Zee Bedroom

It's times like these when I want to drop kick my camera to China and purchase a big fancy one. Rather than admit it might be my own skillz (or lack thereof), I choose to blame the camera. And let's face it, mirrors are REALLY hard to photograph. Anywho, I'd be lying if I said I was ecstatic with how the following pictures turned out.

Regardless, here's the bedroom! This is our room so I really wanted to make it a mixture of us, full of things we both love. If something was feminine, I tried to pair it with something masculine. His favorite color is blue and mine is green, so guess what? A blue and green room. Dark furniture for him, mirrors for me. Architectural lines for him, soft linen curtains for me. Hope you like it!

Here's the before...




And after!












I would love to say, "It looks so much better in person!" but I know that's a cop-out so I won't. (But really, it looks better in person.)

I got by with a little help from my friends: West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target. I started this project when I was funemployed, and I'm happy to say it's finally (well 95%) complete.

And now we're off to work on the yard. This home improvement stuff never stops!

The Post That Doesn't Really Have A Point...

One of the things I love about having a blog is learning that some of my oddities aren't really that odd at all. As sad as it sounds, reading your comments/emails about your own fear of needles made me feel so much better. Thank you! And to those of you who give blood for fun, props to you too. :)

I'm excited to have another "room reveal" in the next few days. Our bedroom is 95% complete (don't tell Michael--he thinks we're done). I'll take a few pictures and post them sometime this week. The living room sneak peek was the pillow so I figured I'd do something similar with this room as well. Cari, a good friend of mine, took some absolutely gorgeous pictures while she was out and about in Portland, Oregon. Almost all of our rooms have pictures of nature (hello Peter Lik), so when I saw her pictures on Facebook I lit up. She graciously let me use her works of art and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. So without further adieu, our bedroom sneak peek:





Aren't they gorgeous?! Thank you, Cari!

We've also been hard at work outside. I planted flowers for the first time in my life and decided I want to include "professional gardener" in our 2011 budget. It is hard work! But I must admit, it feels good and the instant gratification is awesome. Michael did all of the hard stuff so that helped too. :) I forgot to take "before pictures" but I'm not sure I'd show you even if we had some--absolutely terrible. We have a long way to go but so far so good.

That's it for now. Hope you all have a great week!

The Post Where I Embarrass Myself

WARNING: This post gets a bit graphic towards the end. Not terrible, but if you aren't a huge fan of grossness, back out now.

My story begins at 10:45 am this morning. I drive 400 feet to the hospital for my yearly checkup and park the car. I've been nervous about this appointment for several weeks because I know they'll be taking blood.

I hate needles.

I hate veins.

I hate blood.

I hate needles that poke into veins that take blood.

(Brief pause while I take a sip of orange juice since the previous sentence just made me a tad nauseous.)

And I'm back. I wait in the doctor's office for eons (actual time: 23 minutes) and am eventually brought back for the exam. It goes well and I love my new doctor. We switch numbers and promise to meet up for drinks (joke). And then I am sent off to the blood cave. I tell the nice lady that I am deathly afraid of the aforementioned items above and she asks if I need someone to hold my hand. I laugh and she looks back at me with a raised eyebrow. Hells no I don't need someone to hold my hand, I'm a woman! I smile and tell her I don't think that's necessary but to please go easy on my arms. I sit down in the chair and she gives my arms a full examination before she picks the best one. This makes me happy. Most of the time they just grab my arm and start poking. She decides on the left and I turn to the right. Before I know it, she is DONE. She tells me to put some pressure on the cotton swab and I start flailing my right arm to find it (I'm still looking to the right). She calmly grabs my hand and places it on the cotton swab. At that moment I felt like I was 7-years-old. But I look up and tell her that this was the absolute best blood giving experience I've had in my life. I thank her profusely and ask her to be the godmother of our first child. She tells me I can stay as long as I want but I jump out of my seat and run out the door. I'm feeling GREAT. And then I'm feeling NOT GREAT. I leave the office and make my way outside so I can sit on a bench. I see a couple argue about parking. I see a mom drop off her teenager. And then I see spots. I breathe deeply, regain control and decide I'm ready to find my car.

My car is approx 100 feet away when I start feeling really sick. I think, "Wow, this is how I feel right before I throw up." And then I throw up. In a parking garage. And then I throw up again. In a parking garage. And then I make it to my car, shut the door, open the door, and throw up again. I threw up three times. Did I mention I was in a parking garage? I am absolutely mortified, embarrassed, disgusted, bad adjective, bad adjective, bad adjective.

Giving blood has made me cry. It has made me nauseous. It has made me scream. It has never, until today, made me throw up.

My thoughts go out to anyone who parks on the second floor, row B of the Medical City parking garage. And my thoughts go out to my husband, who married the biggest pansy this world has ever known.

Goodbye Winter, Hellooooo Spring!

Oh, hello there. It's been an interesting few weeks. I'm not sure where to start so I apologize if this post becomes a bit chaotic and unorganized.

I completed my CRIS designation for work, which is thrilling because I now have my evenings and weekends back. When I told my boss I finished the program he said, "Don't forget--you get some money for that!" I told him I'd already expensed each of the courses and he said, "No... you get a bonus for completing the course. Didn't you read the handbook?" ("I er... um... of course I read the handbook.") It was a fantastic surprise and went straight to our New York savings account.

Sticking with the "work theme," there was a shooting in our building last week. My company is on the 16th floor and the shooting occurred on the third floor. It was bizarre. Security came over the speakers and told us to lock the main doors to our offices. About 15 of us interpreted that as "Cram into one tiny office and lock the door." They didn't tell us what was going on until it was all over. We saw dozens of police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and helicopters. It was a targeted attack and thankfully, those that were shot are ok. Needless to say, I didn't get much work done that day. I wasn't going to tell my parents but Kait told me she saw it on CNN and I didn't want them to see their daughter's building covered in yellow tape on national news.

Last weekend Michael and I drove home to Fort Smith to attend Leslie's baby shower! We had such a great time and I was able to catch up with several friends. The baby shower brings me to my next point. I've debated whether to write about this but let's face it, when have I ever been one to hold back?

I would like to call this segment:

Etiquette According to Meredith

I would say half of our friends have kiddos or are pregnant. We, on the other hand, have a fat cat. Right before we drove to the shower, I told my mom my least favorite question: "So.... (sweet smile) Does this make you want to have a baby?" Unless you are a very good friend of mine, I really don't want you asking me this. Why? Because it's a lose/lose situation for me. If I say, "No, not really," I sound like a bitter person with a black heart. If I say, "Absolutely!" the new rumor is that Michael and I are "trying" (a phrase that makes both of us cringe). My mom told me to simply say, "When the time is right" and just as I predicted, that phrase came out of my mouth several times. So my advice is to talk about the person who IS having the baby rather than those that aren't. Don't get me wrong, Michael and I are so excited to have kids and we adore all of the babies around us, but seeing someone else with a kid will never be the catalyst for us. And frankly, I'm thankful for that. :)

Off the soap box and time to wrap this one up. Hope you all have a WONDERFUL week and enjoy the extra hour of daylight at night. Spring is here!

Our Alma Mater

Last weekend Michael and I made a quick trip to Tulsa so we could meet beautiful Leighton Marie (my best friend's daughter). We had a great time catching up with Kait and Steve and I was a baby hog the entire time. I would look over and ask Michael, "Do you want to hold her?" and then look away before he had a chance to respond. Oops. We love being surrounded by so many adorable babies. (And we love handing them off when they need a diaper change.) :)

The past few times we've visited Tulsa I get this small ache in my heart and I just want to wrap my arms around the city and give it a huge hug. I know Michael worries about whether I'm happy in Dallas and it wasn't long ago I realized (and explained to him) that Tulsa is just another city. It's a great place, but my emotional ties have nothing to do with it as much as the memories it gave me. A great college experience where I met my best friends. A wonderful boyfriend who became my husband. A wedding. A first home. An abandoned cat who could not have come at a better time in my life. Of course I am grateful for it because it made me who I am today. And for better or for worse, I'm pretty happy with the person I've become and extremely happy with the people I've met along the way.

In an attempt to avoid making this "top 10 sappiest posts ever," I thought I'd share a humorous moment. Michael and I try to take a tour of TU when we're in Tulsa because it changes all of the time. We picked up our college newspaper and immediately flipped to campus crime watch because it. is. hilarious. Both of us were lucky enough to be featured in this section when we were in college and like to read about the current members. In my defense, I was completely innocent. Well, 70% innocent. When I was a senior (read: 21 and legal) my roommate, Melissa, and I had a party in our campus apartment. Someone turned us in for throwing beer bottles off of our 3rd floor balcony. We knew it wasn't anyone from our party who committed the crime because we'd bought a keg for the occasion (which was also not allowed and therefore could not be used as defense) so we showed up to our school hearing a bit nervous. Luckily, the girl who saw the broken bottles admitted she never saw anyone throwing anything off of our balcony so we were let go. I think the school was pretty shocked when two honors students walked in wearing their Sunday best and one carrying a rosary (I might have made that last part up).

Michael--on the other hand--not so innocent. :) Late one night the soccer team decided to play egg baseball from another campus apartment balcony. Michael, the batter, was stationed on the ground while the pitcher threw from the 3rd floor. TU campus security--not so thrilled.

Here were a few of our favorites from this past week's newspaper...

12:15 am: A Security officer followed a student driving recklessly on 8th street to the University apartments. The officer noticed the car was missing one of its front wheels and it was causing sparks. The intoxicated, underage student exited the car holding liquor, which was confiscated along with two other bottles of alcohol recovered from the car. The student stated that they were coming home from a party at a campus apartment.

(Sidenote--We are obviously not condoning drinking and driving, we were merely amused by the lack of a front wheel causing a 4th of July show for all viewers.)

3:00 am: Security shutdown a party in the University Apartments due to the late hour. The residents were initially uncooperative, denying there was a party and preventing entry for a welfare check. Eventually officers discovered several people hiding in the bathroom and the guests left.

God bless TU. Your campus might change, but the antics never will.

Fridays With Evan!

Oh I just love him. Have a great weekend everyone!

A Dream Is Wish Your Hungry Stomach Makes...

I have never had a problem remembering my dreams. Most, in fact, are so realistic that I have to ask myself if they actually happened.

My latest recurring dream has been my high school class reunion. I'm right in the middle of planning it so l think about it randomly throughout the day and often before I go to sleep. So I halfway expect the dreams. But they're so weird.

Let's back up a bit. I have school-related dreams quite often and there are two that I have had at least 100 times. In both cases I wasn't present when the real event happened.

For instance, at the end of my junior year I ran for senior class president. After the first election there was a run-off between me and another classmate. If I remember correctly, I left right after my speech to go on an out-of-town college visit so I found out I'd won by a call on my gigantor cell phone. To this day I still have the dream that I'm running for class president (how embarrassing) and I have to make a big speech in front of 500 classmates. I always wake up before I find out if I win.

In college I skipped class. A lot. My brother and I figured out that I skipped more classes in one week than he did his entire four years. In my dream it's halfway through the semester and I'm about to have a midterm in a class, only to find out I've never even gone to that class. The teacher has no idea who I am. And I have no idea what the class is about. Thank the Lord, I always wake up before I find out how that one ends.

Alright, back to my reunion dreams. Most are pretty normal but the past two have taken place in our neighborhood grocery store. It is the most bizarre thing. And what makes it even stranger is the reunion is a HUGE hit. People are having a blast and I'm walking up and down the aisles with a big grin on my face. In one of the dreams I'm in charge of the assorted cheese section. As some of my friends pointed out, what's not to love? All of the food and beverage your heart desires--nothing beats that! But it does make me wonder why the heck my dream's location can't be somewhere cooler. I'm such a nerd.

So we'll see how it goes. 4 more months before the real reunion is here and I hope everyone has as much fun at this one as they had in the bread aisle.

And if not, I know what to do in 2020.

Five Golden (Er... Brightly Colored) Rings!

It's that time again--the time where I spend several continuous hours on a couch watching very talented and in-shape people do pretty spectacular things. During past Olympics there was always a brief moment where I thought, "If I start training now, maybe I can be there in four years." Now, at the ripe old age of 27, I have succumbed to the fact that it's never going to happen. My only medals are the result of science fairs and honors programs.

Since this has taken up so much of my time, I'd like to share a few thoughts with you.

Commercials. I am a sensitive soul, I am. When they first ran the mom commercials I teared up and felt all mushy. Then I saw them 84 times in one hour and now I'm all, "Hey mom, let your kid go already. Yeesh."

Jeans. This is apparently the fashion trend of the 2010 Olympics. Whether they're real jeans, faux jeans, or man jeggings, they're everywhere. And I think it's weird.

...But not as weird as pink tassles or nude tops on men. Michael and I were watching couples figure skating the other day and the girl was wearing a tiara (sidenote: not a fan of tiaras). So in a high pitched voice I squealed, "I'm a PRINCESS!" And then my funny husband replied in a very low voice, "Me toooooo." Sure enough, it was quite obvious the couple consisted of not one but two very pretty princesses.

Sean White is freaking amazing.

I know it's dorky, but whenever I watch the Olympics it's just another reminder of how proud I am to be an American (where at least I know I'm free). We live in a pretty great place, ya know? Pink tassles, man jeggings, body suits stamped with way too many stars, the whole bit. I love it. And even if it's ridiculously ironic how a huge group of athletic people can cause me to be a complete couch potato for two weeks, I think that's alright.

(And you know I can't wait to scream, "Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time! Cool Runniiiiiiings!!")

Bigfoot Called.... He Wants His Shoes Back

Over the past five years Michael's feet have been the subject of much discussion and ridicule. They are, oh how do I put it? SO BIG. In his defense, everyone in my family has pretty small feet so that's all I've ever known. My mom's are so small that she sometimes has trouble balancing (at least that's what we blame it on) and I usually wear a 7, which I've been told is pretty wee for someone 5'7. But Michael's feet enter a room a good 8 seconds before the rest of him.

And I love nothing more than to make fun of those poor, innocent feet. For instance, he has a pair of bright red shoes and every time he wears them I take a cue from McDonalds and sing, "You'll always have a friend wearing big red shoooooooes!" I also love the fact that he uses a shoehorn so whenever I witness the act I loudly proclaim, "Foghorn Shoehorn!" He halfway laughed the first 12 times. Now he just shakes his head.

(My inspiration: Foghorn Leghorn)

I'm also a little scared of his feet because they have caused me much anxiety and pain. It takes only two of his shoes to crowd a doorway and I never look down when I walk. I've taken many, MANY tumbles due to his heavy footwear. Shoes: 15 Meredith: 0

So it only makes sense that his Valentine's Day gift was a new pair of shoes. You might not find that romantic, but it's the closest thing to a peace offering I could give. They're from one of our favorite stores in Dallas and he wears them as often as he can. Thanks to this crappy weather they've been sitting in our closet but I know they will make their appearance again soon enough. And for the perceptive type, you are right, Valentine's Day is not until tomorrow and I mentioned he's already worn them quite a bit. We continued our tradition of opening gifts early--I'm just thrilled we made it all the way to February. Baby steps, people. (FYI: One step of Michael's is equivalent to 43 baby steps.)

And I'm done making fun of my darling husband's feet. At least... for today. :)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Good Talk

Those of you who've been with me from the beginning (bless your hearts) know a few things about me.

1. I'm happily married and have a daughter (cat) whose BMI is off the charts.
2. I love cheese. And a good pun.
3. I'm not afraid to make fun of myself. (Mostly because it's so easy.)

Something I hope you know about me is that I'm a Christian with unbreakable faith. I don't talk about it much on here because it's personal to me and I'm not one to broadcast such things. Is that a cop-out? Maybe so. But today is different.

I grew up going to church--attended most Sunday and Wednesday services. One thing I've never really experienced, however, is hearing God's voice. Some of my friends hear God telling them to go to the bathroom (slight exaggeration) but usually the voice I hear is what I consider my conscience talking. "Meredith, don't buy those jeans, they'll make your butt look big." Or perhaps that is God and if so, I'm glad to know he has a sense of humor. :)

Last night I was lying in bed listening to Thumbs snore and was praying about some issues that have been bothering me lately. Nothing I care to get into and nothing particularly interesting, but issues nonetheless. And for the first time that I can remember, I heard him.

"Cling to me."

Three simple words that formed one simple statement that led to two simple tears.

"Cling to me."

I said it to myself several times before I realized this command would literally and figuratively bring me closer to the One I so desperately want to hear. After all, how can you learn from someone if you're nowhere near them?

"Cling to me."

Not "hold on to me." Not "stand next to me." But CLING to me--something you do when you lack all strength and don't trust yourself to stand alone.

I went to bed with a calm heart, understanding I could always find comfort and stability in him. It doesn't mean these issues will disappear. And you know what? They might get worse. But knowing that I don't have to go at it alone is powerful. And for that... and for him... I am so grateful.

Gosh I Love These Things...

1. What is your name and do you have any nicknames? Meredith Leigh (pronounced “Mewadiff Wee” until I was about 8—there is a cassette tape to prove it). Merd, Merdi, Mere.

2. What color are your socks right now? Not wearing socks (but I only own white)

3. What are you listening to right now? Someone making coffee.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? Cilantro dip and chips. At 9:30a in the morning. Hey, if you don’t grab it fast, that stuff is GONE.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? I’m quite the pro--my first car was a stick shift. And yes, that makes me cooler than you.

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Anna!

7. Last place you went on vacation? I guess if we’re talking about a TRUE vacation, it would have been Sanibel Island last July.

8. What Hobbies do you have? Reading. Does blogging count? Does watching TV count? When I actually make an effort to run I enjoy it.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Now that I understand it, I actually like football. But my limit is one game.

10. What is your favorite drink? Coca-Cola. Pepsi can take a hike.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Unfortunately yes, which has resulted in an endless cycle of doom that’s lasted 10 years. My mom let me get highlights when I was on the homecoming court and I’ve never looked back.

12. Favorite food? Butter

13. What is the last movie you watched? Avatar (I know, I’m so original)

14. Favorite day of the year? I’ve answered this before. Any day that falls in the “summer” category.

15. How do you vent anger? I stew on it for a good 3 hours and then I either talk to Michael or call my mom.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Teddy Ruxpin (and Grubby!)

17. What is your favorite season? Read my answer to #14 and use your context clues.

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Blueberries. At one point we had fresh blueberries, blueberry breakfast bars, and blueberry cereal in our house. Michael hated life a little bit that week.

19. What is your occupation right now? CCIP/Underwriting Assistant. Yeah, me neither.

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? An author

21. What state do you live and what State or Country would you like to live some day? The great state of Texas. (I saw a car the other day that had three, yes THREE identical bumper stickers that proclaimed, “Don’t Mess with Texas.” I almost ran off the road from rolling my eyes.) I am actually very happy here and have no plans of moving anytime soon (or ever).

22. Living arrangements? Husband and a fat cat.

23. Do you have any pets? Thumbs Mageezer, the greatest cat in the world (world, world, world)

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and clothes

25. What are three of your favorite items at the moment? Our new bed, Michael’s glasses (so hot right now), and a new pair of pants that I plan on buying this weekend (foreshadowing if you will…)

26. What did you do last night? Read a book, ate Chipotle, and watched the Biggest Loser.

27. Any news you want to share? Hmm… Well… No, I guess not.

28. What do you like on your hamburgers? Cheese and mustard. Tis all.

29. Favorite dog breed? English bulldog! Named Mistah Dahcy or Harry Pottah (yes, I have thought this through)

30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

31. How many states have you lived in? Three (Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas)

32. Diamonds or pearls? Yes

33. What is your favorite flower? I love tulips and calla lilies. And lately I’ve been a huge fan of peonies.

34. Favorite meal you have had at a restaurant and which restaurant was it? The pizza at some restaurant on our 37-day-trip-from-hell. None of us know if it was THAT good or if we were just really hungry.

35. What music are you currently listening to? NPR lately.

36. What is one fun thing you are looking forward to in the upcoming year? I am looking forward to our 10-year reunion and I am also looking forward to it being over. :)

Time To Catch Up!

Who's ready for a smorgasbord of information? No? Well.... tough.

I'd prepared a 14-page blog post on our weekend trip to Tulsa, which included detailed end notes and even a bibliography, but then I noticed my best friend Kait wrote her own Tulsa blog post and figured... heeeey, why don't I just reference hers? So for a Tulsa recap, please CLICK HERE. (Stupid bibliography.)

Last week was pretty crazy, I spent most of the week at a conference for our company and the other few days desperately trying to catch up. I'm also in the process of obtaining my CRIS certification so I spent a good portion of the weekend studying for that. Raise your hand if you're jealous. Oh come on, not one?

After a delicious dinner with Michael's parents to celebrate their 29th anniversary, Michael and I came home and watched a bit of the Grammy's. I have decided Taylor Swift needs to retire her voice and just stick to writing songs. Her performance fell flat. (Get it? Oh how I adore puns!) I still think she is talented and deserves everything this wonderful life has to give her, but I'm pretty confident 97.9% of America would consider her tone deaf.

And speaking of music... There is a song on the radio that makes me want to jump out of a moving car (or in my case, jump out of a car that moves approx 6 miles per hour due to Dallas traffic). I actually think the song is kind of catchy, but the lyrics. Oh my God the LYRICS. Let's take a look at the chorus.

You make me smile like the sun (Do suns smile? Whatev, we'll let this one slide.)
Fall out of bed, sing like bird (Fall out of bed? Where did that come from? It doesn't even make sense!)
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night (The only people I know who are crazy on a Sunday night are college freshmen.)
You make me dance like a fool (embarrassing)
Forget how to breathe (lame)
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee (Ok, this is where I literally shouted to the dashboard, "Buzz like a bee?! You've GOT to be KIDDING me!" What does this have to do with anything? And who shows their love by buzzing like a bee? I HATE BEES!)
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Ohh, you make me smile (Who can smile when there's a chance of bees? I HATE BEES!)

After hearing this song, I seriously considered quitting my third job (in one year) and becoming a lyricist. The only thing that could make this song worse is if Taylor Swift sang it live. GEESH.

One last thing. Right now on facebook the rage is to change your profile picture to a celebrity you've been told you look like. Here is the abridged version of "celebrities" Michael has been told he resembles...





And here is the extended version of "celebrities" I've been told I look like.


Life? Is not fair.

Weekends <-- Love them

Picture me in a super cute outfit and adorable shoes (because what I'm really wearing is an utter disgrace), reaching out to each of you and giving you a HUGE hug. Thanks for all of the sweet comments on my last post. I'm not sure if it was your comments, the sunny weather, or perhaps the gummy vitamins I took that night before bed, but I woke up the next morning and Mr. Bluebird was back on my shoulder where he rightfully belonged.

Add to that a wonderful weekend spent with family and friends and I'm walking on sunshine. (Let's see how many song references I can make in one post. Song count thus far: 2) My parents came down for the weekend so mom could enjoy her Christmas gift from us: an eyebrow tutorial at the Nordstrom spa. Yes, you read that right. We had a wonderful time and our eyebrows could not be prouder. Dad and Michael could not be more skeptical. Eh, what can you do.

We also went to a baby shower for Lindsey and soon-to-be daughter Eleanor, and saw all sorts of adorable baby girl apparel. I always think I want a boy and then I see the ruffles, the swimsuits, and the light pink baby Uggs... and my voice jumps up three octaves as I squeal and become Team Girl to the max. It was great to catch up with so many girls Michael met in high school--they were all so sweet and welcoming to us when we were movin' on up (song count: 3) to Dallas. AND! I turned about four shades of red because I found out about several new readers to the ol' blog. So hello to each of you, I will try my hardest not to let you down.

Last night Michael and I put on our imaginary aprons and cooked TWO meals to add to our growing list. One "meal" was actually a cake, but it took so much time (and butter) that we decided it deserved its own space. Dad was sweet enough to take some pictures of the chefs in action working with Mr. Salmon. Mom tried to help but I finally told her, "You can't touch this" (song count: 4... and I'm done--this is ridiculous) so she backed off. Wonderful evening, and after an official vote we all agreed both meals were "Better."

Dad asked for us to get in the picture together and I didn't really know what to do.
So I acted uber excited about Michael's culinary skillz.

Excited to start a new week with a better attitude! Alright, I'm off to eat 500-calories-per-slice cake. And yes, that sound you hear is my waistline begging for mercy.

Don't Bother Reading This. No Really--Don't.

Gah, I'm so frustrated right now.

It's been entirely too long since I've written a meaningful post. And I wish I could say today was the big day but it's just not. I'm tired. I'm cranky. I'm just not that into the blog right now.

Let me back up. My new job? I love it. I really do. However--it takes 150% of my energy. When I leave each day, I am physically and mentally exhausted. The drive home is a blur and as soon as I walk in the door I just want to put on my pajamas and hop into bed. I am about to say something that I know will make many of you vehemently shake your heads and disagree, but please understand I'm only referring to MYSELF and not anyone else. I don't believe you (ok, I) can be exceptional at both work life and personal life. You have to choose one. I'm not saying you can't be good or even very good--but you can't be great at both. Right now I have to focus 93% of my efforts towards work, which means I come home and poor Michael is stuck with the leftovers. I remember getting so frustrated when I lived in the sorority house because girls (including myself) would use up all of their happiness with boyfriends/classes/etc. When they would get back to the house, the rest of us were greeted with a negative Nancy (or Debbie Downer--your choice) and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Nobody likes the leftovers and I'm afraid Michael's been stuck with mine for about 3 weeks.

I was mulling over my dilemma this afternoon at work. And it made me feel crappy. As I approached a co-worker's desk, she exclaimed, "Wow--I love your sweater!" Just as I felt my spirits start to lift she continued by saying, "I just love huge, cozy grandpa sweaters." I blinked a few times, shook my head in agreement (what can you do?) and looked down at my newly named grandpa sweater. Only problem? Not really supposed to be a grandpa sweater. Sigh. Such is life.

So I'm going to end this before I make this the most depressing post ever. I plan on writing about my fabulous weekend in Tulsa (waiting for some pictures) so please don't think that my life sucks right now. It doesn't. I just need to find that perfect balance so no one (especially my husband) has to deal with my leftovers. I'd rather throw them in the garbage where they belong.

Take A Deep Breath...

....and exhale. Enjoy your weekend.

For Better or For Worse

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't really do resolutions. However! Michael and I decided on a joint resolution and I'm really excited about it (our last joint resolution ended with him quitting after 3 days--here's hoping for better results this time around).

I don't cook. I bake. And rarely do I do that. Both of us actually enjoy cooking but we fall into ruts where it's just easier to cook the same darn thing all of the time. And by cook I mean "heat up" or "add one ingredient." I love you Shells & Cheese but for Pete's (and Meredith's and Michael's) sake it is time to retire you.

As I was looking in our empty cupboards the other day I had an idea. What if our resolution was to cook two new recipes each week? (I realize there are seven days in a week but baby steps people!) 104 new recipes in 2010. I shared the idea with Michael and he was up for the challenge so we pulled out our cookbooks and started tagging recipes that sounded delicious. This resolution only has two requirements: we cook two new recipes each week (no repeats) and we do it together. And if we have a busy week and only get to one, we'll just cook three the following week.

We're calling it "For Better or For Worse" and to keep us accountable I'm going to keep track of it on here (take a looksie right over there -->). After each dish, we'll rate it as either (wait for it...) "Better" or "Worse." I don't plan on writing blog posts about our project unless a recipe is ridiculously good or I have a funny story to share.

So there you have it! The Haynes' family resolution! As you can see we made our first meal tonight, which was Spaghetti Carbonara. Conclusion: Worse.

Hey, you can't win them all.

Raise Your Hand If You Like Pictures! (And No Need To Read This Post If You Don't!)

Here are some Christmas pictures. I know it's already 2010 but it's been a busy week! And before you say, "Holy cow Meredith, that's a lot of pictures," please keep in mind I had to choose from over 300. Yes, 300. Ridiculous right?? Welcome to our family.

I am a bit behind in blog reading, which is why many of you haven't heard from me since last year (HAAAARDY HAR) but I plan to devote the next 40 hours (or so) to blog reading/commenting. You have been warned.

(In absolutely no particular order....)

Evan in his "lounge-wear" (special thanks to Julie for the name...)

Posed

Not posed

We decided to take a family picture. 6 adults, 1 little boy, and 1 cat is ROUGH. First, a few outtakes. Keywords: Justin & Michelle

Keywords: Meredith & Thumbs

Keyword: Evan (Thumbs is looking pretty rough but that is her mom's fault)

FINALLY! (Thumbs didn't make the final cut but at that point none of us cared. Maybe next year!)

Evan loved Thumbs. Thumbs loves no one. Every time Evan came close to Thumbs I had to put my hand over Thumbs' face so she didn't see Evan. The Haynes' family future is looking a bit bleak.

My sweet Aunt Carolyn and Evan!

Christmas morning...

Every single one of these girls has a blog. I should link to all of them but man, I'm tired. (So great to see all of you!!!)

The end. :)