JOY #44: unexpected run-ins w/ friends :)

today,
i
slept in (joy).
took my dad to the airport (non-joy).
hung out with jackie - (joy).
picked up kira - (joy).
ran into miron - (joy).
brushed my teeth - (joy).

hey. that's in the shape of a star. joy!

JOY #43: runnin' :)

hey all! sorry i'm a day late w/ this post.
enjoy!
meg :)

JOY #42: teeth-brushin.

:)
you know what i love?

emptying my desktop trashcan
clearing out my gmail inbox
getting rid of things i don't need or use anymore
simplifying

also,
today, i brushed my teeth.
well actually, everyday, i brush my teeth.
but today, i brushed my teeth and i got a lot of joy out of it.

:)

JOY #41: Savannah's 911 call

thoughts running through my head right now:

man.
i stink at going to bed at a decent hour.
it's 2:24 am.
i did have to babysit until late tonight.
i have footage from today.
i could try to put together a video and not go to bed for a while longer.
none of the footage is uploaded yet.
i have to be at the nursing home at 9:00.
i need to go to bed soon.
i don't have time to put together my own video tonight.

my grandma sent me the above video in an email the other day.
this is my joy for today.
:)

JOY #40: dad in the nash

JOY #39: fashion advice from the france

tonight i curled my hair w/ a straightener.
frannie, i thank you for your hair and fashion wisdom.

i am wiped out.
video coming tomorrow.
:)

JOY #38: writing :)

mmm!
today was lovely.
i spent most of it in bed trying to rest up for the haiti benefit show tomorrow night,
but around 4, i drove to my guitar teacher's house and dropped off some chord charts bc she is playing w/ me tomorrow night!

i had planned to drive straight back home and hop right back in bed, but along the way,
i was struck with this spontaneous urge to pull over, park the car, sit in it while the rain hit the windows, and just write for a while.

so i did.
oh my goodness - so much joy!!

i poured out the thoughts and dreams and emotions whirring through my head about life and love and blessings and friendships and all sorts of things like that, i listened to a country cd i recently got from a friend (thank you - you know who you are), i
watched the rush-hour traffic seep from parking garages into city streets and finally onto the highways like little ants parading toward a mecca or amazing feast or something big and important like that, and then i just sat for a while.
i watched fat raindrops spatter on my windshield and i talked to God and i smiled for no reason at all (and then i got cold and decided it was time to go home)...
it was a marvelous little afternoon.

joy.
:)

JOY #37: water / theraflu

things that brought me joy today:
sunshine
rain on the windows
eating mexican food
truth
water / sipping theraflu
vegetable lasagna by kate :)

peace.
meg :)

JOY #36: late-night scrabble :)

things that brought me joy today:

- waking up and having dad here in the nash
- his precious efforts to take care of me
-mango vanilla soy creamy from trader joe's
-calls and texts from a few sweet friends
-sweet shannon dropping off an entire case of chick flicks for me
-the fact that vandy almost beat kentucky (ranked #2) in bball this afternoon
(final score: 56-58... SO CLOSE!)
-playing scrabble and hanging out with jim
- the beautiful weather in nashville
-having a bed to cozy up in all day

xoxo.
meg :)

JOY #35: trey's dance moves

this kid can jam.



joy!
meg

JOY #34: sitting in the sunshine

if you haven't already,
1. watch the video from today
2. watch JOY #32 and then click here and/or here
3. download your love is strong (jon foreman)
4. go sit in some sunshine

love,
meg

JOY #33: whitwhit!

in a certain sense,
the only reason i ever got to nashville in the first place was because of whitney.

whitney is one of my 26 cousins on my dad's side.
she grew up in california, i grew up in wyoming, and we always said we wanted to go to college together, so when she headed off to vanderbilt and found it to be a perfect fit (she's a year older than me), i knew i at least had to apply.

so i did.

and then i was wait-listed.
and then i decided that that was just fine and that i would go down and study musical theatre at TCU.
i went to visit TCU and got all squared away w/ a roommate and everything and was PUMPED to go there.
and then
at the beginning of june, i got a call saying that vanderbilt
had a place for me, after all, and would i please like to accept it?!

at this point, i had never visited vanderbilt or nashville or tennessee or any part of the south (except for texas) in my entire life and there was not time to visit before the admissions office needed my reply.
so what did i do?!
i called my whitwhit.

and long story short,
because of her
(slash ... actually because there is an amazing, awesome, incredible, divinely-orchestrated plan for every single person in this whole, humongous, massive crazy world... boggles my mind)
i came to the nash.

so today i'm joyful because whitney was born.
it is clear to me, in so many ways, that she has been a significant part of
my unfolding plan.

i love you, whitwhit!!!
happy birthday!!!!

JOY #32: little white lights :)

12:16 am
tonight was so blessed!
i cannot wait to share w/ you all!
finishing the video right now... will post it asap.
:)

ps: i've had lots of people ask for a list of all the songs/artists in each video so...
here ya go! purchase the music and support all these writers/artists!

song title/ artist
1. try/asher brook (fame soundtrack)
2. the way i am / ingrid michaelson - check this girl out. genuine. real. love her.
3. if i'll ever / adie
4. jesse hold on / bwitched - i'm not afraid to say that i still love this group.
5. let's hear it for the boy / footloose soundtrack
6. dream kitchen / hans zimmer (the holiday soundtrack) - love that movie!
7. say / john mayer
8. gotta be / des'ree - think i listened to this song 200 times this summer
9. everybody, everybody / blackbox
10. second star to the right / jesse mccartney
11. you belong with me / taytay
12. all i need / shawn mcdonald
13. sleep / meg murray (oh i so want to record a cd! i'll let you know when i do!)
14. i go blind / hootie and the blowfish
15. legacy / nichole nordeman - beauuutiful song!
16. orange sky - alexi murdoch
17. that's where you take me / britney spears
18. we'll find it / sister hazel (wedding planner soundtrack)
19. separate vacations / hans zimmer (the holiday sountrack)
20. if my heart had wings / faith hill
21. someday we'll know / mandy moore (a walk to remember soundtrack)
22. the way i feel / matt wertz
23. center / charlie hall
24. free to be me / francesca battistelli
25. piano song #1 / meg murray
26. shining star / earth wind & fire - love this group
27. new soul / yael naim
28. love story / tay
29. maybe / ingrid michaelson
30. whole new world / aladdin
31. piano song #2 / meg murray
32. fight / ronnie freeman - this song makes me wanna be a professional, really graceful, really good (i guess professionals are those things...) ballet dancer. just sayin.

1:03 am
here it is!


joy to you all tonight!
sleep tight.
meg

JOY #31: spontaneous concerts

joy.
meg :)

ps - tonight i get to babysit cayden.
(see JOY #4).
that kid always brings joy.

JOY #30: key lime pie yogurt

30! woo!
ya'll, this project has been so fun for me!
time-consuming - yes. fun - double yes.

anywhose.
true story:
it's 11:49 am and i just woke up.
there is a bit of joy.
i actually love getting up early (like really early) on some days, but today it felt absolutely loverly to sleep in.

i also ate some key lime pie yogurt for breakfast.
love to ya.
meg

JOY #29: kelley

today i talked to my little sister kelley for an hour.
twas so great.
kelley is my second-youngest sister (i have three) and she is doing a foreign exchange in chile this year.
thank goodness for skype.

also today, i
a) ran seven miles (amanda vick - i would not have made it without you. you crack me up. thanks). half marathon #1/2010 is one month from today!
b) shaved my legs
c) took a nap
d) played scrabble online.

these all brought me joy.
off to eat some gumbo!

meggie.

JOY #28: mexican food

today i ate mexican food with my good friend, andres.
the guacamole was really good and andres made me laugh a lot.

i also have a really cute story about the queen of the nursing home, but i'm runnin at 7 am tomorrow and it's already 12:30, so... i'll post it tomorrow.

nigh night.

JOY #27: new pens!

what does JOY mean to you?
joy to me does not mean being happy or excited or a big ball of laughter all the time.
it does not mean having a stress-free, problem-free life with an abundance of people who necessarily get you.
and it does not mean getting or having everything you want.

what it does mean to me is
having an abiding inner contentment that -even in the face of hardship- is totally incorruptible because you know everything is going to be ok.
it's having the perspective that, even in a world that is overwhelmed by pain and suffering, there is still beauty - if you take the time to look - and a whole lot of grace.
and it's appreciating the little things and trying to send up a quick "thank you" to whoever made them all possible, as much as you can.

today, i went to cvs and bought a new pack of my favorite type of pens before work.
somehow, writing with these pens just makes my day a little bit better.

small joy.
meg :)

JOY #26: ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?!?

yesterday (tuesday) was a whirlwind of a day.
i did music at the nursing home in the morning,
(i played lots of my own songs, a handful of patriotic ones and hymns, and then a) got requests for some billy joel and elton john for next week and b) was asked on a lunch date by a precious lady from assisted living who wears purple and green sweaters with matching pants and frequently has red lipstick on both her lips and her teeth. :) )
babysat all afternoon,
(reference joy #25)
played haiti benefit concert numero dos in the evening,
(explanation below)
and then blogged (and made the video and such) late into the night
(and finally crashed around 3:30 am).

today,
i enjoyed a lovely lunch with my dear friend, kathryn,
(lemongrass chicken egg rolls from trader joe's; total yum)
watched this week's episode of the bachelor on hulu,
(which... funny story... i originally thought was "zulu," but when i went to zulu.com, i did not find any tv episodes. i called my roommate and said "jenn, i dont think this zulu thing works on my computer")
worked at the restaurant,
(and only made one thing of guacamole tonight! ...that never happens)
and now, i am doing my bliggity blog.

tomorrow i'm waking up at 5:30 (yikes. it's already 12:49 am) to babysit.
it's william though, so... totally worth it.

anyway,
(hey - for those of you who read these, btw, thanks for putting up with my totally stream-of-consciousness, just-like-i-talk kind of writing)
yesterday's haiti benefit was such. a. ball!
we had both more people and raised more money than in the first week, so... yay!
also, christine sang three of her own songs last night,
and we decided to turn off all the big lights during the show, so it was extra magical-ly.
(magical-ly just sounds better than magical to me).
i cannot wait to see how these shows progress and evolve throughout the spring.
eeeee!!

my joy for today is coming home after work and seeing the sign that william put on my door before the show last night.
when i was babysitting yesterday, i'd asked him if he wanted to make a "welcome" sign and he was like...
"i could do that."
hahaha.
i got him some paper and a box of markers and watched him pull out the only sharpie and proceed to ferociously write
"ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?!"
ha.
i love that kid.

if i had made the sign, it probably would have said "welcome!" in bubbly letters, and then be dotted with flowers and stars and other doodly things.

i like the "ARE YOU READY TO ROCK" much better.

joyityjoy.
meg

JOY #25: that kid!

words cannot express the sheer hilariousness of the kid i babysat today.
('tis the same kid who's the genius behind the peppermint marshmallow clouds from joy #22, for those who are interested).
he can keep me entertained and laughing for hours.
joy joy joy joy joy! joy joy

meg :)

JOY #24: silly-ly pronouncing things :)

today was one of those days where i was reminded that
i still have a lot to learn.
have you ever had those days?

i love 'em.
they're humbling and refreshing and thought-provoking and... while i'm not sure that "joyful" is the best way to describe my feeling after the conversation that made me feel this way, i was definitely really grateful and just like...
man!
made me think.

anyway... onto less philosophical things:
today, i pronounced "tuesday" as "tuesDAY."
jenn and i laughed for a long time.

love -
meg :)

JOY #23: big, cozy sweatshirts :)

peace and love!
meggie

JOY #22: peppermint marshmallow clouds :)

have you ever eaten a peppermint marshmallow cloud?!

dee. lish.

peaceeee!

meg :)

JOY #21: voting for king and queen :)

this might be my favorite so far.
just watch the video. :)
joy!

JOY #20: couch-crashing, pink boots, and HER :)

man! today has been so joyful already!

1. i woke up to a goodbye hug from marion.
2. i was ON TIME for my guitar lesson this morning.
3. my guitar teacher was wearing hot pink cowboy boots.
4. the new issue of HERnashville is out.
5. it's only 12:28 pm!
6. i'm sitting next to the cutest little mama and baby as i type this.

joy to you,
meg

JOY #19: playing for Haiti :)

i'm a list kind of girl.
and at the beginning of this year, one of the things i wrote on my list of goals for 2010 was to play a real, live, scheduled show (at a particular place and with the particular purpose of sharing my music).

a few weeks ago, i was scrolling through some articles and images of all the devastation in haiti.
i was so, so moved and decided that i didn't want to wait to play with a full band or at one of the particular venues i had in mind, but that instead ... i'd just start exactly where i am and with what i have today, and host a series of house shows/haiti benefit concerts every week throughout the spring right at my own place.

last night was the first one, and it was such a success! i had so much fun and it was such a joy to get to share what i am most passionate about with a group of amazing, encouraging friends, all for a greater cause.
to me, that is the best kind of joy: getting to do something you love and having it simultaneously benefit someone else. ...ya know?!

i am so grateful for how all these little shows have come together and i am super thankful for the opportunity to keep playing them throughout the spring.

xo and joy :)
meg

ps: if you are interested in donating to haiti relief efforts, check out http://www.vermonthaitiproject.org/.
one of the women who works for this organization came to the show last night and shared firsthand experiences/photos from her time in port-au-prince; the work she did was truly remarkable. i know her 'kids' (the students/orphans she taught in haiti) would be so grateful if you donated funds to help rebuild their school.

come back soon!

JOY #18: working at the nursing home!

the olympics start in EIGHT days!
happy tuesday!

JOY #17: christine's harmonies :)

some of today's joys:
a. spinning class with bets
b. strawberry water during spinning
c. wasabi caesar salad at lunch
d. sunglasses. inside. for fun.
e. singing w/ christine.

[video dialogue open to interpretation]
best story wins!
:)