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!)