My "Trip" to Kansas City

After my bachelorette party last June I wrote a post titled, "Sleeping With My Eyes Open." I'm now back from Summer's bachelorette party and could easily recycle that title. :) We had a great time and it was nice to meet the other bridesmaids. Kait and I drove to Overland Park on Friday night and stayed at Summer's house. The next morning we had her personal shower at one of the bridesmaid's homes and then it was off to Weston, MO, population 1160 (give or take 3). We went to a winery and then had dinner at a cute little restaurant. Afterwards we went to an Irish pub, which was about 2 floors underground. It was very musty when we first arrived and all of us were a little nervous about the long trek to the "basement." It turned out to be a fantastic experience. The band included a guitarist, drummer, and a violinist and at one point they called Summer to the stage and played Pachelbel's Canon in D. I stood there with my mouth gaping open, it was so impressive.

What was NOT impressive was my ability to walk correctly. After we'd been there for 30 minutes, I was trying to get from one side of the bar to the other and there were 2 steps down. I only thought there was ONE step so of course I tripped and fell hard on my knees. I'd grabbed something on the way down so as soon as I hit the floor I looked up to see what my left hand was doing. Great news for me, I'd latched onto some older man's belt buckle. I was mortified. His wife was less than thrilled. I apologized profusely and walked (hobbled) away as fast as possible. I now have 2 scabby knees and a wife that hates me. The rest of the night was great and didn't end until 3:30a. Kait and I left Weston around 9a on Sunday and drove home as fast as possible to get back to the husband and the fiance. I really missed him this weekend!





One small rant... Us Weekly's latest issue has "The Littlest Victims" splashed across the front. I was always told "littlest" was not a word and rightfully so--just say the word and you feel stupid. Say "littler" and you're now on the same level as a 4-year-old. Say "smallest" and your IQ will jump at least 20. Anywho, I also noticed a billboard in Tulsa for a medical center that said, "Our littlest patients." What?! I finally looked up the word on dictionary.com and turns out, it now IS an accepted word:

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) -
lit·tle [lit-l] lit·tler or less or less·er, lit·tlest or least, adverb, less, least, noun



I blame Webster for not standing up to the English language. Now his dictionary includes ebonics, slang, etc. I will say, I am 5% curious if the word has, in fact, always been a word and I was told incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure it is a recent addition and one that I refuse to add to my own personal vocabulary. Small, smaller smallest. Little, smaller, smallest. Done.

Crazy Town!

I think I've mentioned this before--one of my New Year's resolutions (and the only one I've actually kept) is to read the entire Bible this year. I have a reading schedule and it ends up being about 3-4 chapters every night. What has hit me the hardest is that the people back then are NO better than we are today. As they say in Steel Magnolias, "there are some pretty sick tickets in this town." For so long I've heard how each generation is worse than the one before and how "back in the old days people didn't do this stuff." You hear that enough until you're finally convinced that your own generation is the bruise on an otherwise perfect record of the world's existance. Never again will I believe that! I won't go into details, but read Genesis through Numbers and then you tell me that we're in the middle of a never-before-seen crisis!

We're still enjoying Dave Ramsey and learning a lot. He said something the other night that really hit home. I wrote it down and of course I don't have my book with me when I need it, but it was the concept of being happy in the NOW, and not constantly looking for something else to make you even happier... A kindergartner says she'll be happy when she is in REAL school, and then when she's in real school she decides she will be happy when she's in middle school, and the middle schooler will finally be happy when they can drive, and then the driver will really be happy when she leaves for college, etc. It's a vicious cycle that never ends! I don't think I've used the phrase, "I'll be happy when..." but I KNOW I've thought, "I"ll be satisfied when..." And the point is, you're never going to be satisfied with the next step if you can't be satisfied with the present. For me it was moving to Tulsa, and then marrying Michael, and then buying a house, and then buying stuff for the house... What am I doing to myself? I'm living the dream I've had for so long yet I'm constantly sticking my head out to see what else is out there to make me even MORE satisfied. Jeez, Meredith, grow up!

Kait and I are leaving tomorrow for Summer's bachelorette party in Kansas City. It's going to be a great weekend and I'm excited to see everyone and meet the other bridesmaids. I think the temperature is going to be around -40 all weekend so I'm mentally preparing myself for some blistering weather! My office has a 90-year-old window that might as well be a hole in the wall so whether I wanted to or not I've already physically prepared myself for the cold. I have a pair of warm slippers at work that I'm not embarrassed to use (thanks Michelle and Justin!) and my space heater is less than 6 inches from my feet. Safe? No. Ridiculously warm? Absolutely!

Off to our weekly meetings!

Ps. Barack is doing really well! Hooray! As our 6th graders in j-life would say, "woot."

My Cat Could Beat Up Your $50k Dog...

I watched the Westminster dog show today and it made me so grateful for my overweight pal. She might not have the shiniest coat or papers that date back to prehistoric times, but she's fat and fabulous and I'm crazy about her. Michael and I are both in our office and about 10 minutes ago I looked up to see that Thumbs was not so happy with our fish screensaver... :)



I figured if I was posting one picture I might as well dedicate this entire post to our favorite feline. We're not having kids anytime soon so these are the best "kid pictures" you're going to get from us for a while!

When Michael and I were moving in, we found Thumbs in the strangest positions. She absolutely LOVED this suitcase, so we left it there for some time:


She's quite the jumper!

All cuddled up with Michael's workout shorts:

Her "hiding spot" in the sun under the rocking chair:

I love holding her in my lap like this. She tolerates it pretty well:

"I know the answer! Pick me, pick me!":

I think I'd just told her she wasn't getting dinner:

February--Take a hike!

There are 2 (count 'em--2) redeeming qualities about February.

1. Justonian's birthday
2. Short month

No, I didn't forget to include Valentine's day--I don't find it redeeming enough to be considered a quality. :) It's a fine day, I don't mind the colors red or pink (although I find them to be a hideous combination) and I'm not going to say I don't love a good meal and a sweet gift from my favorite person. But! If the day were to fall off a bridge or disappear into the woods, I can't say I'd shed many tears.

If you can't tell, I'm full force into my annual winter slump. I want to be the groundhog and find some hole to crawl into (one that is big enough to fit my husband, television, microwave and a stack of books) and safely stay there until the sun decides to come out and play. I've always preferred warm weather, but I do begin each winter season with immense optimism. It lasts until mid-January and then I begin itching (literally itching--stupid winter skin) to get to May and the glorious warmth that comes with it. I consider myself pretty modest, but February is about the time my appendages are sick of being covered up. Just like my brain, they need some sun too!!

This is not going to be a negative post so I believe I will list 5 things that have made me smile this week:

1. My 1.5 hour talk with my brother on his birthday
2. The funny V-Day card from my parents
3. Driving to work in the morning with Michael (great way to start my day)
4. Free pizza at J-Life
5. Seeing Kait try on her wedding dress!
BONUS! I am one of three people in Tulsa that has not come down with the flu (Michael is the second of those three people)

I could go on but I won't. I do think it is important to remember the good things in slumpy times. Yes, slumpy. If we're allowed to feel sorry for ourselves for more than a few minutes, things go from bad to unbearable. I don't want that.

Michael's parents are visiting this weekend and it will be great to see them. They are very easy to entertain so it should be a relaxing weekend for all of us (and you know how much I love those)!

And I'll end with a confession. Michael and I are HOOKED on Law & Order and Without A Trace. If you are patient and search long enough, you can find one of them on television 24 hours a day. And with our new best friend, DVR, we are able to record said shows and watch them (a) whenever we choose and (b)... wait for it... WITHOUT commercials! It is fabulous! My attention span is minimal (I've covered 18 different topics in one post) so give me a mystery that begins and ends in 45 minutes and we have a winner!

Since I began this post, I have made up my mind that I am going to beat February--not in the literal sense (although that would be a funny visual) but in the purest way. Chin up, shoulders back, walking right through it with a smile on my face. It'll make me a better person and who knows? Perhaps I'll find another redeeming quality along the way. I'm up for the challenge.

I'm Hoping for a Truly SUPER Tuesday!

I realize that this is not only my blog but also my darling husband's blog as well. However, he has written 1 out of the 39 posts so I believe I have permission to do this...



Oh that felt good. I am about to go vote for this man and I sincerely hope he does well today. I actually like both Democratic candidates so I'll be ok with either outcome, although I really prefer Barack.

I was raised to believe that talking about politics is a terrible idea but I was in a short (email) conversation today with a Republican and we both called the other party "mean." I respectfully asked him what makes a Democrat "mean" and I have yet to hear back from him--I'm so curious! Perhaps he's saying higher taxes are mean or being pro-choice is mean? I suppose I understand the thought process but if that's the case I find his definition of "mean" very juvenile. What do you think? How is a Democrat mean? Last I checked, giving everyone the chance to have healthcare, bringing soldiers home from battle, and allowing a woman full control of her own body sounded pretty nice! I could go on but I won't. Anywho, I realize I may receive negative comments re. this subject and that is ok--just help me understand. Feel free to even be MEAN with what you say! Haha.

Done with that, moving on. We're having our very first "party" this weekend for one of Michael's work buddies. He is leaving us for New Jersey (yes, New Jersey. I know what you're thinking and I completely agree). Anywho, we're expecting around 15 people to show up and I think it'll be a really good time. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by. :)



That's about all I've got folks. If you're one of the fabulous 24, don't forget to vote today! I don't want to cause you to lean one way or the other but the following is a true statement and should be taken into consideration... :)