New Style

What I am eating: steamed potatoes and salsa verde.

What I am thinking: Well, I put in my two weeks notice today. I was nervous about it, but it went better than expected. I don't know why I expected it to go poorly. I've been an asset to the company for some time and do great work. My boss has always recognized that, as have my authors. But I was still concerned. I mean, that's a nerve wracking conversation.

Still, all is said and done. I'm heading back to journalism and relearning AP Style and the tools it takes to write a good news story. I picked up the textbook for the class I'll be teaching through and have skimmed through most of it. A very good book that I'm mostly certain my students won't read, but I'm holding out hope that they will.

More to write but no time to write...for now. I have more to accomplish in the next two weeks than I've had to accomplish in a while, so I'll have my nose in the computer screen but mostly in Word files and work emails. In the future look forward to more posts about writing, as I plan to start doing much more of it as well as teaching others about it.

I would like to also say: I may be leaving a publishing house, but I remain an editor. My freelance career is in full swing, so if you know anyone who needs an editor or writer, send them my way at MeghanBarnesEditor@gmail.com.

Car Dreaming and Confessions

My commute to work three mornings a week is forty minutes long, both ways. That's an hour and twenty minutes of driving three days a week. Usually I preoccupy myself with music during this time. Sometimes with praying. Other times with talking on the phone (to my one friend who is awake that early in the morning). The last two days I have preoccupied my driving time with a new band of old (not in their twenties) dudes, who if you're really close to me you're probably tired of me talking about, called Them Crooked Vultures.

Well, I had to fess up today when I got home and saw my husband and felt guilty...

"Okay," I say out of the blue, to which he responds with a blank-faced, "Huh?" (but doesn't actually say anything).

"I've kind of been crushing on Joshua Homme," I say.

He laughs. "Yeah, well, he's a good looking dude. And he's funny."

But I don't feel any better.

"I've been, like, imagining that he falls in love with me." Realization strikes. "Oh! Not in a, you know, bad way; just in a 'I'm daydreaming that we go to a show and he sees me and falls head over heels and asks me to come up on stage and play a guitar solo with the band, super embarrassing' way."

"Oh." He's still laughing, but he's also getting something out of the refrigerator, so I can't tell if it's a "haha" laugh or a "I'm starting to feel bad" laugh, because I'm still feeling really guilty and feeling worse by the second.

"I still love you most," I say in a pathetic and pleading manner. "I've convenANted with you."


"Stop now," he says.

"But I wanted to say covnenANted," I say. "Really though, I'm sorry."

I'm not sure he liked that I'd been daydreaming about a super rockin' band, but I'm pretty sure he forgave me. Have you ever done this? When I was in the eighth grade, I had a short obsession with the band Metallica. I would be on a family vacation and have on my headphones and be listening to Master of Puppets, and I'd pretend that for some reason, Kirk Hammett (sp?) broke his arm and couldn't play in the Tulsa show, so they tried out guitarists, and I got the gig. And I'd be up on stage wailing with James Hetfield. I used to imagine I played lead guitar for The Rollins Band too. What is with me and pretending I can play guitar?

Well, it seems this blog is turning into a confessions forum. Should I be embarrassed by this?

Once upon a time, a seventh grader bought a tape entitled Nevermind.

I remember the day I bought Nirvana’s ultra-classic, hello '90s album, Nevermind. I was at the mall with my friend Valerie (who is now called Val), and we were at the record store. Does any mall anywhere still have one of these fabled things? It was the upstairs record store, not the downstairs one. I lived the go to the mall and visit these two stores, especially if I had enough allowance saved up.

I was still buying tapes at this point. But I was beginning to notice those bigger-boxed things that had something new in them...called CDs maybe? I wasn't sure.

I don’t remember what Val bought that day. I want to say we were playing this game where we picked up something we’d never heard of and bought it, though I think I must have at least heard of Nirvana at this point. So it wasn’t brand new to me.

Val’s sister picked us up from the mall that day. It was raining. Her sister smoked cigarettes, and I remember asking at some point, “How does she get away with it?” And Val, or her sister, told me that the excuse is always that “My friends were smoking,” and that it works every time. I filed that one away and used it at a later date.

I think we were listening to a classic rock radio station, and I think the song about “I heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who, heard it from another…” was playing, but I’m not positive. If not that song, some other classic rock song. To this day, when I hear “I heard it from a friend who…” I think of Valerie.

This was a Saturday (either that or it was summer), because that night I was headed to a sleepover at my friend Carrie’s house. What a fun day! Except for the rain. Rain deeply affected my angst-ridden teenage soul.

So, we headed home. I had an alarm radio with a tape deck on my night stand, and so when I got home, as I did, I went to my room. I unwrapped my new tape and took the tape out and smelled the packaging. I hated the smell then. I would grow to love it. But then, the smell made me feel a little depressed. Don’t ask me to explain that.

At this point, I had noticed a funny smell somewhere in my room but hadn’t thought much of it. I was mostly concerned about listening to this tape, and that if my parents heard what I was about to listen to they might not like it (a preoccupation of mine: my parents - and keeping them OUT of my business), so I put the tape in and turned down the volume and listened to…Nirvana. Oh, how it rocked. Oh, how I was nervous my parents might here. Oh, how I didn’t hear my dad approaching.

He knocked on the door.

I turned off the tape.

"Yeah?”

He opened the door and gave me a strange look. “What are you doing?”

Me, probably white faced: “Nothing.”

He stared at me. “Meghan…?”

What? Oh shit. “I was just listening to this new tape I got…”

“Meghan…what’s that smell? What are you doing in here?”

At that point I was totally thrown off. My heart was pounding harder than it had been when he entered the room. What? The smell? What?

He walked toward me. “Are you smoking something?”

I’m totally flabbergasted. Actually, I don’t even fully know what he means. Smoking something?

Needless to say, that was an awkward moment, and one I will not soon forget. My dad thought I was smoking marijuana. I thought he was about to ground me for listening to Nirvana. And all the while, the lamp on my nightstand was shorting. There was a small electrical fire going on in my room.

And you know what? It smelled a little bit like the inside of a new tape.

The Goings On in the Life of a Lazy "Blogger"

Things going on in my life right now:

Taking Drue to the zoo for the first time tomorrow. In the midst of planning her first birthday party. It's going to have a Mary Poppins theme, seeing as Drue's second word was "Mary Poppins" ("pop"). I went to Hobby Lobby today and bought...

1. A bright blue poster board on which I'm going to Sharpie "17 Cherry Tree Lane."
2. Pipe cleaners that will eventually be "chimney sweepers," which we'll put on the cupcakes covered in crushed Oreos.
3. A small cake tin, to help in making the Mary Poppins's HAT cake that I plan to make.
4. Dasies to go on top of that hat.
5. And I think that's all.

My mother-in-law will be making "spoons full of sugar" for the kids to eat their ice cream with and for the parents to take home. My mother is bringing plates and napikins, etc. I'm making appetizers, though one dear friend has offered to make something for me. I am probably too excited about this little girl's party.

Collin and I are watching Twin Peaks for the second time through with friends Jolly and Kyle Dixon. I'm watching episode 19 right now.

I'm working from a "new" computer (Collin's old computer), which is nice, though I typo on this keyboard more than my other keyboard.

Once again I have the urge to start writing something. Now why don't I just do it?!

There are other things, but I shouldn't write about them just yet...

Out of Town for Snow

Just realized that we've hit the road just before all three (am I remembering correctly?) snow storms hit Norman this winter. We missed all of them!

I'm not complaining. (Though I do like snow when not accompanied by ice.)

More Than Anyone Wants or Needs to Know about My Days

So, what are my days like? It depends on whether it's a working-at-work day or working-at-home day.

Working At Work:
I get up at 6:15 if I'm taking a shower, which is every other day, sometimes every two days (but usually every other). If it's a no-shower day I hit SNOOZE, but then I usually get up before the snooze goes off, because the alarm has done it's job, and really there's no going back once I've been startled by that blasted buzzing. Ugh.

On days that I do shower, I usually wake the baby. All the more reason not to shower.

Getting ready is a fast event. I never pick out my clothes the night before though, so the first thing I do is pick my outfit, then I do my girly getting ready stuff and head out to the kitchen to make PEANUT BUTTER TOAST, which is essential. Top with toasted flax seed, cut up some fruit if in season, and I'm ready to go. Well, that is after I snag some of Collin's coffee. He never drinks the whole pot, so I grab a cup, put it on the TV with my breakfast, take my bags to the car then come back and get dishes. Yes, I eat while driving, but I always finish my coffee before I get to the highway and then finish my toast before I'm off Highway 9 - UNLESS I got a late start and go the back route (turnpike). THEN I can be more leisurely in my eating because there's absolutely no traffic.

I work at a Christian-owned company and edit mostly Christiany books, so it helps me to listen to K-Love or to just pray on my way to work. Though I don't do this every day. At this point I've got what I need to accomplish at work that day on my mind. I create a daily goal plan for each month the first day of each month. That way if I get behind, I know exactly what I need to do to catch up. This helps me remain sane throughout the month and, I think, helps me be a better wife and mother. Because I can leave work separate from home life (in a manner of speaking).

I try, try, try NOT to spend much time on the Internet at work. This works better some days than others, but I tend to get accomplished what I need to at work, so I guess I'm pretty good at not wasting my time. I tend to arrive before 8:00 a.m., so I have a few minutes to be frivolous before actual work MUST start.

I will confess: I drink probably a pot of coffee while at work, and I only work until noon. That is not good. But I just love having that steaming cup in my hands while I'm reading. I think I need to take up herbal tea drinking. I don't know how I managed while I was pregnant.

I read between 11,000 and 20,000 words at work each day, plus answer emails, problem shoot, etc. From the first of the month through the fifteenth, I'm just reading new books. After that I'm reading new books and cleaning up last month's books' revisions and prepping books for layout. All of my work goes out at the end of each month, so the last few days are always spent tidying up my notes, etc.

I head home at noon (and HATE the drive back, whereas I quite enjoy the ride TO work), and Drue is almost always still awake, and Collin on the couch working, when I get home. I snarf some food before putting Drue down for a nap and then usually don my workout gear and do Jillian Michael's 30-day shred workout or my favorite Tate workout book: Efficiency Fitness. After that I either clean or do more work-work. Drue gets up between three and four, sometimes as late as four fifteen, and I give her, her post-nap bottle. From that point forward, it's Mommy Mode.

We go for a walk, we go run errands, we play, we read...whatever. She eats a little bite of dinner around 5:30, then she plays by herself while I cook dinner. Usually. Collin usually gets home just before or just after she goes down for the night (at 7:00 p.m. - or sometimes a little later, but NEVER later than 8:00 p.m.). We eat dinner and have a glass of wine (some nights) and watch our Netflix DVD, which is lately either Frasier or News Radio. I fit movies in there randomly. Oh, and soon we'll start Season 3 of Mad Men! CAN'T WAIT.

When Drue goes down, it's like a vacation. We love our evenings. But I love my afternoons with her too. Our nighttime routine right now consists of one last bottle, singing "Jesus Loves Me" (two verses), praying, and rocking before I put her down. Sometimes Collin will want to put her down, and I have to say no. I love it too much. He can be a part of it (and yes, I DO let him do it by himself SOMETIMES), but I love rocking her for a few minutes before she goes down, because that's the only time she REALLY cuddles with me. Like rests her head on my cuddles. And she loves it when I sing. She looks up at me, and I look down at her, and my heart melts. I've also taken to saying the same prayer every night. Don't know how it came to be:

Dear God,
Thank you for today
and for this beauuuuuuutiful baby
I pray that she sleeps tight
and dreams of Jesus, her savior
Thank you for saving us from our sins
It's in his name we pray, amen.

Work from Home Days

Ehh, they pretty much look the same. Collin gives her, her morning bottle, and we're both here for morning playtime rather than just Collin. She still has a morning nap from 9ish to 11ish. On Fridays I take her to the mall after she wakes up from her morning nap. The big kids at the mall play area love her too much. "Get OFF! Give her BREATHING ROOM!" I want to scream...but don't.

And some nights look different. Like Thursdays, when we go to small group and Drue goes down in her Pack n Play in Bunny's room. And Saturdays, when we sometimes go to the Dixons' and put her down there.

Blah blah blah...WHY am I writing all of this!?!

Abrupt Ending.

Book Worm

A friend (whose blog I cannot figure out how to comment on!) recently posted about the books she's read so far in 2010. What a great idea, think I. But if I were to do that, would I include books I've edited or just books I've read for fun? Because if I include all the books I've edited, that would be a lot. And if I only include what I've read for fun, at this point we'd be down to a short list of Christian non-fiction:

Cross Talk, Emlet
Getting the Message, Doriani
Eat This Book, Peterson
Let the Reader Understand, McCartney/Clayton

The only two not-books-about-the-Bible I've read, or am reading, are:

Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (I'm on Meats)
and
Ultra-Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes

I think Collin is "borrowing" this book from Doug, who I think loaned Collin the book a year ago. I found it on one of our bookshelves when I was completing our latest book purge. What a fascinating read. Fast paced, of course an incredible story. The guy runs all night. He sleeps while he runs! He eats large pizzas while he runs! He's insane. Right? I mean, do you have to be a little insane to run distances of 200 miles? I think so. But the prose reads as if a sane person wrote it. A thinker.

At work I've tackled Heath Sommer's latest two books, The Grand Delusion and The Human Obsession, the latter of which is still on my desk. The former should hit Amazon in August/September. Both are followups to his first, The Manufactured Identity. All are psychological thrillers with big life-question overtones, and all are fabulous. Although I have to admit, I'm going to try to get him to tweak the ending of THO juuuuust a little bit.

Well, friends, that's what I'm reading. I'd love to know your favorite book of 2010 (so far).

Baby Bag Revisited

Before I get to work this morning, I have to say: in my last post I wrote "what to pack in baby's bag," but I was less than honest. I HAVE gotten better at packing her bag, but that's probably mostly because I keep it packed all the time instead of unpacking it every time I get home. The truth is, I pack way more than I should. The list is really what I need to pack, and no more, but I'm still just too sure I'll need something else, so I pack pretty much everything. Those of you who sit next to us in church and have seen my diaper bag know this and probably read my last post and thought, Liar! I wasn't lying, but what I should have said was:

What to pack in baby's bag:
1. Less than I do.

*And keep it packed instead of unpacking everytime. That's the real key to confidence in leaving the home with everything you "need" for baby.

On a side note, my new dear friend and her husband took care of Drue yesterday while we went to Dallas. (What a day.) We are so thankful to them, and Drue loves them so. But what I want to say is: well, I have to go back a ways...

Once upon a time a friend asked if I could babysit her child while she and her husband went to the symphony. Said friend left a list of things for me to do before putting baby to bed (and boy did I mess up the "brush teeth" part, because I used real toothpaste!), and I got a chuckle out of the "be sure to lotion" baby part of the note. Long story, but I used to have a thing with the word "lotion." Ask if you're interested. (It's not that interesting.) So, I hesitantly "lotioned" the baby before bed and thought, I don't think I'll ever ask anyone to do this.

Well, have a baby and your world changes...

Yesterday when I dropped Drue off, I said to Jennifer, among other things, "Oh, and there's lotion in here if you want to lotion her before you put on her jammies."

The look on her face was priceless! It was the look I would have had, had I been standing in front of my friend and she'd asked me in person to lotion her baby. Now, I wasn't ordering Jennifer to do this. I had merely packed it in case she wanted to. But still, really? I packed the baby lotion? (See former confession about baby-bag packing.)

When we got back yesterday evening, Jennifer said, among other things, "She's nice and lotioned!" And we laughed.

Following the Trend...Nah, Family Trip Time!

There are lots of Day in the Life Of posts these days, and I'd like to provide my own, but before I get to that...

Last Saturday we three planned to meet friends in The Village and drive to Okarche to hit up the ever-famous Eischen's. We packed Drueby's bag, and we were off. (I'm so good at packing that bag now. It used to take me forever. I've acquired much more confidence in this area...and realize we need to take much less. That's the key.) Anyway, we drove to our friends' house and snatched up their little girl and threw her in our back seat. No, not really. We actually asked politely, "Olivia, would you like to sit in the back and entertain Drue on the way?" To which she replied happily, "Yes." And her parents gave the thumbs up, so we were off again. What an evening of driving.

Drue did well. She jibber-jabbered, and I think Olivia enjoyed herself. Collin and I enjoyed listening to the radio and watching our phones go in and out of Mountain Time. (What?) There was some Tweeting and some phone calling, and some singing, and we were there. Just before six o'clock. And it was already packed.

I had a bad feeling from the get go (assumed we wouldn't be eating fried chicken that night). We went in, and it took us a few minutes to realize that nobody seats you; you have to just hover over a table and wait for the occupants of it to finish their meal and get out of dodge. We hovered over a table that looked to be finishing up, but it turned out the people sitting there were still waiting for the table to be bussed! So I took Drue outside, and we crawled around on the cement and kept coming back to the ash pot, so we went back inside. (But while we were out there we were a hit, as usual.)

It was so loud, and Collin and Becky and Drue and I stood around the pool table, while Jolly and Maggie et al stood in this other room where they'd found out there was a line for tables. Ah, some order! Still, it was loud, so Becky and I took Drue back outside, but this time across the street and to the grass.


After a few minutes of leaving everyone else to do the dirty work (wait in line), we decided we'd be better friends and go inside. Soon after that, we (my family) decided we (Drue) probably weren't going to make it. So, we left.

On the drive home, I decided I wanted to go back a different way. I wanted to go south through El Reno. I always enjoy new sights and road trips, and I figured it wasn't to far out of the way. Collin was in the back feeding Drue, because he's a nice person, and I drove, enjoying the Oklahoma landscape. Soon we were there, and I knew Collin was hungry, so I was on the lookout for some eatery.

There was nothing.

I thought, Is El Reno anti-eating? Soon, though, we turned east, headed towrad I-40 and I thought I saw a Taco Bell. I passed it, so I turned a little late, then Collin realized it was a Taco Mayo. And right in front of us, where I'd turned, was a local Mexican restaurant called...something. I knew I'd forget!

On a whim I said, "Family adventure to authentic Mexican restaurant! (Followed by family stomach bug adventure.)" Is it really nerdy how excited I was to be doing something different? Because I was.

We jumped out of the car and grabbed Drue, hoping she wouldn't melt down before we could finish eating, and went inside like a couple of kids. We had so much fun. The food was great, which really we expected it to be (how can you go wrong with Mexican?), and it was like before we had the baby, except better, because the baby was there. And she did great. Oh, family memories...




Maybe next time I'll do a day in the life. But for now let's stick with:

Things to pack in an infant's bag:
1. 2-3 diapers
2. something to wipe baby's bum
3. a bottle and formula (if you're not nursing)
4. No toy - the keys will work just fine
5. No extra clothes - chances are she's NOT going to get so dirty I have to change her in only a few hours (but then, she's not a very drooly baby, hmm...)
6. Maybe some solids if what we're eating won't work for her
7. No everything else.

(I know that every baby is different and that these are just Drue's needs, but it's been nice for us to realize we needn't pack her whole room every time we leave the house.)

And finally, things to know about Eischen's (even though I was only there 30 min.):
1. Get there early.
2. You can order your food early so that you don't have to wait an hour AFTER sitting.
3. There is probably a line in the second room (so that you don't have to just hover).
4. Go with a smaller group of people if possible, or be willing to eat at different tables.
5. If you do hover, make sure the people sitting there aren't still waiting for their table to be bussed.
6. Don't bring a baby (for dinner) that doens't sleep well in loud public places.

The opposite of Good Mood is: Me

I bought something today that I shouldn't have. A digital converter box and accompanying antenna. I bought it because really I'm ready to start having a few television stations at my command. Not because I want to watch television all the time, though I have to admit: when I sat down on the couch this evening before C got home and looked at the boxes, I thought, Will my old habits return with this thing? Will I be watching TV all the time again?

I haven't watched much TV since we were married. We had rabbit ears when rabbit ears still worked, but they didn't work well even before this whole converter thing happened. I could barely get channel 9 but of course got OETA. Which was great. I loved watching the British shows Sunday nights before bed. But then the converter thing happened, and I didn't know there was a $40 coupon, and so I missed it. And we just never got one. We just watched our Netflix, and that was fine. We've even talked about how that is fine (many times), though in the back corner of my mind I've always thought, Gee, I'd love to have one of those converters. I want to watch [insert stupid show name here]. So today, without thinking thrice, and with the thought that Collin wanted one (have no idea where that came from), I went to Walmart to get one.

I quickly found out that they don't sell them anymore. So I went to Radio Shack. They do sell them, but theirs are more expensive than Target's...but "better." And they have a payment plan when you sign up for a credit card that has no yearly fee or charges for notusing it. So really, in my mind, it's a better deal. But that's beside the point...

So, I did it. I made up a conversation in my head that C and I had never had, tricking myself (?) into believing that he, too, wanted this contraption and that the payment plan made it all OK.

Aaaaand I was wrong. Why was I wrong? Mostly because I've gotten on to C in the past for buying things, and here I am busting out way too much money on something I haven't even talked to him about. And oh yeah, that conversation? It never happened. He doesn't even want TV. He's a-okay with Netflix, and for good reason.

So we're at a crossroads. I can take it back. I really don't care that much. I don't need television. I like that my days include mostly silence or music (plus baby). I like that I'm not a slave to the tube. There's not much on worth watching anyway. But I feel embarrassed that I thought he'd be excited about it when in fact he was the opposite. And that makes me angry.

Angry and embarrassed are not a good combo.

The Politics of Drue Bear

I think I've titled a blog post this before. There's a song from the '80s that's called "The Politics of Dancing." I've only heard it once, and because of that once, it occasionally hits the brainwaves but comes out as "The Politics of Drue Bear."

There is a long history of singing in our house, and this song is just one of many. We sang before Drue was born. We would get up in the morning, and each of us would have a song stuck his or her head, and fairly quickly that song would come out. Then we'd latch on to one or the other song, and that would be the song of the morning. We'd laugh and say, "We're so weird. If anyone knew we do this, they'd think we are crazy." And here I am telling you that we do this.

Now that Drue is here, and has been for nine glorious months, there's even more singing in our home. Not just in the morning but all day long, and most often the songs we sing are changed to suit whatever is going on with our baby at the time. That is, the lyrics are changed. As I write this I'm guessing that it's rather selfish of me to think only we do this. I'm guessing 95 percent of the population does this. Do you?

Regarding work, the end of February was nuts, as I thought we had a whole extra seven days. Luckily I had the bulk of my work done and just had to go through and reread and finalize my notes on first-month manuscripts, but sheesh. I was busy. Therefore, no blogging.

Regarding other things, I now have a Wednesday/Sunday subscription to The Daily Oklahoman. Why? Because I have a MA in Journalism and want to keep up with the goings on in our fair state? Because I plan to move to OKC? Because I plan to get really involved in the local community? No on all counts, friends. I want coupons. And now I've got them in my hot little hands. Granted, the dinner menu for the week has been really boring, but I've saved so much the last two weeks that we actually have enough left over from our grocery budget to go out to dinner once or twice without dipping into our entertainment fund. It is worth is, and it is fun. I never knew how fun it was keeping up with sales and coupons. I'm almost glad we don't have a printer readily available, or I'd be online spending WAY to much time digging for coupons. But you know, the first time I went to the cash register with my groceries, coupons at the ready, not only did I feel nervous; I felt guilty. How nutty is that? (And how great a use of a semicolon was that?)

So, savings are happening. Now we just have to figure out whether we want to continue to save in a much bigger way come fall or move to a little bit bigger but more expensive house. Right now it's looking like a good spring purging is at hand and we'll be staying in our tiny duplex. I think I'm okay with that. For now.

Finally, the photos I snapped earlier today. These two were too cute when I came home, all matchy matchy. Love it. And love the new couch.







P.S. I hear The Star-Spangled Banner being sung outside my window. I thought it was our neighbor, but it's happening at the softball field across the way and traveling on the wind. Not bad. Now feeling patriotic. And ready to pay bills.

Bye for now.

Word Faith Movement

"I am not sick!"

I'm not a believer in the word faith movement, but I'd like to think that downing this pot of echinacea tea will keep me from getting sick. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but this isn't that bad. Maybe it's because I'm drinking it with a slice of spearmint gum.

I said slice, yes. I said it once as a joke, and my husband laughed and laughed. I've decided since to refer to sticks of gum as slices of gum.

I'll start my own word movement.

Baby, that's a goooooood chicken dish.

Tonight we're having one of our favorite dishes, and one of my favorite to make because it involves the slow cooker, Chicken Curry with Peaches. I originally got it from, I think, Cooking Light (that or Taste of Home, my all-time favorite cooking magazine, though you have to really watch portion control since few of the meals are exceptionally healthy). It's amazing to me how you can take just a few ingredients and make a most delicious meal.


Chicken thighs cut up, salted and peppered.


I use real (and more) onion than the called-for 1 Tbsp dried, minced onion, and three, not two, garlic cloves. Some curry, some butter (melted), chicken broth and a half cup juice from a big can of canned peaches (which I'll add later). Mix it together and pour it over the chicken, and four hours later... Delicious food!

When the chicken is done cooking, you remove it and add a corn starch and water mixture to the broth, along with the peaches and some raisins if you want, let it heat, and THEN your done. I like to serve it over basmati rice.

Op! Baby is about to awaken, and speaking of baby, I caught her doing this today.


What's that she's doing?

Oh, just...

...watching some TV?

I'm not sure what she was seeing, but she was intently watching. I think she must be a prodigy of some sort.

Lately

Roses given to me by my husband, who was given roses by co-owner of Blue Bouquet (www.bluebouquet.com), Drue Carr, upon her thirtieth birthday. I guess Drue (yes, we named our daughter after our dear and talented friend Drue) was sad that I couldn't be there and so sent Collin home with a dozen roses for me. They are dead now, but they were gorgeous.


Thanks to Brandy Criger, I now know "what not to wear" and was able to purge five bags worth of probably ten-years-old clothes. I consigned two other bags and a hanging bag full. Too many clothes? A resounding Yes.


Made these for our friends and work colleagues last Saturday. They look like a box of chocolates! And tasted even better.


I love taking her to Barnes and Noble (or any place that has a "kid zone").


And...there she is! With her princess wipes container (a favorite "toy").

Wish I had a photo of the breakfast we ate Valentine's Day morning pre-church. It involved cracking eggs over top a casserole and baking it. Man, oh man. With homemade biscuits and honey, I could eat until I'm ill.

So it looks like I found the time to post some pictures. Guess I shouldn't grumble and complain so much. ::wink::

It's 7:59 a.m.

I get to work early so I can tinker around before I have to really buckle down. If I don't work at work, I will not survive the rest of my life.

I feel so busy these days. I want time to read books outside of work (more than five pages at a time). I want to upload pictures from my phone and camera and blog about the things I've taken pictures of lately. I want to have a cleaner house. I want to do more for others.

I do, do things for one other - Drueby.

I would love it if some of these schools to which Collin has applied would call him. He's worthy of an interview. I'll be honest. I'm angry that he hasn't been called. I'm angry at these people on these committees who pass over his vitae and cover letter. I'm sad when he finds out that another job that he'd applied for has been filled. Right now that's as far as my anger goes, but it's getting scary. I've said that God is going to take us right to the point of thinking Collin's going to have to work at Starbucks and THEN give him a job. Maybe that's what he really is doing. Maybe Collin will have to work at Starbucks. I need patience.

Now to work. It's 8:08. Oops!

Things I've Wanted to Blog About but Haven't Found the Time To

A couple of the meals I've made recently.

The flowers I got for Valentine's Day.

The fact that my baby, as of today, is pulling up and suddenly very clingy.

Other things.

Happy Valentine weekend, friends.

Finding My Girly

I spent a lot of time in Vegas walking up and down the strip, hanging out in casinos, and blowing a little bit of cash (seriously, a very little bit). On my walks I saw a lot of beautiful women dressed very fashionably. I felt out of place even when wearing my "dressy" clothes (the ONE "dressy" outfit I brought). I realized that since well before Drue was born, I haven't done much to care for my appearance. I haven't worn makeup at all; I wear my glasses daily; and I pretty much always stick with ratty old pants and nine-year-old shirts. Before I go on, let me just say:

1. I love not wearing makeup and the fact that it usually takes me fifteen minutes to get from bed to door. I do not think women need to wear makeup all the time.

2. I love glasses and have worn mine daily for months; and my husband has worn them daily since I met him.

3. Pants and tops are great. Go for it. I wear them all the time.

But I think it's time to start trying again. I know that C would like it if I wore a skirt now and then, wore makeup now and then, and generally cared about my appearance now and then. :) I think I would like it too. Actually I know I would, because yesterday when I was getting ready to take Drue to the mall for our weekly playdate (hate that word), I was getting ready and threw my hair back in a ponytail, put on some ripped jeans, sneakers, and an oversized shirt that really I should only wear when I'm pregnant. I looked in the mirror and saw what I see every day but thought, Wait a minute. Drue's not up yet; I've got at least fifteen minutes until she is. Why don't I put on something nice, throw on a little makeup, and put contacts on my eyeballs? It won't take long, and my hair is clean enough that I don't HAVE to put it back. Let's do this!

And I did. And it's funny... At first, at the mall, I thought people were looking at me because I looked stupid. Surely, I thought, everyone knows I'm just not girly, so why am I trying to be? I look stupid in makeup and have too much on. (Really I didn't at all; I had barely any on.) I was wearing a dress and had my hair pinned halfway back and just felt foolish. But then I saw myself in the reflection of a store window and thought I didn't look half bad, and it struck me: First, people are NOT looking at me; how self-centered AM I? And second, if they are looking at me, maybe it's because I look good, not bad.

From that moment on I felt really confident. Until, on the way home, I spilled a soda down the front of my dress, but that's another story. I went home and put Drue down and spent her naptime going through my closet and reorganizing - and rediscovering - my clothes. I have a good number of cute skirts, and my nice jeans actually fit. I have some really cute tops in there. Now all I have to do is shine my black boots, because today I got some new makeup and a new black cardigan from Gap (with a gift card) and a little casual dress from Old Navy, and I feel like a new me. (Hyperbole.) I even did my hair in a new style this morning - something I NEVER do. So what's an extra fifteen minutes now and then?

I think I've found my girly.

Simple Pleasures

My old work colleague and friend, Emily Mo, posted something about the things in life that make her happiest. I thought that was a swell idea, so here are the things that these days bring the most joy into my heart...

When I see God at work in ours or others' lives.

Listening to good music.

Watching '90s television shows with my husband after a long day.

Good-sleep nights.

Drue giving me a smooch or laughing, or basically doing anything at all.

Reading a good book.

Yummy coffee in the morning.

Going through food magazines and cutting out recipes.

Cooking.

Saturday morning jam sessions.

Small groups.

Eating cookies

And of course, the very cliche but very real, spending time with friends. I'm an extrovert, y'all.

Bright Lights, Big City

"Bright lights, big city" is what we say to our Drue when she wakes up from a nap or in the morning and squints her eyes in the new light. It's probably the cutest thing ever. But really: Bright Lights, Big City above is in reference to our trip to Vegas, baby, yeah...


My husband the rock god...outside Caesar's Palace. Maybe my favorite hotel and casino. I know it's one of the older hotels (or am guessing it is), but it is awesome. Plus, Bette Midler performed her last show their our last night there. How cool is that? (We didn't attend; way too expensive; but I hold a special place in my heart for "Wind Beneath My Wings," and all you naysayers can just put a plug in it!)


Awaiting the aforementioned "spinach and artichoke" dip. I was so hungry...and then so depressed. But that all changed when...


These "Fancy" Joes hit me the following night at Encore's Society Cafe. A very yummy twist on American cuisine, in a very posh hotel.


That's Donny and Marie in the background. The Flamingo should be the next to go after Circus Circus and The Riviera. Or are these three too "staple" to go? It's just so gross sitting there next to Caesar's and the Bellagio with its dirtiness and pinkness, etc.


Me in Paris. I played my first poker table here and lasted ten whole minutes. Impressed?

Bright Lights, Big City (Take Two)

A room worth crying for?


We went to Vegas for the buffets. Especially the seafood buffet at Mandalay Bay.


My male model husband.


Our fancy dinner out.


The first time we saw the fountains at Bellagio, the music accompanying the show was L-A-M-E. The second and third times: it was one of those things where the music playing makes you feel really cool. Tell me you know what I mean. Everyone walking by has to feel cool when "Luck Be a Lady" or "Viva Las Vegas" is playing and they're standing outside the Bellagio, don't they? Maybe cool is the wrong word...???

All in all, we had a great time. We walked a lot. My hip flexors hurt a lot. My knees ached a lot. I loved having zero responsibility a lot. And now I get to see my baby again a lot. All is well.