Let’s start with the introductions, shall we? I’m Ellie from Wish Me Not. I’ll be filling in for Megan while she’s in Asheville with her husband for their lovely anniversary getaway. While the two of them are in Asheville, I thought I would do a little reminiscing.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been dating a wonderful man for over three years now. Boyfriend and I went to the same high school, but neither of us really knew each other then. In the last two years of high school or so, I shared a few classes with him and developed this immense crush. For some reason, when I looked at him I saw something that no one else did. He was sweet, charming, and such a flirt! But he was dating a fellow classmate from choir. She was a sweet person and I’m not the type to interfere in someone’s happiness. So I stood by and just waited to see if the crush would pass or if by some chance I could be friends with him. High school ended and we wound up at the same college by some miracle (on the same part of campus too).

When I entered college I was this small, shy person who had no experience with the opposite sex. Lucky for me that I chose a college which was primarily inhabited by males. I kid, I didn’t choose the college for it’s overwhelming population of the male sex. Though I will tell you that our ratio is about 70% male to 30% female. Mhm, “the odds are good but the goods are odd” was the saying I learned when I entered college. As I’m so shy, I didn’t know how to approach him or any other guys. During our first year I began to know him better as a friend and eventually learned that he’d broken up with the girl from choir. I was told by several friends that she had been mean to him and quite controlling. It was a drastic change from the image I had of her. I waited a while to give him time because I thought it was the right thing to do. Eventually we hung out more and more. He had plenty of girls surrounding him throughout the first year and I thought that there was no way that he’d ever look at me.

Of course what happened next was just as surprising to me as it was to everyone else. I asked him out. This small, shy creature who never would have had the guts before, stood up and asked him to dinner. And he said “I’d love to!” I will always remember that moment because it changed everything. Our first date was special. I’ll admit that our “first” technical kiss was initially disappointing. But as he walked away, I turned to watch him go. The next thing I knew, he’d turned around and was suddenly making his way towards me. He told me that he was so embarrassed about the kiss and wanted to know if he could try it again. I’d never been so speechless. The next moments were those that I will remember forever. He swept me up in his arms and kissed me. I felt as if I was inside some sort of fairytale. He was worth the wait, every moment, every refusal I’d given to another guy that first year. From there it was a whirlwind and now we’ve been together for over three years. The three best years of my life, honestly.

The Boyfriend and I have been to Asheville twice now. And it would not surprise me if we ended up visiting Asheville for a third time in the near future. Each time we went to visit, we would explore more and more of the downtown area. We are far from experts, but we’ve sort of picked out our little spots, the ones that we know are welcoming and offer us something unique. We absolutely fell in love with Asheville the first time we visited. (we went to celebrate my 21st) But the second trip (for our 2nd year anniversary) was where we really had a chance to explore. It wasn’t until a little while after our second visit that I concluded that Asheville had enough potential to be one of the cities we might live in once we are married. Maybe not permanently, but I wouldn’t mind living there for a year or two.

While we were in Asheville we explored the downtown area a lot and the newer area a little. The newer area is what you would expect for a moderate to large sized city. There’s a mall, various eateries, and other amenities you’d expect. Nothing extraordinary, so I’ll just skip over that bit. In downtown there are a few places that we ate at and went to that really struck a note with us.

• Our first meal was a dinner and we found it by simply walking around until we found some place that looked appealing to us. It was a little Mexican place that had wonderful food and the best margarita I’ve ever tasted. We shared a meal and some ceviche. Both were wonderful.
• One of the nights we were there we went to this little chocolate/dessert bar. When we stepped inside I felt like I was in heaven. Oh the chocolate! We shared a wine glass that was filled with tiramisu, Boyfriend had a small cup of pure melted chocolate, and I had a small mocha coffee.
• Another place that we loved was this little french cafe. I believe this was one of the last places we ate at before we headed home. I had some delicious salmon and the Boyfriend had some mussels, or was it oysters? Hmm. Both are slimey looking. But the best part about the place was the atmosphere. We had to wait a while to be seated but it was worth the wait. In between the kitchen and main dining area there was this little courtyard with very limited seating. You got a peak at the people walking down the street but were kind of secluded. It was definitely a couples area. It was just so picturesque.
• I’ll mention my favorite shop while I’m at it. There was this little clothing shop somewhere in the heart of downtown. I’d recognize it by sight, but I almost never remember names unless I write them down. Of course then I typically lose that paper. But anyways, this little shop had one particular dress that I fell in love with immediately. And since this was during our first trip, partly to celebrate my birthday, the Boyfriend bought it for me! I was so thrilled. I came out of the dressing room with my eyes all glazed over and he knew I wanted it. I was going to purchase it myself but after putting my things back on and coming out, he promptly took it from me and kissed me, wishing me a happy birthday.

We walked around a lot, scouting out potential sites for lunch/dinner and just browsing. That’s mostly how we spent our time in Asheville. It is just nice to walk around the downtown area. We browsed so many little shops and beer stores. The Boyfriend was quite happy to browse beer stores. I don’t remember every single shop that was there, but there were a few that really stuck with me (like the ones I mentioned). That’s my little taste of Asheville.

Feel free to visit me where I write on a regular basis,Wish Me Not, or Nonsensically Yours, which is where I write about food.

I’d visited my boyfriend Andrew’s family home before, when Illinois was blanketed in snow and Lake Springfield, where his home rested on the banks, was iced over and frozen. It was a lovely first visit, despite my crippling nervousness and aversion to snow and the odd bits of settling into someone else’s family. Once we’d gotten comfortable, one phrase was repeated over and over: “You’ll have to come back in the summer—summer here is magical.”

And so, we packed our bags for three weeks, and headed back to Springfield to spend time with Andrew’s family, soak in the lake and to let me get to know the people Andrew loved best. We arrived late one sticky evening, and immediately went to sit out on the deck of their sprawling house, overlooking the lake. I heard the buzz of bugs and felt the cool breezes coming in off the lake.

For the next three weeks, I lived in summer culture. I woke early, enjoyed fruit on the deck for breakfast and piping hot coffee with fresh cream. We explored the city, taking in Abraham Lincoln exhibits and old funky buildings. I spent days at a time in my bathing suit, sitting on a foam noodle or swinging willy-nilly on an inflated tube behind a ski boat. I read books I’d put off for months in the sun. I was spoiled by Andrew’s mom’s amazing cooking: roasted corn on the cob and barbecue. There was a night at a bar with an amazing band where I laughed and met Andrew’s friends and got to know his city.

It was the highlight of my summer. The highlight of many summers.

And the highlight of it all was the fact that I fell deeper in love with Andrew. Sure, I knew him as he was with me: an Illinois transplant from California, a poker player, my boyfriend. But I got to know him so much better. I saw him as a son, as a big brother, as a childhood friend, as a little boy, sleeping in the bed where he’d dreamed so many big dreams and grown and changed.

I fell in love with lightening bugs and lake water and most importantly, with my relationship all over again.

Today, though–today is not my day. Today, I’m allowing Brandy some space on my blog. Because blogging is all about community. If you feel so inclined, copy & paste this to your blog.

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My name is brandy. And I have a blog.

And a plea.

I use my blog to showcase the crazy I meet everyday, share the stories of the kids I teach and document my love for tequila, dairy products and the abdominal muscles of Ryan Reynolds. Rarely do I talk about personal issues on my blog- as personal as the dude that I adore (who I actually met through my blog- single ladies, let that be a very good reason to blog, the possibility of meeting someone as wonderful as my man), but I need your help. And it involves my dude.

He’s a guy who made math comics for my class, so they would love learning about addition. He’s the kinda guy who sends my friends gift cards when they are having hard times, who remembers every story I ever told him, who was the first person I celebrated with when I got a teaching job. He’s the guy who sent flowers to me at school- dozens of my favourite pink roses just because he loves me. He’s a guy who has spent a year patiently explaining (and re-explaining) everything there is to know about football during the important games when silence is preferred. He’s made me word puzzles and comics and stayed up late playing Scrabble with me (even though I beat him almost every time). He’s listened to me cry about school and family and jobs. He is everything I never knew I needed and everything I always knew I wanted.

The holidays have hit us hard. He’s recently been told he may have something called multiple myeloma- an incurable cancer, that gives a person an average of five years of continued life. Though this news has came as a shock, he continues to be exactly who has always been- spending his time worrying about me, rather than worrying about himself. He’s the most selfless individual I know- (he stayed late on Christmas Eve to work, so his co-workers could leave early) and a post like this would never be something that he would promote or encourage but when I’m overwhelmed and feeling helpless, the blogging community has always given me tremendous support and comfort, two things I desperately need at this time.

As I write this, the future is uncertain and we aren’t sure what’s happening. He’ll need to see an oncologist soon, to verify what’s going on in his body. My hope is that everyone who reads this think positive thoughts and if you are a person who prays, could you add him to your list? (You can refer to him as ‘brandy’s hot awesome dude’). If you don’t pray, please keep him in your heart. This cancer is only a possibility and I believe that the prayers and positive thoughts of people can make sure it never becomes a reality.

I want to give a big thank you to the blog owner who scraped their original blog plans and graciously put this up. My goal is to get as many people as possible to see and read this post. If you are reading this and want to help, copy and paste my plea into your blog or send a link through twitter, so more people can keep him in their thoughts. I would be so very grateful (even more grateful than I am to my friend who first showed me the picture of Ryan Reynolds on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. If you haven’t seen it, google it. You. Are. Welcome).

I realize this all sounds dramatic, a Lifetime movie in the making- but this is life. Right now. And I’m throwing away any hint of ego and am humbly asking for you to pray or think kind thoughts. If you are able to pass this on, thank you and if you know anything regarding MM- please email me (my email is on my blog). This isn’t a call for sympathy or a plea for pity. It’s just one girl hoping you can think positive thoughts for the person she adores. If my current heartache provides you with anything, let it be with the reminder that life is short, love is unbending and no one knows what could happen next. Maybe it is silly, but I really do believe that positive thoughts can make a huge difference. Thank you for reading this and if you haven’t already? Please tell someone you love them today.

I did.

Hi! I’m Lauren and I blog over at www.halfdesertedstreets.com. When doing blog swaps I like to learn a little bit about the person before writing for their blog. While doing this, I learned that Megan was from a little state called Florida, where I currently reside. I haven’t always lived here, though.

I lived in a small city on Long Island for 12 years of my life. Every summer we’d vacation in the exotic state of Pennsylvania, going to both Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park, and that was pretty much all I knew. One summer we drove down to Florida to visit my elderly Jewish grandparents. Of course they lived down south; it’s almost natural to be sucked there when you’re over 50 and knitting matzo holders. One thing that really struck me when there was the accents. We ate a Cracker Barrel and I was intrigued by the slow, drawn out drawl. I was “Laaaaren,” not “LAWren.” It was “ya’ll” not “you guys.” I felt so foreign. And I hated how they pronounced my name.

Back at home, I told my classmates about the accents and we all imitated them during lunch. Sounding like cowboys and Southern Belles, we ordered our mushed meat and potatoes in the school cafeteria. Later that year I learned that our vacation to Florida wasn’t, in fact, just a vacation. It was a trial. We were to move there that upcoming summer.

I didn’t have a reaction, really. As a shy 12 year old, I had a handful of good friends, but that was it. Part of me was sad to leave them, but the other part was excited for something different, something new.

During my first day of 9th grade, I tried to blend in, not wanting to stand out too much. I sat in the middle of the classroom, avoiding the back with the cool kids and the front with the geeks. I ordered what everyone else ordered at lunch and sat silently by a group of kids, but not necessarily with them.

It was during History class that I realized how out of place I really was. After discussing that we’d start the year off by learning (once again) about the Revolutionary War, the teacher asked for important events that happened around that time period. Raising my hand timidly, I answered “The Boston Tea Party?”

Everyone laughed.

Red faced and horrified, I sat silently wishing I would disappear. Behind me, a boy I later learned was named Justin asked for me to say it again.

“Say what?” I questioned.
“The answer!”
“The Boston Tea Party?”
“BAHAHAHA. BAWWWSTON!”

It was then that I realized that I, too, had an accent. Being the deluded 12 year old I was, I thought that I was normal and everyone else was different. Needless to say, I monitored everything I said for the rest of the year. No “coffees” or “dogs” or “mall.”

It’s been 13 years and I’ve mostly lost my accent. When around others from NY, or when back up in the state, it comes back, full and strong. I don’t get mocked anymore for over pronouncing words in a clunky dialect. However, I still hate when people call me “Laren.” It’s just not right.

My blog crush this week is pretty awesome. She’s nineteen-years-old (so only a year younger than me), and I’m sure we’d be awesome real-life friends if we didn’t live on opposite sides of the continental U.S. Her blog is one of the first blogs I read, and I remember the reason I started reading it: I love[d] her name. (Yeah I judge blogs by their covers–err, names). I admire her writing abilities and her love for good books. So, this week, I decided to ask my blog crush to do a guest post on this blog, and she happily obliged! So, I present you: GirlJordyn with some things that she loves/likes.

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This is my first guest post and I want to make a good impression so that Megan’s readers will like me. With that goal in mind, I shall write to you a LIST OF THINGS I LIKE. Fifteen of them, in no particular order.

Twitter. I love Twitter. I’m a big fan of it. Before Twitter I would write silly little notes to myself in my cellphone. I hardly ever do that anymore. Now I just tweet it.

Colors. When I was younger I would change my favorite color every single day. Now that I’m older I’ve outgrown such childish things and instead have a thousand way tie between, oh, every color imaginable. Particularly red. And orange. And green and blue and brown. And yellow. Oh! And purple. Possibly pink too.

Things people say. If you listen hard enough you’ll notice that people say some fantastically hilarious things. For example, when my cousin set up her Facebook account she asked my sister if she had any friends on Facebook. My sister’s priceless reply? “I have real friends!”

Music. This is sort of a duh-wee one, but it includes: country music, soundtracks, music from broadway musicals, indie chick music, Coldplay (which, YES, is a genre unto itself), and various other types.

Television, but not all of it. Mostly I like the following: House, Friday Night Lights, The Colbert Report, The Office, Ace of Cakes, Sam the Cooking Guy, Important Things with Demetri Martin, and a splattering of other shows. (I did not forget Get Smart. I was only counting current shows.)

Get Smart.

Books. I’m currently reading the second Gallagher Girls book by Ally Carter and after this my To Read list consists of: Summer at Tiffany, Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn, Such A Pretty Girl, and Wicked. All of these but the last are sitting on my shelves at this very moment.

The Funny. Everyone likes The Funny, right? RIGHT.

Mail. Email: good. Snail mail: good. Unless it’s junk mail. Junk mail is never good; it’s just a waste of paper.

Sharpie Pens. Have you guys used Sharpie Pens yet? OMG. Best. Pens. Ever! They’re pretty much all I write with now… I bought two and am completely amazed I haven’t lost them yet.

Nerds. The candy and the people. Nerds are great. If you aren’t one, you should become one.

Names. I have something of a fascination with names. It’s always interesting finding out what they mean, but even more than that I love the sounds of them and the images they conjure up. Does this make me weird?

Starbucks. Oh man, I LOVE Starbucks. I don’t even drink coffee and I love it. I go there, order iced tea (almost always iced tea) and write. Or sometimes go for “coffee” with people. (The quotes around the word coffee show that I never actually have coffee, but saying you’re going for “tea” just doesn’t sound right.)

Barnes and Noble. I believe I once told someone that BN is my home planet. I don’t think I was kidding. And put BN together with Starbucks? HEAVEN.

Teddy bears. They’re just so cute and comforting, aren’t they?

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Remember to check out Jordyn’s blog, and leave her some blog love by commenting!