....And AFTER!

First of all, thank you SO much for all of your positive feedback re. the pillow! At first I was blushing, then I was beaming, then I broke into a cold sweat and became positively terrified to post the "after" pictures. I told Michael that everyone was so excited to see the new room based off of the pillow and what if I let them down? What if my room didn't hold up to the fabulous pillow? And you know what? It might not. BUT! I love it, Michael loves it, Thumbs is glowing with excitement, and I suppose that's all that matters. So enough talk, here she (or he) is!








And now for the specific details...

The coffee table (Ignore the somewhat wilted flower arrangement I created, it was for the baby shower we had last night and the gorgeous hydrangeas are now looking about how I feel. The white books are Peter Lik, our favorite photographer, and an Ansel Adams book signed by everyone who attended our wedding. And below the coffee table is wrapping paper from the party that I just now noticed. Oops.):

This is Michael's favorite part of the room! He loves rocking chairs and broke into a huge grin when we found this "mid-century modern" version at West Elm. It looks tiny, but we had a 6'3" man in it last night and he seemed quite pleased!


I think my favorite part of the room (besides Thumbs, of course) are the chairs. The color is so soft and pretty but the camera keeps pulling only the brown tones. They're actually more of a grey with blue and tan undertones that shift with the light. The curtains are a soft velvet (Sidenote: ironing 108" panels is exhausting):

The couch with the four pillows I purchased a few months ago!

Our blue/silver books on top of the bookcase. Michael's parents gave him the blue Waterford vases when he was in college and they finally have a home!


Side table. One of the first things Michael and I learned about each other was that we both loved Shel Silverstein. The white books worked perfectly in this room! The candle formation is usually a Christmas decoration but it works in here so it's become a year-round decoration:

Special thanks to this guy:

When we first moved to this house I hated the fireplace. I didn't think it belonged and found it very distracting. SO white. It's still not my favorite but I tried to decorate with enough whites and creams to actually make it look like it belonged in this room! Through the entire process I just wanted to put together a room that was serene and intimate. I'm so pleased with it!

Most everything in the room was a wedding gift or was purchased at Crate and Barrel or West Elm. As I mentioned in my last post, it is 96% complete. You might have caught the 4%--the bamboo portrait above our fireplace. It doesn't quite fit anymore since there is not a trace of green anywhere else in the room! We actually purchased two Peter Lik photographs in Maui and the other has quite a bit of blue and golds with a hint of green. It has yet to be framed but when it is it will replace the bamboo and the bamboo will move elsewhere. And then we'll be at that glorious 100!

Sneak Peek!

When I moved back to Tulsa several years ago I wanted a cozy reading chair for my apartment bedroom. I didn't want to spend a ton of money and after a lot of searching I finally found one I liked at Pier 1. Michael also liked the chair so we put our heads together and decided he should get the matching settee and ottoman since we knew we were MFEO and would spend the rest of our lives together (one day). Fast forward 4 years and we're so tired of them. They're not comfortable. They're not very nice. They're not really us anymore.

Take a look:


When we moved to our present home we were blessed with another living area. We had zero furniture for the room so guess what we put there? Oh yes. Our Pier 1 furniture. It's the first room you see when you walk through our front door and it leaves so much to be desired. When we decided we were ready to buy real furniture for the room my mind went crazy.

What color scheme?

What style?

What the heck do I know about design?

The only question I could safely answer was number 3: nothing. I looked through design blogs and they just made me want to throw everything we owned away and start over. I knew that wasn't an option so I sat down one day and really thought about what I loved. Our last house was pretty dark and was all about the warm colors. I adored it. This house is all about windows and light. When I painted our master bedroom blueish grey a few months ago I fell in love with how calm it was. Greens and browns don't exactly scream excitement, but blues and greys make me think everything is right in the world. I realized using all blues and greys in the living room meant I would have to paint (currently it's a light tan) and that made me reconsider the greens and browns. Painting our bedroom was one thing, an entire living room was another. So I was back at square one.

Then I walked into West Elm. I saw it. A 12" by 12" masterpiece that made me giddy and calm at the same time. I felt like I was on HGTV after they decide to re-do a room and their inspiration is something tiny and ridiculous. Mine was a pillow. THIS pillow:



It was everything I wanted. And needed. Blues, greys, and tans. No need to paint the room at all! I walked out of West Elm empty-handed but came back almost immediately and bought that pillow (and three others that coordinated). I had NO idea what the couch would look like. Or the chairs. Or the coffee table. I didn't care. I would design the room around my pillow.

Tomorrow our furniture arrives and the room will be 96% complete. We've already moved the wicker furniture out to our patio where it belongs. I'll take some pictures and post them over the next few days but I just couldn't wait any longer to write about this. Maybe it's because I never throw surprises your way on the ol' blog and this is a nice change. And I realize this surprise isn't nearly as thrilling for you as it is for me but just pretend with me. Please? Thanks.

(By the way, once it's finally finished you are all invited over for some wine and cheese. And cake.)

This is the room BEFORE (isn't he cute?):

The Big ONE!

Today is Mr. Evan's 1st birthday!! I am shocked he's already one--this year has flown! He is such a wonderful little guy and we could not be more thrilled to call him our nephew. I'm so proud of him. :) Can't wait to see the exciting things he learns in the upcoming year!

Happy birthday little man! Love, Aunt Merdi and Uncle Mike




And this masterpiece was created by Grandpa B (click on it--pretty amazing)!

A Special Guest

A few updates! Once again, I'd like to introduce my friend, Mr. Bullet Point: •

• Today is Thumbs' 5th birthday! I don't know how old she really is because she was a stray cat near our home in Tulsa. I brought her with me to Fort Smith on October 31, 2004, the day before I started my job at Beverly. That being said, I've always considered Halloween her birthday and it only makes sense that her coloring is black and orange. Way to get into the spirit, Kiddo! She was around before Michael and she's not afraid to let him know it.
• Happy Halloween! Girls, if you must wear your barely there costumes, please remember: leggings/tights are wonderful inventions. Use them. Love them.
  
• Speaking of Halloween, I just finished Twilight. After adoring Harry Potter, I decided I should read first, judge later (except when it comes to Lord of the Rings, which can die a horrible death for all I care). Anywho, I finished the first book yesterday and asked Michael to be Edward Cullen for Halloween. And then I got a little frustrated at him for not being a vampire with "smoldering eyes." I'm not going to lie, there were several parts that made me roll my eyes but there were even MORE parts where I hugged my pillow (I was home by myself, leave me alone) and cried, "I LOVE YOU EDWARD!" Yeesh. I was supposed to run four errands yesterday. I ran one. And it was only because if I didn't we would not have enough food in our cabinets to make dinner.
• Tomorrow is Evan's first birthday! Holy cow! More on that tomorrow...
• My BFF at work is driving me crazy. She wants to do lunch all of the time. After spending 8 hours a day talking to people, I really like my lunch to be a time where I don't have to talk to anyone. I think she's at that age where eating by yourself means you're a loser. Or perhaps it still does and I've just embraced my loser status. Anyway, BFF has officially made it on my poop list.
• I didn't write about this on my blog but for the last two months I have not been able to find Pillsbury Orange Rolls ANYWHERE. At first it was a simple, "Hmm, they must be out of them this week." Then it turned into a slight obsession, which led to me looking on Pillsbury's website to see if they were still being made. I'd just about decided we were going to have to move back to Tulsa (several friends saw them at their stores) when I peered into the case yesterday and FOUND THEM. I might have shouted in Walmart, I honestly don't know. It was glorious. So I scooped up two (I'm not going to admit to you how many I considered taking), and happily went on my way. Way to go, Dallas. I was really dreading another move.
  

That's it for now. Sorry it's been awhile!

My Favorite Pumpkin

Michael's Anniversary Post :)

I will never tell anyone to "drive safe" again, I will tell them to "drive safely."

Meredith has shown that it is possible to enter a room and turn on every single light in order to find one thing, and then leave said room without turning any of those lights off.

If you attend a church for the first time you may find they recite the Lord's Prayer a little differently than how you remember it growing up.

When I was little my Dad would ask if I was ready to go by asking "Ready Teddy?" If I say that in our house I will not receive any type of response until I rephrase it to "Ready Freddy?" (Insert picture of teddy bear and psycho killer Freddy Krueger...)

It is assumed that we are being honest with each other. Should either of us choose to phrase something with "honestly," it will quickly earn a "thanks for being honest" comment that throws off the entire track of thought.

I like to think tickling was something that happened to everyone when they were little and was generally a good time. (That also sounds like something a pedophile would say but we'll keep our heads out of the gutter for now.) Girls hit an age where suddenly tickling is the worst thing that could possibly happen to them. They will laugh and smile and then scold as soon as it is over.

Mexican food can be found in abundance in Texas. My parents and I can eat at Mi Cocina once a week and not think twice about it. Meredith needs more of a break between restaurant visits... but she could eat Jack in the Box tacos, Cheesy Gordita Crunches, or Chipotle every other day. I'll admit I like Chipotle, but the other two are crimes against the digestive system. Oh, and okra ain't that great. There, I said it.

While watching a non-Cowboys NFL game the other day Meredith rattled off the name of 3 or 4 players right in a row and asked if I was proud. I was very impressed and let her know my standards may have to raise for her in this area. She informed me that she would become more knowledgeable in the sports category as soon as I could start naming the designers of the handbags women carry around town. I think we can call this a tie.

On a somewhat related note, I never thought I would know so much about who was the best on So You Think You Can Dance, who's losing the most weight on The Biggest Loser, and whose dress was the most chic on Project Runway. I know how Heidi Klum will introduce herself and I can make impressions of Tim Gunn, and that makes me die a little inside.

Thumbs has really taken to me lately, mainly because I feed her every night. She proves that cats really are as stuck up as the stereotype suggests. I will get the butt treatment if I shift too much while sitting on the couch.

As two people who claim not to watch that much television, we've had a few marathons. I believe we watched 36 hours of Lost in a span of two weeks, and we caught up on the first two seasons of the Office in a weekend. We knocked out all the Harry Potter books this summer and then went on to discuss which houses we would be in if we were wizards.

We've made Anchorman jokes for as long as we've known each other and I don't see them stopping in the near future. Smells like Bigfoot's %^* indeed.

On long road trips with just the two of us I'll start to hum if the conversation has died. Meredith hates this and will make it come to a stop immediately. When we turn on the radio she'll start singing in her opera voice and snapping her full arm snap that I can't stand. I think we need to fly more.

We will undoubtedly forget (again) to put the Christmas tree trash bag around the stand before we bring the tree in this year.

With a few minor exceptions we really enjoy all the same music and movies. I did not care for the Pussycat Dolls craze that started at Mardi Gras several years ago complete with a dance by Kait, and every once in a while Merd will pick that Indie movie that turns out to be the most depressing experience of the year. ("We've seen her before...ALL of her.")

I can't walk upstairs, I have to run. Meredith can't walk downstairs, she has to trip. (I keed, I keed!)

I love the idea of going into a weekend with a clean slate and no plans. Meredith loves to wake up and immediately make a list of all the things we'll do on Saturday.

Once we turn the lights off at night and my head is on the pillow, I'm ready to sleep...immediately. Meredith is ready to talk and share hopes and dreams.

Meredith is cold. Always. And she brings a sweater 30% of the time.

Meredith can read approximately 3 times as fast as I can. I'm excited that she has committed to watch all 3 Lord of the Rings movies in 2010. In 2008 our New Year's resolution was to read the Bible in a year. She finished a few days early to allow for the holiday travel and such. I made it to January 3rd. Epic fail.

According to multiple discussions we've had over the last two years, we will consider having a baby sometime between December 2009 and March 2015.

If we have a baby girl, Meredith wants to name her after a boy. Meredith and I had the same haircut at age 3.

Meredith is amazed at how long my eyebrows are and I never have a good response.

When I try to kiss Meredith goodbye in the morning, I am able to kiss her forehead or cheek 15% of the time. All the other attempts land on the ear, hair, or shoulder. It's dark, leave me alone.

If I do something embarrassing but no one sees, I won't bring it up unless it happens to Meredith too.

Periodically she will remind me how many posts she has made on "our" blog compared to my one.

Meredith seems to find it odd that I am too lazy on Saturday mornings to wipe off the icing that has dripped from my cinnamon roll to my chest. It'll come off when I shower in the next 30-180 minutes.

We decided last night that Hilary Duff leaving Disney opened the door for that Hannah Montana crap so all of this is really her fault.

We listen to zero rap yet Meredith knows some lyrics, and by some I mean entire songs that would make Jay-Z blush.

Favorite outfits: When I'm getting dressed in the morning and have on underwear, undershirt, and socks. When Meredith comes home and immediately puts on her pink, fluffy Mrs. Haynes robe and blue, furry, house booties.

I definitely went off on a tangent and just started remembering fun things from the last couple of years, but they've been better than I could have imagined. We've had a lot of changes in two years, good and bad, but we've had so much fun together and are constantly excited about what's next.

(It's Meredith again. I only want to make one comment. See that sentence up there that is bold and red? That did NOT happen. That will NEVER happen. Thanks.)

Never Before Seen Footage

(Editor's Note: Last year Michael and I collaborated on our anniversary post by listing the things we'd learned about each other in our first year of marriage. Since we're celebrating two years together, I thought it'd be fun to have two posts and asked if he'd want to write one. Surprisingly enough, he agreed! Below is mine and I'll post his when he sends it my way. Could be today or later this week.)

Today is our two-year anniversary! Two whole years! I told Michael the other day that we've lasted longer than most Hollywood couples, so that's exciting.

The first year flew for us. Every once in awhile we'd look at each other and say, "This is so easy!" And it was. We had a wonderful wedding. A fabulous honeymoon. We purchased a great home. We made new friends. We kept up with old friends. We cooked together. We cleaned together. We did everything... together.

Let's take a look at year two. It began as perfect as the first, with a fantastic anniversary trip, the birth of our nephew Evan, and a beautiful holiday season. We celebrated New Years with some of our best friends and looked forward to 2009 with anticipation and hope. I laugh now when I think about the first few months of 2009. We'd spent way too much over Christmas and had put together a very tight budget to get us back on track. A week later Michael lost his job. You all know the story, he was without a job for a month and then we opened the search to Dallas and he landed a job within a week. Then we lived apart for 9 weeks. It was hard. So hard. Of course I remember thinking, "This isn't fair. This isn't how life is supposed to be." And then one day I woke up and realized that whether it's fair or not, it was our life. Our one and only life. There will always be beautiful moments and there will always be terrible moments. I quit a job I adored, moved to Dallas and we quickly purchased a home. Two months later I started working at a job that I felt was below me. Sometimes I still do. But today I think about Michael and I am so thankful. So thankful for him losing his job. So thankful we were forced to uproot and move to a brand new location. So thankful I have a job at all. Our first year of marriage was easy. Too easy. We needed these trials because it made us realize we are a very strong couple. And understanding that is so powerful. We can and will get through any adventure (good or bad) together, and we know we can do it with grace.

Recently I looked through all 900 (!!!) of our wedding pictures one by one. Most of you know this already but our photographers never gave us our album. They were a hit-and-run and did this to many couples in Tulsa. Long story short--we don't have a wedding album. I found it so interesting, some of my very favorite pictures this time around were not the ones we chose to put in our album. We had selected the album pictures a month or so after our wedding and were still so "in the moment" of wedded bliss that we got rid of the ones that weren't perfect. Pictures where my smile was crooked, pictures where we're laughing too hard, pictures where we're not looking at the camera, pictures of ladies sewing me into my dress, pictures of us standing and waiting for someone to bring us the cake knife because it wasn't on the table, pictures of us at the end of the night when we were both a sweaty mess, pictures of.... real life. Instead we chose the ones where everything looked gorgeous. And perfect. And posed. And nothing like us at all. After two years of marriage, I realize the pictures I love now are the pictures of real life. Our real life together. So today I'm not showing you the best of the best. I'm showing you the best of us. And really? That's all that matters.














Tonight will be the third time we recite our vows to one another and I can't wait.

I Meredith, take you Michael to be my wedded husband.
And I do promise and covenant, before God and these witnesses,
to be your loving and faithful wife;
In plenty and in want,
In joy and in sorrow,
In sickness and in health,
For as long as we both shall live.

(You're the best. Love love. Merdi.)

We're People Too!

Now that I've worked in retail for over a month I consider myself a first-class expert. Haha. Because of this, I find it necessary to share a few pieces of advice that I hope you'll take to heart. Please understand that some of these things I did in the past without a second thought so I'm not pointing fingers.

1. If you have just had a face-lift, please take a few days and rest (doctor's orders). Having severe bruising all over your neck and chin along with weird things poking out around your eyes is SCARY. We are way too close to Halloween for that.

2. If you put an item on hold and decide you don't want it that's fine. But please pick up the phone and let the store know you're no longer interested. Holding an item for you means no one else can buy it and if you have no intention of purchasing it for yourself we'd really love to sell it to someone else. Otherwise be very specific: "Only hold it for a few hours while I shop around" or "If I'm not back by 5p, go ahead and put it back out."

3. Do not bring your dog to shop with you. And if you do, do not dress it in clothes and push it around in a baby stroller. And if you have to do all of the above, please do not ask me to help you because my chances of keeping a straight face are pretty slim.

4. If you and your husband, or boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend, or complete stranger you met in Accessories need to fight, please do not do it next to the reduced-price handbags. Your pointing and accusations could put a customer's eye out as they shop for a great deal. (On a serious note--I can't tell you how many people literally fight in public! I had no idea! It's ridiculous--take it elsewhere.)

5. If you are over the age of 18, don't buy a Juicy handbag. Just don't.

6. If you really don't want to be bothered, stay away from stores where the employee is paid by commission only. We will leave you alone if you are mean to us but our job is to help you find the perfect handbag. That being said, when we simply say, "Hi, how are you?" it's a little frustrating when your reply is, "I'm just looking." That doesn't even make sense, silly!

Well there is my list. I realize 6 is a little strange but I couldn't think of 4 more and I didn't want to leave one out. So there you have it!

Tomorrow is our 2-year anniversary!! WOOHOO! :)

I'm Picturing All Of You In Your Underwear

I have been a very, very bad blogger re. awards. I've actually been given a few (not like Norah Jones that one year at the Grammy's but you know what I mean) but I always forget to follow up. Jackie gave me an award yesterday (THANKS!) and I am going to do it NOW before I forget.


So here we go. The rules: share five things you are obsessed with, and then pass the award on to five of the most fabulous blogs you read!

By the way, just so I don't have to say this after every picture, none of these pictures are me. So before you get all jealous because my legs look like model legs, don't you worry. Not mine.

1. Nail polish. I have no idea why, but for the past 6 months I have consistently painted my nails (my toes are always painted but I typically left the hands alone). It's to the point I can't walk by Sephora without going in and buying one of their OPI colors. My most recent purchase is Caffeine Fix:


Last time my parents saw us my dad told me wearing a color so close to black would actually make me less intelligent. Jury is still out on that one.

2. Leggings/tights. Ok yes, I know I'm a few years behind on this trend but I have been TERRIFIED of them and only recently welcomed them into my life. Backstory: In 7th grade we could wear white leggings (sick, right?) with our pep club uniform in the winter. I looked high and low, far and wide (which took about 4 minutes in Fort Smith) and every single pair of leggings were baggy on me. Thank GOD my mom knew better and would say, "Let's keep looking" instead of buying them. I never found leggings that fit. 15 years went by and my fear was still very much alive. But 8 inches taller and 45 pounds later, they fit! Right now my favorites are opaque grey tights (with black open-toed shoes) and black, ankle-length leggings:





(I can't tell if the black leggings above have lace on the bottom or not. Mine, most assuredly, do NOT...)

3. Thermometer. After all of this swine flu mumbo jumbo, I broke down and bought a digital thermometer (welcome to the 19th century, Meredith). And MAN this thing is cool! I take my temp at least 2 times a day now. And after looking at the little mouth diagram, I realized I have put the thermometer in the wrong spot my entire life. You aren't supposed to put it directly under your tongue, it's supposed to go under and to the very back by your molars. Did you know this? I always just stuck it right under my tongue. Is it weird I'm talking about this? A little weird.

4. Rafe (designer). He makes faaaaantastic handbags. I was not familiar with him before I started working at Nordstrom but I try on at least one of his bags every time I work. I think it confuses the customers but that's alright. He's expensive so the affair between the two of us is pretty innocent. He does create some bags especially for Target but I don't love those as much (of course I don't, ugh).



5. Castle. Have you seen this show? Several people told us it was worth watching so we rented season 1 and flew through it. It is so good! It's like any crime show but Richard Castle (the male lead) has a ridiculously funny sense of humor and the chemistry between him and Kate Beckett is amazing. The first season only had 10 episodes and the second season started last month so you have time to catch up. And really you could jump in now and not really miss much. DO IT.

So now it's time to tag 5 of you out there. I'm going with...

Aubrey from "The Petty Four"
Brandi from "Chasing Chaselyn"
Charlotte from "The Charlotte Observer"
Kaitlin from "Our Modern-Day Money Pit"
Tyler from "Rants. Raves. Ridiculous."

And I'm adding a rule to the five I tagged. If you do post your five things you have to tag five people (none of this "If you're reading this consider yourself tagged!" crap. Done and done.) :)

Why We Need To Buy A Treadmill

I found my love for the gym again. I have a love/hate relationship with working out. You know those people who are yo-yo dieters? I am a yo-yo exerciser. You'd think I'd get to a point where I just never want to stop but alas, I do reach that point and then decide, "Welp, I think I'm going to stop."

But three cheers for being back in action, right?

Here's the problem. I am a burning lava hot mess when it comes to working out. I absolutely despise women who show up with their hair perfectly coiffed, their makeup perfectly mastered, their gym attire perfectly... perfect. Then there's me. The girl in the corner. The one whose ponytail doesn't bounce. The one whose face is glowing from sweat (not bronzer). The one whose gym attire looks like a gym class uniform. Yep, that's me.

Except today was even worse than usual. I'm always embarrassed after I run because my face is beat red. I usually grab a towel and pretend to wipe off my ENTIRE face as I'm walking towards the exit because I realize I look like a rare breed of tomato and don't want strangers pointing. But let's throw allergies into the picture.

I had another horrible case of allergies last week and am just now getting over them. I actually thought I was in the clear but did you know running (aka bouncing up and down) er.... brings up stuff? Stuff that does not need to be brought up. I won't say the word but I'll tell you that it rhymes with blegm (hint: the g is silent). :) So here I am running with my messed up hair, beat red face and ugly clothes, and every minute or so I end up making all sorts of disgusting noises in order to keep. that. stuff. down. It started to make breathing difficult, which brought my bright red face to a whole new level. Think police siren.

I could have left my wedding ring at home as there was no way the guy running next to me was going to make a move. In fact I'm pretty sure he took two hits of the the antibacterial gel on his way out. You've made your point, jerk. Loud and clear.

All About Evan!

Many of you have asked for an update on Evan (thank you, by the way) so this post is dedicated to my nephew! I think I'll let the videos speak for themselves as to what he's been up to lately. The first one was taken a few weeks ago (I know--I'm a bad aunt for waiting so long to share the good news...)


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

And this was taken a few days ago...


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Quite the sprinter, don't you think? Call me evil but I think it would be hilarious if as adults we face planted randomly. Granted, I already have my fair share due to clumsiness but I want the rest of the world to feel my pain!

And because videos are CLEARLY not enough, here are some pictures for you as well! Enjoy!













I hate to say this on such a sweet, innocent post but he's so damn cute! Little guy will be turning one in less than a month! Time is flying!

Anyone Want To Be My Understudy?

CAST
M: Meredith
DW: Dumb Woman
O: Operator

SETTING
M's workplace

ACT I SCENE I (Sidenote: there is only one act and one scene in this play)

(telephone rings)

M: Handbags, this is Meredith!

DW: Hello, I was in your store a week or so ago. One of you ordered a bag for me and had it shipped to my home. It should have been here by now but it has yet to arrive.

M: Oh I'm sorry to hear that, can I have your information and we'll see if we can find the bag for you?

DW: Yes! My name is Dumb Woman, I bought the bag.... (details, schmetails)

M: I'm going to look you up in the system, give the store a call who processed your order and see if they have the tracking information. I will call you back as soon as I know any information.

DW: That would be great. I'm really wanting this bag as soon as possible!

(Both hang up the phone. M does quite a bit of research to find out who sold the bag, what bag it was, where it came from, etc. Places a call to the correct store's shipping department and explains situation. Is put on hold for a very long time. While she is listening to elevator music she notices many, many, MANY people shopping in her own store, picking out bags they like and taking them to her co-worker to ring up. She can only smile and shrug her shoulders as she points to the phone. She thinks, "Damn this phone.")

O: M, are you there?

M: I am here!

O: It says the bag was delivered last night at 6:04 pm and left on her doorstep.

M: Well that's odd. Ok, thank you for your time! I will call DW and let her know!

(Meredith hangs up phone, takes a deep breath, looks at the clock and notices she has been working on this situation for close to 30 minutes. Calls DW back.)

M: Hi DW. I was told the package was delivered to your home last night and is sitting on your front porch.

DW: What? Oh! Well let me go check!

(Pause. Pause, pause, pause. SERIOUSLY--how large is your home and what is taking so long?)

DW: (out of breath) It WAS on my front porch! Isn't that FUNNY?!

(Pause. Pause, pause, pause.)

M: Ok, well I'm glad you have your bag! Thanks and have a great day.

(M hangs up the phone, runs around the counter to help the numerous customers and notices they have already purchased their bags and left. M curses DW to the high heavens and decides she will write a blog post about this to encourage her friends to look on their FRONT PORCH for a package before calling anyone. Turns out that is the most popular place to leave a package. Who knew?)

Aaaaaand curtain.

Three Cheers For Flowers!

This is ridiculous.

Since I've last posted, Jessica and Justin have split, Jon has been exiled and it is now Kate plus 8, and 15 celebrities have either had their babies or announced their pregnancies. I have GOT to get my act together!

The past week or so has been great! I'm officially working full-time at Nordstrom, which is fantastic for many reasons but also means Michael's and my time together has been cut a bit. It can be frustrating but we're pretty good at making the best of situations thrown our way so we're just learning to really enjoy the time we do have together. And I think we're managing quite well. :)

Saturday we went to an absolutely gorgeous wedding and I actually remembered to use my camera. Amanda (the bride) was beautiful, the flowers were incredible, and the band was amazing (will you look at all of those adjectives)! I think the band was bigger than TU's band and if I'd known more people in the crowd I would have been on the dance floor all night long. As it turns out I only knew a handful and was not ready to introduce the 300 others to my poor dancing skillz. Very few will ever witness the hand-pointing madness.





The ball at the top of the dance floor was actually HUGE and covered in flowers and I later learned that the draping is not tulle but chenille. Fancy!





For some reason all of my pictures of Amanda had severe red-eye or her hand was in front of her face. This was the best shot! :(


My parents were here for the past several days and we were thrilled to see them! Michael's parents came over Monday night and the six of us had a cook-out and watched the Cowboys win! On Tuesday my parents and I headed to Dallas' Arboretum while Michael was at work. (Plug: If you live in/near the Dallas area, you need to go there! Phenomenal!) They brought in 25,000 pumpkins not long ago and it was fantastic. I can't imagine how long it took to decorate the entire area with them!

I know there are other things I'm missing but I think I'll just leave you with some pictures. Going to have an Evan post in the next few days--exciting things are happening in his world! :)

(By the way, 110 pictures were taken--it was THAT pretty!)

Closest Thing To A Workout I've Seen In Years...

I am so tired. Every part of my body is tired. My feet. My back. My eyelids. My calves. My third toe.

The good news: I'm really, really loving my job.

The bad news: Standing for 8 hours a day is painful, especially for someone who stared at a wall for almost 2 months and before that sat in a chair all day. Today was the first day my feet were the only part of my body that was sore. I believe that pain was actually the result of last Saturday when I thought wearing 4-inch heels to work was a great idea. I left that night convinced my toes would never feel again.

If you don't already know this about Nordstrom, my job works on a draw against commission basis (simply put, my pay is commission only). I was terrified about this concept at first but now I'm really pleased. Because...

(This is the part where I toot my own horn for a few sentences--feel free to skip ahead to the next paragraph if you're not interested. I won't mind.) Because... so far I'm actually doing really well! I've been on the floor 5 days now. First day was pretty good. Second day was AWFUL. And two of the remaining days I was actually one of the top sales people throughout the store! Woot woot. After being borderline depressed for two months, this is a good feeling. A really good feeling.

Back to being tired. I am about to go to bed. In the near future I might go into detail about the lady who stole the $800 Burberry bag and wrote her kids names all over the leather. In black ink. (A part of me died that day.) Or about the woman who bought a $350 gift card from me and exactly 2.5 minutes later I found out the credit card she'd used to pay for the gift card was stolen. Or about the mom who openly bribed her daughter with a bag if she would make good grades. Or about the girl who saved every dollar she made from her part-time job for three months so she could buy that same bag (I might have told her "I am so proud of you" four times.)

Off to bed. Sorry for the sub-par post. I am going to blame it on my third toe.

Happy Birfday!

(Clears throat.)

(Warms up: "me me me me meeeeeeee")

And here we go:

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday TO you!
Happy birthday dear Michael, Mikee, Mike (ugh), etc.
Happy birthday to you!

Old man Magee decided to become a 27-year-old like his dear wife. I love the 8 months each year when we share the same age. Unfortunately, Michael prefers the other 4. Maybe that's why we work.

How about a photo montage dedicated to the birthday boy? These pictures were taken a few weeks ago when I realized we hadn't had our picture taken together since New Years. Typically I set the camera on timer (because Thumbs has yet to learn how to appropriately use her God-given phalanges) and we take a picture, I look at it, we take another, I look at it, and so on until we have a good shot. This time Michael said, "Don't look after each picture, let's just take several and then you can choose the best one at the end." I looked at him adoringly (usually he starts complaining BEFORE the first picture is taken) and told him I thought that was a great idea.

And this is what we ended up with. Thank you, Michael. It is obvious I have no clue what is going on because I'm just smiling away. How did I not know there was an English muffin a mere 2 inches from my face? Blah.







At least the guy gave me one good picture.


Be on the lookout for the Haynes' family Christmas card, starring Michael, myself, and an English muffin. Sorry Thumbs, you've been demoted.

Make It Work

Long lost friends!!!! How I have missed you!

Alright, I want to temporarily take you back to an uncomfortable time in your life. For some of you it will feel like yesterday, for others perhaps it WAS yesterday. (In which case, aren't you a bit young to be reading my blog? Don't you have a Miley Cyrus show to watch?) You know what I'm talking about: the first day of junior high.

Take a deep breath. I know it's hard. Trust me, I know.

You wake up with that delirious feeling of excitement, anxiety and slight nausea. You scan your closet for the millionth time and finally decide on an outfit that says, "I SO do not care that this is the first day of school and what, this old thing? I've had it for YEARS" (even though you and I both know you bought it at 579 or County Seat the week before). You're dropped off at school, which is the size of Australia and is crawling with people who know exactly what they're doing. Can they tell you are shaking in your fake Birkenstocks and training bra? You hope not. The bell rings, you walk to your first class (Algebra) and realize that no, this is most definitely not the correct class. You clumsily back out of the room and eventually find the right class. You are 5 minutes late. Your teacher gives you a look that clearly states, "I am not going to yell at you because it is obvious you are slightly pathetic as it is and anything I say might lead to a long life of counseling." You sit in your assigned seat and roll is called. You start feeling confident because you realize you OWN this class. You are gifted (even if your Gifted and Talented class doesn't meet until after lunch) and you gain some semblance of confidence. Then you hear the mutterings from those around you and realize they all learned Algebra in the third grade while you were still conquering long division. You sink in your chair, defeated. You look to your right and notice two cool girls are already pointing (and laughing) at your 579 shirt... which matches your shorts... which matches your scrunchie.... Oh heck.

Ok, I can't take it anymore, can you? Did anyone else break out in a cold sweat?

So let me explain why I just put myself (and possibly you) through hell and back. I started a temporary job at Nordstrom this week! Training began Tuesday and there were so many similarities between this week and those dreadful days of junior high that it was ridiculous.

1. I hadn't experienced Dallas early morning traffic before, which meant I showed up to my first class 10 minutes late.

2. I should have only been 5 minutes late but I parked my car in the wrong garage (are you KIDDING me?) and had to be escorted to class.

3. I wore what I considered to be the perfect "training outfit" and walked into a room that would make Tim Gunn weak in the knees. This group was dressed for success. And me? Epic fail.

4. We introduced ourselves and shared a bit of background. This is where I thought, "Ok, I can redeem myself." I told them about my past marketing experience (5 years--booyah!) and was met with 18 blank stares. After I finished my monologue I was politely asked, "Where/when was your last retail job?" Um, 3 months at the GAP in 2001? I was quickly forgotten as every other new hire mentioned their degree in fashion merchandising and 142+ years of retail experience.

5. The cool girl wouldn't even look at me.

6. When did everyone start wearing so much eyeliner? Clearly I need to update my makeup regimen.

Of course I'm exaggerating a bit to make this as self-deprecating as possible, but it is definitely based on a true story. My true story. I am still alive and here to tell it so I guess that's a good thing. After Tuesday everything vastly improved and now I'm quite happy. My first real day on the floor is tomorrow so if you need a new hand bag come visit me at the Galleria.

My only two bits of good news:

1. I've outgrown the training bra.
2. That cool girl from my new hire class? Oh yeah, we are now BFF and have already exchanged phone numbers. Take THAT fashion majors.

Going For The Gold!

It has been entirely too long since we've heard from our favorite feline (I realize it's probably more "my" and less "your"). She is still loving the stairs and I'm going to guess she's lost at least 1/8 of a pound from making the climb multiple times a day. I've taken notice of her sleeping positions lately and realized we might have an Olympian on our hands--I need to get her on a diving board pronto! She might exceed the weight limit but I think she will finally allow USA to give China a run for their money.

Introducing Thumbs Magee (cue Olympic music):

She trots to the end of the diving board and wait a minute, she's turning around! She is going to do a back dive into the water, folks! There she goes!


And immediately goes in for the tuck. An impressive tuck for such a monstrous belly!


Coming out of the tuck, look at that form!


Stretching her short, chubby legs to prepare for entry...


And in she goes! The crowd (aka Meredith) goes wild! 10's across the board!


On a different note, here she is reading Harry Potter with me. What a smart cat! A diver AND a reader. I am so lucky.

Food, Favorites, Fantastic Frocks... (F)etc.

I have several friends who love to cook. Some stick to simple recipes while others use ingredients I can't pronounce. I always feel like I'm a few steps behind. A part of me wants to catch up and the other part could care less. Fortunately, Michael married me for reasons other than my cooking (he eats green beans out of the can for crying out loud) so it's not an issue. But this week I have been pretty proud of myself: I actually made real meals. Not only that, I did that thing where I said, "Hmm, I think it needs a pinch of this" and just went with it. And it tasted pretty darn good! It's a bit like exercise, once I start I kind of want to keep it up. We're on a very strict budget right now so it's also a bit of a challenge--what can I make out of what we already have? Anyway, I'm mainly writing about this so I can look back in a few years and know that at least one week of my life I loved to cook.

No other news really. With that in mind, I think I will share with you my 2nd Annual Favorites List. You're on the edge of your seat aren't you? Thought so.

Once again, in no particular order....

1. Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Face Scrub

In my 27 years on God's green earth, I've been blessed with pretty good skin. I'm not talking texture or color (I wish), I just mean I never had to deal with acne. And then something changed around the first week of March and BAM! Acne! I wasn't able to put it together but my mom politely told me I might be a tiny bit stressed about our current situation and that could be the reason for my adult onset puberty. I didn't really think stress could do that but I saw this stuff and figured it was worth a shot. GLOOOOORIOUS! It worked like a charm, smells SO good, and I am officially addicted. So is Michael. I highly recommend it.

2. A lit'l bit o' heaven

Ok, everyone knows I love cake (sans people asking if Keller has pooped, thank you very much). After almost every meal I think to myself, "You know what would make this meal complete? A piece of cake." I don't need a huge piece, just a little something. Baking a cake every week seemed a bit ridiculous and then I saw these. 30 seconds in the microwave. 150 calories. So good. Sidenote: there's a reason they're only 150 calories--the entire thing is about 4 bites. (Maybe 6 if you take tiny bites. Or maybe what I consider "tiny bites" are normal bites for most people? Gaaaah I love cake.) Regardless, it's just enough to fill my craving after a meal. And it won't cause severe weight gain, which is always a nice bonus.

3. This dress:

I don't know what it is with this dress, but I want to go buy it and wear it with flats one day and boots the next. It's not a very Meredith dress and I think that's one of the reasons I love it. Every time I see a dress at Anthropologie I have to ask myself if I can pull it off and most of the time I sigh and decide that no, I absolutely can't. And this might be the same. But since we're all friends and friends are supposed to lie to you occasionally, let us all pretend I can pull it off remarkably well. Thanks, friends.

4. Arizona Sweet Tea

Where have you been all my life? How did I grow up in Arkansas and Oklahoma and not discover you until Texas? I could drink you all day. And lately I have.

5. Harry Pottah

I was J.K. Rowling's biggest critic. I saw the first HP movie at the theater and despised it. Absolutely hated it. From them on, I refused to read the books or watch the movies. I actually laughed at anyone who enjoyed such a ridiculous plot. Michael has seen all of the movies and decided to read the series this summer and seeing that I had plenty of time on my hands, I begrudgingly agreed to read them with him. Holy cow, people. Harry Pottah, will you marry me? These books are absolutely amazing. Her creativity is mind boggling and I read approximately 20,000 pages in 3 weeks. If you have yet to read them, go. Go now. Stop reading Merd's top 5 and go NOW. I promise you won't regret it. I can't say the same about the movies, I regretted several of them (we would read a book and then watch the correlating movie) but the last few were pretty good.

And there you have it, my top 5 of 2009. As soon as I hit "publish" I'm going to think of something else, but such is life.

Not Your Normal Dinner Convo

As soon as Michael walked through the door Friday evening we loaded up the car and drove to Fort Smith to spend the weekend with my parents. I can't remember the last time we visited and it was definitely time. As we got closer I became more and more excited, to the point that I was singing and dancing on the final leg of the trip. (This was also to keep myself up, as it was late and dark. And my companion was nodding off at a very fast rate.) There is something so wonderful about visiting the place you grew up. It doesn't mean I want to move back (I always see a slight panic in Michael's eyes every time I point out a favorite place), but it does make me realize I had a great childhood in a fantastic place.

Saturday was spent looking at granite and backsplash with my mom (they are about to re-do their kitchen) and then driving all over Fort Smith to check out venues for our reunion. We also stopped by Southside (high school) and I was blown away by all of the updates. Fellow SHSers, go by and check it out. New windows, new landscaping, new parking lots, new $18k modern structure that doesn't really fit in with the whole "high school" theme but still looks pretty neat.

We played a somewhat friendly game of Trivial Pursuit Saturday evening and the parents ended up winning. BARELY. Michael was the shining star on our team. I refuse to go into specific details, but I will say that after the game was over my mom pulled out the globe and gave me an intense geography lesson. Oops.

We drove back last night and made it just in time for Keller's 4th birthday party (Keller is our nephew). Little did we know we would receive a lesson in parenting. We'd just finished dinner and the cupcakes had been served when Keller quietly disappeared. After several minutes we noticed the birthday boy was gone and then heard the toilet flush. "Oh, very well then," I thought, and went back to enjoying my cupcake. And then I heard it. So nonchalant, so typical, so disgusting (especially whilst at the dinner table). "Keller, did you poop? Did you poop, Keller?" Michael and I gave each other horrified looks and then did the only thing we could do... waited for Keller's answer. After a good minute (and 14 more "Did you poop, Keller? Keller did you poop?"), it was determined that yes, he did poop, and the parents were off to take care of business. No one batted an eye, no one put down their cupcake... it was as if they'd simply asked him if he'd gone to the mall. I had an immediate flash-forward of Michael and I saying the same thing to our kids, which led to a full body shudder.

As we were leaving, Michael's mom tried to send us home with some cupcakes but for the first time in my life I said no. For some reason they no longer sounded appetizing.

Way Back Wednesday--TU Edition

On Monday, TU welcomed the freshman class to campus. I saw this information on facebook and felt a surge of nerves and excitement--the same feeling I had when I was the little guy on campus. I was also utterly disgusted when I realized this is the class of 2013. What the heck?

In keeping with that theme, I found some pictures from my first semester freshman year. The year? 2000. The clothes? Dreadful. The friends? Amazing.

Meet my very first roommate, Summer. This picture was taken in our fabulous dorm room in Twin South. Cinder blocks just add so much to a room, don't you think? We took being roommates very seriously. We had a wipe board that announced our whereabouts at all times (including, "I've gone to the coke machine, will be back soon"). If we didn't leave a message, we were sure to receive a call on our gigantic cell phone.



Melissa was my first friend at TU--we met on our freshman orientation trip. We were in the same group and became friends almost immediately. I say almost because the first few days were spent eyeing each other from afar and thinking the other was "so cool." (She did have a tongue ring after all.) This picture was taken at Emily's (see below) 19th birthday celebration held at Chili's.



And the last picture is with my friend Emily. Summer and I made an immediate decision not to like her because she was so freaking outgoing and we didn't care for that. Not one bit. Then we met her and changed our mind (mind = singular--we had one mind that year). This picture was taken at the Sigma Chi formal, which was held at Grand Lake. Remember when I mentioned my first introduction to a straightener? Yep, it was this girl who did it. She changed my life--how could we NOT be friends?



I'm sure you're wondering, "Where's Kaitlin?" I'll tell you where. Twin Towers with her other friends. :) We did not become good friends until sophomore year due to some incorrect theories about one another. So I apologize Kait, but the only picture I have involves lots (and lots) of cheese as well as some fierce sideburns, so I thought I might keep that one to myself. Perhaps I will dedicate the next WBW to you. :)

Let's quit our jobs (ahaha, that was supposed to be funny for me) and be freshman again. Who's with me?


(Kappa Sigma Riverboat...)