Surprise Surprise!!

I will be honest.

I was completely dreading my 30th birthday this year. I had a bad attitude pretty much the whole week long. I remember when I turned 20, and I thought "Man--I have 10 years till I am 30 and that is so old!!" So, I even took the day off work Thursday for a day of mourning, but it turns out it wasn't such a bad day after all.

I got to see my sweet baby boy on one of those 4-D ultrasounds! He is such a stinker cause he really wouldnt get his feet or hands out of the picture:) The tech kept pounding my stomach with the ultrasound wand, and I was like " Whoa! Easy sista!! Back the train up--he obviously does not want to do this!" But whatever she did worked and I got to see him. In all honesty that was the best birthday present I could have asked for!

That night mom, dad, Kelly, and Bennett came over for dinner and Ash grilled steaks for my birthday dinner. It was so wonderful being with family on your birthday. Mom retelling the story of when I was born and she couldn't get dad to come on to take her to the hospital cause he was watching his favorite tv show. Always good to be reminded of how serious your parents took actually getting to a safe place for my blessed arrival.

Friday was a big day because my dear friend Shelby was coming over to decorate my nursery. I am so bad at all of that and am so blessed to have her. Everone needs a "Shelby" in my opinion:) But as I was waiting for her to come, my husband pulled up the driveway. I was sweeping the porch and the passenger door opened, and out popped my best friend from college Leslie! I stared at her like she was a ghost as she ran up to hug me! I could not believe she was standing on my porch! Ash had flown her in for the weekend and I was so stinkin excited! So by now your thinking I have a sweet hubby right? Wait,,,it gets better,,,

Saturday Ash sends Kelly, Leslie, and I to the spa for facials and massages. Utmost of relaxation honey. We went back to Kelly's to get ready for dinner downtown. As Leslie and I are driving downtown Ash calls and says he needs me to come home to get him cause his car wont start. Sounds shady huh?? Thats what I thought and decided to put my investigative powers to work. I would get home and start his car myself and if it did he had people waiting for me downtown. If not, then he wasn't such a liar afterall.

We get to my street and I pull up and see lots of cars and a gigantic grill outside. He was out there waiting for me and lots of people were inside for a surprise party! I was stunned! I immediatley panicked at the state of my house but Ash had cleaned to whole house that afternoon. He had it catered, but made them bring a piece of steak just for me cause chicken is just not working with me these days:) Now thats love!

My family and dearest friends were all there, and I got to show off my nursery too! We ate on the porch overlooking the lake and just had a blast. I had the best time, and I am so thankful for the bestest husband in the world!

Sunday Les and I went kayaking and laid around watching "Jon and Kate plus 8" cause its drama these days! I know your thinking,"wont she tip over the kayak?" Amazingly I did not!Had dinner with the family last night and walked around downtown, but had to take her to the airport this morning. So wonderful to see her,,,she is truly amazing:)

So I started off with a really bad attitude about turning 30, but it turns out it wasnt so bad afterall:) It was the best weekend ever! Your only as old as you feel right? Well in that case I am pushing 25:) I do know I have the most amazing husband who I fall more in love with every single day!!

7 weeks to go!!

So,,,I did have quite a bit written on my blog the other day but the storm came through and cut off all our power. All my hard work was lost, so I just started to pout. I decided I would punish said storm and not write on my blog for another day. :)

Ash and I went to Miami a three weeks ago for our babymoon. I got spa treatment while he played golf, so it was a win-win situation. Oh--I also got chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast everyday...in bed!!! So fun! Here are some pics from the golf trip:

Ash playing...

random raccoon running on the course,,,sure,,,why not?

is this thing a dinosaur? I have no idea what it was but i sure was glad my zoom lense was working,,,,

here we are in South Beach. I am the whale in front,,,embracing my "whaleness"

The week after Miami, we went to Louisville for Ash's youngest brother's wedding. Whit and Ali are so stinkin cute you might throw up,,,so beware:)

Needless to say, it has been a very crazy past few weeks around this house. And the next few will undoubtedly be just as crazy. My sweet and dear friend Shelby is putting together my nursery this coming Friday, and then I celebrate my 30th birthday. Oh my goodness. 30. Geez Louise. Cant even think about that now....:) YOu know whats funny? How I measure my life in weeks now. Like I have 7 weeks left till my baby is here. Odd isnt it?

My son is kicking away in my tummy now as I type. You want to know his name? Its Charles Ashley Clayton III,,,and we will call him Charlie. :)))) My very first dog was named Charlie. He was a basset hound who ran away on Thanksgiving morning when I was very young. Hopefully my Charlie will not do the same....:))

Dunkin Donuts and So Much More!!

Today---we FINALLY registered!

I didn't panic either,,,thanks to my sis-in-law Kelly who so graciously came with us! But I think the day started off well too which ultimately set us up for a great day:)

Ash and I got up to go to Dunkin Donuts--this has become our "thing". He says I love to tell people we have a "thing" we do on Saturdays,,,but I will say whatever as long as I get some donuts and coffee:) And its a toss up as to who has better coffee-Dunkin or Starbucks. So far Dunkin has my vote,,,,

So after some Munchkins and coffee, we headed up to Babies-R-Us to meet Kelly. I am so mad cause I brought my camera but I guess I got so overwhelmed I forgot to take any pictures. But thank goodness she was there! I would probably still be there if it was not for her! I did thank her with some Munchkins,,,but she will get more soon:) We spent almost 2 hours there I think which is alot of time! But do you get the Rainforest playmat thing or the Baby Einstein? Do you get the safety stuff at this point? The frog or the shark hooded towel? I am fairly sure I had the bare necessities growing up,,,bread and water and maybe a Barbie that Travis's GI JOE probably blew her head off. I think I turned out ok so this little man is going to be fine with the Rainforest.

Kelly and I went to Target for just a few things and then Ash and I went to look at cars. We have been car shopping for a few months now, and cant decide. The further I get in the pregnancy I cant decide on anything!! Where did my mind go? Oh yes---the baby is sucking my brain cells out everyday so that I am losing my decison making abilities amongst other things. I am also getting very clumsy,,,especially with food. Half of my meals end up on my stomach rather than in my stomach.

Ash and I just got home from hitting golf balls. He tried to teach me,,,bless him,, but in my defense my stomach kept getting in the way. So after this long day we are just going to watch a movie and drink milk. I cant get enough of drinking milk lately!! We go through a gallon in about 3 days!! Is this normal?

Ok--I am now about to post a two pics for you guys who want to see my ever growing belly. If you dont want to see it,,,I should say goodbye to you now so you dont traumatize yourself in a second. For everyone else, this is me starting my 3rd Trimester,,,12 more weeks to go!

Now I totally understand if you never want to read my blog again:)

The Wii--Friend or Foe?

So last weekend was Ash's birthday and I got him the Wii and all its components,,,,Wii Fit and an extra controller with more games. Finally we have joined the rest of the world,,,it just takes me awhile.

I dont know if you all have played Wii Fit, but let me just tell you the little beef I have with the Wii Fit. After I went through the set up process, it tells you if you are overweight,,,underweight, obese, or normal. Since there is NO BUTTON TO TELL IT YOU ARE PREGNANT, it told me I was overweight. So that got me slightly upset from the start. Then once you get the board set up and stand on it, it registers your weight or something. Well, the little smarty pants inside my Wii Fit always says--"Oohh". As if I hurt her when I stood on the board. Well here is a newsflash for ya honey...its only gonna get worse cause I am only getting bigger by the day! I should call the Wii makers in Japan and have them put on a setting for pregnant women so that its a tad more sensitive!! But I did play for an hour yesterday and then 30 min today. The Hula hoop is awesome! ASh said he is gonna videotape me doing it and put it on you tube. I will kill him if he does that:)

This week I had dinner with some old friends at Olive Garden. I usually always get the tiramisu cause its AWESOME! But they have a new dessert you must go get today. Its like donuts with chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce. So I got both desserts, of course, but the donuts are unbelievable. Trust me. My preggo tummy will not fail you:)

I almost took a pic of my tummy for this but chickened out,,,,one day though:)

Its a ...

So,,,,we have learned alot about Baby Clayton over the past couple of days!

Friday morning Ash and I went to the doctor to find out lots more about our sweet one. My first ultrasound with the goo on the tummy (praise the Lord!!!) She wasted no time and poured it on me and started checking everything out. We were just relaxing watching the nice flat screen they had to view when she said "You want to find out?" Let me back up a couple of months...

Around 12 weeks the doctor guessed it was a girl. Then a month or so later when the other doctor heard the heartbeat he guessed girl also. So I really was like...alright. A mini-Meredith. Sweet Jesus--have mercy on me. :) So you can imagine my utter shock and surprise when the nurse Friday said, " Its a BOY!!" I just looked at her like she had lost her mind. Ashley totally started laughing. Don't get me wrong--I am thrilled to have a baby boy! Most importantly he is healthy so thats a praise. But I didnt talk much cause I was in shell shock for a couple of hours.

We met up with Kelly and Bennett for breakfast at Pancake Pantry to tell her the news and she was totally shocked too! Bennett even had bets on that the baby was a girl. We told our parents on Valentines Day at a brunch mom made for us and Ash's parents. So I can ease into this parenting thing cause I hear boys are a bit easier:)

I do want to gloat on my amazing husband for a quick second....

Last night for Valentines we had Travis and Kelly over for dinner. I was up working out and he cooked the entire meal. Yummy steaks, twice baked potato, sauteed green beans! I literally did nothing but make a pie for dessert. He cooked and get this ladies.....he did the dishes after too!! Sweet man! Well, thats the least he can do since I am sacrificing my body for 9 months. Geez..

One more thing before I go,,,I think my friend Keeley brought her son Reed home today from being in the hospital 94 days. I cant imagine how thrilled she is...love you Keeley!

I am getting close to putting pictures of my belly on here....just need the courage.....stay tuned

Baby Store--Take One

So this past week was somewhat busy. I have not mentioned this but I have been coaching a 5th and 6th grade girls basketball team at Goodpasture. While I love the game of basketball, teaching it is a whole other ballgame. These girls, bless their hearts, did their very best but we only won three games this season. The games we won were very exciting though! Usually by one or two points with the crowds on their feet!

The games we lost, however, we got drilled. So we had some life lessons I tried to teach them. For instance, we played in our tournament last Monday against a team we had beaten by 1 or 2 points. I was really excited, even nervous all day at work. The bad news was that if we won we had to play a team that had beaten us by about 40 earlier in the season. So I was not looking forward to that. We ended up losing by 6 or 7 so we left with some dignity! :) Here are my girls after that game :

Funny thing is that they actually like me. After all the running I made them do in practice, they really like me and want me to come back next season. For the record, it is much more fun telling someone else to run instead of running yourself. This past Saturday night at the high school game we got announced at halftime. So I got to walk out with my girls one more time. They want to get together and have a party with the boys team. Good grief. I have no idea how to handle 11 and 12 year old hormones. Do they even have hormones at this age? See, its much easier dealing with my girls.

Friday Ash and I went to the maternity store so I could pick out some very flattering jeans. Mom says I need to start wearing more maternity stuff. As if I enjoy looking like a stuffed sausage in normal clothes. Thanks mom! :)

After clothes shopping we went into Babies-r-us for the first time together. My oh my,,,its like another world. I literally started sweating the second we walked in there. We looked at furniture, strollers, and whatever else before my brain was screaming "Get OUT!! I NEED SONIC ASAP!!!" I mean seriously,,,all the strollers? So next time my trusty sis-in-law Kelly is coming with us. And I will already be equipped with Sonic slushy in hand.

We find out Friday what this little nugget inside me is and it seems like forever away! Ash really wants a girl which I think is precious. He has two younger brothers and he said he always wanted a sister. Little does he know,,,he has no idea what he is in for if it is a girl!!! We find out early Friday morning and Saturday we are having brunch with both sets of grandparents to tell them the news! I cant think of a better Valentines gift!!

Have a great week...maybe someday I will get the nerve to put pics of my ever expanding belly on here. I know only 3 people read this so I have no idea what the problem is!! :)))

Home Sweet Home

Ahhhh, home sweet home.

It seems this old saying has almost three different meanings as I sit here this morning. Let me go through the three different ones quickly before I divulge into the trip.

First of all, and most imporantly, my dear friend Keeley will finally get to bring her sweet baby Reed home soon after recently getting a brand new heart! We got the joyous news this week while we were gone and tears immediately started flowing! The phrase "Home sweet home" to the White family must have the most amazing meaning behind it! After I think over 10 weeks, that sweet baby could come home in the following days. So welcome home Reed!!

Second, Trav, Kel, and Bennett moved here this past week. I would imagine "Home sweet home" is such a literal phrase especially to Travis. He has been gone for 12 years I think! And so as the nomadic son returns home to his roots, we welcome them with open arms and hopefully will not drive them back to Virgina with our being over there all the time! :)

Lastly, we just got into town last night from the week in Colorado. You know when you have been gone from home for awhile, and the plane lands and you just breathe real deep? Well thats what I did, followed by some sneezing. Welcome to Nashville-Sinus capital of the world.

Our trip home was actually uneventful which is good for us but not very funny for blogging purposes. So let me tell you bout the trip....

We really had a blast snowboarding and its so weird to think next year I will be taking a 7month old with me!! Thank you for all the prayers for our safety! I would usually quit early in the afternoon cause I was tired and cause my pants were half unbuttoned. My stomach is definatley sticking out now. And no----I will not be putting pictures of my stomach on the worldwide internet! That is insane! No one wants to see that! I have to sheild my eyes everytime I take a shower! I will however post some more pics in a second...

As I was "shredding", which means snowboarding down the mountain (I have to explain the lingo to everyone:) I was listening to my IPOD. I found myself listening to Guns-n-Roses, Dave Matthews, and of course Britney and I was flying!!! I mean it!! I probably wasn't but it sure felt like it! I was going in and out of trees listening to awesome music feeling like nothing could stop me. However I didnt account for the tree stump covered by snow that did in fact stop me. I landed hard on my butt, but fortunately for me that area is quite padded so no worries mom!

I am the one completely covered!!!

We did have a great time with his family though. We played games at night and watched movies, and walked through the cute village looking at art that is so expensive its ridiculous. I know I am not the most cultured girl (mom tells me that!) but it was like $13,000 for a glass frog or painting of a moose. Silly silly silly.

But alas, we are home now. Planning on going to see Kelly and Bennett later today and hopefully sweet Reed later this week. Oh and now that I know mom, Mrs. Dixie, and Mrs. Jan are reading this, I will try to be a little more tactful! :) This is random but this is when we told his brothers we were having a baby over Christmas! Whit is getting married in May so it was a very happy Christmas! This one is random but its my favorite! This was over the holidays and we tried to get all the kids to sit still for a second to get a really great picture. Well as you can see, Lainey was having none of it and Bennett was about to lose it any second. Palmer, the pacifist, tried his best to hold down the fort. We may not have gotten the perfect picture, but I think this one is priceless!

It is so good to be home...

More Mac-n-cheese please!!!

So before I go into some pregnancy issues, I would like to tell you some awesome things that have happened and will happen this week:

First and best of all,,,my sweet angel nephew Bennett is out of the hospital today! He was admitted for upper respiratory issues and they feared pneumonia. Thankfully after extensive tests he was allowed to go home this afternoon! I am so excited to see him, which brings me to more news....

Second--Trav, Kel, and Bennie-boo-boo are moving here this weekend!! The prodigal son returns!! (just kidding trav!) I am super duper thrilled to have them home and I can see them all the time! We will be the original couple again like in college! For those of you who didnt go to ACU with us, let me give you some background. This will be fun :)

Kelly transferred her sophomore year, my freshman year. She was the hot ticket when she arrived. Everyone asked her out including Travis, of whom she rejected twice! I told him to forget about her cause she was obviously not interested:) Turns out she and I had a class together. I remember the night we met,,,

It was a night health class and we were in line getting our body fat tested. Every womans nightmare. Seriously! She was a few people ahead of me and someone walked by to ask her if she was going to their basketball game--which in of itself is hysterical. Have you seen Kel play ball? Thats neither here nor there,,,,but its so funny:) love you kel!

So once I put the name and face together, I calmly asked her why she would not go out with my brother? Logical question I thought. Turns out she did want to, but Trav was so slow on the asking part that other guys beat him to it. She had her eye on my bro anyway, so it all worked out. She became my bestest and dearest friend. I am so happy to have her as my sister in law. I really am blessed to have her and Kim who has known me since I was 10 years old. Let me tell you,,,she has some good stories on your girl here. So lets hope she never blogs about it!

But I always hung out with trav and Kelly, so to have them here is truly wonderful. I plan on getting to her house bright and early on Fridays and hang out all day only to leave before Trav gets home! Good plan!

Oh-I also need to get a good Motown cd for Bennett. At my cousins wedding he was laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking to the song by the Four Tops-Sugar Pie Honey Bunch,,,It was hilarious!

One more good thing about this week--the show 24 has FINALLY come back! For those faithful who endured last season,,,let me say that Jack is Back!!

Now-Pregnancy. I know it seems like I complain but I am not meaning too! I am truly thankful for this miracle because it really is a miracle. Have you stopped to think about the details that go into this? Everything has to be perfect! But, without the other details, you all know what I mean:) get your minds out of the gutters! :)

We ate at J Alexanders the other night and I ordered a salad. Good right? Oh-no worries cause I got my own side of mac-n-cheese. Had too-its too good. For breakfast saturday I did well up until a certain point. I had egg whites and turkey bacon, some yogurt with fruit also. But,,,then I made cinammon rolls. The mini ones that are squares? Yep-well---ate about,,hmmm,,,12 or so? Then I just licked off the icing of the rest of the rolls. So much for the healthy breakfast.

I am starting my 15th week and I think I may be experiencing heart burn. Never had it before but I think I do now. Is this normal? Surely it cant be my sporadic eating habits! :) I feel like I am throwing up in my mouth sometimes, but I really am not. Does that make sense?

So I watched some of the Golden Globes tonight. Mainly to see the dresses and my leading man Leo!!! Shout out to Leslie!! How many times did we watch Titanic in our dorm room after chapel? too many!! All those women who have had kids and they are so tiny!! Sickening! Oh well. Bet they arent really happy anyway. :")

So, Trav and Kelly move Saturday and we go with Ash's family to Beaver Creek, CO to do some snowboarding next week. That is if I can fit into my ski clothes. :)))

Hope everyone has a great week!!!

Happy New Year

Happy 2009 everyone!!

This will no doubt be the best year of my life and I am so excited to get it going! We just got back last night from an amazing trip to Lake Tahoe. The beauty of the lake is indescribable, but there were a few things that were,,,,um,,, a little drabby. :) Let me walk you through it:

Our flight left Nashville Tues night and of course we had a delayed flight in Vegas. I mean--the city that never sleeps? Get your planes in on time!!!!! Anyway, so I was one of the people who slept on the floor at the airport. We were about an hour late and it was already almost midnight. I kept myself full of food thanks to Sbarro Pizza and strawberries and cream frappachino. Oh-Vegas Sbarro is NOT the real Sbarro. No idea what that was but I ate it anyway...I digress.

We finally land in Reno and had to rent a car. All the car rental places were closed and so Ash had to talk to someother car place. We got the car--Volvo Wagon,,very sheek,,,and drove an hour or so to the hotel. Scratch that--ASh drove---I slept. I am pregnant--I do what I please. :)

Got to the hotel/casino and we got placed in the wrong room but it was almost three in the morning and I was done. Those that know me know that I go to bed like 9:30-10 in true Speck fashion.

Got moved bright and early the next day into a gorgeous room on the top floor overlooking the lake. The bellman told us the New Years eve party in the street was so "righteous". Are we surfing??? He said there would be 50,000 college kids there and we should go. I looked at Ash like---there is NO WAY I am going. Way too old for that. I got the look of agreement from him that we were on the same page. Love the looks you can give each other after so much time together---I got his all down. He is such a dead giveaway.

So we had fun snowboarding--I was careful!!! We ate breakfast buffet every morning,,,I prayed I would fit in my ski clothes everyday and i did thank you very much. At night we ate at several different restaurants throughout the hotel. My fav was Cabo Wabu---the had the best guacomole. Seriously. TDF. It came in a martini glass so I ate the whole thing and nibbled of his dinner. That must not have been enough for me and baby so I had strawberry sundae delivered to the room. Nice. I mean-- I am not even trying to watch what I eat. Yeesh.

Oh-So ASH played Blackjack at night. I didnt go to much cause it was so smokey and I didnt want Baby to come out holding a Marlboro. He lost of course--bless his heart. I played for a few minutes one day after breakfast and was up $75 before I quit. Ash was so excited for me! I was like--this is easy--just walk away when you are winning. Any nimrod could do this,,but oh no. Not Ash--he played till the bitter end:)

So, after days of snowboarding and eating guac and breakfast bars, I was good to go.
Our flights yesterday were somewhat uneventful. I fell asleep on the first one and felt myself jerk. You know when you do that in church or someplace? I did, it woke me up and the dude next to me was totally laughing. I played it off by trying to get something out of my bag on the floor. Next flight I should have one an Oscar for my performance on making our middle seat seem unavailable. I messed with my purse and bag the whole time till people finished walking by/ (tee-hee) So I stretched out that flight.

Last flight I was not so lucky. I tried but ended up moving over to the middle cause heaven forbid Ash sit there. This lady, who had just finished smoking 10 cigs, came to sit by me. She had little to no teeth which is an issue for me. She also kept asking a million questions about out trip. I should have been nicer but I didnt want to inhale that smoke! Baby Clayton was in peril!! So I causally turned myself almost completely sideways and leaned on Ash for about two hours. I had the air full blast on me too. I got a lecture from him to be nice but I was more concerned about baby. Then as er got closer to land she asked if our streets were always this wet looking. I replyed---"Yes. We water our streets everyday." This got a nice nudge in the ribcage from Ash. Obviously it was raining so I answered her ridiculous question with a ridiculous answer. Being preggo has made me quite bold.

so, we are back in one piece. Ash wants us to try to east better. I think its crap cause its the one time in my life I can eat bad and he wants to eat better. Unbelievable.

well, I hope everyone will have a safe new Year!!

Ash + Me + Baby = 3!!

Well, its official.

I am knocked up:) Of course my hubby is like "Can you put it in a better way?" I have been waiting to announce it until Ash's family found out at Christmas. So today marks three months which means I am almost done with the first trimester.

If any of you have read the Jenny McCarthy books on pregnancy and babies...they are hysterical. Somewhat raunchy, but funny. I thought I would blog about the joys of pregnancy from my point of view. So, here we go......

From some friends and family members I have heard that in their first trimesters they lost alot of weight. They were sick alot, which I totally sympathize with. I only threw up once, but that could have been caused from the gigantic cinammon roll I bought at Publix. Other than that I have felt ok. Whoever called it morning sickness is a big fat liar. I was sick all day long at work and at home. I am finally getting over all that which brings me back to the weight issue.

I cant stop eating.

Its that simple. All I want to eat is macaroni-n-chesse. I havent touched a salad in 13 weeks, and for those that know me that is very weird. My husband is totally confused at my recent appetite. I no longer graze off his waffle fries from Chick-fil-A. I get my own and do not share under any circumstance. I am pretty sure I have not lost any weight this first trimester. I can still fit in my clothes because thankfully I am still exercising. But as I sit here and write this in my jeans, the top button is unbuttoned. :)

Also, my face has broken out like a freakin 13 year old. Its getting better but come on already!! I cant handle too many changes at once. I bet my body is freakin out from all the mac-n-cheese and chips I am pouring into it. Another good example---the other night we went to eat at Chili's after visiting my friend Keeley and her sweet baby Reed at the NICU . Of course we got chips and salsa, but then I got the fajita pita but only ate the fries. Skip the protein--head straight for the carbs. Nice Mere.

Ash and I leave to go snowboarding on Tuesday for the new year and I can barely get into my ski clothes. Good grief. Oh well. I have said that if I was ever blessed enough to get pregnant I was gonna enjoy it. So the time has come. Let the blizzards from Dairy Queen come a plenty!!

If any other friend has eaten alot in your first trimester,,can you send me a little note of encouragement? Cause at the moment I have no idea if its baby down there, or if I am just bloated from the 3 biscuits I ate at Cracker Barrell.

So I am gonna go get into something way more comfy than these stupid jeans.

Goodnight!!

Under Construction

ok. I know everyone thinks I have completely dropped off the face of the earth, but the truth is that I am still here. Thankfully. I will be starting my blog back up here pretty soon, but I need some new renovations to it. Kind of like the wall paper in my parents bathroom....mauve and green flowers. UPGRADE!! So i need to redo everything here, and especially rename my blog cause "Merediths Melodrama" is just ridiculous. Since when am I dramatic? :))))

Please Stay tuned!!!!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there and soon to be new mommies! I hope everyone had great day with family! Ash and I came to Memphis for the special weekend to see Nana and also for my cousin Courtney's baby shower. She is due in July and looks absolutley precious!! She is expecting baby Sam in a few weeks and we cant wait to meet him!

We then had a cookout at my Aunt Carols house last night which was awesome! It truly is hard to beat Memphis bar-b-que! The highlight of the night happened with my dad. Here is the story: Mom, dad, Ash and I were getting ready to leave Aunt Carol and Uncle Jerry's house for the night. Ash and I talked for awhile with everyone, but I kept hearing a light knocking sound. I thought it was the girls out on the porch so I kept talking. I heard the knocking again a few minutes later,, a little louder this time,,but kept on going. ( I had to get through my conversation!) Then I noticed dad was nowhere to be found. I heard the knocking again, and mom went through a hallway and to a bathroom where my dad had been locked in for several minutes! He said he was starting to sweat thinking he would be stuck in the bathroom for the rest of his life! He emerged safely and we went home exhausted.

But I love coming to see my grandparents--Gran and Nana. Always love coming to their house, with its beautiful landscape and warm smells of great cooking inside. They always make you eat until you are literally about to pop by saying, "Come on Mere. Get you some more! Finish it up!" Why do grandmothers do that? In the mornings, its hard to sleep in cause Nana is right outside our room talking to mom saying she cant hear mom, and wondering when we are going to get up. Meanwhile mom is talking quiet so as not to wake us but Nana cant figure that out. So, therefore I am wide awake in there just listening to their conversation. (Just wear the freakin hearing aids please!) But now we are waiting on everyone to get here to celebrate Mothers Day Nana style. I can smell the roast, hashbrown casserole, corn, and of course--Nana's rolls. I know everybody's grandmother makes good rolls or something,,,but Nana's are ridiculously good. I shall eat several in fact without hesitation.

I was just informed that this year,,,for the first time in family history,,,,the kids are eating where the grownups used to eat!! NO MORE KIDS TABLE!! There was a mutiny arising and Nana surrendered but switching. I am so excited! We will take pictures by the same hydrangia bush we always have, then come in and eat ourselves sick. I will in no way contribute to the ride home also. I will sleep in the back while Ash drives with Dad in the front telling stories about anything and everything. Here is a pic of the family in front of said hydrangia:

i read a quote today at church about mothers that I thought was awesome!

"To the world you are one person, but to one person you are the world!" (love you mom!)

Hope you all have a great day!

13.1 miles baby!

So, since the last time I have written I have been to sunny California and also walked/ran a hlaf marathon!! I have been a busy girl!! Lets start with Los Angeles, CA:

I went with some girls from church for a few days. We stayed in Santa Monica right on the beach which was GORGEOUS! No wonder people stay there for the weather! After some extensive shopping we went to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno for a taping. Then the next day went to a taping for "According to Jim". It took about 4 hours to do a taping of the show, and during breaks between takes a guy would entertain the crowd. Well, we happened to be on the front row right next to this guy. He was stinkin hilarious! He then wanted to have a dance competition and guess who he picked for one of the three people? Me of course! So, I had to break out all my best moves to try to make my friends proud. Idid not win,,,,,,but I did win a Sprite which was perfect cause I had worked up quite a sweat. So for the rest of the time I tried not to make eye contact with him so he wouldnt call on me anymore. Remember in class when you tried to avoid to teacher so they would not call on you? I was totally doing this.

So, then we went to eat at a place where they had a mechanical bull. Yep, you guessed it. I was dared to ride the bull and I did,,,,for about 15 seconds. Those are not as easy as I thought! So I thought I had humiliated myself enough for the day and went to bed.

On our flight home at LAX airport I ran into Bob Harper--the trainer from "The Biggest Loser". You don't undestand--I was totally freaking out inside but was trying to be cool. I love that show! So I got my pic with him,,,,,,,

He was on my flight home to Nashville, and I had tons of questions for him, but decided to let him fly in peace.

So, last weekend I did the Country Music Marathon,,but just the half. It started out raining on us, and it was the crack of dawn on a Saturday. It turned out to be really cool and fun. Here is my medal that I have been wearing daily since then,,,

I will stop wearing it soon, cause it is in the way as I work on my patients:)

So, that about does it for now. I go to Michigan next week to see Palmer and Lainey Hope so I will post more then!! Have a good one!!

Just a little "chop",,,

So, we recently returned from our second trip to Colorado this year. We went to Aspen with my cousin Courtney and her hubby Garrett. We (me, Ko, and G-man) had a great time. Ash on the other hand had the worst four days of the year thus far. Here is the low down on the down low:

Friday:
Ash and I arrive late to Eagle County, CO. We thought we were going to be able to ski that day, but alas--we did not because our flight got cancelled and re-routed and all other nonsensical things. I should have turned right back around for Nashvegas. We drove to Aspen, checked in and then went out for dinner. Nice night,,it will be a great weekend.

Saturday:
WRONG!!!! About 4 in the morning Ash woke up with an upset stomach and proceded to make what seemed like several hundred trips to the bathroom. I, being the attentive wife, asked if I could do anything, and then fell back asleep. About 7, Ash was miserable. I ended up taking him to the minor clinic about 10 and they hooked him up to an IV and pumped him full of fluids cause he was very much dehydrated. I read the latest "O" magazine and caught up on the Britney scandle that is her life. What is wrong with that girl? I think it went wrong when Justin dumped her! Ooops, I did it again! I digressed---- We left around 12:30 and went back to our room where he slept the rest of the day.

Sunday:
I checked on him before going out snowboarding,,,,,still sleeping,,,,so I am off to the slopes!! :)
He watched the Super Bowl with us for a bit, before falling asleep. Bless his sweet heart!

Monday:
He comes out that afternoon for a couple of hours with me on the slopes. Obviously tired but desperately wanting to salvage some of the trip, he bravely conquered the snowfall and winds!!

Tuesday:
This begins our travel nightmare! We woke up at 4:30 to get to Eagle County by 8 for our 8:30 flight. Of course we get there by 7 and the flight was delayed until 10:30 due to storms. Then 10:30 turns to 12:30 and we finally board to Dallas. We were supposed to be in Nashvegas at 2:30,,,,but that would be hard considering we didnt leave Dallas until 6:30! Again,,due to high winds.

Finally we take off,,,but the flight was extremely bumpy. Don't you hate those flights? I was sitting next to a pilot who informed me that it was just "chop" and it was more annoying to the captain than anything. I was about to lose my lunch and was gathering all the bags behind each seat just in case. I kept poking the pilot and asking him "is this normal?" I am sure he was totally annoyed by me but who cares! We had to go a longer route because apparently there were tornados right in our area. Perfect. The flight soon was bouncing all over the place and I was sure this was it for us. The airport traffic control wouldn't let us land for the longest time due to the winds. Thankfully we finally landed and drove to our house only to hear the tornado sirens going off in our neighborhood. Awesome. Best trip ever. Really.

We made it fine, but as you saw on the news it was pretty bad other places. So, sadly we packed our snowboarding bags up the year. I do know that I need a break from flying for while also. Just cars for me. Maybe horses, trains, taxi's. But next time you fly, and the plane is bouncing like crazy, just remember that is only a little "chop" and nothing to worry about!

Have a great week!

We have returned from Colorado and it was an injury free week praise the Lord! We go out at 8:30 in the morning and dont return until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon so you can imagine that my legs are on fire by the end of the day! We usually eat in at night and watch movies, and this year we have been watching "Las Vegas" seasons. (That is a pretty good show by the way. ) Also we have been watching episodes of "The Office" which is the greatest show ever.

(this picture has nothing to do with Colorado. it is in our back yard two weeks ago. awesome.)

The only semi-injury was today when me and Ash were going in and out of trees. There are paths through the trees that are pretty narrow and are probably more for skiers but snowboarders can make it ok. He was ahead of me and I was trying to follow him but on one path I chose not to at the last minute. It was too late to turn and so I totally hit a tree head first and fell back into like waist deep powder snow. Thankfully I had my helmet on so hitting the tree didn't hurt, but digging myself out of snow almost made me have a heart attack. Seriously, I thought I was in good shape but obviously not.

So, we leave tomorrow but we come back to Aspen next weekend with my cousin and her husband for a few days. Hopefully another injury-free week will be in the forecast. Here are some pics from the week:

this is Ash winding in and out of the trees--he really scared me when he would do that!~



me going through a tee-pee but trust me I did hit the stupid thing several times.

sorry-i dont know how to rotate it. Leslie-you can help me with that.


me and Ash

me, Ash, his two brothers and Jennifer (sis-in-law)

We go back this weekend so I will put more up! Have a good week!

Back in Colorado....

Here I am in Beaver Creek, Colorado for another family vacation with Ashley. We love to come up here and do some serious snowboarding for a week. This hopefully will be an injury free week since 2 years ago I was laid up with a compression fracture! Maybe this year I will get the nerve to do some jumping or some rails. I went through a tee-pee last year after several collisions into the tee-pee. It is always encouraging to sit and watch little 3 year olds on skis go through the tee-pee like it was nothing. Anyways, I digress...

Last week before I left I took a kickboxing class. This is like five steps up from Tae-Bo for sure. I took this class with a teacher who is just starting out so it is only me. I told him I was athletic and that he didn't need to take it easy on me. Well, he didn't and I almost died! I could barely work the next day! I did however feel like the "Million Dollar Baby" in her opening training scenes. I have gloves and am totally pounding on this guy. It was awesome! I will keep you updated cause I may join the cagefighting or something!:)

Happy 2008!

Literally, Kelly forced me to update and I confess I had forgotten how to login correctly. Give me a break, I have my hands in peoples mouths all day and talk to them as if they can talk back. Why do hygienists do that?

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years! Mine was especially good because my whole family was together for several days including all three grandchildren. It was so good to see Lainey Hope who is just a couple of months older than Bennett. Here she is with her beautiful mommy Kim.

We had a family portrait made for my parents for their birthday/christmas present so that is always fun. Mom made all the guys wear red sweaters. Just the guys. Red sweaters. Kind of like when the boy had to wear the bunny suit in "The Christmas Story" that is on 24 hours over Christmas. But they survived and it turned out great. (sorry this pic is so bad! )

We also got my nephew Palmer the Wii. Has anyone played that? That is totally awesome! I was sweating so bad when I played boxing. I felt like I was playing the Italian guy on Mike Tyson's game. Very empowering. Like Tae-Bo on crack. Wish we could have had this for our famous Siggie workouts after club that year. I am terrible at bowling but this was no surprise. Palmer just wanted to create people, but that in itself was really fun. So, hats off to the Japanese for getting us off our rear ends and getting some exercise.

Well, I better go see if Bennett needs his Aunt Mere to give him kisses. They are leaving tomorrow and we are so sad. We have had so much fun with everyone and will miss them terribly!

One more thing-I already talked to Leslie about this but go see the movie "Juno". It was the best movie I have seen in a long time. Also, the book that I just finished was "The Pillars of the Earth" which was fabulous and my new favortite cd that I can't get enough of is the "Hairspray" soundtrack. Does anyone else like any of these? Tell me yours too! I need a new book!

Ok seriously this time. My New Years resolution is to blog more and keep up with the world through this technology. This is my goal. Talk to you soon!

I'm Back,,,

There are truly no words to thank everyone for the outpore of threats and viscious emails and phonecalls that I have received about my lack of participation in this blog world. For the 2 or 3 people I have left, I will hopefully quench your thirst for more of my boring but sometimes interesting world.

So, since the house has been built (over a year) Ash and I purchased his dental practice. The day we went to sign the papers, I was thinking "No big deal-in and out in an hour max." Almost 3 hours later, and hearing words that I had no clue if even the lawyer knew what he was talking about-we walked through the doors new owners and heavily in debt. (big downside) But so far Ash is doing great and we are still married. (big plus)

My oldest brother and his wife Kim welcomed their second child-sweet Lainey Hope. She is a lump of love! She melts in your arms when you hold her. Her big brother Palmer is still sinfully adorable and also will melt your heart. Kim looks fantastic and so does Randy!

My other brother Travis and his wife Kelly are about to welcome their first child-Bennett Mitchell who should pop out to say HI in late August or first of September. Mom and I went to visit for a baby shower last weekend in Washington D.C. Kelly and Trav got so much stuff! She opened presents for 2 hours straight! Unreal! So much cute stuff!

The trip home was the trip from you know where. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:40 but did not leave until after 1 in the morning. So, to kill the almost 4 hours in the airport, I went walking with my IPod. Trying to make good use of time and energy. Oh-by the way-Ash and I have been on Weight Watchers for awhile now! More on that later... We are doing great with it too! Anywho-I digress. So, I walked around the airport to stay awake. All the gift shops were obviously closed so seriously there was nothing to do. Mom was wrapped in every single blanket she could find and reading about the latest scandel with Brittany Spears and her mom. (they should just make up by the way)

So, the flight was really bumpy but we landed and I was in bed at almost 4:30. But dont worry-it was all worth it! :))))

Last night, I got to hang out with some of my old high school friends. We are having our 10 year reunion this October! I cant believe how much we have all changed. Shout out to the girls! HOLLA!

OK. Well, thats all for now. I warned you that this was boring! I will try to update this more-I promise!

Pictures of the house

so finally--i know you all have been anticipating my triumphant return to the blogger world, and here I am. Even though everyone now has moved on to the "My Space" stuff, but to those 2 or few faithfuls out there, i will now attempt to post pictures of my house.

here is the front view. our lot is long and narrow and a Charleston type home was the only option we had actually.













here is our view from the back porch.












there are Ashley's toys.














our view from our dock. not to shabby.












now i hope you all enjoy--sorry it took so long.

love to you.
mere

My hopes come crashing down

ok, i know i havent written in awhile, and everyone has all but threatened me to write something so fine!!! Here is a little something--

First of all, a quick shout out to Leslie's dad--Papa Tom and his full recovery. You are in my prayers and I love you very much!!

Ok, so as of today my house is not going to be ready by May 26th. People told me to expect this of builders and that the standard "2 week rule" will come into play. But, since we are so behind already I thought surely my builder will be on time!! Come on Mere!! Wake up and smell the tile grout!!! our new date is June 15th. Two weeks later. unbelievable. How hard is it to adjust a few drawers and finish painting a few walls??? I wanted to be in to throw a lake party for my birthday, which is May 21st in case you were wondering. (The mail is running slow, so go ahead and get those cards in this week!! :)

I would show you pics of the house, but I am too bummed. I might later. Plus our workers went on strike......of course. Never saw that one coming.

On a competely opposite note, I just finished reading "THE DaVinci Code". That is (besides the Bible and some of my Babysitter's Club books) one of the best books I have read. We are doing a study on this book at my church and I wanted to read it before the movie came out. If anyone else has read it,,let me know. I would love to talk about it. I can see how unbelievers could believe this to be some sort of the truth, and that is one of the main reasons why I wanted to read it. Also, so I could know where they were coming from and be able to discuss it rationally before I got my Peter the irrational apostle groove on and start smackin people around! :)

So, now Ash and I are stuck in our apartment for what seems like FOREVER!!! to no avail, this is not the end of the world. NOw after a few weeks when Alias is over, that will be the end of the world!

ok, i hope this tides my fans over for the next few months!

love to all,

Growing Pains

I feel like I have aged 10 years in the past week.

For the most part, Ash has done most of the house planning stuff. I have picked out faucets with him, and we did doorknobs and deadbolt together for the most part. The big things up to this point Ash has done and I have really cared because I trust him. Well, these past several days I have been working on cabinets. Kitchen and bathroom cabinets. This has ultimately made me want to throw myself in front of a semi-truck.

I dont know anything about measuring, countertops, etc. I just pick out the color, and so far I have gone over budget on everything. (this should not surprise anyone)
Today I met with the cabinet lady at our new house and talked about the kitchen and then she moved to the bookshelves in the great room. I was clearly not prepared to talk about bookshelves in the great room, therefore I began to panic and start crying on the inside. I stink at this house junk!! I have no idea what I am doing!

After work, I met Ash at his office to see some guy about life-insurance and disability. About hhmm, 45 seconds into his presentation, I was thinking about cabinets and about which scrubs I was going to wear tomorrow. All of his mumbo-jumbo, I could not understand what he was talking about. Every once in awhile, he would look at me for approval, to which I would just smile and nod. (I knew there were some hidden M&M's somewhere in the room we were in, and if I could just get to them before he saw me I would be in better shape. )

Lucky for me, Ash is really smart and can handle all this junk. I told the guy that this was all grown-up stuff and I felt to young to do this now. He promptly reminded me of my age, (thank you Mr. Mumbles) and that I did need to be prepared. geez.

so, i feel better after venting my house and insurance problems. Please keep me in mind Friday and I have to make decisions on bathroom vanities(colors), tile, hardwood floor color, fabric, and now bookshelves all before 2:00. If anyone wants to fly to Nashville and do this for me, you have my nod of approval. :)

Vacation in Colorado

so we are at the end of our snowboarding vacation and it has been uneventful as far as injuries go. some bumps and bruises are about it, so you can all let out a sigh of relief.

here are some pics of the week:


this is me snowboarding with my trusty helmet. safety first!











ash and I at lunch in the warming house

after a long day, its good to just sit and take in the view.

me and Ash

sometimes i still have trouble getting off the lift and have to hold on to him for dear life!

ok, tomorrow we come back home. it has been a fabulous vacation! no broken bones this time!

i finally can send pictures!

ok, again i am sorry for the sporadic posts, but i am obsessed with the Olympics and so i watch the games all the time! at this moment, the ice dancing is going on and so i have some time!:) i do love snowboarding, and well, thats about it. GO USA!

ok, Ash and I are in the process of building a house and it is the most stressful thing ever. it is our first 6 months of marriage and we are doing something that will give us a test of true love. we were picking out doorknobs and finishes the other day and i thought our 6 month run was about over. thank goodness we agreed to disagree, and I won the battle but lost the war for a ridiculous home entertainment center. but i have pics of the house and its progress, and so i will try to post them. also a pic of me with my red hair.

holy cow!!! kelly just walked me through this whole picture thing so now you all can share in the wonders of building a house. here are some more: this is our fireplace and our contractor Dave.

ok and now the Mere with red hair :::drumroll please:

me getting my ghetto lips on right?

ok--i am totally spent and womens snowboard cross is about to come on, so i gotta go!! love to all and please pray for us as we go to Colorado next week! pray i dont break yet another vertebrae snowboarding!! one day, you guys will be watching me at the Olympics and there is no telling what color my hair will be!!

A bad day

two blogs in two days, Jesus is really coming soon! :)

Ok, well my day started off with a bang. I was blow drying my hair and I knocked off a vase that was mounted on my wall with a fake hydrangia in it. It of course shattered onto the floor, but i continued to blow dry my hair because i was almost done anyway. Ash stumbled in in all his morning glory to see (squinted) if i was okay. I told him i was fine and this was all a dream. (he is really gullible)

So, ok the first hour of JAN. 18 was not good, but how much worse could it get?

I go to work early because it snowed here and i wanted to be a good hygienist and prepare for the days teeth that awaited me. I made coffee for all to share, and then went to do some things. I came back to the kitchen and the coffee was EVERYWHERE! i apparently did not put the coffee pot all the way in the holder thing and the stream of coffee never made it to the pot. So, a royal mess was made and I frantically tried to clean it up lest I become the office joke. The coffee had also soaked my new coat Ash got me for Christmas, that is gortex material, but still smells like coffee. The coffee finally got cleaned up with the help of 10000 paper towels, but my jacket kept leaking. I had to literally wring out my coat to get it to stop. finally, i just put some paper towels under my coat so it could drain. so now my North Face smells like Folgers Strong blend.

Lunch time comes around, and Ash informs me he got a new flipper. The tooth on the retainer thing? remember? now he has two. This new one is way more comfy he says. now on my bathroom counter are 2 retainers with 2 teeth on them. i KNOW i did not sign up for this August 20, 2005.

I go after work to meet Cilla and cant find my keys. I have my boss almost break my window to my car because i am "sure" they are in there, when someone comes out and says she found them in the trash. nice Mere. My boss just rolled his eyes and laughed. somehow, i still became the office joke.

So, I am home now thankfully with no more screw ups for the day. I am sure all these misfortunes are a direct result of my hair color. this never happened when i was blond. people understood when i messed up. now it is a shock!

But, who is the one person who can make this all better? Ash of course. My sweet husband told me he had a present for me. Jewelry? Ann Taylor gift card? shoes? no girls!! better!!1 what cna be better???

HOW ABOUT A CASE OF HARIBO GUMMI BEARS!! THATS 48 BOXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

haribo gummi bears are the best gummi bears ever. their texture is priceless. you can buy them at walgreens or target, and they are in a gold box or bag. please go and enjoy.

how sweet is he? a patient of his sells candy at cost, and so he got those plus some Jelly Bellies for me! i am so excited! I plan on devouring them immediatley!

so the day ended well, but i am still going back to blond tomorrow. i will try to take a picture of the Goth that is my hair for you all to see!

Blondes really do have more fun,,,

OK, I did it. Finally.

I colored my hair brown/red. I am no longer a blond. It happened Friday and some friends of ours called it "spicy hair." Not quite sure, but I think there is a compliment in there somewhere. BUt, and no offense to all my homegirls with the brown and red hair (Leslie, thats you and only you!), but I think i have been feeling sad these past few days. I dont know if it is the dye, or the whole persona. I just cant get into it. Of course Cilla, with her ever-loving comments said "Your hair doesnt know what color it is!") thanks mom. #1 supporter of everything i do.

I think i am depressed because I miss the blond Mere. I have tried to be more serious, more funky, more trendy with this new hair, but I just cant get into it. I have lost my edge, my wit, and my euphora.

So, i have made the decision after watching the Golden Globes last night and seeing Reese Witherspoon looking ever so fabulous, that I want to go back to my "natural" color. As my lovely sister in law told me--"I love your blond highlights!" Some are still el naturel, but again, there was a compliment in there somewhere. Seriously, I think Kel was telling me the blond Mere is what we are all used too, so why mess with perfection? :)))))) (see, the humor is starting to come back!)

ok, done deal. Thursday is D-DAY for my hair. I am going back to blond!!! yea!!! I feel better all ready!

thanks for the pep talk everyone. sorry i stink at writing blogs. i get carpal tunnel syndrome from digging into peoples mouths everyday.

peace in the middle east.

New Year's in Indiana?

Well, another successful Christmas and New Years has gone by and this year has already started off just great!
this is my first Christmas and New Year's as a married woman, and that is the obvious HUGE highlight of 2005.
Some lowlights of 2005 include:
Ash's house burning completely down on Jan. 26, 2005
Me breaking a vertebrae in my lower back on Feb. 11 while snowboarding in Colorado
The pathetic season of the Vols
The ridiculously slow rate the framers are taking with our house
The movie "Elizabethtown"

So, this year Ash and I went to ski for the weekend at Perfect North Slopes in Indiana. That's right, I said INDIANA! . We were driving to the "slopes" (aka - a bit larger than a hill) and it was green grass all the way until randomly there was some snow on this hill. It was a little weird skiing in 50 degree weather with other people skiing in jeans. (Just a note for everyone, please don't ski or snowboard in jeans. you look silly. ) Thankfully, I did not get hurt this time around, but hopefully Colorado won't get me again!

We slept in Saturday and met up with some kids from our church youth group that night around 8:00 for some night skiiing and to watch fireworks. We ended up snowboarding until 3 in the morning!! I am a SPECK!! I am not used to staying up this late! :) (shout out to my brother!)

We quit early yesterday to go snowtubing which totally freaked me out, but I know Ashley loved watching my eyes basically pop out of my head down the hill at a very fast rate!

To end our fun vacation, we ate at Abuelos!!! (i think i misspelled it!! Sorry to my fellow Abileneans!) I loved taking Ash to one of my favorite college restaurants in the middle of Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

Overall, Christmas with my family was absolutely perfect. New Years in Indiana was every girl's dream! :) I am truly blessed!

Stay tuned for Christmas pics of my nephew Palmer!!