awakening from the blog silence...

...finally!

Whew! First of all, I would like to apologize for my silence the last month - it is utterly CRAZY to think about all that has happened in the last month, but even so...there is no excuse for my lack of bloggin'. So, please forgive me...please, please, please!

Second of all, you may have noticed that the blog has a bit of a new look. So allow me to introduce you to the NKOTB (new kids on the block, baby!...yeah, isn't it sad that you just knew what i was talking about when you read that acronym?! back in the day. *sigh* oh, jordan! ha. i digress.)...

1) I've added a new piece of functionality...take a look. Just over to the right. Scroll down and you'll find it under the somewhat creepy 'I'm watching you' heading. That's it...ClustrMaps. I can track visitor locations by country so as you so graciously stalk me, I can stalk you back. FUN, huh?! Yeah, super-cool.

In fact, it was my friend ClustrMaps that encouraged me to write an update post now, because she told me that nearly 170 people have visited my site in the last month and that was embarrassing because, well, I haven't written anything new! But, what she also informed me about is that there are people all over the world reading this blog. It looks like I have fans in (or perhaps people were unfortunate to stumble upon me in) the States (duh!), Czech Republic (again, duh!), Canada, Poland, UK, Australia, Germany, Brazil, India (what?!) Luxembourg (again, what?!), the Netherlands, Serbia (whoa!), Australia, Turkey (wow, awesome), Portugal, Spain and Austria. How cool is that?! Thanks to all of you for visiting 'zmena' and being so cool and other-worldly ;).

But, I am wondering where my peeps from France, Switzerland, Ireland, Kazakhstan (Borat?!), Africa, Nicaragua, etc. etc. are! Come on, guys - represent! You can click on the map and check it out too. Pretty dang cool, huh?!

2) Also gave the blog a new look and feel, but want to do something even more visually appealing. And, now that I have a mac (woot woot - best christmas present EVER!), I think I'll be able to whip something up - if nothing else, at least a new main image with embedded copy rather than the template's forced and ugly typeface. Hang with me.

That's it for now. I have loads of updates for you guys and I am VERY behind, but will work on the ol' holiday letter in the next week or so and hopefully get something out there for the world to see!

Along with that, I'll tell you about my MAD-CRAZY travel month of January...I just returned from 2.5 weeks of holiday in the States between Minnesota and Wisconsin on the 8th, celebrated my one-year anniversary in Prague on Saturday, and then hit the road for an offsite company retreat in Austria with our St. Christopher's partners from London. Phew. You thought it ended there, but it doesn't. Next week my travel pal, Lexy, comes to Prague and then we'll hit the tracks for the Kitzbuhel world cup. WOW. AMAZING...and we're both super-pumped. We'll return on Saturday night and she'll head to the States while I jump on a plane to Dublin, Ireland for the Hostelworld conference. Are you tired and maybe a little bit jealous from reading that?! I am definitely already tired, but super-excited for this month of work/fun travel.

Follow me here and I'll share the crazy travel stories with you all and try to get daily updates from the world cup next week! YAY!

Love,

me

všechno nejlepší k narozeninám (pro tomek!)

studly tom . rock mtn. nat'l park . colorado

graffiked tomus . kowalski's . mpls, mn

This is a (belated) birthday shout-out to my honey and partner-in-crime, Dr. Tom! I was super-bummed to miss the big day (December 11th) this year, but I did make an effort to organize a little surprise shin-dig (wasn't as successful as I'd hoped...but it was my fault for getting the word out too late. ah well...B+ for effort!). Anyway, since it was Tom's big day I thought I'd get a little post out here on the interweb and profess my love for him!

Tom, thank you for being my best friend and for always being so crazy and amazing and fun. Thank you for your whacked-out, high level of energy. Thank you for your love and unreal zest for life. Thank you for being the best travel buddy I could have ever dreamed up (we travel perfectly...check out the video of us having a crazy time at the Gypsy Bar in Krumlov below...so funny). Thank you for your patience and support.

And most of all...thank you for being.

I love you so much and am blessed to have you in my life!

Gypsy craziness from Thomas Suszynski on Vimeo.

meg and tom . wandering around mala strana . praha, cze

Love and live to love you!

Me

mhtv # unknown: bringing it back! off to laax and zurich...

Happy day...posting this from last week...have returned safely from Switzerland in one piece after numerous mountain adventures. More to come soon!

sunshine peaks . flumserberg . switzerland

polka-dot galore . snowboarding . flumserberg, switzerland

dang! look at those peaks . zurich . switzerland

mhtv # unknown: bringing it back! off to laax and zurich... from megan harrod on Vimeo.

Love,

Me

celebrity sightings galore!

Well, guys - remember my post the other day about St. Mikulas Day? The big day is tomorrow, so I was bummed I wasn't going to get the opportunity to see these guys in action. However, I took a lil' trip to the post office today and to my surprise I had a celebrity sighting...St. Mikulas and his sidekicks (angel and devil).

I can honestly say the children were genuinely terrified of this devil...as was I. I was just standing there in awe of the spectacle...definitely didn't expect it. In the States kids cry at the sight of Santa...imagine what they do when they see a scary devil with a pitch fork, deep black face and red hair. Well, I don't have to imagine - because I saw (or heard) it. Ha! Whoa! I mean, the child was screaming in terror...the look on his face was utter fear. I know it is a tradition, but an interesting and telling tradition nonetheless. I guess very much like our crazy Halloween traditions.

Tonight on my way to the bus station (destination: Switzerland), I'm going to go through Old Town. With my luck, I'll get stopped by the devil and he'll put me in a sack and carry me away to Hell (seriously, that's the legend!).


Happy St. Mikulas Day!

Me

a love letter...

Dear Tom,

From the first night I saw you across the dance floor, I wanted to tell you 'I love your sweet 1980's-style-polyethylene-beach-volleyball-style hat and sleek silver prada dancin' shoes'. I know we haven't talked much (or at all) these last 2 hours, but I know you are...
****THE ONE!****

Ha! Awesome! This vid (below) is super!

...Okay, so I'm lacking the energy to do this today (or, technically, yesterday, considering it is 1:26am here), but I'm doing it because I promised I would (and also because I am trying to delay packing as long as I can:), because I like the thrill and chaos of last-minute packing. ha!)! I came across this vid today on gmail's homepage and it made me smile.

It made me smile for a couple of reasons: 1) google is so creative and 2) it reminded me of the awesome love letters my loving fiance writes to me.

I don't know how many of you know this, but Tom and I started writing love letters before we technically met...only then, we didn't realize they were 'love' letters...but we've always had a passion for words and the meaning they convey. Mailed letters require time, thought, energy, and - most of all - love. Even if you may not necessarily love the person, there is still a lotta love jammed into that envelope. So, if we're in love there must be a lot, A LOT of love jammed into that lil' envelope! And, it's true - because I can feel it pouring out upon opening them!

And, that's what makes Tom so unique and perfect for me...he takes the time to write a letter, pour his love into it, and send it over to me. Over and over again. I think that's so cool, and I am so thankful to have such a supportive, loving fiance. I'm truly always counting my blessings...and Tom is on the top of my list.



Thank you, Tom, for the person you are and for the daily support (and love letters) you give to me!

I love, love, love you!

Dreaming of you,

Megan

it's about that time...

...ski season is here, and Lo and I are ringing it in with a lil' weekend trip to Zurich and - more importantly - Laax, Switzerland. I thought about buying these boards (see picture below from a sports store near Czech Inn...sick!), but decided I'd opt for the wider variety this weekend. That's right, dad...I'm going snowboarding. Hold on...don't freak out. I'm still a skier-gal at heart.

ha...sport bazar near czech inn

This is just a precursor to many ski (/boarding) trips to come, including a trip to Kitzbuhel and then (potentially) Schladming for the night slalom in January. Part of me is bummed that I'm missing out on the famous Birds of Prey (Beaver Creek!) world cup annual trip this weekend, but I know I'll be there again in years to come.

So, in honour of the race I thought it was only fitting to spend time on the white stuff from afar. I'll be sending positive-ski-fast-vibes to the boys and watching the races from Switzerland!

For those of you in cyberland who don't know much about the legendary Birds of Prey downhill...and especially for those of you out there who don't know much about skiing in general, I've added these two vids for your benefit. Anyone who says ski racing isn't a sport...yeah, well I'd like to challenge you to ski Birds of Prey. These dudes are going upwards of 85 mph. That's as fast as a car...going fast. SO cramazing (crazy/amazing;))!

So, enjoy:

1) Daron Rahlves dissects Birds of Prey and 2) Steve Nyman's Birds of Prey Summer Tour

Happy skiing (and boarding ;)),

Me

p.s. I'm doing pretty well with the one post a day thing...what do you think? Anyone out there? Hello?

Bueller?...

a blog post a day keeps the doctor away...

So, here's my effort to try to get a daily blog post up this week...we'll see how I fair.

I haven't told you yet, but my wonderful bro and I went on our first lil' weekend sojourn a couple of weekends ago to Barcelona, Spain - both his and my first time to Spain! It was super!

Most notable was our tapas + sangria + red wine dinner at Cerveceria Catalana...recommended by a dear friend of mine - and it was amazing!! If you're in Barcelona, you should go there - service was outstanding (Indira, Teng, Beydyetc - we made new friends!).

Hmm...what else?!

OH YES! That's right...I almost forgot Antoni Gaudi's architectural marvels (ha, yeah right - how could I forget?!). They were whacky and cool and mysterious and beautiful at the same time. Unbelievable, really. The guy was a brilliant man - La Segrada Familia is a crazy/beautiful massive masterpiece. WOW. And, of course, we enjoyed - so much - the beach...the sound of the water and the yummy beach good vibes were so welcomed and felt so foreign.

Here are some snaps from the sojourn. Enjoy!

sunset alley

gaudi galore a la sagrada familia

fast forward :)

rock on...in the spanish sunshine

reflection in a barcelona storefront

tapas a la cerveceria catalana

rad (red) barcelona bathroom

footsteps on spanish soil

Thanks for stopping by!

This weekend I head to Zurich and Laax, Switzerland for some boarding with Lauren looking forward to the inevitable ensuing adventures!

Let it snow,

Me