Our Wedding, Chapter One

So right before we left for our weddingmoon to The Bahamas, I accepted a job to start with Cisco as a recruiting consultant, and went into the trip feeling relaxed because I crossed a huge burden off my personal to do list - FIND JOB- so now I could GET MARRIED! I had a week or so to take my time preparing for the wedding and picking up last-minute things that I had hadn't found yet, like bridal jewelry and “resort wear” outfits for Sheridan (those aren’t supposed to be last-minute items, but for me, they were). And it gave me some time to switch gears and start preparing for our amazing week!!

Unfortunately, it also gave me time to obsess about the impending Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Hanna and watch The Weather Channel obsessively to see if it was going to ruin our wedding! Was it going to hit Nassau, avoid it, and was it going to be a storm or hurricane? Crap!!!

The day before we left, we realized that Hanna was indeed going to hit Nassau almost directly, and debated on whether or not to cancel - we bought trip insurance just in case my pregnancy didn't cooperate with our trip - but decided that we were going to take our chances, go get married, and make the most of it, no matter what came our way!!

The night before we left, we did last-minute packing, bought snacks for our long journey, and dropped the doggie off at Pet Villa for the week. He didn't even look back at me - he hit the front door, ran for his favorite caretaker, John, jumped in his lap, and that was that... I would imagine it's like dropping your kid off at daycare and the kid not being particularly upset that you're leaving them. Guess I might want to get used to that idea! But Baci did leave us a little surprise when we got home - we found a dog cookie in Sheridan's suitcase as we were wrapping up his packing. He does love us, after all!!! Yay!

The next day, we got up at 4:00 a.m. for our 6:15 a.m. flight to Phoenix, and couldn't believe how busy the airport was! We got out safely, flew through Phoenix to get to Fort Lauderdale (most miserable flight of my life - I sat next to a fat, hairy, snoring beast on one side, and my broad-shouldered beau on the other, in the smallest seat imaginable, for 4.5 hours!!!), and eventually got to Nassau after a long 9 hour journey!

We arrived to Nassau and I could tell that Sheridan was thinking "where on earth has this woman brought me?" because looking around, downtown Nassau is pretty poor. They drive on the left side of the road and everything's on "island time", meaning everything takes FOREVER, including our shuttle from the airport to the hotel... it's like another planet! I assured Sheridan that it was going to be a fabulous resort and I could tell he was a little skeptical... (and I got a little nervous!) Not to mention, it was starting to get *pretty* windy…

We finally arrived to Sandals around 8:00 p.m. and had a lovely VIP check-in, checked into our room, and got ready for our first night in the resort. We got dressed and hit our first restaurant, Kimono's, the hibachi-style restaurant, and sat with 2 other honeymooning couples, both from the East Coast. We instantly hit it off with our new buddies Matt and Tonya from Washington State… great people!! We all felt a little bit weird about leaving right after our fabulous dinner without paying, but I guess that’s the beautiful part of all-inclusive packages!

After dinner, and after a couple of drinks at the bar (and a junkanoo parade through the bar - junkanoo is a Bahamian cultural tradition, like Mardi Gras for The Bahamas), it was time to call it a night and get some rest. We were looking forward to seeing what this adventure would bring us!

Just Married!

Well folks, we did it!!! We're MARRIED!!! As in FOREVER! Wow! :)

Tales from the Caribbean and corresponding photos are forthcoming. I started my new job today and have a busy week planned, but I plan to start documenting the greatest week of The Mer Show EVER very soon... stay tuned!

Love, Mer

Last Blog Post as a Single Woman

Well peeps, Hanna or not - Sheridan and I are headed to The Bahamas on Monday to get hitched. It might be a rainy wedding, but I figure it's like Charlotte's wedding on Sex and the City - "the worse the wedding, the better the marriage". hahaha No matter if we have to get married inside in the middle of a hurricane, it doesn't change how much we love each other, and want to marry each other. So take THAT, Hanna!!! ;)

Meanwhile, I'll be sure to post when we get back and give all the scoop, plus pictures!

But I do have some commentary before I go:

1. The DNC convention has left me inspired and excited!! Hillary's "Twin Cities" joke made my week (it makes sense that McCain and Bush are meeting in the Twin Cities this week, since it's hard to tell them apart), as did the comment by Barney Smith of Marion, Indiana - "I need a president that puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney". Classic!!! Can't wait to see how the Republican convention goes and what they have to say that might be meaningful other than "Barack Obama is going to raise your taxes!!!" - zzzzzzzzzz. I would like to see them make some good points, even though I hope McCain loses miserably in this election.

2. There's been a lot of criticism this week about Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate choice - that if she was chosen to help garner the vote of Clinton's pantsuit army, it was a bad idea since she's so opposed to reproductive rights; that she only has 2 years of experience as a governor of a state that has a smaller population than the city in which I live right now; and that she isn't even sure what a VP does... but here's MY criticism. Ready? GIRLFRIEND NEEDS A NEW HAIRDO!!! That ponytail flop thing with the butterfly clip and bangs was tragic even in 1990... When is Jose Ebert coming to the rescue?

OK, that's it from command central. I'll see y'all when I get back from the Caribbean!

Love, Mer The Single Girl

p.s. Let's hope Gustav escapes my friends and family in Houston!!!!!!!!!! Bug off, Swedish nuisance!

Tropical Storm Hanna

Everyone cross your fingers that this stupid storm bypasses The Bahamas and that it doesn't completely ruin our wedding and honeymoon next week. It's not looking good... :( Everyone do a reverse rain dance for us!!!

HANNA, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE????????

Mer

Indiana

So my future sister-in-law, Carolyn, is getting married to Sheridan's brother, Matt, on New Year's Eve in Indianapolis. I'm going to be too enormous to attend by then, but I went out to IN for the bachelorette party this past weekend to join in on the celebration. We had about 10 girls from different points in Carolyn's life - college, childhood, work, and new sisters-in-law - and had a great time at her family's lake house, lounging, eating, drinking, and game-playing. It was a really fun mini-vacation and I think the bride had a really great time.

Some pics for your viewing pleasure. And yes, I know - they're huge. I'm really pregnant, so gimme a break!!!

Mer xo

UPDATE On The Job Front

Well folks - new development! So on Thursday of last week, I had decided to accept the offer with Ning, but when I called Cisco (www.cisco.com) to decline their offer, they sweetened the pot so much that I had no choice but to accept that offer.

So in the end, the Cisco opportunity is going to offer me benefits, paid vacation, long term stability, and a couple of other perks that are really, really important. I start that new job after I get back from our "weddingmoon" - on Monday, September 8th.

So............... I have two more weeks of vacation left! Yeeeeehaw! I feel bag for reneging on Ning, but for me, the Cisco gig is just the right fit. Thanks to everyone for hearing me through this crazy time professionally (and personally, but that's beside the point...) - I couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family.

And now that I have the job wrapped up, I can start concentrating on my WEDDING to the man of my dreams!!! It's in 10 days from today!!! And we leave for The Bahamas next Monday!!! Woooooooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! The countdown has begun...

Love, Mer

The Mer Show Gets Back to WORK!

Well, the vacation is officially over. Monday morning, bright and early, I get back to work. I have been VERY lucky to land a couple of really great opportunities, and I have chosen to join the recruiting team at Ning, a social networking platform that is definitely going places! It's located in Palo Alto, CA, and is headed by an incredibly bright CEO named Gina Bianchini, and has a unique way of approaching the social networking space. A huge bonus with this job is that my new boss is really cool - she has so much positive energy, and I like her a lot going into this (unlike the rude tyrant I worked for at my last company). Yay!!

So with that, I'm heading to Indianapolis for my future sister-in-law's bachelorette party today, and then get back Sunday night - just in time to start my new jobsky. No rest for the wicked!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement through my job searching process - my friends and family have been so great and I really appreciate it!

Meanwhile, have a super duper weekend! Love, Mer

p.s. New company - www.ning.com CHECK IT OUT!

Our New Toaster Oven

OMG, we just got our first wedding gift and it's... a toaster! How traditional is that? One of Sheridan's friends sent us the Black and Decker model off our registry, and I can't wait to make some toast where it's only toasted on one side - my favorite! And leftovers? Fuhgetaboutit! Simple pleasures...

A toaster as a first gift... this marriage is gonna last! ;)

Love, Mer

Stroller Practice

He's getting ready!!! :)

MY HERO - NASTIA LIUKIN!!!

Nastia Liukin is decidedly not anything like Mary Lou Retton - she's more like a Nadia Comeneci... but man, she is my kind of gymnast!!! She's so elegant and graceful, and more like a ballerina than a powerhouse athlete; it's so refreshing to see artistic gymnastics once again! Nastia put on a stellar performance and made it look so easy... beautiful under pressure, and made ridiculously difficult routines look like a cakewalk.

I am disappointed for Shawn Johnson, since she went into the Olympics expecting to win, and with much media pressure to do so, but she did her best, and that landed her a silver medal. But an American 1, 2 finish - OMG, how exciting!!!!!

I cried. Could be the progesterone coursing through my veins, but I was really blown over with emotion at the end of watching the DVR recording of the women's all-around final. I'm serious - I CRIED! Not much phases me these days after everything I've been through the last few years, but the Olympics has brought me several tear-filled moments this summer... it's ridiculous!

Anyway, congratulations to Nastia Liukin on her fabulous gold medal win, and to Shawn Johnson, as well, for her also brilliant performance and silver medal.

Love, Mer

Thoughts On Olympic Gymnastics

As a former competitive gymnast, of course my favorite part of the summer Olympics is the gymnastics - specifically, the women's gymnastics events. I was explaining to Sheridan last night that for me, Olympic gymnastics is sort of equatable to a European being excited about the World Cup, or a football nut seeing their favorite team compete in the Super Bowl. :)

This year, our team of female gymnasts went to Beijing primed and ready to conquer the gold medal. In the end, we won the silver medal, which is AWESOME, but there were some serious complications along the way - Chellsie Memmel and Samantha Peczik injured themselves IN Beijing right after arrival, and Alicia Sacramone just didn't do her best as the go-to girl.

Poor Alicia is getting thrown under the bus badly for her mistakes in the team finals - she fell on beam and floor (eek!). As if she's not beating herself up enough, Marta Karolyi and some other media outlets are saying that if she hadn't broken her concentration (which was the fault of the event organizers - I disagree), they would have won. I hate for Alicia that Marta is bringing even more focus to her mistakes on a world stage... as if she's not beating herself up enough! Well, in the off chance that Alicia Sacramone reads my blog - girl, I think you're a badass and you should keep your chin high, because you really did do a great job.

Competitive gymnastics is brutal - injuries, pressure, sacrifices, and so much more. When I think of everything these young women have gone through to get to this point, I am in awe. I feel honored that I got to participate in this sport, even in a small way, at a much more novice level... I bet people all over the world feel the same way when watching their favorite sport, that they did as a kid. It's sort of cool that all of us, all over the globe, can share that.

Anyway, I can't wait to watch the men's and women's event finals over the next few days. Should be exciting and inspiring!!

Love, Mer

Denver and San Diego

Sheridan and I have done a lot of traveling this summer - Dallas, Seattle, Denver, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, and next weekend Sheridan's heading to Reno while I head to Indianapolis for bachelor/ette parties! Whew - it's been a fun summer!!!

Here's a few pics from Denver and San Diego. We went to Denver to visit Sheridan's brother and family - Brandon, Sarah, and Michael - and I visited San Diego this weekend while Sheridan had his bachelor party Saturday night.

Unfortunately, there's no pictures from that event... which is probably best, since I heard stories of ripped clothing, vomiting, and dancers! Now THAT'S a proper bachelor party - good job, baby!!!! :)

Love, Mer

Bump Watch

Well, I'm, at 13 weeks now and still not showing! I have a little bit of an almost-bump, but I'm pretty sure that's more from just not working out in the last 2 months and eating tons of pizza and steak... :) But my chest sure is multiplying at a rapid rate, that's for sure!!!! I'm going to look like a retired porn star soon...

I had another ultrasound last Thursday and things went GREAT!! The Peanut looks really healthy and is growing on track. He's about 7 cm or 3 inches long, and has some long, skinny legs growing in there... he obviously gets that from his dad, not me with my Mary Lou Retton thunder thighs!! We still don't know for sure if it's a male or female, but I'd still bet $1000000000000000 that it's a boy.

Should we start a pool? I will probably know soon... Leave a comment if you'd like in on the guessing game!

Love, Mer

First Day of Temporary Retirement

So............. it's my first day of unemployment, since my contract with Affymetrix ended Friday. The last 3 times I've been unemployed, I was in San Diego and 2 of those times it was summertime and I spent a good majority of my time at the beach (or pool) with a cocktail in hand. (Does that mean I've found myself in this predicament 3 summers in a row? Wow, I'm incredibly unlucky, but at least drinking made the day go by faster. This time, no luck there...) I spent my time at the beach or with friends who either worked nights or were also homebound during the day. This time, I don't really know too many people here in San Jose, and don't really have any regular spots yet, so I'm going to have to get creative with my time. I think this is going to be my to do list today. What do you think?

1. Update profile on Linked In and check the job boards, return a couple of professional phone calls. CHECK - done.

2. Make and eat breakfast. CHECK - done.

3. Shower and get dressed. Need to do that.

4. Run to Target to pick up soap for the bathroom, try not to buy anything else.

5. Do some grocery shopping and make Sheridan dinner like a good housewife. Let's see, what doesn't nauseate me today??

6. Perhaps hit the gym if the baby allows me any energy today.

OK, that looks like a pretty healthy list!! Maybe tomorrow will be cleaning day and maybe catching up with my long distance friends who are also not working, or perhaps if I'm lucky, I'll have an interview lined up! Wish me luck.

Off to start my exciting day!! Love, Mer

UPDATE: I bought my bridal veil this morning and am wearing it around the house this afternoon. I am GETTING MARRIED IN ONE MONTH FROM TODAY!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!

New Pics of Bacisaurus Rex

"Life is good". Baci Hall

Baby Watch

Well, this is the first installment of baby updates since the cat is now officially out of the bag. I’m knocked up!!!

So The Mer Show readers have missed all the morning sickness and sheer panic that happened when I first found out I was pregnant – from about weeks 6 to 9. From weeks 9 to 11 I was SO tired and grouchy, I could barely function, and poor Sheridan had to put up with a massive couch potato!! Now, I’m feeling back to myself (almost), with the occasional bout of heartburn (like right now after eating Afghani chicken kebob for lunch; ouch) and a bit of fatigue still. I guess this is going to be the phase of massive weight gain! Oi vey – here we go! Right now I’ve only gained 6 pounds since May, so that’s right on track for a healthy trimester; however, I think that will accelerate here pretty soon. I have some maternity pants waiting for the day I need them, but for now I’m just pinning my old pants if they’re tight and wearing some of my “fat day” outfits that I haven’t had to wear since that year or two in San Diego when I was pretty pudgy. I’m glad I didn’t get rid of those!!

So I get an email every week from babycenter.com telling me what is going on with the baby that week, and apparently today, at 12 weeks, the baby is the size of a lime. Wasn’t it just a blueberry last week?!!! Before I know it, this kid is going to be peeling out from the driveway in a red Camaro. God help us!!

So here is a shot of the last ultrasound that was done on 7/23. The little blob from the first ultrasound looks like a little alien baby now… it’s so crazy!!! But it’s amazing, fun, and such a blessing. I am happy to have my blog to document this really exciting time in mine and Sheridan’s life. If you get sick of hearing about my burgeoning bundle of joy… SORRY! I will try to write about other stuff… like my wedding! ;) Just kidding – I swear I have other interesting things to say…

Hope everyone’s having a great week!

Love, Mer

Love, Marriage, and Baby Carriage

Going to the chapel and I’m gonna get maaaarrrrried… Well, not to the chapel, but to The Bahamas in September!!

Sheridan took me to Lake Tahoe this weekend, and after a fabulous couples massage and gorgeous gondola ride to the top of the Heavenly ski resort, he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him. I said YES!!! The plan is to get hitched while we vacation at Sandals Royal Bahamian in September – just him and me on a gorgeous tropical island professing our love and commitment to each other in the Caribbean breeze. A romantic, intimate wedding for two. It’s going to be AMAZING and I can't wait to marry this wonderful man!

Oh yes, and did I mention that we’re expecting a little baby? When we figured out we wanted to get married, we decided to take our chances with preventing a little one… and BAM! Who knew that would happen so fast? Wowsers!! So on Thursday I’ll be 12 weeks pregnant and will enter the 2nd trimester, so I can finally tell everyone WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!!

Of course, it’s all very “Hollywood” getting pregnant and then getting engaged, and then married before the baby comes... but I’m a California girl now, right? Fortunately, I’m pretty sure Sheridan wanted to marry me even before he knocked me up, so I don’t feel *too much* like it’s a shotgun wedding… but it’s fun to joke with people about it! Hahahaha

So spread the news!!! The Mer Show is settling down, and couldn’t be happier about it. Thanks, Sheridan, for making me the happiest girl in the world… I love you!

Love, Mer

Katherine Heigl

What is with this chick, Katherine Heigl? She is such a pain in the neck!!

First, she went and lambasted the very movie that made her a movie star – Knocked Up – dismissing it as sexist, complaining that it makes women appear humorless and uptight (did she read the script before she made the movie?), and now she’s at it again! Upset that she didn’t get good enough material on Grey’s Anatomy (to her liking), she withdrew her name from Emmy contention for her role and made a big stink about it. What an ungrateful shrew!! She was certainly vocally obnoxious when Isaiah Washington dropped his homophobic slur of her castmate “George” (I don’t know his real name), and I can support her defense of her friend, but the way she handled it was certainly tactless. I guess that was foreshadowing…

When is someone in Hollywood going to call out this person on her lack of tact and appreciation for the very shows/ movies that helped her become famous and marry her music star husband? There are rumors that the creators of Grey’s Anatomy are thinking of killing her off the show, and I sort of hope they do.

Well, there you go. Now I can’t name my daughter Katherine… Another female name bites the dust!

Mer

Rant: Loud Flip Flops in the Office

Perhaps I’m just really hormonal today, but I have this colleague that insists on wearing rubber flip flops to the office, and it's really annoying me.

A) Flip flops are not appropriate in an office setting, particularly in ours, where we don’t wear jeans except on Fridays; it’s truly Business Casual (not Casual Casual)

B) This particular woman is overweight, so she walks really hard on her feet, which makes the flopping of the flips extremely LOUD.

You can hear these darn flip flops coming from WAAAAY down the hall and it just drives me crazy!! I even heard our Director of HR mention to her that perhaps flip flops aren’t the most appropriate attire for the workplace, but this woman insists that she has bad ankles and really needs to wear them, since all of her other shoes have heels. (Why does a woman with bad ankles buy primarily heels?)

The really frustrating part? In California, flip flops are pretty much worn year round, so this could pretty much continue indefinitely.

Add it to the list of reasons why I need to find a new job!! Those darn loud flip flops are DRIVING ME CRAZY!

Mer

Finley Update

Little Finley isn't a baby anymore - he's officially a little man! What a little heartbreaker, no? I hope mine is just as cute!!!









Love, Mer