legs.
the hobbit.
frankenstein.


quotes?

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
J.R.R. Tolkien

"I like people who make me like them. Saves me so much trouble forcing myself to like them."
Anne of Avonlea

"An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh."
Will Rogers

"Maybe you don't need the whole world to love you, you know? Maybe you just need one person."
Kermit the frog

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
Mother Theresa

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all- in which case, you fail by default." 
J.K. Rowling

"People who love to eat are always the best people."
Julia Child

"A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for."Grace Murray Hopper "Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away." Sarah Kay (there are so many more, but i'll stop here.)

first crush?
oooh juicy.
well, the first crush i can remember off the top of my head was probably back in elementary school. i was pretty tall for my age back then, i had freckles & a gap in my teeth, long hair that was always in braids, and i was very very loud. not quite the charmer. sort of REALLY awkward at times. i was a tomboy and usually hung around the boys in my grade. i remember i had this crush on a boy who was about a foot shorter than me, and was very shy. i used to stare at him during class. i adored his laugh, his dimples, & the way he acted as if the entire world was about to beat him up so he hid under his books and his mop of a head of hair. i wanted him to notice me, so i tried impressing him during P.E. we were playing dodgeball. i was the last to get hit. he didn't notice. then i remember one day he didn't have a lunch, and i tried to "share" my lunch with him...which was just me throwing a sandwich at his face then looking at the ceiling as if to find where that sandwich came from. he didn't like that. i tried putting lip gloss on. i tried letting my hair out of my braids. i even tried bumping into him on "accident" in the hall way. well, he never got the hints. i was furious. so i yelled at him for being insensitive. he looked at me like i had horns and a blue tongue. i stormed off, and we never spoke again. the end.


i haven't thought about that in forever.
such a hilarious memory.

passions?
hm.
reading & singing.

i'm a passionate reader.
books sometimes mean more to me than real life.

i'm also very passionate about singing.
i've been singing since i was born & will probably sing with my final breath.
anytime i get stressed, or sad, or any emotion really, i love to let it out through song.
i can sing in french, latin, italian, and english. i haven't really tried any other languages though.
i adore singing. a lot.

"There's no half-singing in the shower, you're either a rock star or an opera diva." -Josh Groban

"As long as we live, there is never enough singing." Martin Luther


future plans?
graduate high school
go on a road trip around the USofA with my older sister
go to college anywhere but here
major in choral education
minor in culinary arts
graduate college
travel the world with my bestie Susie
go to Italy, France, England, Germany, Ireland, Austria, and possibly Antarctica.
return home.
buy a cottage.
start my cupcake shop in a little downtown venue.
get a job as a choir teacher or voice teacher.
grab that man.
get hitched, and all that that entails.
{kiddos. at least 4.}
grow old being incandescently happy.
at least thats the plan.

why are you so awesome? 
i'm not really. i think you're crazy.

how come you are the most beautiful woman ever?
i'm not. you are.

can i ever be as amazing as you?
yes of course. i give lessons from 3-5 on saturdays and tuesdays.

What is your favorite type of candy? 
ohhhh this one is hard.
i like starbursts. and skittles. and reeces. and sour gummy worms....don't make me decide.

Food? 
my favorite food has been, and always will be, spaghetti.
although sushi comes in close for second place.
then maybe frozen yogurt in third.

Cupcake?
i must say, my favorite cupcakes are the chocolate chip cookie dough stuffed cupcakes that my best friend Susanna and I make. they are to DIE for. and once you eat one you will have to eat 20 more.

What is your secret superhero name? 
The Penguin Princess.

Can I be your sidekick? 
absolutely. i would love you to be.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? 
Italy. I'd get some fancy Italian man with a swoon-worthy mustache to row me along the canals of Venice in his gondola while he sang beautiful Italian songs to me. And then I would go to Rome and do all the things that Audrey Hepburn did in that movie "Roman Holiday". And then I'd find myself the best bowl of spaghetti in the world, and eat it.

Role models?
Brianna Lee: She is my "mommy" and my best friend. I know I wouldn't have been able to survive with out having her my first couple of years here in North Carolina. She has the sweetest heart. She gives, even when she doesn't have. She loves the Lord more than herself. She's a great hugger. She's the kind of person you know you can go to in tough situations. She's been through many herself. I always looked up to the way she never took the easy way out of anything, but always persevered through prayer and love. Pretty much, if I could come close to being half as amazing as her, my life would be awesome.

Missy Franklin: That swimmer girl? The olympian? Yeah. Wow. I admire everything about her. She is so humble even when she has so much to be proud about. She has her head screwed on straight, that's for sure. I think everyone should aspire to be able to be that humble and grateful for everything.

Grandma Margo: She's not actually my Grandma, but I call her that anyway. I want to be exactly like her when I grow old. She calls me her "little mouse". She is still a child at heart, has the same innocence and love as any little girl. She's not afraid of life. Better put, she's not afraid of living. I love her so much & I've looked up to her since I met her when I was 4. And I always will.

If you could change one thing in this universe, what would it be?
It would be that people would love more & hate less.
People would hug more. A lot more. A delightfully unnecessary amount more.
People wouldn't hate other people for their differences.
People would look beyond color. Beyond race. Beyond poor or rich.
People wouldn't hate for all the things one does wrong, but love for all the things one did right.
That's what I would change.
No more meanie bobinis.
A lot of lovely, loving people.

Who is your favorite person in the Bible?
I'd have to say Paul the apostle.
His testimony & experiences are beyond amazing & inspiring.
My favorite books in the Bible are Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. {all written by Paul} 

If you could go back in time, what era would it be?
you don't know how hard this question is.
i'm a huge history nerd and going back in time to any era would be an absolute dream for me.
but i think if i could go back to one time, it would be around the 1770's through the 1830's.
a mix between the Colonial period in America,
and the stuff you read in Pride & Prejudice.
really, i just want to dress up real fancy and go to a ball with some handsome young gentleman.

i visited a place called Tryon Palace here in North Carolina a while ago.
it's decked up as if it were still in it's heyday, back in the 1770's.
it had ornate gates surrounding the property.
it had a long gravel driveway leading up to the courtyard. 
you could just imagine carriages lined up carrying dozens of young men and women for a ball.
the ball room was gorgeous. the dining room was splendid. and the library. oh the library.
i wanted to stand inside of it and just look for hours and hours.
i wanted to read every book in it.
i also went to the Biltmore Estate last fall with my best friend Susanna.
i was in heaven. to live there would just be so incredibly dreamy.
i couldn't stop saying "wow" over and over.
i know i'm a hopeless romantic, and awfully materialistic for loving such excessively fancy things...
but to go back to that time would be my absolute dream.

What was the highlight of your life (or has it yet to come)?
I don't think the very highlight of my life has come yet. 
I've had plenty of amazing moments thus far, but at 16 years there's still a lot to come.
I have a feeling (if I live to see it) that the highlight of my life will be when Jesus comes back to earth and I get to see my Savior face to face. 


What is the biggest thing on your bucket list?
Probably "have children". Because that's pretty big.


What is something you've done that you're most proud of?
I've never been too proud of myself, seeing as I've done a lot of stupid things mostly.
But I'd have to say performing as Cinderella in the play Into the Woods
Long story short, I was unfairly casted.
I got the part as Cinderella, only to be later informed that another girl would actually play her, but I would be her understudy.
I was given no practice time during rehearsals so I had to learn the part completely on my own.
Closing night was my first performance on stage as Cinderella.
It was scary. My parents told me to quit the role. It seemed the director wished I would.
I was already considering it. As much as I wanted to be Cinderella, I was terrified or performing in front of people.
But my friends backed me up and supported me. I did end up playing Cinderella closing night.
I couldn't believe how many people told me how amazing I did, and how they wished I had played Cinderella the entire time. Little girls asked me for my autographs and pictures. My director was crying by the end.
She told me I was the best Cinderella, and that she was proud I had been so professional about all the mix ups.
I'm still pretty proud of myself for holding my ground. I'm proud that I only made one or two mistakes on stage, and nobody noticed. I'm proud that I made my parents & grandparents proud. To this day they remind me how amazing I did. 
It's a moment I most likely will never forget & I'll always be proud of.

What is the happiest moment of your life thus far?(or several if you can't choose just one)
The night I let Jesus into my heart.
The day I was baptized.
The time I spent a week with my second family & watched my "older brother" graduate.
The moment I finished my chemistry final and knew I would never have to take chemistry again.
The time a certain boy told me he loved me.

What is your favorite kind of chocolate?
hazelnut.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
a choir teacher or voice teacher.
the owner of a cupcake shop.
a loving wife, & mother. 


& that's all folks!
if you made it through all that & are reading this, hats off to you.

thanks for the questions.
thanks for being such superb readers.
all my love,
meredith