Random Muses of Megret

Sara, Skye and I braved the threatening thunderstorms this morning, and fought with our alarm clocks, as we awoke and met at 6:25 a.m. to go yard saleing. Oh, my. That's early. I know I'm a new mom, and I'm typically up at this time anyway, but I always put Gardner back down for a couple of hours and get a few more zz's. However, I surprised myself by being able to jump up, wide awake, ready to go. Alas, I returned from this weekend's pursuits empty-handed. Yard saleing is a hit or miss hobby.....some days you can't fit it all into your car, some days you don't see one thing that grabs you. Today was that kind of day. Yet it was so much fun to engage in fellowship with friends as we trekked all over town. That makes it all worth it. (That and the splurge of a Dunkin Donut!) The rain is coming down harder now....thunder rumbles continuously. My husband and son are both napping. It's a lazy Saturday, and we all needed one of those.

I am horrible (no, make that really horrible) when it comes to making decisions. I have gotten better in the last few years, though, thanks to the gentle prodding of my husband to be more bold and decisive about many things (such as restaurant choosing). But my overall indecisiveness leaves me in so many half-done situations. Take for instance, if you will, the pair of curtains which now find themselves safety-pinned onto the window shades in my dining room. We have lived in this current house for over two years, and I still do not have curtains on all of my windows (or at least ones that I put there, not the previous owners). Pitiful. I tell Ken that I feel "so transient" without complete windows in our home. "Well, then, go buy some curtains for them," he says sweetly. What's absurd is the fact that I have already bought and returned three other pairs of panels within the past two months. When I finally get up the nerve and gumption to actually WORK on ...

"Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now." (I Corinthians 13:12, NLT) This verse follows the verse about childishness. Both verses spotlight my life three-and-a-half years ago, when we were relocated to Columbia through Ken's job. It was right after September 11th that we received news of us having to make a choice of whether to stay here (and be laid off) or move 140 miles away from all things familiar. The hardest pill to swallow was that we couldn't tell a soul; it was top secret except for company employees. We had to go an entire month seeing our families and friends but not being able to share with them the burden we carried. I questioned God then more than I ever questioned Him in my entire life. I asked Him, "Why?" along with the rest of the nation after we were targets ...

There are two parts of I Corinthians 13 that speak to me so clearly...and no, the verses I am referring to are not in the "love section" that we are all so familiar with. Near the end of that chapter are a few key verses which hold within them insurmountable truths....and wonderful wisdom. " It's like this: When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I grew up, I put away childish things." (I Corinthians 13:11, NLT) What is the difference, exactly, between childish and childlike? Hm. I happened upon this verse the same week that I happened upon a devotional about the same topic (coincidene? I think not.). One is definitely preferred over the other. Childish is something that we see out in public, but certainly don't want to attach to our own personalities. We see childish behavior all the time....primarily in children themselves. It may be a toddler throwing an all-out tantrum in the toy department....or a child who...

Good friends, deep conversation....a wonderful evening. Sara, Skye, and me, home group, 4.26.05.

Chris, Jennie, Sara and Matt....home group, 4.26.05.

It is really, really late, and I'm seriously about to turn into a pumpkin if I don't slumber soon. But let me just say how awesome it is to have Godly friends, awesome couples who are in the same spot you are, people who are genuinely interested in you and in whom you can find something interesting as well. I thank God for community. It is something I thought I would never find again if you'd asked me three years ago. I never knew how much I could miss something that I had never actually experienced for real....that is, until now.

"Be happy, young man, while you are young,and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.... Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them..." (Ecclesiastes 11:9, 12:1) ________________________________________ Sometimes it hits me....that certain things I wished for and dreamed about as a young child have already come and gone. It hits me with solemnness, but also with awe....that this life on earth is so short, and that only means we are nearer to the eternal life awaiting us with the Lord. I remember planning my career goals as a youngster. I always told everyone, with utmost seriousness, that I was going to be "a missionary to Japan" when I grew up. I wanted to do something for God, for sure, but I also really wanted t...

Ever had a bad dream that made you wake up feeling tingly all over, cold and clammy, and reaching for something or someone to hold onto for reassurance? Some are worse than others and create a worse sensation than others. I had a dream last night that caused a mild tingly feeling....but still, it's not fun. Dreaming that I'm being kept held hostage by a lunatic mama's boy with poor social skills is not on my list of things I would like to dream about....but it's exactly the scenario that greeted me last night as I slumbered. I know that dreams are the mind's way of dumping out extra information that needs processing, or maybe even a subconscious expression of some sort. But what about dreams such as this one that have no rhyme or reason whatsoever....just total randomness and eccentricity? Hm. Guess that's one of the things I'll make a note of to ask God when I get up to heaven one day. That list keeps getting longer and longer....

Sometimes, when we are severely lacking sleep and don't feel well, our tempers get the best of us. I am pointing at myself when I say this. I am one who needs at least 8 hours of sleep a night, and if it is cut short, or especially if it is cut nearly in half, I am worthless and frustrated (to put it lightly). Sadly, those whom I love are sometimes the brunt of my irritability. Last night, our son woke up twice (at 11:30pm and 4:15am) because of, we're figuring, sore gums due to his first tooth coming in this week. We had just gotten into bed at 11:15, so we were barely asleep. I am a person whose motto is, "If it was like this before, it should be like this from now on." By this, I am referring to Gardner's ability to sleep 10-11 consecutive hours at night. One of the things I am learning as a mother is managing to crumble away that untrue motto piece by piece....babies are NOT predictable, and they DO change....rapidly and without warning. Ken and I awoke...

Kudos to my husband, Ken , for redesigning the look of my blog(s), making them smoother, sleeker, and kitchier (don'tcha think?)! I am even more inspired now to write each day....let's hope the motivation keeps up. Days have a way of filling your time before you want it to be filled....but certain things must be prioritized. For me, those things include daily time with God, family time, and writing. If those three things exist in my 24-hour-day, everything else fits so seamlessly into place.

What really goes on within the mind of a mother? I can't explain how your thought processes immediately shift to a whole new paradigm once parenthood embraces you....but they do. Let me give you a snippet of what might be going on in the minds of many a mother you pass today.... (Scene: In a busy grocery store.) A young mother walks along with her 3-month-old infant sleeping peacefully in his infant seat set on top of her cart. A 70-year-old woman approaches, who genteely peers over to catch a glimpse of the sleeping child. (Verbal exchange:) Lady: "Oooohh, what a pretty baby. Isn't she sweet? Look how sweet she's sleeping. Look at all of that hair!" (She brushes at the infant's hair with her fingers.) Mother: "Thank you. Thank you very much." (Smiles sweetly.) (What the mother is REALLY thinking:) "Are you crazy? Who do you think you are, a complete stranger, coming up and presumptiously touching my baby? Don't you know it...

Ok, ok, I know I'm getting crazy with this blogging thing, but it's just that I have so much to share with the world. Yeah. Anyway, I did start up a blog today that deals with one of my life's loves, cooking and epicurious treasures. Check this one out, as well as any of the others you might not have found yet....enjoy: (*NEW!*) Morsels of Megret Baby Wilson (a site dedicated to our son...from day one (and I mean day ONE)) Photos of Megret

How cool....the first wall of our new church building.

Ken's dad tilling the garden...we are sharing in the work (and reaping some crops) from this garden, as well.

I'm currently smack dab in the middle of a Southern fiction work recommended to me by my fellow home group girls, entitled "The Secret Life of Bees." Upon hearing that the author, Sue Monk Kidd, has ties to Anderson (and South Carolina as a whole), I delved right in to find it at my local library, and then delved into its pages. Though I am only 110 pages into it, I have found thus far that I am hooked, helplessly hooked. Overlooking the bad language and cruelty that flashes up now and then, I am taken aback at the lush, emotion-evoking word pictures that this lady paints in her pages. I mean, the scenes seem to drip with life off of the pages and into my brain. It is an easy read....by that, I mean it doesn't require as much concentration and brain power as some other books do....but it is still a notable read due to the graphic intensity with which Kidd writes. Though I was not an abused or abandoned child, and though I never ran away from my home, I still see ...

Now...what made this happen? I tried to make some fat-free, healthy cocoa meringue nests to serve fruit in tonight for dessert....when I pulled them out of the oven, they looked like this....deflated tires.... Just goes to show that you can't always count on something to work that used to work before. ;0)

A wasp flew into my Jeep while I was trying to pull out of a shopping center just an hour ago. I lurched out and flung open the door immediately; don't even remember unfastening my seatbelt. I waved the creature on its way with a scrap piece of paper from my passenger seat, hoping it would not retaliate and come back at me boomerang-style, stinger out and ready to pierce. Thankfully, it surrendered and flew on out of my open door, and I tore out of there before he knew what happened. I looked back at Gardner, who was oblivious to the threat I had just then thwarted. I had to laugh out loud at this point, because that plus the hot weather we are having today raced my memory right back to a movie I remember from childhood summers. It is a stupid-silly comedy written by the late author Jean Shepherd, whose book of another title inspired the movie "The Christmas Story." The movie I'm referring to is "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss." If you will wat...

I don't have much time today to blog....it is a crazy one. But I just wanted to comment on the gorgeous weather outdoors and persuade you to leave your cubicle, house, car, whatever and just GET OUT IN IT. The cookout season is upon us....we are preparing for a big one tonight here at the house with our home group. Is anyone else plagued with those little worm-looking pollen spores that fall off of oak trees (I think it's the oak tree)? Wow. Those things look like mounds of caterpillars plopped all over the place (sorry for the disgusting imagery). I enjoyed a wonderful walk this morning, and I happened upon so many retirees out in their yards, tending to their azaleas or raking up the last of the decaying leaves from the fall. The smells of the azaleas take me right back to Easter Sundays at Grandma and Grandpa's....where mom and her sisters would prop up us cousins in front of those bee-swarmed bushes to get a quick snapshot or two. We would twist and squirm, squin...

I would consider myself a highly self-motivated individual. I usually don't have to be told to do anything; I find things which need doing and do them. I also have a hard time delegating tasks. I find myself looking over that person's shoulder, not quite approving, and then sneaking back to do it myself the way I think it should be done! I guess this would also label me a perfectionist. My husband gingerly laid it down for me this weekend that he believes that I do TOO much. He finds it a rarity to see me actually sitting down and not working on some sort of task....unless I am sleeping at night (and even then, I am known to come up with elaborate plans or ideas within my dreams....crazy, I know). I am a person who also needs 8 hours of sleep in order to feel my best the next morning, and throughout that subsequent day. Even 7-1/2 hours, a tiny sliver of sleep shaved off of that time, and I can feel the effects. Yet if I awaken after 6 or 7 hours of sleep and something ...

Gravely-Wilson Garden 2005. Mom and I finally getting to lay the seeds...and plant the seedlings. Not bad for a half day's work.

The kitchy 1953 cookbook that I unearthed. I am so proud.

Gardner was a good sport....he sat outside with us as we worked, happy as a lark.

Dad got creative and made us pose for a replica of that famous midwestern painting. Enjoy the randomness.

I feel as if I traveled back in time this weekend. I spent the majority of yesterday working in the soil of my parents' yard. I went in with them on the supplies and the manual labor, and we are planting a joint garden this year. It is a 28'x28' spot, so we had enough for ten rows, which came out to be about 13 different crops. Dad planted raised beds for Mom, also, and those will hold carrots, onions, radishes, and strawberries. We first went into the notable (circa 1915) City Seed Store here in our town. They weighed out enough seeds of each chosen variety in order for us to have enough to complete our plans. I perused in the back of the musty, fertilizer-smelling room at a table full of old knick-knacks for sale. I found a 1953 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook....a cookbook that I have been looking for to add to my kitchy collection. It is tres magnifique. I can't wait to prepare some of those (less than weird, and do-able in this decade) re...

My parents' romance is inspiring. Now, don't duck out on me now, for fear that I will get overly mushy, especially since it IS parents I'm talking about. Stick with me while I recount to you why my parent's relationship is so inspiring to me (and now, to Ken). Daddy came over tonight for dinner. Mom, as I wrote earlier, is in D.C. having a wonderful time, and he is having a very hard time without her here (I am sure he would not mind me telling this truth). Sadly, it is very rare to see a husband today who grieves when he is separated from his wife, especially for a mere three days. Dad just isn't himself without her companionship daily...and that is so sweet and tender. Nearly 30 years of marriage, and I see them now as being more in love than they ever have been (of the years that I've been alive and watched them together). They laugh at each other's jokes. Dad worries about her safety constantly, and rarely lets her go somewhere alone if he is ava...

"Bethel is the symbol of fellowship with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abram 'pitched his tent' between the two. The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and oneness with Him. Rushing in and out of worship is wrong every time— there is always plenty of time to worship God. Days set apart for quiet can be a trap, detracting from the need to have daily quiet time with God. That is why we must 'pitch our tents' where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight." ...

My mom, her two sisters, and my grandparents are all flying out today for a trip to Washington, D.C. Grandpa has been wanting to see the WWII Memorial ever since its completion; this spring seemed like the best (and most beautiful) time to go. Though I am so happy for them, I can't help but be a little anxious as the majority of my family is up in the skies and away from home during these few days. Worries creep in, far-out thoughts try to make me lose my focus. I worry about the plane, I worry about terrorism, I worry about muggings, I worry. I just worry. Yet, as always, God came shining through in my time with Him this morning. I am re-studying Proverbs, and what should come up for today's reading but chapter three. At the sound of these words, my heart was stilled, and a smile came to my lips. God will protect those He loves. There is nothing that can touch us until it is His time for us to come home to be with Him for forever. Let these words inspire your heart t...

I put the title in quotes because the way we spent our weekend would most likely be labeled as worthy of being called “the American Dream” by most anyone you ask. Weekends such as this one are weekends that may easily be coasted through without a second thought….without a pause to think, “Do I really realize how great this all is? Do I really understand how fortunate I am to be here, in this country, in my own little square section of grass in my hometown, familiar and comforting?” Ken and I woke up early to a hungry baby’s callings from his room down the hall. After Gardner ate his breakfast, we all three laid in bed, lazily in our PJs, us looking down at his precious face, him reaching out and touching our chins, eyes, noses….and giggling when we said out loud what part of our faces he was exploring. Amazing how the mere sound of his parents’ voices will make a baby smile like that. We got up to a wonderful breakfast of four or five cereals combined (remember my earlier post of ...

Well, Ken's other fish....Jim....passed away yesterday morning. He was fine while I was busying about the house early yesterday morning....but when Ken got home for lunch, he frantically started spinning his aquarium...."Where's Jim!?" Suddenly, Ken became really still and quiet. He slowly pointed down to the bottom of the tank, next to the rocks. I peered inside to see Jim's flourescent orange tail sticking out of the filter. What made Jim do it? Was he Catholic, and he felt that there was no reason to go on after the Pope's life journey had finally ended? Was he lonely and depressed ever since his beloved Jaws died back in January, and died of a broken heart? Was it weird aquarium bacteria? We'll never know. A pet dying, fish or dog or cat (whatever), is incredibly hard to handle for many people...me being one of them. Thankfully, I had not emotionally bonded that much with Jim, and so his passing did not screech my life to a halt except for a...

Last night our usual "Lost" friends (minus one, but with the addition of one newbie) gathered once again at our house to glue our eyes onto the television screen for that way-too-short-of-an-hour-long show. Our meal was later than usual this week, and so we ate on TV trays in the den, barely able to swallow our food because of all of the drama and suspense. Last night Ken and I got the wild idea to make a huge pot of Louisiana Gumbo....I capitalize its title because it is so worth paying respect to....it is the mother of all gumbos. It is a basic recipe that I found online, and then I add to it the ingredients that I remember being in some of my favorite gumbos which I had while living in the Crawdad State myself. My dad was stationed at Fort Polk (affectionately nicknamed "Fort Puke" by those who have been there and seen it) from the years 1987-1990. Now it is a joint readiness training center, I believe. I was 9 when we moved there. My memories are as shar...

For those of you artsy folks, I have just bought a digital camera, and thus, begun a photo blog of my own. Hope you like. Photos of Megret

Motherly instinct has kicked into high gear, that's for sure. I can't even go anywhere without being wary of the suspicious character, or abnormally tuned into any dangers that might lurk nearby. I knew this might happen....I just didn't think it'd be happening this quickly. I suppose the moment a child begins to reach and want to explore his or her new world around him or her, dangers come with that, too. Great. One more thing to worry about! Gardner went with me yesterday to purchase some flowers, soil, and hanging plants to "springify" our house. (Not that it's not springy enough already....the previous home owners must have planted 78 azaleas around our property.) I put a baseball cap on him to keep the direct sun rays off of his face, and placed his little exersaucer in the semi-shade beside me as I worked to transplant the pink zinnias into pots. We weren't outside more than 5 minutes before my bee-radar began to beep mercilessly. (Didn...

So, I have just, in hopeless desperation, ended a day-long pursuit for Vietnamese rice wrappers. No one in town has them. I made my monthly trip to EarthFare this morning, feeling certain that THEY would have them if anyone would. Wrong. They did, however, have the organic bok choy that was the other crucial ingredient I needed for my handmade spring rolls. The only place I found these rice wrapper things were where they were already packaged and wrapped tightly around sushi rolls....and they wouldn't sell the wrappers to me individually out of the sushi counter! After calling every other produce section of every grocery store in town, I have given up. I guess I should have stopped by the Asian food market while I was out of town today. I feel sure they would have had them. Next time I will ensure that I can find the one crucial ingredient for a recipe before I buy all of the other "fillers." Anyone know what other uses I can find for a huge can of mung bean spro...

Ken and I were lounging around the house last night after church. Usually, we are both so wiped out that the television comes on and we zone out till bedtime (or after). But last night, as we constructed our own favorite sandwiches after our son was down for the night....me, my all-time homestyle tomato sandwich, and Ken....well, I don't remember what he prepared...he is so creative that way.....I proposed that we keep the television off and try something else....to find out more about the other person. I know this might sound silly, considering we will have been a married couple for five years this May (and we have known each other for 13 years this past February)....but there are still things we don't yet know about the other. For one, it's because we haven't been together as long as some couples have, and still have lots to learn. Secondly, people are not static; they're always changing, and tastes and opinions change with them. So we sat down in the den and ...

On a rather random note, I am going to post a recipe as today's blog post. It's a recipe that I found out of Cooking Light magazine....and as I do with so many recipes, amended to make it even more healthy. Even with the addition of extra fiber, the reduction of sugar, and a couple of other substitutions, Ken still swore these were some of my best blueberry muffins yet. Ta-da, and hooray...finally found a less-sickenligly-sweet blueberry muffin to enjoy on lazy Saturday mornings! (Meg's Revised) Blueberry-Yogurt Muffins 1-1/2 c. all-purpose, unbleached flour 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/4 t. salt 1/4 c. unrefined sugar 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/4 c. lowfat or skim milk 2 T. canola oil 1 t. vanilla 1 (8 oz.) container fat-free vanilla yogurt (I used Stonyfield Farm's ) 1 c. frozen blueberries, rinsed and patted dry 1 T. coarse turbinado sugar (for sprinkling) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine first 6 in a large bowl (f...