Back to Work!

Well, the time was bound to come and here it is... time to return to the corporate world! Wow, I think (between you and me) that when I was saying that I was ready to get back to work and that I knew that I would eventually return to the masses of corporate drones, I wasn't *serious*! ;) I didn't really believe it would really happen when I said it, but lo and behold... I held up my end of the bargain. Wow again.

So anyway, I have landed a super cool short term contract in Austin as a contract recruiter. The company I'm working for has been retained by a major employer in Austin to provide technical sourcing services, which means that I'll be recruiting for hard-to-find technical folks from my jammies at home. I was thinking that I was going to enjoy getting back into the workplace - coffee talk in the breakroom, the smell of burnt popcorn permeating through the office, sneaking offsite for long lunches, etc. - but I am indeed glad that I get to work from home because I think it'll be a good way to ease into being a working mommy. I bet I'll particularly enjoy working from home when we get to the new house! I'm going to PIMP that office OUT (if my contract lasts that long, which I think it will if I do a good job, and I intend to do a great job) and make it super user friendly, comfortable, and stylish. Look out!

I originally thought that I would try to figure out how to balance caring for Patrick while working full time from home, but when I went to interview for this job, Sheridan tried to work from home and watch him, and got absolutely nothing done. I think it might be more realistic in the future once Patrick's more independent, but not now. But I think it's great that he'll be attending a Montessori school with lots of older kids to watch and emulate, and cultivate strong social skills. He's really good with other kids and adults, so I think he'll probably really enjoy it!

But every mommy is a control freak when it comes to their babies... so with that, I'm sure I'll find it hard that someone else is helping raise my baby boy. I find it difficult to consider that the care givers at Patrick's "school" might see him take his first steps or say his first word instead of me, but I guess I need to concentrate on the fact that when I hear him say his first word or when I see his first steps, they'll still be the first ones for ME. Right? OK yeah, let's go with that.

Anyway, many mommies before me (and millions after me will) have put their babies into child care and gone back to work. That's just how things work in this century. I think it'll be good for me too, though! I'm looking forward to getting my brain back in the corporate game and living a very full life which includes both working and being a mommy. I think it'll be great for our whole family and am excited. :D

So Monday's the big day. Wish me luck!

Love, Mer

Big Boy Food

Patrick had his first bites of solid food last week. We started with rice cereal and it didn't go that well - he was looking at me like "uh, what do I do with this?". I wasn't sure if he just didn't like the taste or if he was confused by the spoon. So I introduced applesauce to him and what do you know... he LOVED it! He had two jars (I made him homemade stuff, so it was about 4 tablespoons worth) of it at the first tasting!! He's also tried sweet potatoes and loved those, so next is pureed peas and then carrots. Nom nom nom!

As if the kid isn't already enormous enough, I have a feeling that eating solid foods is going to make him even bigger and stronger! Here are some shots of the food extravaganza and how big he's gotten. As you can see, he's about to outgrow his carseat, which was the mongo-sized one that's supposed to take babies to their first birthday. Oh boy!

And yesterday, Patrick had his first upright ride in the grocery store. He usually hangs out in the carseat while I shop, but given that the stupid carseat is 10 pounds and he is almost 18 or so, it's just too big to lug around these days. Genny bought Patrick one of those "cootie covers" and so he had a nice, soft place to sit in the cart. OMG, he LOVED looking at all the stuff in the store, seeing all the people, and was just talking, talking, talking all the way through the store ("ooooh, ooooooh, gooooooo"). We had FIVE people stop to coo and poke at him because he was just being so charming. I was a proud mama!!

Next project - weaning P Shizzle from the swaddle blanket when he sleeps. He escapes from the blanket at night and doesn't know how to put himself back to sleep without it - he flails his arms, rubs his eyes, and pulls out the pacifier, which he also needs to fall asleep. It's time for him to learn how to fall asleep without being bound... we'll work on the pacifier issue later. :)

That's it from Command Central.

Love, Mer

Police: McNair shot dead in sleep by girlfriend

Dear Men of the World:

Reason #9087251254 not to cheat on your wife - if your wife doesn't shoot you in the head for cheating on her, your mistress might! Especially if she's young enough to be your daughter - the really young ones can be a little volatile! Mmmm hmmm (insert disapproving face here)...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-mcnairkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns


Rest in peace, Steve McNair. Steve, you will always have a special place in my heart as the last quarterback of my beloved Houston Oilers. (But you shouldn't have been messing around with a 20 year old... dummy.)

Love, Mer

Fourth of July

Ohhh, how my Fourth of July celebrations have changed over the last few years! It wasn't long ago that my Independence Day celebrations entailed blurry days of Malibu shots on the ice luge on the beaches of San Diego... and heading to work the next day completely exhausted (and worthless)! ;) These days my celebrations are much tamer and much more filled with meaning. This year, my hubby, baby and I joined some of our new neighbors in Cedar Park for a gathering at the neighborhood pool where my little boy will undoubtedly create some fun memories with friends and hopefully, his family.

The first of those memories we created this weekend - Patrick's first swim!! Our little water baby had a fun time floating with us in the baby pool, watching all the big kids with their toys and cannonballs. Sheridan and I had a fun time with our new neighbors, eating, drinking, and being merry. It felt like HOME - we can't wait to move into our new house and neighborhood.

Enjoy some new shots of our fun afternoon.

Love, Mer

New Pics of P Dizzle

"Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift - that's why they call it the present." Wisdom from Kung Fu Panda. :)

I figured out how to blog easily from my mobile, so look out for random thoughts on the fly!

Love, Mer

Thoughts on Michael Jackson, Upon His Death 6/25/09

This is my favorite picture (and album) of Michael Jackson - the cover of the Thriller album. In elementary school, my parents bought me a Fisher Price tape player and I played that cassette over and over and over... I wanted a poster of this very shot to put on my walls, but my parents wouldn't let me get one; I did, however, have a Michael Jackson t-shirt that I wore to "field day" in 2nd grade. I loved that shirt! I think that Michael Jackson is probably the Elvis of my generation...

Did you know that in 2005, I skipped work one day and drove up to Santa Barbara from San Diego with a friend, and we camped out in front of the courthouse to see MJ? I don't know where the photos are, but I did see him! We also followed his caravan from the courthouse to Neverland and watched him wave to the HUGE throng of fans - from all over the world - waiting there to see him come home. This was about about 2 weeks before that trial concluded; he left the country shortly thereafter and I don't think he ever returned to live at Neverland because he filed for BK and gave up the ranch. This would indicate that I'm a crazy fan, but honestly, it was just a fun boondoggle and an excuse to call in sick to work. haha

My predictions for the estate of Michael Jackson:

1. Neverland will become the new Graceland and will become a tourist attraction/ museum in California. (If they can figure out all the bankruptcy stuff that is currently being processed; will the State of CA turn a bad situation into a money-making opportunity?) That might be interesting!

2. The autopsy will return and show that MJ was a long time drug user. That would help explain his increasingly bizarre behavior over the last years. I'm guessing some prescription, some street drugs and a whole lotta booze.

3. We're going to see Michael Jackson sightings in the rag magazines, disputing the reality of his death. Perhaps I should be the first one to claim I saw him! Actually, I did see someone walking their dog this morning past my house that looked a little like Michael Jackson... or was that dog a chimp?

OK, in all seriousness, the entertainment industry lost one of its greatest players yesterday and there's no doubt that Michael Jackson provided the soundtrack for many lives around the world. With that, I hope that God blesses his soul and that he finally finds the peace that he obviously never found on earth.

Love, Mer

My fave MJ song with some scenes from his best videos:

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to the best baby daddy in the whole world - my hubby, Sheridan. I love you so much and you're an amazing father to Patrick. We're so lucky to have you in our lives and hope to spoil you as much as possible today. You deserve it!!

Here's a little shot of Patrick and his handsome dad yesterday - Patrick's new high chair arrived and we let him take a spin. He looks so tiny in that big chair, but I'm sure he'll be filling it out in NO TIME. I think he weighs around 17 pounds now and today is his 5 month birthday; pretty big for a little peanut that weighed 5 lbs, 13 oz at birth. I think we're gonna have a big guy on our hands!

Happy Father's Day to all the other daddies out there...

Love, Meredith

Style

Well, let's just say I wish I had some. I'm starting to put together a general design plan for the house so that as I'm shopping and considering furniture for our house, I can put together rooms and pieces that look good together and create a cohesive feel throughout the house. Since we're doubling our square footage in our current rental house and tripling the square footage of our tiny apartment in San Jose, we have a LOT of stuff to buy. See prior posting about saving money at Costco; now you know why I've been so cheap lately! haha

But anyway, as I've gotten older, one thing that's become quite clear to me is that I really have no sense of style whatsoever. Really! I usually dress pretty safe and boring (at least I think so) and my house... eek, that's a whole 'nother story! It's always looked very amateurish, and I'd like to avoid that in our new home since we intend to be there long term. (Did I just say that? Wow!)

When I lived in Raleigh, I shopped at one of those stores where you buy the whole room at once and they put together all the pieces for you. It was easy, cheap, and cute enough. And in San Diego, I just continued using that furniture from NC and added pieces here and there; it was good enough for a single gal's apartment. And then I bought all of Shayne's stuff when she moved to Boston, so then I took over HER style, which she had already put together. So again, my design skills have never really been put to the test until now.

But now it's time for me take this very large blank canvas and turn it into something modern, stylish, comfortable, pretty, and hopefully eclectically cool. (Oh yeah, and do so within a reasonable budget.) And through the little bit of planning and shopping that I've done over the last few weeks, since we closed the deal on the house... I've realized that I need help!!

I've been scouring through websites, magazines, stores, and trying to think of a general design scheme on my own and nothing is coming to me. What I *don't* want is a house full of rooms that don't flow from one to the next, with odd colors that don't go together from one part of the house to another. I want a general color palate that looks good together, and furniture that all generally coordinates.

I thought it would be a good idea to start at the Ethan Allen design center on their website and have learned that my style is "Loft - Energetic. Fashion-driven. Practical. Materials borrowed from industry, architecture, and nature. Clean shapes. Punches of color. Spontaneous and fresh. Kids and pets? Bring them on."

Can someone please translate that?? Perhaps I should start somewhere else...

So here are a couple photos of some of the materials I chose for the structure of the house - cabinetry/backsplash/granite/tile for the kitchen (same tile will populate most of the downstairs, except the family room and master bedroom) and the carpet next to the fireplace tiles. Paint will be Benjamin Moore Crisp Khaki - http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-234-Crisp-Khaki-p/mpc0006164.htm - throughout house until I figure out what colors I might want to paint individual spaces. Beautiful stuff, but monotone, huh? I need some color! But which ones?! Ugh, I'm so confused.



I'm going to put this out there to The Mer Show audience. What are your thoughts on these issues?

1. Black furniture. Can it be mixed with espresso colored woods in the same room?
2. What are some modern yet timeless color palates I should consider for the family room? I think that might determine the palate for the rest of the house? I gravitate toward reds and purples, but will those be too dated in a few years? Are they dated NOW?
3. I like cool colors for the master bedroom (see my BORING bedroom now?), but with the warm tones in the carpet and walls, how can I pull that off? We're putting our current stuff in the guest room and buying a bedroom suit plus new bedding, art, and everything else for this room. Does anyone have any recommendations on pretty, but not too girly bedding sets you've seen lately?
4. Any suggestions on places I should look for inspiration? I'm stumped!

HELLLLLLLLLLLLP! Can someone please nominate me for a cool TV show on HGTV that can help me out with this project? ;)

Love, Mer

p.s. Thanks to Patrick for napping long enough today for me to A) write this post and B) do some design research online. xoxoxo

I Heart Costco

So since we moved to Austin, I have been a Costco addict!! I'm not really sure why, but I do have a couple of theories. First of all, I actually have the room in my house to store 20 rolls of paper towels, 2 giant containers of maple syrup, double loaves of bread, and a 5 lb bag of potatoes because I don't live in CA anymore. Yay, space!!!

Second, when we moved here, it became a family goal to spend less money, in general, so that we could save to buy a house. Costco allows me to buy in bulk, freeze things for future use, and generally save money. I've started buying steaks, chicken, ground turkey, bread, eggs, OJ, soy milk, and all our staples at Costco and it's really made a difference in our grocery spending!! Especially given that I eat basically 3 meals a day at home now and Sheridan and I eat at home every night... Even if we wanted to spend the money on dining out for dinner, it's hard to get out with Patrick since his bedtime is about 7:00 p.m. nightly.

Also, Costco is such a big, interesting store to roam around in, I find it really fun to kill time there. Being a stay at home mommy can be a bit quiet and lonely sometimes, so at least there I can nosh on samples, cheap pizza from the food court, and have lots of strangers stop to tell me how adorable my son is... hehe Poor people, they sure get an EARFUL since they didn't know they just started up a conversation with an adult conversation-starved housewife!! ;) I'm sure none of them want to know the size, consistency, smell and color of my baby's stools, but that's what they GET. Too bad, so sad. Some days that's all I have to share with the world!

Plus, it's a great place to buy cheap booze, which comes in handy for "adult swim" (my term for the adult time that Sheridan and I share at home once Patrick's gone to bed and Mommy's nerves are shot from a day of blowout diapers, crying, puking, snot, drool, putting up with the barking dog, cleaning and cooking). And how unfortunate is it that one can only buy said booze in bulk?? Not at all, actually.

So I guess Costco, for me, is a place to snack, people-watch, shop for neat stuff, save money, stock up on after mommy hours party supplies, and talk to other housewives and strangers that don't work during the day. What's not to love?

Love, Mer

Jon and Kate Plus 8

Oh man, I got sucked into this show when I was pregnant and laid off in San Jose, and now I'm really into it since there's so much drama! Why am I, in the immortal words of the Black Eyed Peas, addicted to the drama like the rest of the world? It's awful.

BUT ANYWAY... I vacillate every day whose side I'm on in this horrible he said/ she said debacle. I mean, Kate is SUCH a pain in the arse and has been really horrible to Jon on the show. "Jon, do it this way, do it that way, NOW dummy!" and "OMG, do you have to breathe so loud" and all sorts of really petty behavior toward him and on national television, no less! If I treated my man that way, I should be ashamed of myself! But I would never... It seems that in the new episodes, she feels bad about her behavior because she seems so much quieter and very sad. I really do feel sorry for her because it appears to be a very lonely future she has ahead of herself and I think she brought it on herself.

In a way, I don't blame Jon for needing a break after being verbally abused for so long, and so publicly. HOWEVER, did he really think he wasn't going to get caught stepping out? And now that he has gotten caught, does he really have to gallivant so openly with his new girlfriend? I mean, he took her to Utah when the cameras were filming for the show! What the heck was he thinking?! Not only was that really uncool toward his wife, it was disrespectful to his kids. I was on his side until the last couple of weeks - he's being a jerk.

It's really sad watching a couple and family fall apart before your very eyes... but it does make for some interesting television. Remind me never to go on a reality show about my marriage and family!! Let's keep The Mer Show simply an online endeavor for now... ;)

Love, Mer

New House

So as of now, we're under contract on our new house and are getting all the administrivia in order. Soon, we'll meet with the design center to pick out colors, cabinetry, flooring, and all that jazz, and permits will be acquired by the builder so that the foundation can be poured. I want to catalog the progress on the new house here on The Mer Show so that Sheridan and I will always be able to look back at the excitement (and probably some heartache) that building a house will provide us and our family.

So here's where we are right now... an empty lot! :) We hope that we're able to keep some of those oak trees that pepper the property; I guess it'll depend on how far back the house will need to be built on the lot. We're excited to be building on the corner of a cul de sac, and at the end of the cul de sac is a large area of empty (and beautiful) land that should provide our little kids a lot of fun space to explore. (Let's hope there are no snakes back there!)

So here's where our future home will be:











View of the lot from the back (see the car in front, on the street?)











Our future neighbors' lots, on the same side of the street (there are only 2)











Our future neighbors across the street











View at the end of the cul de sac - open field. Ahhhhh, space!!!











Daddy and Patrick















Mommy and Patrick

Guess Who's Teething?

Check out the DROOL on this kid, both on the face and his shirt. His new favorite thing in the whole world is the colorful teether that a friend of Sheridan's family sent this past week. I can't believe he's holding his own toys now!!! My baby boy is growing so fast.

And Patrick *finally* likes to sit in his new Bumbo seat. About 2 weeks ago, he would still have a fit every time we set him in the thing... I'm talking full-on "pouty lip and meltdown" would occur every time he even laid eyes on the Bumbo, but now he really likes it. It gives me one more place to set the little guy when I need to get stuff done. Yay for that!

Lil Sailor

So when Bonnie and Fred (my in-laws) came to Austin from San Diego, they brought Patrick a precious little sailor outfit, and we now have that hanging in the closet all ready for P to grow into. Bonnie searched through all Fred's pictures of the boys (Sheridan and his brothers) growing up and found this sweet little pic of my beloved husband in his sailor suit for comparison at some point.

I just had to share... How cute is my hubby??

Love, Mer

HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT

Well folks, Sheridan and I are very, very excited to announce that today, we received an acceptance of the offer we made on the house we found and plan to build. We're going to be homeowners!

We've spent the last 5 months worth of weekends driving around Austin, looking at neighborhoods, floor plans, pre-existing homes, working with our mortgage broker and realtor, and we finally found the home that suits us perfectly. We decided to build a new home, which will take about 6 or more months, but will be great timing in terms of our current lease which ends in January, and will allow us to choose everything that we want for the home in which we intend to set down some ROOTS! :)

I haven't been able to sleep because I've been decorating my new home in my head - picking out paint colors, cabinet colors, flooring, faucets, window coverings, and creating an overall design plan so that when we meet with the builder's design center, I'll be all ready. Ooooooooh, I'm SO EXCITED!

I can't believe we found the home that Sheridan and I will create many years of family memories together. I feel so blessed and hopeful!

Happiness!!! Mer

Sad Day

California upheld Proposition 8 today that homosexuals in CA that want to marry may not. The Supreme Court of California had the chance to step up to the plate and reverse a very discriminatory law, and it did not. I honestly believe that all people should have the same rights regardless of age, creed, race, sexual orientation or even level of grammar and fashion savvy ;) , so I'm sad to hear of this decision.

However, I would like to praise the court for upholding the 18,000 gay marriages that were performed before the ban. That was the right thing to do, even though the larger decision discriminated against a huge segment of our population. And I'd also like to praise the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, and Massachusetts for allowing gay marriage, and DC for upholding gay marriage licenses issued in the aformentioned states. Woot!

Beloved state of California, get your act together!!

Love, Mer

Happy 4 Month Birthday!

We celebrated P Diddy's 4 month birthday on May 21st. How cute is he in his snazzy new outfit from Carl and Lori? (Carl is the guy that introduced Sheridan and me a couple of years ago, I call him our Cupid!) When visiting the doctor for his 4 month checkup last week, Patrick weighed 14 lbs, 9 oz and is now 25 inches long. And he's gone through a growth spurt since then, so I have no doubt that he weighs over 15 pounds now. The little guy sure is growing fast!!!

In other news, Patrick turned over for the first time a couple of days ago, but hasn't done it since that first time. We'll keep working on it! Meanwhile, he sure loves watching TV these days, particularly his Baby Einstein videos that we borrowed from Mr. Finn in Houston. Sometimes when we're trying to feed Patrick in the living room with the TV on, we have a hard time getting him to concentrate on eating because he turns his head and wants to see what's on the tube! I hope we're not creating a big couch potato...

P has also decided that pooping in the bathtub feels reeeeeeeeeeally good. No bueno! But I do have to admit it's pretty funny... Otherwise, he's been a really good boy and has been really great as we go out and about and take him to people's houses, out running errands, and house shopping. I'm so in love with the kid and never could have imagined I could feel this way about a little boy. :)

We might have some exciting news about our house search soon, so please stay tuned. I'll keep everyone posted!

Love, Mer

Tag! You're It!

I just got tagged on a friend's blog, so I'm it! If you have a blog, YOU'RE IT! Mer

8 Things I Look Forward To:

Buying a house and setting down roots
Spending time with my son and husband every evening
Having the energy to exercise
Our mini vacation to Vegas in July
Finding a great job soon and finding the perfect child care option
(Related to last one) Being able to shop and travel again
Seeing Swan Lake at the Houston Ballet next month

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

Took the early morning baby shift so Sheridan could sleep in
Ate 1.5 of Sheridan's amazing breakfast sandwiches, mmmmmmm
Went house shopping and think we found The One we want to build
Made turkey "juicy lucy" burgers for the first time (Sheridan and I saw them on Man vs Food on Travel Channel and had to try them!)
Watched my son turn over for the first time :)
Skipped out on the Austin Wine Festival
Had a couple of stiff ginger and 7s on the couch and watched HGTV (wild Saturday night!)
Enjoyed a good hair day

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPP
Hire a housekeeper
Figure out how to decipher my baby's cries 100% of the time
Lose the last 6 pounds of baby weight without dieting or exercising!
Shop for new clothes and furniture
Buy my hubby the new car he wants
Talk my dog into not barking at the people and squirrels outside the window
Cure cancer. Seriously!


8 Shows I Watch:

Top Chef
Project Runway
Grey's Anatomy
Today Show
Jon and Kate Plus 8
House Hunters
Law & Order SVU and Criminal Intent
Southland

First Mother's Day

So this past Sunday was my very first Mother's Day and it was absolutely terrific!! Who would have thought a couple of years ago that I'd be a wife, mother, and living in Texas? Wow. But it's been the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me, so celebrating this on Sunday was absolutely amazing.

We hosted Sheridan's father and stepmother, Bonnie, for the weekend and my parents came to visit with us, also. I put together a brunch for the family and we just had an amazing time, visiting and celebrating family together. I can't wait until we get to celebrate Father's Day for my husband, an amazing husband and father, who made the day so special for me. I especially love my new Tacori necklace that Sheridan gave to me to commemorate my first Mother's Day, which I will always treasure. Thanks baby!

Sunday night Sheridan and I got a chance to go on a date, since Mom and Dad were there to watch Master P. We went to Chuy's for margaritas and then to Uchi to have sushi (doesn't exactly go together, but mmmmmmmmmm it was GOOD!) and Mama had another chapter of Mother's Day fun. I had an amazing time flirting with a man I'd marry all over again in a heartbeat.

I hope you all enjoy the new shots!

Love, Mer

Stuff

So things here at the homestead seem to be going pretty well!! Patrick is about 3.5 months old now, but isn't even supposed to be 3 months old until May 12th, since he was 3 weeks early. He weighs about 14 pounds now and has grown 8 pounds in 12 weeks, so it's been a VERY busy bit of time trying to keep up with the little guy's needs! One of my friends asked me when I even had time to SLEEP and I laughed... what new mother has time to sleep??!!

Speaking of sleep, about 3 weeks ago, I had absolutely HAD it with Patrick's waking up every 3 hours and I finally consulted a book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to see what I could do to get this kid sleeping better. I was standing on the edge of the cliff and needed some encouragement not to jump, and this book talked me off the ledge! Formally, sleep training shouldn't be conducted until a baby's 4 months old, but I got some great tips on how to start a routine that would encourage good sleep habits for a lifetime. As of now, at 14 weeks, we have little P sleeping 8 or 9 hours "food free", meaning I get him to sleep through the night without having to feed him, but I do have to go up a couple of times a night to rub his head and put the pacifier in to get him back to sleep. We're getting there!

The time with Patrick seems to be going SO FAST!! Just last week, I had to pack up all his newborn clothes and put them away (for his little brother someday). I can't believe my little baby is already outgrowing things... wasn't he just born last month?? I really do think that before we know it, this kid is going to be driving!! hahaha

In other news, we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this past weekend. It's hard to imagine being married that long - I haven't lived that long! I truly hope that Sheridan and I are around in 39.5 years to celebrate such an occasion. Pics from the weekend attached.

And Sheridan and I have begun the search for a house to set down some roots! This is very exciting news... We've been working hard to figure out our finances, find a trustworthy realtor and mortgage broker, save money by cutting out indulgences (RIP mani/ pedis!) and learn more about local Austin neighborhoods. With the market and interest rates, plus federal tax incentives to buy, it just makes great sense. We still have some timing to figure out, given my return to work (someday), the tax season, and our lease commitment, but there's no hurry. So wish us luck, and we'll keep The Mer Show posted on our progress.

So almost every darn day I receive a stupid email from Runner's World trying to sell me running products, apprise me of races, etc. It's almost a cruel trick, reminding me that it's time to get in shape... I want to know WHO signed me up for this mailing list. Whoever it is is in trouble!! It's driving me CrAzY! But when I get past this little cold I'm nursing right now, I really DO need to get back to the gym and tackle the little bit of extra weight I'm still carrying from carrying Patrick.

So that's the latest! I hope all is well for you and yours, and I'll try to write again soon!

Love, Mer