Haaaaappy New Year. :)

Happy New Year's Eve everyone. While I'd like to say, "I can't believe it's 2009," I've actually been dating things "09" for about 4 months now. No idea why, I thought 08 was pretty terrific. I guess I sometimes get ahead of myself.

SPEAKING of getting ahead of myself. Yesterday Michael and I received a Pottery Barn kids catalog and our master plan was splashed across the cover, mocking us and our brilliant idea. When we were in Maui last year we went into dozens of small art studios. One had original drawings from Dr. Seuss and we both mentioned how much we loved his books when we were little. Knowing that an adult's room decorated with one, two, red, and blue fish was a little out of the question, not to mention a bit creepy, we decided we'd use the theme (if we opt for a theme, which we're still unsure about) for our future child's room. Too bad Pottery Barn had to steal our entire idea and use the first half of their magazine to broadcast it to the rest of the world. And too bad their vision was much cuter than my own. I lose. Again.

Christmas in Coppell was great. Very low-key, which was nice after the active Christmas season. Did anyone feel like it was the LONGEST Christmas season ever? Yet as I was taking the ornaments down last night I muttered, "Didn't I just put these up?" I hate when I can't even agree with myself. But I had that aching feeling in my stomach as I boxed up each decoration, the same ache I have whenever I am coming back from a fantastic vacation. I distinctly remember listening to Celine Dion for a solid 20 hours driving home from Florida one year--how is THAT for depressing? And I'm pretty sure I flew home from Maui laying in the fetal position while crying out, "We have to go BACK!" Just like Jack from LOST.

Let's talk about resolutions. This year I wanted to read the entire Bible and exercise. I finished the Bible last week, which was a fantastic feeling. I loved it, I will read it again, but I'm pretty darn happy I can go back to my useless reading for awhile. Michael is also happy that I will no longer shout out strange name choices for our future kids. "Malachi?! What do you think about that? Oh.... Habbakuk! Now THAT's an interesting idea..." Re. the exercise resolution, I am going to declare a big "NAY" on that for 2008. The only exercise I did was exercise my right not to exercise. if that even makes sense. I'm going to throw it on up there for 2009 again just for fun. I am the same weight as I was last year but I notice things are.... shifting a bit. Damn Isaac Newton was right with that whole gravity schpeel.

2008 was all about spending money so we've decided 2009 will be about saving money. Yes, the two are a bit backwards but that's not important. We didn't meet Mr. Dave Ramsey until we'd already fallen in love with 0% APR cards. The love affair has ended and all aforementioned credit cards have been paid off and cut up. We think we have a solid chance of increasing the ol' savings fund. We'll see how it goes.

Have fun tonight and I hope each of you say, "I'll see you next year! Hardy har har!" to at least 12 people. God bless corny jokes that never die.

My Parents Were So Proud

Published May, 1988
Dear Press Argus-Courier (Newspaper),
I teach kindergarten at King Elementary. Attached are the reasons my students love their mothers. I wrote them down as they told them to me.
-Ms. Megan DiLonardo

Meredith Besancon, Age 5
I love my momma, because she helps me. She always feeds me and won't let me starve!

My Favorite Stocking Stuffer...

Then He Smiled At Me...

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:23

See That Girl, Watch That Scene...

I sometimes look back on college and wonder how I managed. Not because my classes were difficult (quite the contrary), but I'm surprised I didn't end up in the hospital for exhaustion along with Lindsay Lohan and the crew. As with most colleges, TU's weekends began Thursday night so I always made a point to schedule my classes in the afternoon on Friday. The evenings began at 11p, which is now 30 minutes PAST my bed time.

Anyway, Thursday night we went out... to a bar. It was weird. Kaitlin's brother was singing and we went to support him. As soon as I got to the bar it became a scene from "The Wizard of Oz." It felt eerily familiar and then I remembered I'd spent many, many nights there my senior year. I kept pointing at things, "And you were there... And YOU were there...." I'd actually forgotten the bar existed so it was a nice walk down memory lane. (And for those of you who think it's weird to forget a bar, we typically had a few drinks BEFORE we went out so there is your answer. Dad, we always had designated drivers. I am still a good person.)

On Friday we had our small group Christmas party, which was a blast. We each brought appetizers and/or desserts and a bottle or two of wine. The guys went outside to smoke some cigars and the girls talked about things guys don't really care to discuss. All in all, a great night.

Saturday I woke up and felt like I'd slept only 3 hours. 2 nights down, 1 more to go. We drove to Oklahoma City for Shelley's wedding. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was great! I think we stayed until 11p or so and then headed back to the hotel.

While it wasn't a complete replica of college (we were in bed by midnite on Saturday, zero trips to Village Inn, etc.), I definitely had enough of it to realize I am so glad college is only 4 years and not 8.

On a completely different topic, we saw a commercial for "Mamma Mia" and I told Michael, "I am going to rent that. And YOU are going to watch it with me." He said, "Sure, why not?" I gave him a quizzical look and said, "Really? It's all Abba music, can you handle that?" He shrugged and said, "I'm not sure I know any of their music." So I did my best impersonation of "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" (which is very hard to do when you have to sing all of the parts by yourself). He still didn't recognize either so I pulled several Abba songs up on the computer. Nothing!!! I believe my husband was born under a rock and stayed there for far too long. Who doesn't know Abba?! To make matters worse, he was in happy denial until he heard the songs. I was then promptly told that he would not, under any circumstances, watch the movie with me. As he was saying these terrible words, I was still doing my best dance moves while singing, "Take a chance, take a chance, take a chance, take a chance..." RUDE!

A song for every mood...

It's pretty obvious I'm a big music fan. There's a few songs I've been listening to lately that I thought I'd share. If you're not in that mood, feel free to skip it. Or if you're uber bored, listen to all of them. They're pretty fantastic.

For those of you who are upset at your boyfriend/girlfriend/cat for not letting you move on.


For those of you in luuuuurv.... (The lyrics... pretty awesome.)


For those of you who are not happy with our new president...


For those of you who didn't get enough of this last year.... (A fabulous Christmas song!)

Some Thoughts

A post dedicated to some of my latest thoughts...

I had my hair colored yesterday (getting further and further away from green, woohoo). I've made a big decision in my life--I'm growing my hair out again. I told the stylist this and asked that she just give it a trim. After looking at it she told me she didn't need to cut it at all. Ok folks, my hair always needs a trim. Thanks to the massive amounts of bleach and hair dye along with my best friend, Mr. Straightener, my hair is a disaster. However! Apparently my new Kiehl's shampoo for extra, extra, extra dry hair has worked its miracles (they should pay me for all of the positive advertising they're getting). So rather than cut it, she just colored and styled. The weather did a number on it and by the time I got home I realized I'm cursed with the dreaded mom hair. It's in that in-between stage so it's too long to be a style but too short to be long. And the weather had caused it to (flinch) flip out so it was definitely a circa Donna Reed 'do. Blech.

To add to my "mom hair" woes, I have a HUGE confession to make. Remember my halloween costume this year? I was Nastia Liukin with her crazy hair bendies/scrunchies. A few weeks ago I was trying to pull my hair back and grabbed the first thing I saw--a neon blue scrunchie. As soon as I put it on the heavens opened up and poured out love and Michael Jackson music. I am (once again) addicted to the scrunchie. Gah, I feel like I need to go to Scrunchies Anonymous, this is BAD. I absolutely refuse to wear them out of the house but inside it's all about that glorious cloth covered elastic band. Michael is SO proud.

My last confession... (Jeez, when did my "thoughts" turn into an outpour of self-loathing?!) You know when you're posting a blog comment or buying concert tickets and they ask you to type the oddly shaped letters you see in the box? I can't do it! The G's always look like funny Q's and is it a B or an 8? I am not kidding--I stress out every time I'm asked to do it. It usually takes me (sigh) 3 times before I get it right. I feel like I'm 10 again trying to see the 3D picture in that stupid mound of scribbles (talk about a fad--has anyone seen those in the last 15 years?!).

I'd actually planned on this being an inspirational post but I'll save that for another day. There is nothing inspirational about mom hair, scrunchies, or coded letters.

Jules mentioned a back brace story that was pretty funny and will guarantee I never receive a call from any of you asking me to watch your kid, pet, or possibly even your plant. I babysat the kid from hell the summer between my ninth and tenth grade year. His mom was a night nurse so I would go to their house from 8a until 2p each day while she slept in her room. The kid had major discipline problems and it didn't help that the only other kids I babysat were fantastic. To put it mildly, he and I did not like each other. One day we were in this heated argument in the kitchen and he said something like, "I'm so mad, I could punch you in the stomach." I bent down, looked him in the eyes and said, "I think I can handle it. DO it." He gave me an inquisitive look as I slowly stood up and held out my arms. Free shot. He reached his arm back as far as he could and slammed his fist into my stomach. Unfortunately for him, between my stomach and his fist was an inch of hard, unbreakable plastic. I have never seen such shock (or maybe it was pain?) on a 7-year-old's face. It was awesome. It ended up being a lesson learned for both of us. He was a perfect angel the rest of the week and I finally realized there WERE redeeming qualities of the stupid back brace.

And so ends another tale in the life of me.

The Three-Eyed Back Brace Cool Girl

I woke up this morning and realized something wasn't quite right. I went to look in the mirror and that was when I saw it. My third eye. Otherwise known as (to be said in a loud, booming voice), "The largest zit the world has ever known (echo) known, known, known." The last time I had something this big on my face was the spring of 1995. I might as well go to my locker and then head on over to geometry class. Am I being dramatic? No. Absolutely not.

Sometimes I think you get the wrong impression and imagine me to be this insanely cool person. It probably happens a lot, what with my Elton John obsession and photo shoots with my cat. Anywho, when that happens (as it so often does), I like to tell a story that gives everyone a reality check. Like for instance, did you know I wore a back brace my sophomore year in high school? Oh yes, yes I did. It was supposed to prevent the S-curve in my back from getting any worse than it already was. Had I thought about it, I should have been supremely grateful as it gave me a very flat stomach and worked better than any wonderbra out there. But to add to my cool back brace, I was 5'7" and weighed 87 pounds so the whole "flat stomach" thing wasn't really an issue. Neither were boobs. Whatev.

The reason I bring this up is there's an article in the last US Weekly about some D-rated actress who has (GASP!) scoliosis and she's kept it a secret until now. If rolling of ones eyes could last an entire 3 minutes, that is what my eyes did as I read the treachery and sadness of this poor girl's back and the pain and suffering her back brace brought her. She had to wear it 18 hours a day. I wore mine 23 hours a day, beeyotch. And then they asked the most pressing question, "How did costars treat you?" I'm sorry, are we talking about a back brace or third world poverty? Don't get me wrong, the surgery for scoliosis IS quite scary and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone, but the girl is like me--just a back brace. No surgery.

And that is when it hit me. I am SOCLOSE to being in US Weekly. Minor part in a television show/extra in a 30-second commercial for a Tulsa hospital? CHECK! Back brace that brought pain and suffering? CHECK. Awkward picture of me in said back brace? CHECK. Name that no one recognizes? CHECK!

Look out, world--I am about to be FAMOUS. Let's just hope the third eye clears up before my photo shoot.

A Piano Man AND A Rocket Man?! NO WAY!

A few things I'm pretty happy about...

Elton John and Billy Joel are coming to Tulsa! I like Billy Joel... I ADORE Elton John. I saw him in concert a few years ago in Vegas and talked about it for months. As soon as I returned home I bought his greatest hits cd. Unfortunately, I did not read the cover and it was all live music. I hate (recorded) live music. I do not want to hear screaming girls. I do not want to hear the audience singing your song while you're yelling, "Louder! I can't hear you!" in the microphone. I do not want the inevitable muffled sound because you aren't in a recording studio. Anywho, I think I listened to the cd once and then went back to Best Buy to buy the studio recorded cd. Wow, long story when all I really wanted to say was, "Elton John and Billy Joel are coming to Tulsa!"

God BLESS our garage. After many years of dealing with apartment and college parking lots, I am loving my car's warm little nook. After work yesterday I spent several minutes clearing the ice off of the car so it was nice to be able to just jump in the car and drive to work this morning. Seriously folks, if you do not have a garage, get one!

Our new buffet! Michael and I have loved this buffet for three long years. Each time we went in Pottery Barn we would walk by to see if it was on sale or the floor sample was for sale. When we bought our house we noticed the indentation in the eating area and realized the buffet we'd been looking at for years fit perfectly in the space. This year we decided we would buy the buffet as our Christmas present to each other. My parents thought it was a great idea so their gift to us was money to put towards the buffet. It was delivered last night and I couldn't stop staring at it. I immediately put our one red bottle of wine in the wine rack. It looks a bit lonely but he'll soon have some (er.. many) friends.



My picture is so dark... Here's what it looks like when a professional takes the picture:


My nephew! Michelle sent us an email yesterday and said Evan weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 1 ounce at his last checkup! He is a BEAST! He now weighs what Justin weighed at birth and is only 1 pound shy of what Merd "fat ass/the biggest baby in the entire hospital" Besancon weighed! His legs are definitely fattening up as well as his stomach. Mom and I picked up a few newborn outfits while we were in Chicago and he's almost outgrown them. Next thing we know he'll be shopping in the men's department. Gah, they grow up so fast.




Another Christmas memory...
Growing up, my family always drove to my aunt Carolyn's house in North Little Rock for Thanksgiving and Christmas. One year I was given this awesome Play-Doh set, which came with tools to make burgers and fries (and we all wonder why I had a weight problem when I was little). I created the greatest looking cheeseburger the world had ever seen, complete with bun, burg, pickles and cheese. You name it, my burger had it. I put it on a plate with some fries and presented it to my grandma. I was so proud. I turned to get my mom's attention and immediately heard multiple gasps and a "Mom, NO!" from the crowd. I slowly turned back around and poor grandma had sunk her teeth into my delicious Play-Doh burg. While I was mostly mortified, a small part of me considered dropping out of second grade and going into the burger business. Can you picture it:

Meredith, age 7 (still holding onto that dreadful lisp): "Do you want fwies with that?"

Let's sing it together... "Yooooou, light up my liiiiiife...."

Strike a Pose

Before I continue, please hit play...



The other day Thumbs was putting Kate Moss to shame. She was sitting next to me on the couch and started doing all sorts of senior pic poses. I wish I'd had a huge "09" or flaming football nearby to make the background complete. I took a few pictures and had to share. Even if you aren't a huge fan of cats you have to be a little impressed by the many poses and looks she can give. Zoolander has nothing on our girl.








Thumbs was Sir Mix-a-Lot's muse for "I Like Big Butts"

All I Want For Christmas Is To Keep My Teeth...

Our church staff meets every Thursday morning and there are always interesting discussions (ok, not always--but in the spirit of Christmas and giving, I'm going to say always). At our last meeting someone mentioned most children no longer know Christmas carols. I'm not talking about "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or "Jolly Old St. Nicholas." I'm talking Christian Christmas carols: "Silent Night," "What Child is This," "Away in a Manger," etc.

It broke my heart.

I love Santa, I love his sleigh, and you better believe I love that underrated reindeer in all of his red-nosed glory, but let's remember WHY we have Christmas, folks. So I'm asking all of you out there with adorable kiddos, don't forget to teach them ALL of the carols this year.

My personal favorite is "What Child is This?" I still get chills every time I hear, "This, THIS is Christ the King..." If you're near your iTunes account (which I know you are since you're reading this--woohoo!), I recommend downloading Third Day's version. Beautiful. And if you'd rather your ears bleed, download Jessica Simpson's version. Kidding. Sort of.

On a lighter subject, a Christmas story I'd like to share...

When I was in kindergarten, my best friend and I were Joseph and Mary in the Christmas play. Yes, Mary had a blonde bowl cut that year. Slim pickings for sure. Anyway, we sat at the front of the stage while the rest of the class sat on bleachers behind us. I was to sing the third verse of "Away in a Manger." All. By. Myself. It was my big break and the North star couldn't compete with the stars in my eyes. As everyone was getting situated, some JACKASS (er.. jerk) behind the curtain moved and knocked me clear off the stage. Next thing the audience knew, Mary was bawling her eyes out after falling 5 feet and landing flat on her face. I'd already been in speech therapy for my inability to say my R's and S's, so you can imagine how messed up my words were after obtaining several loose teeth to boot. My teacher and parents calmed me down and I remember my tears drying up after I was given rootbeer scratch n' sniff stickers. I got back up on the stage as I knew the show must go on. I'm pretty sure my solo sounded like this...

Be nehw me, Lod Jethuth,
I athk Thee to thtay
Cloth by me foheveh
And love me I pway

Bleth all the deaw childwen
In Thy tendew cawe
And take uth to heaven
To live with Thee thew

(Oh who are we kidding, it was the cutest thing anyone had ever witnessed at King Elementary. They built a statue in my honor.) :)

Mehwy Chwithmuth.

I Feel It In My Fingers... I Feel It In My Toes...

Before...


After!





There's more decor around the house but I figured a few pictures would do. We've finished the inside, now it's time to conquer the great outdoors!

(Just a little clip from one of our favorite Christmas movies of all time...)

Church Bells (Constantly) Ring, Are You Listening?

I am useless. Worthless. A piece of crap. I can't do anything today. I have what Michael calls a Holiday Hangover. I didn't have a stressful holiday... I barely did anything for crying out loud. But I have spent the morning staring at my computer and my mind refuses to do anything productive.

So instead, a few thoughts from yours truly...

1. Thanks to Thanksgiving, I look like this guy...



My arms and legs are still pretty stick-like but I have a definite gut. If I look closely at my stomach, I can see the outline of a turkey leg. Or is that mashed potatoes? Either way, it is UBER attractive, let me tell you.

2. I am confused with the BCS rankings. OU beat Texas and is most likely going to the National Championship. But if I remember correctly, both teams have lost one game and the one team OU lost to was.... Texas. So... I'm not saying this because I'm married to a Texas fan (love you, dear!) but I really don't understand their math. It's bad math--BAD MATH! :)

3. I just found out Britney Spears is going on tour. I'll admit it--I looked up her tour dates to see if she was coming to Tulsa. She is not. There is a slight chance I would've bought tickets if she came here. There is a great chance I would've worn a ski mask at the concert so no one would know it was me.

4. Michael and I are going to pick out our tree tonight! We're going big this year (and by big I mean at least 6 inches taller than last year's tree). We have the stand in place, the skirt is ready, all we need is the giant beast of green. Can't wait.

5. On a similar topic, Michael and I both went Christmas shopping (separately) for each other last night. Keep in mind we live in Tulsa, which is not enormous but has a population of more than 45. I'd been to 3 stores already and was at Target picking up a small item. I slowed down by the scarf/jewelry section (for my own interest--I did not buy Michael earrings). I looked up and saw an attractive man staring back at me. Before I could say anything the attractive man and I both shoved our gifts behind our backs because of course that attractive man was my husband standing 10 feet away from me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! We both awkwardly walked to 2 different checkout counters all the while covering the coveted items. He left first and then I made a quick escape. So much for shopping alone.

Alrighty. I hope you are all happily working and getting things done. That shall be my goal for the week--get one thing done. I think I can manage.

I Am Thankful

And we're back.

I was afraid this would happen and it has happened: recounting the past 7 days is enough to keep me in blog hiatus land forever. Since I usually explain our days for my family's sake and they were with me all week, I think I can get away with being pretty brief.

The highlights of the trip:

13 hours (each way) in a car + 4 people + Christmas presents out the wazoo (or kazoo, as my mom would say) = one exciting trip. On the way up people actually stared at us as they drove past. We're not sure if it's because we are THAT attractive (my guess), or that all you could see in our car were gifts. We considered stopping to get some Santa hats but opted against it. It was a nice trip but we were SO glad to finally get there.

Evan was adorable. He had a few hours each day of being a bit fussy, but for the most part he was one happy baby. I FINALLY conquered my baby anxiety. The first time I held him I made Michelle wait until I sat down, put my arms in "baby hold" position, and took a few deep breaths. By the end of the week I didn't think twice about grabbing the kiddo from any angle (or anyone). I am now afraid I might grab random stranger's babies because I love them so much. Evan definitely had his favorites. He LOVED sleeping on dad. I think each of us were able to take a nap with him on our stomachs but dad was by far his favorite. And if Michael was anywhere near him, he was completely fixated on Michael's face. It was like he'd never seen anything so beautiful (smart kid)! :)










On Monday, Justin took Michael and I to visit his mine. For any of you that don't know, Justin is a Mining Engineer (I put that in caps because it's impressive) and spends most of his time at work solving big equations and other fun things. I took a picture of his white board because it explained his job so much more than I ever could. The mine was amazing and so huge. At one point he turned off the car and we just sat in the dark. It was a little creepy how your eyes would never adjust. I kept putting my hands in front of my face and eventually shut my eyes because I hated the lack of control. I figured with my eyes shut it wouldn't weird me out so much. It worked.




On Tuesday, Michael and I took off for downtown Chicago. It was very nice weather for late November (mid 40's and very sunny) so we were able to spend the day on Michigan Avenue. We met our friend Jamie for lunch and then visited the ol' bean (the first time Michael saw the bean it was under construction). Before dinner we had cocktails on the 96th floor of the Hancock building and had an incredible view. One of the highlights of the trip was our hotel. I am about to hyperlink the crap out of this place (because it was that good). The hotel was called The James. It was one block off Michigan Avenue and very, very modern. The first thing you see when you open the door to your room is this giant stocked bar. It had every kind of beer, liquor and snack you could imagine. They also had Kiehl's products, which were awesome. (We ended up driving to Lincoln Park the next day to visit a Kiehl's store so we could stock our own bathroom!) The best part, however, was when we came back from dinner. They'd turned down the bed for us, fixed the lighting, closed the curtains, turned on soft music, and had put robes, slippers, and 2 cookies on our bed. I was amazed. I am more than willing to admit I am not a hotel connoisseur so perhaps you are all reading this and saying, "yea... so?" but to me, it was like I was a 7-year-old getting my very first trapper keeper. Angels sang and babies (Evan) giggled.




This is getting longer than I intended. My apologies. We spent 2 days in Chicago and then drove back to Wauconda (where Justin and Michelle live). Spent the rest of the week enjoying delicious food, Evan, and family. It was a very thankful Thanksgiving for all of us. We put Evan in a Christmas onesie while we opened presents (this was the Besancon family Christmas since we will be spending the holiday with Michael and Michelle's families) and had a great time. My mom and I did some minor shopping on Black Friday but did not venture out until after all of the early shoppers were already back home and in bed. We repeated the 13-hour drive on Saturday back to the great state of Arkansas. Michael and I played dominoes on my phone for about 7 hours of the trip. I think I dreamed about little white dots Saturday night. At one point during the drive my parents were talking about binary numbers and Michael gave me the "what the hell is going on?" look. I told him later, "Your family talks sports stats, my parents talk binary." After seeing his face, I now understand why I was able to convince so many kids in high school that our family had "Tuesday Proof Night" at our house. You don't solve the proof, you don't get dinner.

And so wraps up our Thanksgiving trip. We drove back to Tulsa yesterday and I put up about half of our Christmas decorations within 30 minutes of being home. The rest will go up this week. It's beginning to look somewhat like Christmas! :)

(For more pictures, CLICK HERE!)

:)

Oh man, talk about blog withdrawal. I am at Justin and Michelle's house and have glanced longingly at this computer each time I've walked by. My vacation laziness has kicked in, however, and I've always walked past. I've been able to read all of your blogs and emails due to the gloriousness of the iPhone, but that's about it.

One thing I really don't enjoy doing is writing about a trip without including pictures. None of them have been uploaded to the computer so I am going to wait until I get home on Sunday before I tell our tale. It has consisted of Evan, naps, great food, Evan, downtown Chicago, Evan, more naps, and even more Evan. So basically--an awesome week.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! One thing I've been so grateful for this year has been the ol' blog. I've always loved writing and this has been so much fun for me. I have been able to connect and re-connect with many of you. Thank you for your sweet comments as they are always a highlight of my day. And to all of you blog stalkers out there, I am thankful for you! I take it as a compliment that some part of our life is meaningful enough to you to hold your interest.

I am so thankful for 2008 in general. What an amazing year. I hope I've in some way or another let each of you know that I am especially grateful for YOU.

Thanks for letting me be me on this public diary and loving me all the same (or at least judging me in secret).

My one picture captured on the phone. He's going to be an awesome dad one day... :)

Hiiii

I spent most of yesterday loathing late nights, red wine and 6-hour car rides. Now that I've had some time to recuperate, I can admit this past weekend was fabulous. I drove to St. Louis Friday afternoon for Kait's bachelorette party weekend. We stayed at Emily's house Friday night and had wine, cheese, and many good conversations. The night ended with a push-up contest (please see "red wine" above). I received last place by completing 1/2 of one push-up. I know you are all shocked by my lack of athleticism.

Saturday morning we had brunch at a place near Em's house and then some of us went to Kaitlin's reception place to check out a few things (it's beautiful by the way). We lounged around the house for a bit until it was time for quite possibly the highlight of the weekend: the pole-dancing class.

It. Was. Awesome.

I'd no idea what to expect but had said a quiet prayer that we'd each have our own pole and could mind our own business. Perhaps this was God's way of telling me to never again pray for something so foolish, as there was one pole in the middle of the room and plenty of space for everyone to sit and stare at you as you strutted your stuff around the torture beam. Our instructor was really nice and we ended up having a fabulous time once the nerves wore off. Many pictures were taken and only one will be shared. She did give us quite a performance at the end of the hour and we all applauded enthusiastically. Now I fully appreciate the time and talent it takes to do such...er... creative things (insert any preposition) the pole.

Afterwards we checked into our hotel and started getting ready for the cocktail shower/party at Kitchen K. I was mercilessly made fun of for my 3-ring binder complete with maps, excel spreadsheets, checklists, and confirmations. Did I mention I also brought a pair of scissors just in case? Make fun of me all you want, I can't wait to be an event planner one day. I think it is the only thing I can say I'm pretty decent at doing (along with multiplication and long division, with or without remainders).

The shower was so much fun. We had a few games, delicious food, a great cake, and many fun gifts for the bride-to-be to open. The night continued with several bars in downtown St. Louis. We were all doing great until about 2:15am and then we were reminded we are no longer 18. The mood suddenly changed to somber and sleepy so we grabbed a cab back to the hotel. There were more than enough leftovers from the shower so we all sat in bed and ate chicken satay, shrimp spring rolls, and steak & blue cheese crostinis at 3am. GLOOOORIOUS!

Sunday I drove back and made it home just in time for small group. I do NOT like driving long distances by myself as I can't stop my stupid head from thinking so much. Not bad thoughts, but constant thoughts. Is it possible to get annoyed with yourself for constantly thinking? And is it considered schizophrenia when you are begging the voice in your head to shut up for a minute so you can order a cheeseburger at McDonalds? And should I really be admitting this to any of you?

In regards to the past few posts about Christmas, there is one thing about Christmas that I do NOT feel needs to wait until after Thanksgiving and that is all of the limited time holiday treats at the grocery store. This includes but is not limited to: white chocolate covered Oreos and the fabulous Little Debbie Cake Christmas trees. Presently we have both in our pantry.

I'm only posting a few pictures. For the rest of them, CLICK HERE!






A few more days of work and then it is off to Chicago to visit the new family of three!!! WOOHOOO!

Movin' On Up!

Well, Michael and I have a big announcement to make. We wanted to wait until we were sure everything was going to be ok, and we've hit that mark!

We are moving to Los Angeles and pursuing acting careers.

Don't believe me? Well if that's the case, you would be correct. (Although me being pregnant is about as likely as that statement above so if you were thinking that was my big news, think again my friend!)

A member and friend at our church owns his own amazingly awesome advertising abusiness (alliteration--always an answer). He and I have been working on our church's capital campaign dinner and he asked Michael and I to be extras in one of his latest commercials. I was a little iffy on the idea since the filming would be taking place this week and both Michael and I were already busy with work, but he gave me a dollar amount and I suddenly found the time. So Tuesday night we showed up at St. Francis' new heart hospital with no details as to what we would be doing. We found out that Michael was going to be a doctor (hellooooo McDreamy!) and I was going to be his nurse. (I guess I could play the part of Meredith since I already have her name...) They weren't able to find a lab coat for him so we became visitors that walked in the background of the shot. Yes, that means there is a chance you could watch this commercial eleventy-jillion times and never notice us. At one point someone pulled us aside and told us we had serious walking skills and should consider becoming the next Brangelina. Ok, I made that up as well, but whatev. The great news is that Doug said we were so minor in this commercial that he could use us again for other future commercials. That equals more furniture for our house. Thanks to our 30-minute participation on Tuesday, we will be proud owners of a neat console table next week. We're wanting a complete bedroom set so we have about 6 more commercials to go. That might take a while.

In other news, I've been working on the aforementioned capital campaign/celebration dinner for months and we finally had the dinner last night. Attendance was about 500 and I think it went really well! It felt like planning a wedding all over again, albeit a much larger and much older guest list this time around. After working a 14-hour-day I decided today would be better spent at home so that is where I am at the moment. But I shall not stay here long--this weekend is Kaitlin's bachelorette party in St. Louis! Her sister and I have been planning this for several months as well! I'm so excited to see everyone and I hope Kait has a blast. She will be a Mrs. in 2 short months!!

I guess that's it from me. Michael has been busy at work this week so we haven't seen much of each other due to the long work days for both of us. Next week we can rememorize each other's faces. I've forgotten if he has brown hair or blonde. Hardy har.

UPDATE! I'm a wee bit terrified our neighbors read my blog! (Not a chance, but keep reading...) Ever since I wrote my last post, they have yet to turn on their lights or blow up the snow globe! It is still in a pathetic heap on the ground and the rest of the decor is unactive as well. Maybe they have Miracle Ear?! (Does anyone else remember that commercial where they're at a restaurant and two ladies are talking about the man at a nearby table who has a creepy smile on his face?)

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful (Speaking Of Frightful...)

I'm driving home yesterday and as I turn onto our street I notice the house directly across from us. And there it is. You all know "that house," the first one in the neighborhood who boldly steps out and proclaims, "Christmas is upon us and it is time to decorate." (Just a reminder, yesterday was November 9.) I have a big problem with those who break the unwritten rule and decorate before Thanksgiving. I'm just now coming up with my list of things to be thankful for and you've already made your home a landing pad for Santa.

But it's worse than that. Ohhhh it's worse. WARNING!!! If you have a sensitive heart, bow out now.

I'm not a fan of multi-colored lights. They don't go with anything and they make me think you couldn't make up your mind so you just circled (D) "all of the above" in hopes you might get lucky. You answered wrong, pal. I could probably look past the festival of colors but our neighbor's lights have already blown a fuse or something. One or two of them are blinking and about 15 are just burned out completely. Classy, eh?

Moving on. They also have a giant inflatable snow globe. Yeesh. Alright, I am going to admit something that I have never admitted before. I don't mind the snow globes. I actually think the idea is kind of cute. However, I have discovered that these giant beach balls are like tattoos--no one can stop at just one. The first year the family has their fun little snow globe, and then comes year two and and oh dear Lord there's another one. Apparently they need to start separating the girl and boy snow globes. My parents can attest to this--one of their neighbors has 5 (possibly 6) inflatables in their yard. It is quite humorous, albeit tacky, during the night but it looks like pure hell during the day. Each globe lays there all pitiful and deflated and I have to wonder if the neighbors realize their lawn looks like a Christmas graveyard. Say it with me: YEESH.

Alrighty, I am done being Scrooge for the day. I will let you know when Michael and I have put up our decorations and then you can drive by and make fun of our terrible taste. I'm tough, I can take it. :)

(Corny Patriotic Song Goes Here)

I keep wanting to say, "I can't believe it's over!" when I guess I should be saying, "It's only just begun..." (cue music.)

Last night was incredible. The turnout. The results. The concession. The acceptance. It was clear who I supported, but I felt John McCain's speech was fantastic and I am so appreciative to him for reminding all of us what being an American is all about. And as my good friend, Obama, says, "There's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America." I hope as the days and weeks continue, we will keep in mind the simple statement, "Together we stand, divided we fall." There have already been so many discouraging comments about Obama's victory last night. Some have said he is the anti-Christ, some want to move to Canada, some are ready to purchase bumper stickers stating, "It's not my fault," but the worst, which absolutely broke my heart: "...now my hard earned money will go to someone who doesn't deserve it...you clueless ignorant Obama supporters."

I realize, and am so grateful, many of those who voted for McCain refrained from saying such things. Some have offered nothing but support. I understand disappointment, frustration, and fear. I'm fearful too. I wish I could say I'm 135% confident Obama will succeed but I can't say that (and neither can anyone else). We are in some tough times and his job will not be an easy one. Can you imagine your first day of work being told you have a national crisis to fix, a war to end, and oh by the way, 45% of your constituents did NOT think you were the best man for the job? I think I'll stick to my cozy job as communications director at a church, thanks.

I will admit that I failed the past two years. I never gave up on our country, but I did give up on our president. I'm not proud of it, but it's the truth. That being said, I don't think it's right to give up on Obama before he's even begun.

I live in a very, very red state. I'm pretty sure Oklahoma turned red before the polls closed. But I voted. My husband voted (he still won't tell me if he went red or blue). We both received the free Krispy Kreme donuts and then proceeded to order an extra dozen (gah I HATE when marketing works)! And I am so proud, SO PROUD, that we were a part of it all.

The next four years will be exciting. I hope for everyone's sake we can unite together in prayer and support for our amazing country. I mean seriously, when's the last time Canada gave you a free donut, coffee, and ice cream just for voting? :)

Smartest Kid Ever! :)

Evan said his FIRST sentence today at the tender age of 3 days. It sounded something like this...

"Vote Barack Obama!"

Just kidding--he only said "Vote." :) You can choose the candidate!!

Exclamation Point Overload!!! (!!!!)

It's a BOY!!

Evan Laymon Besancon
6.4 pounds
19.25 inches

They went to the hospital early this morning and I think he was born at 8:20 pm (give or take a few minutes). :) I have ZERO pictures at the moment but he has 10 fingers, 10 toes, and is a healthy little Besancon boy!!

Michael and I were at a wedding tonight so I had my phone next to me the entire evening. Michael left my side for two minutes to get us some wine and as soon as he walked away I received the text. I was a little bummed but it was fun to break the news to him as soon as he returned.

We are so happy for them! I'm not sure we can wait three weeks to meet our nephew!! Have I mentioned how excited I am to finally be able to SHOP for the little guy?!!

ps. NO MORE SLASHIES!!!

Last Day of October!

Happy Halloween!!

Yesterday was our staff Halloween party. The first year I worked at the church I showed up wearing a pretty basic costume. I was hugely surprised when I went to the party and saw the crazy costumes some of the staff wore. Just to name a few: Super Woman, pirate, 2 Elvis', and most memorably, a pimp (ahahaha). So after that I decided the FPC staff meant business. Last year I went as Marge Simpson--it was my first day back from our honeymoon so I was more brown than yellow but oh well.

This year I went as the USA gymnast, Nastia Liukin, complete with medals, bendi-clips, and of course, the scrunchie. I didn't know if anyone still sold scrunchies or if they'd been permanently banned from all stores. I was lucky, Wal-Mart is still selling 90's gear so I was set! Dr. Miller found out halfway through lunch that the 5 medals I was wearing were actually mine from the past 10 years. He made me stand up as he read each one to the entire staff. If there's anyone who was convinced I was the coolest person ever, they now stand corrected. I think they appreciated "3rd place Science Fair, Microbiology" the most.




One of my favorite costumes this year was my boss. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that we started "First Church's Biggest Loser" competition a few months ago so he dressed up as a participant on day 1. I love it.



Jaclyn dressed up as Joe the Plumber... :)




Tonight we'll be handing candy out to the kiddos. We're expecting quite a few since we think we're one of two couples in the entire neighborhood who do not have children (I looked in the covenant and it appears having kids is not a requirement to live here--I was starting to wonder)!!

If you wouldn't mind, take a look to your right and check out the baby countdown. That's right folks, Baby B is due TODAY!! We're all keeping our fingers crossed that he/she makes his/her (damn the slashy!) grand entrance very, very soon! We can't wait!!