Random Muses of Megret

....So I think I found my new favorite restaurant last night. P.F. Chang's beckoned to me from the interstate last weekend, and I knew that was just the place to try when some girlfriends and I went out last night to dinner. Great atmosphere, excellent prices, and even better food.... it was well worth the 50-plus minute wait on a Tuesday night. (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt....their doors have only been open for a couple of weeks now, and I'm guessing they're still working out the "kinks.") Highly recommend it. As I was driving along the backroads yesterday with a red-faced toddler in the backseat, I wondered where our "transition to summer" went. We went from 75-degree weather to 95-degree weather in less than three weeks, and my poor Jeep's air conditioning system just cannot keep up. I was able to get my hair trimmed of one heavy inch yesterday, and tomorrow, the same for Gardner. 'Tis the season. I have lots of cleani...

Ken and I are home at last from our fabulous four-day getaway to Charleston. It was wonderful just to go with the flow. Try as I might, I just couldn't relinquish all of the control over our schedule or touristy pursuits....but I was better than I have been on previous trips. In fact, I even let myself nap when I wanted to nap....even if it was from 7-8 pm, only to go on to bed at 11 pm. Hey...it's vacation, right? Ken has a few snapshot highlights of our trip here . We came home to, however, a tirade of two devious felines who are, I'm convinced, intent on ruining our house and every piece of furniture within it. We've had these cats as 100% indoor cats for six years, but they are quickly wearing out their welcome. I, supreme cat lover (and every other breathing animal, for that matter) never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but....we are on the verge of kicking them out. They still have their claws. The only threat in the neighborhood is a harm...

I don't know why, or where the thought of you came from....but driving home today, I thought of you. I remembered the three or four times I visited you, one time in particular when I was with my grandparents for a week the summer after I turned eight. I don't remember your name, but I do remember that you were an intricate little shop that housed solely Christmas merchandise. Trinkets galore....sparkling silver teardrop ornaments, jolly red felt 60s Santas, glass icicles, silver tinsels and garlands, little flocked reindeer sitting in cotton "snow," elves that mechanically "decorated" lit trees in each snow-flecked store window. I remember your creaky floors, the narrow, narrow staircase that led from one crowded floor to another. I remember the smell of Grandma's attic within your walls, and your quiet holiday music bursting forth from dusty speakers overhead. Such a magical place. It is pure magic in and of itself to step into a Christmas wonderland...

In developmental and biological psychological class (whoa....seven years ago since I sat in those seats), we had to come up with genetic combinations. Long process....much like those eliminate-the-options puzzles that give you a headache. But today I found this ....a site with a calculator which will show you the likelihood that you and your mate's future children will have certain eye colors. Amazing. Looks like little Rainey has a 50% chance of having green eyes, 50% chance of having blue. So much for my hopes for a "brown eyed girl!"

We lost one of our two huge Bradford Pear trees out front this weekend with all of the wind and storms we've had. As we surveyed the damage of the limb that fell (well, really, half of the entire tree split off), we realized there was nothing we could do but cut the entire thing down. Yesterday, that's just what Ken and his dad did. Sappy female and animal activist that I am, all I could think about was the fact that I hoped there were no baby birds hidden away in nests inside its branches. Forget about the fact that we lost a tree and the majority of our shade against the morning sun.... what about the birds? I am not going to complain about the wind and rain, however. I am a lover of summer showers....there's something about a late afternoon thunderstorm that, if I'm at home, makes my whole surroundings seem cozier and warmer. I love explaining to little Gardner how God makes the rain fall, and how the clouds gather up and produce streaks of lightning which t...

I have been taking a tiny break from blogging to spend time with Ken , who took two days off this week to be at home with Gardner and I. It was nice! I have been busy cooking and cleaning today in preparation for a wedding shower we're throwing here tonight for my cousin and his soon-to-be bride. The house smells like pecan pie bars and Eucalyptus Spearmint aromatherapy linen spray. Mmmm..... I laughed outloud today at a video linked from a friend's email.... see for yourself how far dance has come since the 1950s. Ken has a link to another funny clip from "The State," but to maintain my family-friendliness of my blog, I will refrain from linking to it. (It's not bad ....it's just not good , either.) (Although, I highly recommend searching for "Bad Words" by "The State" on YouTube , as well. Probably my favorite.)

I was inspired by my experience with a "healthy mom snack bar" just now to make up a little list of foods which are supposed to be good (or at least good for you, so they say)....but are instead ideas which should've died on paper. -- Fried Oreos. I mean, come on. Let's face it. You take a cookie already laden with trans-fats and then dip it into hot oil and fry it? As if that weren't bad enough, it's fried in oil which has also been frying turkey legs being sold alongside them at the county fair's food booth? -- Those Philly Swirl push pops . I love Italian ices, and so we tried this next invention from the popular food maker. I mean, Ken and I seriously believe they froze up some ice but forgot to add the flavor packet in the last round. -- Necco wafers. What are they trying to be? SweetTarts? In the words of Ken (forever etched in history): "This is what EVIL tastes like!" -- Pennywort juice. No questions, please. These were in a...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. I know I did. It was all that I was hoping it'd be....fun, relaxing, filled with time with my own two cuties here at home, as well as extended family. Ken and Gardner treated me to brunch, as well. You can't have a day much more perfect than that.... Got to see my Grandma yesterday, who was celebrating her 54th Mother's Day this year. We also were able to meet our other future cousin-in-law....my cousin Jonathan returned from the mission field with his future fiancee at his side. How exciting! Vacation is now only ten days away, and I am ecstatic. I don't think I've ever "needed" a vacation this badly before, except for, of course, after a heavy week of college exams (which, when I reflect back on it, wasn't as bad as I thought it was then). After Ken and I take this excursion, in a couple more weeks, we will bundle up Gardner and take him to see the beach for himself....for the firs...

I give you a site that Ken immediately remembered from his childhood and pre-teen years (although back then it was only in paper catalog form): Things You Never Knew Existed. In other news, did anyone catch all of the little revelations that exploded out of the plot lines of LOST last night!? OH, wow. I have to admit, though, I wish Ana Lucia hadn't bitten the dust. I know everybody else had intense hatred for her character, but I had a soft spot that she was slowly warming up to. I could see past her shell. Looking forward to tonight's season finale of "The Office." Let me just say that sociologists sure had fun with this show, and by saying that, I'm assuming that probably 60% of the writing collaboration team have background in that science of sorts. There are just way too many stereotypes flying around. (Check out their site if you haven't already....some of the cast members have their own blogs.) Got my first installments of "free gifts ...

Not much to say today. I'm kind of down today, so I'm actually going to be totally honest and say I've had a day full of plain old sulking. (Boy, doesn't that sound so grown-up?) It's days like today when I feel like I need to run straight forward to any source of help....yet I am not sure in which direction to run. Of course, the first place I need to run to is Him. It's truly one of those days where I cry out, "God, I admit again, I simply cannot do it alone."

I am forcing myself to stay in today and clean our house. No, I mean, REALLY clean it. Not just piddle around and dust what's visible. It is in need of extra TLC. I even made Ken take our one car to work (the Jeep's in the shop getting A/C repairs) so I wouldn't be tempted to run errands instead of stay here and work. In other news, Ken got home from the gym last night to see me engrossed in a movie called "Downfall." It is a recount (lasting 2-1/2 hours) of the last four days before Berlin fell.....in other words, Hitler's last days. Wonderful. I re-learn to speed read whenever I watch movies that are subtitled, but all in all, it was an incredible flick. If you're into that kind of stuff, I recommend it highly. I am going now. The house isn't getting any cleaner by me sitting here at the keyboard.

So, Saturay night I had all of these lofty aspirations to sit down with a good book and read, gaining more knowledge (if any more will absorb into this pregnancy-affected cranium of mine). Ken was working late at the office to finish up some things for Sunday, so I was excited about taking advantage of the quietness of the house to get lost in a book. I had checked out a book on parenting from the library that had been beckoning to me all week....finally I could crack it open. What ended up happening instead was this: I sat down with some leftover chocolate trifle and began to flip through the tv channels. "I'll just watch tv while I eat; then I'll turn it off." Bad idea. I'll know next time. The tv ended up on an HBO Family showing of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I passed it off as stupid, fake, teeny-bopper muck. Somehow, though, my tired, overworked brain actually got interested in this light little flick, and before I knew it, t...

The Wilsons are having a lazy day today. It's three o'clock, and my two men have been napping for two hours or more. I've been getting stuff done, but still taking it easy. The rain that pours outside our windows merits such lacadasical behavior. I am itching to bake (it's what you do on days like today!....), but I will hold off due to the surplus of leftovers which grace our countertops and refrigerator shelves after a family reunion yesterday. Not much else to say....

I have a living room with a chair full of library books, a forecasted 87-degree day and a Jeep with a broken A/C system, and a list a mile long of projects I've been neglecting. I think it's a great stay-at-home day. Still no news on arrangements for my Papa's funeral, etc. They are making the decisions this morning. I am so tempted to feel badly because I did not go visit Papa one more time. You know....when you've literally already made plans for a visit within the next two weeks, only to find you're still too late. Another reminder that you should never, ever put off telling someone that you love them...that Jesus loves them. You never know when it might be the last time you see them on this earth.

I received a phone call this morning that I've been dreading. My Papa Gravely (Dad's dad) lost his battle with cancer this morning. Please keep my family in your prayers today. I really appreciate it.....

I need to make time for three things that have recently gotten few and far between in my life: 1. Start a deeper personal Bible study, either topical or just focusing on one book. I crave a deeper understanding of Him....as well as thought-provoking questions to answer with pen and ink, to help what I learn to stick. 2. Get caught up on my scrapbooks. I am not a scrapper who does it just for social interaction with other scrappers....I use it as my outlet for artistic expression. Really. Just ask Ken. He alone knows that it can sometimes take up to an hour for me to complete one single page. 3. Read. I have lost the fine enjoyment of reading. I have left novels and even non-fiction titles in the dust, scrambling on busy days for time just to read snippets of articles in magazines. I miss the richness that reading brings into life. I know that life is too short to forego things such as these in order to do other things which can be left alone for a while....such as hand-scrub...

So, I received the long-awaited phone call from the secretary of our high school senior class, telling me the set dates for our 10-year reunion. I knew this day would come. Yes, and it will come less than two weeks after I give birth to our second baby. Crazy, I know, but yes....I'm still going. This should be fun. In honor of the mid 1990's (and to get myself psyched up for the occasion, though it is still over three months out), I have been listening to a variety of music from high school years. There's nothing like cruising down the road, toddler in tow, letting the obscure notes of "Cannonball" float around my head and out of my open Jeep windows. Funny how music can take you back.