Week 8

S: ??

M: 17.8

Taste of Spring

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous as spring fever swept the house. Stephen had the day off, our windows and blinds were wide open, and the house was clean. It was wondrously relaxing, but productive. 

After sitting in the parking lot for five days the Trailblazer is now registered and legal to drive. 

The kitties have taken in avid interest in the feathery plump twittery creatures that visit our balcony, so we bought a bird feeder to ensure continued feline entertainment. 

After grocery shopping, I sat out on our balcony with our lap-accessible entertainment device and a tubby orange kitty busy sniffing every. inch. of the balcony. After he finished investigating with his olfactory,  he plopped down and dozed in the warm glimmer of sunshine. Meanwhile, Stephen was within the house raptly participating in a conference call for work while playing Battlefield. :D

Then we sorted through Stephen's clothes. Some to Goodwill, lots to throw away (socks/undies mainly), and few odds and ends to keep for a time when there is "less" of Stephen. We do alright buying new clothes when we need them, but somehow the new clothes became additions rather than replacements.

Veriz-ell institutes a new dress code next Monday, so we spent a chunk of yesterday evening in Kohl's trying to color-coordinate ties with dress shirts. At this point we are rather inexperienced, though Stephen can at least tie his own tie.

The day was capped off with a cozy fire, a new episode of Lost, and new purple butterfly jammie bottoms that were in my usual size, but a little too big. 

New Cell Phone

Meghan has a new cell phone. If you'd like to have the number, please leave a comment and we'll give it to you.

Steve & Meg + 8

Did you know there is actually a blog called "stephenandmeghan.blogspot.com"? I googled our first names, and this blog was part of the search results. The names are spelled correctly and everything.  I wish I would have thought of it first. Weird, there is another couple strolling around the world named Stephen and Meghan. 

Well, of course there is.

Monday morning I had a vibrant dream that I had moved in with Jon and Kate to be 24/7 help. With all my efforts added to theirs, we got everything done by 7pm, and Kate was shocked and riddled with glee. She had no idea what to do with herself now that the house was clean and all eight kids were bathed and ready for bed. She thanked me profusely. They decided on board games about the time I woke up.

Visiting Family and Feeling Young

I've been in Kansas City for the 4th annual hang-with-cousin-Kristi-while-parents-go-somewhere-exotic-for-the-anniversary week and will stay until Sunday. I am a little sad to know this will probably be the last one since Kristi will be in college next year; I will be more than shocked if I am called upon to do this once more. It's been an excellent opportunity to visit family. I miss it so much being several hours away. One of these days we'll be living here again, and I'll get to see everybody more often.

Elaine's surprise birthday party was Saturday (whew! We can finally let the cat out of the bag!) and it was a blast. Elaine was all smiles, and I got some great shots with my camera, as well as video of her grand entrance. You can tell she was truly touched and had an awesome time, and for that I am very happy!!

Sunday Stephen and I hung out with my dad and Tricia for a few hours, and did our Christmas exchange. Tricia made some soup and Dad shared his habanero red pepper flakes with me-- they made my ears burn and my nose run, so you could say it was pretty much the best stuff ever. He was supposed to send some home with me, but we forgot, so hopefully he can pass some off to me at lunch tomorrow.

Ang and I pigged out at B.D.'s Mongolian Grill (on good stuff though), then we visited with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma's been very sick with the shingles this past week... so sick that she hasn't eaten or felt like chatting it up on the phone. This is very unlike her; even in her worst puny days she has a hearty appetite and invites phone calls. Thankfully she is coming around today, but still looked ragged, uncomfortable, and quite aged. She has some painful sores next to her left eye, so Grandpa has to apply some drops to keep bacteria from entering her eyes. It was so touching how tender he was with her. They bicker back and forth like old married folks do, but they really love each other, and it shows how much they care when one is sick. Grandpa has been very concerned and taking care of Grandma like a champ. I've never seen her so sick, even with her severe bouts of pneaumonia. I don't like seeing her (or him) so sick... it gets me thinking about how much time they may have left, and I usually end up bawling ... and I don't need to think about that yet.

I miss my husband and the cats. They feel so far away, in another world, in another time. When I spend time with my family, I feel like I am a teenager again, and forget that I have been married for nearly five years (REALLY??? five YEARS??). It isn't that I don't think of Stephen...I do miss him all the time.. but he's just not here, so I am in a way reliving my childhood/teen years. I don't get to see my extended family too much anymore except for holidays. One of these days, we will be creating new memories where I DO feel married, because both branches of my family will be present, and the grey between adolescence and adulthood will thin and the two major sections of my life will finally meld together into one. I explained to Kristi that I really don't feel 24/25 at all. I've felt 18 for half a decade, and it wasn't until this last year that I finally felt 20-21ish. LOL. I guess that is good.

New Life Today!

My stepsister Emily gave birth to her son Memphis at 5:42 this morning! WHOO-HOO! I am so excited and I can't wait to see pictures. The Blackley grandchildren throng is growing! He is on O2, but otherwise doing well, so keep him in your prayers.

Moments after finding out about Memphis, I learned that some good friends of ours are expecting in October!! WHOO-HOO!!!!

It's February.

Tonight while I was putting away groceries, Stephen cupped my cheeks and said "Aww, your face looks like it did when we were dating"
My eyes misted over. "It really does?!"
"Yeah really!"
Best moment of the day x 77.

Since I had nothing ready for dinner and I needed to pick up some groceries any way, we ate supper at Ruby Tuesday and engaged ourselves in one of our long talks about the future. My plans continue to go back and forth like they have for years (some things never change...), but after talking it out some more, we are both in favor of me pursuing my music education privately for the time being, but finishing my bachelor's in English. I can enroll right away without having to prep anything and more concrete opportunities will be available after completing my degree (such as editing/proofreading/etc). I still desire a formal music education, but this is something I would be perfectly fine doing much further into the future (maybe even post-kids). Until then, I can practice, take lessons, learn all I can on my own, and hopefully join an orchestra or band.

Friday I leave for KC for a whole week to be with my cousin while her parents are out of town. Laundry awaits [boy, does it await...]; I have last minute Christmas projects to finish (why yes, I am aware it's it's February), and a little bit of cooking to do in order to provide Stephen and myself with a nutritional safety net for next week.

Stephen is trucking along and doing exceptional at work, and I continue to be amazed and proud of him. I think once his store is no longer called "Alltel" he will be wearing ties everyday.

It's still flippin cold outside. I donned flipflops tonight and regretted it. Yeah, I KNOW, it's February!

As of last Friday:
S 15.2
M 12.0