Karma

Apparently someone is making up for either the really shitty day I had on Tuesday (finding out I didn't get that job I was talking about the other day...let's not discuss, shall we?) or the really shitty 2009 I've been having (save for the really awesome wedding in February!!), because yesterday things just fell in line and I had an awesome day.

Work was pretty normal, nothing too exciting there. About half-way through my shift, I thought I recognized someone standing by the scratch-off lotto machines, so I took a loop around to get a better view and lo and behold - it was my college roommate Jessica, who I lived with for three years!!! We somehow lost touch after we moved in with different people. Lately I had been thinking about her, because she is native to my new city. We chatted for a second, and I found out she is a teacher, lives in the town right next to me and is getting married in June. We exchanged #s and hopefully can get together after Christmas! 

When I was leaving work, I had a voicemail from a number I didn't recognize. I listened and it was my photographer calling to say they had finished up my order, so we could pick up our album and pictures before Christmas! YAYAYYAYAY! I can't wait to see the finished product. Hopefully I will (finally) be able to put up some pictures from our wedding. Fingers crossed, my mom will pick it up for us on Monday. 

Enjoy it!!

Lovely Little Date Night

The past two weeks Kevin has been on A shift at work, meaning he works 6am - 2:30pm and he HATES it. And now, so do I. We have hardly seen each other at all, because I have been working mostly late shifts and I ended up visiting my parents for a day because he was working through the weekend. 

So today, I texted him about going out to Walmart, a place I do not normally shop at, to pick up a couple things I needed. I don't like to go by myself, so I wanted some company. He picked me up after work and we headed out to the south side of town to do a little shopping.

I ended up getting a couple of things I needed for some Christmas gifts I am making, we found a birthday gift for Kevin's dad and some odds and ends. We also stopped by JoAnn's to pick up a couple items for decorating Christmas cookies. 

While we were out, we ended up going out to dinner and just getting to sit and relax with each other. At least three times tonight, we said "Oh, I thought I told you that..." because we just haven't been seeing as much of each other with our opposing work schedules. It was so nice to just catch up. And on the way home, we stopped (in the snow) to grab an ice cream cone - the perfect end to a lovely evening. 

Anyone had a good date night recently?

Catching Up

Well, I don't really have any huge exciting stories to share here, but I do have a couple little things... something is better than nothing right?

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I went out with my mom for my very first Black Friday shopping experience. I think it went pretty well, we didn't have any big ticket items we were looking for, not 97" plasma tvs for $2.99 or anything like that, and we completely avoided Walmart (thank you sweet tiny baby Jesus for that early Christmas miracle), so all in all we had a pretty easy time. I ended up with a huge king size blanket from Kohls for $19.99, House dvds seasons 1-4 for Kevin for $12.99/each, boots for myself from JcPenneys, regular price $90, on sale for $29.99, a bunch of Christmas/holiday shirts from Old Navy $5. I also know what all my Christmas presents are (from my mom), and lets just say I am very excited for Christmas morning!

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I put in my application and resume for a new job the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I am still waiting to hear back from the recruiter. Apparently it was a very popular posting, but I think if I get an interview I could do pretty well. Please send some good vibes this way! I really could use the job...

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I have a friend in my new(ish) city! It is Kevin's friend's wife, Kristin. We had a movie date last week and I really like her. It is so nice to have a girlfriend around. I hope we can get together soon!

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Kevin has had a sudden change of heart about babies and agreed that we can start trying! To have a baby! Seriously! Apparently he was talking to a guy at work who is only a few years older than us with 2 little ones, and he said they really aren't as expensive as you think... its just little bits at a time. I want to send this person the best Christmas present ever! Seriously. 

Enjoy it!

Slow it down

Well, I've hit a lull...yet again. 2009 has really been a difficult year for my family, as far as losses go and it's sort of thrown us all for a loop. Of course, people can't live forever, no matter how much you wish they would or could. So on my end, I'm just keeping quiet.

Also, I've been traipsing all over the place for the past week or so. I trekked down to Leesburg, VA to help my company open their new location. We had an awesome time and I was so glad to meet some lovely ladies there. After a very LONG drive home, I spent the night with my husband only to pack up and take off yet AGAIN, this time to Erie, PA. You may recall last year when we went down and had an absolute blast for my friend Colleen's birthday. This year was no different. Friday we stayed in and had a nice little game night. Saturday started out slow with lunch at Panera, a trip to Presque Isle beach to collect sea glass, and a visit to some of the local shops near the waterfront. Then we went out for dinner to celebrate and hit the town. At one bar it was Supersize Saturday, and there were 64 oz beers and pitchers of Long Island iced teas for $3.75 and shots for $1.... basically it was the epicenter of all bad decision making. Then we went to a reggae night at another bar, grabbed shots at the next, and ended up at the gay bar, where it was Leather Daddies night. It was very interesting, to say the least. Oh, and we got told we "dance like straight girls".... um, thank you? All in all, an awesome weekend and just the pick-me-up I needed. 

Hope you're staying healthy and keeping in good spirits. If I don't get back in time, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Enjoy it!

I guess he'll keep me

Late last week, I finally decided it was time to go grocery shopping, compiled a list and spent an extra 15 minutes after work FLYING around the grocery store, grabbing what I needed. I even thought to get a marinade for the pork roast I was defrosting for dinner in a couple days. 

I got home and made dinner, but realized I had forgotten the sour cream to go along with the yummy quesadillas I prepared. I called Kevin and left him a message that if he wanted sour cream, he was going to have to stop on the way home from work. 

A while later he walked in carrying a couple bags of things, including the sour cream for dinner. I said, "I told you I got groceries, what did you get?" and he said it was a couple things he didn't think I would have gotten (he bought bologna....so yes, he was right haha).

I turned around and he was holding a bottle of marinade in his hand, the one I had picked out and I asked him if he thought that sounded good. And then it dawned on me, I had already put mine in the fridge... he had gotten the exact same kind (one we have never used, or even looked at before). I said, "So I guess I did good then?"

Great minds think alike!

Last Wedding of the Season....

Kevin's brother Nate got married on Saturday! Everything turned out beautifully, even though the day was gloomy and unseasonably cold. The wedding was quick and dirty - it took about 5 minutes from the introductions to the procession out - and was performed by a friend. Seriously, I couldn't get over it. Nate was SO nervous all morning, and was blubbering like a baby when Jennie walked down the aisle, and hadn't even had time to regain his composure and they were walking out. But we are so happy for them.

Lots of interesting things happened at the wedding, also. Firstly, one of Kevin's cousins just had a baby not that long ago, so she was there (Zaniah, altho I don't know if that is how it is spelled) with her grandparents, Jeff and Tina. Who are apparently still feuding with with Kevin's other aunt, June, which I found out when I let June hold the baby after me and then I got swatted and yelled at by Tina...thanks for the warning Kevin. Also there was Aunt Kay, who was not invited to our wedding because she and Kevin's mother haven't spoken in years and years. Are you noticing a trend here? There are a lot of fights going on, and quite frankly its hard enough for me to keep the names straight because most of them begin with J, so I can't keep the fights straight too. Seriously. This makes me glad we don't see Kevin's extended family very often. 

Onto the good news at the wedding. We got our wedding video!! Kevin's cousin Jennie and I worked together in Buffalo and her husband offered to do some video for us on our wedding day and we've been patiently waiting for them to put it together (especially since they did it for us for nothing) and we finally got to watch it! I am so glad they offered, because I loved it! Its nothing fancy, very home-movie like, but it is so nice to look back and see everyone there and remember all these funny little things. 

Second piece of good news: Kevin's friend *might be* expecting! I say might be because Sara is in denial about the little pink plus that appeared on her test. We are very excited for them, and are now facing intense pressure for her and her husband Derek, and also our friends Justin and Heather, who have these grand visions of all of our kids being the same age and having play dates and so on.... I told them, I'm not the one you need to convince.

Well here's the pictures:

This is from the rehearsal dinner - Nate got the groomsmen glasses with logos of their favorite sports team on them, so that is why there is bubble wrap everywhere. This is Nate's friend Kurt, his (and Kevin's) little brother Randy, and their dad Les

Here's Kevin, playing with the bubble wrap

Its reeeeeally dark, because I was sitting back a bit, but this is Nate (on the right) and their friend Adam, who performed the ceremony

Dan and Megan

Randy, and one of the bride's sisters

Kevin and the other sister of the bride...but I don't remember their names

Best Man, Adam and Matron of Honor, Michelle

Jennie and her dad

The first dance!

Kevin and I, after I changed out of my dress and into my dancing shoes!

Kevin's best friend Justin and his wife Heather

The boys dedicated a song to their parents - it was Randy Travis "Forever and Ever, Amen"...so sweet! 

The end!

Meagan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Well the last two days have just been packed with no good, very bad news. 

1. Firstly, my sister is sick. Really sick. 103 fever, possible swine flu kind of sick. And she is also in New Jersey, while we are all in Western New York, which makes it tough because you know she is miserable but can't take care of her. Poor Beany. 

2. I did not get the job I just applied and had an interview for. On one hand, it still turned out ok, because the recruiter, who recruits for a lot of HR positions which is where I want to be, really liked me and said she was sorry she wouldn't be giving me a second interview because she thought I was great but that this job wouldn't be a good fit for me. I suppose she knows the job better than I do, but I thought it sounded pretty cool. But on the other hand, I'm still working part time at a grocery store, fighting for hours, working until midnight or later, and completely getting shafted. It's just really not conducive to the kind of life I want right now, you know, one where I can have friends and go out for a drink together after work, and have babies and be able to get day care for them since we don't live by any family who could help us out. Oh well....just keep plugging away. At least she knows my name and liked me, right?

3. My Uncle Mike has been very very sick with esophageal cancer, and it has been very aggressive. It has spread and there is a tumor growing on one of his vertebrae, which has turned the bone to soft tissue. The doctors have given him six months to live. We all just keep praying. He was diagnosed with this cancer in May and since then it has just been a whirlwind of bad news after bad news. I know it is especially hard for them because they are not near family; both my aunt and uncle are from Buffalo but now live in PA about 7 hours away. My mom, and two of my aunts went to visit them this weekend. So if you have some spare thoughts and prayers, please send them over. 

Sorry for the downer post, but I had to get it all out. 

Smashed Potato Soup

So for my triumphant return to blogging, I bring you a RECIPE! This is a simple soup recipe that is super easy to throw together Sunday night and take for lunch the rest of the week. I just made it, had a bowl for myself and ladled the rest into 3 storage containers, currently residing in my fridge so they are ready to go when I am.

Smashed Potato Soup

½ cup coarsely chopped carrot*

½ cup coarsely chopped celery*

1 pkg. (1 lb. 4 oz.) refrigerated mashed potatoes

1 can (14 1/2 ozs.) 99% fat free chicken broth (I used the lower sodium kind)

½ cup fat free milk

1 garlic clove, pressed

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

½ cup reduced fat sour cream (I used the whole 8 oz container. I don't use sour cream enough that I want it to be hanging around.)

2 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley (I usually skip this, I am lazy and don't use parsley for anything, so I don't buy it special for this)

 *As mentioned above, I am lazy. I also don't eat celery, unless it is in soup, so I don't go out of my way to buy it for this recipe. Instead, I grab the bag of diced mirepoix, which is already all set for me at the grocery store. It adds in some onion, which personally I like, and takes away some of the carrots and celery, which I could live without. Sometimes I even take it for a spin in my chopper, but be warned: this will give your soup an orange-y tint from the carrot juices.

The original instructions for this recipe ask you to coarsely chop the carrots and celery, place the mashed potatoes in a medium saucepan, gradually add in milk and broth, whisk until smooth and then add in the carrot, celery, garlic, salt and pepper. And while I think these are fine instructions, I am being lazy and using the already chopped up (and onion added) mirepoix, and so I saute this first, just to soften up the veggies and get a little additional flavor. This is supposed to be a healthy recipe, so use fats sparingly. Once the veggies look good, I stir in the garlic and let it sit another minute. THEN I add the potatoes and liquids, salt and black pepper. I think it adds a little flavor that way. But it is up to you. 

Once you have all the aforementioned ingredients combined, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 

Remove the pot from the heat, then stir in the sour cream and parsley. Voila!

This soup reheats wonderfully, and of course you can add a little flavor (and calories) with some shredded cheese or bacon crumbles on top, or even sliced green onions. But it is delicious as it. 

Another suggestion might be to make a baked potato, then cube that and add it in to the soup, if you would like it a little chunkier. Don't boil the potatoes, though. I made that mistake only once. Ye-uck!

Enjoy it!!

A Lovely Afternoon

This Wednesday, I had the day off and drove up to Buffalo to visit my lovely goddaughter who is here visiting from Florida. I haven't seen her since my wedding in February, so I was very glad for the opportunity to see her. 

Obviously I had to bring some presents with me. 

Dress

Shirt and leggings

Bunny from Build-a-Bear

Here she is, all dressed up in her pretties. She loooves those sunglasses and bows!

My mother

Here's my grandma (and Hayden's great-grandma)

Playing

She's a sun baby

"Banging things is fun!"

Steppin' on the doggy

Hmm, this is not a pony

Snuggling

Big smiles

Peek-a-boo!

Aww there's my big girl!

All in all, I had a great time with my family and especially seeing how big Hayden has got since February. She is 14 months now, so she is a big girl!

Enjoy it!!

In Memory

K - Theodore W. July 9, 2009, beloved husband 

of Evelyn (nee P); dear father of Marsha (David) L, 

Elizabeth (Michael) S, Anthony (Sandra) K, 

Barbara (Michael) K and Mary (Craig) K; 

grandfather of 14 grand and two great-grandchildren; 

son of the late Frank and Sophia; brother of 

Walter and the late Peter (late Bernice) 

and Florence (late Edward) W; also survived by nieces 

and nephews. Funeral from the JOS. FUNERAL HOME, 

Saturday 11:15 and Queen of Angels Church 11:30. 

Visitation Friday 2-4 and 7-9 PM. Theodore was a WW II 

veteran, recipient of the Purple Heart and Silver Star, 

member of the Matthew Glab Post #1477, a St. Joseph's 

Workers, and former Trustee of St. Michael's 

Church and Holy Name.

I've been wanting to post about this for a while, but I just couldn't figure out how to get into it. All I keep thinking is how selfish I am, because I want more time with him. He would have been 90 in September. And I got to spend the last 24 years with him. 24 years with a man who thought he'd never live to see 50. "Don't get old," he would say. "I used to say, 'I'll never make it to 50. Then 60. Then 70. And look at me, almost 90 years old!'"

He loved a lot of things, but one of his last conversations with the doctors was about us, how every Sunday we all come over to their house for dinner, even the grandkids, all 14, and we all get along. And we do. We don't have a ton of stuff in common, but we have a good time when we are together. 

This is my grandparents on their 50th Anniversary with all the grandkids 

(minus my cousin Matt who had a little too much fun the night before when 

we all went out together). There are a couple of spouses missing, but we all had a great time!

I'll miss all the old stories he would tell about work and the war and the Health Department. He wasn't always a big talker, but once he got going, he was on a roll. He recently started a conversation with my little sister about confession and sins and somehow ended up telling her about the loose women at the taverns with the low cut shirts and short skirts who would disappear with men out to their cars!

But I was so glad to hear about all the wonderful things he did with his time here. Hearing about him from others who knew him way back when was almost magical. As I've gotten older, he had become a lot more dependent - he had arthritis that slowed him down and made him less steady on his feet, and lost his sight to macular degeneration. But back in his prime, he was very active in his community, even receiving an award from the Diocese of Buffalo for all the service his did for his church. 

May the Lord bless and keep you, and may you be happy with the Lord. 

I love you, Grandpa!

My grandparents and their 5 children

(L-R: Elizabeth, Barbara, Anthony, Marsha and Mary)

Pictured L-R: (back row) Mike, Barb, Dave, Marsha, Ryan, Mike, Liz, 

Mike, Tim, Andy, Meagan, Joe, Janelle, Nick, Mark, Sandy, Craig, Tony

(middle row) Amanda, Evelyn, Paul, Theodore, Cole, Mary

(bottom row) Leslie, Emily

Fourth of July weekend, oh my!

Well, all in all it has been a pretty packed weekend! I am almost glad its Monday, I get a breather from all the hustle and bustle of the weekend... it helps that I have the day off today.

Every year, Kevin and his friends go to an outdoor country concert weekend called Jam in the Valley. Thursday is guys night, so Kevin headed down to set up camp and hang out with his friends. Although its not so much "camping" as it is a bunch of northern rednecks setting up tents in a giant muddy field and spending the weekend getting hammered drunk, setting off fireworks, and generally being rowdy. For example, while we were walking to our site on Friday, people were playing redneck games. They were throwing a tire. To see who could throw it the farthest. I would not lie to you about this. The girl who was up as we were walking by didn't even set down her beer. Beer in one hand, tire in the other. God's honest truth.

So Friday before I left to go join the fun, I was a baking machine. I made some chocolate chip cookie bars (with M&Ms, yummers!), brownies and also s'mores bars. Delish! I left my car at Kevin's friends' house because it was supposed to rain and Kevin has gotten his car stuck there before, so I knew my car would not make it out alive. We loaded everything into his dad's truck and took off. 

When we arrived, we grabbed a spot in overnight parking, loaded up with all the crap that I insist on bringing anytime we go places and walked over to the campsite. On the way, we passed people throwing tires in an apparent "redneck game" aka Exhibit A of "Why I don't belong here."

At the campsite, we split up, girls near the camper while the guys visited old buddies from high school. It was sort of annoying because Kevin's ex-girlfriend Jenna was there. Then somehow we got on the subject of chest hair and Nair and Jenna said she had done that to Kevin before and did I ever? To which I replied, "No, because you Naired his nipples and hurt him." To which she replied, "Oh yea, I still have pictures of that." SMOKE was pouring out of my ears. Why do you still have pictures of him?! So mad! 

Anyhow, she wasn't staying for the concert so she left, and we went in. It started raining so I had all my belongings in ziploc bags. The Friday night concert was Big and Rich and Gretchen Wilson. Well, I don't really care for Gretchen but B&R was AMAZING! It started pouring as they played "Holy Water" and it was magical! 

Of course, our blankets in our little tent also got wet, so sleeping that night was not so awesome, and we were up by 5:15am. No worries, we went to my fave diner for a little food!

See, Derek's excited! Are you?

Sara got the frisbee!

All the wives

Me and Kevin (adorable!)

Kevin, on the grill

After a nap at Kevin's parents, I had every intention of driving back to Rochester and resting until I had to work 8-12am at Wegmans (on 4th of July, thanks a lot). But right as I was about to leave, my grandma called and invited me down. I originally said no, but changed my mind, called her back and headed home. We had a lovely picnic with hot dogs, barbeque hamburgers, salads, fruit and blackberry pie! 

I had an uneventful ride back to Rochester and the night at work was not as bad as I had anticipated. Also, I got to duck outside for a while and watch the fireworks - there is a park right across the street and they put on an excellent show. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. 

Enjoy it!!

Getting there...

Tonight my friend Carolyn captured me and we had a good old-fashioned girls night...mall in the afternoon, dinner at Taco Bell and movie in the evening. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my girl friends, but I was glad to get home too. 

Thursday is my birthday. I will be 24 years old. I am feeling about 106. I dunno. The desire to have a baby is only making me feel older, like time is RUNNING by me and I can barely keep up. I just keep thinking, "Holy crow, I'm almost 50!" ((think that scene in "When Harry Met Sally" where he comes over to comfort her and she says "I'm going to be 40!" and he says "In 8 YEARS!"...."but its still out there."))

I know I am being silly but I want more from my life than to be working part-time for measly wages at a grocery store with a crap schedule. Being with my husband makes me so so happy but I have been unusually weepy lately and its kind of unnerving. It just seems like I should be farther already. I guess I have always been in a hurry. Call it the curse of the first child. I was 3 weeks early because I couldn't wait to get out, and I've been in a rush to grow up ever since. 

Fingers crossed, I can slow down and appreciate all that I have. Enjoy it!

Confession

Lately, I have been consumed with the desire to procreate. It seems like everywhere I look there is a little baby or a pregnant belly. I admit it - I've got babies on the brain. 

Perhaps it is because we have a friend with a baby right now. Or because we haven't had any babies around in a long while - my cousin has two little ones (Harrison and Hayden (my goddaughter!)) but since she lives in Florida and we are in NY, we see them about twice a year, max. 

Kevin's concerns are purely financial, and I agree. At the very least, I think I should get a full-time job before we have a kid. Or something with more regular hours. Since we don't live close enough that we could rely on our families as babysitters, we'd need to figure something out with a daycare and its hard to do with I work hours all over the place, and Kevin worked a different shift every week. But on the other hand, if we keep waiting, we might be waiting forever. 

I am really hearing my biological clock ticking. Which is sort of puzzling to me, because I'm not even 24 (well, I will be next week, but that will be another quarter life crisis). I think because of all my internet exposure, I've come to realize that pregnancy is a hope, not a promise. If you are lucky enough to get pregnant on your own, even this doesn't guarantee you'll have an easy pregnancy, or end up with a healthy baby. I want a baby, but what I want more is to know that I can get pregnant, that we can get pregnant together. I know it seems like a silly worry but its the one I have right now. I don't want to find out five years down the road that its not going to happen for us and then be scrambling to figure something out before we get too old. 

So if you need me, I'll be right here,  listening to the *tick tock* of my biological clock. And keeping my fingers crossed that things fall into place...

Putting on the miles

So lately I have been pretty busy traveling all over the globe for a variety of things:

-I was up in my hometown for a bridal shower. My cousin and his fiance who live in St. Louis are getting married in Connecticut in July and so we had a shower for them close to us so we could celebrate too. It was very nice to see everyone - the last couple times I had seen them, I was all busy with wedding plans and getting married, so I hardly got to spend any time with them. 

-Also while I was home that weekend, I stopped over at my best friend Kara's parents house, her mom was throwing a Pampered Chef party. I ordered a couple things, lusted after a LOT more and generally had a good time visiting with Kara. 

-That Thursday I was back up to hang out with my sister on her 21st birthday! WoohoO! My parents, Emily and I went out to dinner for hibachi (where I am also going for my birthday next week lol!) then out to a local bar for a more relaxed evening. The night before one of her friend's had thrown a surprise party and she had a few too many, so she was taking it easy. 

-Saturday was another bridal shower, this time for my future sister-in-law, Jennie. It was in a park about half-way between here and my home town, so only about 45 minute drive. It was nice to visit, this is one of the few times Kevin's family gets together. So, while there, a bug tried to eat my hand and now its all swollen and itchy, but on the mend.

-Ooh, also Kevin and I had a date night and we went to the movies and saw "The Hangover" which was HYSTERICAL! Seriously loved it. Tears were streaming we were laughing so hard. It was the goofy-funny we needed exactly. Then we came home and watched "Royal Pains", which we had DVRed. I'm really excited because we both like it and now we have a summer show. YahoO!

Enjoy it!

20 days

since my last blog, gosh I am not doing good at this. But things have just been really boring here, I guess. Well, I did start a new position (again - for those counting, this makes 3 times in 3 months) at work. I am a coordinator (still part time, and still making a pittance) which is a management position. SO I guess I am on the right track. 

That being said, I don't know how much longer I want to stick with the grocery store. I know that if I can work my way up, I can get to something good. And I am a good employee, so I know I can do it. Its just that.... gosh, I got spoiled working my M-F 9-5 type jobs. I loved having a consistent schedule. Its really cramping my style that I am waiting until Friday to know whether I am working the next weekend or not. For instance, I have a bridal shower this weekend, and one next weekend. I can see the schedule early (now that I am management!) but its not finalized. And since I just started this (and since these showers mean I have weddings this summer, one of which is in Connecticut and means I need more than just the Saturday off), I don't want to be begging for weekends now when I will really need the days later. So I cannot RSVP until the Friday before. So I have to call, making apologies, and say, "Sorry, I'm not sure yet, I will let you know 6 days ahead of time so you can scramble to make arrangements for me."

Other than that, its business as usual. Cats are crazy, friends are crazy, work is busy. 

Alright, since its a day off, I'm going back to chores!

Enjoy it!!!

I kid you not...

This is the phone call I got at work today (Service Desk at Wegmans, for those of you who don't know my sad employment situation)...

Me: Thank you for calling Wegmans. This is Meagan speaking. How may I help you?

Woman: Yes, Meagan. I am sitting here eating my breakfast of Wegmans bran flakes and I could help but notice that Wegmans uses high fructose corn syrup in their cereal and I would just like to ask Wegmans to stop using high fructose corn syrup. It's really not good for people. That affects all you cereal and ketchup and other products too. Can you pass that on to the managers?

Me: Oh yes, absolutely I will pass that on and I would also like to encourage you to visit our website, wegmans.com, and leave a comment there. Thank you for your call. 

The things wrong with this call:

1 - Wegmans does not have manufacturing plants, you fruitcake! Our generics are other products with our packaging. SO no, I don't think I can ask them to halt production because you think high fructose corn syrup is bad for people. 

2 - And do you think I have some sort of bat phone that rings directly to Wegmans Headquarters where I speak with Danny and Colleen Wegman? That is not what that red phone behind the counter is for, sorry to burst your bubble.

3 - Furthermore, did you not see the commercials - its got the same calories as sugar and is fine in moderation! Cripe!

Oh, the life of a grocery store employee....

We're on the hunt...

FOR A HOUSE! 

Seriously. We've been talking about it for months, but yesterday morning (after both got home from our night shifts) we went to the bank and looked into mortgages. We got pre-approved for a good amount, enough to buy a home in an area we want to live in. And today I called a realtor who was recommended to us and we set up an appointment for Saturday morning at 11am. 

YAY!!!!!! I am so excited about this! Cross your fingers that things will work out!

Enjoy it!

After all these years, I still don't know....

What a weekend I had, I am telling you what. Seriously.  My Saturday was a shambley mess and I loved it all. We did a Pub Crawl to benefit MS research, which my friend Meg suffers from. This is the fourth year we've done it, and it's guaranteed to be a riot. 

**SIDE NOTE #1 My college friends have not called me Meagan since the 2nd week of freshman year. We already have a friend Meghan, so I got the nickname Bud. Long story.**

Here's how the day went:

At home, I showered and tried on 3 different outfits, 2 of which I just bought the night before on a ridiculous shopping outing. I ate a muffin the size of a planet and also a bowl of oatmeal, because I knew we would not be eating for a looooong time and there was a lot of beers headed my way.

Kevin dropped me off at my friends' house at 11am. There were about 1000 girls wandering about, but only one of them actually lived there. Kyle and Rick, more commonly known as "the boys", were sitting on the couch, playing a drinking game. Seriously, who pregames a 14-hr day-o-drinking?!

11:07 - I cracked my first beer. Woof. Beer is NOT meant for 11am. 

Around 11:20, the other 2 occupants of the house return, with an 18 pack of beers. I showed off my 3 outfits and then combinations of them. I ran up and down the stairs about 8 times and then more girls showed up. The boys left for Rick's apartment because they had to poop and couldn't get into the girls' bathroom with all the extra females looming about. 

1 pm, we finally left and headed down to a bar called O'Cals. Rick, Kyle, Cair and I drove together. and minus the 1 bouncer and 1 bartender, we were the first four people there. We hung out and played darts. It got crowded pretty quickly. Before we left, we played a ridiculous game of Flip Cup, which turned into elimination Flip Cup, which turned into a huge mess. Also, only one stall in the ladies' bathroom was working. Awesome. 

Next stop - The Angry Duck. Yes, that is seriously the name. I swear to you on all that is holy. More beers. I managed to take 4 pictures before my battery died. Some of us split up (there was a taco place across the street), but me, Cair and Meg headed on to Avenue Pub, the gay bar next door. Where we got hotdogs. I hope you all see the humor in that. Also, we waited in line for the ONE bathroom. What is with bars putting in minimal amounts of ladies rooms?

Next, on to Acme, a bar so dirty that no one uses to the bathroom there, because its cleaner to pop a squat outside, but not so dirty that we couldn't order a couple slices of pizza. Since the boys didn't want to go to the gay bar with us, they were there. Stayed for a drink or two (it's easy to lose count...)

Onto our favorite - OXFORD'S! Many phone calls were made to Kevin, who was with his family celebrating his little brother's 21st birthday. At one point, I was up by the window, trying to get some reception, and some man came up behind me, wound up and hit my ass. Hard. Then, looked at me and said "Oh, I thought you were someone else" and walked away. This was around 7:30-8pm. You know, after we'd been drinking for 9 hours. So after I went back to Cair and the boys, I got really upset. Cair went and talked to him and told him that I was married and that was not cool (like it would have been if I was single, apparently). And I started crying. Which apparently the boys cannot deal with. I had been bugging them all day to do a shot of tequila with me, so to cheer me up, we went and did tequila (which, btw, was a very good idea to cheer me up <3).>

**SIDE NOTE #2 - Variety Packs, as far as I know, are one of Rick's inventions. It is 3 shots, you order them all at once, and do them one after another. I guess it could be anything, but we usually go for 2 of the bomb variety and then something else to finish with.**

Ok, so back to Variety Packs - we did JaegerBombs, Grape Bombs and then Soco&lime - WHEW! And then left and walked back to the girls' house to take a nap. We somehow picked up Christine, the ex of one of the other boys we hung out with in college who turned into a super-lame friend after graduation. She was one of the girls staying at the house, along with 5 of her friends. On the walk home it was revealed to her that Greg had some monkey-business going on at school with another girl while they were talking (not dating, just talking) and it spiraled out of control into this huge ball-o-drama when her friends got wind of it. 

Kevin came to pick me up and walked right through the crossfire of drama in the living room, and found me upstairs crying about the boy in my friend Meg's room. Despite the fact that I could not hold myself up straight while standing, I insisted I go back out. But Kevin said no and took me home (after we got a garbage plate of course, you need something to soak all that booze up!). I got ketchup EVERYWHERE, but hey, I was happy, right?

The best part of the whole day, though, happened very early on when Kyle turned to me and said, "Bud, after all these years that we've been friends, I still don't even know your name."

LMAO!

Enjoy it!!

The story of us

Well, when I started this blog, I had originally intended to tell all about Kevin and I, how we met and everything. But I never really got around to it....so now is as good a time as any for a little bit of backstory, right?

Kevin and I went to the same college and we were in the same learning community (a group of related classes that you take with the same group of kids, so you get to know them and make friends). We sat together on our first day of English, and right away I knew I liked him. Of course, we started talking because we had the same pencil - green with flowers and a girls name on it. Mine, of course, said Meagan (which was exciting because I can never find anything personalized with my name spelled correctly) and his said his girlfriend's name. Nonetheless, we talked a bit and I eventually invited him to hang out with my friends. Which he did (and got into a fight with his gf about)....but when he came down to my room, we weren't there!

We were also in a Freshman Seminar together, a 1 credit class about dealing with college (yahoo!). One day in class we had to choose our theme song and bring it to play for the class. It had to be something that you thought "If I was in a movie, this would be the song playing when I walked into the room." Kevin's was most surprising. He got up there, this big 300+lb, 6 ft tall football player and on comes this tiny little voice singing, "Am I not pretty enough? Is my heart too broken?" (seriously, YouTube it folks - "Am I not pretty enough?" by Kasey Chambers)...and he wasn't even joking about it. I was hooked haha.

Well, time went on and when we came back to school sophomore year, Kevin was single. A friend of ours was dating a guy on the football team, who took it upon himself to try and set Kevin up....with my best friend Carolyn! I didn't say anything because I thought that he was really interested in Carolyn, and I didn't want to be second choice. Turns out, he was going along with it because he thought Cair liked him, and she was going along with it because she thought Kevin liked her. And neither of them actually liked each other in that way. One night a group of us went down by the lake and Kevin and I had a really good conversation, it felt like we just clicked. But I just let it go. 

((Kevin points to this night and says, 'If you'd only said something, we could have been together." But I think I needed the experiences I had later to appreciate what a catch he really is.))

Summer came and went, and shortly after we got back to school, I re-met and started dating my first serious boyfriend, also (conveniently enough) named Kevin. It was a wild start and a crazy ride. We were NOT good for each other. Kevin was very jealous and possessive and I withdrew from my friends. At the same time, Kevin (the husband, not the ex) started dating his ex-girlfriend from freshman year....we lived in the same building, and often said hi to one another but we were not really friends.

By the time senior year had rolled around, I had broken up with my bf but Kevin was still dating his ex. Actually, I was after another football player (having given up on Kevin) named Moose (actually, now that I think about this, Kevin does not know this). It was a lot of stolen glances and nothing of substance. Made for a lot of fun for us girls though - being silly. 

I graduated early in Dec '06 and moved back home. One day before the new semester was starting, Kevin's relationship status on Facebook changed to single (and we all know that its not official until its on Facebook). My friend called to give me an update, I checked what she was saying, and I ran downstairs and told my mom "Kevin is single and I love him and we're getting married." Later in the week, I made plans to come up and visit my friends still at school and we found out Kevin and his friends would be out celebrating his roommate's birthday at the bar we went to every Sat night. 

That night, I said "I'm going to buy him a beer." That was the plan. We ran into him and his roommate standing up against a wall - they weren't really into the club scene. We all said hi, and told Sven "Happy Birthday" and went out to dance. I went to the bathroom by myself, and on the way back I stopped to talk to Kevin, saying I couldn't see my friends and I lost them. Him being almost a foot taller than me, said he could see them out on the dance floor. So I said, 'Thanks. Do you want to come and dance with me?" and (completely out of character for him) he said yes. We danced all night and had a good time, and when the lights came on at the end of the night, I asked him back to have a beer with us. He drove home with us and we had a couple beers, my friends went to bed and we stayed up until 7am, just talking about anything and everything. That was it for me - I was sold.

Two months later, we made it official. Two months after that, he was telling me that he could see himself spending the rest of his life with me. And five months later, we were engaged. Ah, l'amore.