Evaluations and Salutations

Here are some tidbits of what's been going on in the land of Meaghan lately...

It's nice to hear you're doing a good job

A week ago today (geez, I'm always behind on this blog thing), I received my first evaluation at my "new" job. I say "new" because I've been here a year, but compared to my last employment, it seems like only a few months. I will preface this with the explanation that I only received one evaluation at the paper, and that was when the Boss from Hades was reining with terror and insult. So, even though my direct supervisor had given me an overall good evaluation, the main boss had to add his 2 cents in at the end, which was (paraphrasing), "you suck, you effin b*^%!" So, I was a bit nervous about getting an evaluation for the first time in four years.

But I was nervous for nothing. I got a really good evaluation, with my boss reiterating how much I had learned in just a year's time and how she completely trusts me with difficult design jobs from start to finish. She also talked about my social skills with both coworkers and clients and how I had patched a gap with our office and another group of people that works in our department. It was really weird sitting there for a half hour while someone told me good things about myself. I, sadly, felt like I needed to remind her of all my faults! I guess I felt like I didn't deserve such a doting. I mean, granted, I have completely worked hard and tried to learn things I've never done before, but I guess I just want to try to remain humble. I still have so much to learn in this industry... But like the subtitle says, it's nice to hear you're doing a good job.

Birthday boy

Friday the 13th (insert scary music here) was Chris' birthday. Our favorite M&A writer and I took the day off to celebrate. We traveled to Chattanooga where we visited Ruby Falls. Why? Because even though we've lived 30 minutes from the place most of our lives, we had never been there before and thought it might be cool. It was - both visually and in temperature. We got to see lots of stalactite and stalagmite, columns, calcium drips and, of course, the falls. We concluded that Mickey would have loved to climb around in the cave and especially around the waterfall. The temp was about 65 degrees through the whole cave, getting a bit cooler as you approach the falls - an extremely nice break from the 90-degree humidity outside. After visiting the waterfall, we enjoyed a little break at Coolidge Park, overlooking the river. Then we ate a great meal at Big River Grill. Chris got a dark brown stout to drink since the joint is a brewery as well. Everyone head over to Another Way to Waste Time Online and give Chris a belated shout out!

Your average weekend

Saturday brought the usual: Chris working outside on the ever-going project, me inside trying to catch up on house work, the dogs pacing around wondering when we are going to do something fun, an evening of dinner with friends we haven't seen in forever and a round of mini-golf with said friends (and Chris got in the batting cages and hit a few softballs at 60 mph; then he got in the 80 mph baseball cage and hit two, I think?). Sunday included church and a nice hike at Berry with the puppies. Sadie the Swimmer worked that reservoir like there was no tomorrow, and she and Jewels met some new friends while we were up there.

I'm getting fat, and it's OK

It's really weird looking down and seeing my belly pooching out. It's also weird not being able to button most of my pants. But what's the weirdest is that it's OK. Normally if things are getting tight in the pants region, I'm putting in more time on the pavement, the gym or my dance floor (aka my house when Chris is not there). But I'm not suppose to lose weight right now. Nope, I have to gain weight. That's an odd place to be, psychologically, when society is always telling you to lose it. As of the last doctor's appointment, I had gained 2 pounds. Considering I'm 3 months pregnant, that's pretty good. Of course, after a dizzy spell on Monday morning, my breakfast decided it didn't want to occupy my stomach any longer, which just made me spend the day wondering when this morning sickness bull crap is going to be over. I have felt better the rest of the week. Maybe I went out with a bang. We'll see!

The hair up there

The thing about highlights in your hair is that you have to get them touched up when the roots start showing. Considering my hair was also in need of a cut, I made a call to the wonderful hair person I wrote about in this blog. While sitting in a massage chair getting my hair washed (can you tell I love the pampering?), we discussed a former employee of the shop. This employee, who was apparently not very good considering she butchered my friend's head, had recently quit. Her reasoning: "I'm on a path of Christianity and I feel like this place is a hinderance to that path (or something extremely similar)." 

In other words: "I'm an awesome Christian, and I don't feel like you all are. You see, I've been judging you ever since I walked in the door and feel like you all aren't as good as me. So I'll move on and find other holier-than-thou people just like me!"

This just makes my blood boil! Why do people feel they have to throw that they are a Christian in someone's face? Shouldn't I be able to tell by the way you live every day? Also, why do these same people feel they have to judge everyone else and make them feel like they aren't Christians, like they aren't good enough to receive the forgiveness that is available to everyone thanks to that Jesus guy they keep talking about (yet obviously know nothing about). I know some of you don't agree with my beliefs, but just know that my personal beliefs include not ridiculing you because you don't agree with me.

I'll leave you with a quote that I still remember from my DC Talk-listening days back in the day (that's old school right there): "The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds so unbelievable." 

I'm Not Sure I Could Be on a Leash

There's just not a whole lot to write about these days, or maybe there is and I'm not as insightful as the rest of you. I would apologize again for the lag in posts, but let's be honest here. Actions speak louder than words, and I'm obviously not as devoted to my blog as I am to reading yours.

But that said, I read this article today and thought it was really funny, enlightening and a little crazy! Go ahead, read it. You'll be glad you did. And please tell me you get the reference to "The Love Toilet" skit from SNL, because that was just a part of TV history that should be revisited in your mind.

After reading this, I thought, "I wonder what it would be like to be 15 feet away from Chris every day."And then it hit me. Though it really doesn't come close to this example, we kind of were there for a while. When we both worked at that lovely newspaper that shall remain nameless, we actually sat next to each other for the majority of our terms there. People asked me all the time how in the world we lived together AND worked together like that, but it really wasn't bad at all. Now, I'll be honest, I'm sure I was WAY more annoying to him than he was to me, because, well, that's probably just how it rolls every day.

We would discuss personal/home issues sometimes at work, but mostly kept it professional. We would, however, sneak into the break room for a quick smooch, and I have to say I definitely miss that (sorry if I just grossed anyone out again). Being that he was one of about three intelligent people in the entire building, I probably relied on him too much as another pair of eyes for stories or for advice on a story I was working on. I would repay him a bit with a few of my own suggestions, including which of his pieces to turn in for awards (I believe the ones I picked out got you those awards, mister!).

But with our situations now, how would this little scenario work out? Probably not so good. First of all, and this may reveal too much about us, privacy isn't really an issue with us. I mean, we're just really comfortable with each other. We usually don't accompany each other to certain bathroom trips. I'll leave it at that. The only time I want semi-privacy is when I'm brushing my teeth. Chris tends to want to kiss or tickle me when I've got white pasty drool falling from my mouth, and frankly, I just don't feel very romantic at that moment. But I digress...

Following Chris to work - a.k.a. the next room - would mean I'd have to sit there and listen to him talk about investors, finance, "this market" and "that market," CEOs and CFOs, M&A and any other initials or acronyms used in the world of business (we all have our little terms, don't we?). Would I be able to do my little design projects? Not unless we had lots of money and could buy an iMAC G4 complete with the entire Adobe Suite, QuarkXpress, a font manager, photo database, publications database and a sweet monitor and printer. So, I'd be forced to sit there, reading a book and telling the dogs I can't do anything with them beyond the 15-foot realm. The massive list of things to do at the house would still get ignored. BUT I'd get to stare at my wonderful husband all day!

And really, even though we're "together" at home, we're doing our own thing a lot of times. Just this morning Chris took the dogs for a walk while I got ready for work. This certainly could not happen if we were connected by a string. Normally in the morning after dragging myself out of bed, I'd be dragging Chris' lifeless body around if we were connected like that. He's not so much a morning person. Really, I'm not either but I have a boss who sees when I walk in the door.

I'm really curious as to how you think this would turn out with you and your significant other. Feel free to write your own post on the topic - or just leave a lengthy comment.

Beach Blanket Bingo

I don't really know where that title came from. We're no Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, and Chris and I did not bust out in song on the beach! But, I couldn't come up with anything better.

I've got the majority of my work finished for the week, which means I've got time to upload photos and share our little vacation with you. With stops for lunch and the occasional peeing, St. George Island is roughly eight hours from our little abode. We decided to take the Corolla... with two mid-size dogs, because it's getting close to having to sell a kidney for gas. Let's just say it was a little tight, but it worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Jewels is usually pretty hyper in the car, but after about a half hour of driving, she realized this was going to be quite a trip and slept most of the way, much to Sadie's delight (and mine). We did hit some parking-lot traffic on I-75 in Atlanta, thanks to construction, so the dogs stuck their noses out the windows to get a true sense of what it smells like in Atlanta - a.k.a. car exhaust.

We stopped to please our tummies at Steak 'n Shake in Tifton, Georgia, where Jewels was attacked by some random bird. It first went after Sadie, kind of flying back and forth around her butt, so I got Sadie away from what I thought must be her nest of babies or something. Then, while were were eating about 15 feet away from that location, Jewels was lying under a shade tree, and the crazy bird started on her, this time actually hitting her from behind. Chris, being the hero he is, got up and threw our water bottle at the bird. I think he actually hit it. The little twit did not return. (Insert heroic orchestra music here, and picture Chris with fists on the hips and chin in the air. Not sure what his name would be.)

We arrived in St. George to discover that our vacation spot was actually a duplex, but no worries - no one was next door. But a day later, Mr. and Mrs. Redneckerson arrived, complete with mullets, a little yipper named Levi and cigarettes... lots and lots of cigarettes! The wife - we'll call her Birtha - spent the majority of their stay camped out on the adjoining screened in-porch smoking her lungs until they were black. So, we were not able to enjoy the benefit of being outside and not in the sun. The units were non-smoking, but that did not apply to the porch apparently, where there sat a large ash tray, just waiting for someone like Birtha. Since I'm pregnant and I hate smoke anyway, I steered clear.

But all was not lost on Birtha, Levi and Cletus. We were able to enjoy the pool a bit and the beach a lot! Sadie has been to the beach before and pretty much loves to swim almost as much as she loves to go for a walk. So the minute we hit the beach and got close to the water, she started a fight with a wave and then pounced it. When Chris and I got into the water, she followed without hesitation. Jewels, however, apparently hates water unless she's drinking it. She was freaked out by the waves and camped out just shy of the water, watching us all swim and have fun. We tried to coax her into the water several times. Chris even picked her up and brought her in a couple of times, only for her to haul ass back to shore. She can swim, especially when she thinks her life is depending on it.

We had some great food, of course! It's the best place to go for shrimp and several fish varieties. It's also an oyster hub, but Chris and I don't eat oysters. After getting spiffied up one evening, we drove into Apalachicola, a little town just about 10 to 15 miles away from the island, for some dinner. I had soft shell crab for the first time. It was OK, but I'll take my Alaskan snow crab legs any day. Oh, and that's another thing. Since we were in a vacation house, there was full cable (now I sound like the redneck). So we watched some movies, some Carlos Mencia, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central and that show "Deadliest Catch." I have no problem paying good money for those crab legs. Those guys risk their lives for that food!

So enough with the words, here are some photos of our time at St. George. Oh, and there's only one photo of Chris and I together. That's because when you go on vacation with just dogs, it's tough to get any photos of the couple.

Chris driving:


Sadie and Jewels enjoying the ride... at first:


Here we are, before going out to dinner:


They approach the water:


Sadie scopes out the waves:


And she's off:


At one point, the waves got pretty violent, tossing her around a bit. She wanted to swim but couldn't get past the waves. That's what "moms" are for. Yeah, she's just shy of 60 pounds. I probably shouldn't be picking that much weight up right now. Eh!:


Jewels checks out the water:


Um, I think I'll just stay right here, thanks:


After Chris carries her out and lets her go, she swims profusely back to dry land:


I don't EVER want this water on me again:


But she loves acting like a circus dog - she got up to 6 feet (not in this photo, but close):


And the trip back:




I think they had a good time.

We're Back!

And better than ever!

Well, I'm not so sure about that last part, but we are back from vacation and feel quite rested. Of course, that doesn't mean I was ready to go back to work. It was really almost a tease. Maybe it's because I work at a college, but we ended up going on vacation right about the time the students got out of school and I just wanted to take the rest of the summer off.

Remember those good ol' days? Now we're "adults" and have to pay bills, but I can't help to think back to a simpler time when summer was the three months you got to do absolutely nothing. Of course, the last time that happened was the summer of 1997 for me, but still, it was nice while it lasted.

Anyhoo, vacation was great. It was a bit weird with me feeling like crap about half of the time, but we made the most of it. And most importantly, Sadie got to swim in the ocean and leap over waves. Jewels, apparently, does not like the ocean. Photos to come...

So I feel I must say sorry to my fellow bloggers for not even commenting for a week, but when I go on vacation, I don't even get near a computer. It's just kind of a rule of mine - to truly "take a break" from everyday life. But we'll be commenting our little hearts out (right Chris?), possibly starting this evening.

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Time Flies

I didn't mean for there to be a long stretch in writing posts this week (again), but time just gets away from me. Too much to do, so little time. But then again, it always seems that way, doesn't it? Anyhoo, here's a recap:

The number 8 has been very significant for me this week. Right now, we have 8 days until we leave for vacation. I can hardly contain my excitement and I may start packing this weekend. I used to start packing like two weeks before vacation when I was a kid because I was so excited about it. And we usually went to Florida, which meant I had my dad wake me up when we went through Atlanta so I could see all the buildings (We would leave at like 2 a.m. to "make good time" on my dad's watch.).

Eight is also how far along I am now in the process of housing a life forming! (Stop reading here and pick up at the next paragraph if you don't care or don't want to read about baby stuff.) We went to my second prenatal visit yesterday, which included blood work, an exam and another ultrasound. This time, we saw the baby - which is the size of a lima bean - and heard its heartbeat!!! The heartbeat was 169 bpm, which is mine when I'm running two miles. Apparently, they're all fast in the womb at this early stage. I think it made it more real to me that I am actually going to have a baby! I also realized this week that the prenatal vitamin I was on was making me sick. My regular multivitamin, which I have been taking for years, has 18mg of iron - 100 percent of my daily value according to the bottle. Well, this particular prenatal vitamin had 90mg. That's right! I know I need extra, but I'm not housing four extra adults in my uterus! So what have we learned today, class? Extra iron = vomit. I am now on a prenatal vitamin that has extra iron, but not THAT much extra. Plus, I have anti-nausea medication if I need it. I'd love to get through this without even taking a Tylenol, but when you have to work and continue cleaning your house and cooking, you get desperate.

My car has decided to go haywire! We took it to the shop this week to get a leak in the coolant fixed and to get new brakes. When I picked it up from the shop, the "Service Engine Soon" light was on. I thought "well maybe it's one of those lights I have to reset" because my car has a few of those. On the way home, any time the gear would shift during acceleration, the car would jump. Great, what's wrong with my transmission now! When I got in the car later that night and put it in drive, it felt like it hit a brick wall. So back to the shop we go. Granted, this was not happening before I took it to the shop, so I'm thinking they let transmission fluid leak somewhere along the lines of fixing the coolant leak. Whatever, just fix it! Plus, my rear left tire keeps slowly but surely losing air within a couple of days, so when I get it from the shop, I'm going to have to take the car to Sears where I bought all the tires. At least I have a warranty on them (if it needs repair, it's free; if it needs a new tire, it's $7)!

The last two times the president of the college has walked into my office, I've been a) snacking with my shoes off (still working) and b) talking on the phone with my mom to tell her how my doctor's appointment went (I was still technically on my lunch break but back in my office) - in that order. The guy is going to think I never work! Ugh! I need an alarm for when he's walking this way! I really do work 85 percent of the time. And the only reason I'm not working the other 15 is because I'm waiting on another job or doing things like taking my stinking car to the shop.

Oh, and finally, something sweet. Jacob, and his lovely wife, Kim, sent Chris and I a little care package in the mail, complete with a book I can read to my womb, a children's book called "Guess How Much I Love You" and a stack of handmade Thank You cards, already stamped and with our return address for any baby showers we may have. Isn't that the sweetest thing ever? And it came from Jacob! Well, Jacob and Kim. But Jacob said in the letter that accompanied the package that it was his idea, and Kim did most of the creative work. We really have some nice friends!

Peace out, kids!

An Exception to Every Rule

So I just read this article.

I'm sure depending on your particular family situation, you are thinking "Yeah, that's exactly how it was in my house" or "Are you kidding! That wasn't the way it was at all!"

For me, I have to admit I was thinking the latter. When I tell people that I am the baby in the family. Some assume I was spoiled rotten and others, who actually know me, are pretty surprised. I don't think I fit this mold of being the irresponsible one who got her way all the time. But I admit, I probably have some baby-in-the-family tendencies.

I would say my mom was a bit easier on my brother and I, but not at first. We had to earn that trust because the older two were rebellion central - running away, drinking, possibly drug-taking and usually lying about where they were. Do I blame them? Well, yes and no. My mom was REALLY overprotective and controlling, so if they wanted freedom, the only way to get it was out the window. But there comes a point in your teenage years, I think, when you start evaluating your parents and making certain decisions on your own.

Did I ever consider using that window of escape? Definitely. But when I thought about it, I knew it wouldn't do any good. So, my brother and I decided to react a little differently than the older two. Give her what she wants most of the time, and when it really counts or is needed, argue your point. Considering my mom isn't really rational at all, this didn't work much. But hey, we tried.

My brother closer to me in age was kind of the favorite growing up. We all joke about it now and Mom tries to deny it, but we ALL know. On top of this, I got compared to my sister all the time - in a negative way. Which, honestly, wasn't fair to either me or her. But obladi, oblada - life goes on. So, I told my mom where I was going, when I was going there and who I would be with. Years later during a phone conversation, she told me I really was a good teenager. Better late than never, eh?

So I say all this to point out that just because someone is the youngest doesn't mean they are irresponsible or rebellious. More of a risk-taker? Maybe so. I mean, it was a risk to go to college with no help from family, but I think it paid off! And what are those baby-in-the-family tendencies? I think I like attention... but maybe that's a girl thing!

Are you the oldest? Are you the youngest? What's your story? Are you the responsible one, a risk-taker or a little of both? Tell me people. I'm interested!

I Just Want to Know

why the hell my stomach has to hurt because I'm pregnant. We're talking two different organs here! I don't understand why a baked potato is about the only thing that makes my stomach feel slightly normal. I am telling you, this kid had better be worth all the pain and suffering (Jacob, please don't write a 500-word comment on how it won't be worth it).

I wake up feeling like crap and it lasts until after I've eaten a pretty good lunch - oh but not too much, cause it would just come right back up again. Then, about two hours later, I feel like crap again. I'm suppose to be drinking all day, and I am trying. But that just makes my stomach feel acidic. Blah! Supposedly, this will go away in the next... SIX WEEKS!!! Double Blah!

But anyway, no one really wants to hear about my digestive troubles.

This has been a crazy week at work. The college for which I work is hosting the founder's family in a family reunion. I'm talking more than 100 people from one family from Thursday until Sunday. It's actually pretty cool if you are in to genealogy, and the family tree they have posted on the wall in the main building is 28 feet long!

But at event like this, much is needed in the way of publications and art, and that's where I come in. For this event alone, I have been given the tasks of creating the following items:

Save-the-Date postcard
Invitation/brochure (this one was a doozy! It included a schedule, hotel info and a tear-off registration form that I created to fit inside a regular envelope so they wouldn't have to fold it or anything - thank you, thank you very much)
Nametags
Directory (which I had to compare with an online version, even though that's not really my responsibility)
T-shirts
Signs directing the family once they got here
Final schedule to give to each family due to changes since the mailing of the brochure

Now, you may not think this sounds like much, and maybe it isn't. It just felt like it. Correcting the artwork, working with printers, using four or five different programs depending on what is needed, attending every meeting, editing every word, checking with the post office on the postal indicia I created for the backs of the mailed pieces, having the carpentry shop make stakes for us to use for the signs, hammering in said stakes/signs, and today, manning the registration desk for a couple of hours have all got me counting down the hours until this baby is over!

I've enjoyed the design, but I don't think I could ever be a special event planner! There are three designers here, but anytime one of us works on a piece for a specific event, that same person is in charge of all pieces from there on - in order to keep a good consistency through each piece. Makes pretty good sense to me. I seem to be catching a lot of the special events here lately, but that's OK!

To tie my two topics here together, this is a just a bit harder to do when you really just feel like staying in bed in the morning or having a trash can next to you at your computer (but I'm not out to gross people out, you know?). But I will hold my head up and away from the toilet and work my butt off in the name of all those women who have done the same before me! You men have it SO good...