What's in a name?

It's blogger challenge number 2! I'm supposed to tell you the meaning behind my blog name! Well, the truth is, the name has changed. It used to be called, "Virginia is for Lovers like us!" That all changed in 2009. My boyfriend at the time was laid off from his engineering firm in Roanoke, my hometown. As he hunted for another job, there was no way I was gonna let him leave without me! I mean come on, I'm syrup to his waffles! So, just to show me how much I meant to him and how "TRUE" our love was..and how committed he was to me. He proposed!! We moved and started a new life together in Virginia Beach (Which was almost Montgomery, Alabama!)
So I came up with the name as we made a home for ourselves and planned our wedding. And now that we share a last name, well...welcome to Home Sweet Hammarback. BYOB :)

Megan

Let me introduce myself...

Well, hi there! As if you weren't absolutely sure who I am, I'm Megan. I'm a mid-twenties newlywed starting a whole new chapter of life. My husband and I moved to Virginia Beach (two years ago this March) and I'm just now starting to get used to it and I LOVE it! I'm a firm believer in God, LOVE, family, friendship and Carbs! Get ready for all the fun facts I have comin' your way! :)



1. I LOVE children. I'm currently in school to do Coding but in a few years we'll be able to afford for me to go back to school full time for teaching, my passion :)

2. I want to have babies. At least 2..maybe 3 or 4..we'll see!

3. Dolly Parton is my hero. Seriously. Love her! And I might add that Steel Magnolias is my favorite movie of all time!

4. I appreciate anything and everything southern. Hospitality, grits, Paula Deen, front porches and twang.

5. I'm addicted to taking something old and making it something new and modern. IE: I love browsing the thrift store, Goodwill, and Salvation army for fun things to make and do. I have a whole entire closet devoted to crafts and remodeling..its pretty sad!

6. I LOVE the beach! This is a new one because I was never really a fan until I lived here. Now, I know if I moved I would miss it terribly.

7. My dad and I are probably as close as a father and daughter could ever be. He knows everything..even my deepest darket secrets..well, maybe not everything!

8. I'm looking forward to Summer! Beach, popsicles, corndogs, fireflies, fireworks, sunscreen and big sunglasses!!!

9. I love cooking. I can't wait to live in our own home and have lots and lots of dinner parties!

10. I have two cats. WE have two cats! They are literally my babies and I've never loved two felines so much. They make me smile and laugh on a daily basis!

11. I bite my nails. I've tried to stop. I can't!

12. I never miss and episode of Modern Family or The Office. I'm addicted. It's like TV crack..

13. I used to take piano lessons! I'm not gonna lie, I was really good. My husband did too! We both regret quitting and both want to take lessons again someday!

14. I've been to New York City 4 times in my life and feel very lucky that I was able to stand atop of the world trade center..more than once!

15. I'm obsessed with blogs and I have about 30 I have to read everyday or I have withdrawls.

I know that was lame and not remotely interesting, but I hope you enjoyed! Now..back to the Oscars..and my champagne Aquafina..

Viva la Vegan!

May I first start by saying that I love Oprah. I love her. Oprah if you're reading this, I have mad love for ya sista! :) Anyways, Its sad that I was never really a huge fan of the Oprah show until this year. I KNOW! TECHNICALLY, I should not be considered a "true" Oprah fan. I don't know if it's this new time in my life, what being a newlywed and all and somewhat of a housewife, but I feel that now she fits into a space in my busy schedule. She has suddenly become a part of my life. All thanks to TIVO of course. She lured me in with all the "FINAL SEASON" promotions, making it sound all special and what not. Now I know what informative information I've been missing out on all these years...and that's saying a lot because that's one year for every year I've been alive! Thanks Oprah show for being the reason I took on this incredible challenge!
A few weeks ago, I was watching what else? Oprah! For one week, Oprah and her staff at Harpo (well the ones that chose to do so) decided to become Vegan for one week. Now for all you non-vegans and curious cats out there, let me explain what that means. Being Vegan is going one step further than being vegetarian. Actually, from my experience its about two and a half steps further. Vegans eat absolutely NOTHING with any sort of animal products in them. Most of them choose to live this life because of their love for animals. Vegans of course cannot eat meat. No eggs. No milk. No dairy. Some even go the extreme of honey! Yes, because bees make it. I thought that was pretty crazy since that what bees are programmed to do, and nobody really forces them. They like it! But, I guess if they're going to love all animals, they will love every one..right down to the tiniest insect. While doing the challenge, a lot of Oprah's staff talked about their experience. Some of them decided they wanted to do it longer than a week because they felt so much better! A lot of them decided to become vegetarian! One man talked about how after just a few days, his health issues began to go away. Well folks, that got me ta thinkin' gee..maybe I should try this! As most of you know, the last year and a half or so was basically me having health issue after issue and lots of problems, so I decided I would try something different. I decided to go Vegan for an entire week! No, I didn't do it for my love of animals. I do very much love animals..but have you ever seen me turn down a hot-dog?? I think not! I do like to eat meat so this wasn't going to be permanent. Just an experiment to see how I would feel! Another factor to consider, Oprah had professional Vegan chefs to come in and cook food for her staff, so that made it a lot easier for them to have choices for their diets. UNlike her staff, I had to do it on my own. And so the story goes..
IT turned out, being Vegan wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was tricky though. You really had to READ those ingredients. Some things you wouldn't believe contained milk or cheese or egg. One tip...if it has cholesterol..its a no go. Cholesterol comes from animal. So thats a big give away. If there's not cholesterol, you still have to read the ingredients just to make sure. If at the end of the ingredients it says anything about the food being made in the same plant or factory where they use milk or egg products..its a no go. Another thing to look for in the ingredients are things like gelatin. Anything with gelatin (which is more than you probably think) contain parts of crushed animal bones, ligaments and tendons. I really did my research, people! I wanted it to be authentic. I printed a 10 page list of CRAZY ingredients to look for!
I think the most fun part of the challenge was finding out what was vegan and what wasn't. You have to be very patient and make lots of food sacrifices. Over all, I felt pretty good that entire week. My energy level was through the roof and I even lost 5 pounds! Being that I'm not a huge meat eater, especially red meat, I definetly think I could be vegetarian. I like chicken and of course hot-dogs, but I really enjoyed all the meatless "meat" products that I ate that week...even the veggie hot dogs and burgers. Maybe sometime in the future I'll take that vegetarian route in my life, but right now isn't really the right time in my life.. :) I really enjoyed the challenge...and BONUS: I proved to myself that I could diet with cheating even once! I don't think I've ever done that before! So now I'm thinking....Viva la Chocolate!

30 reasons to blog

My friend Shaylynn put this challenge on her blog :) I think this will be really fun to do...not only that but to see everyone else's answers. I still have some blogs to catch up on, but this one will certainly keep me motivated for a while! Thanks, Shay :)

Day 1-Introduce, recent picture, 15 interesting facts
Day 2-Meaning behind your blog name
Day 3-Your first love
Day 4-Your parents
Day 5-Your siblings
Day 6-A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 7-Favorite movies
Day 8-A place you've traveled to
Day 9-A picture of your friends
Day 10-Something you're afraid of
Day 11-Favorite TV shows
Day 12-What you believe
Day 13-Goals
Day 14-A picture you love
Day 15-Bible verse
Day 16-Dream house
Day 17-Something you're looking forward to
Day 18-Something you regret
Day 19-Something you miss
Day 20-Nicknames
Day 21-Picture of yourself
Day 22-Favorite city
Day 23-Favorite vacation
Day 24-Something you've learned
Day 25-Favorite memory
Day 26-Picture of your family
Day 27-Pets
Day 28-Something that stresses you out
Day 29-3 Wishes
Day 30-a picture

Feel free to join in the fun yourself!

Punta Cana

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I haven't had a computer in over a month. My computer was with the geek squad and Lee's computer has been sorta MIA as well. A lot has been going on in the last month or so and we've kept ourselves busy. At the beginning of January, we took a much needed vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic! This little Hammarback-Money getaway is becoming quite a tradition. I will say this one had a few bumpy moments...but all in all we had a wonderful time. I wont bore you with the details of the the 80 degree weather, laying by the pool and on the beach, five star cuisine and unlimited drinks or the 24 hour room service or spa treatments. No, I wont go into detail with any of that because it was just so amazing I wouldn't want to brag :) hehe. What I will say, is that we had a WONDERFUL time! Here are a few of our favorite pictures :)








We're making plans next year for a cruise! We are so excited!! Until then...I can dream of tropical drinks melting in my hand...