Random Muses of Megret

It's storming as I write this....another cool front is moving across the area. That means several things: Gardner takes better naps since it's dimmer in his nursery, I am inspired to pick up once again notable literature and delve into its pages (rain makes it ok to be "lazy" sometimes), and the cats are very clingy. They hate thunder, much like a small child would. Funny how my little son is happily chewing on his toys wherever I happen to go in the house, but the two cats are tracking my heels, not letting me out of their sight. Rainy days like this one inspire me to all kinds of indoor creative stuff....scrapbooking, reading, writing, cooking, moving decorative items around in my house in order to create a different atmosphere. As much as I'm itching to go outside again today and take a long walk, or even plant those annuals I am scheduled to plant to place on my front porch steps, I am bound indoors until this rain ends. I remember my mom had a book ful...

Ken's granddad is in the hospital right now, about to undergo a heart catheterization in just a few minutes. I am not sure, but I bet that all five of his children, and some grandchildren, are all there right now, in the waiting room as I type. The agony of waiting for news....any news, but most of all, good news....is so hard to bear. I cannot imagine doing that alone. It is during instances such as this that family becomes that much more dear and precious to us; shoulders for us to lean upon. Medical waiting rooms can be happy or sad places. The labor and delivery waiting rooms are vibrant and full of expectation. I was in one just over a week ago, as I went up to see my new niece, minutes old. The faces in those rooms are smiling and tense at the same time. No other time are wristwatches glanced at as often as in waiting rooms. Waiting rooms for other areas of a hospital can be turbulent and emotion-laden. There may be mothers waiting to hear about their children, husb...

Last night I went to the Saturday night services at New Spring....excellent, and very awe-inspiring to say the least. And today, I feel weird not being in church....especially on EASTER SUNDAY of all days. But I decided that I'd rather go on a warm, sunny day (yesterday) than on a cool, wet day (today). Plus, I was able to see my husband 's video and animation work debuted before most other people did....that means tons to him when I can see what he works hard on all week long. And when I comment on how extremely talented he is, as I'm doing now. :0) I can't believe it's Easter again. It seemed like it just happened. And this year is my son's first Easter....special memories to be made here. The "Easter Bunny" brought him "A Child's First Bible" with adorable pictures and little word bubbles, the book entitled "The Three Trees" (everyone should read this cute story), and a Bunnies By the Bay frog buddy blanket. He fell...

With spring comes something else that's inevitable in my life....allergies. Now, these horrible ailments first showed up in my life at about 9 years of age. They progressively got worse for four or five years, then lessened up. By the time I was married, I had nary a worry that they'd show when this season presented itself....somehow, I thought I'd "outgrown" them. Well, I was wrong, as I am about many things! I have blamed the past few weeks' symptoms to "a cold I just can't shake," but it dawned on me yesterday as I rubbed my neck, my throat scratchy like sandpaper....could this be.....allergies?? Again? The straggling companion I thought I'd dropped off years ago? He's baaaaack. I am not one to overmedicate myself.....I will only take Advil or Sudafed if I feel like my head's about to fall off or my body will break into a billion pieces of pain. Honestly, I denied pain meds after my caesarian section because I didn't wa...

Just a little Easter funny for you all.

So, we hosted our first Home Group (now Covenant Group) last night here at our home. Ken led one for the first time ever, and he fit into that role splendidly, effortlessly. The ten couples that sat around the table and enjoyed a Southern-style potluck dinner never had a lull in the conversations. It is simply amazing to me how ten people from all backgrounds can come together and weave their tapestries of life so seamlessly into one....threads overlap in many places. We have all had experiences that at least one other person had as well. We are all in the same place in life right now....married less than 5 years and starting our families. God's hand plucked each couple out and put us together, and it most definitely shows. Last night, among other evenings we've experienced in the last few weeks, have reiterated to me how vital close relationships are to our well-being, and even to our spiritual vitality. As Christians, we are not called to "go it alone." God ...

I promised my husband that I would not blog about the movie we viewed last night, but I decided that I must since it was the most prominent thing on my mind as the sun rose this morning, and it still lingers in my memory now. We broke down and watched "The Notebook," a clever storyline with acting leaving much to be desired....but the overall theme was acceptable and believable. Upon much prompting by our friends (and my parents), we decided to give it a go. We were glad that we did. I will not spoil the movie for any of you who have not seen it....so there is little I can say about how it ends. Yet it spurred us into late-night conversation once we crawled into bed....and even later conversation as, for the second time this month, the power went out for three hours unexplainably. (I think there must be a transformer problem in our neighborhood nearby.) We saw the way that the couple in the film loved each other deeply, wholly, blindly, and unreservedly. The way we love...

What a weekend this has been! First of all, let me happily announce that my sister finally had her baby on Friday. She was admitted into the hospital at 5:30am, and little Savannah Leigh was born at 1:50pm. She was 8 lbs. and (I believe) over 20 inches long! She looks just like her older sister did when she was born; it's uncanny. I wonder if she will grow up to look even more like her. Mom and baby are doing well and are coming home this morning (Sunday). That made Friday all the more special to Ken, for that was his birthday, too. We spent the day in Greenville, doing fun things here and there, all the while making stops by the hospital. We took Gardner for his first trip to Mast General Store's candy shop....what a treat. But Ken's celebration that evening back at our house was the big "surprise." He slowly unwrapped his gift, with me, Gardner, and my parents looking on. Within the layers of polka-dotted tissue paper, there laid a single sugar snap p...

So, Happy St. Pattie's Day to all of you leprechauns out there. Don't forget to wear your green, or some relative shade of green, lest you get pinched with someone with a French manicure and long fingernails (ouch). I think this year we will just do the "wear green" thing. Last year I cooked an elaborate, authentic, Irish meal complete with corned beef, mashed tatties, cabbage, and soda bread. And ya know? Irish food isn't that good. In fact, it's very boring. No offense to anyone, please. I have found the same to be true about British and Scottish food, as well (excluding shortbread). I would rather just tint my regular food green and say it is in the spirit of the season instead. On holidays like this one, I miss working at the children's clothing and toy shop where I was employed throughout most of college and a bit beyond. My coworker and I planned fun and festive promotionals for this Irish heritage day, complete with rainbow-with-a-pot-of-g...

So, Ken and I watched a cooky yet cute movie last night. I had some things I had to do around the house and decided to stay up a little later to finish, and so Ken wanted to keep me company. We chose this movie because of its light and airiness, and boy was it ever (toying with airheadedness, actually). Gwyneth Paltrow played a girl from out west who dreamed of becoming an international flight attendant on a faux Royalty Airlines. She overcame obstacles, of course, and eventually made it there. Funny thing was, the first job she had as a flight attendant landed her in an embarrassing situation; she was in her mid-20s and had never flown on an airplane before. What ensued was a full-blown freak-out session, and all of the passengers were hysterical by the end of it. Not the kind of flight attendant you'd want to have if you were a little nervous about being up there yourself. It brought back warm, tender, fuzzy memories of the two trips (count 'em....two) I have made via a...

So, anyway, last night we had over for dinner one of the coolest people on earth, in my opinion, Tom Conlon . His music first entered my life as I saw him perform in Clemson while I was still a senior in high school. My friend Karna and I instantly fell in love with his style and his music, and she bought all of the tapes (yes, tapes) that he had that night with him (I would have, but I had no money). Those tapes went from her possession to mine weekly. Years passed, and we developed into groupies that followed Tom wherever he was to play....from Clemson to Myrtle Beach. And the most significant meeting we had with him was when he traveled through to play at our rehearsal dinner and wedding back in May of 2000. He is still traveling now, and we planned to snag him yesterday evening as he passed through on his way to Myrtle Beach. I knew that he is a huge Cracker Barrel fan, even though he was a native New Yorker and not from climate of those who typically enjoy Southern fare. So...

My sister is in early labor as we speak. She has been having contractions since Friday. They slowly stopped altogether on Saturday, but I received word last night that they returned with a vengeance. I know this may not sound like something you'd want to happen to you, but when you are as ready as my sister is to have this baby, contractions returning are welcome guests. This is their 2nd daughter of which we're anticipating the arrival; her older sister is 18 months old. I love watching her with Gardner; it will be fun and entertaining to see her as a big sister at last. All of this reminds me of the last final days before my own labor progressed into "the real thing." For nine months, you think that day will never arrive. Then when it does, you suddenly find you are NOT as prepared as you'd thought you were, and panic sets in. I recall well that my first contractions were felt at the wedding of some good friends of ours. Sitting there, I could not belie...

Last night we attended the wedding of some of our friends from church. The ceremony was small, short, and wonderfully simple. The reception....well, it was where the focus went. It was awesome. A live jazz band that gelled together so harmoniously got everybody riled up and excited. As I sat there, eating from my plate of cheese and fruit from one of the six "food stations" (have you heard about this? it's a great idea.), I watched as, one by one, members of the wedding party and general audience stepped onto the parkay dance floor. Needless to say, alcohol was in no short supply at the drink station, and so it contributed to the overall atmosphere most definitely. What I noticed, though, was that people were dancing and flailing about as if there were no worries in their worlds. Old men, young men....70-plus women, and even a 2-year-old little girl all rocked and rolled till their heels came off and tuxs' ties were unfastened. The more lively the dancers beca...

I am so congested this morning with a head cold (which is the 3rd time I've had one since Christmas....my husband, son and I keep passing it back and forth to each other), so I will keep this morning's thoughts light and airy (like the March weather we're having). So, on a lighter note, here are some things I just do not understand.... 1. Why cereals taste soooo much better when they're all mixed up. Some of you who know me may know that I am a cereal lover. More specifically, I am a cereal "mixer." At any one time in my kitchen cabinets, you will find anywhere from 5-8 types of breakfast cereal. And yes, I mix them all together in my Asian-inspired cereal bowl. Why? I don't know why, but cereals taste so much better when they are combined. I have always wondered why the companies won't take a hint and just make one already combined....well, actually, Kashi brand did, and they called it "Medley," but it was far from what I was hoping...

What moves you? I mean, what REALLY moves you and drives you? Is it a hobby? Is it a sport? A certain relationship? A job title? We all have something that we strive for, something that we consider a lofty goal and the "ultimate stepping stone," when we can say "we have arrived." Without goals and ambitions, this life would not be as fun to live, now, would it? It would be utterly depressing to expect our span of years to reach 70 plus but not have any goal to be reached within that time period, before we leave this earth to head towards eternity. The recent discussions my husband and I have had about how brief life on earth really is has spurred me towards thinking more about this subject. The recent decisions we've had to make regarding life insurance and a last will and testament are difficult, yet necessary, decisions to make if we are to ensure that our loved ones won't be left with more of a burden than necessary when we're gone to be with...

Whoa. When I go back to sleep after Ken leaves really early in the mornings (like today, when he left to have breakfast with his accountability partner), I should just get right out of bed and start my day. When I make that tempting decision to roll over and continue slumbering, the most bizarre dreams known to mankind show up at my subconscious's door. People told me when I was pregnant that I needed to prepare myself for the strange and indecipherable dreams that I would encounter, supposedly due to the increased height of worry and concern for my baby, and partly due also to hormonal surges. My response to that was, "Whattaya mean? My dreams are ALWAYS freakish!" Take, for instance, the recurring dream I had while in college of an escalator full of smileless people....I stood at the bottom for what seemed like hours and watched as these people disappeared into the clouds. This same dream revisited me about five or six times in a year's span. Or what about the...

Just a little photo to make you all laugh today. No, this is not one of my cats, nor a cat that I even know personally. Just a random, crazy, neurotic (perhaps digitally enhanced?) kitty.

Last night we had an unexpected (and unexplained) power outage, mainly just on our street (or so it looked from what we could view from our front porch). We heard a loud pop, as if a transformer had blown nearby, and then pitch black nothingness. It being a cloudy and rainy night, the city's lights reflecting off of the clouds did help to shed a subtle greyish ora to things, enough so that we could navigate toward the kitchen to grab our flashlights and light some candles. It brought me back to my childhood, when storms would routinely knock out the power due to poorly constructed power line systems or, in Louisiana, due to flooding rains (never understood how that caused it, nor could we understand how a state simply did not have the ability to create functional drainage systems). I was not afraid of the dark, but I was terrified if I was suddenly alone in my room with no lights at all, when seconds earlier I had had my lights on and music playing. As we climbed into bed near m...

Well, if you can call where we live "suburbia," that is. We are right in the middle of the city limits, but that is by choice. We wanted to be within walking distance (literally) of grocery stores, pharmacies, and the like, just so we could walk if we had to (or just wanted to because we could). I consider this "suburbia" because of the neighborhood atmosphere which surrounds us. What do we love about where we live? We love being able to walk outside and hear thousands of birds, early spring birds, chortling among all of the 100-year-old trees which surround our home. Sure beats our last home's surroundings....sand, sand, sand, maybe one pine tree, and no birds (just termites....and the "scratch, scratch" sounds do not compare in the least to a bird's sweet voice). We love having an enclosed area in which to go on walks....strolling with our child in his pram, random neighbors lifting a hat or waving with the hand not holding a garden hose......

The past two days have reminded me how great, how magnificent the simple little things in life can be. From things that make us swell with pride, to things that warm us with joy, or make us grin with gratitude. Here are some of those things for me..... The way freshly laundered sheets smell when you first put them on the bed and crawl into them. The forwarded email that contains those cute images of animals doing funny things. Somehow, those forwards never seem to leave my inbox. A long, hot bath with a variety of lavender bath salts, bubbles, and a good book. A surprise gift propped up on your front door from a far-away friend. A surprise love-note penned by your significant other, placed ever-so-carefully in a place where you'd find it that day, but not until he has left for work. The taste of fresh strawberries and bananas, light on the palate and bringing "I feel healthy" feelings to your entire being. Sunshine....even though it's coexisting with cold tempera...

So I tried one of Billy Blank's special series yesterday, called "Focus on Abs and Glutes." Today I'm having trouble sitting AND breathing. :0) I mean, I knew I was not as in muscular shape as I was before being pregnant, but I had no idea. I had no idea such muscles existed on the sides of my legs....nor did I realize that my obliques wrapped around my middle quite that far. Wow. I think I will hold off on the crunches today and just stick to a powerwalk outside. I don't think my muscle fibers will stand up to more so soon. Billy Blanks is quite a motivator. Though it appears as if he never once took a public speaking course in school, and even though his eyes are a bit harried and even a little bit freaky as they bore through you by way of the television screen, something about him makes you want to go, "Look at me, Billy! I'm doin' it! I'm trying! I can do it! Yeah! That's right!" You imagine that you're actually ...