Life with Chemists

I've mostly enjoyed my five and a half years at the biotech company I work for, but I've always wished there was another girl around to notice my cute outfits, new shoes and bad hair days. The four men I spend my work-day with would barely notice if I walked in wearing a pink wig and green go-go boots. Unfortunately it's really hard to find a young, cute, english-speaking, fun, female chemist. Well, my dreams have finally come true, y'all!! We actually found one, and she really is all those things and a good chemist too.

Today for halloween she's wearing socks covered in bats, an orange shirt and an honest-to-goodness black and orange hair bow!! Not only does she notice holidays, but she participates in them too! She tells funny stories about her 6-year old daughter and her baby and talks about how hard it is to have to make dinner every night. Now, I know that to most people she seems like just your average co-worker, but you don't know what this means to me. I have never worked with anyone who wasn't a chemist. (A little sad, I know.) And I think chemists are, as a breed, kind of boring and not very interested in telling anyone about their personal lives. Or maybe that's just men, but either way I'm thrilled to have another girl in the office who likes to talk almost as much as I do!

Since she does have two little girls who keep her really busy and lives pretty far away, we're probably not going to become best-buds and go for drinks after work, but I'll take her while we're at the office. Those men won't know what hit them! :)

Three Years!

Please allow me to brag on my man a bit since we're celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary today!! Wow, has it really been three years? Somehow it seems like yesterday, but it also seems like ages ago since I can't imagine life without him. Life with Brian is truly amazing! As my family can attest, I don't have the worlds' best memory, but I sure have lots of wonderful "Brian" memories since he came into my life over six years ago:

-At the end of the craziest first date ever he politely asked me if he could kiss me. I said yes, please!

-I was so head over heels I couldn't talk about anything but Brian for the first six months or so that we were dating. I think I got a little annoying.

-My family went to Hawaii for almost two weeks right after SMU graduation, and I missed him so much that I swore I'd never go on a vacation without him again. And I haven't! Mom and Dad were so gracious to include him (and Matt) in our family vacations even before we'd tied the knot.

-He was very nervous when he got down on one knee and asked me to make him the happiest man in the world by becoming his wife. He was having a hard time even carrying on a normal conversation so he had to ask me before we even sat down for dinner. His excitement was so sweet and contagious!

-I will never forget our wedding day! We made amazing memories dancing the night away with our family and friends after we'd said our sacred vows.

-We've gone on awesome vacations to Italy, the Caribbean and France! He's fun to travel with and since he wants to see everything we never miss a site.

-We've been to lots and lots of weddings together! We found it's much easier to be a wedding guest than a bride and groom!

-We bought our first house in the spring last year. It's been a joy for me to make a "home" with Brian.

-We brought home our first dog this past February! Brian said we had to get a boy dog and we had to name him Fenway. (I hope those rules don't apply to future children)! Fenway has brought a lot of smiles in his short life, and I'm so glad he's around.


Brian loves history, grilling, researching anything and everything, the Red Sox, entertaining, days at the lake, sleeping in and spending quality time with his family and friends. He's everything I could have asked for in a husband and I'm proud to be his wife. Looking forward to many more happy years....


I love you babe,

Meagan

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

We've been trying to make sure we get at least 20 minutes of good walk time in with Fenway everyday. Now that he doesn't have a broken leg, stitches or a cold he has much more energy and we've got to burn it off! With the weather cooperating I've been doing most of the walks around our neighborhood after work.

A little background: We moved to our house in an "old" part of Dallas last May and love being inside the 635 loop close to restaurants, friends, NorthPark, Greenville, and fun things to do. But our neighborhood is very old; It was built back in the 20s and 30s. There are beautiful old trees lining the streets that are hard to find in new neighborhoods. And there are still lots of old houses.

There are a few different types of house in the neighborhood. The houses that were originally built with brick have held up pretty well, especially if their owners work to keep them up. Many of these smaller, brick houses have been added on to through the years, but they've kept their original charm. There are new homes that were built on old lots where the houses were too bad to be saved. And there are the old ones like those on our street that were mostly built with wood in the craftsman style. The craftsman houses that have been fixed up have beautiful wrap around porches and fancy front doors. The ones that haven't been fixed up are falling down - literally. We have at least four such houses on our street.

Taking Fenway on a walk down our street is always an adventure. You get the little kids in their DISD uniforms playing in the street and yelling "Can I pet your dog?" over and over again. You get the next door neighbors hanging out on their front porch listening to texana music blaring from their cars in the driveway. And you get the cute little toddler who hangs out with his nanny in his front yard waiting for his parents to get home. Interesting mix, huh?

I have now been propositioned twice on my last few walks. Last Friday, a man stopped and asked me if I lived in a house. "Well, yes, I do." "Do you have wood floors?" he asks. "No, but that would be nice" I reply. He proceeds to tell me that he does wood floors, lives in this house right here, (the one that's of course falling down, has those icicle Christmas lights hanging off of it year round and hasn't been mowed all summer) but is out of business cards because he gave them all to the builder he's been working for in Allan. He's holding a Bud Light bottle, but he assures me it's not his. He was just picking it up out of the yard. Interesting, but I don't need my floors done right now. If I ever change my mind I can find his mom and his sister home at the house all day. I'll keep that in mind.

I was trying to walk Fenway quickly on Wednesday so I'd be home in time to watch the start of the World Series. But as we're leaving the house two young girls with a baby and a coat stop me. "Excuse me, but do you have a boyfriend or a dad who would want to buy this nice, new coat?" It's a huge brown Abercrombie coat with fur lining. And it's probably fairly new because it still had one tag hanging off of it on the inside. The one that tells you it's an Abercrombie original. She says she's sure it's a $200 coat but would be willing to sell it for $100. As much as Brian would love to have a semi-new coat I bought off the neighborhood street, I gracefully declined, thinking she'd probably have better luck on eBay.

Hmmm, I wonder what I'll be offered today.

Funny though, once we get off of our street the walk is pretty uneventful, and we love our neighborhood anyway.

Fenway Pictures

Some cute Fenway pictures to enjoy!

These first two are from a few weeks after we brought him home. He looks so little!

Fenway tries to make up for Mom's lack of grandchildren.

Supporting his namesake.

Enjoying his "injured dog" status.

All grown up - if only his left ear could keep up!

Fenway Update

We had a wonderful dog trainer come to our house last night to help us with Fenway. For an almost 10 month old Westie she thought he was well behaved and very smart. It's so nice to hear from an expert that your pup is smart! and well behaved!

Fenway went to puppy class in the spring. But then he got a cold that lasted for 6 weeks, broke his leg and wore a splint for 4 weeks, and then had his manhood and a toenail removed - all that, this summer! It was a pretty traumatic summer for him, to say the least. But he persevered and now we're ready to take his behavior training to the next level. (And we're praying for no more trips to the vet!)

We worked on some of his bad behaviors a bit, and then we worked on positive behaviors to put in place of those bad ones that we're going to take away.

She taught him how to shake!! It was so cute! We're still working on it, but you could see his little mental wheels turnin'. We'd hold the treat in our hand and he'd sniff all over it and eventually he'd lift his little paw to our hand to try to get the treat and then we'd give it to him. And then repeat. You could see him thinking: "OK, what did I do to get it last time? Was it moving my nose around? No. Was it wagging my tail? No. How 'bout lifting my paw? Yes!! Yes!! That was it!! Yippee!!" Y'all, it was too cute. He'd just randomly lift his paw trying to get another treat throughout the evening.

She taught him "down" - where he lays down on his belly. He'd never learned this in puppy class even though we worked on it a lot. I guess he's old enough now to figure it out. It'll really help us keep him calm and give us a bit more control, so we'll be working on that one quite a bit. We also learned that if he jumps up on the sofa that we can't touch him! If we do he's rewarded for bad behavior. The best way to avoid this is to keep a leash on him so that we can pull him off with the leash and not push him off with our hands. It sounds mean, but she assured us it's the best thing to do, and she seems to be quite the expert.

At the end of the session she said that even if we didn't do any more training with Fenway he'd be a better dog in another year or so when he's totally out of his puppy stage. But that's not what I want! He's such a lovable, adorable dog that I want him to be part of our family and not just the dog who hangs out in the corner. Obviously Fenway's never going to just hang out in a corner even if we wanted him to. So we have to work on making him a great dog and this was a good next step. Brian loved it! He hadn't gone to puppy class with us because he's allergic to the other dogs so this was his first training session and I think he learned a lot.

So we'll practice what we learned last night and then we'll get back together with her in a few weeks to learn some new stuff. Hopefully the next time y'all see Fenway he'll be shaking your hand and not jumping on your legs!

Party Time

The Patriots and the Cowboys played at Texas Stadium this past Sunday, and Brian really, really wanted to go see his two favorite NFL teams play. He spent hours trying to buy tickets on eBay, but at the end someone would always swoop in and pay the big bucks for the tickets he'd bid on. We had a hard time justifying spending $400 (each!) on tickets to a football game that we could watch at home on our pretty HD TV. So, Brian decided we'd just have people over to our house to watch and we'd make a little party out of it.

BUT, I'd already told my friend Beth that I'd go to a Southern Living at Home party at her house in south Grand Prairie. The party was from 2-4 and the game started at 3:15. Luckily, Kelsey, Matt and Brian were up to the challenge and offered to go to the store. Matt & Kels brought lots of burgers, brats and the fixin's, and Brian and I got the beer. (I think we ended up with easier job. But in all fairness since I had to leave soon I didn't have time to do the food run!)

I left my house for the great Southwest (aka the furthest away DFW suburb ever!) with Brian by the grill, the beer cold and the TV ready. :( I didn't want to go, but it was the right thing to do and the party was fun. I just would have had more fun at home the whole day. I tried to have a positive attitude, but when I took my fifth wrong turn trying to find her house, I wasn't feeling very peppy. I cheered up a bit when I saw Brent and Steven in the backyard with their laptops checking on our fantasy scores. :) I snuck out a little early, didn't get lost and was home by the second quarter.

Anywho, we ended up having three other couples come over to watch the game. It was fun to see friends we hadn't seen in a while and Kels was an awesome stand-in hostess! Thanks for all your help Kels!!

I wore Brian's old Emmit Smith jersey and Brian wore his Tedy Bruschi jersey so both teams were represented, and there wasn't too much smack talk going on. The Cowboys didn't win and I was pretty disappointed, but Brian was happy. He might have rubbed it in a bit, but then he helped me clean the kitchen so I forgave him.

Thanks again for your help Kelsey, Matt and Brian! It was a fun weekend staying home in Dallas!

A Good Read (I Hope!)

It's here! It's here! The follow up to Ken Follett's amazing The Pillars of the Earth is now available at your nearest book store. (My preference is Barnes & Noble, but it might be because I pay that $25 a year to get their discounts.)

I first read The Pillars of the Earth in high school for history class and what a story it is! It's an amazing, historical epic that spans decades, and thoroughly captures the reader as men spend their entire lives building a cathedral in England. I read it again earlier this year to get prepared for the follow up, World Without End, and was reminded of why is stands out on my pretty long list of all-time favorite books. Mom and Ally read and loved Pillars as well, so I'm hoping they'll read World Without End with me so we can discuss. It takes place in Kingsbridge with the cathedral, but is set two centuries later.

Enjoy your weekend and try to pick up a copy of World Without End. I'm sure we won't be disappointed!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things in no particular order. Feel free to share yours in a comment below!

Glorias

I LOVE this place! We eat here at least once a week, and if we're out of town this is the restaurant I miss the most. My friend Ally came to visit from Boston in June, and we ate here twice in a 48-hour period! But one was in Dallas and the other Rockwall, so that's not that weird, right?

Williams- Sonoma Hand Soap













This is the best kitchen soap! I love the Ginger Almond and the Spiced Chestnut. They're perfect for fall - which it might be here in a few weeks! The Valencia Orange is great for the hot summer months. They're nicely scented, but not too much. I start to get worried if I only have one extra soap in the pantry. Yes, I've managed to acquire Mom's propensity to purchase in bulk. Oops!


Dingos








Ok, so this really isn't one of my favorites, but it's Fenway's. I love them because they keep him quiet and off our chairs* while we eat dinner. He loves them because they have this fancy, red processed meat product in the middle that he has to work to get to.



Chi Rocket Hair Dryer

You have to try this hair dryer. It's ceramic and ionic and drys your hair really fast. I think it makes it smoother and softer, too. You can get it at drugstore.com here. Try it! You'll love it too!


*This is a lie to blogland. I have to make it sound like we eat a nice, balanced meal at the kitchen table every night, but we usually eat on the sofa in the den. Even if I've made a nice dinner. Oh, the shame.

Remembering the Red Sox

The Red Sox are in the playoffs again which means lots of baseball around our house! The Red Sox are so loved by Brian that our dog is named Fenway, and we live in Dallas. People around here always look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them his name. If we lived in Boston I'm sure he'd have lots of adoring fans.

Brian and I were married on October 30, 2004, right in the middle of World Series week. And it wasn't just any World Series week. It was the World Series between the Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, and the BoSox hadn't won the World Series since 1918! If the series had gone on for six games the first pitch would have been tossed as I was walking down the isle. As it was, the team was being welcomed back to Boston by a 3-million people parade as Brian and I said "I do".

Mom prayed and prayed that the Red Sox could finish the Cardinals off in four games, and I was just sure that would never happen. My father-in-law was talking with the restaurant people about where we could put the TV during the rehearsal dinner. Brian asked if it would be rude to wear a radio while we said our vows. (For the record, yes, it would be rude, and I'm sure he would've NEVER done it, right?) I was thrilled that we were getting married and the Red Sox were in the World Series, but did these two huge events have to happen in the same week? Thankfully, Mom's prayers were answered and the Red Sox really did sweep the Cards in four games. Brian almost cried and I'm sure there were thousand of fans who actually did.

We were able to get married without having to put TVs on the walls of the church. Brian and I were so excited! - about the win and the wedding. I love that now when I hear talk of the baseball playoffs I immediately remember our fabulous, fun wedding week! And I love that we'll always get to share our anniversary with the week the Red Sox finally won the World Series.

My Fall from Glory

I spoke a little too soon about my Fantasy Football awesomeness. Kelsey and Matt, who had the worst record going in to this week, beat me 125 to 57! Yes, that's right...I scored only 57 points. Brian was right - my fantasy genius was gone in a flash.

Kelsey and I had an awesome run/walk on the Katy trail on Saturday morning. We did the entire trail from Airline Rd. north of Knox/Henderson to the AAC in the west end. It was about 8 miles. Most of it was walking, but we got a few good runs in, too. It only took an hour and a half, but we both had very tired legs on Sunday.

Brian agreed to go the Cornerstone service at Highland Park Methodist on Sunday. I wanted to check out Paul Rasmussen's sermon series on making happy marriages, but the Cornerstone service is very contemporary. They have electric guitars, a drum set, and the minister doesn't even wear a suit, much less a robe, but we gave it a try anyway. And I think Brian liked it. The music was a little loud, but the sermon was great. We missed the first half of the series, but I think we should be able to catch the remaining two. Next week is about the gift of sex so I'm pretty sure I'll be able to convince Brian to go to that one! :)

The Cowboys won again! Yay! Who would have thought we'd start 4-0? It's so much more fun to be a fan when your team is winning, dontcha think? I'll take a Cowboys win over my fantasy team winning any day!